Short review of a930

I have been using my a930 for over a week now and give it an A++ so far.

1. Loudness - A+++
2. Speaker phone - A+++ Button C+
3. Easy to use - A+++
4. Camera - A++ (For a phone)
5. Battery - C
6. Reception at home and about - A++ (Inside K-mart or Wal-Mart type store - C lose signal when in aisles).
I haven't connected it to my PC let, But will this week sometime.

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Originally Posted by oldgoat

I have been using my a930 for over a week now and give it an A++ so far.

1. Loudness - A+++
2. Speaker phone - A+++ Button C+
3. Easy to use - A+++
4. Camera - A++ (For a phone)
5. Battery - C
6. Reception at home and about - A++ (Inside K-mart or Wal-Mart type store - C lose signal when in aisles).
I haven't connected it to my PC let, But will this week sometime.

This is a very accurate review of this phone. I've had mine a couple of weeks and love it! Alot of people have commented on loving the look and feel of it.

With the battery thing, I just ordered an extended battery and am waiting for it to arrive.

Alot more of the menu stuff is way more dedicated than my moto E815 I was used to but you do get used to it very easily.

The swiveling camera is very cool too, with almost too many options for a camera.

I would say I only have one minor complaint (con) about it.

1) When you're using speakerphone with the flip closed, which is very convenient, and will probably extend the life of the flip (as in not hitting on something, etc)...if YOU end the call you're on, the speaker gets turned off and you have to open the flip back up and turn it on again. If you let the person you're talking to end the call, the speaker will stay on.

Other than that, it's a great phone, different than the Razr for sure and the lack of an external antenna is pretty cool too, for those who worry about dropping the phone on the ground, antenna first. It just takes a little getting used to of knowing where, and where not to hold the phone where the internal antenna is housed on the back.

A couple of other cool things too, you can turn the Verizon banner on the idle screen OFF permanently, and you can also delete ALL of the factory default pictures if you don't like them. I found this out the hard way and actually deleted a couple that I liked and can only get them back if I have the phone reflashed.

There a couple of okay ringtones (two, ringers NOT songs) and I am still looking for a way to download more 'regular' ringers, not songs.

I'd give this phone at least a 4 out of possible 5, also without trying to connect it to my PC.

very nice! rewards for all!

Thanks for the info. I was a longtime Wireless Advsior member. Lately not much useful info sharing going on. Glad to have found this site. I just ordered two 930's should get thenm any day. Looks and now sounds like a great phone. I'm curiuos if you could post a review of the extended battery. the 950 ext battery semed awfuly bulky. I'm hoping this is less so.

Oppie

Originally Posted by dude222

This is a very accurate review of this phone. I've had mine a couple of weeks and love it! Alot of people have commented on loving the look and feel of it.

With the battery thing, I just ordered an extended battery and am waiting for it to arrive.

Alot more of the menu stuff is way more dedicated than my moto E815 I was used to but you do get used to it very easily.

The swiveling camera is very cool too, with almost too many options for a camera.

I would say I only have one minor complaint (con) about it.

1) When you're using speakerphone with the flip closed, which is very convenient, and will probably extend the life of the flip (as in not hitting on something, etc)...if YOU end the call you're on, the speaker gets turned off and you have to open the flip back up and turn it on again. If you let the person you're talking to end the call, the speaker will stay on.

Other than that, it's a great phone, different than the Razr for sure and the lack of an external antenna is pretty cool too, for those who worry about dropping the phone on the ground, antenna first. It just takes a little getting used to of knowing where, and where not to hold the phone where the internal antenna is housed on the back.

A couple of other cool things too, you can turn the Verizon banner on the idle screen OFF permanently, and you can also delete ALL of the factory default pictures if you don't like them. I found this out the hard way and actually deleted a couple that I liked and can only get them back if I have the phone reflashed.

There a couple of okay ringtones (two, ringers NOT songs) and I am still looking for a way to download more 'regular' ringers, not songs.

I'd give this phone at least a 4 out of possible 5, also without trying to connect it to my PC.

Also...there have been complaints that there is no quick button for manner mode (vibrate). i understand that you can quickly put the phne in manner mode by: opening the phone, with the exterior keys - silence the phone, the adjust up to vibrate using the side keys. I've read this. I'll try it when I get my phone.

Oppie

Yes, this site is amazing!

Okay, here you go:
1) The battery. Just got it yesterday, size-wise, it's not much more bulky and doesn't make the phone that much heavier. To be honest with you, it was almost too light with the standard battery and I felt like I would drop from the weightlessness when I went to take it out of the holster. Not sure about the battery life yet, but I should know that in the next day or so. In general, I'd take the extra life for a bit of bulk, so I don't have to worry about the thing going low, or dead, on days with heavy use.

2) Quick vibrate. For any of the ringer volume settings, you can easily control them (with the flip open) by pressing the rocker up or down to whatever setting you want. They are as follows : High, Med High, Med, Med Low, Low, Vibrate Only, Alarm Only & All Sounds Off. When you choose one of these settings, the left soft key also gives you the option to 'Play' the volume so you can sort of preview it's volume, then you just press 'Set' (the OK key) and you're golden.

The navigation key is dedicated in all directions, except down, which is set to Calendar by default. I changed it to Settings & Tools, since I use that alot, and Calendar is a subsection in there anyways.

You're going to love this phone! Another cool feature, that I think alot (if not all) of phones are going to have is a 'network off' feature. On this phone it's called Standalone Mode. It was intended for airplanes, so it would shut off the network features (calls, texting, internet, etc) when you're on an airplane and not interfere or breach (for lack of a better word) FAA regulations; but still use the other features: camera, calendar, etc.

One more thing, with the flip closed, when a call comes in, the camera flash blinks red; this is especially good for quiet settings, meetings, etc. It also does the same thing for text messages, etc. Once the screen goes back to idle, the led dims and if you need to check for incoming activity, simply hold one of the MP3 keys, and it will show you if you have a new text, missed call, voice mail, etc.

I could go on forever, this phone is great! Lemme know what you think when you get yours, have fun!!

These sound like great features. Mine arrives today, but will be out of town. Hopefully can play with it on Sunday. I'll be in touch. Thanks for all the feature reviews.

Oppie

PS based upon your review, I will get the ext battery. Every phone i've owned, I bought one. I like long life.

Originally Posted by dude222

Yes, this site is amazing!

Okay, here you go:
1) The battery. Just got it yesterday, size-wise, it's not much more bulky and doesn't make the phone that much heavier. To be honest with you, it was almost too light with the standard battery and I felt like I would drop from the weightlessness when I went to take it out of the holster. Not sure about the battery life yet, but I should know that in the next day or so. In general, I'd take the extra life for a bit of bulk, so I don't have to worry about the thing going low, or dead, on days with heavy use.

2) Quick vibrate. For any of the ringer volume settings, you can easily control them (with the flip open) by pressing the rocker up or down to whatever setting you want. They are as follows : High, Med High, Med, Med Low, Low, Vibrate Only, Alarm Only & All Sounds Off. When you choose one of these settings, the left soft key also gives you the option to 'Play' the volume so you can sort of preview it's volume, then you just press 'Set' (the OK key) and you're golden.

The navigation key is dedicated in all directions, except down, which is set to Calendar by default. I changed it to Settings & Tools, since I use that alot, and Calendar is a subsection in there anyways.

You're going to love this phone! Another cool feature, that I think alot (if not all) of phones are going to have is a 'network off' feature. On this phone it's called Standalone Mode. It was intended for airplanes, so it would shut off the network features (calls, texting, internet, etc) when you're on an airplane and not interfere or breach (for lack of a better word) FAA regulations; but still use the other features: camera, calendar, etc.

One more thing, with the flip closed, when a call comes in, the camera flash blinks red; this is especially good for quiet settings, meetings, etc. It also does the same thing for text messages, etc. Once the screen goes back to idle, the led dims and if you need to check for incoming activity, simply hold one of the MP3 keys, and it will show you if you have a new text, missed call, voice mail, etc.

I could go on forever, this phone is great! Lemme know what you think when you get yours, have fun!!

Day one of the extended battery. Had the phone on from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m., straight, all day. Was down 1 bar of battery strength when I turned it off. I'd say today was a medium use day, a couple of calls and a decent number of texts. It may have gone down 1 bar also, because it hasn't been charged yet to it's full capacity. So far, so good; you're going to really like this phone!!

Dude. How do you like the extended battery after a week of use? Where did you buy it? I'm trying to find one that is lithium Polymer (as opposed to ion). For same capacity it should be smaller and light. Can't find them anywhere.

Originally Posted by joppie

Dude. How do you like the extended battery after a week of use? Where did you buy it? I'm trying to find one that is lithium Polymer (as opposed to ion). For same capacity it should be smaller and light. Can't find them anywhere.

I like it alot, it's been holding out very well. I bought it off of eBay, I'm pretty sure it's Lithium Ion. I think I got it for $30 with the cover. It was $49.99 by itself (w/o the cover) in the VZW corporate store. It really isn't that much bigger or heavier with the extended one I got.

Another thing too, I don't know if you've had 'trouble' with the camera as far as the picture being upside down when the lens is facing one way, and right-side up when facing the other. All you have to do, is when you first press the camera (or camcorder) button, if it's upside down, just press the volume rocker (outside left) and it inverts the image, etc.

How do you like it so far? Anything else you're trying to figure out on it?

Did you buy the phone off eBay or just the battery? I've used the phone since Sunday - I really like it. The vibrate is a tad weeker than my other phone, but its still very good. The voice quality seems to be terrific. No problem with reception due ot the internal antenna.

The standalone is a nice feature. I can use the phone as an alarm and not get any calls. the alarm with snooze is nice. Like theold vx4400.

The worst thing about the phone: the VZW menu system...geez, this is the first phone i've had with that. I hope VZW changes it soon. That said, its easy to navigate.

Is is possible to get rid of those peculiar red verizon stripes on the top and bottom of the screen? I took the banner off, but not the stripes.

service menu: system & tool then type* then 000000. I went there and quickly got out. I wasn't sure what i was doing!

I'll be in touch - I'm sure there are things I won't be able to figure out. As a power user, I'm sure you'll have figured it out long before I.

If you find any quirks or shortcuts, please post - I'll do the same.

Oppie

Originally Posted by joppie

Did you buy the phone off eBay or just the battery? I've used the phone since Sunday - I really like it. The vibrate is a tad weeker than my other phone, but its still very good. The voice quality seems to be terrific. No problem with reception due ot the internal antenna.

The standalone is a nice feature. I can use the phone as an alarm and not get any calls. the alarm with snooze is nice. Like theold vx4400.

The worst thing about the phone: the VZW menu system...geez, this is the first phone i've had with that. I hope VZW changes it soon. That said, its easy to navigate.

Is is possible to get rid of those peculiar red verizon stripes on the top and bottom of the screen? I took the banner off, but not the stripes.

service menu: system & tool then type* then 000000. I went there and quickly got out. I wasn't sure what i was doing!

I'll be in touch - I'm sure there are things I won't be able to figure out. As a power user, I'm sure you'll have figured it out long before I.

If you find any quirks or shortcuts, please post - I'll do the same.

Oppie

I bought both off eBay, the phone and the extended battery, but not at the same time. I wasn't due for an upgrade yet, and I'm not in a hurry to sign another contract with any provider again...so I don't mind paying a little more for a phone that I like since I don't have to sign a stupid contract; they get enough of my money every month. Another thing about the extened battery, as much as I use the phone, it hasn't gone below three bars, EVER, at least not yet.

I actually like the vibrate alot, I had a Motorola E815 before this and vibrate was horrible; this is alot stronger which is good. Voice quality is very good and I agree, the internal antenna has not affected reception for me at all; that was definitely a concern before I bought it.

The menu system is kind of weird, not what I was used to either, but it is really easy to get the hang of, and everything in the menu pretty much does have it's own button, except Settings, that's why I changed the bottom navigation key to Settings, because Calendar is in settings already.

I haven't really found any shortcuts to speak of, but I'll tell you something, if you do any amount of substantial texting, play around with Word mode, it's the predictive part of texting and it cuts down your text 'composing' time by at least half, if not more. It took a very short time to get used to and it works amazingly fast. You only press each key once for a letter, instead of however many times the letter you're looking for is buried in a key (for example, you have to press the '7' key 3 times to type an 'S'; not so in Word mode). Mess around with it and then see if you have any questions.

No, you can't get rid of those red stripes on the screen. I called Samsung and they said no. Oh well...speaking of Samsung, their customer service group in Dallas is very helpful. I've spoken with them a bunch of times. The first time because I accidentally erased the factory default pictures and they told me I'd have to have the phone re-flashed if I wanted them back. I particularly like the one of the highway. Their number is : 888-987-4357.

Not sure what this is, you wrote this: service menu: system & tool then type* then 000000.

One more really cool feature and then I'll wait to hear back from you. It's called Quick Search. Settings > Phone Settings > Quick Search. Set it to ON.

This is how you use it. Say you want to find JOHN in your phone book.
You would type in the keys (only once per letter) that ***** out John = 5646.
Then press the UP navigation key...it will bring up John and any possible other entries that have the same letter on those keys. So obviously the more letters you type in, the less choices you'll have. I usually type in 3 or 4 letters, that's enough to find what you're looking for.

Let me know what you think and I'm sure I'll be talking to you soon.

Have fun...

I also forgot to mention, if you like different ringtones, you are able to customize your own with the 930. Goodbye Get It Now at $2.99 a pop!!

If you're interested let me know and I'll show you how to do it...it takes about 5 minutes; with the exception of downloading the song or ringtone and waiting for it to get to your phone. Very cool stuff!!

Dude - I am very interested in your ring tone customization. Let me know when you get a chance. Also, could you post the site from where your purchased your extended battery? I can't seem to find one under $40. I refuse to buy it from VZW.

Finally - that "* 000000" is the service menu code. From your main screen, press menu (OK) then scroll left to Settings & Tools. At this point type the * This will get you into the service menu. then type 000000 which is the service menu code. Apparently, one can do lots of things back there. I'm just not the one to do it!

Oppie

Yeesh, I'd be afraid to mess with that service menu. I'd totally screw up my phone.

Here's the link to the seller's eBay store I got it from, let me know whether you found the battery on there : eBay Store - WIRELESS TOYS: verizon wireless, cell phone, wholesale

Here's the customization info :

1. fix up ur ringtone the way u want it (less than 300kb)
2. convert to .wav (any wave altering program should work, I use Wave Creator by BlazeAudio (Music and Audio Software by Blaze Audio) the program cost me $19.99.
3. open the .wav in the windows sound recorder
4. go to file > properties > convert now'
- PCM
- 22.050 kHz, 16 bit, Mono - 43 kb/sec
- hit ok, ok again and file > save
5. convert the .wav back to .mp3 (same prog)
6. rename filename.mp3 to filename.mid.mp3
7. open up the file in winamp
8. right click on it and go to "View File Info"
9. check ID3v2 tag and fill in some info (title & artist should do) and hit update
10. email the filename.mid.mp3 to ur phone ([email protected])
11. when ur phone receives it (wait time may vary) go to options > save sound
12. delete the .mid and hit OK and it should save fine
13. try applying one as either a ringtone or an alert tone

Let me know how it goes...

Hello, are you guys able to synchronize with Outlook with your phone? I want this a930, but have about 300 contacts that will need to be loaded if I buy this phone.

I apologize is this is a dopey question. This will be my first cellphone.

Thanks
Gustavo