Design
It's a testament to the success of RIM's Blackberry that we can describe an entire subset of mobile phones as being "Blackberry clones". The C730 is yet another entry in the category, and in the important design stakes it does quite well. There are few surprises; a tiny thumb-operable keyboard beneath a five way selector and a 2.4 inch display screen. The right hand side of the C730 houses a touch-sensitive panel that acts as a virtual scroll wheel, Blackberry style. There's no touchscreen to deal with (and thus no stylus). The C730 is nicely slim for a smartphone in this category at only 13.5mm thick, although like the rest of its kin, it's still a physically large phone that won't suit every pocket.
Features
The C730's core specifications read like a who's who of desirable tech acryonyms, at least for the geeky crowd. It's a 3G phone with HSDPA support, along with 802.11g and Bluetooth wireless, Windows Mobile 6, HTML mail support, and 2.0 megapixel camera, all running on a 400MHz Samsung processor with 64MB of RAM and 128MB of RAM. Simply put, the C730 can be put to pretty much any business task (and even a few less enterprise-centric functions) -- but does it do them well?
Performance
Sadly, the answer to that question is "no".
It's not that the C730 doesn't try hard or that the core technology underlying it isn't capable -- in fact, the C730 is undeniably a technically very attractive phone. It's simply that it's hampered by some very poor interface and control decisions that make using this particular smartphone far more annoying than it really should be -- and critically, more annoying than competing models from other manufacturers.
For a start, the main keyboard is very small indeed, with very indistinct buttons. That's a flaw that a number of this type of smartphones have suffered from. Combine that with the flimsy-feeling directional controller and things get worse. Where the C730 really falls over, however, is the control strip that forms a virtual scroll wheel on the side. We get what Dopod/HTC were going for with the control strip -- there's no shortage of people who dislike RIM's move to "Pearl" trackballs for its consumer Blackberry models and long for models with side-mounted scroll wheels. The problem that the C730 has is that people long for the scroll wheels because they work, and work well, but the C730's virtual version doesn't. It's twitchy, hard to accurately control and far too prone to accidentally activating itself when you're just holding the phone, turning your attempts to launch messenger into an accidental phone call to your boss, who then hears nothing but you swearing at your phone for a couple of minutes until you realise the problem.
The lack of a touchscreen on an icon-driven interface has also led the C730 into a curious position, where some menu items can either be scrolled directly with the virtual strip (if you're very patient) or the directional pad (if you're not), or skipped with a number press. While you're still learning the layout, however, it's difficult to work out which works better -- and arguably none of them do.
There are other less troubling problems with the C730, although again they're not unique among the Blackberry clone set. The small keys make actual phone dialling quite difficult. This isn't a problem for dialling contacts, but we struggled with inputting new numbers, and we'd hate to have to dial anything in a hurry or after a few swift ales.
The 2.0 megapixel camera is looking distinctly quaint against the new guard of 3.2 megapixel equipped camera models. There's no secondary camera, either, which puts 3G video calling out of the equation. There's also no GPS functionality, or headphone socket either -- you'll either need a USB or Bluetooth Stereo headset to take advantage of the inbuilt Media Player 10 Mobile software.
Ultimately, the C730 is something of a case study in how to take great and interesting technology and then make it irrelevant through poor interface design.
rusty
20/05/2008, 08:28 PM
rating
6/10
I have a C &30. Your review is very accurate.
How do I increase the key pad light illumination time. It annoys the ^^%$@! out of me as it switches off after only a few seconds.
Cons: Key pad background illumination unable to change?
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jumpmanjordan23
28/04/2008, 10:16 PM
rating
10/10
got this phone for 1 month now. so far it's great, esp the wifi. every pda phone has its downside, but with this phone i know i will get used to it. love it so far.
Pros: wifi connection is great
internet browsing is great just like having a mini pc
stylish, corporate looking, sleek
Cons: battery life
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boothegoo
11/02/2008, 12:47 AM
rating
9/10
Its a great smart phone and very reliable, the only issue it does have are just the usual problems with smartphones and not unique to just this model.
All camera's without flash take poor pictures is poor light, that is a given. but in good light it will take a nice picture.
WM6 is extreamly reliable. I have never needed to reset it.
I have never had a call drop out ever. I have had the phone for over 4 months now.
The included battery is not great, but no smart phone has good battery life because of all the features they make avaliable to you. Wifi, bluetooth, 3G, HSPDA, large LCD screens are all big drains on battery life so its understandable why the battery will only last 1-2 day with moderate use.
I solved the battery issue by purchasing a higher capacity battery off ebay. Its 2200mAh and provides me with 3-5 days modrate to heavy usage. Yes the battery is larger and makers the phone bulkier but I am more than happy to make that sacrafice for the brilliant extended battery life I get. I have had this new battery for 4 months too so I can vouch for its reliability as well.
So over all this is a truely great smart phone, that offers a great range of high end features.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions that i havent covered already. I know how hard it can be to pick a smartphone before testing it yourself. lamclaughlan2@gmail.com
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koolace
04/02/2008, 10:24 AM
rating
3/10
I've used this phone for over 6 months now. I'm disappointed with it but if Dopod addresses the following Cons I'd buy one again.
Pros: 1. Slim
2. Keys small but predictive text makes it ok
3. Windows Mobile 6
4. Form factor
Cons: 1. Extremely poor battery life (3-4 hours on 3g network)
2. Drops calls
3. The scroll wheel is terrible
4. Terrible pics with camera
5. Voice reco simply doesn't work
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pdafanatical
04/01/2008, 07:42 PM
rating
7/10
Not a bad unit.. We did some serious testing of this model but despite it being a great little screen, the ROM build was a little early meaning it had some battery life challenges. We ended up fitting out the team with Dopod 838Pro units and have been very happy indeed with the Dopod 838Pro solution. Grabbed the last batch for $675 (half price) from www.pressdigital.com.au - so can't complain about the price either.
Pros: Great form factor
Cons: Battery life could be bettery but that's the price you pay for "tiny technology"
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cellinaction
18/12/2007, 02:41 AM
rating
10/10
It's a great phone. Don't worry about this review! You won't be dissapointed.
Pros: Everything!
Cons: None.
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Rayven
08/12/2007, 09:31 PM
rating
3/10
Brought this phone due to work but it always hang on me and after i do a reboot, it still hang at time.
Cons: Poor Battery life span, bad programming.
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aliddy
07/12/2007, 06:19 AM
rating
7/10
I bought this a month ago when my phone stopped working. Phone quality is great, most functions work well, frustrated with battery life and web browsing.
Pros: Wifi
screen is great
phone functions great
Cons: battery life poor
camera response slow
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Angry Dopod user.
28/11/2007, 07:29 PM
rating
2/10
Totally horrible phone!
Pros: Voice activation.
Cons: Everything else. Horrible battery life, keypad, scrollpad, no touch screen, can't do half the things it's advertised to do properly. Would NEVER buy a Dopod again!
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Leonlevah
26/09/2007, 07:44 PM
rating
6/10
My compny has issued these to the sales staff to keep us connected with the email, internet, etc. Functionlly it all works Ok, although as a windows based product you still need to do the odd re-start when it stops working. The keys are a pain to use but I'm geting faster at it. the voice activation is frustrating, works OK in the quet office or home but has problems when you're driving to clearly hear you (which is when you really need it).
Pros: Voice activation (in quiet environment).
Does what it is supposed to do (connectability)
Cons: The keys.
The scroll pad ( I turned it off)
Poor Manual
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