I have spent the last two weeks as a new user of the Samsung I730 PPC/Phone on Verizon.
Form Factor: I really like the size, fit and finish of the phone. It fits my hand well (medium sized hands). The slider for the pull out keypad has a nice crisp feel when it pulls out and the keypad is accepteable for phone message use.
Buttons. The button layout is decent with several exceptions. The default voice command button is on the upper left side of the phone, just about the volume controls. I kept activating the Voice Command feature when I pulled the phone off the charging cradle and while trying to adjust the volume. I reset this button to "None" in the system control "Buttons" menu. I use the Voice Command so I moved the button function to the left key on the front key pad.
The front fourway controller (up, down,left, right) works fine but is a little more recessed than I prefer.
Screen: The screen quality is excellent, very bright but not washed out. The screen is smaller than a regular PPC but much better for me than a smartphone sized screen.
Network: The Verizon network has excellent covereage. I was down in New Orleans last week and my phone worked fine in most areas. I had great covereage driving from Houston to New Orleans as well. Some of our people have Cingular phones and their phones are not working as well in the Hurricane area.
I really like the EVDO network. The speeds are great compared to GPRS. Web page load times feel very similar to a dsl connection. A screen shot for a speed test is provided below.
Tethering: PC tethering works fine if you want to use your phone as a data modem and have the $30/month unlimited data package.
Software addons.
Copilot Live 5.0 and my BT GPS system work great.
Intellidialer works fine. This program will select numbers based on keypad input by spelling part of a persons name.
Spb Pocket plus works fine.
I am recommend the screen protector from
Pocket PC Tech.Overall I am very pleased with the phone.
___________Speed Test____________IntelliDialer_______________SpbPocketPlus