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"This phone has everything I was looking for"
on by nomad0321Pros The camera takes great pictures, Not too big (still fits in the pocket), Physical keyboard, Android, TouchWiz, WiFi, GPS
Cons The back lit menu buttons at the bottom can be unresponsive. Sometimes I have issues with the "End Call" button working. Speakerphone sounds "tinny" at times.
Summary Any way you slice it, this is a really good phone.
I forgot to mention the back lit menu buttons... Hopefully with a software update, they will be lit as long as the screen is lit, but for now they turn off after a few seconds. I find sometimes I have to hit them a few times before they will respond. I figured out if I tap the screen first, the menu lights will come back on and they respond much better. Still, it's a pain.
First, let me address TouchWiz. This is my first go-round with Android and I'm glad it's on there. Maybe it looks to colorful or "cartoonish" for some, but I find it to be functional. TouchWiz is made for the first time Android user. It makes using the phone easy to figure out. Maybe some of the functionality is missing from a vanilla Android experience, but I'll never know. And I bet I'd never miss it. I'll never be a super-user; so I am satisfied.
As for performance, I haven't had any issues. Generally whatever I press, to go to whichever app is almost instant. I've downloaded probably 30 apps already (love the Market!). There are a couple of things you can do to make sure this happens. First, go into settings and turn off Transitions, or at the very least choose "Show some..." Secondly, if you tap and hold the "Home" button, it will bring up the 6 most recently used apps and a task manager button. You can end any running apps within Task Manager. A Samsung widget called Program Monitor can be added to your home screen which will show you the number of apps running and color coded CPU usage. Also, you can go under Settings, Applications and Running Services and shut down any running services in the background.
For better battery life, I would suggest getting an app to help you out with that. I have the Juice Defender free version which turns off 3G when the phone is in stand-by (turns it on for 1 min every 15 mins to check for data). That alone has significantly helped improve the battery life. With moderate use, (downloading just a few apps, a couple of short phone calls, some app usage throughout the day, etc.) I can get through the day on a single charge with battery power to spare. I also turn the phone off when I charge it at night.
I really enjoy having the option of a physical keyboard. It is perfect for long emails or writing out journal entries (which is what I really wanted it for). A 4 row keyboard really makes a difference! For everyday texts or browser functions I use Swype. I can't say enough good things about Swype. It's so quick and easy to use I find myself forgetting to use shorthand when texting. Not only that, but after 2 weeks of use, I about have the location of all the letters on a QWERTY keyboard memorized. If you've never used it, give it a try.
The call quality on the phone is good. I did have some issues with tinny-ness(?) in the beginning, but it went away. However, the speakerphone has this issue pretty bad. It's not unusable by any means, but it is kind of annoying.
As far as GPS, I have not had any issues. My GPS works great and and the other day told me it was accurate within 30 meters (approx. 98 feet). While driving when I came up on a turn, it told me to turn. I had no problems getting to my destination. Although, the speakerphone issue comes into play here if you have voice navigation turned on. Sometimes it sounded a little garbled.
If you haven't watched the Galaxy S drop/scratch test on YouTube, you really should. They put the phone through it's paces and it held up really well. Since I watched this video, I did not purchase a case, which keeps my phone slim and pocketable. Unlike my easily scratched Dare, I already know it will take more than keys to scratch up the face of the phone. Coincidentally, I was out at a bar about 5 days after I purchased the phone and a friend knocked the phone off a bar table. The phone landed on the concrete floor bounced and flipped over onto its face (I swear it happened in slow motion, with my face frozen in horror) and the battery cover popped off. I picked up the phone and there wasn't a scratch on the screen - or anywhere else for that matter. I popped the battery cover back on and went about the evening. The phone worked just fine after. Whew!
In summary, the phone has a few minor issues (haven't found one that is perfect yet), but overall, I think the Epic from Samsung is a great phone.
Updated on Sep 17, 2010
Updated on Sep 29, 2010@koadic: Thank you so much! I just thought that setting was for the keyboard backlight. -
"The Epic is EPIC,but..."
on by indiantechiePros -Super Amoled screen
-Good Keyboard
-Full Feature set
-Front Facing camera
-WiFi Hotspot capabilities
-4GCons -Kinda Bulky
-Expensive
-Expensive data plan
-Samsung sucks at relaesing updates.Summary The Thing here is that this thing could have easily beat out the Evo, except for the extra 50 buckes needed, but ill get to that late.
This thing is the ringleader of the GalaxyS series, this has everything that other smartphones, with some great extra's.While everyone says this is bulky, it does have an added keyboard. However the extra 50 dollars is tough to swallow specially when you can get the Evo which has a better camera a bigger screen and a actually useful skin on top of android
However this phone is worth every penny, not only does this phone do multimedia, games and web browsing great. The processor the is fast and gets the job done easily, the screen is amazing. The camera takes pretty good picutres. The keyboard is great and easy to use, it has all the wifi gps and generally good features the thing is fast and easy to use, The WiFi hotspot capabilities work perfectly and without any hassle.The front facing camera is actually decent and takes pictures way better than the described VGA format. however on the bad side other than the expense and the bulk, samsung is notorious for not releasing updates to thier phone, and they really havent done anything to prove that this time will be different.
So be prepared to be just getting 2.2 when Google releases android 2.3. But if the cons dont matter to you, or you can live with them , then this is the phone FOR YOU. -
"Good replacement for the Palm Pre"
on by thebogusmanPros QWERTY; Interface; Screen; Solid build; Camera
Cons Battery Life; No Card view; mediocre Voicemail
Summary Had my Palm for 1 year, and while I loved WebOS, and the standard features on the phone, the lack of app development for Palm, lack of choice for WebOS phones at this time, and, more importantly, the build quality (power button popped off and got lost) made me look for a new Android phone (iPhone just wasn't practical, plus it feels like a status symbol). After testing the EVO and the Epic, went with the Epic mainly for QWERTY.
The good: More solid build compared to the Pre. Finally can get decent apps (and for free). While screen is larger, much lighter than anticipated (does not feel like a brick). Has a nice QWERTY board that is more expansive. Interface is much smoother than the Pre. Build quality is solid--does not feel like a toy. Has an "Allshare" standard, which allows me to get files from my computer via Wifi, but admittedly have not tested it yet. Picture quality from the camera is nice. Screen is beautiful--almost like HD (depending on content).
The bad: Battery life--Will need a recharge after a day with fair use (though this was similar to my Palm and most smartphones). Lasts about 4-5 hours with heavy use (e.g. playing games on my phone or using apps with lots of processing, wifi/3G use while waiting for flights). I do miss CardView from Palm, which was nice to see which apps were open, rather than having to go to a task manager. Voicemail quality has been mediocre--sounds like it's coming through a bad metro speaker at times, but admittedly have not used it much.
Variables: I have no 4G in my area, so that has been good on my battery so far. Have been happy with the free apps I have gotten so far through Android, though I wish they had better OEM apps like Palm did (sticky notes, more info on notifications on e-mail and messages). Palm also made going to Airplane mode much easier (through status bar) than Android (go through settings). Am hoping for a better extended battery soon.
In summary, have been happy with the phone over the last 2 weeks. While I do miss some of the conveniences of the Pre, they are more than made up for with the 7 customizable home pages, App store, and bigger QWERTY board, which was the dealbreaker over the EVO (though HTCSense is nice wallpaper). This is the best Sprint smartphone in my opinion. -
"Great features unpolished design"
on by teractPros Best GPU in any smartphone, Great display.
Cons Sliding keyboard is too loose, DLNA for TV connectivity is rare, where HDMI is incredibly common, Samsung doesn't provide reliable post-purchase software support.
Summary First off, great phone for operating speed. The GPU is about 3 times more powerful than the HTC Evo or Apple Iphone 4. I had my heart set on the Samsung Epic despite the shoddy support Samsung provides for software updates. (I have an Eternity, not exactly a great phone if you've actually owned one). Once I got to the sprint store I was surprised at how flimsy the whole phone felt, due mainly to the slide out keyboard. It is loose to the point that I'm afraid it would constantly slide open and closed in my pocket and be more prone to break if bumped while open. The keyboard keys were flat and even while looking at the keyboard my fingers would get lost and hit the wrong keys or multiple keys at the same time. With the swipe app for Android phone I wouldn't ever want to use the keyboard. The keyboard is like having a side-car attached to a motorcycle. If someone is inside I can see how it's useful, but in this case the side-car feels like it's about to fall apart. Even Cnet editors have touched on some keyboard issues, but it's a shame that they don't put more importance on "form and function" as they do "features"
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"Good phone, hobbled by Samsung"
on by Tandrew86Pros Fast
Beautiful Screen
Physical Keyboard
AndroidCons Horrible Samsung support and QC.
Laughable Warranty Service
Poor Build Construction
Unresponsive Touch ScreenSummary I'll ignore the whole Froyo thing since that's well documented.
I got this phone day of release and 90 days later it is already falling apart. The screen is separating from the keyboard and it's already twisted to the point where when I rest my thumb on the bottom left it is constantly pushed out.
I can even press my thumb under the part jutting out and get it a millimeter off the keyboard.
After noting this I explained my problem to Samsung and requested service. They sent me a UPS Second Day air shipping label and I got all the stuff I needed to ship it to them.
They sat on my phone for a week until they told me there was nothing wrong and shipped it back.
The problem remains and quite frankly even feels a little worse.
To add insult to injury the phone now smells like Mayo and I can't seem to get rid of it. (not a joke).
This is consistent with the other problems I've run into with Samsung products and now I'm not really surprised.
Do not buy unless you plan on upgrading after 3 months
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