Samsung Solid review

Applications include a voice recorder, WAP browser, calendar, to-do list, memo utility, clock, three alarms, calculator, unit converter, timer and stopwatch. There's an FM radio, but no music player.

The camera at the back shoots stills at up to VGA resolution (640x480 pixels), which puts it a long way behind even a mid-range smart phone. Picture quality is poor, with shutter lag making it difficult to take photos of anything moving. It may suffice for basic image capture tasks.

We mentioned that the front-facing delete key has a second function. This relates to the flash, which sits next to the camera lens. Press the delete key for a second or so and the flash is turned on permanently so it can be used as a torch. Press the key again and the flash is turned off. This doesn't work when the keypad is locked. Since the keypad locks after about five seconds unless you disable the feature -- and to unlock it takes about five seconds, too -- this can be irritating.

The phone incorporates an SOS feature. If you tap the front-facing volume button three times, an SOS message is sent to a nominated person. Once this has been sent, the next call to the handset is automatically answered. This feature is clearly intended primarily for those engaged in challenging outdoor activities, but could have wider appeal.

Performance
The rubberised casing helps protect this handset against knocks and drops, although we doubt it would survive being trodden on or driven over. If nothing else, the screen may be vulnerable to shattering.

The outstanding feature of the Samsung Solid is probably its battery life. Samsung claims 8 hours of talk time and up to 400 hours on standby. During testing, we got 15 days of usage between charges and this included making a relatively small number of phone calls, sending some text messages and listening to the radio in short bursts.

Conclusion
The Samsung Solid has limited appeal because of its realative paucity of features compared to a smart phone. It could fit the bill for those who work in trades where dust, dirt, water and occasional drops are a perennial problem.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday