Hmm...I am pretty sure that the i770 is the same specs as the i730.

And it's supposed to have a QWERTY sure-type keyboard.

Well, I'll wait for both to come out, and then make my decision.

Ignoring these phones are not CDMA, there is nothing to motivate a switch from the SCH-i730.

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Brian
Smart Phones for Dumb People

Was the i830's gsm/cdma combination a once in a lifetime thing or will there continue to be such devices? I am contemplating switching to gsm so I can have coverage in Europe. I (possibly foolishly) think that if I get a 3G quad-band phone, I should have high speed access and world usability.

The i770 is quad-band GSM, CDMA, etc.

Why does everyone seem to be so sure that the quad-band flip phone which was released in China is the i770? While there are certain physical similarities between the devices, the China phone does not have a true-type keypad like the i770 (based upon the FCC photos) and AFAIK there has been no confirmation whatsoever that the China phone has Windows Mobile OS. Nor has there been any reliable confirmation that Samsung is even considering a CDMA-verision of the i770 device listed on the FCC six months ago.

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Converged since 2002.
Prior devices: Treo 300, Treo 600, iMate PDA2k, Motorola MPX200, Motorola MPX220 & Motorola MPX300, Samsung i730.

I guess my question to those who know far more than I is this: What do I give up if I switch from CDMA EVDO to GSM 3G?

There are at least two parts to the answer to your question, colordiva.

1) GSM vs. CDMA: GSM's highest level of broadband is known as HSDPA, and it's comparable to CDMA's current "fat pipe" offering, which is EvDO Rev 0. These services permit data speeds of say, 400-700kbps down and 50kbps up. (As always, "YMMV.")

In the US, Cingular's rolling out HSDPA now, but it's not available in nearly as many markets as Sprint's and VZW's EvDO.

T-Mo, also GSM, hasn't even started to deploy a high-speed network here, so it's a year or more behind Cingular. As such, T-Mo is not a good choice for packet data-intensive wireless service.

CDMA's next-gen broadband system, known as EvDO Rev A, is now starting to come online (Sprint's officially underway in a handful of markets, VZW will presumably start early in '07). It's a bit faster down and up, greatly lessens lag ("low latency"), and alows simultaneous voice and data.

Presently, no phones or PPCs support Rev A, but they'll appear in '07. Some PC cards are now available, however.

2) Devices: Theoretically, feature-set parity can exist between GSM and CDMA devices, especially at the top end, but it often doesn't. While virtually all current PPCs for CDMA support EvDO Rev 0, few GSM PPCs can handle HSDPA. The Samsung BlackJack and HTC (Hermes) 8525 are two Cingular GSM units that at least get this right.

Of course, other device-architecture, form-factor, and feature-set issues need critical evaluation as well, but this is always required.

The other consideration for GSM is frequency support. Quadband is best (850/1900Mhz US, 900/1800MHz EU, plus 2100MHz for EU broadband, where available). Incidentally, most of Europe's GSM systems still rely on a less speedy broadband implementation known as UMTS, but it's adequate.

A quick report, hope it helps.

--BAM

For those with too much time on their hands, here's the link to the FCC's type acceptance submission search engine.

All that need be entered to look for a particular device is its model number, which goes in the box labeled "Product Description." Nothing else need be entered.

For example, one can search for SGH-i760, SCH-i760, or SCH-i730.

If the i760 ever comes up, it's real--figure we'll see it in 60-90 days.

So search early and often, and be sure to wake up Cap'n Railing when our ship comes in!

Meanwhile, some of us had better get back to work, lol...

--BAM

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf...ericSearch.cfm

BAM, thanks for the primer. I always feel inadequate here with the tech folks, but I do the due dilegence and read up on the stuff as best I can. This forum has been invaluable to me and I thank all of you whose knowledge I have been able to harvest.

I will wait out the rumors and see what gets offered first quarter 2007, but I am leaning toward the Treo 750. The only reason I am even considering the GSM switch is that twice a year I go to Europe and I hate my device not to work. (Apparantly I'm an addict.) I live in Seattle, so Cingular's 3G has me covered here, and a quad band device would cover me abroad.

I am amused to find myself in this place, though. I had an early edition Treo on Cingular years ago (when handspring was really the only one in the smartphone business) and it worked better in Rome and Amsterdam than it worked in my own back yard. Swore I'd never go back to Cingular. Ah, don't you hate having to eat crow?

The ideal situation for me would be for one of Verizon's Q1 or Q2 2007 offerings to have GSM world coverage. Cake & eat it too! Can't bear to get a i830, cause I want a "new toy," not the old stuff.

Get an i830?

This press release does not say there will be a cdma version, but it does seem to indicate that verizon will carry the phone. I can't see them carrying a GSM only phone.

http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/P...202_0000304743

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on the bleeding edge