Samsung phone does double duty as PDA
By Deborah Porterfield
Gannett News Service
Samsung's SCH-i600 is a smart bet for multitaskers who want a phone that doubles as a personal digital assistant. Powered by the Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Smartphone operating system, the phone lets you share contacts, e-mail messages and other information with your PC.
What: Samsung SCH-i600 cell phone/PDA Score: Price: $500 to $550 Pro: Backlit blue keys and vivid display make phone easy to operate. Con: Like a PC, the phone takes time to power up when you first turn it on. Bottom line: Compact phone pulls double duty as a PDA that shares information with a PC.
This model looks and works more like an easy-to-operate cell phone than an unwieldy PDA. Its compact, silver body weighs 5 ounces. The flip-style body has a small liquid crystal display, or LCD, screen on the outside and a larger color screen on the inside. It also has a backlit keypad, an easy-to-use navigation control pad and shortcut keys for quick access to the phone's home page and address book. It's equipped with a 200-megahertz processor, 32 megabytes of RAM, a slot for a Secure Digital memory card, and Microsoft applications, such as Pocket Outlook and Pocket Internet Explorer.
Gear review
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The phone ships with a hands-free headset, a combination desktop charger and synchronization cradle for the PC, and a leather case. Microsoft Outlook 2000 and Microsoft ActiveSync 3.6 software for the PC are included.
The phone comes with two batteries. The standard one provides up to 2 1/2 hours of talk time and four days of standby. The extended battery offers 4 1/2 hours of talk and seven days of standby.
During several months of testing, the dual-band Code Division Multiple Access phone delivered mixed results. It provided reliable phone service with clear reception in both the Northeast and South. It consistently handled messages and issued alerts when projects were due.
It didn't do as well recognizing voice commands and accessing preset Web favorites.
The phone's keypad was fine for dialing but wasn't the best choice for typing.
The home menu is easy to navigate. The menu displays to-do tasks and upcoming appointments at a glance, and shows the number of voice, text and e-mail messages you've received.
You can use the menu and keypad to quickly jump from one task to the next. You can click on the mail icon to check your messages, call up the calendar to schedule a meeting, or click on the news heading for updates.
