SAMSUNG SOLID IMMERSE SAMSUNG RESIST WATER AND DUST, WHILST OFFERING A FAIRLY GOOD ALL-ROUND HANDSET. I won’t be surprised if I find out that many of you never heard of the Samsung Solid Immerse. It’s a low profile phone, and definitely isn’t on the radar of those of you that are a er an all-singing, all-dancing smart phone that can replace your computer. However, there are some people out there who aren’t a er such a phone, and prefer a rugged feel to their handset. Whilst this brings back memories of being able to throw your Nokia 3210 at the wall and having it s ll work, there have been very few phones available that are so robust…un l the Solid Immerse.
“DUST ISN’T GOING TO BE AN ISSUE, WITH NOWHERE FOR THE DUST TO GET, AND THE WATER RESISTANCE IS THERE, BUT ONLY UP TO A METRE.” Specifica on-wise, the Immerse is nothing to get overly excited about. It’s a splendid candybar stunner boas ng a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, 3G and will hold up to a 16 gigabyte memory card, as well as limited social network support. The first thing that will strike you about the phone, however, is the appearance. Though the candybar look is nothing new, the phone is bigger than average, with easy to see bu ons, and generally feels chunky. Whilst this is usually a drawback to a phone, here it makes it easier to hold and feels tough. The side bu ons – volume on one side, camera on the other – are easy to locate, and the charging port (which also doubles as micro-USB connec vity) is covered by a dust-resistant plas c cover which, though slightly difficult to open,
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means that nothing will get into the charging port. Samsung definitely understand their target market with this handset. Even the back cover has a latch to open it, which will only open with a key, coin or fingernail, so there’s no danger of it opening in your pocket. As this isn’t a smartphone, the menu is the old, original, basic 12 icons, organised in 4 rows of 3, and the slowdown for func ons is next to zero – by this I mean that when you ask the phone to do something, it does it straight away, as the func onality is limited. There is a Shortcut menu on the home screen, similar to that seen on for example the Samsung Monte Slider, which includes the limited access to both Facebook and Twi er, but it’s doub ul that this would be used by the market that Samsung are aiming for with this phone. The Immerse does handle calls well, and the text messaging is as expected, and the internet is perfectly usable, whilst the camera surprises by being quite good, with some interes ng features on it (beauty, smile and panorama modes) but the ques on is, is the phone really dust and water-resistant as Samsung claim? Dust isn’t going to be an issue, with nowhere for the dust to get, and the water resistance is there, but only up to a metre, which is more than enough so long as you don’t accidentally go swimming with your phone. In conclusion, the Samsung Solid Immerse isn’t going to be for everyone. It’s aimed at quite a niche market of phone users, but manages to do everyday func onality well, with a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure – apps for example, albeit no store of course – but it’s main quali es, the dust and water-resistance, the Immerse does very well, and will do anyone in need of a rugged phone very well indeed. Ma Foley
RATING: 74%
PHONICA MAGAZINE UK