Samsung IP-830w business phone review

This hefty Windows Mobile-powered smartphone features a slide-out keypad, GSM/CDMA network access, a brilliant screen, and dial-up networking at EV-DO speeds. Is it worth the jaw-dropping price tag?

The Samsung IP-830w feels like a large phone thanks to its signature feature: the QWERTY keypad that slides out vertically from the bottom. However, it is only a tenth of an inch deeper than the Palm Treo 700p, a bit narrower, and just a tenth of an ounce heavier. With its nearly unbroken lines, the 830w has sharper angles and bulges on the back of the case, giving it a slightly utilitarian, though not unattractive, look. The dark metallic blue shell is slimming, and the tall screen makes the phone easy to use when closed. Buttons are a little small, especially the five-way button, and it is too easy to press the ''Back'' key when you mean to press down. Additionally, using the touch screen and the keypad at the same time is a two-handed affair, as the phone is simply too long to comfortably navigate with one hand. As with most slider phones, the top row of keys tends to butt up against the top half of the device. The slide itself is spring-loaded, but not as tight as we felt on smaller Samsung sliders, such as the diminutive U420 Nimbus. The screen, 2.8 inches diagonally and capable of 262,000 colors, reflects a shortcoming of Windows Mobile, as its resolution is stuck at 320 by 240 pixels. Thus, phones with smaller screens, such as the Cingular 3125, will look sharper, as they have the same number of pixels. Hopefully, future iterations of the Windows Mobile OS will allow for higher resolution on these larger screens.

Messaging - Very good

Messaging on the IP-830w is as good as most Windows Mobile devices, but for the premium you will pay for this phone, it should be better. Outlook handles multiple e-mail accounts well through ActiveSync, and the phone will access corporate Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino accounts, complete with push e-mail capabilities. However, switching between accounts requires some menu manipulation. SMS messaging is fine, with a full 160 characters on screen at once, but threading, a feature on the Palm OS Treo, is not available on Windows Mobile. Instant messaging, only available through MSN messenger, is a strange affair, as half the screen is left blank. Additionally, while messages that are longer than the top portion of the screen require scrolling, the phone will not allow you to scroll through IM chats using the five-way button. Instead, you must break out the stylus. Individually, the keys on the QWERTY keyboard are nicely raised, with a clear gap between letters, though they feel a bit stiff, and require a good hard depression to activate. Beyond our issues with the top row of keys near the top half of the phone, the IP-830w has a ridge around the bottom of the slide, which causes difficulty in pressing the keys on the edges, including the ''Fn'' key, used frequently to create symbols. We wish this phone, and every QWERTY smartphone, would adopt the method of the T-Mobile Dash, whose symbols activate on a long keystroke, instead of requiring two keys at once.

Scheduling - Very good

Compared with the Windows Mobile-powered Treo 700wx, the Samsung IP-830w shows some minor improvements in scheduling. Appointment subjects and locations can be automatically completed, helping with one-handed use. The same familiar Outlook style is present, though it does not have the more lush and colorful look found in the same application on Cingular's 3125. The tall screen helps view an entire business day's appointments at once, and then some. Synchronizing schedules is seamless with ActiveSync over the network, USB 2.0 connection, or Bluetooth. We would have liked an ''undo'' feature in the calendar application, especially considering how many steps it takes to change and rearrange appointments, but this is a minor complaint.
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