Samsung Tocco Ultra Joined by Samsung Tocco Lite S5230

Riding on the success of the recently released Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition, Samsung has now added a new model to the Tocco range, originally announced as the S5230 this latest model has now been released as the Samsung Tocco Lite.

Featuring a full 3 inch touch screen the Tocco Lite is Samsung's answer to the success of the Cookie phone for LG, an affordable and slim handset with the latest touch screen technology appeals to many in these times of economic downturn.

The Samsung Tocco Lite is available in two colour variants, the Tocco Lite pink edition and the original black version, both models offer the same great features at the same great price, the only thing that changes is the colour of the exterior housing which is finished in either a soft pink or gloss black respectively.

The current Samsung Tocco Ultra has been released in two colour schemes, red and blue, both are proving a roaring success for the Samsung and the news of a new handset entering the Tocco range has means the manufacturer will be putting its weight behind the promotion which means we'll be seeing multiple media coverage over the coming days.

When Samsung thought of designing a fitting competitor for the LG Cookie, they came up with not only the S5600 as the answer but also another superb phone called the S5230.

This new touch screen phone is released as the Samsung Tocco Lite and has looks that no one can complain about. It looks great and is priced suitably in accordance with the LG Cookie. In fact it looks so good that it can be difficult to think that it falls into the mid-range bracket. The touchscreen looks chic. The phone gives exciting features like handwriting recognition with TouchWiz and smile shot camera that clicks only if the subject smiles. If you are expecting something totally different from your Samsung S5230, you might be disappointed but if you expect a new, improved version of mobile phones seen today, you will love this phone.

Appearance

Samsung Tocco Lite looks a little like Samsung Omnia. It is small and compact. It has a rectangular body that is light in hand. The most attractive feature is without doubt the 3” display.  Like other Samsung touchscreen models it has 240 x 300 pixels resolution. The black phone has a silver border, making it look sleek. Again, Omnia look is recalled.  The keys are seen beneath the display. The volume rocker and hidden port for charger, headset and data cable are on the left. Camera key and the interesting key to lock/unlock its touchscreen- the HOLD key are on the right. The camera is on the back. The looks and design are not the trendiest possible but definitely pleasing.

Applications

The UI used in the S5230 is TouchWiz, which has been updated a little. It is as good as the old ones, only better - more colorful, peppier and more user-friendly. The widgets to customize the screen are interesting. They combine the fun application with the regular ones like FM radio/MP3 player or the world clock.  Widgets found on the left are dragged about for selection or removal. Three scrollable home screens have been featured here that help you place widgets according to choice. All the three can use the same wallpaper too. The other features are very similar to other Samsung phones. Gesture lock is a new feature that is exciting; it lets you unlock home screen as well as an application or the menu at the same time. The photo contact feature is fun, showing 8 contact photos in a single arc. Just scroll to dial.   

Texting

You can see the handwriting recognition technique being put to use in the Tocco Lite.  You have three options for texting. You could use the regular keypad, you could write with the stylus and third you could use the near-perfect QWERTY keyboard by turning the phone on its side.    

Music

The music player in the Samsung Tocco Lite is similar to Samsung S5600. You could use the list provided or customize the play list. Just minimize the player to work in the foreground. It is excellent and full points can be given to the music player, it is like carrying an MP3 player around with you. 

Overall the Tocco Lite seems well geared to compete in the mid-range segment.

Initially the Samsung Tocco Lite black edition is available as a SIM free and network unlocked mobile phone with network operators releasing this attractive handset very soon, the SIM free Tocco Lite allows the user to insert their existing SIM card with no network ties or extra charges to pay.