It's here, folks. We'll naturally have more impressions in the near future, but for now feast your eyes on the
Samsung Moment and one of the least eventful unboxings of all time -- Sprint sure isn't packaging this like a premium handset, but at $179 we suppose it isn't really pricing it like one either. The hardware itself might tell a different story, with a solid, hefty feel to it and great screen. So far our editors are divided on the keyboard, with
Chris not being sure it meets up to the
CLIQ's standards, while this writer feels it's far superior -- not tiresome to press, but super clicky and very touch type-able. While we sort out this astonishing bit of intra-office drama, check out the unboxing shots in the gallery below. The phone goes on sale November 1st.
posted Oct 21st 2009 10:35AM
How cute spacebar
Engadget,
could you please ask Samsung what they're thinking about updates. Galaxy is still on Cupcake, and Moment won't come with Donut either in the same time when Motorola is showing Eclair.
http://androidandme.com/2009/10/uncategorized/hands-on-sprint-samsung-moment-android-phone/
If I'm correct, this makes this the first phone running Android to come out that isn't for T-Mobile and isn't made by HTC.
Anyways, go Samsung! I'm excited to hear more about your impressions of this phone.
Looks like the perfect phone for me, I wonder when I can get one in the UK...
well, this is a CDMA phone, and I don't think Europe has any CDMA networks, so most likely never, unless they turn this to GSM
intraoffice?
intra-office = within the office
The prefix intra- means within, while inter- means between
To which the Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax said, "Read a bloody dictionary," and plunged back into the fray.
Android?
Yes.
Eagerly awaiting your impressions. My Motorola Q9c couldn't meet the business end of a hammer soon enough - $150 upgrade is on 11/1, and between this and the HTC Hero, I've got decisions. My brother is tempted to wait for the 4G phones, but I don't have the patience.
Between this and the Hero? I don't see the decision, Moment seems to be a altogether superior phone. The better processor alone is enough to drive a stake in the Hero for me.
HTC Hero build quality, thickness (or lack there of), and Sense UI. That's what makes it different and why many people will pick it over the Moment. Agree about processor, the Hero is a little laggy, and hte Sense UI doesn't help that. I'll be curious how the Moment does with battery life. I believe it's an overclocked ARM11 processor (800 MHz instead of the 523 on the Hero) which means more power is needed. Does anyone know how big the battery is? With how thick this is I would hope it's a 1600 mAh.
@ Eric B
It's 1440mAh.
Does AT&T not like Android phones? Or are they still too in love with the iPhone?
No, yes.
They're presumably paying a hefty premium for their iPhone exclusivity; they don't want to introduce new phones that compete with it.
Would've been great if it had Andriod 2.0
I'm hoping for an update to it sometime after launch. Shakes fists at Samsung!
is the screen glass like the hero or soft like the g1 & myTouch?
the hero and mt3g are glass screens just like the hero. in a matter of fact i think all capacitive screens are glass and android only runs on capacitive screens so question answered.
The Pre is capacitive and isn't a glass screen, it's most definitely plastic. Capacitive doesn't need glass to work.
Just to confirm, the G1 is definitely plastic capacative. And pretty terrible in comparison to GLASS.
Android doesn't require a capacitive screen. The HTC Tattoo uses a resistive screen and runs Android.
The myTouch is soft... ohh wait..
At that "Moment" I looked at my phone and said "What is this POS and why can't I have an iphone!?!?!!"
Well, you CAN have an iPhone. No one's telling you to get this phone. Freedom of choice =D
iPhone fanboys don't believe in freedom of choice.... Don't you know? :P
This thing just seems boring to me. The keyboard looks like it came off a $2 calculator.
What the f*** are you talking about? I have had this phone since it came out (2 days ago) and it is awesome! It has a premium feel, is very very quick, has tons of options for everything, the camera is the best I've seen (BETTER THAN THE iPHONE). The keyboard looks great with it's blue and white lighting. You iphone fanboys need to get a life. I like the iphone just fine, but there are other phones that do things better than it.
No Chin!
its not a HTC device!
This one looks nice, would grab this over the vzw "droid" in a heartbeat.
I really wish this phone came with HTC Sense UI. I have the HTC HERO for Sprint right now and it's a really great phone. My main complaint is the lack of physcial keyboard. The software is great for on screen keyboard the HERO has, but it just can't replace a physical keyboard. HTC Sense UI, makes Andorid look and feel so much better, if there's a way to load Sense UI on this puppy, I may be making a switch.
Well it would have to be an HTC phone to get their UI on it from the factory.
Just root it and go to xda man
Use compact query when in portrait mode - I'm flying through typing this way, with t9 turned on.
looks like good simple design. an upgrade on the G1 but it doesn't really leave it behind.
still waiting on a liquid or x3
Definitely some unfortunate design choices - covers for the headphone and charging ports, you cannot charge and get audio in or out via one cable (useful for those of us who use our devices in the car). And it looks really thick, but I guess that's standard for a slider.
Looks nice. I want that CPU and camera flash in an HTC non-slider.
"you cannot charge and get audio in or out via one cable (useful for those of us who use our devices in the car)"
I'm confused. You have the 3.5mm headset jack that works with the provided headset and you can charge at the same time while in the car. Wasn't having to use the same port for charge and audio what we have been complaining about for years on HTC devices?
Current HTC devices like the Hero have both. There's a 3.5mm jack for a standard set of headphones, which is great. However, they also have a special port on the bottom.
This HTC port works with standard mini-USB for charging and data. However, it adds extra pins for audio out and microphone in. I get in my car, put the Hero in the car holder, and hook up one wire to it. This one wire both charges the device and patches the sound into my car stereo. With the Moment, it's much more complex: I'd have to plug a 3.5mm jack for audio, open the micro-USB cover, and plug in a micro-USB cable for the same functionality.
iPods are the same way - there's a headphone jack, but the charging port on the bottom also has audio in/out functions, so you can charge and get audio out via one cable. I use my iPod this way too - put it in the car holster, plug in the one plug on the bottom, and it charges as well as plays through my car stereo.
All smartphones should be this way IMO. Having to use two separate cables for charging and audio is ridiculous. HTC and Apple have figured it out - why not Samsung or Motorola or Palm?
Why not use Bluetooth...?
Because my stereo doesn't have stereo Bluetooth audio functionality and I'm not interested in spending several hundred dollars to get an equivalent one that does.
Jon-
Which cable and how do you play your HTC Hero through your car?
Can you comment on the CPU since everyone still thinks it's the 800 mhz one? What's the model number on it?
Its an ARM11 cpu so it is still not as powerful as the Cortex A8 in the 3GS, Pre and Droid even if the Moment is a faster CPU
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=cpu&id=a6410&c=samsung_s3c6410
It's the same one that's in the Omnia II.
I believe this is phone uses arm1176 processor which has clock speed of 800mhz with dedicated graphics. If that is the case, this will be a decent improvement over the qualcomm7xxx processor in all the other android phones. However, this still uses OLD arm11 architecture, which is way behind cortex a8, snapdragon, or tegra.
@JXCgunrunna Why does the link you posted say Armv6?
Looks Good! Had me thinking of getting it but then I saw that it had Android and I'm just not a Google fan. If I got that there would be no way to get rid of Google-Ware. If you like Android and Google i say go for it. It's Priced nicely. Samsungs makes pretty solid phones.
YO so I'm pretty sure that if you are dumb enough to mention the iphone in the talk about rankings and such you have to be pretty ignorant. All said and done the only carrier that really is competing with the iphone is verizon and that's how its always been simply because they will NEVER get one at this rate. Sprint is being smart and playing under the radar and tmobile is...well its tmo to the fullest...(take it for what it's worth). I mean let's be serious, what phone is really going to compete on the same level as the iphone in this year's time?? If you drew a blank you're not as dumb as you think you are. Its just a matter of time but I doubt anyone is really pushing for an iphone killer as opposed to a market booster..End of story. Thanks guys.
(wow I should be an editor haha)
Ah... I wouldn't count on it (the editor part).
If you're smart, you would fully realize that an iPhone killer will never exist. To compare any phone to the iPhone in terms of sales is just silly. Apple's already made its place in the market, the iPhone has its share. If you think Verizon is trying to make the Droid out to be an iPhone killer then you've been getting the wrong message. Verizon is just trying to put out another option that performs as well as the iPhone does, which is something more carriers should be doing. I prefer Android over the iPhone OS, but I want a phone than can perform just as well as the iPhone in terms of hardware and response.
Anyway, if you like Sense, if a really great virtual keyboard is sufficient, and you need a thin phone definitely go with the Hero over this. The processor in the Moment isn't a dealbreaker. Yeah, the Hero is laggy at times, but the Moment's chipset is also OLD, the cpu just clocks in a bit faster. With the Moment, we've seen its chipset run in the Omnia 2 and that thing is painfully laggy with the Touch Wiz 2.0. The stock android running on the Moment will be better than that, but don't expect iPhone/Pre/Droid performance. That being said, if you like stock android (or plan on using another UI over it when they get roms cooked up), if you need a physical qwerty, and if you really think the extra little bit of power is necessary, pick up the Moment. Both phones are great.
Only problem is the placing of that space bar but I would rather have the physical keyboard any day.
Fugly!
Hows the new processor? Is the new 800MHz samsung still an ARM-11?
Looks absolutely beautiful...the phone that is.
However I really don't like the look of Android. Yes I know it's got a huge dev community but so far the UI's on all the Android devices look fugly to me.
I'd rather have WebOS on this device. I've got the iPhone now but WebOS is probably the only UI I've seen that even rivals the iPhone.
So I hope Palm comes out with a nice slider like this one and puts WebOS on it.
HTC's Sense UI is pretty damned good looking IMO, they did a nice job prettying-up Android.
Do you have any links to vids with a demo/walkthru of HTC's Sense UI? I totally forgot about it. Do they have it running on any devices officially out on the market?
WebOS would be nice.
HTC Hero on Sprint... I've had it for about 1.5 weeks now, it's a great phone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ7V8nSUzUc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcmfn3ilXd8&feature=channel
Grr, tell me when you have some figures on batter life already! I'm loving my new Hero but am concerned it wont be holding a charge for jack.
Are you freakin' kidding me? A single press of the menu key to unlock? When will cell companies realize we are tired of taking videos inside our pockets and accidentally prank calling people from within our pockets. Don't the people at these companies actually USE their own phones?
I could not agree more kh2. Don't these people USE the phone they make for a day or two? Some very obvious usability studies would be in order.
Well I just tested it myself and since the Menu button is a touch button not a physical button it's a capacitive touch.
In that case to unlock the screen in your pocket you're going to need to press it with skin (i.e. a typical pressure push from your leg or butt won't false trigger it.
Ah man, this isn't getting any easier. Do I get the Pre or Hero or Moment? Will there be anything else Android or WebOS coming out for Sprint before the year is up?
A new web os phone is coming out from palm
@hotbbq,
I've been going crazy over the same thing. The Pre, its hard to buy with the poor build quality. The Samsung, never has been a high quality name with Sprint. The Hero, seems to be the safest pick. Yeah, it has the battery problem with the message app that HTC is aware of it and is working on a fix. BTW, how good is HTC with fixing issues in the past and how quick of a time frame? All things considered, the Hero is receiving good feedback, even with the Qualcomm 528 processor.
Same boat here as my contract is out November 2nd. It was going to be Pre over Hero until the Moment was announced for November.
I need a lot more info about Android upgrade options on the Moment and how the higher clocked CPU performs. If I can get a Sense UI homescreen on there as well as getting the updates with Android 2.0 then I will probably go with the Moment rather than wait for the Pre to trickle out simple features like LED notifications and the ability to change ringtones.
I was all in a tizzy between getting the Pre, Hero or Moment ended up getting the Hero and I have to say I'm diggin it. The occasional slow down does happen, mainly when email/appointments/contact updates are being pushed, but seriously nothing that is really aggravating. I'm a huge fan of the Sense UI and really the only widget I use that is not from HTC is google's scoreboard widget.
I've always associated Samsung with quality no matter who the service provider is. I have a Samsung Rant, and even though the firmware is a piece of crap, the hardware is nice, and it is so much better than the LG Rumor that I got last year. I'm definitely considering getting a Samsung Moment in the future whenever I get that discounted upgrade since I barely got my Rant this year. There may be a better phone by then, but we'll see.
The Samsung Moment is going to be the phone for me. It was definitely a tough decision between the Moment, the Hero, and the Droid.
I almost got a Hero but the old/slow cpu and lack of physical keyboard gave me pause.
So now it's between the Moment and the Droid. Droid's superior hardware(cpu, screen, camera) and Android 2.0 almost make it worth it commit to a Verizon contract...almost. If Verizon's data plan prices were more competitive or if Sprint or T-Mobile got the Droid this would be a no-brainer. The Droid looks well positioned for the price-is-no-object-but-ATT-network-sux iPhone refugees.
Now, Engadget. Please tell me how I can get my hands on a Moment immediately :)
I've called Sprint stores in both Austin, TX and San Marcos, TX trying to confirm the Nov. 1 launch date, but everyone I've asked has told me Samsung has pushed back the launch to an "indefinite time" as of now.
I also called Telesales and got the same answer. Basically, everyone is telling me it's NOT coming out on the 1st but they don't know when it IS coming out.
:(
Can anyone call their local Sprint stores and confirm/deny?
the thing is - you cant beat sprint's plans with the any mobile to any carrier for free at any time. also, the GPS is included in their data plan!
@Joshua
Are you sure? I hadn't heard anything about that, and I suspect that Engadget would definitely know more than we would since they're supposed to keep up on this.
All I'm parroting is what I've been told by Austin and San Marcos Sprint employees + a customer service rep from Telesales.
Trust me, I don't want to believe it, either. In fact, I've done a fair amount of Googling and see NO mention of it being delayed whatsoever. In addition, the Sprint Moment site (sprint.com/moment) still says November 1.
I'm not sure if they're just pulling my leg in order to generate "relief" and "hype" when it DOES come out on the 1st, which is why I asked other people to call their local Sprint stores and see if they get the same answer I did.
Like I said, I'm not POSITIVE, but am only repeating what I've been told.
(I've been calling every few days because I want to know if it'll be out less than 30 days after I got the Hero. Need me that physical keyboard!)
They really don't tell us launch dates in store until the press release is out. In general we don't know much more than you guys, just take what you are hearing with a grain of salt. Most of us literally check the mobile blogs to see what the buzz is before official word comes out on anything.
SEXY!!! I'm torn between this and the Sprint HTC Hero but the slow processor on the HTC, crappy camera with no flash and only 65K colors is swaying me towards the Sammy.
Hopefully the Moment can upgrade to Android 2.0 OS when it becomes available.
NOV.1 can't come fast enough. I hate so much my BBERRY Curve 8330 I want to run it over with my car and leave it for dead.
Yeah I'm looking to ditch my curve also.
Yeah I don't feel sorry for either of you. I'm still on the dumb phone train. Samsung AH-737 FTW!
Get your hands off my phone! :)
I’ve owned two HTC devices for Sprint (The Mogul and Touch Pro). Both have lacked in build quality. I’m glad Samsung is making this phone personally. Also – the HTC interface it bloated trash IMHO (for winmo that is)
I'm looking forward to this one.
I had the Mogul, Touch, and Touch Diamond. I have to completely agree with you. Samsung has never steered me wrong with build quality, but HTC definitely has.
I'm getting the Moment primarily for email/web/camera/IM/txting and to watch videos on its gorgeous AMOLED display. I rarely make phone calls.
Can someone please tell me what the best MP4 or H.264 video player available for Android handsets is?
Is Core video player available on Android? I had that on my winmobile devices and it was very good.
Thank you!
There are no good video players for Android as far as I know. Coreplayer continues to look unlikely on Android unless there are improvements in Android 2.0 that open things up http://forum.corecodec.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2885.
For all the hype these fancy new mobile OS gets the more you delve in there always seems to be some basic stuff you've been accustomed to in WinMo for years that they are still getting around to adding.
Will everyone stop making such a big deal about stock/custom UI's... especially considering this is a tech site. I see this commented on constantly for every new android phone. Isn't user customization the whole point of Android being open???? There will be plenty of aftermarket apps to take care of pretty-ing up your phone. I even have a WM HTC Touch Pro that I have disabled Touch Flo so that I could use SPB Mobile Shell which I prefer... I think Sense is nice and a manufacturer level custom UI will always drive deeper then anything aftermarket, but I do not by any means think this should be a deciding factor in getting a phone.
@Hello World
I don't care about HTC UI skin. Rather have the faster 800MHz processor, AMOLED display and quality 3.2MP digicam with flash over some UI skin anyday.
Do you realize the Hero has a 5.0MP camera?
@vd3
yes, I read all the reviews on Sprint HTC Hero and know it has 5mp digicam but most of the reviews say that the pictures look bad, soft, lack color saturation, etc. And it is even worse in low light due to no flash
I bet the 3.2MP digicam in the Moment will be of higher quality than the Hero's.
More megapixels does not always equal better picture quality
I have a Hero and I'd agree with you that it's not the best in low light (better than most cell cameras, but won't beat a point and shoot at all), but in even decent to good light it's the best cell camera I've used.
For real.
@Engadget
Hurry the heck up and review the Moment!!! What is taking you guys so long. lol
I need to know right away if the Sammy is better than the Sprint HTC Hero because I want to buy it on the day it comes out.
I'll wait for the Moment 2. When they don't forget to put the compass in.
Is that confirmed? No compass
NO COMPASS NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO at least it has a physical qwerty :)
@Hello World
Yes. http://twitter.com/SamsungMobileUS/status/4999610024
What would be the real life use of the digital compass other then orientation in google maps?
Orientation in Google Sky Map, any other reality browser. It's also useful for getting directions (especially walking directions) and other things compasses are generally good for.
@Hello World
Augmented reality apps need a compass.
1. USB Micro-B? Bad decision!
2. From what I've been reading, the main cause of any lag observed was swapping when switching between background apps. This will be worse with the Moment than the Hero due to its paltry 256MB of RAM, vs the Hero's 288MB.
@Keith - the difference in Ram is probably net zero considering Moment is running stock android vs the HTC sense overlay.
Still, Sprint customers will have an interesting decision come Nov 1st. I am still leaning Hero until I see both of these next to each other. Why oh why, when I finally decide to leave Verizon do they have to release Moto's Droid when they have historically had the lamest lineup of smartphones. Unfortunately, I just can't justify the extra $700 it will cost per year (family plan) when Sprint's coverage in the area I need it is just as good.
I believe Micro USB is industry standard (or will be soon), so they had no choice in that decision.