Samsung SPH-A900

By gt2697, posted Saturday, Sep. 30th, 2006
Reader Comments: 7

Samsung jumps into the Ultra-thin market with a hit!

Anyone looking at the RAZR with longing eyes because they have Sprint service needs to look no further than what many call “The Blade”. The Samsung SPH-A900 by Sprint has been viewed by many as a RARZ competitor since the day it was announced. While this phone may look similar, it packs many of the features that are missing from its thin compadre. In this review, I will take a look at how this phone can be used for more than just phone calls. The A900 is truly a multimedia machine that brings a lot to the table.

The Basics

The size of the A900 is slightly narrower and thicker than the RAZR which in my hand was a welcome fit. Holding the phone in your hand over long periods of time was comfortable, and felt good. The weight of the device is just over 3.5 ounces, which for the size is excellent.The thick plastic used in the construction is sturdy and makes the phone feels very solid when flipping open and shut. The hinge of the flip is silent and the smoothness of the closure terminates with a solid “snap” ensuring the user of its quality. It should be noted that on the back of the unit, there are no rubber “feet” that keep the casing from touching the surface when placing it on a table. The effect is dull scratching that appears on the top 1/3rd of the phone’s back.

Height comparison of A900 next to RAZR when closed.

Compared to the Motorola Q.

Height comparison with Q (w/ extended battery)

Screen

The screen is QVGA and the 262K colors are brilliant and pleasing to the eyes. Direct sunlight viewing was still very easy to do and the graphical Sprint User Interface enhanced the experience.

Service

I tested this phone out in the Phoenix metro area and it performed very well. Fortunately for me, my house must sit right on top of a Sprint tower as I had full signal strength in every room. Unfortunately, my office is located underground where Sprint signal is completely absent. The Digital Dual-Band radio though quickly picked up a roaming partner (Verizon in my case) and I was able to send and receive calls and text messages without any issues. One thing to point out though is that the Power Vision functions of the device are not available when the phone is roaming.

Audio

The sound on the device is very good. The user on the receiving end of the calls stated that the sound was good and on-par with other Sprint phones. Listen to the sample voicemail to myself to hear the quality of the call. One thing that I have started to notice with many new phones today is that the quality of the phones are really starting to even out. It used to be that you would have some phones that would have decent sound quality, and others that were terrible. My feeling is that this is starting to go away, and the quality is going up across the board.

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Well, who else asks the "tough" questions? :)

I have seen quite a bit of these phones on my daily commute. That being said, I am sure that the A900 will see some success as the only real "slim" alternative in the Sprint world.

Posted by JNGold, Sunday, Oct. 1st, 2006

Nothing gets by you does it Jerry :-)

The UI for the A900 is much like every other Samsung phone that I have used. I think Sprint helped them add some of the animated graphical stuff that you will find in the main menu, but then once you get past that, same old thing. If I were to compare the Moto vs. the Sammy, I would say hands down the Sammy interface is better. Moto in my opinion is really struggling, and the UI for the RAZR is one reason I kept it for only 3 days.

I think the body of the phone is good, and the durability is nice. It is different than the RAZR, and some pay prefer the build, but hold a RAZR to your ear and then the A900. The rounded contoured corners of the A900 are much nicer to hold and feel against your ear!

Posted by gt2697, Sunday, Oct. 1st, 2006

Great review Mickey - Thanks.

Posted by Laura, Sunday, Oct. 1st, 2006

Jerry the A900 definitely is a metal body. I thought it did have some heft to it making it feel solid. Mickey what are your thoughts?

Posted by David Ciccone, Sunday, Oct. 1st, 2006

What about the A900 interface? It's well known that the Moto interface that was on the original Razr was less than desirable (ie. it was showing its age). How would you compare the Samsung vs. Moto in terms of interface?

As for the A900 itself, I picked one up at a CompUSA (non-charged of course) when it first came out. I wasn't too impressed with the plastic feel of the A900 and definitely prefer the metal build of the RAZR. However, since Sprint users really have no other alternative for a real thin phone, the plastic shell can be excused.

Posted by JNGold, Sunday, Oct. 1st, 2006

Thanks Dave, it was a lot of fun doing it. The phone is really nice, and I would definitely consider it for a secondary device to a email centric one as the primary. If anyone has any specific questions on it, let me know and I would be happy to answer them!

Posted by gt2697, Saturday, Sep. 30th, 2006

Mickey great job on the review. I know I was definitely enjoying the NFL coverage on the A900! By far Sprint is way ahead of everyone else when it deals with content.

Posted by David Ciccone, Saturday, Sep. 30th, 2006

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