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Yesterday we reported a hint from Samsung’s Galaxy S Facebook page suggesting Sprint could be announcing a launch date for their Epic 4G very soon. While this isn’t official, word of mouth is that the launch will come next week, with the Samsung Epic 4G dropping on August 11th. A source said the date is referenced in Sprint’s internal employee Playbook publication, and furthermore that some stores could be opening as early as 8AM to accommodate the release of the nation’s second 4G-enabled device. We know for the hardcore hardware keyboard crowd the Epic 4G sounds like a dream come true, though next week also could see the launch of the similarly keyboard-clad Droid 2 rumored for August 12th. Can the world handle that many hardware keyboards on high-end phones? Or will it be keyboard-mageddon?
[via BGR]
Oh please come out on the 11th! Please!
First!
This is the coolest news I’ve heard all week!
I will be there if this is confirmed. My Sprint store is just up the street.
First off ,keyboard-mageddon is just a sweet word. Nice Kevin. Second! WOOOO HOOOO!!!
Do want!!
All spring and summer I was aching for a high-end Android with a good keyboard, and now they both come out at the same time? Screw you Sprint.
There’s nothing in the playbook that says anything about an Epic 4G release on 8/11. Not a thing. Sorry folks
The Moment came out a few days before the Droid 1… Repeat?
The other Galaxy S phones that have been release (T-Mobile and AT&T) are plagued by issues with their GPS not working. I PRAY Sprint took a little time to address this with Samsung
This would have been the phone for me before I discovered swype, but for now, I’ll just sick to my EVO. Besides, im addicted to xda, and they only support HTC devices.
i’m not buying another phone until the battery issue is resolved. My Moment has a horrible battery life. with this running 4G and a 1GHZ in it, i’m not falling in line until at least a few months–lest an Evo list of issues occur again.
but on the other hand–oh my God i want this screen.
I am truly jealous. I hope verizon will fascinate us soon. Haha :p
Yeah this is a BS rumor. I am at work at a Sprint store right now looking at the playbook. There is NOTHING in there to suggest ANY launch date, let alone next week. They don’t even have a price on the list for it. Also, our rebates don’t end until 9-11-10, so more than likely it will be after that.
@james wait wait wait, are you trying to tell me that you dont think this is coming out til sept?! thats unacceptable
@Joshua- you have updated your software, right? My moment battery life is fine on 2.1. There was a known issue on cj-05 1.5, fixed by cl14, then 2.1. I’ve had my moment off the charger since 9am and its at 90%… I’m actually posting this from it.
I want one. But does anyone on here think that the phone is kinda ugly? the design is so 2000?
i’ll give you that, atleast when it comes to the keyboard
@Pete: they could surprise me and launch it before that. But having been in the business for over 5 years, I’ve never seen a phone launch and not be on the rebate list…unless it doesn’t have a rebate involved. The epic is my next handset, and I’m chomping at the bit too. I could be wrong, and there is always a first time for everything, but from my experience, that’s the way they do things.
@james i really do hope that sprint decides to launch this phone sometime in the near future because i can’t stand this samsung exclaim. i have been stuck with it for 2 years now and i would like to get either a EVO or EPIC but if i have ti wait any longer i might have to cave and get a something else.
@10 RJ
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=713
GG
My buddy has the AT&T version and I was playing with it yesterday and while the screen is really nice i unfortunately find it simply too small for me especially when browsing web pages..
didnt get to play with it much more then that though..touch wiz seemed like a lame iphone rip off and it doesn’t have any widgets for like music etc..
i really found that odd since they put so much into the media/game capabilities in the commercials.
i would still like to check the Epic out when its released but since everything is pretty much 2.2 now it wouldnt surprise me if this still comes out with 2.1 and some of the same gps etc flaws the other version experience now.
I really like the way the keyboard looks, it’s hard to say for sure without seeing it in person, but it looks alot the the keyboard of a Texas instruments TI-83 graphing calculator. I have very mixed feelings about this versus the droid 2; on one hand the super AMOLED screens are awesome, on the other hand I’d rather have Motorola’s android skin over 2.2 than Touchwiz over 2.1, on the other hand, the Epic 4g might not have an encrypted bootloader, but then again, there’s no guarantee that anybody’s going to put out a good ROM for the epic even if the bootloader is unlocked.
dont know about the rest of u but i had a moment and it was a chinsky device…..love htc…i have a hero…..its decent but not fast enough…love the 3.7 inch htc phones….all have trackball or joypad ..but o wait…….sprint doesn’t have any of them……just the battery sucking giant evo that u have to pay extra for….sounds tough for an upgrade from the hero……u got two months sprint
I really like this phone, but I get a pretty nice discount on Verizon. Anyone know if it would be possible to buy unlocked and activate on Verizon?
Wouldn’t be the first time an official launch date has been moved up. If the Droid2 is launching August 12, I can see Sprint making a last minute change. After all, T-Mobile pushed up the Vibrant’s date to coincide with the Droid X release.
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I’ll be waiting till Sept anyway. My ETF with T-Mobile will be $75/line by then vs. $200/line now.
How are the bootloaders on these phones?
Way To Go Verizon… way to be last in releasing the Galaxy S!
@Steve: Samsung Android phones are typically easy to root and ROM.
This phone better be EPIC cause if not im Evo and outta the cell phone hunt. Tired of reading and comparing these phones all the time. COME ON NOW EPIC!!!
Is the Epic available for preorder anywhere?
Ill buy this for my Mom. Since i cant have the same phone as her..and i want a keyboard…heres hoping Sprint makes its last 4G push of the year wit a Qwerty HTC device by November..
I’m currently on AT&T and was all in for the epic until I saw that they want $30 for wifi tethering. Thats rediculious. Unless I can wifi tether without the extra cost or the total comes in below my current $75/month I may wait. The longer they take to release this, show it’s not buggy, and get froyo on it, the closer I get to an HTC equivalent or droid 2 that’ll work on AT&T.
im pissed!!!!! now people are saying this info is false and its not in the sprint playbook. i need to call my sprint rep and find out when this phone is actually releasing because i am sick of my blackberry tour
please samsung make a gsm version of this one! I have the galaxy s now, but I really want the hardware keyboard, the flash and the less iphony lock!
I LOVE my hspa 7.2 vibrant with no contract 29.99voice + 19.99 unlimited internet, but this is going to hit within my 30-day buyer’s remorse period (corporate discount benefits).
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At this point, there’s no question in my mind that I will be picking up the Sprint Epic on launch day, and possibly committing to a 2 year contract with sprint..which kinda scares me because I really like the idea of dumping my vibrant on ebay and picking up something like the vision or vanguard towards the end of the year. Wonder how much a mint-ish vibrant will go for on ebay?
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Anyone have any opinions for me? How is t-mo’s HSPA 7.2 performance stacking up against Sprint’s hacktastic “4g” wimax buildout so far? Should I be afraid of being stuck on sprint for 2 years after the recent t-mo merger chatter from their CEO? Is $50 no contract + a $500 retail phone a sweet enough deal to counterbalance the epic’s sweet hardware keyboard (I do love swype, afterall) for a paltry $200 subsidized, yet hefty 2 year contract for an equally sweet $50/month (more corp discount benefits)?
@Gunner I don’t care about ease to root, I want to flash a firmware on it that is already rooted.
@Steve: He said ROM….you know…another word for firmware.
what are you guys all under 20 yrs old on here. get a damn life
get a life losers
August 20th confirmed as the official date!!!!
…via sdx-developers.com btw…
It makes sense they might crash this out, despite the playbooks. I’m a lurker, out of my Verizon contract, looking for a smartphone with a keyboard. So I was gonna get the Droid2 until I started hearing about this phone. Now I might switch to Sprint and save myself a few bucks in the process. I’m sure there are plenty of people like me who need a keyboard. And I can’t wait until September to make a purchase. If this doesn’t launch in August, it’s gonna seem like old news when it does launch.
If this phone releases next week, this phone will have GPS issues. All the Galaxy S phones released (including the ones released in europe – months ago) have had the issue.
@James,
yes i’m on 2.1, lowest screen brightness, StartUpKiller disabling stock apps from running, Eclair–Kernel2.6.29–Firmware 2.1-upd1
it’s fine on Standby, but as soon as 3 hrs passes & two texts arrive, it seems to be yellow-barred.
it’s the 2nd Moment i’ve experienced with this issue, both running 2.1, and it’s my biggest regret of the phone.
i’d switch to the Hero, but the processor is slower than the Moment–though my Moment seems to lag when dialing numbers…majorly…
anyone else have this problem?
hopefully the Epic causes an Evo price drop…cooommeee ooonnnnn price drop!
I am a t-mobile employee, and I work in customer care. We are having massive issues with our Galaxy S phone and we have a lot of people returning the devices. The ambled screen that has been touted as so wonderful is a POS. The gas is not worth having as ot never ever works properly. The touch wiz interface is a total joke, and almost everyone I talk to on the phone hates the phones. As for those of you wondering when GaPS+ will have a fallout? It is going to be a good long time. I have worked for t-mobile for almost a year, and.we keep hearing that it is coming. As of today… there is still no.official.date. Even though I work for t-mobile I have to admit.that the service sucks in most places I go.
I remain a.loyal Sprint customer and I love my Evo. My wife loves her Hero, and my daughter wanted the intercept…. another Samsung product. I find little.difference.between her Sprint intercept and the galaxy s phone. I am returning her Intercept and.will get her either a Hero which has 2.1 available or.an.Evo. Hope this helps everyone out.
@Bradd i don’t think u work for t-mobile how come i hear complete opposite stories about Samsung Vibrant??? Touch wiz is a total joke?? come on i think touch wiz is way better than same ol sense ui i think u have all this wrong and HTC Hero? come on 5 of my friends had it and 4 of them returned it because it was too buggy and slow one of them kept the phone because he had no choice but to keep it i work for t-mobile store and none of the customers who bought the vibrant didn’t return one i only had one exchange and that was about it oh EVO4G?? those 4 of my friends returned the Hero exchanged to the EVO4G actually and only 2 of them likes it (but they told me Evo also has lot of problems)
Okay its the 10th and i haven’t heard any news about it and honestly id think they’d update there website….. most likely not tomorrow…….
maybe if we all pray reeeaaaallll hard, it will come out tomorrow :D lol
I can just about guarantee that your GPS will not work on this phone! BUYER BEWARE!!!