Samsung i300 Reviewed by TrustedReview

[Kris Kumar]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2383' target='_blank'>http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2383</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Windows Mobile Smartphones are pretty widely available these days, both from operators and SIM free. But Windows Mobile Smartphones with hard drives in them are another matter. Until recently there weren’t any at all but now there are, though admittedly you can only choose from a range of one. This is the Samsung’s i300. It’s available only from O2 and will cost you £50 on one of its pay monthly contracts. And it has a drive capacity of 3GB. The hardware is a mix of black and silver colouring, and the left and right edges are peppered with slots and buttons. Given that there are plenty of other Windows Mobile Smartphones around, not surprisingly it’s the hard drive that’s the main selling point of this handset and judging from O2’s web site the emphasis is very much on using the space it provides to store music files."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-Jan06-i300TR.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Sandra Vogel, over at TrustedReviews, thinks that the Samsung i300's built-in 3GB micro hard disk will attract the attention of folks who carry a USB key drive and a phone. If you like the built-in micro hard disk concept, then I would recommend waiting for the <a href="http://smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10119">Samsung i300x,</a> which is the new and improved version of the i300, with 4GB hard disk and <i>may</i> also include the Windows Mobile 5.0 update.

[Mike Temporale]

I certianly don't expect to see the i300x anytime soon. It took Samsung long enough to get this phone out. I can only imagine how long the second revision will take.

[Kris Kumar]

I certianly don't expect to see the i300x anytime soon. It took Samsung long enough to get this phone out. I can only imagine how long the second revision will take.

You are right, I forgot about the carrier certification process. Waiting for the i300x may not be a good idea. :(

[Rebecca]

The directional pad reminds me of the iTunes phone fiasco:

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/images/621d2845ea6b25f41c96b37cc6daca7d.jpg


Also I would like to let you know I just received the Smartphonethoughts flashlight, and I love it. :wink:

[sojourner753]

I wonder if the spin of the hard drive is audible. I'd hate to have too much noise going into my ear while talking on the phone.

[Mike Temporale]

The directional pad reminds me of the iTunes phone fiasco:

I was a little surprised that Samsung added such a wheel. I figured Apple would be all over this.

Also I would like to let you know I just received the Smartphonethoughts flashlight, and I love it. :wink:

Cool. Glad you like it. :D

[Kris Kumar]

I wonder if the spin of the hard drive is audible. I'd hate to have too much noise going into my ear while talking on the phone.

Good point. I have a CF micro hard drive for my Pocket PC, and even though I never had to put it against my ears, I find the noise annoying at times. It will definitely be bad if you can hear the disc spinning while having a conversation on the phone. :?

[me]

I wonder if the spin of the hard drive is audible. I'd hate to have too much noise going into my ear while talking on the phone.

Good point. I have a CF micro hard drive for my Pocket PC, and even though I never had to put it against my ears, I find the noise annoying at times. It will definitely be bad if you can hear the disc spinning while having a conversation on the phone. :?

Millions of people use MP3 players with hard drives, including the most popular one, the Ipod, and I haven't heard complaints about HD noise.

I have two Mp3 players with hard drives, and have not noticed that problem.

Nevertheless, with flash memory getting smaller and cheaper, with the very small Ipod Nano including 4 GB of flash memory, one would think that 3 or 4 GB of storage could easily be included with flash memory. If you're going to put in a hard drive, why not go for 20 or 30 GB, which can come in very small sizes these days?

[Kris Kumar]

With iPod and other music players you will not notice the noise. But with a phone with the hard drive that is spinning, when you are talking on the phone, now that is the scenario we are talking about. The hard drive humming is much closer to the ears. ;-)