Samsung SCH-A950
Average Ratings
Very good phone thus far...
Pros:
-Reception
-Call quality
-Phone build
-Intenna
-Nice enough camera
Cons:
-None (based on what I look for in a phone...call & build quality, reception, and working secondary features)
I purchased the Samsung 950 a few days ago, ending two satisfying years using the Samsung 530. I live in an area that has had serious reception issues, although those have been much improved over the past year.
The 530 is above average in terms of signal strength, and the 950 is right up there with it. I've yet to drop a call with the 950. When using the phone at certain times, it is possible to muffle the incoming sound by blocking the region surrounding the intenna, but that doesn't happen all the time and the phone is clearly marked as such.
Sound quality is excellent. I've used the Motorola e815, and the 950 gets a big edge here. No longer do I hear my own voice echoing through the earpiece. I've also found the volume to be consistent and more than loud enough, I've had to turn it down a few notches from factory default.
Build quality is solid. Phone feels like it will last, buttons may be a little small for some but I have no problem using them. The overall size of the phone is satisfactory. It's bigger than the 530, but the intenna cuts down on length. The phone feels very comfortable in my pocket.
The rest is all extras. Camera works fine for me, but I'm not picky. My opinion is that it's a phone first, then camera, so non-perfect pictures don't much bother me. You will find that pictures appear more grainy on the outside display than the inner, but I was satisfied by the camera quality. I've yet to use the MP3 player and speakerphone, but will with time, and have no experience using Bluetooth, either.
I'll give it a 5/5. It's not perfect, but I believe it's the best overall phone on the market (for my purposes...it's above average in reception, call quality, and build quality, which is more than any other phone I've used).
Best Phone Yet
At first I hated the phone because you couldn't set your MP3's you downloaded from your computer as ring tones. After doing some research I found a way. I love the color, the convenience of having a MP3 play and a phone in one. My coverage is awesome so no complaints there.
The menu function are great, the only thing that disappoints me is you can only edit one of the shortcut keys.
Would recommend this phone to anyone!
Just got it.. 2 days extreme usage.
This Phone so far is great..
I got this phone because i have had a CRAPPY LG vx 9800 aka the V... it was crap sucky reception etc in california.
This phone has been by far the best phone i've owned.. I've usually just stuck w/ LG and motorola, more of the expensive phones... This phone is one of the best..
Pros:
Loud Speaker Phone
Loud Music Speaker
Loads of Camera options.
Great Camera.
Small Size
Red Color.
GREAT A+ reception coverage.
No Delayed texts/or phone calls.
Durability
Battery life is so/so.
Now after my two days of using it these are the cons..
Cons:
Slow Texting.. I type extremely fast. t9word. u cant push alot of buttons at once it will get confused un like the LGs.
Swivel button on front is weird.
Crappy Tones/gotta buy them
Werid Overview.
Pictures/ID rings u have to set to lowest resolution. to see the pix.
I am still in search for the perfect phone but we will see in time...
Over all I give this phone a 8 out of 10..
Great Phone!
Working in the industry gives me the ability to see many phones first hand, allowing me to make the best decision for my own wants and needs. I came really close to going with the Motorola 710 a few months back but decided to try go a bit more basic with the Samsung a670 which I loved.
The two main features I missed having on the 670 were Bluetooth and speaker phone. I watched the Motorola E815 and LG 8100 for a while, leaning more towards the 8100. Then Samsung came out with the a950!
Pros:
*Great receptionâ¦no different than my 670.
*Bluetooth
*Speaker Phone
*Easy to use
*Toysâ¦camera, camcorder, mp3
*Internal antenna
Cons:
*No one-touch button for silent mode (so you actually have to open the phone and hit the down button a couple times! Big deal!)
As has been stated throughout this site many times, it's a phone first, and the Samsung a950 has been a great phone so far. I give this phone a 5.0 for being a great phone! Itâs not perfect, but Iâd say for me itâs pretty close.
Great Phone With Great Features
The Samsung SCH-A950 is the best phone I have ever used. There are some unfortunate restrictions imposed by Verizon, but being that I am stuck with them, it is the best available.
Pros:
Great features for the price - MP3/camera.
Better reception than any of my previous phones.
Solid build quality.
Better at MP3's than my $100 MP3 player.
Best speakerphone I have ever used.
Very loud ringers/speakerphone.
Cons:
Restrictions on ringtones/connectivity.
Lack of included accessories (earphones, earphone adapter, or transflash card.)
I paid $50 for this phone and am amazed at what I got. I would definitely recommend this phone to anyone with Verizon!
A950 Rocks and Rolls
Pros size, features and internal antenna
Since it has an internal antenna it feels so much smaller than the 8100 which i returned.
The bluetooth feature is awesome and works well with my motorola headset
The mp3 with the jogdial rocks. I have a 256k card and now I can take my music and phone to the gym without my ipod.
The signal strength is the sames and I've noticed no difference with the internal antenna. People always say there is a difference but the internal one works the same as having an external antenna. I'm sure VZW would have not approved the phone had it been different
camera rocks and video clips up to 10 min is cool too.
Red color is awesome and the outside screen it nice when you use the phone closed either on speakerphone or on the mp3 player.
Price was fair after $100 mail in
No glitches so far after 2 days of use I love this phone
cons
don't like the verizon user interface, it's a little to simple and can't shortcut without selecting a folder first
Ehhh... jury's still out
I bought this phone coming over from a tmobile acct that I had for 4+ years. Of course it offers so many "new" features that I was kinda awestruck. I want to say that dealing with Verizon so far, has been awful! My phone hasn't worked correctly in the 2-3 days i've had it. Customer service told me to take it back to the store to exchange to see if maybe I have a defective phone. The verizon team wanted to charge me 20$ to transfer my phone numbers! I'd only had the phone 2 days and you want to charge me money because of THEIR screw up?
Pros:
*Obviously Music! Great idea however I dont think i'll use it that often
*Speakerphone is VERY loud and is clear!
*Main display is very big, bright and very clear!!
*The camera! It takes great pictures and has a pretty decent digital zoom, VERY impressed at the quality of photos
Cons:
*Phone is bulky and heavy compared to my last samsung e315
*What is up with the texting? The t9 on this phone sucks. It automatically decides that you are going to use the ABC feature and not the t9 and when using yahoo messenger you cant even use the t9!!
*Phone is garbled and it seems that while verizon gets signal where tmobile doesn't, their signal sucks and I have a hard time understanding people on the phone. Tmobile seemed to be clear right up until it dropped my call!
*When sending pictures, it will not let you do anything else on the phone until its sent. My old phone (e315) would send the picture in the background while you were using other features on the phone
*Menu is confusing and lacks options
So, for the last couple days I have had this phone... I am still up in the air about keeping it. While it has a bunch of features I am excited about, I am hesitant to keep it due to all the problems so far. And after verizon trying to charge me to transfer my phone numbers, im hesitant on being locked in with them for a 2 year contract.
Its too bad Tmobile doesn't have signal here at my house, or i'd have stayed with them!!
Samsung out did themselves again
Wow i just got the phone yesterday because i had a $100 credit towards another phone and it was buy one get one free. I've always looked at the phone because it was samsung and i love their phones but never in my wildest dreams did i imagine that it would have so many features. I'm completely blown away and the quality of these features is like that one guy said fantablous. what isn't this phone? It has a camera, camcorder, mp3 player, its expandible, you can make your own ringtones, wireless web, you can text message, picture message, video message adn even sketch message. Its bluetooth, you can even make calls while on the internet oh my G O S H. Bravo samsung. The only thing this phone can't do for you is get up and take a sh*t excuse my sarcasim LOL.
More fun every day
Not being one to change phones very often, I had had a dinosaur of a phone that dropped the first call I made after a car crash.
I researched my new options like crazy, was overwhelmed by the knowledge of the regulars to this site, and had never even downloaded music before.
I was warned that this phone would be "too much" for me, that too many features would go unused. But I liked how it looked, and was told the camera was better than most of the others.
The interface is quite easy to use. The phone has great signal strength in my area and long battery life. Here are some of my favorite features, discovered little by little:
1. quick access to the camera by pushing a button on the right.
2. I soon learned there is a 15 second video camera! fun!
3. By setting the camera resolution to Picture ID, I can take a picture of my friends and family and append it to their contact info. When they call, their picture pops up! As a visual learner, it's great.
4. Music: I have long eschewed iPods because I don't know that much about digital music. However, I have been downloading music (my own and from VCast) and now have my own little juke box of my favorite tunes. I did figure it out despite no knowledge before.
5. This is the best part: Under "messaging," there is a "sketch message" option. I take a picture (has to have good texture) and then the camera converts it to a "Sketch." The one I took of my son had people thinking it was done by an artist.
I'm sure there's more to the phone to discover. But I've been having fun learning something new each time I play.
Only "con" I have is that the volume doesn't go low enough. Even on the lowest setting, it's a bit loud when I'm trying to relax. Sound quality is great with the headphones. Loud but not as clear on the speakers.
There's a calendar, too. Perhaps many other phones have these features, I don't really know. But my experience with the Samsung SCH-a950 has been great!
The Best Phone Out There
Well i dont really know how to say this but everything about this phone is great and is by far the best out there. I am crazy about cell phones and are getting a new one just about every 3 months. I am very good with cell phone and know more then some of the people that work for verizon, and thats the truth cuz i have answered questions for them. This phone has everything and i mean everything. I gave this phone a 5 out of 5. Before the 950 i tryed the 8100 and was about the same as the 950 just not as good, i gave that a 4.5 out of 5. Before that i had the 9800 and hated a couple of things about it, thats way it got a 4 out of 5. The razr is the worst out of all of them and i gave that thing a 2 out of 5. I would not want that one again if someone was givin it to me.
Pros:
Very Durable
Very Cool Looking
Awesome MP3 Player, (Must be in WMA format if its the new v cast music phone, WMA is better any way tho cuz the songs are smaller then MP3's.) I Have headset for listening to my tunes and the sound is awesome almost better then a IPOD.
Awesome screen resolution
Battery life Great
Very good reception for an internal antenna
Bluetooth is excellent
SpeakerPhone is great ( Can be use when the phone is closed, Very Cool)
Camera is the best one i ever seen in a phone.
Camcorder is awesome, can take up to 10 minutes with the card.
The tools and settings are great, almost any thing you would want to do you can.
Transflash Card is awesome, can put WMA's, PIXS, and FLIXS on a card and then onto the phone.
Very Good Speaker sound when playing tunes and ringtones.
I think thats everything, i really really really highly recommend it to anyone interested in it. Its the best phone out for Verizon. Oh yeah i dont have any CONS either.
