Samsung MM-A920
Average Ratings
Best Phone I've Owned
This is a great phone. I've talked over 4,000 minutes and taken 1,000 pictures since I've had it.
What I do and Don't Like About the Phone
I guess this is the "review" portion of my Samsung MM-A920. This is what I like so far:
* The phone has 24MB of internal memory
* It comes with a 32MB flash card, and the manual says the slot takes up to 512MB cards. I've read on other web sites that it takes up to 1GB cards with no problem
* The phone is basically an mp3 player, with controls for play, back, forward, shuffle, and playlist on the outer shell under the screen
* The camera takes great pictures, even while moving or in motion
* The battery has a lot of talk time, and holds a charge a lot longer than I expected.
* The 1.3 megapixel camera takes astoundingly beautiful pictures which are about ~225kb for 2200x1800 pixels in size
* The included 32MB memory card can hold up to 82 pictures in high resolution
* The phone transfers pictures from the phone to the Picture Mail web site (upload) or to others in email pretty fast
* With as little as one bar - the TV feature has nice video that's almost never choppy
* When watching TV, the audio through the speakers is pretty darn good
* You can post pictures to flikr using the "send photo to...email feature
This is what I don't like so far:
* The stereo speakers don't go that loud for ringers
* The provided headset earbuds won't say in my ears very well
* To get things off (and on) the memory card, you have to slip it into an SD adapter. I would have preferred a full size memory chip.
* The camera has an included USB cable that you can connect to a PC and the camera will become a modem. The fact that you can't use that same USB connection to access the storage on the memory card is ludicrous, and a very poor design flaw
Visit my web site for the full review and new user help guide for the MM-A920 here:
http://smorgasbord.net/samsung_a920_help_guide
Great phone lots of features
I bought this phone through Sprint when my 2nd line's Nokia 6025 died a skow horrible death
Coming from a LG325 on my primary line, I can say that this phone is a vast improvement in every way. This phone is able to aquire signal in my house (I am in a dead spot) and where I work much better than my LG325. The menus are well laid out with large easy to view ICONS. There is plenty of ram to store ringers, games, pictures, or what ever else you have in mind provided you have a card reader. The shell of the phone appears to be very sturdy and does not have that cheap feel that other phones have in this price range.
I really do not plan on using this phone as a media player or TV streaming. All I really wanted this phone for is bluetooth and calll quality..
There are some quirks though
1. Bluetooth option in 2 locations
2. ICON for power vision never dissapears even when you have it disabled.
Pros
Signal quality in Twin Cities, MN
Bluetooth audio quality
Crap load of ram to store stuff compared to previous phone
32MB SD mini SD card and adapter
Headset and USB cable included
Cons
Cannot use as USB drive
Cannot transferr files via BT
No display contrast
Have to have a PC with a card reader to make use of extra ram for song storage
Worst Sprint Experience Ever - Worst Phone Ever.
For 2 months Sprint has blamed my phone, me, and my efforts to obtain support for this phone's failures on their network.
Sprint repeatedly told me I was the only person having a problems. It wasn't I located other customers suffering with the A920 that Sprint paid any attention.
Connecting using the phone as a modem renders future connects impossible. After an initial connection, user/pass invalid, or HTTP errors 403 and 1012 appear.
The only way to reconnect is to hard reset the phone and reprogram.
Every single trouble ticket was addressed by someone with no knowledge, suddenly in over their head when removing the battery didn't cure the phone's problems. Each closed the trouble ticket, preventing the issue from going to a higher level in Sprint's support organization.
Three phones latter, daily calls to Vision Advance Technical Support, and Sprint finally admitted there is an issue in their network concerning the A920 - and even then only after I was able point them to other Sprint customers experiencing identical issues.
In two months, I've spent *days* on the phone with Sprint Vision Advanced Technical Support Department. Lots of the techs answering the phone want to argue/fight, and many can't comprehend the problem after I've described it two or three times in very simple terms.
Evidently there is little/no communication within Vision ATS, because everyone with this identical issue has been told that they are the only one experiencing problems with the A920.
After two months of abuse and neglect, Sprint is finally replacing the A920 with an LG LX-550, a phone I really don't want but have been given no choice.
Unless a Sprint bothers to call you back, you will be talking to a different tech on every call, and there is no way to complain about being mistreatment.
Unless you want to spend more time on the phone with ATS than using the phone as a modem, and it still not connect when you need to get online.
Not Bad For A Samsung
Well, not bad for a samsung. I've had the phone for a little over a month and compared to my Sanyo 200 that I had before I have to say it's like a dream phone. For being a digital only phone with an internal antenna, the reception is excellent even in those hard to get areas. The stereo speakers are great for sales, wish it came with a bigger memory card. The new M500 that's coming out from samsung I guess is supposed to be better than the 920 but with out the stereo speakers I can't see it comparing to the 920 at all. The Bluetooth on this phone sucks bad. You can't transfer songs via bluetooth. Also my BT reception is of poor quality with this phone. I don't like the side camera button, it too easily takes pictures of the inside of my case so I'm always deleting black pictures. But overall I love it. The sound quality is great and the reception is excellent. Can't wait to see what's coming next!!
Good as it gets
I have been in the wireless industry for 4 years now. Both with my current company that I shall not mention and at Cingular Wireless.
Of both companies lines of phones, for MP3 players, a capable working phone, a long lasting battery, great video camera, tv functions, games, etc and so far you want the A920.
I simply have never had a better phone - EVER!
The phone is every bit as sturdy as a Nokia bag phone - dropped it twice and nothing happened.
The sound of the phone is great with the headset and handset and I always get more bars of signal with this one then other folks with other phones at the same place at the same time.
The battery will last 4 days after a full charge - that is even when I talk, play games, and music on it. It comes with a 32 mb card and I put a 512 mb card in it and now I am learning French and Spanish as I drive to work.
Go with the A920 and you wont be dissappointed.
Nuff Said!
Samsung is trying, but just cannot deliver...
The A920 is plauged by software bugs just like my old VGA-1000. It seems Samsung has a good idea, but cannot execute it well.
Main gripes:
The camera shutter speed is ridiculously slow.
THIS PHONE HAS NO LONG VIDEO MODE although it is clearly advertised on the box. I am currently up to Level 3 Tech Support With Samsung about this issue. They have yet to call me back with any news.
PROS:
Internal Antenna
Great Button Layout and Backlight
Large And Bright Outside LCD
Stereo Speakers
Bluetooth
Memory Card Capability
Feature Packed
Faster menu than the A900 LOL
CONS:
Poor Reception
Camera shutter is very slow
NO LONG VIDEO MODE
No full screen mode for video playback
Frequently Crashes/Freezes/Resets
Will not power on to sound the alarm
Overall, I can see this handset was designed for multitasking and feels like it was meant to make a lot of its features esaier to use. For example, you could be watching a video file or listening to an audio file and be able to take a call. The phone will ask whether you'd like to continue playing, however will either restart the file over or freeze altogether, forcing a manual power cycle.
So, you just took the call and now you need to return to the same scene of the movie where you left off...good luck fast forwarding a movie once you're at least half hour into it. In fact, half the time the phone decides to not fast forward or rewind the files.
The phone is just not able to run the multimedia audio/video file playback and remain stable.
The phone must remain ON all night to sound the alarm in the morning. However, the signal is weak in my bedroom so if the phone is not in the airplane mode, an hour is enough to kill the battery. But be careful setting the alarm after taking the phone out of "live" mode and into the airplane mode as the alarm will not sound! The phone needs access to the atomic clock to properly register the alarm. So set your alarm prior to activating the airplane mode.
Great phone!
The only gripe I have is the antenna is not as strong as my other phone, but its relatively close.
Voice Activated dialing works very good. The MicroSD card option is sweet. Put in a gigabyte card and its perfect for Mp3z. I can connect to my box using the USB cable and this software here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9UZO1KXX
The games are kewl and the pics and video is decent for an on the fly solution. Blue-tooth works as well.
Remember that first & foremost, this is a phone. As a cell-phone, this clamshell functions very well. A clear ear-piece and very good volume. The additional features are rather nice as well!
Good At First... Problems Later
When I first got this phone back in December it was great. No problems at all. But then a few months ago problems started happening. The phone randomly restarts itself all the time. It drops calls in areas that usually have good reception inside my house. But outside the phone works well reception wise. The sound quality of calls is great,I can always hear the other person and they can hear me clearly. The camera is pretty good for 1.3 mp, but in no way this is for replacing your digi cam. The front mp3 controls are great for when your listening to music. The music on this phone sounds great through the stereo speakers and the headphones as well.The battery life is good too even when listening to music. Overall its a pretty good phone. I'm planning on buying a FUSIC and see hoe that goes.
Pros:
-Nice screen
-Front mp3 controls
-OK camera
-Wonderful stereo speaker
-Awesome keypad
-Great call clarity
- TF Slot
-Good Battery Life
Cons:
-Horrible STN outer LCD
-Randomly restarts itself
-Consistently drops calls in one spot (with good reception)
Some of the cons might be the phone itself, but I'll need to get that checked out.
Coming from a Treo, there's a BIG difference.
I just switched to this phone from a Treo 600, and I am glad I chose this one!
Pros:
-Memory Storage--perfect for all the MP3's.
-Great sound on speaker, MP3, and internal phone.
-User menu is fairly straightforward.
-Signal reception is AWESOME for a phone with an internal antenna--from all the others I've seen with one, I can honestly say the A920 is a better phone than most. (I have Sprint service in Wilmington NC).
-Bluetooth: Good, have only tried it out (don't yet own a headset) but seemed to set up with little difficulty. I especially like the different formats, as it enables me to better choose a headset for ME, rather than trying to find a headset that works with the phone.
Cons:
-Battery Life--I'm a MP3 hog and love to do the Web stuff, the standard battery just doesn't stand up to the abuse. Problem will probably be rectified with an extended life battery.
Overall, would HIGHLY recommend this phone--the A920 is packed with some really neat features that actually work well!
