The Samsung SGH-i600 Windows Mobile Smartphone

[Pete Paxton]

http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3741

"And waiting was absolutely worth. The only 11.8 mm thin UMTS and HSDPA Smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard also features triband GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850 MHz aren't supported) as well as WiFi b/g (something the BlackJack lacks) and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR. It blends the feature-rich, desktop functionality of the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform with extensive multimedia capabilities to help people work on the go, stay in touch with family and friends or just have fun. It is also the first smart phone to support web applications such as podcasting and RSS Reader."



Arne over at The Unwired has some great screenshots of the i600. When I first heard of the i600 I knew I had to have this phone. With UMTS and HSDPA and Wifi? This baby would be mine. Then reality hit and I found out that it's a European phone (850 MHz isn't supported). Instead we get the Blackjack and while I think it's a great smartphone, I really want WiFi. How about you? Does the Samsung SGH-i600 with WiFi beat the Blackjack or does having WiFi make any difference?

[Pete Paxton]

http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3741

"And waiting was absolutely worth. The only 11.8 mm thin UMTS and HSDPA Smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard also features triband GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850 MHz aren't supported) as well as WiFi b/g (something the BlackJack lacks) and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR. It blends the feature-rich, desktop functionality of the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform with extensive multimedia capabilities to help people work on the go, stay in touch with family and friends or just have fun. It is also the first smart phone to support web applications such as podcasting and RSS Reader."



Arne over at The Unwired has some great screenshots of the i600. When I first heard of the i600 I knew I had to have this phone. With UMTS and HSDPA and Wifi? This baby would be mine. Then reality hit and I found out that it's a European phone (850 MHz isn't supported). Instead we get the Blackjack and while I think it's a great smartphone, I really want WiFi. How about you? Does the Samsung SGH-i600 with WiFi beat the Blackjack or does having WiFi make any difference?

[gmontielh]

[ Does the Samsung SGH-i600 with WiFi beat the Blackjack or does having WiFi make any difference?[/quote]

Yes I think it does. And in this day and age WiFi is a must despite UMTS/HSDPA. Not only 'cause WiFi is faster but to be keep down the high costs of international data roaming with WM devices or when you decide not to go unlimited domestic data package. Now let's hope that Samsumg/Cingular come up with the WiFi version Quad-band :wink:

[subzerohf]

Wi-fi, HSDPA, and 850 MHz....how much longer we have to wait for ALL these features to appear on the spec sheet of a WM smartphone? Why is that one of them has to be missing? Why? :evil:

[jcjdoss]

Originally Posted by subzerohf

Wi-fi, HSDPA, and 850 MHz....how much longer we have to wait for ALL these features to appear on the spec sheet of a WM smartphone? Why is that one of them has to be missing? Why? :evil:

In short, never. Cingular's high speed internet would have to fail before they provide a Wi-Fi enabled smartphone. The only exception they make is their PPC phones. I own a Tmobile dash on the Cingular network. I have been waiting 3 years for these feature to come together and they never have. I bought the 8125 to have the Wi-Fi, but at the time I couldn't stand touch screens or slide out keyboards. So I had to move on to the 2125.

There is a reason you'll see T-mobile put out phones like the Dash with Wifi. Because they have Wifi hotspots. We may get lucky and have a smartphone come out with Wifi, but I wouldn't wait to buy your next phone.

[EDIT: I meant, I wouldn't wait to buy your next phone]

[Mike Temporale]

Why can't Samsung have made this a Quadband device with WiFi? There seems to be some interesting things going on here. Any US based device is Quad-band but lacks WiFi, while any European device is Tri-band and has WiFi. Why can't we just combine it all in one. Share the love Samsung, Share the love. 8)

[Pete Paxton]

So my question is: Is Samsung pulling the WiFi by themselves or is Cingular having it pulled so people will buy forced to buy their data plan? I wonder if and when Tmo goes 3g, are they going to request that manufacturers pull WiFi from upcoming phones? I hope not!

[rdecker]

Originally Posted by Pete Paxton

So my question is: Is Samsung pulling the WiFi by themselves or is Cingular having it pulled so people will buy forced to buy their data plan? I wonder if and when Tmo goes 3g, are they going to request that manufacturers pull WiFi from upcoming phones? I hope not!

A few months ago there were some heated discussions related to the theory the Blackjack has the Wi-Fi radio installed. The belief was Cingular had it disabled via the ROM.

Has anyone heard if that was confirmed?

[Mike Temporale]

Originally Posted by rdecker

A few months ago there were some heated discussions related to the theory the Blackjack has the Wi-Fi radio installed. The belief was Cingular had it disabled via the ROM.

Has anyone heard if that was confirmed?

This was the same thing with the SP5 line of phones. Everyone assumed that since one version had WiFi, they all must have WiFi. That's just not the case. The phones are moduler enough to allow some changes. The OS is the same regardless of the chipset being present on the hardware or not. So that's why you see the files on the device. But there is no hardware to enable it.

[AirWar]

Just received my i600's and I have to say after struggling with the BlackJack here in the UK (No 3G support) it is a relief to have high speed.

The WiFi really helps at home but I do not think it is a killer feature. The only thing I am worried about is battery life as I know having 3G on will zap the juice really quickly.

The comment I would make is that the performance seems to be better than the BlackJack. I do not know if they increased the processor speed but it does seem faster. The biggest problem used to be when using stereo bluetooth which used to make it really choppy! For some reason, probably a faster processor, it never used to affect my i320..???

p.s. The home screen is really cool!
p.p.s. I have chosen this device as a corporate phone over the forthcoming Vox because of the 3G, also the Vox is very slow at changing from portrait to landscape and you need to hold it in two hands to type.

[me]

Any chance it might come out on T-Mobile USA?

Or will the Dash remain the best T-Mobile (USA) smartphone, for some time to come?