Camera Phones Plaza

It may look like every other Samsung slider, but the new Z400 will delight fans of the D500 and D600 with its 3G speeds and new-look silver finish. But will it impress us?

Another Samsung, another slider, another day. Perhaps the malaise emanating from 3G is a bit harsh, but one look at the new Z400 and our hearts sink.

3g has a review of this phone and here are some of their impressions: After the delicious touch-sensitive E900 and the slimline D800 we were hoping that Samsung had broken from its creative straitjacket. But for the Z400, the Korean manufacturer has reverted to type, still hawking the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ design ethos we’ve seen on umpteen Samsung sliders before – the E800, D500, D600, E370, the Z320i… the list goes on. It’s a shame Samsung couldn’t conjure up a fresh approach.

Unlike the D600, the camera is perched on the inside of the front fascia instead of the far back cover. Samsung has clearly learnt from its mistakes regarding the lens position on the D600. This handling faux pas saw your finger frequently flirt with the lens but there are no such worries with the Samsung Z400.

Unfortunately, the two-megapixel camera is unsophisticated compared to fellow competitors. There is no auto-focus or flash on the Z400 but considering the restrictions, the pictures appear respectable for this level, displaying true colour representation and strong focus. Understandably, without the flash, it does struggle in low light but you can manually set the ISO light sensitivity setting to compensate. The higher settings (400 and 800) are ideal for indoor environments while we advise 200 for overcast conditions.

Despite video calling becoming something of a marginal activity, the front camera allows two-way chats. We made a call to an LG U890 and found the conversation quality mixed. Symptoms included digital drag and some choppy buffering – but you could still hold a conversation providing you used the supplied headphones to hear the other person’s voice.

Look beyond the lack of originality in the design and you’re still faced with another decent Samsung handset that’s poised to challenge similar 3G tinkers like Sony Ericsson’s K610i and V630i and Nokia’s 6280. It may hit the buffers when it comes to digital music playback but its other attributes more than revive its chances, making it a very capable 3G practitioner.

Read full review on 3g.co.uk.