Samsung Ch@t 335 Preview

Introduction:

The Samsung Ch@t 335, also known as the Samsung S3350, is a candybar portrait QWERTY handset designed with heavy texters in mind. You not only get a BlackBerry-esque keyboard, but to suit your web needs the phone comes with Wi-Fi on board. Most importantly, however, it is a very affordable handset that will end up in many pockets and might even replace some BlackBerries. Currently, it runs for nearly $165 off contract, but let's take a closer look at the design and functionality of the Ch@t 335 before we jump into any conclusions.

Design:

The first thing you notice when you hold the Samsung Ch@t 335 is how thin it is. We wouldn't compare it with the slimmest of cell phones (it certainly isn't), but it just feels right in the hand. The casing is of course plastic, but that's no surprise at that price point. Don't worry about dropping the phone accidentally - the back cover has a distinct dotted pattern, which contributes to a secure grip. To add to that feeling, the phone's back is slightly rounded for a more natural palm fit.



You can compare the Samsung Ch@t 335 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

In a world of huge screens, the 2.4-inch TFT display with a modest resolution of 320 x 240 might not even make it to a mid-range device, but for your basic texting/calling needs it works like a charm. When it comes to viewing angles, the TFT screen is pretty average. It's not touch sensitive, but navigation is nevertheless fluid due to the optical trackpad. It has registered our touch very accurately and when you throw in the easily customizable sensitivity, you get very functional navigation. And hey, an optical trackpad means that you can operate your phone even with the gloves on, unlike all the fancy capacitive handsets out there, and that is something you'll learn to appreciate if you live in Northern areas.


But this all seems like minor worries on the background of the pretty BlackBerry-esque full QWERTY keyboard. There is no other word to describe the keys, which mimic the familiar edged style you might have seen on a RIM handset. The keys are similarly tilted to the left on the left half of the keyboard, while the right side tilts to the right making it very easy to type. The Samsung Ch@t 335 is however slightly narrower in size than your usual BlackBerry Bold, which means that the keys are smaller as well. If your hands are on the large side, you might want to check out the typing experience yourself before you get it as this could be an issue.


Lastly, on top there is a 3.5mm standard headphone jack and a lid-protected microUSB slot for charging/syncing the handset. On the right you have the very conveniently placed and distinct volume rocker. The back houses a humble 2-megapixel camera and the speakerphone. Pop the back cover open to add your own microSD storage card. That's easier said than done, and after a couple of card swaps we wished for a hot swappable microSD. The 1000mAh battery is replaceable as well.

Interface and Functionality:

Samsung's proprietary interface might not be the best out there and it falls short to all the smart phones without a shade of doubt, but it gets the job done. The interface sports dedicated Facebook and Twitter clients, as well as a pretty convenient email wizard and single messaging hub.


Our biggest gripe here is the lack of a dedicated lock key. To unlock the handset you have to reach out to the Sym key on the keyboard, which – given the number of keys – might take you a couple of attempts. After a couple of days of instinctively trying to find the missing lock key, you sigh and get used to it, right?

The very same keyboard is a gamechanger for productivity. Samsung allows custom actions for all of the keys, which means that you can quickly access pretty much every function with a single push of a key.



Browser, Connectivity and Software:

A 2.4-inch screen just doesn't pair with quality browsing and the Samsung Ch@t 335 does nothing to change that. Your standard mobile browser from the dark ages of dumbphones doesn't allow much. Even the trackpad doesn't help much here as it seemed decalibrated in the browser moving at a despairingly low speed even when set to highest sensitivity. Let's not forget that we had an early prototype unit and in the final version things might have taken a change for the better.

When it comes to connectivity on such an affordable handset, we take fast data speeds as a gift and the presence of Wi-Fi is certainly one. As we mentioned earlier, the phone also comes with a microUSB port, which you can use to easily sync your media with the phone through Samsung's Kies manager – an elegant iTunes-like solution for your Ch@t 335. The handset could also be connected in mass storage mode allowing you to drag and drop your files without dealing with additional software.

In terms of apps, you can rely on the Samsung Apps download center and the pre-installed applications. The handset comes with a built-in IM client, Facebook and Twitter clients. Given that the phone's main purpose is to keep you connected, we found messaging very streamlined.



Camera and Multimedia:

The Ch@t 335 is the successor to the similarly looking Ch@t 320. And camera is one department where change has happened. Now that doesn't mean much as the 1.3-megapixel camera on the Ch@t 320 – for lack of a better word – sucked. The 2-megapixel flashless snapper on the Ch@t 335 doesn't promise much. So tone down your expectations and take a look at the sample pictures we took on a cloudy winter day. The pictures lack detail, as you would expect, but colors were more or less accurate, so you could still snap a photo in case you forgot your camera/smartphone, but that's pretty much it.






We have to mention once again that we tested a prototype, before we jump into the video recording capabilities of the Samsung Ch@t 335. If QCIF doesn't sound scary, let's translate this into pixels – 176 x 144. This renders video capture virtually useless as proven by the video sample below.

Samsung Ch@t 335 Sample Video:



Sound mind tells us that media playback on a 2.4 inch screen is limited to audio and images, but for the movie enthusiasts out there we did try to run differently encoded videos only to find out support for MPEG-4 files at around the native resolution of the screen. Audio playback, however, was satisfying, with loud and reasonably clear sound. FM radio is also on board. When it comes to the image gallery, we loved the way you could easily fit photos on the screen and flick between them with the trackpad.



Expectations:

The Samsung Ch@t 335 is a petite BlackBerry of a kind. Don't get us wrong – it lacks many features,  most notably - a fully functional smart OS, but its similar design and welcoming price would lure many. Disappointingly, the handset skips on the dual-SIM slot, present on its predecessor, the Ch@t 320, and goes for the mainstream single SIM mode. But it throws in more connectivity with Wi-Fi and a slightly better camera. The main selling point is the keyboard and while it is quite comfortable, it's smaller size makes the typing much slower than on a BlackBerry. But weigh in the price, and if an affordable portrait QWERTY is what you want, the Ch@t 335 might turn out to be a very lucrative option.

Samsung Ch@t 335 Video Preview: