The Samsung Epic 4G is the second phone from Sprint with 4G service, the original being the EVO 4G. The Epic 4G is part of Samsung’s Galaxy S line of Android smartphones, although visually it’s a departure from others like the Samsung Captivate, Fascinate, and Vibrant from other carriers.
The Epic 4G has a large 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display that provides brighter, thinner, and higher-resolution than traditional screens. Samsung’s innovative display technology makes watching movies, viewing videos and playing games come to life like never before, even in bright light and outdoor environments. And messaging is simple and easy with the Epic 4G’s side-sliding full QWERTY keyboard as well as the included virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swype technology, which allows you to input text faster and in a more intuitive way with one continuous finger motion across the screen keyboard.
Rounding out the specs, you’ve got Android 2.1 Eclair with TouchWiz 3.0, 512MB RAM, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 2.1, A-GPS, a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video capture and LED flash, front-facing VGA camera, and a micro-SD card slot to up the amount of storage space, adding up to an additional 32GB.
The forward-facing VGA camera makes it easy to have video calls using the two-way voice and video service from Qik (upgraded account service required), while the 5-megapixel camera on the back also offers HD video recording (720p) for playback on your HDTV.
With built-in mobile hotspot functionality, the Epic 4G also allows up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices–including laptop, camera, music player, video player and any other Wi-Fi-enabled device–to enjoy the benefits of 4G speeds on the go. Other features include music downloads from the Amazon MP3 Store, microSD memory expansion (16 GB card included; optional 32 GB cards supported), HDMI audio/video output, and up to 6 hours of battery life.
Sprint added a few goodies to Epic’s App mix, including Sprint TV, the carrier’s NFL and NASCAR apps, and Qik video chatting/streaming. Qik works quite well for two-way video chatting via Epic’s front facing camera; it’s not as slick as Apple’s FaceTime system, but it works with many more devices. Epic 4G also comes with Swype, which is fast catching on as a “better than typing” text input solution for touchscreens, because you won’t always want to deploy the hard QWERTY board to fire off a TXT. Oh, and while Epic’s YouTube app lacks the giant “HQ” button found on other recent Android devices, high quality YT viewing is accessible via the app’s Menu -> More settings. Ah, the joys of Android fragmentation!
Let’s touch on a couple of the other standout features of the Epic 4G for a moment. If you happen to live in a 4G-enabled area, the device becomes even better. You see, you can use 4G data with no cap, and you can use the Epic 4G as a 4G modem, connecting up to five other devices. The negative there is that you’ll be using up that battery, and 4G is power hungry. However, if you’re in a stationary spot like a cafe, just plug your phone in, and you are offering 4G access to five other devices in no time.
Samsung Epic 4G available starting today, with a price of $250 after a $100 mail-in rebate and two-year Sprint contract and it also has a great offer on Amazon, that is $50 price cut. Check out new prices and buy Samsung Epic 4G from Amazon.
You might like: