Samsung MM-A900 / SPH-A900 / Ace
Phone Scoop Review
Mar 19, 2006 by Eric Lin
In-depth review of the razor-thin Samsung A900 for Sprint.
with Video Tour read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
great technology, poor refinement
Although I love many aspects of this phone, there are some that frustrate me. I have 2 one hour conversations and I've used about 80% of the battery. I'm sure many people have no problem with the battery if they don't use it much. It can't learn text! So you must move from predictive to ABC often wasting a lot of time. In predictive mode, there is no "?" in the "next" list of symbols. You must go to Symbol or ABC mode for it. The instructions say the "?" is in the list, but itâs not (Firmware error). Also, if you are placing a call, and it has not yet connected, and someone calls you it locks up completely. This is common when a call drops from either end and you both try to call each other back. You simply lock up and lose the call. Uploading pictures does not erase from phone confusing what is saved or not. Learn from Sanyo, they do that part right! Also, the charging connector and its placement on the top/side as opposed to the bottom is bad, but not horrible. Lastly, on the minus side is the Bluetooth only randomly connects to my in-car Bluetooth. Sometimes it will work, other times not. My Sanyo and LG worked fine. Memory is low and text messages can be rejected even when set to erase old. Sounds like I hate it, I donât, Iâm just explaining the bad in detail. I think it can be great if these probs are addressed and there is more memory for mp3s.
Dont Like It
Cons:
Samsung A900, So many problems in the beginning! My how you haven't changed. Not the greatest reception, of course no slim phone does. Horrible battery life! You can only listen to the music you download while your in a Sprint Digital Area and no expandable memory!? Media keys on the front feel flimsy and hard to press.
Pros:
Speaker independent voice dialing
Decent speaker phone(meaning not great but good)
Downloadable MP3's
Slim
Bluetooth
I ended up with an A920 after all this and love it! To bad sprint already discontinued a really great phone in the A920
Well all I can say to A900 owners is, Mine has Crime Deterrent, try to take my wallet!
LOVE IT!!
Now the reason i did not give this phone a full 5 is soley because the fact that t9 text doesnt remember new words but other than that i love this phone. The music player is incredible as is the picture on Power Vision....the slim design is SO much better than the razr and the navigation is much easier...i have had 2 friends switch from the razr to the blade within the last month...coincidence...i think not. If you get a chance...BUY THIS PHONE!!!
Horrible
This phone is pure lip service. Worst battery life of any phone on the market. The menu system is horrible. Glitchy software. Sad ringer volume. The mp3 player... if you want to call it that is laughable (yay I can store all of 5 songs on my phone!!). The features in this phone are all half a**.
Love IT
I work for Sprint and I was one of the first to get my hands on the a900m and I have to say I love it. The themes option is better than I expected and the problems with the first a900 have been resolved. A++++ in my book!
Exactly What I was Looking For
About 6 months ago, I began a job as as cellphone carrier store manager. I had never really had a great cellphone, and this was my first chance to really experiment with what was available. I couldn't be more happier than the phone I selected. This phone has a lot of "bells & whistles" that just so happen to be music to my ears. The mp3 player is my savior because I always have a song playing in my head, and now i can actually have that song in my head. The Sprint Music Store is an awesome place for music and has a great selection. As far as space is concerned, I currently have 41 songs in my player and I continue to download almost once a week.
The camera is awesome as well. I have taken so many pictures, and though the quality is merely decent in the phone, the upload quality is better than any cellphone I've ever seen.
The main reason I purchased the phone is for the large screen and the amazing colors that this phone offers.
Though many complain about the battery life, I'm rarely away from an outlet because I work most of the time and when i'm not at work i'm inside a house where I can always have my phone on the charger. The battery life on the phone won't last you as much as other phones, simply because other phones don't offer the TV access, mp3 player, camcorder, or graphics that this phone will provide you. Also, for other devices like mp3 players and cd players, they generally require more than one battery to sustain the power, while this one runs on one.
Pros:
mp3 player
camera
camcorder
large display
great colors
sleek design
universal appeal
cons:
no external memory access.
Overall: an awesome phone, and i would recommend it to anyone who will appreciate the features and tolerate the battery life required for them.
GREAT PHONE - not mp3/ipod
this phone is an excellent phone, the reception is excellent.... yes the batery isnt great.. BUT if u use it as a phone and only as a phone it is more then enough... 3 good full charges once buying the phone help the life tremendously.... bluetooth is average... voice commands are beneficial.... phone is built solid.... construction seems to be flawless... charger hole is a little wierd but its liveable....the screens brightness is amazing.... sound quality while on phone calls is crystal clear...... camera is by far best camera i have ever seen on a phone.... if you ae planning on using this as an mp3... well go buy an ipod.... this phone is great and by far best phone available on Bell in canada and in the states..... no comparison to the razr.. i debated for 3 weeks on which one to buy and am happy with my decision.. my best friend has a razr and he even admits the a 900 is far better.....with the battery the first two bars go quick then the last one seems to last like forever..... on just making moderate calls and text messaging the phone lasted me 2 and a half days....
A900 from someone who knows
First, I'm the manager of a cell phone store that sells all the major carriers, and have been in the industry for 6 years. This phone is the best phone I have ever had, sold, or dealt with. Everything from picture and LCD quality to the clarity of sound. All in all there are only two things that anyone can complain about and I'll go ahead and let you know how to fix those.
first, battery life. everyone needs to know that the last bar on the indicator will last 2 to 3 times longer then the first two. also, if you turn off the locater (Menu, Setting, Others, Location) even in low signal areas you will be just fine if you just charge your phone every night when you sleep.
second, Bluetooth. Make sure you have the most current version of all the hardware, and software. Also realize that if you buy a cheap headset you get what you pay for. I use the Motorola H500 and it works perfectly.
Just one more piece of advice for anyone who uses sprint. Dial *2 from your phone and ask customer service to update your PRL (Preferred Roaming List) about once every two months. It's amazing how much better your service will be.
Great Phone
This is an awesome phone.Everything that you will want in a phone with the exception of a walkie-talkie is in this phone.The reception
is very loud and clear.The signal strength is
very solid as well.I have yet to get a drop call and i travel all over the eastern seaboard.The speakers on this phone is nice and loud.The EV-DO is very fast and with 50MB
of memory space,that is not bad at all.Even though the battery isn't that great,you will still get decent battery life at of it.The bluetooth works perfectly since the new hardware was put into the phone.The old,
original hardware version is 17900.O6 With this version,you could not use a bluetooth earpiece without constantly hearing the beeps
in your ear.The new version had fixed this problem and now the bluetooth works great.The new version is 17900.O6b That's it!
Just one little b was all it needed to correct the problem.Overall,this phone blows away the razr.Anyone who really want's this phone,take my word and go for it.I paid $80.00 for it at Best Buy.You can't go wrong for the price.Just make sure that the correct hardware version is in it.The way to check this is to press menu,settings,phone info,then version.Samsung finally has come up with a winner and when it comes to phones i am very picky.
Comparing the Razr with the Blade
I bought my phone Samsung Blade based on performance and value.
Samsung wins on looks and feel.
Samsung has a way better screen, interface and overall features.
Samsung has a swivel high rez cam, video.
Samsung's external controls are very cool.
Samsung was 100$ cheaper with a comparable package for 3 years!
Razr wins on hands free sound and expansion card.
Razr wins for battery life but; The Samsung has got a better battery life than reported. I went 4 days of regular use with this phone before having to charge it.
The phone is slightly less performing than my previous Samsung in terms of reception (no external antennae).
Both phones have the inner circle at the same size. It should be 25% bigger for fingers like mine. It's not like there isn't enough room to do this on both models!!!
I would like both phones to have an anti slip coating on the side of the units because they are so slim and slippery.
I droped mine twice in one week already. It held up fine though thanks to it's superior construction.
I like this phone alot. It does everything for me and plus.
I didn't get this phone to use as a mp3 player or cam. Those features are good but not deal breakers for me.
I can see hack kits for this phone, to increase it's internal memory, appearing very soon though.
