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This smartphone has most of the features of the more current S III, but features a sliding keyboard that adds convenience for the very active texter. This phone was purchased for my children, who text constantly, and they enjoy it so much that I was begged to find the same phone when one broke. The battery life seems to be about the same as any other smartphone, and they need to be charged every day with the use they get from my children. However, batteries seem inexpensive and you can buy a battery and a charger to keep a spare charged at all times, which my children opt to do. What I like: -sliding keyboard is easy to use if you text a lot. -same features and applications available as more current technology, firmware updates available. -memory is easy to expand using a mini-SD card. I don't know if there is an upper limit to the memory size of the mini-SD, but we have 16GB that we use. What I don't like: -the screen seems somewhat fragile, and I've had one crack from a fall onto the corner. -good cases to protect against falls are almost impossible to find. -sliders are typically more fragile than one-piece phones because they have more moving parts, though I haven't had any trouble yet. -the screen costs more to replace than buying a new phone.Read full review
When they name a product "Epic," there is a certain expectation established and a bar set. The Samsung Epic is one of those phones that nearly lived up to the hype when new and still has a few tricks up its sleeve for us today. Epic is the Sprint variant of the first Galaxy S, Samsung's flagship device. While the landscape is dull and monotone today, it was a different story when the Galaxy S was still hot news because each carrier got its own special version of the device. With Sprint's heritage being that of the critically acclaimed HTC Touch Pro 2, Samsung really wanted to put out something special in order to pay homage to that legacy, so they gave Sprint the the only (at the time) Galaxy S with a horizontal slider keyboard, which is truly its killer feature. The Epic's 'board represents the pinnacle of smartphone keyboards, surpassing even the legendary Touch Pro 2. To this day, it is still hailed as the best ever. Also unmatched is its Wolfson audio system, which outputs excellent sound that rivals even the more expensive music players and iPods. To this day, the audio quality on the Epic is a step above average. The big weaknesses of the original Galaxy S phones, the Epic included, were the screen and lack of memory. The "S" in Galaxy S stands for "Super AMOLED," an alternative screen technology that stands to deliver superior contrast to conventional LCD panels. While it does deliver in that area, its substandard subpixel layout leads to a slight reduction in actual resolution due to some pixels having to share a green. Also, these panels are known for their sickly green tint which can only be corrected by making use of a third-party kernel. As far as the memory is concerned, 512MB is just not enough to be able to multitask smoothly. Even when the phone was new, Android software was starting to adopt the practice that it has embraced today of taking up inordinately-huge amounts of memory. For this reason, applications are likely to be erased from memory almost as soon as they are exited, creating a delay when the user attempts to enter back into them. This problem affects even newer devices with 1.5-2GB of memory, but hits especially hard for all smartphones of this era. In all other areas, the Epic score neither better or worse than its contemporaries. Radio performance, battery life, and cameras are all average for the time. Also, the FM radio in these models, like many others of the day, is shorted out internally, making it impossible to pick up any stations. In conclusion, the Epic is a unique device that history will remember as the "Good Galaxy S." Its outstanding keyboard gave it the edge over its platform-mates and brought customers to Sprint in droves (before they all left upon finding out how bad the data connection was in those dark days). The excellent sound system and other attention-to-detail aspects on display, such as the cover over the MicroUSB port and Wolfson audio, were seen as added bonuses. I wouldn't recommend the Epic for anything other than text messaging and email nowadays, and the screen certainly does leave a lot to be desired, but for the prices that these things are selling for now, you absolutely cannot beat it.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes
First of all I am retired and at home. I needed a new phone like a hole in the head. That said, lets get on with it. My last phone an LG Lx370 was very good, and worked great but screen was too small to surf the web and text mail.. In came the Samsung Epic 4G. Did not want to wait for 7 months for my upgrade price so bought one on ebay. Paid almost $200.00 more, but had lots of xtras that made up for the additional cost. The seller was fantastic and the phone operates wonderfully. Taking me a while to get use to but that is expected since I am not a phone genius. Battery life is a little dismal unless you go to all the Android forums and find out how to shut off all the extra (background) running services. I don't use the phone much, so after the first couple of weeks fooling around with it, The battery is lasting about 4 days (16 hours each) Turn off at bedtime. Have extra battery and charger (a must) to have one fresh if I need it. Samsung has not come out with the Froyo 2.2 update that they promises yet. This is suppose to make this phone run smoother and better. Oh Well!! Just have to wait. I am still learning an enjoying this phone though. Some say I should have got the HTC EVO. But I like this phone. Found a nice horizontal case and is holding the phone well. Must be careful when useing the touch screen. It goes into other applications by mistake with the slightest touch. Like when I was trying to Edit a phone contact, I ended up calling the person by mistake. The slide out keyboard is a plus with good size keys. (another learning experience). Well thats about it for now. Paid $365.00 for this baby!!Read full review
So, I had an EVO before this and wanted to try it out because I was just so capitvated by the screen. First things first, no Android 2.2. Secondly, the navigation buttons on the bottom don't respond as well as the EVO. You have to press them hard, especially the BACK Button (which doesnt always respond). There isn't any zoom on the camera, but it takes great pitures. There are VERY few widgits. Its hard to fill up screens and I wish it had a largely displayed calendar. I also hate that you can only choose one clock instead of having different clocks on the screen. The GPS is terrible. It doesn't always find your location, and when it does, it's about 20 feet off or sometimes, across the street. The keyboard is amazing and the SWYPE texting is phenomenal! The screen is beautiful and vibrant and responsive. I like the shape and the build of the phone, and a 16GB memory card is perfect!! The HOME/BACK/MENU/SEARCH buttons on the physical qwerty are really great and its easy to text too because theres plenty of space between the letters.Read full review
Moving up from an HTC Hero, the Samsung Epic 4G is awesome and very fast. The screen doesn't freeze or slow down at all, like the Hero's, and the functions are very intuitive. The screen is very clear and large, without the phone seeming too bulky, like the HTC EVO. Swype texting takes sometime to get used to but it's cool and even kind of fun to use. The slide out keyboard makes typing emails and longer texts very easy. Everyone I know uses an iPhone and I did have iPhone envy when I had my Hero. Lately for me, this phone makes the iPhone appear somewhat dull in comparison. I guess it's the screen brightness and size and the speed of the phone (not just the 4G speeds, but everything you use on the phone, like pushing buttons, etc, is fast!) The biggest and only drawback for me would be that the battery drains fast, especially if you're using 4G. It would be wise to purchase an extra battery and you can just use one and charge the other and switch back and forth as needed. This way you won't spend your time having to keep your phone connected to a charger. Replacement batteries with chargers are very inexpensive on ebay, Amazon, etc.Read full review
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