I have been remarkably short on time recently and as such have fallen behind with returning the rate...
I have been remarkably short on time recently and as such have fallen behind with returning the rates. I shall catch up though, I promise!
Member since:17.03.2009
Reviews:24
Members who trust:15
In October 2007 I took out an 18 month mobilephone contract with Orange. As one of the most desired phones on the market at the time, the Samsung G600 came highly recommended and was the obvious choice to go with this contract. I had recently spent a year with the truly awful Nokia N73, and was ready for a change.
I am now one month away from the end of my contract, and in the past 18 months the Samsung G600 has lived up to its billing and then some. It is a fantastic phone, and one that is now much more affordable. So, here's a rundown of the features and how they stack up:
LOOKS AND STYLE
Perhaps not the thing you look for most in a phone, but everyone would prefer something that's a bit snazzy to something that looks like it was used to prop up a wonkey chair leg, right? Right. So you'll be happy to know that the G600, even eighteen months after release, is sleek and stylish regardless of the colour you go for. It is a slider phone, and the slide on it is as smooth as you would want it to be, only ever moving when you want it to, yet moving with minimal effort. There is certainly a slight aura of cool as you take this phone out of your pocket
and slide it up to answer a phone call. It's like being in The Matrix, only you don't have to be dressed in black and attached to wires to feel the effect.
LAYOUT
Like a number of mobile phones on the market at the moment, the G600 opts for a complete menu screen that contains all available options. There are also customisable shortcuts available in several places to help you access the functions that you use most often with the minimum of fuss. It's a simplistic layout and system that works very well. More often than not if you need something you'll find it pretty easily, anf if there's something that you want to be able to access quicker you can probably assign it to a shortcut with a few simple button presses. It's really very difficult to get lost or confused with this phone, which is a great benefit for the average mobile phone user who doesn't want to navigate around a hundred screens to change their background picture. And honestly, who does?
CALLING
Certainly one of the two most important features of a phone, calling is just as easy as it should be. Shortcuts can be changed easily so that your recent caller lists and vital information such as contacts can be accessed with minimum fuss. Calls can be answered and ended using the handily placed buttons, or can be done by sliding the phone up and down, which is always good for the image. The sound is clear, and as far as I can tell people haven't had issues hearing me speak (which I've done my fair share of in the last year and a half). The loudspeaker option is present and correct, and offers perfectly adequate sound quality and volume in the event that you want the entire room to hear your conversation.
TEXTING
Those used to other types of phones, especially Nokia's, will need to give themselves a little bit of time to adapt to the texting on the phone. The keys are a little smaller than with most Nokia phones, but I found that after a couple of weeks I rarely missed the button I wanted to hit. The shortcuts to capitalise letters, make spaces, and turn the predictive text on and off, are also placed differently to Nokia phones, which will require a little bit of adapting. Overall though there are no problems texting with the G600. It allows up to ten texts to be sent at once, and keeps recent text lists nice and accessible to make things that little bit more efficient.
THE CAMERA
The G600 has a 5MP camera that still holds up well eighteen months on. It suffers from the same issue as many mobile phones in that the lense is not of the best quality, yet despite this the pictures are surprisingly clear, especially when decent light is available. The delay in taking a picture is again something that all mobile phone owners have to deal with, and it hasn't been remedied here. That said it is still a fantastic camera as mobile phone cameras go. Taking videos is particularly straightforward and impressive, as the quality remains detailed and consistent, and the phone captures sound very well. All files are stored in one area that can be divided up into different files and folders, and can then be easily transferred to a PC or other mobile via bluetooth or (in the case of the PC) a USB cable. All in all it is still an excellent camera, and whilst other top end phones have now improved in this area, for those on a slightly tighter budget it represents better quality than would normally be expected.
The G600 is packed with every feature that has now become standard in phones of this type, and comes with everything that the average person will realistically need. Bluetooth, calculator, stopwatch, games, calender, alarm and so on are all present and correct, with the handy shortcut setup allowing you to access your favourites easily. It also contains a music player and FM radio, which whilst stripped down and no match for an iPod, is efficient and works well in context with the phone, solidifying its position as an excellent all rounder. It also has a web browser and facilities to check e-mails if you are so inclined, though if you need these features on a regular basis it would probably be best to pick up a more specialist phone with those facilities.
BATTERY LIFE
In the battery life stakes the G600 sits above average. On standby with minimum usage the phone can easily last a week, though with regular use in terms of texting and phonecalls you will realistically have to charge it every two or three days. The battery is good quality and doesn't degrade noticeably, so you'll find that this battery life remains consistent. The only time that the battery life will drain very quickly, as with most mobile phones, is when a lot of lengthy calls are made. In general though it stands up well, and seems to have a good amount in reserve for those fateful times when you need it to last on one bar.
OVERALL VALUE FOR MONEY AND CONCLUSION
My ratings for the Samsung G600 should be put into context. This is not one the latest phones on the market and has been out a while, but has stood the test of time exceptionally well. For gadget fans that always want the very latest devices, go for an iPhone, HTC Touch HD, LG Renoir, or Sony Ericsson C905. But for the rest of us, the Samsung G600 is a superb phone and a good all rounder. It offers excellent performance, a good range of useful features, and will generally provide everything you need. It is currently available for free on low tariffs from many companies, and as such should be snapped up. It is certainly head and shoulders above everything else in its price range, and therefore comes highly recommended.
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Advantages: Easy to use ,great mp3 player ,nice camera ,nice themes and menus. Disadvantages: No 3G or WIFI ,very delicate and relatively moderate memory .
Mar 26th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
