It’s been a few months since I purchased a Samsung SCH-I300, so the new-gadget thrill is pretty much over. As it turns out, I use the PDA features of this phone every day, and the phone has proven itself to be quite useful. I use this phone with the Sprint PCS service.

This phone is really for Palm Pilot users. If you use a Palm PDA for organizing your stuff, this phone is quite useful. If you do not use or do not want to use a Palm device, then this phone may be a bit of a nuisance for you. That is because this phone has a large touch screen that needs to be handled with care. You can’t pop this phone into your jeans pocket like you can most other phones. If you basically want a good cell phone with some minimal PDA features, I recommend the Sanyo 4700 available through Sprint PCS.

If you do use (or want to use) a Palm, than this phone is extremely convenient. The integration of the Address program and the phone is extremely useful. While most phones only allow you to store a name and a few phone numbers, the I300 allows you to store full address information. You can also store quite a few phone numbers for each addressee. Also, you have all of the wireless features available to Palm PDA’s including Internet browsing and text messaging.

Because the phone utilizes a large touch screen instead of a keyboard, I recommend using some of that clear plastic overlay available for Palm Pilots to protect the screen. (I had to cut out the right shape for the I300 screen.) Also, even though you can use your fingers to dial, I recommend using the stylus whenever possible to help keep the screen cleaner. If you must use your finger, a touch of the fingernail is better.

As a phone, the I300 has most of the latest features available for cell phones including voice dialing and a speakerphone. You can use the Address program to do stylus-free dialing using keys on the phone (almost but not quite one-handed), you can program voice-dial entries for one-handed calling, or you can use speed dial numbers by touching virtual keys or picking from a quick list of speed dial numbers with your stylus.

I heard nightmares about the battery life of this phone, but those nightmares haven’t come to pass for me. I get 2-3 days of fairly busy usage before needing to recharge. Keep in mind that batteries have to support a color touch screen, PDA memory, and the digital phone. Samsung provides you with 2 batteries in the box, and the desktop charger/HotSynch module can recharge the phone and the spare battery simultaneously.

I particularly like the HotSynch feature which allows you to synch information in the PDA with software on your Windows-based computer. You simply pop the phone into the cradle and push a button to synch up the phone with your desktop software. I actually like the Palm Desktop software as a calendar, to do list, and memo pad.

This is an extremely useful item if you’re committed to the Palm way of doing things. It’s a really cool phone. If you don’t want a full-fledged Palm device on your belt, you may want to go with a simpler phone.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 400