Review: Samsung Epic 4G
Browser
The Web browser on the Samsung Epic 4G is the standard Android browser, but it runs at lightning speeds. While the Epic 4G is still stuck on Android 2.1, it can’t use Adobe Flash, so there are still blank spots on some pages that will be filled when the Android 2.2 update rolls out. Even so, the Epic’s fast processor and speedy networking made for impressively quick page load times. In side-by-side tests with my Nexus One (which is running Android 2.2), both connected to my home Wi-Fi router, the Epic 4G always loaded large pages a few seconds faster than the N1. With its huge screen, sites looked superb on the Epic 4G. I’m very excited to see how the phone will perform with the system improvements and Flash capabilities of the 2.2 update.
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Customize
Android comes with plenty of customization options already built in, and Samsung hasn’t added much to this mix. I was never a fan of Samsung’s TouchWIZ interface design, so I was happy to find that on the Epic 4G, TouchWIZ has been toned down to a few custom Android widgets and a slightly modified interface, but nothing dramatic. Samsung offers only a half dozen widgets, and three of those are clocks. The other three include the task manager and two social networking widgets. Samsung also provides some unique Live Wallpapers, but there are fewer live wallpapers to select overall on this device out of the box compared to other Android phones I’ve seen.
