Samsung B2100 Solid Extreme Sim Free Mobile Phone

Bought to replace a smart-phone (never again!!). I used to have one of these before my smart-phone. I remember it being almost indestructable. I dropped it down a mountain ledge about 25 feet, I dropped it in a lake, I used it in the shower, and the battery life ... 3 weeks between charges!! I also liked the powerful LED torch with dedicated button, which has proved so useful to me in the past. So when my smart-phone finally gave up the ghost, I was delighted to find this model still available. It took a severe power surge during a lightning storm to finish-off my old B2100, or I wouldn't have needed a new one! Samsung seem to have updated the phone since I last had it, as the hardware is identical but the software is different. The battery life is improved. I now get a month between charges, based on light usage, or maybe a couple of weeks if I talk a lot. The phone now comes pre-loaded with rudimentary facebook, twitter and browser "apps", that one could use if absolutely desperate, but be aware that these apps are significantly more basic and slower than their smartphone counterparts. They also rely on your network's slow GPRS/Edge data service, as the phone doesn't have 3G or WiFi. On that subject, please be aware that a 3 sim-card won't work in this phone (I have tried, just to confirm). This is because the handset is not 3G-capable. Other sim-cards work just fine though. With a good signal, data isn't that slow - it's adequate for urgent purposes - although that's not what this phone is designed for. With a good signal, I have successfully used this phone as a "mobile broadband" modem by connecting it via a USB cable (available elsewhere on Amazon) to my laptop (running Ubuntu Linux, but I'm sure you could do it in Windows too - I did with my old B2100). Browsing was slow - but perfectly adequte for checking e-mails and even online banking. Forget streaming videos and the like, though! I only have a few criticisms with this phone, and it's mostly due to usability. My old B2100 allowed the left softkey to be used as an "enter"/"view"/"OK" key, in addition to the button in the centre of the arrow-keys. Unfortunately, the revised software on the later edition of the B2100 does not allow this, so as a result the little square button in the centre of the arrow keys gets a disproportionate amount of use. I do worry that this will wear out quickly, rendering the phone unusable. On my old B2100, the failure of either of these two buttons still allowed the use of the other with no loss in functionality. The sound quality on the new revised phone also seems a little worse than on my old B2100, although this could be related to issues that my phone network have been having recently. The old B2100 had very effective noise-cancellation, which appeared to function both for the speaker and the listener. On this phone, people sometimes report that they can't hear me in a noisy environment, which I didn't used to get much on my old B2100. That said, for the most part, sound quality is extremely good for both speaker and listener. In short, if you want a good, solid, reliable, almost-indestructable phone that just does what a phone does, this B2100 is perfect. I've tried the Facebook app and Opera web browser on it, and if you're not addicted, they're both more than adequate for the odd update. Alternatively, if you want a mediocre and confused device that doesn't quite know whether it's a computer or a phone (so attempts to do both functions... very badly), has diabolical reliability and no battery life whatsoever (but looks sooooooooo trendy), get a smart-phone.

I originally had an earlier version of this phone for 3-4 years. It had survived being dropped from small heights (1-2 meters), being swamped by waves when I took it rowing and the general day to day bashing that a phone not in a case receives. The need for a new phone came when my old one just upped and died on me. I decided to stick with what I know as I dont have need for an all singing all dancing mobile phone, and I had been very happy with my old one. This is a newer version of the phone I had and I had no problems getting used to the small changes between the two versions. the buttons feel smoother the screen seems brighter and more clear and it is easy to navigate through the various functions. The only gripe I have is that the torch switches on when it is in my pocket even if the phone is in locked mode. Only a small gripe but mildly annoying that I have to keep an eye on it otherwise it gets a bit hot around the bulb area if it is on for a while before being noticed. One other thing mine came from some place far far away and the charger was not compatible with the uk plug socket and whilst a 3-pin plug was supplied you had to cut off the supplied plug and refit the 3-pin one - luckily for me I still had my old charger so just used that. Dont bother buying a case for this phone - my old one survived just fine without one.

I'm not a bug of these fancy 'all-in-one-iPhone' type gadgets as I believe in evolution but not "convergence" of mobile gadgets and I thought the whole point of mobile devices was you didn't have to plug them be it to use or to charge on a nightly basis. I go out and get wet riding horses, walking and having a life while commuting to work 3h a day by train to pay for my hobbies. I have an iPod touch to play music on and wake me up when my train is arriving; I have a NetBook with a proper keyboard, 11 inch screen and Dongle to do 3G / Wi-Fi / email at conferences; I have a Nikon D80 & various lenses for 10 to 500mm for taking photographs. To carry all this gear around I have more rucksacks than Thunderbirds have "pods". I am happy; laugh if you want. I have my B2100 on a SIM Free contract to do SMS and phone calls (and generally be there in the morning to light the way around a strange bedroom) that gets thrown into my magazine pockets of my army trousers at 7.30 on week days and whacked into a least one plane/train/automobile/door/chair/counter once a day. I never, ever worry about hurting my B2100 it like I do my iPod (which I would have my man-servant carry in padded box should I be able to afford either the box or the servant). Occasionally the screen of the B2100 (tiny!) gets scratched when a set of keys end up next to it and I'm wearing denim trousers because I think these are 'cool/sexy'. Sometimes - about once a week - I remember to charge the battery of the B2100. It is happy in a glass of lager - I have pictures - but seemingly doesn't want to drink it / use the beer as food. It also doesn't tell jokes well in the pub but the whole in-the-glass-of-beer thing is a cool party trick. The torch is brilliant (in all senses: bright, low power and seemingly takes no space/weight); the battery life superb at over a week on standby even after 2 years of use. I might buy another battery for about 10 quid - try that with an iPhone! Generally I love this little gem...apart from: a) It might be tough on the outside, but inside the UI needs constant reassurance like a scared puppy. Indeed - yes - you did want to do that and I'll pat you on the head [click 'Ok'] almost constantly to reassure it during text messaging. b) I have never found the quotation mark used in SMSs; either I'm stupid or the phone GUI of the phone is. I've had it 2 years and a PhD in Computational Biology for 8 years so I'll leave the point open to Peer Review. c) The 'confirm-cancel' sequence in text message mode is very easy to activate with my podgy fingers. Even today (2 years after buying the unit) I still loose 5% of my text messages to this horrid piece of design. d) I presume it does Bluetooth; never managed to get it to connect to any of my PCs (cf. my 3x Nokia 6310i s which just did). e) The camera is absolutely terrible. Still - I can be a nice lens for my D80 with the money I saved _not_ buying a new i[Device] every 14 months.

Bought this to replace my B2710 (which hasn't really broken but the volume control cover had come off plus i lost the earphones so I used that as an excuse to buy a new phone) which I had for probably 4 or 5 years and was probably the longest I had ever had a phone and it still works and will be kept in the spares draw. Seeing as I was so happy with the b2710 I decided to go for a similar phone and the b2100 fitted the bill. Its slightly smaller than my old phone but has all the benefits such as a being robust, has a handy torch (invaluable), a handy camera, fm radio with earphones (good sound quality) and has a good battery life. This phones graphics on screen are a bit basic but they make it easy to use without overcomplicating things. The only downside I can think of with this one is that because it is a bit smaller the buttons especially the cursor buttons are a bit small and fiddly so if you have big fingers you could have problems. Hopefully this phone will give me a good number of years service as well. :)

I have now owned this phone for one month. I work on a farm growing Xmas trees and also live in Scotland so we get our share of wet weather! The phone has survived being thrown/dropped in to deep tractor ruts, fell on to concrete and lives in a very wet and cold top pocket. despite the abuse this phone gets it is still in mint condition and works perfectly,although I think I am more careless with it than my other phone just because I can. As other reviewers have noted the internet is almost useless but personally myself I have found this to be a bonus as I tend to sit down at night and check emails etc in a warm room rather than a cold muddy field! All in all this is a basic phone with an excellent and very useful torch which will survive being dropped/drowned and generally abused and will not surrender to the elements unlike your smartphone. If you want a workphone or do any outdoor pursuits then stop reading these reviews and buy this phone now!

The phone has a nice feel and seems strong and it also has a decent weight to it and the buttons are easy for large fingers.Just a basic phone which was what I wanted. Things that let the phone down are, 1.It goes to the web very easily and it is easy to press the button by mistake 2.The torch is hard to switch on and off... at times I thought it is not working. 3.when carried in my trouser pocket it can and does with irritating regularity turn itself on and has been known to ring someone up, and to try to connect to the 'web'. this can be costly and also means that it does not take incoming calls whilst it is in that mode. 4. I think it does not have as good capabilities to pick up signal as my old 'Nokia and overall its ability to pick up signal is an issue 5.you only have to press one button to switch it on, most phones you have to press two buttons the one button system could be changed to the two button system which should cure the switching itself on problem. I would not buy it again and it has crossed my mind to return it for the torch and the switching itself on problems, Overall I am dissapointed

This Samsung phone arrived on time and was very easy to set up even for a non techie like me. I am on 02 and it connected in seconds.It has a nice rubberised grip which gives a 'sure' hold and copes well the the knocks and bumps of everyday use. The screen is not great and neither is the camera but they do a decent job which is all I need. The phone itself has a good receiver/mic and the radio is surprisingly good too. Sending Texts is a doddle and the torch is useful for poking around in the recesses of my handbag. All in all a great basic handset,robust and hard wearing with no fancy gadgets to drain the battery. It won't appeal to those who like a more sophisticated larger phone that comes with a hefty price tag. The Amazon price was cheaper than the high street too. A good purchase for my needs.

After the contract ended on my Blackberry I wanted a simpler phone, and went for this due to it's alleged durability. As far as I can gather, the other options for a rugged Samsung phone (the B2710 and C3350) are also really good, more sophisticated, and offer some quite desirable features like maps, better internet & data storage & so on. However, these extra features are inferior to what you'd get on a smartphone, whilst the B2100 is the smallest, cheapest & maybe the toughest option, and its basic software is more reliable (doesn't crash). It is certainly as solid & waterproof as claimed, the torch is bright, speaker is good, & the battery lasts ages. I had low expectations for the software & applications, but it's actually great to use and there's more to it than meets the eye. You can get an 8gb memory card in it (costing less than £5), the browser & email are ok for occasional use, and the 1.3 MP camera & phone setting options are fine. It has some useful stuff like a world clock, unit conversions, voice recorder etc. I've managed file transfers by bluetooth - although you can use a USB cable (bought separately). A negative comment in other reviews is how the main central button is set to operate the internet browser. This is so, and as far as I know you cannot change it, but you can set a different internet profile so that the internet is never activated (preventing data charges if you accidentally press this). This button is used for everything else once you're in the menus, texting etc, and you get used to it - also the keypad lock is effective (and has an automatic or manual option). Other negatives I've heard of are the quality of the screen, but again I really don't think it's that bad compared to what I was expecting, I've watched videos & photos on it fine. Plus, for this type of phone it's far more relevant & impressive that the screen is almost break-proof.