My impression on Samsung Impression SGH-A877

[KevinJames]

Apparently this phone was only made available to the public less than a week ago, at least that's what i was told. Paid $199 but with mail-in rebate, $149

Touch screen very responsive. Colors fantastic. But in direct sunlight--still a complete washout.

Sound (both my voice and that of the person I'm speaking with) are very clear. A bit softer than the Nokia phone I just orphaned.

Slide-out keyboard. Keyboard has great feel. The top row is a bit tough to reach because my fingers butt up against the bottom edge of the top half of the slide-out.

Internet: Pages don't display very well, at least not for the sights I'm interested in.

Email: Easy initial configuration and connection to my ATT/Yahoo acct. Live Hotmail and others supported.

Besides the physical slideout keyboard, while in msg mode, when turned sideways, the screen displays a virtual keyboard. I actually find this easier to use.

Bluetooth headset, it had been so long, I forgot how to perform initial sync between headset and phone. (The salesman informs me they no longer call these "phones" because of their expanded functionality. They are now officially "wireless devices." (whoop-tee-do)

If there is a way, I haven't yet figured it out, but I've only had it 1 day: Bluetooth connection to PC. So I'm going to buy the data cable.

Don't live in a TV supported area so couldn't test that feature. Don't much care about downloadable ringtones, I make my own. Also haven't tried the streaming music, again, I have an MP3 player, so why would I care about that?

I got my wife the Samsung Eternity. Both of hate the way our phones go into lock mode so quickly. ARRRGGGH! Haven't yet found a way to change that.

[KevinJames]

Found this a while back but forgot to post...
Changing the default time before system goes back into lock mode:

Settings
..Display and Light
....Backlight Time

It is the backlight timing that controls the lock. I changed it from default of 15 seconds to 1 minute.

Downside, you should remember to manually lock it if you are done using it before sticking in pouch or pocket. Otherwise, any inadvertant screen touch will launch "something."

After a little more than one month, I still love this unit. Granted it is not the iconic iPhone. But I don't need all those apps. What it does have is very funcitonal.
- The built in calculator permits parenthetical formula writing.
- The Alarm and Countdown timers are great.
- You can associate specific pictures to any caller along with specific sounds. (However, no ringtone can be over about 10K.)

[tisabira]

I was able to create ringtones that were over 10k, but I just learned how this weekend so maybe I'm doing something differently than you are.

Originally Posted by KevinJames

Found this a while back but forgot to post...
Changing the default time before system goes back into lock mode:

Settings
..Display and Light
....Backlight Time

It is the backlight timing that controls the lock. I changed it from default of 15 seconds to 1 minute.

Downside, you should remember to manually lock it if you are done using it before sticking in pouch or pocket. Otherwise, any inadvertant screen touch will launch "something."

After a little more than one month, I still love this unit. Granted it is not the iconic iPhone. But I don't need all those apps. What it does have is very funcitonal.
- The built in calculator permits parenthetical formula writing.
- The Alarm and Countdown timers are great.
- You can associate specific pictures to any caller along with specific sounds. (However, no ringtone can be over about 10K.)

[KevinJames]

thought it worth including in my original thread.

Samsung Impression phones (SGH-A877) can be made to crash by doing following:
1. Start new text msg. Use the virtual keyboard in landscape mode.
2. Enable the T9 key (onscreen, bottom, left)
3. Type the letter "i" followed by a space.

A bug causes the Samsung Impression to crash (Phone Arena News)

since the above was originally posted several months ago, I expected a fix would be out by now. Couldn't find. So I sent email to Samsung just now.

[tnyalc]

How did you create custon mp3 ringtones?

Originally Posted by tisabira

I was able to create ringtones that were over 10k, but I just learned how this weekend so maybe I'm doing something differently than you are.

[scubadiver98]

You can use any mp3 to be your ring tone. When you select to change the settings on your sound profile, select "voice call ringtone" and then select "tones" on the bottom right. The trick is the size of the mp3. The impression treats any mp3 over 300kb (it's actually a little more as mine is 330kb) as music. Anything under the magic size gets put in the "tones" folder of your music. I've used the same ring tone for several phones and I'm still using it on my new impression. Whenever I get a call I hear the theme song from Magnum, P.I.

Cheers