Samsung i600 opinions?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

I am convinced that I just have to get "converged" and get my PDA
functionality on to my cell phone. I went and looked at the Samsung i600
which seems to fit my needs for size and functionality. I use Outlook
extensively for work, so I would like to be able to sync my calendar and
contacts to my phone so I can eliminate carrying my iPaq. I don't care
about getting email, just my contacts and calendar.

My questions:
1. General opinions on this phone? Good? Bad?
2. Can I just connect it to my PC via USB and sync my calendar and contacts
without needing to subscribe to one of VZ's internet plans? It is my
understanding that you only need one of their internet plans if you plan to
sync your email real-time Blackberry-style. Is that true?

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks! Keith

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
news:w8Rmc.900$GL4.622@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> I am convinced that I just have to get "converged" and get my PDA
> functionality on to my cell phone. I went and looked at the Samsung i600
> which seems to fit my needs for size and functionality. I use Outlook
> extensively for work, so I would like to be able to sync my calendar and
> contacts to my phone so I can eliminate carrying my iPaq. I don't care
> about getting email, just my contacts and calendar.
>
> My questions:
> 1. General opinions on this phone? Good? Bad?
> 2. Can I just connect it to my PC via USB and sync my calendar and
contacts
> without needing to subscribe to one of VZ's internet plans? It is my
> understanding that you only need one of their internet plans if you plan
to
> sync your email real-time Blackberry-style. Is that true?
>


So I've had the i600 for about 4 billing periods now and I give it mixed
reviews. It's no that the phone is bad or that it won't do what you want,
it's just that the phone in combination with Smart Phone 2002 isn't really
ready for primetime yet. Basic issues like caller id not working on the
external screen when you have loaded you contacts (Samsung has released a
fix to this but it basically cuts off the contact name search and only shows
the incoming number), or no ring notification thru the head set. I've also
had problems with call waiting functions where it seems the OS gets confused
and then freezes up for a moment or two. Others have reported application
installation issues and more savior lockup and even corrupt registries, but
I haven't seen these issues first hand.

On the email and PC sync, works just like the PDA when it's in the cradle,
except that once it's synced it disconnects from Active Sync. You have to
then reset it in the cradle to keep it connected while docked. Active Sync
over the air requires a VPN connection to your network and the VPN
implementation is SLOW. It takes over 3 minutes to sync email via
ActiveSync/VPN where accessing the same email via IMAP takes less then a
minute.

So I have my phone setup to get email via IMAP every 15 minutes, BUT, the
phone goes into sleep mode and the email app does not have the ability to
wake up the phone to fetch email when scheduled. So most of the time I have
to manually initiate an email fetch. This actually works out ok for me but
I sure wish it would do it automatically.

There is a rumored upgrade to SmartPhone 2003 which hopefully will solve a
bunch of theses issues but so far all you can get out of Samsung and Verizon
is that it's in testing. (been that way since I bought my phone)

Also note that there is no NOTES sync but this is common across all
Smartphone phones.

As to internet access, I have an American Choice plan that provided internet
access as a part of my minutes. I'm running an 800 minute plan right now
and doing just fine. There are other plans including unlimited access but I
couldn't rationally justify the additional cost.


With all that said, I'm glad I bought mine. I no longer carry my IPAQ and
I'm happy about that. I also have a lot of client notes in my contact which
I rely on and have all the time in the phone. So as far as work efficiency
it's been great for me. I also bought the phone knowing it was bleeding
edge and having gone through bleeding edge technology in the past (e.g. I
bought the first IPAQ) I knew what I was in for.

I just hope the rumors of an 2003 upgrade become reality soon and that it
corrects most of the issues.




--

Rob
Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

> "KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
> news:w8Rmc.900$GL4.622@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> I am convinced that I just have to get "converged" and get my PDA
> functionality on to my cell phone. I went and looked at the Samsung
> i600 which seems to fit my needs for size and functionality. I use
> Outlook extensively for work, so I would like to be able to sync my
> calendar and contacts to my phone so I can eliminate carrying my
> iPaq. I don't care about getting email, just my contacts and
> calendar.
>
> My questions:
> 1. General opinions on this phone? Good? Bad?
> 2. Can I just connect it to my PC via USB and sync my calendar and
> contacts without needing to subscribe to one of VZ's internet plans?
> It is my understanding that you only need one of their internet
> plans if you plan to sync your email real-time Blackberry-style. Is
> that true?
>

Just a note, we have a wireless network at work, and I got an sdio 802.11b
card so I can synch wirelessly. Sort of neat to be able to use it as a
phone/pda/wireless device at work, (and have a wireless network at home I
use it on too), and with the plethora of hotspots, (especially at the hotels
I get sent to) it's sort of neat to be able to use it as both a phone and
wireless device, and for sure not have to subscribe to one of the plans.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"Peter Pan" <Marcs1102NOSPAM@Hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2g2jqiF3rgj6U1@uni-berlin.de...
> > "KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:w8Rmc.900$GL4.622@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> > I am convinced that I just have to get "converged" and get my PDA
> > functionality on to my cell phone. I went and looked at the Samsung
> > i600 which seems to fit my needs for size and functionality. I use
> > Outlook extensively for work, so I would like to be able to sync my
> > calendar and contacts to my phone so I can eliminate carrying my
> > iPaq. I don't care about getting email, just my contacts and
> > calendar.
> >
> > My questions:
> > 1. General opinions on this phone? Good? Bad?
> > 2. Can I just connect it to my PC via USB and sync my calendar and
> > contacts without needing to subscribe to one of VZ's internet plans?
> > It is my understanding that you only need one of their internet
> > plans if you plan to sync your email real-time Blackberry-style. Is
> > that true?
> >
>
> Just a note, we have a wireless network at work, and I got an sdio 802.11b
> card so I can synch wirelessly. Sort of neat to be able to use it as a
> phone/pda/wireless device at work, (and have a wireless network at home I
> use it on too), and with the plethora of hotspots, (especially at the
hotels
> I get sent to) it's sort of neat to be able to use it as both a phone and
> wireless device, and for sure not have to subscribe to one of the plans.
>


What sdio netcard did you get? I wasn't aware that there was one available
for Smartphone yet.

--

Rob
Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:waudnaAqUtaQhgHdRVn-ug@giganews.com
> "Peter Pan" <Marcs1102NOSPAM@Hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:2g2jqiF3rgj6U1@uni-berlin.de...
>>> "KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:w8Rmc.900$GL4.622@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>>> I am convinced that I just have to get "converged" and get my PDA
>>> functionality on to my cell phone. I went and looked at the Samsung
>>> i600 which seems to fit my needs for size and functionality. I use
>>> Outlook extensively for work, so I would like to be able to sync my
>>> calendar and contacts to my phone so I can eliminate carrying my
>>> iPaq. I don't care about getting email, just my contacts and
>>> calendar.
>>>
>>> My questions:
>>> 1. General opinions on this phone? Good? Bad?
>>> 2. Can I just connect it to my PC via USB and sync my calendar and
>>> contacts without needing to subscribe to one of VZ's internet plans?
>>> It is my understanding that you only need one of their internet
>>> plans if you plan to sync your email real-time Blackberry-style. Is
>>> that true?
>>>
>>
>> Just a note, we have a wireless network at work, and I got an sdio
>> 802.11b card so I can synch wirelessly. Sort of neat to be able to
>> use it as a phone/pda/wireless device at work, (and have a wireless
>> network at home I use it on too), and with the plethora of hotspots,
>> (especially at the hotels I get sent to) it's sort of neat to be
>> able to use it as both a phone and wireless device, and for sure not
>> have to subscribe to one of the plans.
>>
>
>
> What sdio netcard did you get? I wasn't aware that there was one
> available for Smartphone yet.

Actually two devices, (some people have older devices, some newer):
Socket to Deliver SDIO 802.11b WLAN Card for Pocket PC Devices
at http://www.socketcom.com/about/press/read.asp?ID=94 (year old press
release shown to see details)

and for devices that don't need the above (we have a beta of this one, will
be available soon)
This from Sandisk: http://www.sandisk.com/retail_sdwifi.html
(pasted from that page)
The Wi-Fi SD card is the smallest Wi-Fi card in the market. The card will
allow SDIO enabled devices to connect to HotSpots (802.11b Access Points)
worldwide for fast wireless Internet connectivity. The card supports Pocket
PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2003 devices that have an SDIO enabled slot.

SD Wi-Fi Card News

.. Palm Support for OS 5.x devices is estimated for Q2 - read more from the
selected articles below.
- The Register
- Geek.com
- PDAlive.com
.. Download a free 30-day trial version of Thunderhawk.
.. View the SD Wi-Fi Card compatability chart.*

Use Wi-Fi Zone Finder to find
Internet access worldwide

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"Peter Pan" <Marcs1102NOSPAM@Hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2g2qimF414ogU1@uni-berlin.de...
> "Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:waudnaAqUtaQhgHdRVn-ug@giganews.com
> > "Peter Pan" <Marcs1102NOSPAM@Hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:2g2jqiF3rgj6U1@uni-berlin.de...
> >>> "KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
> >>> news:w8Rmc.900$GL4.622@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> >>> I am convinced that I just have to get "converged" and get my PDA
> >>> functionality on to my cell phone. I went and looked at the Samsung
> >>> i600 which seems to fit my needs for size and functionality. I use
> >>> Outlook extensively for work, so I would like to be able to sync my
> >>> calendar and contacts to my phone so I can eliminate carrying my
> >>> iPaq. I don't care about getting email, just my contacts and
> >>> calendar.
> >>>
> >>> My questions:
> >>> 1. General opinions on this phone? Good? Bad?
> >>> 2. Can I just connect it to my PC via USB and sync my calendar and
> >>> contacts without needing to subscribe to one of VZ's internet plans?
> >>> It is my understanding that you only need one of their internet
> >>> plans if you plan to sync your email real-time Blackberry-style. Is
> >>> that true?
> >>>
> >>
> >> Just a note, we have a wireless network at work, and I got an sdio
> >> 802.11b card so I can synch wirelessly. Sort of neat to be able to
> >> use it as a phone/pda/wireless device at work, (and have a wireless
> >> network at home I use it on too), and with the plethora of hotspots,
> >> (especially at the hotels I get sent to) it's sort of neat to be
> >> able to use it as both a phone and wireless device, and for sure not
> >> have to subscribe to one of the plans.
> >>
> >
> >
> > What sdio netcard did you get? I wasn't aware that there was one
> > available for Smartphone yet.
>
> Actually two devices, (some people have older devices, some newer):
> Socket to Deliver SDIO 802.11b WLAN Card for Pocket PC Devices
> at http://www.socketcom.com/about/press/read.asp?ID=94 (year old press
> release shown to see details)
>
> and for devices that don't need the above (we have a beta of this one,
will
> be available soon)
> This from Sandisk: http://www.sandisk.com/retail_sdwifi.html
> (pasted from that page)
> The Wi-Fi SD card is the smallest Wi-Fi card in the market. The card will
> allow SDIO enabled devices to connect to HotSpots (802.11b Access Points)
> worldwide for fast wireless Internet connectivity. The card supports
Pocket
> PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2003 devices that have an SDIO enabled slot.
>
> SD Wi-Fi Card News
>
> . Palm Support for OS 5.x devices is estimated for Q2 - read more from the
> selected articles below.
> - The Register
> - Geek.com
> - PDAlive.com
> . Download a free 30-day trial version of Thunderhawk.
> . View the SD Wi-Fi Card compatability chart.*
>
> Use Wi-Fi Zone Finder to find
> Internet access worldwide
>
>


I've seen the Scandisk card before but it does not indicate that it works
with the Smartphone OS. Do you have it working with an i600?

--

Rob
Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:st2dnaeNUoOVqgHdRVn_iw@giganews.com
> "Peter Pan" <Marcs1102NOSPAM@Hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:2g2qimF414ogU1@uni-berlin.de...
>> "Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:waudnaAqUtaQhgHdRVn-ug@giganews.com
>>> "Peter Pan" <Marcs1102NOSPAM@Hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:2g2jqiF3rgj6U1@uni-berlin.de...
>>>>> "KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:w8Rmc.900$GL4.622@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>>>>> I am convinced that I just have to get "converged" and get my PDA
>>>>> functionality on to my cell phone. I went and looked at the
>>>>> Samsung i600 which seems to fit my needs for size and
>>>>> functionality. I use Outlook extensively for work, so I would
>>>>> like to be able to sync my calendar and contacts to my phone so I
>>>>> can eliminate carrying my iPaq. I don't care about getting
>>>>> email, just my contacts and calendar.
>>>>>
>>>>> My questions:
>>>>> 1. General opinions on this phone? Good? Bad?
>>>>> 2. Can I just connect it to my PC via USB and sync my calendar
>>>>> and contacts without needing to subscribe to one of VZ's internet
>>>>> plans? It is my understanding that you only need one of their
>>>>> internet plans if you plan to sync your email real-time
>>>>> Blackberry-style. Is that true?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Just a note, we have a wireless network at work, and I got an sdio
>>>> 802.11b card so I can synch wirelessly. Sort of neat to be able to
>>>> use it as a phone/pda/wireless device at work, (and have a wireless
>>>> network at home I use it on too), and with the plethora of
>>>> hotspots, (especially at the hotels I get sent to) it's sort of
>>>> neat to be able to use it as both a phone and wireless device, and
>>>> for sure not have to subscribe to one of the plans.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> What sdio netcard did you get? I wasn't aware that there was one
>>> available for Smartphone yet.
>>
>> Actually two devices, (some people have older devices, some newer):
>> Socket to Deliver SDIO 802.11b WLAN Card for Pocket PC Devices
>> at http://www.socketcom.com/about/press/read.asp?ID=94 (year old
>> press release shown to see details)
>>
>> and for devices that don't need the above (we have a beta of this
>> one, will be available soon)
>> This from Sandisk: http://www.sandisk.com/retail_sdwifi.html
>> (pasted from that page)
>> The Wi-Fi SD card is the smallest Wi-Fi card in the market. The card
>> will allow SDIO enabled devices to connect to HotSpots (802.11b
>> Access Points) worldwide for fast wireless Internet connectivity.
>> The card supports Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2003 devices that
>> have an SDIO enabled slot.
>>
>> SD Wi-Fi Card News
>>
>> . Palm Support for OS 5.x devices is estimated for Q2 - read more
>> from the selected articles below.
>> - The Register
>> - Geek.com
>> - PDAlive.com
>> . Download a free 30-day trial version of Thunderhawk.
>> . View the SD Wi-Fi Card compatability chart.*
>>
>> Use Wi-Fi Zone Finder to find
>> Internet access worldwide
>>
>>
>
>
> I've seen the Scandisk card before but it does not indicate that it
> works with the Smartphone OS. Do you have it working with an i600?

We have CF cards in our i600's and i700's (see the first link above for non
sd cards). The sandisk sd's are in other phones. Both types work with our
wifi network. Since we have different phones and some use sdio and others
cf, I may have just typed "sdio" instead of "both sdio and cf non sdio" (I'm
a hunt and peck typer, like to shortcut whenever possible). At any rate, the
i700s work off the shelf, cards are available now, and the i600's are ummmm
not ready for prime time (my terminology... the i600 was way smaller than
the i700, and to fit the internal card in (has to be internal, no external
slot), the back was routed out and duct tape covers the hole. The final card
will be repackaged for the space available).

The link above was for a press release, for the actual webpage
w/descriptions see http://www.socketcom.com/product/wlan.asp

Personally, while the i600 is smaller and cheaper, for our use, my opinion
would be to spend the extra $99 and go for a 700 rather than the 600.

The whole point (and again, sorry for any typos) was to emphasize how neat
it is to use a wireless connection rather than a cradle, and at many other
places, you can connect to other Wi-Fi hot spots too.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

Rob,

Thanks for your comments. It sounds like there are issues but it is still
worth considering.

Where do you go to get updates, patches, etc. for this phone? Does VZ post
these or do you go to Samsung?

Does anyone else out there have any comments to post?

Thanks again, Keith

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

So far it's been Samsung, however, rumor has it that part of the hold up on
the SM2003 release is trying to decide between Verizon and Samsung who's
going to handle the release.

BTW: I just installed the caller id patch from Samsung and it works like
advertised. Numbers appear right away on the external screen and the
contact info appears quickly on the internal screen. I'd really be
interested to find out exact what the bug is that prevents the phone from
working properly.

--

Rob
Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"



"KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
news:BpZmc.108171$Vp5.33454@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> Rob,
>
> Thanks for your comments. It sounds like there are issues but it is still
> worth considering.
>
> Where do you go to get updates, patches, etc. for this phone? Does VZ
post
> these or do you go to Samsung?
>
> Does anyone else out there have any comments to post?
>
> Thanks again, Keith
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

Rob,

I just looked for that patch on Samsung's web site and could not find it.
Can you provide me a URL or some other way of getting it?

Thanks a lot for your help - I just won one of these on eBay, so I better
start doing my homework!
Keith


"Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:brqdnQgnAvgAXwHdRVn-vA@giganews.com...
> So far it's been Samsung, however, rumor has it that part of the hold up
on
> the SM2003 release is trying to decide between Verizon and Samsung who's
> going to handle the release.
>
> BTW: I just installed the caller id patch from Samsung and it works like
> advertised. Numbers appear right away on the external screen and the
> contact info appears quickly on the internal screen. I'd really be
> interested to find out exact what the bug is that prevents the phone from
> working properly.
>
> --
>
> Rob
> Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
> A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"
>
>
>
> "KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
> news:BpZmc.108171$Vp5.33454@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> > Rob,
> >
> > Thanks for your comments. It sounds like there are issues but it is
still
> > worth considering.
> >
> > Where do you go to get updates, patches, etc. for this phone? Does VZ
> post
> > these or do you go to Samsung?
> >
> > Does anyone else out there have any comments to post?
> >
> > Thanks again, Keith
> >
> >
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

Here's the link.
http://www.samsungtelecom.com/support/mit/

Good luck.

--

Rob
Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"



"KWA" <email@junkemail.com> wrote in message
news:j0hnc.11850$nL.1174@fe1.columbus.rr.com...
> Rob,
>
> I just looked for that patch on Samsung's web site and could not find it.
> Can you provide me a URL or some other way of getting it?
>
> Thanks a lot for your help - I just won one of these on eBay, so I better
> start doing my homework!
> Keith
>
>
> "Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:brqdnQgnAvgAXwHdRVn-vA@giganews.com...
> > So far it's been Samsung, however, rumor has it that part of the hold up
> on
> > the SM2003 release is trying to decide between Verizon and Samsung who's
> > going to handle the release.
> >
> > BTW: I just installed the caller id patch from Samsung and it works like
> > advertised. Numbers appear right away on the external screen and the
> > contact info appears quickly on the internal screen. I'd really be
> > interested to find out exact what the bug is that prevents the phone
from
> > working properly.
> >
> > --
> >
> > Rob
> > Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
> > A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"
> >
> >
> >
> > "KWA" <junkmail@junkmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:BpZmc.108171$Vp5.33454@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
> > > Rob,
> > >
> > > Thanks for your comments. It sounds like there are issues but it is
> still
> > > worth considering.
> > >
> > > Where do you go to get updates, patches, etc. for this phone? Does VZ
> > post
> > > these or do you go to Samsung?
> > >
> > > Does anyone else out there have any comments to post?
> > >
> > > Thanks again, Keith
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>