Samsung S5230 and S5600
Discontinued 10th
March 2009
Samsung currently have about a dozen
black slabby touchscreen phones in their range - so
the addition of these two similar midrange devices is
likely to cause some serious confusion.
Samsung
S5230
Featuring Samsung's
TouchWiz interface, the Samsung S5230
is a slim touchscreen phone with a widescreen
3.0" 240 x 400 pixel display,
3 megapixel camera, an FM radio and
a comprehensive multimedia player.
Of course, the S5230
comes with things like a web browser,
Bluetooth and USB 2 connectivity. It
also has handwriting recognition and
various other multimedia tricks.
On the surface, it looks
impressive. However, the Samsung S5230
lacks WiFi or 3G connectivity which
we think is essential on a phone like
this.
There's no word on pricing,
but Samsung say that the S5230 should
be available from April in several European
countries including France.
|
Samsung
S5600 (Samsung Preston)
Closely related to the S5230 is the Samsung S5600.
This adds 3G and HSDPA support, but not WiFi. Strangely,
the S5600 also comes with a smaller 2.8" 240 x
320 pixel display.
The S5600 also comes with the TouchWiz interface
and a 3 megapixel camera. In terms of capabilities,
it is broadly the same as the S5230 - just with a slightly
different specification overall.
Samsung say that the S5600 should be available from
May in certain European countries, but there is no guidance
on how much it will cost.
In our view, both these handsets are
"me too" devices, aimed at people who want
a touchscreen phone but have not been able to afford
one until now. We think that the specifications are
a bit limited for this type of phone, but in the end
it all comes down to cost.. we would anticipate that
these handsets will come in at less than €200 or £160,
approximately the same price as the LG
Cookie.
Samsung
S5230 at a glance
|
Available:
|
Q2
2009
|
Network:
|
GSM
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
|
Data:
|
GPRS
+ EDGE
|
Screen:
|
240
x 400 pixels, 262k colours
|
Camera:
|
3
megapixels
|
Size:
|
PDA-style
device 104 x 53 x 12mm
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Memory
card:
|
microSD
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Not
specifed
|
GPS:
|
No
|
Battery
life:
|
Not
specified
|
|
Samsung
S5600 at a glance
|
Available:
|
Q2
2009
|
Network:
|
GSM
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
+ UMTS 900 / 2100
|
Data:
|
GPRS
+ EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA
|
Screen:
|
240
x 320 pixels, 16m colours
|
Camera:
|
3
megapixels
|
Size:
|
PDA-style
device 103 x 55 x 13mm
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Memory
card:
|
microSD
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Not
specifed
|
GPS:
|
No
|
Battery
life:
|
Not
specified
|
|
|