Samsung Monte Review

By: Justin McGuire | Posted on: July 7th, 2010 | No Comments | Read 1,075 Times

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(+3 rating, 3 votes)

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Samsung seems to have jumped onto the touchscreen bandwagon with some gusto, what with the number of touchscreen phones it has launched recently – Samsung Genio Touch, Genio Slide, Galaxy Portal and now the Samsung Monte.

Our first impression about this phone is that it is quite a looker. The jet like shape, the curved, tapering lines, the angular design…they impart a stylish look to the phone. Also the design is such that the Monte feels quite comfortable in your hands. You have a good grip on it, unlike some of the other phones that seem to jump out of your hand like a slippery eel.

However, there is no denying that the plasticky feel of the phone is not going down too well with its consumers. Sure, it’s solid, but it feels most uncomfortably like a budget phone and users aren’t really too happy with that.

Also, the screen and rear casing of the mobile pick up way too many fingerprints and smudges. After a while, you get pretty fed up of the constant efforts to keep the phone looking clean and shiny.

The 3.0-inch touchscreen is eye-catching and has vibrant colors, but we’d have liked the picture to be a little crisper. Don’t worry; it’s not going to affect the quality of your text or pictures, but don’t do around expecting brilliant clarity either. One more thing, the screen is a peach when indoors, but the moment you step into direct sunlight, you’ll be squinting hard to see what’s on the screen.

The 3.2-megapixel camera on Monte is surprisingly good. Its fast shutter speed ensures that there is no lag and for this reason, there’s no motion blur. That’s something you don’t see in all budget phones. Your pictures are impressively sharp. Great show, Monte!

Monte’s music player doesn’t really stand a chance against the dedicated music phones you can buy these days, but we personally feel that it is unfair to make this sort of comparison. For a budget phone, it works quite well, and the sound quality is also pretty good.

While we are looking at all the high points of the phone, we have to include a word or two about the battery life. In the trial use of the phone, it was used extensively for three days and yet, this incredible phone showed over half a battery charge.

To be entirely honest with you all, in spite of all the pros we’ve listed here, Monte is not a phone that you’d be dying to be buy. There are several other phones in the same range that are far better. In fact, you could look at some of the other models of Samsung itself.