One of the freshest-looking phones to come out of late, the Samsung B3310 (aka the Corby Mate) is a definite attention-getter. If nothing else, people are bound to fawn over the unusual positioning for the T9-style keypad, which sees its keys lined up along one side.
Physically, it's a good-looking compact phone, with a youthful design. The decision to place the number keys on the left hand side makes it possible to use them when you pull down the side-sliding QWERTY keyboard. It sounds like a functional and novel idea, but the actual implementation isn't very comfortable. In fact, it made typing numbers a bit cumbersome unless you've got the phone on landscape mode (and even then, it's not the best). Build is entirely plastic, although construction feels solid. The screen is a little too small at only 2 inches, but it does offer good resolution (320 x 240) and bright colors.
As a phone, the Corby Mate manages excellent calls, making for clear conversations and natural-sounding voices. Those on the other end reported a similar pleasantly performance. Speakerphone sounded a bit too tinny, but it could have been a problem on the unit. Battery life is rated for five hours of talk time, which should be good for two or three days of normal use on a non-3G handset.
Considered a budget messaging phone, it does come with a small but tidy range of features. It has the basics covered well, with a 1,000-entry phone book, messaging (SMS, MMS and email - no IM) and standard PIM tools. There's also stereo Bluetooth, a web browser (strictly GPRS/EDGE, though) and an FM radio.
The music player (which you can load up with songs via SD card) is just average, but the big letdown is the lack of a 3.5mm jack. It can be a real issue with "cheaper" phones and this one is no exception - the bundled buds are quite unappetizing. The 2.0 megapixel camera manages decent-looking shots, however.
Overall, the Samsung B3310 is a slider with a very pronounced selling point - an unusual keypad configuration that you're likely to either love or hate. It comes in a bevy of very bright colors, so the young ones should find it affable. If you can get used to the slightly cramped keyboard (it's a compact phone, after all), it could be worth the $150 or so price (exact retail pricing depends on where you are).
