Samsung's i730 Pocket PC Phone coming on June 23rd?

Alright, we've been burned before, but we're getting reports that Verizon Wireless is going to be releasing Samsung's new i730 Pocket PC Phone to business channels on June 23rd, with regular retail and Internet sales channels to follow on July 7th. For the record this is the one with EV-DO, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Windows Mobile 2003 SE (not Windows Mobile 5.0), 64MB of RAM, an SDIO expansion card slot, 802.11b WiFi, and Bluetooth.

[Roopesh Sheth @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

If the BenQ P50 hits our market anytime soon, this entire niche is going to have some awesome phones available...

[Azrael @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Anyone know which provider will be getting this?

[alex @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

What part of "we�re getting reports that Verizon Wireless is going to be releasing Samsung�s new i730 Pocket PC Phone to business channels" do you not understand?

[Jon Gales @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

The unit Verizon is shipping may or may not have WiFi--it has been no where in the specs on their site. A pretty big feature to gloss over.

[Totalfixation @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

is there any ways to unlock and use it for sprint?

[Totalfixation @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

is there any ways to unlock and use it for sprint?

[IcemanMN @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

BenQ P50? Please. The BenQ P50 will support GPRS ONLY. The Sammy supports EVDO high-speed data service.

[Peter Rojas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Jon's right -- WiFi is a big question mark on this thing. It'd be a real shame if they left this out.

[Erick @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

What will windows mobile 5.0 bring to the table? Why should its impending release prevent me from snatching this thing up... it seems like a slightly smaller treo WITH WiFi. No mention of a camera?

[Darius Wey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Roopesh -- It's tough saying when (and if) the P50 will hit American soil. First there were reports of it hitting Italy, and then that got delayed. Now the Taiwanese market is set to get it next week (according to reports) at a whopping price of US$700. It bites. I think the P50 is all a case of too little, too late, and once HTC and the like start shipping their next generation of Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition devices, the P50 will be as much a vaporware as the MPx.

[JayM @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Argh! This device would have been perfect for Mobile 5.0...maybe they'll offer an upgrade.

[Alex Land @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

VZW doesn't even leave OBEX bluetooth in their phones. I highly doubt they're going to put wi-fi in too.

[Kidd @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

three words

BenQP50
BenQP50
BenQP50

[Apoco-lips @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

The "imate pda2k" seems to have better specs than this and thats out how many months??
Whatll be coming soon that will run Mindows Wobile 5.0?

[wheels22 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

wifi will be on this phone!!!

[dk @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

ive read the phone will come with wifi, but it will not be usable when the phone or evdo is on. I think this means you can't receive phone calls when you are using wifi

[marty @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

correct, Verizon does not list wifi as a feature on their teaser page but they don't list EV-DO/"broadband access" either so you can't draw any conclusions from their lack of including that information. All signs point to wifi being enabled as everyone who has a prerelease version of this phone (which supposedly have the final ROM on them as well) has said wifi is enabled on the units.

[tzafrirs @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

How much the HTC will cost?
and when will it be available?

[tzafrirs @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

How much the HTC will cost?
and when will it be available?

[tzafrirs @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

How much the HTC will cost?
and when will it be available?

[Totalfixation @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

is there any ways to unlock and use it for sprint?

[In the Know @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I have visual confirmation from Verizons Dealer site (Infocenter) that shows that it will have wifi.

[PJC @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

No Camera = No Good. What's the point of
releasing an EVDO smartphone sans camera?
Also, there is no side mounted scroll
wheel for scrolling web pages.

[Thought @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

If the form factor is a good one, then this phone will be a real winner.

Having EVDO and WiFi will be amazing.

I agree that if the phone lacks a camera, that is a drawback, but not a deal killer.

Bottom line is this: how cool is it to have a wireless broadband internet to carry around with you?

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

The FCC test was done with WIFI enabled. So I'm pretty sure if they took out the WIFI the phone would have to be re-certified by the FCC. All the testers phones have wifi enabled and also on the PDF that has Verizon branded all over it says something about being able to do file transfers. SO maybe OBEX will be active.

[Amin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Will this phone come in GSM flavor?
Or just chocolate?!

[Kashif @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Now, let us get clear about onething because I have been really confused about Samsung i730 having wi-fi functionality. Will there be or will there not be a Samsung i730 with wi-fi functionalty? Some sites like engadget.com has said there will be at some places and others have said there won't be. Help me please?

[Gregg @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Kashif, the phone is not out yet. Anything said here is a rumor or guess (sometimes based on observations like FCC testing, what is or is not mentioned on web pages, fliers, etc).

There are two ways for you to know for sure whether there will or will not be wi-fi: (1) corner the Verizon CEO in an elevator and force him to tell you, or (2) wait for it to be released on <rumor> 6/23 or 7/7 </rumor> and see for yourself.

[murph @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

BengalBoy (of Howard Forums and the Moto MPX fame) has his hands on one. he promises a review later in the week. but he thinks WiFi will be disabled on the retail versions. he's just starting up his own site.

http://www.bengalboy.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&topic_id=9&forum=12

[immolator @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Samsung�s i730 Pocket PC Phone has 2 megapixel camera shooting 15 frames per/sec video...on top of that QVGA screen, but dunno whats up with the 66k color screen....

[Kiaora @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

you guys kidding me?

Benq can never beat Samsung with any products

[Kiaora @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

PJC / what makes you think this new Samsung phone doesn't have camera?

[Frank Wolf (a.k.a. Bane) @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Why is everyone dreaming and hoping. It�s Verizon. NO WIFI AND NO BLUETOOTH!! You can count on it NOT being there. Why? �Because it doesn�t fit our business model�.

They didn�t spend Billions on EVDO for you to go of and use Skype over WiFi to place calls. They need to make their money back right?! If it does show up it will be GIMPED, PERIOD!!

[Smith @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

VZ rep told me not to count on Wifi. A Wired interview said the same:

http://www.mobiletracker.net/archives/2005/05/27/wifi-mobile-phones

Current testers report that Wifi only activates if you are not in an EvDO signal. If EvDo is around then like it or not 802.11b is automatically turned OFF.

Many home/gadget people think that just having EvDO is ok and that Wifi people are whining over nothing. Fact is, if you work in a company that has private data and uses PocketPCs then you probably have non-browser applications that connect securely via Wifi to your network.

In most cases you will not want to have to pay developers to create systems that will take your private data and pass it out to the public internet just so it can be seen in a browser via EvDO.

Just for background the Health Care industy was first to really jump on the PocketPC for custom wifi applications ... do you want to be sitting in a hospital bed and see your doctor tap in your personal information and know that becuase EvDO is in your city your private information is passing out to the public internet just to go back and hit the hospital servers? Thanks to HIPAA, neither do the hospitals and doctors so a crippled Wifi phone is not going to be a likely volume purchase for this major PPC-using industry.

EvDo is really nice as an option and EvDO will likely be used for non-critical regular surfing by most everyone who buys this phone.

But without always-avialable Wifi I have a hunch that the sales will be mostly to gadget-freaks and not to the corporate clients who would realy make it a sustainable product. Based on that I think that will make Samsung just not spend any more money on adding in Wifi capabilities to any phones in the future .. why bother when the carriers are just going to shut it off? And it's the carriers that phone companies sell to, not us.

[Solo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Why give Wi-Fi for free, when you're trying to sell Ev-Do. What exactly does Ev-Do do that mkaes it so special?

[PJC @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Kiaora, I used the i730 last week at Samsung's
showroom at the Time Warner Center in NYC. It
was running on Verizon and didn't have a camera. The Samsung rep said it would not have a camera when it is released soon.

[Dougiewonder @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I'm a business type and have been waiting for something other than an out-of-date Treo to show up on VZW. Excellent voice recognition is important because I am mobile. A camera is actually a negative because many government customers and others make you check it at the door. As for Windows Mobile 5.0, aren't we always hungering for the next release? That's the Redmond opiate that we all are hooked on. I'll give EV-DO a chance to prove itself capable or useless. It is not in the top three of reasons to get a better PDA phone.

[Marc Jacobs @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Who was information on the Samsung SGH-i750 - the GSM version of the i730 ?

[Mysta @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Forgive me if I overlooked it, but does anyone have an idea of the price range this device will be in? I'm looking to upgrade my phone. I like the idea of high-speed access everywhere I go.

IMO, I think VZW should enable the features this phone is capable of doing. The percentage of users who will actually take advantage of these features will not even put a dent in VZW pockets.

I'm waiting for the day a company is like , "hey here ya go, you've been good customers, we'll enable BT, WiFi, and your camera!"

I need to stop dreaming...

remember just an opinion...

[Snape @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Has anyone seen dimensions for this device yet? I saw somewhere that it will have a 2.8" screen, but that's all.

[rye&ginger @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

specs here http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=667

1000mAh battery? hah.

Nice looking unit. Using it one handed will be an issue I think. This is where the Treo and Blackberrys have the form factor down. EVDO is really the only new feature here compared to the current Treo.

uncrippled wi-fi on a Verizon phone? bitch please.

[Scooter @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

It's official. My Verizon rep emailed me today confirming the release dates.

Subject: Samsung i730 Launch Date

Team, Here are the official dates for the i730 being launched by VZW:

B2B is 6/23. $599.99 on a 2 year contract

Retail, Internet, and Indirect is July 7.

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

My Verizon rep also confirmed the release date for enterprise customers is Jume 23. Just cannot wait.

[Sherman Langer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I hate asking rookie questions but what qualifies someone as a B2B account? Just billing to a business with perhaps a tax number?

[Alex @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

In order to qualify for the B2B release, your account has to be a business account. I converted my account over and just had to provide a valid Tax ID #.

[ihoney @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I currently have a palm pilot. Will it be easy to convert my information from Palm OS to Windows Mobile 2003 SE?

[rob tossberg @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

On the Charlie Rose show last night, the columnist for the Wall Street Journal, I'm blanking on his name, he writes the tech column. Anyway he has the Samisung i730 on the show and was comparing it to the Treo 650 when Charlie cut him off with other questions not relevant to the Treo or Samsung. ARGHHH!!! Anyways the guy didn't get a chance to say much about the Samsung but he seemed to like it and said it would have wi-fi. His review of the Samsung will come out tomorrow, thursday.

[Nick @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Ok, heres the deal: The Samsung i730 does have a camera, and, so I hear, it also has Wi-Fi. I dont know if it will have the option of GSM, right now, it is only advertised as CDMA. Verizon will be the carrier, and I aggree, Wi-Fi is a big detail to skip over on the VZW page, but they also didnt mention the camera, which has been confirmed. Im a Verizon customer and I know that as soon as this phone is available I wil, be at my local retailer to check this thing out. From what I read this is am amazing phone!

[BINNER @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

There is no camera. I have seen pictures of people who have it online. They report no camera. Why would you want a camera that takes grainy, awful pictures anyway?

BINNER

[vinny @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

According to the photos at phonescoop.com there is a camera. It appears to have a flash built in as well. I spoke with a VZW rep yesterday however who told me she did not see a camera on the features list that she had for the phone, but as was stated previously, they have omitted other key features from the list. She told me that the camera version "will probably follow soon after". Who knows how long that could end up being if she was correct?

As for BINNER's comment "Why would you want a camera that takes grainy, awful pictures anyway?", from what I've read the camera, when released, will be a 1.3 megapixel with video capture which will give very decent quality. The highest quality on any phone in production as far as I know is only 2 megapixels, so to get 1.3 out of a device that does so much more is pretty impressive. The price from what I've been seeing will be somewhere near the $600 dollar mark. I personally cannot justify spending that much on a phone without some of the basic functionality that I have now, i.e. a camera. It will be SO hard to wait if VZW decides not to release both versions at the same time. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

In all the reading I've done, I haven't seen any mention of the ability to upgrade to Magneto(MS Windows Mobile 2005) when it is released. Does anyone know if that's something that would be possible?