If you're a Sprint subscriber and are looking for an alternative to Palm's Treo or Motorola's Q, the Samsung IP-830w could just be your new smartphone.

Out of the box, the IP-830w lets you browse the Internet, use Microsoft's Mobile versions of Word, Excel, and Power Point, view PDF files, manage tasks, calendar and contacts. Browsing the Internet was relatively smooth, although sometimes it gave me a "lost connection" message despite reporting 3 bars of signal strength. It also comes with a USB cable, so that you can use phone as a modem for your laptop. I especially like how Windows Mobile manages the calendar and contacts, though maybe it could be little fancier in design.  However, considering the target market of the phone is definitely business-minded, it may not a problem; it allows you to put all the information you might ever need, and more. I certainly don't need to carry a diary with me any more and will never forget someone's birthday. Should you want to install extra
software the internal memory can be added to via SD card (not included). 

Equipped with Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, the IP-830w will happily play music and videos; don't, however, expect it to be your primary DAP. The sound quality is just not sufficient for listening to music or watching videos on an extended basis. 

With the IP-830w it's an easy matter to keep up with your email. You can access Yahoo!, AOL and MSN webmail, and GoodLink for secure real-time corporate mail is pre-installed. It also supports Microsoft Direct Push email. MSN messenger performed well, and having a QWERTY keyboard is certainly easier than trying to use handwriting recognition.

One thing is very obvious about the IP-830w: this phone is not for the "young and hip" market, it's a serious phone intended for business. Neither is it the perfect phone, but its performance was overall pretty good. If you're a person who wants (or needs) to stay
productive all of the time and be connected anywhere, Samsung's IP-830w should certainly be on your shortlist. Priced at $799.99, with instant rebate and mail-in rebate you can get it for $499.99 on Sprint's website.

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