Samsung X500 Unveiling Specs Prices Pros & Cons

Introduction to Samsung X500

The Samsung X500 is a feature phone that was announced in June 2006 and has since been discontinued. It was designed for users seeking a basic mobile phone experience with essential functions like calling and texting, presented in a stylish form factor with several color options such as Champagne Gold, Metallic Blue, Cool Gray, and Pink. While it lacks advanced features like cameras and high-speed internet, it offered a sturdy design and basic functionality suitable for its time.

Design and Build

The Samsung X500 has compact dimensions of 88 x 45 x 19.9 mm and weighs just 79 grams, making it extremely portable and easy to hold. Its design is straightforward, with a focus on durability. It uses a Mini-SIM and comes with a removable Li-Ion 750 mAh battery. The phone's exterior materials and design were aimed at providing a comfortable in-hand feel while maintaining aesthetic appeal.

Display

The phone features a 1.8-inch TFT display with 65K colors, offering a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels. While the display size and resolution are modest by today's standards, they were adequate for the purpose of basic communication at the time of release. The screen-to-body ratio is approximately 25.7%, making navigation and visibility clear for simple tasks.

Network and Connectivity

The X500 supports GSM technology on 2G bands of GSM 900, 1800, and 1900, ensuring basic connectivity for phone calls and text messaging. For data transfer, it includes GPRS Class 10, although it does not support EDGE, limiting its capability for mobile internet. Additional connectivity features include Bluetooth 1.2 for wireless file transfer and USB 1.1 for basic data syncing with a computer, but it does not support WLAN, advanced positioning systems, or radio.

Memory and Storage

Internally, the Samsung X500 offers 8MB storage space, which might seem minimal by contemporary standards, but this was sufficient for storing contacts and call logs in the era of feature phones. The phonebook can store up to 500 contacts with 10 fields each, plus photo call capabilities. Unfortunately, there's no card slot for expanding memory, which places limitations on its multimedia usage.

Sound and Alerts

In terms of audio capabilities, the X500 includes a loudspeaker and supports various alert types, such as vibration and downloadable polyphonic, MP3, and AAC ringtones. It does not feature a 3.5mm jack for headphones, which means audio interaction largely occurs through the speaker or via Bluetooth-enabled audio devices.

Messaging and Browser

For messaging, this device supports SMS, EMS, and MMS, allowing for multimedia messages, albeit limited by the device's capabilities and storage. Users can access the internet via a WAP 2.0/xHTML browser, which enables basic browsing suitable for the phone's small screen and data capabilities.

Battery Life

The removable Li-Ion 750 mAh battery provides up to 340 hours of stand-by time and up to 3 hours and 20 minutes of talk time, which were considered decent performance metrics for feature phones of that period. The battery life was optimized for the phone's limited functionality and energy consumption requirements.

Additional Features

Several additional features enrich the user experience on the Samsung X500. The phone supports Java games, which were a popular form of entertainment on mobile phones during its time. While it lacks advanced sensors and hardware capabilities that are prevalent in modern smartphones, its simple and functional design meets basic needs efficiently.

Conclusion

Though it may appear outdated now, the Samsung X500 was a well-balanced feature phone marketed towards consumers looking for simplicity, portability, and essential communication features. Its classic design and range of fundamental features made it popular at the time of its release, particularly among users who valued reliable communication without the complexity of modern smartphones.