Samsung Intercept user reviews (Virgin Mobile)

Pros I cannot think of any pros for this phone, except that I don't have a contract so I can get rid of it.

Cons All cons. I will sell this as soon as I can afford a new phone. After this I'm scared to try another android phone as this one just does not work. Its not even easy to make phone calls on this (though no dropped calls on Virgins network).

Summary If you like to get frustrated and swear at your phone a lot, this samsung intercept is for you. I love my samsung tvs and monitors, but I'll never buy another of their phones.

Non responsive, buttons are super finicky, it seems to randomly do stuff, even sent a blank email responsive to work once. Applications constantly hang, if I shut it down to reset it, 75 % of the time I have to remove the battery to get it to turn back on and occasionally have to plug it into my computer to get it to start even though it had 75-100% charge on the battery. Occasionally the lock screen wont start up. Don't buy this phone! Sometimes there are connectivity issues, but I'm not sure if they are this horrible phone or with Virgins network. Oddly enough, if I tether to it the web pages load fairly quickly on my pc but horribly slow on the phone itself. The screen not great and after owning it over three months it is really too small to be productive. And there is a useless thumb button taking up space on it as well. I watched a few web reviews on youtube that said the intercept was decent, but it is just horrible. Based on the overall slowless of the system and the argurments between vendors and manufacturers about getting paid to roll out newer versions of Android I have a feeling this will be stuck at 2.2 permanently. It can't run 2.2, how is it going to run a new version of Android.

Pros -Phone price
-OS
-Plan price
-Internet connectivity
-Simplicity

Cons -Screen could be a bit bigger
-Camera's mediocre
-Lags when you run too many apps at the same time

Summary I don't want to say what's been said before, so I'm keeping this short.

I bought this when it went on sale at BestBuy for $180 before taxes. With the stock OS, it was kind of slow and often crashed. I followed the root/flash guide on XDA forums and found that it ran MUCH MUCH faster on the revised OS rom. So word of advice: If you want to get the best bang for buck, make sure to root and flash your phone. I'm told that the revised Android 2.1 ROM for Sprint Intercepts is faster than Sprint's own 2.2 Froyo upgrade. I expect a revised 2.2 Froyo upgrade for Virgin Mobile to produce even more performance boosts.

2. The screen is only 3.2", but you get used to it pretty quickly. The phone as a result of the smaller dimensions slips into my pocket very easily. I can use pinch and zoom to surf my favorite websites and I occasionally check facebook or yelp locations.

3. The camera is a bit mediocre. I would definitely bring my own point and shoot camera on long trips.

4. Internet connectivity is usually at least ok. In the SF area, I can check facebook and surf the web with little trouble. Virgin Mobile USA after its acquisition by Sprint uses Sprint's towers.

5. GPS connectivity is usually good, though on the way to the LAX airport, I lost my connection for about 5 minutes. Make sure you have a rough idea of how to get somewhere!

6. The processor isn't the fastest and the RAM isn't the most. This is why I highly recommend apps like Advanced Task Killer and Quick Task Killer to keep the # of apps low and thus your memory conserved. You want to maintain decent performance and battery life.

7. Keyboard's nice to have. Not much to say except that with Swype not being available, ScribeIT is your alternative, and the keyboard really helps for writing long texts.

Bottom line: This is the best bang for buck for Virgin Mobile. I hear VM might pick up an Optimus phone. If you need the keyboard, I'd say pick this baby up and root/flash it. If not, the Optimus S phone they're talking about sounds compelling.

Otherwise, I'm really happy with this phone. $25/month for 300 minutes and unlimited text/data can't be beaten.

Pros for $25 a month and unlimited data / msgs what's not to like? the phone has great voice quality (better than my ex iPhone) and data works in NYC... and I can access all Android apps!

Cons It's not free and does not use GSM.... (Can not use overseas)

Summary I save $70/month vs Verizon and AT&T.. and no contract... thank you Richard Branson.

Pros Phone is light
Has Excellent feel
Access to all Android apps, being on Virgin Mobile
Rather fast processor

Cons The Biggest Con of the phone would have to be the haptic keys and the optical trackball. Also there is no lock key at the top, and you must constantly press what is the power off button to lock and unlock; which can be confusing for the beginners.

Summary Virgin Mobile lucked out with getting this phone, but there are issues when the internet for the company goes down, and it takes sometimes up to 4-5 hours to get internet again. Other than those minor cons, the phone is an excellent choice for a person who is not in need of an obnoxious large phone, that still carries the same apps, with pretty much good speed.