Samsung S3100

Editor's Review of the S3100

Donning a striking resemblance to the Samsung U600, the Samsung S3100 is a handset that offers the perfect mix of fashion and functionality. Slender and lightweight, this handset has the dimensions of 95 x 47 x 14.9 millimetres and tips the scale at 99 grams.

This mobile phone is available in Pompous Pink and Sleek Black Its front part is dominated by a 2.1 inch colour display, exhibiting wallpapers, screensavers, photos and other graphics or images in 262,000 colours with a resolution of 176 x 220. To give it a more distinct and personalised appeal, users may set its pre-installed MP3 and WAV ringtones as message and call alerts.

The Samsung S3100 is a quad band handset that supports GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 and GSM 1900 networks. It is capable of global roaming and works best for users who frequently travel, but its network reach may be determined based on its user's service provider.

This mobile phone is loaded with capabilities to cater its users needs for both practical and entertainment purposes. For Internet access, the handset comes with a pre-installed NetFront 3.5 HTML browser. To enable its users to share or transfer data from or to the mobile phone, Samsung has endowed the S3100 handset with USB 2.0 slot, which other handsets, printers, laptops, personal computers or scanners may connect through. For an even more hassle-free data transfers, users may choose to utilise the Bluetooth version 2.1 with A2DP offered by this handset. The Bluetooth capability permits file sharing between two compatible devices that are up to 10 metres apart. This mobile phone is powered by GPRS and EDGE technologies, both of which guarantee faster transfers and speedier Internet download rates.

The Samsung S3100 allows users to connect with their contacts through its SMS messaging for basic text and MMS or multimedia messaging to send and receive picture messages. This handset's Internet connectivity option enables users to access their e-mails through IMAP, POP3 or SMTP servers, or send and compose e-mail messages.

This mobile phone is also loaded with virtual scheduling and planning tools to keep users on top of their daily appointments. It has the organiser features of a clock, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, a world clock, a timer, a memo option, a currency converter, a calendar, a phone book with 1000-name and multiple number capacity. For added convenience during calls, this handset offers support for caller groups and has a built-in speaker phone.

Entertainment features of the Samsung S3100 include a 1.3 megapixel camera, complete with CMOS lens, digital zoom and night mode. The integrated snapper also takes videos at 176 x 144 QCIF resolution, at a speed of 15 frames per second. Video footages or video clips in MPEG4, H263 and H264 formats may be viewed and played back by users right on this handset. For quality music listening experience, users may enjoy their MP3 player which supports tracks in AAC, MP3, AMR, WMA and MIDI audio formats. Another option for enjoyment of tracks is its FM radio facility.

This handset has a fixed internal storage capacity of 15MB. To accommodate even more data, users may select the microSD or microSDHC memory card option for an upgraded memory of up to 8 Gigabytes. When fully charged, this handset Li-Ion 800 mAh battery lets users enjoy 8.16 hours or 490 minutes of talk time with their loved ones, or an equivalent of 400 hours or 17 days of stand-by time.

Unhappy users opine that when pitted with emerging mobile phone models in the current market, this mobile phone is too ordinary without any unique features, and has average functionalities. Nonetheless, the Samsung S3100 is being hailed by its satisfied users as a handy and practical handset with straightforward features, without the fuss of applications that may prove unnecessary.