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42 out of 57 people found this review helpful
1.0 stars
"SCH-A950 Review- Phone Misses the Mark. Software is poorly implemented."
Pros: Stereo Speakers, 1.3MP camera, Nice looking, basic calling functions work
Cons: MP3 software, interconnectivity, overall usability, user interface, bluetooth support lacking
Summary: Samsung SCH-A950 Review by Matt Hoffman
The Samsung SCH-A950 is one of the worst implemented pieces of technology I have seen in recent years. The hardware has a whole list of nice features including stereo speakers, 1.5 megapixel camera, and bluetooth, but the software has been hobbled and poorly implemented by Verizon and Samsung.
As a phone, it works fine. It receives calls, it makes calls. Reception is acceptable (though not as good as the Samsung SCH-A530). The antenna is buried in the head of the phone which can be cool unless you hold the phone too high up and block the signal. This review will concentrate on those features which separate this phone from the run-of-the-mill $50/free cell phones.
User Interface
The user interface is very minimal with pull down menus instead of a graphical user interface. Many of the menu items are not in logical places. For instance, the menu for playing mp3 files is buried two levels down under a menu called, for no logical reason, "Get It Now". The user must go to this illogically named menu then into a submenu called "Get Tones & Tunes" then into a sub sub menu called "My MP3s". Alternately, you can go into the main menus, then into "Settings and Tools" and then to "Tools" and then to "MP3 Player". The MP3 playing feature is essentially hidden from the user on a phone that Samsung calls the "MP3 Maestro". There is a button on the outside of the phone that can be held down for two seconds to play MP3 files, and it allows you to use the jog wheel to select and play a single song. A single song only, you can't pick multiple songs and the "MP3 Maestro" does not have play lists(more about this horrendous oversight later).
Bluetooth
Most of the inherent bluetooth features in this phone have been permanently disabled. You can use bluetooth to connect a mono-headset to the A950. That's it. There is no support for Modem Functionality, Serial Port Emulation, Phonebook Synching, Calendar Synching, or File Transfer for MP3 files (remember, this is the MP3 Maestro!) or imagery.
So if bluetooth can't be used for these basic functions, then surely you can just hook a USB cable to the A950 and transfer data.....nope, that is not supported either. Samsung does not sell USB cables or provide drivers for Verizon phones. Verizon has not provided them either. This leaves the owner without the ability to use any form of direct connectivity to move files or to synch the phone with a computer.
Memory Card
The A950 does support a Transflash/SDMicro card from SanDisk. You can put up to 512MB in the phone and a reader for the card can be purchased for your computer for under $30.00. This is the only method for moving MP3 files to the phone. You insert the card in the phone to initialize it, then remove it and put it in your computer, drag the mp3 files to the virtual disk volume, remove the card, and then insert the card back in the phone. The Transflash/SDMicro card is a tiny, fragile device about the size of the fingernail on your pinky finger. It is not intended for repeated removal and insertion. If you are like most people, you will want to change the tunes in your phone quite often --perhaps you want to listen to a daily podcast on the phone. This little card or the spring-loaded receptacle in the A950 is going to fail after a period of time.
From SanDisk's own web site describing their Transflash product:
"Semi-removable Memory Module...Due to the ultra small size of the Sandisk Transflash, it is not intended to be handled or removed on a frequent basis."
When the card fails due to excessive insertion and removal, the user is going to have to shell out $70 for another one. Sandisk wouldn't be obligated to replace it under warranty since, by definition, the card is being used improperly. If the receptacle in the A950 fails after the first year of repeated use, the user is going to have to pay for an expensive repair and be without a cell phone during the time the phone is repaired. Better sign up for an extended warranty.
MP3 Software
The SCH-A950, "Mp3 Maestro" does not have software for managing MP3 files! There is no way to create, manage, or store play lists, view songs based on artist or genre, or shuffle play. When you finally do discover the buried menu for playing MP3 files, you will be presented with a single list of file names, each of which has a checkbox next to it. You must scroll down this list to choose which song/s to play and then hit the play button. Also, since this selection function is only available from the inside screen, you can not use the jog wheel to scroll. You must hit the down button over and over and over.
Again, there is no way to store this list of songs. If a call comes in while your laboriously selected group of tunes is playing, MP3 playback ceases as one would expect. However, once the call ends, there is no way to continue playing your list of songs! You must go back into the buried menu, select the songs one by one all over again and then hit the play button.
Camera
The 1.5 megapixel camera does a nice job of taking pictures and video. There are a variety of comparisons that can be made between the A950's camera and those in other phones, but cameras in most cell phones are their for taking quick snaps, not for professional photography. The A950 makes very nice still photographs and Verizon's system of mailing these images to another phone or to an Internet address also works well. However, without direct computer connectivity, the user is still in the position of having to remove and insert the fragile Transflash/SDMicro card to move these files to his/her computer. The only alternative is to mail the files to your computer.
Conclusion
Overall the SCH-A950 is an attractive-looking phone with a list of nice features. The devil is in the details however, and this phone completely fails when the details are examined. For reasons known only to Verizon and Samsung, the A950's software has been poorly implemented and key features that the hardware is capable of providing are not implemented in the phone's software. No doubt that Verizon has a long list of reasons for hobbling the phone. They clearly want to force their customers to use the pay as you go system of video and still image file transfer instead of allowing direct connectivity. They have an obligation to game providers to prevent users from transferring games between phones, though this could be done without eliminating the transfer of MP3 files, address book synching, etc. Perhaps they have some sort of paranoia about cell phone viruses, though these are almost unheard of. In any case, there is no excuse for the poor MP3 software implementation. Samsung and Verizon should be embarrassed to call this phone the "MP3 Maestro".
[Edited by: admin to remove email address]
- 25 replies to this review
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All of the things that you're saying about the user interface sucking are all very very true. But that is because you have the Verizon Wireless standard user interface. Verizon puts the same UI on every damn phone and it isn't easily adaptable to phones with features like mp3 players. the UI sucks but don't blame the phone, blame verizon
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I use the phone as a modem for my pda via bluetooth works great better than my i700 did and for the tunesthere ii a music note icon beside the ok button 1 click and voila! tunes galore as for the micro sd card gotta agree thats lame
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Hi folks, my carrier for this phone is Telus which is a Canadian Cellphone Carrier. Thank goodness my SCH-a950 is not crippled up by my carrier like the ones in USA. All in all I think we need to remember that this is a cell phone. However let me just say this about my mp3 playing feature. With my cell flipped in the closed position. All I need to do to play any and or all of my MP3's is the press and hold the play button. Meaning, I don't have to dig down deep into menu options to use my mp3 feature. So I guess the USA based cell phone carriers gave ya a bad deal....
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There is a much easier way to use the trans-flash card. All you have to do is insert it and format it on your phone by simply pressing hte play/pause button on the exterior then all you need is a USB cable to transer files from the computer. this phone is worth every penny.
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While the review for the most part is fairly professional, there are a few tidbits that confuse me. As I am also an owner of the sch-a950 I can agree with you on the fact that the music player can be a pain to access, many of the other features or lack thereof, have apparently been addressed in the version of the phone that I own. I was able to purchase in a bundle with my handset the device driver for the phone, a usb cable, and a stereo headset. The driver is a quick install and afterwards syncing with your pc and transferring songs is both quick and easy. Another gripe that I'm assuming has been addressed is the ability to save your playlists. The "mp3 maestro" as you know it in nowhere to be found, however, under the ever popular "get it now" menus creating a playlist is as simple as naming one and adding songs to it. And last but not least the interrupting call or text message, simply press the clear button, choose 'yes' to resume get it now, and be on your merry jammin' way.
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I transferred some mp3 formatted files from my laptop to the card but when I try to play the in the phone it always says "no sings available" after reading your comments do I need to change the format to something other than mp3? Any help would really be appreciated. Thanks.
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I'm tired of having to press my T-mobile phone against the window when I'm in an office building and have been thinking of switching to Verizon. But the hobbling of cell phone features is leaving me in a holding pattern. Certainly, I can't be the only person who won't make the switch to Verison because I can't get a good phone that can synch to Mac or PC via bluetooth.
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The mp3 player actually does offer both playlist and shuffle features. Also, as long as the optional transflash memory chip is installed, you can synchronize music directly to the phone utilizing Microsoft Media Player and Windows XP. Synchronization is accomplished by utilizing a cable that is enclosed with the "Music Essentials" package, ($30.00 on sale), which also includes a software CD and set of headphones.
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The points about all the VZW restrictions resonate with me. Sprint does not have the same restrictions and this appears to be a mirror image of the Sprint Samsung A920 phone.
I did not go with VZW because of these restrictions. My Samsung A920 is awesome with the less-restricted Sprint service. -
Hey... GREAT insight. You answered all the questions I had! You are obviously one who has an attention for detail, like myself. Thanks for the indepth review... Am I going to have to wait for they (Ver and Sam) to get their act straight or do you know of an alternative phone?
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I just got my SCH-A950 (I wish I had read "matthoff's" user comment before I bought!), and even his pessimistic report doesn't do this steaming pile justice. That's because with all A950 phones sold after Jan.16, Verizon has decided to fully implement DRM (Digital Rights Management) in the phones firmware. The bottom line is that this thing DOES NOT PLAY MP3 FILES AT ALL!!
That's right! The "MP3 Maestro" cannot play MP3's!!!!. Absolutely incredible... You can't even pop the transflash into your PC and expect to tranfer MP3 files that way. The only way to get anything into the phone is to purchase the USB cable from Verizon and then do a "sync" from Microsoft's MediaPlayer10 , (which, by the way, has a user interface that is thoroughly confounding-- even by Microsoft's standards). During the sync operation all of your MP3's must first be "converted" to WMA files, and this can be a lengthy process. Add to the conversion time the fact that the USB-to-phone transfer speed is glacially slow (when compared to the speed of copying directly to the transflash that is plugged directly into your PC) and you've got a real nightmare.
I listen to tons of Podcasts, and my habit has been to load my player up with the day's programs just before I head out the door-- bu both times I have tried to do that with the A950 it darned near made me late for work!
The file conversion to WMA serves no beneficial purpose for a user either. After conversion the files are exactly the same size as the original MP3 file. The only thing the WMA format is for is so they can regulate the content you put on your phone!
Honestly, the SCH-A950 is much more than a cell phone: It's like having a vending machine for "Megamerica Inc." in your pocket, with a copyright constable looking over your shoulder. It's awful. Don't make the same mistake I did! (Grateful for Verizon's 15-day return policy.) -
Matt must work for the competiton. I have owned 30 to 40 cell phones from the bricks, Motorola startac's to Samsung's SCH-A670 and this ranks right up there with the best phone I ever owned. No antenna? I have not lost a call yet. Were as my SCH-A670 would lose signal this phone does not. As far as the transflash card being small and fragile, just don't handle it like a baboon and it will last forever and ever.... great camera also.
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For such a thorough review you would think one would read the user manual and actually use the features.
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Verizon sucks..if you want this phone get the Samsung mm-a920 from Sprint. It's the SAME phone without Verizon's crippling software. Plus Live TV and streaming music (with Sirius Sattellite Radio)
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I've had the phone for two weeks now and am happy with it.
Launching the MP3 player hassles:
It takes 2 seconds to launch the player (pressing the play button on the outside). That will launch ALL the songs (starting with the one you select via the >> << buttons or the wheel). If you want to select a set of songs from the list, all you have to do at that point is flip open the phone and this list is on your screen and ready to be modified. So you do not have to go through the paragraph procedure matthoff wrote out in order to pick the songs you want to play.
Handicapping Bluetooth is common to all Verizon phones. If Verizon did not have that policy I'm sure bluetooth on this phone would be more functional. So if you're looking for additional (not just headset) bluetooth functionality you might as well forget about Verizon for the moment. This does really stink though and I would be much more satisfied with Verizon if they changed this policy.
Transflash is sooo small - it's pretty amazing, I have not had a problem moving it (512 mb) between my computer and the phone. Again, this is not part of the Samsung phone and common to many new phones I know which play MP3s. I definitely appreciate having a removable memory slot in the phone (and it being as small as possible = transflash).
I have not found Matt's disclaimer (about frequent use voiding the warranty) on Sandisk's website or the plastic packaging my transflash came from. I read the warranty from the website.
Remember that your regular music headphones won't fit in the cellphone. You'll either need to buy headphones with the 3/32" stereo plug or an adapter in conjunction with your existing headphones.
Also note that MP3 playing takes up some battery so if you plan to use the mp3 player on a cellphone you may want to pay additional attention to it's rated battery life.
A 2 out of 10 for that does not make sense. Plus that review is posted on a half dozen cellphone review websites... -
I've had the phone for two weeks now and am happy with it.
Launching the MP3 player hassles:
It takes 2 seconds to launch the player (pressing the play button on the outside). That will launch ALL the songs (starting with the one you select via the >> << buttons or the wheel). If you want to select a set of songs from the list, all you have to do at that point is flip open the phone and this list is on your screen and ready to be modified. So you do not have to go through the paragraph procedure matt wrote out in order to pick the songs you want to play.
Handicapping Bluetooth is common to all Verizon phones. If Verizon did not have that policy I'm sure bluetooth on this phone would be more functional. So if you're looking for additional (not just headset) bluetooth functionality you might as well forget about Verizon for the moment. This does really stink though and I would be much more satisfied with Verizon if they changed this policy.
Transflash is sooo small - it's pretty amazing, I have not had a problem moving it (512 mb) between my computer and the phone. Again, this is not part of the Samsung phone and common to many new phones I know which play MP3s. I definitely appreciate having a removable memory slot in the phone (and it being as small as possible = transflash).
I have not found Matt's disclaimer (about frequent use voiding the warranty) on Sandisk's website or the plastic packaging my transflash came from. I read the warranty from the website.
Remember that your regular music headphones won't fit in the cellphone. You'll either need to buy headphones with the 3/32" stereo plug or an adapter in conjunction with your existing headphones.
Also note that MP3 playing takes up some battery so if you plan to use the mp3 player on a cellphone you may want to pay additional attention to it's rated battery life. -
No, plain and simple the Samsung is a nice phone. After reading previous reviews (and I agree with the majority of their comments) I understand your hesitancy in believing, but here is why this phone is cool.
MP3's (the big issue)
Verizon/Samsung does not offer network cnnectivity for this phone. Pain in the buttox, no question about it. Eventually they will have to however and in the meantime you can always transfer via the transflash card. I agree that this is a tiny piece, but it is fairly resilient and I have not had a problem getting it in or out. In addition it holds ~130 songs (512mb) which is usually good for a week or two, so if I was changing every week that would be 52 times a year, Im fairly sure I can expect it to hold up until I need a new phone. As for lists, change them every week if you need to, but I can scroll through fast enough to find the song I want with no problem not to mention the external skip buttons so... How much time do you have to create lists from a small list on your phone anyway.
Video:
Everyone has said the display is great, but did you know you can rip DVDs to your phone. Im not kidding, using Xilisoft one can compress to phone format and store it on the transflash card (not even that big since the screen size is small). I currently have Boondock Saints (backup from my copy) on mine. Practical...Heck no! Cool? definitely.
Calls:
I don't know about the deaf college grad who is looking for a job and it is his phones fault he isnt getting one, but I use my phone for work, often with stereo Jabra headset, and never have a problem. Some places reception isnt the best, but I have a feeling thats as much verizon as my phone, next 99 cent purchase == antenna enhancer from ebay
Bluetooth:
Dont have it yet, No comment
Games:
I havent bought any of the games from the get it now, but I have a sneaking suspision that just like the movies you could get the right format and load it through the transflash card.
Controls:
graphic interface, wow people whine. I think the text is simple enough to navigate. However some things are buried several layers down. The good news, there are action buttons for everything! outside the phone one can use the play pause button to activate the MP3 function, the camera activates by holding the side button and pressing anything on the front. the camcorder (did i mention that a 512 card will hold almost 9 hours on normal?) is activated by the side button and any numeric key. speaker phone has its own button, voice recog calling hold 0. I had my phone 2 days before I figured it all out and now its cake. i will say to the person who complained about the call volume that there are several different volume settings and these are buried under tools...sounds (oooh difficult) and that all the volumes are adjustable down to mute (much like a pc with wave adjust, master volume adjust, etc.)
Speakerphone:
I don't remember the complaint about this, but We listen to my phone at the office when its slow. It is loud and clear enough to play music that other people can hear, which is ridiculus for a phone, not to mention that it is the nicest speakerphone i have had in terms of call use too.
Analysis:
If you need and want a phone go by one. If you like gadgets this thing is sweet! Impress your friends and neighbors with all the extra time you have on your hands. Not to mention the ease of use when you understand its limitations I mean this thing is a cell phone, 1.5 megapixel camera, 9 hour long low res camcorder, MP3 playing, stereo speaker, movie player, I could go on, but like I said this thing is a gadget and if you did not like the Inpector gadget cartoons as a kid you probably will be overwhelmed or whine about this. on the otherhand if you are nodding your head while reading this right now you will probably think this is as cool as I do and have a lot of fun with it, not to mention use it to make phone calls. -
Why no one talked that you can't make MP3 as your ringtone?
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I find Matt's review very detailed and it has helped me in making a decision to not to buy this phone. I want to get a phone which has good features other than just make/receive calls. I do not want to spend money on a crippled phone like this however good it may look. Infact I do not intend to get verizon service because they have disabled the bluetooth features on their phones.
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The s/w is almost exactly same with lg-vx8100. which means, verizon develops the s/w, not samsung.
hence this review is more helpful to people who are choosing verizon or somethign else, not for people who are choosing the phone within verizon. -
I currently have Alltel Wireless as my carrier and have been frustrated by the fact that they always seem to be about a year behind all the other carriers when it comes to offering phones with the latest features... For example, it took a long time before they started to sell camera phones.
With that said, I am considering switching over to Verizon, but I'm a bit leary right now. I recently went to a Verizon store to take a look at the Samsung and was told that the reason Verizon doesn't sell the cable to hook up directly to a laptop and thereby allow the user to use the phone as a modem is because (and this was according to the salesperson) "most people would use this set up during the free off peak period which means Verizon would lose tons of money, so they decided to crippled the phone."
Now with all the potential of the Samsung SCH-A950, (and regardless of how cool it looks) why would I want to buy a phone that has been "crippled" by the carrier?
While I understand the main funtion of a phone is to make calls, (Duh!)I'm also looking for user- friendly bells and whistles. I appreciate Matt's detailed review and the work he put into it. He has given me a lot think about... Not only about the phone, but also about Verizon as well.
Thanks again Matt! -
you're getting to bogged down in the details dude...looks like u need to buy a laptop...this is a cellphone, i dont expect it to run like a computer...it has speaker phone, pictures, and video...thats a 10/10 for me
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As said in another comment, this guy has been on every cell phone site I can think of placing the same long review bashing the phone and Verizon. If you are so unhappy, pay the early termination fee and leave and you will reaize that Verizon IS the best out there.
I have owned this phone for about 3 weeks now and I am very happy with it. Reception seems to be excellent even if I'm not showing all 4 bars all the time. The phone has excllent displays and a pretty good camera.
I am happy with the phone except for some chirping on some calls. Like I said, I wouldn't trust this review. Reviewers on other sites have praised this phone. -
This reviewer has gone all over the internet (Phonescoop, Moblia, Wireless Advisor, Howard's Forums) posting this same review. Obviously he has an axe to grind. Although the phone has some short comings, as do all cell phones, it is the best phone Verizon has out at the moment. You want to see a phone that has been overhyped, but is full of glitches and bugs then take a look at the Motorloa E815. I've got one and I would trade it for a 950 in a heartbeat.
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First, I appreciate Matt taking the time to give such a detailed review. Furthermore, I agree with most everything he says. The software is not laid out very logically, nor is the MP3 player as accessible or as usable as it should be.
However, this is not the only phone Verizon has "crippled" the blue tooth features on. And so here is where I take issue (and remember, I'm coming from having returned the LG VX-8100 which had audio problems so bad as to make the phone unusable), the Samsung SCH-A950 is NOT as terrible of a phone as he says, certainly it doesn't deserve a 2 rating. While much of what Matt has to say has to do with the MP3 player (and again, everything he says is true), this is not an IPOD. It it is a cell phone first. Everything else is icing. And as a cell phone it works great.
Thus, if all the side features are really important to you, than perhaps you should look else where. But if you are like me, and find the MP3 feature nice, but not the reason you bought the phone, than I think you will be happy with it.
Where to buy
Samsung SCH-A950 (Verizon Wireless):
$14.45
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$14.45 | Yes |
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