the sprint ip-830 does, but he must have the verizon 830 called the i730 which first ran wm2003SE and can be upgraded to wm5

I believe it is the i830 (that's what the box said) because it is the phone with GSM also (which I believe the i730 doesn't have). You are correct in that it is a Verizon phone.

Anyone have a clue how to upgrade this thing? I don't mind paying for an upgrade if I know it'll work.

Sigh...all this for threaded SMS.

great forum you should catch up on: http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/samsung-i730-i830-i830w

this upgrade was for the i730 but should work for the i830: http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/samsu...-download.html