Samsung Epic 4G (Galaxy S)
Phone Scoop Review
Aug 19, 2010 by Philip Berne
The Samsung Epic 4G brings a slide-out QWERTY keyboard to Sprint's 4G lineup and to Samsung's Galaxy S family. Does this super powered Android live up to its name? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Best Phone on the Market!
I truly believe that this phone is the absolute best on the market today. The feature list is just unmatchable. I am one that researches phones to the fullest before I buy them and this was easily the winner. I have owned a lot of great phones but this was and is definitely my dream phone. This is phone you can be happy with for years and years without getting bored or feeling the need to upgrade. I was out with friends the other night, one had an iphone4, and the other had an Evo. We were comparing features and I completely blew them away instantly. All I did was slide out my keyboard and show off my live wallpaper that I can touch and make ripples in the water. Of course the phone has some minor issues but nothing that serious that can even slighty turn me away from this phone.
Pros:
Bright, colorful, amazing display
Great processor, smooth functionality
Speeds are ridiculouts and I dont' even have 4g!
Physical keyboard is large and roomy(I use it all the time and have never liked physical keyboards)
Swype is amazing, and extremely convenient
4 txt options, swype, physical, touchscreen landscape, and speech to text!(top that)
Camera takes clear crisp pics and vids
Battery life for me is great!
Phone fits perfect in my hand, not too thin, not too think(even with the keyboard) and not too large(like the evo, feels too big and awkward when holding it)
And I'm sure much more pros that I'll remember once I submit this
Cons:
My internet doesn't work without WiFi occasionally. (which I'm sure sprint can fix easily but it's rare so I don't care)
When charging my phone, I can only see the percentage of the battery status sometimes, weird..
DLNA wireless transfer is great but only if you have all Samsung products, which I don't have so I can't connect my phone to my huge HDTV that I was really looking forward to using.
Sorry this review is so long, I just seriously love this phone!!
Finally an android that works!
Fantastic phone that works smoothly and without lag. I owned the HTC Hero which was a colossal failure, IMO. It was laggy, the Sense overlay was quirky and, all in all, a royal pain in the rear. The HTC Evo from what I can determine is an improvement on the Hero but still retains many of the quirks of Sense.
The Epic works as well as crisply and smoothly as the I-phone and blows the Hero out of the water. It performs better than the Evo. Battery life, if applications are managed properly is as good as can be expected. Use the task manager provided by Samsung - it works great.
On board keyboard increases size of phone unacceptably and is entirely unnecessary. I can type much faster with onscreen keyboard which automatically corrects mistakes.
PROS:
Absolutely stunning screen.
Fast processor with no lag or jitters whatsoever.
Touchwiz is fantastic - much better than Sense.
Acceptable battery life if managed carefully with Samsung included task manager.
Functions as a phone flawlessly and intuitively as opposed to Hero which was so bad I sold it after 9 months of never ending frustration.
SMS works smoothly and reliably
CONS:
Too thick!
Phone heats up too much.
No Outlook sync
No way to easily manage pictures
No way to connect and mount to 64 bit Windows 7 system.
No way to easily download pictures from computer to phone. There is no included app for this and I was unable to find one.
Email management and notification is clumsy compared to Blackberry.
MOVE OVER HTC EVO, I HAVE A NEW BEAU (SAMSUNG EPIC 4G)
I must admit that when I first heard news of the HTC EVO 4G coming out, I hopped right on getting one like it was the ULTIMATE gizmo to own. When I finally got the HTC EVO 4G, it was like wow, it does sooooooo much in regards to multi-tasking on a cell phone, but it was so frickin big and heavy that when I would hold it in my hand for 10 minutes, it would make my hand ache like I had arthritis! So I ended up selling the HTC EVO 4G to someone else who would be happy to own it, so in the mean time, I waited patiently for the Samsung Epic 4G to make its appearance and it ironically came out on the day that my 1 year anniversary with Sprint took place. Three words to describe the Samsung Epic 4G: OFF THE HOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!
I may be a bit biased, but prior to owning these two android phones offered by Sprint, I was the owner of the Samsung Instinct S30 and Samsung seems to have perfectly planned out what their android phones would consist of feature wise, racking up on features that the Samsung Instinct could never handle.
PROS:
*The gorgeous 4-inch WVGA-resolution Super AMOLED screen will catch your eye as soon as you pick up this phone.
note****The pictures you take with this 5 mega pixel camera will amaze you because of this screen.
*Love touch screens, but get tired of touching your screen all the time? The pull-out keyboard on this baby serves as a convenient alternative.
*7-7-7, did I say seven? Seven screen that you can customize to your liking and if you want to remove an icon, just touch and hold the icon and when the garbage can symbol shows up, toss the icon in the trash can's direction and start with another icon app of your choice.
*Task manager that allows you to see what programs are currently running on your Samsung Epic and promptly end them when you forget to close them out. This comes in handy when you want to save battery life.
CONS:
*Still trying to figure out how to switch to opposite call when I put a person on hold during a 3-way call
Sprint Samsung Galaxy S Epic Review
Pros: Speed (under heavy program usage, it beat the Samsung Moment by more than 60% in multiple tests). Display Quality - it may not be "HD" - but at this size, "HD" doesn't really apply & the clarity is not pixelated in any way. Camera: 5.0 MP is just that! Interaction with PC - easy to upload/download to and communicate with. Keyboard: Slide out: well spaced, good options/alt keys and great lighting. Audio - Great quality (not excellent). Memory/OS: Android went a step further with this phone, easier to manage memory - no more TSR with Sprint apps. Program Functionality for email/contacts: as an ex HTC TP2 WM6.5 user, dedicated to my office/outlook needs; this phone is satisfying all those needs, and going a step beyond. Battery - short life is to be expected w/all these features, but surprise - GPS 24/7+Bluetooth & multiple calls/apps: much better than hoped!
Cons: Physical: Big (but when we're talking ounces - I don't think that's a big deal, just get a good-sized carrying case & you're set). Charging port - could have been better thought out- but you can close it and limit potential liquid damage. Power button opposite the Volume - I keep changing volume when squeezing to turn it on/off. Should have been swapped with charging port. Audio: As said before - call quality, not as good as hoped. Reception - antenna is awesome. Apps: QIK still is buggy & they don't take user feedback... not the epic's fault... but I'm not paying for skype or other service when I already pay more for this phone. The price - ouch! a gouge - & not overly justified, especially seeing the new Samsungs at much less.... Buttons: bottom row need too much pressure & not enough sensitivity settings readily available (& with invishield, makes them more difficult to deal with).
Overall: Enough cons to go 4.5 vs. 5.0; but I will not go back to WM & lose the functionality I have now! 4.3 vs. 4.0 in. screen not that big of a deal. I say go for it if you can afford it. *Well* worth it!
Nothing short of amazing.
I've only had this phone for 3 days, and I'm so thrilled with it that I already felt the need to write a glowing review. Here's a quick rundown.
For the past year, I've had the BlackBerry Tour. Great phone, but it got boring and I knew it was time for an Android. I opted for the Evo at first, used it for 28 days, and ended up returning it because I hated using a virtual keyboard. I had my hesitations about this phone because of the keyboard. It's very large, and I'm used to the small, portrait-orientated keyboard of a BlackBerry. Also, the space bar is very small, and another review said it was terrible to use. However, after my friend urged me to check it out, I decided it really was a great phone and had everything I wanted.
Now that I have it, I've fallen in love! Almost everything I disliked about the Evo I have found in this phone. The keyboard is fine too... I rarely notice how small the space bar is. Only took me 2.5 days to adjust to this -- still hated the Evo after 28 days. Also, the phone was preloaded with Swype which was awesome. I may end up using it more than the physical keyboard.
My favorites:
-Option of physical keys, virtual keys, Swype or Google Speech.
-Super AMOLED screen is GORGEOUS. Appears brighter than others when brightness is turned down. High definition & colors pop! From Evo to this--huge improvement!
-Battery life is awesome for an Android. It blows the Evo out of the water. Maybe even better than my BlackBerry. I can easily go over a day on this phone without trying to moderate my usage.
-Super fast.
-Nice form factor. Comfortable to hold.
-Understated, classy appearance.
Minor Cons:
-Bottom row of keys... menu comes before home! Seems backwards. They aren't too responsive either but it's not a huge deal.
-Power button is awkwardly placed.
-Small widget selection. Evo had way more.
-Still running 2.1 as of 10/2010. Really?!
-Can't customize the docked icons on home screen.
Overall... AWESOME PHONE. You won't be disappointed!
Nice phone
Pros:
Sound - good quality on the voice calls. Speaker sounds ok for speakerphone and music, not great, but ok, it seems to lack range.
Display - nice display, great color and resolution.
Touch - Great responsiveness to the touchscreen. Phone feels good to hold also.
Performance - This phone seems very fast. I've had a BB Pearl for a couple years and the Epic is way faster. I tried a Samsung Intrepid last year and couldn't stand it. It was unresponsive to touchscreen commands and slow.
Signal - I've had one situation so far where the phone wants to roam instead of use Sprint. My old phones didn't roam in that spot so I'm guessing signal reception might not be quite as good as my Pearl was. The fact that I can be on wireless at home and work makes that a little less of an issue.
Cons:
Size - it's big. I have been a fan of the small candy bar or flip phones for a long time. Those phones allowed me to carry my phone and my wallet in the same pocket side by side. I can't do that anymore with this phone. Obviously that's mostly because this has a huge screen, so it's a trade-off that I'm finally willing to make.
Overall I think this is a phone that I will use for several years and be happy with it. Blackberry still makes good phones for business email, but their other "smartphone" features are still a bit behind the curve. I hope that this phone is durable to last me until I want to upgrade again, which is not something I desire to do often.
If not Epic then it's darn close to it!
The obvious comparison that will come to mind is how is this in comparison to the EVO. Well after having used both devices I can say that to this very moment I am still torn. The Epic has what the EVO doesn't and vice versa. The keyboard can be a cool thing or a hinderance depending on who is using it. To me the keyboard doesn't hinder the phone but it does indeed take some getting use to. I love spacious the keys are on the keyboard and not on the edge of the screen like the original Motorola Droid. The screen itself it probably one of the biggest selling point for this lovely toy here and it does not disappoint at all. The lovely resolution of it enhances practically everything you do on this toy. Having owned and played with an iPhone I would say that it is a tad bit better than the iPhone 4's AMOLED screen. The camera being a 5mp to me is better than most 8mp phones that are on the market today. You have to understand that Samsung makes digital cameras so this welcome addition to one of their phones is an added bonus. One issue I did however find is that the bottom row of touch keys can be a bit unresponsive at times and this conclusion was made after having two of these in my hand and watching others toy with it as well. The touch keys unresponsiveness at times is not a killer or a reason to detour from using or buying the phone but it can or will get under your skin if you having a bad day and nothing is going right for you. The weight of the phone was something I was surprised at as well. The weight was amazingly lightweight. I thought for sure the keyboard was going to add some weight and bulk to the device but it didn't. I like that you can also remove the memory card from the device without having to remove the battery, that was definitely a good look on the part of Samsung. Samsung really out did themselves on this toy here. The call quality is GREAT. Overall this phone is a must have and quite possibly could be EPIC.
Great
The hummingbird processor on the phone is really smooth and fast. I also had a chance to try out the dlna feature which allows you to stream pics or video wireless to your tv, xbox, ps3, or wii so no tv input is needed. The screens brightness and color is better than the evo which the evo is a 16 bit screen and the epic is 24 bit. overall i say u pick up the epic instead on the evo it cant hurt to have both a touchscreen that is only slightly smaller than the evos' and a keyboard.
Near EPIC
The call quality on the Epic is just OK, but a good bluetooth helps.
The phone is near awesome & very practical. Itâs fast, responsive. I thought I had a flaky BACK button, but I learned you have to press it as if it were a physical button and not just tap it. OK that turned around for me, immediately.
Touchwiz is cute and not overpowering. I like the widgets that are included it really adds some additional flare to the device. I like SENSE UI, but I only use the bookmark widget and calendar widget on SENSE.
I really like the keyboard on the EPIC. I like SWYPE, I like the speech to text and the android keypad as well. Many input options and all are good.
3G Speed, responsiveness of the phone and internet browsing were impressive. I am not in a 4G area. GPS snapped to attention when summoned. Except for average call quality, this phone speaks volumes. Music is near awesome, especially with included earbuds.
The battery life makes this device a functional device for me. I tried the EVO, but the constant need to charge landed it back at the store. In 10 hours I downloaded music, played music (while out running) and played Pandora. I downloaded wallpapers, customized this and that, checked mail, sent a few text messages and talked for about 2 hours using my Bluetooth. This does not represent a typical day of use since I donât expect to download music daily, but I was pleased to see 10 hours before it asked for another sip of juice.
The EPIC is a compelling device and it comes at a time when I was considering leaving Sprint. The EPICâs Amoled display makes other screens appear sick or pale in comparison (pun intended). The display is artwork.
The physical design of the phone is OK. ⦠itâs hard being a physical QWERTY keyboard device and winning a style contest, the âinâ thing is the slate design.
Iâve learned if you like everything about a device, donât let the size or weight deter you.
This phone is awesome!
I have a friend who has this device on Sprint and it's really awesome. I only got to play around with the phone for a few minutes, but here is what I noticed about the phone.
PROS
- bright and crisp colors
- responsive touch screen
- QWERTY keyboard
- fast data speeds
- call clarity
- durable
CONS
- The only con I found was that it is big and if you have small hands, it can be a challenge to hold.
