Samsung E630 review: Elegant in black

Samsung managed to introduce perhaps its most attractive model of this year before Christmas. Samsung E630 is an elegant sliding phone with decent choice of the most important functions. And important is that it's not silver again!

Key features

• very attractive design
• solid construction
• sufficient memory
• voice recorder can make several hours records

Key drawbacks

• worse sliding construction than at the other Samsungs
• too embedded four-way button
• T9 dictionary cannot be turned off permanently

Only one model stood out from the offer of Samsung mobile phones until now: E700. That is because it was different from all the others - by the color, construction; also, it came as the first with OLED display type. All other phones returned back to the earlier conception of silver clamshells and even though Samsung introduced interesting sliding construction at models D410 and E800, it was still the original Samsung. Another change, even smaller, is coming up now at the E630 model.

Samsung E630 is already in distribution. It is oriented to the stylish users and to the people who do not need a hi-tech phone with plenty functions to be happy. It is typical Samsung - I was surprised how had little changed in one year - the time when I have tested a Samsung phone for the last time.

If you are interested in functions, hold on for some time. Samsung is already selling in some countries the most equipped model Samsung D500. Its design is very similar but it features a megapixel camera, MP3 support, better display, more memory and also a Bluetooth for the first time.

Plastic to plastic

Samsung E630 reminded me of the older E700 immediately. That is because it looks different from the others; main color is not "Korean silver", overall it is a dark phone. Black shiny and matte surfaces are shifting with dark silver. It is very elegant mobile phone, by my opinion one of the most beautiful from Samsung models.

The phone size is 85 x 42 x 22 mm, ranking it among the very small mobile phones as well as in weight point of view measuring only 79 g. The phone looks like an elongated egg; it is a block with rounded corners and edges. Plastic parts seem to be of a good quality and the phone do not creak at all.

Maybe older Samsung models with a sliding construction spoiled me: I was shocked by a sound that the E630 made when I wanted to open the phone. New model is not equipped with a mechanism for easy opening that enables display to glide silently on the slide bars. At the Samsung E630 there are ordinary grooves where plastics are rubbing together, the display is not going up by itself after a slight touch, you have to guide it all the way up.

No slide bars but plastic in a plastic groove

The construction itself is quite solid. In the open position, the display is secured enough, but during opening, the catch is very weak. I dare to estimate that the phone gets opened sometimes even if you do not want that.

Display

One display is enough for a phone of a sliding construction. A shiny label going behind the edges of the front surface protects it. Shiny black design has as usually one drawback: you can see every single fingerprint on it; it becomes dirty very easily.

Shiny display gets easily dirty • display in the dark

Display sizes are nowadays rather average (25 x 31 mm), as well as the resolution of 128 x 160 pixels. Samsung cannot surprise us neither with TFT type display with 65 thousand colors. Nevertheless, the display is very quality; you can add a color or animated wallpaper on the desktop. Moreover, it is possible for example to turn off the operator logo, so it does not occupy a picture's place.

Main display: it is possible to set the position of operator logo or turn it off.

After experience with Samsung E700, I really appreciate that there is permanently something visible on the display. Illumination turns off after some time and a screen saver turns on, but clock, date, missed calls or messages remain visible. It would be great if the Samsung would warn of a missed event also by a blinking diode, but we have to do without it for this time.