A900: King of CDMA Slim phones [Archive]

FloorMatt

11-29-2005, 04:09 PM

This review is made after about 1 week of me using the Samsung A900.

Out of the Box Impressions

The size of the A900 is right on par with Motorola's RAZR V3; in fact, some people have been using RAZR cases and pouches for their A900. No "RAZR Lip" on this phone; it is straight and smooth from top to bottom. The casing is supposed to be of the same material (annodized aluminum) as the RAZR, which gives it a nice feel (along with a heft, just the right amount). The three silvery MP3 controls on the outside tell you that it's not a RAZR (and that's a good thing). Stereo speakers are located at the bottom (when closed) of the top flip, and a multi-color (multi-purpose, too) LED at the top, right below the rotating camera. Charge/Data port is on the side, which is a change for most users, with bottom-ported phones. Oh, don't forget, there's a nice top screen on this phone; 96x96 TFT screen for seeing who's calling, and what the time is (basically ;) ). Enough of the outside, let's open this sucker up!

Flipped open, turned on

Flip it open, and it locks into place. Take a look at the A900 opened, and you'll see a beautiful 2.2" TFT QVGA screen and a smooth keypad. Not much to say about the screen, other than it makes things look wonderful. You can even adjust the brightness on it, if it blinds you. :p

The keypad is not metal, nor is it your typical shiny plastic; this smooth plastic-like material stays fairly clean (doesn't show fingerprints) and is easy to type on. The keys are spaced for your comfort, with the only downside being the flat directional pad and back button that is right below it (might bother some people). The menu is accessed with the center key of the d-pad, and is also used for Ok and Capture (while in camera mode). On opposite sides of the top flip, you have the up & down scroll bar, as well as the camera/voice memo button.

The UI appears to be similar to the one found in newer Samsungs (A800, A920, and A940), and runs at a smooth and fast speed (to me, at least). You have the option of either a list or a 3x4 grid, in which all the icons correspond to a number/symbol on the dial pad. A "Favorites" list is assigned to the left softkey (you can edit this list of favorites to include common actions on the phone) and the Contacts list is assigned to the right.

(Continued in next post)

FloorMatt

11-29-2005, 04:10 PM

Phone usage and features

Contacts: 500 entries available (each number of a specific contact, counts as an entry). When scrolling through the contact list, the default number appears for that contact as you highlight, and you can press right or left to see other numbers for that contact. Specific ringer and image can be assigned to each contact (the ringer will only be for received phone calls, not text messages). Also when viewing a contact, the left softkey allows you to send a message (text, voiceSMS, PicMail, e-mail, etc.); quite a fast process to send a message to one of your contacts.

Messaging: Of course this phone can Text Message, but it can also: Send a VoiceSMS (to compatible phones) and Handwriting Message (still don't know the real purpose of this. It takes a picture of text, and tries to "digitize" it). Tired of typing out your text messages? Well, you can let your voice do the typing with VoiceMode (in SMS only); press and hold the camera/voice memo button, and speak one word at a time, with pauses. It actually doesn't work too bad, after taking the time to train it. After releasing the button, it will automatically try to correct mistakes it sees. If you see any mistakes after that, simply highlight the word, and you can choose another word (or spell out the one you meant. As you spell it, word options appear in a list).

PictureMail works like MMS on the new Power Vision phones from Sprint, including the A900. When you receive a PictureMail, it does NOT come as a link, like on previous phones; instead, you get a thumbnail (and full version) of the picture you were sent. Sending PictureMail is also different, now; after you press send, to send the PicMail, it will let you know that it has been put in a "queue" for sending (it sends in the background). No more waiting for a picture to send before closing the flip. For some reason, you cannot assign media you receive in PicMail (images or sounds), but that's nothing new (however, there is the option now.....but it's not working).

Camera: The rotating barrel camera on the A900 is a 1.3MP CMOS camera, with the multi-color/function LED acting as a Flash (and it can get bright!). The camera can take pictures at: 1.3MP, 800x600, 640x480, and 240x320. I haven't really tested the amount of pictures you can take with this phone, but you can take this in account: all pictures are stored on the phone's Mass Storage (just under 50MB of space). Also, your pictures may blur with action shots. (P.S. No Macro Mode for this puppy)

MP3/Mass Storage/Multimedia: Just a note: Those of you that enjoying loading alot of your music on your phone, will probably be disappointed. This phone does not have a card slot, only less than 50MB available for your media. Aside from that...

You can load your music in via Bluetooth or the included USB Cable (all of your media goes into the MEDIA folder, of course). After that, you can access your music and videos via the Media Player (choose "Mass Storage" when you open up the Media Player). The sound is not terrible, coming from the speakers, but you probably would want to use the included Stereo Headset (or your own pair, when used with a 3.5mm-to-2.5mm adapter). Ringers sound great out of the speakers, but guess what? You can't assign any ringers from the Mass Storage (they must be downloaded to the phone, using an uploader); but look at it this way: that's similar to what the "card slot" people are experiencing with their cards and ringers. (on a side note: This phone also has access to the new Sprint Music Store, of which you can find more info at Sprint's website)

The Mass Storage can be accessed via Bluetooth or USB. If you go the Bluetooth route, you must choose the folder (on the phone) that will act as a shared file transfer folder (the folder that the other device, PDA or computer, will see).

Web Browser and Power Vision: I'm going to discuss my one complaint with the web browser. I get Parser and Handler errors when visiting the SU WAP site (and I think it has to do with coding). It's not enough for me to dump the phone, though. Other than that, the browser performs as it should, when going elsewhere. The browser text is kind of large, compared to the MM-9000, for instance; but, this is still a QVGA screen, and can fit everything good.

Power Vision is fast fast FAST! I tried a speed test ( www.dslreports.com/mspeed ) on the phone, and the connection was even too fast for their highest file size choice (600k)! Tethered via Bluetooth, this phone BLOWS AWAY the LG PM-325 I had (and used for tethering to my PDA). On the PM-325, I would get a max of 20kbits/sec tethered. In a non-Power Vision area, I can get 80kbits/sec with the A900. And in a Power Vision area, I am getting around 180kbits/sec. That may seem low to some, for tethering, but remember.....Bluetooth is the bottleneck for the speed, in this case.

Bluetooth: The A900 is a Bluetooth 1.2 phone, which mean better quality/clarity (for headsets) and range for other devices that are connected to the A900 (other 1.2 devices, that is). Besides having your standard Headset and Handsfree profiles, the A900 also has: DUN (Dialup Networking), OPP (Object Push Profile), and FTP (File Transfer Profile). With these profiles, you can: transfer contacts (one at a time. NO SYNC AVAILABLE YET, via cable or BT), pictures, music (NOT RINGERS), and whatever files you want to store on the phone.

Seems to work fairly well, except for having to attempt a tether connection more than once (to get it started). I was able to do a File Transfer connection with a Pocket PC, in which I was able to view all of the files in the A900's specified FTP Folder (You choose that, on the phone, depending on where you want to transfer files. For instance: MEDIA folder, if you are transferring songs. DCIM folder if you are transferring images) You can view the Mass Storage on the phone, as well. The File Transfer profile basically acts like the USB cable, when used for Mass Storage.

Please look for a Bluetooth headset review at a later time.

Calls & Call/Ringer Volume: Well, first off, you have three different dialing font options to amuse you, when calling whoever; post-it note, feather, and normal (I personally use the feather one). While in a call, you can still see what time it is, on the main screen (the sub-LCD just shows black). A downside for me is that you can't access the phone's full menu, while in a call; the only thing I would want to do in the menu (that I can't while in a call) is to turn Bluetooth on for a headset.

The main thing you might use the in-call menu for is to turn the speakerphone on; that's right, there's no button assigned to that (it's no real trouble, though). Once the speakerphone is turned on, you can close the flip and continue the conversation (the audio comes out of the stereo speakers). I can't actually tell if the speakerphone is Half of Full Duplex, but it appears to perform well (especially if it is Half Duplex). You do have to keep the volume down a little, to prevent feedback and speaker-crackle.

The earpiece has excellent quality, although is quieter than some phones (you can turn the volume up, though). The phone comes with a stereo headset that you can use for calls; sound quality is very loud and clear, especially for an out-of-the-box headset (it's Samsung-branded).

The A900 uses VoiceSignal technology for Voice Dialing (and for phone commands), and is speaker-independent (no training or recording of names)! Has worked well for me, and is activated either by press & holding Talk, or by press & holding the headset's button.

To conclude, here's a Pro's and Con's list:

Pro's: QVGA Screen, Bluetooth, EV-DO Internet, small MP3 Player, and phone...all in one slim package. The LED will stay blinking for Missed Alerts. Solid, metallic body w/heft. Camera Daytime quality.

Con's: Browser errors when browsing certain WAP sites. Bluetooth acts "funky", sometimes. No Card Slot (only 50MB for Mass Storage, and 11MB for Content). Charging/Data Port on the side, with a poorly designed cover (gets in the way of the plug, sometimes).

Overall, this phone is a strong winner for Sprint and Samsung. It provides nice features in a slim design, and good shell. Motorola RAZR V3c, consider yourself OWNED!