Samsung Intercept now available??

[h-cubed]

Not sure if anyone else is curious about this but I called my local Best Buy inquiring about the Intercept and they told me that they were allowed to sell it now and that it was 100 bucks. Im not all that interested in the phone, personally I am waiting for them to get the Evo in stock (white or black) but I think it is a great mid-level phone for my wife.

So I will report back in after I pick it up, I am going to try and shoot for Saturday morning but who knows, I have to be at work by 12.

 

[WPN]

Yep, it's available.....

Here is what I posted on the article page:

I was one of the lucky few who got their hands on the phone early. I got the phone two days ago at Best Buy. (I dumped my Hero because of its bugginess. No more HTC junk for me...but I digress...)....

The Intercept is a GREAT phone. It is smaller and lighter than the Moment. AND the phone WILL be eligible for the 2.2 upgrade. The phone has stock 2.1 loaded - no TouchWiz to clog up the pipes. The Intercept is fast and very responsive with a solid build and a nice keyboard with "clicky" keys which allow for accurate and quick input for texts and emails. The slider is snappy, crisp and without a lot of wiggle.

Generally, the phone has the same specs as the Moment with just one or two exceptions - the flash is gone from the camera and the screen has a lower resolution. A little bit of a bummer, but it is not a big deal - the camera works very well in low-light situations. Overall I have to give this phone a big thumbs up! It's a head and shoulders above the Hero.

Some people may wait for the Epic. But do you really need a 4G phone? (especially considering that the 4G fees will be an additional $120/year) Sure, the Epic will have a bigger screen and a marginally faster processor, but unless you're a gamer or plan to watch alot of videos, the Intercept should do the job for you very well.

Now a couple of cons: Handcent doesn't work with this phone nor does the New York Times app. Everything else from my Hero works like a charm.

My recommendation? Get one fast!

FOLLOW UP: The phone bricked last night. The only way to reboot the phone was to take the battery out and replace it. I took the phone back to Best Buy this morning for an exchange.

When the new phone was activated, Sprint apparently already had a required firmware update available for download before activation. (This did not occur when I activated my original phone). The new update works, but there are the same glitches with Handcent and NYT. I was told by the Best Buy rep that the reason the phone had not been "officially" released is that Sprint was aware of some of the issues that needed to be tweaked and was developing fixes for them up until the last minute.

The rep also told me if my phone bricked again, I would have to wait until the official release date to get a replacement.

So...if you ARE going to try to get this phone early, be prepared for a few tiny glitches until the official release date.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

I dunno about head or shoulders above the Hero. If it still has the same internals, the 800Mhz processor is still wasted, and just uses up the battery. I don't know who told you this phone would get Froyo, but if it did, then should have been no reason why the Moment couldn't. I don't get why everyone just looks at processor speed. That is NOT the only component thats important for a Smartphone. Its more of a *****-measuring contest. Fact is, without a GPU, there is no way this thing will perform anywhere near the Epic/Evo/DroidX/N1/Droid (even stock). If the Processor was the only thing that determined the phones capabilities, why does the Droid(stock) have live-wallpapers and the Moment not (stock)? The Moment's processor is 250Mhz faster stock. The reason is the GPU. Without a GPU, the processor has to work harder to display images of any sort. The Live-wallpapers on a stock droid look better than my Hero OC'd to 767mhz. There is just no way the phone can compensate to get the fps up high enough. Even on Froyo with OC and JIT, there wasn't a noticeable difference in 3-D graphics.

 

[alan7467]

IMHO this phone sounds like a complete waste of money. EVDO Rev 0, no flash, lower rez screen? Talk about taking steps backwards.

 

[belushi]

IMHO this phone sounds like a complete waste of money. EVDO Rev 0, no flash, lower rez screen? Talk about taking steps backwards.

Sounds like the beginnings of Sprint justifying the $10 premium for premium phones (4G) vs mid-level phones. Which is fine as long as they don't start locking down the premium phones in terms of functionality.

 

[crow11ad]

Sounds like this should have been the moment and the moment should have have been the intercept....Come on Epic where are thou

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

I didn't even read the Rev.0 maybe this is what they meant about throttling back?

 

[coolqf]

Don't buy the phone, or return it. Yup, It's EVDO Rev. 0. GPS navigation will suck. So will things related to streaming. It's like paying for a smartphone package, but being able to utilize it.

 

[grepper]

Twitter / Sprint: HTC EVO will be updated to ...

HTC EVO will be updated to Android 2.2; Samsung Moment & HTC Hero will not. Future devices launching w/ 2.1 will be also be updated to 2.2.

So the intercept will be updated.

 

[bruceleroyjr]

Don't get the phone! I bought it yesterday thinking I would give my girlfriend my Hero while I use the Intercept and pretty much like everyone said, IT SUCKS!!! The internet connection is slower, the resolution is blurry because they shrank the screen and you can't play certain games correctly because it can't recognize the skewed screen size. I tried to load Homerun Battle 3D and it CRASHED. I'm gonna try to return the phone to Radio Shack today... I wanna get the EVO 4G but its SOLD OUT everywhere =(

 

[LurkMoar]

I don't know who told you this phone would get Froyo, but if it did, then should have been no reason why the Moment couldn't.

there should be no reason but there is. the moment is being "EOL'ed" later this month meaning no more support.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

Don't get the phone! I bought it yesterday thinking I would give my girlfriend my Hero while I use the Intercept and pretty much like everyone said, IT SUCKS!!! The internet connection is slower, the resolution is blurry because they shrank the screen and you can't play certain games correctly because it can't recognize the skewed screen size. I tried to load Homerun Battle 3D and it CRASHED. I'm gonna try to return the phone to Radio Shack today... I wanna get the EVO 4G but its SOLD OUT everywhere =(

I would just wait for the Epic then. Sammy isn't holding up production of their own phones.

 

[snarf77]

id like to get the epic but not thrilled bout $10 extra since theres no 4g here

 

[ballroomdru]

5 Reasons to get the Moment over the Intercept

1.) The Moment has Rev A, the intercept has Rev 0
2.) The Moment has the standard resolution of 320 x 480 which developers have been developing for since the G1 first came out. The Intercept has this wacky 240 x 400 resolution that is already showing problems for apps.
3.) The Moment comes with SEPARATE charger and Data Cable (this is HUGE for me as i leave the data cable for charging at home and keep the charger in my bag for charging on the road.)
4.) The moment comes with headphones.
5.) The Moment camera has a flash for low light.

3 reasons to get the Intercept over the Moment

1.) The Intercept is smaller, rounder, and more pocket friendly.
2.) The Intercept will get 2.2/Froyo officially. The Moment will not.
3.) The Intercept has the "better" (this could be debated...we will see) keyboard.

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

I think that the Intercept would be a good device for someone who wanted a device that was slightly better than a dumbphone. I can see my wife really enjoying this. She doesn't care about updates, processing speeds, or gaming. And the keyboard is great. I got my hands in one today and it is one of the nicer physical keyboards I have used. I think that if the price is right, this device could do well.