Samsung Eternity (AT&T)

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.