Samsung Eternity SGH-A867
Average Ratings
Very Disappointed
Granted I use my cell phone as a phone. When I want to take pictures I use a real camera and when I listen to music I use a real stereo. That said I can say I have had a LOT of different cell phones 3 stick out as being the worse and all were Samsung.
The Eternity looks real nice, has a clear screen, seemed senitive enough to the touch but like all Samsung phones I have had, it had the worse reception of any other brand of cell phone I have ever had. I tried to use this Eternity for a week and decided to trash it. I was sick of the non stop dropped calls from poor reception (if it would even get reception) As a test I would turn it off put the sim card in my Motorola Razr V3xx and the Motorola would have full bars and I cant remember a time it has dropped a call.
If you want a nice looking phone the Eternity is a real nice looking phone. If you want a phone you can actually make a call with, get "Anything" but a Samsung.
Move Over iPhone!
This review is based on absolutely no data usage what-so-ever regarding email, web browsing. Since I have no data plan I do not use the following applications; GPS, CV, TV, Yellowpages, AT&T Music, MEdia Net, MEdia Mall.
I own the Samsung Eternity and iPod Touch 8GB.
I've owned Samsung Eternity for 30 days and I am very satisfied.
The Touch screen is amazing I have not experienced any lag switching between screens.
I like the camera button and its functions and the fact that itâs away from the camera lens on the opposite side of the case.
The screen is bright and big.
There is a function when a text is received that you can change the font to a larger or smaller size.
The Auto reply function is a neat little function that sends a text to a cell phone with a message, you can create, to send to callers that you ignore or are sent to voicemail.
The soft-key brings up a menu which is great for going into the messaging menu.
The slide-out customizable menu is a fun feature.
Instant messaging application works great and the 3G network adds the speed for quick IMing.
Sending picture messages and video messages are a breeze because you can take a picture and select the option right there on-screen to send it.
I have the iPod Touch to compare it to and not an iPhone.
I refuse to get the iPhone because it ârequiresâ a data plan, the Samsung Eternity does not. The no data plan option was a huge seller for me because I am on a family plan, I can just add data if I want it.
PROS:
⢠3G
⢠Airplane Mode
⢠Touch Screen
⢠MP3 ring tones and customization
⢠Huge expansion
⢠3.0 Mega pixel camera
⢠Call clarity
⢠Heavy Vibrate
⢠Loud ring
⢠MP3 playback can plug into a mini jack and into a stereo
⢠Light Weight
⢠Thin
⢠Ringer (picture) ID
⢠battery life
⢠extra features
⢠QWERTY
CONS:
⢠MicroSD Slot under battery cover
⢠Call/Back Button/Hang-up buttons do not light up (that would be a great improvement)
⢠Lacks main menu and soft menu customization (unless I havenât found it yet)
Great phone
I got rid of my buggy Vu for this phone and I am extremely please with it.
PROS:
The screen is bright and clear, has haptic response, and is very accurate.
The call quality is really excellent on both ends. Probably the best sound quality I've had in a phone to date.
The combination of the multi-task key on the side and the widget bar on the main screen keep me from having to search around the main menu for most of the more common things that I do with the phone (texting, web browsing, and playing music).
I especially liked how the widget bar is customizable in that you can change the order and specify what shows up.
It plays all the mp3s on my memory card without any complaints.
Texting with the qwerty keyboard is nice and accurate. When entering website addresses it even includes keys to put in "www." and ".com".
I use my phone as an alarm clock and it allows me to set the alarm to go off on certain days at the same time.
CONS:
I wish it had speed dial, but I've read that it will be included in an update and I don't miss it too badly. If you know the person's number on your SIM card you can enter it followed by a # and it will bring up that entry.
The ringtones it comes with flat out suck.
The camera is slow to take a picture so moving targets don't come out well.
The negative things about the phone really don't bother me much. Everything else works so well that I just don't care about the slow camera, uninspiring ringtones, and the lack of speed dial.
This is an awesome phone and a great buy!
Touch Love
I reviewed all at&t phones to see what i'd like the best and what would work for me. I found this samsung eternity and loved all the characteristics about it. The reviews I read were acceptable. I own it now and I love it.
Pros:
-I can touch it with my nails..not just my finger which is so much easier
-light weight
-sleek and pretty
-a lot of memory space
-awesome music player-very loud
-Illumination color which you can change to your liking will light up when you receive a call or text message
Cons:
-Which no one has complained about so if I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong but the picture quality is so poor. My samsung sync was better than this and it was a 2.0 mega pixel. I take pictures outside then it's better since the sun in shining, but indoors it's lacking badly.
Not Very Well Thought Out
I wish I could say that the Samsung Eternity is a valiant effort to become a great alternative to the Apple iPhone, however; the Eternity pales in comparison to the iPhone's overall performance.
To begin, I was very disappointed in the quality of the phone overall. The screen appears to be assembled with cheap parts and as is well documented, the majority of the phones are plagued with stuck pixels on a dark background. (I counted 14 in mine).
The fluidity of the touch screen response doesn't even come close to that of the iPhone and is actually very clumsy to say the least. There is a significant delay from the time your finger touches the screen to the execution of the application you are attempting to open. The scrolling of the touch screen is choppy and operates in segments.
The 3G download time is significantly longer than that of the iPhone 3G. Plus, the resolution quality is considerably inferior. So I would not recommend this phone to anyone who desires to watch a considerable amount of video on their device.
The thing I dislike most about this phone is the contacts list. Instead of being able to type a letter to shortcut to other contacts, you must keep your finger on a magnification button and scroll through the alphabet; many times, choosing a contact by mistake along the way. Impossible to even attempt while driving.
Overall, there are many bugs and flaws in this phone and the overall user interface was not well thought out at all.
PROS:
> Comfortable size
> Nice, sleek appearance
> 3.0 mega pixel camera
CONS
> Earpiece doubles as a speaker
> Touch response is substandard
> Screen scrolling is horrible
> 3G download time not up to potential
> Contacts list is horrendous
> Phone makes more mistakes than user
Tired of hearing of the iPhone?
Then check out the Eternity.
Touch screen is large and VeRy responsive, I was quite impressed with how quickly it operates.
The fact that you don't have to press a button to bring up your keyboard when attempting to type (like you would have to do on the LG Vu) is nice, all you have to do is tilt the screen sideways and it changes into the qwerty keyboard for you.
Music Player works nicely, and the phone already has a built in headphone port, so you don't have to bother going to buy a separate adapter (schwing!).
Unlike the iPhone, you can send picture/video messages in regular messages, rather than e-mailing it as an attachment.
Also, you can set pictures on your homescreen, iPhone is set on its own screen always.
The widget bar is an awesome feature. Let's you drag options onto your homescreen to further customize your phone, making it easier to access things such as your bluetooth, music, calendar, etc.
The camera doesn't take the best pictures, but is 3mp, so as long as you have a steady hand you can get pretty amazing pictures.
Overall, I love this phone over the iPhone, due to the ability to easily customize your phone; the fact that you don't HAVE to add the internet to use the phone; and just the plain simple reason that it isn't just another iPhone out in the world.
Not hot enough for me.
I should state that I'm a long time Sony Ericsson user and I needed to replace my w600. If the SE w902 or w905 was available in the States, I would have gone that way. I was excited about the 3.5mm audio jack and some of the specs I saw. On paper it looked great for my needs.
PROs:
-3.5mm audio jack (great combination of media device with phone)
-Quick user interface
-Address book is very flexible and it's easy to customize the entry
-Set Airplane Mode while the phone is on, without restarting the phone
-Converter Tool; if you have to make quick conversion for currency, length, weight, volume, area, or temperature (Celsius and Fahrenheit only, no Kelvin), this tool will show the results for all the most common units
CONs:
-Cannot copy and paste anything besides URLs (which is a huge issue if you've just migrated the max number of contacts TO and FROM a SIM)
-Cursor sensitivity, while editing text it was very difficult to get the cursor positioned for edits, especially if you wanted to add or modify text at the very edge of the touch screen.
-UI is cumbersome in comparison to my previous SE experiences (couldn't tap on a populated contact field and edit that one field, had to enter the edit mode first among other things)
-Does not default to T9 English or give the option to default it (will eventually default with enough time, I think)
-QWERTY is cool but slow
I'm 6'1" and don't have small fingers so the comments about the cursor sensitivity and QWERTY may not apply to all. I'm use to being able to copy and paste my text to different parts of the phone and have quick access to sensical things like modifying contacts without tapping around to that part of the phone. I'm not saying this isn't a phone worth having, it just disappointed me greatly. I'm going to wait for SE to produce a touch screen before I go back to a touch screen. I've had the phone for less than 24 hours and I'm returning it.
Disappointed
I try to use an item for at least 2-4 weeks before forming any kind of "formal" opinion, but I feel as if the Eternity has compelled me to do otherwise
PROS:
- Good Feel
- Stylish
- Good haptic response (and easily adjusted)
- Bright screen
- Good signal reception
- Nice layout of Contacts menu
- 3.5mm jack in addition to Samsung jack
- Music player was actually nice. (see sound quality below)
CONS:
- Battery life not very good (one day's usage of moderate texting and FEW calls = 3/4 battery drain)
- JPEGS received are saved as "xx.jpgg" and therefore the phone is "unable to view;invalid file type" (this might be a network problem and I've only received pics from VZ customers and none (yet) from ATT customers.
- RF is just average. Sound is very muffled though.
- Haven't used speaker phone for calls yet, but mp3 playback is loud but WAY too bright.
- Redundant time/calendar widgets (why??)
- Camera quality is fair, but all pics (those made AND downloaded) appear washed out on the screen.
- MP3 playback sound quality is avg, at best.
- Search function on contact menu not very right-hand friendly. Ends up blocking my view of where I'm at in the list. No big deal, but could have been thought out a little better.
Well, everyone at work were getting them and I thought it was time I got a "cool" phone. Being time for an upgrade, I jumped on the Eternity bandwagon. While the phone DEFINITELY has a certain cool factor, the cons definitely out-weighed the pros for me. The issue with the ".jpgg" alone is enough reason to send it back. With regret, I have to say Samsung has lost a potential new fan. I liked the SE's for a reason and appears I'll be going back to them.
If anyone has any questions or would like any clarifications on any of the above, please feel free to contact me at medicineman360@yahoo.com
It's Definately a Keeper
I just got this phone, and I must say that I really like it. Before this I had an N95-8 and before that a BB Curve. I decided to go with this phone over the iPhone because I don't care too much for Apple. I am very happy with my choice.
PROS:
-Haptic Feedback (Vibrates when you touch the screen. It is also Adjustable.)
-Responsive Touch Screen
-Quick Accelerometer
-Large Screen
-Very Clear Display
-Easy Functionality
-3.5mm Headphone Jack
-Easy to Text with the touchscreen (I didn't like the iPhone texting, but this phone is great)
-Reception is awesome! I was very surprised because of the fact it was a Samsung.
CONS:
-Batter is OK (I charge it every other day. I also use this phone a lot as far as texting and internet.)
-The main display is not customizable (as far as I know) There are a lot of cool icons on the side bar, but I cannot add different icons like for texting and so forth. It would be nice if I could go straight from my main display to texting.
-Last but certainly not least, I cannot use full songs and most partial tones over a certain size as an actual ring tone.
Overall I really like this phone and I will keep it for a while at least. It is refreshing to have a phone out there that doesn't have a tone of hype, but still performs almost flawlessly. I enjoy the simplicity and ease of the phone. Good Job Samsung! I now have a lot more respect for you.
-Scott Channell
Amazing Phone!
This is the most amazing phone I've had in a long time. I love it so much better than any PDA I've carried as well as the iphone, which I never used for email. I love how you can use 3G without having to turn it off like the iphone (which completely making iphone 3g kind of an oxymoron), and the MP3 player on it is really easy to use. I live in the Austin, Texas area and the mobile tv is awesome, I watched some football games on ESPN while I was working on Saturday (I hope this phone doesn't get me fired) and the clarity of the screen is great. Speaker volume is great. I love using the GPS and I also like using the yellowpages which is built into the phone.
The only cons I'd say there were is that the camera is a little slow, but it does have amazing clarity and does print well. And I wish you could add widgets like ESPN on the iphone and on the Blackberry Bold.
I would not trade this phone for an iphone or any PDA right now because it is too fun of a phone. I think it is the best phone on the Att line up and that the Blackberry Bold is the best PDA.
