Samsung SCH-A950
Average Ratings
Crippled and unacceptable
Here are 10 reasons I hate this phone:
1) Hard to hear the caller due to the poor speaker or reception. Iâm on my 3rd a950 so this is a bad design, not a bad unit.
2) Bad ringtones. Couldnât this phone have at least one decent standard ring on it?
3) No MP3 support and the faceplate wheel does pratically nothing! Why is it there?
4) This phone is huge. Why is this thing twice as large as a phone I bought over 2 years ago?
5) WMA playback does not resume from the last stopped point when playback is restarted. Why? In fact I challenge you to quickly find a song on this phone using the POS UI.
6) Audio pops when playing WMAs (but not nearly as bad as when you are listening to a caller)
7) Camera turns on all by itself since the camera button is too sensitive.
8) Does not have a standard headphone jack, and the existing jack is right in the middle of the phone (yea, thatâs comfy when jogging)
9) No protective plate over the camera lense, but since the pictures look like garbage anyway a scratch doesnât matter.
10) Intentionally crippled so that uploaded audio files can't be used as a ringtone. Again, this was designed to drive VCast business.
11) Canât access main phone features when used as a music player.
12) This phone allows setting pictures for your contacts. Cool! Unfortunately you canât use pictures taken by this phone to do that!
Oops, thatâs more than 10. I guess I hate this phone more than I thought.
Samsung, you really dropped the ball on this one. You screwed up so bad that thereâs no way I can live with this phone much longer and must replace it. Iâll be extra careful with my next purchase if a Samsung is a possible replacement.
I Despise It!!!
Back when i had first purchased the phone i loved it soooo much but then one day like 2 days after i saw somebody else walking around with one so i said to myself no worries this phone is still all right then no less than an hour later i went to answer my phone at dunkin donuts and all the sudden some rude obnoxious person was like HEY i have that phone too!!!! and i hung up my phone and hes like my wife has it too. she pulls hers out. urgh i was sooo mad they embarrassed me...so almost a week later i went camping,it was horrible everyone i talk to there all got verizon 2 years before like thirteen ppl there so they all went for the upgrade to the samsung sch a950. and tht blue phone thing from lg.so now I'm not mad but upset because everyone has my phone its too popular!!!! so i went to verizon and purchased the razr v3c i have yet to complain because next to nobody has the Grey or blue they have silver or black. im soooo much happier. overall the a950 is a great phone but it was just way toooo popular for me thx for reading.
Sent Back
Had it for a week and sent it back for 3 reasons.
1) Heard too many complaints of feedback/reverberation when using speakerphone.
2) Earpiece often produced high pitched squeels and buzzes.
3) Ringtones - lame standard ringtones, VCast optional ringtones sound great but too expensive. Although it can be fun to record your own for your friends!!!
I tried it on the Verizon network in the NYC Area. Decent reception but not as good as the old V60s. Speakerphone was nearly just as loud which was a huge plus. Bluetooth worked fantastic, really simple. VCast is cool but I wouldn't use it enough for the $15/month plus fees. Phone was free with bluetooth headset under new every two but couldn't live with the earpiece noises and needed a solid speakerphone. With the old V60s most didn't even know I was on speakerphone until I got 6+ feet away from the phone.
Great Music Player - Lousy Phone!
Having owned the phone for 2 months, I can tell you that it is primarily for music and VCAST. You must get the Music Essentials kit to easily move MP3s and WMAs to and from your PC. It comes with a USB cable and a nice sounding stereo headset/microphone. MP3s will convert to WMAs on the fly with little if any loss of sound. Best quality is obtained by ripping CDs in Windows Media Player directly to WMA format, then copying them to the phone. The menu and the music quility is better than most stand alone MP3 players. The camera and camcorder work well. The Web browser and VCAST services are also very cool as long as you have a EVDO signal.
As for the phone service, The internal antenna is week. I have lost data signals but no voice calls so far. The reception cuts out all background noise and the first milliseconds of each sentence or word. This is well documented on other forums. You will not be able to hear everything unless a person talks without pauses. If phone clarity is important to you, do not get this one.
Hardware build is solid - as good as it gets. Also recommend the extended battery, available on Samsungs website for under $40 after registering.
Poor Reception
My first Samsung.
Pros:
-Greatest gadget I've ever had
Cons:
-Terrible reception
The primary function of a phone is to make and receive calls. This one is terrible as a phone.
Took it back before the 15-day trial expired.
Undecided
it is just another O.K. phone.
pros
-speakerphone
-can keep closed while on speakerphone and you can pick up a phone w.out opening.
-clear cam pics and nice options for those
-camcorder is awesome and record up to 15min straight
-look its sleek and cool
-voice recognition
-able to record your own ringtone
Cons
-for some reason your battery life in massachusetts is horrible
-battery lasts only up to a day...if that.
-front LCD shuts off after a few seconds and must hold a button on the front for at least 5 seconds to see time etc.
-vcast is dumb, i dont want it and eats up my battery cause it is always searching for a signal (which there isnt one in mass)
-if i wanted a tv, id buy a tv, if i wanted to watch a movie, heck, id go watch a movie but not a screen thats no bigger than a couple inches.
-when you take a picture with the phone closed it automatically saves pic
-if you want to delete ANYTHING, it is a whole ordeal of its own.
-menu is hard to use
-camera has a delay.
-internal intenna is the biggest mistake EVER.
overall this is an okay phone. for some stupid reason the battery life does not even last a day. that is the nail in the coffin and i do not suggest this phone for ANYONE.
Dont let the exterior trick you!
I purchase this phone about two months ago and already I have had to replace it three times. Despite it sleek exterior, this phone is rather annoying. No matter where I am I often hear a static buss noise when I am talking on the phone. This high pitched buzz comes up about every 5 minutes. Also, my phone all of a sudden stopped accepting picture/flix messages for no reason. I have visited the verizon store, called customer support, and tech support, and everyone is still baffled. They are sending me a new phone which will arrive in a few days so hopefully all with be corrected. But if I had a choice to pick another phone I would!
Nice phone...if it had service support
I pretty much agree with bits and pieces of everyone else's statements, so I'll just summarize my points
Pros:
- Camera takes fairly good shots and video. Lots of options on the camera too (white balance, exposure, etc).
- MP3 controls are nice...much better than the LG VX8100 counterpart. I really enjoy the scroll wheel.
- Crystal clear display!
- Overall attractive design.
Now...unfortunately the cons outweigh the pros.
Cons:
- Phone feels a little bulky (to me at least)
- Speakerphone is fairly lacking. You even have to strain a bit to hear some of the VCast videos.
- No external way to adjust the volume or switch to vibrate (you have to flip open the phone to do it)
- Bluetooth functionality is limited (as described in an earlier review).
- Transflash/MicroSD cards are somewhat less available than the MiniSD cards the LG VX8100 uses (and sometimes more expensive).
- Not as many menu options as the LG VX8100 counterpart (I miss my EZ Tip Calc from my old LG VX6000)
- And probably the biggest thing...CURRENTLY NO SUPPORT FROM VERIZON!!!
I had the misfortune of messing around in the settings, where I really shouldn't have been, and I locked myself out of it (I could explain further with more characters).
I figure I could just run down to the local Verizon store, have them plug it, and they could find the NAM2 number. Nope.... Currently NONE of the Verizon stores in and around Atlanta have neither the cable NOR the software from Samsung in order to service these phones.
My complaint... Why sell these phones if you don't have the necessary equipment to service them?! I know I'm the one that screwed up my phone, but I'm not going to configure and install a router for a customer without having a way to get back into the device if there is a problem!
Buyer beware. I recommend the LG VX8100 if you are looking for a phone like this.
the mp3 player
okay i noticed on the normal card it only holds about 110 songs? well im big on the mp3 player. It there a way i can get a card that holds more songs if so were and what kind? is there a way i can buy several cards athta hold 110 songs and just switch them around? or am i totally wrong and the card holds more than what im thinking? To the one guy where did u get ur 256k card at?
