Version: 2008
  • On TV.com: BATTLESTAR Galactica Maxim Photoshoot
advertisement

Samsung Eternity (AT&T)

3 of 118

Full user review

  • 19 out of 24 people found this review helpful

    4.5 stars

    "Great phone, great features."

    by obusteven on November 30, 2008

    Pros: Smoothness of operating system, ease of navigation, sound profiles, both a qwerty keypad and a dialing pad to use in texting and dialing. Media Net is fast, integrated music player and traditional headphone jack.

    Cons: No way to customize screensaver (you can customize wallpaper), no customization of items on the menu. No speed dial. Many monthly costs for app service.

    Summary: My main goal in switching to ATT from Sprint was to find a phone and plan that was affordable, yet modern in technology. After looking at nearly every phone for ATT and spending an insane amount of time on CNET listening to Bonnie and Nicole, I decided on the Eternity.

    The smoothness of the operating system reminds me of the iPhone as does the user interface. I like the taskbar on the side of the wallpaper, but it does take some getting used to. I did like being able to take widgets off, but there is no way to customize widgets a particular app you want to use.

    The user interface is not as smooth as the iPhone, but blows Windows Mobile and other phones like the LG Vu out of the water.

    In spite of what Ken said in his review, you CAN input e-mail addresses and recipients in the qwerty mode. It is not just up to the dial pad.

    There is a very small learning curve for this phone. Basic users should be able to pick the phone up and immediately start using it without a problem. If you are switching from a non-touch screen phone you will have to get used to touching a screen instead of buttons.

    The phone book holds a ton of information but Samsung left out speed dial. Instead I have to assign people as favorites and go in two menus to find a number. That part is not really convenient. If there is a way around this to get speed dial, somebody please let me know.

    Many of the apps you have to pay monthly service fees for. However, with ATT you do not have to have a data package on this phone. In my opinion, this is where the Eternity beats the iPhone. If you are wanting the iPhone but don't want the data package, then this is a great alternative for you.

    Battery life so far is good; I have only had it one day, but I will follow up with more information.

    The phone feels very solid in hand and call quality and speakerphone quality has been great. Add to that the ability to reject the calls automatically from those people in your life you cannot stand and you got yourself a great phone!

    I would recommend it to anyone!

    Updated on Dec 4, 2008

    After having the phone a little less than a week, here are my thoughts.

    Touchscreen and interface has become a little sluggish over the week. Don't know if this is a user issue or a phone issue.

    Buttons are not as responsive as normal. It takes multiple firm presses to get the phone to respond.

    Lack of speed dial is very frustrating. You cannot make calls without focusing on the screen intently. For voicemail, you open the dial pad and hold 1. They need that feature for other callers as well.

    Alarm clock isn't loud enough to wake me up.

    No true silent feature. You can set the phone to silent but it still vibrates. Not good for my Tom Cruise Mission Impossible endeavors.

    Battery life is so-so. I could probably get 1 1/2 days out of a single charge. I am an average user.

    Camera is great. Multitude of features and the pictures look good.

    Music player is impressive. Had no trouble transferring files from my computer and listening to them. 3.5 jack is awesome.

    Updated on Dec 22, 2008

    I had this phone for almost a month and the lack of Speed Dial killed me. It was simply too hard to make calls to people that were buried in the address book. I drive alot and was not able to make a simple call by looking at the screen or hitting a number.

    Also, as I went along, I noticed that the touch screen became less responsive. Many times in the last week it would take 2 or 3 touches for it to register and take me into the appropriate menu.

    The T9 function on this phone was very hard to use. Many times it would insert words and letters that I had not typed because of the T9 input. It's like T9 met 1984.

    I still like the phone, but the main reason for the switch was the lack of speed dial and despite the promise of an update, getting no answer from Samsung as to when that update would occur.

    Music quality is top notch, I loved that aspect of the phone, but if you don't need speed dial and if you are not dependent on an actual keyboard it will be a great phone.

    Was this review helpful? YES | NO

    Reply to this review

  • 6 replies to this review
  • reply by: avirginiagirl04 on April 13, 2009

    to get the silent feature of the phone in the sound profile click on the one that says silent then click on vibration under call alert type and there is a mute selection there. there is a mute setting under the message selection to. under message alert type. you have to change both call and message to this mute function

  • reply by: mcgoonm on March 10, 2009

    was looking forward to getting this phone with my upgrade. however, curious how do you handle using different screens for alpha and numbers. don't understand this. also how do you handle no speed dial? thanks for your help..

  • reply by: Jouten_Za on January 3, 2009

    Try getting the Blue Ant V1 bluetooth headset. It has voice dial built in. It's an awesome feature.

    Also try re-calibrating your screen. That might help.

    A thing about your comment regarding the Silent Mode. You can set the vibration to 0 by using the volume rocker switch on the side and tapping on the 'vibration' tab to the right of volume tab. You can set it from 0 to 4.

    I really liked your initial review, but it seems like you did not try to learn more about the phone before completely knocking the product. But hey, that's your prerogative and I can understand that.

    I wish you the best with your new phone and am also interested in what you decided to get.

    Thanks for your time and efforts to inform us with your experience with the phone :)

  • reply by: ohnoezdx on December 25, 2008

    what phone do you have now?

  • reply by: darkpoet25 on December 18, 2008

    BraiYun a data plan allows for unlimited texting, e-mail, and looking up the internet. Without a data plan, you will be charged per killobyte.

  • reply by: BraiYun on December 17, 2008

    I'm about to get this phone either tomorrow or on friday, since my dad ordered it online.
    but I have a question.
    What is a data plan? Thanks.

Write review Back to product review See all 118 reviews

Submit your review

Log in or create an account to submit your review for:

Samsung Eternity (AT&T)

ORLog in with your Facebook account
1. Rate this product:
(Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.)
0 of 5000 characters

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks are prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

Submit

Compare prices for Samsung Eternity

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Email me when this product is available

advertisement

Compare this cell phone to: