Samsung S5230 preview: First look

Samsung S5230 360-degree spin

The Samsung S5230 actually is a quite compact device - and light as well. It's more rectangular than say… the S5600, which gives it a more pronounced boxy appearance. You will however notice the resemblance to some other Samsung phones - Omnia being a fine example.

Design and construction

The 3-inch display is the main attraction of the S5230. It has 240 x 400 pixels resolution just like most other touchscreen displays by Samsung.

The 3-inch display is the main attraction of the S5230

The front panel is circled by a silvery frame, which gives the phone a sexy and stylish look. In fact it makes it very similar to the Samsung i900 Omnia.

The silver frame around the front panel gives the handset a sexy and stylish look

Below the display there are three hardware keys. Dead center is the Back key, accompanied by the receiver keys on both its sides.

The hardware keys below the screen

The Samsung S5230 is modestly styled with the only exception being the plastic plate with brushed finish, which hosts the hardware keys.

On the left side of the Samsung S5230 there is a simple volume rocker and a protective cap hiding the proprietary Samsung port that's used for connecting the charger, data cable and headset. Unfortunately, the port is not the microUSB variety that we found on S5600.

The volume rocker and the proprietary Samsung port are on the left

The S5230 right-hand side is just as simple with only two keys available here - the camera key and the HOLD key, which is used to lock and unlock the touchscreen. Other interesting stuff on the right is the lanyard eyelet and the stylus nest.

On the right - camera key and HOLD key

The back panel of the Samsung S5230 is quite modest again - as is the whole phone and also looks similar to the Omnia's. However it's made of some really not fingerprint friendly plastic, which may look pretty but it collects every print from every single touch.

A look at Samsung S5230's back

The 3 megapixel camera stands alone at the back without a LED flash presence - just like the slimmer LG Cookie. There's no auto focus either - but that's probably expected.

The 3-megapixel snapper

Removing the back panel gets you access to the easily visible SIM card slot. Unfortunately, that's how you get to the microSD card slot as well. The memory card slot is neither easily visible, nor hot swappable.

The memory card slot is neither easily visible, nor hot swappable

Overall the Samsung S5230 is pleasingly compact touchscreen phone. It's not the slimmest one around, and the old-school styling and USB port might suggest that it's an older development by the South Korean company - it's as if it has 2008 written all over it. Still, we are content with its ergonomics and design.

Samsung S5230 held in hand

You are welcome to the next page as we explore some of the more interesting software applications.