Like its predecessor, the SGH-P300, the SGH-P310 bears the same calculator look and isn't very exciting as an upgrade model. Issues such as the odd keypad layout and lack of an external memory card slot on the P300 have been brought over to the current model. That said, the P310 is not without its merits, and for its size is packed with a decent feature set. But at S$698 (US$0) (with a two-year contact when it was first available), this phone isn't for everyone.

Design

It's small all right, with a footprint the size of a credit card to be exact, but the Samsung SGH-P310 is handsome in its own minimalist way. The good thing is it doesn't feel like cheap plastic in our hands.

For a device this small, the P310 has a rather solid build and the aluminum trimmings lining the three sides give it a touch of class. Fortunately, its puny size doesn't mean the keypad gets similar treatment as well, which would have been disastrous. In fact, we found the numeric keypad easy to use.

Our only quibble is with the awkward layout of the #, * and 0 keys that are normally found on the bottom row of the keypad. On the P310, these buttons are on the extreme right column, and even after several days of use we still couldn't seem to perfect our typing with the odd arrangement, something which Samsung hasn't learnt from its previous SGH-P300.

Below the 1.8-inch LCD screen are two touch-sensitive keys. We're glad Samsung didn't overdo the touch-sensitive thing on this one and the keys worked brilliantly.

Features

The SGH-P310 is an average Joe in features, but considering its size we're inclined to give kudos to the Korean firm for cramming as many things as it could into this tiny device. There's a 2-megapixel camera (up from 1.3 megapixels on the P300), 80MB internal memory, Bluetooth connectivity, a multimedia player, voice recorder, a Web browser and other typical settings you get on other phones.

It's not without drawbacks. For example, there's no external expansion card slot. Instead, we had to remove both the battery cover and battery to insert the microSD flash media. The keyboard layout, as mentioned earlier, also took a lot of getting used to.

Like the previous P300, the P310 ships with a classy leather carrying case with the bottom edge forming the spine. The case also doubles as an additional battery pack to juice up the handset. The whole package fits together with understated perfection and even the little square hole at the back of the carrying case matches where the camera on the phone is to a T.

In use, the P310 didn't disappoint as a basic handheld device. We could configure shortcut keys for frequently used functions and the phone remembers the last accessed menu option. If we had exited the menu accidentally, the phone would bring us back to where we were. But if we wanted to go to a new option, we had to scroll to it.

Performance

We tested the triband (GSM 900/1800/1900MHz) candy-bar P310 in Singapore with the MobileOne service. Call quality, like its predecessor, was superior with excellent clarity and volume. The onboard speaker, on the other hand, was not exceptional. The crippling effect came when we started to use the phone's multimedia features, such as the camera or music playback. The unit slowed down a fair bit when using both.

Image quality was hit-and-miss. Photos came out usable but the automatic white balance was disappointing and our snaps had a purplish cast. Other common image artifacts like blooming and purple fringing can be expected.

Battery life was impressive. With the additional battery in the leather case, the P310 survived more than five days on moderately heavy usage. We couldn't convince ourselves to give up the bundled leather case since it not only protects the unit but also gives the phone a "complete" look. Without it, we reckoned we'd have to reach for the charger after three days.