Samsung SCH I600 Smartphone

As I've done with my previous product reviews, I've waited about 5 months from the purchase of my SCH-i600 phone to share my thoughts. I do this mainly because I want to give a fair review, rather than one through the eyes of a big kid getting a new toy.

I purchased my i600 in May of 2004 to replace my "old" Kyocera 7135. Don't get me wrong, the 7135 served its purpose and was a good phone/PDA, but as I said, I'm the kind of person that loves the latest in technology, so when Verizon sent me a notice that I was eligible to upgrade my phone, they pretty much knew right then and there that they were going to get $500.00 out of me for a shiny new toy.

Before we proceed, I want to make one thing clear... this is NOT a PDA phone. It's a SmartPhone. And of course, one asks, "What's the difference??" While other manufacturers use the terms interchangeably, Microsoft Mobile-based phones do not. Smartphones are primarily cellular telephones that have some (or alot of) PDA functionality built in. They run a scaled down version of the Windows Mobile operating system designed specifically for cellular phones -- with two on the most noticeable differences being that they don't have touch screens and they are a bit smaller than their bigger PDA/phone siblings.

So why a SmartPhone and not a PDAPhone?
As I mentioned, Smartphones are cellular telephones first, and PDAs second. They are designed specifically for folks that will use them as phones first, and thus generally have longer battery life and a smaller size than PDA/phones. They are not as customizable as their bigger PDA-based siblings. If you depend on your PDA for its customizability and ability to act as a "computer away from your computer", you might be a bit disappointed. But if you are like me, and use only the calendar and contact features of a PDA anyway, this phone is a perfect fit.

But why the Samsung i600 Smartphone?
Well, in my case, the choice was clear -- though I was eligible to upgrade my phone with Verizon, I still had a year left on my contract. The i600 was the only SmartPhone that Verizon had to offer, so my decision was just about made for me. Granted, I really do like the device and all if its features.

How is the battery life?
Moving from the Kyocera 7135, I was pleasantly surprised just how long the phone batteries lasted. I generally get about a day or two out of the slim battery, and an entire weekend out of the long-life battery. Now, some folks will do a double-take and question me, "You call that good battery life?" For me, yes, I do. I generally log about 150-180 minutes of talk time per day (yes, per day -- I'm a network manager supporting 6 buildings, so I'm rarely in my office to use a land-line phone.). Couple that with the occasional game of solitaire or listening to a music clip, the battery life is pretty good.

What about the PDA features of the phone
Again, as I mentioned before, and will probably mention ten more times, this device is a phone first, and a PDA second. Having said that, it synchronizes nicely with my Microsoft Outlook's contact, task, and calendar databases. It can synchronize emails as well, but I've found this to be a less useful feature for me, since most email that I receive requires a response, and while the predictive text input system on the phone is nice, it makes it difficult to reply with more than a couple of lines.

Do you use the wireless synchronization features of the phone
Personally, no, I do not. While I use Outlook as my email/calendar/contact management software, only I am permitted to add/edit events on my calendar. Thus, I really don't need a live-update of the events on my calendar, since there will be no changes/additions/deletions unless I make them. The push-style email might be helpful, but as I mentioned, my email messages generally require fairly lengthy responses, rather than simple two-line acknowledgements.

As a slight aside, most folks who *do* use the wireless synch features of these phones generally purchase the service from the wireless carriers, which include higher-speed data connections, but at a premium price. If you only need to sync your phone occasionally, and you have Verizon Wireless as your carrier, you can use the low-speed data connection without additional charge -- it simply eats away at your plan minutes. Not good for constant synchronization, but will do in a pinch. There are plenty of articles on the 'net on how to do this, and yes, it's totally legal and does not violate the wireless contract as long as you are using the low-speed data numbers to connect.

What about the stability of the phone --- does it crash often
No often, but yes, the device will crash on occasion. I've found that when you try to do too many things at once with the device is when it just throws in the towel. Example: I was trying to make an outgoing phone call, and at the same time, an incoming phone call arrived. Though I could see the caller-ID, I couldn't answer the call, and ended up pulling the battery to reset the phone. Annoying -- yeah, definitely. But I guess I put it into perspective this way... I use both a Macintosh and a Windows-based laptop, and both will crash on occasion. Annoying, yeah. But will I stop using the machines because they crash and require a reboot -- not on your life. Same deal with my phone -- crashes are annoying, but are infrequent enough that the features and flexibility of the phone outweigh the annoyance caused by the crashes.

As an aside, I will mention that the phone has never crashed while I was in a phone call. (But you just said above that....) Yes, it's crashed as a call was coming in, but I never got the chance to answer that call.

I work on a farm all day, is this a good phone for me?
OK, ok, I admit, this is a pretty goofy question.... but it's a good transition into my next topic -- coverage. As I mentioned, I have Verizon Wireless, and while they claim to have America's largest coverage area (hm... I wonder what AT&T/Cingular has to say about this one), not all of that area has digital coverage. Since this is a DIGITAL ONLY phone, you might find that if you travel through the outlying regions, you might not be able to pick up a signal where your old cellular phone would have worked just fine. Make sure that you check out the service coverage area BEFORE you purchase this device -- the worst thing you can do is get stranded and then realize you can't even call for help.

How about the clarity of the phone calls?
To be totally honest, I must say I am very impressed with the overall clarity of the phone calls from this device. I've never had any garbled phone calls, not have I had any of the traditional "static-y" phone calls. I think that this is in part because the phone is an all-digital phone, and where I would generally encounter the static on the phone calls before (analog areas) the phone simply won't make the call. These instances are rare, however.

Hold on, I have a call on the other line
One of the other features I like about this device is its ability to have two phone numbers. (Granted, both need to be serviced through the same carrier.) At this time, you can only have one line active at a time. Example -- during the evenings, I use my personal line of service, but when I go to work at 8AM in the morning, I switch the phone to the business line. While the business line is "on", any calls coming to my personal line are directed to voice mail. This works for me because I'd rather switch between lines than have to carry around two cellular phones, but if you're looking for two lines active at the same time on the same phone, then this device isn't for you.

What else can the phone do
Well, it does have many of the features you'd find on a traditional PDA (though some might be scaled down a bit). You can listen to MP3s/WMAs through the phone or with the included stereo headphones. You can use it to check your POP3 emails accounts. You can play solitaire and Jawbreaker (or a number of other downloadable games). And of course, since it does run a fairly flexible operating system, you can download a number of additional programs to further enhance its capabilities.

I have a Mac... and I out of luck?
No, not at all, though you will need to purchase a third-party piece of software to allow your phone to synchronize to your Macintosh. C'mon, you really didn't think that a Microsoft OS-based phone would cater to one of its competitors, did you?

So what's in the box?
The package that I purchased included the phone, the slim battery, the extended battery, the desktop sync cradle, the detachable wall charger, the leather holster case, Microsoft Outlook on CD, and a CD manual for the phone.

If I could have one wish....
Ok, I'm sold on this phone. What accessories would you recommend?

Well, I purchased the car cord so that I can recharge the phone on long road trips. I also purchased a flexible keyboard for the times that I need to respond to emails but don't want to take my laptop with me. ("But you just said...." I know, I know. I rarely use the phone to check email. But for the times that I travel on a weekend and don't want to pack my portable office with me, it comes in handy.)

So what's the final word?
All in all, this phone was a very good purchase for me. I'll admit, it took some getting used-to as I transitioned from a full PDA-phone to a scaled down SmartPhone, but I must admit I've grown to love it. Will I still love it a year from now? Probably. Will I still own this phone a year from now? Hey, new phones are constantly being released... and after reading this review, you should already know that the next time Verizon tells me I am eligible for an upgrade, I'll be the first in line to try out the new, shiny, whatever-it-is phone that has just been released. Not because what I have isn't adequate.... just because something newer came out.