UrbanWireJanelle Li and Shermaine Yeo
Business-like yet youthful is what describes the Samsung Corby PRO. That’s not the only 2 worlds that phone users get to enjoy, it’s also a QWERTY and touch screen packed into the mobile phone. While professional looking on the outside, many will swoon over the vibrant colours of the QWERTY keypad once it’s slid out.
If you’re fickle or you just want to get your accessories to match those concentric patterns on your shirt, the Samsung Corby PRO will indulge your whims and fancies with a changeable back cover. There are 3 back cover designs that come in the box with the product.
Keeping up with the trend of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook taking over our lives, compelling us to update the happenings as we breathe, this gadget will aid that infatuation with widgets. These widgets are easily found on the phone, as they are pre-installed.
If you find a need to use instant messaging services on the go, the phone will also serve that demand with a one-stop application that allows you to use accounts from various instant-messaging platforms.
Another noteworthy element of the device is the threaded SMS display, which helps to condense the messages from different people. While most smartphones in the market don’t allow Bluetooth transfer of files with other devices for security reasons, the Samsung Corby PRO is one that permits such a function. But rest assured, there’s a protection measure in the form of a code, so as not to receive unwanted files using the Bluetooth transmission.
With the best of both worlds combined into a gadget, there would be some drawbacks. The touch screen is rather slow and less reactive, that is, if you’re used to other touch screen devices. All it needs is a little patience and getting used to from the user, which isn’t too much to ask. The QWERTY keypad is big enough so that your fingers get to push each button without hitting another one, but the wide surface means no typing with one hand, and that’s probably why you’ll need the touch screen.
However, it’s notable that the displays switch very smoothly with much ease when changing from touch screen to QWERTY. The landscape and portrait orientation adjust effortlessly and don’t lag.
The Samsung Corby PRO is also adequately equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera and it has good projection of sound from the speakers if you ever need some music blasting. While this mobile phone may not match up with it’s more intelligent counterparts in the market, it has it’s pluses and is stylish enough to win some fans.
Available from last December, the Samsung CorbyTXT is an economical texting handset that endorses the image of fun. It has all the basic functions of a web-enabled phone: voice calls, SMS/MMS, internet browser, 2.0megapixel camera, applications and such. One function that outshines would be the cute camera functions that allow you to take neoprint-like photos with its “Frames” or “Mosaic” options. The QWERTY keypad may be a little too small though, and it’s easy to fumble while pressing the direction keys as they’re too narrow. You tend to end up pressing 2 keys at the same time. There are also default Twitter and Facebook links in the Shortcut Toolbar, making them conveniently accessible.
If you prefer a clean, sleek design without the hassle many, many buttons, check out the original Corby, a full touch-screen phone and the lightest among the Corby series at less than 80 grams.