Full Review and Specification for the Samsung J700

Once upon a time you used to be able to tell the difference between an entry-level handset and a higher specced gizmo without a second glance. Nowadays it's not so easy. The Samsung J700 is the latest handset to cause confusion to the mobile phone spotter. As a sleek slider, the J700 bares a close resemblance to last year's 3G Phone of the Year, the ever-popular Samsung G600. Granted, the five-megapixel camera might be absent, but the Samsung J700 certainly looks like a cracking device, but what's behind the smart exterior?

Samsung J700 - Removing the back

The Samsung J700 looks the part with its two-inch screen, turn-wheel and smooth contours. Unfortunately, our praise was curtailed when faced with removing the back of the handset to insert the SIM card. Trying to slide it off proved to be a frustrating experience - it was nearly 10 minutes before we could even begin testing the phone's capabilities. After checking the manual to see if we were doing something wrong, we discovered it was simply shoddy craftsmanship. Eventually after much prying and a few chipped fingernails, we managed to dislodge the back, allowing us to slide the SIM card under the battery. It's a major irritant when a handset fails such a basic precursor as removing the battery cover.

Determined not to let this episode cloud our judgement for the rest of the review, we took some deep breaths before persevering. Thankfully, the rest of the phone's craftsmanship is of a high quality. The J700's sliding mechanism is smooth and, unlike some other entry-level sliders, the top half of the handset doesn't feel as though it would break off if it received a knock or two. Underneath the front fascia, found under the two-inch screen are a collection of keys and controls, including the turn- wheel.

Samsung J700's non-turning turn-wheel

The turn-wheel itself is something of an enigma, in that it doesn't actually turn. It feels as though it should and would have been a useful addition for scrolling through content and menu icons. Surrounding the non-turning turn-wheel are two soft keys, and a cancel button sandwiched between a call and call end button. The numeric keys are a decent size laid out in a slightly raised grid system, resulting in easy thumb-navigation.

Though the screen is spacious at two-inches, with only 65,000 colours and only 128x160 pixels, the phone's graphics subsequently suffer. Menu headings look pixellated, with the poor display contradicting the handset's impressive design.

Unusually, there is no quick camera key on the J700, which means you have to go through the laborious practice of accessing it through the menu UI. Additionally, the handset must be slid open to use the camera as it is found on the back of the top part of the phone.

Samsung J700's basic camera

While the J700 may have a striking resemblance to the G600, the latter's five-megapixel camera means at best, the two are distant cousins. The J700 only houses a 1.3-megapixel camera and the results are as expected - distinctly average. There are a few functions, such as multi-shot, white balance and timer, but feature-wise there's nothing. Once again, it's worth considering that this is entry level, but at the same time, the standard is of a quality that many will still grumble at. Leave the phone idle when in camera mode for too long and the handset will switch the camera off.

The J700 is GPRS-enabled, so don't expect broadband speeds when surfing the net. Worryingly, on each occasion we tried to access the internet, our GPRS connection failed meaning we had to resort to the much slower GSM.

Samsung J700's media player and FM radio

Music wise, the J700 boasts an FM radio and a built-in media player. While there's no fancy graphics accompanying your music, nor a 3.5mm jack port, the radio can be played via loudspeaker, although the accompanying headphones will still need to be kept plugged in as they act as the radio's antenna. Music, be it through the media player or the radio, can be played while accessing any of the phone's functions, apart from the camera. However, when exiting camera mode, your music will switch back on automatically. Despite the phone being locked (done so, by simply closing the slide) the volume can still be adjusted using the switches found on the side of the handset.

While there's no 3.5mm jack port, the handset does boast Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), meaning you can use any Bluetooth speakers or headphones you may have. When trying to pair the J700 with another handset, we found it took two attempts to locate the other device. However, the actual pairing was immediate and once you have done so you have complete access to the other person's content.

Samsung J700 verdict

The Samsung J700 reminds us of a counterfeit watch. From the outset it looks the part, but on closer inspection things looks a little out of place. The camera is pretty poor even by entry-level standards and we're afraid we just don't have the patience to rely on a GSM connection when browsing the net. The phone's music capabilities scores the J700 some extra points - there's only 10MB of embedded memory, but there is a microSD card slot to bump up your storage capacity - but it's not enough to compensate for the infuriating removal of the back of the handset. The Samsung J700 is an example of a phone having far more style than substance.