Samsung Mythic A897
Average Ratings
Mythic options
I have had my mythic for a couple of weeks now and just love it. I actually switched from Verizon to ATT and am glad I did.
The mythic is bright, small, not bulky and very stylish.
I like that you don't have to have a $30 data plan to have this phone. Only a $10 data plan. That's cool, right there.
The only thing I wish the mythic did, was allow you to arrange the widgets around on the main screens to where ever you wanted to use them. They are stationary. You can only remove some or add some, but not move them from screen to screen.
Also, I wish you can just click on the widget in the sidebar and have it open up without it moving to the desktop where you will have to move it back when your done.
Other than that. This is an awesome phone and great size virtual buttons. Very good Samsung!!!
Samsung mythic is BEYOND BUGGY!
I got this phone after I damaged my eternity. I am on Mythic #2 right now. I plan to go for the "3rd times a charm" replacement. Ok first is battery life. On the eternity it would go down a bar as it depletes. This phone goes from 3 bars to the blinking "low battery" signal. Where the heck is bar #2, #1 & then the low battery flash??! TWO Mythics SAME ISSUE! Next is the call quality..both phones have very poor call quality. Max volume is 7. On 5/6/7 call quality is very poor and actually "pops" almost like the speaker can't handle output effectively. The phone freezes constantly. The accelomoter lags on turning the phone. Lastly I hate that their are 2 ways to access the internt. It has 2 differnt browers. One is like the eternity's the other is the one on the main screen & you can customize shortcuts & etc. My issue is It will NOT save my login & passwords for myspace & twitter even when I check the "rember my info" button. I also changed the screen font size and hit save & when I exit & go back it "looses" that change as well. I am beyond pissed. I was hoping for the eternity with extra features...it may look better but it has so many software bugs & glitches it's not even funny. Give it a try but I think this phone needs a major bug fix...but samsung will NEVER do that. The eternity was out for 2 years and they did not have ONE single available firmware update which is complete BS. We will see if my third mythic makes it right....if not moving on to a different device. TRYING TO LIKE THIS PHONE!
Solid Feature Phone
I've owned this phone for close to two months now. Overall I am satisfied with this phone. I didn't want a smart phone as I didn't want the forced data plan. The Mythic has performed well in general use as a phone, texting, and basic web browsing device. It is a solid choice for a feature phone. In fact, its web browsers are tempting me to sign up for the regular data plan. I don't see any other ATT feature phone I would select over it.
Pro's:
- Nice Screen with good resolution
- Solid calling interface (good options during a call - easy to mute)
- Speaker phone works well
- Voice command is surprisingly effective
- Two bundled browsers - ATT branded - Opera mini and Samsung browser both are effective at browsing
- Virtual keyboard with haptic feedback works very well on the large screen.
- Wide range of apps available for this phone and resolution (for a J2ME phone).
- Outlook contacts syncing (with some help from the Internet) made it easy to move my contacts over.
- Phone book is VERY detailed - I use it to keep information on family and friends
- Solid camera with flash
- No smart phone data plan required!
Con's:
-Basic Calendar - limited in events, and limited recurrence options
-Sometimes the phone is slow to respond to touches in the browsers
- Some users don't like the lock screen images (they can't be changed)
good phone
I read in the forums I could get an unlock code here http://www.unlockcellphonecode.com/product_info.php/code-for-unlocking-samsung-mobile-cell-phone-p-65
so I got the code and it worked! I'm now using iwireless sim card.
very nice phone.
thank you
Great Phone, but not Perfect
I upgraded from an LG Chocolate (v2) to the Mythic, which of course was a big change. Also take into consideration that I got the Mythic for free from an online retailer. My review might've been a little more harsh had I paid $150 for it.
Pros:
1. Aesthetics
2. Build quality
3. Screen resolution
4. Camera
5. GUI/OS
6. User Friendliness
7. No data plan required
Cons:
1. Call Quality
2. Widget customability
3. Speaker volume
Overall:
I've had it for a few days and it's a great phone. Many more features than my last phone (as is usually the case), however because of that fact, also a bit more challenging to figure out. It has a gorgeous screen. Not the highest resolution out there, but pretty generous at this price point. The touch screen is pretty accurate- much better than the 1st gen iPhones.
I don't need to be attached at the hip to the web, so I despise the required data packages for phones, so the Mythic is a nice option for a few of us. The camera is pretty good (for a phone) and includes auto focus and a flash. It also lets you change the resolution to 1920x1080 for a widescreen format that will fill the entire display if used for wallpaper.
The call quality didn't quite stack up compared to my old LG, but it wasn't terrible. The earphone is also not as loud as the LG's, but should suffice for most people.
Overall a great touchscreen phone. A no brainer if you snatch it up for free online, for $150 direct from AT&T I'd say it's still a good phone, but may not offer enough over the free Solstice to entice bang-for-your-buck consumers.
Full Featured Phone
The Mythic is one of Samsung's best technology touch phones that do not require a data plan. The differences are clear between the Mythic and Impression. The most noteable differences are the 3.5 mm jack and the mini usb interface. The size and lightness of the Mythic also make it a pleasure to use. The construction quality is solid and the call quality is excellent with AT&T.
Pros:
-Light and easy to hold
-Vivid higher resolution screen
-Much better design of lock button
-Can be virtually unlocked from home page
-Three home page screens for widgets
-Three screens for phone menu items
-LED flash
-3.2 mp camera
-Customizable wallpaper
Cons:
-Widgets are not customizable
-No Photo Album widget to view photos
-No My Stuff widget to access personal files
-Touch screen lags sometimes
-Haptic touch default setting too high
-Photo editor works only in portrait mode
-Screensaver not customizable
-Indoor camera quality is grainy
-Does not sync with Outlook
Overall, the Mythic is a very good phone. This is Samsung's first model with mini usb and 3.5 mm jack. However, lack of easy access to the photo album is a big disappointment.
Great Phone But Possible Glitch?
I've played with the Mythic for several hours on two different occasions at two different AT&T stores. The first time I was totally unfamiliar with the Samsung Touchwiz interface and I found myself lost at times. After reading the user manual I went for a 2nd spin. I liked the interface after learning how to use it.
Pros:
Nice Touchwiz interface
Call quality and ease of use of extra call features
Easy to use messaging
Camera w/autofocus and flash
3 Customizable widget home screens
Cons:
Browser
Occasionally lags leaving you wondering if you really pressed/touched the right area of the touchscreen.
Call quality is good. Call waiting is easy to use and the 3-way/join feature is a neat option. Messaging is easy although I think the real keyboard on the Samsung Impression is easier for text input than the virtual keyboard, at least as a first time user of both the Mythic and the Impression. The screen resolution and size is very good. The camera is adequate with it's auto focus and flash, but as expected, not a replacement for a real camera. I struggled with the web browser on both Mythic phones. I got frustrated with the factory browser and installed Opera Mini, and found it much better than the AT&T version of Opera preinstalled on the phone. On numerous occasions the phone seemed to lag or totally lock up and quit taking input to the browsers. At times it even displayed an error that forced me to shut down the browser. All said and done, I love the features of the Mythic but the jury is still out on using it for web browsing. I'm Jonesing for a "REAL" full blown review from Phonescoop to see if they too find browser and lag issues or if it was just my inexperience with the interface that caused the problems I had. If the browser problems were my fault and can be corrected, I would rate the phone another .5 to 1 whole star higher.
Samsung is getting veeeerry close!
Just another version of the Eternity...what like number 4 in the Samsung line of cloned phones?? Still, its getting pretty close to perfect in my opinion....
Pros:
Touch screen- I like how it responds like the Eternity does, they work great with acrylic nails.
Camera-They brought it back to 3.2, the camera was sadly lacking in the Solstice.
Wigits-Pretty cool and convinient, social apps are pre-programmed as wigits.
Keyboard-I like the full touch keyboard, I also like the emoticons that are available.
Expandable memory-I think it is still 8G, which is reasonable enough.
FloTV is back!!-Great feature! Unique.
Very Personable-Samsung makes their newer phones easy to customize. Make your phone scream you!
Cons:
Overall I rated the phone a 5, because for what is available right now, I think this is the best pick, especially for those *cheaper* customers who chose against the $30/mo data plan (hey, I chose against it too). But there are some things that could be "enhanced", I guess you could say. Heaven knows Samsung will come out with this same phone again in 3 months, hopefully they pick up on this and add some of these features!
Text Messaging-It could be threaded! C'mon now!
No ability to create Wigits easily-What if I want Tetris to be a Wigit? Haha, but I do!
Theme availability-The Eternity and Impression were supposed to have themes, but I see customers struggling to find good themes. They should make them more readily available.
Screen Saver is not customizable-When phone is in "lock" mode, it would be nice to see a pretty picture than just the blue or gray screens...
Overall, the biggest downfall is that the Samsung Mythic is just a cloned, spiced up version of the last 4 or so Samsung touch screen phones over the past year! Its sad to watch them struggle to get it right. Or are they playing us? Making us buy it again and again until we are completely satisfied?
