Samsung SCH-A990
Average Ratings
Just an awesome piece of equipment
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Wow! What an awesome piece of equipment! Finally, a great phone AND great camera in one nice package!
This phone just feels good in your hand. It is a great fit around your face when talking on the handset. The speakerphone is super loud...enough volume to be able to hear someone while driving down a freeway.
And the camera...fantastic! Of course, my daughter just bought a compact Nikon 6.0 megapixel camera and it takes awesome shots...BUT...she doesn't have a phone on it!
The A990 camera is 3.2 mp, and is wonderful, PRINTABLE quality. It even has autofocus...which will take just a little getting used to, but worth it!
Yes, the A990 is a little pricey, but have you seen what just that quality camera sells for without a phone?
This phone is worth every penny! Thanks Samsung! Now if Verizon would loosen up the Bluetooth OBEX a bit, I would rate it a 7!!!
Which to pick from Verizon? My review on SCH-A990...
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Many of these reviews are over-winded and too long. To encapsulate what I'll say, this phone is a camera first, a phone second. It's nice, but not at all worth $349.99 in my opinion.
PRO:
1 Feels nice in hand, black chassis feels 'executive'
2 OLED outer screen allows for time checking even in brightest outdoor light (reflects, almost seems green in some light! Much like the mp3 player Mobiblu.)
3 Yahoo Mess, MSN and AIM all usable at once (New to Verizon, so this is nice for me:)
4 No outer antenna to poke in the pocket
and obviously..
5 3.2 MP camera..nice!
CON:
1 Poor call clarity! Echoes easily and frequently..expect to hear everything you say back at ya!
2 After light texting and one email check during a workday, battery went from full to 1 bar..
3 Outer OLED screen is not FLIX compatible..and very dark when lit! Nice for digital clock, very, very poor for still images underneath.
4 FLIX access as wallpapers on main screen take about 8 seconds to load, as compared to 8100/8300's instantaneously...
5 still needs two hands to text..one to hold unit, one to type..buttons recessed and flat, tough to make contact with. Found misspellings happen a lot because of it.
6 No changable UI..(no biggie, this IS Verizon after all..but it feels very out of place here.)
7 Something you may overlook: The top and bottom of the closed unit feel terribly alike..I've pulled the phone out of my pocket upside down often! Frightening...easy to potentially drop! Use the included hand strap if you wish..it helps some with that problem.
8 When holding phone, found my index finger naturally went to touching, unfortuately, the camera lens apparatus on the back! It's in the exact wrong spot..too easy to damage petals covering lens, or lens itself if left open!
9 When charging, small plastic cover rotates and sticks out to allow AC connection. Never fully rotates out of the way; cable feels a little cockeyed in the phone as it's charging due to it. Kind of unsettling.
Thanks!
So Far So Good!!!
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Pros
nice cam/video
very very clear lcd screens
loud ringer which I love love love!!! Cam rotates and flips down makes it look like a sleek little digital cam maybe about a 2-3 sec delay... Not a problem for me though pix come out great
menus flow easy.. Nice text... Good speakerphone. Good reception as well
sturdy phone I have had the lg 7000,8000,8100 samsung 950, and moto razr compared to my razr (which I always thought I would break b/c im hard on my phones) its the perfect size and weight... For a phone and if you're like me and you like technology and style it a good buy.. Its not cheap but if you're going to buy something buy what you want no regrets!!! Cons
not really a con but not so user friendly to the older crowd of to those who are not tech savvy... Hope it helps... Look for my review on the moto q!!
over it!
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I've had this phone now for about a year.
I recieved this phone as an "equal trade" for my first off problem, the then brand new "Motorola Q" what crap! It froze up every 5 minutes and had to be reset (upon returning, which by the way was after the 30 days or whatever because it was such crap) they told me the Q was a disatster. Too much cramped into a thing phone and they hadn't quite ironed out the wrinkles. They then talked me into the Palm Treo (raved about it to me) upon taking a vacation I had to go to an out of town Verizon store because the Treo's service was junk. I would get my voicemail/data messages 4-5 days after they were sent to me. They told me at this location that the Treo was nothing but problems. Who to believe?? They gave me this phone as another "equal trade" claiming it was great and had a really sweet camera. So here is my lovely review!
Pros
--GREAT camera! Really awesome pictures, sweet swivel and looks like a real camera when taking a pic.
--Nice sized screen
--Texting is a breeze
--Clock stays lit on outside continuously, which is awesome.
--Pretty sleek look
Cons
--Battery life has turned to CRAP. I charge it to a full charge..after 5 hours this thing is battery low. Then, it chimes this little noise every 5 minutes to let you know it's dying which just kills the battery faster. I might talk on it for 5 minute convos maybe 4-5 times a day and this thing is junk. I've tried a new battery, it just drains it!
--Can't set tones to text messages individually (my LG you could)
--Daylight Savings Time doesn't adjust Calendar or alarms (found out the hard way on that)
--Reception isn't very good
--OK key is way small in the middle of the four way key
This is just your everyday average (probably would be a free phone with service if it wasn't for the camera) phone. It's nice, but not worth the money if you have to pay it. Looking forward to changing!
FInally a phone to get excited about
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Let me just say I have owned A LOT of phones. I use cell phones often and have always appreciated having the latest and greatest and I frequently check Phonescoop to keep up. I usually get a new phone every couple of months or so and have tried PDA,s, flips, spinners, sliders, slims ...well I've tried them all. I am sorry if this at all sounds pretentious, but I am just trying to give you an idea of where I am coming from. I donât think I've ever had the inclination to rate a phone and this time I decided to take my time to post about the 990. It is AWSOME and I mean really great. In fact, this phone is so much better than any other I've owned, I think its going to be a long time before I get a new one. I don't think I've ever said that about a cell phone before. I can't see anything in the near future that comes close to eclipsing it. I waited a while before I posted to make sure that I was still happy with it and I appreciate it even more now.
My favorite things about this phone:
1. Quality feel of the Moto V60. It has a metal case!
2. Screen as sharp as a Pioneer Elite Plasma Screen Television.
3. For once a camera that takes usable pictures.
4. Great Speakers for Speakerphone, ringers, and playing music.
5. Outstanding reception, even in the back of a big-box-store.
6. Optional Navigation system will BLOW YOU AWAY!!!
7. Large keys againâ¦Thank you!!!!
8. Great weight and size
9. Battery charges quickly and lasts and lasts, even for the powerful applications.
10. Every other Pro listed by others. I could go on and onâ¦.
So far the only gripe is that the shudder action on the camera is a little belated. After you push the button, it takes about 1 ½ seconds before the shudder snaps.
I have been waiting and willing to pay for a high end phone for Verizon. I was getting sick of the cheap plastic crap that is offered now. Finally something different. Thank you Samsung!!!
The Best Phone There Is
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User KARLNYC is a moron. If his unbelievably bad grasp of the english language isn't a good clue, than his review definitely is. Obviously he is hearing impaired and blaming it on the phone.
As anyone with this phone can tell you, it is perfectly clear and very easy to hear even in noisy environments. Using bluetooth headsets also sounds great but so does the sound from the phone's earpiece. So, Karlnyc's next investment should be in a hearing aid.
As for me, I have never been happier with a phone. It looks great, sounds great, gets wonderful reception and it is worth every penny. There is nothing else I can say except that if you have the cash, this is definitely the way to go.
phone is pretty nice!!!
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this is one nice phone,there are way to many pros about the phone so i will only list the the negatives!!
1= front LCD is terrible, its to light, cant see!!
2=old fashened white keypad, when it lights up, yuck!!!
3=no front keys for WMA player
4=no MP3s :(
5= RF isnt that great!!
these are just a few things i personally dont like, ALSO PEOPLE THIS PHONE ISNT WORTH $500.00 DOLLARS, IF YOU CAN GET IT FOR UNDER $300.00 THEN COOL! DONT PAY FULL RETAIL ,TRUST ME!!! but overall i gave it a 4 out of a 5
Not Worth It!!!
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I was all excited to get this phone and was highly dissappointed. For all the hype and especially the money, it doesn't live up to it...
The phone has a responsive UI but it is the old UI and was bumed that the VX 8300 has the new flash UI and this "newer" phone doesn't. Was bummed. Also, one of the biggest reason I got the phone was the speak to text and this feature only works with the Pix/Flix messaging and not regular text messaging. In addition, the battery life didn't hold up like I thought it would. My A950 was better.
The camera is great in regards to having 3.2 megapixels but you can't zoom on the higher resolutions so that also didn't make me happy. Not to mention the MP3 thing. I know you can use it through a series of menu's but each and every time you have to activate it. No thanks! Plus, the phone can't learn in T9.
The one thing that was great was the Navigation software but that is coming in an upgrade to the A950 soon.
All and all it isn't worth $400. Maybe $200 but not that much. I am holding out for the K1C or something better.
Nice Phone But ?????
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The Samsung A-990 it is an excellent piece of technology, but it has its weaknesses.
The 3.2 mega pixel camera is pretty decent, highly acceptable.
In a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 6.5.
The phone has an excellent signal, the calls are hardly ever dropped, where most of my other cell phones would loose their signal the Samsung A-990 maintains its communication.
In the scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 10.
The aesthetics of the cellular is more or less, it's too square for my liking, I prefer softer lines and/or curves.
I give it a 6.
This unit comes with the UI, universal interface, which is best because the menu is very organized.
I give it a 10.
The ring tones are the worst that I have ever listened to in my life, I believe they do this on purpose so that the consumer must download new ring tones and spend their $$$$.
I give it a 1.
The speaker phone is weak.
I give it a 5.
The battery is the worst that I have seen in cellular batteries. I purchased an extended battery and it's the same if not worst than the regular one.
I give it a 4.
In conclusion the phone is quite good even though it is quite expensive.
I give it an overall 8 from a scale of 1 to 10.
If we see it from the perspective of someone buying a digital camera and also buying a cellular phone, then I would say it is a worthwhile purchase. But, if you are not really interested in a decent camera, then I highly recommend to save some $$$ and purchase a different model.
Excellent features, great camera for phone but
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Yup, But...
Feature packed phone with one of the best camera for a phone. Except when its dark. Takes decent movie and IU is okay..its not fast not slow either. I don't text much so its good enough for me. I had this phone about 10 month and I notice A990 was dropping a many many calls. I figure verizon service is getting bad so I blamed on verizon system, but I found out many of my friends having similar problems. I took my other verizon phone(Chocolate) same places where A990 was having tough time getting signals. Behold...chocolate works great where my A990 was searching for the signals. Call 611 with chocolate and explain the verizon tech and he agrees that my A990 is having a signal problem and I should take it to service center and have it checked up. To make the long story short They replace my phone twice and still I having a same problem. Now here is the kicker, in order for verizon to give me a different model phone I need to do this replacement thing 3 times in order for me to get a other line a phone. Now A990 is the most expensive phone that verizon carries and only replacement in their list for it is Moto Krzr? After 3 times of return they can only give me a cheaper phone which I do not like. Also here is another kicker, now if they decide to give me different model phone, I need to renew my contract for 2 years as from the day I received my new phone. hmmm...Most reliable wireless company? I don't think so. I really like A990, except for the signal. Oh yeah, did I mention when A990 searches for signal all the time my battery drains very quickly. I could only use the phone for 3/4 of days with min of talking time. which I only use 1000min a month. I have to charge it around 3 pm to get thru the day. My wife's Chocolate still works great but I just can not see me searching for a button when I am driving.
Contruction 5 out 5 star
Design 5 out 5
Reliability 4 out 5 (Very steadily bad signal)
Signal 1 out 5
Battery 1 out 5
Sound 4 out 5
