Image of Samsung X830
Innovative design and a decent music player to boot

Review: Samsung X830 mobile phone

The size of a pack of gum and with a switchblade action, the new music phone from Samsung is nothing if not eye-catching

Written by David Phelan, Computeract!ve

Larger Image

Verdict:

Good Points
• Tiny and cute profile
• Big 1GB music capacity
• Innovative design

Bad Points
• Unconventional keypad
• Average camera

Verdict

Size isn’t everything, of course, but if it’s important to you and you want a phone that serves as a decent music player, the Samsung X830 is a strong contender. Mobile photographers should look elsewhere, though

Rating:

4

Price:

£From free with contract

The X830 is so slim there’s no room for a proper keypad. It’s only wide enough for two keys across, so dialling and texting takes some getting used to.

The payback for this inconvenience, though, is that the Samsung X830 is very small. It’s not flat, like the Motorola RAZR , say, but it disappears into a pocket just as easily.

Advertisement

And there are no problems here with the keypad erroneously making calls when it’s discreetly hidden in that pocket – the keypad is safely hidden behind the screen of the phone, which also features a music scroll wheel.

As a music phone, there’s 1GB of memory - the capacity of an iPod Shuffle – to store tunes on. To open the phone, hold it, counter-intuitively, with the screen towards you.

Flip the side of it with your thumb and it swivels open through 180 degrees like a flick knife (though not as dangerous, obviously). The design, that enables it to operate as a music player with the phone closed, is entirely successful.

The scroll wheel is easy to use to navigate menus and there are dedicated buttons to change track, volume, or lock the phone.

It sounds good, too, though you are restricted to using the in-ear headphones supplied or wireless Bluetooth headphones. Samsung’s music software, similar to the program used on its MP3 players, is typically slick and easy to use.

The phone has a flight mode so you can listen to music with the phone’s antenna switched off.

Because so much of Samsung’s effort made sure the X830 is small and musically proficient, other features have been a little neglected. The camera, for instance, is only 1.3 megapixels.

And the placing of the camera lens on the back seems to be at thumb central, so watch you don’t spoil your shots.

Since the earphones connector is also where you charge the phone, note that you can’t listen to the music player while it’s recharging, unless Bluetooth headphones are used.

Still, it’s neat, small and works well as an MP3 player. Oh, yes, it makes phone calls, too.

Also consider
Nokia N73 mobile phone
Nokia's latest smartphone focuses on multimedia fun, with a music player and a 3.2 megapixel camera

Virgin Mobile Lobster 700TV
The Virgin Lobster 700TV is a fun mobile phone with effective TV and DAB radio functions.

All mobile phone reviews

See more Mobile Phones

Reader comments

More from Computeractive

News

The latest home computing news

Downloads

The best PC tools, applications and more

Reviews

Independent opinions on new hardware and software

Step-by-step guides

Easy-to-follow projects with pictures

PC Help

Solve PC problems with our Q&A

Videos

PC projects demonstrated and product reviews

Articles

An in-depth look at how to get the best from your PC

Magazine

What's coming up in Computeractive

Forums

Get help with your PC problems from our readers

Competitions

Your chance to win computing prizes

Shopping

Great deals on products, services and more

Computeractive CD Rom 10
All 26 issues of Computeractive from 2007 on one CD-Rom.

Ultimate Guide to PC Troubleshooting
Everything you need to know to solve your PC problems.

Driving Test Success
The UK's best-selling driving test software.

Computeractive Back Issues
Missed an issue? Click here to find a back issue

Compare prices now!

Save money on hardware and software with our price comparison service: Best Prices

Compare prices

Advertisement

Free email newsletters

Techno babble demystified...

[Display all definitions]

Or type in any computer-related word and click "Go"

Blogs

Windows Watch

Windows Watch

Keeping an eye on the latest XP and Vista news

More storage added to Windows Live Skydrive

19 Nov 2008The storage limit for Windows Live Skydrive is to be increased to a very respectable 25GB . As of just now my...

Download Junkie

Download Junkie

Your daily dose of download discussion

Tweak all areas of your display hardware

21 Nov 2008Most current graphics cards will come with a number of different display options. These settings are often pre-configured on any card installed...

The test bed

The test bed

The hottest products, news and gossip from PCW's Labs

Keep Wifi at the edge - and be wary of channel aggregation

21 Nov 2008Can a Wifi network really be better than a wired one? Clearly there are situations where wireless links have to be used...

Primary Navigation

© Incisive Media Ltd. 2008. Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House,
28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in the United Kingdom with company registration number 04038503

Search computeractive.co.uk