Samsung SCH-A790 / SCH-A795 / IP-A790
Average Ratings
A790 for Sprint
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.
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.
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.
Good design but as always: issues with CDMA
I've had this phone about a week but planning on returning it since it does not perform well as a phone ( 262 k screen, and 1mp camera are not worth of buying this phone).
PROS:
-Easy to use menu (as on all Samsung phones)
-Triband phone
CONS:
-as previous reviews noted -missed calls on CDMA
-Poor audio quality (especially on CDMA)
-Hardly enough decent battery life
Conclusion: one more time I have learned the lesson: never ever again will I buy a CDMA phone (unless I live in Japan or Korea where CDMA network is excellent comparing to Sprint and Verizon's CDMA).
What many people do not know is that it is only with CDMA network in the United States the audio quality and the dropped calls can depend on what model of Samsung phone you use. I know technology very well ( but if you do your own search on the net GSM vs CDMA you will see that I'm not advertising GSM. It's just a plain fact that in the USA GSM is the network to go with). When you use T-Mobile or Cingular , it doesn't matter what Samsung model you have ( you will never have volume polution or dropped calls like on CDMA).
I did a mistake again. I though that CDMA has improved since the last time I used verizon and Sprint ( 3 years ago), but it did not. I had the best models of Samsung phone with Sprint and Verizon . No matter how many times they will exchange your phone for a new one , if you got unmatched model for CDMA -You are in big trouble. When you call Sprint or Verizon customer care, of course they will never acknowledge that it is CDMA causes volume polution (especialy in the evenings when network is loaded with clients) and dropped calls.
One opyimistic NOTE for Verizon and Sprint clients: The only phone that works perfectly with American CDMA IS the Nokia phone ( they only have one or 2 models for CDMA).
I don't know how Nokia did that, but it produces the perfect match phones for CDMA
( normal clear sound, better battery life, and no volume polutions).
Not a "true" global roamer.
I just bought this phone a month ago and I am only marginally satisfied.
Not a "true" global roamer. I was planning a trip to the UK and then directly to South Korea. According to Verizon, the phone needs special software to be able to be used in South Korea (among other places - see brochure). If the software was installed, the phone would ONLY work in South Korea, not the UK or US (or anywhere else). If it wasn't installed, it would not work in South Korea. Unacceptable answer for the price I paid for it. Plus, to have the software installed, I would have had to travel to my local Verizon dealer who barely knew the phone existed and would have to call Verizon to get directions to install the software. It would have been a hassle. Turns out, I didn't have the software changed and it, in fact, didn't work in South Korea.
Things that suck about it:
-expensive
-no "normal" ring tones ("normal" ringtones are downloadable from X-Ringer on Get It Now at a cost)
-not great battery life (working on quantifying this)
-Verizon customer service barely knows about it so getting assistance takes forever
-no text message folders available for archiving messages by user defined groups
Things that are good about it:
-looks way cool ;)
-seamless & easy conversion from CDMA to GSM mode
-easily navigable menus
-great US and UK service coverage
-zoomable camera and flash work well
-intense hi-res screen and graphics
I'm not going to return it but I wouldn't buy it again.
Good phone, could use customer service...
After using the phone for over a month in the US, Singapore and Indonesia it is well worth the money. If it only came with normal ring tones and customer service it would be a winner.
Good news: CDMA service excellent in Seattle
Good news: GSM works like a charm even in Indonesia.
Bad news: local Verizon customer service has no knowledge of this phone and can not help you if you have problems. My phone's SIM card was not activated at delivery and it took tech support over 30 minutes of long distance (their nickel) to Indonesia to activate it. At least the global phone tech support people were very competent.
In summary - buy this phone - excersize a lot of patience and you will enjoy it.
I've Got it and so far so Good
I have had the phone about 3 months. I don't mind the size and the belt clip is better than my previous one.
I do wish there were better ring tones and blue-tooth would be nice.
I bought this phone for when I travel to the Middle East and I am anxious to see who it will work there.
The camera is nice but I don't use it much.
I don't know anymore !!!!!!!
Once in a while I allow myself to walk in a cellular store, obviously I see the slick A790 and as the oldest child I know, I walk out with the promise to receive the phone within 7 to 10 days. The very next morning is in my hands. After using it for over 45 days now I am kind of pleased with it but surprised. It appears to me that no manufacturer is capable of making one good overall cellular phone. One has this but misses that, the other has that but misses that feature, and so on. For this one these are my comments:
PROs:
Looks good !
Works well (I was lucky to get the latest generation without the incoming calls issues) both in the US as well as abroad,
Very good camera,
Sturdy,
Good graphics,
Plenty of extra stuff available (if you use it),
Fairly easy to get used to.
CONs:
A little heavy,
Very low ringer volume,
HORRIBLE choice of ring tones (good for teenagers, NOT for business),
Battery life not so generous,
Limited availability of accessories,
No bluetooth or IR,
Easy to scratch,
Holster kind of lousy,
So, I guess that the relentless search for the perfect phone continues. This is a good one, add bluetooth & IR and allow some normal ring tones and I think it is a very good phone.
I Was So Disappointed....
I had this phone for the 15 day period. It had to go back, just wasn't cutting it as a mobile phone. Overall very disappointed with Samsung and this model (I haven't used a Samsung before.
Pros:
World phone. You can finally carry one instead of two phones. Worked well in Hong Kong.
Camera was decent.
Picture ID.
Cons:
Over 50% of incoming CDMA calls wouldn't go through. Used it in many areas I used my old phone (and since my new phone) where all calls have gone through. Neither VZW nor Samsung could explain. Signal strength near its highest reading.
Most features on the CDMA side not available on the GSM side. Weird.
No 24hr clock.
Ringtones - great if you like dance music but for business, or really any other time, crummy.
Volume of ringtones very low.
Picture messages only seemed to work < 50% of the time. Could have been the network but VZW tried to help and couldn't explain.
Way way way overpriced. Okay if your company is buying I guess.
I was told by more than one listener that my end was choppy and they missed many calls.
Overall not worth the price nor the benefit of carrying one phone. I can't believe VZW really tested this model of if they did, it wasn't with the road warrier in mind.
My Review of the SCH-A790
I like the phone overall. I just hope it works as expected next week in Europe.
Unlike others, I don't need bluetooth or infrared.
Last unit I had (Audiovox )CDM-8300) incorporated an internal speaker phone that was...nice...very nice especially when driving.
The speaker on the A790 is nice...but the on deck ring tones are terrible....TERRIBLE. There is no generic ring.
The Verizon "get it NOW" features are not functioning. I'm hopeful that Verizon TechSupport can work out the issues. But its has been one week since they started working on the issue.
The above being said, I still like the phone. I'll like it even better when I can use the "get it Now" feature.
