Phone Scoop - Samsung SCH-A970 Info

User Review: best phone I have owned...

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 08:41:35 GMT

wyteboi submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I have no complaints about this phone other than I wish I still had it. 2x optical zoom plus all of the other outstanding features make this my favorite phone to date. I currently use another Verizon exclusive Samsung with 3.2 megapixel camera. Still wish that I hadn't gave up my trusty SCH-970....
Cons: Only one con, though it seems and is rather durable, phone is not a beer opener and will malfunction after said use.

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User Review: Great except for one teeny tiny problem

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 23:25:26 GMT

Sandman submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

Had the phone for 3 months and took it in for an update. The teeny tiny problem I began to experience was that in reception, the 1st words were often cut off, at other times, mid sentence cuts were experienced necessitating having to have callers to repeat their sentence.
No drops at all.

Sooo, took it back to Verizon and they kindly replaced it with a new one saying this was the 1st a970 they'd had returned for THAT problem, after giving the new one the latest updates, etc.

By the end of two weeks, I took it back for the same reason. I waited that long because we had a run of bad overcast weather which interrupts transmissions in any cell.

However, when the weather cleared up, I expected better reception as driving 2 and from work I was on Interstate 40 in a "good" area, or on top of a parking garage at work with blue skies overhead.

Same problem.

Cannot compare other brands because this is the 1st Samsung I have had except for 10 yrs ago had a Moto 67 (or something like that). which was so tough that when I dropped it overboard in Percy Priest Lake in 30 feet of water and had to wait a month to save up for another cell, I'd call the drowned phone once in a while and it rang for a month right up to when I bought the new phone (an LG) and turned off the old service.
Back to LG's for the kid, (VX 8300) which I have never experienced bad reception in except for the usual dead zones or weak zones, or inside my building (which is wired for Sprint).

Other wise, the csamera was worth the money. Pics good, an improved and easier to use calculator. But if ya can't dechiper the caller, it just has to go back.

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User Review: sucks phone

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 08:11:43 GMT

jerry submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 2 (out of 5)

i just got the phone today and i'm taking it back tomorrow will trade for a 930. i thought this phone will be perfect but it was not at all.
* earpiece volume is sucks
* mp3 won't play and the phone won't read the card
* tried to send about 10 picture messages and fail to download all the time
* over all text messages sucks on the phone
4 problems from the first day, what next i'm taking it back tomorrow

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User Review: the best phone ever made

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:40:17 GMT

tiara88 submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I like this phone a lot. to me its the best that verizon had ever came out with. i had mine for over a year in a half. there is nothing wrong with this phone. its the first that i had ever wanted for a very long time. but the only problem with is the with the videos its a delay in the speaking and the action. other than that this phone is the sh**. i would recommend that people get it.

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User Review: Media center phone

Tue, 30 May 2006 17:38:44 GMT

mhgillum submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

My husband and I each just bought these phones from Verizon. Overall, we are completely impressed with this phone.

Pros:
1. GREAT design. I like the swivel feature for the camera/camcorder.
2. Good screen size, that is very clear.
3. Controls on the front for music-play/pause, fast foward/skip foward, rewind/skip back, and stop.
4. Great selection of games
External memory
5. Only limit to recording time is memory space.
6. Camera takes GREAT pictures outdoors that are crisp , clear, and colorful

Cons:
1. Not crazy about the speaker phone feature. You can hear EVERYTHING on each end, including the things others across the street are saying.
2. Camera doesn't take the greatest pictures inside; but it's a PHONE.
3. Camcorder is o.k. as long as you and the object do NOT move, otherwise, it is overly pixelated; then again...it is still a PHONE.
4. A lot of little things that were fixed when I read the manual.
5. No camera lens cover, but we got insurance to cover things like that.

When I read the manual, I realized if I held down the play key, I could access my mp3s. I realized if I pushed talk, I could access my recent calls. A lot of little, more convenient things can be discovered by simply reading your manual.

We wanted a phone we could see ourselves being happy with for 2 years. I think this is a great phone and a neat toy, that I don't think I'll get tired of for a VERY long time. I would absolutely recommend this phone.

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User Review: Once Again Verizon Ruins a decent phone

Mon, 29 May 2006 22:14:31 GMT

astravitz submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 1 (out of 5)

I wouln't add more then others, besides the fact that Verizon disables all Bluetooth functionality on all their phones (except the handset), modifies the menus, sometimes makes the transflash cards incompatible for downloads, disables data link cables, and will randomly kill any other potentially cool vendor functionality so they can force you to pay for "extra" services. Guess what T-Mobile and Cingular allow you to buy only the service NOT the phone so you are way better off.

BTW - The phone has a small screen and is thick as a brick with the exended battery.

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User Review: POWERHOUSE

Thu, 11 May 2006 20:55:20 GMT

paigeroo submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

This phone has got it ALL. Speakerphone, MP3 player, Expandable media card which allows you to record hours of movie footage and add hundreds of MP3s. The camera has an unheard of 2.0 megapixel resolution which delivers crystal clear images. The voice dialing, and voice text input features are really nice especially when you're driving and can't punch in the characters manually.

It's really difficult to say anything bad about this phone. If I absoultely had to nit pick on something I'd have to say that the photos will look distorted when you store them in your phone. You have to transfer them onto your computer using a media card to understand why the 2.0 megapixel resolution is THAT good. Also, the front display scratches a bit easily if you're not careful.

Other than that I'd give it a 10/10. Beautiful phone with beautiful features.

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User Review: Oh Mirror-Mirror . . . .

Wed, 10 May 2006 19:10:54 GMT

Partok81 submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

Time of ownership: 1 week.

For a phone that seems to try to mimic a camcorder, this cell isn't so good function-wise. And I'm suprised no one has mentioned this. The MAJOR issue is video/audio synchronization. Granted you can make hour long videos, but whos gonna want to watch them if the voice and video dont match up?
Secondly, the outer display is mirrored, and to a lesser degree, so is the inner one. Even with a hand shading it, the outer display is all but useless in sunlight. Making nearly impossible to see what your filming or photographing. All in the name of making the handset stylish.
Once you do take a picture though, if you know how to use the options in the phone's menus your pics will come out pretty sharp despite what others have said about 'fuzzy pictures'.
Note to Samsung: If your in-and-out of the office all day you may like the desktop docking cradle style of charger that comes with it. The rest of us prefer folding travel chargers; thank-you very much!
The Speech-to-Text software, while a good concept, requires that you train it, and that you use in in a quiet (office-like?) room for accuracy. Gimmick
As a phone, it was pretty good. Perhaps it's because of the phone's "In-tenna", but I rarely saw 4 bars signal strength on the display. Yet I had no dropped calls. Earpiece volume was great, but callers complained of words getting 'clipped' if spoken too softly because of Samsung's noise supression software.
Pros:
1. A 2mp camera that can take BIG pics.
2. Video length limited only by how big a
memory card you buy.
3. Mp3 player operable w/ phone closed.
4. Texts can be read on outer display.

Cons:
1. Mirrored displays.
2. BAD Audio/Video sync.
3. Slow phone menus. Click-wait, Click-wait.
4. Because of twist-display, you cant use a regular cell case. Phone must be carried in a belt pouch. One more thing to open just to answer the phone.
5. No Vcast= videos that cant be emailed.
Vcast, while cool, ISN'T everywhere.

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User Review: Best Device Ever

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:07:03 GMT

metalbandsinger submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Ok so I work for Verizon Wireless as a Data Support Technician. I know my devices. I mostly work with PDA's and PC cards, but every now and then i get a related call about a support function for a regular phone. I bought this Samsung a970 and was super stoked! Man this phone has everything i need in one small package. I have a 512 transflash card that holds about 80 of my songs which is fine with me. Stereo headphones. Very decent speakers. A super dope camera. I even figured out how to use one of my video clips as the background for my phone. It's so rad! My advice to anyone would be get rid of your digital camera, iPod, and your stupid razor, and get this thing. It makes putting music on your phone so simple it's retarded, it takes up one packet rather than 3, and it's super handy. Only draw back is, in my opinion to fully utilize this super device you needs a bluetooth headset, a set of stereo earphones, a transflash card, and an extended life battery for backup. None of which come with the device and cost extra. Alot extra. But if you got the cash for the others, this one is well worth the money.

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User Review: the whole package

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 01:40:46 GMT

gfog submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

alright. let me break it down for all of you. i picked up this piece about 2 weeks ago. its great. the [...] love it. This phone does seem to be a little big, but think of that as a pro. [...] i put this phone in my pocket and i can't even count to 30 seconds and the girls are swarming me like killer bees in africa. [...] let me tell you this phone takes great videos. i mean it does have over an hour of video time, [...] crystal clear cut lcd screen. this phone is good for pimps and men with egos bigger than the success of this phone.

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User Review: The Wrong Christmas Gift

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:51:56 GMT

bryanderson submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 2 (out of 5)

I bought this phone for my daughter who wanted a digital camera for Christmas and was looking for a phone for her birthday in April. I bought what I thought was the perfect combo gift. I was wrong.

Pros:
Sturdy Phone
Good Battery Life (have not checked it with Bluetooth turned on)

Cons:
Need a tri-pod to take a clear picture

Bluetooth does not transfer photos or video to PC

No cable to transfer photos to PC

If lowering the resolution fixes the shutter speed problem then why pay for the 2.0 mega-pixels?

When I asked the VZ rep about an update to the bluetooth software to get the pics easily off of the phone she said, "No, you have to email them." Obviously, she didn't even consider the transflash card that slides into the SD Adaptor.

The bottom line is the feature list may sound nice, but they need to fill in the gaps to take full advantage of them. Promoting the 2mega-pixel phone is almost false advertising considering it is almost unusable because of the slow shutter speed.

I will be visiting with VZ soon to ask for a different phone.

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User Review: Great, but not the best

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 13:51:08 GMT

SamsungGuru11 submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

I have had this phone for the better part of almost 3 months now. I love it, but a lot of features that are very stingy.

PROS-
-Amazing camera, pics and video
-Mp3 is great
-Signal is always great
-speakerphone amazing
-Very easy to use

CONS-
-Slow shutter
-No mp3 ringtones, must buy
-Rotating screen could be a problem
-MP3 squelches sometimes when playing on speakerphone
-have had instances where pics become corrupted, also videos.

Other than these things phone is great, but wish i got the V.

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User Review: don't buy this phone

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 02:22:53 GMT

Yonith submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 1 (out of 5)

You've gotta love how samsung claims this to be their "flashship phone" when it doesn't even support vcast...come on now. Oh, but at least it has that awesome 2mp camera with the awesome swivel head for easy viewing! HA, the pics are HORRIBLE unless you and whatever you're taking a picture of are comepletely still. I'm very disappointed with this phone, as it will be the last samsung product I'll ever buy. Everything else on the phone works, but every other phone can do it on the market now too so why bother with this piece of crap?

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User Review: it is a start

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 22:29:50 GMT

surf8footIwish submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

Lets look forward to when corporation have made enough money on this level of camera/phone and give us the chance to see what the rest of the world is already enjoying. Like 5 plus camera phones that rival our dig cameras.

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User Review: Wonderful Phone

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 15:55:24 GMT

heechy77 submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I got this phone last week and thus far, it's great. I was in the market for PDA phone for a long time and I was very very close to getting the new Treo 700w but I decided not to because I didn't think that for the price of the phone (i.e. ~$500), it was not reliable enough. So I decided to get a phone that worked well as a phone, of course, and a MP3 player and just reliable phone. This phone was that phone...

I guess one area that it fell short was the fact that it does not sync with my outlook. But that was not expected because it's a feature only in a PDA phones anyways. While getting this phone, I also changed my provider from T-mobile to Verizon. Simply because Verizon had better coverage area than T-mobile. So just to list out the good and the bad...

Pro:
1) Good connection: Probably has to do with the provider but also the phone had very clear sound.
2) MP3 player: I highly recommend getting Trans Flash card to expand the memory of the phone.
3) Customizable: This phone lets you customize bunch things that I still haven't figured out. Things like ringer, pictures for each contact and stuff like that....
4) Long battery life
5) Camera/camcorder: It's 2 Mega pixel so it was nice...but little dark in-doors. The video is not too bad. I guess you can't expect the phone to have a image quality as a digital camera. It even has a flash but I'm not too sure if it effective enough.

Con:
1) Size: It's little on the bulky side.
2) Location of the camera lense: It's always exposed so there might be a chance that it could be damage from everyday use.
3) Price: $280

Overall Comment: The phone is excellent. If you are looking for a phone that has many little fun things, this is the phone for you. It's a little complicated but if you like that type of phone, I think you can't lose with this phone.

I will be giving more updates as I use this phone in the future.

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User Review: Why is the overall rating 3.52, this phone is perfect

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 03:41:10 GMT

Megapixal submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

This phone is perfect
for feture focus

All pros
awsome camra
great video
both are super claer for a phone
mp3 player is loud and great for outside use.
v cast is nice

for a phone

great recepsion for a internal intenna
large phone book
easy to use menue

all i m saying is this phone should have a higher overall rating, if u are thinking about buying this phone dont hesitate. i kno its price is high but its worth it if u are looking for this type of phone.

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User Review: Incredible Phone!!

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 15:30:31 GMT

saltwater submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I love this phone!!! I just tried the LG 8100 and returned it... then tried the Razr and returned that. I could give you a million reasons why people are going to be returning Razrs, but anyway....

This phone is not nearly as big as you first think it is. It feels great in the hand, and the narrowness of it helps with ease of using one hand around all the keys. Set autofocus on the camera and you won't have any complaints as in other reviews.

My favorite aspect is the huge amount of things you can customize in the menus, especially if you read through the manual (which I hadn't done in about ten years of owning cell phones). You can even take off the Verizon Wireless banner, which rocks!

The up and down side buttons are on the right-hand side, which is unusual to me but will get used to it. I haven't used speakerphone yet, but bluetooth is great.

Cons: it's a little awkward to open and close when it wants to swivel (if you're using one hand) and it also stops a bit halfway down/up instead of the graceful and quick snap up/down, because this is used for the swivel. Also, I do wish it had one-touch to show the time in the front screen, but that's not a biggie. I still give this a 4.999 out of 5!

I liked the red a950, but couldn't live with red for two years. I'm sooo happy I went with this one instead and can finally stop my search!

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User Review: a good phone but pricy pictures fuzy

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 06:04:50 GMT

blizzard22 submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

got a samsung sch A940 as a update for verizon wireless i was looking at buying the lg 8100 or lg 9800 but then this came out vcast maybe OK for some but is annoying that it uses the monthly minutes plus the 15 a month gets costly using web or vcast during prime time burning up min's OK if your reading this heres the deal with this phone iv had it since it came out and I'm kind of a tech freak so

PRO's
1)Bluetooth headset works great with the jabra bt200 do not have to keep re-syncing the headset
2) mp3 works good
3)voice number dial works good after trained
4)voice name dial works by just typing in name do not have to train every entry
5) 2x optical & 2mp camra
6)camcorder mode
7)90min record time w/512mb card
8)flash can be set to stay on during video mode
9)std batt ok w/phone use & larger Batt.is avl.
10)holds 100 songs w/ 512mb card
11)easy to add pictures to memory card and use or view on phone
12)Speaker phone
13)big address book
14)can use ringtone songs with words
15)sends photos fast

PRO/CON
memory card does not fill up with just music saves room for video & pictures should give user choice how much room for each

CONS
1)mp3 works only with card & short song names may have to rename most songs
2)fuzzy picture at any setting better on lg vx8000
3)video & music can not always be transfered to computer email even using card directly in memory slot
4)Vcast & WEB 2.0 Use cell minutes
5)can not take pic with phone closed
6)no flip case or holder clip avl. for phone only pouch's making bluetooth headset a must
7)aftermarket sellers sell wrong chargers for it be careful
8)speaker cant be turned off w/closed
9)some names have to be spelled improper to use voice command to recognize them (karen to carin)
10)can only download ring tones cant use from memory card
11) 2mp pictures can not be seen on lower mp camera phones
12)still cannot send pictures to outside verizon mobile customers
13)COST high probably lower at Xmas

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User Review: Good, but not Great

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 16:07:54 GMT

SForsyth01 submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

I have had the Samsung a970 for almost 2 weeks. While I feel that the feature set of this phone is better than most on the market, there are still some major problems with it.

Pros:
1. 2MP Camera - although if you set the resolution to 2MP, you will get really bad pictures. Lower resolution gives much better pics.
2. MP3 Player - It is actually better sounding and louder than my LG VX-8100 was, and the 8100 has stereo speakers.
3. Rotating Screen - I think this is absolutely great because it gives me many different angles to watch my V-Cast clips from.
4. Voice to text - I can actually speak my text messages and the phone will write them. Although you have to do this in a completely quiet room or it doesn't work right.
5. Memory Card Slot - This is a MUST on this phone because of the size of the picture files that this camera requires. 60MB would go very quickly with 300KB pics.
6. Mirrored front screen - The front screen is mirrored when it is not on. Granted this is completely personal preference, but I love it.
7. Internal Antenna - I can put this phone in my pocket and not worry about it getting caught on anything because there is nothing sticking out of it.

Cons: (only a couple, but they are BIG)
1. OS is VERY sluggish. Especially in V-Cast or when trying to switch entry methods in texting. The phone almost comes to a standstill. It is ridiculous.
2. No EMS - While you can receive text messages larger than 160 characters, you cannot send ones larger than that. A real pain.
3. T9 doesn't remember words - There is no way to store words into the T9 dictionary for texting. This is a horrible oversight of Samsung.

In conclusion, with Texting becoming something that is so mainstream, Samsung really dropped the ball on this phone. Texting is not user friendly at all - more of a pain in the rear end. But the camera is really good, if you play with the settings. Otherwise, one would think the camera is really bad.

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User Review: Best Phone by Far

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 03:57:33 GMT

Russell989 submitted this review of the Samsung SCH-A970:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

This phone is absolutely the best phone I have ever owned, of about 10. It has delivered exceptionally. Often, I find that most reviews are too black and white, therefore I will give you Pros, Cons, and I can deal with it.

PROS:
--Exceptional Camera- Second to none
--Voice to Text- Some training involved, but nice for texting on the road
--Voice Signal Voice Recognition- No training required, at a push of a button
--Nice Screen- Displays accurate colors
--Mp3 player- Can play over stereo speakers
--Speaker phone- VERY loud, as good or better than Motorola, you can even talk with the phone closed with the speaker
--Transflash Card- While this didn't come with the phone, I bought one and could be the single best investment of the phone- makes file transfer of Mp3, Videos, and Pictures effortless
--Form factor- Twist design gets lots of compliments; lack of antenna doesn't get caught in a suit jacket or pocket
--Reception- No lost calls

CONS:
--Weight- Is somewhat heavy, but you are literally packing a phone, Mp3 player, nice digital camera, USB key, game device, text messaging device, small PDA and many other devices in a single pocket. But, if you are into slim and fit, get a RAZR.
--Keys-Four directional keypad sometimes registers an up push when it was down at first. I have either worn it in or it has worn me in.
--Smallish outer screen- Could be bigger
--Video Camera- The video/audio is often misaligned, Samsung and VZW working on an update

I Can Live With It:
--Bluetooth- No OBEX transfer,HowardForums has a forum on how you can transfer objects using BitPim and USB cord
--Custom Ringtones- VZW charges almost $2.50 a pop, BitPim solves, should trim to 30 seconds
--No direct 3.5mm adaptor- You can't plug in your iPod headphones, but you can either purchase a 2.5-3.5mm adaptor or a 2.5mm stereo headset
--Slow Shutter Rate- The time it takes to take a 2mp pic is almost unbearable, but if you lower the resolution it speeds up to nothing

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