Samsung S3650 Corby review

Samsung S3650 Corby 360-degree spin

The all-plastic Samsung S3650 Corby measures 103 x 56.5 x 12 mm and weighs 92 grams. It looks even slimmer than its 12 mm girth because of the distinct diagonal contour.

Design and construction

The plastic construction of the S3650 Corby certainly helps it keep its weight down to a svelte 92 grams. The entire surface is glossy and this definitely does not help you get rid of fingerprints. We've played around with the phone for a while to find it is quite resistant to scratches in defiance of it sleek front. Ergonomically it's very good and the oval shaped back panel makes gripping it easier.

Samsung S3650 Corby and Nokia 5530 XpressMusic head to head

The 2.8" display takes centerstage on the S3650 front. It has a 240 x 320 pixel resolution, just like most previous generation touchscreens by Samsung. Its image quality isn't as impressive as that on high-end Samsungs with capacitive displays, but it isn't too bad either.

As we already mentioned, the S3650 Corby touchscreen uses the capacitive technology, which requires only a touch rather than a push to register a click. Even the lightest of touches does the trick which is probably a large part of the reason why people buy touchscreen phones in the first place.

The sunlight legibility is well below the iPhone or Nokia standards, the narrow viewing angle the biggest disadvantage. Indoors the screen is quite good though, as one would expect.

A 2.8" capacitive touchscreen is the gateway to the S3650 Corby

Above the display, there's just the earpiece - there's no ambient light sensor to adjust the brightness of the display. Below the screen there are three hardware keys - two receiver keys on each side of the Back button. The Call and End keys are integrated into the body of the phone and have a distinct and audible click when pressed. Right under the back key is the tiny mouthpiece.

The hardware keys are very comfortable to use

The S3650 Corby's right-hand side houses just two controls - the shutter button and the HOLD key, which is used to lock and unlock the touchscreen. They are barely separated, which doesn't provide the best touch orientation. On that same side, only hidden under the battery cover, is the microSD card slot.

The right side with the camera and Hold key

The lanyard eyelet is on the top left side, followed by the volume rocker in the middle and the proprietary connectivity port beneath for plugging in a charger, data cable and headset. We would have preferred a more standard connector here like microUSB. Traditionally for Samsung, the USB slot is covered with a plastic lid.

The very busy left side: lanyard eyelet, volume rocker, and connectivity port

The top and bottom parts are absolutely bare, save for a tiny slit for removing the battery cover.

The rounded top and bottom are bare

The smooth rear cover houses only the camera lens at one end and the loudspeaker grill at the other. Samsung call the back panel a Fashion Jacket, and will offer a number of exchangeable panels for the phone. Two of them will ship with the handset to spice things up a bit.

Those Corbies that we have here are merely the basic color versions. The available additional Fashion Jackets change the styling dramatically.

The rear panel is called a Fashion Jacket; two exchangeable covers will be included in the retail package

Removing the back panel reveals the 960 mAh Li-Ion battery. There is no official word up to now on standby and talk times, but our pre-release unit lasted a good 3-4 days of moderate use. The only thing under the battery is the SIM card slot.

The SIM card slot under the battery

Overall the Samsung S3650 Corby is a pleasingly compact touchscreen phone. It's not the slimmest around, but the ergonomic design more than makes up for that.

Samsung S3650 Corby held in the hand