Samsung SPH-i300

Samsung SPH-i300

Manufacturer	Samsung Electronics
Compatible networks	CDMA 800/1900 / AMPS 800
Availability by region	2001
Successor	Samsung SPH-i330
Form factor	candybar
Dimensions	4.9 by 2.28 by 0.82 inches
Mass	6 oz (170 g)
Operating system	Palm OS 3.5
Memory	8 MB[1]
Battery	Li-ion
Display	160 × 240 px, 256 color
Connectivity	DE-9 Serial port via cradle, infrared (IrDA)
Data inputs	Graffiti, touchscreen

The Samsung SPH-i300 was an early Palm OS-based PDA and smartphone manufactured by Samsung, released around August 2001 and marketed in the United States for use on Sprint's mobile phone network.^[2] It was the first "PDA phone" (as devices that combined phone and PDA functions were then called) in the US with a color screen.

The CDMA phone has a candybar-style design. It operates like a standard color Palm OS device, but several hard (external) and software buttons launch the 'phone' application, which manages calls.

The phone shipped with a charging cradle with a DE-9 serial port, extra battery, and a case.

Applications

Installed applications included ones carried over from existing Palm handheld non-phone devices: Graffiti, Memo Pad, Date Book, Scheduler, Calculator, To Do List, Alarm/Clock, Address Book, Expense Manager, and Palm Desktop Software. ZIO PalmGolf was another application.

In addition, applications to support voice and data communications were included: Blazer, Mail, Messages, Phone, Speed Dial, Voice Dial, and Voice Memo.

History and reception

The SPH-i300 was the first Palm-OS-based smartphone from Samsung, and cost $499. The phone was not compatible with Sprint's 3G network and its maximum connection speed of 14.4 kbit/s made browsing slow, but browsing "the real web" in 2001 was an advance on the WAP browsers on other mobile phones. It competed with another Palm OS phone, the Kyocera QCP-6035.^[1]

Follow-up SPH-i330 model

Samsung followed up the SPH-i300 with the SPH-i330 in 2003, also on Sprint. The SPH-i330 has a more rounded body and PC connectivity over USB rather than a serial port, but has the same screen, Palm OS version, and general feature set as the SPH-i300.^[3]

Footnotes

• All details and specifications are from the CNET review^[4] and specification page^[5] unless otherwise indicated.

References