Will buy Samsung Sprint i550

jkwalker@hotmail.com

I just put it up for sale on ebay:
Samsung SPH-i550 Cell/Palm PDA - VERY HARD TO FIND - eBay (item 180217135887 end time Feb-26-08 07:10:40 PST)

Wow! Over $200 already for a 3G phone. Good to see I'm not the only "geek" interested in older phones!!

A year ago I would've bid $500 for this phone, but now, I think it's already at a price higher than it's worth (or at least really close to it). I see the first bidder went to $200 and I think that's about right... I might put in a bid, but I'm pretty sure it's not worth as much to me as it is to someone else.

What's changed my view was the arrival of the Centro late last year -- it's just better in almost every way. The Processor is 56% faster on the Centro than on the i550 and the Centro has twice the memory, support out of the box for Vista hotsynching, bluetooth, EVDO, better battery life and has a keyboard. Plus, while the Centro is almost the same size as my venerable i500, the i550 is about 1/3 larger in total volume. And the Centro is only $99.

What's the Centro missing? Graffiti, but you can add it via 3rd party software. Ditto for voice dialing (looks like the AT&T version has it included).

When my i500 dies (the digitizer is slowly degrading), I plan to get a Centro -- well unless the i-mate™ Ultimate : Ultimate 9150 ever gets released which would entice me over to the "Dark side" of Windows Mobile and now says is "coming early 2008"

OK, so the Centro isn't a clamshell -- I guess I'll have to buy some screen protectors and get used to locking the screen before I put it in my pocket...

I'll let you know if it was worth it

JLondon,

Yes, let us know for sure. I've been looking for one of those for years and always was outbid. I'm glad one of the PDAPhoneHome people got it. I saw your post in the "Garage Sale" forum and it sounds like you were thinking along the same line as I was. I think the price was about right, especially considering the spares it included, and I'm a little surprised that there were only 4 bidders. Their max bids of $200, $222, $225 and whatever you bid were pretty consistent...

The guy you bought it from (he's jumping to a Centro) outbid me last spring for that very same phone you now own and I think he paid $551 IIRC. There was also a new in box i550 that sold for $700 something last summer.

So, it looks like the prices are finally coming down to something reasonable. Maybe the price decline will shake a few more i550s out of the woodwork before the value degrades further. I'd probably buy one if I could get it for under $200, since my data usage is pretty small, but I wonder if I would use the data capabilities more if it were faster...

Speaking of prices degrading, the battery latch broke on my i500 a while back and I was surprised I was able to pick up a spare on ebay for under $20 that's pretty rough, but works and has a clear ESN and a slim battery -- if I lose mine I've got something to use in a pinch.

The i550 was a great phone 3 years ago and in many ways still is, especially if data usage is not a huge issue for you, but its value is getting squeezed on the bottom from $25 ebay i500s and on the top from brand new $99 (albeit with 2 yr contract) Centros -- not much room in the middle. It probably has the most appeal for i500 users that don't want a new contract and have a need to run some Palm OS 5 application or use text messages extensively...

Well, after just playing around with the i550 for 2 weeks (Palm side only) without activating it (no data services, voice calls, etc.), I finally had an opportunity to activate and set it up properly. OMG...Sprint really missed the boat, they surely should have released this phone

The speakerphone, external LED display, SD Card, faster CPU, Palm OS5 make a huge difference. Using tryDA (update to DA - Directory Assistant) works great with Google maps. VoiceAssist took a little getting used to, but works real well...no learning involved. Unfortunately, I can't get Worldmate V9 to work (fatal exception). MegaLauncher works, nWeb is much snappier and seems to be stable. Nice to be able to answer and call (voiceassist) with the clam closed, especially while seeing the caller ID on the LED. Currently using Eudora Mail, but will soon load VersaMail so I can view attachments with the built in Picsel Viewer. TAKEphONE works flawlessly...except I can't get the "capture" feature to work, was previously using Markndial (hacks not supported with OS5x) and can't find the "treo" version. Hard buttons on the keypad side vs. the screen side along with a 5-way navigator is a welcome change. The pop-up graffiti pad is OK, but I'm used to Graffiti Anywhere which also works great.

The camcorder, media player, camera, voice recorder all work well...haven't used them too much, yet.

The form factor is slightly bigger and slightly heavier than my i500 (with extended battery), but not terribly so. All of my i500 accessories seem to work as well...cradle, car charger, macmedia data cable, etc.

Quite a shame this was never released, even 3+ years later it would be competitive with all the "bricks" being offered today. Add Bluetooth and EVDO, and it's a slam-dunk.

I'll probably use it and keep it until it dies. I can always go back to my i500, but that would be pretty hard right now.

SPRINT....GIVE US A NEW CLAMSHELL Palm...NOT EVERYONE WANTS A TREO, BLACKBERRY OR TOUCH

Lucky SoB. I'm jealous, but then again, I have EVDO

If anyone might be selling another, here's someone definitely interested

I may be putting my i550 w/accessories up for sale soon. Was using it along with my i500, switching back and forth. Unfortunately, I now need a Windows Mobile device for a specific streaming video application.

I'd rather sell it here to an appreciative Palm, clam shell, fan

Would like to sell to someone here before putting it on eBay. Will take PayPal, not interested in selling for less than what it cost me...

Samsung SPH-i550 Cell/Palm PDA for Sprint - HARD 2 FIND - eBay (item 180217135887 end time Feb-26-08 07:10:40 PST)

PM me if interested.