ssaifull
05-25-2005, 08:08 PM
When it was first announced and then later released on Verizon, I didn't pay it any attention. I still chose the Moto V710 as my work phone, while hoping to hold out for the superior i550 (which was officially canned a couple months ago) as my personal Sprint phone. Recently, I had an opportunity to trade my MM5600 + 512 MB card for a brand new A790. Being a phone whore, I could not resist, especially after seeing Michelle's review and pictures from a little while ago. I'll compare the A790 to the 5600 where I feel like it and since I still believe it is still Sprint's best overall phone.
What a great surprise this phone has been! First things first: this phone is the sleekest, most attractive phone in Sprint's entire lineup. There is no other phone like it, and it comes the closest to earning that "luxury" phone moniker. The sleek black metal casing, the black 'lacquer' front, the matte finish on the battery.
It also has a nice width and shape, which some compare to the RAZR, but obviously does not have the RAZR's thinness. The hinge is sturdy, smooth and unobtrusive.
The keypad was a concern for me and many on this site have talked down on it without ever having tried it. It is actually very responsive and never cumbersome. I have been rifling off text messages with the greatest of ease. No complaints at all there. Don't believe me? Go to the Sprint store and check one out for yourself.
This phone is quadband; CDMA 800/1900MHz and two Int' GSM frequencies (900 and 1800MHz). I didn't get it for it's int'l roaming capabilities and I wondered if being unable to roam on analog nationally would slow me down. Then I realized that in 23 months of Sprint service, I've only made or taken 2 or 3 analog roaming calls at all, so it's not that critical to me. What is much more critical is the ability to force the phone into Digital Roam. I roam digitally many times while at work and other places here in Mid Michigan and wherever else work takes me. Now, if I have a weak Sprint signal, I can just switch to Digital Roam and usually the Verizon signal in those areas is quite strong (which on a side note, leads me to believe that Verizon does actually have the best network, atleast in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois).
RF performance in general is pretty good, pretty much on par with my 5600. As was mentioned before, this phone's signal strength meter has 6 bars (like the majority of Samsung's GSM phones) and sometimes I guess that could be deceptive when trying to compare with Sanyo's. 250 minutes of talk time logged on the phone in the first 6 days and no dropped calls.
Earpiece... the earpiece is trademark Samsung--slightly tinny for my ear, and doesn't come near the superb quality of the 5600's. I guess those countless threads about Sanyo earpieces finally reached Japan but should've rubbed off on Samsung to make them raise the bar. It's fine though, overall.
Oversized external display is nice, internal display though not QVGA is bright and very sharp.
Battery life is quoted at up to 3 hours talk time, I use vision, send text, take pictures and talk about 30-45 min. per day and the battery holds up well and I just let it charge overnight.
The price... at $550 without rebates, that comes to nearly $600 in many states figuring in tax... that is more than the laptop that I'm typing up this review on right now. So it's safe to say, that if that trade opportunity didn't present itself, I probably would have never got this phone. That is just too much money for almost any phone. But if you're a business user and you have a need for int'l roaming and keeping your same number, then it may be worth it.
That's all for now... any questions, you can pm me.
What a great surprise this phone has been! First things first: this phone is the sleekest, most attractive phone in Sprint's entire lineup. There is no other phone like it, and it comes the closest to earning that "luxury" phone moniker. The sleek black metal casing, the black 'lacquer' front, the matte finish on the battery.
It also has a nice width and shape, which some compare to the RAZR, but obviously does not have the RAZR's thinness. The hinge is sturdy, smooth and unobtrusive.
The keypad was a concern for me and many on this site have talked down on it without ever having tried it. It is actually very responsive and never cumbersome. I have been rifling off text messages with the greatest of ease. No complaints at all there. Don't believe me? Go to the Sprint store and check one out for yourself.
This phone is quadband; CDMA 800/1900MHz and two Int' GSM frequencies (900 and 1800MHz). I didn't get it for it's int'l roaming capabilities and I wondered if being unable to roam on analog nationally would slow me down. Then I realized that in 23 months of Sprint service, I've only made or taken 2 or 3 analog roaming calls at all, so it's not that critical to me. What is much more critical is the ability to force the phone into Digital Roam. I roam digitally many times while at work and other places here in Mid Michigan and wherever else work takes me. Now, if I have a weak Sprint signal, I can just switch to Digital Roam and usually the Verizon signal in those areas is quite strong (which on a side note, leads me to believe that Verizon does actually have the best network, atleast in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois).
RF performance in general is pretty good, pretty much on par with my 5600. As was mentioned before, this phone's signal strength meter has 6 bars (like the majority of Samsung's GSM phones) and sometimes I guess that could be deceptive when trying to compare with Sanyo's. 250 minutes of talk time logged on the phone in the first 6 days and no dropped calls.
Earpiece... the earpiece is trademark Samsung--slightly tinny for my ear, and doesn't come near the superb quality of the 5600's. I guess those countless threads about Sanyo earpieces finally reached Japan but should've rubbed off on Samsung to make them raise the bar. It's fine though, overall.
Oversized external display is nice, internal display though not QVGA is bright and very sharp.
Battery life is quoted at up to 3 hours talk time, I use vision, send text, take pictures and talk about 30-45 min. per day and the battery holds up well and I just let it charge overnight.
The price... at $550 without rebates, that comes to nearly $600 in many states figuring in tax... that is more than the laptop that I'm typing up this review on right now. So it's safe to say, that if that trade opportunity didn't present itself, I probably would have never got this phone. That is just too much money for almost any phone. But if you're a business user and you have a need for int'l roaming and keeping your same number, then it may be worth it.
That's all for now... any questions, you can pm me.