Review: Samsung i300

Samsung i300 Review

Phone rating:

The Samsung i300 is revolutionary for two reasons: it's Samsung's first smartphone, and is also the first phone to use a hard disk drive. The i300 uses Windows Mobile as its operating system instead of Symbian, so the user interface will be familiar to users of Microsoft Windows. Early releases of the phone seem to have been a bit buggy but that has now been fixed. The phone isn't the easiest to use, but given the number of features, you must expect to have to put in some effort learning how to use the device. Once learned, it's easy enough to use. The keypad is nice and the jog wheel is very convenient for controlling the music player.

The i300 is designed as an iPod killer. With a 3 Gbyte hard disk and superb sound quality, it looks like it really could be one. The 3 Gybte disk offers as much storage as an iPod Nano, and the sound quality is excellent. There are twin stereo speakers with 3D surround sound, plus a stereo Bluetooth headset option. With a digital power amp and a graphic equaliser, sound quality really is as good as an iPod. The music player (Windows Media Player) supports a good range of formats too, including MP3, AAC, AAC+ and WMA. Because the phone uses Microsoft software, transferring music between PC and phone is really easy.

The screen is fantastic - a very bright high resolution 262k TFT display. The 1.3 megapixel camera and video camera are good enough, but fall behind competitors such as the Sony Ericsson W900i and the Nokia N91.

The connectivity of the phone is good with Bluetooth, USB and infra-red supported. The phone handles email with attachments (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF) and synchronises well with Outlook. Browsing the web is also easy using Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer, although this can be slow as there is no 3G or high-speed data, just GPRS.

The i300 is quite large and heavy, but no more so than other smartphones. The big problem with the i300 is its battery life. Most users will find that it needs recharging every day, maybe even more. Samsung do supply a second longer life battery which adds to the weight, but most users will probably need to make use of "flight mode" when listening to music for any long period of time, and of course you can't take phone calls when in flight mode. This is a serious issue, and one that Samsung will need to remedy in the replacement for the i300.

The i300 is no longer available, but the Samsung Pixon M8800 is due for release in time for Christmas 2008.

Features of the Samsung i300 include:

• Windows Mobile 2003 SE
• 1.3 megapixel camera with LED flash and digital zoom
• Video camera (MPEG4 format)
• Display: TFT, 262,000 colours, 320 x 240 pixels
• Music player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, ASF, WAV, WMV)
• Stereo loudspeakers with 3D sound & digital power amp
• Stereo Bluetooth headset
• 64-voice polyphonic ringtones
• Voice clarity
• Voice commands
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email (POP3, SMTP, IMAP4)
• T9 predictive text
• Downloadable Java applications
• Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF)
• Caller ID with photo
• Flight mode
• WAP 2.0, GPRS class 10
• Pocket Internet Explorer
• Personal organiser functions
• Memory: 64 Mbytes plus 3Gbytes hard disk plus external memory card (MicroSD)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, IrDa
• Triband
• Size: 113 x 48 x 20 mm
• Weight: 121g
• Talktime: 4 hours
• Battery standby: 130 hours

Samsung i300 Consumer Reviews

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Average rating from 30 reviews:

Reviewed by Jim from USA on 16th Dec 2008
cool
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Reviewed by Kevin from United Kingdom on 4th May 2008
I've had this phone since Dec 2005, it is still, for me, the best phone around. Battery life has been a problem & I've reverted to using only the spare battery making it bulky. Easily connects to the PC & able to use as an external hard drive. Currently looking to upgade though, but unable to find anything I like so may just buy myself another one!
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Reviewed by nikola from serbia on 7th Apr 2008
these telephon the best
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Reviewed by zeeshan afzal from pakistan on 22nd Mar 2008
my bro bought it for me and i am waiting for my phone to come i saw it and heard its soung quality while chating with my bro.its really nice .i love this phone......its my style..zee
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Reviewed by Nasir Khan from Pkaistan on 27th Sep 2007
Well after using this cell phone i come up with problem that when bettery low the hard drive stop working which is not good
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Reviewed by NIkola from Serbia on 1st Sep 2007
the phone is very good like PC
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Reviewed by ar4ijs15 from latvia on 24th Apr 2007
phone is very good but I have e problem whit windows i need to reinstal windows evry 1 month becose when i start phone it sey the memory is full but i heve 60% free memory end i cant do enithing and sey the No home screen leyouts cant be faund!!!!!
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Reviewed by Sahil Omar from UK on 5th Apr 2007
great phone! best thing is its available for free now! as in not only phone but the contract too! HURRY! while it lasts!
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Reviewed by dgoodguyisback from London, England on 20th Sep 2006
The Samsung i300 was the first phone with a gigabyte internal microdrive. For that we give Samsung the credit. My gripe about the phone is that it doesn't come with wifi. I love it despite that cos it has all a goo guy like myself coul ask for...!
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Reviewed by G from uk on 20th Jul 2006
great phone, what more can i say? buy it! I'm not having too much trouble withe the battery it's fine if charged every night, and can idle with the occasional text or call for 3 days or so. Only complaint is, after 3 months of heavy usage i dropped it and the hard drive doesnt work any more! Thankfully o2 are fixing it though. DEFINITELY get this rather than an ipod AND a phone... it does both! excellent stuff.
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Reviewed by pravin from u k on 9th Jul 2006
the best phone ever amazin 3gb hard drive can store all my music definate reccomend use to hav that old piece of rubbish oh yeah wat was it called v3? samsungs best ever phone only 1 bad point slow data transfer but the rest is all gud
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Reviewed by richy from uk on 23rd May 2006
this would be a good phone if it wasnt for the very poor battery life do not buy unless your prepared to charge twice a day or may be more
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Reviewed by jhon from uk on 4th Apr 2006
excellent phone a must buy has so much features plus the 3gb.
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Reviewed by C Cooper from UK on 26th Mar 2006
If your looking for a phone and don't care too much about style buy this, its awesome. It does everything ive always wanted to do with a phone and so much more, the boffins at samsung must have being mashing features in with a sledge hammer for several weeks. Although the menus are a bit hard to get used to infact its the hardest phone ever to custom your ringtones, you soon get it. I found that the neatest trick it does is double up as a mass storage device, so you can save anything off any computer to it anywhere.The mp3 player is very good,it even has SRS controls, and does not seem to effect the battery too much even on loud, and with 3 gig you can fit easy more songs on it than the specification says, ive got 400 wma's on it and havent even filled 1 gig! Yes, it does need a nuclear reactor strapping to the back of it, especially with the standard battery which lasts 2 - 3 days, but its not so bad if you turn down the screen brightness. I just wish they'd put a 2 mega pixel camera on it, but the 1.3's fine, you can use the pics as PC wallpapers and there fine. If you dont care about being to trendy with the choice of your phone, get this then laugh at all the people who have the V3's and other stuff like that, because this is soooooo much better, ive not found anyone yet that's phone does more than this!,its like a huge jump forward in mobile phones, GET IT NOW.......
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Reviewed by Chris from UK on 22nd Mar 2006
Basically i wanted a music phone and opted for the i300 as it's the best looking out of W800, W900 and nokia smartphones. I wasnt really interested in a smartphone but in i300's case it's got its pluses and minuses. The windows os provides excellent connectivity with the pc especially the 3GB harddrive where u can just drag n' drop your music files from the pc but being the old version it lacks certain standard features which u get even in ordinary budget phones like setting photo ids and mp3 ringtones for contacts. Instead u have to install special applications which add these features to the phonebook. As far as music is concerned, the windows os and samsung's modifications really do a great job of making it simple and easy to create and manage playlists and the jog wheel is really useful when scrolling through them. At first i wasnt that impressed with the sound but u really have to turn on the SRS WOW equaliser to enjoy great sound. I've dumped the original headset as it wasnt that good and an adapter is included in the package to use standard headphones which is really necessary if u want to experience cd-like quality. As others have mentioned, battery is a bit of a problem and u cant go for more than a day without having to charge it but it's worth it just to have a 3GB hardrive in this amazing shell with a beautiful display.
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Reviewed by Finn from Plymouth on 22nd Mar 2006
AMAZING THIS PHONE IS TRULY GREAT IF I HAD ENOUGH MONEY I WOULD BUY IT MY MUM HAS IT IT IS THE GREATEST PHONE IN THE WORLD
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Reviewed by Rnich121 from UK on 8th Mar 2006
I hated it...simple as that. The menu system is just poor, o2 had no settings for it to be able to use the wap set up or picture messaging. You have to hunt around for the things that u put on the phone and its just not easy.. Do not get this phone unless u have million and one days to figure out how to use it.
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Reviewed by Michael Yule from United Kingdom - Scotland on 6th Mar 2006
After my ipod died i decided that my new mobile phone had to play mp3s aswell as doing everything else that my old samsung d500 did, bluetooth, outlook compatible, multimedia, wap, etc, and this phone did it all, plus some more. On recieving my phone i was impressed, apart from it was HUGE, the standard slimline battery died after talking on the phone for half and hour and playing mp3s on a 45 minute bus journey. Having re-read the manual to find if i was doing something wrong i found out i was not, and decided to try the chunky battery. This did help the battery life a little, however not enough to make up for the extra bulk that it added. On a more possitve note, connecting bluetooth headset was a doddle, very easy to use wap browser and the outlook compatibility was much better than my d500. The sound that the dual stereo speakers gave out was great, and the 3D-WOW was a great piece of audio software. But getting back to the battery, after a full 16hr charge and normal usage and charging, after 3 days of having to charge my mobile twice a day it was getting boring. This phone was great, but no replacment for a PDA and an IPOD. Overall, it does everything it say on the tin, when it is plugged into the mains, but after you stop charging it, after about 6 hours you have a dead piece of plastic. Just glad i got it online and could cancel my o2 contract within 14 days! sticking with my d500 for now, atleast it still works 2 days later after texting and phoning
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Reviewed by Andy B from England on 18th Feb 2006
Wow, just upgraded from the legendary SE K700i and am blown away by the smooth operating system of this smartphone wonder from Samsung. The sound is fantastic, looks great even compared to certain thinner lighter competitors.This is in a class of it`s own. Just a couple of down points, hence the 4star rating - a little difficult to get to grips with at first and i am having a little difficulty customising my ringtones but that`ll come with time as i get used to it. Otherwise this is superb,i waited a while for this and am glad i did. It has so much to offer, i am barely scratching the surface of what it can do. If you want the latest technology, style and quality, look no further. Excellent.
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Reviewed by 007 from England on 14th Feb 2006
Simply put, the smoothest and finest phone money can buy. Enough said.
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Reviewed by james from UK on 13th Feb 2006
THE BEST! Only one thing to say bad about this phone, the new i300x this one will have 4gb and run on the latest windows system! i was so upset to find this out when i have been saving for mt i300 for ages then got one to find this out! samsung have done a very bad theng but i still love samsungs! this i300 is much better than the nokia n91! better then all nokias really! and the poor 1.3 camera isnt that bad after all! the k750 has a 2mp and i compered it to this phone theres no difference at all!! i would say to you buy this phone! its the best out there! however ask if they have the i300x , not much difference between the two and i still think the i300 is the top phone out there to buy! thanks
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Reviewed by jessica from hudds on 11th Feb 2006
hey i really like ittt im luving it loads
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Reviewed by james from UK on 2nd Feb 2006
Same size and weight as a nokia s60 phone except much better display and a 3gb harddrive!! The 1.3mp camera is a little outdated for such a techy phone but the quality is impressive and is the best for a windows smartphone. Video is also impressive at 352x288 resolution. Keypad design is is extremely comfortable and the jog wheel makes browsing through playlists or even the menu so much easier. Only problem is of course the battery. The spare battery in the pack is a bit too big and can be a problem when fitting the phone in your pocket but it does last longer. Still, the only way to get a descent playback time is to listen in offline mode which is handy when using it on a train for example but not when walking in the street when u need the phone turned on. The sound quality is very good although u do have to play around a little with the equaliser settings. I'd give this 5 stars if it wasnt for the battery problem but will give it 4 stars even though it deserves a 3 it's stil l the first phone with a harddrive and for that it's a top effort and a very powerful phone in it's own right.
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Reviewed by Will from England on 29th Jan 2006
One word perfectly sums up this masterpiece, superlative. I have always been a Samsung man for their exclusivity and superior design and features. But this phone is just something else... it is quite simply stunning. By an English country mile, the best phone available today. It does EVERYTHING, it looks beautiful, and best of all- you will hardly ever see another person with one, if you do at all. Thankfully, not many people even know they exist! On seeing mine, admirers have swooned. If its low profile doesn't prevent this from becoming common place, its staggeringly high price will. I got mine offline for £450. An absolute bargain, as gorgeous pays for itself in the first five seconds. In summary, this work of art is 'the' quintessential smooth operators mobile phone, and it bothers me not if anyone reading this review buys one or even likes it, as this will make it even more exclusive for me. Thank you.
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Reviewed by Madalin from Romania on 29th Jan 2006
This phone is cool. If you want a good phone... buy the Samsung i300! You won't regret.
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Reviewed by Jo Turnip from UK on 25th Jan 2006
This phone is OK but not as good as sony k750i. Better camera and a radio and costs less. The only good thing about Samsung is memory and u could get an mp3 player with more memory cheaper. I am dissapointed with this phone there are better on the market the k750i is the better choice.
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Reviewed by FRANKIE from BERLIN on 6th Jan 2006
THIS FONE IZ WICKED.GOOD CAMERA N SOUND. I HAV ALWAYS LOVED SAMSUNG ANYWAY.ITS A COOL FONE.LUV YAZ XXX
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Reviewed by Neill from Scotland, UK on 4th Jan 2006
Great features and nice to hold/use - love the scroll wheel and its solid feel ouzes quality! Im on my 2nd one - 1st was full of bugs, software seems slightly different on 2nd but still a few probs so might be handing it back. Biggest pain is the battery life - the standard battery might last 2 days if the phones not really used apart from a few texts and short calls, and I got under a day with the extended battery with quite high usage. If the battery life and bugs were sorted this would be 10/10 phone!
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Reviewed by jamie goldstein from england on 22nd Dec 2005
exellent fone gt it last wk, camera is preety sick quelity the screen is as gd as nokia 6230i, my previous fone was 6230i didn't like that fone at all bst get amsung fones dhey r dar best in dar mrket!! get it
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Reviewed by tara from eire on 17th Dec 2005
this fone is actually quite good and the screen is gr8 but iv had a few problems - the signal isnt the best on it(nokias good 4that.) i really enjoyed the features-gr8 but sumtimes my fone goes off by itself and i dont no whether its 2do with the fact that i dropped it a few weeks ago. i did the same with my nokia but it was working well for years! :) id reccommend this fone 2 anybody just as long as they look after it really well n have a bit more respect 4 it. i love this fone tho and im giving it away 2 a good home. xx goodnite ppl
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