Samsung C3350 Solid X-Cover Sim Free Mobile Phone - Steel Grey

after buying both the predecessors to this phone and having to return them both due to constantly slow and forever crashing software, samsung finally got it right..easy to work. enough power to run what it has and no annoying faults... quite frankly i thought after samsungs lack of interest in sorting out the txtin bugs on the b2100 and b2710 i wouldn,t bother with them anymore. but after spending three hundred quid on a sonim, only to find out it weren't that good. i started looking for a durable simple phone again. so glad this one came out when it did. great phone. buy one...

Brilliant phone. Mind you, I'm not into iphones or android phones, I just want a phone to make calls on and send and receive text messages. I did go all out and get a HTC Wildfire S, as everyone told me to move with the times. What a mistake. Good phone to text on, but the battery life on these androids and iphones is a joke. I didn't use it that much but still had to charge every other day. Well, I've had the C3550 for 4 full days now and haven't had to charge it yet - it still appears to have full battery life. The keypad is excellent and is very easy to text on. The handset itself is large, but very easy to handle - extremely ergonomic.

Basically, it does everything I want a phone to do. Oh, it does have those Facebook and Twitter applications (and yes, I refuse point blank to call them 'apps'), so if you're into that 'oh, just arrived in town', or 'on the train now' - you know, telling everyone exactly what you're doing every minute of every day, then you can still do that. However, for a cracking phone that is robust, easy to use and simple enough, this has it nailed.

I got this phone because I have a habit of killing my other phones, mainly by drowning. Ok, what I mean to say is that because I do a lot of outdoor activities (walking, cycling, camping) I tend to get my phones a bit damp from time to time.
I used to have a Nokia N95 and although a great phone, it died on me inside my coat pocket without actually being directly in the rain
I used to have a Samsung GT5800 but that got wet in a trouser pocket and died a quick death
Then I went all cheap and got a candy bar Samsung E1120 - but this soaked up some condensation in a room and stopped working!

I then did a search for robust waterproof phones on the internet and the same two models kept coming up time and again: the Samsung B2100 and the Samsung C3350.

The B2100 was brought out a few years ago for cack-handed people like me but only had a simple camera and a small screen but otherwise looked ok

The C3350 is an update to the successful B2100 and featured a better camera and a bigger screen. Added on to that was the fact it was waterproof (IP57) shockproof and dustproof. It also came in a reasonable silver colour.

The C3350 was only marginally more expensive than the B2100 and initial thoughts on the internet werent too scathing.

I have had the phone a few weeks now and can say the following:

it isnt going to win awards for style - it is chunky
it is waterproof - tested by myself after dropping into the bath accidentally (told you I was cack handed) and no issues at all
it has very fast internet connection (its quicker than my blackberry)
the 2mp camera is surprisingly good
the music player and speakers are very good indeed
It has a torch!
the keys are responsive and robust (rubberised)
the headphones are pants (they hurt my ears - have good new ear bud ones to replace the hard plastic ones they supply)
there is no pc cable supplied (but bought one for £2 and works fine)

Overall, it is a bit retro but then I wasnt buying this phone for for looks but actually for use in the outdoors. I have got it wet with no issues and dropped it no issues. It does everything a phone should do but is just rock solid and well built. Purely for the reasons I bought it (a phone for the outdoors with some internet and multimedia capability) its a 5+ rating. If you buy it thinking it is comparable to a smart tablet type phone then you will be disappointed. For £60 I think its worth it, especially since I have destroyed £500 worth of phone due to water in the past 3 years

Not for everyone, but so far I really like mine

below is a link to a review i did on my blog

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