Samsung's SCH-i830 due on Verizon for $820?

I've you've been pining for an i830, Samsung's "update" of the i730, complete with the old school Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition and minus the WiFi, then your wait could be coming to a close, since the word on Howard Forums is that the slider is coming out on Verizon January 10th for B2B and at a store near you on January 24th. That's the good news, the bad news is that this slider is debuting at $820 without contract and a bargain basement $700 with a 2 year. Of course you've got world roaming with GSM and CDMA support, but not a whole lot else, so here's hoping this rumor added a zero somewhere in transmission.

[Thanks, Karterius]

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[Matt @ Dec 27th 2005 8:47PM]

The phone also supports EVDO, just like the i730. Too bad it doesn't support UMTS/HSDPA for roaming data.

[Don Wilson @ Dec 27th 2005 10:13PM]

I don't exactly get the justification behind spending so much more on a phone that barely has anything more than the older i730. Other than the GSM, why would I spend $850 on it?

[Termlimit @ Dec 28th 2005 12:19AM]

I just bought the I730, this makes me want to take it back and wait for this phone. I travel overseas quite often, the only reason I liked the wifi option was because of the lack of GSM. To me that is an even trade off. I just want to make sure that it has EV-DO.



I will post an update soon once I contact Verizon. I have to return the I730 by the 29th to get my refund. So that post will come in the next day or so.

[d.a. @ Dec 28th 2005 12:22AM]

this is classic VZW. they overcharge for anything data related. they hype up their data network, but they cripple their devices and force OEMs to make really horrible decisions (compare the GSM phones or even Sprint CDMA phones with VZWs and you'll see wat I mean. (their devices are also heavier and fatter because of the CDMA chipset.) and they charge you up the yingyang for the device and the service.



i'd take a Cingular GSM data device any day. the coverage isn't there (yet) but it's damn close and it's not worth 2-3x the price for VZW. i hope that VZW catches on and tries to actually field a *competitively* priced device and service.

[James @ Dec 28th 2005 2:31AM]

The bottom slideout keyboard was so last year ;)

[DS @ Dec 29th 2005 12:43AM]

Best Buy's been issuing these to Geek Squad double agents for a few weeks now in preparation for a big launch - it's an awesome unit, but I'm not sure I'd pay that much for it. Again, Verizon does tend to overprice. Example: Razr.

[maestropsm @ Jan 9th 2006 1:51PM]

Does anyone know if the i830 fixes the issue with the i730 that prevents the use of the internet and telephone simultaneously? I just picked up the i730 last Friday and was about to take it back but if the 830 fixes this issue then the 830 will definately be my choice since it has the larger screen.

[Jordan @ Jan 9th 2006 4:16PM]

Don't forget that the people that they are marketing this to can easily justify it's cost. Not that they should be charging so much, but still. I just got a Blackberry at full retail, and the guy looked at me like I was nuts. Well, my V3c had a nasty little habit of NOT ringing when I had appointments in it's crappy little Verizon UI calendar, it happened 3 times, 1 appointment I missed, the other two I remembered. A missed appointment can cost me a lot more than the money I make from that appointment (whatever it may be), it can cost me an entire client, and even my reputation. I easily justified the cost of a Blackberry, and I'm not a big time businessman. If I was traveling internationally, I would certainly give this a thought at least. I even justified the data plan by setting up a page that allows customers to send me direct pages with information. That will give me another 5-10 hours a month minimum, which allows me to pay for a lot more than a data plan. If you are someone that travels to Europe once a year with your wife, you'd be nuts to buy this if money was an object, but if mobility and transparent roaming are important to your business, this is a small price to pay.