Raggin' on the A800! also: vs. 4050

[Invader J]

(cross posting to reviews also, but I'd love to hear what people think about my gripes so I'd like this to be in General!)

*sigh*

Here's my A800 vs. 4050 review (and general A800 comments)

So I just loooove my 4050. But I wanted something more, I wanted to take it to *ahem* "TEH NEXT L3VAL". The A800 looked to be it. If you like the 4050, I gotta say that the A800 is a dog compared to it. On it's own, it's just alright. Funny how there are so many glowing comments about it, and a good amount of solid reviews... for most of this, I'm comparing it side by side to a 4050 instead of reviewing it on its own, so keep that in mind. Also, none of these negatives are specific to my phone - I've tried other A800s just to be sure.

Also, I ramble and b**ch a LOT.

- Call quality: reception is great, though I get more occasional static pops than on the 4050. The earpiece is a weeee bit clearer, but the voices sound more digitized - this is a small negative. Volume is louder though. Also I've heard what people were talking about when they were down on the A700 about the noise cancelling thing - not sure if the A800 has it, but I've occasionally had problems when me and the person on the other end talked a lot at the same time - not much yet though. Gotta hand it to the 4050 in this category, but despite the negatives the A800 is very very very good - probably the second best call clarity I've heard since the Sanyo 4900 (which I thought was great).

- the LCD itself: 2"! Bah. Noticeably smaller than the 4050's 2.2" but you get used to it. The panel itself is under a thick piece of plastic which gives it a sandy-textured 'shimmery' appearance! This is terrible. You may or may not notice it, but I sure do. The panel itself, while bright, could be much brighter - there's an overall blue cast to it too. You won't notice it until you look at something that is supposed to be bright white or a photo you upload - definitely has a blue cast to it. Photos I've uploaded just don't show as much detail when put side-by-side with the 4050 - maybe it's the missing .2" on the A800 but I think the LCD panel itself just isn't as good as it could be. On the other hand, all the UI elements show up nice... again, gotta hand it to the 4050.

- UI in general: Finally, an attractive UI! Top notch. The only thing I miss is the 'no guidance' option that the 4050 had which makes everything except tiny indicators disappear (including the soft button). Animations are great, lots of options for the idle screen, I love how you can overlay schedule information on the idle screen! Very handy. The little sound effects are lovely yet unprofessional (I dont care though, I love 'em!) Although, menus of any sort have this big... OS X-like bubble border around them, which means they could have put way more options on a single screen if they just toned that down a bit. A800 definitely takes this one. But that leads me to...

- UI and the QVGA resolution: Holy crap, talk about screwing up. What's the point of having QVGA resolution if you TOTALLY waste it? The font for text messages is HUGE and UGLY - a message that took 3/4 of a screen on my 4050 takes two pages on the A800! Very annoying! Same goes for the browser - each line of text is spaced way too far apart and the 'small' font setting (the default) is still huge. Total waste of resolution - what's the point of having the resolution if you slap the same 176x240 elements on a 240x320 screen? Argh! At least the indicators (battery, signal, etc) are tiny. That's good.

- Phonebook: slow as a dog. 4050 phonebook lookups are instantaneous, the A800 needs about 1-2 seconds after entering a letter. Doesn't sound like much but it sure is when you're in a rush. Lots of options for each contact though. But winner, 4050.

- Entering text: Samsung f***ed up. Who the hell over there though eziTap was a good idea? They HAD to be shrooming. It's a complete joke - I was so angry just trying to enter a simple message that I was LAUGHING. Manically. Anyway. It's 10x faster to just use regular alpha entry! Especially since the majority of text messages use abbreviations and words fewer than 5 letters - eziTap predicts after the 2nd letter. By the time I get to the 'v' in 'love' its just easier to continue on with alpha entry instead of picking the word 'love' from eziTap's popup menu! I WANT TO KILL EZITAP SO MUCH. I was awesome with T9. Give me back my T9. Don't mess with a good thing. 4050 spanks A800 in this category.

- Tools: Schedules, timer, alarm, etc. 4050 has 'em too. Tie.

- Media player: plays my MP3s and 3GP vids. Yay! 4050 doesn't. boo. No winner since I haven't actually put this to use yet. Handy to have though when I don't want to bring my iPod along.

- Camera: Takes good photos. Great color. But takes 9 years to take a picture: hold cam button, press OK to confirm it, wait for camera app to open up, hold down camera button to take picture, whew. Really, it's way too long. But the photos are definitely great. But hey, what kind of people does Samsung have working for them... depending on whether the slider is open or closed, you have different resolution choices! You can only take a max. 600x800 shot when the slider is open! THIS IS RIDICULOUS. The hardware/software doesn't magically change when the slider closes! Why did they DO this? This is so... STUPID! Also, when the slider is closed you can't send photos nor perform any operations on photos you have in the phone (copy/move, erase, etc). Friggin ridiculous. Gotta make this a tie despite the A800's much much much better photos- what the 4050 lacks in picture quality it makes up for in speed and ease-of-use.

- Web browser: too ticked about that large font to really use it much yet. Takes a solid 5 seconds to load the browser - way too long. Downloads are super fast though. Did I mention the font is huge?

- Photo caller ID: wasted resolution again - photos show up barely half the size surrounded by a nice giant white border and the number at the bottom. Blah.

* Starting now, miscellaneous comments:

- When you create a text message, accessing your phone book is the last option after manually entering a phone number and manually entering an e-mail address. This sucks booty. Every person I've ever wanted to text is in my goddam phone book and I think that goes for, I dunno, EVERYONE ELSE as well.

- eziTap sucks. sooooo much.

- Bug: 480x640 photos downloaded from the Pictures website show up stretched out when viewed when the slider is closed but fine when the slider is opened. The same exact photos put manually onto the phone via the memory card show up fine regardless of slider position.

- Bug, aka "Feature": the only key that responds after deleting a photo from the memory card is the End key about 90% of the time.

- Bug, aka "Feature": they used eziTap instead of T9. (hehe)

- Bug, aka "Feature": volume keys do not work when the slider is closed but the phone's keyguard is OFF. why IS that?

- Bug, aka "Feature": different cam resolutions depending on slider position, I'm sorry, but that's a goddam bug in my book. Either that or their human interface guy is blind and has like, angina or some sort of nervous disorder.

- This thing is thick. If they got rid of the giant retarded grip it would feel tons smaller. it looks like a tiny silver hovercraft sitting on my desk, like it's floating or something because the body of the phone looks so far off the desk.

- TransFlash/MicroSD cards are just SOOO TINY! I want to eat them all up, yum!

- Bug, aka "Feature": It adds a "1" in front of the text messages I receive meaning that even though the sender's name show up in the inbox, it does not show up on the actual message which is what pops up when you GET the text message in the first place. My 4050 did not do this and the damn phone should be smart enough to compensate, regardless of any Int'l SMS additions Sprint added. Grrrrr. (no, I did not read the thread about this yet, maybe there's a fix that doesn't involve changing all my #s. Point is, the 4050 doesn't do this silliness)

- Bug, aka "Feature": When you're using the web browser dont you dare close that slider, it'll close the browser! This also happens for something else but I forget what it was - alls I know is I was PISSED when I realized that closing the slider cancelled whatever it was I was doing. It was important, too, that whatever-it-was-I-was-doing!

- Bug, aka "Feature": whether slider is open or closed, despite having to hold down the camera button for 3 seconds, you still have to 'confirm' by hitting the OK button that you want to use the camera. Again, human interface designer must be retarded or just really scared of the world and/or mis-taken photos.

- Vibration is totally weak.

- Pressing the Up key at the idle screen pops up this super-neato 'Missed Events' box. I like!

*whew* Okay. So there's my take on it. It has it's plusses definitely, but it's a dog compared to the 4050 - in fact (ignoring the media player and focusing on things they have in common) the only thing the A800 has over the 4050 is a more animated UI and a better camera.

Now I'm not saying it's a bad phone AT ALL, I just have gripes about it - but like I said the 4050 is a rock and probably the best phone I've ever used. The A800 is a good phone, but I'm way jaded - it does things right but does a LOT of little things wrong or counter-intuitively.

I recommended using it in person before buying. I'm really not sure if I'll be keeping it or not yet, I need to see how it works out over a week or so. I have a feeling though that it's going back to the store - there's just too many details that Samsung got wrong or screwed up compared to the 4050, which does pretty much everything perfectly.

So yeah, I majorly ragged on the A800. Flame away, I love fighting fires! :headbang2

[CoreyTheGent]

Ahh, the best review I've ever read. Right on, Invader J. I knew picky people like you would really get down to the heart of the phone and tell me how "great" it is.

[sel1965]

Im not a big fan of Samsung but I am a fan of the a800, I think the review was less than good darn right pathetic. That's my opinion and you are intitled to yours. I'm sure there are many more out there who really like the phone and very few who don't. Stick to your toshiba and keep waiting for a new one to come out. I will be enjoying my new A800. Good luck!

[eman]

My review.....
I posted this on Hofo since SU was down but here it is!!!


Ok, since sprintusers is still down I am going to post my first thoughts of the A800 here....You can catch me on sprintusers under the name eman is case youy read the smae thing again when its back up.....I am coming from a 5600 which I had since the day of its release.......So my comparison will be between these two phones as I do not believe there is another phone in the same league as these with the exception of the 535 which I have not seen or touched yet to make a comment on.....Might I add that I am not brand loyal either....I go were the quality is and what my needs are. I have owned Samsungs : A500, A600
Sanyo: 5500, 7400, 5600
LG: 5150 or 5350 (dont remember the number. It was there first vision phone. It was the blue one.)
Toshiba : 4050
So now that we see I am willing to give anyone a try here is my thoughts.....

I was not looking foward to a slider and thought I would never buy one because of it. Decided to check one out just to see what the hype was about.... But when I powered one on at best buy and held it in my hands it felt good. It also looked really good. The first thing that gets you is the beautiful UI interface. This is one thing that Sanyo's lack in. Although I must say the 5600 was a step up from there others. The screen is beautiful as expected and does not seem small at all as it has been posted it is smaller then the 5600.....I do like that the screensaver takes up the full screen unlike the 5600's which has that horrible bar on the bottom which I just cant stand.........The menu screen on the A8 is very customizable also....it allows you to use 2 different types of menus. Both graphically pleasing. One allowing more atinamted stuff going on. You can also put any picture behind the menu screen like you could do with the 4050. The one thing I was upset to see was the elimination of Samsungs animated screensavers. I thought we would see ones like on the A700 but they are absent from this phone.....I was dissopointed in that. What it does offer though is an effect that takes place over your picture. It gives you a choice to set different things to rain over your picture. You can choose hearts, leaves, snow, clovers, or nothing of course. And it jsut rains down from top to bottom over your screensaver. Also, as TuTu says it supporst animated .gif files so that will be offer lots of options. Also offers different options of placement of clocks and calanders on the screensaver. So all this is definetley a strong selling point for this phone but there has to be more then that, so lets move on.

Lets look at the mp3 player. Hands down the 5600 is the better if played out of its speaker which is to be expected due to its dedicated speaker that it has. It is alot louder and the sound quality is just better. I tested it with the same songs to get the best result. The speaker is not that great on the A8 and dint make me say wow, but it made me say, thats it? It might sound good to someone who has not heard the 5600 but once you do you will no what I am talking about....Now, listening through headphones, which I had used the ones that come with the 5600 the A8 has more bass in its sound then the 5600. They both sound really good through headphones and not really sure if there is a clear cut winner there.......

Now the MM player. As in sprint TV and video stuff. The one thing I found with the 5600 is that it would load alot more then the 7400 for some reason. I am basing that off of being in the same location so the connection would be the same. I dont finf this to be the case in the A8. IN the clips I have watched so far I have not had it load on me yet. So that is a good thing. The 5600 gives you the option to expand your picture, although making it pixelated it was there for your choosing. It streched the pic from side to side. It still wasnt full screen from top to bottom, but it was in width. The A8 does not offer this option. No big deal to me as the stretch pic didnt look so great anyway. Once again the speaker is better on the 5600 here also as expected. The 5600 also showed you how much time has passed on the clip. The A8 does not. The Pic on the 5600 has borders which cover the two sides of the clip to kind of fill in the empty space from side to side. The A8 does not. It is in the middle of the Page surrounded by white. Both are fine and would not factor my decision in choosing the phone.

Now for the Camcorder. The A8's camcorder seemed alot better to me. It was more fluid and clear then the 5600's. I thought the 5600's was choppy and of low quality. A8 wins here in my opinion.

Now the camera. Which is the basic reason you would choose this phone over the 5600. IN you want a useable camera the 5600 is not the phone to go with. Its low light pics make the camera a waste to me on that phone....unless you are outside in the daytime all other pics were horrible. Even in a room at night with lights. Made me not want to take pictures because most of the time you would be in a low light situation and would be embarresed to even try to see if it would come out......I know the first pics we have seen from othere from the A8 had a blur on the right side....I have not had these in any of my pics.....I printed a 4x6 and it came out sharp and clear....Compared it to the 5600 pic I had printed in form the best light situation I have had and there was obviously no comparison......Althought the 2mp pics do not look good.....you must shrink it down.....I think the 2mp title is just a novilty.......The A8 does take good pics in the dark....I was at a weeding last night and the light were really dim....pics came out good.....also, the cool thing with the A8 is you could be at a wedding and take pics and not feel dumb because it looks like a camera.....No body would now it was a phone. I would never open a flip phone at a weeding and start snapping away....I would feel dumb....Not with the A8 though.....Totally fit in with everyone else and there digicams.....so that was cool.....

As far as reception quility....I havent really been able to test this feature yet...I have not spoken on the A8 alot so I cant really make a valid opinion on this yet and the noise cancelation people have spoken about....WHat I can say is that the 5600 had the best reception of any phone I have used and the earpiece is better on that phone then any other Sanyo to date.

I havent tested out an ACC ringer on the A8 because I like one of the ringers that are on the phone. Im sure it will be just like the mp3 player though.....THe trans flsh card seems hard to get out if you dont know what you are doing....it took me alot of pullks to get it out before I relized you have to push it in and down to release it, so there is a heads up for some of you. I have a card reader in my pc so I am able to transfer files directly to the card. ALthough the A8 comes with a USB cord it it worthless. There is no driver that will work with the phone unless someone found one I do not know about. XP does not have a driver for it and neither does Samsungs website so I am confused why it shipped with the phone......I would have rather seen it ship with a stereo headset. All in all the one reason to keep this phone is the camera.

I personally will not carry a seperate camera nor do i want to spend the money for one so I think I am going to keep the A8 for that sole purpose....The other things are just nice eye candy and its good to get some after my last two phones were Sanyo's. Also have fallen in love with the slider form which I thought was going to be the reason I wouldnt purchase the phone. If anyone knows where you can get screen protectors please pass on the info as I am interested in getting some.....So all in all it is a good phone. The minus of speakerphone is kind of a let down and something I will have to get used to if I keep this phone....If the camera isnt the most important thing to you on the phone then there is no reason to spend the extra money. I would stick with the 5600 which I still think is an icredible phone....I am still hanging on to mine a little longer before I ebay it to make sure I am making the right decision based on my needs.......Hope this review was helpful and sorry for spelling mistakes and things....I am at work and typing really fast without re-reading......I will answer any questions people have if I can and hopefully sprintusers will be back up soon........


P.S......as I have been using the phone more I am relizing that when there is background noise the phone sounds like it is cutting in and out....I guess this is what people are talking about when they mention the samsung noise cancelation thing......Dont think I like that to much......

[MsRandall]

I bought the a800 and it is a nice phone I did experience 2 lockups....I returned it because it was NOT for me I couldnt live with a speakerphone and the slider was too arkward for me....I went back to my 5600 and bought a bluetooth adapter and I am happy...A800 is a nice phone

[Invader J]

Im not a big fan of Samsung but I am a fan of the a800, I think the review was less than good darn right pathetic. That's my opinion and you are intitled to yours.

Okay, and to rebut: Just because I wrote a review that didn't align with your opinion doesn't make it a 'pathetic' review. I was clear, concise, gave my reasons, etc. We're all entitled to our opinions, that's mine, we obviously disagree. Don't be a zealot. http://hush.cc/stickies/icon_wink.gif

[punkkix03]

Yay for all the good things about the 4050! I have no complaints yet! :-D Got tha 4050 luvin' here!

[jgallandt]

Wirelessly posted (Sanyo MM7400: Mozilla/4.0 (MobilePhone MM-7400/US/1.0) NetFront/3.1 MMP/2.0)

Invader J, Great Review. Your one person Who's reviews I trust. Honest, to the point and up front, with i bit of humor added to keep it interesting.

[Barry28]

Okay, and to rebut: Just because I wrote a review that didn't align with your opinion doesn't make it a 'pathetic' review. I was clear, concise, gave my reasons, etc. We're all entitled to our opinions, that's mine, we obviously disagree. Don't be a zealot. http://hush.cc/stickies/icon_wink.gif
I have both the 4050 & A800 and I saw it differently, but hey we are all allowed our own opinions...

[tuolumne]

How's the build quality compared with the 9950?

[Invader J]

Heh, thanks for the kudos y'all, I had phone writing that. I had the 4050 in one hand and the A800 in the other and was whining and yelling a lot... yeah.... my girl was about 10 seconds away from cracking me in the head with a frying pan.

[Invader J]

How's the build quality compared with the 9950?

Well, the A800 is physically more solid. The 4050/9950 tends to exhibit a bit of 'creak', especially around the battery cover. Overall the A800 is like a rock - but psychologically it feels more fragile due to its heft, thickness, and the fact that there are sensitive elements on both faces: the LCD on one and the camera on the other.

Okay, let me shorten that: the A800 is very very very solidly constructed, the slider is very slick and feels very durable. Bam!

[CoreyTheGent]

Okay, and to rebut: Just because I wrote a review that didn't align with your opinion doesn't make it a 'pathetic' review. I was clear, concise, gave my reasons, etc. We're all entitled to our opinions, that's mine, we obviously disagree. Don't be a zealot. http://hush.cc/stickies/icon_wink.gifYou can't blame sel or anybody else for being upset. I'd hate your review too if I paid the money for this overpriced POS. Pass me a Treo 650.

[tuolumne]

Corey, I hope your joking.

[eman]

You can't blame sel or anybody else for being upset. I'd hate your review too if I paid the money for this overpriced POS. Pass me a Treo 650.
I def. would not call this phone a POS......it is far from it....and people keep forgetting when they think people are upset with what they paid for and what they got because they can always return it if they feel it wasnt worth the money. So I dont think it really hurts them to hear a bad review.....If they believe it then they would just return it.....and by the way.....I owned the 4050 for 9 months....I was over it the day I bought A MM7400.....its time for people to move on....

[Barry28]

Heh, thanks for the kudos y'all, I had phone writing that. I had the 4050 in one hand and the A800 in the other and was whining and yelling a lot... yeah.... my girl was about 10 seconds away from cracking me in the head with a frying pan.
Dont get me wrong, I used my 4050 for over a year and it was a great phone. Only problem I ever had with it was I had to reboot it every few weeks or it would start acting weird. Im sure the A800 will have its share of problems, but I have not had the phone long enough to find them all yet.. :)

PS, I fixed the creaking battery cover by sticking some vinyl on the back of the battery. Tightened it up and stopped the creaking.

[sel1965]

I'm just trying to figure out what you mean by taking to long to take a pic? What do you need to do, does it take that long for you to flip the lens press a button a couple of times and focus? Um takes me a couple of seconds and BAM pic taken and saved to camera ready for another. Sorry if the phone may not be right for you maybe it's a little to far advanced. Maybe the 4050 is just what you need. You are entitled to your opinion as I am and everyone else is I never said otherwise. What I did say was the review was pathetic in regards to some of the statements but then again that's my opinion and if you are entitled to yours I am entitled to mine. I had the 4050 for about 3 days and returned for limitation on surfing. Im glad the A800 has no limitations. Makes me so happy I spent my 523.76 - 150.00 for adding a 3rd line. I have taken a lot of pics and printed them out and they look awesome, try doing that with the 4050.

[tuolumne]

:badidea:

[Masterloc]

nice review comparison with both phones. how about one with the 4050 and the mm535 :)

[G-Unit_4900]

Great reveiw J, er' rvw ive read pretty much do what id expect them to do. BLOW THE A8 BALLS. (If i paid 500 for a phone id hype it up no matter what too). Thanks for keepin it trill'.... :clap:

[CoreyTheGent]

and people keep forgetting when they think people are upset with what they paid for and what they got because they can always return it if they feel it wasnt worth the money. So I dont think it really hurts them to hear a bad review.....If they believe it then they would just return it.....and by the way.....I owned the 4050 for 9 months....I was over it the day I bought A MM7400.....its time for people to move on....Rightttt.. now, look at sel's latest post and try to spit that same bull. He's not just stating his opinion, he's doing it in an antagonistic manner while trying to undermine Invader's credibility and overall common sense. That's why I responded the way I did. If he was just stating his opinion, there wouldn't be such an angry undertone. He is attacking. Barry28 is disagreeing.

[Invader J]

I'm just trying to figure out what you mean by taking to long to take a pic? What do you need to do, does it take that long for you to flip the lens press a button a couple of times and focus? Um takes me a couple of seconds and BAM pic taken and saved to camera ready for another.

It does take too long to open the camera app. But that's just me - you might find it fine. It takes on average 7 seconds to get the camera ready to take a picture. This is far far longer than any digital camera or cameraphone I've ever used (haven't used Samsungs though, maybe it's just them). 4050 takes about 1 second, my (slimmer than just the back-half of the A800) Casio 3.2MP cam takes about 1.5 seconds from being off. 7 seconds and your photo opportunity is gone - tack on another 2-3 seconds until the picture is taken, and that's much too long in my book for a camera thats supposed to be always 'ready to go', being stuck on a cell phone and all.

Sorry if the phone may not be right for you maybe it's a little to far advanced.

Feisty! How *cough* 'advanced' the camera may be has nothing to do with it. I think it takes far too long to get the camera ready to go. You disagree, that's cool, but it's a crying shame that they tout the 'advanced 2MP camera' when it takes longer than any standalone camera to startup, whether attached to a cell phone or a dedicated digital camera.

ALSO: Perhaps what I said in response to Sel's comments was a bit harsh, so apologies. Admittedly I'm being harsh on the A800 but hey, I'm just pointing out things I had issues with.

[sel1965]

Rightttt.. now, look at sel's latest post and try to spit that same bull. He's not just stating his opinion, he's doing it in an antagonistic manner while trying to undermine Invader's credibility and overall common sense. That's why I responded the way I did. If he was just stating his opinion, there wouldn't be such an angry undertone. He is attacking. Barry28 is disagreeing.

Cory know way am I attacking vader all I'm trying to figure out is how some of the statements made in the review could be made. I have the phone have had it now since the day it came out and I have no trouble taking pics, using the stt, using any of the voice mode options, and you know the font is such a stupid thing to say is poor. I mean the review itself im sure in some eyes is a good review but for someone who has now used the phone a week have gotten used to all the features and use them daily well I thought the review sucked. Plain and simple the only thing that made sense of all vaders bashing is the fact that the fonts are larger than the 4050. Other than that oh well and I said again he is entitled to his opinion. Im glad that I purchased the phone and have no regrets in doing so if I did I still have 7 days to return it. I have no intention of doing so.

[sel1965]

It does take too long to open the camera app. But that's just me - you might find it fine. It takes on average 7 seconds to get the camera ready to take a picture. This is far far longer than any digital camera or cameraphone I've ever used (haven't used Samsungs though, maybe it's just them). 4050 takes about 1 second, my (slimmer than just the back-half of the A800) Casio 3.2MP cam takes about 1.5 seconds from being off. 7 seconds and your photo opportunity is gone - tack on another 2-3 seconds until the picture is taken, and that's much too long in my book for a camera thats supposed to be always 'ready to go', being stuck on a cell phone and all.



Feisty! How *cough* 'advanced' the camera may be has nothing to do with it. I think it takes far too long to get the camera ready to go. You disagree, that's cool, but it's a crying shame that they tout the 'advanced 2MP camera' when it takes longer than any standalone camera to startup, whether attached to a cell phone or a dedicated digital camera.

ALSO: Perhaps what I said in response to Sel's comments was a bit harsh, so apologies. Admittedly I'm being harsh on the A800 but hey, I'm just pointing out things I had issues with.

Please don't forget the one important thing here, It's still a phone no matter what anyone says.

[CoreyTheGent]

You A800 owners think you're better than everybody else, with a 1.5mp camera and some "fluid-like" user interface that was slow as molasses when I tried it. Start bragging when Samsung issues the firmware upgrade in 16 months.

[Kinetic2k3]

ok looks like SU is back up... expect my review to be up shortly... hopefully it will be slightly less biased then some that have already been posted.

[NONAME]

ok looks like SU is back up... expect my review to be up shortly... hopefully it will be slightly less biased then some that have already been posted.Thank God :rolleyes:

[simpsonsadict]

ya know, its a lot faster to load the camera if u just push the "ok" button twice from the idle screen, instead of using the camera button, and when i use the camera button with the slide up i'm not asked to confirm it by using the ok button. i guess this might be less "convenient" but whatever

[Barry28]

I dont understand the comments about the slow User Interface, it seems quick to me...

Below is a small video I just made of me navigating through the menus.. Does this seem slow to you?

Right Click Save as (About 4mb)
http://www.fordpower.net/a800/menu.mpg

[suneeboyboy]

Invader J while I don't completely agree with your review, I can see where your gripes are coming from. So that makes it a great review. I had the phone for one day, looked at my 5600, then returned the A800 to best buy. It just wasn't for me.

Oh yeah....EZITAP BLOOOOOOWSSSS OH MY GOD I HATE IT!!!!!!! So much I want to kill everyone involved in th e development of Ezitap and leaving T9 out of the A800. Ezitap is regular goddam alpha lolololol. If I type "is" that's friggin 7 taps, as opposed to 2 on t9. WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING!!!!

[punkkix03]

I must say that menu switching is very fast...Of course the phone book thing there at the end looked like it could piss a person off if they have a LOT of numbers in there phone and have to go any farther than the first letter of the name.

[tuolumne]

No, not really. All Samsung's have been like this since the A500. You can search via name, efficiently.

[Barry28]

I must say that menu switching is very fast...Of course the phone book thing there at the end looked like it could piss a person off if they have a LOT of numbers in there phone and have to go any farther than the first letter of the name.
If you type the second letter of the name it will move closer to the actual name. The 4050 operates the same way and is a bit quicker in this aspect, but the A800 is by no means slow.

[punkkix03]

Very nice. That A800 looked very tempting when I was looking around to get a new phone these last 2 weeks, but the price to me just wasn't worth it. So I ended up buying this 4050 for 145 after shipping, used of course, but only for 2 days, so it was well worth it.

[sel1965]

Nice to see some of the issues that the review expressed as poor have been put to rest.

[Marlon_JB2]

Heh, I thought it was a great review. :tu:

[macaddiict]

Awesome review. I'm up for my rebate in a few weeks and was excited to see the A800 released early enough to get to read some of these reviews before buying. EziTAP alone sounds rediculous. There's no way to set it to T9?! No way? Are we sure? Ugh!!

Do you think you'll get used to the EziTAP? Or does the voice recognition work well enough for most situations? Gosh I hope so, otherwise it sounds like they ruined a good phone with some very minor details...

[tuolumne]

TSS works great :tu:....much fasater than ezitap or T9:)

[punkkix03]

But as said before...if you are going to use TSS you might as well call the person...You use SMS when you are trying to be quiet/in a quiet area normally.

[G-Unit_4900]

^^thats wut i thought! but people harp on it like its a revolution! only time it even be neccessary to use would be while drivin. but with all the corrections i hear u have 2 make its jus as time consuming.

[jgallandt]

Wirelessly posted (Sanyo MM7400: Mozilla/4.0 (MobilePhone MM-7400/US/1.0) NetFront/3.1 MMP/2.0)

Somebody posted a thread awhile back about that maybe we should not be able to reply to a review because of attacks on the person who gave the review. I believe this thread gives that previous thread credence. I'm posting wap, so I cannot post that link to that thread. Somebody? People attacking the OP here because they disagree with him is childish and immature. Attack his points if you wish, but not the person. Hats off to Invader J for not stuping to that level in his replies.

[mcurtiss1970]

Wirelessly posted (Sanyo MM7400: Mozilla/4.0 (MobilePhone MM-7400/US/1.0) NetFront/3.1 MMP/2.0)

Somebody posted a thread awhile back about that maybe we should not be able to reply to a review because of attacks on the person who gave the review. I believe this thread gives that previous thread credence. I'm posting wap, so I cannot post that link to that thread. Somebody? People attacking the OP here because they disagree with him is childish and immature. Attack his points if you wish, but not the person. Hats off to Invader J for not stuping to that level in his replies.

I believe that was me. :D http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65338

I think it's downright offensive how people have attacked InvaderJ, a SU member I've never seen to be biased but just plain loves his phone, for giving his review. Some of you need a dose of perspective.

[eman]

What I think is people who own the 5600 is hoping the A8 fails as much as it can....I know, I was one of those people......when you buy a new phone and it is suppose to be the top of the line and then, bam...a new phone comes out which is suppose to top it, it is not a good feeling.....so you hope this new phone is going to suck.....you dont want to spend money again and get a new phone....then convince your girl or guy you must have this new phone, kind of like you did with the phone you just purchased a month ago.....so obviously the best thing you can hear is the new phone is not better then the one you have and you itch to hear those bad reviews so you know you still have the better phone.....well I would just like to say.....even though the A800 has the better camera the 5600 excels in alot also.....I do not think one phone is better then the other.....the 5600 is a great, great phone.....the A8 drew me in because I wanted a nice UI again.......Am I going to keep it....I dont know....what I do know is I am selling my 5600.....I personally dont want to back back to it after the A8.....my 5600 is in the trading section if anyone is interested....so I will either keep the A8 or return it and get a Treo 650.....The thing that is bothering me the most on the A8 is when you speak to someone who has alot of noise around them it makes this weird cutting in and out sound.....it is very annoying......I have to use the phone more to see if I can deal with this but this alone might be enough to return the phone.....The bottom line is it is a phone and I must be able to have a good talking experience in the end......

[dukenewt]

Finally got a chance to use the A800 yesterday. I'm impressed with the phone overall. I think it would be a great $350.00 phone, but only a good $500.00 phone. Sure it's ahead of it's time, but not by that much.


Duke

[eman]

Finally got a chance to use the A800 yesterday. I'm impressed with the phone overall. I think it would be a great $350.00 phone, but only a good $500.00 phone. Sure it's ahead of it's time, but not by that much.


Duke
Hey, seeing you have a Treo 650. how do you like it?.....My issue now is keep the A8 or go to a Treo......Man these phones can drive you nuts!!!!

[dukenewt]

Hey, seeing you have a Treo 650. how do you like it?.....My issue now is keep the A8 or go to a Treo......Man these phones can drive you nuts!!!!

I love the Treo 650. Thought about selling it and getting the A800. Decided against it when I saw the samsung up close and personal. The Treo has it's issues, but a good phone overall.


Duke

[Invader J]

Do you think you'll get used to the EziTAP? Or does the voice recognition work well enough for most situations? Gosh I hope so, otherwise it sounds like they ruined a good phone with some very minor details...

Slowly I've gotten into the swing of Ezi. The more you use it the more common words and phrases it remembers, so it gets easier over time. Ezi could have been great if it integrated the immediacy of T9 - for instance, typing out the word 'love'. Ezi requires you to hit 5 x3, then 6 x3 to get the L and O, then it will give you a prediction list. What they SHOULD have done was allow you to type just 5 then 6, THEN give you a prediction list - that would combine the speed of T9 with the handy prediction of Ezi.

---

About being biased: For what it's worth, I'm not brand-loyal at all. I'll get whatever phone from whatever manufacturer if I think it's good. So the issues I have with the A800 are in no way because it's a Samsung or anything like that.

Whenever I exaggerate it's because it's a pet peeve, but I did try to give accurate times for things - such as looking up a contact. It DOES take 1-2 seconds after entering a letter, whereas the 4050 is instantaneous. That's not an exaggeration - but it's something that you may not notice or care about. Personally, I dont like it - partly because there's no reason for the phone to be that slow, and partly because I'm so used to quickly hitting a letter then quickly hitting the Talk key.

---

Also, a bug: while typing in a text message, I needed to insert a few asterisks in places. after inserting a total of four of them in various spots in the message, Ezi's prediction menus do not pop up and I cannot change the case of the text anymore. Grrrr.

EDIT: Also, a bug or Ezi being dumb: if I type in a word, when Ezi pops up its prediction list but I dont need any of its predictions, if I then open the Symbols menu and insert a symbol, Ezi will make the word I was typing into whatever it's first prediction was! (for instance, I was making fun of my friend who had hiccups. I wanted to type "*hic*"... I got to "*hic" and Ezi popped up "hiccup" as a prediction. I didnt want this, so I just opened up the Symbols menu to add the last "*", but Ezi made the word into "hiccup" ANYway and THEN added the last "*". Dammit.)

[drewsky]

i havent had any problems at all with mine. ive seen every sprint phone, played around with them and had to troubleshoot all of them and this phone is hands down better than anything out there now. stop complaining until a software release if you think you got problems. and when it comes out, just get it ota unlike your toshiba.

[tuolumne]

Slowly I've gotten into the swing of Ezi. The more you use it the more common words and phrases it remembers, so it gets easier over time. Ezi could have been great if it integrated the immediacy of T9 - for instance, typing out the word 'love'. Ezi requires you to hit 5 x3, then 6 x3 to get the L and O, then it will give you a prediction list. What they SHOULD have done was allow you to type just 5 then 6, THEN give you a prediction list - that would combine the speed of T9 with the handy prediction of Ezi.



That would be eZiText.

[Ced91071]

DANG! You just reminded me why I miss my 4050 so dang much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Somebody call Toshiba ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!
We need a new model@! :headbang2

[eman]

One thing noticeably better on the A8 then the 5600 and obviously the 4050 is the camcorder.....I thought it was horrible on the 5600.....it was choppy and the video data rate seemed to be really low and made the pics very pixelated.....much better on the A8!

[jschu22]

You A800 owners think you're better than everybody else, with a 1.5mp camera and some "fluid-like" user interface that was slow as molasses when I tried it. Start bragging when Samsung issues the firmware upgrade in 16 months.

Corey I generally agree with many things you say and pretty much respect all of it, but this is the most ridiculous thing Ive seen on this board in a long time. I hope this was a momentary lapse.

On a side note, its funny that there are many posts suggesting that A800 owners are lobbying to make their phone seem better than it is when in reality the opposite is happening just as often. I honesty do not recall anyone saying "My A800 is better than yours and if you dont have this one then you suck" but there are plenty of "Your A800 sucks and is a waste of money" posts. If someone wants this phone and buys it then great. If you decide that this phone doesnt match up with the price then thats fine too. Buy what makes you happy.

[Jaggrey]

I agree these phone wars/bashing is stupid... every1 has their own preference.

It's entertaining tho nonetheless :Popcorn2:

[booey]

Corey I generally agree with many things you say and pretty much respect all of it, but this is the most ridiculous thing Ive seen on this board in a long time. I hope this was a momentary lapse.

On a side note, its funny that there are many posts suggesting that A800 owners are lobbying to make their phone seem better than it is when in reality the opposite is happening just as often. I honesty do not recall anyone saying "My A800 is better than yours and if you dont have this one then you suck" but there are plenty of "Your A800 sucks and is a waste of money" posts. If someone wants this phone and buys it then great. If you decide that this phone doesnt match up with the price then thats fine too. Buy what makes you happy.

i also agree, the Samsung haters here are toally outta control, maybe it was tuolumne that brought it out of them, i dunno .. but everyone needs to just calm down and get a life.. its a freakin cell phone people!!!!
we have soldiers dying overseas everyday, and you are fighting mad on whether the A800 is better than the 5600?
put things in their proper perspective people.. geeeeez

[ScrapMaker]

TSS works great :tu:....much fasater than ezitap or T9:)

that seems like quite an overstatement...

I had a texting war with my brother with his a800 with his STT, perfectly trained, and he's been using it for days, so he has the hang of it.

with my t9 on my 5500, I was *roughly* twice as fast as him... considering I am a master at alpha entry, using t9(which I don't normally use,) is way too easy and fast (except for when your word doesn't exhist, but I hear you can add more words somehow?)

so basically the STT and cardscanner are gimmiky features that don't work very well...

I also get the feeling that people who bought the $500 are trying to justify it... by over-glorfying the phone... that's to be expected... when I first got my 5500... I felt the same way.

If you ask me, this phone would be down-right godlike if there was a software fix for the following:
- 9 seconds to take a good picture
- slider open/closed resolution limitation
- "blown-out-of-proportion" .5mp over-rating of the camera resolution output. (it should probably be outputting the 800x600 shots and leave it at that)
- T9 integration

ALL of those things can be fixed via software upgrades, so maybe there is hope..

the only HARDWARE changes they could make are:
- louder speaker

plus they'd have to fix the audio 'choppiness' that so many have already observed... unless that's just poor manufacturing that led to that... we'll see

overall I like the phone, but with the bugs/drawbacks/limitations that I've witnesssed in person and read about on these forums... it's worth about $300 to me, with no rebates.

[sel1965]

[QUOTE=ScrapMaker]that seems like quite an overstatement...

I had a texting war with my brother with his a800 with his STT, perfectly trained, and he's been using it for days, so he has the hang of it.

with my t9 on my 5500, I was *roughly* twice as fast as him... considering I am a master at alpha entry, using t9(which I don't normally use,) is way too easy and fast (except for when your word doesn't exhist, but I hear you can add more words somehow?)

so basically the STT and cardscanner are gimmiky features that don't work very well...

I also get the feeling that people who bought the $500 are trying to justify it... by over-glorfying the phone... that's to be expected... when I first got my 5500... I felt the same way.

If you ask me, this phone would be down-right godlike if there was a software fix for the following:
- 9 seconds to take a good picture
- slider open/closed resolution limitation
- "blown-out-of-proportion" .5mp over-rating of the camera resolution output. (it should probably be outputting the 800x600 shots and leave it at that)
- T9 integration

ALL of those things can be fixed via software upgrades, so maybe there is hope..

the only HARDWARE changes they could make are:
- louder speaker

plus they'd have to fix the audio 'choppiness' that so many have already observed... unless that's just poor manufacturing that led to that... we'll see

overall I like the phone, but with the bugs/drawbacks/limitations that I've witnesssed in person and read about on these forums... it's worth about $300 to me, with no rebates.[/QUOT

There is no reason to over glorify anything. I hated T9 and thougth it was useless the ezitap has been a peice of cake to learn this is from experience by the way. I have no reason to over glorify this phone. It speaks for itself the card scanner has worked to perfection for me and I have sanned close to 50 cards now. So I am happy as can be with my 349.00 purchase.

[CoreyTheGent]

Corey I generally agree with many things you say and pretty much respect all of it, but this is the most ridiculous thing Ive seen on this board in a long time. I hope this was a momentary lapse.

On a side note, its funny that there are many posts suggesting that A800 owners are lobbying to make their phone seem better than it is when in reality the opposite is happening just as often. I honesty do not recall anyone saying "My A800 is better than yours and if you dont have this one then you suck" but there are plenty of "Your A800 sucks and is a waste of money" posts. If someone wants this phone and buys it then great. If you decide that this phone doesnt match up with the price then thats fine too. Buy what makes you happy.You're with them, jschu. You're an "Aristocrat" now. I didn't expect you to feel any different.

Nobody has blatantly stated "My A800 is better than yours," because most people aren't in your face like I am. I have no ulterior motives, and I don't attack people when they post some disparaging remarks about either my current phone or a phone I once owned. Yet everytime somebody speaks on the Samsung A800's inferiorities/issues/bugs, I see some A800 owners trying to "nonchalantly" sneak in and downplay it as "Samsung bashing" or "You're just mad because you can't afford this phone." Or, just flat-out anger. My response is often one of fury, because this angers me. I apologize if it is offensive at times.

[sel1965]

The A800 is a great phone and there are going to be those people that hate the brand for whatever reason who are going to bash for whatever reason. Maybe just to bash the brand because it's Samsung. I have a Sanyo 5600 and love the phone it's one of the best out. Now I have the other best phone out the Samsung A800. People might as well get used to the fact that this is a good phone and it's a winner. They can bash it all they want to but the it's still going to be standing tall among all the other phones in Sprints lineup for some time to come. I am lucky enough to own both of the best phones so I couldn't be happier. I am a person who likes to have the best of the best that's why Im with Sprint to begin with and that's why I won't switch to another carrier ever again.

[suneeboyboy]

I hated T9 and thougth it was useless the ezitap has been a peice of cake to learn this is from experience by the way.

I can see where you're coming from, there are people who hate T9 and always use alpha. I have a few friends like that. When you get used to it, its so much faster. I can probably type 40-45wpm T9! So the multiple pressing for alpha and now ezitap is a big no, no for me. I don't see why they would choose eZiTap over eZiText? Trust me, if the A8 gets a T9 or eZiText upgrade, I will give them my $500 again

[suneeboyboy]

That would be eZiText.

Is there anyway that WE can download something like this into our phones? Since we have a USB, are there any hacks or programs?

[drewsky]

that seems like quite an overstatement...

I had a texting war with my brother with his a800 with his STT, perfectly trained, and he's been using it for days, so he has the hang of it.

with my t9 on my 5500, I was *roughly* twice as fast as him... considering I am a master at alpha entry, using t9(which I don't normally use,) is way too easy and fast (except for when your word doesn't exhist, but I hear you can add more words somehow?)

so basically the STT and cardscanner are gimmiky features that don't work very well...

I also get the feeling that people who bought the $500 are trying to justify it... by over-glorfying the phone... that's to be expected... when I first got my 5500... I felt the same way.

If you ask me, this phone would be down-right godlike if there was a software fix for the following:
- 9 seconds to take a good picture
- slider open/closed resolution limitation
- "blown-out-of-proportion" .5mp over-rating of the camera resolution output. (it should probably be outputting the 800x600 shots and leave it at that)
- T9 integration

ALL of those things can be fixed via software upgrades, so maybe there is hope..

the only HARDWARE changes they could make are:
- louder speaker

plus they'd have to fix the audio 'choppiness' that so many have already observed... unless that's just poor manufacturing that led to that... we'll see

overall I like the phone, but with the bugs/drawbacks/limitations that I've witnesssed in person and read about on these forums... it's worth about $300 to me, with no rebates.


stt is not overrated. it works well if youve got it down to where you know what youre doing and its often handier than typing it in. second, you are able to take pictures of equal quality to any OTHER camera phone in about 2 seconds by opening the phone and hitting OK twice, with autofocus off. if you want the digital camera-like pics, hold it like a digital camera. its not designed to be like any other camera phone in full res. eziTap works very well once you get used to it. i personally like it more than t9. eziText may be a little easier but the adaptiveness of this phones eziTap is nice.

[Invader J]

so basically the STT and cardscanner are gimmiky features that don't work very well...

I can't get it to recognize "hello beautiful" at all. It'll get 'hello' after one or two times but 'beautiful'? FORGET it. Waste of time.

If you ask me, this phone would be down-right godlike if there was a software fix for the following:
- 9 seconds to take a good picture
- slider open/closed resolution limitation
- T9 integration

plus they'd have to fix the audio 'choppiness' that so many have already observed... unless that's just poor manufacturing that led to that... we'll see


Agreed. As for the sound cutting in/out, I've only experienced it a few times, and in fact didn't realize it until later - I assumed it was related to reception until I noticed the absence of background noise when I was on the phone with my friend and he put the phone down! There's ALWAYS background noise in his office but the noice-cancelling was taking care if it. It was actually kinda annoying.

[Halo2Proz]

I can't get it to recognize "hello beautiful" at all. It'll get 'hello' after one or two times but 'beautiful'? FORGET it. Waste of time.



Agreed. As for the sound cutting in/out, I've only experienced it a few times, and in fact didn't realize it until later - I assumed it was related to reception until I noticed the absence of background noise when I was on the phone with my friend and he put the phone down! There's ALWAYS background noise in his office but the noice-cancelling was taking care if it. It was actually kinda annoying.


its your accent bro :hee: that new yawk thing...it doesnt pick up 1/2 the words I say as well

[jschu22]

You're with them, jschu. You're an "Aristocrat" now. I didn't expect you to feel any different.

Nobody has blatantly stated "My A800 is better than yours," because most people aren't in your face like I am. I have no ulterior motives, and I don't attack people when they post some disparaging remarks about either my current phone or a phone I once owned. Yet everytime somebody speaks on the Samsung A800's inferiorities/issues/bugs, I see some A800 owners trying to "nonchalantly" sneak in and downplay it as "Samsung bashing" or "You're just mad because you can't afford this phone." Or, just flat-out anger. My response is often one of fury, because this angers me. I apologize if it is offensive at times.

I am?!? But... how?!? Did they sneak in one night or something?!? Damn dog didnt even bark!

But seriously though your right Corey, you dont do those things thats why your posts IMO deserve a greater amount of respect than some others. What your saying about A800 owners is true about every phone though. When a phone comes out some people buy it and like it, some people dont buy it and then bash it. Most people fall in between those two. Have we all short-term memory loss? Sanyo 5600 anyone? The love-fest that phone enjoys right now wasnt always the case. The 5600's approval rating is at an all-time high right now and thats only because something newer has come along, not because the phone has gotten any better.

This happens almost everytime a new phone comes out. There will be a certain percentage that feel strongly against a phone but as time goes on this tends to reverse itself. The 4050 has quietly devolped a cult-like following, whos users cant imagine a better phone out there and the 5500 is apparently now the gold standard for those intelligent consumers that cant be hypnotized by unnecessary bells and whistles such as MM or MP3 playing. All of these phones, at the time, had characterists that quite a few did not like. At one point it was almost as if the families of those involved with the 5500's developement were in danger due to the re-dailing bug. :bang:

[Invader J]

Aw maaaaaan. Just when I was getting used to the phone's foibles, getting Ezi to more accurately predict what I write, etc... the noise cancellation rears its ugly ugly head.

It doesn't really show up when you're having a normal conversation, even when both parties are speaking at the same time - it shows when the person on the other end tries to talk quietly. Had two separate conversations, both people trying to talk softly - the phone just kept cutting off the beginnings and endings of their words. It was like talking through a bad walkie-talkie. I couldn't even keep the conversation going because I just couldn't understand what they were saying. Tried a few conversations where the other party could talk normally - had no problems really!

This is really dreadful. I was even coming to grips with the things I pointed out as being negative - for instance I found that having my task list overlayed on the idle screen is a GODsend! I was using it all day to keep track of things. But this noise cancellation is a definite dealbreaker - it's gotta go back to the store.

Go ahead and ask the person you're calling to speak softly or whisper - I bet you won't be able to understand a word, as the threshold that the noise cancel circuitry turns off at is WAY too high.

THIS TOTALLY SUCKS. I do think the phone has a LOT of shortcomings, but I was really trying to adapt. And I was well on my way, until this showed up. I can't use it as a phone. If you never have to talk so someone that needs to talk quietly than you're probably safe from this (for now, until they release an update or something) but since I need to have a lot of conversations like that, the phone is 100% unusable to me.

Crapnuts! http://hush.cc/stickies/icon_mad.gif

[suneeboyboy]

It is an excellent camera, an excellent quality device, but a very very below sub-par cell phone.

[CoreyTheGent]

But seriously though your right Corey, you dont do those things thats why your posts IMO deserve a greater amount of respect than some others. What your saying about A800 owners is true about every phone though. When a phone comes out some people buy it and like it, some people dont buy it and then bash it. Most people fall in between those two. Have we all short-term memory loss? Sanyo 5600 anyone? The love-fest that phone enjoys right now wasnt always the case. The 5600's approval rating is at an all-time high right now and thats only because something newer has come along, not because the phone has gotten any better.

This happens almost everytime a new phone comes out. There will be a certain percentage that feel strongly against a phone but as time goes on this tends to reverse itself. The 4050 has quietly devolped a cult-like following, whos users cant imagine a better phone out there and the 5500 is apparently now the gold standard for those intelligent consumers that cant be hypnotized by unnecessary bells and whistles such as MM or MP3 playing. All of these phones, at the time, had characterists that quite a few did not like. At one point it was almost as if the families of those involved with the 5500's developement were in danger due to the re-dailing bug. :bang:In case you didn't get it, my first part about you being an aristocrat was a joke. My problem is that people don't know when I'm serious and when I'm kidding, since I hate these stupid smilies.

I agree 100% with the rest of your post. It's just like I told tuolumne a few hours ago and everyone around here when the 5600 first came out: Every new phone must take a beating first. It's like an initiation.

[ScrapMaker]

With so many people having this problem, they MUST put out an update for it... otherwise big-name magazines will do some review of it, and find out about all these flaws


maybe there's a good reason samsung NEVER has service activated on their demo phones at shows...

[jschu22]

In case you didn't get it, my first part about you being an aristocrat was a joke. My problem is that people don't know when I'm serious and when I'm kidding, since I hate these stupid smilies.

I agree 100% with the rest of your post. It's just like I told tuolumne a few hours ago and everyone around here when the 5600 first came out: Every new phone must take a beating first. It's like an initiation.

Oh I got the joke, no problem.

[jschu22]

It is an excellent camera, an excellent quality device, but a very very below sub-par cell phone.

*WARNING- Just my opinion here*

Wow, someone is wearing their exageration pants today.

While my phone has not exhibited the noise cancelling problem Im also not denying that it exists, but the posts saying "ALLL these flaws" and "SOOO many problems" with the phone are getting out of hand.

[Jaggrey]

It is an excellent camera, an excellent quality device, but a very very below sub-par cell phone.
Sounds like what some1 else said... a camera with a phone built in.

[ScrapMaker]

yup... I just think that a lot of people are mad they spent money on a phone that has so many flaws... if they weren't mad, they wouldn't keep stepping in and defending it like a wrongly-accused family member.

the rest of us are just glad we didn't get sucked into the hype.

[ScrapMaker]

god bless the 15-day trial

[sel1965]

yup... I just think that a lot of people are mad they spent money on a phone that has so many flaws... if they weren't mad, they wouldn't keep stepping in and defending it like a wrongly-accused family member.

the rest of us are just glad we didn't get sucked into the hype.

Whatever dude! No need to defend something that isn't bad. My phone does just what it needs to do and I'm as happy as can be. Makes great calls, holds a signal just as good as my 5600, receives calls great, takes great daytime pics and great nighttime pics, mp3s sound great on it, sprint tv looks great what more can I ask for in a phone oh yeah I really have gotten to like the ezitap works great!

[Invader J]

Ack. So I swapped my A800 for a new one that I'm supposed to be sending back to Sprint. Sure enough, noise cancellation bug is fully reproducible - talk softly and it gets broken up/cut off. Arrrrrgh!

[suneeboyboy]

That eZiTap, non-speaker phone, noice cancelling, oily screen having, flying heap of complete trash!

[tuolumne]

That chintzy designed, creaky flipped, barbaric UI-ed, and ungodly antena ridden phone of yours!

[Ronkh]

Ack. So I swapped my A800 for a new one that I'm supposed to be sending back to Sprint. Sure enough, noise cancellation bug is fully reproducible - talk softly and it gets broken up/cut off. Arrrrrgh!


Welcome to my world.......

[suneeboyboy]

That chintzy designed, creaky flipped, barbaric UI-ed, and ungodly antena ridden phone of yours!

That brick, inaccurate RF displaying, low mp3 playing, loose slide, STT useless, overpriced disgrace of a phone!

[tuolumne]

well actually the RF is excellent, better than your 5600 (or so some say). Also STT works, and the MP3 is louder and more bassy than your 5600 (or so some say).

[suneeboyboy]

well actually the RF is excellent, better than your 5600 (or so some say). Also STT works, and the MP3 is louder and more bassy than your 5600 (or so some say).

Me love barbaric 5600 UI ooga booga. :hungry:

[tbakergobuck]

Got to get some :Popcorn2: for the show.

[tuolumne]

Me love barbaric 5600 UI ooga booga. :hungry:

It's ALRIGHT...but no A800 :headbang2

[suneeboyboy]

:lol: nah, the A8 is a great phone. I might try it again, to see if I made the right choice.

[jschu22]

Sometimes I wish I could have the posts by users with phones over a year and a half old (Sanyo 5500) blocked out and save me the aggravation of reading them.

[ScrapMaker]

sel I'm glad to hear that your phone works great... overall I'd like to point out that most of the problems with the A800 can be fixed with software updates... and if they do that, it may be a serious candidate at that point.

until then... I'd even consider nokia.

[sel1965]

sel I'm glad to hear that your phone works great... overall I'd like to point out that most of the problems with the A800 can be fixed with software updates... and if they do that, it may be a serious candidate at that point.

until then... I'd even consider nokia.

I have to say I have been pretty lucky with my phone purchases. Never have really had issues with the bugs that people talk about. Maybe living in KC is a plus since I am close to the cooperate headquarters. Not really but thought I would throw that out there. I have just been pretty lucky no matter what phone I have had. There have been a few I really liked and some I just couldn't like no matter what I did. So it just goes to show you it's a crap shoot roll the dice and hope you get a 7 on your first roll everytime!

[ScrapMaker]

hey sel, do you mind trying to see if you talk to someone, and they talk really softly, or there is music playing in the background, to see if the noise-cancellation works great for you? because if that is true, I may just convince my brother to take his back in and get a new one...

does your 15-day trial start over? :)

[sel1965]

hey sel, do you mind trying to see if you talk to someone, and they talk really softly, or there is music playing in the background, to see if the noise-cancellation works great for you? because if that is true, I may just convince my brother to take his back in and get a new one...

does your 15-day trial start over? :)

I just maybe dumb but I have tried everything to get it to happen and to this point I haven't. My fiance calls me all the time and when she calls from her car she never turns her stereo down so I can hear that in the background and still hear everyword she says. So I really don't know what else I can do. I think if you return a phone for a defect it does start your 14 day deal over again. Then if you return that one I don't think you can do an exchange just a refund. Someone correct me please if I am wrong on that.

[bluecoyote]

Great review, J- covered exactly what I'm concerned about for upgrading my 4050. Guess I'll be keeping it a lil' longer! I want a good camera, but I also want a phone that's an IMPROVEMENT for what I currently use it for. This phone is shaping up to be a typical Samsung. Yawn.

I'm feeling no love for Sprint's lineup ('though I could get by with a 5600, and I haven't ruled out the LG 535 yet) , so I hope they get their butts in gear soon. Looks like I'll need to wait it out for EV-DO or S60.

[mscott]

hey sel, do you mind trying to see if you talk to someone, and they talk really softly, or there is music playing in the background, to see if the noise-cancellation works great for you? because if that is true, I may just convince my brother to take his back in and get a new one...

does your 15-day trial start over? :)

Sprint is sending me a return kit for the a800. I don't want to end up in the situation where I spent $500 + tax on a phone that has some serious pock marks in its usability, that I will be unhappy with. I'll just wait for my 5300 to crap out completely, and get a cheapy phone then, or if it lasts long enough for something really wiz-bang with 100% working features.

Who knows, maybe they'll put out firmware updates and fix everything on the a800, but there is no guarantee it will happen.

Mark

[eman]

Great review, J- covered exactly what I'm concerned about for upgrading my 4050. Guess I'll be keeping it a lil' longer! I want a good camera, but I also want a phone that's an IMPROVEMENT for what I currently use it for. This phone is shaping up to be a typical Samsung. Yawn.

I'm feeling no love for Sprint's lineup ('though I could get by with a 5600, and I haven't ruled out the LG 535 yet) , so I hope they get their butts in gear soon. Looks like I'll need to wait it out for EV-DO or S60.
Call me crazy....I loved the 4050, owned one for 9 months.....Let it go for a 7400 and never missed the 4050 after that......It is a great phone but there is only so much you can do with it.....with a MM phone there is just so much more to keep you occupied, especially the ones with mp3 and video players.....

[NONAME]

Call me crazy....I loved the 4050, owned one for 9 months.....Let it go for a 7400 and never missed the 4050 after that......It is a great phone but there is only so much you can do with it.....with a MM phone there is just so much more to keep you occupied, especially the ones with mp3 and video players.....Naw,not crazy at all :) .You are correct..its hard to get bored with the 7400 or any other MM phone for that matter. As far as the 4050 I think I may own the record for returning that one about a year ago (3 hrs.) as it just didnt feel good or fit me...I dont know..it just gave me that I GOTTA RETURN THIS THING feeling. Even though, I heard It was a good phone ;)

[simpsonsadict]

Wirelessly posted (samsung a680: VM4050/132.037 UP.Browser/6.2.2.4.e.1.100 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

When i returned my a8 they said that its a 30 day return policy and it doesn't start over. I hope youre asking about best buy lol

[CoreyTheGent]

Why'd you return it, SA?

[simpsonsadict]

it had a bug that wouldnt let me type more than one letter using the ezitap, the first letter was fine then once i tried for a second letter the phone completely froze up and i had to remove the battery, if i turned the prediction off it worked fine but i hate regular abc mode (not that i like ezi at all!!! i hate it) they gave me a replacement and so far so good *crossing fingers*

[Invader J]

MAAAAAAN!

Try sending a VideoMail-size video, saved on your memory card, to someone. My phone freezes completely every single time.

[ScrapMaker]

sounds like its going to be a mad dash for everyone to return these phones...

I bet Samsung is scrambling to fix all this stuff

after all this, I now put Samsung in the same category as Motorola... crappy software.

[bluecoyote]

I'd love a multimedia phone. I want a phone that offers a good combination of features and implementation of those features. The 5600 is a really good phone- no doubt about that, but the A800 seems to be, well, a let down. I'll cast final judgement when i see it in person, but in no way, shape, or form is it acceptable for a $500.00 phone to perform actions poorly in comparison to a $300.00 phone that is 18 months old.

We need more Toshibas.

[Halo2Proz]

you cant send pictures saved on the TF card as picture shares

[FairlightRacing]

sounds like its going to be a mad dash for everyone to return these phones...

I bet Samsung is scrambling to fix all this stuff

after all this, I now put Samsung in the same category as Motorola... crappy software.

Yeah definitely. I'm quite amazed myself. You would think that a company that ships out over 100 million mobile phones a year would make every single one PERFECT and bug-free. Guess Samsung just let us down.

Luckily Toshiba, Sanyo, etc are all 100% PERFECT with absolutely no problems what so ever. I mean a simple search of the board for problems with any of these phones will pop up 0 results!

[Jake]

Yeah definitely. I'm quite amazed myself. You would think that a company that ships out over 100 million mobile phones a year would make every single one PERFECT and bug-free. Guess Samsung just let us down.

Luckily Toshiba, Sanyo, etc are all 100% PERFECT with absolutely no problems what so ever. I mean a simple search of the board for problems with any of these phones will pop up 0 results!

lol :lol:

[Ronkh]

Yeah definitely. I'm quite amazed myself. You would think that a company that ships out over 100 million mobile phones a year would make every single one PERFECT and bug-free. Guess Samsung just let us down.

Luckily Toshiba, Sanyo, etc are all 100% PERFECT with absolutely no problems what so ever. I mean a simple search of the board for problems with any of these phones will pop up 0 results!


you sound a little defensive, ok alot defensive, as well as offensive :scare:

[FairlightRacing]

you sound a little defensive, ok alot defensive, as well as offensive :scare:

No, more like offended. Offended that Samsung would have the audacity to release a phone with minor bugs in it. Especially in the face of the Heaven-on-Earth technological perfection that the other manufactures have sold.

(Hopefully these last two posts will get me in the Samsung haters club! Where all Samsungs are "pieces of garbage," have "crappy software," "bug city," etc. Of course all other phones, specifically the Treo 650, Toshiba 4050 and the Sanyo 5600, are perfect little angels.)

[jschu22]

sounds like its going to be a mad dash for everyone to return these phones...

I bet Samsung is scrambling to fix all this stuff

after all this, I now put Samsung in the same category as Motorola... crappy software.

This world that you live in, where exaggeration rules, can one say they have like a gazillion dollars and thats true as well?

[bjork_rules]

This world that you live in, where exaggeration rules, can one say they have like a gazillion dollars and thats true as well?
Anyone who's anyone has at least 10 gazillion dollars. Get a job. ;)

[ScrapMaker]

So it's exaggerating to say that this phone is full of software glitches?

I'd think it's exaggerating to say anything to the contrary.

And by putting it in the same category as Motorola, I mean that they ruin a perfectly good phone by putting code designed by preschoolers in the microcontroller.

[bluecoyote]

Yeah definitely. I'm quite amazed myself. You would think that a company that ships out over 100 million mobile phones a year would make every single one PERFECT and bug-free. Guess Samsung just let us down.

Luckily Toshiba, Sanyo, etc are all 100% PERFECT with absolutely no problems what so ever. I mean a simple search of the board for problems with any of these phones will pop up 0 results!


It's funny. Apple sure does come close to making the perfect laptop and OS. Toshiba sure as hell came close with their first ever USA production cameraphone (and if you use it just for placing and recieving calls, for all intents and purposes, it is perfect- I know of no phone with better sound quality and ability to hold a call, or a quicker phone book.) Nokia's clipping perfection awful close with their high end S60 phones. I don't know, maybe I expected the third/2nd largest cell phone manufacturer in the world to do a darn good job when thrown a frickin' $500.00 bone.


But they can't. They're Samsung. I bet 80% of R&D costs went into animating the freaking menus.

Who are they up against? Sanyo?

That's funny, since Sanyo barely registers as a blip in the US cellphone market... they've got one carrier, yet they're constantly neck and neck with Samsung (although in many regards, even I consider them ahead.) Sanyo gets this stuff right. Heck, even Sanyo. If you ask me, the MM5600 is fairly priced, and is superior in every regard except the camera.

[JRider]

Okay, after taking 30 minutes to read through this entire thread, I've come to one conclusion. As an ex 4050 user that fell into the same dilemma other Toshiba users did (Not being able to find a suitable upgrade), I have only one word for all of you- "Treo". It's at Costco! Call around and try to find it. Go buy it, play with it and fall in love with it. If you don't for some reason (make sure you download the new firmware), take it back for a full refund. No 15 day trial, take it back whenever you want. If you play with it for a month and decide it's not for you, take it back. I'm telling you, I loved my 4050, but I don't miss it one bit now. I miss a few small things that I won't get into now, but I am so pumped with my Treo 650. Invader, I don't know if you've ever played with a Treo or not, but if you dished out $500 for the Samsung, you gotta at least give the Treo a test run.

[ScrapMaker]

eh the treo is just too weird for me... an abnormal keypad... dealing with software that can crash when running programs... (which would then kill your phone capability,) doesn't sound like a good idea...

but if you don't run risky programs, I guess you're in luck... I know I'd try every damn program I could find.

[jschu22]

So it's exaggerating to say that this phone is full of software glitches?

I'd think it's exaggerating to say anything to the contrary.

And by putting it in the same category as Motorola, I mean that they ruin a perfectly good phone by putting code designed by preschoolers in the microcontroller.

"Full of software glitches"? Yes, that is an exagerration.

[Kinetic2k3]

well i was going to post my review up last nite however... i sorta had a bit too much fun at the pool and in i went with my a800.... damn getting pushed in.. but i deserved it hehe... so as of now my poor a800 has a blank white display... goin to best buy to exchange i will have the review up by tonite = )

[Jaggrey]

well i was going to post my review up last nite however... i sorta had a bit too much fun at the pool and in i went with my a800.... damn getting pushed in.. but i deserved it hehe... so as of now my poor a800 has a blank white display... goin to best buy to exchange i will have the review up by tonite = )
That sucks! :scare: LOL... that happened to a friend of mine, only it was with my Sony digital camera!

[bluecoyote]

No Analog support on Treo. I'll accept no analog on an S60 phone... but not a Treo :-P

[JRider]

No Analog support on Treo. I'll accept no analog on an S60 phone... but not a Treo :-P

Yeah, that would have bothered me too... if I lived in Iran. Everywhere I go I have digital coverage! I'm not too concerned about analog service. This isn't 1987.

[ScrapMaker]

"Full of software glitches"? Yes, that is an exagerration.

oh okay... I guess that people haven't been having constant problems with text entry, locking up, audio cutting out, and just little things like open/closed resolution changes and a few other things that simply need to be addressed, whether they were intentional or not.

[CoreyTheGent]

Yeah, that would have bothered me too... if I lived in Iran.LMAO. Good one.

[jschu22]

oh okay... I guess that people haven't been having constant problems with text entry, locking up, audio cutting out, and just little things like open/closed resolution changes and a few other things that simply need to be addressed, whether they were intentional or not.

Some have, yes, but to call any of this common is greatly overstating it. I would hardly use a handfull of outspoken SU members as a basis of judgement, unless of course I DIDNT WANT to like the phone. Then I would just read a few posts, jump in my '85 Camaro and drive to the top of the highest hill and scream how bad the phone is. Oh and the gripe about the open/closed resolution- get over it. I dont see why this would bother anyone unless they were looking for something to ***** about.

[CoreyTheGent]

jschu'll be coming around here in like 3 days, "Well, just got back from returning my A800."

[jschu22]

jschu'll be coming around here in like 3 days, "Well, just got back from returning my A800."

:lol: Nah, not likely. When I buy an expensive phone, I dont spend the next 14 days looking to justify it- I already have in purchasing it. A lot of people around here should stop looking at the glass as half-full. You will find that "buyer's remorse" wont happen nearly as often.

[tuolumne]

Luckily Toshiba, Sanyo, etc are all 100% PERFECT with absolutely no problems what so ever. I mean a simple search of the board for problems with any of these phones will pop up 0 results!

I guessed you never heard of the borken creaking hinges, redialing bugs, faulty circuitry, horrible earpieces, call droppings, antenna breakings, and horrible, yellow-tinted camera's...have you?

[CoreyTheGent]

:lol: Nah, not likely. When I buy an expensive phone, I dont spend the next 14 days looking to justify it- I already have in purchasing it. A lot of people around here should stop looking at the glass as half-full. You will find that "buyer's remorse" wont happen nearly as often.I agree, jschu, but I'm too much of a realist on the verge of pessimism for all of that happy thinking. When I buy something extremely cheap like this 9900 of mine for $150, I figure I can't lose. But if I paid $500 for the A800, I'd be eye-balling that thing like an Arab taking the White House tour.

[jschu22]

I agree, jschu, but I'm too much of a realist on the verge of pessimism for all of that happy thinking. When I buy something extremely cheap like this 9900 of mine for $150, I figure I can't lose. But if I paid $500 for the A800, I'd be eye-balling that thing like an Arab taking the White House tour.

As I would be eye-balling you- an Arab with a "nothing to lose" cheap phone has nothing to live for.

[eman]

Well, I just brought back my A8 today to best buy.....besides the camera, the 5600 is just the better phone in my opinion.....One word to describe it would be solid!.....The earpiece is solid, the speaker is solid, the build is solid, and I had 2 5600's and neither one has had the creaky hindge problem......I did order a Treo 650 today off of Ebay for a really good price....Hopefully it will be what is advertised.....But I know paypal will cover the order if its not......So I can rest a little better.......My first cell phone was a samsung and i was like TUTU when it came to defending them......After the A600 I left Samsung for a Sanyo 5500 because I am always willing to give new things a chance....Well I havent used a Samsung since and was looking foward to returning to one.....The only problem is I remeber my A600 having a better earpiece....whats up with that?......Why would samsung spend so much time making a beautiful UI and then take no time at all making the media player look good.....If you are watching a movie you are going to spend alot more time looking at the media player then the menu screen......The best comparison I can make is, imagine watching a wide screen movie if the top and bottom bars were all white instead of black.....it would look horrible.....well, that is what the A800's media player looked like....A picture surrounded by white and no option to change that......also to clear things up......Some people might think the camera having to being closed to take 1 or 2mp pics is a bug....It is not. It was obviously done this way on purpose considering the phone will tell you it must be closed in order to take a pic in that resolution if you choose that option when it is open. So I wouldnt look for a fix for this in an update......If anyone is deciding on this phone and has questions....just ask away....I played with everything on the phone including mp3's and .3gp video's......

[eman]

:lol: Nah, not likely. When I buy an expensive phone, I dont spend the next 14 days looking to justify it- I already have in purchasing it. A lot of people around here should stop looking at the glass as half-full. You will find that "buyer's remorse" wont happen nearly as often.
I think when you spend $500.00 on a phone you want the phone to jusify its price......I know when I walked out with the A8 my glass was full...After using it for 5 days it became half full....I tried with all my might to fill the rest of the glass but there was to much things sucking out the juice.....

[jschu22]

Nothing wrong with that. That I can respect- an openminded person making an educated decision (and by educated I mean actually using the phone, not just reading a few selective posts by some that will never consider owning it) to return the phone. Good luck with the 650, its a great phone.

[tuolumne]

Well, I just brought back my A8 today to best buy.....besides the camera, the 5600 is just the better phone in my opinion.....One word to describe it would be solid!.....The earpiece is solid, the speaker is solid, the build is solid, and I had 2 5600's and neither one has had the creaky hindge problem......I did order a Treo 650 today off of Ebay for a really good price....Hopefully it will be what is advertised.....But I know paypal will cover the order if its not......So I can rest a little better.......My first cell phone was a samsung and i was like TUTU when it came to defending them......After the A600 I left Samsung for a Sanyo 5500 because I am always willing to give new things a chance....Well I havent used a Samsung since and was looking foward to returning to one.....The only problem is I remeber my A600 having a better earpiece....whats up with that?......Why would samsung spend so much time making a beautiful UI and then take no time at all making the media player look good.....If you are watching a movie you are going to spend alot more time looking at the media player then the menu screen......The best comparison I can make is, imagine watching a wide screen movie if the top and bottom bars were all white instead of black.....it would look horrible.....well, that is what the A800's media player looked like....A picture surrounded by white and no option to change that......also to clear things up......Some people might think the camera having to being closed to take 1 or 2mp pics is a bug....It is not. It was obviously done this way on purpose considering the phone will tell you it must be closed in order to take a pic in that resolution if you choose that option when it is open. So I wouldnt look for a fix for this in an update......If anyone is deciding on this phone and has questions....just ask away....I played with everything on the phone including mp3's and .3gp video's......

See people harp on things and call it "Samsung's fault". In reality some of these peves you all speak of are inflicted by Sprint itself.

The media player. Samsung has media players with infinitely customizable UIs that look nice and that can view video's blown up, it's not like it was beond them to include it.

eZiText? Samsung included T9 in the phone until the final production version, meaning Sprint didn't want it there.

There are some things that you can blame the manufacture for, but some also has to rest with the carrier.

[eman]

See people harp on things and call it "Samsung's fault". In reality some of these peves you all speak of are inflicted by Sprint itself.

The media player. Samsung has media players with infinitely customizable UIs that look nice and that can view video's blown up, it's not like it was beond them to include it.

eZiText? Samsung included T9 in the phone until the final production version, meaning Sprint didn't want it there.

There are some things that you can blame the manufacture for, but some also has to rest with the carrier.
How can you blame sprint for not putting a decent media player in a MM phone.....And why would sprint care to cancel out T9?

[Ronkh]

How can you blame sprint for not putting a decent media player in a MM phone.....And why would sprint care to cancel out T9?


she is just spouting what someone else on another forum said.

mebbe right, mebbe wrong, but it is not her own information so she wont be able to answer it correctly.

[tuolumne]

How can you blame sprint for not putting a decent media player in a MM phone.....And why would sprint care to cancel out T9?

Who knows. All you have to do is look at Korean Samsung's. FULL video, FULL customizable media player.

[CoreyTheGent]

Right. As soon as the Samsung A800 was slapped on the table, the first thing Sprint demanded was "Take that damn T9 and fully customizable media player out!!"

[jschu22]

Maybe someone at that table just got dumped due a T9-missed prediction. Dont = foot, or something like that.

[flipn0tic]

Maybe someone at that table just got dumped due a T9-missed prediction. Dont = foot, or something like that.
Hahaha, that's hilarious. :headbang2

[FairlightRacing]

oh okay... I guess that people haven't been having constant problems with text entry, locking up, audio cutting out, and just little things like open/closed resolution changes and a few other things that simply need to be addressed, whether they were intentional or not.

This is my favorite "bug" in the A800: whaaaa.. the picture resolution changes depending on if the phone is open or not.. whaaaaa!!!

But you know what's funny? Even with the LOWER resolution while the phone is open the pictures are still BETTER THAN ANY OTHER PHONE available in the US. Pretty cool, huh?

By the way, my A800, along with the MAJORITY of people that own this phone, has no problem with text entry, locking up or audio cutting out. Zing!

[FairlightRacing]

Why would samsung spend so much time making a beautiful UI and then take no time at all making the media player look good.....If you are watching a movie you are going to spend alot more time looking at the media player then the menu screen......The best comparison I can make is, imagine watching a wide screen movie if the top and bottom bars were all white instead of black.....it would look horrible.....well, that is what the A800's media player looked like....A picture surrounded by white and no option to change that.

Now here is something I can agree with. Its not just their mobile phones either. I have a Samsung widescreen HDTV and when its in standard def 4:3 mode it has whitish/greyish bars on either side! It is so damn hard to watch things in 4:3 aspect ratio I have to use the option to stretch it to fit the screen. I cannot stand anything but BLACK bars around my videos, regardless if its a phone, TV, etc. FIX THIS SAMSUNG... RIGHT MEOW!%*#@$

[Jake]

I guessed you never heard of the borken creaking hinges, redialing bugs, faulty circuitry, horrible earpieces, call droppings, antenna breakings, and horrible, yellow-tinted camera's...have you?

HAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! tutu! he was kidding! aka...defending samsung!

[bluecoyote]

Who knows. All you have to do is look at Korean Samsung's. FULL video, FULL customizable media player.


I think:

Samsung Suit #1) "Hey, we can save money if we scrap T9 for EziTap!"

Samsung Suit #2) "Good Idea, they don't notice the difference! They don't even know we don't put in speaker phones!"

Samsung Suit #3) "Hey, look how much money we saved by leaving out the Speakerphone of the A700, A MULTIMEDIA PHONE!"

[ScrapMaker]

This is my favorite "bug" in the A800: whaaaa.. the picture resolution changes depending on if the phone is open or not.. whaaaaa!!!

But you know what's funny? Even with the LOWER resolution while the phone is open the pictures are still BETTER THAN ANY OTHER PHONE available in the US. Pretty cool, huh?

By the way, my A800, along with the MAJORITY of people that own this phone, has no problem with text entry, locking up or audio cutting out. Zing!

I call it a 'bug' because clearly samsung would NEVER do something as rediculous as this on purpose...

what reason could they possibly have to make the resolution smaller when the slider is opened?

[Jake]

I call it a 'bug' because clearly samsung would NEVER do something as rediculous as this on purpose...

what reason could they possibly have to make the resolution smaller when the slider is opened?

there isn't one, they want people to pretent like they are using a real camera! umm not quite, accually not even close.

[ScrapMaker]

yeah, clearly it should allow full resolution no matter what... what a rip...

[jschu22]

I know right! Who wants to waste the .5 seconds it takes to close the slide and turn the phone sideways?!?

[jschu22]

Oh, and screw you Samsung for putting a sliding lens cover on it. Just another waste of my time. This must be some kind of conspiracy.

[bluecoyote]

And curse you for not being the woman in the avatar.

[sel1965]

Would anyone like some cheese with your whine?

[DulacLancelot]

I call it a 'bug' because clearly samsung would NEVER do something as rediculous as this on purpose...

what reason could they possibly have to make the resolution smaller when the slider is opened?

i don't own the A800, but i've been doing a lot of reading, i believe the following to be true. anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

first of all, they did it on purpose. the phone tells you if you have the phone open that you must close the phone in order to take the full-resolution picture, so the developer had to know that this was the way it was in order to have put in that notification message. an argument which consists wholly of the word "clearly" and supported by the word "rediculous" is not enough because what is clear to one person is not clear to another, and what is ridiculous to one person might make sense to another. for example, to me, it is clear that this is NOT a bug. cell phones are not mystical magical creations. the option for the highest resolutions does not just magically get deactivated while leaving the other resolutions unharmed. down at the programming level, things are not as simple as a single "command" to say "make this resolution work" or conversely, "make this command NOT work." in order for the full-resolution option to be disabled while leaving the others operational, it took a lot more methodical and specific coding than that. this was no accident.

so what could be the reason for this type of operation? well, apparently, when the phone is open, after taking the picture you can instantly send it as a picturemail, while when the phone is closed, the picture gets saved to memory, and if you want to send it as a picturemail, you have to make the extra step of having to actually browse to the picture and then send it. in this way, it makes it a little more of a hassle to send a full-res picture, which might reduce the number of full-res pictures sent as picturemail by sprint customers as a whole. since Sprint picturemail is, for almost everyone who uses it, unlimited and not charged per-kB, this would be a welcome reduction in strain on Sprint's data network.

i like this solution very much. rather than making it impossible to send a 2MP picture, they just made it require a bit more effort. in this way, the regular person, who might not care that much, would probably just simply take the path of least resistance and send the lower-res picture. and yet, the more picky people like we who browse these bboards, still have the option of sending the full-res picture. huge full-res pictures.. and STILL unlimited. i'm thankful. i like regular users who could care less about the 2MP to be encouraged to send smaller pictures, especially if they are just going to be viewed on a cellphone screen anyway, reserving more bandwidth/speed for the more picky power users like ourselves. i like Sprint's stance on things being unlimited, and i like Sprint hosting our pictures for us online, unlimited. if you like your high-MP pictures, and you like Sprint's picturemail system, it's a very small price to pay to have to close the phone to take a full-res pic.

[bluecoyote]

i don't own the A800, but i've been doing a lot of reading, i believe the following to be true. anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

first of all, they did it on purpose. the phone tells you if you have the phone open that you must close the phone in order to take the full-resolution picture, so the developer had to know that this was the way it was in order to have put in that notification message. an argument which consists wholly of the word "clearly" and supported by the word "rediculous" is not enough because what is clear to one person is not clear to another, and what is ridiculous to one person might make sense to another. for example, to me, it is clear that this is NOT a bug. cell phones are not mystical magical creations. the option for the highest resolutions does not just magically get deactivated while leaving the other resolutions unharmed. down at the programming level, things are not as simple as a single "command" to say "make this resolution work" or conversely, "make this command NOT work." in order for the full-resolution option to be disabled while leaving the others operational, it took a lot more methodical and specific coding than that. this was no accident.

so what could be the reason for this type of operation? well, apparently, when the phone is open, after taking the picture you can instantly send it as a picturemail, while when the phone is closed, the picture gets saved to memory, and if you want to send it as a picturemail, you have to make the extra step of having to actually browse to the picture and then send it. in this way, it makes it a little more of a hassle to send a full-res picture, which might reduce the number of full-res pictures sent as picturemail by sprint customers as a whole. since Sprint picturemail is, for almost everyone who uses it, unlimited and not charged per-kB, this would be a welcome reduction in strain on Sprint's data network.

i like this solution very much. rather than making it impossible to send a 2MP picture, they just made it require a bit more effort. in this way, the regular person, who might not care that much, would probably just simply take the path of least resistance and send the lower-res picture. and yet, the more picky people like we who browse these bboards, still have the option of sending the full-res picture. huge full-res pictures.. and STILL unlimited. i'm thankful. i like regular users who could care less about the 2MP to be encouraged to send smaller pictures, especially if they are just going to be viewed on a cellphone screen anyway, reserving more bandwidth/speed for the more picky power users like ourselves. i like Sprint's stance on things being unlimited, and i like Sprint hosting our pictures for us online, unlimited. if you like your high-MP pictures, and you like Sprint's picturemail system, it's a very small price to pay to have to close the phone to take a full-res pic.


Is it too much to ask that they:
1) Allow an option to disable this (turn it off)
2) Allow the phone to send a 'sized' version of it


No, it isn't.

[simpsonsadict]

is it too much to ask that you:
1) actually try the phone to see if this *bug* actually bothers u that much
2) Stop complaining about the phone until u have used it

No, it isn't.

[Jake]

is it too much to ask that you:
1) actually try the phone to see if this *bug* actually bothers u that much
2) Stop complaining about the phone until u have used it

No, it isn't.

I had one and returned it, so next time maybe you should ask before saying which phone people have and have not had.
Jschu- I wasn't complaining so much as I was just wondering why they would implement something so odd.

[bluecoyote]

I had one and returned it, so next time maybe you should ask before saying which phone people have and have not had.
Jschu- I wasn't complaining so much as I was just wondering why they would implement something so odd.


Congrats on your 6620! How do you like it? There are several AWESOME games for it you may be interested in (do a search on Handago for Rally Pro Contest) along with freebies from Nokia such as Bounce, Triple Pop, etc.

[simpsonsadict]

I had one and returned it, so next time maybe you should ask before saying which phone people have and have not had.
Jschu- I wasn't complaining so much as I was just wondering why they would implement something so odd.


hey einstein, i dont remeber ever addressing you in my post but if thats what u got out of it than i'm sorry and kinda feel bad for u, but anyway the similarities in my post and the one directly above mine was supposed to be a hint as to who it was directed at. so just back off bud the world doesn't revolve around u, believe it or not some people talk to people besides you on these forums

[jschu22]

Why is this an issue?!? Ill tell you why, because those that are complianing about it (for the most part) arent interested in liking the phone anyway. If you bought the phone (and actually gave it a chance) and returned it thats cool. If you didnt buy it because it wasnt something spectacular to you thats fine as well. But if your trying to create an anti-a800 bandwagon over open/closed resolution (you know who you are, as do all of us) then your just being a pain in the ass.

[Kinetic2k3]

Why is this an issue?!? Ill tell you why, because those that are complianing about it (for the most part) arent interested in liking the phone anyway. If you bought the phone (and actually gave it a chance) and returned it thats cool. If you didnt buy it because it wasnt something spectacular to you thats fine as well. But if your trying to create an anti-a800 bandwagon over open/closed resolution (you know who you are, as do all of us) then your just being a pain in the ass.

= ) read my review = P

[jschu22]

= ) read my review = P

I am on my way... :cycle:

[Jake]

hey einstein, i dont remeber ever addressing you in my post but if thats what u got out of it that i'm sorry and kinda feel bad for u, but anyway the similarities in my post and the one directly above mine was supposed to be a hint as to who it was directed at. so just back off bud the world doesn't revolve around u, believe it or not some people talk to people besides you on these forums

I took it that was because Blue wasnt the only one saying things about it, I was too and I was defending my opinion, like jschu'u latest post "if you've had it and returned it because you didn't like it cool"... which is me. There I have a right to express my opinion as much as you because I have had the phone just like you do now. I didn't like and you do, thats cool. It would be a boring world if everyone had the same taste.

[Jake]

Congrats on your 6620! How do you like it? There are several AWESOME games for it you may be interested in (do a search on Handago for Rally Pro Contest) along with freebies from Nokia such as Bounce, Triple Pop, etc.

I REALLY like the 6620 a lot! It feels like there so much more to it than the average phone. It also has all the features I wanted!
Bounce is my favorite cell phone game of all time! Where on the nokia site do you go to find them and how do I get it on my phone?

[simpsonsadict]

yeah i know there's more than one person complaining about this and i'm completely fine with actualy users of the phone comlpaining about certain issues they have with it, regardless of whether or not i agree with their opinion, but i was addressing everyone who is judging this phone without ever even touching it, specifically blue but that should be obvious

[jschu22]

Great review K, will probably be the most detailed one we will see. Of course for many they will dismiss it because you have apparently bought into the A800-propaganda. Thanks for providing 3 pages of sense though.

[Jake]

yeah i know there's more than one person complaining about this and i'm completely fine with actualy users of the phone comlpaining about certain issues they have with it, regardless of whether or not i agree with their opinion, but i was addressing everyone who is judging this phone without ever even touching it, specifically blue but that should be obvious

ok, guess that was sorta a misunderstanding... :p

[ScrapMaker]

I just don't see why anyone would think that having the resolution-limit would be a positive thing...

plus... you guys know what thread you're in... right?
"Raggin' on the A800! also: vs. 4050"

not the "Praise A800, and defend it with everything you've got... because you spent a lot of money on it, and by golly it's WORTH IT(no matter what anyone says or if problems arise in the future.)"

Clearly this is a friggin' amazing phone.. it's just got some major setbacks that are pretty much all software-related... intentional or not, they definitely exist.

[ScrapMaker]

and I really wanted to like this phone... I tried my hardest... I was biased TOWARDS this phone... especially from all the hype and whatnot.... so it's clearly not because I am dead set against it from the beginning.

Hell, even the 5600 is out of the question in my book, unless they fix the #777 thing...
if they were both the same price, I'd take the a800 though.

[eman]

I just don't see why anyone would think that having the resolution-limit would be a positive thing...

Whether positive or not, I dont know why people still consider it a bug.....It wasnt something that was miseed by Samsung. They put it there. So if it bothers people that much I doubt it will change after a firmware upgrade......Although when I had the phone, I couldnt care less about it. That was alot of other stuff to worry about.

[ScrapMaker]

so I'm guessing you rarely took pictures with the slider open?

seeing how you'd probably want to take full advantage of that '2mp' CCD sensor... otherwise you've basically got a 535/5600...

[ScrapMaker]

so I'm guessing you rarely took pictures with the slider open?

seeing how you'd probably want to take full advantage of that '2mp' CCD sensor... otherwise you've basically got a 535/5600...

[eman]

so I'm guessing you rarely took pictures with the slider open?

seeing how you'd probably want to take full advantage of that '2mp' CCD sensor... otherwise you've basically got a 535/5600...
Yes, most of the pics I took were with the slide closed. But even with the slide open you cant compare it to the 535 or anywhere near the 5600.....no matter what the resolution the detail and color the A800 pictures produce surpass all other sprint phones.....

[jschu22]

and I really wanted to like this phone... I tried my hardest... I was biased TOWARDS this phone... especially from all the hype and whatnot.... so it's clearly not because I am dead set against it from the beginning.

Hell, even the 5600 is out of the question in my book, unless they fix the #777 thing...
if they were both the same price, I'd take the a800 though.

You wanted to like this phone? You must really think those that stand behind it are stupid. Dont deny it because thinking we only support the a800 because of the money spent on it says enough but if you require more then just re-read your posts on the subject. It has been a non-stop bashing of it and theres not a single stich of being "baised TOWARDS this phone". You continue to bring up so many bugs and so many unhappy users and so many software shortcomings and you think that just because someone defends the phone its because of them being $500 lighter. For the record- I LIKE THIS PHONE, and me spending X amount of money on it doesnt mean sh-t in that opinion. You have ZERO credibility on the subject of this phone since all you have done is read a few posts on it so please spare us your useless opinons.

Everyone is certainly welcome to express their thoughts but when one continually suggests that people are idiots that have been brainwashed, by hype or their own need to justify a purchase, then that is abusing that privledge.

[ScrapMaker]

/hate on

What makes you think that all I've done is read a few posts?

My brother had the a800 for a few days... until it he realized what he had done, then he called telesales for a return-kit.. (without my provoking, whatsoever.)

I used the camera, and luckily ours didn't have the right-hand blur... but the audio cut in and out like CRAZY... "noise cancellation".... I guess they thought that bits and pieces of the conversation were 'noise'....

I am a cameraphone maniac... I have taken more pictures than anyone I've ever heard of or met before... I'd love nothing more than a 2mp camera phone... but that last word is the kicker... it's gotta still be a great phone... I could overlook the slider resolution-limit, even though it makes no sense to have it set up like that... I could look over the voice recognition being flaky, and I would never, ever use the bizcard scanner... so that's irrelevant.

I could also get over the limited sd card capability, because all the other new sprint phones have the same issues.

the thing that kills it for me is the fact that the noise cancellation software was poorly written... which I hope is the problem, otherwise Samsung is going to need a massive recall.

Also, I know this isn't a perfect world, I know there will always be a few initial bugs on new phones... it's just that the overall feeling I get from this phone is troublesome...

A great deal of it is how much hype had been built up around this phone, (which is also why so many people bought it via telesales before they even saw it in real life!) If I wasn't expecting a 2mp clear camera, and a phone with great call quality... maybe I wouldn't be so dissapointed.... but for $500+ I just expect... almost perfect..

anything less than almost perfect in this case, is totally unacceptable.

If this phone cost $300, we would not be having this conversation... hell, the phone could be made out of wood, and weigh around 2 pounds... and I wouldn't even care...at that price...

to conclude my so-called A800 'bashing'... I'd like to point out again, that all of the 'problems' with this phone can be solved via software... whether they will is beyond me.

They WILL fix the noise-cancellation problem, and other software bugs involving pictbridge... and if some phones truely have right-hand blurring on all pics... they will probably let you return the phone for that reason as well...

I agree that they will not change the slider resolution-limit issue... because in their minds, (twisted as it may be,) this is a GOOD thing to have....

After all, don't all the other new phones allow you to send 1mp+ shots regardless of slider position? (Think LG)...

/hate off

enjoy your phone... just remember the point of this thread is to warn prospective buyers of problems they may very well encounter... thus preventing unneeded returns.

[jschu22]

Its interesting that this is the first time, from what I remember, you have mentioned that your brother's phone had a noise-cancelling problem. I guess you might have forgotten to mention it while you were b-tching about resolution and calling us liars.

[Kinetic2k3]

Great review K, will probably be the most detailed one we will see. Of course for many they will dismiss it because you have apparently bought into the A800-propaganda. Thanks for providing 3 pages of sense though.

no problem, and to those who may think the review was biased it clearly is NOT...as i said in my conclusion is it worth the 500 dollar upgrade... the slider resolution thing can easily be fixed with a firmware upgrade..will they who knows..if they dont honestly its not a make it or break it type of limitation to say the phone absolutely sucks..is it a positive thing to have the resolution limitation no but by the same type it really isnt negative..yes the lg doesnt have this limitation but it also doesnt have a qvga screen and i dont see anyone bashing the lg for that..and now if to all of you bashing the phone for having this limitation and solely on this or small limitations that do not really hinder the phones useability i say this once again to each their own..we have different phones for different reasons..yes each phone has its strengths, weaknesses, bugs, and limitations this is why there's no such thing as my phone is better than yours..which is what the a800 - 5600 - 535 debate is seemingly turning into. read my review i say clearly the a800 is not for everyone..and for those of u who its not.. then go get a phone that will make u happy but dont go and say that the a800 sucks because of this and that.. when just as easily an a800 user can say to a 5600 user ur phone sux cuz of this and that and vice versa with the 535.. and once again just my 2 cents :rolleyes:

[jschu22]

Kinetic- Your last 3 sentences contain the most sense Ive seen in some time.

[ScrapMaker]

I may not have mentioned it in this thread... but I have in the bug thread, and in the a800 part 2 thread.

knowing that information doesn't affect the facts that I was stating in previous posts, however...

and I said that I wanted this phone to be everything it was hyped up to be... but once it was released, I quickly learned this wasn't true...

that's why you won't find any biased posts towards this phone in this thread... because it started AFTER the phone was released

[Jaggrey]

I gotta wonder if they'll fix the noise cancellation thing, seeing that this "problem" has been around since the A700. I think some1 in another thread said that the latest firmware for the A680 introduces it as well.

[CoreyTheGent]

I can't believe you all are still arguing about the A800. tuolumne doesn't even care anymore.

[tuolumne]

I'll enjoy it, sans all this nonsense.

What the hell do you care if you don't even have the phone???

[NONAME]

I gotta wonder if they'll fix the noise cancellation thing, seeing that this "problem" has been around since the A700. I think some1 in another thread said that the latest firmware for the A680 introduces it as well.Man, I would hope so..my work partner just returned his this afternoon for THAT noise canc. bug and he was pissed :furious: .I tried to calm him down cause he was blaming the store(even though they did give him a hard time). But this MUST be a pretty bad issue. Hope it all works out well :wavey:

[sel1965]

Man, I would hope so..my work partner just returned his this afternoon for THAT noise canc. bug and he was pissed :furious: .I tried to calm him down cause he was blaming the store(even though they did give him a hard time). But this MUST be a pretty bad issue. Hope it all works out well :wavey:

Can't be that bad if I haven't had it happen to me yet! I talk somewhere around 100 to a 150 minutes per day not one time have I gotten this funny bug that doesn't seem it exist in my phone. Funny huh! I'm telling you there are no bugs in this phone! User error!

[CoreyTheGent]

What the hell do you care if you don't even have the phone???I don't know if that was addressed to me or not, but if it was, you don't know how thankful I am that you're correct.

[NONAME]

Can't be that bad if I haven't had it happen to me yet! I talk somewhere around 100 to a 150 minutes per day not one time have I gotten this funny bug that doesn't seem it exist in my phone. Funny huh! I'm telling you there are no bugs in this phone! User error!???"HIS" had it real bad,I heard it!Do you think this is all made up? Maybe you got a good one maybe all dont have it I dont know...but it does exist (in some I guess) All I,m saying is now "I" know someone who had it and was very pissed and I can understand why. Sorry if it offended you or any other 800 users, I didnt mean to :cool: .

[ScrapMaker]

NONAME... I think you would have made more sense just sending us smoke signals instead.

[NONAME]

NONAME... I think you would have made more sense just sending us smoke signals instead.I'll keep that in mind :p

[eman]

Can't be that bad if I haven't had it happen to me yet! I talk somewhere around 100 to a 150 minutes per day not one time have I gotten this funny bug that doesn't seem it exist in my phone. Funny huh! I'm telling you there are no bugs in this phone! User error!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........So your telling me I dont know how to use a phone.......user error.....please, give me a break.....its there.....I had long conversations with people where it wasnt present and it was fine......but when it presents itself you will know......so please, why dont you give us a lesson on how to use a phone and not get a cancelation effect.....or it should be, why dont you give us a lesson on how to use a samsung because for some funny reason i know how to use everyone elses phones without a problem...please dont insult mine or anyone elses intelligence here......If it was one person I would say it was one bad phone.....when it is a bunch of them in different states its really not that hard to figure.....it also isnt a big deal to fix with firmware upgrade im sure.....The thing I cant figure out is if it was present in the A700 and samsung was aware of it why would it still be present in a future phone. That is the part I do not understand. If this was the first time it happened I would say fine. But it isnt. Also, I owned two different A800's. Both of them have froze on me more then once in the short time I owned them.

[ScrapMaker]

Eman, it's like your posts are one drawn-out thought... :)

also... I sense a bit of /sarcasm in sel's post. Although I feel that he does not think he has that problem, and maybe he hasn't been in a situation where he can hear the affect.

[CoreyTheGent]

Do you think this is all made up?You summed it all up right there, my Friend. The "Aristocrats" think this is some made-up conspiracy, even though their own group has been cut in half from the number of people who returned the phone for the same exact problem.

Go back to drinking your English tea, sel. We'll notify your secretary when we get some more A800 reports for you.

jschu, 545-438-0294 is still the number to your Bentley car phone, right? Or did you change it?

[sel1965]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........So your telling me I dont know how to use a phone.......user error.....please, give me a break.....its there.....I had long conversations with people where it wasnt present and it was fine......but when it presents itself you will know......so please, why dont you give us a lesson on how to use a phone and not get a cancelation effect.....or it should be, why dont you give us a lesson on how to use a samsung because for some funny reason i know how to use everyone elses phones without a problem...please dont insult mine or anyone elses intelligence here......If it was one person I would say it was one bad phone.....when it is a bunch of them in different states its really not that hard to figure.....it also isnt a big deal to fix with firmware upgrade im sure.....The thing I cant figure out is if it was present in the A700 and samsung was aware of it why would it still be present in a future phone. That is the part I do not understand. If this was the first time it happened I would say fine. But it isnt. Also, I owned two different A800's. Both of them have froze on me more then once in the short time I owned them.

I think this is so funny since so many people have stated OH IT'S THERE YOU'LL SEE! Well I haven't, and I use my phone 2000 minutes a month and that doesn't include pcs to pcs or evening minutes. Sorry not trying to tell you that you don't know how to use a phone and there isn't anyone i'm trying to insult on here people do that to themselves so I don't have to. To each his own. You like your phone I like my phone I am happy with it as I'm sure your happy with yours. Oh I have a 5600 that I have had since it was released so I am not brand biased. I just like the best of the best and I have the best sanyo and the best samsung. I'm happy!

[sel1965]

You summed it all up right there, my Friend. The "Aristocrats" think this is some made-up conspiracy, even though their own group has been cut in half from the number of people who returned the phone for the same exact problem.

Go back to drinking your English tea, sel. We'll notify your secretary when we get some more A800 reports for you.

jschu, 545-438-0294 is still the number to your Bentley car phone, right? Or did you change it?

I only drink tea with a double shot of whisky!

[CoreyTheGent]

Bloody hell! You peasants and your lollygagging have caused me to spill my beloved tea!Calm down, sel. We're just trying to have a simple debate here.

[sel1965]

Calm down, sel. We're just trying to have a simple debate here.

To bad there really isn't anything to debate other than bugs that are there one minute gone the next! Enjoy! I'm officially logging off sprintusers to finish my bottle of VO! :lol:

[tuolumne]

Which one of you's JJ :huh:

[mcurtiss1970]

Which one of you's JJ :huh:

you're not trying to blame someone else for getting yourself banned on hofo yet again, are you?

[tuolumne]

no, but JJ claims that he posts on here very often.

[ScrapMaker]

banned from HOFO?

weak.

[mcurtiss1970]

banned from HOFO?

weak.

make that twice (that I know of)

[tuolumne]

the last time was like in September LOL

[jschu22]

You summed it all up right there, my Friend. The "Aristocrats" think this is some made-up conspiracy, even though their own group has been cut in half from the number of people who returned the phone for the same exact problem.

Go back to drinking your English tea, sel. We'll notify your secretary when we get some more A800 reports for you.

jschu, 545-438-0294 is still the number to your Bentley car phone, right? Or did you change it?

No, I had to change it because Scrap kept calling me for rides when his Camaro would break down.

[Kinetic2k3]

I think this is so funny since so many people have stated OH IT'S THERE YOU'LL SEE! Well I haven't, and I use my phone 2000 minutes a month and that doesn't include pcs to pcs or evening minutes. Sorry not trying to tell you that you don't know how to use a phone and there isn't anyone i'm trying to insult on here people do that to themselves so I don't have to. To each his own. You like your phone I like my phone I am happy with it as I'm sure your happy with yours. Oh I have a 5600 that I have had since it was released so I am not brand biased. I just like the best of the best and I have the best sanyo and the best samsung. I'm happy!

heh i made that point earlier and in my review to each their own = )

[ScrapMaker]

No, I had to change it because Scrap kept calling me for rides when his Camaro would break down.

Sir, I do believe that is a challenge!

/firebird > camaro

[CoreyTheGent]

LMFAO! Hey JS, remember this thread? Good times.

[jschu22]

Wow. LOL When I clicked on the last page I saw a post from Scrap and I was like ***?! He hasnt said a thing in a while. Then I noticed the date and wondered what the helll you were doing. I guess his Camaro really did break down. Those were pretty good, I dont recall people taking things as personally, I could be wrong though. We certainly were always the smartasses though.

BTW- Its only a matter of time before BC chimes in since this is a thread involving the 4050. Thanks Corey.

[FloorMatt]

Looking for some off-topic posts that were here?

They now have their own thread!

http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73412

[ScrapMaker]

so, back on topic... has everyone returned their a800's by now?

[kurze]

lol!!! a800 vs vm4050! awesome!!!!!

[bluecoyote]

Oh, thread bump. Mine went back in under 24 hours. Store didn't have another one so I'm back with my MM535.

[tuolumne]

How terrible.

[Invader J]

Actually mine has definitely grown on me. Some things still drive me crazy but for the most part I've gotten used to all the little hang-ups.

[ScrapMaker]

"hang-ups"?

:) not literally, I hope!

[tuolumne]

Refrain from tolling Scrap.

[Deval]

Samsung has some nice stuff going for it...just hope the 940 works out...what caught your eye Invader?

[RattDawg]

Still got mine and gotta say "Awesome"

My biggest moan is that it aint a flip.

[Invader J]

what caught your eye Invader?

With the A800, out of all the things I complained about in my other thread, the things that still get to me are:

- lack of T9.
- you can't cancel out a pop-up notice (such as 'contact added' 'message erased', those kinds of messages) but clicking a button - if you click OK, when that message disappears it will act like you clicked OK on whatever was under the message, and you cant click Back, because it will take you out of whatever screen you were in. You just have to sit and wait for the pop-up message to go away, which is ANNOYING.
- The time for the camera to load and the fact that you can't take a 2MP pic with the phone open.
- The media player has it's quirks - make a movie 240x160 and it will play landscape for some reason (which I dont want it to) but make it 240x161 and it will play properly (as in, you can hold the phone normally to watch).

But things I've grown to really dig:

- the media player will play ANYTHING. I have anamorphic widescreen movies, they're small due to being wide but watchable. Tons of shows at standard 4:3 too. As long as you make the movie 240px wide it'll play - I can bump up the data rate to 256k+ too to get higher quality. They play without a hitch. So I put little movies of the girl I'm in love with on it to cheer me up. =D

- it's now my mobile photo gallery, which rocks.

As much as I love the media options that the phone offers, I'd probably get the Blade as long as it has EV-DO. While the 128MB isn't enough to store a lot of movies of MP3s, it's plenty to hold my ton of photos. I figure the complete size reduction that the Blade offers over the A800 is enough to give it up.

[ScrapMaker]

the blade is with sprint?

[tuolumne]

You been living under a rock bro?

[Matt]

Yes the blade is supposed to be for Sprint.

No need to be harsh Tuo.

[ScrapMaker]

Well since I can't afford a new phone right now, I'm basically living under a rock, lol.

This whole GPS thing has me really excited though... so damn excited, I almost want a new phone now... but it would have to be Sanyo to do GPS I guess... weird..

[Hoshtaylor]

I've had my 4050 for more than a year, by far the longest I've had any cell phone, and I can't believe I haven't lost it, broken it, or jumped into the ocean with it, like so many of my other phones. I decided last week it was time to get a new phone. I just got my A800 yesterday. There are only 2 things that annoy me. 1) The eziTap SUCKS compared to the T9 on my 4050...BUT...I do realize that it's only been one day, and I have had the 4050 for nearly a year, so this may just take getting used to, as all things do. 2) I am really bothered by when I'm on a phone call and there is no back light, the actual brightness doesn't need to be on, but for example, when I was on hold yesterday and there was no music, I wasn't sure if the call was dropped or not, and I look at the phone and there is NO light and NO text what so ever. So I had do hit the volume button on the side...just pretty annoying. I've played with all the backlight features, am I missing something...? Is there a way to fix this...? It doesn't need to be alluminated, just show some text, and I guess the same would go for when my phone is just sitting there on the counter or something, with my 4050 I could walk by and not have to wait to see the stupid red light flashing, but rather be able to tell if I had missed a call or gotten a text by the screen being half filled in. Does anyone have any solutions for me...? or am I just SOL ?

Other than that, I know I haven't even touched on the capabilities of this phone, and if I don't do something stupid like jump in the pool with it in my pocket, I look forward to using all of the features it has...

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[ScrapMaker]

Hoshtaylor - I think there is a setting for screen timeout... it thinks you have left your phone on a table or something, and wasting the screen...

my sanyo does that too, but I still can't figure out where to change it... it won't do that if I'm on a call though.

[tuolumne]

Samsung's backlights turn off while in a call to preserve battery life. To solve this, you have to set backlight to slider up, which means that the main display will always be illuminated as long as the slider is up.

[caramel_jem]

but the 4050 is garbage. I hated that phone...its so huge and the ringtones are so loud for no reason. The camera is not all that great...and did i mention its HUGE? Its so wide and weird.

[Hoshtaylor]

Samsung's backlights turn off while in a call to preserve battery life. To solve this, you have to set backlight to slider up, which means that the main display will always be illuminated as long as the slider is up.
I did...it still turns off completely...I have to push "OK" to get the backlight (or any visibility for that matter) to come back on...

are there any software upgrades for this phone I should know about...?

BTW...it's been almost a month now and I absolutely LOVE this phone...I raved about it in another post on this site somewhere...but just for the record...I LOVE it...the 4050 doesn't compare...just took some getting used to I guess...

[Deval]

but the 4050 is garbage. I hated that phone...its so huge and the ringtones are so loud for no reason. The camera is not all that great...and did i mention its HUGE? Its so wide and weird.

I think you are one of the few people who felt that :hee:

[fatboy]

I think you are one of the few people who felt that :hee:
I also thought the Tosh sucked :clap:

[ScrapMaker]

Now the truth comes out. 5500 wins!

[Deval]

Now the truth comes out. 5500 wins!

I miss my 5500 sometimes

[ScrapMaker]

How do you cope with the suffering?

[bluecoyote]

I still haven't sold my VM4050. I freaking loved that phone and I'm just not ready to part with it. So obediant and reliable. It's not that I don't like the LG, but it's not the superlative phone the VM4050 was.

Sure, the Mm535 gets good reception, but it wasn't lke the VM4050 where you could say 'best in class.'

The address book is okay in the MM535 (the presence of "groups" and the fact it's not as bad as Samsung's, as well as the search speed and predictive dialing) , but it's not the brilliant, quick one in the Toshiba.

T9 is done with minimum requirements, unlike the predictive T9-with-word-completion on the Toshiba.

Not that the MM535 doesn't come through with its own merits (like a killer speakerphone, good web browser (no t9 though) , and the fastest UI on Sprint.

[Deval]

How do you cope with the suffering?

therapy :hee:

[mitsuspider]

I still haven't sold my VM4050. I freaking loved that phone and I'm just not ready to part with it. So obediant and reliable. It's not that I don't like the LG, but it's not the superlative phone the VM4050 was.

Sure, the Mm535 gets good reception, but it wasn't lke the VM4050 where you could say 'best in class.'

The address book is okay in the MM535 (the presence of "groups" and the fact it's not as bad as Samsung's, as well as the search speed and predictive dialing) , but it's not the brilliant, quick one in the Toshiba.

T9 is done with minimum requirements, unlike the predictive T9-with-word-completion on the Toshiba.

Not that the MM535 doesn't come through with its own merits (like a killer speakerphone, good web browser (no t9 though) , and the fastest UI on Sprint.

Actually, I don't like LGs address book. I think Sanyo's is the best, with the Samsung being second for it's groups feature that you can customize...still, sanyo makes the best utilization of space and usability

[bluecoyote]

The LG has groups as well. I rank the LG above Samsung only because with the LG you can store more than one mobile phone number ( a biiiiig plus ), searches faster, and is organized better.

The Sanyos is very nice, though suffers legibility problems. Kudos to Sanyo for implementing a version of the Toshiba's page-scroll (volume keys.)

For Navigation, the Toshiba is second to none. Features and shortcuts (like the dial-match on the LG or voice dialing) aren't necessary when you can look everyone up in your address book using just the D-Pad in less than 5 seconds!

[ljfseven]

I own the phone and really like it. But I do have to agree it's not as if he is inventing problems or exaggerating. The phone has every issue he mentioned. Good review, just dont let it shy you away from a good phone if you are interested in some of the better features, but this phone will be sure to lead way to better phones of its nature.