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- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 42 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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17 out of 17 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"How can you rate this less than 8?"
Pros: Great Camera, sound quality both incoming and outgoing, music player, big screen, loud speaker phone (too much to mention here)
Cons: hard to put in and take out micro card, old style (outdated) menu
Summary: I went from the LG 8100 to the LG 8300 (loved BOTH phones) and then upgraded to the Samsung SCH- A990. It was only 3 weeks after purchasing the LG 8300 so unlike most giving their review here, I had to pay full price for the Samsung ($519.00) and still feel it is absolutely every penny!
There are certainly little nuances, but I wouldn't downgrade a rating because of them. One is the music player not using MP3 files, but WMA files use much less memory and are BETTER QUALITY...so you can put way more music on the phone. Also the music player is able to sort by genre, albums, playlists, artists, and songs. You can create your own playlists for workouts or whatever. You want to play a particular song? Just enter the first couple letters and VOILA! I found the music essentials kit very easy to use and it doesn't mess with your MP3 files...it only transfers them to WMA when syncing to your phone so the files on your computer are unchanged. I could go on and on about the music player, so I don't know why people knock it, except I guess it really limits the Apple users, and that's really a bummer for those that would like the phone.
CAMERA! I found it really easy to use, didn't even read the instructions. And hey, just don't buy it expecting it to be better than an 8 megapixal phone that you can get at Best Buy! That it isn't. But it is far (FAR) better than the camera on my LG 8300...both in features (ways to tweak your picture before taking it) and in quality. The auto focus is a little slow, but again, I wouldn't knock the rating because of it...it is very easy to get used to. You can't take a picture at full resolution(2048x1536, the 3.2 megapixal setting) and send it as a pix message becuase most likely the camera phone you are sending it to can't handle it, but there is an option in your PIX folder that allows you to reduce the resolution before sending. I really can't think of anything negative at all to say about the camera or video cam...both are outstanding for something you are carrying on your phone...just remember, it's a "camera-phone"...not a full blown digital camera. OH, if you have a bluetooth printer, you don't even have to take the memory card out, you can print photos right from the phone! Also, not many even mention this, but you can take a picture of a business card (it has a built in business card scanner), and it will make a contact for you from the information on the card. Works best on cards with light backgrounds though...nice EXTRA!
I find that the bluetooth is flawless. It has software called "VoiceSignal" and it allows you to access menus and features on the phone with just your voice. (Beats trying to remember which buttons to push). Another feature that I don't see mentioned by other reviewers is that you can say "Send picture to Ralph" and it will automatically pull up the PIX message all ready addressed to Ralph. Most phones do this...BUT...the SCH-A990 has a button that you push that activates "VOICE to TEXT" so you can "speak" your message and it will type it for you! Notice I said send "picture" to Ralph. For some reason, when you go to a "TEXT" message this function doesn't work...but you can act like you are going to send a PIX message and just not include the picture and when you send it they will receive it in their mailbox just like a text message...another really cool but seldom mentioned function.
Someone mentioned that if you use the WORD function for sending TEXT that if it doesn't recognize your word you can't change it. This is incorrect. You just press the "0" key and it will give you alternative options. When you see the one you want, press OK.
You will want to keep a charger handy though, with all the features on this phone, it can gobble up your charge fairly quickly. I would recommend if that bothers you that you purchase the larger battery (and back door) for the phone.
As I mentioned above, call quality is every bit as good as any phone I have ever had...probably way better than most and people on the other end like it too!
For ringtones, you can use a service such as myxertones.com and get them way cheaper! If you purchase the 25+5 free option that give you 30 ringtones for about fifty cents each! You simply upload an MP3 or WAV file from your computer to the site and the convert it for you. Then you can edit (choose the portion of the song you want for your Ringtone) and click "send to my phone". Here's the tricky part...you will get the sound file sent to you as a text message. Just open it and when it starts to play click "save" (if you like it...if you don't go back to the site and change it...they don't charge you again so you can change it as much as you want). Once it is saved you open up "My "Sounds" and you will find there is NO option for setting as a ringtone...but wait! Press "OPTIONS" then "SEND" and then cancel that and pull the menu up again...NOW the option is there for setting as a ringtone. Don't know why it works this way, but at least you can do it and it works!
Well, I could go on and on because there are so many great features (that all work!)...again, I just can't figure why anyone would rate this phone less than an 8. I give it a 9.5 to 10!
- 5 replies to this review
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WMA may or may not be higher quality than MP3 at a particular bit rate, but converting from MP3 to WMA does not give you that (supposed) increased quality - if will degraded it through yet again more processing. Only if you go back to the uncompressed source would it be possible to gain any quality from WMA.
Also, when saying you can get ringtones "way cheaper", what are you comparing it to? We should be able to do it for free, so "way cheaper" would mean they pay you - unlikely.
BTW, I am looking at picking up one of these phones, but let's not fool ourselves that it represents nirvana when it has sizeable flaws in its design and/or carrier implementation. As others have pointed out, some of these flaws really are inexcusable. -
Thank you for your honesty and for standing up for this sleek, sexy phone. It has the brains and the beauty, something everyone wants (and not just in a cell phone). This is by far the best phone I have ever had. The reception is amazing. The pics are gorgeous. Easy to use and again fun to look at. You were even on the money with the battery with alls it's bells and whistles it does take the battery but that's what charges were invented for. All in all it's an amazing toy.
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My grandma got me a Motorola v276. I think those are the right numbers. Well anyway, The screen for that phone was like nothing. it was so small. It had no flash so when I wanted to take a picture and i wasn't in the 'perfect' light, it came out bad. I also wanted a music player. The motorola didn't come with that. About 3 months after my birthday, my grandma asked how I liked the phone, I told her everything. She understood. She toold me she would keep that phone and buy me a new one for christmas. (as long as i still acted surprised.) I didn't waant my grandma to buy me the 'wrong' phone. I mean, the phone that wasn't 'right' for me. She told me to look online and pick out the perfect phone. She said that I'd better have a choice by november. Well, that's rolling right over the hills now isn't it. November is right around the corner. So these past few weeks, I've been online looking. I wanted the Samsung mm-a900 but I changed my mind. I came across The samsung sch-a990. I liked it. I wanted to see if it was REALLY a perfect match for me. I read other people's reveiws and most of them were bad. i started to think that his phone wasn't right. Then I read one review that said everything I needed to hear.
*good pic quality
*good sound
*good music
*good video
*big screen...
*ect...
Now that right there is all I needed. All i wanted was good camera, music and big screen. This reveiw made me call my grandma and tell her that this is the right phone. She said That on Christmas, she will have it for me!
Now remember......grandma's rock!!! -
My grandma got me a Motorola v276. I think those are the right numbers. Well anyway, The screen for that phone was like nothing. it was so small. It had no flash so when I wanted to take a picture and i wasn't in the 'perfect' light, it came out bad. I also wanted a music player. The motorola didn't come with that. About 3 months after my birthday, my grandma asked how I liked the phone, I told her everything. She understood. She toold me she would keep that phone and buy me a new one for christmas. (as long as i still acted surprised.) I didn't waant my grandma to buy me the 'wrong' phone. I mean, the phone that wasn't 'right' for me. She told me to look online and pick out the perfect phone. She said that I'd better have a choice by november. Well, that's rolling right over the hills now isn't it. November is right around the corner. So these past few weeks, I've been online looking. I wanted the Samsung mm-a900 but I changed my mind. I came across The samsung sch-a990. I liked it. I wanted to see if it was REALLY a perfect match for me. I read other people's reveiws and most of them were bad. i started to think that his phone wasn't right. Then I read one review that said everything I needed to hear.
*good pic quality
*good sound
*good music
*good video
*big screen...
*ect...
Now that right there is all I needed. All i wanted was good camera, music and big screen. This reveiw made me call my grandma and tell her that this is the right phone. She said That on Christmas, she will have it for me!
Now remember......grandma's rock!!! -
The Samsung sch a990 is great.However i do have an issue. I have tryed to print pictures with bluetooth with no success.My handset will connect with the printer kiosk & ask for a passkey code.When i enter the default passkey code of 0000 it tells me it is incorrect,and noone in the photo depts, seem to have any solutions. Does anyone out there have an answer??????
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