Samsung SCH-i730
Average Ratings
Im back to this device since the Palm 700w sucks.
I used this PDA for over a year and had very good luck with it. It is the only windows PDA that has a good cellular antenna. The Pocket PC 2003 operating system is 10x more stable than the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform and is 98% the same. Samsung's quality is amazing. I am a verizon dealer in Indianapolis and have used every pda that verizon has every offered and I can say if you want windows platform this is the only way to go. Remember a PDA is a phone first and a pda second. I only wish this phone had the Camera like the Korean version.
Pros: Great Cellular Reception
Extendable Cellular Antenna
Pocket PC 2003 is very stable
Samsung Reliablity
Comes with 2 batteries/holster
Cons: No Camera like Korean version
Great Phone
Have been using the i730 now for 2 weeks after upgading from the i600. Bought the phone on Ebay, as Verizon wanted way to much
$400+, got this one for less than $300 and got 3 extended batteries and 2 Gig SD Card along with usual Assessories.
First thing I did was to ugrade to WM 5.0, very easy from Verizon's website!
Takes some time to get used to all the fetures and even with a 200+ page manual, that is not that well written, it's still a challenge. Phone can be very intimidating at first, I learn new things everyday !
Good:
Great receptin on Verizon network, Richmond, VA. Even in fringe areas I get great reception, have not lost a call so far. Was traveling with a frind the other day, we was up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, he has the new Motorola Q, he had to use my phone to make a call as he kept losing his signal.
Great battery life, with extended Battery.
Speaker Phone is the best I ever had.
Loud and clear sound.
Nice feel in your hand, feels very solid.
Very easy to synch with outlook and transfer file from your PC.
Not so good:
The manual could be better, not very many excamples for operating the phone.
Touchpad is very sencitive. Maybe it has an adjustment!
Conclusion:
Great phone, you need to have some computer know how, or this phone could be very intimidating.
Negative review? Only from those who don't know how to use a computer phone!
Samsung i730 - Best Phone on the Planet!!!!
by leebocuz on Nov 20th 2005
Above is a user of phone scoop and this phone that wrote a review and basically he/she is absolutely correct without a shadow of a doubt! Everyone who made a negative comment needs to read the review!
Most of the negativity I read in other reviews was due to lack of knowledge not lack of phone quality.
This is my first PDA phone and to be honest there is a lot to learn from the review left by the above noted user. He/She basically hit the nail right on the head! I have not had one problem thanks to the advice in that review.
This phone is absolutely awesome along with Verizon wireless central Florida service!
If you know how a computer works and you like or work with a computer then this phone will blow you away!
Pro
Speakers: loud and clear
Screen: Sharp/lights up a dark room.
Signal: Verizon Central Fl. AWESOME!
Features: To many to list. Full on business tool/phone also a great toy!
Battery life: Comes with two batteries!
Pull out antenna: Better signal then those that are buried alive in the housing.
Comes with holster: Hardshell, face in style. Best part is the buttons can't be pressed in. I never lock the buttons which is one less step in making a call.
Con:
No camera although they probably couldn't fit one because there are to many other programs or some business men need to enter buildings that don't allow cameras. This was made for the business man without a doubt!
The Today screen doesn't have any monitors on it. There is software that will give you the ability to add system monitors to the homepage Aka battery meter, memory usage, running programs etc.. These meters are a few button presses away.
Buy it and don't listen to the cry babies that can't figure out it is them with the bugs not the phone!
Excellent Phone
I have had the phone for 3 weeks now and the phone works great. I did find myself humbled with the amount of functionality this phone has and how to operate it. Clear reception and the screens are quick to load. I have a Acura and the Bluetooth integration work fine as long as your battery is above 50%. I recommend buying a car charger.
Cons
A couple times after swapping out the battery the device locked up. I suspect I did not use the proper protocol to swap out the battery. No surprise, the phone is a battery whore. Samsung did good, with giving an additional battery to resolve this problem.
Puke on the Razor
I bought this smartphone last summer and I've never regretted it. I'm not a buisness person, just an average american chick who owns a nicer phone than most average american chicks. My last cell phone was $25 through a 2 year contract (the warranty on that phone was good for one year) however after about 18 months the battery needed to be replaced. The battery for that P.O.S. cost'd more than the phone did, so after the contract with that cell phone company was up I'd had it with cell phones for a while. Three years later I started thinking how handy cell phones really are (especially if you slide in the ditch because of black ice), however I really didn't want to end up like the last time_a cheaper phone that needed a $50 battery every year and offered no features or a more expensive phone that offered a few more features but would still be outdated in 2 years. So I put down on paper what I wanted my dream cell phone to do_internet, mp3 player, GPS, camera, games_stuff like that; someone told me that what I wanted was called a PDA. I could've picked the other one (palm treo), which was cheaper and offered a camera but I liked the wifi because I already pay for high-speed internet at home. Plus the overall size and design is way cuter, the other one looked like a walkie-talkie. The tiny keyboard is just right for my size fingers and makes me the fastest/most wordy text messenger of anyone I know. I love my smartphone and I will never downgrade to those stupid little cellphones that people are buying up this decade. In terms of PDA/phones there is no comparision when it comes to portability/ technology except for a laptop, however I did give the i730 a 4 instead of a 5 becuase it doesnt have a camera. Ya hear that Samsung, I want the next one to be just like this one except w/ a more up to date operating system, a camera and a keyboard that slides out on the side instead of the bottom (landscape view is easier to read with).
GREAT OVERALL DEVICE!!!
With the right knowledge/know-how, the possibilities with this phone are endless!! The Samsung i730 is the most powerful pda phone on the market right now, and this device is amazing. However, with that said, this phone may not be the right fit for the average novice user. I've read through the countless reviews of people complaining about things that can either be solved with a simple fix or a two-step workaround, and am a little dissapointed with the outcome of the overall review that this amazing device has recieved... Anyway- this phone does it all. From web browsing to spreadsheets, this phone will do it faster than any other pda on the market. You all know of the standard features that this phone comes with, so I will not go into that. Besides the battery life, I must say- I really have no complaints. Good job Samsung!
decent phone...
Had to get used to this phone...once i got the settings all right on this bad boy it started working totally fine.
Smart Phones not for Dumb Users
I have had my i730 for a month now. No problems reported by others. If you are not already a pocket pc power user then stay away from this phone. This thing is more computer than phone and I bet all of these people w/ problems are the same bunch that have problems keeping their home PCs stable as well.
Out of the box the phone works pretty much as described. Voice signal has a patch on their website that greatly fixes the accuracy, speed, and bluetooth useability of the voice dialing.
Make use of the sprite backup utility, backup before adding new software and add 1 item at a time until you determine it is stable w/ your other software.
Install software to the \safestore or \storagecard when possible to save memory. Remember that PPCs don't exit programs when you click the X. Stop programs w/ the a mem utility when not in use. Periodically, clear out the internet cache and temp files. your i730 will be much happier.
Do your homework, there are bluetooth DUN profiles, and USB modem patches available if you do google for them. Also, it is possible to use wifi and phone at the same time with a minor registry fix - although your battery life will suffer.
If you have an exchange server at work you will love the Always Up to Date syncing w/ your contacts, calendar, and email.
For those who keep recommending the Treo or Blackberry - lets see you listen to live streaming radio, work on a excel file, and still be connected to a phone.
Samsung SCH-i730 shared memory and design flaws
The Samsung SCH-i730 has great features. I had it for one week. But, it has major design flaws: 1. Verizon and Samsung have decided NOT to include a small portable user manual for this complicated phone. That's a huge mistake. Downloading the pdf file is not a good answer.
2. The Verizon tech support for SCH-i730 is clueless. They shipped me to Samsung, which placed me on hold for hours, 4 times. I never got to talk to their real tech support (only the front end people who ask you the same questions like your serial numbers...). Never got the problem fixed.
3. This phone has a very small shared memory. It also does not allow it's shared memory to extend this memory via the SD memory. The result is two or three large files will kill the memory and non of the on-board programs will open. No one in Verizon or Samsung has been able to tell me how to get this internal shared memory expanded via the SD card.
4. The file explorer does not work. One can not delete the large files, as we can in a regular window environment. You have to open the program associated with each file and delete the file from there. If the shared memory is exhausted, you can not open any program. And you are left with no choice but to erase the entire memory, and do a hard reset (AKA loose everything).
5. The SD card is not accessed correctly. I tried up to 2 GB SD card. The phone did not recognize the card's storage capacity.
6. Other flaws have been covered by other reviewers: the backlight goes off after every call. The voice mail has no alert...Overall the phone is NOT a user friendly phone with zero tech support. It's a shame. Because the features are good.
Not impressed
This phone is a great phone if you want to impress your buddies. Other than that, the WOW factors left me feeling a little empty. I had this phone for 4 months before going to a Blackberry. This phone definetly has some great features and it's really sweet how you can change TV stations on certain manufacturers TVs but the functionality didn't impress me. THE reason I got rid of this phone was this: Whenever I wanted to grab my phone and make a quick call...I couldn't. My phone was always so BUSY. It was emailing or faxing, etc. and I couldn't make a simple phone call when I needed to. There was a few times when time wasn't on my side and I was almost ready to throw this phone out the window (hey, i had insurance, lol). Overall great phone, just a little too busy for me.
PROS - cool features, great WOW factors.
CONS - battery life, it's too BUSY. awkard to wear on your belt and too large to fit in your pocket. and if you've got the extended battery on, you can forget getting it in your pocket. "Pocket PC" eh?
