Moment Review: The Samsung Lost In Time
| by Robfactory on November 17th, 2009 |
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What’s missing from this android recent release list?
1. Sprint Hero
2. Motorola CLIQ
3. Motorola Droid
4. HTC Droid Eris
Oh yeah, the Samsung Moment. The phone was released on November 1st, the same week Verizon’s Droid came out. Based on the media blitz Verizon and technology writers gave the Droid one would think the Moment was the Yugo of android phones.
Sprint really has been really quiet about advertising android. It has let word of mouth and forums like this do all the advertising for them. I was looking for reviews of the phone online and discovered there were only 2 real review videos on YouTube.
Other technology sites gave the phone a superficial look and moved over to the Droid or HTC Hero.
Then again it’s understandable. It’s not the 1st Android phone, it’s not the first android with a full QWERTY, it doesn’t have an innovative user interface (UI), it’s running a laggy 1.5 and it has a 3.2 MP camera.
However, it does have an 800MHz processor, a beautiful AMOLED 3.2, LED Flash, and 279mb of ram, which 260mb are usable.
Keyboard:
With every QWERTY phone there’s always an adjustment period, but a big part of adjusting to the phone’s keyboard is how the keys are laid out and how they are designed.
1. The keys could rise a bit more for faster typing.
2. The way the keys are laid out are not ideal. The@ sign can only be accessed by pressing the FN (function) key rather than being an individual key.
3. The direction keys are to the right of the phone rather than being on the left like most controllers.
Screen:
The AMOLED screen is stunning though there is a bluish hue. The screen is not the most responsive screen. I’m used to flicking through the 3 home screens by gently glassing my fingers over the glass. However, with this screen I’ve had to place my finger firmly and flick. Maybe adding a screen cover might help with the screen sensitivity issue.
Response:
Asides from the screen “issue” the phone is snappy and quite responsive.
Boot up time to reception and full functionality is 48 seconds on the Moment. This is significantly faster than the G1’s 1:10 seconds.
G1 boot up time
Moment boot up time
Software:
OS:
The Moment is running a hybrid of Android 1.5 and 1.6. Though there are certain parts that have improved from using this CDMA version of android, there is the persistent problem of lag between home screens and certain apps.
The Moment comes with the 3 standard home screens. The main home screen comes with the standard icons plus a Voice Mail icon that is used for visual mail. This app will save you on minutes and time.
The program lets you get your voice mail messages without having to call into your voicemail. It also allows the user to see how many VMs they have, their rendition and who they are from. It also lets them forward those messages as well as call the person back from the same interface.
Left Home screen:
This page is full of Sprint branded software.
Sprint TV is a great idea if it worked on Wi-Fi. Sprint asks the user to disable their Wi-Fi connection for the multimedia app to work. Performance then solemnly weighs in on Sprint’s 3G network to work.
One would think that Sprint would let people stream this through Wi-Fi to release some of the stress from their network. However, with 80,000+ customers recently leaving Sprint, network traffic seems not to be an issue.
The NFL app is a great feature for football fans. However, it lets you just track one team. The app gives you updates on your team. Once you click on the widget it takes you to a website that has video, news and articles about the team you are following.
Sprint Nascar app is similar to Sprint’s NFL app.
Sprint Navigation is a turn by turn GPS program that comes free with any of their $40+ voice and data packages. It’s similar to Telenav.
Right Home Screen:
This page is full of internet shortcuts (ESPN, CNN, YouTube, Facebook). It also has the Weather Channel’s weather widgets that works based on your location.
Additional Sprint apps include:
Nuance Voice Control:
This software is a lot like Google Voice command software. Some people could notice a difference between both. However, I’ve noticed that both have a lot to go before they are truly 100% useful.
Moxier Email/Work Task:
These two apps make it easier to sync and push emails from a Microsoft Exchange Server. It also lets the user see and edit their work calendar.
Note:
The software implemented from Sprint cannot be removed or shut down from the processes. I tried TasKiller and Task Control; however, both of these failed to shut down Voice Control and Moxier Email for more than 10 seconds. Since it’s running 1.5/1.6 I can’t see how much power each of these processes is taking up.
Google Maps:
Looking at Google Maps I’ve noticed that it’s exactly the same as the 1.6 version. One thing that is missing is the History of addresses one has searched. This feature I found to be very useful.
Music Player:
Same boring UI.
Camera:
The side camera button needs to be held firmly for about 2 seconds before the camera feature comes up. There’s a bit of a delay and that can be traced to 1.5 and 1.6.
Samsung has always been pretty good about mobile phone camera quality and adding their own photo software. The quality of the pictures are pretty good. The 3.2MP camera does have a LED flash and the camera button is very responsive, but there is a lack of creativity in the software department. Samsung decided to stick with the basic 1.5 UI. This was the one area I really expected the Moment to shine.
Below are couple of pictures in various lighting scenarios.
Video
Mouse/Track ball/Touch Pad:
The touch pad is laggy at best. At times I found myself having to repeat the swiping gesture more than once only for the lag to catch on to how many times I swiped my finger.
Battery Life:
Samsung should have used a 1500MAh battery instead of the 1440MAh. With regular use and the GPS off the phone lasted around 7 hours.
However, as soon as the GPS and Location were turned on the phone’s battery life reached around 5 hours.
I think this can be attributed to the Weather Channel widget on the right home screen.
Two options could be to disable the GPS or take down the weather widget.
Looks:
The phone will not turn heads. It’s smaller than the G1, but as thick and a bit wider.
The Home, MENU, and Back keys are part of a touch screen function.
The only true buttons on the front of the phone are the Call, End and TouchPad.
Tethering:
Yes, it can be done. I used PDANET’s software and was able to make the phone work as a modem.
However, one needs Samsung’s Moment USB Drivers. You will need to manually install these as MS Windows will not acknowledge them as legit/certified drivers.
Pros:
The screen is vibrant and video playback is a treat.
The processor does really make the phone a lot more responsive.
The phone has a good feel and it’s pretty solid.
The photo quality is good and even comparable to some of the 5MP cameras out there.
A 3.5 headphone jack.
Boot up time.
Cons:
Some software can’t be uninstalled or shut off.
Battery Life can easily dwindle if GPS is on.
Android 1.5/1.6 is laggy, but no fault of the Moment.
Keyboard key layout.
Screen picks up smudges easily.
It lacks a missed calls and missed messages warning light.
Writer’s Update:
A statement about battery use was stated in the comments section. I was able to get the phone and charge it, then let it run out of battery and fully recharge the phone again.
Regular use depends on the user as well as excessive use.
Having said this, I did read the battery section on the forum before doing the review and never experienced anything over 7 hours.
Also, this is with the screen brightness set at 100%.
1. Darin wrote on November 17, 2009
I own a Samsung Moment and I enjoy using this phone. I was an iphone user from the very first day and went original iphone to 3g iphone to Palm Pre (got rid of it because the phone always felt like it was ready to fall apart) to the Moment which I would have to say I am really impressed with. I actually like using Android more than the iphone os and way more than Palm’s webos. Sturdy phone with a nice keyboard. Only issue I have is the battery which gets me through barely a work day if I don’t put it on a charger during the day. But overall I am very happy with this phone and I paid full price for it too.
2. Brad wrote on November 17, 2009
“Android 1.5/1.6 is laggy, but no fault of the Moment.”
Interesting comment, as it implies that Android 2.0 is inherently faster. I wonder how much faster the Hero/Eris will be once they’re running Android 2.0. I look forward to the upgrade.
3. Colin wrote on November 17, 2009
I’m surprised no one has called you on the battery life yet. Moment users are easily getting 12-15 hours of moderate usage if you condition the battery; I leave my GPS and BlueTooth on all day and easily make it through, even amidst the myriads of e-mails, RSS feeds, and web browsing I do every day. The problem with the battery is the meter software, which doesn’t correctly the remaining battery. There is a huge thread on this on Android Forums:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-moment/13783-possible-battery-quirk.html
4. Dennis wrote on November 17, 2009
I think it’s important not to get too caught up in the version numbers game. A version upgrade may not necessarily be faster, especially if your adding new functionality. 1.5 wasn’t “laggy” to me, and 1.6 doesn’t seem faster.. Am I happy to have the upgrade ?, yes of course.. but do I think I am going to be shouting on the mountain if and when I get 2.0 ? .. I doubt it.. I would hate to see Android go the way of the PC, where the OS becomes so bloated that continually purchasing new hardware becomes a requirement, just to maintain basic livable usability.
5. l3reak wrote on November 17, 2009
Console controllers may usually have the d-pad on the left, but all keyboards, including most phone keyboards, have the arrows on the right. Even the Droid Does. It’s just a standard keyboard thing.
6. a wrote on November 17, 2009
$99 at bb now.
7. Ben wrote on November 18, 2009
Thanks for the review. It doesn’t seem to have that much going for it apart from the camera, which is outstanding compared to HTC’s android devices. Everything else can be pretty much shrugged off with a ‘meh’ … unfortunately it’s come out a few weeks too late and the Moto Droid does everything better.
8. Lowendall1880 wrote on November 18, 2009
@I3reak
We all know that it’s standard for the arrows to be on the right on a computer keyboard, but this setup most certainly decreases the functionality of this phone in comparison to ones with the d-pad on the left. If there is a trackball/optical mouse, then there is really no other reason to have a d-pad except for gaming function. The d-pad on the right is a waste of space for this phone.
9. a wrote on November 18, 2009
the moment has fewer quality control issues than the droid, and a much better camera and screen technology. android 2.0 is the droid’s main selling point over other android phones. 7 hours of continuous use is pretty much unprecedented for an android phone.
10. Fred wrote on November 18, 2009
@Fred – wow, a Droid fanboy? The Samsung Moment hardware size is much more ergonomic than the Droid. And the Droid doesn’t blow it away at all. The Droid has far more issues on its release than the Samsung Moment.
Check yourself before you write clueless comments like that.
11. Morenojose wrote on November 18, 2009
I purchased a moment on November 2. loved the fact that is very sturdy. Until I started having glitches with it last week, the moment will turn off by it self, volume will increase & decrease as i listen to the mp3 player and to make it more worst it wouldnt foward my msgs, text, ring, the reception sucks. I was waiting for this phone for so long and got dissapointed. May be samsung will fix the small problems that some moments are having to improve for their next android. Now I own the HTC Hero until now no problems.
12. CrPercodani wrote on November 18, 2009
The Droid sold wayyyy more units the the Moment which is why your hearing about more issues. Pretty much any phone that sells over 100k in the first week will have a good amount of “lemons”. Also the Droid was marketed a lot better then the Moment so you have users who are new to Android and don’t really know how to use it, most people who bought the Moment are upgrading from another Android phone, or some other smartphone.
13. Greg wrote on November 18, 2009
I like my Moment, get good battery life (except when I play Robo Defense half the day which ends up having the screen on for 30-40 minutes a play). I’ll second the battery quirks. It will rapidly go from say 100% to 70% or 80%, sit there for an hour or two of use, then do a quick drain down by 20-30%, then sit at that number for 2 hours or more. When I did the first drain down to condition my battery, it was at 15% power for like 90 minutes despite my running a flashlight app most of that time.
14. David wrote on November 18, 2009
I love my moment and will surely keep it but I am having battery issues also, it drains down really fast, I have not let it drain down until it shuts off but when it gives the warning LOW BATTER, the screen goes dim, and will not return to full brightness until it is recharged. Does anyone know how long it stays on when the screen goes dim and you get the warning??? Also you can have up to 7 home screens or extentions by downloading Open Home from the market!
15. Jason wrote on November 19, 2009
My Moment lasts approx 18 hours with fairly heavy usage (and GPS on) before it needs a charge. I downloaded a task killer and kill things like NFL mobile to help. You definitely want to drain the battery completely until the phone shuts off and re-charge a couple times.
David – Open Home does allow for 7 screens. I set mine to 5 though. I have Open Home on my Moment, but I do not let it be the default. When I hit the home screen button, I choose between Home or Open Home. I have heard stories of Open Home not loading correctly, then basically bricking your phone because it keeps rebooting. Not setting it as the default keeps that from ever happening (it may not ever happen anyways). Open Home works great on my Moment, and I would recommend it.
16. ByteEnable wrote on November 23, 2009
We can all read spec’s. What is this a review of?
Problems with the Samsung Moment:
1. aGPS does not work.
2. Audio pop from speaker when dialing.
3. Audio skip/stuffer/distortion on initial playback.
4. Wireless WPA2 Enterprise protocol not supported.
5. Battery charge indicator broken.
17. Sprint’s Moment: Open Source Released By Samsung | Android Phone Fans wrote on November 24, 2009
[...] For a review of the Moment click here. [...]
18. eeeee wrote on November 30, 2009
I don’t have any issues with the GPS on the moment. I just
used it today. I love this phone!!
19. Cody wrote on December 7, 2009
I transitioned from the Droid to the Moment solely on the Verizon plan being near double what I’m paying now.I’m pleased to say I enjoy the moment and when it gets the android 2.0 it will beat the Droid processor wise.I seemed unaffected by the screen clarity. Does anyone remember having a razor? I have a feeling that the Droid will suffer from the hardware going to shit like most Motorola phones… Not that I hate the Droid I just don’t trust motorola…
20. Rich wrote on December 10, 2009
ByteEnable – not sure where you got your information (perhaps you’re having these problems with your phone?) but I have a moment and have none of the issues in your list. WPA2 DOES work – that is what my network at home is and I connect fine to it. I haven’t had it long enough to see the battery problem – mine lasts all day and I don’t worry about what the indicator says mainly because everyone else is saying it’s inaccurate. I have not had it power off on me yet. I wish they would do an update to 2.0, but it stands worlds above my last phone which was an HTC Titan!
21. ajiarcher wrote on December 23, 2009
I purchased my first monent in mid november. I’m sorry to say phone has been a problem. In fact this is my second phone, first one was replaced after three weeks because of os freezing, could not shut down without removing battery twice.
Other issues are gps rarely works even outdoors,even more rarely inside car or bus.
Missed calls due to phone going into either airplane or silent mode by itself.
Not being able to turn off silent mode, when I do in settings it turns on in start up, really frustrating, have to reboot phone.
Battery life is about 4 hours, will try draining ’till it shuts down and then recharge.
It’s a shame I like the phone setup, this is my first pda phone, screen is excellent, also like full keyboard, but so far the moment had been more of a monster.
22. titmanager wrote on February 1, 2010
I got the moment the day it came out. The only real issue I had was with Pandora. Apparently (as per the tech support guy) Pandora does not work too well with the Moment. The only thing I am irritated about is my signal in my house. Its garbage, and my battery life sucks as well. I talk for 30 minutes and I am down to 30%. However, seeing as how I don’t have any money for a new phone I just have to make due. Just one question here. Is there anyway to get a UMA app or something so I can synch it to my wireless router?
23. george wrote on February 17, 2010
I love the moment but I have replaced mine three times now it will shut itself off w a full bettery at times and I have to take the ?does anyone know if a bad app or charger could cause this?
24. Mayo wrote on March 7, 2010
@Rich: You have to read carefully. What ByteEnable said is true. You don’t have WPA2 Enterprise at home. Nobody has. You’re using WPA2 Personal at home. It works with Moment no question. But Moment doesn’t hook up to WPA2 Enterprise, which is used in companies or schools, just like my campus network. It actually is an Android problem, not restricted to Moment. At least that’s what the IT guy told me. WPA2 Ent can’t even be detected by Android phones. But Sprint has good EVDO coverage at my school. So not a big deal for me.