I've been waiting for the Samsung i760 PDA phone but have to admit that i like the slightly smaller size of the also rumored to be soon released VX5800 (Libra). I've seen a few comments around the web that make me want to ask ... is a "smartphone" like the Libra likely to have a better phone portion than a PDA phone like the i760 or VX6800? Or are they all likely to be pretty much identical in terms of phone performance (getting & holding the cell signal, good outgoing audio quality, good incoming audio quality, good Bluetooth)?
I want the enhanced contacts management, the calendaring, email, web browsing, etc, etc, etc ... but ... I need it to be a good phone too.
Thanks for any thoughts anyone is willing to share,
pat----
I cannot WAIT for this phone to come out! I've had a i730 for a year now, and while I love the functions and the keyboard. I want something stable and smaller and more attractive. The Libra is already out on Quest. One of the members has posted a review. Responded to his post and posted some links within that thread of other discussions regarding switching from a Pocket PC to a Smartphone.
To summarize, most people who have made the switch are happy with their Smartphones. After all, the Pocket PC does a lot, but most of us can do everything we need to and then some with a Smartphone.
And another thing, there's not a lot of buzz on this site about the Libra. I wonder why. Maybe because it has so many names (Libra, S720, 5800) then there's the GSM version (Vox, S710). Maybe it's because PDA Phone Home hasn't done a story on it.
Phone stack should be similar in function b/t the two. The only issue on the pda side if it "freezes" the unit, and "jams" the phone so it won't accept calls, SMS, etc...
To be honest, I'm happy with a smartphone, and I'm a long time ppcphone user.
Thank you both very much. I had sort of talked myself into thinking that the i760 is what I want, but ... I keep looking back at the 5800/S720. And your posts make me wonder just what it is that keeps me considering the i760. The 5800 should cost noticeably less. The 5800 doesn't have a touch screen and the screen it does have is 0.4" smaller. But ... is a touch screen and less than 1/2" more screen real estate really worth what is likely to be at least a couple hundred more dollars?
hmmmm ....
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts!
pat----
I don't know ... $200 less may be legitimate - Bell has just released their 5800 for $149 CAD with a 22yr contract. Unless VZW has left WiFi in (which PDADB.net indicates the base phone supports/supported), I'm not sure they could charge much more? Even if they come in at the $200 price that QWest is using, that'd still be about $200 less than the $399 I've seen bandied about for the XV6800 and SCH-i760 w/2yr contract.
Add in $100 NE2 discount and $100 ADD ... Might the Libra be a "free" smartphone with a 2yr contract?
I agree with you psklenar. I think this phone is gonna be cheap (at least some of the time).
Has anyone noticed how Verizon tends to slash prices around Christmas. I'm guess this thing will go for $99 around the holidays. I don't see why these phones aren't free anyway, Verizon would make up the difference with all those data plan subscribers. Maybe the network can't handle all those users just yet.
I guess this thread brings up a question. What is the difference 'tween a Smartphone and a PocketPC Phone? (and then a BlkBrry?(yuck!)).
The difference has to do with function and form and where you are coming from. A Smartphone is Microsoft's version of PDA software. This software is similar in functionality to the Palm OS and the Symbian OS. You can read and write email. You can sync with outlook. You can view and perform minor edits on MSOffice documents (Word and Excel, view only on Powerpoint). You can surf the internet and customize the device with other programs and functions to meet your needs.
A Pocket PC pretty much allows you to leave your laptop at home. You can create, view, and edit MSWord and Excel documents (may be able to edit PowerPoint slides, but you can't create them, I just tried). You can sync Outlook notes and your MSOffice documents automatically with your Pocket PC. You have to manually copy and paste the documents with the Smartphone OS and you have to add software to sync notes (this may have changed with WM6 Standard). The other difference is that the touch screen allow for higher functioning software. If the program must have a mouse to function, then you need the Pocket PC's touch screen (I know certain medical software requires a touch screen, my beloved Mortplayer requires a touch screen).
Also, Smartphones tend to be smaller, more phone like (see PN-820 and SMT5800 for examples), and more stable (fewer freezes, fewer resets). This is usually noted by people who go from Pocket PCs to Smartphones. Most converts are happy with the change.
So, you should take an inventory of how you use your phone and decide which device is better for you.
Here's my inventory:
Calendar sync
Contacts sync
To Do list
MP3s and WMA DRMs (mostly audiobooks library books and podcasts)
Download podcasts
Download Audible.com content (New York Times every weekday morning)
Email
Text
Create and edit Excel worksheets to track expenses
Create and edit Word Documents
Create and edit notes (especially while talking on the phone; taking down directions etc.)
Skype
I'm kind of a power user, but I think that I can find software to do all of the stuff WM6 Standard is missing. Besides, I really can't stand touch screens (I gave up on trying to keep up with that stylus, and replacing them gets to be expensive; I use a jumbo hairpin). I also really want something smaller, that looks like a phone, with a proper phone dial pad. But, the main reason I will be making the switch is because I have no faith that WM6 Professional will be any more stable than WM5 in the long run. I do a soft reset every day. That's ridiculous.
A Pocket PC pretty much allows you to leave your laptop at home. You can create, view, and edit MSWord and Excel documents (may be able to edit PowerPoint slides, but you can't create them, I just tried).
This distinction between WM/Smartphone and WM/PPC (now WM/Std and WM/Pro), is not really true anymore. It is a trivial matter to create Office Mobile Docs on a WM/Std device now. As you point out, the only really consistent distinction between the two now is that WM/Pro devices all have a touch screen, where as WM/Std devices do not, and that WM/Pro devices tend to cost more, because MS charges more for the WM/Pro licenses. There are some WM/Std devices that are pretty "powerful", i.e. fast CPUs, as fast as most current WM/Pro devices.
Also the term "smartphone" has been used in various confusing ways. Generically a smartphone is similar in mean to a PDAphone, but the boundaries are very fuzzy as many higher end phones that wouldn't otherwise be considered smartphones, can, nevertheless surf the Internet with Opera, run Java programs, have builtin email clients, doing calendaring, TODO lists, view videos and images, etc. "Smartphone" also refers to a specific software/OS product from Microsoft, the low-end, cheaper, no-touch screen version of Windows Mobile (WM). Perhaps because of this confusion, and because MS recognizes the blurring of the WM/Smartphones and the WM/PPC's, MS has now renamed these two WM editions as WM/Std and WM/Pro.
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