This phone was created on the basis of the Samsung S5600 model, as evidenced by its appearance and hardware capabilities. Some simplification also led to a decrease in the cost of the S5230. The smartphone was the first attempt by a Korean company to create a touchscreen smart phone for mass use. For such a price, the phone can be unconditionally called a curiosity. The review below will help you understand all the intricacies in more detail.

You might be interested in a review of the Fly phone. Find out the differences between these phones

Design and dimensions

Phones with touch screens, as a rule, have a glossy front side. The surface is diluted with three control buttons located under the screen and a hole for the speaker above it. The keys have a metallic color, which complements the edging of the same color that runs along all ends. The combination of such elements with a bright design makes the smartphone memorable and attractive. The textured surface of the back of the case harmonizes perfectly with the gray details. Appearance both strict and catchy. On the back cover, the first thing your eye catches is the built-in camera. The battery is located under the cover. The bar-shaped case has an ideal geometric aspect ratio of 106x53x11.9 mm. Light weight of 92 g, rounded edges and smooth edges make the model incredibly convenient and compact.

Screen

The resistive display is sensitive to any touch - you can “travel” through the phone menu using absolutely any convenient object. The screen responds to touch with a signal in the form of vibration or sound. The screen is based on a 3-inch matrix (physical size 7.6 cm), with a resolution of 240×400 pixels - this creates good conditions for viewing large-format videos and images in high quality. The colors are natural, rich and bright. The quality of the matrix does not allow it to demonstrate high anti-glare capabilities, but even on a very sunny day the text is readable. Viewing angles and contrast do not cause any complaints.

Reliable LG phone. See review

Ergonomics

To control the phone, three keys are provided: the middle one, when pressed, returns one action back, on the sides of it are standard ones - dialing and ending a call. The distance between the buttons and their low position in the case allow for a minimum of unnecessary clicks. The speaker above the screen is designed not only for conversations, but also for sound playback. The right side edge is equipped with a sensor lock key, a quick access to the camera and an eyelet for a lanyard/strap. On the opposite end there is a paired key for adjusting the sound volume (it is also responsible for ZOOM during video photography). Nearby is a universal “Samsung” interface connector “for everything” (cord, charging cable, headset). There is space in the battery compartment for the memory card and SIM card. In our Samsung GT-S5230 review, we move on to the battery.

battery

The phone is powered by a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 1000 mAh. The manufacturer claims 5 hours of talk time and 250 hours of standby time. Under average loads, the phone can withstand 1-2 days. It will take almost 2 hours to fully charge. The most energy is consumed during data transfer.

Phone memory

The phone has its own memory of 105 MB. All bytes are open to the user. The memory card is displayed as a separate drive. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use two types at the same time, but it is possible to move data from one storage to another. There is no limit on the memory card capacity.

Camera options

A regular 3 megapixel camera with a fixed focus. It works in a horizontal position. The maximum photo resolution is 2048x1536 pixels. You can select modes from the list, adjust white balance and add effects. phones with similar parameters

Software-wise, the smartphone is flawlessly equipped with all the necessary applications. All functional requirements for the phone are met.

Phone book. There is a search function by capital letters. Contacts can be displayed in a general or selected list (at your discretion) and divided into groups. To store data for each destination, you can save large number information ( additional numbers, email mail, social accounts networks, position, date of birth, etc.).

Messages. Message types such as SMS, MMS and E-mail are supported. The user can easily edit, change typing parameters, fonts, add images and melodies. The phone memory is designed to store 500 messages. To enter text, you can use one of the options at your discretion: imitation of a telephone dial pad (letters and numbers), QWERTY panel (reminiscent of a computer layout) and handwriting.

Call log. This section consists of 12 points where you can manage parameters and receive information about all incoming/outgoing/missed calls. Right there: data on the duration and cost of calls, a message counter are stored.

Multimedia. The Samsung GT-S5230 model is equipped with a multifunctional music player. Audio files are available for sending and using as a call. The music search application allows you to quickly find the song you like based on a small fragment.

Browser. Convenient virtual keyboard and the ability to scale up to the right size Internet pages provide comfortable use of browser capabilities.

Organizer. It contains everything useful applications, which everyone has an idea about. These are: calendar, reminder, tasks, world time, calculator and converter.

Applications. Available in this section: FM radio, voice recorder, Bluetooth, synchronization menu, timer, RSS reader, stopwatch, games, Google Maps, alarm.

Settings allow you to select a profile, set the time, manage network and security settings, change display, backlight, sound and vibration settings.

REVIEW RESULT

The Samsung Star GT-S5230 aims to become a mainstream touchscreen. Its big disadvantage is the lack of 3G support (which is not required in countries where third generation networks are only in development). This is amazing good phone given it favorable price. Its resistive touchscreen is bright and responsive. Some fun widgets are a nice addition.

The highlight is the elegant way to unlock the screen. This function not only removes the screen lock, but can also launch some programs.

Touch Star offers a basic set of functions, which is enough for inexperienced users.

The S5230 certainly has the potential to become a popular phone.

PROS

• Attractive design
• Touch screen
• Interesting user interface
• Budget price
• Decent usability
• Long battery life

CONS

• No 3G or Wi-Fi
• Weak main 3-megapixel camera
• Low functionality of the smartphone
• No headphone jack (3.5mm)
• No GPS

Touch screens have gradually migrated from the segment of hi-end phones for a limited audience to the sphere of mass models. If we exaggerate, the presence of a touch screen is now not so amazing; it can be compared with support for the MP3 format in phones a few years ago. However, the WOW effect of using a model with a pressure-sensitive display definitely remains today. This is a different presentation of information, and a different set of capabilities compared to non-touch devices.

The first phones (namely phones, not smartphones or communicators) that had touch screens were highly expensive, which prevented them from becoming the property of the mass buyer. A breakthrough in the pricing of touch devices was the KP500 model from LG: strong sales of this device confirmed the demand for touch displays in phones under $300. Since this particular niche was relatively free, Samsung, another South Korean manufacturer, did not fail to release a symmetrical answer - the GT-S5230 model.

Design

The phone can be described in one word - compact. If you look closely at the documentation, you can refute this epithet, but the model is perceived as compact. Perhaps this effect is achieved due to the thinness of the case.

In addition, people who picked up the phone for the first time were surprised at its lightness. It is possible that this is due to the perception of the touch screen as an attribute of something technological, which means it is certainly large and heavy. The device fits comfortably in your hand and can be operated with one or two hands.

The body of the model is made mainly of plastic. Both the back and front are smudged with fingerprints, but the quirky dot pattern on the back means it's not noticeable. The front panel is not provided with such camouflage.

Individual parts - the frame of the front panel, a small insert under the display - are made of metal.

There are very few control elements on the body. These are the traditional answer/end call and return keys located under the screen, the camera and display lock key on the right side, and the volume rocker (vibration strength control is also available) on the left.

The interface connector is located directly under the volume keys. This is a new connector for the company, similar to what we saw in the S8300 phone. Accessories from previous Samsung models will not work.

Display

The installed matrix is ​​made using resistive technology. This is somewhat surprising, since in lately preference is given to capacitive displays. In this regard, it is interesting to remember that the LG KP500, a direct competitor of the model under review, also has a resistive matrix.

How successful the choice of technology is is for each individual to decide; today you can meet adherents of both technologies. One of the advantages of a resistive matrix is ​​its response not only to pressure from fingertips, but also from third-party objects. A stylus, however, is not included in the package.

Display resolution - WQVGA (240 x 400 pixels). It's becoming standard on mid-range phones with touchscreens.

Color rendering is high quality, shades are conveyed naturally. However, it's not the best display we've seen. The brightness of the backlight turned out to be more than enough, but under direct sunlight the picture still fades.

Interface, functionality

The device is based on a software platform standard for Samsung phones with touch screens. In standby mode, you can place widgets on the screen. The set of widgets is standard for Samsung. These are several variations of date and time display, links to frequently used functions and online services (weather, news), smaller versions of notes, player, radio.

What's new in the S5230 is that the screen with widgets scrolls not up and down, but left and right. This allows you to create three independent sets of widgets that will not take up much space or overlap each other.

To move between pages, just swipe your finger to the side. For convenience, three small squares are placed at the bottom of the display, conventionally indicating the pages of the main screen. They help determine which direction the “pages” should be flipped.

Another pleasant surprise was that working with widgets is quick, processing does not take much time, and there are no slowdowns. More recently, we observed how the more expensive Samsung S8300 worked with widgets at a leisurely pace. Apparently, the speed of operation depends not so much on the performance of the hardware, but on the firmware.

Since the phone does not have a physical keyboard unit, typing is carried out exclusively through the touch display. There are several input methods to choose from. First of all, it is a virtual keyboard that copies a 12-key layout. The virtual keys are quite large, it’s easy to hit them even with your fingers, and you don’t have to worry about false presses.

When you turn the case to the left, the accelerometer is activated, and the keyboard is automatically redrawn to the QWERTY layout. The keys are no longer so large; When clicked, a small window pops up to help determine which icon was clicked.

An alternative typing method is handwriting. You can write by hand either in a specific area or across the entire display. In turn, a separate area can be made uniform for all characters, or it can be divided into small sectors for capital letters and numbers. Recognition of Russian characters is supported. In this situation, it is more convenient to use something a la a stylus, but it is quite possible to write with your finger.

The main menu is a standard 3 x 4 grid. In menu mode, the Contacts tab at the bottom of the display changes to Photo Contacts. The interface of this item resembled the “Contacts” tab in the LG Arena interface. To make this menu colorful, you will need several photos of the most frequently used contacts.

The phone's own memory is limited to 100 MB; additionally, microSD memory cards can be installed. The file manager has a separate “Memory Status” item, which describes in detail what type of files the memory is occupied by (the phone and card memory are shown separately).

Folders and files can be displayed as a list or as small icons; the display method can be changed by pressing a single virtual key. The accelerometer automatically rotates photos.

Interface music player similar to that in all Samsung models with touch display. Its design is quite laconic, it is not particularly colorful.

Elements context menu large enough for the phone to be operated comfortably with your fingers. In the settings where you need to specify the time (clock, alarm), the dial is presented in the form of spinning reels, which looks very interesting.

Data transfer rate Bluetooth channel varies between 100-130 KB/s, which is the average today.

Among installed applications Communities is discovered. This non-translatable menu item contains links to popular network services Facebook, Picasa, Friendster, etc. When connected to the Internet, the utility helps you view updates in your profile on one or more of these services.

The maximum video resolution is 320 x 240 pixels. This is not enough for comfortable viewing on a large screen. On small displays of portable devices, videos leave a more pleasant impression, and the update speed is at a good level.

Battery

The built-in battery lasted just over three days. At the same time, the phone acted as a player for about an hour and a half, and was online for 40 minutes (via a GPRS connection). In addition, other capabilities of the device were actively studied.

Conclusion

The model left a very pleasant impression. For the money that the Samsung GT-S5230 is priced at, you can get a modern phone with a touch screen. The last detail was successfully used by the creators of the software: due to it, the device interface was improved and widgets that are popular today were added.

Finding obvious advantages or disadvantages of the phone compared to the LG KP500 is somewhat problematic - both models offer similar design and functionality for the same price. The choice between them will most likely occur at the level of the buyer’s personal preferences.

Samsung GT-S5230 - My first and only touch phone

06.02.2013

Hello, dear readers of the site site.

They bought this phone for me back in 2009, the price for it was completely different then - if my memory serves me right, then about 8 thousand rubles. And there was no choice at that time; the main competitor was the LG KP500, which they just bought for my friend. I’ll say right away that my friend was disappointed with the purchase after just 2 weeks of use. In this review I want to reveal all the pros and cons of using the device.

For your convenience, it was decided to divide the story into parts, and you can skip those moments that do not interest you.

Unpacking. My impressions. Design

Samsung is packaged in this big cute box. By the way, about the box: the fact that it is large is not bad at all, since the risk of damage during transportation is reduced to zero.

Inside the box we have the device itself, a warranty, a detailed user manual, which is a huge plus, many telephone companies greatly simplify the instructions, citing the fact that everything is intuitive, forgetting that gadgets are improving all the time and it is becoming increasingly difficult for the older generation understand them. Okay, let's move on, and then we have a battery, a charger, a USB cable, a disk with PC Studio for synchronizing with a computer, and simple headphones.

To be honest, it’s disappointing that there is no microSD card included, the standard memory capacity of this phone is only 50 MB, and I doubt that this memory will be enough for anyone.

Now, dear readers, let's take a closer look at our phone.

I want to say right away about the weight. The phone weighs only 110 g, which is quite good and can even compete with modern smartphones. It is thanks to the light weight that the hand does not get tired at all from long conversations, and this is probably very good.

If we talk about the size of the phone, it is not too big and not too small, it has ideal proportions, it is comfortable to hold in one hand, even if you have a small hand, your finger will reach absolutely all the buttons.

At the top of the screen in the middle there is a conversational speaker, which performs the function of a regular speaker, it was cleverly done, you can’t say anything. A little lower behind the glass is the logo.

There are three buttons at the bottom: accept call, back, reject call. They are located on a separate panel. The buttons are not backlit, and it is not needed at all, since the buttons to accept and reject a call have an engraving of the handset, which can be recognized with a finger in complete darkness. Below the call reset button there is a small hole behind which there is a microphone.

On the right side we see a button to lock/unlock the phone and a button for quick access to the camera.

By the way, if you go into the camera and then press the lock button, the phone will continue to shoot, but it will not respond to touches and keystrokes, this is not a big plus. But we'll talk about the camera a little later.

The volume rocker is located on the left side of the device, and just below, behind the curtain, there is a connector that performs three functions. As a connection charger, USB cable and headphones. I would like to scold Samsung for such a headphone input, it’s actually not very convenient, good headphones with such a plug there is simply no way. I see two ways out of this situation: order an adapter and connect your own headphones, or resign yourself and go with standard headphones, but for me this is not a problem, all the music is on my player.

Let's briefly touch on the camera again, it's far from the best 3.2 megapixels. At the very bottom of the panel under the camera is a barely visible Samsung logo.

The phone cover is corrugated and very thin. I didn’t have any problems with it, but I know a person whose lid simply didn’t stay in place and flew off when pulled out of his pocket. This may be an isolated case, but it’s better to check how the lid is removed and put on when purchasing. Corrugation back cover - good decision from Samsung, and there are no fingerprints left on it, and it is practically not afraid of scratches.

Under the cover of the phone there is a slot for a SIM card, a battery with a capacity of 1000 mAh, the phone holds a charge for about 5 days of inactive use, however, if you play and listen to music all day, it will last approximately 1-2 days. Under the battery there is a slot for a microSD card. Again, I didn’t like Samsung’s solution; there’s no way to get the flash drive out when the phone is on, and this is annoying.

Let's look at the screen of this phone.

The screen size on this phone is 240x400. If we compare price/quality, then the screen is really not bad, the phone supports the brightness adjustment function.

If we look at the "viewing angles", then you be the judge.

As for colors, the phone supports 16.78 million colors, here are the pictures in comparison with another device.

The sensor is moderately sensitive, it can be harmful in cold weather, but overall everything is very good. If the sensor fails, you can go to the calibration function. During the entire period of use there were no problems with the sensor.

The phone is synchronized with the computer through the New PC Studio program. However, if you are not going to save contacts to your computer or flash your phone, you won’t need to install this program; you can connect to your phone’s flash drive via a USB cable without any software.

The screen lock on Samsung is quite informative; it shows the time, day and day of the week.

Software. Firmware. Games

Let's start right away with the fact that my phone was flashed not so long ago and therefore the unlock screen, calculator, and desktop will be slightly different than on the standard firmware. GT-S5230 supports 3 desktops. The desktop itself will be empty by default and in all three options, but there is a tab on the left side of the screen; sliding it to the right will open a vertical strip of widgets.

However, there is one drawback: the strip, which is located on the left side of the screen, moves out without any problems when touched to the right side of the screen.

The phone is fully turned on in 40 seconds; whether it is fast or slow is, of course, up to you to decide. I don’t turn my phone on/off very often, so the turn-on speed is not fundamentally important to me.

The main menu of the Samsung S5230 phone is a matrix of twelve colorful icons, background the main menu can be replaced to taste with absolutely any picture.

In addition to the main menu, Samsung has also provided a tab that has 3 desktops, namely communications, tools and multimedia, each of which contains icons for faster access to applications and the Internet.

Let's move on to the Internet. It is, frankly, slow here - I have to wait about 30-40 seconds for the page to load. Of course, if you are not in a hurry, then everything is fine, but when you need to write something down, then every second is precious.

I would like to note several functions of the telephone directory: contacts can be sorted by groups and favorites, and for more quick search There is a slider that, when moved, can narrow the circle of people when searching. By the way, the telephone directory can accommodate up to 2000 subscribers.

One of the features of Samsung is that it supports handwriting input, which is very inconvenient to use, and if you turn the phone over when entering SMS, a standard QWERTY keyboard will be available.

You can create a schedule and notes in your phone calendar; by the way, this is very convenient.

World Clock is an application that allows you to view the time and time zone at selected points. In 4 years of using the phone I have only used this application once.

Additional functions and capabilities of the Samsung GT-S5230 Star mobile phone:

• This phone differs from the S5230W Star model only in the absence of a Wi-Fi module. The rest of the characteristics are absolutely the same

Frame:

• This device belongs to the new fashionable line of “touchphones”. This means that you can control the phone only by touching the touch screen with your fingers.
• The body itself is completely made of plastic. On the front panel there is a 3-inch display with a resolution of 240x400 pixels. Above it there is a hole for the earpiece, which is protected by a metal grille. There are only three keys under the display; they are responsible for answering/hanging up calls and returning to the menu
• On the right side there is a touch screen lock key. Just below is the camera shutter button and an eyelet for attaching a strap.
• On the left side there is a paired volume key and a proprietary interface connector to which you can connect a headset, USB cable or charger
• The entire back side is covered by a battery cover made of textured plastic. At the top there is a window for a 3-megapixel camera module and a small mirror. There are also holes at the bottom for an external speaker, which are protected by a metal grille
• The phone supports microSD memory cards, but hot swapping is not supported. To access the memory card you must remove the battery

• Maximum photo resolution - 2048x1536 pixels
• White balance - auto, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy
• Effects: Black&White, Negative, Sepia, Watercolor
• Shooting modes: single shot, burst, panorama, smile detection
• Video shooting resolution: 320x240 pixels. Frequency - 30 frames per second
• Ability to record video without sound

• The user interface allows you to customize your phone's desktop to best suit your needs. To do this, just drag and drop the most frequently used widgets onto your desktop. They are displayed in a vertical bar on the left side of the screen.

GT-S5230 from Samsung is a continuation of the series of touch-screen phones. The impressive 3-inch display, which displays up to 262 thousand colors, immediately catches your eye. The set of functional features in this device is quite standard, since, first of all, Samsung GT-S5230 designed for average price category. More specifically about this phone we'll talk a little lower.

Design and Features

Applications include Google Maps - traditional free cards version 2.3.2

To test the JAVA machine, which is version MIDP 2.1, the Jbenchmark package was used, the results of which are presented in the tables.

Impressions and conclusions

Time battery life, stated by the manufacturer in the specifications, is 10 hours of talk time or 800 hours of standby time. In practice, in the Moscow BeeLine and Megafon networks, the device worked for about 3 days at an average load (about half an hour of calls a day, about 10-15 SMS, several mail checks, as well as Bluetooth, camera if necessary). Not bad performance for such a display, I must say.

The volume of the device is good, but, I must say, not excellent, not ideal - perhaps this is due to the combination of the “duties” of the ringing and conversational speakers. Those. sound incoming call pleasant, but in the pocket of your outerwear in a noisy place you can miss a call. A vibrating alert would not be the best help here - it’s like a speaker, “good”, nothing more.

The conversational speaker, or, more precisely, its conversational function, is completely suitable for most situations, but we did not notice any volume reserve - at Moscow metro stations we had to listen to the words of the interlocutor. The level of acceptance never once during testing gave any reason to think about oneself, therefore, the operation of this module is not satisfactory, you must agree.

In conclusion, I would like to note that despite the many devices passing through the test laboratory, not many of them leave their mark here, mostly this is painstaking work with passion. However, S5230- one of the few devices that, at first, being perceived as an “ugly duckling”, swam away from us like a real swan. This position is easily interpreted - a touchphone for less than 9,000 rubles will most likely be of little interest against the backdrop of a considerable number of similar devices. But no, it was enough to work with the device for 1-2 days, and the negativity immediately disappeared - the platform is convenient, the dimensions are compact, all the necessary functions are available. Seems like the perfect phone? But, of course, no - the device is really ideal for an undemanding user who, in addition to classic telephone functions, needs a little “play” of additions that the S5230 has, and for more demanding users, even in the Samsung line there are already devices with increased functionality, but this topic is for a completely different article.