Palm PDA/Phone? Color screen? YIPPEE! So Cool!
Written: May 27 '02 (Updated May 28 '02)
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Pros: It's a color Palm! Crisp clear, lots of features.
Cons: Battery life, screen in daytime.
The Bottom Line: If you have or want a PDA in your phone, this is it! The integration is great - both the phone and the Palm work very well.
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| CreamChief's Full Review: Samsung SPH-I300 |
After about six months of using this phone, I think I am ready to write this review. I used the Kyocera smart phone for a few months before getting the Samsung, and, wow, is this so much better!
The basics
This is a digital/analog phone with an integrated color Palm OS. The screen is a tad smaller than a standard Palm, but is bright and clear. The grafitti area is actually part of the display which gives the applications a bit more room. The hardware buttons are the standard Palm buttons, but the phone dialing is from the Palm touch screen. This takes a bit to get accustomed to it. Sometimes the response seems a bit lagged or my fingers mash the wrong number.
The phone comes with a sync cradle/battery charger, software, two batteries (it should come with five batteries the way it sucks them down), and a manual. The screen is clear and bright - sometimes a bit hard to see in daylight, but otherwise easy to look at.
The wonderful parts of the phone are . . .
Well, it is a color Palm! How cool is that! If you like to be the center of attention with cool technology gadgets, then this is the phone for you. Just check your email on it while in line at the bank and you will draw quite a crowd.
If you already have a Palm, then this is the easiest way to get a new cell phone and not have to input all of your phone numbers. I have been using an original U.S. Robotics Palm Pilot 5000 for over six years now. To input those phone numbers into the phone was a simple sync.
The sound is crisp and clear - much, much better than the Kyocera. Also, the Kyocera flip lid was a pain - but that tends to be a personal preference. Reception is good - average I would say - and the antenna extends if you need to try for a clearer connection.
The phone
As one would expect, the phone includes a number of top notch features - voice dial, speaker phone, several ring tones, vibrating ring, call logs (incoming, outgoing, missed). There is a standard headset jack so you can drive responsibly either with a headset or by using the speakerphone.
This phone has not been any better or worse with reception and clarity of calls. I use it exclusively as a digital phone, so I cannot speak about the analog quality.
You can dial directly from the Palm address book, but I have found this to be a bit awkward. The problem is really that to try to do this without the stylus is very difficult. In fact, that is probably my biggest gripe with the phone - it would be nice if more features were available by finger tip rather than stylus.
The Pilot
Oh, what fun to check several email accounts on my commute to and from work! I use the free version of Eudora to check four POP email accounts. I can browse the Web with any of several Palm browsers. I can even use Telnet or VNC to remotely control my workstation at work!
The Palm has 8MB - enough for most of us, even the heavy application users. It runs OS 3.5.2. I have not tried to upgrade because I have heard of trouble using a non-Samsung version of the OS. Since the OS is tightly integrated to the phone, this makes sense.
The Interent access is really what makes the phone and Palm integration worth it. For the extra $5/month, I can browse all I want using my standard minutes from my calling plan.
The connection to the Internet is about 80% reliable - meaning that I can connect on the first attempt about 80% of the time. Sometimes, I will have to make repeated attempts to connect, and in some areas it seems impossible. The speed is an adequate 14.4 Kbps which is fine for the bits and pieces of browsing and email I do from the phone.
The downside
No, the phone is not perfect. The battery life is horrendous. Perhaps I have a little electron vampire inside my phone, but I usually get about one day of use from the battery with minimal calling use. I think it is because I pick up an analog signal at work most of the day, and that sucks the power faster. Still, though, when I am in purely digital land, the battery life is not that great, either. If you turn off the phone, and just use the Palm, you can get several days from a single battery. I have done this for a couple of weeks when I left the country.
The charging stand/cradle. Kyocera had it right with the separate power supply and sync cradle. They were not married together. With the I300, you need to take the whole kit and kaboodle with you if you want to charge on the road. That means you get to lug around the cradle and its attached serial and power cord. Which leads me to another point . . .
Why serial and not USB? Maybe there is a good reason for that, but I can't think of one.
Overall
Why to get this phone?
* You want to look cool (or like a total geek)!
* You want to use a PDA as a phone. If you do not want a Palm or PDA, then save some money and get a different phone.
* You already have a Palm and want to easily move your stuff to a phone.
* Well, it is a color Palm. Did I mention that already?
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 450
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Epinions.com ID:
CreamChief
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Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 57
Trusted by: 13 members
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