Samsung i450 review - Presentation
Written by Meraj Chhaya on July 2, 2008 – 3:47 pm
Continuing with the Samsung SGH-i450 review, I hope you’ve read the introduction. In the presentation side I’m going to say a few words about the box and then talk about the outer design.
The retail package includes:
- Samsung SGH-i450;
- Instructions manual;
- Warranty book;
- Fun club book;
- USB cable;
- Stereo headset;
- Charger;
- PC Suite;
- 1GB microSD memory card and adaptor
The box is really small. There is a flap, which is becoming fashion in phone boxes. There is nothing special about the box, besides fancy graffiti, and a list of icons on the phone’s features.
Samsung was a bit greedy: there is no box for the memory card or adaptor, just a silly packet, that too inside the PC Suite’s packet.
No protective case or pouch was included in the retail package. Samsung wants the phone to shine by itself. This helps making the device look like a “fun phone”.
The i450 is well built, there are no light leaks from any side of the phone, somewhat uncommon with sliders. Both the N95 and N81 have light running out from their sides.
As I said previous, the i450 is one of those phones that just look like toys. The blending of the white and blue colours contribute for that characteristic, and so does the simply layout.
Samsung tried and succeeded in making the phone look like a non-smartphone, a more friendly device. Just look at the front panel: there is a display, a camera, and six large buttons around a navigational key. Nothing very complicated or designed in a special way. Again, everything is very simple. The phone does indeed look very friendly. But is this what people want to hang around with?
Samsung is the master of sliders. The success that they had with the D-series is a proof that they can make quality sliding phones, and the i450 remains in that close group. However, this is Samsung’s first dual-slide phone, and they are just a little bit out of target.
When sliding upwards, the regular way, everything seems fine, and there is no undesired sound. While sliding the opposite way, the spring is just a little bit too strong. This only affects the closing of the main sliding platform, the numeric keypad. If you hit the top section of the phone a bit too hard, it will go on to the back slider.
Let’s get back to the phone’s layout. There is hardly any need for the instructions manual in order to use the phone. There are two soft keys, such as the ones found in Nokias, there is a menu key, which also serves to launch the task-switcher, there is a backspace key, and the two call keys. All they keys are large and feel good to the fingers. In the centre there is a round navigation key, such as the one found on the W910, with sort of spokes, although it isn’t a navi-wheel.
The only key that is difficult to press in the phone is the ‘profile/on/off’ key. It’s a tiny key on top of the phone, and you need to press it with your nails.
The numeric keypad hasn’t got any separators between the keys, but it’’s comfortable to type with. Once again the keys are large, and have a space between the front panel. There are lines separating the keys, but they are so small that don’t help in typing.
The keypad illumination is just adequate, although there is no backlight to the navigational key.
The 2.4” display with QVGA resolution (240×320 pixels) seems to be satisfying when compared to other S60 3rd edition devices, such as the N73. The display can get fingerprints at times, but they are not noticeable. The display can be set at very bright level,and in direct sunlight, it performs satisfactorily.
Moving to the housing itself, the back cover is difficult to remove, it needs a solid press, and it constantly makes the slider to open. The white colour of this cover can get dirty easily: for some reason I left the i450 with a pen in my pocket, and the blue ink slightly smudged the back cover. Soap and water solved the problem (yes, I did remove the back cover from the phone before washing it.)
Both the memory card and USB connector slots are easy to open, there is no need for fingernails to help in the process, and the same applies to the 3.5mm jack cover.
I don’t understand why the volume button is on the left side of the phone in all these Samsungs, it’s always easier to press it on the right side in my opinion, and it helps while zooming with the camera.
Talking about the camera, the button is also way too small, but the camera itself is disappointing as you will read in that section.
One of the most important parts of the phone is the battery. In this case, it gets a thumbs up. It lasts long, so there is no need for constant recharge. Although it is an S60 smartphone, it lasts longer than every Nokia smartphone I’ve reviewed.
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Tags: Samsung i450 appearance, Samsung i450 box, Samsung i450 built, Samsung i450 hands-on, Samsung i450 hardware, Samsung i450 review
Posted in Reviews, Samsung |
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