Samsung Demos Smartphone at CeBit

Posted By: Ed Thursday, March 22, 2001 10:47:29 PM

Samsung has officially announced its hybrid Palm/mobile phone device at CeBit in Germany which it refers to as a "compact wireless intelligent terminal". The SPH-I300 has 8 MB of memory, a 256-color screen, and an infrared port. It is 4.92 x 2.28 x 0.82 inches and weighs around 6 oz. Its antenna is retractable, and it has a vibrating alarm. This smartphone should be available around late summer for an as yet undisclosed price.

It has a small area at the top of the screen devoted to calling information such as caller ID, time and roaming and a power indicator.

In addition to all the normal functions of a Palm, it is capable of acting as its own wireless modem, of course Its data capabilities include Web browsing (Openwave UP4.1), Web Clipping available via Palm.net, e-mail, short message service, and a WAP browser.

When acting as a mobile phone it offers a speakerphone, voice dialing (20 numbers), speed dialing (99 numbers), one touch vibration converting, call logs, any key answer, power save mode, three emergency numbers, call restrict, and various ring tones and vibrate. It will operate on the PCS and AMPS mobile networks.

It even has a scientific calculator, professional golf game, and a world clock thrown in for good measure.

On Tuesday, Samsung and Sprint PCS announced that the SPH-I300 would operate on the Sprint PCS network.

It weighs about an ounce more than the forthcoming m505 but over an ounce less than the device that is likely to be its main rival, the Kyocera QCP 6035 Smartphone which is currently available from Verizon but will be sold by Sprint later this summer, too. Unlike the Samsung device, the 6035 has a monochrome screen.

The SPH-I300's screen appears to be smaller than those of Palm's typical devices. The entire smartphone is only 2.28 inches wide, which is roughly the size of just the screen on Palm's current models. This just means the screen is physically smaller; a change in resolution is unlikely. The 6035 also has a smaller screen.

Quick Comparison:

Samsung SPH-I300 4.92" 2.28" .82" 6 oz
Kyocera QCP 6035 5.59" 2.60" .86" 7.35 oz.
Palm m505 4.5" 3.1" .5" 4.9

Article Comments

 (119 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Comments Closed Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.

Down View Full Comment Thread

Software graffiti area

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 1:06:44 AM #
The picture in this article seems to strongly imply that the graffiti area on this palm phone is in fact software based, and not a silk-screened item (with the screen off in the photo, no trace of the icons are visible).

Does anyone know what the specs are on this phone? I'd hope that they would include 8 megs ram, and hopefully the newer processor. If they could manage to include an SD slot on this thing, I thinòÀÞ†ey'd have an m505 killer on their hands. :)

RE: Software graffiti area
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 11:02:05 AM #
On the news last night, (CNN Tech stuff) they showed one in action. The graffiti area IS software based. It looked SO COOL when it went away and the screen got bigger!

COOL! I want one in MY palm!

RE: Software graffiti area
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 1:23:54 PM #
Yes, the graffiti area is software drawn. The screen is 160x240 and has an extra area above the title-bar for signal strength and such.

The phone is really cool. I saw it at the CTIA show this week in Las Vegas.

The booth guy said release was around mid-year at around $500.

RE: Software graffiti area
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 1:29:25 PM #
I agree. An SD slot would this thing so far over the top it is frighteneing. Lets us hope they put one ine but I am kind of doubting it as thi as probably another compromise solution.

Great App for the I300
heywood @ 7/30/2002 8:12:27 PM #
Great App for the I300

MidCast - Streaming Financial Applications

I300 free MIDCAST demo - streaming financial applications
Has anyone else tried Midcast?

MidCast is cool financial app that streams real-time and it really works!!! You can download it from www.handango.com for free. You need to search for MidCast or HillCast at the Handango web site to get it.

Enjoy….

Heywood

Smartphone vs. m505

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 7:39:07 AM #
The last guy said that if the phone had an SD slot, they'd have a killer m505. Doesn't the m505 run on the 33mhz Dragonball VZ? Plus it has 16k color. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

RE: Smartphone vs. m505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 11:40:36 AM #
When I posted the m505 killer comment, the memory, color depth, size, and other specs hadn't been posted on the page yet. Sorry for any confusion.

Specifications

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 8:17:42 AM #
Some more specifications are available from Samsung:
http://samsungelectronics.com/mobile_phone/ads_awards/trade_shows/cebit_2001_pdaphone.html


SPH-I300 vs. m505

philmair @ 3/23/2001 8:34:12 AM #
The 'smartphone' looks like an m505 killer to me! If Palm take too long to get their UK act together then I'd be willing to sacrifice 16K colour/33 Dragonball technology for a 256 colour integrated Palm V/Palm IIIc/Nokia 8210/mp3/......etc

RE: SPH-I300 vs. m505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 1:27:32 PM #
I don't recall the phone having MP3 playback capability.

Playing both sides.

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 10:41:52 AM #
Samsung is playing both sides... WinCE City (www.wincecity.com) says Samsung has released a Pocket PC (Not "Stinger") smartphone as well.

Eston Bond
CEO Pine Tree Software
http://www.pinetreesoftware.net/

RE: Playing both sides.
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 11:27:19 AM #
Samsung didn't. Siemens did, at least according to the link you provided.

"At CeBIT 2001 in Hanover, Siemens Mobile Information and Communication (IC Mobile) launched MultiMobile, has combination of PDA and mobile phone for mobile business communication. Based one Microsoft' S Pocket PC operating system, the Java enabled MultiMobile with integrated GPRS phone is set to redefine the standard of mobile voice and dated based communication. The MultiMobile brings seamless integration of PDA and mobile compact phone allowing the sending and receiving of emails in one device. "

The Samsung phone - saw it, used it

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 11:27:00 AM #
Samsung also had some of these at the CTIA show in Vegas. I was supremely interested, having just bought the Kyocera phone a few days before going to the show. All I can say is AWESOME!! The graffiti section is indeed floating, the screen is great, and I gotta have one! The screen resolution is about on par with iPaq; in fact, since the unit is silver, it looks something like an iPaq (if that matters to anyone's aesthetic tastes).

Bottom line - it makes the Kyocera look like a true dog.

RE: The Samsung phone - saw it, used it
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 12:25:13 PM #
Any indication as to when this phone will be avilable in the US?

RE: The Samsung phone - saw it, used it
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 12:52:20 PM #
yes on sprint pcs, read the article above it has a link to a press release by sprint pcs.

RE: The Samsung phone - saw it, used it
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 1:28:30 PM #
The phone is supposedly going to be released around June time for about $500.

The interface on the I300 was way better than the Kyocera phone. It was much more intuitive and better looking. The fact that the screen is 160x240 (I think it's 240, can't remember what he said), provides a much greater area to draw on. The dial pad uses up the whole screen, while in Palm mode, it draws the graffiti area. The phone itself is much smaller than Kyocera's also.

RE: The Samsung phone - saw it, used it
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 2:31:28 PM #
Where is the keypad for this phone. The Kyocera has a flip screen keypad, but the pictures for the Samsung did not show the keypad. What did they say the battery life for this phone was?

RE: The Samsung phone - saw it, used it
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 4:14:20 PM #
A few questions:

  • What is the size of the screen?

  • What are the number of pixels across and down?

  • For refrence what is the size of the screen (and actual text characters) in relation to the m100 or Vx or 6035?

  • Would the Samsung phone or Kyocera 6035 make a ok doc reader?

  • How powerful is the irda transceiver?

  • Have you tried it with omniremote?

  • Has there been any mention of future support for a SD slot?

  • While in "phone mode" does the Samsung phone or Kyocera 6035 allow name card beaming like IrDA Ultra (part of IrMC) protocol, with no XID (exchange ID). The Ericsson (R320) and Nokia (6210/6250/7110/8210/8250/8850) all allow for this.



    • RE: The Samsung phone - saw it, used it
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 4:25:58 PM #
    Oops I should have read more closely, it seems the screen size is 160x240. even so, judging from the pictures it seems that the physical dimentions of the screen are much smaller than the Kyocera 6235 or m100,making it impossible to read a doc file.

    i want this phone

    y2kmatthew @ 3/23/2001 1:08:36 PM #
    i don't own a palm right now but i might buy this phone over the summer, it looks really cool.. i better start saving now its sure to cost a bundle :-)

    RE: i want this phone
    I.M. Anonymous @ 9/23/2001 3:25:26 PM #
    Have you bought yours yet, where can I buy one of these???

    Wireless phones with lots of glass

    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 2:41:08 PM #
    This is all cool, but have they come up with a way to keep your cheek from making the glass
    all greasy? I haven't seen a handset yet that has solved that problem!

    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 4:26:27 PM #
    This is one of my biggest concerns. Come on I don't want to wipe my screen down everytime I use the phone, and I am not a huge fan of an ear piece.

    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/24/2001 11:38:09 AM #
    Before using the phone, wipe your face?
    Let me know if this helps...
    I had to!

    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/24/2001 11:43:04 AM #
    The above was rude, I'm sorry!

    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/25/2001 12:02:38 AM #
    that, and don't press it against your face. the microphone will pick up your voice from a few extra inches away.

    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    Ed @ 3/25/2001 8:30:25 AM #
    Should Samsung think about putting a cover over the screen like the one that comes with the V series? Open it to use the screen but close it when holding the phone to your face.

    ---
    Plenipotentiary
    Palm Infocenter
    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/26/2001 4:01:43 PM #
    From the reaction I'm seeing about this phone at various PDA website discussions, it could well be the "Ipaq" of cell phones when it debuts. If so, I imagine that there will be a host of cases that will aleviate the greasy screen problem.

    For what it's worth though, I suggest using an earbud whenever possible. It's safer (i.e. 2-handed driving) and it eliminates the threat of radiation. Plus, with this phone you will inevitably need to jot something down on the Palm side of the device.

    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    I.M. Anonymous @ 4/25/2001 7:07:47 PM #
    I read about a study that indicated that the earbud, acting as an antenna/conduit, actually made the brain radiation problem worse, not better.

    RE: Wireless phones with lots of glass
    DougFreeze @ 9/9/2001 6:51:07 PM #
    Keep reading. There is no danger of radiation with an ear bud or with the phone on your head. .6 watts of power is very low.

    Doug Freeze
    dougfreeze@sprintpcs.com

    Operation without phone

    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 3:51:51 PM #
    Does this phone, or the Kyocera, allow you to use the Palm with the cell phone part turned off, and if so, is it obvious enough that you can convince a flight attendent that you're not using your cell phone on an airliner?

    RE: Operation without phone
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/24/2001 4:09:46 AM #
    On the Kyocera, the palm functions independant of the phone, with the exception that you can't surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time. As far as getting the attention of a flight attendant, what airline do you fly on? I have enough trouble just getting them to answer the "call" button. :^)

    RE: Operation without phone
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/25/2001 2:52:51 PM #
    Since it uses only PCS spectrum (1900 mHz) it does not fall under the FCC-imposed ban on cellfon use while in flight - strange, but true.

    As to the FAA regs, they allow any wireless device as long as the captain permits - and I've transmitted/received from my VII in flight w/ no backtalk from flight crew.

    See http://palmwireless.cjb.net for general wireless info, if you like. It's spamfree, adfree and plaintext except for the counter & web ring link at the end, so it's easily ready wirelessly, and a PalmDoc version is available for download there for the Wired.

    Thank you kindly, Elaine.

    RE: Operation without phone
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/26/2001 10:31:55 AM #
    I also want to know if the Samsung operates with the cell phone part turned off. But also, does the Palm require a separate battery independent of the phone battery or is the Palm not functional if the cell phone battery is dead?

    RE: Operation without phone
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2001 5:05:15 PM #
    >See http://palmwireless.cjb.net for general wireless info, if you like. It's spamfree,
    >adfree and plaintext except for the counter & web ring link at the end...
    >Thank you kindly, Elaine.

    So much for 'adfree'...I just went to the site and was greeted by a pop-up window with an advertisement...god, I hate those things!

    RE: Operation without phone
    I.M. Anonymous @ 7/9/2001 2:55:50 PM #
    Read in a recent article that the phone can be turned off seperately from the PDA...

    RE: Operation without phone
    DougFreeze @ 9/9/2001 6:54:25 PM #
    One rechargable battery will power the entire unit.

    Doug Freeze
    dougfreeze@sprintpcs.com

    What about other phone bands?

    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 4:13:36 PM #
    The Samsung website mentioned the SPH-I300 operating on both PCS and AMPS networks. Does anyone have any news as to whether they intend to come up with GPRS untis on GSM as well?

    RE: What about other phone bands?
    y2kmatthew @ 3/23/2001 4:28:17 PM #
    I dobut it. Samsung makes CDMA phones. When they say PCS they mean 1900MHz CDMA, since PCS just refers to the sprectrum.

    I don't know of any non-cdma phones made by Samsung and they do have a good relanship with Qualcomm so i doubt they will make them anytime soon.



    RE: What about other phone bands?
    I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 10:11:12 PM #
    samsung does make GSM phones. Check out their corporate web site. Only the CDMA models are sold in the US

    Top View Full Comment Thread
    Achtung! Only the first 50 comments are displayed within the article.
        Click here for the full story discussion page...

    Account

    Register Register | Login Log in
    user:
    pass: