Samsung SCH-A890
Average Ratings
Very underrated and overlooked
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The A890 is the best phone I've ever used, hands down. Had the phone for 2 months. I base my purchases on call quality and signal, don't care about the bells and whistles. I tried out the Motorola e815 for a day to compare, and returned 3 different phones; 2 due to dead pixels and the 3rd due to terrible echo effects and lackluster speaker phone. Samsung is the way to go w/ Verizon, beats out any other model of Verizon phones in my opinion, yet gets no love! If you want a toy get an LG, if you want a phone get a Samsung. Try it out and it will not disappoint.
Pros: Great battery life, great reception, call quality is absolutely superb on both ends, beautiful internal and external LCD screens, easy menus and navigation.
Cons: No speaker phone or MP3 player...so what.
FUNCTION AND SENSIBILiTY
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As a long-time verizon customer, a two-year upgrade offer brought me into the store. I tried out the audivox8940 and could not tolerate the poor voice quality; especially when talking to someone else on a verizon phone. I traded it in within the trial period of fifteen days for a Samsung890. The Samsung890 voice quality is much better. The Samsung camera controls are sensible and easy to adapt to. It is working very well and so far I am happy with it. I especially like the very large bold numbers that indicate what you are dialing. My girlfriend has a LG VX8000 and it is also a good phone. Th VX800 seems a little too bulky for me to carry around in my pocket and I do not need a speaker phone. If the primary function of your phone is voice communication, I would highly recommend the Samsung.
Great Phone
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i would have to say that this phone is awesome. it does not have speakerphone or an mp3 player or bluetooth, but so what. its stylish and vcast looks great on it. the reception so far has been great too. the camera is awesome with 1.3 mp and 5 times zoom. compared to the 8000 i would take the size and style over spkrph, or mp3 player. the 8000 has to be the dumbest looking phone out there. the 8940 from playin around with it, is not even worth talking about.
pros.
1.3 mp camera/video
vcast
screen resolution
reception
looks awesome
not too big
cons.
no mp3 player
no speakerphone
Definitely Under-rated!!
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I can understand how some might be upset that this phone does not have a speakerphone- it would come in handy for VCAST. That being said, I really think this phone has been harshly underrated.
I owned the A670 (also a great phone) before I got this one. Besides the added feature of EVDO, which I have not gotten to use yet, this phone makes many improvements over Samsung's last offering. The alarm clock now has a snooze button. The phonebook is better to use- its almost as good as the LG interface now. Voice recognition, already great on the A670, is even better on the 890. Not to mention the superior Samsung style and design. Usually I buy Samsung over LG because I just don't like the way LGs look and feel. But in general I prefer LGs software interface. With the 890, I think Samsung is approaching LG with its user friendliness.
If you already own an iPOD so you don't need an MP3 player, I would heartily recommend the Samsung 890. I think in the long run its design will hold up better than the LG VX8000.
Pretty Nice
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Ok I'm sure you've read through like every review out there, so I'll keep it short and simple. This phone is pretty damn good, while it doesn't have as many features as the LG has, I picked this phone over the LG b/c to me that phone felt a little on the cheap side, it was pretty big compared to this phone, the samsung fits my hands pretty nicely.
Pros
1) Great reception, I get full service everywhere
2) Bright screen and colors, the service light outside is kinda cool
3) Build quality is really solid, it feels and looks much better than the LG, which is, like everyone b4 has put it, a brick
Cons
1) Battery life is good but not great, I picked up a 2nd battery b/c I like to be able to use my phone without having to keep it charged
2) Picture quality on camera is good, but not great, sometimes its really hard to get a pic to come out clear if the lighting isn't right
3) No way to really get ringtones or programs on this phone unless you buy it from Get It Now, which I have yet to do, I want to figure out a way around this
A-890
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Alright so it doesn't have speaker phone, so what? How often do you use speakerphone on your cell? The only time I could think of is in your car or at a home office, but then why not just use a regular phone line? or in your car a headset? The complaints about no speakerphone are getting old it's something you'd go "oo cool" and maybe use once or twice the first few months you had it then stop. Other than that it's a great phone excellent signal, call clearity is the best I've ever had, the camera works fine and has good resolution. And to top it off they even give you a free hands-free kit, now about the blue tooth. Yes it's time to get some blue tooth on verizon phones the one with it is the motorola v-710 and it's a pile so I can see why Verizon stays away from other blue tooth phones but still the need is there to open up and get a few more in the inventory. This Samsung is the best I've used yet out of any Nokia, Samsung, or LG but all reviews are a matter of opinion. Things to keep in mind though, the a-890 is not a tri-mode phone which can hinder it in some cases. However I'm yet to drop a call or have to ask someone to repeat themselves, this phone has excellent clarity, great reception, and unbelievable battery life, I've gone 3 days with the standard battery and my normal usage. Overall this is one of the best non "Smart" (pda) phones Verizon offers and bests the LG VX8000 in weight and performance.
typical YAWNER of a Verizon phone
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Phone is gross. I have tried many phones and this one is very below average.
Pros:
clarity is supberb (#1 reason I might keep it)
camera is ok, although i could care less
screen is nice but not as fantastic as the sanyo mm5600
ev-do is fantastic and FAST! I use mobile internet often so this is important to me. It is at speeds of DSL.
Cons:
It's the size of a brick
no bluetooth
no speakerphone (Speaker phone, again, is extremely important to me)
can't download AND SAVE ringers from the freeringers website.
ear buds are missing the foam coverings
no holster included.
This phone rocks!!
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Pros: long battery life, voice & picture quality, durability, reception
Cons: No speakerphone!, menu layout can be confusing
sweet phone
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the GOOD: Screen res, battery, VCast, size, menus, great call sound quality.
the OK: Camera/video, external buttons, front LCD, memory.
the BAD: NO BLUETOOTH, no speakerphone
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It was between the a890 and the VX8000. After I felt both phones in my hand side by side, I knew the choice right away. The VX8000 is a brick. No matter how nice a phone is, if it hardly fits into the pocket of my jeans, I got no use for it. Besides the size, I thought VX8000 is a very decent phone from the half hour that I played with it.
Now on to the a890. This phone is very nicely engineered from all angles. The battery life so far is excellent (have it for 5 days now). The main screen is really sharp. Yeah there's no speakerphone, but I had it on my last phone and ended up using it like 5 times. The V Cast coverage is on and off (since I live in central Jersey), but that was explained to me before the phone was sold. The camera is decent, although does take between 2-3 seconds to start (like a regular digital camera).
The voice quality during a phone call is outstanding, and the reception is an improvement over my last verizon phone (audiovox CDM9500).
However, and this is a big BIG problem for verizon wireless as a company: get the stick out your behind and stop being so damn cheap; give us bluetooth. I know they really increase that bottom line by selling all those ring tones, pictures, games, internet access...etc. But enough is enough, get on the bluetooth boat already.
Too Much $ For a Low-Tech Phone
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PROs
* Batter life
* Voice recognition
CONs
* No speakerphone
* No email
* No webbrowser
* No bluetooth
* Only 8MB for photos, LG VX-8000 has 64MB
* VCAST audio noise
* Slow processor for games
* No MP3 player for ringtones etc.
Conclusion: Very expensive option for a relatively low-tech phone. The LG-VX8000 is much more sophisticated and worth the money.
