Introduction
So why is the popularity for this phone still up? Well, here’s the low down. This is one of the few smart phones you can get for Verizon without having to deal with the additional fee that will cost you if you get a Blackberry, etc. Verizon requires this fee and can’t be avoided if you get a smart phone. So why pay more monthly when you can get a good phone without paying extra? Let’s take a closer look at the phone by first examining the general look of the phone.

Aesthetics/Design (9/10)
Unlike most touch screen phones, the Samsung i760 comes with a hardkey dial pad and directional pad from the get-go. It definitely is a contributing factor to decreasing the the screen size, but with Windows Mobile ever lagging phone program, having a dial pad is definitely a big plus. Also, since resistive touch screens are not so accurate, we have to deal with the inaccurate typing of numbers if this phone didn’t have a dial pad. On the other hand, a huge con of this phone is the fact that the screen is debossed (lower than the border of the screen). This is very bad for people that have big fingers because the only way you’ll exit out of the program you are in is to press the X button that sits at the corner and it’s really tough. Every thing feels solid though and the after having dropped it several times and chucking it at a wall, it works just fine. Also, the spring mechanism that opens up the QWERTY keyboard also gets a bit loose after a lot of use, but it still is as sturdy as it always is. Next we take a look at the packaging and what comes in it.

Unboxing & Accessories (9.5/10)
This is an aspect that the i760 shines very well in. It comes with an AC adapter for regular outlets, AC adapter for cars, regular battery and extended battery. No phone now-a-days come with that many accessories. I mean, who includes an extended battery and a thin regular one just so people can choose whether they want that weight difference. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like that much of a difference, but you can really feel the difference when you hold it. Samsung did a great job thinking about the consumer needs. The only thing it doesn’t come with is a pouch or bag. But that’s ok, it’s not essential.

Windows Mobile & Customization (2/10)
Oh, Microsoft. When will you learn to improve your OS. It’s not that the OS is bad, well, I guess it’s terrible. Windows Mobile is operated so inefficiently, that it really limits the phone’s functionality. Here’s a phone that has great features, yet because Windows Mobile runs on it, it lags terribly. Sure overclocking programs make it significantly better, but then battery life suffers somewhat. Windows Mobile 6.1 and it’s threaded sms is a great add on, but in the long run, when texting and sending e-mails, the lags becomes a real hassle. The phone starts to lag more and more as time passes by and memory leaks consume the phone. By that time, you have no choice but to restart your phone and restart all of the customized programs that you have installed.

So here is a list of programs that I think are worth checking out for the i760:
- Pocket Hack Master (for overclocking the phone)
- iContact, iDialier (iPhone-esque contact list)
- Memsoft MemClean (cleans up the memory leaks on a scheduled basis)
- dcinobar (to hide the softkeys on the bottom of the today screen)
- SPB Plus (allows the x button on the top right corner to actually exit the program instead of minimizing it)

Here is also a video to my Youtube video that goes over everything in the Customization visually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7HItjqKa3g

Conclusion
All in all, the Samsung i760 is a phone that has everything but a GPS chip and FM radio tuner. Besides that, the keyboard and the feel of the phone is great. It’ll withstand the terrible beatings that anyone could possibly give it, unless you smash it with a hammer or something unreasonable. The screen looks beautiful and if you want a good bang for the buck, this is the way to go. Here is a short list of pros and cons for the phone in summary.

Final Verdict: !Real Hot!