- Android-powered phone with 4G wireless connectivity (also compatible with 3G networks), 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, and slide-out QWERTY keyboard
- Sprint TV and Amazon MP3 Store enabled; GPS turn-by-turn directions via Sprint Navigation; access to thousands of apps from Android Market
- Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (with optional hotspot capability); 5-MP camera with HD video capture; front-facing VGA camera for video chats; microSD expansion to 32 GB; Bluetooth stereo music
- 1500 mAh battery provides extended talk and standby times; released in August, 2010
- What’s in the Box: handset, rechargeable battery, charger, 16 GB microSD card, quick start guide
Amazon.com Product Description
The perfect all-in-one device for staying connected, getting work done, and enjoying the latest in entertainment while on-the-go, the Samsung Epic 4G runs on Sprint’s new and expanding 4G network, offering simultaneous voice and data connectivity and download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G. Additionally, the phone can still connect to 3G data services in areas not currently served by Sprint’s 4G network (learn more about Sprint’s 4G network below). … More >>
I paid a visit to a sprint store as I wanted to check this phone OUT first before I made any purchase. I must tell that I was extremely “Disappointed” with this device. The following is a major flaw, and deserves less than a star-You cannot swap calls. For those of you who do not know what this means, is just that if you are talking to two people, this phone gives you no option to put the first caller on hold and talk to the other while still keeping the other caller on the line. If you merge the calls to three ways, you are not able to separate the callers should you decide to stay and talk to just only one. You must hang up and redial. There were lots of complaints in the sprint store that the device has this serious flaw. Say, for instance, you were talking with your wife, and then your daughter called. If you took this call, you could not switch back to your wife. You must hang up and dial your wife back. I can’t say anything more because I did not purchase the device for this reason I just cited. However, all I can tell is that this phone is beautiful; it has Android and a large screen
Rating: 1 / 5
Bought it at 9am this morning and returned it at 7pm. 4G signal only when outdoors…only 3g indoors. Seems to be a long connection outage whenever switching from 4g-3g or vice versa. Dropped calls 3 times driving up and down the freeway from Dallas to Mckinney. Hardware is nice but Sprint network…atleast in DFW is as bad as ever. Waiting for the Epic to come out on another network or the G2 on HSPA+ network on T-mobile.
Rating: 2 / 5
The battery is absolutely pathetic.
I had the phone 100% charged as of 2pm yesterday. Drove home, played with the GPS features, made on short call and that was it. This AM at 6:30 a.m. is 100% dead. You are kidding me, right? This is absolutely ridiculous to be honest. I didn’t really use the darn thing, and by the way shut down many of the features to try to prevent this.
The phone itself has a ton of features, but what good is a wireless device IF I have to more or less keep it plugged in? Ridiculous.
Rating: 2 / 5
I was waiting for a nice Android based phone on Sprint, and EVO was impossible to get because it was always on back-order (and frankly, too big of a screen).
So, when Sprint advertised this one, it seemed perfect. Nice sized screen, and a sliding keyboard, plus 4G.
But overall, this phone has been almost unusable, primarily because of the short Battery Life. I am totally NOT impressed with the Power Engineering of Samsung.. Can’t believe they are running a Smart Phone Business !!
Good points:
- Nice bright Screen
- Pretty quick and responsive
- Nice Sliding Keyboard
- Runs Android (so access to the App Marketplace)
- 4G (if it is available in your area)
And the Bad:
- 4G not available in most US markets (Sprint store where I bought had some 4G signal, but I think they have turned on 4G spots near their stores, but no where else). -
- Battery drains VERY QUICKLY.
- Almost all the desirable services almost unusable, because you do not get more than an hour – if you turn on anything besides regular phone use (GPS, Wifi, 4G, Video, Web Browsing !!)
- Did I mention, BATTERY LIFE IS BAD.
- And not to mention, the charging cable is on the top of the phone.. so it is very awkward to talk and charge at the same time (if you are going to keep this phone, you better get used to it.).
Some users are writing that the battery life is OK, but I think they are either not using any of the functions, or are Samsung/Sprint paid bloggers..
COMPARISON to:
- I have compared the battery life to a iPhone 4 and HTC Nexus. Both are equivalent in terms of the features. And the battery on them lasts way longer (at least through the day).
How much the battery lasts? (as you can see, I am really not too happy with it).
- With normal use (20-30 mins of phone talk, 20-30 mins of browsing, 20-30 emails, and 5-10 mins of streaming, it will last you 6-7 hrs
If you use the GPS for about 20 mins.. Battery will last no more than 4-5 hrs.
(I was making sure to kill all running applications – as soon as I am done, but to no avail).
I have used the iPhone 4 extensively (sorry, do not work for Apple, but that is what I have access to), and the battery lasts the whole work day easily with medium use of Phone, Internet, and even streaming Youtube/Netflix).
Surprised, that Samsung will release such a product, that is NOT usable by a smartphone user, unless you are lugging around a USB charger with you !!
TOTALLY UNSATISFIED… Unless they improve the battery life.. otherwise, this is a nice paper weight..
Rating: 2 / 5
The new EPIC has some impressive features, so much so that they seem to captivate almost all reviewers to the point where they seem to miss some basic things that aren’t so great.
I just picked up the phone today, and within 10 minutes I saw some pretty stupid flaws that make me wonder how designers and QA people really think…. except Apple designers/QA because they seem to get it right.
1.) The power button is in an impractical location. Compared to my last HTC smartphone where I can use my index finger on top of the phone or the way I can use my thumb only on my iPhone, the Epic seems to require more effort and can easily slip out of my hand when trying to press that pwr button.
2.) Normal use of the phone causes your index finger to constantly smudge the main camera. See how iPhone overcomes this by camera placement.
3.) Why couldn’t the USB plug be the more popular size?… I guess mini instead of micro. I don’t see that much of a space saving using micro and I have tons of USB chargers laying around and in my car. Now I’ll need some sort of adapter if I want that use chargers I have.
4.) The USB plug would be much more convenient at the bottom of the phone as opposed to the top. Picture talking on the phone without a headset while driving and having to use car battery power – there will be a cable looping off the top of the phone up against your head. (goofy)
I’m sure I’ll like a lot of the nice things about the phone, but gee-whiz, I see 4 practical things right off the bat that the seemingly tons of reviews I read never even seemed to mention.
Rating: 3 / 5