Samsung Corby Pro (Samsung Genio Pro / B5310)

The Samsung Corby Pro B5310 (to be sold in the UK under the name Samsung Genio Pro) is a fun messaging device with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 2.8" touchscreen display and a 3 megapixel camera.

Following on from the original Samsung Corby (or Genio), the most obvious improvement with the Corby Pro is the keyboard, but the handset also adds 3.5G and WiFi support and a better camera to the mix.

Don't think that the Corby Pro is some sort of fuddy-duddy business phone, the customised TouchWiz interface has a cartoony feel to it, and the media player supports all major formats including DivX video. The Corby Pro also has an integrated FM radio and a useful 3.5mm audio socket.

The Corby Pro is designed to be used with social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook through built-in applications. It also supports popular web mail applications plus standard email protocols, and one neat thing is that the Corby Pro can send messages and updates out to several sites at the same time.. including Blogger, LinkedIn and Flickr.

The addition of 3.5G support is a huge improvement as the Corby Pro can download data at speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, making web browsing a much more pleasant experience. And with WiFi, you can get even faster speeds without worrying about the cost, just connect it to your home or office wireless network and you can pretty much use it for as long as you like.

There are a range of different colours available, as with other handsets in the Corby / Genio line-up. In this case the phone has changeable battery covers, so you can easily change the colour if you get bored with it. The overall design of the handset is fairly straightforward, it borrows heavily from theS3650 when it comes to the detailing. Overall, the appearance is quite pleasing.

All these features take their toll when it comes to weight, the Corby Pro comes in at 134 grams and measures 105 x 57 x 16mm. Internal memory is 100MB, expandable to 16GB using a microSD card. Talktime isn't specified, but the 960 mAh battery isn't particularly large.

The Corby Pro (or Genio Pro) seems to be a very capable device, combining a good specification set with some fun features that could give it a wide appeal. Samsung haven't given any guidance on price, although they do say that the Corby Pro should start to be available in Europe from November 2009 onwards.

Samsung Corby Pro (Genio Pro) B5310 at a glance
Available:	November 2009
Network:	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 + UMTS 900 / 2100
Data:	GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA + WiFi
Screen:	2.8" 320 x 240 pixels, 16m colours
Camera:	3 megapixels
Size:	Large slider 105 x 57 x 16mm / 134g
Bluetooth:	Yes
Memory card:	MicroSD
Infra-red:	No
Polyphonic:	Yes
Java:	Yes
GPS:	No
OS:	TouchWiz
Battery life:	Not specified

Samsung Star WIFI version

My latest love in life is the Samsung Star S 5230 – also known as , the poor mans Iphone. What had me most excited was that it had widgets for everything, along with being a touch screen and being super affordable (15,500 rs). Amazing right?!

I got an opportunity to use it, a friend who owns it pointed out to me how hard it was to use the touch screen – u have to almost hit the screen with your finger to make it move or slide, and I’m guessing thats where the stylus comes in handy.

Another major draw back was that it didn’t have wifi – and this was getting to me to the extent of not wanting the phone any more. Well, That has finally been resolved – Samsung has finally launched a version of the phone with Wifi, called the S5230W, and according to various sources, the wifi phone will be launched in Asia and Middle east with the name Samsung Star S5233W,it has been launched internationally in early September, but is yet to come to Pakistan.

So look out for it – with all the features it has, it makes it worth dealing with a difficult screen. Given below are the specs