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Samsung ATIV S Neo
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Samsung
ATIV
Engadget - Not yet scored
0
Critics
3 reviews73
AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE
Users
3 reviews83
AVERAGE USER SCORE
View All Critic & User Reviews
Samsung ATIV S Neo
- Critic Reviews (3)
- User Reviews (3)
- 73AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE3 ReviewsPC Mag80Samsung Ativ S Neo (Sprint)The Samsung Ativ S Neo is proof Windows Phone shopping doesn't have to start and end with Nokia.Laptop Magazine70Samsung ATIV S Neo (Sprint) ReviewThis $99 smartphone offers solid performance, a large and vivid display, and an impressive 8 hours of battery life. However, the design feels fairly chunky, and the camera quality could be better.CNET70Samsung Ativ S Neo review: Decent Windows phone haThough it's an unexceptional smartphone overall, the middle-of-the-road Samsung Ativ S Neo is a safe choice for those who shop by price.
- 83AVERAGE USER SCORE3 ReviewsEngadget Reader90April 1, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetNuAngel70November 8, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!UPDATE: I've gone through 2 of these in the last year before switching away to a new phone. After having the phone for over a year, in a period of 8 months I ended up breaking 2. Each time it was an unfortunate and hard impact that cracked the screen. In itself, I think each one is understandable that the screen would crack, the impacts and conditions were much harder than your average drop. It's not the fact that the screen cracked that makes me drop the durability score, however. The problem is that, once the screen cracks, (whether it was a very minor fracture down near the capacitive 'back' button, or a full-screen series of fissures) the touch screen completely disabled on both occasions. The phone was 100% unusable. I can't tell you the number of cracked iPhones I've seen that people just deal with and continue to use, BECAUSE THEY CAN. I had no option but to replace the phone each time, and that I found fairly unacceptable. Original review below...I love Windows Phone 8. Just as I loved Windows Phone 7 before it. It gets a bad wrap for not having a lot of apps, but all of the apps that I actually use on a day-to-day basis are right here when I need them. I can do my banking, all of my email and chat programs, social networking, etc… several of the networks can be integrated directly with the phone, even without the specific app installed: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can all be updated from the “Me†tile with just a couple of tapsThe downside seems to be a known issue with Windows Phone 8 that Spring and Microsoft have refused to officially acknowledge and tell us whether or not a fix is on the way. The overwhelming majority of WP8 users (both this Samsung model and the HTC model) are reporting that the voicemail indicator does not work. You have no idea that you have a voicemail until you actually force yourself to manually call in and listen – hoping “there are no new messages†is all you hear. This is a massive frustration we have brought to Sprint’s attention in the support forums, and they try to go through troubleshooting steps with you each time, as though it is a problem that can be resolved on the headset when it appears that THOUSANDS of WP8 handsets have the issue. Windows Phone 7 had no such problem, and I’ve strongly considered going back to my HTC Arrive because of this.The phone ITSELF, though, is amazing. The hardware design is beautiful, it’s nearly identical to the Galaxy S4. The processor and memory make for one of the fastest WP8 devices you can buy, the screen supports beautiful 720p resolution, and although it’s no Lumia 1020, it takes beautiful pictures and video, although I do find the flash to be slightly off which can lead to difficulty when trying to use something like the Chase bank app’s Quick Deposit feature where you need to photograph checks. I don’t buy cases for my phones, and even riding in my pocket with change and other items, the back and screen of the phone are scratch free and still beautiful to look at. The large screen can make the phone a bit wide for some peoples hands, mine included, but I don’t mind the size when the image quality is just SO good.Although most of my scores warrant an 8/10, the unaddressed (but well documented in forums) problems with voicemail and the known need for Sprint's network to improve drop the desirability of this model for most users.Engadget Reader90August 28, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I feel like CNET's review of the Samsung ATIV S Neo from Sprint is a disservice, and highly inaccurate. They seemed to be rating more the quality of the network in their area than the actual phone itself, so here's my user review after using the phone for just about a week...Look & Feel: This phone looks and feels about like any other Samsung device, which is expected. No major surprises here. It feels good in the hand for being a 4.8" screen size, and feels pretty light. It's not as brick-like as some of the Lumias but seems pretty durable, although I'm not about to test my luck - I usually take very good of my phones and avoid anything that would break them.Display: 720p resolution on a TFT screen instead of AMOLED. This is a step up from the 8XT's sub-par 480x800 resolution. Honestly, I don't see what all the fuss regarding the TFT screen is about. The screen and colors are bright and clear, and I honestly can't really tell the difference. Viewing angle is very good no matter how I'm looking at the phone - the backlight seems to help. As I mentioned before, it's got a 4.8" screen. I have no complaints with the display whatsoever. Looks nice, man.Battery: The battery is removable on the ATIV S Neo (another plus for this WP8 device), and lasts a pretty decent amount of time. Nothing out of the ordinary for a smart phone. I don't intensively use my phone for battery draining tasks like playing games 24/7 or Netflix - those are just occasional things. If you moderately use your phone for texting, some web browsing, standard tasks, etc. you won't be let down. I was able to get a single full charge with moderate use to last me about 2 days with the battery saver on. This is what I'm used to on smart phone devices. Nothing disappointing, but nothing absolutely stellar.OS & Other Features: Specs are pretty standard. 1gig RAM, 16GB internal storage, 1.4GHz dual-core processor. Nothing that'll blow you or most windows phones away, but I'd say those specs are about as good as any Lumia 920/x with maybe some very miniscule differences. The performance and Windows Phone operating system on the ATIV S Neo is snappy, responsive, and just works as I'd expect it to. The App selection on Windows Phone 8 is obviously improving. I'm not a huge app junkie, but the ones I did use on Android were easily replaced on WP8. One final point I'd like to make is that the storage space is expandable via SD card slot, up to 64GB. This is great, and should be a damn standard on smart phones by now. If you gave me a 32GB internal storage device but it wasn't expandable, that, in my opinion, isn't as good as 16GB with SD capability.Camera: The camera is 8MP, which for me (and most users, probably) is just fine. I don't need a 41MP camera, as I don't take pictures that often. Photo quality as far as I can tell is OK - it's decent. I don't think it holds a candle to the Lumia low-light photos that they rightfully hold the quality title, but if a decent camera is just a bonus for you on a phone, the ATIV S Neo's 8MP camera is certainly good enough. It's a lot better than the 5MP camera I had on my 3 year old Android phone before switching, so I'm happy. Sound & Call Quality: I'm no audiophile, but as far as I can tell the audio quality is good. I've asked those who I've called about the quality and they say it's pretty good, and sounds better and more clear, with less background noise than my old device. Calls are A-OK. I'm also not one of those people who blasts music on the speakers of their phone, but I tried it out just to see how well they do. Analysis - pretty good. Once again, an upgrade from my old Samsung Epic. Sure, it's probably not as awesome as the HTC's BoomSound, but I have no real complaints. Headphone quality seems pretty good too.Now if only it was slightly cheaper to upgrade... $200 out of pocket, with a $50 rebate in the mail. Seeing as how it's almost the same as last year's ATIV S, it could have done with a better price, but some of that blame lays on Sprint, not just Samsung. Sprint does have a deal going on all their phones right now (not JUST Windows devices), but that deal only applies to new lines or service, not upgrades.TLDR; If you're on Sprint and want a WP8 device, this is the one to get. You won't be disappointed.
Key Specs
TYPE
Smartphone
OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows Phone
SCREEN SIZE
4.7722
INTERNAL MEMORY
167
CAMERA
Yes
TALK TIME
3G
CARRIERS (US)
Sprint-Nextel
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