Samsung C100 Review

Overall Rating

Great Ringtones, Superb Colour Screen, Excellent Call Quality and Easy to Use Menu's.

Poor T9 Texting System.

Samsung have done it again with a superb slim and lightweight handset that will make you the envy of your friends, especially if they have the older N500, N620 or Nokia 5210i!
So lets get the basics out of the way first. The call quality on this phone is superb and equal to a dect phone used on a BT landline. With its built-in aerial the phone managed to hang on to calls even in known poor signal area's. The keypad is a good size and the keys easy to use, even for sausage fingers, although the spacing could be better. This handset uses the now familier Samsung four way navigation key which is customizable for some,(but not all) of the C100's features, and soft keys which change their function with the selected menu. In the middle, there is a dedicated internet key which doubles as a delete key when texting, more on that later.
The C100's display is a full colour 65k as found on the T100 and S300 etc and is brilliant in all but very bright sunlight. The phone has a good menu system with all sub menu's logical and easily thought out. A good selection of screen savers are available but the handset reverts to a clock display after a couple of minutes!
Ringtones are full 40 voice polyphonic and the pre-loaded ones are pretty good with more than just the usual selection of "classic tunes." More tones can be downloaded from the Samsungfun website, as can games because this handset is Java enabled. WAP seemed ok with a reasonably quick download time, although I didn't get chance to try it on GPRS. Files can be transfered to your PC or PDA via infra-red, also standard on the C100.
Now the bad part! Why oh why can't those nice people at Samsung get the message about texting! The only Samsung phone with "proper" T9 text facility appears to be the brilliant A800. The C100 shares the appalling system as found on previous Samsungs such as the T100, S300 and S100 etc. Words scroll from one line to the next and the system does not let you teach it new words! Even old basic Nokia's had this feature! Come on Samsung, get with the programme and use the A800's software in some of your new phones, you'd be on to a sure fire winner!
That gripe aside, the C100 is great little handset and is being offered at a very sensible price on PAYG or free on new contract. If you can put up with its size and its quirky T9 texting you should find the C100 a great mobile phone.

Members' Comments onscarborian's Review

• ravindra183 on 11th Oct 2003

  I am not able to download any ring tones or games or any clips by gprs, it says unsupported content for ring tone, data too large for clips n not supported for games can some one help me, calling up samsung office was waste of time n money, Any help would be apprecaited

• joyg on 19th Nov 2003

  I have just bought the Samsung C100 sim free, I am experiencing difficulty in usung the wap. I have been onto my service provider vodafone but I still come up with the message no network connection or error 400 or error 500 can anyone help me to sort this out

• manuhomoeo on 25th Apr 2004

  Gr8 phone, Great value for money. cute styling, very fine finish, fine colours and all and all.
  T9 making problems since new words cant be added & finally hmmmm battery ....it could have been a little bit more back up...it hardly reaches the second day full. 36 hrs with moderate use..with out vibra & with service light on..Any how a good buy.