OG Review Samsung Corby Pro (GT-B5310)
December 31st, 2009 by Annkur
Its no news that Samsung has gone crazy with the Corby. After the initial Corby we have already seen the Mate and the TXT. This time we got our hands on the Corby Pro and the Corby Plus that adds a physical keyboard to the Corby. The Corby Pro features a 3.2MP camera, 3G and WiFi where as the Plus only adds a physical QWERTY to the original Corby S3650 / S3653.
Quick Specs:
- GSM Quad-band
- Weighs 135g
- Li – Ion, 960 mAh battery
- 2.8″ capacitive resistive touchscreen 240 x 320 pixels resolution
- 3.5G capable (7.2 Mbps) and A-GPS enabled
- 3.2 megapixel camera
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Interchangeable rear covers
Corby Pro is no breakthrough device. It just a good looking design with some power features. Though the promos would claim Social media integration, web, wifi, 3G, Java, 3D games etc, the OS is where the actual utilization of the hardware lies and the Pro places itself as a very good option for beginners. Samsung is perhaps on the right path working on Bada OS while the existing web integration on the Corby Pro is infact good enough. The only thing that I hoped could have been better in the Corby Pro was the touchscreen and UI performance. Though handling a Rs 12000 phone, I understand I cant expect it to be as slick as the iPhone, the thought of a full touchscreen phone prompts comparison. The screen is bright and clear, but not good in sunlight.
Corby Pro (just like the original Corby) has 3 homescreens, and you can pull out icons from the sidebar to any of the screens. The menu similarly has 3 pages. You can ‘flick’ around the screens and pages like the iPhone, but the experience isn’t as smooth as is on the iPhone. Accidental clicks on the page while scrolling is plenty (this is the same thing that we could complain about the original Corby S3653 – the phone mistakes scrolls as a click. But first time touchscreen users are just satisfied with the performance). More than the web pages this happens on the Facebook app that is one of the integrated social networks on the Corby Pro.
If you are lost in the flood of Corby branded devices the two things that you would like the Corby Pro for would be the WiFi and the physical keyboard.
Design:
On first look you would find it difficult to differentiate the Samsung Corby and the Corby Pro. There is no difference on the front side with a 2.8″ touchscreen (Corby Pro has a resistive touchscreen, but doesn’t require a stylus in normal operations) along with 3 buttons (Yes, No and the center key). The QWERTY slides out to the left just like the Nokia E75. The microUSB slot, smart unlock and the camera button are on the right side, where as the volume controls rely on the left. The 3.5mm audio jack is placed on the top while on the back you have a 3.2MP camera and the loudspeaker. The microSD card goes under the battery cover.
The physical keyboard slides gracefully and triggers the screen alignment from portrait to landscape mode (yes the Corby still lacks an accelerometer). Though the CorbyPro adds a slider keyboard, the thickness is just marginally more compared to a Nokia E63. Not bad! Against the Samsung Star though this looks a little bulky, but overall at 135gms its on the border line for me, the extra weight is compensated by a pocketable and small enough design.
While going hands-on with the Corby Pro Qwerty, the first thought that hit me was: Why didn’t they put half as good keyboard in the Corby TXT. The physical keyboard in the Corby Pro feels much better than what I perceived. Much like the E90 it has nice square keys that lets you type at blazing speed. The only problem arises with the numbers row on the top of the keyboard doubling with alphabets. Having used the E90 and other handsets with bigger QWERTY’s, I tool some time getting used to holding the shift key while inputting numbers. Overall the Corby Pro / Plus qwerty is a WIN.
Corby Pro vs Samsung Star
Music & Camera / Media:
CorbyPro has a good loudspeaker and music / FM broadcast via the integrated speaker is good enough for a small room. Support for a variety of media formats makes your life easy: MP3 (MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA), MP4 (MPEG4, WMV, DivX, H.263). The voice recorder works fine, though it works the best when used using the headset. The 3.5mm headset jack is a handy addon. One thing you would like to disable is the irritating beep that rings upon every touch on the screen.
The camera is decent enough, though we don’t see any significant improvement from what we saw in the Corby. The absence of flash and poor clarity in low light conditions is something we cannot help much, but I would let you decide the rest looking at the actual shots from the camera below. The camera also has a timer, smile mode and continuous mode that works well.
(Camera Samples: Click on images above to enlarge)
Though Corby Pro isn’t blessed with a smart OS or an app store as such, but the inbuilt Image editor is something you would like. It allows you to play with pictures on the device and save the fun edits. Sharing them via bluetooth, email etc is just one click away.
Mobile internet and apps:
The google and gmail app is just a shortcut that opens a optimized web interface. Nothing like the Gmail app that we are used to downloading on a Symbian.There is a inbuilt email app (integrated inside the messages along with SMS) that you can configure by manually entering the POP3 / SMTP settings (which is a pain).
Corby Pro has a full html web browser that loads most sites well enough. You can double tap on the screen to zoom in / out and scroll though the page using finger gestures. The inbuilt facebook app lets you do status updates, viewing and adding pictures with ease. Newbies who are jumping to the touchscreen bandwagon for the first time would love it.
Corby Pro also has Picasa, MySpace, Flickr and other networks under its communities tab (most of them being optimized web interface and not apps). All in all the web integration is above average and once you are done configuring all of them, life with the Pro would be much easy.
Conclusion:
Samsung Corby Pro is no smartphone but it still delivers a good set of features for you to play with. The only problem is the OS. The screen, web apps, camera are good enough for a normal users, but won’t please any power user. If you are thinking about doing internet, gaming and apps on this extensively; then better consider the Nokia 5800. The Corby Pro gives you a OK web integration that is aided by WiFi, a OK camera and good messaging support thanks to the wonderful QWERTY. I expect the design to please the girls, looks is something that this phone does has.
Similar Posts:
- OG Review: Samsung Corby S3653
- Hands-on with the Samsung Corby TXT: Quick Review
- Samsung Corby Mate comes to India
- OG Review: LG Cookie Pop / Pep GD510
- Is Samsung overplaying its Corby hand?
Categories: Reviews, samsung | Tags: buy corby pro, corbi pro, corby, corby pro india, corby pro rate, price, samsung corbi, samsung corby pro
Many Happy Returns of the Day……to the Director E-Coomerce at Kratee
*commerce
Thx Rohan
nice review…can u suggest me good phone in budget of 13.5k having smart OS, good cam and music quality!!
[...] webpages, thus killing the usability and experience. Something like this would work wonders on a Corby pro, but on the iPhone we are used to great apps! #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 [...]
[...] great review of the Samsung Corby Pro by Ankesh is up next with some great opinions and images: OG Review Samsung Corby Pro (GT-B5310), however the obligatory mobile apps post by Mary Jones this month, is about the 20 most useless [...]
Hi,
How did you disable the irritating beep. I am not able to find any option
[...] 5230 costs Rs 8000 approx and the 5530 goes for Rs 11750. But does this come on time to take on the Corby Pro and Corby S3653, or even the LG Cookie?? IMO the usability and use of internet on the Nokia Symbian [...]
i am looking for a nice trendy phone… can u suggest which one would be the best:- samsung corby pro, nokia E63, Blackberry curve 8520? i need it for personal use…
Croby pro or E63.
my experience says girls love Corby!
The Corby Pro has a resistive touch screen and not a capacitive touch screen.
A simple test would be to try operating the screen using a stylus. If the stylus works, then the screen is resistive.
Correct Anjan, Thx.
The Pro is resistive, but doesnt ship with a stylus. Designed for finger use
[...] Corby Pro, Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You can look into the specs and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
[...] Corby Pro, Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You could see the features and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
[...] 53653 and LG Cookie. You may take a look at the specifications and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
i recently purchased samsung corby pro and must say its a very well made phone..m enjoying typing my messages more than ever…with wifi i can surf the net without any hassle..think headphones should hav been better….anyway m totally satisfied wit the phone..what more can u expect when u get all the features at 11 grands…
u said 11 grands ???
the best price for corby pro is arnd 12,200 bucks…..where did u get the phn for 11 ??
We also made a review about B5310 and conclude it’s an good phone, http://www.itsagadget.com/2010/02/samsung-b5310-corbypro.html
Hitesh, michelle: the best price is around 11800
[...] 53653 and LG Cookie. You may well check out the specifications and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
“2.8? CAPACITIVE touchscreen 240 x 320 pixels resolution”
“Corby Pro has a RESISTIVE touchscreen, but doesn’t require a stylus in normal operations”
which one is it?
[...] and LG Cookie. You may well find out more about the specifications and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
WHERE I CAN BUY SAMSUNG CORBY PRO AT ITS BEST LESS PRICE IN MUMBAI.
[...] Corby Pro, Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You may look at the features and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
[...] Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You may well look into the features and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
Which one is better : samsung corby pro or nokia E63 ??
please suggest
can u type on the touch screen as well or is it jus with the QWERTY keypad??
cud anyone pls temme what r the accessories included in the box with this corby pro (in india) ..?
oh, nice review btw ;D
**PLEASE HELP ME**
can we type on corby pro without the qwerty keyboard??
nd will the sliding of keyboard work good for next 2 yrs of use??
please reply..i’ll b grateful
by keyboard i mean keypad…will it work good??..
i mean wont it be rough after some time…it happend with my last motorola phone..
hello. does samsung corby pro supports java games that can be downloaded from internet and is the touch screen good enough or slow..
thank you
[...] Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You could have a look at the features and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
I am karn to used samsung GT-B5310 in thailand a bout 8,999 Bart in spac good .
[...] Pro, Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You can read the specifications and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
[...] Corby Pro, Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You can look at the specs and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
[...] Pro, Corby 53653 and LG Cookie. You could look into the features and reviews of these phone here- Corby Pro (GT-B5310), Samsung Corby S3653 and Review of LG Cookie [...]
@Mohan: Settings > Phone Profiles
Press the >> icon
Choose the Phone Sounds (found at the upper right of the screen just below the battery indicator… default is Incoming Call. Change it to Phone Sounds)
Flick until you fing the Phone Sound Volume
Set to zero
Press SAVE
There, that irritating beep is gone. That was the first thing I wanted to do away with.
I really wanted Samsung B7300 a.k.a Omnia Lite. Nonetheless, my Samsung Corby Pro, though not at par with Omnia Lite, is good enough with its stylish design, necessary features, and good enough camera. What I really liked about it is that all-that-necessarily-be-there features is there. Not bad after all.
@john: you can either use the QWERTY keys or the touch screen, whichever suits you.
@amandeep: i believe nobody knows for sure if it would last for 2yrs. It’s just released recently. As long as you handle it gently, then perhaps it would last more than what you’d expect it to be. But nowadays, gadgets have a sort of “1-yr-expiry” thing if you noticed.
hi friends i want to sell my smasung corby pro which i purchased 10 days ago anyone interested please call me on my no. – 9212147678
hey guys………i just buyed samsung corby pro today only……..though it has any features to which i got attracted………..but i captured some photos wid the camera…………..and the photos shown here i can be sure dat they are not taken from samsung corby pro……………the camera quality is low…………
hey where in mumbai, can i get the corby pro the cheapest ?