List of Epic Pros and Cons

[liquidxit2]

The only actual issue I have with this phone is that it doesn't make me coffee when I get to work! All it does when I say make me a cup is sit there and look beautiful! Damn phone!

But seriously the only issue is the lack of tv out like the other galaxy s phones. Once that is back it will be quite literally the perfect smartphone (minus the coffee part...)

 

[jayroc80]

This is a great phone!!

I would like to say this is freaking great phone! I love the weight, I love the keyboard, and screen is amazing!! And to my surprise Touch Wiz is cool, I wish hit better widgets like Sense, but that just a personal preference.

My issue is, I cannot download apps from the Market.

When I try to download an app, I get an error message of "Download unsuccessful"

I did a full factor restore on the phone and I was able to download apps.

However now I am not able to download apps again, and I've not made any major changes to the phone.

I called Sprint Tech Support and they were not able to fix/troubleshoot the issue. My friend also had the same issue and he had his Epic replaced. After a few hours of light use, he also was unable to download apps.

 

[MorphWVUtuba]

I have a Google Voice issue with my Epic. At the prompt from Android System that asks you to Allow/Deny access to login credentials, tapping Allow causes a process system FC.

 

[lawtalkinguy]

GPS Issue

My GP is not that bad, but it remains active even after the application I was using, such as Where, is turned off, and this causes a battery drain.

 

[AndroidOne]

Picked an Epic to run along my Evo and decide - have been a physical keyboard user all my smartphone life. Here are some of my initial thoughts:

1. Screen is beautiful, really no comparison here. Size is quite adequate and comparable to my Evo.

2. Time to charge is longer than others (not a major issue) and seems to stop charging at 95%, have not seen an 100% charge so far. Battery life so far seems less than my Evo, but this could improve with time (I am playing with this phone way too much) as it did with the Evo. Still able to get by a whole day comfortably.

3. The capacitative buttons require a firmer touch (almost press), the back button being the worse so far. Is a little aggravating as the Evo's are very sesitive (too much at times)... is something I should get used to in time. The screen however, is more sensitive and responsive than the Evo's. TIP: for those of you having issues with the backlight on these buttons being too short, on the main screen go the Menu/Sound & Display/Keyboard Timeout and select Same As Screen Timeout, that way they will remain lit while the screen is on.

4. Scrolling, screen navigation and flipping screens is fast and very responsive, no lag here. Seems faster and more responsive than my Evo running Froyo.

5. Physical keyboard is good, easy to type and with decent layout and tactile feedback. Find myself using the virtual keyboard instead (Swiftkey) almost exclusively - guess I am used to it already. Using swiftkey is not a problem even on portrait mode as compared to the Evo.

6. Browsing is certainly slower on 3G as compared to Evo (with JIT compiler of course). I have no 4G here to compare. With wifi, browsing is significantly faster as expected, almost as fast as the Evo ~ wonder how much better it will get with Froyo.

7. Regarding wifi, I have much better reception and signal strength on the Epic than the Evo on same network/location. Hands down my copy of the Epic is much better than my Evo here.

8. The other side of the story, GPS performance. Both phones are similar in terms of possition accuracy, but the "boot" time on the Epic is quite long and can't lock on indoors where the Evo does with no problem. Compared both, the Epic with network on vs the Evo on airplane mode both after a reboot, the Evo was still able to report a position slightly faster than the Epic. I have also noticed the GPS fails to start at times when Google maps is launched. One tme it freezed the app and had to close it. The GPS worked only after rebooting the phone. There is certainly some software issues with the GPS on my phone.

9. Speakerphone is LOUD, perhaps the loudest I have ever had on a cell phone up to now. I set the volume close to the minimum and sounds loud enough. My only issue is that when using the earpiece on the phone, have to get the volume up as is not as loud as the speakerphone so I find myself fiddling with the volume rocker frequently when I switch from one to the other. Annoying certainly, but not a major issue.

10. Slider mechanism on my unit feels very solid, no play so far, much better than others I have used before. Seems well built but only time will tell how well it stands to normal use. I feel the Evo has a definitive advantage here, it has no moving parts to break.

11. So far I have not experienced any reception problems with this phone, call quality is good on both ends and BT (for calls and music) works fine on my phone. So far I have easily paired it with both of my cars, Jawbone, S9-HD and a Sony DR-BT22. Music quality over BT is as good as any other phone; when using the wired headphone supplied, music lacks on the low frequencies as compared to the Evo with same headset.

So which one is better, don't know for sure, both are great devices on their own right. I like the form factor of the Epic better with rounded edges that make it look more like a phone but is a personal preference. I thought I was going to use the physical keyboard but so far I am more used to the virtual one. GPS performance may be a sticking point that separates these devices, in it's current form, the Epic's GPS is certainly weaker than other phones, hope this can get fixed with a future update. The way I see it, if Samsung makes good on it's promise of Froyo for the Galaxy phones by the end of this month, this will certainly be a great device to be had by any Android power user.

 

[pcguys]

First Epic totally dead menu/home/back/search buttons.

Replacement Epic: I can't seem to get the green notify LED to light up when new messages/text arrive. The orange light goes on when charging.

SLOW CHARGE TIME: Can I use my 1 Amp EVO charger or will that harm the phone? (The Epic Charger is only 0.75 Amps I believe)

The power button placement is stupid: I always end up pressing the volume buttons (opposite side)

-Mike

 

[gmdphd]

I would like to say this is freaking great phone! I love the weight, I love the keyboard, and screen is amazing!! And to my surprise Touch Wiz is cool, I wish hit better widgets like Sense, but that just a personal preference.

My issue is, I cannot download apps from the Market.

When I try to download an app, I get an error message of "Download unsuccessful"

I did a full factor restore on the phone and I was able to download apps.

However now I am not able to download apps again, and I've not made any major changes to the phone.

I called Sprint Tech Support and they were not able to fix/troubleshoot the issue. My friend also had the same issue and he had his Epic replaced. After a few hours of light use, he also was unable to download apps.

Jayroc80.. read this...

Got this from bcook1000 somewhere else on this forum.

Received this solution on a forum:
1. go to your settings
2. select "applications"
3. then select "manage applications"
4. press menu and select "filter" then "All"
5. scroll down to:
6. "Download Manager" then select "clear data"

Basically, you need to clear the download cache from the download manager. I had the same problem. I was able to download a few apps from the market, but after a while I kept getting the "download unsuccessful". After I saw this tip and was able to clear the cache on the download manager, I was able to download the apps again.

Good Luck

gmdphd

 

[gmdphd]

First Epic totally dead menu/home/back/search buttons.

Replacement Epic: I can't seem to get the green notify LED to light up when new messages/text arrive. The orange light goes on when charging.

SLOW CHARGE TIME: Can I use my 1 Amp EVO charger or will that harm the phone? (The Epic Charger is only 0.75 Amps I believe)

The power button placement is stupid: I always end up pressing the volume buttons (opposite side)

-Mike

I agree with Pcguys. Can we use a 5.0 V, 1.0 Amp charger to charge the Epic? The stock charger with the Epic only puts out 0.7 Amps

 

[tamvegas]

Samsung's TouchWiz Calendar has major issues.

Got the Epic on release day. First Android phone, came from a Pre.
The Touchwiz Calendar needs major work.
Issues:
Adding an event must be done via menu (no option at top of event view like on the Evo).

No option to change the default Calendar for new events. Locked to the My Calendar, which doesn't sync (spent 45 min with Sprint support trying to change the default).

When editing an event from Google, if I add an alarm or change the repeat settings, 75% of the time it deletes the event immediately upon saving (very frustrating).

Options for setting repeat are much more limited than in regular Android (like the Evo). Only Daily, Weekly, Date, Monthly and Yearly (no bi-weekly or any custom values available).

Aside from the very messed up Calendar, the Epic seems very good so far. Fast boot time, beautiful display and a very cool phone.
But the Calendar, which I use extensively for many time-sensitive tasks, needs major work quickly.
Samsung, please get an update out fast!

 

[deboss]

no calendar sync

The calendar not syncing is a big issue for me. I'm new to android, any calendar app recommendations?

 

[seistoes]

Here's more...

For some reason every time I receive a call it shows up as "no caller ID" even though the number is in my contacts (Google). Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

*Update: turns out this was an issue on Sprint's end. They fixed it.*

Also, the zoom in-and-out display that appears every time I touch the browser screen is really annoying. Gets in the way of scrolling and it is just not needed with a pinch to zoom capable screen.

Also annoying: the "fully charged" notification that appears in the middle of the night wjile docked. It won't let me see the night clock unless I cancel it out. Totally defeats the purpose of using "docked mode".

 

[pastorich1]

I had to return my first Epic on the second day. The capacitive touch buttons took 8 touches to register once. So here is the list aside from the one hardware issue.

1. Horrid colors on the pre-installed widgets.
2. I don't like the stock SMS and email apps (I liked the Pre apps)
3. The dock software is a bit janky but works as long as nothing else happens.
4. Dock software should also have a toggle for car/desk instead of two separate apps. I installed a desk dock in my car and have to kill the desk software and launch the car software.
5. Battery charges way too slow whether it is on the stock charger or the Pre charger.
6. Battery drains way too fast, but it could be compounded by the fact that the screen looks so good and I like to see it.
7. I realize there is no real multi-tasking but I hate haveing to lose my place in whatever I am doing (angry birds) to respond to a text, look at an email, or take a call.
8. Sound output jack on the back of the Dock won't work until Froyo? That is stupid!

I guess that is all I can think of.

I have rooted, installed wifi-tether and adfree which are nice. I have also purchased Launcher Pro Plus and Beatiful Widgets to get an EVO style main screen and live accuweather wallpaper (gotta be hard on my battery but it was sooooo coool last night during the thunderstorms here).

 

[danny2744]

i have used my epic for a few days now and i agree with some of the things people have pointed out. the slider overall is good so far. i'm just worried in time it might become weak but we shall see. i haven't used the GPS yet so i can't say anything just yet. the touch buttons have been fine for me. no problems yet and hope it stays that way. overall i'm loving this phone. it is so fast compared to the hero. just waiting on froyo now

 

[caliskimmer]

Ha, got insurance. I'm covered for the life of my phone. Gettin' my 3rd Epic tomorrow and let's hope this one doesn't have screen separation issues!

 

[BetterMost#AC]

I have no issues at all I love this handset. Everything works like I would expect.

 

[sushi]

Yep I just noticed this as well. The line input jack overrides the bluetooth- most other phones- the BT overrides the line in. If anyone figures out a workaround- I'd be interested- yanking out the line in when listening to music to receive a call just sucks- and isn't safe either.

As I recall, this issue did appear on the Pre, but was subsequently fixed by Palm.

 

[hucworld]

I'm glad to see that I am not the only that is having issues with the touch keys at the bottom of the screen. I am on my second Epic and luckily my boy at RadioShack has another one on standby in case I need to return this one. I think I will make a trip up to RadioShack and swap this one out as well. I am more than tempted to just got back to my EVO and say the hell with this phone. The charging issue is huge to me. I hate that I have to wait hours for my damn phone to charge up. That is un heard of and the fact that I may get a phone worse than this second one is lightweight scaring me and bothering me. Even tho the device itself is nice I think Sprint and Samsung should have had more testing done on this device before they launched it out here like they did.

 

[4 Star General]

Frozen

My unit tends to freeze when I unplug the charger, and I must go the battery pull method to reset. I thought I left that behind with my BB.

 

[appollod]

Navigation apps turn off screen after 30 seconds

My navigation has worked perfectly for me. I was a little nervous given the Captivate/Vibrant reviews, but mine even distinguished between my location on a sidewalk and road when I zoom in. I do make sure I have direct line-of-sight to the sky though.

Had a question regarding the screen timing out. I don't have a car holster yet (waiting on the Samsung car dock but who knows) so I often don't plug in the phone in the car. Regardless of the app (Sprint Nav, Google Nav, Google maps), the screen turns off in about 30 seconds (main phone display settings). I can't seem to find any way to disable the screen timeout for a specific app. I figured the navigation apps would have the screen continuously on, but even in landscape angle, the screen times out. You could argue the screen should stay on even if you are navigating while walking in a city and can't plug it in.

Anybody have a solution? Anybody else having the same issues? Thanks for the help.

 

[acer01]

Question regarding the gps status icon....and by the way, the gps on my epic is working perfectly. It locks on very quickly. However, when i turn on the gps, even if i am not actively using it I assume the satellite icon should show on the top of the phone showing that it is on and then it changes slightly when actually transmitting or being used with an application. I had it on most of the time not knowing because again, there was no gps icon showing me it was on since i was not using any maps or navigation? In regards to screen timeout even with navigation going, i have the same problem.