[vetbythesea]

If anyone has information on their experience on Samsung i500 or Kyocera 7135, please reply. I'd like to get a flip-style pda/phone combo, but I'm having a difficult time with the lack of information concerning support and compatibility for HotSync-ing, iSync-ing, etc. I'm using an iBook with 10.2.8 which does not have built-in Bluetooth, but I use wireless cable internet at home. Please help! Thanks! [email protected]

[gmsmith]

I have not used the 7135, but the Samsung i500 works without a problem. Just make sure you are using the newest Palm Desktop and you disable the photos conduit.

Greg

[bciesq]

For what it's worth, I have the older Samsung i330 working well with my tiBook. The caveat is that I had to purchase a third party USB driver for $30 to get it working. You can check out the driver here.

A bit of an irritation, but syncing with Entourage is working like a champ. I can also sync with Address Book and iCal with no problems.

[NOTE: it appears that the company which makes the i330 USB driver does not support its use on the i500, but some folks are reporting good luck with i500 without it.]

Also, my wife is on Sprint through her business and in order to get unlimited calling to her phone I was forced to choose a Sprint-friendly device (i.e., a Samsung).

I can also say that the Sprint PCS internet connection works well for checking email and light web browsing when I am traveling -- both on the phone itself and on the tiBook when connected through an optional USB cable.

HTH,

Ben

[bherskovitz]

I have the Kyocera 7135 and it syncs perfectly with Mac OS X. I was using it on a 12" Powerbook w/ OS X 10.2.8 then 10.3, syncing with iSync to iCal and Address Book. I recently was liad off from my job, so I lost the Powerbook and am now syncing to an old bondi iMac running OS X 10.3 and syncing to Palm Desktop, and it also works perfectly.

The Kyocera disk comes with Palm Desktop 4.0, I did have problems using it under 10.3. Simply get the free download of Palm 4.1 from Palm and you're all set.

I'm also using third-party conduits; Documents to Go, Splash ID & Splash Photo, all work fine.

As far as a Palm Phone goes, I think the 7135 is the best out there for my needs. If you can thumb type, get the Trio 600 if your cellular provider offers it. I have limited use of my left hand, so graffiti is my only option.

BTW, I thought the i500 doesn't have an SD card slot. If this is true, I would stay away, as memory expansion is an important function.

Good luck,

Brian

[mr100percent]

I got the Kyocera 6035 (the black and white predecessor) to work fine. You might need a USB-serial adaptor like this one for instance. They have OS 9 and X drivers, and it works with the Palm software in either one. I got it to work and regularly synchronize. Supposedly you can also modem sync, but I never tried it (but there shouldn't be a problem aside from the cost of the call).

[tracheopterix]

I own the 7135 and it's the best phone I've ever had.

The syncing is fine as has been said above. My problems with it are fairly small, but I wish it were smaller (it is damn big, allthough fits fine in my pocket), a bigger screen would be nice (pie and eat it too), but the best extra feature for it would be bluetooth IMO. Another thing: it has an mp3 player in it but doesn't sport a stereo minijack, instead it has one of those microjacks (if that's what they are called) so to use normal headphones you need an adaptor.

Hmmm, now that I think of it, I have another gripe: the keypad. It's not terrible, but the keys are awkward to press - especially one handed, and they aren't backlit so they are hard to read in the dark.

These things being said it remains a great phone and as far as I've encountered (haven't used the p900 yet) the best smartphone in the USA yet.

[wparnes]

Use a Kyocera 7135 as my primary cell phone. Sync with Powerbook G4 12" without any problem (System 10.2.8).

But, I wouldn't recommend the phone - it uses Palm OS 4.1 and is slower than most other recent Palm products I have used (uses the old processor). Screen display also washes out fairly badly in bright sunlight. In contrast, I've tried a Treo 600 which is a much better overall experience, including web surfing, but may not work on your preferred service.

[dj2ndnature]

I have the I500 and have been using it with the 15' 1.25 PB since August, it works great. I even hook it up to surf the net wirelessly from the car!

-Brett

[Tanker10a]

Originally posted by vetbythesea:
If anyone has information on their experience on Samsung i500 or Kyocera 7135, please reply. I'd like to get a flip-style pda/phone combo, but I'm having a difficult time with the lack of information concerning support and compatibility for HotSync-ing, iSync-ing, etc. I'm using an iBook with 10.2.8 which does not have built-in Bluetooth, but I use wireless cable internet at home. Please help! Thanks! [email protected]

I have been using the Kyocera7135 since it was first released. I have used it without any problems. Some basic downsides to this phone is that it eats a lot of power in phone mode_evidenced by how HOT the phone gets. It crashes quite often which requires a soft reboot. And Kyocera has not done anything about the Palm OS 4.1 upgrade and there is no plan for BlueTooth so I use JabraSpeakFree for BlueTooth. Web mail can be a daunting task. I have Verizon wireless.
Otherwise, HotSynch with Entourage or iSynch Conduits are not an issue.
Overall, the phone performs well.

[MUGlover]

I have been using the Kyocera 7135 since early September, when I was called for jury duty. I was able to keep up with my mail from work through a nearly seven-week trial and jump back into work with no problems. The 7135 syncs well with my iBook running 10.2.6 and Palm Desktop for Handspring (my previous PDA). Then I can also sync it at work with my employer-provided W2K machine and Palm Desktop for 7135 that came with the phone.

I re-mapped the phone's Messages button because I never use text messages. E-mail is unlimited, so I activate Eudora when I press the phone's Messages button, and quickly check several E-mail accounts, including the ones at work and home.

At least one of the three Web browsers provided is great for me, and the others may appeal to other users. It is an excellent replacement for Earthlink's OmniSky service, which was shut down Sept. 30.

The phone keypad does light up and the length of time is stays lit is user-controllable. The phone will only heat up if you are unable to connect to your wireless provider's network (Verizon for me) and the phone is searching. I have never had to extend the antenna.

I was surprised how well the speakerphone function works, according to those I call. Now that jury duty is over, I no longer drive, but the cupholders of the Honda CR-V are deep, round, and perfect for making hands-free calls without extra equipment. The CR-V also has another slot left of the wheel where the closed phone can perch.

It is also possible to create up to 15 categories for people in the Palm Address Book, as Palm users know. The 7135 can assign a distinct ring to each category. I am a silent phone fan, and it is easy to put the 7135 in and out of silent mode.

I am not interested in iCal until I can keep past events on it. The syncs with iCal, as far as I understand, focus on present and future events only.

[forcelite]

I have been using the Treo 600 for a week now.

It is by far the best pda/phone available.

It uses palm OS 5.2, has 120 kb/s internet speeds.

166mhz processor. 34 megs ram (28 usealbe I believe), .3 meg digital camera (really not that bad)

The thing is small and compact. It is so compact it took handspring months to get everything in there.

Really, really , nice


Lane

[csjazzlady]

Hi there,
I must have goblins in my Samsung. It will absolutely not synch properly to my G4. I have Mac OS10.2.8 .....768MB.... 120 Gig of Hard Drive.

I have a been a Palm user for years, a Mac user for years and would love for this little Samsung i500 to work....but it has been incredibly frsutrating

I have downloaded Palm 4.1 on my Desktop, I have disabled photos and voice memo in the conduit settings.

Everytime I try to Hot synch it goes through the entire data hot synch process and it looks like it will be just fine. Then at the end after the clean up it says I must reset. When I do, I get a fatal error and nothing is working properly.

The calendar is where the addresses should be and any buttom pushed other than that says fatal error... you must reset. HELP please.

Carol

[waterbuck]

Hi
I get my email via my Mac TiBook running Entourage through a pop account. There are periods where I expect to be away from my TiBook (working in the hospital for 8 hours) and I would love to be able to check email and perhaps respond to some stuff during those 8 hours. My question is how one would do this, while still being able to load the email off my pop account onto my TiBook at the end of the day?

One possibility seems obvious. Do these phones load web pages? If so, I could use earthlinks webmail and just respond to quick stuff via the webpage, and ultimately download the mail back at my home computer.

Is there a better way, however?

[MUGlover]

When you set up the mail client on your handheld (not the TiBook), there should be an option to Leave Messages on Server. Turn this on and when you use the TiBook next, the Inbox will fill as though you had never checked it from the handheld.

To answer your other question, smartphones load Web pages in various ways. WAP browsers show two or three lines of text at a time, which would not help you. The Kyocera 7135 comes with this but also Eudora Web and EIS Web. I use the latter; it has three ways to view a Web page: 1)all page items aligned down the left margin, 2)the same with horizontal scrolling permitted (not needed in the first case), and 3) zoomed out so you can see the whole page, in miniature, as a laptop would display it. If you know the page layout very well, this is often a good way to click on a link.

It is possible to change browsers and mail clients until you get one that meets your needs. I'm not sure how much your phone provider will help. My plan does not charge by the minute, and I turn off graphics unless I want to see one. Hope this helps.

[shatten22]

Originally posted by forcelite:
I have been using the Treo 600 for a week now.

man, i want one of those treo-600s so bad...

what service are you using with it?

-g

[WSE]

I have the 7135 and use it with a Powerbook G4 running 10.3.1 and Palm 4.1

It works well enough, but I used to have a Handspring Treo 270 and the user interface and general user experience was much nicer.

For me, the 7135 is like a PC and the Treo is like a Mac. The Treo has far better attention to design details, everything is better integrated.

The 7135 is clunky but reliable. I got it because in my home area, Verizon is far more reliable than Cingular or ATT, and Verizon does not support the Treo. Otherwise I would have the Treo 600.

The 7135 holds alot of data. I keep my Filemaker Pro personal database on it (using Filemaker Mobile), about 2 dozen Word and Excel files (using Documents to Go) and dozens of photos of my family using Palm's own picture software.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vetbythesea:
[B]If anyone has information on their experience on Samsung i500 or Kyocera 7135, please reply.

[SpeedRacer]

If anyone has information on their experience on Samsung i500 or Kyocera 7135, please reply.

I've been using the 7035 for about 3 months now on Verizon's high-speed network as an upgrade to the older 6035 series Kyo phones.

Much as was the case with the 6035 the 7035 is a decent voice-date comm device if you're looking for a PDA first, phone second. Certainly you can do everything that a standard cell phone can do, but

(1) battery life in data/voice mode lasts only about 2 hours (in my testing)

(2) the phone is THICKER and WIDER than virtually any other cell on the market today (ex: I'm 6' and yet still find it difficult to hold in my hand for a long period of time)

(3) the number keys are very near flush with the surface of the phone, they have little tactile feel when pressed, it is difficult to tap one-handed due to the top-heavy nature of the screen, and the phone does not support any of the "T-9" advanced text entry options that exist on competing products such as the i500 or Treo. Frankly I think this is one of the biggest drawbacks of the 7035 - you cannot touch-type on this phone because all of the keys (including dial and end) feel exactly the same. Though clearly you've got standard Palm graffiti on-board, it's not always appropriate or possible to whip out a stylus and go to town with both hands just to enter in a new contact. Efficient one-handed operation should be a primary goal of any modern cell phone.

On the plus side, Verizon's network is one of the cheapest and covers the widest region here in the Northeast. In the 3 months since I have had this phone I could count the number of times I've dropped a call on one hand - and this is traveling between 4 states and off-the-beaten path destinations on a regular basis. This is the biggest downside of the i500 that I can see as I have been extremely pleased with my VZW service across all of the 3 years I've been with them.

Moreover, connectivity to Verizon's highspeed network can be used right out of the box (no additional charges necessary) so long as you don't mind using your voice minutes for data use. This is a great feature for weekend travel as even VZW's lowest $35/mo plan offers over 3000 minutes/month night/weekend.

I have not used any of the secure digital expansion capabilities of the phone as the 16MB built-in memory has been sufficient for everything that I've used the phone for. If you're interested in using the phone for pictures, music, digital mapping, or data backup then perhaps this is useful, otherwise unnecessary. Many of the SD expansion cards (bluetooth, WiFi, etc) that Kyo/Palm hyped when the phone was first released have yet to come to market (even while they DO exist on the PocketPC side) ARGH!

Having said all this, I had the opportunity to use the Samsung i500 phone hands-on for the first time this weekend and all I can say is WOW! Size and weight is like night and day versus the 7035 - this is a pda-phone that really feels like a standard cell! Graffiti input is marginally better due to a textured input area and noticeably higher-quality stylus. Allegedly the i500 also supports T-9 text input to speed one-handed input although I could not find any area to turn this on on the demo model Sprint had available.

Yet one of the best features I found with the 500 is that there is a hard-button on the side of the phone that allows you to open, scroll and select through any menu in any application on the phone. Applying this functionality to the number of appointments I add to my datebook everyday when I'm on the run and don't feel like whipping out a stylus makes this a MAJOR advantage of the i500 over standard Palm PDAs.

Phone keys are noticeably better than the 7035 and similar to most other cells (slightly raised at top with solid click when pressed). They also appear to illuminate a bit brighter than the ones on the 7035.

In short, if you're looking for a PHONE FIRST, PDA second go with the Samsung i500 - it is (as you will find in the review posted below) quite possibly the best PDA-Phone integrated device on the market today.

If you're looking for a top-notch PDA with phone capabilities and future expansion potential through SD modules go with the Kyocera 7135. It is one of the most versatile PDA-Communication devices on the market with a great network backbone in Verizon.

Other things:
- The i500 supports both "slim" and "standard" batteries - allowing talk time nearly double that of the 7035 while still significantly smaller in size and weight.

- Sprint's data service costs $15 + standard cell plan for unlimited data transmission. VZW's "official" unlimited data plan will run you $50/mo (though you can use it off voice minutes at no charge).

- The 7035 has an external LED at the top of the phone so you can see who's calling, your current battery level, and network service, etc. A truly great feature the i500 does not have.

- The 7035 has a massive following of users constantly posting tips, tricks, and support over at: http://www.smartphonesource.com .

- Desktop synchronization on either of these devices should work just fine on both Mac and Windows platforms (no problems seen here).

- The i500 feels quite a bit FASTER in general operation as the 7135, but that's without my 100's of contacts loading as well

Other great resources to help your decision:

The PDA web discussions at: PDABuzz
http://www.pdabuzz.com/DesktopModules/forum/

Walt Mossberg's reviews from the Wall Street Journal's Personal Technology Section

Samsung i500 Review
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20030612.html

Kyocera 7035 Review
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20030417.html

[rexray]

I have the Treo 270, and it rocks! Besides being a phone/Palm PDA, it will load any webpage (doesn't need WAP) including 128 bit secure and can check multiple POP accounts. It can even create a VPN connection to the Internet and get email from corporate mail servers. The phone part is great too, good quality sound and a built in speakerphone and mute. It has a flip cover, unlike the newer Treo 600, and the keyboard is full QWERTY for data entry without a stylus. Syncing with the Mac has never been a problem. I've had mine for 2 years and I love it.

[milhous]

The RIM Blackberry's are cool, but no Mac support.

[Simon]

Originally posted by rexray:
I have the Treo 270, and it rocks!
...
It has a flip cover, unlike the newer Treo 600, and the keyboard is full QWERTY for data entry without a stylus.

I am still hoping for a revival of the 270.

Maybe something like a 600light w/o the camera but with internal BT. A serious phone for work, no fooling around. And since it wouldn't have a camera it could well come with a flip-cover like the older Treos.

I'm using a 180g actually, and it's great! The OS somehow reminds me of the Mac. Simple, self-explanatory and it just works. Not to mention the thousands of good free Plam apps you can d/l everywhere.

[highrockdave]

I have the i500, and love it much more than I had anticipated. I figured it was a pretty minor upgrade from my i300, but it is amazing- the email and internet abilities way exceeded my hopes. As a phone it is flawless.

Carol- there are three things you need to do in order to make it work perfectly with your Mac, two of which you have already done.

1) download Palm 4.1 & conduit
2) Turn off phone when syncing
3) DISABLE photos in conduit settings - this is what is causing your reset problem I bet.

Good luck!
Dave

[ilofi]

i've been using the 7135 since it first came out. i have verizon wireless and use the phone/pda across the country on my travels. a few gripes, still haven't used mp3 player, photoviewer, etc. when the phone is in analog mode the battery dies in a day (even in standby mode) and the sysmtem has to be reset once a month it seems.
Otherwise it's great! all the phone functions, PDA functions and what work without a hitch. and spending an extra 30 bucks on "missingsync" http://www.markspace.com/
will take care of most shortcomings.