After trying out the Samsung Star (S5233) for over a week, I must say that this entry-level full touchscreen phone from Samsung comes as a contender in that category.
The first time I powered up the phone and saw the UI, it reminded me of the Android OS. Samsung’s TouchWiz UI is fast, responsive and pretty slick.
The screen is a full 3 inches with a resolution of 240×400 pixels. The display is bright and crisp while the haptic feedback of the touchscreen can be adjusted for sensitivity (1 as subtle to 5 as shaky). This gives you the ability to choose how much response/feedback you feel whenever you touch the screen.
While using your fingers to navigate the touchscreen is quite easy, the Samsung Star comes with an aluminum stylus which is retractable to different 3 lengths (much like an umbrella stick). The stylus is primarily for handwriting recognition. There’s an option for alphanumeric, small qwerty and full qwerty as input method while the accelerometer provides automatic re-orientation of the display screen depending on the position of the phone.
The phone runs a number of standard widgets for photos, music, clock, calendar, etc. on the left side of the screen that you can drag and drop into the home screen for easy access. The home screen is also extended to 2 more screens just by swiping your finger sideways (there are 3 small dots that indicates which screen you are in). This is one feature from Android I like since it gives an impression that you have a larger virtual screen to work on (I’m tempted to call it extended desktop).
At the bottom of the screen are 3 physical buttons — two for making/dropping calls and a center button that functions as cancel/back button. While the phone is just 12mm thick, the phone feels thicker than it seems although you get a good hold of it with one hand.
The speakers in the front is loud and crisp at low volume (probably due to the DNSe) but doesn’t have enough bass. The camera at the back is 3.15MP (2048×1536 pixels) but no autofocus so captured images aren’t even decent enough to post here.
If you’re looking for connectivity options, the Samsung Star might not be for you — no WiFi, no 3G (just GPRS/EDGE), no GPS — just Bluetooth with A2DP. This is an entry-level touchscreen phone that retails for Php10,490 (some stores sell it for Php9,999).
how can I remove the write protect alert from my samsung star memory card
screen guards are avail at cdr king you can buy for only 80php.. im just customizing the size, it’s cheap rather than buying th original screen guard for 300-500 php
may wifi naman po ang samsung star aa. tska okay sya gamitin.
i’m happy using it 
guy..your right you know what nabili ko rn yng phone ko,,hndi brand new but pinaswap ko yng myphone ko..3500 lng dinagdag,,,ang pinakamasya doon ay tlgng brand new yng samsung star na nakuha ko..at wala pang khit isang damage..sv ng store owner yng mayari dw ng samsung na yn,,ay nagipit kya binenta yng samsung star nya kahit bago pa..grabe ganda nya tlga the best,,ito na yta yng pinaka magndang phone na nabili ko:):):)
China made b talaga to? gusto ko yung star wifi decided na talaga ko pumipigil lang sakin yung made in china..lahat ng mapagtanungan ko pro ganun.. ok lang ba yun? i’m not against china made products pero pagdating sa phone eh..
Marami na kaming gumagamit ng 5233w…okey naman ang phone…kaya lng kailangan maupgrade ung firmware nya..kaya lng takot kami na e.upgrade kasi ung mga blogs na nabasa ko ay bwt sa indian setting man un..baka endi magwork sa phone namin at tsaka endi man un sa wifi…katakot masira…may alam kayo na may blog na sa 5233w?ty
dis is the forum or blog for SAMSUNG STAR WIFI!
http://darkforestgroup.com/forum/index.php?topic=4527.0
it depends on how you use your Samsung Star! if you’re careless on using it madali talagang masisira yan! Nokia user din ako but what I found out about Nokia is madaling bumaba ung demand nila! Like the Nokia 6500 slide I bought it last 2008 for 16,000 then pagdating ng 2009 13,000 nalang cya and hindi na cya masyadong considered as an in demand phone to think na hindi cya touch screen at walang Wi-Fi. 3,000 agad ung binaba nya! Unlike Samsung kahit magtagal cya bumaba man ung price nya still hindi ganun kalaki at in demand pa rin sa market.
Hi,please reply to this post if you can access the yahoo messenger page and able to send messages or perhaps able to make calls via YM.
I am planning to buy Samsung S5230W. Thanks.
http://ph.mobile.yahoo.com/messenger
*Samsung Wifi
I bought my samsung star last April, 2010. It’s a great phone. It records clearly. Really very useful. The camera, video and everything. And dapat u know how to take good care of your phone.
hello po !
help nyo nmn aq kung paano ung settings ng connection ng samsung star .. d q kc mgamit ung wifi eh ..thanks
hindi ko masiyadong type ang mga touch screen.. mukhang madaling masira yung screen nila.. baka matyempo ka sa isang unit na depektibo pala.. sony ericson parin ako, 4 yrs ko ng ginagamit yung phone ko hindi parin sira at hindi man lang nag hung.. kahit 4 na beses na siyang nalaglag..
pd po bng my mg2ro ng gprs setup ng samsung star sakn ung manual setup
panu ba mag conect sa isang unlock na wifi gamit ang star..??
You are writing important, the topics are nice. I like this web site. Depending on how long have you been blogging? How much time do you invest in it? I am hoping that I can use some of your texts on my web site.
i have a samsung wifi GT-S5233W if u need just drop my Yahoo Messenger or call 09292506214 …
magknu u bgay ang 5233w mo? brand new or 2nd hand? newbie pa ako s paggamit ng wifi
mobilemanila.net
I wanna change the OS of my samsung star next to bada??? plz help me hw can i do dat??
new or would you also buy the iPhone 4, may also be needed.