Samsung X830 review: The small big player

Take a snapshot

Nowadays even the MP3 player can take photos. The Samsung X830 particularly is equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera and a maximum picture size of 1280 x 1024 pixels. The camera functions are very limited with the hardware options as in the case of the display. The camera release button is located so inappropriately, that you can easily drop the mobile from your hands while shooting. Moreover, the picture taken can’t fit into the display in its full size, so in case you want to have a view of what you have shot, you have to limit the size of the viewfinder image.

 
Camera lenses • self-portrait mirror

The Samsung endeavors to compensate the hardware disadvantages by the used software. Except the common pictures and video records in maximum resolution of 352 x 288 pixels (in this case the video length is limited only by the free memory available) it offers also basic options and a few effects - inserting frames in the picture, timer, quality setting, scenic program, night mode, white balance or ISO. White balance and color effects are available for video records too.

Tip: view the short video record, taken by Samsung X830 (ZIP archive; 1,4 MB)

Camera background • menu • list of pictures • picture details

The picture quality however, is not merely comparable to the best cameraphones. On one hand the resolution is not enough, on the other – as you may see - the pictures quality is very poor. Further, you can’t modify the pictures in the phone, you can only view them, classify them into folders, eventually send them via Bluetooth or MMS. Sending via MMS is the most suitable way.

Look at the sample pictures from the built-in camera:

In lower resolution:

In full resolution:

Offline, but with a SIM card

Samsung X830 is a tri-band phone, it works in all GSM networks, supporting 900/1800/1900 MHz. A huge drawback of the Korean mobiles is the lack of ringing profiles. They are replaced by a simple selection between normal and silent mode. While in silent mode the phone vibrates or does nothing, in normal setting it is capable of 64-voice melody or MP3 tones, vibrates or vibrates and then rings. It doesn’t support vibration and ringing simultaneously.

A special ”profile“ in the menu is the Offline mode, when all network functions in the phone are deactivated. However, the Offline mode startup requires SIM card, inserted in the phone.

There is a large phonebook with a capacity of 1000 entries. Add the SIM card capacity to this, because Samsung shows all numbers together. The details you can save for a given contact in the internal phonebook include first name, last name, mobile phone number, office and home phone number, fax, e-mail and note. You can associate a ringtone and a picture to every group of contacts. The contact entries are ordered in a list by the first name and you may search them by entering the initial letters.

Selecting memory for storing • contact editing • contact detail • phonebook

You have to take with you the provided handsfree set in the car – the loudspeakers aren’t loud enough. The volume in the headphones themselves is loud enough, so you won’t have problems even in noisy streets. The phone can record calls in cooperation with the Recorder application. In this case you are limited by the size of the free memory or by one hour time limit.

Where is the email?

Samsung X830 has only two basic message types – SMS and MMS. Do you miss something? Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough space for emails in the phone, which is a big drawback nowadays.

Text messages editor is completely basic. In the right upper corner it shows whether the T9 dictionary is in use or not, in the left one it shows the characters counter. The editor doesn’t indicate the number of parts, to which the eventual SMS would be divided – you’ll learn that in the course of sending. The maximum number of characters is 1836.

Message parts • message types • SMS editor • SMS options

EMS elements may be added to SMS – text formatting, simple pictures and animations. There are seven text lines for reading by default, so to read a whole text messages you must scroll trough two, sometimes three whole screens.

Smart folders

The phone memory allows for storing 200 text messages and has 3MB space for multimedia ones. Items are automatically stored in standard folders like Delivered, Drafts, Outbox and Sent. Besides, you may create your own folders. One of the ten preset ringing melodies may signalize of an incoming message, there is also a vibration alert, here the SMS and MMS setting is separate.

You’ll find text, sound, picture, video and page browsing between the options for MMS creation. The maximum size of one multimedia message is 300 KB. All new incoming messages are stored in the folder Inbox, regardless of their type - text or multimedia. You may select up to 10 phone numbers from which no messages will be delivered to you.