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| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: Samsung i760 Black Phone (Verizon Wireless, Phone Only, No Service) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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User Submitted Samsung i760 Black Phone (Verizon Wireless, Phone Only, No Service) Reviews (cont...)Date: 2008-04-27 Not what I was looking for Note that my 3 stars are not reflective of the phone doing what it's meant to do, it's reflective of the phone not doing what I wanted it to do. Envious of my friends iPhones, I just wanted a phone with built in wifi so that I could be connected on the go. I didn't want to pay for data services, so I disabled them completely. I wanted to easily be able to work with my gmail email and calendar. I wanted the interface to be smooth. Granted that this was my first Windows Mobile phone (I had a Smartphone 2004 phone for a while, it was awful). However, the phone seriously lacked what I was looking for. Most of this was probably due to Windows Mobile 6, but everything just felt slow and sluggish. The touch screen was good, but not great (compared to my usage of the iPhone). Wifi reception was great, but internet browsing (with IE and with Opera) both were lackluster. The built in stylus was a great idea but was awful to work with with big hands. Maybe I just didn't spend enough time getting familiar with the phone, but I'll be returning it for a more basic phone soon. Date: 2008-04-14 A workhorse out of the box, invest some time and this phone shines I bought the i760 to be a true convergence device and it has delivered on all fronts. If you are willing to invest time in finding the right software (usually free) to customize the device, you will find yourself with a very nice windows alternative to the all-powerful you-know-what. First Impressions: Out of the box, it is apparent that Samsung and Verizon created a phone that prefers function to sexiness. It has a heavy, grounded feel, as if every bit of space inside the case is jammed with electronics. The sliding keyboard is spring loaded and is very sturdy, as are the raised rubberized keys. With the added dialer and D-Pad, one can tell this phone was created for heavy business use and is meant to survive abuse that most touch-screen phones would rather avoid. Upon turning it on, you will quickly see this is a pure Windows Mobile 6 device. There is no sluggish performance to be seen when navigating the device and screen rotation is usually handled smoothly. While Verizon was nice enough to include ZERO bloatware on the phone, it is also a very bland experience. Included are a few basic themes, Pocket IE, and Windows Media Player. All menus and features on the phone are meant to be used with the stylus. There are no finger-friendly nifty programs included, no finger-scrolling contact menus or anything of the sort. Just plain old Windows Mobile. Fast, but plain. Everyday Use: I got the i760 to be a do-all device. It needed to be an MP3 player, portable movie player, internet radio player, game player, web surfer, and package it all in a finger-friendly device with easy access to news, weather, messaging, contacts, and all that wonderful media. Basically a laptop in my pocket. Out of the box... the i760 does little of this. Pocket IE is sluggish and best used with a stylus, Windows MP can't play mobile youtube and stinks as an MP3 player, and there is no ease-of-use experience to speak of. However, if you are willing to invest a few nights a week for a few weeks into finding the right software, the device is VERY willing to provide this experience. WM6 has a multitude of freeware options for customized today plugins, media players, iPhone-wannabe apps (love those finger apps), game emulators... you name it, it's available, and the i760 handles it all with relative ease. On a typical day, I listen to internet radio on the way to and from work, mix in some mp3 playing, watch some youtube videos, visit full-version websites like espn and cnn (minus flash... sad), play some emulated video games, check my email, make some calls, and send some text messages all from the i760. Win. The best part is, once you find the right mix of software and customizations to provide your desired functionality, you can simply sync up your device with your desktop PC and never worry about it again. I've had a static set of programs for about a week and I do not imagine spending much more time customizing this phone. Battery life is okay on the slim battery and a little better on the extended battery. I typically use the slim battery and charge it while I'm at my desk or at home. If you're going on a day-trip or a plane flight, the extended battery seems to be sufficient for a day of use. IMPORTANT to note is that you WILL have to "customize" this device for it to accept 4gb minisd cards. This is extremely easy to do, but understand it only accepts 2gb out of the box. Performance: While it is barebones out of the box, this device shines if you put in some elbow grease and hunt out the right apps for it - and the i760 handles everything you can reasonably expect. This is thanks to a combination of a proven chipset (put in production in 2003 by Samsung) and the addition of a 400mhz CPU, which is standard on most high-end WM6 devices. Although is has less RAM than some competitors (only 64mb) and lacks 3D hardware acceleration, Samsung has put together a very peppy device. There are no weaknesses in any areas of performance, including multitasking. You can listen to music, surf the web, and handle incoming calls with ease. Video performance is above average. Properly formatted divx (320x240) plays without issue in high quality. Mobile YouTube runs quite well. Music plays great too. The integrated speakers are loud enough to fill a small car with sound on a roadtrip, but plug the device to the aux port on your car stereo and enjoy your movies with full, high-quality sound. 16-bit console emulation also performs quite well, with sound, but expect some occassional slowdown. Finally, above all, call quality is good on the phone. Unlike a certain competitor with fancy commercials, this phone makes no sacrifice of voice quality on either end. There are some issues with the device: *Touchscreen Sensitivity - the device doesn't work so well with fingers. It will work, but not consistently. Use the back of your fingernail instead. *Sleep Functionality - once asleep, only a tiny button on the top of the device can wake it up. Most devices seem to allow customization on how to wake the device up. *Weight - your hand(s) will fatigue after a lot of continuous use. *D-Pad - the D-Pad is okay, but may not live through a lot of gaming. *No GPS - and the Google Maps "My Location" feature does not seem to work, either. Conclusion: With some extra love and care, a tech savvy consumer can turn this device into a do-it-all powerhouse with no apparent limitations. The dated chipset may show some age in the next generation of mobile apps, but with the way the mobile market is accelerating, this is unavoidable. All in all, this is likely the best all around Pocket PC available and thankfully it's on Verizon's excellent network. If you can get past the pragmatic feel and appearance of the phone, you will find this phone to be a real winner. KB Date: 2008-04-08 Great Phone This phone is great for text messages, video messages, beaming music and pictures, Fast internet connetion, Great windows fuctions, voice activated calls are great but u must have a earpiece for it to work good. Also comes with auto picture ajustments with zoom. This phone is like a small computer. Also this phone comes with a PDA plan from verizon. You must call once your phone is activated so u can keep or remove the pda plan. I got stuck with the first month charge so don't forget. Date: 2008-04-04 Great phone with a few problems Overall, this is a fantastic phone, I've had mine now for about a week. My previous phone was a Samsung a990 which was terrific (a five-star phone all the way). As my two year period was up, I was able to update and wanted to get a phone that would sync with Outlook; something that the i760 does very well. The only complaint I had when I bought this phone was that the camera only has 1.3 megapixels. Surely, Samsung should have done better than that! Just the same, I needed to sync my calendar so I decided to try this one. The first thing I noticed after using it, was that the battery does not hold a charge well. In fact, my phone came with both an "extended battery" and a regular one. Needless to say, I have difficulty going through an entire day without having to either recharge it or use the spare battery. Unlike my old a990, which always made it through the day, I find the new phone's inability to retain a charge a bit annoying (sure, it also has a lot of great features which are, of course, power hungry). Another problem I've been having is that the voice recognition feature is very quirky - with my a990, I rarely had problems, with the i760, it's been a daily battle. While I consider myself to be geek, I'm still learning how to use Windows Mobile 6, as well as how to use the various features of the phone. Unfortunately, it does not come with a printed manual (something that I find VERY annoying), although there is one on a CD that comes with the phone. Overall, I still think it's a great little phone and I enjoy the ability to send text message "howlers" to my son when I find out he hasn't completed his homework. :) The handwriting recognition feature is also the best I've used so far - it's speedy and even recognizes my cursive! Now that says something. Date: 2008-03-13 Best smartphone/PDA I've owned -- definately a keeper I'm a smartphone-aholic. I currently own and have lived with in the last year alone: AT&T 8525 -- Cingular Service Helio Ocean -- Dual slider Blackberry 8800 -- Cingular Service I even was using both the Helio Ocean and the AT&T at the same time for several months not being able to bring myself to commit fully to one or the other despite paying 2 wireless bills of over 100 bucks each month. I used the Helio because I prefered the form factor for making calls -- having 2 distinct keyboards is a definate plus. However, the Helio lacked the functionality and compatibility of the AT&T windows device and the screen size. But the relatively poor voice quality of the AT&T network in my area (service cutting out at my house, choppy sound etc) combined with the touch screen constantly getting in the way while talking on it as a telephone drove me bonkers. Having over 1000.00 in high-end phones sitting in my desk, however, couldn't stop me from purchasing the Samsung SCH-i760 through Verizon. And after nearly 6 weeks, I won't be changing back to the others anytime soon. The form factor of the phone -- with a separate numeric and qwerty keyboard is outstanding. I really like having the numeric keyboard because it allows me to use the device as a phone more quickly than having to tap-touch-type my way using the qwerty keyboard. Qwerty is great -- unless you are on the phone. At first, I didn't think I would like the touch screen on the Samsung because the touchscreen of the AT&T was always getting in the way (I ALWAYS got this infuriating "PTT -- Charges will apply. Ok?" message when I used the phone as a phone because my cheek would touch I don't know what). However, the touch screen on the Samsung is recessed ever so slightly to where I don't have that problem with this phone. What I *really love* is the ability to access both the numeric and QWERTY keyboard at the same time. When I'm typing an email I almost always wind up typing numbers in it and the separate numeric keyboard allows me to do this without having to constantly type "num" "2" "num" "3" "num" "2"... just type the letters on the qwerty and when you want to enter your phone number, enter those using the numeric keyboard without having to close or reorient the phone. Even the feel of the Samsung is superior to all the other phones. Again, I loved the slightly rubberized feeling of the Helio Ocean -- wasn't slippery. But the Ocean's screen and keyboard layout was just a bit too small. The Ocean was not stable enough. While the Helio screen is gorgeous, I really never could get comfortable with the non-standard interface. The AT&T was a bit too big and a HUGE powersuck. If you got the extended battery, it was much better -- but then the extended battery physical size was such that it prevented the AT&T from fitting in a standard size holster. With the Samsung you can purchase the extended battery and it only adds very slightly to the physical device size -- virtually unnoticeable. I can go for 3 full days off the charger without having to recharge -- and that is with all the data services etc enabled. Very minor things I would change on the Samsung if I could: 1. Side button layout is a bit confusing and I'm having to actually sit and practice what keys to press to do certain items. 2. Documentation is poor -- would it be so wrong to have a quick reference diagram that explicitly states what each button is in both Samsung's language and Windows Mobile language? Which one is button 1? 3. Given the expense of this device and the fact that it is very much the contemporary of AT&T, Helio and the like, a 1.3 MP camera is pretty week compared to the competition. 4. The look of the device is not very appealing. I still like it better than the AT&T but the Helio Ocean is just one very cool looking device. Other than that, I'm now a very happy customer. Verizon Wireless has been far superior for me in terms of coverage and customer service. The device has made me content and happy to put away my other devices since I now feel like I have the best combination of the AT&T features and functionality along with the Helio design and tactile gratification. This is the perfect phone that balances business needs (Exchange email, windows platform) with the desire for a cool toy gadget thing.
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