SAMSUNG S5230 TOCCO LITE SPECS,PHOTOS, REVIEW AND PRICES
Samsung S5230 Tocco Lite (Light) comes with the latest multimedia features in a slim and compact body that measures a mere 11.9mm. Adopting a 3.0-inch WQVGA full-touch screen and Samsung's TouchWiz User Interface with Mobile Widgets, the phone enables its users to enjoy their mobile easily and intuitively. Using Photo Contact users can call a contact by simply touching an appointed image. The S5230 boasts various multimedia features including a 3 mega-pixel camera and video recording.
The touch screen on the Samsung S5230 Tocco Liteis just a little bit different to other Samsung devices though. On the S5230 the Korean manufacturer has decided to opt for a resistive touch screen, as opposed to the more commonly used capacitive style. The main difference is, with a resistive touch screen, the handset is enabled to be used with a stylus, and not just with the finger. And, where we have stylus, generally that means handwriting recognition. The handwriting option is not something most users take to as their main method of data entry, but that may change with the S5230. The option works extremely well, and only occasionally is the wrong letter picked up.
The Lite has two other alternative options for text entry, a traditional onscreen 12 key alphanumeric keypad, which operates with traditional multi-tap or T9 predictive text, and also a full size QWERTY keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard works in the landscape mode, which the device will automatically switch to when this option is selected
Samsung also make good use of the large touch screen by using the now popular TouchWiz user interface on the device. This really is a nice way to interact with a phone, and there are a few improvements over previous devices that utilize this. Firstly, there is not only one, but three standby screens. You move from one to the other just by swiping your finger across the screen. This means you can populate each screen with different widgets, so in theory you could have one screen for messaging, one for music, and one for imaging. Each standby screen can be allocated its own background wallpaper, allowing for richer customization. Generally, the widgets are stored on the side navigation bar, on the left hand side of the screen. This too can be hidden, using the little arrow tab at the bottom left of the screen. The widgets themselves are basically shortcuts to applications on the device. For example, you can access the full music player through the standard menu, or access top line controls using the widget from the standby scree
The music player itself is fully featured; added tracks are listed by album, artist name, composer or genre; automatic playlists are created for the most played or recently added tracks and you can also add your own customized playlists, too. Thanks to the inclusion of the DNSe sound chip, music playback sounds very good. DNSe (Digital Natural Sound engine) is something Samsung include in a lot of their products, from DVD players to TV’s and music players and recently mobile phones. The addition of the DNSe chip allows for three types of music playback options, over and above those found through the equaliser option – widening, dynamic and surround sound effects.
The handset is equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera – fixed focus, but with the smile detection feature included. This handset isn’t going to win awards for imaging quality, but that shouldn’t put you off. For its capabilities, imaging results are acceptable enough, and good enough to share. Sharing is best done by downloading to a PC and sending via email form there, though, as the only high speed data connection offered on the device is GPRS. Unacceptable really, in 2009 a handset released to the very mature European market needs to have at least standard 3G, as a minimum.
Onboard memory on the S5230 is an acceptable 50MB, which can be expanded up to 16GB with MicroSD memory cards. Unfortunately, Samsung have decided to locate the memory card slot under the battery, so Hot Swapping is not possible. Despite these oversights, the S5230 offers a complete mobile experience. Good music player, acceptable camera, and pleasant touchscreen experience, aligned with a competitive price suggests the Tocco Lite will appeal to the fashion conscious, even those on a tight budget
