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Samsung Solid Immerse review: Verdict
The Samsung Solid Immerse is certainly a tough handset, and if you need a mobile phone that can withstand a bit of rough and tumble then it could be a winner.
But the Motorola Defy, as mentioned in the Overview section of this review, has the same IP67 specification, and all the added plus points of downloadable apps, a touchscreen, Wi-Fi, proper HSDPA and a screen that is big enough to work for web and video viewing - although comes with a much higher price tag.
While in the past we've rather liked Samsung's rugged candybar handsets, things have moved on a lot, and Samsung has not really followed suit. There are too many things about the Solid Immerse that feel old fashioned and tricky to use for us to really get on well with it.
You're going to have to be in love with the candybar format to choose the Samsung Solid Immerse over the Motorola Defy.
We liked
The keyboard is well made for use with a gloved hand, with large and responsive keys.
The torch idea is superb. We love being able to turn on the LED that sits on the top of the chassis in order to find stuff we've lost. It doesn't put out enough light for every occasion, but it is good to have as a standby.
Samsung has tried to give you lots of options for personalising the Home screen, and we applaud that.
We disliked
No mobile phone these days should lack a 3.5mm headset connector.
The use of 3G but not HSDPA makes all data downloading rather painful. Coupled with the small screen and the handset's inclination to fail to load larger pages, internet browsing quickly became a no go area.
Battery life really ought to be better. We were surprised to get less than a full day of faffing around from it. On the other hand, if you stick to simply making calls and sending SMS messages, you could to get through a weekend in the wilds.
Final verdict
In the past we've liked Samsung's rugged handsets, but the Samsung Solid Immerse doesn't really do enough to bring the product line on. And, we hate to mention it again, but we simply have to recommend the Motorola Defy rather than this handset, unless you're really in a budget and hate the person that invented touchscreen phones.
The Samsung Solid Immerse is a rugged little critter, but it lacks features. While hardware usability rates well, software usability is hampered by a number of issues including – too many in the end for us to really recommend this phone.
