Samsung I300 now Available Online from Sprint

I can't give exact numbers, but the Treo is a bitter smaller then the m1xx series, making it the smallest handheld to date, or whatever, maybe I forgot about something.
IMHO, treo beats the i300 into the ground, it has a keyboard, it has a real cell phone form factor, and it has more memory. Only down side people will probably give is the treo's lack of expansion, i.e no expansion slot, and color (something I think isn't important at all, especially in something that will be used as a phone). In the future, I wouldn't be suprised to see someone create an expansion ability for the Treo line, i.e sleeve type device, hey, it could happen. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of GPS, and as a sprintuser, this would be better then switching to an entirely new network, but as a visor user, I'm waiting for the airprime to come out.

Questions:

1. Does the I300 have flip lid of any kind? The pix don't show any such, even on the Samsung site <http://samsungelectronics.com/mobile_phone/wireless_terminals/cdma_pcs/sph_i300_features.html>

2. Will the Treo be a Sprint-capable phone? As in, can I just transfer my existing Sprint account from my cellphone to the Treo (as I think I can with the I300).

3. Which OS do these puppies use. I think the Treo uses 3.5.3, which would be a knock against it if true.

My comment on either IS300 or Treo would be that they rise and fall very fast in general. These ~$500 geek items does not shine more than 1 or 2 seasons before another expensive geek outshine it. If you seek comparison and this is what comparison will tell you. No bad feeling here. I own an Edge and VP and at least I still like it. I also looking forward to Treo release and would like to see how it live up.

To "Anonymous" above, regarding which service providers you can use these phones on:

As "Scott" said, the Treo is a GSM phone. That means it only works with Cingular, VoiceStream, or another service provider that uses GSM.

The I300 is a CDMA phone, and it works with Sprint. Yes, Sprint lets you buy a new phone (same price with or without new activation) and you can switch your existing service over. I did this not long ago when my Motorola Sprint phone was stolen; I just bought a Samsung Uproar and switched it over very easily.

I don't believe the I300 will work on any other carrier's networks. Verizon uses CDMA as well, but they run on 800MHz "digital cellular" not 1900MHz "PCS" like Sprint, so I don't think Verizon can offer the I300.

Hope that helps...

By the time Treo is released, especially the color version, I'm sure Samsung will have the next version of this Smartphone, and it will surely be better than what we have now.

Treo has something with its keyboard, but however Treo is managing the phone part of its product, I think Samsung's expertise in the cellular phone market will make the Samsung products a more solid phone, if nothing else.

I'll go out on a limb and make a prediction. By the time Treo hits the shelves,

1) Kyocera will have a i300 competitor
2) i300 will spawn i300+ or something which will be even smaller than 1300, better battery life, better LCD, USB, and OS 4.0 taking it a step beyond Treo.

I would agree that the screen is washed out on this unit. I've had mine over the weekend, and the screen is the only disappointing thing about it.

Now, I admit I migrated to this from a Handspring Prism - so I was accustomed to having one of the best screens available. But the screen is definitely washed out - I would recommend anyone considering one should go see one in person first.

If you remember way back to the early days of color laptop screens, there was a significant difference between "Active Matrix" screens and "Passive Matrix". I would say that this phone seems to be a passive matrix screen - you get after-images whenever the screen changes.

Still, not a showstopper for me. But I will seriously consider upgrading to the Treo (color) when it is available.

Thanks for the info. That's good stuff to know.

Here is my justification after spending $500 48 hours ago at my local Sprint store for the I300.
Display: Almost unreadable in bright sunlight if you don't shade it; very bright in a bright room indoors; use it as a flashlight in a dark room.
Screen Adjustments: Brightness not adjustable, although you can adjust contrast.
Color: Very unsaturated. Blue is more intense, but reds and yellows are very washed out.
Size: Thicker than my Palm V, but also narrower. Feels about right in the hand. I wouldn't want it too much smaller as a phone.
As a cell phone: About as good or bad as my older Sprint phone unit. (I removed the antenna of the I300 so that it does not snag in my pocket. The antenna adds nothing to reception that I can detect.)
Ringer: Not very loud. I have it set at the loudest setting so that I can hear the unit when it is my pocket. If it hangs on a belt, then perhaps a lower setting will do.
Screen size. Narrower than the Palm V, but also longer, due to the virtual Graffiti area.
Problems: A few areas near the screen edge are numb. Also, when I enable Jot, the bottom area of the screen,including the zero on the dial pad, is numb. Thus, I can't dial an 800 number with Jot enabled.
Dialer: No problem hitting the on-screen virtual buttons with my fingertips. Gives aural confirmation.
Has: Speakerphone, voice dialing, side scroll buttons, top screen, easy on-off side buttons.
Ver.: 3.5.2
Flashable: ?
Battery Life: If it sits on the synchronizer/charger most of the day, if should never run down. Overnight off the charger, I did not notice that the unit's battery-charge indicator had moved from its full-charge indication. An extra battery comes with the unit.
Synchronizaton: Synchronized on the first attempt.

Subjective Comments: Way cool. My life is much improved now that I don't have to carry both my cell phone and my Palm. I now can carry color photos of my wife and kids on my handheld. This I300 is a keeper, unless I trade for another I300 that doesn't have the screen numbness problem.
Why: Why don't they put the stylus on the right side, where it belongs? Why do they still use a serial connection on the sync cradle instead of USB?
How: How do they get so much juice into that teenie battery?

Does the increase in power output take place only during the time when you are making a call, or does it occur all the time that the unit is on standby?

Maybe I'm not that anal, or don't expect the world in cutting edge electronics (and I have a house full of them), but I LOVE my i300. I previously had the Kyocera palmphone and hated it. Here's what I think is great about the i300

1) Managable in size, and tiny compared to the Kyo. The Kyo is a brick whereas the i300 feels like a regualr cell phone. Plus its a few .oz lighter, which does make a difference in your pocket

2) Phone reception is excellect. Never could get a decent connection with the Kyo.

3) Color screen makes viewing easier. Yes, it is washed out, especially in bright sun, but I tested this out before I bought, so I knew what I was getting. Phone dialing is managable even in bright sunlight. Using the Palm isn't so great, but I don't really use my Palm outside much, so no big.

4) Virtual keypad and graffiti. No problem with usability here. My fingers work the keypad great, with no errors. I use voice dial mostly though.

5) No flip. Flips are annoying. Just one more thing to do before you can do what you need to do. If you are worried about protection get a case.

6) Coolness factor. It looks cool (unlike the Kyo) plus it begs to be taken with you (unlike the Kyo) and its is stealthy (unlike the bulky Kyo) so you can take it everywhere.

7) Fasted Palm on the market! Yes, its true. The benchmarks prove it.

8) Misc. Battery power is on the low side, but managable. When I get the car and travel chargers this won't even be a negative factor. ** Serial connection. This was kinda nutty decision for a cutting edge phone. Even Palms don't use serial anymore. Of course there is always a serial to usb adapter. I use the IR port on my laptop. ** Upgradability of newer Palm OSes unknown.

Overall, I think this is the best and most usable implementation of the Palm OS on a cell phone to date. To be sure, 3G is coming soon, and the i300 will be relagated to yesterday's product soon than I'd like to admit. But until then this is the real deal.

No, I definitely meant "mail.airbridge.net" Yes, it is a Verizon server but that doesn't really matter. In Eudora, under the "security" tab where you set up your account in Eudora on the I300, simply set it to "don't authenticate" for the smtp server and you won't receive the prompt asking for your username and password. Works just fine.

I haven't really tried any other email apps. Eudora works just fine for me so I'm not bothering with anything else.

On a separate note, what are your thoughts on the CDPD coverage of your M505/Minstrel combo? I was using a Prism/Minstrel previously for wireless internet but the signal was so finnicky/easily lost that it frustrated me so much that I decided to bite the bullet and fork over the cash for the I300. I must say that the data coverage is much improved over the CDPD network the Minstrel uses and I can now check my email/browse the web in so many more places than I could before with the Minstrel. I just miss the Prism's awesome screen :( Hopefully, the CDMA color Treo will take care of that...

This forum is very helpful in helping me to get my Samsung working right. I have been trying the mail.airbridge.net for SMTP to push mail through my yahoo email account (you can set up a Yahoo account for POP and smtp access) any other thoughts because it aint working for me. Also, I am trying to remote hotsync using my wireless cdma modem. It connects and idetifies me as the user on the laptop but never identifies me on the samsung and disconnects after 3-4 mintues. Has anyone had any luck remote hotsyncing to a modem on your computer?

I can't do a wireless network hotsync either. It works about 1 in 4 times, but usually it fails about the point where it say identifying user.