Manage updates with the Download AppSamsung Eternity (AT&T)
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: 3130239
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Samsung Eternity succeeds as a multimedia device, but without Wi-Fi and full e-mail support, it stops well short of being a business-friendly device.
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CNET editors' review
Samsung Eternity (AT&T) price range: $95.95
- Reviewed by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 11/19/2008
- Released on: 10/17/2008
The good: The Samsung Eternity has an attractive design with a intuitive touch-screen interface. It offers a solid assortment of multimedia features and good call quality. It also has impressive battery life.
The bad: The Samsung Eternity's virtual keyboard isn't available when entering message recipients. It lacks a camera flash, Wi-Fi and voice dialing and the 3G connectivity could be stronger.
The bottom line: The Samsung Eternity succeeds as a multimedia device, but without Wi-Fi and full e-mail support, it stops well short of being a business-friendly device.
User reviews
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Best NON-Smart Phone you can get! (Yes, no PDA Fee!)
by Jouten_Za on December 13, 2008
Pros: Great, responsive touch screen (not capacitive like iPhone), the haptic feedback enhances texting experience, great sounding music player (yes, I have the iPod touch and this sounds better). Works great with Opera Mini 4.2, thus easy browsing.
Cons: Ringtones are a bummer in that you can't just 'choose a song and go', you have to edit the song to a 300k sized mp3 or other supported format for it to work. If you set the screen's brightness to maximum, it sucks up the battery's life big time.
Summary: I did not even expect to get this phone. I walked into the AT&T store to shop for a touchscreen phone that wasn't the iPhone, I have ...
Summary: I did not even expect to get this phone. I walked into the AT&T store to shop for a touchscreen phone that wasn't the iPhone, I have the iPod Touch and didn't like the qwerty keyboard that it uses. I was looking for a phone with an actual physical qwerty keyboard because my wife texts me short questions that require long answers =)
I got Gmail and that allowed me the ability to check all my POP3 email from my ISP! Gmail is a sweet app and a must for this phone if you wish to be able to check your POP3 emails. I still am absolutely in love with this phone and have no buyer's remorse whatsoever. I usually find faults within a week to ten days of owning something and this phone has survived that honeymoon period. In fact, the more I use it, the more I love it. If you get this phone, you will not regret it (unless you don't know how to use it or you get a defective one like some of these other people seem to have happened).
I went in and tried out the HTC models and didn't care too much for them. They seemed so slow and the top row of qwerty keys were a little difficult for me to type on. I tried a couple other 'cheapo' qwerty phones, but alas, could not appreciate them. I was about to leave the store empty handed when the salesperson showed me an Samsung Epix phone. I loved it! The only problem was, I did not like the screen's real estate. I loved the optical mouse and the haptic feedback screen. I loved that you could use your finger or stylus for input. I told the salesperson that I was interested then I got the lowdown on the pricing =( It required an extra PDA data package (which I expected), and the cost was just a tad bit more than I was willing to pay. THAT's when the salesperson showed me this phone, the Samsung Eternity. I played with it and I liked how quick it responded, I liked the little tool bar on the side, I loved the screens real estate, I couldn't believe how good the music player sounded. I tried texting with the full screen qwerty keyboard and was really wowed by it! I typed two paragraphs with it and did not make one mistake! I had made typos with the Epix. The phone didn't require a PDA data package (I already have the unlimited data package) which was music to my ears! The cost was more in my range, especially after the rebate. Just simply a great multi-media/messaging phone.
If you are a Smart Phone user (BlackBerry, Palm, etc.), you will miss your POP/IMAP email. If you can live without that, this phone is the best way to go. It is veryt well suited for all my multi-media and web browsing needs. I can add contacts full screen with the qwerty keyboard so I'm not sure what the reviewer means when they said, "...Samsung Eternity's virtual keyboard isn't available when entering message recipients...". If you use the names in your contacts, your good to go. Really. I think they were reaching with that one.
This phone sounds absolutely great with my Sony Bluetooth headphones and if you want to go wired, it has the 3.5mm headphone plug in.
The bottom line of my bottom line is:
This phone is an awesome alternative to the iPhone (texting is way better with the haptic feedback).
Updated on Dec 19, 2008
So in summary, must have downloadable apps straight to your phone...Opera Mini 4.2, Gmail ande Google Maps. That should satisfy all your multimedia, web browsing and email needs. Won't need to pay for the PDA or iPhone data package, and you will have a very good phone to last you at least another two years or until your next upgrade times. Thanks all!34 out of 37 users found this user opinion helpful.
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CNet?s video review has a glaring error? (see summary)
by jagtoo05 on November 24, 2008
Pros: The call quality was very strong. When adjusted properly, the speaker phone, ringer and overall audio volume was good. Excellent display and feels good in your hand. Compared to some of the competition you can include expanded contact information.
Cons: Lack of Wi-Fi and No Voice Dialing is a drawback...
Summary: Contrary to what Mr. Kent German states in his video review of the Eternity, you certainly can use the virtual QWERTY keyboard when entering contact information. It works on my ...
Summary: Contrary to what Mr. Kent German states in his video review of the Eternity, you certainly can use the virtual QWERTY keyboard when entering contact information. It works on my unit. This was one his biggest issues with the phone and it appears to be a mistake on his part! Either his phone was defective or for some reason there was a lag in the accelerometer.
Anyway, it is an excellent cell phone for the non-Smartphone crowd. I found it fast, friendly and easy to use. While you may not use all of its features, if this cell phone falls within the category phone you are looking for, I would recommend that you give it serious consideration.25 out of 27 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great phone, great features.
by obusteven on November 30, 2008
Pros: Smoothness of operating system, ease of navigation, sound profiles, both a qwerty keypad and a dialing pad to use in texting and dialing. Media Net is fast, integrated music player and traditional headphone jack.
Cons: No way to customize screensaver (you can customize wallpaper), no customization of items on the menu. No speed dial. Many monthly costs for app service.
Summary: My main goal in switching to ATT from Sprint was to find a phone and plan that was affordable, yet modern in technology. After looking at nearly every phone for ...
Summary: My main goal in switching to ATT from Sprint was to find a phone and plan that was affordable, yet modern in technology. After looking at nearly every phone for ATT and spending an insane amount of time on CNET listening to Bonnie and Nicole, I decided on the Eternity.
After having the phone a little less than a week, here are my thoughts.
The smoothness of the operating system reminds me of the iPhone as does the user interface. I like the taskbar on the side of the wallpaper, but it does take some getting used to. I did like being able to take widgets off, but there is no way to customize widgets a particular app you want to use.
The user interface is not as smooth as the iPhone, but blows Windows Mobile and other phones like the LG Vu out of the water.
In spite of what Ken said in his review, you CAN input e-mail addresses and recipients in the qwerty mode. It is not just up to the dial pad.
There is a very small learning curve for this phone. Basic users should be able to pick the phone up and immediately start using it without a problem. If you are switching from a non-touch screen phone you will have to get used to touching a screen instead of buttons.
The phone book holds a ton of information but Samsung left out speed dial. Instead I have to assign people as favorites and go in two menus to find a number. That part is not really convenient. If there is a way around this to get speed dial, somebody please let me know.
Many of the apps you have to pay monthly service fees for. However, with ATT you do not have to have a data package on this phone. In my opinion, this is where the Eternity beats the iPhone. If you are wanting the iPhone but don't want the data package, then this is a great alternative for you.
Battery life so far is good; I have only had it one day, but I will follow up with more information.
The phone feels very solid in hand and call quality and speakerphone quality has been great. Add to that the ability to reject the calls automatically from those people in your life you cannot stand and you got yourself a great phone!
I would recommend it to anyone!
Updated on Dec 4, 2008
Touchscreen and interface has become a little sluggish over the week. Don't know if this is a user issue or a phone issue.
Buttons are not as responsive as normal. It takes multiple firm presses to get the phone to respond.
Lack of speed dial is very frustrating. You cannot make calls without focusing on the screen intently. For voicemail, you open the dial pad and hold 1. They need that feature for other callers as well.
Alarm clock isn't loud enough to wake me up.
No true silent feature. You can set the phone to silent but it still vibrates. Not good for my Tom Cruise Mission Impossible endeavors.
Battery life is so-so. I could probably get 1 1/2 days out of a single charge. I am an average user.
Camera is great. Multitude of features and the pictures look good.
Music player is impressive. Had no trouble transferring files from my computer and listening to them. 3.5 jack is awesome.
Updated on Dec 22, 2008I had this phone for almost a month and the lack of Speed Dial killed me. It was simply too hard to make calls to people that were buried in the address book. I drive alot and was not able to make a simple call by looking at the screen or hitting a number.
Also, as I went along, I noticed that the touch screen became less responsive. Many times in the last week it would take 2 or 3 touches for it to register and take me into the appropriate menu.
The T9 function on this phone was very hard to use. Many times it would insert words and letters that I had not typed because of the T9 input. It's like T9 met 1984.
I still like the phone, but the main reason for the switch was the lack of speed dial and despite the promise of an update, getting no answer from Samsung as to when that update would occur.
Music quality is top notch, I loved that aspect of the phone, but if you don't need speed dial and if you are not dependent on an actual keyboard it will be a great phone.19 out of 24 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good phone, but falls short in several important ways.
by stuck2001 on November 16, 2008
Pros: Size and form-factor are great. The phone looks awesome. Haptic feedback and TouchWiz drag and drop are cool features. Text messaging is probably the best I've seen on a touch screen. Lot's of apps and and features.
Cons: 1. Almost all the apps are monthly fees. $10/month for GPS, Pandora, MobiVj, Weather, WikiMobile, XM Radio all between 3 and 8 dollars a month. Do the math.
2. Browser is VERY hit or miss.
3. The TouchWiz widgets are useless and pre-determined.Summary: I really, really liked this phone for the first 24 hours. It's looks and interface are awesome. However, during the second day of use, problems started showing up which ...
Summary: I really, really liked this phone for the first 24 hours. It's looks and interface are awesome. However, during the second day of use, problems started showing up which turned into deal breakers for me.
The main problem is the price of the apps. The phone was $199 and came with tons of apps that made it comparable to the iPhone. I liked the form-factor much better and wanted to avoid the pricier data plan of the iPhone. However, since literally 90% of the apps on the Eternity charge monthly subscription fees (Yeah the phone has GPS and Mobile TV, but GPS runs $10/month and you pay PER CHANNEL for the Mobile TV) , and the exact same apps (with better interface) are free on the iPhone or a small one time fee, I'm actually going to save money with it. It comes pre-loaded with tons of apps and you get home excited to use them all, then find out they are just demos and that you have to subscribe to them all. A huge downer.
The browser is also very, very hit or miss. Some pages look great, some pages are crammed into a weird column format and don't really give you a great browsing experience. Being able to surf in portrait or landscape is nice, but in the few days I've had the phone, the accelerometer is already having trouble recognizing when I have the phone turned. I called AT&T and they recommended trying the OperaMini browser, which is somewhat better, but does not navigate on this phone as well, and it appears that the phone refuses to go into landscape with it.
The TouchWiz interface is cool, with haptic feedback and the drag and drop rail on the homescreen. However, the widgets on the rail are preset to fairly useless things. Birthday reminders, a world clock, a regular clock, an alarm, a calculator...how about a browser link? a messaging link? an apps link?
The text messaging on the phone is a definite strong point, but threaded texting would have been a great touch. The virtual keyboard seems to be more reliable to me with more options (t9, multitap, landscape, handwriting) than others that I have seen.
Overall it's a really, really cool phone that I wanted to love, but the deeper I got into the phone the more it feel short of expectations for the price point. We all know what you can get for $199 on the cell phone market these days. If you want a really $199 phone to check email, look cool, and make calls this is the phone for you. If you want $199 phone to do more than that, I think there are better options.16 out of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A phone for me!
by wiiownzzz on December 13, 2008
Pros: I love that the touch screen is easy to use and texting is great. This phone has a lot of freedom compared to the other phones i had in the past. It's also very fast at most thing and everything is amazing!
Cons: No Wifi. That's it.
Summary: I like this phone because of it's ease of use and it's customizable home screen. I also enjoy texting because it is very easy and there's a ...
Summary: I like this phone because of it's ease of use and it's customizable home screen. I also enjoy texting because it is very easy and there's a T9 option on the keyboard which is helpful sometimes. The music player is great, I like the fact that it has a headphone jack. Yeah this phone is just overall great.
I have had this phone for a while now and it's still fun to use and very user friendly. I have a few movies and family guy episodes and it's so convenient to watch them because you have the headphone jack so no one else will have to hear it. I have no problems with it at the moment but little quirks, sometimes I want to have a widget in an exact spot and it's kind of hard but that's no big deal. I had no problems with the touch screen, maybe sometimes when I text at lighting speed on the qwerty keyboard I may mess up. I don't see everyones problem with the extra app costs, It's not like you actually use them! Like seriously I didn't notice I had half of those apps until people started complaining about them. FYI that doesn't make the phone suck that makes the company of the apps and ATT suck by charging money for the app. Samsung has nothing to do with that. Just get the media net unlimited plan and you have videos, internet, email, free ringtones, and more. It's a good phone people.
Updated on Dec 17, 20089 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Amazing: I love it more than my ipod and it is a phone
by CleekVonNiblick on March 23, 2009
Pros: Easy learning curve, works logically, I no longer take the newspaper into the bathroom, read old magazines in Dr. Office etc. Internet is fast, Videos are amazing. Bought an 8 gig card and have 4 movies and more music than I can listen to on it.
Cons: Difficult to switch to a numbered keypad in time for automated responses:
"For English press 1" etc. Anyone who complains about the battery life either has a defetive battery or NO LIFE. No Speed Dial or voice dialing.Summary: I am 63 years old and never thought I would love a cell phone like a teenager, but I do. I take it to bed with me and when I ...
Summary: I am 63 years old and never thought I would love a cell phone like a teenager, but I do. I take it to bed with me and when I can't sleep, I plug in my earphones and watch a movie, the Wheather Channel, music videos, the news, or just listen to music. I no longer take a book to read at the Dr. office, or the newspaper in the bathroom. I take my Samsung Eternity. I no longer feel like I am wasting my life standing in line or sitting in a waiting room, and it is a great phone. Put a Zero in front of your key names in the address book and they pop up first and make for a good speed dial.
8 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not A Smart Phone, A Genius Phone
by fletch1023 on February 4, 2009
Pros: Touch screen, accelerometer, fast web browsing, excellent mobile TV streaming quality, great picture and video quality (w/ cool features and effects), PDF viewing, widget sidebar, very good battery life
Cons: Doesn't have a wide selection of apps like iPhone, but its not really a con because the apps it does have are awesome
Summary: FYI......The guy in the video is right about not being able to enter message recipients by using the full keyboard. But he did not mention that you can HANDWRITE ...
Summary: FYI......The guy in the video is right about not being able to enter message recipients by using the full keyboard. But he did not mention that you can HANDWRITE IT, which is a very cool feature haha.
I was originally looking to buy an iPhone or a Blackberry. I wanted the touch screen feature, with the power of a Blackberry. Since I am with AT&T, the Blackberry Storm is not available (I hate phone exclusivity). I had to pay retail for either one at Best Buy. The iPhone was way too expensive, as were the Blackberry's. I was just about to leave the store when the Samsung Eternity caught my eye. It was $349, which was definitely in my price range. I asked to play with it a little, and with 2 minutes of messing around, I bought it. I believe this phone is better than the iPhone, but just under the Blackberry Storm. Barely. The video it records is outstanding in quality, and the pictures are awesome. My house is a dead zone, yet AT&T still gets service, and sometimes 3G. (Verizon and T-Mobile failed to accomplish either one. Yes, Verizon, I am calling you out. With your no "Dead Zones" commercials. And I never saw a large group of people following me around.)
All in all, a great phone. I love it. If you want the awe of an iPhone, or the bang of a Blackberry, but don't want that extra monthly fee, choose this phone. Having this phone topped off my loyalty to Samsung Mobile. Having used LG (terrible), Nokia (close second), and Samsung phones before, Samsung takes the cake with overall performance and quality.6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Beautiful phone for specific users, excellent otherwise
by dakishimesan on December 8, 2008
Pros: a. TouchWiz interface responsive, carefully thought-out, superb qwerty, sms
b. 3G data + free Java apps (Gmail, Google Maps, upcoming Firefox mobile) smart competition for iPhone, w data only $15/m
c. tag-smart mp3 player w backgrnd play, album artCons: a. some menu real-estate used for ATT add-on programs that most will not use
b. microSd card slot located inside casing
c. does not come with usb cable (but bluetooth transfers at 110kb/s)
d. built-in medianet browser meh (but can load Opera, FF)Summary: The Eternity is a beautiful touch-screen phone that stands apart due to it's unique Samsung TouchWiz interface that is fast and better than the the iPhone. While not as ...
Summary: The Eternity is a beautiful touch-screen phone that stands apart due to it's unique Samsung TouchWiz interface that is fast and better than the the iPhone. While not as expandable as the iPhone in terms of applications, it's built-in apps plus the additions of any Java app (like Gmail, Google maps, eventually Firefox Mobile in 2009) offer almost the same flexibility. It's phenomenal qwerty touch keyboard is far superior to that of the iphone; mp3 player is not quite as good, of course, but works and is the best on-phone player I've seen. Bottom line, if you like txt-ing, portable e-mail, and great media capability (microSd+3.5mm headphone jack), this phone will be awesome for you. For anyone else, it is a solid talk and battery life phone, with a lot of extras you may not use, but still a solid choice.
5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Phone with a Few Minor Flaws
by Monahan92 on January 12, 2009
Pros: This phone has a very colorful screen. The touch screen is very responsive coming very close to the iphones screen. The widgets are also very unique. The battery life is decent, i can get about 3 days of moderate use before i have to charge it again.
Cons: Some minor thing are that you cannot add any more widgets for now, hopefully they will add that in a firmware upgrade. Also there is no media net or message shortcut for the widget bar but they can be reached with 1-2 clicks.
Summary: I would recommend this phone to anyone. I would not say this is an iphone killer but it comes pretty close. It has very few apps for download but it ...
Summary: I would recommend this phone to anyone. I would not say this is an iphone killer but it comes pretty close. It has very few apps for download but it will run Java apps so the Gmail app 2.0 will work with this phone for those of you who use Gmail. This phone does on the other hand have light sensor that changes the screen's brightness and contrast to make the phone easier to read and a proximity sensor that detects when the phone is close to your head during a phone call and turns off the screen and touch so that you don't accidentally press a button.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Amazing Phone with all lots of features
by Gadgetfreak08 on December 1, 2008
Pros: Great set up, easy for regular phone users, advance features for those that want a minor upgrade.
Cons: No OS so you can't save some files. Have to pay for some features, but internet is $15 compared to iPhone's $30 and you can bundle w/ GPS for an extra $5! Screen also auto locks after about 20 seconds, but renews back to where it ended.
Summary: I just bought this phone 3 days ago and I LOVE IT! I had a Samsung Sync A707 before and I really enjoyed it but I wanted to upgrade my ...
Summary: I just bought this phone 3 days ago and I LOVE IT! I had a Samsung Sync A707 before and I really enjoyed it but I wanted to upgrade my phone. I wanted either a Blackberry or an iPhone. I thought I needed a smartphone. I checked the reviews on the Eternity the only draw back was paying for the apps and no OS. I bought it with a 30 day guarantee and thought I'd try it out. I am EXTREMELY to find out this phone does most things that smart phones can do. I was able to download the gmail application (also opens attachments like word docs and PDFs), also have mobile banking and I downloaded Google maps. The internet on this phone is only $15 which is a HUGE plus and you're not locked in to having it. For $5 more you can bundle it with the GPS which is a nice added bonus because unlike Google map app the AT&T GPS gives you turn by turn directions. This phone feels great, works WAY better than I could've expected. Once you calibrate the phone to your touch, the touch screen works GREAT too!
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: 3130239
- Description: The Samsung Eternity isn't just a phone; it's the total package. It's a full touch screen full of entertaining features. And it takes full advantage of 3G high-speed technology. You get a 3.0 megapixel camera, GPS and so much more. With all that entertainment, and 200MB of built-in memory, you'll be able to enjoy this Samsung for an eternity.
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Product Type Cellular phone
- Form Factor Touch
- Phone Design Candybar
- Integrated Components Voice recorder,
Digital camera,
Digital player - Antenna Internal
- Width 2.4 in
- Depth 0.5 in
- Height 4.3 in
- Weight 3.9 oz
Cellular
- Technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
- Band WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- Mobile Broadband Generation 3G
- Service Provider AT&T
- Software Platforms Supported Java
- Input Device(s) Touch sensitive screen
Messaging & Internet
- Cellular Messaging Services SMS,
MMS - Instant Messaging Services Wireless Village 1.1,
AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM) - Mobile Services AT&T Mobile TV with FLO
Communications
- Data Transmission GPRS,
EDGE - Bluetooth Profiles Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
- Communication Features Internet browser,
Mobile Email client Phone Features
- Phone Functions Call timer,
Conference call,
Speakerphone,
Vibrating alert - Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Additional Features Intelligent typing (T9)
Organizer
- Personal Information Management Synchronization with PC,
Calendar,
Calculator,
Reminder,
Alarm clock
Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3,
WMA,
AAC Memory
- RAM 200 MB
- Supported Flash Memory Cards microSD
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 3 megapixels
- Digital Zoom 3
Display
- Type LCD display - Color
- Technology TFT
- Diagonal Size 3.2 in
- Display Resolution 240 x 400 pixels
- Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)
- Multi-language Menu Yes
- Features LCD touch screen,
Wallpaper,
Screensaver Battery
- Technology Lithium ion
- Capacity 1300 mAh
- Run Time Details Talk - up to 300 min,
Standby - up to 240 hour(s) Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Power adapter , Power adapter
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Samsung
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
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