- 3G-enabled, Android 1.5-powered smartphone with 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen and side sliding QWERTY keyboard; easy access to Google services
- Sprint Mobile Broadband Network via EV-DO connectivity; GPS enabled for turn-by-turn directions using Google Maps; Sprint TV enabled; Amazon MP3 Store downloads
- Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g); 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder; Bluetooth stereo music; MicroSD memory expansion to 32 GB; access to personal and corporate email
- Up to 5.5 hours of talk time
- What’s in the Box: handset, rechargeable battery, charger, 2 GB microSD memory card, wired 3.5mm stereo headset, quick start guide, documentation
Amazon.com Product Description
Sprint’s first Android-powered smartphone, the Samsung Moment combines high-speed connectivity via Sprint’s dependable 3G network (EVDO Rev. A.) with access to built-in Google mobile services–including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube as well as thousands of applications available in Android Market. Its 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen creates crisper colors and wider viewing angles than other display screens and its slide-out QWERTY keyboard mak… More >>
I have ordered this phone twice,was told two different reasons why my order was cancelled the first time. So I ordered it again and the delivery date kept being pushed back until finally it was cancelled again just the day it was to ship. I put it on a one day ship and that didn’t work either.Very upset.
Rating: 1 / 5
I purchased this phone from Best Buy, and therefore was given 45 days to try it out (as opposed to the standard 30 -a perk of being a “Premier Silver” customer)
This was my second smart phone after owning an iPhone 3GS and my first experience with the Android Operating System. As a complete Google-slave, I simply had to give Android a try. In the past I have owned one Samsung phone (SCH-A950) and was very happy with it.
I was very torn between purchasing this and the HTC Hero – as I’m sure many people are, as they are currently Sprint’s only options for Android. I opted to try the Moment for the same two reasons most people probably do: the Hard QWERTY and the “faster” 800MHZ processor. I have previously owned an LG Voyager, and in comparison the keyboard on the Moment took some getting used to. The keys are laid out a bit strangely, with the spacebar in the middle of the bottom row. They are raised up and not flat like the Moto Droid, and within a week I was able to type quickly and accurately. The slider was nice and tight for the first few weeks, but towards the end of my tenure with the device I noticed the screen was a bit “loose” when the device was closed.
The rest of the hardware was dissapointing. I suppose due to the fact that it is a slider it feels somewhat cheap and very “plasticy.” Coming from the iPhone, which managed to feel sleek and hefty at the same time, the build quality of the Moment was certainly a downgrade. The Send and End buttons on the front offer a nice satisfying press, but they too feel very cheap and I was afraid that after a long time of heavy use they would soon suffer. I thought I would like the optical trackpad, but found myself rarely using it because it moves way too much due to the fact that it’s also a pushable button and was EXTREMELY inaccurate for navigation. The touch-sensitive buttons are very nice and work great – but it’s a huge letdown that there is no “search” button as there is with many other Android phones. (Yes, there is one on the hard QWERTY but if you want to do a quick search while the phone is closed, you’re out of luck). The charging port is on the side of the phone, which would make docking impossible and makes it very tough to use the phone while charging. The charging port uses a starded mini (or is it micro?) USB cable – but if you want to open the phone to use the QWERTY while charging, you have to use a slimmer profile cable. One is included with the phone, but the charger I used at my office was larger and wouldn’t let me open the phone. The charging port and headphone jack have rubber covers for keeping out dust and debris. I suppose this is a good thing, but ended up being pretty annoying. Overall, this thing is a brick. It’s tough to pocket, but easy to holster.
The screen image quality is very nice. It’s bright and vibrant and everything looks great on it. Everyone seems to be harping on the fact that it is AMOLED, which apparently means it consumes less power than a standard LED. Quite honestly, my eyes couldn’t really tell a difference between this screen’s quality and that of the iPhone. Perhaps if they were side-by-side, but in practice I didn’t notice that much of a difference in quality. Also due to this AMOLED technology using this phone outside is nearly impossible unless the brightness is all the way up. The touch sensitivity is very nice – the screen is quite responsive when the software allows it to be.
Speaking of the software – Android is very nice indeed. If you need information about it there are plenty of sources. This review however focuses on the Moment’s execution of it….which is quite poor. Being my first experience with Android, it was at first difficult for me to discern OS quirks with Moment-specific issues. I now have a comparison and can say that if you purchase the Moment you will be missing out in a big way.
First – the GPS simply does not work, which makes the Google Maps application pretty useless. I was so dissapointed with this because with my iPhone Google Maps worked flawlessly nearly all the time. Being a “Google Experience” I expected this to be at least on par with the iPhone. The GPS always showed “my location” as somewhere in Russia. Some say this is a problem with Android 1.5 and could be fixed with an update. Others say the Moment’s GPS chip is just simply not functional. All I know is that it doesn’t work, and therefore all applications that utilize it suffer.
Second – there is no voice search for Google. Some may not think this is a big deal – but for me it was a HUGE letdown. My imagination of how this was supposed to work: Hold a button, say “Pizza Hut,” and google returns Pizza Hut close to you and offers directions. Along with the lack of functioning GPS, this entire feature is absent from this phone.
Third – Pandora does not work. Again, maybe not an issue for some but sad for me, as I love Pandora. On the Moment, it is barely useable due to skipping and stuttering. Apparently the developers of Pandora are working on this….but who knows when a fix will appear?
And overall – the entire operation of the phone is extremely sluggish, which totally surprised me as everyone has praised this 800MHZ processor. I’m not talking about multi-tasking and loading a bunch of widgets. I’m talking about something as simple as a text message notification. The entire phone just kind of freezes and you can tell it’s struggling just to activate the alert. When the phone rings, it takes at least 3 rings for the screen to turn on so you can see who is calling. The proximity sensor is extremely sluggish as well – with the iPhone, the second I took the phone from my face the screen came back on. Not so here. And the implementation of it is so poor because if you are on the phone and you receive a text or email or some other alert the sensor is bypassed and the screen is activated. I can’t count how many times I accidentally muted or placed a caller on speaker with my cheek.
The on-screen keyboard is almost unusable – I was barely able to simply reply with an “Ok be there soon.” Some may say with a hard QWERTY this shouldn’t be an issue. It was for me, because when opening the phone to use the QWERTY there was such a delay in rotation that I began to hate actually having to open the phone to use it.
The camera takes very nice shots and the flash is superb. However the camera application takes almost TEN SECONDS to load, and taking a shot takes about 3-4. Also, no matter how I held the phone when taking photos, the end result would always be a sideways shot that had to be rotated before sharing.
There is no LED to notify you of an alert – therefore if you are away from your phone for any period of time you have to turn on the screen to see if you’ve missed a text or call or email.
The speaker phone is very loud, clear, and wonderful. But unusable – every single caller I ever placed on speakerphone could not understand me.
And now, possibly the most obnoxious issue with this phone….BATTERY LIFE.
This phone apparently has decent battery life. It would survive for me an entire day of moderate usage. What’s the problem then? There is a bug in the software that tells the phone it has less battery remaining than it actually does. After being off the charger for a few hours the phone thinks it has less than 15 percent life remaining. This is such an annoyance because when the phone reaches this state, the screen dims and doesn’t let you adjust it – therefore making it impossible to use outside. The backlight on the QWERTY stops working – making it tough to txt in the dark. The camera refuses to work.
I understand that many of these things could and may be fixed with a software update. Sprint has gone on record to say that the Moment will be updated to Android 2.1 sometime in 2010. I did not want to take the risk that many of the issues with this phone may or may not be fixed later on. I want a phone that works the way it is advertised and supposed to work when I purchase it. Sure, all tech has bugs and kinks….but the amount of problems with the Moment made me jump ship.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS -
Android is fantastic. The Samsung Moment is NOT a good representation of it. Basic phone functionality is frustratingly bad. I switched to an HTC Hero and could not be happier.
Save yourself a big headache. If you’re on Sprint and want an Android buy the Hero instead.
Rating: 1 / 5
I love this phone. I realize it is not the best but for the money you can not beat it. I just wish I could have made the purchase from amazon, but their sales reps scared me off so I purchased it somewhere else.
Rating: 5 / 5
The battery life to me seems to be horrible. Using the internet and stuff. Do I have a faulty battery and have to by another battery, or is this it? Nice cell phone otherwise. Anyone else notice this? I had to buy and charger for my work and car, besides my home..
Rating: 4 / 5
The phone is cool. The phone is fun. Do not buy this phone. Cool and fun are not useful characteristics…form and function, please. I was in love with it at first and then it started having a myriad of problems…intermittently. First, I contacted my service provider, they referred me back to Amazon…who referred me to Samsung because I have had it just over a month.
First it whorled itself into airplane mode and wouldn’t come out. It turned off and then wouldn’t come back on. Then it wouldn’t recognize its own battery as being legit. Now, it doesn’t recognize its chargers so it cant be charged. Samsung doesn’t provide a new phone, won’t provide a loaner phone, will pick up this one and repair it but I will be without service for 7-10 days not including turn around time. Poor customer service. The item is obviously defective. I live rurally. This is my only phone.
And, what people say about short battery time is true…I am not a phone devotee and I still run out of battery rapidly.
I’m rating this item with 3 stars…it’s screen is great, takes decent (SLOW) pictures, has some heft to it (which I like), doesn’t feel cheap…looks quality, texts well…a little lagging but like the set up…all great things and more…but, the weird issues coupled with the poor customer service…
If you have ANY issue at all, contact immediately…I attributed my issues to user problems, and it wasn’t me.
Rating: 3 / 5