Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO and B3210 CorbyTXT preview: First look

Introduction

When the Samsung S3650 Corby was announced hardly anyone saw it as something more than a nice looking handset that comes on a really attractive price. As it turns out though that event was the birth of a whole new family that promises to change the way we look at touchscreen handsets.

So several weeks later we made sure that we won't repeat the same mistake and paid all the due attention to the second wave of Corbys announced. Luckily, we were able to attend the official announcement event held in Milan and got a chance to see the new devices live right after their official announcement.

The Samsung Corby event, held in Milan

Quite as the rumors suggested, what we saw was the first public appearance of two new Corby handsets. The Samsung B3210 CorbyTXT and Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO have quite similar design to their brother, but their designation is completely different. They are also placed either side of the original Corby in the ranking of the company's mobile phone portfolio.

Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO

The Samsung B3210 CorbyTXT will address the needs of heavy texters on a very tight budget while the B5310 CorbyPRO will hardly come as cheap but introduces a lot of high-end features to the family, while still retaining the signature colorful and youthful appearance.

Samsung B3210 CorbyTXT

The distinct youthful appeal is what unites the Corby family but each of its members has plenty of character of its own. That last two additions show that Samsung see enough space available on the market for budget QWERTY handsets to justify their development. Judging by the popularity of the LG KS360 they might be quite right.

The larger of the two Korean manufacturers is playing catch-up this time, but that doesn't mean that they aren't going for the win. The Corby family new members have a lot of potential and LG will have a hard time retaining its market supremacy against them.

So now that you know what to expect you can join us on the next page to see what kind of first impression the Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO makes. It looked pretty nice on that official presentation at least.

SAMSUNG B5310 CORBY PRO and B3210 CORBY TXT

LG GD910 review: Tick-tock, tick-tock...

Introduction

If you see someone having a chat on their wristwatch you may decide they've lost contact with the mothership. Well, it beats us what you'd think when the mothership calls back. But maybe this little personality test will help us figure it out.

You find the idea of a video-call enabled wristwatch phone:
a) Cool
b) Fool-around cool
c) Downright mental
d) Man, not another Trekkie test!
e) Who cares as long as we make some buck out of it.

All right then, if you answered B, C or D it's pretty obvious you're not from LG. And hey, if you answered A, those who answered E will love to meet you.

Tick-tock, digital wristwatch phones are nothing new actually, but somehow we need to pull ourselves together and start taking them seriously. LG and Samsung do, so there must be something, right.

LG GD910 official photos

The LG GD910 for one is dead serious judging by that price tag they have there. Or shall we call it LG double O seven - not so much for the cloak-and-dagger form factor as for the license to kill your savings. Well, it does make some sense really: almost acceptable dimensions and all the basic phone features duly covered. Touchscreen, fast data and video calling on a wristwatch - go ahead and call it crazy but you'd still be interested.

So, let's check out that specs sheet then, shall we?

Key features:

• Wristwatch form factor with a leather strap
• Water splash resistant (we're still raising the 900 euro needed to test it)
• 1.43" capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels
• Comes with a Bluetooth headset
• Excellent sunlight legibility
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with 7.2Mbps HSDPA and video-calling
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• 2GB onboard storage
• Video call camera capable of making photos in VGA (640 x 480 pixels) resolution
• Flash UI, optimized for finger usage
• Text-to-speech enabled (no Klingon support as of yet)
• Voice commands
• Flight mode

Main disadvantages:

• See water resistance above
• Bulkier than even a large watch
• No way to expand the built-in memory
• Display colors and contrast are pretty washed out even in the dark
• UI is somewhat slow at times
• No FM radio
• Trekkies would rather go for a lapel phone

We bet some of those disadvantages you already knew, while the rest of them will receive their due explanation as the review unfolds. For now we'll just say we don't have a clue about the LG GD910 target audience so we're trying to cover up our embarrassment with lame jokes.

LG GD910 at ours

Anyway, while hardly any self-respecting geek will wear one, the LG wristwatch can still count on the geek's benefit of the doubt. We sure hope we don't live to review ear implants as the next in mobile phones but we guess we can handle a wristwatch. Let's see what it's got (and what it doesn't).

LG GD910

LG BL40 New Chocolate preview: Having a first bite

Introduction

The words "Black Label" evoke images of things exclusive, reserved for the lucky few. The new entrant in the arena, the LG BL40 New Chocolate, the intriguing successor of highly popular style-conscious phones such as the Chocolate, Shine and Secret, fully deserves the honor. It looks like the kind of gadget that is always on the other side of the store window or in the hands of someone demonstrating a prototype that never sees the light of day. But the LG BL40 New Chocolate is quite real and it's here to stay and fight for market success - in fact LG announced today the New Chocolate will hit the European market in mid-September this year.

LG BL40 New Chocolate New Chocolate press images

The unorthodox long shape definitely sets it apart and the glossy black plastic with careful touches of silver trim easily remind of the times we first saw the LG Chocolate in flesh. The LG BL40 New Chocolate is immensely sleek and the 4-inch screen with 21:9 aspect ratio easily makes it one of the most unusual mobile phones that have set foot in our office this year.

LG BL40 New Chocolate at a glance

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, EDGE class 10, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 128 x 51 x 10.9 mm
• Display: Unique 4" TFT capacitive touchscreen with 21:9 aspect ratio and 800 x 345 pixels resolution, multitouch support, scratch resistant glass
• Platform: Latest S-Class UI
• Memory: 1GB internal memory, microSD card slot
• Camera: 5-megapixels auto-focus camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, LED flash, geo-tagging, image stabilization, face detection, Smile Shot, Blink detection, Intelligent shot, Beauty and Art shot, VGA video recording at 30 fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate, Proximity sensor for screen auto-turn-off, FM radio with RDS, FM transmitter, DivX/XviD support, Dolby mobile, TV out, multi-touch input, office document viewer
• Battery: 1000 mAh battery

Unlike some other fashionable handsets out there, the LG BL40 New Chocolate beauty is not skin deep - the hardware has all the bells and whistles a modern high-end gadget should have. And though technically not a smartphone, the BL40 New Chocolate S-class user interface offers convenient multitasking and is polished to match the sleek exterior.

LG BL40 New Chocolate in our office

With a brilliant screen with aspect ratio shared only with cinema screens and a few home cinema oriented TVs you can be sure the LG BL40 New Chocolate is a star. It certainly is no introvert - with TV out and DivX/XviD support, along with Dolby mobile plus an FM transmitter, we guess you can say that the LG BL40 New Chocolate broadcasts on all frequencies.

The camera and connectivity prowess of the phone do great job of covering all the advanced features found on phones today. So, it's got the looks and it's got the brains. Will its extravagance make it a hit or an oddity?

After the jump, you can see the LG BL40 New Chocolate do a 360-degree spin for you while we take a closer look at its hardware. Just keep in mind it's an early version we're working with and some design elements might go through changes before the handset hits the market.

LG BL40 NEW CHOCOLATE PREVIEW

Nokia 3720 classic: Handle without care

The Nokia 3720 classic is putting on its boots, pulling on its anorak, slinging its rucksack over its shoulder and striding out into the unfriendliest of environments: water, dust, tough ground…you name it, this device promises to shrug it off and keep on going.

After countless Nseries, Eseries, XpressMusic and classic releases and facelifts, Nokia look keen to revisit an almost forgotten niche of users - those who need a tough phone.

Well, the Finns have finally put that right and they seem to have a promising candidate on their hands for those who care less about features and even less about the weather. So, if you're after a handset that can survive the elements, get ready to check out the rugged Nokia 3720.

As a part of the Nokia classic series, the 3720 has a stylish oval design, nice handling, S40 user interface, decent display, FM radio and a 2 megapixel camera. But that's not all. As a ruggedized device, the Nokia 3720 classic has been designed to resist water, dust and to survive some pretty extreme situations.

Here is a list of what the Nokia 3720 classic can do for you and another one of the things that just didn't fit in that sort of tough body.

Key features:

• Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 2.2" 16M-color QVGA display of excellent sunlight legibility
• 2 megapixel camera, autofocus and LED flash
• VGA video recording at 15fps
• S40 user interface, 6th edition
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port
• microSD card slot (4 GB supported, 1GB included)
• Rich preinstalled application package
• Ovi Maps and Ovi Share
• IP54 certified - dust and water jets resistant
• Metal screw lock mechanism on the battery cover
• Respectable BL-5CT battery (Li-Ion 1050 mAh)
• A dedicated key to use the camera flash as a flashlight

Main disadvantages:

• No 3G
• No dedicated camera shutter key
• No smart dialing
• No multi-tasking
• No office document viewer
• No lens protection
• Memory card slot under the battery
• No USB cable in the retail box

Well here we are, holding the rugged Nokia 3720 classic in our hands and just itching to submerge it in water or run over it with a car. It's not too often that we get the chance to play with devices from this specialized sector of the mobile market, so we hope you'll share our enthusiasm as we put it through a battery of tests.But we'll come to that eventually.

NOKIA 3720 CLASSIC