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
Getting Worse
I have had the a900 for over a year now. I got it when it first came out.
Cons (1) Horrible Reception
(2) Terrible Battery Life
(3) Turns Off Randomly
(4) T9 text Doesn't Remember Words
(5) About 20 Dropped Calls Per Day
(6) Small Memory and not able to put in an extra memory chip.
(7) About half the time it doesn't ring, and i wont know if someone calls unless they leave a message
Basically The only reason I still have it is because I spent alot of money on it thinking it was going to be a great phone and realized different soon after.
Well Pleased
I got this phone with my two-year upgrade rebate offered by Sprint. I figured, if I had $150 off any phone, might as well go with the one w/ the most bells and whistles. but right now, i think you can get it for only $100, which is incredible. After owning and using the phone for one week, I love it. I have several buddies on Cingular who are RAZR owners and they are all impressed with it. So far, I only have a couple complaints:
--It sucks if you are trying to text, but I don't do hardly any of that, so no big whoop.
--the circle navigation thingy is really too small and can get frustrating at times when i meant to push down but actually pushed "back"
--i haven't really noticed the battery being an issue. i charge it every night and it lasts me all day with moderate use, but those first couple of bars do disappear pretty fast.
other than that, it's great. i have loved making my own ring tones and the interface and just the flat out "sex appeal" this phone has to offer. A+ in my book
Hindsight is 20/20
When the a940 came out, I ordered it immediately, but was in disgust with the size and particulary the camera. When the a900 came out a few months later, I thought I was in heaven. I was only partially right.
On the plus side, the a900 offers all the same features of the V3, with a better camera, longer video, faster web, and a more comfortable feel; so comfortable in fact that I can carry it in my front pocket. I do all the things I have done bfore, including MP3 ringtones. Heck, I even have Sirius and Comedy Central on the phone!
Unfortunately, I was taken back by the battery life (or lack thereof) and must keep a charger on my desk and recharge twice a day (a 3000 min plan can do that to ya!). While there are other battery options, like a cradle that can charge a second battery or the extended battery, neither is for me.
That being said, I have also found that when compressed, I can only get about 15 songs on to the phone and by doing so will have no room for other files (such as pictures). With no way to expand (such as a memory card), this renders is useless as an MP3 player.
In the 6 months I have had the phone, there have been 5 updates and at least they fixed the picture mail and sort of fixed the bluetooth (it works now, but must use Samsung or Plantronics headset and there is some static). If the could get it to stop freezing, I'd be all set (all 3 of my a900s do it).
My last gripe would be with the software. Because the software had a glitch in GPS, it puts me about 6 blocks away from where I really am, which makes an E911 risk and means that TeleNav is unavailable for it (althogh it is available for the a920).
When I bought mine, my cost as a dealer was 349 as was the a920...but had I known then, what I know now, I would have waited until the a920 went to 299 (which it is now) and bought that...at least it has the memory card and the GPS is right. The a900 is a good solid phone, but hopefully Samsung will make a followup model.
The Blade is the best phone I've owned!!!
I can't believe any negative reviews on this phone! It is truly amazing.
I recently switched from Verizon(my service provider since Air Touch). I was offered a great Sprint employee plan through my job. I have no regrets. The call quality is on par with Verizon, if not better. The blue-tooth capabilities are not crippled. I can transfer and receive files(including photos and ring tones) from any other blue-tooth enabled phone. The reception on this phone is excellent, considering it has an internal antenna.
Overall I am extremely satisfied with this phone. I very highly recommend!!!
PROS:
*Reception
*Call quality and clarity
*Slim form factor
*MP3 player
*Live TV
*Blue-tooth transfer abilities
*Vibrant large internal screen
*Customization
*Broadband speeds with web access
*Camera and Video
CONS:
*Battery life, due to multimedia
One word... AWESOME!
Okay, this is by far THE best phone Sprint has on the market today.. Sleek, light, stylish, and pact full of features.
Pros:
Screen (The Best Screen I have seen on a cell Phone)
Reception is GREAT
Voice to Text
Predictive Text
1.3 Mega-pixel Camera
MP3 Player
Easy to navigate Menus
Pact full of features, and I mean some stuff I would not have even dreamed up is on this phone.
Video Ring-Tones
Outside display is great
The List goes on!
Cons:
The only con I have with this cell phone is its battery life, and that is not really a con.. This phone is pact full of features come on now, what do you expect???
This phone rocks
i just moved from verizon to sprint, and i do miss the coverage and services verizon had but sprint is just as good. I had the Lg vx8100 and this phone blows it away!
Pro's
-The camera swivels just like my old lg 7000...i missed that...
-1.3 mp...i print my pics using pictbridge...cool
-it comes with a usb cord!
-its really small and not bulky like all the otherr phones i've owned
-mp3 player is loud i can hear it while taking a shower
-LED light is bright...telling you if you have a call or text or if charging
-automaticly goes into power save mode when dying...good thing b/c this phone dies fast
-get better reception that my old sanyo 8300
-vibrate is strong but not loud...very nice!!!
Con's
-BATERY LIFE! get an extra one!
-cant read texts on outside screen
-phone shows finger prints
-needs some more memory...
-charger hard to plug in
well thats about all but this phone is perfect for someone who wants an awesome phone loaded with features that they can show off and make sure you tell everyone...ITS NOT A RAZR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Going Back
Have had phone about 9 days and will be taking it back today. Great screen, but sound is just not up to par.
Thank You,
Glenn
Love this phone!!
First Impressions: Wow this phone is so slim! Once the lady came from the back room with my a900 I was truly amazed with how it looked. Yeah there was the Razr but honestly I wasn't that impressed with it. The blade stood out more for some reason.
Feels/Hands On: This phone felt so good in my hand once I picked it up. I was afraid that it would have a plastic feeling because on the forums people were assuming it would but it's made of anodized aluminum so it's not cheap at all!
Screen: Truly amazing. QVGA. What can say?
Reception: I have to say that the blade is about the same reception as the Samsung MM-A800. I never dropped a call with that phone and never once with the blade ever since I got it. Hopefully it stays that way! With the Sanyo 5600 I got excellent reception but I did get some dropped calls. So I guess I'm lucky to never have a drop call yet with the blade.
Sound & Call Quality: When talking on the phone everyone sounds clear and they can hear me just fine too.
Mp3s: The songs sound great through the speaker and even better when listening to them through the stereo headset that came with the phone.
UI, Keypad & Customization: Samsung UI's are impressive. They are better than Sanyos in my opinion. A lot of animation which I love and I think people love it when they see it on the phone. The keypad feels really nice when you are dialing. There is a lot of customization on the phone and customizing your favorites are also nice.
Bluetooth: I haven't tried this feature yet but I am planning on buying a bluetooth headset soon so I will update later.
Camera/Picture Quality: This phone comes with a 1.3MP cam. I think it's pretty clear and also takes great night shots! So far I'm happy with the cam.
Okay so overall I love this phone. I give it a 9 out of 10. Software updates!!
Good phone but..
I do like this phone. I just upgraded from a very old cell to a this one and wanted all the bells and whistles.
The Pros
Sounds great.
Great screen.
Good Internet access. I can check my Gmail and read Slashdot from my phone.
Camera isn't bad at all.
Small size! This is number one for me. I never carried my old phone because it was just too big. This one slips in my pocket without any problem.
The Cons.
Battery life. To be honest I don't have much of an issue with this yet. It lasts a day and I plug it into the car charger. The multimedia and Internet functions really eat into the battery. If you are going to want to watch Sprint TV and or surf the net during your hour train commute you may be disappointed.
Doesn't charge via the USB cable! This one is a big issue if you plan on using your phone as a modem. I can't help but think this was done to limit the amount of time you can use the phone as a modem.
Bluetooth headset doesn't work for multimedia functions. I have not found a way to listen to audio with my bluetooth headset. It works find for making a call but not for audio playback.
Not enough memory. They should really put in about 512m of memory on this phone. I doubt that there would be any difference in physical size of the chip. Right now it is pretty useless as an MP3 player. With a large amount of ram it could even put movies or TV shows on the phone. I would have paid an extra $50 for the extra ram. It really would have made it a world beater I believe.
Bluetooth is a pain. I have a very hard time getting pictures via bluetooth. Maybe I am just missing something but the bluetooth file transfer thing is just a pain.
Looks. I think the keypad on the Razor looks better. It might just be me but the metal keys with the blue lights looks nice. The A900 has more memory, a better camera, and a better screen than the Razor but I think the Razor still looks better.
A really nice phone overall. The 940 and 920 may be a better choice for some people but the A900 is a good phone.
The phone to get
Ive had the phone for a week now and its awesome. Its the best looking phone sprint has had ever.
Pros:
Great reception
vivid screens inside and out
great sound quality
1.3 mega-pixel camera great
sweet video camera
bluetooth work very good
mp3 player is easy and great sound quality in stereo sound through outside speakers
camera swivels
Power vision finally works like its supposed to
Cons:
Battery life
The phone works better than any samsung they've ever made. I had a Sanyo 8200 and upgraded to the blade and i have no complaints. If the battery dies a little just plug it in for a few minutes and its good to go. If it had come with an extended life battery it would have been a perfect 5.
