Samsung C5220 Review

Welcome to the Samsung C5220 review. The Samsung C5220 released in early 2009 is a basic flip phone offered solely in Australia for the Telstra mobile phone network.  Hence this is a GSM and a NextG (3G) capable phone so get data connectivity at a good speed. We believe its the replacement for the older A411.

The C5220 does not offer much standard functionality but due to its relatively cheap pre-paid and outright costs we can not really complain. What is does best is to connect to the internet Telstra portal for content and additional functionality.  The Telstra portal has improved over the years and has a number of free and subscription based content like news, video, music and TV. The C5220 is priced from as low as $59 as a pre-paid package you can’t expect much.

Construction and looks are average, with a all plastic body and plasti-metal keypad.   In black it looks like just another flip phone but in metallic red the C5220 looks  a little classier.  The external screen is a black and white screen and the internal a 2 inch colour TFT. Both screens are not really high resolution but easy enough to read and competitive with others int he price range.  The flip closes with a typical whack of a plastic toy but feels sturdy enough a year of two of usage.  The key pad is good to use but not as nice to look at or use as the A411 and A412.

The interface is the old icon based navigation system used by Samsung since the early 2000’s so everything is easy enough to access.  Speed of the interface is good and the annoying music key presses which can be turned off is still there.  The interface can be confusing since there can be quite a lot of information displayed at the one time.

Network reception quality on the C5220 is very good but call quality is only average.  The Telstra/ZTE models are superior to this model in this regard and even the ancient Motorola V3XX is so much better.

The C5220 can be sync’ed with your computer and used as a wireless 3G modem.  Although not as fast a standalone USB 3G modems it does work.

Overall the Samsung C5220 is a decent enough basic mobile phone.  It will do voice and calls, SMS, MMS and emails and some very basic web browsing with ease. If that is all you want then this is a good choice just don’t pay too much for it. The Telstra branded ZTE phones are just as good as the Samsung in this price range so you’ll have to decide based on look and feel rather than what functionality it can actually do. However if your budget can spare a few more dollars and you’ll be able to get a much better mobile phone.

Specifications

  • Samsing C5220
  • Network
    Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900
    Single-band 3G 850
    HSDPA 3.6
  • Design
    Slider
  • L99 x W49.5 x D18.2 mm
    Weight 100 grams
  • Display/s
    Internal 2 inch
    TFT 176 x 220 pixels
    External 1 inch
    FSTN 96 x 96 pixels
  • Camera
    1.3MP
  • Video Camera
    174 x 220 pixel
  • Connectivity
    Bluetooth V2
    microUSB
  • CPU
    ???Mhz
  • Memory
    Up to 35MB available to user
    4Gig micro-SD card slot
  • Ring tones
    MIDI, MP3, vibration and others
  • Features
    Music and Media player
    Calender
    SMS, MMS, IM, Email
    JAVA MIDP 2.0
    Speaker Phone/Hands free
    3.7V 960mAh
    Up to 250 hours Standby
    Up to 2 hours Talk Time
  • Price history
    Under $100 AUS 2010 (Pre-paid)