Samsung SCH-i730
Average Ratings
Excellent phone with 'governer' called VZW
+PROs
+ Wi-Fi capable (2.4 Mhz 802.1b)..I cannot get it to work for some reason...but everyone else seems to be using it fine.
+ Bluetooth
+ EVDO
+ Big screen and slide-down keyboard
+ Active Sync capability
+ Native use of MS products
+ Support for SD card
+ It comes with standard and extended battery
-CONs
- Where is the camera?
- No VCAST
- Wi-Fi and phone cannot be used (turned on) at the same time
- Bluetooth does not support stereo headset
- Loss of battery power would cause data loss
- Battery life seems to be quite short.
Get the Blackberry 7250
Just like my reccomondation for the treo get the blackberry 7250 more stable and reliable. Let me start out my saying i buy alot of phone i had every kind of high end phone ever made. I know computers very as well. I couldn't figure out this phone!!! This phone has to be the most complicated and non user friendly pda phone out there.
Pros.
- Windows OS (for those how like it)
- Internet Explorer (full web pages)
- Bluetooth
- Reception
- Loud ear piece volume
Cons.
- Not user friendly need to use stylus for everything very hard to operate while driving.
- Emails? I didn't get half of them.
- Some the voice clarity gets very choppy.
- Biggest complaint about this phone is that is is just to hard to use and emails don't come through as they should. Tech and data support have a hard time troublshooting
This phone is the bomb!!!!!!!!!
I stopped by my verizon wireless store today and they told me they had the i730 in. Just like didalucci i have been eagerly anticipating this phone for at least six months. Everyday I was on the internet getting info as well as joining other forums just to hear about this phone! Well I finally got the chance to play with it today in the store and it is AWESOME. It's rare these days when something lives up to they hype, well this EXCEEDS it! Even the phone is in the store, they cannot sell me the phone until tomorrow (july 7th).
Although I want this phone so bad right now, I'm going to give it about another six weeks in hopes that the camera version will be relased and get that one.
So many rumors about whether or not they'll be a camera, at this point I just want a definite answer and just how long it will take for it to be available.
The phone is just a little larger than a Treo but is an inch or two thicker (not sure if the larger extended battery was on the model that I was playing today or not. The phone feels great in your hand. Beautiful color screen, even the stylus is stylish!. Very easy to access the windows part and manuer around certain programs (I imagine the Wi Fi and Bluetooth will take some tweaking and getting used to)
I'm hoping that a camera version does come and soon- that is really all I am waiting for, however I will DEFINITELY buy this phone if the camera version isn't available in six to eight weeks.
- It runs on windows- so it's like having your mini computer on you at all times
-- Is more sleek, compact, and easily just more efficient than the Audiovox 6600
- Everything the Treo 650 does the i730 frankly does everything BETTER,
The Wi Fi and ED VO are fantastic
- The only con I have is that there is no camera and that you can not be on Wi Fi and the phone simulataneously.
Does anybody know of a bluetooth ear piece that has a caller id feature abd is compatible with Samsung i730.
Good PDA, alright phone
I had this for about a month, and I have to say that I was impressed by what it can do, but it is still to big and awkward to carry around all the time.
PROS:
Microsoft Windows Mobile
Better Reception compared to Treo 650
Plenty of Battery Life
Extra Capacity Battery Included
Holster Included
EVDO (If in your area)
Bluetooth
CONS:
Casing scratches easily
Frequent reboots
Best PPC phone till date....
The Samsung i730 is a decent integration of phone and pda. It is NOT as clean as the Treo but compared to most other microsoft devices - it isn't bad at all.
Size -
This device is the most feature laden of all PPC phones out there. Of course battery won't be great at the same time, the screen is nice and big. The form factor is fine. Yes, it is slight thicker than Treo 600 but its a little more narrow.
Features -
Wow, this has more features than most pda/phones.
Display -
Very very nice.
Keyboard-
Its a little more cramp than the treo 600 because of how its laid out on the device to make it narrow. Treo 600 (i had one) is a bit easier to type on. Nice lit keys but no Fn lock for numbers. Key has nice "click" to it.
PDA functionality -
same with most other current WM2003.
Phone integration -
Considering this is WM2003 - its not bad. Its not as good as Treo 600 but this is where hopefully WM2005 would be better. Treo 600 single handed operations are nicer. For PPC, this isn't bad. One handed operation on Treo is nicer but if this is light years head of most other PPC devices.
Reception -
in San jose, CA - this isn't bad. About simliar to Treo 600.
Battery life
This is okay considering what it has on board. I can go about a day with the standard battery.
Conclusion -
NOt bad, dont' expect the world but this device will suprrised you. its a great device if you need all the functionliaty. this is more PDA than phone as with and current PPC is intended to be.
modem support for laptop ?
I just got the i730 last week and it's quite cool. The mail client works nicely with my exchange email server and its nice to be able to check my email where ever I am.
I've been reading all sorts of message boards about this device and trying to figure out if it can be used as an external modem for a laptop using the USB cable that came with the phone. I've read very conflicting reviews about this from folks. Has anyone been able to use it as a high speed modem for their laptop yet ?.
Reality is more painful than the spec sheet
This phone is more like a beta-version device. I would recommend staying clear of this device. The backlight is very sporadic and often requires a re-boot to get it to work again. When the keyboard light goes out so quickly, you cannot continue to see it to do the basic things such as entering your voicemail code! The keyboard lock is a manual slider, and compared to my experience with a Treo's locking process, is often a point of failure in average usage. The bluetooth partnering process on Windows Mobile is challenging! Plus, if you need a certain com port you cannot determine why it is not available. Only a certain developer's hack was able to get around that limitation. I installed a GPS-Mapping product and this system cannot deal with that much processing demand. There are many-many issues beyond these. The power cable is very difficult to insert even after using it for 6 months every day. And, some after market cables do not connect very well because of the standard spring tension built into the terminals - causing the plug to often pop out. The Treo's power plug is much better and easier to insert. The mic is sub-standard and is a constant source of trouble during calls. The speakerphone does not turn on consistently. The wi-fi capability is a gimic. It soaks up the batter so fast that it should only be used in emergencies. The holster is only usable with the smaller battery, so if you are doing any wifi, you cannot use it. I have not figured out how to mount it to a car dashboard because of this. Generally, after using my wife's treo for a few weeks, I am completely disgusted with the poor UI of the Windows Mobile 5 system. There is so much room for basic improvement in the software and this hardware I cannot believe that there is a real designer (not engineer) employed on either of these teams (Samsung or Microsoft). Please avoid considerable pain unless you want to spend a lot of time tinkering and swearing.
Bluetooth Nightmare
This model has 'lost' it's Blue-tooth settings several times and is such a nightmare as the only way to 'fix' it is a hard reboot which then makes it necessary to re-install all your programs. The layout of the keyboard would be great if your fingers were the size of a stylus, the buttons are too small!
A Rube Goldberg Device. Stay away
The Samsung i730, in its Verizon incarnation, is an unqualified Disaster. I owned it for five days and turned it in for a simple clamshell, a Motorola e815.
In the nonce, my blood pressure spiked. My behavior turned weird. And I know the reason is this idiotic piece of electronics which must've been designed by a committee of masochists.
Phone Scoop advises me to offer up my pros and cons. Here are my pros: It's stylish.
Here are my cons: It sucks. In every nook and crannie of your consciousness, awake and asleep.
Specifics?
Plenty!
Embedded Voice recognition software is worthless, but so is the upgrade you have to download and transfer to the phone. I mean completely and unutterably useless.
Too many poorly-engineered side buttons! Even if you have the gentlest fingers on the planet, you'll end up punching into something you don't need or want. This is especialy true when you holster the phone. I discovered that unbeknownst to me I'd made several calls that were initiated by a simple holstering. That takes up minutes. What a complete crock.
Backlight shutdown: You make a call and the backlight goes out almost immediately, so you can't refer to the screen to learn the status of your call.
Try to catch a call: Four days I had this phone I successfully received exactly two phone calls. Because of the idiotic/non working software, I wasn't able to answer any other incomings.
Hey, I'm a freakin' old timer with cellphones. This product deserves no respect, and even less purchase.
Software: I also blame Bill Gates' inept software. It's as user friendly as trying to mix cake batter with a black adder snake.
POP3 messages are truncated, so there's WAY more taps and punches of screen and buttons than is necessary.
I could go on, but you're bored with this prate.
Bottom line? Stay the hell away from this phone. If you want a phone that's 'smart,' wait another couple years until the realities catch may up with the promises.
Worst Phone I've Owned
This is currently my fourth phone, an they are all pieces of junk. If you are considering buying this phone please don't. I've also owned the audiovox 6600 this is a much better phone. This phone constantly drops calls and crashes almost weekly. I am getting rid of this phone and getting the LG 9800.
