Assessing the Samsung Freeform 5

Despite the relative abundance of fully touchscreen smartphones in the market, there are consumers who would much prefer to use devices with physical keyboard, otherwise known as QWERTY phones. The main reason for this preference is the ease by which users type or navigate their smartphones using the keyboard.

Though it does affect in the least the primary function of the smartphone—to serve as a communication device, a platform where one can launch features of their business phones such as RingCentral business phone—it does affect usage. And this matter, especially to those who have considerable difficulty in adjusting to touchscreen smartphones.

Smartphones with physical keyboard, however, have waned in popularity, especially when BlackBerry has also lost its former fame. This Canadian firm is the leading exponent of QWERTY devices, known for their excellent keypads. Last year, it tried to resurrect interest in this kind of smartphones with the release of the BlackBerry Q10, side by side the fully touchscreen device BlackBerry Z10.

Nowadays, other smartphone companies have produced a few QWERTY phones. One such device is the Samsung Freeform 5 from the South Korea-based company Samsung Electronics. This article will expound on the specifications of this handset.

The Samsung Freeform 5 : An outdated feature phone

Before going on to the major flaws of this device, let us take a look at the advantages of using this phone. First off, the Samsung Freeform 5 comes with a reasonable price tag. It also has a responsive physical keyboard, living up to its nature as a QWERTY phone.

Now, on to the disadvantages. The Samsung Freeform 5, while it is a feature phone comes with half-baked features. In addition to that, this handset possesses low-end specs, which include poor image quality and camera performance.

What are the other features of Samsung Freeform 5?

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If you still want to give this handheld device a chance, then read the following list of specifications:

• With a cellular agreement, the Samsung Freeform 5 costs just $69.99, and this requires no monthly data plan.
• This is the fifth Freeform smartphone from Samsung, and it is a compact device. Its dimensions are 4.4” x 3.4 x 0.42” and weighs 3.3 ounces. It sports a glossy black finish and is roundish in overall feel.
• Do not expect this device to deliver an astounding display performance, as the Freeform 5 is fitted with a QVGA with a paltry resolution of 320 x 240p. This translates to unfocused images, texts that are not crisp, and dull colors.
• The Samsung Freeform 5’s QWERTY keypad is excellent though. It is composed of four rows of keys that are fully separated. All of the keys are responsive, except for the space bar that lacked a reassuring clicking sound. A downside to this, however is that the software does not auto-correct misspelled words or put in a period after double tapping the space bar.
• When it comes to the external hardware of this device, the Freeform 5 sports a microSD card slot for memory expansion, a volume rocker, a camera button, a headset jack and a micro-USB charging port. Connectivity options include Bluetooth, location assistance and a 3G connection.
• The Samsung Freeform 5 comes with a 3MP camera and camcorder that include such editing options as brightness and while balance levels, night mode, self-timer and optional grid, among others.
• Call quality with this device is a letdown, with considerable background noise on both side of the line. The 3G data speeds are also disappointing.
• When it comes to performance, the Samsung Freeform 5 is decently fast. The battery life, meanwhile, is also good, with 6 hours of talk time and 14.6 days of standby time.