As some of you already know, I’m yet to join the Smartphone bandwagon which is why when I decided to get another cell phone to replace my stolen Nokia 5130 XpressMusic, I chose to get another non-Smartphone but this time around, with the intention of killing two birds with one stone. After much research (I hate going to the market without an idea of what I want to buy), I settled for the Samsung GT-C3212 dual SIM phone. I’m only going to highlight what I feel are the highs and lows of this cell. For full specifications, do please check out GSM ARENA. HIGHS1. The battery takes approximately 2hrs 30 minutes to charge and in my case with so much music playback, java gaming and few calls and text messaging, it lasts 2 days just like the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic (Please note that I disabled some unnecessary features)2. Ability to record radio shows for listening at a later time.3. Cheap design/look that doesn’t readily attract “agberos” (touts).4. Ability to suspend Java applications when a call comes in or you want to quickly do some texting etc before continuing with your games.5. Supports Music playback (MP3, ACC and WMA)6. Earphones are of a better quality than the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic, with adequate length and great positioning of microphone for easy accessiblity.7. Create value for money when you consider cost of buying two new internet/music playback enabled phones.8. Ability to fake an incoming voice call that sounds real: A ready getaway strategy from those uncomfortable meetings/conversations I unfortunately seem to have a lot of. ;). LOWS1. No silence button for unwanted calls: A work around this which I discovered this morning is pressing the down button of the navigation key so as to reduce the ringing volume. Not to worry, this only affects the volume of the incoming call. Once the call ends, the phone’s default volume level takes over ;).2. Limited Java applications. Java apps weighing a little above 500KB can’t be installed on the phone.3. Graphical User Interface (GUI) is average but you get used to it after a while.4. No USB data cable or memory card included: I had to buy them separately costing me an extra N4,500.5. VGA Camera sucks but I can’t be bothered as I really don’t need the camera feature.6. No PC Suite installation CD included: You will have to download it from their website. It zapped a whopping 112MB of my Glo Leisure monthly bandwidth.7. No call recorder function: I loved this function in the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic, as it enabled me keep track of certain conversation/transactions to avoid the “I didn’t say that” scenario.8. Music player’s album arrangement only works for MP3 and ACC files. WMAs will not be arranged in form of albums. I guess that’s about it. The MAIN REASON why I chose this particular DUAL SIM was the battery life. The Samsung D880 and D780 where spotting talk times of about 4 hours only while this one boasted of 10 hours. Do please feel free to ask me anything else regarding this phone. Cheers.
