Samsung Steel review

We’ve already reviewed the Samsung Soul and were reasonably pleased with it, and the Vodafone exclusive Samsung Steel looks to be a model built on the same lines - be it a cheaper, mid-range version.

Looks wise it is very similar to the Soul with its silver and black colours and smooth metallic lines. It has a sturdy industrial and rugged quality about the design (described as a full metal jacket on the Vodafone website), and feels very tough. You’d probably expect that this meant it was heavier than usual, but it doesn’t feel like that in your hand. However the phone is a touch big with its straight lines. In your pocket it feels noticeably chunky, which while isn’t a deal breaker is an annoyance.

The display is large, bright and colourful with a 240x320 pixel, 16 million colour TFT screen, although it can be difficult to read well in bright light. The phone’s impressive design means that the buttons are a good size, which using the phone a comfortable experience for even those users with particularly big fingers. Usefully there are a couple of shortcut buttons on top of the numeric pad which lets you go straight to your most used functions such as music, calling and internet access.

It appears that Samsung has got web browsing working particularly well on the Samsung Steel, because the 3G speed and Opera mobile browser both combine to offer a very good experience, especially when you consider this is a phone very much aimed at the mid-range market. The Vodafone live experience is top notch, and offers you a range of downloads as well as TV packages.

Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t really live up to some of the other functionalities the Steel has. You'll only find a 3-megapixel sensor, which is disappointing when you acknowledge that many mid-range devices scrimp a further 0.2-megapixels out. However there isn’t any flash, and other phones in the same price range offer a better photographic experience.

The same is true with music. Compared with some of the competition out there, there’s nothing spectacular about the way you can use or work with music on the Samsung Steel, although sound quality is admittedly very good. For a mobile phone nowadays to be even thought of as a device which could regularly be used to listen to music, you need to be allowed to put in your own headphones, and with a porprietary socket, you can't do ths.

The disappointment continues with memory capacity. The Steel offers a stingy 30MB for music, and unless you put in a micro SD card, you won’t be able to fit in much of a collection in here.

The battery is another problem. Vodafone quotes a big figure, but honestly with average use you will have to charge the phone quite regularly, most likely every other day. With regular internet use as well this cuts down the life even more.

The problems with the camera, music and battery aren’t particularly surprising when you consider that this is aimed at the cheaper end of the mid-range market, as Vodafone are offering some very competitive deals - you can get the phone free on contract for £15 per month for 18 months, while it is also reasonably priced on prepay.

If you’re looking for a phone on a budget that looks really good, does all the basic calling and texting jobs as well as well as offer great internet speeds, then this is a pretty good phone to go for. The sturdiness of the phone means that unless you’re really violent with it, it will take a few knocks and last you quite a while.