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- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 197 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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161 out of 166 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Great Phone and PDA Combo!!!!"
Pros: Size, controls, and interface all rock!!!
Cons: Worst desktop charger I have seen. No Wifi or Internet while calling.
Summary: I own a XV6600 and I bought this Samsung i730 phone for my wife. After using it for a couple weeks we both have an opinion on it. My wife (certified cellphone killer) loves it and sofar it has survived her usage. In two weeks she has dropped it twice. Once while grabbing the baby it flew several feet to land on concrete and it still works fine! I would not recommend his test though
For starters the i730 is an awesome phone. The size is just right, and fits perfectly in your hand. It has a solid combination of unbeatable features such as broadband to 680kbps, wifi, bluetooth, among others. You will really appreciate the broadband speed. Try www.logmein.com and you can access your desktop pc from your tiny i730!
The processor at 520 mhz is plenty fast and smoothly runs even larger video files. Pictures come crisp and clean and it has stereo speakers which play music and your ringtones loud and clear. Where the XV6600 has a laughable ringer, the i730 is much louder especially when you choose the right ringtone.
The keyboard rocks!!! It has a smooth tactile feature and is a million times better than the keyboard on my xv6600. It slides out from the underside as I am sure you i730 enthusiasts are aware of. I used to think the blackberry keyboards were the best in the business for usability until I tried this.
This phone kills the Treo's. Dead and buried, put to rest. The only reason a Treo user would try this phone and go back is because they are not used to the interface. It's just like PC and Mac users. PC users almost never convert to Mac and vice versa. Palm users like things simple. But to all you palm and Treo users out there... TRY THIS... Make a phone call while simultaneously typing a message to a friend and making calculations in an Excel sheet. Can't do it can ya? How about typing in a Word doc while listening to an MP3 or watching a video? How about downloading an 8Meg data file, while simultaneously checking email... flash over send a text message... you get the point.
Palm users trade a simple operating system for the truly powerful multitasking that Pocket PC users have enjoyed for years. I have used Palm units and treos. I find them simply nauseating to use. Open one function, close another.... And the Treo screens are very fragile when compared to the standard Pocket PC.
The i730 in colloquial slang terms is dope, its the bomb, its the shiznit... its off the hook.... its hype.
Little things stand out.... Because the phone is so small you would think it would also have a baby little stylus. It has a unique 'telescoping' stylus that pulls out to twice its length.
Phone comes with slim battery and extended battery and extra stylus. It comes with a decent holster which is actually pretty good considering the burlap sack joke of a holster I got with my XV6600. Use the i730 holster and do not be tempted to use Verizon's lambskin case. It will last three weeks and rip open wasting your $25. This happened to three people I know including me.
All keys and functions are laid out well. The only thing that prevents me from running out this minute and getting one for me to compliment the one I got for my wife is I kinda like the big gorgeous screen on my XV6600 even though my phone is a juggernaut compared to hers. I may switch in a few months but for now I will see how things go.
Now for the only bad things I can point out so far....
The desktop charger is the worst I have ever seen. The only good thing is it charges both batteries at the same time. One in the phone and one on the charger. The bad thing is it has absolutely no support for the phone. You have to angle push the phone in... down and back to get it to connect which is a haphazard affair. Those of you who have the phone know what I am talking about. Many times I put it in the charger and it will connect and then fall out of the charger onto the table. That is very frustrating. The solution... Well the jerry-rig I should say.... Mount the charger next to your monitor. You can use the monitor to prop the phone up so it won't fall out of the charger, kind of like leaning against a wall so you don't fall down.
Other bad things.... the phone cannot use multiple services at the same time. You can't use the phone while surfing. You can't call while using wifi. This doesn't bother me particularly but it is an issue. I see the maufacturer's at having 'cheaped out' on the consumer because the XV6600 shares this limitation. Surfing while calling requires two transmitters and that costs money.... A Motorola RAZR can surf while calling but not at broadband speeds for instance... Ah, the tradeoffs....
But I see these flaw as very minor in contrast to what the phone can do. You will enjoy the phone if you do your research before buying....
Some more advice... Buy this phone from Verizon store directly or online from Verizon. Do not try to buy it from auction sites such as ebay. 1 out of 2 phones for sale are just con artists. I bought my wifes i730 from Verizon and when I looked to ebay I discovered a lot of swindlers and decided if I did want the phone to get it from Verizon too, even if I have to pay extra.
Thats all... I hope the review was helpful.
- 12 replies to this review
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I don't think you have 'flipped' the charger open. There is good support for the charger and if it is flipped open, you get and angled back which the phone sits in nicely. Sometimes you have to ensure solid contact with the phone and charger via the connector, however there has never been an issue with my charger not holding the phone appropriately. I don't like the fact that the screen stays lit up at all times while on the charger. At least I have not found the way to turn it off thus far. Look at the charger again, I think there is something amiss in your utility of it.
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providing both sides was helpful. liked the hint about where to buy. my phones have always been flipphones to protect screen. this also accommodated speaker at the ear and the mic right by the mouth. How is this one?
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I'm a BlackBerry 8700c user and looking to upgrade my phone (i'm bored with this phone already). I love PDA's for their usability and functionality but find some are overkill (why in the world do you need a camera on a phone? (the BB doesn't) but just annoyed with the built-in cam technology) if you are not a very busy professional. I'm trying to hold onto my BB until my company allows us IT professionals (other than management) use it with Notes/Domino, but I may have to move on. Anyhoo, your review was great and quite humorous (i.e. the slang terms LOL). Thanks a million!
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I too thought that there was a problem with the desktop charger and tried balancing the phone with no support until the guy at the store pointed out a not-so-obvious thing. Thre is a silver frame looking thing that pivots and rotates around the charger. You need to turn it all the way around the main base and it turns into a support for the phone. Don't know how to better explain it but I think the error in their part is not explainning this clearly. The phone then gets put into the charger base at an angle but it snaps right into the supporting base just fine and it stays there with not a problem.
I bought this phone 2 weeks ago and my wife really hates it because I now spend more time with the phone than with her. It's a great super powerful unit.
Also try to download the upgrade for the voice recognition software it will really enhance recognition specially when using a Bluetooth headset as they have fixed a lot of the bugs that it has.
Enjoy the phone!. I think Samsung really hit the nail in the head with this one. -
phone locks up when tring to dial out get phone fatal message (MMoC.C 3246 cant't get MMoC CMD 6 UF) have to remove batery to get to work agian. no help from Verizon or Samsung
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Does anyone know whether or not the i730 supports conference calling? Thanks
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Verizon doesn't support it but you can download a modem driver to make the phone work as a dial-up. When in the EVDO network you can get at least 230kbs connection (DSL). I use the phone as a modem when I am in the airport where they expect me to pay $12/day for wifi. Just connect the phone to USB and I am using the company VPN and connecting to the server, and the phone battery gets charged at the same time! Unreal technology, if you can figure out how to use it!
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When you receive the charger it ships flat. Swing the outer ring all the way around until it stops. The you can sit the charger on the desk without it collapsing. When you do this you'll be able to see the battery ready lights on the front of the unit.
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great review.. truly a phone worth road warrior status. Verizon stripped the USB and Bluetooth modem functionality from this phone. There are work arounds if you search for them.
Regarding the cradle... The documentation does not do a good job explaining the use. Basicly the cradle folds flat to allow it to pack smaller for a brief case or lap top bag. To use the cradel, swing the silver frame around 360 degrees and it is the support for the phone and the black part is the base. A common mistake w/ this cradle is not to unfold it in which case there is absolutely no support for the phone. I love the design of this cradle. -
i have found that most of the larger cities and towns along the Eastern Coastline in the US are within the Verizon coverage for this high speed data service.
this phone is a godsend for my IT support jobs... it has reduced my carry count by 1 device and works very well. sorry to hear of any QC problems with the others. my firm did buy this via the direct corporate account sales line and got a nice discount.
the included IE browser is lacking and had to be upgraded with other choices. AOL was one problem site.
i noticed that the case is highly polished for eye appeal but this means it tends to want to slip out of my hands. a good non skid coating on the upper bezel would reduce if not eliminate this problem.
phone works fine with my firms old Exchange Email and even better with our new Exchange 2003 system.
all the earbuds i have from my old Motorola Star tac work on this one.
next items to acquire will be a bluetooth earpiece and a folding bluetooth keyboard for more lengthy textd\/data sessions.
i would give this little gadget 5 stars at the present date! -
Thanks! I keep vacillating between the Treo 650 and the i 730. Very confused....after reading all the reviews.
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nice to see another positive post. (i posted mine a few weeks back).
if you fully invert the charger, the metal frame supports the phone nicely. not sure if you have tried it.
i am a mac and pc user (avid with both) and you cannot beat this os on the pocket pc. palm is not equal to the mac. i see what you are saying with loyalty. at least the mac does equal (and more) than my pc. the palm is old news at this point if you are a true power user. pocket pc is the way to go and it also syncs with my macs as well. this pocket pc platform is only going to get better! enjoy the phone....it does rock!
good luck!
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