A900 vs 920 vs Kitana?

I have been a Sprint customer for a long time, and I still have my
original phone, the Samsung 8500.

I like the phone, obviously it has proven to be pretty durable, since
it has lasted about 4-5 years.

I was looking to get the A900, but at the store, the clerk said the
battery life isnt good and that I should get the 920 instead.

Then he said the Kitanna is just about the same as the A900 but is more
durable.

Hows the quality/durability on these phones?
I like the design of the 900 and kitanna better.

But my concern with the kitanna is that since it is so new, the
'bugs'/problems wont be known for awhile, while the 900 has been around
for awhile, so the bugs are pretty well known.

The only bug I heard about the 900 is the battery life, but someone
told me that if I disable the GPS chip then its a lot better....true?
(and is it easy to do)

Thanks

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› See More: A900 vs 920 vs Kitana?

[email protected] wrote:
> I have been a Sprint customer for a long time, and I still have my
> original phone, the Samsung 8500.
>

Excellent phone for its day. Standard old CDMA .. no 1x.

> I like the phone, obviously it has proven to be pretty durable, since
> it has lasted about 4-5 years.
>
> I was looking to get the A900, but at the store, the clerk said the
> battery life isnt good and that I should get the 920 instead.
>

I held the A900 and immmediately decided it was flimsy and was constructed
very cheaply. The price you pay to get a super thing phone I guess. The 920
has a wonderful feel and is by far the nicest phone I have even owned (for all
of 24 hours). I found that the 920 is digital only and that it really didn't
want to roam onto another digital provider unless I forced it too. It
preferrred stay on Sprint's network, even though the signal was not usable
[all call attempts result in "signal faded"]. I work in a fringe area, so I
was accutely aware of this issue. Having said that, its reception is
fabulous, as long as you don't expect it to roam automatically in an area
where it really should. I suspect most people would not be in a situation
such as mine, so it is probably not a big deterrent for you.

Oh yes ... keep in mind it has not extendable antenna, which may or may not
matter. My current Sanyo 7400 certainly benefits from extending the antenna.


> Then he said the Kitanna is just about the same as the A900 but is more
> durable.
>

I have little doubt he is correct on that point.

> Hows the quality/durability on these phones?
> I like the design of the 900 and kitanna better.
>

The 920 was very durable and I highly recommend it above the thinner form
factor. The Katana is my next recommendation, but that recommendation is
based upon what I have read, as I have not held that phone, although it MUST
be more durable than the Samsung A900.

> But my concern with the kitanna is that since it is so new, the
> 'bugs'/problems wont be known for awhile, while the 900 has been around
> for awhile, so the bugs are pretty well known.
>

It's a Sanyo, I wouldn't worry too much about that. The Samsung A920 updates
its software over the air, so you get the latest fixes quickly, but I am not
sure they are going to do that with the Katana as it doesn't support EVDO.

> The only bug I heard about the 900 is the battery life, but someone
> told me that if I disable the GPS chip then its a lot better....true?

You probably want to disable EVDO, not GPS (for battery conservation
purposes).

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Joel wrote:
> - The battery does go down quick *unless* you turn off the GPS then the
> standing by would last for few days (3-4 days at least?).

> > told me that if I disable the GPS chip then its a lot better....true?
> > (and is it easy to do)
>
> Yes, that's what I read before getting the A900, and it makes a big
> difference. I read the newer software version (firmware) does help, and you
> can upgrade software directly from A900.

I went to the store and asked the clerk about this.
He said it is impossible to turn off the GPS, he said that its Federal
Law to have it in cell phones, so you cant turn it off.

How did you turn off the GPS?

Thanks

The GPS chip in the 900 is a POS. It doesn't even work! Application such as
Garmin and Telenav do not work with the 900. Sprint execs have been trying
to get Samsung to fix the 900 for the past six months with no success. Get
the A920. It has a functional GPS, and better battery life.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Joel wrote:
>> - The battery does go down quick *unless* you turn off the GPS then the
>> standing by would last for few days (3-4 days at least?).
>
>> > told me that if I disable the GPS chip then its a lot better....true?
>> > (and is it easy to do)
>>
>> Yes, that's what I read before getting the A900, and it makes a big
>> difference. I read the newer software version (firmware) does help, and
>> you
>> can upgrade software directly from A900.
>
> I went to the store and asked the clerk about this.
> He said it is impossible to turn off the GPS, he said that its Federal
> Law to have it in cell phones, so you cant turn it off.
>
> How did you turn off the GPS?
>
> Thanks
>

[email protected] wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
> Joel wrote:
>> - The battery does go down quick *unless* you turn off the GPS
>> then the
>> standing by would last for few days (3-4 days at least?).
>
>> > told me that if I disable the GPS chip then its a lot
>> > better....true? (and is it easy to do)
>>
>> Yes, that's what I read before getting the A900, and it makes a
>> big
>> difference. I read the newer software version (firmware) does help,
>> and you can upgrade software directly from A900.
>
> I went to the store and asked the clerk about this.
> He said it is impossible to turn off the GPS, he said that its Federal
> Law to have it in cell phones, so you cant turn it off.
>
> How did you turn off the GPS?
>
> Thanks
>
>Tools extras

> > I went to the store and asked the clerk about this.
> > He said it is impossible to turn off the GPS, he said that its Federal
> > Law to have it in cell phones, so you cant turn it off.
>
> "GPS" is the new features which you can use cell phone as GPS, and this is
> a paid service *not* free.


I actually spoke to 2 different clerks (2 different stores) about this
(trying to gather info to choose a phone)
They both said that all cell phones currently being made have the GPS
chip in there, and they have to stay active. In case the person is
kidnapped, etc.
You might not get the GPS service, but the chip is on, they said.

Of course, a 3rd clerk told me you can fit 2,500 mp3s/songs on the A900
(50 megs)

[email protected] wrote:
>> > I went to the store and asked the clerk about this.
>> > He said it is impossible to turn off the GPS, he said that its Federal
>> > Law to have it in cell phones, so you cant turn it off.
>>
>> "GPS" is the new features which you can use cell phone as GPS, and this is
>> a paid service *not* free.
>
>
> I actually spoke to 2 different clerks (2 different stores) about this
> (trying to gather info to choose a phone)
> They both said that all cell phones currently being made have the GPS
> chip in there, and they have to stay active. In case the person is
> kidnapped, etc.
> You might not get the GPS service, but the chip is on, they said.
>

If you deactivate location, GPS is off. The only time it will turn on is if
you dial 911. You can NOT disable the activation of GPS when calling 911.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Joel <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> [email protected] wrote:
>> >> > I went to the store and asked the clerk about this.
>> >> > He said it is impossible to turn off the GPS, he said that its Federal
>> >> > Law to have it in cell phones, so you cant turn it off.
>> >>
>> >> "GPS" is the new features which you can use cell phone as GPS, and this is
>> >> a paid service *not* free.
>> >
>> >
>> > I actually spoke to 2 different clerks (2 different stores) about this
>> > (trying to gather info to choose a phone)
>> > They both said that all cell phones currently being made have the GPS
>> > chip in there, and they have to stay active. In case the person is
>> > kidnapped, etc.
>> > You might not get the GPS service, but the chip is on, they said.
>> >
>>
>> If you deactivate location, GPS is off. The only time it will turn on is if
>> you dial 911. You can NOT disable the activation of GPS when calling 911.
>
> And I am not talking about this 911 GPS, but the *real* GPS which displays
> Street Map on the LCD.
>

I know what you are talking about. They use the same GPS, which is a
combination of real GPS and cell tower signalling in most cases. They are one
in the same. They can activate it for software (i.e. navigation) or they can
activate it for E911 ... but they are both the same.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Joel <[email protected]> wrote:
> The one most newer cell phones (have been around for some years now) have
> give the phone company option to locate where the call come from. The GPS
> feature of Samsung A-900 can be used as GPS device (like Garmin, Tom-Tom GPS
> or the GPS system on some newer car) to guide cell phone user how to locate
> home address. IOW, you should be able to see Street Map and location where
> you are etc..
>

Indeed ... and it can be used for E911 ... rather than the old traditional
triangulation approach used by tower distances and perhaps one sat reading.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1