Product Review: Samsung Star

A lot has been written about the Samsung Star and it won’t be premature to say that the Star has stirred up the ‘touch screen phone segment’ in India. Pegged at an affordable price of less than ten thousand INR, the Samsung Star is bound to influence the decision making of many mobile phone buyers in the country.

Tearing apart the marketing gimmicks and larger than life promotions, what I intend to offer here is a practical review of the Samsung Star for the everyday mobile user. A first look at the sleek phone will woo many potential buyers, with its slim lines and the black overall. So here we have a cell phone with movie star looks and a fully functional touch screen and ten thousand already seems cheap for this phone. However, the true litmus test of a good cell phone is far from over.

A cursory idea about the mobile phone trends will reveal that the only other touch screen phone within similar price range is the LG cookie. Both contenders are 100 meter runners, overtaking each other, only to end up panting at the finish line. My honest opinion is that there are no clear winners. The Samsung Star performs better in display and overall looks. And for unknown reasons the Indian consumers are yet to get accustomed seeing the LG logo jumping off from their TVs and refrigerators to their cell phones.

I initially used a demo phone with limited features for this review with an inbuilt stylus that fits inside the phone. However, the one up for sale comes with an external stylus dangling from a string. Samsung claims that the touch screen is significantly refined and the need for a stylus won’t be felt. The statement isn’t far from truth. However, make sure you carry the stylus if you are an SMS guy and would love to use the handwriting recognition feature in the phone.

The phone also boasts of a 3 mp camera without flash and makes for decent clicks under normal lighting conditions. Some features worth a mention include the scroll feature where, images from your gallery scroll at the tilt of your phone. A nicely tucked widget bar makes for wise shortcuts, like a genie under your command. The Samsung Star is a real touch phone minus the frills and is an absolute value for money.

NOTE1 TO SAMSUNG: this review is based on an actual phone that my friend bought and not the demo phone that Samsung had sent. The demo phone freezes with an error message, after every call & sms. And its not justified even if it greets its users with the message, “Demo phone. Keep expectations low.”

NOTE2: The image used is that of the Samsung Star Demo phone. The stylus is different in the actual product.