Pros • GPS-ready, but location-based services not available
• Each caller can be assigned a specific ringtone
• Nice games
Cons • Not 3G ready
• The flip cover makes using the keyboard uncomfortable
• No SMS short messages services, just one way paging
The Bottom Line - Nothing to rave about so far (we'll see how Sprint's location-based services work), but the Samsung SCH-N300 is an acceptable phone
"A Cell Phone That Knows Where You Are"
One of the latest Samsung cell phones, the SCH-N300 has a new feature for the United States market. With its built-in GPS receiver (GPS stands for "Global Positionning System") it can determine your exact position on earth and offer you location-based web services: for instance, restaurants in your area, special deals offered by a shop around the corner, and so on. This is done in conjunction with a service offered by Sprint PCS but Sprint currently only offers it in Rhode Island on a first trial basis, and will eventually roll out the service nationwide. The main use of the GPS service, at first, will be to help rescue services locate you more precisely when you call 911.
This makes the SCH-N300 a good safety phone, but what about the rest? No special revolution here: it has a form factor similar to the former N200 with virtually the same basic but efficient software (plus a function that lets you turn the GPS feature on and off). A few details dissapointed me. For some reason, this phone doesn't have an SMS (Short message) function. It can receive what Samsung calls "web paging" but you can't send your own text messages to another cell phone user, for instance.
Samsung
