Review: Samsung X830 mobile phone

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.

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.

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