The
Samsung IP-830w is sold by Sprint, and also available at Verizon under
the name Samsung SCH-i830. It is a CDMA world-phone, which means that
it also supports GSM frequencies, has a SIM card, and can work on GSM
networks worldwide: geared to the global traveler.
But it will feel heavy in your luggage. At 6.4 ounces, it's a heavy
device. Especially that battery life is ridiculously low (like it is
for many PDA phones) and that you need to rather use the (provided)
extended battery, which makes the IP-830w even more heavy. The QWERTY
keypad is fair but just fair, I have seen better. One annoyance is that
the keys require an enormous amount of pressure to be pressed -- you
will be exhausted after 2 paragraphs! The phone lock system relies on a
hardware switch, on the left side. Put it up and the phone is lock, a
reflex you unfortunately may not have. There is also an auto-lock
feature that comes with Windows Mobile but, it is somewhat cumbersome.
The built-in older version of Internet Explorer version has some
strange behavior. In Yahoo Mail, for example, it won't let you click on
the buttons but all other links work.
That is a lot of down sides and, yes, I didn't like the Samsung IP-830w
so much. But don't get me wrong. The Samsung IP-830w is still a pretty
good device, my problem with it is mostly related to a series of little
annoyances. But there are good things about it. Sound quality was good
and the speakerphone was performing above average. If you are nuts
about PDA phones and can get the IP-830w at a bargain price, go for it.
