Introduction:
Music phones are all the rage these days, with options from most manufacturers.
So form factor and looks apart, it all comes down to the performance as a music device and a generic handset.
Today, we take a look at the Samsung M2710 Beat Edition.
The Motive:
Well, my sister wanted to buy a music phone for under 6K and her primary requirements were looks, music , 2MP camera and form factor (slider or clamshell only).
After having evaluated the options available, the M2710 stood apart from the rest with its bold looks and performance claims.
All things considered, the deal was finalized at 5.8K and there returned a happy customer with a stylish new phone ( her first phone!). :bleh:
[BREAK= In Essence]
The M2710 Beat :
Do excuse the pics, they were taken in a hurry.
The second colour option :
Black section -> White
Red section -> Purple
[BREAK= The Form - Part I]
Style, Design & Ergonomics:
The M2710 is quite a looker, in its black & red avatar, made enticing by the quality of materials used.
The design really works as it looks good in all angles and the front layout of the music controls along the circular D-pad with the two soft keys on top, fall in place perfectly.
The sides have ports neatly concealed, the 3.5mm jack and rocker keys integrated seamlessly, leaving the rear layout to sport the 2MP camera with simplicity.
The build quality is quite good as it feels sturdy in hand and the slider mechanism works with good feedback. The keypad with a metallic finish also compliments the design without affecting its functionality. Given the time, one could easily use it for heavy texting.
Box Contents:
Handset + Battery
Headset
USB Cable
Charger
Software CD
Manual + Pamphlets
Specifications:
Samsung M2710 Beat Twist - Full phone specifications
[BREAK= The Form - Part II]
Display:
The 2.1â€, 256K colors, 320X240 resolution display is quite good but isn’t rich enough for a vivid experience. Well, one can’t really expect high quality displays on a low end offering. It’s good enough for the intended purposes.
Camera:
With the usual array of options, the basic 2MP camera does a decent job of capturing images in excellent conditions. Indoors, the results are worse but hey, this is a full-fledged music device! Potential owners would easily forgive the camera’s performance and consider the quality of images as passable. Relish those candid moments captured by the snappy camera.
Memory :
With a built-in memory of around 50MB, there’s enough space for starters but getting a new microSD is highly recommended, if you have a big collection of tracks.
Supports upto 16gb.
Phonebook can store upto 1000 entries with multiple numbers and info.
Speaker / Audio output:
Stereo speakers on either side powered by Samsung's DNSe (Digital Natural Sound Engine)
FM Radio:
Requires the headset to be connected.
Overall, the functionality of the radio is quite good with a pleasing interface and a host of options. Support for RDS & auto-tuning only enhance the experience.
[BREAK= The Function - Part I]
Menu System:
The menu system reminded me of SE’s flash menus which is a good thing.
It’s visually appealing and comes with 4 other themes.
The standard level of customization is available for the menus.
Music:
This is after all the USP of the M2710 and I’m happy to report in favour of the same.
The music performance is quite good.
1. Music Player : Decent with plenty of options, Auto EQ and album art support.
2. Music Playback : The audio quality is quite good for an entry level music handset, be it through the loudspeakers (Dual stereo speakers) or through the headphones (quite good). It also supports Bluetooth headphones.
3. With a 3.5mm jack, the final audio quality is at your disposal, with your favourite ear phone !
The dedicated music key and the music controls perfectly complement the functionality of the music player.
Calls & Texting :
Calls:
Making and receiving them are quite straightforward, with all relevant features present. Unfortunately, the call(voice) quality over the ear piece isn’t great, sounding quite hollow. Now, this isn’t really a downer rather something I didn’t expect.
Call animations, settings etc. are quite acceptable.
The Samsung M2710 Beat is a Quad-band device, supporting the four major networks.
Texting:
The keypad, with some effort is a breeze to use for heavy texting.
The interface for messages & email is quite simple and easy to comprehend and use.
The theme influences the overall visual appeal of all such categories.
Overall, the experience with calls & texting was quite satisfactory.
[BREAK= The Function - Part II]
Connectivity:
Bluetooth 2.0 – Transfer rates are pretty good. The need to pair devices initially, using codes can be annoying
USB – Again, transfer rates were good and the process quite simple. The PC Studio software (included) is quite minimalistic, only offering basic features but easy to work with and obviously does the job quite well ! Support for mass storage means you can literally drag & drop content.
Guess what?! It also supports USB charging.
GPRS, EDGE: Used Airtel’s Zero rental GPRS plan to check the phone’s Netfront browser. Fortunately, it switches to EDGE and renders a decent browsing experience.
Quite acceptable for basic browsing and downloading.
File Manager:
Well organized but has a rather immature(visually) feel to it. Usual set of options are available throughout and it is quite easy to browse through the files.
Overall, the file manager is optimized for smoothness but the lacking visual appeal is definitely a downer for me.
Video Playback:
A generic video player with FW/RW controls and option to view in full screen.
Only the most generic .MP4,.3GP formats work with the player, leaving the slightest alterations unplayable.
So custom videos will need some converting, using the PC Studio before it can be sent to the phone for playback.
Overall quality of playback is average, so try converting high quality videos to the accepted format.
[BREAK= The Function - Part III]
Organizer:
It comprises of the following:
Calendar, Memo, Task, World Clock, Calculator & Converter
The basic necessities covered.
Applications:
Image Editor, Voice recorder, Bluetooth, Games, Shake & Play, Timer & Stopwatch
• Decent set of games bundled with the device.
• Shake & Play comprises of accelerometer based games for fun.
Battery Life :
Details are as follows:
Talk Time: 5 hours
Standby Time: 250 hours
Battery Type: 800 mAH Li-Ion
Although not great on paper, it is quite acceptable considering real-world performance. Turn off all extra sound effects, features, animations and your phone should last long enough.
A speculative projection of the music playback would be around 10 hours.
[BREAK= The End]
Conclusion:
Now, the ‘Beat Edition’ lineup isn’t as popular as Nokia’s XpressMusic lineup or SE’s Walkman series but there’s definitely potential.
It’s only a matter of time before we see highly competitive music devices from Samsung to break the barriers set up by the major players.
On that note, the M2710 is a good start! Good enough for someone on the lookout for an entry level music phone. The major pulling factor would be its combination of radical looks and decent performance, the former being obvious.
Purchase Details : For 5.8K from The Mobile Store
EDIT : Current Price : 5.6K*
So before you head for the usual options, give this one a try.
Apologize for the errors that might have crept in.
And please feel free to post your comments & queries !
Thanks for reading. :cool2:
(C) 2009 TheToxicMind @ TechEnclave
Music phones are all the rage these days, with options from most manufacturers.
So form factor and looks apart, it all comes down to the performance as a music device and a generic handset.
Today, we take a look at the Samsung M2710 Beat Edition.
The Motive:
Well, my sister wanted to buy a music phone for under 6K and her primary requirements were looks, music , 2MP camera and form factor (slider or clamshell only).
After having evaluated the options available, the M2710 stood apart from the rest with its bold looks and performance claims.
All things considered, the deal was finalized at 5.8K and there returned a happy customer with a stylish new phone ( her first phone!). :bleh:
[BREAK= In Essence]
The M2710 Beat :
Do excuse the pics, they were taken in a hurry.
The second colour option :
Black section -> White
Red section -> Purple
[BREAK= The Form - Part I]
Style, Design & Ergonomics:
The M2710 is quite a looker, in its black & red avatar, made enticing by the quality of materials used.
The design really works as it looks good in all angles and the front layout of the music controls along the circular D-pad with the two soft keys on top, fall in place perfectly.
The sides have ports neatly concealed, the 3.5mm jack and rocker keys integrated seamlessly, leaving the rear layout to sport the 2MP camera with simplicity.
The build quality is quite good as it feels sturdy in hand and the slider mechanism works with good feedback. The keypad with a metallic finish also compliments the design without affecting its functionality. Given the time, one could easily use it for heavy texting.
Box Contents:
Handset + Battery
Headset
USB Cable
Charger
Software CD
Manual + Pamphlets
Specifications:
Samsung M2710 Beat Twist - Full phone specifications
[BREAK= The Form - Part II]
Display:
The 2.1â€, 256K colors, 320X240 resolution display is quite good but isn’t rich enough for a vivid experience. Well, one can’t really expect high quality displays on a low end offering. It’s good enough for the intended purposes.
Camera:
With the usual array of options, the basic 2MP camera does a decent job of capturing images in excellent conditions. Indoors, the results are worse but hey, this is a full-fledged music device! Potential owners would easily forgive the camera’s performance and consider the quality of images as passable. Relish those candid moments captured by the snappy camera.
Memory :
With a built-in memory of around 50MB, there’s enough space for starters but getting a new microSD is highly recommended, if you have a big collection of tracks.
Supports upto 16gb.
Phonebook can store upto 1000 entries with multiple numbers and info.
Speaker / Audio output:
Stereo speakers on either side powered by Samsung's DNSe (Digital Natural Sound Engine)
FM Radio:
Requires the headset to be connected.
Overall, the functionality of the radio is quite good with a pleasing interface and a host of options. Support for RDS & auto-tuning only enhance the experience.
[BREAK= The Function - Part I]
Menu System:
The menu system reminded me of SE’s flash menus which is a good thing.
It’s visually appealing and comes with 4 other themes.
The standard level of customization is available for the menus.
Music:
This is after all the USP of the M2710 and I’m happy to report in favour of the same.
The music performance is quite good.
1. Music Player : Decent with plenty of options, Auto EQ and album art support.
2. Music Playback : The audio quality is quite good for an entry level music handset, be it through the loudspeakers (Dual stereo speakers) or through the headphones (quite good). It also supports Bluetooth headphones.
3. With a 3.5mm jack, the final audio quality is at your disposal, with your favourite ear phone !
The dedicated music key and the music controls perfectly complement the functionality of the music player.
Calls & Texting :
Calls:
Making and receiving them are quite straightforward, with all relevant features present. Unfortunately, the call(voice) quality over the ear piece isn’t great, sounding quite hollow. Now, this isn’t really a downer rather something I didn’t expect.
Call animations, settings etc. are quite acceptable.
The Samsung M2710 Beat is a Quad-band device, supporting the four major networks.
Texting:
The keypad, with some effort is a breeze to use for heavy texting.
The interface for messages & email is quite simple and easy to comprehend and use.
The theme influences the overall visual appeal of all such categories.
Overall, the experience with calls & texting was quite satisfactory.
[BREAK= The Function - Part II]
Connectivity:
Bluetooth 2.0 – Transfer rates are pretty good. The need to pair devices initially, using codes can be annoying
USB – Again, transfer rates were good and the process quite simple. The PC Studio software (included) is quite minimalistic, only offering basic features but easy to work with and obviously does the job quite well ! Support for mass storage means you can literally drag & drop content.
Guess what?! It also supports USB charging.
GPRS, EDGE: Used Airtel’s Zero rental GPRS plan to check the phone’s Netfront browser. Fortunately, it switches to EDGE and renders a decent browsing experience.
Quite acceptable for basic browsing and downloading.
File Manager:
Well organized but has a rather immature(visually) feel to it. Usual set of options are available throughout and it is quite easy to browse through the files.
Overall, the file manager is optimized for smoothness but the lacking visual appeal is definitely a downer for me.
Video Playback:
A generic video player with FW/RW controls and option to view in full screen.
Only the most generic .MP4,.3GP formats work with the player, leaving the slightest alterations unplayable.
So custom videos will need some converting, using the PC Studio before it can be sent to the phone for playback.
Overall quality of playback is average, so try converting high quality videos to the accepted format.
[BREAK= The Function - Part III]
Organizer:
It comprises of the following:
Calendar, Memo, Task, World Clock, Calculator & Converter
The basic necessities covered.
Applications:
Image Editor, Voice recorder, Bluetooth, Games, Shake & Play, Timer & Stopwatch
• Decent set of games bundled with the device.
• Shake & Play comprises of accelerometer based games for fun.
Battery Life :
Details are as follows:
Talk Time: 5 hours
Standby Time: 250 hours
Battery Type: 800 mAH Li-Ion
Although not great on paper, it is quite acceptable considering real-world performance. Turn off all extra sound effects, features, animations and your phone should last long enough.
A speculative projection of the music playback would be around 10 hours.
[BREAK= The End]
Conclusion:
Now, the ‘Beat Edition’ lineup isn’t as popular as Nokia’s XpressMusic lineup or SE’s Walkman series but there’s definitely potential.
It’s only a matter of time before we see highly competitive music devices from Samsung to break the barriers set up by the major players.
On that note, the M2710 is a good start! Good enough for someone on the lookout for an entry level music phone. The major pulling factor would be its combination of radical looks and decent performance, the former being obvious.
Purchase Details : For 5.8K from The Mobile Store
EDIT : Current Price : 5.6K*
So before you head for the usual options, give this one a try.
Apologize for the errors that might have crept in.
And please feel free to post your comments & queries !
Thanks for reading. :cool2:
(C) 2009 TheToxicMind @ TechEnclave
