Epic 4G coming August 31st for $249.99 on contract (updated)
By Ross Miller 
posted August 12th 2010 12:16AM
posted August 12th 2010 12:16AM
Update: With Sprint now offering two Android-powered 4G smartphones, you're probably wondering, Epic 4G or EVO 4G? Fortunately, Sprint's got a video laying out the differences highlighting the Epic's Super AMOLED display, keyboard, Samsung Media Hub movie store (available post-launch), and DLNA to wirelessly send pics and video to other DLNA devices in the home. Check it out after the break.
Update 2: Although reservations for in-store pickup aren't set to begin until tomorrow, we've been tipped on a reservation link intended for premier customers. [Thanks, Miguel]
Update 3: You can also preorder at Radio Shack on August 13th -- with the purchase of a $50 gift card.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Sprint expands device leadership with the launch of Samsung Epic 4G, Debuting on Aug. 31; Sprint's Galaxy S Smartphone Boasts Blazing 4G Speeds, QWERTY Keyboard and Brilliant Super AMOLED Touchscreen
New reservation system begins Aug. 13 for Samsung Epic 4G at www.sprint.com/epic4g
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Aug 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
The wait is almost over! Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced pricing and availability for America's first 4G-capable phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and brilliant Super AMOLED touchscreen, Samsung Epic(TM) 4G, bringing customers an all-in-one device for staying connected, getting work done and enjoying the latest in entertainment while on-the-go. Samsung Epic 4G is the only 4G Galaxy S(TM) smartphone and the only one to offer a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
Samsung Epic 4G will be available beginning Tuesday, Aug. 31, in all Sprint retail channels, including Sprint.com, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and national retail partners, RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart, with Sprint Stores opening at 8 a.m. local time. It will cost $249.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade, two-year service agreement, after a $100 mail-in rebate (taxes excluded).
For the first time ever, Sprint is offering customers a unique opportunity to reserve Samsung Epic 4G for purchase. Customers can reserve their smartphone for purchase at www.sprint.com/epic4g beginning Friday, Aug. 13., while supplies last. Customers who reserve Samsung Epic 4G will be able to complete their purchase beginning Tuesday, Aug. 31, and must complete their purchase no later than 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Through the reservation process, customers will be able to reserve their devices online, pick them up in a Sprint Store, and receive the full retail experience, including Sprint's Ready Now service.
"With its beautiful display and slide-out keyboard, Samsung Epic 4G is a powerful tool for our customers, and it extends Sprint's 4G leadership with a second strong smartphone option," said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "As we continue to lead the 4G revolution, we are proud to offer our customers two 4G smartphones, the Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot and several 4G USB modems to access the fast speeds on our 4G network in more than 48 cities today. 4G enhances entertainment, gaming and business applications."
Powered by the Android(TM) 2.1 operating system, Samsung Epic 4G is part of a new breed of Samsung smartphones offering the best in screen, speed and content quality for a premium user experience, and offers a fully integrated multimedia, messaging and social networking experience. It features an exceptionally thin smartphone design with a slide-out, full QWERTY keyboard and 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display supporting a series of advanced touchscreen gestures, including multi-touch pinch, long tap and zoom and vertical and horizontal swiping.
Samsung Epic 4G is the only 4G smartphone to offer three fast and easy ways to enter text onto the device - a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, virtual keyboard and Swype technology, which allows users to input text faster and more intuitively with one continuous finger motion across the virtual keyboard.
Additional industry-leading features:
* Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor supports amazing 3-D graphics, faster upload and download times and the full richness of HD-like multimedia content
* Dual camera: 5 MP camera/camcorder with autofocus, power LED flash and 4x digital zoom for photos and HD video1 (720p) video recording, as well as a front-facing VGA camera for video chat and more
* Visual Voicemail
* Mobile Hotspot capability supporting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 3G or 4G experience
* Android Market for access to more than 65,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience
* Wi-Fi(R) b/g/n
* 1500 mAh removable battery
A Movie Theater in Your Hand
When Samsung Media Hub launches on Samsung Epic 4G, it will be the first and only 4G handset to feature a video store with movies and TV shows available for purchase or rental and video content set up for an HD-like entertainment experience on a handset screen. With 4G from Sprint, users will be able to get turbo-charged downloads of a full library of video and literary content powered by some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Samsung Epic 4G will also share user-generated video content with other devices thanks to Samsung's exclusive AllShare service. AllShare wirelessly shares stored music, pictures and HD video to other DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified(TM) home electronics, including HDTVs, monitors, digital cameras, printers and more. Through AllShare, users will be able to capture moments with the phone's camera and camcorder and wirelessly show them to friends or family on their DLNA-certified HDTV or download music from a PC to Samsung Epic 4G and take it on the road.
Ideal for Gaming
Samsung Epic 4G's brilliant Super AMOLED touchscreen display offers the best representation of color on a mobile phone that matches original content more than 100 times the contrast quality of other leading displays. It also features faster response time, which reduces "ghosting" images, wide viewing angles to prevent blurring or distortion and a thinner design to offer more accurate and responsiveness to touch.
In addition to the dynamic screen, Samsung Epic 4G's six-axis motion sensing uses an accelerometer and geo-magnetic sensor to fine-tune its ability to interpret simple movements and provide an optimal gaming experience. When the phone tilts up and down or left and right, the game can immediately respond in the same direction.
A demo of Asphalt 5, a popular racing game, is preloaded exclusively on Samsung Epic 4G allowing users to take full advantage of these advanced gaming capabilities.
Tremendous 4G Tool for Business
Samsung Epic 4G is designed to deliver one of the best multimedia experiences for business users in several vertical industries, such as healthcare, education, public safety, construction and professional services, through superior speed and display innovation. It offers support for push email and integrated calendar services, including Exchange ActiveSync, Google(TM) and Yahoo!(R), as well as full support for Google Mobile Services.
With Android's open-software platform, businesses can benefit from several productivity-enhancing applications available in Android Market(TM), including bar code scanning, signature capture, document viewing and the ability to stream and upload video for customer approval and archival purposes.
Android 2.2
Sprint plans to upgrade Samsung Epic 4G to Android 2.2 in the coming months. With the Android 2.2 upgrade, customers can expect improved EAS support, improved browser performance, including Flash 10x support, voice dialing over Bluetooth(R) and application storage on external memory.
Worry-Free Pricing
In order to provide the best experience, Samsung Epic 4G will use Sprint's industry-leading Everything Data or Business Advantage Messaging and Data plans, which include unlimited Web, texting and calling on the Nationwide Sprint Network to every mobile in America with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM. Everything Data plans start at $69.99 per month. A $10 per month required Premium Data add-on will allow customers to take advantage of a richer data experience than ever before.
Additionally, an optional pricing add-on will turn Samsung Epic 4G into a mobile hotspot connecting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, gaming devices and digital cameras, simultaneously at 4G speeds where available and at 3G speeds anywhere on the Sprint 3G network for just $29.99 per month (excludes surcharges and taxes).
With the Sprint Free Guarantee, customers can take advantage of Samsung Epic 4G for 30 days. If not completely satisfied, customers may return the device within 30 days to get reimbursed for the device purchase and activation fee, get both the early termination and restocking fees waived, and receive a full refund for the monthly service plan charges.2
Blazing trails with Sprint 4G
Samsung Epic 4G joins a powerful list of 4G-capable devices from the only national wireless provider to offer 4G service today. Sprint 4G offers a faster wireless experience than any other U.S. national wireless carrier, and Sprint is the only national carrier offering wireless 4G service today in 48 markets. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G3,giving Samsung Epic 4G the fastest data speeds of any U.S. wireless device available today.
As the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. Sprint currently offers 4G service in these markets: California - Merced, Modesto, Stockton and Visalia; Delaware - Wilmington; Florida - Jacksonville; Georgia - Atlanta and Milledgeville; Hawaii - Honolulu and Maui; Idaho - Boise; Illinois - Chicago; Maryland - Baltimore; Michigan - Grand Rapids; Missouri - Kansas City and St. Louis; New York - Rochester and Syracuse; Nevada - Las Vegas; North Carolina - Charlotte, Greensboro (along with High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (along with Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Oregon - Eugene, Portland and Salem; Pennsylvania - Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Reading and York; Texas - Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco and Wichita Falls; Utah - Salt Lake City; Virginia - Richmond; Washington - Bellingham, Seattle, Tri-Cities and Yakima. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.
In 2010, Sprint expects to launch 4G service in multiple markets, including Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48.1 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. With its customer-focused strategy, you can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
1 HD video recording - Capture photos and videos for playback on your HD television.
2 Refund excludes usage not associated with the monthly service plan, premium content, third-party billing, international charges and associated taxes and Sprint surcharges.
3 "Up to 10x faster" based on download speed comparison of 3G's 600 kbps vs. 4G's 6 Mbps. Industry published 3G avg. speeds (600 kbps-1.7 Mbps); 4G avg. speeds (3-6 Mbps). Actual speeds may vary. Sprint 4G currently available in more than 45 markets and counting, and on select devices. See www.sprint.com/4G for details. Not all services are available on 4G and coverage may default to 3G/separate network where 4G is unavailable.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Visit www.sprint.com/newswroom or www.sprint.com/presskits for more information and images.
New reservation system begins Aug. 13 for Samsung Epic 4G at www.sprint.com/epic4g
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Aug 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
The wait is almost over! Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced pricing and availability for America's first 4G-capable phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and brilliant Super AMOLED touchscreen, Samsung Epic(TM) 4G, bringing customers an all-in-one device for staying connected, getting work done and enjoying the latest in entertainment while on-the-go. Samsung Epic 4G is the only 4G Galaxy S(TM) smartphone and the only one to offer a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
Samsung Epic 4G will be available beginning Tuesday, Aug. 31, in all Sprint retail channels, including Sprint.com, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and national retail partners, RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart, with Sprint Stores opening at 8 a.m. local time. It will cost $249.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade, two-year service agreement, after a $100 mail-in rebate (taxes excluded).
For the first time ever, Sprint is offering customers a unique opportunity to reserve Samsung Epic 4G for purchase. Customers can reserve their smartphone for purchase at www.sprint.com/epic4g beginning Friday, Aug. 13., while supplies last. Customers who reserve Samsung Epic 4G will be able to complete their purchase beginning Tuesday, Aug. 31, and must complete their purchase no later than 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Through the reservation process, customers will be able to reserve their devices online, pick them up in a Sprint Store, and receive the full retail experience, including Sprint's Ready Now service.
"With its beautiful display and slide-out keyboard, Samsung Epic 4G is a powerful tool for our customers, and it extends Sprint's 4G leadership with a second strong smartphone option," said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "As we continue to lead the 4G revolution, we are proud to offer our customers two 4G smartphones, the Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot and several 4G USB modems to access the fast speeds on our 4G network in more than 48 cities today. 4G enhances entertainment, gaming and business applications."
Powered by the Android(TM) 2.1 operating system, Samsung Epic 4G is part of a new breed of Samsung smartphones offering the best in screen, speed and content quality for a premium user experience, and offers a fully integrated multimedia, messaging and social networking experience. It features an exceptionally thin smartphone design with a slide-out, full QWERTY keyboard and 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display supporting a series of advanced touchscreen gestures, including multi-touch pinch, long tap and zoom and vertical and horizontal swiping.
Samsung Epic 4G is the only 4G smartphone to offer three fast and easy ways to enter text onto the device - a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, virtual keyboard and Swype technology, which allows users to input text faster and more intuitively with one continuous finger motion across the virtual keyboard.
Additional industry-leading features:
* Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor supports amazing 3-D graphics, faster upload and download times and the full richness of HD-like multimedia content
* Dual camera: 5 MP camera/camcorder with autofocus, power LED flash and 4x digital zoom for photos and HD video1 (720p) video recording, as well as a front-facing VGA camera for video chat and more
* Visual Voicemail
* Mobile Hotspot capability supporting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 3G or 4G experience
* Android Market for access to more than 65,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience
* Wi-Fi(R) b/g/n
* 1500 mAh removable battery
A Movie Theater in Your Hand
When Samsung Media Hub launches on Samsung Epic 4G, it will be the first and only 4G handset to feature a video store with movies and TV shows available for purchase or rental and video content set up for an HD-like entertainment experience on a handset screen. With 4G from Sprint, users will be able to get turbo-charged downloads of a full library of video and literary content powered by some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Samsung Epic 4G will also share user-generated video content with other devices thanks to Samsung's exclusive AllShare service. AllShare wirelessly shares stored music, pictures and HD video to other DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified(TM) home electronics, including HDTVs, monitors, digital cameras, printers and more. Through AllShare, users will be able to capture moments with the phone's camera and camcorder and wirelessly show them to friends or family on their DLNA-certified HDTV or download music from a PC to Samsung Epic 4G and take it on the road.
Ideal for Gaming
Samsung Epic 4G's brilliant Super AMOLED touchscreen display offers the best representation of color on a mobile phone that matches original content more than 100 times the contrast quality of other leading displays. It also features faster response time, which reduces "ghosting" images, wide viewing angles to prevent blurring or distortion and a thinner design to offer more accurate and responsiveness to touch.
In addition to the dynamic screen, Samsung Epic 4G's six-axis motion sensing uses an accelerometer and geo-magnetic sensor to fine-tune its ability to interpret simple movements and provide an optimal gaming experience. When the phone tilts up and down or left and right, the game can immediately respond in the same direction.
A demo of Asphalt 5, a popular racing game, is preloaded exclusively on Samsung Epic 4G allowing users to take full advantage of these advanced gaming capabilities.
Tremendous 4G Tool for Business
Samsung Epic 4G is designed to deliver one of the best multimedia experiences for business users in several vertical industries, such as healthcare, education, public safety, construction and professional services, through superior speed and display innovation. It offers support for push email and integrated calendar services, including Exchange ActiveSync, Google(TM) and Yahoo!(R), as well as full support for Google Mobile Services.
With Android's open-software platform, businesses can benefit from several productivity-enhancing applications available in Android Market(TM), including bar code scanning, signature capture, document viewing and the ability to stream and upload video for customer approval and archival purposes.
Android 2.2
Sprint plans to upgrade Samsung Epic 4G to Android 2.2 in the coming months. With the Android 2.2 upgrade, customers can expect improved EAS support, improved browser performance, including Flash 10x support, voice dialing over Bluetooth(R) and application storage on external memory.
Worry-Free Pricing
In order to provide the best experience, Samsung Epic 4G will use Sprint's industry-leading Everything Data or Business Advantage Messaging and Data plans, which include unlimited Web, texting and calling on the Nationwide Sprint Network to every mobile in America with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM. Everything Data plans start at $69.99 per month. A $10 per month required Premium Data add-on will allow customers to take advantage of a richer data experience than ever before.
Additionally, an optional pricing add-on will turn Samsung Epic 4G into a mobile hotspot connecting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, gaming devices and digital cameras, simultaneously at 4G speeds where available and at 3G speeds anywhere on the Sprint 3G network for just $29.99 per month (excludes surcharges and taxes).
With the Sprint Free Guarantee, customers can take advantage of Samsung Epic 4G for 30 days. If not completely satisfied, customers may return the device within 30 days to get reimbursed for the device purchase and activation fee, get both the early termination and restocking fees waived, and receive a full refund for the monthly service plan charges.2
Blazing trails with Sprint 4G
Samsung Epic 4G joins a powerful list of 4G-capable devices from the only national wireless provider to offer 4G service today. Sprint 4G offers a faster wireless experience than any other U.S. national wireless carrier, and Sprint is the only national carrier offering wireless 4G service today in 48 markets. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G3,giving Samsung Epic 4G the fastest data speeds of any U.S. wireless device available today.
As the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. Sprint currently offers 4G service in these markets: California - Merced, Modesto, Stockton and Visalia; Delaware - Wilmington; Florida - Jacksonville; Georgia - Atlanta and Milledgeville; Hawaii - Honolulu and Maui; Idaho - Boise; Illinois - Chicago; Maryland - Baltimore; Michigan - Grand Rapids; Missouri - Kansas City and St. Louis; New York - Rochester and Syracuse; Nevada - Las Vegas; North Carolina - Charlotte, Greensboro (along with High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (along with Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Oregon - Eugene, Portland and Salem; Pennsylvania - Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Reading and York; Texas - Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco and Wichita Falls; Utah - Salt Lake City; Virginia - Richmond; Washington - Bellingham, Seattle, Tri-Cities and Yakima. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.
In 2010, Sprint expects to launch 4G service in multiple markets, including Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48.1 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. With its customer-focused strategy, you can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
1 HD video recording - Capture photos and videos for playback on your HD television.
2 Refund excludes usage not associated with the monthly service plan, premium content, third-party billing, international charges and associated taxes and Sprint surcharges.
3 "Up to 10x faster" based on download speed comparison of 3G's 600 kbps vs. 4G's 6 Mbps. Industry published 3G avg. speeds (600 kbps-1.7 Mbps); 4G avg. speeds (3-6 Mbps). Actual speeds may vary. Sprint 4G currently available in more than 45 markets and counting, and on select devices. See www.sprint.com/4G for details. Not all services are available on 4G and coverage may default to 3G/separate network where 4G is unavailable.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Visit www.sprint.com/newswroom or www.sprint.com/presskits for more information and images.
So why does this cost more than my Evo did? You blew it.
@Dession
It's much faster, has a better display, and a keyboard. All for $50 more. I think someone's jealous.
@grumbles It is *slightly* faster yes but certainly not enough to justify being $50 more than the EVO. And this thing better have a $10/mo unavoidable fee like the EVO or someone is going down.
@grumbles
LOL. Not jealous at all, sliders aren't my thang. $250 seems a bit odd. Everything else is $199.
@Dession I agree man. Plus that instant rebate is BS put in there to make it seem like you're getting a deal, and the mail in rebate is just another way to try and screw you...
@Dession
Agree with you 100%. I was really leaning towards this. In my mind they are about even. Epic has a slightly better (but smaller) screen with a slightly better processor and more memory. The Evo has the bigger screen, HDMI out, and most importantly, XDA hacking the crap out of it.
At $199 it would have been a really tough decision. Given that there is a $50 difference the Evo is the winner.
@yankdez
it was aug 20th when i saw it first on the page and after sometime when i went to the page again, it was showing 31st. something hapnd in those 30min that it got changed. this was way before engadget posted it here.
@Dession
Yea, sounds like someone has Buyers Remorse...
@Dession
$250 because it costs more to make than the EVO. Simple.
@yankdez
EPIC !
@grumbles I haven't chosen an Android phone yet, but I would pay to not use that horrid Samsung skin. I am sorry Samsung, I like android and the Galaxy S hardware, but stop screwing up the software!
@grumbles ok what is weird and messed up is that to walk out the door witht this phone your going to have to spend $350 most smartphones price point is $400 so in other words spend 50 more and not get looked into a contract on most carriers... this is a no brainier for me.. i will not be buying this phone
@benthe1 Yah, but it doesn't have any particularly better features, it's all basically standard, 1 ghz, 4 inch, amoled is high quality, but it's not the type of the thing that adds $50, every other phone is $199 (because apple did it first) and this makes no sense
@bjsguess
This Epic device must be better than the EVO for it to be $50 more. For me it comes down to HDMI vs S-AMOLED screen. I'm glad my upgrade date is in November so I have time to decide between the two Android giants.
@yankdez
well what can I say, I should have taken a screeshot to please you. anyways it does not matter now, does it? :)
@yankdez
check few other comments, the new ones. few others have seen it as 20th.
@The Dark Knight
The Epic 4G is the best consumer smartphone available.
Coupled with the best processor, storage, features and Samsung's build quality, this claim is hard to refute.
Shame that Epic 4G will easily be killed due:
1 no GSM (great you've just locked out 80% of the world)
2 no HDMI (great now that you've lost that too)
... something fishy is going on at Samsung, I mean they also removed LED-flashlight and the front-facing camera from the Galaxy S, seems like a waste of S-AMOLED reserves to me.
@trojangod
You only pay $350 if you buy it from Sprint directly. Most other places like Best Buy, Radio Shack, etc offer instant rebates so you'd only pay the $250.
@DizWhiz it also has a front facing camera which the other line up doesn't. That justifies it
@The Dark Knight
First it was a simple iOS vs Android fanwars, now android is dividing and now there will be Moto/HTC/Sammy/other manu's. Root for the underdog and go moto!
@Dession Use wirefly or cellulardeals.com, cellulardeals.com sells the droid x for $150 and the incredible for $100, i bet they'll have this for $150-200 when it launches, and they never ran out when everyone else did for the droid X, cant say the same thing for the evo though those things are scarce.
@Dession but then again, if they dont offer it for a lower price i might buy it without a contract seeing its not that much of a price jump
@Kangal
Really? Samsung has always let me down build quality wise.
@grumbles
This is EPIC!!!!
@Kangal
Moto defiantly has the best android build quality.
@iWebDroidBerry
That title would most def go to the HTC Legend.
@Dession
Looks pretty damn nice though.
@Jukah
Well its certainly not sammy i went through at least 10 glydes ;( ughhh just the name brings back painful dreadful horrible memories of torture and pain.
ILL NEVER GO BACK DAMN IT!!!
@DizWhiz Run a 3D game on it and try to tell me if it's just slightly faster.
That price and rebates is EPIC FAIL more like it. rofl, EVO owners day 1 are still waiting on their mail in rebates, Verizon takes like a week to send you a Visa with the credit.
Sprint and T-Mobile are both small time fail.
@Kangal If the Epic 4G is the same as the rest of the Galaxy S line, it'll have HDMI out through the Micro-USB port. That said, while this is essentially my dream phone, for $350 in the door I might reconsider the Droid 2's flaws.
@treats
thats gonna cost you a downrank mr
@Scrubs
yea I was gonna say.. I always thought samsung phones were pretty bad build quality and very cheap looking.
@treats
Let's see. As long as you get the money back, does it matter?
@treats
Not everyone got their Evo from a Sprint store. Some got it from retailers that offer instant rebates.
@Dession
It's the keyboard and I completely understand. I feel comfortable only using physical keyboards since I have such massive thumbs and my hands do shake a bit so I don't always hit the key I want. I've used swype but it gets my fingers sore after a while and it still doesn't take as quick as typing on a virtual keyboard for me. What I'm most disappointed about is TouchWiz, which is commonly known to be inferior to HTC's Sense. If this had Sense then I'd get it, but we got Samsung's crap :-/
@DizWhiz
Are you joking? The Evo spec wise doesn't even hold a candle to the Epic 4g. The Super Amoled screen alone is worth the extra price of admission.
The only reason one would even purchase a Evo over the Epic 4g would be if you wanted a slightly larger screen, a magnificent kickstand (sarcasm) to prop up the phone for viewing purposes or you don't want a slide out keyboard.
@Murphys Law
Best Buy Mobile FTW
@Dession expect some major 4G updates at launch.
@Dession
See: Super AMOLED display, faster Hummingbird processor, QWERTY keyboard, 4G WiMAX, 8GB internal flash, Bluetooth 3.0, gyroscope, DLNA, & FM radio.
It's a superior phone to the Evo in many ways. $250/$500 on/off contract for a phone of this magnitude is a non issue in my books. What I do have a problem with is this bullshit $100 rebate, which quite honestly shouldn't be there. At all.
And it can do it TV-out with 3.5mm jack, and that means TV-out for the whole OS, not just video and photo gallery.
@The Dark Knight november is a long time away. by then there will probably 2 more awesome android smartphones released. then you'll have an even harder time choosing. its best to go with an impulse buy i think. if you have to think about it you'll get nowhere cuz android phones keep one upping themselves.
@Dession Haha, I would have thought the other way around. That it's odd everything else is exactly $199...
Anywhoo.... the EVO has a LCD display, MUCH slower CPU+GPU combination and among other things not the ingenious USB/HDMI combination Samsung use.
Apart from that a physical keyboard will always make a device more expensive than a keyboard-less equivalent....
@EagleyeSmith Buyers remorse my ass the Evo still out shines the epic 4G, the speed difference is not by much, and Samsung's phones are crappy, ugly, and the touch screens are still as unresponsive as the original instinct lol so um need more? Ok, I'd rather have a bigger screen than super amoled displays real estate is that important
@bob1000
U DNT HAVE TO USE THE TOUCHWIZ UI, JUS INSTALL ADW LAUNCHER OR LAUNCHER PRO!
of course it matters! Why put up your own money and wait 8-12 weeks to get a rebate instead of dealing with a retailer that makes the rebate process unnecessary but provides the same price.
@MysticLeviathan
U DONT HAVE TO USE THE TOUCHWIZ UI IF YOU INSTALL ADW LAUNCHER OR LAUNCHER PRO!
@Dession Not the aged Palm Pre: still $249.99 just like last year.
@estarkey7
Indeed.
The one thing that people forget about is TAXES. These $150 MIR, you are paying additional taxes up front on the whole price and then you'll get a check in the mail after several months. So not only do you get ding by your state/federal government, these carriers are also holding your $100-$150 in a high-interest accounts so that they can make further money on you.
I wished that they would forget about these MIR and simply let me walk away without doing more work on my end, including stamps and trips to the post office. But I'm sure both the carrier and uncle sam would like you all to pay more up front... just because it's the capitalistic thing to do.
@PiCASSO
And just to add my venting: WTF is with the full ~$500 "off contract" pricing? Is there a discounted (unsubsidized) monthly plan that I can choose with Sprint like I can with T-Mobile? No... so what am I saving? Can I take my CDMA Spring Epic 4G and put it on Verizon's plan, let alone AT&T or T-Mobile? No... which is why we need to have some changes from the carrier that gouge you from both your left and right pockets. First the phone... then their plans.