Samsung Epix: The Hands-on Low Down Review

Over the past few weeks, we’ve played the name game with this new Samsung phone. Now that the curtain has risen to reveal the true identity of the i907 Epix, we shared themanual and reported on the AT&T availability. While a lot has been written on the specifications and features of this new Windows Mobile device, it’s time to offer some hands on observations. How fat is the Epix? Is it a door stop or a well balanced, comfortable to use Windows Mobile device? Is the battery life any good? Any lag time? How does it measure up to the latest kid on the block, the Treo Pro? What the heck is haptic feedback? You’ll find observations and answers to these and more questions after the break!

It seems supply for the Samsung Epix is struggling to keep up with demand in my neck of the woods. After driving thirty minutes to the only AT&T store in the area that had one in stock, I eagerly raced back to the office to see how this new phone stacked up.

The Epix has been described as “fat”, “huge” and “BIG”. Taking it out of the box, I would describe it as solid. Measuring 4.56” x 2.41” x .51” and weighing 4.4 ounces, the Epix it is in the same ball park as the Treo Pro and just slightly larger than the Samsung BlackJack II.

Here’s the specifications on all the Epix, Pro and BlackJack II. They all seem very close with the only standout difference being the weight of the BJII.

Epix: 4.56” x 2.41” x .51” and 4.4ounces Treo Pro: 4.49” x 2.36” x .53” and 4.69 ounces BlackJack II: 4.4” x 2.3” x .4” and 3.52 ounces

For those who own the BJII and are considering the Epix, imagine the extended portion of the back of the BJII extending the full length of the phone and you’ll have a good image of the Epix’s size. One way to describe the Epix is a “beefier” version of the BlackJack II. If you could round the corners of the Epix, you’d come really close to the size of the Treo Pro. Where the Pro has a more oval shape, the Epix is more rectangular. The thickness is so close it’s hard to notice the difference.

Epix vs. Treo Pro

Epix vs. BlackJack II

I liked the gun metal gray finish on the Epix but it shares the same magnetic quality for attracting fingerprints that so many devices these days share. Goodness, can’t engineers design a Windows Mobile device that doesn’t have to be de-greased every week? Is it too much to ask for a matte finish?

The Epix comes packaged with the wall charger, sync cable, headphone adapter and the typical AT&T manuals/CDs. It has a neat stylus that collapses as it is returned to its slot, likely freeing up more “under the hood” space. The Epix is equipped with a 2.0 megapixel camera that is very similar to the one on the Blackjack II.

The stylus expands fully when you pull it out of the silo and retracts when you return it home.

QWERTY keypad is very similar to the Blackjack series and vaguely similar to the Treo Pro’s. While it doesn’t enjoy the spacing of the Motorola Q9h’s keypad, the keys are separated more than the Pros’ allowing for a little better navigation.

The screen is a 2.55”, 320x320 touch screen with haptic feedback option. For the lack of a better definition, haptic feedback is when the device vibrates in response to screen touches or taps. Personally, it got a little annoying so after a few minutes and I turned it off. It took a while to find the settings for the haptic feedback but they are in the Sound & Notifications menu.

Screen resolution is comparable to the Treo Pro and not bad at all. The screen was very responsive to touches for the most part. The main part of the screen is very “finger friendly” but I had to really press down along the sides of the screen (with my finger or stylus) to get it to respond and moving scroll bars was a little challenging. Granted you can use the touch pad to scroll as an alternative to the touch screen but that’s not always the most efficient method. Using the Treo Pro as a benchmark, I’d rate the Epix equal, if not slightly higher with regards to resolution but I like the Pro’s responsiveness better.

Button layout is typical for most WM devices these days. It has a dedicated power on/off button so unlike the Treo Pro, you can turn the Epix completely off. The optical touchpad takes some getting used to and the impulse to use it as a four-way controller will eventually wear off. It’s very similar to a laptop’s touchpad and you can set it to be a mouse, controlling a stylus or more like a four-way controller. The “mouse” setting is a little cumbersome and fortunately, the “four-way” setting was much easier to navigate with.

I like the hot keys incorporated into the keypad a little more than having them up near the center button on the Pro. While I understand the outcry for the return of soft keys, I’m curious why? With a flush touch screen, the need isn’t as demanding in my opinion as with the recessed screens (e.g. Treo 750). The keys correspond to the actions on the bottom of the screen that can be tapped to activate. I would have liked to have seen these keys eliminated to allow for a shorter form factor, larger screen or if you’ve gotta have them, make them customizable.

Call quality is good with the Epix. I had no problem with earpiece volume and the microphone picked up my voice with no problems. The speaker was alright but doesn’t rattle the windows like the Motorola Q9h’s does. Signal strength was on par with other devices and more closer to the reception the Motorola Q9h has become known for.

The large 1800 mah battery is rated at seven hours of talk time with up to 14 days of standby time. I began using the Epix with about 80% battery life and with heavy use in running the Epix through the ringer at the end of the day, I had 45% power left and once the battery is conditioned, I won’t argue with Samsung’s battery life projections.

The Epix, just like the Pro, is equipped with Wifi but doesn’t have a dedicated on/off switch like the Pro does. On the Epix, you have to go into the communications manager to turn Wifi on/off. I don’t see this as a deal-breaker but the Pro’s setup is more convenient. The Epix does have a silence button, much like the Pro, to mute the speaker with one easy step. One other thing that is missing on the Epix is a shortcut to get to the Task Manager. On the BJII you could press/hold the Home Key to get to the Task Manager and on the Pro, you do the same with the “OK” button. If the Epix has such a shortcut, it’s well hidden.

Just touching on the software, the Epix does come with its fair share of AT&T branded applications such as AT&T Mall, Media Net, Xpressmail, etc. All in all, the Epix comes loaded with 33.13mb of programs pre-loaded. On the plus side, it does come with SIMS 2 and Ms. Pacman for those who have grown tired of Bubblebreaker and Solitaire.

There has been some discussion on GPS performance and how the Epix compares to the Pro. In testing the Epix with GoogleMaps and Live Search, acquiring a satellite fix was a little difficult. It wasn’t until I downloaded AT&T GPS did either programs begin to acquire a signal. While Windows Live Search is still challenging on the Treo Pro, I like how GoogleMaps is set up to begin acquisition through cell towers while a satellite fix is gained.

Oh… one word of caution with the settings screens. There is a “Hard Reset” application on the System Tab. Don’t panic in thinking that if you accidentally tap the icon the Epix will perform a hard reset. Instead it takes you to a reset application where you can perform a hard reset which is password protection then confirmed a second time after the password is entered. A soft reset is accomplished by turning off the Epix.

Samsung does offer a few additional Today Screens to give it a “Samsungy” feel to it. The “Samsung Today” screen you get a Samsung widget styled screen giving you widgets for favorite programs, contacts, email, messaging, and other commonly used apps. The upper row is touch slideable making it easy to move from settings to contacts. It reminds me a lot of some of the features the Omnia has.

SAMSUNG TODAY

TODAY PLUS

The “Today Plus” screen gives you an “SPB Mobile Shell”-like tab section for your favorites, contacts (speed dialing), settings and connection. The nice thing about either of these screens is that you can access your Wifi and Bluetooth settings directly from the Today Screen. I still think a dedicated switch is nicer but this is a decent work around for not having a switch.

The Epix’s 624mhz processor was smooth and noticeably faster than the Pro. Where the Pro has a little lag time to get applications up and running, I haven’t experienced any lag time with the Epix. For example, press “Contacts” on the Pro and it takes about 2-3 seconds to pull up the Contacts screen. On the Epix, you’re looking at less than a second.

The Epix is fitted with 256mb ROM/150mb RAM and has a Micro SD port for additional storage. Samsung continues to use proprietary charging/sync/headphone port. The nice thing is that my BlackJack II accessories can be dusted off and used with the Epix. It would be nice if an industry standard could be established with a 3.5mm headphone jack and mini-USB charge/sync port.

Compared to the Treo Pro

In many aspects, the Epix has become the alternative to the Treo Pro. Many who aren’t happy with the Pro or those who are looking for a discounted device are turning their sites towards the Epix So, what’s best; the Pro or the Epix? In comparing the two devices, here’s how I’d break down my comparison.

If I had to choose between these two WM devices, I would have to give the nod to the Treo Pro. The processor on the Epix is easily heading towards Flux Capacitor status but the biggest weakness with the Epix is the touch screen and for a touch screen device, I think it’s a key to have a smooth, efficient touch screen. I will admit that the longer I tinker with the Epix, the more I like it. If you could put the touch screen of the Pro on the Epix or the Epix’s processor in the Pro you would have one mean Windows Mobile machine.

Keep in mind that the best WM device out there is dependant on your personal likes and dislikes with one size not necessarily fitting all.

Overall Impression

Samsung really created a stir with the name game that was generated with their new phones. You had the Mirage, Epix, Blackjack III and Omnia all thrown out there with no clear picture on who was who. The only thing for certain that we know now is that the Epix is an Epic (or i907). It appears that the Mirage was just that and the BlackJack III was a thought or educated guess on what the i907 would be tapped as. Odds are still strong that the Omnia will be an Omnia and find its way to our market soon.

I’ve only had it for twenty four hours and with a little more time we’ll have a better measure of this phone. However, with the short time I’ve tinkered with the Epix I can’t find anything disastrously wrong that would make users run screaming away in terror. The weak points would be the difficulty using the touch screen on the side edges, the lack of a Wifi button, the proprietary sync/charge/headphone port, and the un-mappable soft keys. To the Epix’s credit these aren’t so much problems but features you might have to get used to.

While the Epix may not appeal to everyone, one thing is for certain, it will make choosing a Windows Mobile Device all the more difficult.