Comparison Pics Between HTC's Magician and Samsung i730, BenQ P50

[Janak Parekh]

MSMobiles has some <i>pretty</i> hi-res shots comparing the i730 and the P50 -- two really awesome-looking upcoming phones -- to the HTC Magician. The i730 has similar specs as the new HTC Blue Angel/Harrier devices, but is amazingly small (you can see <a href="http://www.msmobiles.com/news.php/3497.html">more pictures of the device here</a>). Remember that the HTC Magician (best known as the iMate JAM) is about the smallest Pocket PC on the market right now. Now you know why I'm <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36464">so excited about this device</a>. :drool:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20050113-i730Magician.jpg" /><br /><br />And here's a comparison pic between the Magician and the P50 -- the P50 is compact, but a little longer to accommodate the keyboard, so it's going to be a bit taller than the Treo, but not by much.<!> Again, you can see <a href="http://www.msmobiles.com/news.php/3496.html">more pictures of the device here</a>.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20050113-P50Magician.jpg" />

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I want the P50.

Plain and simple. After playing with it for a few, I was totally in love. :drool:

[Dave Conger]

I want the P50.

So do I! :D

To bad the price went from $450 to $925 on Expansys. $450 was such a sweet deal.

[q-live]

AHAHAHAHAHAH didnt know the samsung was that small ...... so i can have verizon evdo, WI FI, and a sliding keyboard in a small package??????? 8O :drool: SIGN ME UP FOR THE 1730..... THE NEXT BIG THING

[macs4god]

This phone looks incredibly sweet! I'd switch to Verizon or Sprint in an instant if they had this phone offered at a good price ($800 w/o subsidies is way too much for the Benq P50). CDMA coverage is better in my area anyway, although there's no EV-DO service yet, but I'm pretty sure this phone can fall back on standard 1xRTT service if EV-DO isn't available. Can't wait for this phone to go on sale! :mrgreen:

[jngold_me]

Don't get too excited. Verizon will find a way to severely cripple either WiFi or BT (or both) as they did for their Moto 710 phone!

[thunderck]

Any size specs on the Samsung?? I want to see how much smaller this is from the MDA III(w/e name you wanna use) :D

and Sprint will not be going to full EV-DO till '06. They are going to 144 in the mean time.

[Birdman]

Is it possible (rhetorical question) that the P50 could be for sale for actually MORE than the PDA2K, even though it has half the memory?

If you can live without the camera, and slightly larger size, the Siemens SX66 at $649 unlocked without a contract is likely a much better deal. No?

[Birdman]

Interesting article on engadget which may temper some enthusiasm.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000580026370/

[ventivent]

Man I haven't even had my i-mate JAM for a month and already I'm lusting over something else. Samsung i730, I love you. Please please please come out with a GSM/EDGE version without the antenna, Samsung.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

With all due respect to the fine folks at Engadget, they are quite the Treo groupies...

As for the P50 being obsolete when it comes out, unless the carriers stay completely on deployment schedule, I wouldn't worry too much about their 3G rollout until it's actually here.

[thunderck]

I wouldn't worry too much about their 3G rollout until it's actually here.

True that!! :roll:

[Janak Parekh]

As for the P50 being obsolete when it comes out, unless the carriers stay completely on deployment schedule, I wouldn't worry too much about their 3G rollout until it's actually here.
That's what kills me about the i730. EV-DO is here in the city. People are getting ~250-350kbps on it. 8O

As for the P50, most of the arguments don't bother me -- the price does. $800 sounds grossly wrong. I think BenQ will have to reevaluate that price if it is indeed the case.

--janak

[maximum360]

Problems with the 1730:
1. Antenna.
2. Only 64 MB RAM
3. It's on the "thick" side
4. Speakerphone on back...but mic in front. Who was the genius who designed this. Ooops...the same ones who designed the i700 :roll: (which I now have).
5. Samsung is know to lock out third parties when it comes to accessories.
6. Screen is 2.8". I guess ok for some, but I want 3.5 VGA.

[Janak Parekh]

I don't disagree with most of your assertions, but...

3. It's on the "thick" side
It appears thick in scale with the rest of the unit, but when push comes to shove, we'll see. :)

4. Speakerphone on back...but mic in front. Who was the genius who designed this. Ooops...the same ones who designed the i700 :roll: (which I now have).
I've seen this complaint, and I agree it's not the smartest thing in the world, but it worked surprisingly okay on my i700 (and on my i600, which I now have).

6. Screen is 2.8". I guess ok for some, but I want 3.5 VGA.
Sounds like the HTC Harrier is for you then. ;) Personally, I'm gunning for the smaller device.

--janak

[zetsurin]

Hmmm, I guess I must be the only one that thinks the P50 is hideously ugly then. I'm staying faithful to my XDA II Mini, I like it's simple no nonsense appearance.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

$800 sounds grossly wrong

Ahhh, but therein lies the rub... $800 is a direct from manufacturer unsubsidized price. Think about it this way; if your i700 were unsubsidized, imagine how much it would cost?

My company sells subsidized and unsubsidized phones. On the average the same phone is $300 more if not subsidized by a carrier. I imagine this guy will come out in the $500-$600 range when it's picked up by a carrier, which is more than reasonable for such a feature-laiden PPC.

[whydidnt]

$800 sounds grossly wrong

Ahhh, but therein lies the rub... $800 is a direct from manufacturer unsubsidized price. Think about it this way; if your i700 were unsubsidized, imagine how much it would cost?

My company sells subsidized and unsubsidized phones. On the average the same phone is $300 more if not subsidized by a carrier. I imagine this guy will come out in the $500-$600 range when it's picked up by a carrier, which is more than reasonable for such a feature-laiden PPC.

Of course the other rub is that you have to find and like a carrier that will subsidize the phone for you. I think th P50 looks like a heck of a phone, but it should be priced more along the lines of the i-mate mini than the PDA2K.

[whydidnt]

The i730 looks to me almost like phone nirvana. Sure, it would be nice if it would lose the attenna, or if it came with 128MB of RAM, which I am getting VERY used to on my PDA2K, but look at how small and pocketable it is. I'm willing to compromise IF whoever carries it, Verizon or Sprint doesn't cripple the bluetooth stack and remove the WiFi.

If the carrier thinks they are going to be cute and disable valuable features on phones such as these, then I'll continue to take my business elsewhere.

[Janak Parekh]

Ahhh, but therein lies the rub... $800 is a direct from manufacturer unsubsidized price. Think about it this way; if your i700 were unsubsidized, imagine how much it would cost?
Yes - good point. It still sounds high for an unsubsidized price, based on GSM prices I've heard in Europe as of late... and those of other unlocked Pocket PC Phones. Maybe the weak exchange rate has something to do with the skew factor. ;)

--janak

[R K]

To bad the price went from $450 to $925 on Expansys. $450 was such a sweet deal.
At the last time I checked, Expansys USA just killed the price altogether and now it just states "<a href=http://www.expansys-usa.com/product.asp?code=112410>Not Announced</a>".

6. Screen is 2.8".
The screen is not 2.8". Look at the screen on the I-mate JAM in the comparison picture. The I-mate JAM has a 2.8" screen: the Samsung looks more like a 2.2" screen.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I imagine supply and demand also has something to do with it. When I spoke to the Benq guy on Saturday, he said they were hoping to find a carrier to launch the P50 with by 2Q this year. I imagine the jacked up prices are the result of the distributors who would carry the unlocked ones knowing lots of people are going to want it and lots aren't going to be able to get it.

It's all moot anyway; we're discussing the price of a phone that's far from hitting the market ;)

Either way, I want one so bad I can taste it.

[Darius Wey]

If you ask me, I think the P50 would look very nice without the keyboard. Anyone agree... Or disagree? :?

[zetsurin]

If you ask me, I think the P50 would look very nice without the keyboard. Anyone agree... Or disagree? :?

I agree, but I haven't seen a single PDA that has a permanent keyboard that wasn't a complete eyesore. My old Sharp Zaurus did it right, slide it open, you have your keyboard, slide it shut and you wouldn't know it was there.

[Chucky]

Well I was all pumped for the XDA ii mini, however a full Pocket PC phone, Wifi and CDMA EVDO, hell yeah :twisted:

Now please, can anyone possibly give me some good news on if and if, when I might see this in Australia?

[Darius Wey]

Now please, can anyone possibly give me some good news on if and if, when I might see this in Australia?

Are you referring to the i730 or the P50?

[Janak Parekh]

If you ask me, I think the P50 would look very nice without the keyboard. Anyone agree... Or disagree? :?
Disagree. ;) The keyboard's the whole point.

--janak

[maximum360]

IMO, the P50 is not much to look at. The Imate JAM looks cool but they could give us more screen real estate and more memory. WIFI and extras would be cool too.

[thunderck]

I think I will have to see the BenQ, I730 and the MDA III side-by-side. I could see liking them all for different reasons. :mrgreen: I think I am leaning toward the I730. Not sure I would need the bigger screen of the MDA III and I bet the I730 gets better battery life with the smaller screen.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I think I will have to see the BenQ, I730 and the MDA III side-by-side. I could see liking them all for different reasons. :mrgreen: I think I am leaning toward the I730. Not sure I would need the bigger screen of the MDA III and I bet the I730 gets better battery life with the smaller screen.

I saw all of them last week and they were all pretty sweet. I noticed, as I hung around the Samsung booth for awhile, that people generally looked at the i730 and said the same thing: "Is this a Pocket PC or a smart phone," laymen's terms for "Is this a full pocket pc or the smartphone os?"

The general reaction was surprise when people discovered that the itty bitty little unit on display was a full fledged PPC phone, as opposed to the old one on T-Mobile that was pretty damn big.

I wasn't overly impressed with the i730, although I can see how people would be, particularly if you're on a CDMA network. For my purposes, the Benq P50 is more my cup of tea.

[jeasher]

If you ask me, I think the P50 would look very nice without the keyboard. Anyone agree... Or disagree? :?Sure it would look good, it'd be a JAM. That Samsung looks thick man. Sure it's small, but thickness is the key.

[yslee]

Yes - good point. It still sounds high for an unsubsidized price, based on GSM prices I've heard in Europe as of late... and those of other unlocked Pocket PC Phones. Maybe the weak exchange rate has something to do with the skew factor. ;)

--janak

I don't think so.. the HTC Blue Angel (O2 XDAIIs here) is more expensive than the Benq P50's price of $800 here!