Samsung SPH-A900 User Reviews

Anonymous posted on 10 Jun 2006, 00:36

Excellent 8.8

A900 VS RAZR

Well as the prior comment goes, I have my ups and downs about this phone. I'll list them as I go, but I have only owned this phone for about one week now, and suffice to say, due to firmware upgrading issues, I really enjoy this phone. Having been a RadioShaq employee years ago, I sold phones left and right and went through phones all the time, so I know (personally) what phones tend to be duds, and positive winners. From Sanyo 4k, 4500, and Nokia 6k to n series, I've tried many within the Sprint/Verizon & Cingular serives.

First off, My Motorola RoX! (that 1337 slang), its battery life is on average of 3 - 4 days for standby, and the sound quality is excellent. As for the Reception, well thats Cingulars fault, their coverage is full in my area, but the quality of the connections suck. on a 1 - 5, I rate call quality a low 2.
A900 with Sprint, well I can already say, thanks to the recent frequency changes, and soforth the quality of calls arn't all that good either, but the quality of the sound and reception is much better than cingular (neither beats the verizon phone, but I left verizon a while back)

Design, well this is in of itself, A900 is very nice for the clam shell look, but the function/style could have mimicked the motorola a little better. I perfer the razr over this clam design solely because it contours well. However, the mp3 controls makes up for the lacking in style.
One thing is the hing themselves, after reviewing and testing this a bit more, I feel...  

Well as the prior comment goes, I have my ups and downs about this phone. I'll list them as I go, but I have only owned this phone for about one week now, and suffice to say, due to firmware upgrading issues, I really enjoy this phone. Having been a RadioShaq employee years ago, I sold phones left and right and went through phones all the time, so I know (personally) what phones tend to be duds, and positive winners. From Sanyo 4k, 4500, and Nokia 6k to n series, I've tried many within the Sprint/Verizon & Cingular serives.

First off, My Motorola RoX! (that 1337 slang), its battery life is on average of 3 - 4 days for standby, and the sound quality is excellent. As for the Reception, well thats Cingulars fault, their coverage is full in my area, but the quality of the connections suck. on a 1 - 5, I rate call quality a low 2.
A900 with Sprint, well I can already say, thanks to the recent frequency changes, and soforth the quality of calls arn't all that good either, but the quality of the sound and reception is much better than cingular (neither beats the verizon phone, but I left verizon a while back)

Design, well this is in of itself, A900 is very nice for the clam shell look, but the function/style could have mimicked the motorola a little better. I perfer the razr over this clam design solely because it contours well. However, the mp3 controls makes up for the lacking in style.
One thing is the hing themselves, after reviewing and testing this a bit more, I feel the razr may have a more sturdy hing over the a900. But time can only prove that.

Weight, both phones are almost equal in weight, but just holding them on the scale, proves Samsung made theirs heavier. not a problem, because weight over my old nokia phones proved this thing is going to be a solid phone.

Menus, this is what I find really interesting, the point of customizability is where the razr wins. You can pretty much configure every button to be whatever you want them to be. As for the A900, you are limited to just your directional buttons. I've gone through the manual enough to realize 'either its overlooked, or its not configurable'. because the manual does not explain how to configure your 'soft buttons'. The graphics/colorfulness, I can give that to the A900, it sleak, and nifty!

battery life... I'm extremely disapointed, but what can you expect when merging two technologies together. this is why pda/phones or mp3/phones or even camera/phones tend to always suck. battery is always limited due to trying to strech functions. While since I have a ipod for music, whats the point in having a phone to play mp3s as well? (for those days when I forget to bring my ipod with me of course) Razr wins with battery life so far. The A900, thanks to my recent firmware upgrade (process I would really like to talk more about, but that would be an article in of itself.)

Compatibility, this alone is what counts most for a guy like me. As being the technically inclined technophile I require my phones to sync with my OutBreak 2003. Since I use a MS based web server for my company's requirements including the latest in online meeting management software and collaboration my phones must be able to sync with contact lists, tasks, and calendar. This function alone is what makes both the phones a equal tie.

Samsung & Motorola drivers work great, and with the bluetooth adatpor's drivers it makes outbreak functional enough to see both these phones without problems including automatic sync with either when I update one device or my notebook.

Conclusion...

Well the A900 has more features, reception, and function over my Razr. The Razr beats the A900 with its battery life, ease of use and customizability.

Dale Isbell posted on 31 May 2006, 18:19

Excellent 9

Cool

I have had many different cellular/PDA types phones, and this by far is the best of them all. The slim design and fuctions make it so versatile. Wish had a memory slot.

Jose Gonzalez posted on 20 May 2006, 16:44

Good 8

love the phone, but the battery ......

Battery life is very poor, hope they make a extended battery and a charging cradle.I like my phone alot,but battery doesnt last. Everything else is great

santafe posted on 10 Apr 2006, 23:35

Poor 4.4

Phone needs extended battery

SPHA900 is a terrible phone. Battery life is worst of any phone I have ever had. Samsung needs to produce extended life battery to even make it worth while as a phone. Features difficult to use because of awful menu. I cannot imagine trying to use the features without having to recharge constantly. I have reverted to the days of the "car phones" where the phone was attached to the car because of the necessity of the constant use of the car charger. Highly do not recommend. I am unhappy also with Sprint because I cannot exchange it and obtain credit. They sold me a limon.

Blake Scholl posted on 28 Mar 2006, 21:29

Good 8.4

Upgrade the firmware to fix battery problem

If you're having battery life or other problems with this phone, make sure you upgrade the firmware.

The original firmware had a bug which kept a background Java thread running and prevented the phone from going into power-save states properly. A subsequent firmware update fixed this problem, broken Picture Mail, and weird noises on the Bluetooth handset.

To upgrade the firmware, go to Settings -> Others (8) -> Update Phone Software (8). (C'mon Sprint, given how important this is, it should be more obvious.)

With the latest firmware, the phone operates well and has decent battery life. With my usage (lots of data and significant voice), I have to charge about every 2 days. Not amazing, but certainly not a problem.

M5 posted on 17 Mar 2006, 02:35

Excellent 9

A900 Blade Opinion

I have the SPH-A900 and have been putting it through it's paces. I've tried every feature, and option. This is one heck of a monster cool piece of hardware. Anyone who poo-poos this phone and says the MOT Razr is better is a Motorola saleman pretending to be an unhappy Samsung A900 customer. Who would not love this phone? It is increadible! I do not work for Sprint or Samsung, or any entity which sells these things. I'm just a tech savvy consumer / early adopter who knows a decent invention when he encounters one. The A900 is awesome. My only two wishes is that the A900 had a memory slot(it has only 47meg for my music files), and I wish it had a docking cradle....I like cradles on my desk. The battery life isn't bad considering all the things this phone can do and does well.

I linked this phone to my Dell Axim Pocket PC and transferred my contact information into it and it was easy as 1,2,3. I don't have a BlueTooth headset yet, but I'll get one in a day or two.

I thoroughly tested the speech recognition functionality of the A900 (without teaching it how I spoke) and it was very very impressive.

I've been playing Pink Floyd's 1973 Dark Side of The Moon endlessly on the A900. Impressive sound.

The color screens are excellent and very bright. I played around a bit with the 1.3 megapixel camera both in full motion video and still (point and shoot) and fooled with the zoom and swivel. I'm impressed.

Buy this phone even if you have no desire to get the EVDO...  

I have the SPH-A900 and have been putting it through it's paces. I've tried every feature, and option. This is one heck of a monster cool piece of hardware. Anyone who poo-poos this phone and says the MOT Razr is better is a Motorola saleman pretending to be an unhappy Samsung A900 customer. Who would not love this phone? It is increadible! I do not work for Sprint or Samsung, or any entity which sells these things. I'm just a tech savvy consumer / early adopter who knows a decent invention when he encounters one. The A900 is awesome. My only two wishes is that the A900 had a memory slot(it has only 47meg for my music files), and I wish it had a docking cradle....I like cradles on my desk. The battery life isn't bad considering all the things this phone can do and does well.

I linked this phone to my Dell Axim Pocket PC and transferred my contact information into it and it was easy as 1,2,3. I don't have a BlueTooth headset yet, but I'll get one in a day or two.

I thoroughly tested the speech recognition functionality of the A900 (without teaching it how I spoke) and it was very very impressive.

I've been playing Pink Floyd's 1973 Dark Side of The Moon endlessly on the A900. Impressive sound.

The color screens are excellent and very bright. I played around a bit with the 1.3 megapixel camera both in full motion video and still (point and shoot) and fooled with the zoom and swivel. I'm impressed.

Buy this phone even if you have no desire to get the EVDO plan(s). Sprint Vision, Sprint TV, Sprint Web are nice but I use my Pocket PC with WiFi in HotSpots for that stuff. The A900 is a great thing even without using the EVDO stuff.

the A900 is a keeper !

Rick (M5)
Webster, NY

insurance srewed guy posted on 14 Mar 2006, 05:31

Excellent 8.6

original fone rocked my world, replacment... a letdown

So i got this fone Jan 5th of 06 and instantly fell in love with it. yes horrible battery life blah blah, but it has almost EVERYTHING on it. One beef i had was that the ringtones and the mass storage were diffent, forcing you to buy ringtones rather than transfer from computer. well with sprints power vision internet i found a way around paying for mi ringtones. well about a month ago it got dropped and broke the main screen. o well i got insurance right? okay so after procrastinating 2 weeks i call to find out i have to shell out 50 bucks deductable? well that sucks but hey better than 350 right? then i find out theres another activation fee. well thats unpleasent but i just want a new damn fone, i shouldnt have dropped the first one right. well 5 days l8er i get said "new" fone and take it out of the package. first words out of mouth: :what the f**k is this piece of s**t!?" the second i picked it up i knew it was crap. it has none of the heft mi original had, feels like cheap plastic, doesnt have the metallic luster the original had, and when i opened it and tested the keypad, even that felt cheap. what the hell went wrong here is this not the same model fone? well i go to stick the battery in right... what the F**K!! the battery is so warped/convexed out the cheap ass PLASTIC battery cover barley bent around it. and then with the slightest of taps comes popping off. well i gotta say that damn 6 dollars amonth for the last 4 years has been well spent right? not to mention the...  

So i got this fone Jan 5th of 06 and instantly fell in love with it. yes horrible battery life blah blah, but it has almost EVERYTHING on it. One beef i had was that the ringtones and the mass storage were diffent, forcing you to buy ringtones rather than transfer from computer. well with sprints power vision internet i found a way around paying for mi ringtones. well about a month ago it got dropped and broke the main screen. o well i got insurance right? okay so after procrastinating 2 weeks i call to find out i have to shell out 50 bucks deductable? well that sucks but hey better than 350 right? then i find out theres another activation fee. well thats unpleasent but i just want a new damn fone, i shouldnt have dropped the first one right. well 5 days l8er i get said "new" fone and take it out of the package. first words out of mouth: :what the f**k is this piece of s**t!?" the second i picked it up i knew it was crap. it has none of the heft mi original had, feels like cheap plastic, doesnt have the metallic luster the original had, and when i opened it and tested the keypad, even that felt cheap. what the hell went wrong here is this not the same model fone? well i go to stick the battery in right... what the F**K!! the battery is so warped/convexed out the cheap ass PLASTIC battery cover barley bent around it. and then with the slightest of taps comes popping off. well i gotta say that damn 6 dollars amonth for the last 4 years has been well spent right? not to mention the extra 50 dollars i gave them. wow i have so much more respect for sprint/samsung now that they went out of their way to provide such a great service to me as this insurance. o well ive been meaning to switch plans i guess switching carriers isnt any big deal. i mean that damn slvr is awesome isnt it?

Zefram Cochran posted on 02 Mar 2006, 00:47

Excellent 9.4

Great Alternative to Monopolistic Motorola

I bought this phone as a replacement to a Sanyo VI-2300. I bought that phone for the Ready-Link feature and never used it. Now that I have the MM-A900, I use every feature on it. When I first bought it, the battery life was crap. I had the GPS enabled and I was using Bluetooth to connect to my Pocket PC. I was going through the battery in one day. I have since settled my excitement and turned off the GPS and Bluetooth unless I need them. The battery now lasts much longer. I use it constantly, and the battery barely loses a third power. I do not mind paying the high price for the phone, I love it.
My phone history: Nokia 2100 series to Motorola StarTac to Nokia 5160 to Motorola Timeport P8167 to LG TP-3000 to Samsung A460 to Sanyo VI-2300 to Samsung MM-A900.
As you can see, I tried to stay current. I think this phone is big step forward for Samsung. I like the phone, I can't wait to see what is next.
BTW, I wrote Motorola an email in November 2000 suggesting the metal casing and they stole the idea! Hello Moto!

Dont Waste your Money posted on 06 Feb 2006, 03:47

Poor 3.8

Dont Waste your Money

I have had this phone for about six weeks. It is awful. True, it does look great, but is worthless. You have to carry your charger with you everywhere you go, or you'll be S.O.L.! With Sprint, you only get 14 days to return your phone, so i am stuck. I will be going out this week to buy the Sanyo 4930; I have seen the reviews on this phone also, and have a few friends with the phone. It is also true that the phone constantly freezes up. Good luck; this phone is garbage, and can't compare to the Razor. I will admit, the sound quality is excellent, but that's it! Don't waste your money, in fact, don't even take it for free; you are guaranteed to not be happy.

Beeper3000 posted on 05 Feb 2006, 21:08

Excellent 9

Great Phone

I bought this phone because i need somrthing thin, not a big bulky phone. (aka Sayno crappy phones) I've had this phone for almost to months and havent been disapointed yet, but the thing that can be improved would be the battery life.

TxBeard posted on 05 Feb 2006, 12:23

Good 8.2

Excellent phone, but prep to extend battery life.

I have just received my new phone several days ago. I love the features, especially the included USB cable. It works great to connect the phone to my computer as an extra disk drive for transfering music to the phone. I have read many complaints about the short battery life. Be sure to turn off the GPS feature, which is enabled by default. My first use of the phone with a full battery charge was pretty short lived. Once I disabled the GPS feature, I made a call that lasted 1hr 10min, and used approximately a third of the battery. Talk time rating for the battery is supposed to be 3 hours. I love the phone, and would rate it a keeper.

Propilot posted on 01 Feb 2006, 21:51

Good 7.2

SPH-A900

This phone is alright. I have had better luck with the sanyo. It is true the phone locks up and you have to reset it. I have had for two days and the battery has died on me every day. Do not be fooled it says 3 hour of talk time. NO WAY. My phone is my life line. I am trying to decide if it is worth it or not before I take it back. What else can you do.

Terribly Upset posted on 24 Jan 2006, 01:22

Poor 4.2

Terribly Upset

I have owned this phone for about three weeks now, and it is awful. The look is great, but the quality is junk. The screen continuously freezes up when I am just trying to scroll to either set the alarm, listen to music, watch t.v., do anything. It is true that you have to continuously remove the battery for the phone to go back to working. Also, the talk time is horrific. I have to carry my charger everywhere I go. I am purchasing a new phone tomorrow. Guys, don't be fooled like I was. It definately looks sharp, beautiful screen, but watch out!

Yolanda posted on 20 Jan 2006, 08:04

Good 7

Not 2 happy 1

This phone is the most awesome looking phone I have ever had. I had the razor(Cingular) Pros: look, feel, design, can do almost anything with. Razor had better battery life. Cons: terrible battery life, something like 1.80, 2 hours. Static on the other end,the phone constantly freezes up when listening to music, have to constantly take battery out and put back in for phone to function. For price, I would say don't buy!

minty hippo posted on 09 Jan 2006, 15:49

Excellent 9.4

very slick phone

The one and ONLY downside to this phone is that there is no expandable memory. For most people though, this doesn't matter. I am very happy with this new phone. There are many, very easy to use functions and features. I am just coming off of a bulky Motorola MPx200 and the sleek form of this new phone is extremely refreshing. For the price this is a great buy.

blade guy posted on 04 Dec 2005, 14:37

Good 8

AWESOME!

i just bought this phone from sprint and it is BAD... i havent even figured out all the things you can do with it yet but the things i no how to do are awesome. one thing i cant figure out how to do is expand the memory... it says you can with a minisd card, but i cant find the slot for it! can anyone help me???