Samsung Epix SGH-i907 gets reviewed: it's a mixed bag
The Samsung Epix, as it's known on AT&T, recently joined the herd of others cluttering up the carrier's shelves after being known elsewhere for the longest time as the SGH-i907. For those teetering on a purchase, the cats at Pocketnow have some valuable insight you should probably chew on first. For starters, they found the screen to be stout and the optical joystick to be "fantastic," though the dearth of in-box amenities was a bit of a letdown. On a very positive note, the reviewer never once had to initiate a soft reboot, and the ginormous 1800mAh battery got him through a solid 1.5 days of heavy usage before calling it quits. Unfortunately, the lackluster software suite was the Achilles' heel; critics found that Samsung's Windows Mobile overlays and additions were ho hum at best, and the complete omission of a soft reset hole was just unacceptable. The bottom line? You should probably give this one a handle in-store before buying blind -- as lovely as some aspects are, you don't want to buy into a device that's frustrating to use.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Charles Knight @ Oct 28th 2008 9:09AM
How odd that they have basically stretched the i780 just to stick in an AT&T log. Very strange design choice.
zephxiii @ Oct 28th 2008 9:38AM
I don't think it was stretched, i think the screen was moved up higher due to the front facing camera delete. There is less room at the top of the screen of the Epix when compared to the i780, and more room underneath it.
Hush @ Oct 28th 2008 11:08AM
regardless they could totally fit a portrait oriented vga screen in there with all that wasted real estate.
Josh G @ Oct 28th 2008 9:59AM
To be fair: the reasons posted for not liking the phone are really trivial, with perhaps the exception of the software.
The optical mouse is a matter for personal preference to decide. What the reviewer failed to mention when he spoke
"Say you're typing in a text field and you want to reposition the cursor two spaces to the right. You move your finger over to the D-Pad to tap over to the right twice, but oh wait, the D-Pad isn't a D-Pad, it's a mouse (unless you have it set to D-Pad in the settings). So, you have to position the mouse carefully and click."
... is that it has a touchscreen: Click there with your finger. Nice and easy, and it's all I rely on with my LG KS20.
No soft-reset hole? If that's a deal breaker, there is an issue :P The power button works equally well.
"And then there are the smaller issues - no better browser, no case/extra stylus/headphones/screen protector included, a proprietary connector for everything, no FM radio, and no flash on the camera."
Let me address those:
1. That's the beauty of Windows Mobile: install Opera 9.5, Skyfire, Netfront, your choice! Nothing stopping you. :)
2. Not many accessories, well, fair enough I guess, but the only important one there is the lack of stylus and perhaps headphones [due to the lack of a 3.5mm adapter]. Fair enough call.
3. Proprietary connectors suck, yeah. But this phone has been out in Europe for a good few months [nearly 6 I'd wager], and as such that was before the push to MicroUSB.
4. No FM radio... well, a shame I guess, but it's hardly a "standard" feature.
5. No Flash: sucks, but then flashes on phones suck regardless [with the notable exception of a few excellent camera-phones]. This is not a camera phone by any means, so the lack of a crappy flash really isn't too much of an issue. They're only good for acting as a flashlight :P
The i780 [or i907 as you crazy Americans call it :P] is an excellent phone, the keypad is great, and despite peoples complaints, Windows Mobile 6.1 is actually not too bad. It's certainly a lot more stable than it used to be.
Aaron @ Oct 28th 2008 10:15AM
When your device runs Windows Mobile, a soft-reset button that's easily accessible IS a requirement. No, the Power button won't do when the device hard-locks.
I'm very sad to see mobile phone manufacturers continuing to use the Windows Mobile platform. When your PHONE needs to be occasionally rebooted, you need to reconsider its operating system. Phones are mission-critical devices. If you don't believe me, think about having to reboot your phone to call emergency services or not receiving calls because your phone's OS has silently crashed, causing you to miss a call with a job offer.
That being said, the Opera 9 browser is exceptional... but it ain't free. Why doesn't Samsung provide Opera 9 or another browser by default? Internet Explorer for Windows Mobile borders on unusable. The iPhone's strength is its built-in web browser, Safari. It's stable, fast, and renders pages accurately. (No, I don't own an iPhone. I like SonyEricsson products personally.)
Surur @ Oct 28th 2008 11:48AM
"I'm very sad to see mobile phone manufacturers continuing to use the Windows Mobile platform. When your PHONE needs to be occasionally rebooted, you need to reconsider its operating system."
Even the space shuttle needs occasional rebooting. Arnt Sony Ericsson phones notorious for software instability problems?
Regarding Opera Mobile 9.5 - the beta is free.
PhilR8 @ Oct 28th 2008 1:04PM
Agreed with all your points. I think this device looks nice, and I love the idea of the optical mouse. But if any phone cried out for a custom rom, it's this one... cut out all the crap, put HTC Home on it, and you'd probably have an awesome device.
Abhishek @ Oct 28th 2008 10:27AM
I have the phone for about a week now. It is a little frustrating to use yes. I tried installing 3rd party apps, but they were incompatible (you cannot install Blackjack 2 apps because this is touchscreen, you cannot install pocketpc apps because the screen ratio of the Epix is 320:320 or 1:1, while most of the apps were made for a 4:3 aspect ratio)
I installed a few i780 (European Tri-band version of the Epix) apps, and roughly 20% of them worked. The phone eventually started crashing and I lost my wi-fi capability so I hurriedly did a Hard Reset (factory settings) and am done with installing apps. Onna the main things I heard about Win Mo was the ability to modify and change and personalize ur fone. So far, the rigidity is worse than what the iphone is offering.
Most ppl are using the finger mouse for a reason, it's because the 4-way navigation using that black square is just horrible!
It does come with a headphone adapter for a 3.5mm jack, but the sound quality is sufficiently reduced. It's my 1st experience with a WinMo device (Been a Symbian OS fan ever since my 1st phone), and it hasn't been a pleasant one. I'm giving this baby 3 months to get some apps out...if nothing, i'm running right quick for the E71. They're selling it for $365 down the street without bargaining! So with a bit of haggling, i'm sure I can get it to $340...which is awesome for a device with it's features + unlocked.
The only reason I have this phone is because I got the "early bird special" you can say. I grabbed it the 1st day it was out for $99 after M.I.R. So it's not a bad phone for a $100. The only other phone with these specs right now is the Blackberry Bold...and for $299 with a new contract...thanks but no thanks!
Dean @ Oct 28th 2008 10:50AM
Just wanted to comment about the lack of pinhole for a soft reset on the Epix - I work at a cell phone retail store and I've *never* seen anyone even think about using the pinhole to reset. Removing the battery is always easier and faster.
Patriks7 @ Oct 28th 2008 11:43AM
Yeah that would be so fast on my iPho... oh wait never mind..
zephxiii @ Oct 28th 2008 12:09PM
How is that easier than just pulling out the stylus, and pressing the reset button with it? It just isn't. The lack of a pinhole reset (used with the stylus) is idiotic in a WM device.
Charles Knight @ Oct 28th 2008 11:59AM
The i780 had a pinhole that you just pushed the stylus into to reset, it took seconds and was *much* quicker than removing the battery.
PhilR8 @ Oct 28th 2008 1:08PM
Taking out the battery may be easier and faster if your customer has never used the pin-hole before... I can't imagine trying to convey that concept to someone over the phone.
You: "Take out the stylus and push it into the hole on the bottom of the phone."
Caller: "Uh what's a stylus? Oh this little pen thingy. Okay, I'm going to push it into the hole now..." *ruins microphone*
However, once you know the pin-hole is there, it's stupid not to use it.
cortez @ Oct 28th 2008 5:02PM
i've had mine for a week and there are a couple of bugs that are annoying (email sound notification doesn't work when in stand-by and and the end-key lock feature won't work when using Exchange) but it's a good QWERTY device. call sound, clarity and loudness is very good, keyboard is easy to use, i'm liking the mouse more and more (i haven't used the stylus at all) and i've got Manila2D (as in TouchFlow 2D) running in 320x320 mode. i'm one of the few that like the TouchFlo interface; i can get to the things i use most on one screen. so far the 1800 mAh battery is easily providing me a full day's use. the Epix is worthy of consideration if you're thinking about WM Pro QWERTY device.
campbell @ Nov 7th 2008 12:04PM
I was just wondering where you got Manila2D from and how you got it working. I can't seem to find any info about getting Manila on the Epix. Thanks!
mikey @ Jan 9th 2009 5:13PM
I had a hard time adjusting to the optical mouse and still prefer it acting as a 4-way D-pad. The problem is in some programs its better to have it act as the optical mouse. I recently found a pretty sweet program called chgFingerMouse on http://www.MySamsungEpix.com that lets you easily change between nav methods on the fly anywhere on your phone. If you have a epix this is a must have.