Samsung Impression SGH-A877
Phone Scoop Review
Apr 14, 2009 by Eric M. Zeman
Samsung gives AT&T a touch phone that packs a full QWERTY, 3G, TouchWiz and a 3 megapixel camera. Is there anything unimpressive about the Impression? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
its ok at best
the touch screen responsiveness is solid. but most everything else about this phone is terrible. the signal strength is poor at best. the camera is ok...but for a 3.0mp i would expect better quality. the Internet is slow and gives "connection failed" error all the time. its not a very customizable phone. and my 2nd biggest complaint other than signal strength is that the text messages stall in the outbox ALOT. then it sends the message 5 or more times. you need to turn it off and perhaps even take out the sim at least 1 time per day if not more. i would not recommend this phone at all.
love it
I just got this phone a few days ago and even though it is a little bigger and heavier than most I love it! Here's why:
1. I get my nails done every now and then and those little key pads do not do so well for me, these larger ones are really good for those with long nails or big fingers.
2. Screen size. I like actually being able to see what I am looking at.
3. Most of all I like the fact I didn't have to subscribe to a data plan to have a good looking phone. I recently had a blackberry at my husbands insistence that it was the greatest phone alive and I hated it with a passion! Small keys small screen and the fact I was paying 30 extra bucks a month for something that I didn't use. It was nice not having to get the average flip phone, no offense they are ugly and I always had trouble with them.
Yes there is 2 things that I dislike but I will live with,
1. The unlock/lock button!! The position of it just sucks, especially when you have the phone in a hard case cover. Its very frustrating trying to push it in a hurry, but I have discovered I can just slide the keyboard out, close it then its unlocked just as fast.
2. The size is a little big, especially in a hard case belt clip. it sticks out almost and inch and a half, i have caught it up on quiet a bit of stuff already, but I thinks that is just because of the case I picked for it.
I hope this may have helped somewhere thinking about getting one.
So far, so good
I've had the Samsung Propel, also through AT&T and this is a better phone. Though I had the Propel since February 2009, I had to replace it once, and even the "new" replacement was faulty. Kept dimming and freezing.
Pros on the Impression:
Nice keyboard
Nice touch screen too
Loud
Good battery
Cons:
Why no more flash on cells?
Takes getting used to finding things
How to unlock it
Great phone but serious alarm flaws
Bought the ph based upon reviews here. I am on my 2nd one and getting ready to send it back.
If you are overlook these problems or never run into them, the phone is worth getting. If you have the problem, ditch the phone you will not be able to 'fix' the problem
CONs
1. Alarms work for about a month then stop working. Does not matter if you delete and recreate, but once they fail, they do not work again. I think there might be a defect that if you create more than 3, then once that 4th alarm is there, it fails. Hard to confirm this as once they stop working, you cannot reset
2. "No event" error shows up on home screen
Again another intermittent error. Since the back button will drop you to the "create event" screen, I think they have a defect here. ATT tried fixing by resyncing some ID but it only clears it temporarily.
3. keypad is not 'centered' with the screen so when you hold it, it feels a bit off.
PROs
1. touchscreen is nice. I thought I would hate it but I really love it! It navs quickly and stays in sync
2. unlocks quickly by sliding phone open. (it does take patience in locking-ppl are complaining about the lock button--, but it autolocks pretty quickly)
3. Saves sent/draft/inbox text (not all grouped together...you have to go into each sperate view to see diff categories)
4. 'Contacts' nav is easy to view and use
5. Widget shortcuts on main screen are helpful and customizable (main menu screen is not customizable that I can tell)
6. Picture quality is better than any phone I have used. Transfer of pix is quick, but their software sucks
I would keep the ph if the alarms were not an issue..its that good. But for me the alarms mean more than the ph
Good Overall Phone
I go through phones about every six months, because I am naturally clumsy, so I was concerned about dropping the phone which is why I needed the keyboard. I say this phone is good for someone who doesn't live in the corporate world, the sound quality is great, the speaker is pretty loud. I love the touchscreen! I don't think I can ever go without a touch screen again. After about six months of owning this phone it gave out on me and it was a warranty issue so I don't think it had to do with me dropping it.
Pros:
keyboard
touchscreen (duh)
loud
photo quality is amazing
Cons:
the alarm sometimes doesn't go off and it is set to the loudest setting (my bf has the same problem)
when you use the keyboard there is a delay for the word to appear on the screen
can't customize
there isn't speed dial
good phone only 3 complaints
Good phone. Lots of features. Sturdy.
Only 3 problems.
1. NO SPEED DIAL? Speed dial is such a simple, basic feature why is it not offered on a phone like this? The only button capable of speed dial is #1 which is preset for voicemail. There is an option of calling your favorites but it takes several steps of looking at your screen and selecting the favorite in order to place a call. Plus you must have a picture of the favorite because it doesn't show the name!? Speed dial is so important while driving!! Come on...
2. The lock button is very annoying. It's in an impossible place on the side of the phone. I don't even try using it any more. I open the slide to unlock.
3. Not really a problem but I don't understand why Samsung doesn't have better ring tone selections. I also have a Solstice and the ring tones are terrible. I can never hear the phone ring and it's set on high. Setting it to 'outdoors' helps but then the keypad makes sounds. Again, another simple fix to make us happy......
Really Awesome Phone
I wanted something different in a cell phone. I have been a loyal Nokia user. I have had no problems with call quality on every Nokia I have owned. This is my first adventure into the touchscreen world.
I've researched many phones and this is the best phone I've seen. I love having the ability to customize the phone.
I chose the Impression because I liked the fact that it had a full qwerty keypad. This has made me text savvy. I was not a text user on my old phones.
The music player meets my needs and would not have a phone without one.
Pros:
Large screen with beautiful display;
Comfortable qwerty keyboard;
Nice set of tools;
Sturdy feel;
Loud & clear call volume;
Great 3 mp camera and features;
Can be used as an external storage or tethering device;
Excellent battery life (compared to my Nokia Phones)
Cons:
No 3.5 (or even 2.5) headphone
Phone on heavy side.
Good phone, just needs a couple tweaks.
Overall I am very pleased with the Samsung Impression.
PROS: Nice screen with responsive touch interface.
Good camera.
Decent battery life regardless of talk or data use.
CONS: Extremely quiet video/music playback
Not enough apps available.
If you want to know how to adjust the speaker volume levels just go on WordPress and look for Found Objects Stew where I have put the instructions but remember that anything you do is at your own risk.
The Impression is a solid phone.
I've had the Samsung Impression for about 7 weeks now and I must say that I love this phone. My service has been great along with the call quality.
Pros: Big, colorful display screen. The buttons on the keyboard are perfectly spaced apart. I also like how you can use the scroll button to move up and down the menu options instead of always using the touch screen to scroll. The battery life is pretty good. I'm always on facebook or checking out sports scores on espn.com.
Cons: The lock button is on the right side of the phone. It annoys the crap outta me!! It takes me longer to unlock the phone than it does to complete a short text message. Another thing I dislike about this is phone is that you cannot delete the original/stock wallpapers. I wish I could delete them so I could have more memory in my phone for ringtones, screensavers, etc. The camera works great but there is no flash on it. No 3.5mm headphone jack, also.
In conclusion, the Impressions pros outweigh it's MINOR cons. I am not a big picture taker so I don't mind that the camera has no flash. The fact that the camera doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone also doesn't bother me. Most of my music is on my Ipod anyways... Overall, this phone is pretty solid. At 75 dollars, you can't go wrong!
this phone is great and not a pda!
It is hard to find a phone that compares to the impression today.The ease of use included with the ultra responsive touch and totally customizable settings, and a three mega pixel camera are not a combination that is found easily with att phones. Most phones that are recommended are the i phone which has to have a data plan or another smart phone with a touch screen, which in my opinion still do not compare. The reaon I picked this phone is because of the ultra bright display the color that is radiates is brilliant. The phone can be customized from wall paper to the sound that it makes when you touch the screens icons. The customizable ring tones that can be added from a recording of the phone save so much money since you can record your ring tone and then set it for a caller or all callers. The Internet is fast and quick even on edge, the keys are easy to use int he dark with a back-light and they are large. The music player rocks because it is so loud and clear, the microphone records clear music just make sure its up loud enough when your recording from another speaker. This phone reminds me of a man's phone but all people seem to like it. Do not use T( text (predictive text) ever or the phone will continually freeze, a known issue with the first wave of original manufactured phones. The qwerty keyboard should be easy enough for one to text without predictive text. Do not drop the phone on it's screen, it is made of acrylic and use your finger tip not your nails because over time that wears the screen down and its sensitivity. The impression is well worth the money if you take care of it and don't try to run a million applications at once on it.
