Samsung Epic 4G Android Phone (Sprint)
- 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
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).
The 4G-enabled Samsung Epic helps you stay connected to work and friends as well as enjoy HD videos, gaming, and more. |
The Epic 4G has a large 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display that provides brighter, thinner, and higher-resolution than traditional screens. Samsung’s innovative display technology makes watching movies, viewing videos and playing games come to life like never before, even in bright light and outdoor environments. And messaging is simple and easy with the Epic 4G’s side-sliding full QWERTY keyboard as well as the included virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swype technology, which allows you to input text faster and in a more intuitive way with one continuous finger motion across the screen keyboard.
Running the Android 2.1 operating system, the Epic 4G brings one-touch access to the popular Google mobile services millions use every day, including Google Search by Voice, YouTube, and Picasa. The Epic 4G also provides easy access to both personal and corporate e-mail, calendars, and contacts supported by Exchange Server and Gmail. And through Android Market, you’ll get access to thousands of useful applications, widgets, and fun games to download and install on your phone, with many more apps being added every day.
The forward-facing VGA camera makes it easy to have video calls using the two-way voice and video service from Qik (upgraded account service required), while the 5-megapixel camera on the back also offers HD video recording (720p) for playback on your HDTV.
With built-in mobile hotspot functionality, the Epic 4G also allows up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices–including laptop, camera, music player, video player, or any other Wi-Fi-enabled device–to enjoy the benefits of 4G speeds on the go. Other features include music downloads from the Amazon MP3 Store, microSD memory expansion (16 GB card included; optional 32 GB cards supported), HDMI audio/video output, and up to 6 hours of battery life (learn more about power management on the Samsung Epic 4G).
It features a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and onscreen keyboard |
Sprint 4G offers a faster wireless experience than any other U.S. national wireless carrier, and Sprint is the only national carrier offering wireless 4G service in 32 markets (with more coming online soon). Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G, giving this mobile phone the fastest data speeds of any U.S. wireless device available today. Sprint 4G network coverage is expected to reach 120 million people by the end of 2010. Sprint 4G services dramatically increase download speeds for photos, videos and large files. You can download a favorite song, picture, sitcom or large video in seconds, not minutes, or watch live streaming video- all while on the go, not just from the home or office. Additionally, businesses can benefit from the fast connectivity speeds of 4G. Some examples include: Learn more about what to expect when switching between 3G and 4G coverage. When Samsung Media Hub launches on the Samsung Epic 4G, it will be the first and only 4G handset to feature a video store with movies and TV shows available for purchase or rental and video content set up for an HD-like entertainment experience on a handset screen. The Epic 4G will also share user-generated video content with other devices thanks to Samsung’s exclusive AllShare service, which wirelessly shares stored music, pictures and HD video to other DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified home electronics–including HDTVs, monitors, digital cameras, printers and more. Through AllShare, you’ll be able to capture moments with the phone’s camera and camcorder and wirelessly show them to friends or family on a DLNA-certified HDTV or download music from a PC to the Epic 4G and take it on the road. The Epic 4G’s brilliant Super AMOLED touchscreen display offers the best representation of color on a mobile phone that matches original content more than 100 times the contrast quality of other leading displays. It also features faster response time (which reduces “ghosting” images), wide viewing angles to prevent blurring or distortion, and a thinner design to offer more accurate and responsiveness to touch. In addition to the dynamic screen, the Epic 4G’s six-axis motion sensing uses an accelerometer and geo-magnetic sensor to fine-tune its ability to interpret simple movements and provide an optimal gaming experience. When the phone tilts up and down or left and right, the game can immediately respond in the same direction. To get you started, a demo of the popular Asphalt 5 racing game is preloaded.
Sprint’s Blazing Fast 4G Network
A Movie Theater in Your Hand
Ideal for Gaming
Mobile Hotspot capability shares the 3G or 4G experience with up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices (see larger image). |
Key Features
- Ultra-fast 4G connectivity with simultaneous voice and data capability (peak download speeds of more than 10 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1 Mbps; average download speeds of 3-6 Mbps)
- 3G data speeds (EVDO Rev A.) in areas not yet served by 4G (peak download speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1.8 Mbps; average download speeds of 600 kbps-1.4 Mbps)
- Ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go.
- Built-in mobile hotspot functionality allows up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 3G or 4G experience on the go with a laptop, camera, music player, game unit, video player, or any other Wi-Fi enabled device.
- Powered by the Android operating system (version 2.1) with deep integration of Google services and access to thousands of apps to customize your phone via the Android Market.
- 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor speeds up everything–from playing games to watching shows to opening files from work.
- Swype input system allows you to input text faster and easier by gliding your finger around the keyboard, moving from letter to letter in one continuous motion. The Swype technology then calculates what word you’re intending to type (learn more below).
- Samsung Social Hub provides one stop for all your updates integrates all your social networking services, messages, personal and business e-mail, calendars and contacts.
- 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display (480 x 800 pixels, 16 million color depth) is one of the thinnest, most responsive full-featured smartphones in the industry.
- 5.0-megapixel camera/camcorder with auto-focus and HD video recording (720p)
- Forward-facing VGA camera for making video calls. Two-way voice and video capability will be available as an upgrade to the preloaded Qik app on the phone to enable conversational, interactive, real-time sharing between mobile devices or from mobile-to-desktop.
- Included 16 GB microSD card with support for optional cards up to 32 GB.
- Bluetooth connectivity (version 2.1) includes profiles for communication headset, hands-free car kits, and the A2DP Bluetooth profile–enabling you to wirelessly stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones or speaker dock.
- Instantly download e-books from Skiff, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo
- Access to personal and corporate e-mail with Microsoft Direct Push Technology and HTML support. Send and receive email from multiple corporate and personal email accounts. Also, get wireless email access to popular commercial POP3 and IMAP accounts like AOL, Gmail, and Yahoo!
- Instant messaging via popular services including Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger.
- View documents including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF on the go to maximize your productivity
- Visual Voicemail gives you quick and easy access to just the messages you want to listen to by letting you go directly to a specific message, without needing to listen to or skip past previous messages.
- Full HTML Web browser
- Airplane mode allows you to listen to music while the cellular connectivity is turned off
- 3.5mm stereo headset jack
- Memory: 1 GB ROM, 512 MB RAM
Vital Statistics
The Samsung Epic 4G weighs 5.46 ounces and measures 4.9 x 2.54 x 0.56 inches. Its 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery provides long talk and standby times. It runs on Sprint’s 4G network as well as the 800/1900 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A frequencies.
What’s in the Box
Samsung Epic 4G handset, rechargeable battery, charger, 16 GB microSD card, quick start guide
Sprint Services
- GPS capable with Sprint Navigation: This GPS-enabled phone provides optional access to Sprint Navigation for driving directions on your mobile phone–by voice and onscreen. Along the way, turn-by-turn directions will be announced in a clear voice and displayed on your phone. For example, Sprint Navigation will say, “Go 1.2 miles and turn right on Elm Street.” As you approach the turn, you will hear, “Turn right on Elm Street.” Sprint Navigation also provides proactive traffic alerts with one click re-routing. And it’s easy to find restaurants, banks, cafes, hotels and more from over 10 million points of interest across the U.S.
- Sprint TV enabled: With Sprint TV, you can make your cell phone your always-on source for news, weather, sports and more. This comprehensive video service combines high-quality streaming audio and video from channels including the NFL Network, ABC, The Weather Channel, Fox Sports, E!, CNN, The Discovery Channel, and more.
- Stay Sporty with Sprint: With NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile, instantly connect to the NASCAR information you want, when you want it. Follow NASCAR action from practice to race day with real-time leaderboard and alerts. Get exclusive access to your favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver with real-time driver stats, breaking news and more. Live in-car audio, race radio, NASCAR on SPEED and other audio/video only available on select phones. Visit sprint.com/speed for details.
To access, just text “NASCAR” to 7777 on your Sprint phone or visit the Sprint Digital Lounge to download NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile (standard text messaging and data rates apply).
This phone also provides access to Sprint Football Live–free for any phone with a data plan. You’ll be able to follow all the live play-by-play action with the Live Game Center for both pro and college football games, as well as stay on top of the pro football draft with a Live Draft Tracker and in-depth analysis and bios on nearly 500 top prospects. Access by texting “FOOTBALL” to 7777 on the handset to download Sprint Football Live from Sprint Digital Lounge (standard text messaging and data rates apply).
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An alternative to the Android virtual keyboard, the Swype virtual keyboard allows you to input text by swiping the finger with one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard. Based on testing, speed and accuracy are equal to or better than the traditional keyboard-tapping method. You can activate the Swype keyboard by pressing and holding in a text field, wait for popup to appear, click Input Method, and then select Swype.
In the image to the left, the word “quick” was generated from tracing the path shown above in a fraction of a second, by roughly aiming to pass through the letters of the word. A key advantage to Swype is that there is no need to be very accurate, enabling very rapid text entry.
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Also Available for This Android Device
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Amazon Appstore for Android |
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Kindle |
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Amazon MP3 |
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IMDB |
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Audible |
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Amazon Mobile |
List Price: $ 599.99
Price: $ 599.99
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The Epic 4G might just win this.,
I have been playing around with both phones and because I belong to Sprint for the rest of my life’s tenure, I shall let you know that these are the two best phones available in the market but let’s compare which is better at what.
Appearance – The Evo 4G does not have a slide-out QWERTY keypad like the Epic. The Epic despite the keyboard is about an ounce lighter in weight and that says a lot about the AMOLED screen and the absolutely flawless design on this phone. The charging port is located on the TOP of the phone and also has a little slide you need to drag open before accessing the MICRO USB/Charger. The phone looks a terrific black (like the best looking iPhone, oh yeah we care, no sarcasm) when the screen is not on. UNLIKE THE EVO, the standby key is on the right hand side of the phone and does the same thing. On first appearance, the design of the Epic is mouth watering. I’ve always found Sidekick like phones cheesy and even that DROID from VERIZON looks very plastic to me but I shall diss no more, the Epic might just win on this account (but I know plenty of Evo users who would disagree but this is my opinion). Because of size, weight, 4-inch screen (Evo’s 4.3), design of the slide out, the Epic wins this round.
Call Reception / Loud Speaker -> While playing music, I noticed the Epic was a little louder than the Evo is but at full volume, it can be a tad too loud too which is obviously such a WELCOME FEATURE. The Evo has a loud speaker alright and also a dedicated home page where you can easily play your music but what matters is the sound because both phones offer excellent customization.
Battery Life – This is one of the primary reasons the Epic is likely to do good. I fume when I hear people say the DROID X has a better battery life than the Evo. On Epic, the AMOLED screen ensures you don’t need to charge this phone more than once a day. I managed to make this last for atleast a day but I did find the battery readings to be inaccurate from time to time. Maybe this happened because I was trying the phone on Airplane mode and then switching to CDMA so that could be it. There was a difference in the battery life, sometimes the bar would be short and sometimes substantially longer. Maybe it is just a software update that is required but at the end of the day, You can have all the features on a phone but what matters a lot is battery life and the Epic takes this round too. By getting the Evo you will need to buy an extra battery unless you like carrying your wires everywhere you go. If you’re getting the Evo make sure you get an extra battery charger and oh save yourself some money and NEVER INVEST ON EXTENDED BATTERIES. You wouuld think Samsung and HTC are more clever than not to have come out with the extended battery in the first place. Feel free to discuss, throw things at me on the comments column.
Screen Brightness – HTC Evo is about AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN, absolutely incredible brightness, it’s like watching the most expensive HDTV sometimes. The phone even on low brightness is surprisingly bright and I always appreciate brightness. While the Epic is not dull, I’ll be lying if I say the screen is as bright as the Evo or even comes close to taking this round. The Epic has a jaw dropping display but the brightness and screen quality while you’re on a webpage makes Evo the winner here. The brightness may come at the price of battery life but when you drive a HUMMER, you worry not about the battery life but about the drive.
Build Quality of Plastic on the BACK – The Evo certain feels a little more solid and smooth. The back on the EVO is better than the INCREDIBLE. Evo’s kickstand is an added feature but the quality of the plastic on the Evo is 15% better than the Epic when you’re holding the back though Epic is quite good as it is. **Caution** Do not remove Epic’s back size by the SPEAKER, you may damage the phone cause you’re such a strong individual, locate a small opening at the end and then LIFT UP the back plastic covering the battery. The back is obviously not RED like the HTC EVO.
Bundled Accessories – Epic comes with a 16gb card, in ear earphones, a thicker BASIC manual I haven’t opened and read yet. The Evo comes with an 8gb card and no earphones. They both come with a Micro USb Cord which coverts into a wall charger. I have tried and used almost all earphones bundled with phones and have never seen any Sprint phone with such good quality “in-ear” earphones which provide NOISE CANCELLATION. An excellent extra for the fifty bucks you pay depending on where you’re buying the phones from. 16gb is like having 2 x 8gb cards.
Mobile Hotspot – DRAW
Task Killer App – If you hold the home button down on the Epic, an excellent task killer pops up. It is so easy and fun to use that this alone was a big big big deal for me. I’ve used it on the Evo before but it’s just so much hassle free and cleaner on the…
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|READ THIS REVIEW!!
BEFORE YOU READ BELOW PLEASE READ THIS: Make sure you set aside time to play with this. Your girlfriend or wife is going to hate you for it if you don’t. ……haha..trust me I learned from experience.
I was a blackberry user for years, and I never wanted to switch. But I wanted to see what 4G was like. Sprint is testing 4G in many more markets than are on their website (Many places in the San Francisco area and Los Angeles). Here is a break down of the pros and cons
1. Once you get use to “Swype” typing, you’ll never use the keyboard. I bought this phone becaue of the physical keyboard (since I came from a blackberry) but I never use it. “Swype” is great. Go look up a video.
2. Battery life is pretty good despite what people say. Since the Amoled screen does not use power with black pixels. I made my wallpaper solid black. Improved battery life drastically. Trust me on this! …..Now if you use 4G it drains your battery quickly. See below. Also charging time takes a long time. It takes maybe twice as long to fully charge this phone than a blackberry and the MaH is only slightly stronger (1500). Use the “Power Widget” to very easily turn on/off things like 4G, Wifi, Adjut brightness. This will help greatly.
3. 4G..It drains your battery, and mean quickly. God’s honest truth……3G is fast enough. I mean 4G was cool to test out, but it really doesn’t make a difference when browsing. Maybe downloading music or video (yes) but how often do you do that. When it comes to apps and browsing 3G is fast enough. I teathred my phone to my laptop, and the 4G speeds were barely faster than 3G. 3G speeds were about 1MB per second download. 4G was 1.2. Now if you run a network speedtest on the phone at [...], it’s fast…4-5 MbPS.
3. Customization – Awesome, nothing like it. I love it. No complaints. You’ll love it.
4. Feel of the phone – Overall a little too thick for me. Once you add it the protective case, that thing aint goin in your pocket. It makes it to thick. So if you like a thin phone, this one is not for you. As I mentioned above, with the “Swype” technology you’ll never find yourself using a keyboard. The keyboard also “wiggles” around a bit…..
5. Charging Port – Kinda funny that’s its on top of the phone, but not a big deal.
6. Bluetooth – Great Quality (3.0 BT technology). Good reception from a number of Bluetooth pieces I’ve tried. It’s also cool streaming podcasts /music to your bluetooh. Cool feature.
7. Apps – App market is great. Again customizing this phone is one of the greatest features. Apps will randomly start for some reason. I don’t know if they suck up battery life or cpu usage. The sprint guy told me they don’t.
8. Unlocking the phone – PHone has an auto lock. You have to touch the power button and then slide the screen to unlock. Get an app on the market for this called “Screen Mode” to customize this. Now I can lock / unlock my phone by just hitting a button.
9. Youtube videos are great to watch on here you can watch them in HQ. Sometimes when you do, you’ll have to reset your phone for it to work. I know it sounds funny, but this is a minor flaw. Youtube in HQ is great!
10. E-mail and Web Browsing. Seamlessly hooked up to my company’s exchange. So much more superior than using a blackberry in that regard. The way you can view the e-mails and attachments are great. Also synced with Yahoo and Gmail. Again. Awesome. No complaints.
11. Web Browsing – NO other phone like it! plain and simple it’s great.
12. The google search feature. I know this is available on other droid phones. But the voice activated or type features are awesome!
13. Phone reception / quality – Perfect.
Overall. If you can get over the thickness you’ll love it.
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|Great – I chose over EVO 4G,
Just wanted to share where my point of view comes from before I start:
- This is my first Android phone
- I used a Palm Pre for the past year and a half (love it, really hard to give up)
- I used an EVO for about 3-6 hours, side by side with the Epic. Plus:
- I read about 50 different professional reviews online about both the Epic and the EVO to decide which one to buy
Quick Review (if you want all the details read more below)
Cons:
- Battery Life
- Too many hidden Apps open by themselves all the time (Android inherent and not just this phone)
- VGA front camera (lower resolution than phone screen…)
- No SMS/IM integrated area/application (you have to open 2 different apps at least)
- Back camera lens comes all the way out, so I am constantly putting my fingers all over it.
- Youtube videos come out in low quality, small rectangle (lots of wasted space, the EVO uses HQ videos that expand the entire screen)
Pros:
- Super Amoled screen. It is truly gorgeous.
- Android Market Place (90,000+ applications and counting)
- Fast (I use the phone for web browsing quite a bit, this one loads pages faster than even the EVO)
- Design: plastic matte back keeps it finger print free, front glass piece, flushed black design looks really good.
- Main camera quality. Wow. For pictures with good light, you can truly leave your point and shoot camera at home. Picture quality is really, really good.
- Graphic processor can be 40% faster than EVO. I won’t be playing games much on it at all, but I figured some people will be interested in that.
- Includes decent headset and a 16GB micro sd card.
What I didn’t care for:
- Physical keyboard (I chose this phone despite it. The keyboard is fine, I just find myself using the touchscreen keyboard 95% of the time) I would have loved to have a skinnier phone, or a beefier battery over the physical keyboard. However, I must confess that when I am going to type a long email, I slide out the physical one, I can type a lot faster on it, and it’s overall more comfortable.
- Android buttons are backlit (Home, Menu, Back and Search) so they will be using up battery all the time they are on. By default they hide after a few seconds. For someone unfamiliar with Android it was really annoying to have to guess which button to press (you cannot see them at all) to get to the option you were looking for. You need to go to the settings and make this last as long as the screen is on – at least at first. The nice part about it, is the phone looks clean and totally black when watching a video, playing a game, reading a book, etc.
Why I chose over EVO:
- Faster web page loads (tried both side to side with the same wifi connection and read reviews online)
- Screen
What the EVO has that I like better:
- HTC has proven that it will update to new versions of Android in a timely fashion. Samsung on the other hand…
- HD youtube that uses all the screen real estate
- Build quality – feels heavier and more durable (it’s a close call, but it feels more expensive than the Epic)
In-depth review:
My main complaints with a small review of each portion.
1. Battery life
By comparison my Palm Pre lasted me more, about 24 hours with normal use – granted about 18-22 of those hours where standby – however with data sync enabled, so chat, emails were synching every hour or so, and google chat was constantly on.
What I did to get better battery performance:
* download Advanced Task Manager (allows you to see all the open apps draining your battery, you’ll be surprised how many apps android likes to open – more on that later. Use this program to constantly kill the 10+ programs that creep up on the background) NOTE UPDATED: After using the phone more, I while I believe this helps, it doesn’t help very much, you might gain a few minutes a day, the big saver for me is the next one:
* download Juice Defender (the free version) (allows your phone to turn off features when the screen is off. Like 3g, you can customize to connect and synch at specific intervals, like once every 2 hours or so) when the screen is off – simple but genius.
* Screen brightness all the way down (it is still plenty bright, I left it just 1 level above, to enjoy that screen more) I also want to point out that
* No live backgrounds or widgets that constantly connect online on your home screen (facebook, etc)
* if you have a weak 4g signal, turn it off (downtown I can use 4g, but the radius of the antenna coverage is about a mile at most). Note – what drains the battery is not 4G itself, is the phone connecting/disconnecting constantly between 3G and 4G to retrieve data. IF you have strong 4g coverage you’ll be fine.
Optional things to increase it further:
* Turn off background sync (this has a…
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