I’m getting a new cell phone/cell plan either tomorrow or in a couple weeks from now, and I was considering getting a PDA phone. There is one on Verizon’s website that after a discount is less than $100 when you sign up for a new plan (which is what I’ll be doing.) The phone is a Samsung SCH-i730, and it says it is a Pocket PC Phone featuring Windows Mobile® 2003 Pocket PC Phone 2nd Edition software. Now, I know that there is confusion regarding Pocket PC/Windows Mobile/Phone editions/etc… (at least to me there is,) but basically I want to know if I can upgrade the OS to Windows Mobile 6 (that’s the newest, yes?)
Can only certain devices be upgraded to 6? And even if it can’t, is Mobile 2003 Pocket PC Phone Edition a good OS? I have a cell/phone PDA now (I only use it for PDA functionality, cause it was old an an open box, so it was cheaper than just the plain PDAs.) It runs Pocket PC 2002 which I’m not a fan of (though I’m to understand at that point the phone software and OS weren’t integrated well, but was that fixed for 2003?)
If this eventually goes to IMHO in regards to a good (but inexpensive (les than $200,)) Cell/PDA, that’s fine.
Don’t get WM3. It’s 2 generations old. You’re probably getting a decent price because it’s so old, and the hardware is outdated. The WM3 device I had made by HTC could not be upgraded.
Upgrade depends on the maker.
If you’re getting a windows device, you should get a WM6. WM5 was much better than WM3, with things just working smoothly (in WM3, you had to do a lot of manual stuff). WM6 from what I’ve heard so far has more functionality - new mobile office, built in rights management to protect your data, and is a much improved platform for developers to make additional programs on.
I also have a Samsung I730. It came with WM2003, and can indeed be upgraded to WM5, which is a much better option. I have been running WM5 for a few months and it has improved wireless managment and improves battery life, among other advantages over WM2003.
I don’t know if it is possible to upgrade to WM6 (“Crossbow”) but I don’t see why not.
Absolutely awsome resource for all things i730 is pdaphonehome.com forums, in the i730/830 forum - check it out, they will lead you through upgrading (free download) to WM5 and will likely have people trying WM6 once it is available in a format to load.
Also, Samsung will be releasing a succesor to the I730, the I760, within a few months. It will be running WM6 and looks to be a nice device. There is a long thread on the pdaphonehome forums about it. I plan on looking into it, depending on my Verizon New every 2 timing and final cost. But, I am in no rush, as I do love my i730.
WM2003 and especially WM5 have much better (and I think very good) PDA/Phone integration.
I had a Dell Axim and a normal cell phone for some time, now I use my i730 as my only phone (no land line) as welll as calender, GPS navigation, task manager, email, etc.