Samsung SPH-M330 Review
A low end phone which can be used only for calling and sending messages.
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Low price, nothing else.
Thumbs Down:
Low on features, cheap plasticy feel, and bad camera.
Inside the Trunk:
Technology: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
Band: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Phone design: Slider
Caller ID: Yes
Other features: Bluetooth, Camera.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
2 inch TT LCD display, 16-bit (65000 colors), Resolution 128 x 160 pixels, Multi-language Menu, Features – Backlit, Screensaver
Phone Book Capacity – 500 names & numbers, Storage space for 72 ring tones, Organizer – Alarm clock, Reminder, Calendar, Calculator
Java applications supported,
Downloadable Content Ring tones, Applications, Games
Messaging/Data – Text messages, Picture messages, Intelligent typing (T9) for text messages.
Razzle Dazzle:
Samsung SPH-M330 is a very simple looking phone and it is for people who are not so enthusiastic about gadgets. This phone has nothing that will make you drool. The exteriors of the camera are not that rugged and you will have to exercise a lot of caution while using this device. The plastic skin of the mobile doesn’t look like it will take the shocks when you keep this phone in the pocket and travel in a crowded bus. The phone design is slider based and it is made for people who use a phone only for calling and sending text messages.
On the sides of the phone there is a 2.5 mm head phone jack and volume rocker. The jack at the sides is bad ergonomics as the headphone will peep out from the sides and it will struggle in your pocket. We would have preferred the jack to be at top or bottom.
Inside Dope:
The phone is made for basic functions and will do nothing else. It disappoints even in basic functions like camera and display.
The display of the camera is a small two inch and the resolution is awfully low at just 160×120. But this phone is a basic device and you cannot use this phone for web browsing so there is not much to complain. However, a little bigger resolution would have been better. In the display, you can change brightness, backlighting time, dialing font size, screensavers, greetings and design schemes.
Below the display are two soft buttons, talk, end buttons, back and dedicated speaker phone button. We liked the buttons of talk and end had words on them rather than the receiver symbol which commonly used. The buttons are also colored green and red. Along with these buttons there is a four way navigational button with an OK button in the center.
The phone slides upwards to reveal a 12 key numeric keypad. Buttons both on the keypad and below the display are quite comfortable to type. The one thing about low end phone which pleases us is the simplicity. In all the low end models you will find keys are easy to use. When you use a high end phone there are many features cramped into one and the manufacturers sometimes do not pay enough attention to keypad ergonomics. Another plus for low feature phone is that the battery lasts long. This phone has enough juice to last for about five to six hours.
Essential features include vibrate mode, memo pad, speakerphone, alarm clock, calculator, a calendar, text and multimedia messaging and world clock. There’s also voice dialing, Bluetooth, instant messaging, file manager and voice memo recorder.
The camera at the back of the Samsung SPH is below average VGA camera. It takes horrible photos as expected from a VGA camera. There is no mirror or flash or lens cover but you don’t expect this in a low end phone. The camera has three resolutions and three quality settings. There are editing options like a self-timer, a brightness meter, five white-balance settings, four color tones, and a night mode. The camera doesn’t record video. Once you are done you can save the photos on the phone or send them via Bluetooth or MMS or send them to a compatible printer through Sprint’s PictBridge.
The phone comes with three games American Idol, Asphalt 4: Elite Racer and The Price is Right. But don’t expect a great gamming experience from this tiny screen and tinnier resolution. You can download ring tones from Sprint via the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browse. The phone doesn’t have a music player so the 12 MB internal shared memory will be used only to save photos and downloaded ring tones, if any.
The phone was tested for call quality and we were happy with what we found out. The phone is a basic one and so major emphasis has been laid on call quality. Call volume was loud enough and we could hear voices clearly. The people on the other side could also hear our voice clearly and had no problems. Bluetooth headset calls were also good and we have nothing to complain about.
There is a 500 capacity phone book for storing contacts. Each entry can take six phone numbers, e-mail address, instant-message handle, URL, birthday, street address, job title, company name, and notes. There are 20 polyphonic ring tones included so you can pair assign a unique ring tone to a contact or pair them up with a photo that you take from the VGA camera.
Nitty Gritty:
This phone is low on features and it is not for your gadget freak. All it can do is call and send messages. Get this phone if you want to use it only for these two features and nothing else.
