Reasons you dont want the Epic 4g Touch

[curtis33]

In my opinion this statement is backwards.

Apple is usually the choice due to software certainly not hardware. I mean Apple is usually bested in the hardware area shortly after release, assuming it had a hardware lead at all. Apple is usually the choice for the non-tech/gadget person that just want's a phone or computer to work and could care less about it being customizable. They want stable and easy...this to me is the only thing Apple has going for it.

Very true. It's the only reason why Apple is popular with the masses. Most people don't care about customizing because they are sheep. It's trendy.

 

[czm2000]

You know what's one of the best things to take away from this thread? It shows that Sprint has three top notch Android devices in their portfolio, released within the last 3 months, that satisfy many different user preferences. Choice only matters when you actually have something to choose from, and I'd say Sprint completed the hat-trick on that one this year. Well done Sprint.

Excellent point.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[Tekka]

Evo 3D

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

I had a chance to play around with one at the Sprint store yesterday and I was very impressed. The screen was huge, the phone was lightning fast, it was incredibly light, and overall it just felt really good. I was lusting after the phone after about five minutes. I went to a few media heavy websites to test how fast it loads and if the scrolling and zooming were smooth, and it was smooth. Super smooth. If the battery life in the phone is decent, this is a monster phone. But to answer the OP's original question as to why I would pass. While I was in the store, my phone rang and i was reminded of my iPhone 4 that is also super smooth and fast and has a gorgeous screen albeit smaller in size. And that's the issue with me. Anything that comes out now isn't significantly better in a functional way than what I already have.

 

[Kikoshi]

I had a chance to play around with one at the Sprint store yesterday and I was very impressed. The screen was huge, the phone was lightning fast, it was incredibly light, and overall it just felt really good. I was lusting after the phone after about five minutes. I went to a few media heavy websites to test how fast it loads and if the scrolling and zooming were smooth, and it was smooth. Super smooth. If the battery life in the phone is decent, this is a monster phone. But to answer the OP's original question as to why I would pass. While I was in the store, my phone rang and i was reminded of my iPhone 4 that is also super smooth and fast and has a gorgeous screen albeit smaller in size. And that's the issue with me. Anything that comes out now isn't significantly better in a functional way than what I already have.

Well i tested the phone out, sort of, Didn't have enough time, but it left me with the feeling that i want it bad! the only thing thats dragging me off the phone is mainly the keyboard support, i like my emulators, and nothing else lol, Only reason why i keep it, but.. honestly.. Might just get the phone after a few reviews, and when the scene gets into the whole rom ect.. by then, if there is any bugs that hasn't been found, might be already fixed. btw Dwayne the reason for you to get the phone in comparison with the Iphone is Usage, android from what I've learned while having the Epic4g is that you can just about access anything in the phone with little trouble, hook my phone up, load music, ringtones,pictures,movies without an App... Iphone on the other hand, can't even be used as a Darn USBDrive, unless i purchase a program.. That is the main reason why i dislike Apple, PayUs To have Control of your phone.. er... no. The moment they removed the USBDrive support from their Itouch/Iphone, i started to hate it, and my sister got an Iphone4, messed with it for like 2 hours, and i have to say, im so glad to have an Android phone lol. Don't really care if its android or iphone, is how you use the item, that matters in my case.

 

[drizek]

Crappy audio chip. Samsung downgraded the audio on this from the chip in the Epic 4G. I always found my Epic to sound better than my iPad, but the Epic Touch has a Yamaha codec that according to anandtech is noticeably worse than the iPad. I've also seen market reviews where people say that it crashes games when there are too many sounds playing at once.

All this means that if Sprint gets the iPhone, I'll probably get that instead since my Epic is my main music playing device now and I don't want a downgrade.

 

[dadnkid]

Samsung takes too long to release updates. I currently have the Epic 4g and it took forever to get Gingerbread. i had to mod my phone to update. crazy. Samsung is a money hungry company that believes that updates should be paid for. again...crazy

 

[cmacelis]

I just upgraded to the Evo 3D, but would def consider this phone, it seems awesome. Also Sprint just got ride of the 30 day return policy, now it is the old 14 day one that sucks, now they are just like the other carriers.

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Well i tested the phone out, sort of, Didn't have enough time, but it left me with the feeling that i want it bad! the only thing thats dragging me off the phone is mainly the keyboard support, i like my emulators, and nothing else lol, Only reason why i keep it, but.. honestly.. Might just get the phone after a few reviews, and when the scene gets into the whole rom ect.. by then, if there is any bugs that hasn't been found, might be already fixed. btw Dwayne the reason for you to get the phone in comparison with the Iphone is Usage, android from what I've learned while having the Epic4g is that you can just about access anything in the phone with little trouble, hook my phone up, load music, ringtones,pictures,movies without an App... Iphone on the other hand, can't even be used as a Darn USBDrive, unless i purchase a program.. That is the main reason why i dislike Apple, PayUs To have Control of your phone.. er... no. The moment they removed the USBDrive support from their Itouch/Iphone, i started to hate it, and my sister got an Iphone4, messed with it for like 2 hours, and i have to say, im so glad to have an Android phone lol. Don't really care if its android or iphone, is how you use the item, that matters in my case.

I see your points. I liked all of my Android devices but I'm not a "real" tech person even though I think I am sometimes. I realized that I hardly ever played around with the customizations past changing some widgets on the screen. I have never rooted a phone or have I even considered it. I actually like iTunes. The Apple control stuff doesn't even apply to me because I don't care. I do believe that Android is a more capable operating system than iOS. But to be perfectly honest, Android and many of it's advanced features are wasted on me. At the end of the day I just want simple.

 

[jfenton]

Crappy audio chip. Samsung downgraded the audio on this from the chip in the Epic 4G. I always found my Epic to sound better than my iPad, but the Epic Touch has a Yamaha codec that according to anandtech is noticeably worse than the iPad. I've also seen market reviews where people say that it crashes games when there are too many sounds playing at once.

All this means that if Sprint gets the iPhone, I'll probably get that instead since my Epic is my main music playing device now and I don't want a downgrade.

Surprise, surprise.....Apple has switched to the same Yamaha chip that is in this phone....and "I heard it's a lot worse and it crashed games with too many sounds" is lame to pronounce if you don't know it for fact.

I find this phone to be every bit as good as both my wife's epic and my ex Photon as far as call quality, earpiece sound and rear speaker sound. My hearing sucks and this phone is a godsend for the me with clear calls and a great rear speaker.

Really....base claims on what you know from personal experience to be fact for you....not the ramblings of others.

 

[jfenton]

Samsung takes too long to release updates. I currently have the Epic 4g and it took forever to get Gingerbread. i had to mod my phone to update. crazy. Samsung is a money hungry company that believes that updates should be paid for. again...crazy

Unfortunately for you since you will likely never have one to find out from....I can't fathom any real updates which will make this device run better than it does out of the box. it's a world of difference from your original EPIC.

I could care less about ICS till others put it through real life use and the bugs are fixed...at which point I kinda doubt Samsung will let it's flagship hang long without it.

 

[Cubfan]

Crappy audio chip. Samsung downgraded the audio on this from the chip in the Epic 4G. I always found my Epic to sound better than my iPad, but the Epic Touch has a Yamaha codec that according to anandtech is noticeably worse than the iPad. I've also seen market reviews where people say that it crashes games when there are too many sounds playing at once.

All this means that if Sprint gets the iPhone, I'll probably get that instead since my Epic is my main music playing device now and I don't want a downgrade.

Someone needs to test the audio output on this phone. This would be a deal-killer for me if true. The Anandtech review was for the European version. This one may be different.

 

[pb_2000]

...Touchwiz (wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole until quad-core phones are released, and even then Nexus is the way to go)
...

I don't understand this short sightness.
It is the same statement as "I don't want Windows a/b/x... because it comes with Internet Explorer".
The only thing I can imagine is that these people never had an android phone.

Until I have decided which one is for me, I have 5 different lauchers installed and switch from time to time from one to the other.

 

[drizek]

Surprise, surprise.....Apple has switched to the same Yamaha chip that is in this phone....and "I heard it's a lot worse and it crashed games with too many sounds" is lame to pronounce if you don't know it for fact.

I find this phone to be every bit as good as both my wife's epic and my ex Photon as far as call quality, earpiece sound and rear speaker sound. My hearing sucks and this phone is a godsend for the me with clear calls and a great rear speaker.

Really....base claims on what you know from personal experience to be fact for you....not the ramblings of others.

You have no idea what Apple is using in the iPhone 5, although rumors suggest that it might actually be a Wolfson DAC again.

And I'm not talking about call quality or rear speaker sound. I'm stalking about sound quality of music with my $150 headphones. I have good hearing and I definitely can tell the difference. My Epic is better than my iPad 2, and I won't accept anything that sounds worse than the iPad 2.

Cubfan, are there any pics of the internals of this phone? They seem really easy to take apart, anyone up for it?

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Unfortunately for you since you will likely never have one to find out from....I can't fathom any real updates which will make this device run better than it does out of the box. it's a world of difference from your original EPIC.

I could care less about ICS till others put it through real life use and the bugs are fixed...at which point I kinda doubt Samsung will let it's flagship hang long without it.

That's a good point. Everyone wants the latest and greatest update, but I would always choose stable over the newest software update. If the phone is working well for you now, then count your blessings and enjoy.

 

[dragonol2]

I'd like to say that I appreciate this thread and the opinions of everyone because it really allows for different opinions and perspectives. I think the biggest reasons why I am on the fence is because of Samsung and the lack of support. I am a day 1 adopter of the OG Epic, and have lived through the constant back and forth of Samsung and Sprint and updates. I was lucky in that I never had (serious) issues with GPS or call quality or anything else. I rooted early but finally discovered ROMs late in the game, but absolutely love the fact that there is an extensive community of developers out there willing to try to work out kinks and bring out the best in the device.

I wonder if Samsung will provide better support now that THIS Epic is (maybe?) a flagship level device, but it's a big wonder. It's not even ICS that I'm worried about; it's all the bugs that early adopters will experience (just like the OG Epic) and how long Samsung will take to fix. I'm encouraged by the inclusion of Kies though; maybe it will lead to a turnaround? Time will tell. My final make or break (I'm on the fence but SERIOUSLY leaning towards jumping in and getting myself a brand new SGSII toy) will be actually handling the device and seeing if the size difference is really a deal breaker. But PLEASE Samsung, give us something to turn your reputation around!!!

 

[dealcrawler]

The only reason that I don't like this phone is it's too damn big. I'm still getting it but if Apple/Windows releases a 4 inch high end phone, I will definitely jump ship.

 

[drizek]

BTW, ifixit took the phone apart, and yes, it does use the same crappy Yamaha chip for sound that hte international version has.

 

[dammitcubs]

BTW, ifixit took the phone apart, and yes, it does use the same crappy Yamaha chip for sound that hte international version has.

Is it really that bad? I'm using the nexus s 4g so i think i have the better one, but really? it's that bad where this will make you get rid of your phone?

 

[John P. Smith]

Is it really that bad? I'm using the nexus s 4g so i think i have the better one, but really? it's that bad where this will make you get rid of your phone?

Only if you are seriously into audio quality (lossless formats, high end headphones, etc.) and want to use your phone as your primary music player. Casual users playing low bitrate mp3s will be fine with the E4GT audio. Audiophiles will just have to resign themselves to not using it as their main player.