Samsung SPH-i500
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 13, 1969 in Suwon, South Korea |
| Headquarters | Suwon , South Korea |
| Products | Smartphones, electronics |
| Website | www |
The Samsung SPH-i500 is a smartphone operating on the Palm OS platform, developed by Samsung Electronics and introduced in 2002 before being discontinued in August 2005. Released for the U.S. market, it was designed to operate on Sprint's CDMA network. The device featured a clamshell form factor, with a 160×240 color screen positioned on the upper half and a Graffiti input area alongside a telephone keypad located on the lower half.
Functioning like a typical Palm OS handheld, the phone incorporated dedicated keys to launch the phone application for call handling. Users had the ability to multitask by accessing other applications during active calls. While it supported Graffiti handwriting recognition, the handset did not enable SMS message sending but was capable of receiving texts.
Included with the device were an additional battery and a stylus. Its power cable served dual purposes—as a travel charger and as part of the provided cradle, which could charge both the primary phone battery and the spare simultaneously. However, frequently swapping batteries carried the risk of resetting the device and potentially erasing stored user information.
Specifications
- CPU: Dragonball running at 66 MHz
- Weight: 130 grams
- OS: Palm OS version 4.1
- Memory: 16 MB RAM
Applications
The pre-installed software combined standard Palm OS utilities with communication tools for voice and data. Handspring’s Blazer web browser and Voice Memo were included, whereas Palm OS Note Pad was not part of the package. After production ceased, Sprint substituted Blazer with Novarra’s nweb browser until its proxy service termination in 2008.
Standard Palm OS applications:
| Address |
| Calculator |
| Date Book |
| Graffiti Input |
| Expense Manager |
| Memo Pad |
| Preferences |
| Security Settings |
| To Do List |
| Welcome Screen |
Communication-oriented software:
| Blazer (web browser) |
| Email Client |
| Messaging |
| Phone Dialer |
| Speed Dialing |
| Voice Dialing |
| Voice Memos |
| Voicemail Access |
It is important to note that the Voicemail application acted as an alias within the Messages app rather than operating as an independent program.
History
The SPH-i500 marked the final Palm OS smartphone to utilize a clamshell design combined with Graffiti input, uniquely featuring its display on the top section and input controls below. Subsequent models transitioned to a traditional brick-style design with integrated keypads. Samsung had intended to release a successor model, the SPH-i550, which would have offered multimedia enhancements; however, this project was ultimately canceled by Sprint.
Reviews
CNET awarded the SPH-i500 a score of 4 out of 5, commending its successful fusion of Palm PDA functionality with mobile phone features while pointing out its premium cost and absence of an expansion slot. PCMag also rated it 4 out of 5, applauding its smooth integration of PDA and phone capabilities with few compromises. Mobile Tech Review likewise provided favorable evaluations.