Advice please, should i buy this i617?

[Guest brinstar]

I have got a 2nd chance on ebay for a Samsung i617. The price is almost £150 (almost the same as what i paid for my i600 a good few months back). I notice the i617 doesnt have wifi. i don't use it that much on my i600 but i like having it there when i do need it. what do u guys think of the price? is it worth it? i was quite keen at first, but im having 2nd thoughts after seeing the wifi's gone.

edit: just noticed in the 2nd chance offer, he's asking for £200. i'm pretty sure thats against ebays policy and i am reporting him. i'll wait for the i780 like i had already planned :)

Edited February 5, 2008 by brinstar

[Guest eman006]

I have got a 2nd chance on ebay for a Samsung i617. The price is almost £150 (almost the same as what i paid for my i600 a good few months back). I notice the i617 doesnt have wifi. i don't use it that much on my i600 but i like having it there when i do need it. what do u guys think of the price? is it worth it? i was quite keen at first, but im having 2nd thoughts after seeing the wifi's gone.

edit: just noticed in the 2nd chance offer, he's asking for £200. i'm pretty sure thats against ebays policy and i am reporting him. i'll wait for the i780 like i had already planned :)

the i780 looks like a winner. I wish that I woul've waited. 2.55" screen with joystick / mouse pointer? Nice.

[Guest Sed8ed]

HELL YEAH!!!!.....

But seriously I really like it. I have owned a few phones. I have put a bit of effort into getting it the way I want because some of the things I needed were not included in the ROM. Now that all that has been squared away I do believe it seriously is a good phone.

Pro's:

*Stable Rom (exceedingly important for me)

*Heaps of Tweaks and Info available

*GPS is a winner for me (not for some...but I have it working A+)

*Really crisp screen

*Is a simple device to use and takes no effort to make calls and retrieve emails..

(in my book this is as it should be when the device is primarily designed fo calls)

*Great Data speeds

*Fits in my pocket like no phone before it LOL..(well except the old monochrome Nokia's..

and maybe my Nokia N73)

*Great bluetooth stack..(I have connected to a few devices and havent had constant dropout's or

disconnection issues...This isnt the same for everyone..many have complained of issues with

bluetooth headphones but this isnt something I have tried or used...

*The Red one is soooo cool...

*Has good community support since release....(something I craved after I purchased it as initially

*Light Weight...I think it has good construction despite a fe reviews saying it's flimsy plastic. I dont see

this as the light weight doesnt mean it's made poorly in my opinion.

*Dedicated numbers on the qwerty keyboard..this is what I craved after owning a TYTN. Touch pad dialling really sucks for me. If I wanted to dial a number I didnt have quickly it was literally a hit and miss affair with the TYTN (AT&T 8525).

Con's

*No wifi...(this would have killed it for me...peeerfect!!!!! but I can live without it)

*Will take no time to reach EOL.....(end of life).....I dont see many updates coming out for this device

in the future....

*Bit of a cut down carrier ROM..could have been much better IMHO....but it works and is stable

*Fingerprint magnet...but I love the glossy look.......it's slick.

*Price has dropped since I purchased it...getting cheaper all the time. If you have the chance to get it make sure it's really cheap...as it's going to get cheaper in no time.

*GPS really kills the battery...It should have come with a car charger as standard..(I'm dreaming!!!)

*Quite a bit of work to get it the way it should have been from the start..ICS isnt enabled by default, GPS is setup by carrier (AT&T in my case) to really only work with telenav...but with a little help

from your local mobile community you'll be a pro in no time and have it set up flawlessly.

*Unlocking the device can be hit and miss!! Lots of people have had a few goes to get it right...it really shouldnt be this hard. Then again if they followed threads page by page they would understand there is

a system that gets gauranteed results first time.

There's probably more but I cant list them all....this is based on my use and how I feel regarding this device. It may not be the view of others or an accurate account of the device. Feel free to take what you want as a guide......

[Guest su6oxone]

*Unlocking the device can be hit and miss!! Lots of people have had a few goes to get it right...it really shouldnt be this hard. Then again if they followed threads page by page they would understand there is

a system that gets gauranteed results first time.

Sed8ed,

I agree with all of your pros and cons. Also, I think that despite the few cons, that the BJ2 is a killer smartphone, almost perfect. Everything that I wanted the BJ1 to be able to do but couldn't, the BJ2 does and does pretty well.

But regarding the unlocking, I've been having problems with that too! I got it off ebay, and it works great, and I got an unlock code from AT&T, but it doesn't work. Guess I'll search for the proper way to do it, but any pointers on what the main issue is?

By the way, I downloaded your Garmin Mobile XT stuff from IP-mart and finally got it working, it's truly awesome and much better than copilot 6 that I used on the i607. Thanks for the great tutorial/resources!

[Guest palehose]

I have got a 2nd chance on ebay for a Samsung i617. The price is almost £150 (almost the same as what i paid for my i600 a good few months back). I notice the i617 doesnt have wifi. i don't use it that much on my i600 but i like having it there when i do need it. what do u guys think of the price? is it worth it? i was quite keen at first, but im having 2nd thoughts after seeing the wifi's gone.

edit: just noticed in the 2nd chance offer, he's asking for £200. i'm pretty sure thats against ebays policy and i am reporting him. i'll wait for the i780 like i had already planned :)

If WiFi isn't that important to you, then go for it. It's a great phone, and I love everything about it, except...no WiFi.

I really wish I would have went elsewhere to ensure that I got WiFi. This was my first smartphone, so I didn't think it would be that important. Being a college student, a data plan isn't really realistic for me, and having access to WiFi everywhere on campus would have been perfect. Too bad, I guess, but I'm still kicking myself.

[Guest Sed8ed]

No wifi is a bummer but not the end of the world....I am pretty happy with the one off data packs my provider supplies. Basically I call them and enable it for the month. The pack gets added to my bill (all $12.00 of it for 100mb) and then I am off. I basically use ICS to share the phones internet over BT......so no need for wifi for me. The only drawback for me is that it takes 4-6 hours to be turned on and I have to plan ahead if I really want to use it.....and I also have to be in a 3g zone the whole time or I get charged roaming rates..$1.69 a MB...thats massive. If I am interstate I am not always sure I can get 3G....sometimes the suburb I stay in is on the fringe...so WIFI would be nice but not entirely necessary for me. It wont be long and a micro SD wifi unit will be manufactured and available. The spectec card listed here has never eventuated but someone else will make it...

http://www.spectec.com.tw/sdw823.htm

It was earmarked for release this month 2008 but it's nowhere to be seen........it's been speculated about for ages but not a single working unit has been reviewed. Would be great if they do come out, Wifi on the BJII will make it complete. Even without it it's still an amazing phone.