The Samsung Chat 335 (styled as Ch@t 335) is an entry-level smartphone. It’s meant for users with a strong SMS habit who also want online connectivity without shelling out too much money. The Samsung Chat 335′s stand-out features – apart from its inexpensive price tag – are its qwerty keyboard and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The first thing you notice when you hold the Samsung Ch@t 335 is that it is fairly thin, but not remarkably so. It feels well in the hand, the phone is very light, since the casing is all-plastic, and the back cover has a pattern that improves the grip.
The phone has tapered edges, which helps additionally for a comfortable fit. In a world of huge screens, the 2.4-inch TFT display with a modest resolution of 320 x 240 might not even make it to a mid-range device, but for your basic texting/calling needs it works like a charm.
When it comes to viewing angles, the TFT screen is pretty average. It’s not touch sensitive, but navigation is nevertheless fluid due to the optical trackpad.
It is pretty sensitive by default, but you can customize the sensitivity, so you get very functional navigation. You also get two function keys flanking the D-pad, along with Send and End buttons at both ends of the navigation area underneath the screen.
The bad begins with the keyboard which is very disappointing to use in spite of looking good. The keys are too soft and aren’t sufficiently raised making it difficult to type on. Also, on pressing a key almost every other key around it wobbles which takes away from the usability.
The optical trackpad is also a little too sensitive and not very accurate. Even after I had set the trackpad’s sensitivity to its lowest, it was difficult to control.
The Samsung Chat 335 camera quality is good, but lack of flash is disappointing. It supports maximum resolution of up toSamsung Ch@t 335 Camera Sample Samsung Ch@t 335 Review 1600×1200 pixels for stills.
The shooting options include normal and timer. Apart from this you can also add effect and colours on photographs. The videos are recorded @15fps in QCIF resolution (176 × 144 pixels) and recording quality was found to be OK during our tests.
The operating system is Java-based and there’s nothing new in the interface but then again it’s quite easy to operate and there’s no sign of lagging while you operate the phone.
In the settings there’s a ‘Smart Home’ option that lets you choose between four (actually two) different homescreen options. You can use the Smart Idle mode where there’s a quick launcher for various options like messaging, Facebook, Twitter and so on.
The other three modes are normal, where the screen only displays the Digital clock. So in terms of interface, you might take a while to get used to the Smart Idle screen with the quick launcher, but after that it’s pretty easy to use.
Call quality with the Samsung Ch@t 335 is good, with loud and clear voices in the earpiece on our side. The other party said they can also hear us well, but the higher tones come out a bit distorted and unnatural. The handset is rated for the very good 12 hours of talk time, and 21 days on standby, one of the clear benefits of feature phones before smartphones.
The Samsung Ch@t 335 is no doubt inspired by RIM’s BlackBerry line of QWERTY candybars, for which it seems there will always be market. It lacks many BlackBerry features, most notably – a fully functional smart OS and a decent browser, but its similar design and welcoming price could lure many.
The Samsung Chat 335’s looks, features and price put it directly against the Nokia C3. The Samsung has an edge over the Nokia in terms of looks, screen quality and multimedia whereas the Nokia has a better keyboard, is better to use.
It’s actually quite difficult to separate the two although I would say the Nokia has the slightest of edges over the Samsung. Although if you have an extra 2K, you’d be better off opting for the Nokia E63.
