CORBY...This is an interesting name for a handphone partly because it did not impart to me any significant features of the new slider device. In fact, the first thing I thought about when the name was mentioned to me was an image of the high school bully whose name is Colby. To make things interesting there is a PRO version and non-PRO version. I got a hold of the PRO version.

The Corby PRO B5310 is a remarkably small device that sports a full Qwerty landscape keyboard and a  touchscreen using resistive technology. The resistive keyboard can be operated with a stylus or any other object, just make sure it isn’t metal and sharp because scratching the screen will damage it. (Tip: The touchscreen can be used to Zoom in the Internet Browser with a single finger press – press and hold then slide up/down to zoom in/out)

Like most of Samsung’s mobile phones the little Corby PRO features minimal buttons and controls. The top edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack while the bottom edge has not connection points or buttons. The right-hand edge has the digital camera shutter button and a hold button. On the left-hand edge is the volume up/down.

On the front side of the device you will see the Send button, Menu Exit/Power and the prominently located Menu Key in between the two. The Menu key will bring up icons for the phone functions. There are three menu pages. The functions are typical of what you’d expect to find – calculator, radio, clock, converter, Internet, camera, alarms, file manager, music player, radio and more. Check out the full list of available functions by visiting the specifications page.

The keyboard keys are pretty flat with only a slightly raised bump on the home row key of F and J so you are most likely going to have to be looking down at the keyboard to input your text. Luckily, the keys are lighted so even if it is in the dark you can see. An interesting and useful addtion to the keyboard is the OK key. This key will respond to Save or Create actions that appear on the screen. You might expect the Carriage Return key to do that but it doesn't. Note there are also navigation keys at the bottom right and when I first saw them I thought why bother because the device has a touchscreen. If you were typing on the keyboard and didn't want to lose focus by having to touch the screen it does help to have the ability to simply press on an arrow key. (Tip: Sliding open the keyboard will Unlock the device)

The Corby Pro uses a rear cover that does not interfere with the MicroUSB jack. The MicroUSB jack is used to charge or as a transfer connection for synchronizing with the PC Application or using the device like a USB store.

The cover also serves to reduce the amount of dust that would normally get into the device through an open microSD card slot. I like this setup because it means you need to deliberately open the device to access the microsd card.

The rear cover removal is simple and it may not be noticeable in the above photo but the cover has some appealing circular design and patterns.
I was surprised by how useable the 2.8-inch QVGA LCD is. It supports 16-million colours so any photos you have will show up great, albeit a bit small.
Speaking of photos, I had the opportunity to take pics at a number of venues. Take note that the camera is only a 3.2-megapixel device and there is no built-in xenon or LED flash illumination. This means any pictures you decide to take needs to have adequate lighting. You’ll see from my samples that sunny outdoor shots turned out well. Indoor lighted shots tend to turn out a bit grainy.

Panorama is one of the preset scene modes I love to play and still do on my Samsung Jet. On the Corby PRO it is a simple matter of activating in the camera settings and follow the live guides for aligning and stitching the panned photos.

The rest of the phone operations are straight forward. As with many of the smartphone type of phones, you’ll be happy to know there are applications for Facebook,  MySpace, Internet, Instant Messenging, and more.

More Widgets' icon in the tray on the left connects to Samsung's wap server where you can check periodically for new or updated widgets.
I was happy to find that even though this is not a high-end device it was equipped with a Google Maps to help you get around, Wi-Fi which is a great benefit when you are on a low-end data connection plan, and of course it has Bluetooth.

| Posted by JamCanSing 21-Feb-2010

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Work on the Go
After trying out the Samsung OmniaPro B7330 for a few days, I think this is probably a businessman’s best friend. This palm-size smartphone features a QWERTY keypad, 320 x 320 resolution 65K Colours TFT LCD screen and has a battery life of up to 10 hours! And if your office email runs on Microsoft Exchange Server, you can easily reply to your emails and access your work calendar on the go.

Samung WizPro screen layout
While I am not a big fan of Windows Mobile, the Samung WizPro screen layout actually makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

For internet addicts like me, I am able to access various social networking websites such as Facebook, Youtube and Flickr at my finger tip under the communities section.

I can also create my own shortcut section on the Samsung WizPro screen layout! I can add any of my frequently accessed programs such as the Windows Live Messenger and Internet Sharing in this section. This certainly cuts down the number of steps to get to a frequently accessed program in Windows Mobile.

Camera
While this business phone doesn’t come with built-in flash, the 3.2 megapixels camera will come in handy when you have a discussion and the whole whiteboard is scribbled with the discussion points! By adjusting the ISO in the camera setting (up to ISO 400), you will be to take pictures even in low light conditions. But do note that this is a business phone. For better image quality, you may wish to consider the Samsung Pixon12 - I love its various camera modes and the image quality!

Shortcut keys
Personally, I love the “quick” key on the QWERTY keypad which is not found in most of the Windows Mobile Smartphones. It opens a menu of frequently accessed programs such as the Task Manager and Wireless Manager to save battery which are usually hidden under settings. It also allows you to switch between profiles in this menu.

By holding on to the space button, you will be able to switch your phone to slient mode without going into the phone profiles. To start a new sms, you can do it by pressing the button with the mnail Icon without going into the phone menu or the Samsung WidPro interface. You can also launch the Internet Explorer by pressing the button with the globe icon.

Micro USB Port/Headphone Jack
The only thing that one may dislike about this phone is the sharing of the micro usb port with the headphone jack as this phone doesn’t come with the typical 2.5mm or 3.5mm headphone jack. But come to think about it, such incident of using the handsfree set and doing data transfer is pretty rare as the micro SD card slot is easily accessible on the other side of the phone.

| Posted by victortan 08-Feb-2010

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WHEN I saw Samsung’s OMNIAPro B7320 my first thought was a brand of designer handbags mainly because of the colour. I was not immediately a fan of the colour. I guess it grew on me but I feel you are either going to love or hate the colour. It would be nice to see a traditional colour like black or silver. I’ve heard from another company that has introduced a similar colour like this that it is a manly colour. Is that so? Maybe I’m not manly enough.

The outlook of the phone is in line with bar shaped Smartphones. It houses a QVGA (320 by 240 pixel) display and a full QWERTY keyboard. To aid on-screen navigation there is a direction pad (d-pad) in the centre with additional support buttons on the left and right. It is interesting to note that the B7320 uses a specific on/off button instead of combining it with the End Call button.

The phone uses a micro USB jack for charging and data transfers. I am so happy to see this with Samsung’s new phones. I guess Samsung is doing its’ part to help save the environment. I don’t know if you realised that the device does not have the typical 2.5mm or 3.5mm headphone jack. The headphone output has been combined into the micro USB jack. Not to worry a special jack is included with your purchase.

If you didn’t look closely, like I did the first time round, the OMNIAPro B7320 appears to be devoid of dedicated function buttoms. On closer inspection I found some buttons are an integral part of the keyboard. I found a dedicated Windows Live button, Internet Explorer, Mail (Messaging) and Camera on the bottom row of the keyboard. These buttons are handy and saves having to jump into the menu screens to launch those applications.

Other dedicated buttons are on the left and right edge. On the left edge (screen facing you) is the Power On/Off and Volume Up/Down. On the face next to the D-Pad are four buttons in the form of a rocker switch. The buttons are most often used for Yes, No, Start and Escape.

The End Call button on the right doubles up as a Key Lock. Once locked you need to perform a two button sequence which was a little unintuitive because of the location of the second button, the asterisk. It isn’t a deal breaker, you’ll eventually get accustomed to the location.

Samsung’s engineering did something interesting with the QWERTY keyboard and that is the inclusion of an alternate character on the keys. This alternate character is activated by holding the key for an extra second. It is an ingenious method of reducing key presses.

Mobile phones are equipped with a variety of operating systems, this is the brains that displays the icons, screens, and how the phone operates. The OMNIAPro B7320 is equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard edition but a quick check on the web indicated that you can upgrade to WM6.5 at no additional cost. This is good news because WM6.5 will provide a slightly better experience. Here’s the link to Samsung Mobile site in Singapore.

Accessing the battery, SIM card slot and MicroSD Card is a simple matter of sliding the lower rear cover. Both the SIM card and the memory card can only be accessed with the removal of the battery pack.

The OMNIAPro B7320 is not a high-end lifestyle or business phone but it combines a little of each world. So, instead of a high mega-pixel digital camera you find a simple 3.2 mega-pixel camera. It does include a LED flash and a vanity mirror for the narcissistic. I got some decent photos that would be good for web use but you’ll be limited in print sizes because of the lower pixel count. 

Here are some sample photos taken with the camera set to the highest resolution.

If you are not a diehard heavy sms-ing or social networking user capable of jabbing a keypad for the correct letter then the QWERTY equipped OMNIAPro B7320 is the phone for you. You can take your time to hunt and peck at real letters and numbers without getting finger cramps.

The size is also just nice for shirt pockets yet sturdy enough for the back pocket of some tight fitting jeans. My evaluation unit was eventually loaded up with all the usual applications – YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, Flickr, MSN Messenger and email. It worked as smooth and seamlessly as I’d come to expect from this kind of Smartphone.

| Posted by JamCanSing 05-Feb-2010

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AT FIRST glance you could mistake Samsung’s OMNIAPro B7610 (OMNIAPro) for a multimedia or fun phone because all you see is the large 3.5-inch Wide VGA display which by the way is an AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode). Closer inspection reveals a slideout keyboard that then changes your device into a more business oriented phone. It is kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

In Mr Hyde mode (keyboard hidden away) I take on the world with the touch screen interface supported by Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional (WM6.5). Now, I’ve used a WM phone before and coincidentally it was a Samsung i600 on WM 5.0. Navigating around WM is pretty intuitive but Samsung put an additional twist to the phone which again is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Press and hold the W&L key on the left-hand side and you switch modes. The W&L key simply represents the switch from Work to Life, but I prefer Leisure.

Personally, I like the Work interface more than the Life setting because I like the organized look where I can at a glance see snippets of the phone messages, email, and other status details, but that’s just me. The Life mode is more modular whereby you can place your applications on three different panes and flick to the specific pane.

The device itself is pretty boring but a touch of class is present with the nice lacquered look of the rear cover. The gloss and shine makes it feel like a craftsman had put in many hours of lacquer and finishing and then you’ll come back down to earth after you’ve handled it and got all your oily finger prints on it. Yes, it is a fingerprint magnet.

As I’m talking about the rear cover let me fill you in on the stuff on the back. The most obvious is the 5.0-megapixel digital camera with auto-focusing and a LED flash. I must tell you that I like the 5.0-megapixel digital camera in the Samsung mobile phones.

Whenever I’m shooting outdoors I feel the photos come out nice, of course, not 10 or 12-megapixel dSLR (digital Single Lens Reflex) camera nice but certainly lots better than many other camera equipped phones. The low-light capability is pretty good but you’ll need a steady hand because the camera’s built-in sensor and programming will automatically shoot with a slow shutter speed. I had some fun with panorama and macro picture taking. The former is super cool because all you need to do is follow the instructions and live guide box. The unfortunate omission for the panorama mode is the inability to modify the amount of stitches shots. So, I can only get a super-wide panoramic photo and then I lose out on detail.

Take a look at my samples. The macro can get right up into your face and I was surprised the dragonfly kept his cool and allowed me to take a pic.

The high quality video recording capability is great. You’ll blow people away with the outdoor shooting quality when you upload the videos to YouTube. Nothing like the sissy QVGA (Quarter VGA) or even VGA (640 by 480) recorded videos. You will also appreciate the WVGA (800 by 480 pixels) display for watching the videos.

A peek under the cover reveals the location of the MicroSD card (It can handle a card up-to 32GB capacity), the SIM slot and obviously the battery pack. The battery pack is rated at 1500mAh which should be plenty to keep you connected (wireless-ly) for a whole day. That was my experience. With a full charge I was able to use the phone for calls, tweets, surfing, photo-taking and Google maps. If you are using this outdoors a lot you are likely to experience shorter battery life because in bright sunlight you’ll need to bump up the screen brightness and that will take additional battery juice. Note, the rear cover is made of a plastic material.

The external controls is thankfully minimal. You get a volume control rocker (up/down), the special W&L (Work & Life) button on the left hand edge and on the right hand edge you get the lock and shutter button.

At the top edge you get headphone/av jack which is of the 3.5mm variety and the charging plus transfer point which is a MicroUSB port. The jacks on the top is offered some protection from dust, dirt and water by flexible snap in covers. You will need to have a little bit of finger nail to catch and pull them out.

The OMNIAPro B7610 does have some weirdness related to the operation. The issue I have is with the slideout keyboard. For instance, I may want to surf the web while in Landscape mode but the phone does not go into landscape mode unless I slide out the keyboard.

I did not get into the hardware specifics because you can find that already online. In case you need to know here is a link to the specifications page.

Overall, I liked the OMNIAPro B7610 and it was the little tweaks that raised it above being ordinary compared to others in this same category.

| Posted by JamCanSing 04-Feb-2010

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Touch Calendar

The Touch Calendar is like a mini personal organizer. With the Touch Calendar, I can organize my schedule and note down important dates for meetings, events and many more

Video on Using Touch Calendar

Steps to use Touch Calendar

Go to ‘Menu’ and ‘Touch Calendar’ > Select the date > Click on ‘Tap to add appointment’ > Key in subject > Key in location > Key in start and end date > Select ‘Occurs’ to change number of occurrences > Set appropriate reminder/(s) > Click on ‘Done

Task List

If you tend to forget a task easily, OMNIA II allows you to create a task list and reminds you of the tasks created at your preset timings.

Video on using Task List

Steps to create task in Task List

Go to ‘Menu’ > Tasks > Click on ‘Menu’ > Select ‘New Task’ > Key in the info you need > Click ‘Ok’

Task switcher

The handset also has a neat task manager with cool graphics. It displays a scrollable list of thumbnails representing the programs running currently. You can choose to end a task or switch from task to task.

Video on Task Switcher

Audio note

Need a voice recorder to record a seminar? Samsung OMNIA II allows you to record audio notes in various formats such as MP3, AMR and WAV. We can save the audio note in either the phone memory or in the microSD card. The larger the available memory size, the longer the length of the audio note can be recorded. We can even sort the audio note according to name, date and size.

Video on using Audio note

Steps to use Audio Note

Go to ‘Menu’ > Click on ‘Audio Note’ > Click ‘Record’ when ready > Select ‘Done’ to stop recording

| Posted by Admin 30-Dec-2009

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