The Samsung X830 is half Mp3 player and half phone. The X830 looks exactly like an iPod when closed. In my opinion the X830 is the Samsung version of the ?iPhone?. When closed the phone looks like a normal MP3 player but when open looks like a cell phone. The dial jog on the phone resembles that of the iPod but works a little different. The phone currently comes in four colors: black, white, orange and pink, but more colors are expected to hit the market soon. The X830 has 1 GB memory built in, and others may have up to 4GB in the near future. Is the X830 a good alternative to the ?iPhone? being released by Apple? How is the phone overall? READ ON TO FIND OUT!!!
Overall the design is excellent. Apart from copying the iPod's looks, the phone looks awesome. The one I am reviewing is the pearl white color, which looks like an iPod shuffle. Overall the X830 is very small in size and measures only 84x30x19 mm.
The X830's keypad is hidden when closed. The phone swivels out like the Sony Ericsson W550, W600 and W900 revealing the keypad. In my opinion the keypad is a bit awkward because there are only two keys per row. Usually phones have 3 keys per row, so this phone may take a bit getting used to.
The jog dial resembles the iPod's, but functions a bit differently. The iPod's jog dial is touch-sensitive, whereas the X830's is an actual jog dial which physically turns. The jog dial is also a four way D-pad too. There is also a button in the center for selecting. You cannot use the jog dial for volume control like you can on the iPod.
Features
The X830 has all the basic features that Samsung phones have. The phone has a calendar, voice recorder, World clock, alarm clock, calculator, timer/stopwatch, memo maker and a converter program. The converter program allows you to convert currency, length, weight, volume, area and temperature.
The X830 has a 1.3 mega pixel camera, but there is no flash included. Overall the camera works well but at times the screen is a bit too small to properly view pictures. When you copy the pictures to your computer you are able to view the picture with much more detail, but not while viewing it on the phone's display. Another downside to the camera is the shutter button's location. It is in an awkward position when taking pictures.
The X830 has A2DP stereo over Bluetooth but has the same issues as the D900 in terms of battery life. When using the stereo over Bluetooth profile, the battery is consumed at an alarming rate, and you would need an extra battery if you plan to use the listen to music wirelessly all day. The Bluetooth on the X830 is version 1.2. This is a big disappointment because the X830 is supposed to be a music phone and even though it has A2DP, the range and quality suffer due to the outdated version of Bluetooth. All the new phones have Bluetooth 2.0 so I m not sure why Samsung chose to put only 1.2 in a new model. The X830 does not include the EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) which allows data to be transferred up to 10 times faster.
Display & Audio
The X830 has a very small display when compared to other phones. The display is only 1.46 inches and has a resolution of 128x 220. The phone's display is very small because of the overall size of the phone. Although the screen may be too small for a phone, it looks just fine for an MP3 player. Even though the screen is small, you are still able to view it in direct sunlight, which is not the case for many phones nowadays.
The X830 is an MP3 phone so it is a necessity that it has good audio features. When you are in the music player mode and close the swivel, the screen rotates sideways. This way you can see those long song titles and artist names a lot better on the small screen. The limited memory may be a problem for some because expandable memory is not supported. The current version has 1GB of built-in memory, but a 4 GB version of this phone will be released.
The X830 comes with white stereo headphones. The headphones look exactly like the iPod headphones, but have Samsung written on them. The headphones come with a 3.5mm headphone converter that most new MP3 phones are now packaged with. The converter plugs into the phone port which is the same as the Samsung D900, and has a 3.5mm headphone jack on the other side. The converter is equipped with a volume control buttons, which many other companies such as Sony Ericsson have failed to include into their models. As usual there is also a microphone included into the converter for making and receiving calls.
Entertainment, Internet & Connectivity
For entertainment the X830 is mainly meant for music. The phone also included a Java Applet, so you can run all your favorite games and applications on it. The phone comes with two preinstalled games: Cannon ball and Forgotten Warrior. You can also watch videos on the X830, but due to the limited memory and small screen it is unpractical.
The X830 has GPRS and EDGE but does not offer features like HSDPA, 3G or Wi-Fi. Due to the small screen size, it is difficult to browse the internet on this device. It is fine for when you have to check something quickly, but overall it is not sufficient. The small screen size and low resolution make web browsing a difficult task. Another key feature that the X830 is missing is an email client. All new phones now have applications for checking your email, but this feature was not incorporated into this phone. In the messaging folder you only have options for MMS and SMS.
The X830 has 1GB of built in memory. There are newer versions are coming soon which have 4GB of built in memory. The X830 does not have an expandable memory slot which is too bad because 1GB is not sufficient for most music lovers. The X830 has dedicated storage for messaging. You can store up to 200 text messages and 3 MB of MMS messages.
The downside to the X830 is that it is only tri-band GSM. The X830 does not offer 850GSM band which is used the most across North America. The X830 has Bluetooth version 1.2 which is too bad because 2.0 is currently the new standard. The X830 has GPRS and EDGE internet. The phone does not have Wi-Fi, 3G or HSDPA.
Conclusion
Overall the phone feels nice but does not seem very durable. If you open the swivel the wrong way it might snap right off. Also the swivel feels very loose when comparing it to other Sony Ericsson phones that have the same design.
The X830 is not a Quad-Band phone which makes it unpractical for North American users. It will still work with GSM carriers but since there is no 850 GSM band it is a major disappointment. Another downside to the phone is the keypad layout. The keypad has only two numbers per row. Since everyone is used to the normal keypad with three numbers in one row, you will have to get used to it.
The X830 is not an iPhone, but could be the alternative like the iPod Nano is for the iPod. If you cannot wait for the iPhone to be released, then this may be an alternative for you in the meanwhile.
What's in the box?
Headphones, manuals, neck strap, headphone adaptor to convert to 3.5 headphone jack, USB cable and software. Since the X830 is from overseas and no North American version has been released, you have to get a converter for the charger.
Overall the X830 is very small in size and some people may not even believe that it is a phone. The X830 is no way an alternative to the iPhone being released by apple because of the lack of features, but by the time the iPhone is actually released Samsung may have another model up their sleeves!!
- Log in to post comments