Life after 2G

Samsung Keystone 3 - no camera

At $68, the Samsung Keystone 3 (B109H) is the cheapest phone in this roundup.
At $68, the Samsung Keystone 3 (B109H) is the cheapest phone in this roundup. PHOTO: SAMSUNG

The Samsung Keystone 3 (B109H) is very much a typical candy-bar feature phone.

Its 128 x 128-pixel screen, which measures just 1.5 inches diagonally, is the smallest among the four phones tested here, though the phone itself is about the same size as the Nokia C2-01 (2-inch screen).

The version I bought appears to be designed for the South-east Asian market - in addition to English, it supports languages like Bahasa Indonesia and Malay, but not Chinese.

The keys are soft with a rubber- like finish and they are backlit, too.

Call quality is good - I could hear the other party clearly without much ambient noise.

The phone's 4MB storage stores up to 1,000 contacts as well as 1,000 SMS messages.

At the top of the phone is the 3.5mm audio jack and a small torch. The micro-USB charging port is on the right.

Standard features like a stopwatch, calculator and alarm are included. But it has no camera.

It does not support mobile data, so if you need to kill time, your best bet is the pre-installed Sudoku game or the FM radio.

With a street price of $68, it is the cheapest phone in this roundup, but the Keystone 3 may not be for everyone as it lacks some features, such as a camera and Chinese-language support.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 29, 2017, with the headline Samsung Keystone 3 - no camera. Subscribe