Infuse vs Captivate May 19, 2011

Reviewer:  Todd Stevens  (North Carolina) -

I've never had a phone or PDA where I didn't have to sacrifice a lot to get something else. Not with this one. I am a Google addict. I use Google Docs, Tasks, Contacts, GMail, Calendar, etc. So of course this phone works perfectly with all of that and syncs well with my Galaxy Tab, Windows 7 PC and MacBook Air.

Before this I had a Captivate running Froyo and wasn't sure if switching would be worth the cost, as I mainly have just wanted a bigger screen. I don't know why iPhone does so well at only 3.5". You can't read text on something that small. I could barely stand 4" Captivate. 4.5" seems to be the sweet spot. Especially since the phone is so thin and light. Perfect width for telephone conversation and surfing, typing.

The biggest surprise though is the battery life. I have never had a smartphone last a whole day and I do not talk much on them or play media. Just surfing, texting and updating calendar, tasks, etc usually drains the battery. On my Captivate I could go about 12 hours if I used a black background, turned off 3G, turned off WiFi except when needed, etc. But with the Infuse, I took it out of the box 1/2 charged Monday evening. Charged to full charge (takes up to 4 hours from 0%) and took it off the charger at 10:40pm. Tonight is Thursday and at 9:30pm it finally died! Nearly 3 whole days!! I used a 1/3 of each day with FaceBook Go Chat open on it, full color wallpaper, never turned off WiFi in the entire 3 days. Screen brightness has been on medium or Auto. Just normal use, nothing heavy and nothing to intentionally preserve battery. That in itself justified the cost.

But other perks have been how fast menus open and apps launch compared to some lags in Captivate. I put the Captivate and Infuse side by side expecting to see more text in Kindle app, web surfing, etc with the larger screen. It actually showed the same amount of text, but only larger which was nice. I guess I could reduce font and see more text, but I liked the larger text. The charger seems easier to insert than the Captivate.

Don't care if TouchWiz 3.0 vs 4.0. I install and launch apps easily. Who cares what they put out in Europe that could be crippled when it gets to us. I don't care if it's not running Gingerbread. Eventually I am sure it will, but if it never did. I wouldn't miss it. My Captivate had 2.1 for a long time, but eventually got Froyo. Be patient people. These O/S updates provide minor enhancements. I can do everything I need on this phone. If you are a task oriented, efficiency dependent person like I am, this phone is for you.

In summary. This is the best phone or PDA I have ever seen. I will keep this one until it dies (normally I keep a phone 6 - 10 months). I don't care what better specs come out down the road. Often specs are over-hyped or mean drained battery. I rarely review anything, but figured there were some Captivate owners on the fence out there like I was. So I hope this helps you make the decision.

This Phone Is Snappy! May 16, 2011

Reviewer:  Brian A. Wolters  (Cabot, Arkansas) -

You are going to hear a lot of opinions on how this phone isn't dual core, isn't the Galaxy S II, too big, blah blah blah. Unless you simply must have the "next generation" phone this fall, if you are looking for the BEST AT&T Android phone, the Samsung Infuse is it.

On paper, I didn't upgrade by much...I already had the pretty good Samsung Captivate. But after a few minutes with the Infuse, I could already tell this was a great phone. The performance is so snappy and quick. I don't have official benchmarks but for instance, I am a heavy Google Reader user. On the Captivate, when I would choose "Mark All Previous Read", it would take, on average, 10 seconds. Now, it is about 1 second. This is on both Wi-Fi and "4G". App loading and closing is also much faster. I did have my home menu in a long "spinning symbol" after running some apps and I even rebooted but it has since not returned.

The screen is absolutely beautiful. Bight, big and sharp. The screen size was the selling point for me and it feels good in your hand. Slightly larger feeling but I expected it to feel much bigger.

Multimedia is also a joy to use on this phone. The front facing camera is a nice addition and I like having the flash on the 8MP camera on the back. We did try a Tango video call and never could get it to work right. If we weren't sideways, then it wasn't displaying correctly. Someone needs to make a definitive video chat client for Android.

To me, this phone is ready for the future. Even with dual core processors out there, this phone should do you for at least the terms of a 2 year contract, if not longer. If you simply can't wait for the fall lineup of phones, this is an excellent choice.

Arguably the best. Far better than iphone June 17, 2011

Reviewer:  ForexTech  (Montclair) -

I used the iphone 2G, 3GS and iphone 4. Of course the last one had major issues with the dropped reception. I have been looking for an andriod phone to get me off Apple and iphone, but NO ONE could match the touch feeling of the iphone. Blackberry touch, you have to tap several times, even Motorola Atrix the response was not great and I returned it. Besides that in the Atrix email program, I could not see Html mail well. Then I heard that Samsung makes the screen that iphone uses and I had heard good feedback on the Galaxy series, that their touch was super. I decided to go with a Samsung product.

Outstanding. Impressive. Forget Iphone.
Touch: the response is super, even better than the iphone. Yes even better.
HTML Email: Excellent, reads it very well.
Speed: Excellent processes requests very fast
battery: Wow! for the smartphones these days that barely last a day, I have gone 3 days so far and not needed a charge. Although, I have GPS turned off, Wifi turned off and power management fully on. I am not a heavy user, I just want my email, little browsing and a bit of phone. yet for me, the Atrix&iphone4 would last 2 days at best.
Screen: its very big and beautiful, which I like very very much. If you are into watching videos etc with your phone you will enjoy it.

I say drop your iphone and get this.

Love it! Love it! Love it! May 17, 2011

Reviewer:  Pixel  (San Diego, CA) -

What can I say. I really love this phone. It's quick. It's fast on the download. Typing is accurate. The camera is good. The styling is great. It's slim. Having the larger screen just makes everything so much easier - and it's exciting for multimedia.

I was disappointed that Tango wasn't working quite right, so I went to the Tango Web site to find a cure. Evidentally, there are a few different Samsung phones, including the Infuse, that are having trouble with sending a rotated and zoomed in video to the other party. The tech support said that they are aware of the problem and that the engineers are working on a fix.

One great benefit - you can use the Amazon App Store without taking extraordinary measures or rooting the phone. This is not possible on all ATT phones, so it's a welcome change. It means you can take advantage of the free app they offer every day and use your Amazon account to purchase apps.

I was worried about the phone fitting into my jeans pocket and allowing me to sit down. I found out that if I rotate it sideways, I can sit down easily. It's very slim and light, so you don't feel like you are carrying a brick. I'm so happy that I got this phone.

Thoroughly Impressed May 18, 2011

Reviewer:  Artie Ziegler 

So I got my new phone yesterday from amazon. I decided to go with the Samsung Infuse 4G just to try something different.

Out of the box, the first thing you'll notice is the size of the phone itself. It's pretty big lengthwise (4.5 in screen) yet extremely thin, but still fits comfortably in my hand (I have huge hands). When I picked the phone up, I was in a state of disbelief at how light it is. It's really unbelievable how little the thing weighs. Overall the phone has a nice texture and looks rather professional. The glass on the front is made with corning gorilla glass, and looks gorgeous.

The phone is lightning fast, especially compared to my iphone 3Gs. Everything loads instantly, whether it be applications or zipping through the menus. I am thoroughly impressed with the phone's speed. I'm new to android, and navigating the phone was very easy. It comes preinstalled with 2.2 (FROYO).

The LCD screen is gorgeous (as are most samsung displays) and very bright. Even the lowest brightness setting is almost painful to look at in the dark for a long time.

The camera is very nice. It has an 8 megapixel 4x zoom + LED flash, and takes great pictures. The video camera take beautiful recordings at 720p. There are some settings you can fool around with that you normally wouldn't see on a phone, which is nice. I'll upload some pictures to give an example.

One of the cooler apps I installed and had time to fool around with was the N64 emulator, and to my suprise it ran flawlessly, no stuttering or anything. I played mario 64, and got the first star. I think this is a testament to the power and capabilities of the phone.

I love the phone so far, way better than my old IPhone. Definitely pick this up if you're in the market for a new AT&T phone. For the $150 price tag, I couldn't be happier.

WOW, what a phone! June 12, 2011

Reviewer:  Mike K 

I've had the phone for a little less than a week now and I really like it. This is my first 'really' smart phone after upgrading from an LG Xenon. The differences are impressive. I'm not sure if they're due to different manufacturer or just the natural evolution of technology. After all, two years is a tech eternity.

Pro's:
* Android: I don't really care that it's not the very latest version. 2.2 is working fine so there's no rush to upgrade the OS. It will come when it comes. In the meantime, I really like the Android OS.
* Screen: Bright and clear. Vibrant color. Touch screen is a huge improvement over anything else I've used. A lot of thought went into studying how people interface with the phone. I think this is probably the most important feature of the Infuse. It's not just a bunch of bells and whistles, Samsung paid a lot of attention to 'how' the phone is used. This is the most intuitive computer I've ever used. For example, when you hold the phone up to your ear the screen locks so you don't push buttons with your ear, but when you take it away the screen automatically unlocks. Brilliant!
* Voice: Talk about a grand slam. No training and it gets it right. I'm just getting started with voice but there's little doubt that voice commands and dictation will become the standard way of using the phone. This is an excellent first step in interacting with a computer by voice. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this technology.
* Android Apps: I can say, without any doubt, that you can install apps from the Android App store. I downloaded a bunch of them yesterday. It appears the AT&T lockout is over.
* 3G Speed: It's not as fast as a PC, (I'm spoiled by cable internet for download speed), but 3G seems to be plenty fast. Not much waiting at all.
* CPU Speed: Compared to the Xenon, the Infuse is extremely fast. Apps come up very quick and I don't have the frustrating wait like I had with the Xenon. CPU speed is more than adequate. Of course, as an old computer user, I believe there's always a need for more speed.
* Camera: Another winner! Beautiful pictures from a cell phone, you gotta be kidding me! I'm not. The 8MP camera produces the best pictures out of anything I have, which includes several digital cameras. It's another feature Samsung put a lot of thought into. Not only does it take great pictures, it has a lot of functions and settings, giving the user an impressive amount of control.
*Ear Buds: Somehow I missed that the Infuse comes with a set of earphones/buds. In this case I think they're not described accurately. These shouldn't be called earphones, they should be called a sound pump. Talk about a WOW moment. When I turned up the volume I was very impressed. Then I discovered the little 5.1 button. Since I was learning the phone I pressed it to see what it was. I went from being impressed to being totally blown off my chair. Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound! You gotta be kidding me, (again)!!!! Best sound experience I've ever had with a set of headphones, PERIOD!

As far as con's go, there aren't many. There isn't a single thing about the phone that I really dislike. The only negatives I've encountered probably have more to do with me just getting used to a new piece of tech. Rather than con's, I see these negatives as nothing more than things that could be better. Most of the negatives have to with something I call 'Task Intensive Computing'. Task intensive computing is defined as "Why do something with one or two clicks when you can do it in four or five clicks to achieve the same result." I'm not sure who's at fault Samsung or Android, it's still frustrating. I sure wish programmers would spend more time considering how to accomplish any task with the least amount of effort.

* Closing apps: Considering the limits AT&T has on data transfer, easily closing an app should be a no-brainer, but it's not. Here's one of my Task Intensive Computing peeve's. You have to go into the Task Manager to be certain an app is closed.
* Deleting files and icons: Another TIC peeve. There should be an easier way to delete a file or icon without having to get an app for it. The process of pressing down on an icon and having to wait for the trash can to appear, then having to drag it to the removal point is a huge waste of time. I want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. What's the point of having a fast phone if it takes extra time to accomplish something as basic as deleting.
* Touch screen might be a little too sensitive: I'm sure this is more my fault than the phone's, but it's nearly impossible to do anything without unintentionally hitting something on the screen. How you hold the phone or pick it up is something that has to be re-learned. It's different and I find that I'm constantly opening things up that I didn't want to.
* Lock button directly across from the volume button: Another thing that's tough to get used to is that to lock/unlock the screen, the button is directly across from the volume down button. This position is not very ergonomic. It's natural to put your opposing finger directly across from the lock button, but in doing so you will almost always turn the volume down to -0-. This requires the user to get used to holding the phone in an unnatural way.
* Answering Calls: I don't like having to slide the answer button to answer a call. If I get a call I want to answer it not slide an icon across the screen two or three times before I finally slide it over far enough for the phone to answer. I know the problem is something I can learn to overcome, but it's also something Samsung could make much easier.
Screen Rotation: There's a lag when you rotate the screen from horizontal to vertical. I'm sure it's a complicated function for the phone to accomplish, I just wish it were faster. Other phones don't have this much of a lag.
* Recharging: The battery lasts long enough but recharging it takes more time than I expected. Mostly I charge it by connecting the USB cord to my PC, but charging takes far longer than any phone I've owned. It's probably a good thing because the phone gets warm when it's charging. Not hot, but warm enough for me to notice when I got a call after the phone had been recharging for a while.
* Nav Buttons: I wish there was a way to keep the nav buttons on the bottom of the screen lit longer. If it's dark it's hard to see them after the backlight turns off. Considering how integral they are to the operation of the phone it's a bit of a PITA to accidentally hit the wrong button and have to navigate back. I'm sure it's another thing that's more about me learning the phone, but I do think it's an area Samsung could make a little better.

All things said, I really like this phone and I'm looking forward to integrating it into my daily life. I see it as more of a tool for making my day easier and from what I've seen so far, it's up to the job. I need to get used to it, but I can already see how it will change my life for the better. It seems that whatever I need to do or keep track of, there's an app for it. I'm sure that in two years, when I'm able to upgrade again, there'll be some new technologies in place that will make my Infuse look like a dinosaur, but for right now I think it's about as advanced as a phone can get. The size is nice for me as I have big hands. That makes the keyboard much easier for me to use. It's big enough for me to use, but not so big that it won't fit in my pocket. Like any computer, the Infuse comes pre-loaded with a ton of bells and whistles I'll probably never use, but I also see it as much more than a phone. It's like someone opened a gate to a whole new experience. The amount of things I will be using it for is going to change the way I manage my personal and business day. That says a lot for a phone.

Look at that Huge screen! July 11, 2011

Reviewer:  A. Ray  (SC, CA) -

I was biased towards a dual-core offering from the begining and had been waiting for an update from Android or Windows 7 to support multi-core architecture.
And then my iPhone (had been using it for the last 3 years) got stolen, forcing me to fill up the void space in my denim.

So I walk into the AT&T store and start reviewing the phones listening to the sales-assistants unconditional love for Samsung Infuse.
I think he had a point. The screen is huge and the quality is phenomenal! I tried Inspire and Atrix and the display is nowhere close to what Infuse had to offer.
As for the Speed, I saw little to no delay while switching between applications. One can wish for some performance improvements with a dual-core but then, who cares? We already waste enough time posting daily updates on FB and Twitter and saving microseconds would not save us from the impending doom@2012. I am not even sure if a multi core phone will lead to any significant performance improvements unless the underlying OS itself supports it.

Some amazing facts:
+ Awesome BIG OLED display with very good contrast levels(3rd time).
+ Very good Audio Quality. The 5.1 mode shines on instrumental.
+ Great 8MP Camera. Includes single-click focus with acceptable bokeh effects.
+ Very snappy, don't wait till they introduce quantum processors.
+ Big, Stylish and not heavy as one would expect :D.
+ Good Battery Life, survives a day with ease.

- The phone is a bit slippery, need to work on my grip.
- The HDMI adapter needs to be powered through the USB cord. Not that it matters but the connection scheme is ridiculous :).

P.S - This is my first review on Amazon and I felt compelled to write one.

Awesome Phone June 17, 2011

Reviewer:  Ivan "jmun2098"  (Northern California) -

I bought this phone after my iphone 3g broke. This phone is like night and day compared to an iphone 3g. There is simply no comparison. I even compared it to an iphone 3gs and its still blows it out of the water. The screen is huge and really clear, I think it's almost as good as the retina display from iphone. This phone is thin and powerful. This phone is really fast the only lag i've seen is when a webpage has a lot of flash player running then it's a little laggy to zoom in and out but its no big deal, the phone keeps up fine. There are way too many good things about this phone to just focus on the lag that it has when web pages are running flash player. People that i show my phone to think its too big for them, also for small people who wear tight jeans it would be hard to fit the phone in their pockets. For me the size is perfect because pictures, movies and the internet look absolutely beautiful!...Glad I waited to get this phone and glad I chose it over the iphone.

2 MONTH UPDATE!!!

Ok so ive been using this phone for 2 months now and i have been getting a lot of compliments on the phone and i really like it but since i already named the great things about the phone im going to name the bad things about it and take a star away. First and foremost no phone is perfect that being said here are the NEGATIVE things about the phone...

1. The battery charge time, it takes a good 4 to 5 hours to completely charge your phone but it will last all day with moderate use.
2. Your battery will drain while using it plugged in. I have owned many electronic devices over my life and this is the first device that will actually drain the battery while using it plugged in.
3 GPS accuracy is not that great. It takes forever to determine your location and once it does it is not as accurate as the iphone. Ive compared with iphone and the iphone determines GPS location much faster. It's so slow to pick up your exact location that most of the time its unusable.
4. Keyboard. The iphone keyboard is by far snappier and and better than this keyboard...yes you can download apps that will make this keyboard like the iphone but its still not as good as iphone
5. Although the dialing pad is fast its still not as crisp and fast as the iphone's dialing pad.
6. Cannot zoom in or make full screen on picture messages recieved. I really liked doing that when i had an iphone.
7. Extremely weak wifi antenna. If i go to my backyard which is not that far i lose the wifi signal. I can still use it fine inside the house. The only way for the wifi signal bars to be completely full is to hold it right next to the wireless router.
8 4g speeds aren't really that much faster than 3g when browsing the web, unless you have full signal bars then you could notice a speed difference...but how often do you have full bars with ATT?

An Excellent Phone / Mini-Tablet March 6, 2012

Reviewer:  Michael J. Schmieder  (WA State) -

For the record this is my first smart phone. Before I bought it I read literally hundreds of reviews and comparisons, watched videos, went in and tested and handled countless models and studied the pros and cons of the three main smart phone operating platforms. In our home we have and iPhone and iPad, Windows PC's and an Android tablet, so I've had plenty of exposure to mobile technology and am decently tech literate

I purchased my Infuse about two months ago and I am thoroughly impressed and satisfied with it. Yes, it is slightly older technology (only a single core processor and half a Gig of RAM). However, when I compared it to more expensive phones, the extra speed you get from the two cores is not worth the extra money you pay.

Here is why I like my Infuse so much:
1. It is stable. I have had no freezes and it really performs brilliantly.
2. The camera is excellent!
3. It upgraded to Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread about a week after I bought it. No glitches and no headaches. (I bought it knowing it had 2.2 and may never get 2.3.6 so this was a HUGE plus).
4. It has a clear and bright 4.5 inch screen that makes it actually usable. (I don't think I'll ever get anything smaller than this, this is what makes it useful and realistically a do everything device).

Now here is what I have done to my phone to dial it in just right:
1. Went to the Android Market and downloaded Go Launcher and went with its default theme. This makes a huge difference in the performance of the phone.
2. I didn't go app crazy and indiscriminately download all kinds of crap to my phone. I shopped carefully and test drove a lot of apps, dumped a lot, and finally, kept the ones I found worthy. Read before you download folks!
3. I don't run a bunch of goofy widgets on my phone, actually just one, the Go Weather widget and it updates only when I check it. You have to realize if you have all this stuff (widgets & such) running it's going to use all your RAM (memory) and your performance will degrade and you'll be saying, "Bad Phone! Horrible Phone!" Also, skip the live wallpapers, they're pretty but they drain battery.
4. Skip the App and Task Killers and Battery Defenders and all that. Why? a) They take up system resources (memory and battery) and b) You can use the stock Task Manager or one that is embedded in the apps screen with Go Launcher (turn it on in Settings). This phone has a half a gig of memory and it runs pretty well with it, but after a long session of browsing, checking my calendar, making a few notes and doing other stuff, I'll just go in and with two taps the running apps and process are all cleared. (You have to remember to reboot it once in a while too - but how tough is that?)

The battery is a little weak on this phone but it is sufficient. I do everything I want: make calls, surf the web, take pictures, use Maps, use my calendar, play a couple of low key games, etc. I don't set my screen on auto bright, I just keep it at about 60%, which is plenty. The phone will tell you when to unplug it from charging, don't. Let it charge overnight. Do some research on battery conditioning.
The GPS is solid, the Data and WIFI are easy and reliable, the speeds are great most of the time and I am just really impressed with the device.

Two final points.
1. Get a decent case (I have a Ballistic SG two piece case. Yes, it adds some bulk but it also adds a lot of protection. (You can skip the screen protectors, it has Corning Gorilla Glass and you don't need them).
2. Life Tip: Don't reduce your life to a 4.5 inch screen or 3.5 or whatever you wind up with. Life is the people and world around you. Don't pull your phone out and stare at it every idle moment. Connect with people, make eye contact, smile, take in the world around you, use all your senses. Don't reduce the world and your life to a phone.
It's a great phone / mini-computer. I highly recommend it! Ciao!

ON DUAL CORES & iPHONES August 3, 2011

Reviewer:  E. Brown "EB"  (The Wilds) -

DUAL CORE: No, it's not dual core... and neither is the Nexus One or the iPhone 4 & those phones multi-task quite well. Right now, dual core is more gimmick than anything. High-end phones weren't having any problems multi-tasking.

Now that that's out of the way, this phone gives you everything you want in a high-end phone (I won't echo the stats). The larger screen is more appreciated than another core. All the better for viewing the web. Adding to this the Super AMOLED Plus, there's nothing that beats the viewing experience.

REQUISITE IPHONE COMPARISON: Unlike the iPhone, the Infuse can take on a 32gb memory card. Even the front camera is mp, though iPhone's camera is better in general. It's customizable, lighter & has a larger screen. The iPhone is like a prefabricated tract home. They all look alike - squares on a screen. If you simply want a portal for apps, iPhone is your man. It's like an automatic transmission. Get in, sit down and ride. If you want customized phone that allows you to choose your gears, rev the engine, choose your options and tailor-make your experience, then Infuse is your guy.

Big, beautiful, fast, vivid, customizable, tons of apps, works well.

Fast and Intuitive July 7, 2011

Reviewer:  C. Wan  (USA) -

After using an iPhone for so long, I felt that it was time for something new and I saw the Samsung Infuse 4G. It's a bit bigger than my iPhone but the screen is sharp and colors so vibrant! Navigating the phone has been a breeze and everything loads really fast. While there are tons of options on this device (perhaps a bit too much, especially for those who have used iPhones for awhile), I've grown to appreciate it because there is so much you can do and many ways to customize such as setting custom ringtones for messages, widgets, etc. I also appreciate that it asks you first when you activate apps that require data usage if you really want to use it because of data charges(I guess it depends on the app?).

What really sealed the deal for me was the 8MP camera as well as 720p HD video recording! Considering that the iPhone 4 only has 5MP camera, I thought this was pretty sweet. The photos really do look great and you can set the exposure level, different lighting environments, ISO, etc. I have yet to try the video though.

One noticeable thing I noticed was that the wifi scanner is a bit delayed compared even to the iPhone 1G. While it will remember my wifi network, when I move to a new location, it will take as long as several minutes for it to scan and detect new networks. There are occasional times when even though I'm in my home area, the wifi icon won't show up for several minutes. So in summary:

Pros:
- Fast and responsive
- Bright and vibrant screen
- Long battery usage (the first charge lasted me 2.5 days!)
- Awesome camera

Cons:
- WiFi slow to detect new networks
- Synced ALL my Gmail contacts that I've EVER emailed as well as Google+ too! It took me awhile to re-organize it and do selective sync. Lesson learned: clean your Gmail contact lists before syncing!

More of a mini-tablet than a phone September 24, 2011

Reviewer:  B. Aho  (San Francisco) -

Overall:
I enjoyed this "phone"...except that I got about 20 dropped calls a day and call quality was horrific. It functions great as a beautiful mini-tablet, but not really as a phone.

The pros:
- the screen is beautiful
- Android market is great
- As a former longtime-Iphone user I greatly appreciate how Android allows one to alter the appearance of screens, keyboards, etc. For example, the simple live wallpaper "beach" that came pre-installed on this Samsung is better than anything I ever had on my iphone - and it was just one live wallpaper of many! It is now unacceptable to me to not be able to modify even basic appearance and user-experience settings on my devices. I am really over Apple's one-design-for-everyone approach. Android is vastly preferable for this reason. End of rant.
- battery was fine
-Super bright colors and dark blacks
- Netflix worked great. I have no idea why people have posted that one needs Gingerbread for it to work. I watched many Netflix films on my Infuse and they played great.

The cons:
-20 + dropped calls a day! I bought my gf an Infuse as well, and we still had this problem. The number of dropped calls actually increased with this phone over my iphone on ATT.
-horrific sound call quality. I was asking "what?" about 50 times a day.
-poor sound quality on music, even with expensive headphones. Sounded tinny most of the time.
-It never felt like a phone, but rather like a small, glass tablet.
-AT&T, the biggest problem of all! I started to realize there was a problem when the ATT servers crashed multiple times even while BestBuy was trying to activate the phone. I have never had a phone carrier provide such lousy phone reception. I was with ATT for 3 years only because of the I-phone...but I do not plan on going back.
-I wasn't a fan of the black background on everything from the calendar to the back of text messages. I know the Super-Amoled black is great, but sometime I like white backgrounds, esp. for reading text.

Summary: Since Samsung has now released the Galaxy S2, I would go with this phone instead of the Infuse, unless you need to start with a cheaper phone. I switched to the Samsung Galaxy S2 on Sprint and am happy as a clam.

A great phone March 2, 2012

Reviewer:  Ro 

I bought this phone coming off a Samsung Captivate. I couldve chosen one of the Infuse's more advanced brothers (Galaxy S2 or the Skyrocket), but I chose this as a temporary until I can get my hands on an HD phone.

Anyways, I'll mainly be comparing this to the Captivate, because they are quite similarly spec'd, but I have been able to use both together.

Size - The Infuse is large, theres no doubt about it. And it's also very thin. This is good overall, because it maximizes the screen size. However, it can be difficult to hold on to because it is so flat and wide, and the material on the edges aren't grippy. The screen size makes doing everything very convenient. However, if you have medium to small hands, you may not be able to reach all 4 corners of the screen without substantially adjusting your grip.

Materials/build quality - Although this is considered "lesser" to the Galaxy S line, The build quality is great and I find the materials superior to the Captivate. The main frame is a hard-feeling material that does not seem to be plastic, but it has a smooth finish. The battery cover is very thin plastic, but is hard-textured, so it works fine. The phone itself feels solid in your hand, and doesn't feel like it would break, despite its large thinness.

Camera - The camera is just decent. It does 720p, and has 8mp, but in the end, I found the performance to be just okay, similar to the 5mp shooter on the Captivate. On the other hand, it has an LED flash (which can be used as a flashlight in emergencies), and it has a front facing camera, both of which are very useful.

Screen - So the Infuse has a 800x480 SAMOLED+ display. Compared to the captivate, everything is much smoother (except text, which is pixelated because of low resolution). The SAMOLED+ is an improvement over the regular SAMOLED in this respect, for the Captivate, in a pure white background you felt like you could see all those background pixels. The brightness is similar to the SAMOLED, and just barely bright enough for use in full sun.

Battery life - Its enough to lead a normal user through a full day, or two for a light user.

Software - Just decent. This needs to be upgrade to Gingerbread, but is stuck on Froyo. Once this occurs, the software will be good.

Speakers - Well, the speakerphone on the back is GREATLY improved over the Captivate. While their max volumes are similar, the Infuse's speaker is much, much clearer and crisper, especially when listening to music or movies. Its just a world of difference here, the Infuse's speaker can pass as a regular speaker, less the bass.

4g - The HSPA+ 4g on this phone is a great upgrade. I got 9Mbps down, and 1Mbps up on Speedtest.

Speed - This has a 1.2Ghz single core processor. Doesn't sound fast, but its fast enough. If you are multitasking and loading a bunch of things at once, it will lag. However, for most uses, its speedy.

---
Overall, I love the phone. Unlike my captivate, which would randomly shut down, could not lock onto GPS satellites, and lagged a lot. The Infuse is everything you really need in a Smartphone. You get a big screen, dual cameras, SAMOLED+ technology, sufficient battery, great speakerphone quality, good 4g speeds, and a sturdy phone.

Leaves a lot to be desired January 24, 2012

Reviewer:  Thomas M. Taylor "runman"  (Phoenix, AZ) -

I purchased to of these a year ago. i went from having an Atrix to this phone because i like the larger display, but have been disappointed ever since.

i use my phone as a GPS at work. i travel from house to house delivering and teaching about medical devices. The smaller Atrix had no problem getting a quick and accurate GPS lock, the Infuse jas lack luster performance in this market. I use the GPS when walking in the AM to keep track of time and distance, with this phone, i can complete my 3 mile daily walk and still not have a signal from the GPS.

My phone(s) will shut off, one phone has been replaced under warranty 2 weeks ago and now the battery will not charge, the other phone locks up a lot and you have to press the home button several times after waking up the phone. All three phones have these problems in common.

If you are looking for a good cell phone, keep looking, you will not find it here.

A mobile powerhouse that exceeded all expectations. January 10, 2012

Reviewer:  J. Howell  (Atlanta, GA) -

I was torn between this phone and the Atrix 2 for AT&T. I got lucky one day here at Amazon and caught the Infuse when it was on sale for 1 cent under 2 year contract. Being essentially free and $50 less than the Atrix 2 sealed the deal and I got the infuse.

During my research I found mostly positive reviews for the Infuse. The few user complaints I came across tended to be related to the large screen size (too big?), thin profile (fragile?), and light weight (toy like?). I too was concerned that it would be a little too large to be easily pocketable. After about a week with the device I can say that this device fits in pocket very well. It is so thin and light that most of the time I don't even notice that I have something in my pocket. I was considering a belt clip case for the phone, but probably won't get one for now.

There are several different facets that could be reviewed with this phone. Here are some of the most important for me.

--SCREEN--
Simple gorgeous. Makes even high end computer screens look bad. I had high expectations here, and they were exceeded handily. The screen has a resolution of a little over 200 pixels per inch - which is nearly three times as dense as most computer screens. It's incredibly crisp, bright, and vibrant. There is no color distortion at any viewing angle. The glass is well coated and although glossy, doesn't appear to suffer from excessive glare. The screen on my Android Tablet (Asus Transformer) is much more difficult to see in bright rooms.

--BUILD AND FORM FACTOR--
Dimensions: 2.7" wide, 5.1" high, 0.35" thick
I was concerned it was going to be too big, but I haven't found this to be the case. It fits into my pocket with ease and so far seems to resist scratches well. I've even dropped it already and the phone suffered no ill effects (not even a scratch). The back cover is a thin textured plastic piece that looks great and gives it a high end feel. The sides are a glossy black plastic and while it looks very nice, can sometimes make it tricky to hold onto. I don't plan on getting a case for the phone, but if I find myself dropping it often, then I'll look into it.

--RECEPTION AND CALL QUALITY--
In short, better than any other phone I've ever owned. I'm coming from a Samsung Impression (semi-smart phone), and the sound quality of the infuse is head and shoulders above it. Callers voices are clearer than I've ever heard from a cell phone before. This was an unexpected surprise. Reception also seems to be better than that of most other phones. I get abysmal phone reception in my apartment. Most people have to go outside to get a decent phone call. I can now move further away from the front of my apartment than I could before while still getting good reception. It doesn't sound like much, but for those who don't get great reception in their area, it could be very valuable.

--SPEED--
This is a fast phone. I was concerned about "only" having a single core processor and "only" having 512MB of RAM, but again these concerns have been unfounded. Responsiveness of the phone is quite good and it almost never lags (slows down slightly when installing apps). The keyboard can actually keep up with my fast typing, and the swiping of screens and pushing of icons happens quickly. This phone installs and runs apps noticeably faster than my Asus Transformer, which is impressive given the huge size differential. I have zero remorse for passing up the faster Galaxy 2 for this phone.

--CAMERA AND SPEAKERS--
I won't mince words, the speakers are awful. Don't even attempt to listen to music with the built in speakers because it won't do it justice. A far better option for any type of multimedia is plugging the included headphones into the jack on the top of the phone. This gives vastly improved sound instantly.

The camera feature is a mixed bag. The sensor seems to be quite good for a camera phone, however it's hobbled by the interface. There is no dedicated shutter button, but there is a basic mix of camera controls in the included software. Image quality is good for a phone, but point-and-shoots are still better in every way. For most casual users, this camera phone will probably take the place of their point and shoot.

--SOFTWARE--
It comes with Android 2.2 installed and it's pretty fantastic. I have Android 3.1 on my tablet and while "3.1" sounds a lot better than "2.2", the 2.2 on the Infuse does everything I could want and then some. For 99% of the population, you could leave 2.2 on this phone and be happy for the life of the phone.

AT&T has installed a handful of branded apps which can't be removed without rooting the phone. Most are fairly unintrusive, so there is no great harm in leaving them. Most of these apps are geared towards getting you to spend more money on subscription services to AT&T when in reality you can probably find free apps to do the exact same thing. You can use "Superoneclick" and "Titanium Backup" (both free) to quickly and safely remove these apps if you are so inclined.

Aside from the handful of AT&T apps, the phone is set up very well with a couple dozen of basic, but very useful apps. Being Android, there is obviously a TON of customization here, but right off the bat you get the most basic apps to do what most people need to do. Emailing and texting are excellent on this phone straight out of the box.

--BATTERY LIFE AND CHARGING--
Again here, better than expected. I read horror stories about terrible battery life with this phone (granted these reviews are from mid 2011), but I just haven't experienced it. I typically get a full day (14 hours) out of the phone with moderate usage while only running the battery down to 30% or so late at night. While I definitely expect to have to charge the phone every day, as of now I never worry about making it through the day without charging. You can install various battery saver apps (I use Battery Dr Saver) which will extend life further.

Charging is done via a standard micro-USB cable and plugs up into any USB port. Charging isn't particularly quick, so you'll probably have to leave it overnight to charge it completely when it runs low.

--CONCLUSION--
So far I'm delighted with the phone. I've found the hardware to be exceptional and the software platform to be reliable and extremely useful and innovative. The somewhat largish screen on this phone just makes the software that much more usable. It performs basic phone functions flawlessly and handles moderately complex multimedia without a hiccup. While this phone is technically a step down from the Galaxy 2, it doesn't feel like a compromise phone at all. Given the exceptional price under contract, this phone is a no brainer for those looking for an upgrade.

Wow...awesome phone October 1, 2011

Reviewer:  Insurance7171 

I have been using an iPhone 3GS and was reluctant to change . But the screen was too small. So I switched to an android phone . The first one I got was a Htc , but that sucked. So I asked the 25 year old sales person what would she recomend , and she said I have a " samsung infuse 4g " I love it .. Well I looked at the screen size and fell in love .

Pros: big screen , finally I was able to read email and txt messages.
Very light phone .
Big screen , oh yeah I said already .
Easy to use , samsung did a good job. Easy user interface.
Battery life is better than most android phones.
Able to use as a modem, meaning I can you this phone as an Internet connection for my notebook... Can't do that w/ iPhone , unless you jailbreak it ..

Overall, I would give this phone 4.5 stars out of 5 . Highly recommend .

Stop waiting for the Galaxy S II and get this phone May 27, 2011

Reviewer:  H. Kernodle  (Albuquerque, NM United States) -

This phone is hands down the best Android device currently available for US carriers.

The screen is a massive 4.5" Super AMOLED that will make all the iPhone 4 users you know drool with envy. It's perfect for movies, TV, gaming and just having more real estate for typing on the keyboard or reading. The phone is large but very thin so it slips into comfortably into a front pants pocket.

The processor makes the phone very snappy, apps and widgets perform at top speed. Dual core phones are on the horizon but there's no need to wait for them because nearly no apps can utilize them and Android 2.x is only partially taking advantage of them at the moment.

The battery is a sizable 1750 mAh, significantly larger than the batteries in HTC phones. It will get you through a full day and them some. The SAMOLED+ screen also helps with battery life. Tip: set your apps to use dark themes as black areas use no power in organic LED displays.

Touchwiz 3.0 is the Samsung interface and it will feel very comfortable to anyone who's used an iPhone.

AT&T has removed the "sideloading" restriction from this phone allowing you to install and use the Amazon App store. Definitely a plus, as you get 1 free app a day and you know the apps have been examined to prevent malicious software from reaching your phone.

The only possible downside to this phone is how quickly Samsung will deliver the needed 2.3 Gingerbread update to its customers.

Just An Excellent Phone. May 26, 2011

Reviewer:  Will Eff  (Durham, NH USA) -

Decided to dump my Blackberry for an Android, and needless to say, there were a ton of phones and providers to sift through. I coincidentally decided to upgrade the week the Infuse hit the shelves, and when I saw it in the AT&T store, I was sold almost immediately on the screen. A few more minutes playing with it and I was completely sold. Now two weeks later, I couldn't be happier.

I mentioned the screen - bright, bold, and big. Thanks to the AMOLED, the black levels are better than my backlit LED HDTV. I decided to rip a few of my Blu-Rays to the device in 480p to see its full potential, and it's absolutely a pleasure to watch - sharp and ghost-free.

It's thin - really thin, which makes up for its size in the other two dimensions. I have big hands and deep pockets, so the length/width isn't an issue for me (I actually like having some screen real estate so my sausage fingers can type on the touch screen). However, this is one of those phones that is you really need to get your hands on before you buy, just to make sure it won't be too big for you.

Despite Samsung's decision to go with a slightly faster Hummingbird on this phone rather than a newer dual-core, it's still really fast. In day-to-day use it's been lag free, and I've only slowed it down a couple of times by purposely running several intensive applications. As long as you're good about closing applications you're not using, you'll probably never see any slow down.

UI is nice, and if you've used an Android phone in the past, or if you're familiar with an iPhone, you'll be able to dive right in. It's quick and responsive. Apps are a piece of cake to download/install, and thanks to AT&T's policy changes, you can now use the Amazon App Store on this phone. Plenty of storage, with 16GB on-board and an external SD slot for up to 32GB more (though it comes with just a 2GB card).

The camera is great - 8MP with flash (unlike the Captivate), though the LED flash is a little harsh in low light. This problem is not exclusive to the Infuse though - LED flashes just suck. The video, on the other hand, is exceptional. I took this to a friend's wedding last weekend in even in some tricky light situations, it maintained artifact-free recording at 720, with nary a hiccup. Output to HDMI works really well, though it does require you to carry around the HDMI adapter. A minor shortcoming.

My highest praise for this phone, however, is that the battery life has been exceptional. I'd say I'm a moderate to heavy data user, and without any major power tweaks, Wifi on all day, the occasional viewing of video, a little Angry Birds mixed in, I can go almost two days without a charge. With minimal use and some manual management of the radio (turning of GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi), I can get almost three. I don't know of any other phone on the market with this kind of performance that even comes close. My girlfriend's Inspire and my coworker's iPhone 4 get a day each, if they're lucky, with similar usage.

I could keep raving, but the bottom line: if you want a fully-featured phone with an amazing screen and exceptional battery, look no further. There are a host of new dual-core phones on the horizon, but whether or not they'll be able to match this phone in battery life is TBD. It's cheaper on Amazon, but before you click "Add to Cart", I'd highly recommend stopping into a store and checking one out first, just to make sure it fits in your hand.

Nice Phone... September 22, 2011

Reviewer:  Pinoy 

I'm an AT&T fan for a long time and I own both I897 and I997. I897 is very similar to I997 in many ways except for the smaller screen and new body style. Both phone performs well on speed, screen quality and battery life. What I did not like about the I997 is the sound quality and low resolution. For having a bigger screen the amount of icons you can place on the screen are the same in I897, Basically the screen just got bigger not much sharper or better. Plus it's hard for me to carry the I997 in my pocket because of the size. What nice about the I997 is when you read txt, emails, and books because of the large screen. All in all I like both phones, I897 for games and other stuff and I997 for txt, emails, web and reading books.

Amazing!!! August 29, 2011

Reviewer:  Mikey G 

Ok first off i am wrighting this review from my samsung infuse!

This phone is great and does everything i wanted it to do and more!
Pros:
1) the screen! The screen is nice and big so you dont have to zoom in on text, the color on the screen is amazing, so good that alot of time my friends will send me pictures just so they can see it on my big colorfull screen! The size makes it easy to text on-wether its on its side or upright!
2) app run fast! My apps open up fast and rarely is there lag! I can easily have 5 apps open at the same time
3) built in file manager, this makes it really easy to open, delete or rename files on your phone---be aware though it does not grant root access!
4)easy built in task manager to kill ir stop apps-just hold tge home button and a menu pops up with the six apps you used last and than a button for task manager. In the task manager you cam "End" apps or even go to the ram manager and end all background processes!
4)the built in samsung keyboard-its layed out nice with the normal "qwerty" style but what makes it special is if you go to the numbers and symbols.menu its got three pages of symbols/numbers the last page being a list of pre-built faces-here are a few :-) :-( :-P =-O :O o_O :-Q :-C X-(
5) great music player and is easy to controll/manuever.
6) great loud sound quality for playing music/videos with out headphones
7) good GPS through google maps-actually beat our Garmin GPS at locating and giving directions!
8) very easy to add music or other mediafiles-just plug into the computer with provided usb cord choose the option "use as mass storage device" than simply drag any media into the device! Doesnt matter whaf folder you put it in either, doesnt even have to be in any folder! Just drag it in and wgen you eject it it will do a media scan and locate all new files and put them in music app or gallery app
9) easily turn off data to conserve data usage by holding down the lock/power button-a menu will pop up and you just choose "data network mode" to either deactivate or activate
10) camera-takes amazing pictures with the back 8MP camera and decent pictures with the front 1.3MP. Video recording is great with awsome clarity and sound!

Cons:
1) from time to time apps force close/crash
2) sometimes screen gets hot and when this happens battery dies faster
3) dont really like the stock browser-i miss the safari on the iphone---mainly just the google search bar shortcut that was on safari
4) this is not alth phones fault but some apps arent ment for this big of a screen causing the picture to look pixalated-such as Fruit Ninja

Overall this phone is great and i love it, i would easily recommend it to a friend. It looks great, its fast, has wifi built in, has 4g, fast processor, and overall just works great!
For $150 it is well worth it and it is money well spent!