At A Glance:

The Samsung L170 is a candybar device, with a small screen and a curious ridged keypad that was rather hard on the fingers after a few presses. The entire device is chromed and looked really nice.

In the box
- Handset Transceiver
- Battery (standard battery)
- Charger

Exterior
The exterior is chromed as we mentioned earlier, which is rather nice and shiny. However, such a surface has a propensity to pick up fingerprints, and so it did. The chromed shell appears to be metallic, which would explain the solid feel one gets when picking up the device.

The camera lens is on the back of the device. The left side of the phone has a shortcut button, and a recessed and covered port where the headset or the charger plugs in. The right side of the phone has the camera button, and the toggle button is also found here.

Buttons/Screen
The buttons are white on black with a white colour backlight. The ridged effect is a curious one that we haven’t seen on other devices before. The numbered part of each key is on a ridge and the alphabetical part of that same key is in a valley, creating a wavy effect that you can feel through your fingertips.

This needs a little getting used too, causing a bit of discomfort to the tips of the fingers which would be amplified by constant SMS typing. The Send and End keys have these pinpoint dots of orange and green which were rather dim and seemed to have been added as an afterthought.

The really small screen of 176 x 220 pixels was a bit of a surprise given that the area above the keypad appeared to be large enough to support something akin to a Series-40 size screen. The screen is rated as being a 262K TFT one but we found it rather dim and a little straining to the eyes.

Software/Messaging
The 3 x 3 grid of icons occupies the main menu screen. It was in one colour, with the selected icon lighting up in a brighter colour than its surroundings.

The messaging at first glance appears to be limited to SMS and email. The option for MMS is there, but it is buried inside the menu. You will have to start an SMS and then use the options menu to change your SMS into an MMS.

PIM
The PIM section is under the Applications menu. It has the usual Calendar and Alarms, plus the World Clock, Timer and Stopwatch applications as well.

There are Memo and Task applications, and Calculator and Converter applets as well. These are standard applications, but there are no other Office-type software installed into the phone.

Camera/Video
The camera is a 2.0 megapixel capable of shooting at resolutions up to 1600 x 1200 pixels. There are fewer effects compared to other devices that we have seen. This phone has sepia, watercolour and negative effects.

You can choose between single and multi shot modes, and the camera also gives you the option of snapping a Mosaic Shot and Frame Shot. The video records at 176 x 144 pixels with pretty much the same effects as available to the camera.

Multimedia/Voice
There are only a pitiful 20MBs of memory on the phone and we had a devil of a time trying to figure out where the card slot was without the manual. We finally found it under the SIM card slot, protected by the battery cover.

There is no headset in our box, and there was no indication that headsets are given together in the sales package. There was a radio option in the applications menu, and thankfully we were able to fit the headset from the F250 into the provided slot.

The music was a little grainy compared to what we experienced on the F250. Maybe this pair of headphones was not meant for use with this phone. We put the audio through the speakers and it sounded like a small radio.

Connectivity
Surprisingly, this is 3G phone with an option to use UMTS connections. Perhaps it is not such a budget phone after all. However, the screen is much too small to enjoy surfing comfortably.

There is support for GPRS up to Class 10 and up to Class 11 for the EDGE. Local connections are available in the form of a USB connector out of the port on the side of the phone and Bluetooth. However, there was no USB cable in our review package.

We found no data cards in this package either, so you might want to bring this matter up with the dealer if you intend to purchase the device over the counter.

Games
There are no pre-installed games in the device.

Editor’s Opinion
We don’t have a price for this phone, but an educated guess puts it around RM 1000 based on current competing prices. Anything much more than that and you’d be better off buying a competing device.

A 2 megapixel camera and 3G connectivity option are considered entry-level specifications right now. I thought the miniscule onboard memory of 20MB to be rather ridiculous, but liked the protected data card slot under the battery cover.

However, the missing headset, cable and manuals suggest that you might be roped into paying much more than you bargained for when buying this device. Check before you commit.

Conclusion: Sleek and shiny device. The chrome effect looks modern

• Tags : Samsung SGH L170