Samsung i830 on Sprint – No WM5 For You… Yet (Updated)

While Sprint will soon be carrying the international-roaming Samsung i830, it will not come out with an anticipated update. The Sprint version of the Samsung i830 will initially launch without Windows Mobile 5.0, and will instead carry Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition.



Presumably, Samsung can tap the same firmware process that they have used to update the i730 to Windows Mobile 5.0. The Samsung i730 and i830 carry the same hardware, trading a camera for international GSM roaming. Verizon’s version of the i830 also does not yet have Windows Mobile 5.0.

In related news, Sprint has discontinued sales of the PPC-6601, their previous non-camera Windows Mobile offering. This indicates that the Samsung i830 is about to launch, as corporate customers require a non-camera Windows Mobile device. HTC chose to not upgrade any devices in the PPC-6600’s family to Windows Mobile 5, and replacing it with the i830 will provide users with a more logical upgrade path to the latest version of Windows Mobile.

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Update: Several sources (both in our forums and directly to PCS Intel) have confirmed they are testing Windows Mobile 5.0 versions of the i830. Samsung documents continue to state Windows Mobile 2003SE, however, such documents may not reflect recent engineering decisions. It is also possible Sprint/Samsung are seeding units with WM5 Update pre-installed, willing to fall back to 2003SE if testing is not successful. Sprint continues to not comment on which version will ship with the device.