Samsung M5650 Lindy review: Corby's significant other

Unboxing the Lindy

The Samsung M5650 Lindy comes in a standard package. There is the mandatory charger, a microUSB data cable and a stylish white 3.5mm headset. A bunch of leaflets are also supplied. There's no memory card, you'd have to buy a microSD card by yourself.

The Samsung Lindy retail package

Samsung M5650 Lindy 360-degree spin

The all-plastic Samsung M5650 Lindy measures 106 x 57 x 12 mm and weighs 98 grams, which is the same as the S3650 Corby. The two phones are clones really, save for Lindy's music keys. It's mostly the 3.5mm audio jack on the Lindy that won't allow Corby's fashion jackets to fit.

Design and construction

The plastic construction of the M5650 Lindy certainly helps it keep its weight down to a svelte 98 grams. The entire surface is glossy and this seems to attract fingerprints like the plague. We've played around with the phone for a while to find it is quite resistant to scratches in defiance of it sleek front. Ergonomically it's very good and the oval shaped back panel makes gripping it easier.

The Lindy 2.8" display has a standard QVGA resolution (240 x 320 pixels). Its image quality isn't as impressive as on high-end Samsung phones but that's more or less implied by the gentle price tag. Sunlight legibility is well below the iPhone or Nokia standards, the narrow viewing angle the biggest disadvantage. Indoors the screen is quite good though.

As we already mentioned, the M5650 Lindy has a capacitive touchscreen, which is very responsive to even the gentlest of taps and sweeps.

2.8" is small by today's standards but the capacitive touchscreen is very responsive

Above the display, there are just the earpiece and the video-call camera - there's no ambient light sensor to optimize the screen brightness. There are six hardware keys below - two receiver keys on each side of the Back button and the dedicated music controls. The Call and End keys are integrated into the body of the phone and have a distinct and audible click when pressed. The media buttons are nicely set apart with their blue color, the same hue as the battery cover. Right under the play/pause key is the tiny mouthpiece.

The hardware keys are very comfortable to use

There's one thing we don't quite get about the dedicated music keys though. They only work on the homescreen, which doesn't make much sense - there's a widget for that. So, if you have music running in the background and you're busy doing something else (writing text, editing a contact, browsing pictures, etc) you can't even skip or pause tracks. You'll need to go back all the way to the homescreen to do that.

The M5650 Lindy's right-hand side houses just two controls - the shutter button and the HOLD key, which is used to lock and unlock the touchscreen. They are located very close to each other, which doesn't provide the best touch orientation. What's more, the shutter key falls right in the middle and this isn't the most comfortable location for taking pictures. On that same side, hidden under the battery cover, is the microSD card slot.

Shutter key and Hold key on the right

The lanyard eyelet is on the top left side, followed by the volume rocker in the middle and the microUSB port beneath for connecting a charger or data cable. Traditionally, the USB slot is covered with a plastic lid.

The left side: lanyard eyelet, volume rocker, and microUSB port

The top features the 3.5mm audio jack only, which has no protective cap, while the bottom side is absolutely bare, save for a tiny slit that's used to help you remove the battery cover.

The rounded top with 3.5 mm audio jack • nothing at the bottom

At the rear you will notice some random semicircular patterns grooved into the surface. There's the camera lens at the top end and the loudspeaker grill is at the bottom.

The rear panel with the camera lens and loudspeaker grill

Removing the back panel reveals the 960 mAh Li-Ion battery. There is no official word so far on standby and talk times, but our pre-release unit lasted a good 3 to 4 days of moderate use. The only thing under the battery is the SIM card slot.

The SIM card slot under the battery

Overall, the Samsung M5650 Lindy is a perfect copy of the S3650 Corby. It is a pleasingly compact touchscreen phone and while it's not the slimmest around, the ergonomic design more than makes up for that. It only feels fair to warn against possibly misjudging this one. The Lindy does look like a toy and unsuspecting customers may pass it by with barely a glance. And that won't be a wise thing to do: the Lindy is a bargain-priced WLAN and HSDPA enabled little phone.

Samsung M5650 Lindy held in the hand