 T-Mobile sent me this phone after the sound quality on my Samsung e315 became too unbearable to deal with. They said it was a "known issue" and therefore sent me the e335, which is basically an update to the e315 model.
The Samsung e335 has a nearly identical hardware interface to the e315, though one noticeable difference is that the phone is blue, not silver. While the phone is an upgrade to the e315, the screen quality is unfortunately not nearly as good. The e315 had a clear, responsive screen, which appeared to be an active matrix display. The e335 has a more fuzzy, darker screen, which seems to lag slightly whenever the screen changes. It is still acceptable, but not nearly as bright and clear as the e315's screen. Also, the external screen on the e335 is not color, but black and white (or more accurately, dark blue and light blue). Therefore, there is no picture caller ID option, but that's not a big deal, since picture caller ID is one of the most useless features ever invented.
Speaking of pictures, the Samsung e335 has a built-in camera phone that does the job, but not very well. The image processor is so slow that you have to hold the camera absolutely still for about two seconds before taking the picture or the image will be blurred. You can pretty much forget about taking pictures of moving objects. The e315 had a much more responsive camera and could take video clips, which the e335 cannot do. At least the picture quality is decent (for a VGA camera) as long as there is no blur, and the phone provides one-click access for uploading pictures to My Album, which is convenient. (It also makes it easier for T-Mobile to generate revenue from picture uploads, which I believe cost $0.25 each.)
The worst part of the camera is that the button on the side of the phone activates the camera when pushed in and then takes pictures whenever the button is pushed again. While this is meant to be a convenience for taking pictures, it also means you are likely to take a lot of pictures of your pocket. Any time I am carrying other objects in the same pocket as my phone (contact rewetting drops, for example), my phone will randomly start taking pictures, which is really annoying and uses up the battery. The camera button should have been inset or had a plastic guard placed around it so it could be pushed as easily.
Fortunately, the e335 has a solid speaker, which is arguably the most important aspect of a cell phone. The sound is clear and not distorted like the e315. The e335 also has a built-in speakerphone, which I use often, especially when I am on hold for an indefinite amount of time. The speaker volume can easily be adjusted using the control on the side of the phone, which is helpful since some people talk way too softly, while others talk too loudly. I wish the speaker could be turned up a little louder (for noisy environments), but then again, I have never used a cell phone where that wasn't the case.
Finally, the software interface of the Samsung e335 has been improved over previous models. The graphical menu is intuitive and easy to use. Each menu section includes a list of options which can either be selected by using the arrows and the "t" enter key, or by simply pressing the number next to the option. Text messaging has been improved with a greater list of words recognized by T9 mode, which I use all the time. I finally figured out that by pressing and holding a number in T9 mode will input the number instead of a letter. Now I hardly ever have to jump out of T9 mode when text messaging people.
While I wish the Samsung e335 had a better screen and a better camera, it is a reliable phone with a well-designed interface. The speakerphone is a welcome addition, though I wish both the speakerphone and regular speaker volume could be turned up just a bit more. Though it doesn't make a fashion statement, the e335 is a sleek phone and the internal antenna prevents it from getting caught in your pocket when you try to take it out. If you want a simple, reliable phone and don't need a great camera, the Samsung e335 is a good choice. |
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