Samsung SCH-i730
Average Ratings
Reminds me of Windows 1.0
The good things:
The broadband surfing is great. The phone sound clarity and lack of dropped calls are the best of any phone I've used. The screen is beautiful and the graphics are well rendered. Resets are fast (and this is a good thing too because you will be doing a lot of them!)
The bad things:
I'll just stick with the big ones...The software locks up about 5 times a day. It locks itself is states that keep the screen on so if you holster it without noticing you run out your battery. Battery life is very meager so this compounds things. There is no top level battery state icon so you won't know when you are about to run out.
There is also no top level voice mail icon so without digging you won't know when you have a message waiting.
The software can end up in a mode where it won't recieve calls and you won't know that you are in that state.
I'm a past Treo and Blackberry owner and I waited for this phone anxiously. After initial excitment about finally having the phone, using it day by day is a big disappointment. Not sure if I'll keep it or send it back.
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8 years later... still useful
samsung i730 is a daily user along with my other phone, samsung galaxy note II. Yes galaxy note II overpowers i730 by miles, but it still can't beat the handy form factor of i730, nor lot of neat features such as sliding thumbpad keyboard. It's also much easier to operate one hand than note II, and has some features absent from note II such as infrared file transmit/receive ability.
Over all kudos to Samsung for great phone design in i730. 8 years and still really love the form factor of this phone.
Amazing smart phone
I got this after my i700 or something (it was one I previously made a review of that was a bad smartphone. This phone was simply amazing, and covered ALL of the cons that the previous phone had. I loved it, and then i broke it, (I think i broke the touchscreen where it didn't respond) you have so many phones and you forget what happened to each and every one of them.
Magnifficent phone though, and I'm glad I owned it
2 Years w/SCH-i730 and keeping it
And I'm still very pleased. I bought this with WM2003 - upgraded to WM5 as soon as available.
Palm user since the beginning and didn't want to carry that AND a phone. Also, a major objective was to go with Windows for best desktop compatibility. Requirements: Phone, Windows, WiFi, Bluetooth, and expandability. This was the best ticket.
Pros -
+ Good combination of features, and a lot of internal memory.
+ Sync with Outlook unsurpassed
+ Availability of programs to do what I need
+ Bluetooth to an ear-bud and to home Dock-n-Talk landline
+ Media Player quality
+ WiFi Web browsing
Neutral -
= WiFi is hard on the battery, but I usually run with the high capacity battery installed. I have no issues with the weight/size.
= WiFi good, but a bit slow.
= Plastic belt clip - I've snagged the phone too many times, and watched it fall, but it has never broken or needed repair.
= LED blinks blue, red, pink, and I never remember which for what.
= No camera (which was not at all important until WM5 contact and photo caller ID).
Cons -
- Speakerphone quality is bad, even though Media player cranked up loud sounds amazingly good.
- Side buttons are a bit sensitive (laying it sideways for GPS navigation in the car easily triggers the Voice-signal.)
- Microphone sensitivity could be better
Crashes -
As I was learning this phone, I was installing every little application from the web that looked interesting. Stability? Nope. But then I've experienced the same thing during rampant s/w downloads on my desktop.
Stability -
I think the combination of WM5 upgrade, tempering my wants/needs and paying more attention to reviews, I find I have excellent stability, and very rare needs to reboot.
Other -
Contact photo capability makes me wish I had a camera just to help jog my memory with my many contacts (nearly 1000).
Recently bought Garmin GPS10 and running the beta Garmin Mobile XT. Very nice addition as this phone doesn't have GPS built in.
Reuccuring screen issues with Samsung i730
Have other i730 users encountered screen issues with their device where certain parts of the screen stop responding?
I had the i730 for 18 months. It worked wonderfully and I was very satisfied. Then certain parts of the screen stopped responding and Verizon sent me a refurbished i730 as a replacement. Two months later, certain parts of that i730's screen also stopped working correctly. Verizon sent me another refurbished i730 as replacement. Within 10 days, the same screen issues popped up with that phone where certain parts of the screen stopped responding.
According to Verizon's policy, they had to replace with a new phone instead of a refurbished phone when the same issue occurs within 180 days. But the other stipulation is that the account should not be eligible for an upgrade. My account was eligible for an upgrade and I didn't want to upgrade because Verizon doesn't have a better PDA phone than the i730. Which is ridiculous because the i730 is a 2 year old technology - I first got it in summer of 2005 and it is summer of 2007. So they are sending me a refurbished replacement phone for the 3rd time within 6 months.
I can't believe how Verizon expects to be competitive when the best PDA phone they offer is a 2yr old technology. And Verizon techs agree that the i730 is the best PDA phone they ever offered. What is even more ridiculous is that the i730 is now discontinued!
If anyone has dealt with return issues, they can well imagine the huge amount of time spent trying to troubleshoot the phone, calling Verizon, waiting for the replacement phone, reconfiguring it and sending the bad phone back. And I had to do it 3 times. And one time they sent me the wrong phone which I had to send back. Needless to say I'm highly frustrated and looking to change carriers, but their network is still the best so I don't think changing carriers would be a wise idea right now. But that might change soon with other carriers investing in their networks and bringing out better phones.
awesome pocket pc
I don't know why people don't like this phone. I've had it for a few days and haven't had any problems. plus I got it for 99 dollars. processor is quick, nice keyboard and touchscreen. I upgraded to wm5 and it has helped a lot. I have also tethered it as a modem and it works great. anyone who complains about this phone just doesn't know how to us it.
I happily give it 5 stars
Worst piece of technology I've ever owned
The Samsung i730 is by far the worst piece of technology I've ever owned.
I was involuntarily upgraded when my i700 screen went dead.
The i700 was big and clunky, but at least it *worked*.
I'm an early adopter high-tech freak (I've been in high tech for almost 2 decades), and I can usually live with 1.0 or even beta quality technology, but this device is just beyond my ability to cope.
The i730 crashes at least a few times a day. As in, I try to turn on the backlight to use the thing, and it's just dead. Who knows how long it's been dead by the time I notice it, and how many calls I might have missed, or reminders I might not have gotten?!
The backlight comes on permanently and won't go off. When I push the backlight slider switch down, the screen goes off (as in, it becomes a blank screen), but the backlight stays on. The effect of this is a totally *white* screen (instead of a black screen). This *kills* the battery in no time. Only way to get it to stop is to power cycle the unit by removing and re-inserting the battery! This also frequently happens (backlight comes on, all white screen) spontaneously while the unit is holstered, so I don't even realize it's on, and next thing I know the battery is *dead*.
I don't know if this is Mr. Gates infamously bad software, or Samsung's hardware, or just a perfect confluence of the two. Either way, stay away from this total piece of junk.
The best pocket pc to date..
I would say that the Samsing I730 is the most sophisticated and supercharged pocket pc year to date,it has a mix of dedicated memory and a good backup program that actually yields 2 backups one in safestore and another on SD card if inserted in the unit.
The phone has a 520 mhz processor that shines while multi tasking..no buffering problems for this unit,also the talk time may not be the best on the market but the phone charges very rapidly and for usual everyday use of mixed data and voice it seems to be perfect.
I have two of these phones and would have to say that it is superior to any pocket pc that I have owned and I have had quite a few through the years,the unit not only performs well but it is built well too and has a level of workmanship that is consistant with quality products.
Absolutely The Best Phone I've Ever Had!
I have owned Motorola, Sony, LG, & Samsung. My last 2 phones were from Samsung, before that I owned 4 Motorola's, 3 Lg's and 2 Sony's.... I must say that Samsung has topped them all in my book... Especially when I decided to go from my Clamshell, to this i730. I have never been able to do so much with a pocket phone.. Ever. Although there's no camera, I really don't need one because I do photography with a Kodak SLR... and as far as bulk, it still fits in the pocket. Although I have sat on the phone... I've never damaged it.
I highly suggest this phone to anyone who wants more for their buck, and the ability to take technology to it's extreme.
