Samsung Mythic SGH-A897 (AT&T)
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"Great phone with very few drawbacks." on by Tombotronic
Pros: The Samsung Mythic offers a large bright screen, highly customizable menus, great clarity, great features. Samsung has the decency to include software and a connection cable.
Cons: Can't change the lock/unlock wallpaper, vibration isn't as intense as it could be.
Summary: First off as a telephone, (remember when that was the prime reason to have one of these?), it has outstanding performance. The clarity on both ends of the call is quite crisp and has a good volume. It is easy to do extensive customizing of the contacts list. Some have complained that you can't port your contacts from outlook, but for the casual user I don't think this is a problem. Some have also complained that the touch screen and menus are sluggish, I think people are trying to compare this to the iphone or ipod touch screens. I don't think this is a fair comparison. For me the screen reacts as well as most any other non smart phone with a touch screen. Any problems can be easily solved with a simple stylus available from any number of sources for less than 5 dollars. The keys on the virtual qwerty pad are large and easy to use. I first tried an LG Xenon and found it nearly impossible to use with my fat fingers. I can finally actually make the most of my texting plan. The camera functions well and comes with a flash. I can't speak to the web or tv service on the phone as I have elected not to purchase the plans to use those features. In every sense this is the best non-smart phone I have ever owned. Perhaps one of the best things about this phone is the accessory package in the box. I have in the past been frustrated by companies that required me to buy expensive software and connection cables to link up to my computer. With this phone it is all included. The software makes it a breeze to transfer photos, music, and ringtones to and from the phone. This is a huge bonus if you have ever struggled to figure out how to do these functions without spending another 75 bucks. It is quite stylish and sleek, coming in only one color, but in the age of cases of all styles and colors this is hardly worth mentioning. I only took 1/2 star off this phone for the fact that one cannot change the lock mode screensavers. The phone will cycle through the preloaded wallpapers. I solve this by pretty much not locking my phone routinely. The second reason for the loss of half a star is the vibration. The vibration on this phone doesn't go as high in intensity as others I have owned. It is a slight drawback, but nothing to really detract from the many great features available on this phone. I have already recommended it to anyone I know who is looking for a new non-smart phone.
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"Great phone. No buyer's remorse here." on by ZenTattoo
Pros: Camera flash, separate headset jack(new for Samsung who previously used the charger port as a headset jack), Voice dialing, easy to use menus, great speaker, good call quality, light...not bulky
Cons: None as of yet
Summary: I bought this phone last week when I upgraded my AT&T plan and I love it. I was a little wary at first since my last phone had a dedicated QWERTY keyboard (BlackJack2)and a non touch screen interface. But I took the leap. I had to recalibrate the virtual keboard which you should always do anyways and I never have any mistypes. The only gripe I had with the virtual keyboard is that the apostrophe key is on a separate symbol keyboard from the alphabet one(there's 3 virtual keyboards total)I use that apostrophe one alot. Other than that I am more than satisfied. I was pleased with the camera flash since my lasst phone didn't have that. Camera quality is good although the colors are a tad washed out but Samsung seems to have that issue on all of their phones. Its better than most though. I have no trouble navigating the 3 menu screens or the 3 home screens. I am also very pleased with the speaker quality and volume since the blackjack2 didn't have a very good speaker. So far every call I've made is very loud and clear. But I haven't made any crazy calls to weird areas so we'll see how that goes later on. I like the fact that you can customize the little widget bar on the lefthand side of the screem to add or remove the widgets that you don't use or don't want showing. I haven't changed my plan yet to be able to utilize the mobile tv apps but I will soon. I'm curious as to how that particular part of the phone does. The 3G network in my area is also not that great so it won't really be able to utilize it to its fullest. All in all I am very happy with the Samsung Mythic and I would definitely recommend it to a friend or anyone really. I have only had it about a week so that might change later on...but for now...LOVE IT!!! I hope this helps anyone looking to buy this phone.
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"Good alternative to expensive data plans." on by ornelas55
Pros: Very responsive resistive screen.
Sleek and light weight design
Good browser
Multiple home screens
$30 unlimited data and messaging package
Voice commands
Customizable menus
Nice Samsung keyboard
Camera with flash
3.5 mm headphone jackCons: Cannont acces windows live without paying $5 monthly mobile email 3.0 fee
A bit slow to transition between screens
Cannot change lock screen wallpapers
Headset could be louder
Cant access some apps without having to go to a sub menu
Lack of AppsSummary: Overall I am very satisfied with this phone. Being my first touchscreen phone I did alot of reasearch and ended up having to mess around with and choose between the HTC Pure and the Samsung Mythic at the AT&T store. I went with the Mythic because of its 3.5 mm jack, easier to use keyboard, and lower price of data plan.
The touch screen is quiet responsive and easy to get a hang of. As of Samsung's Touchwiz UI, well it's not a smartphone and is not designed to be one. So gettting around and organized on the Mythic is not the best experience, but then again I am no business man. Other than that it's simple and fun to use. A feature i really liked was that from your lock screen you can see at a glance if you have any new messages, calls, emails, and social network updates.
The Camera has a LED flash which is very bright and usefull. (PS if you need a flashlight just start recording a video) The media player is simple and easy to use once you add your files to folders in the phone through the computer. It's more organized than adding data to the SD card then inserting into the phone.
The App selection in the AT&T store is dismal and dissapointing. I'll just stick to surfing the web and music to pass time. On that note the Web Browser which is based off Opera is a very nice and capable browser. By the way Nicole Lee I mean no offense but the browser does have multiple zoom settings. (Just hold your finger down on the screen until you see two arrows then move you finger up to zoom in and down to zoom out.). No ones fualt but I suppose they dont send ship new phones with user manuels I had to finger that out myself. Also mobile web and the browser are not the same thing. To get to the browser go to the Apps icon on you menu.
For some reason you cannot sign into your windows live account to check your e-mail without subscribing to AT&T's mobile e-mail 3.0 service which is an extra $5 monthly. I found this dissapointing but it's still cheaper than paying an iPhone data plan or other smartphone data plan.
Battery life is pretty good I've spent the greater part of a 24 hour day web browsing, texting, and am now listening to music and have only worked through 1/5 bars. O yes my probably biggest gripe with this phone is that when you light up the then screen while locked it randomly goes through pictures that you cannot change. The pictures are nice and bright which show off the screens array of colors and sharpness but i'm not a big fan of having flowers and butterflies as my background. I can only hope samsung addresses this later.
Overall this a great "multimedia" phone. This phone plays its role very well and then some. AT&T's social net is great for keeping up with myspace facebook and twitter simultaneously, but AT&T or Samsung needs to bring out some more apps. If you reallly seek productivity or just really dont care about prices then go ahead and spend the extra cash. -
"Great Cell Phone For Price!" on by graciegirl11
Pros: large 3.3" touch screen
Widgets
Mobile Tv
Gps
Good Sound QualityCons: Sluggish at times on internet
Summary: I love this phone! I got it 2 weeks ago and I am really happy with my choice. I wanted an iPhone but wasn't willing to spend $30 on a data plan each month and I think this is a great substitution if you don't want a large phone bill. The internet was a little sluggish at times but the rest is GREAT. I really urge you to buy this phone if you want a large touch scree, tons of apps and widgets, good call quality and so much more!
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"Nicest multimedia phone for the money on the market" on by vvsood
Pros: I like that it has all the laterst features like iPhone. I especially like that a data plan is not required.
Cons: New as of January 2010, not many accessories available in stores.
Summary: For the price, it is the best phone for basic browing of web, emails and keeping in-touch through social networking sites.
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