Want to buy ATIV S (USA)

anon(8648115)

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Hi guys!

I currently own a 925 (I'm in the USA, btw) and it's a wonderful phone, however the limited storage available on top of a few general quirks have had me considering a spare phone or a new one altogether to use as a media player or even my own daily phone. I came in to a nice chunk of change for my birthday and I've looked at a 520 due it its sheer cheapness, and I can also buy a somewhat extended battery and an SD card for under two hundred bucks. Would be used like a zune and if I REALLY liked it (debatable, compared to my L925), I'd merely swap the sim and take it as my main phone.

There's THAT, or I found Amazon has a great deal for the ATIV S. Other than a few (few in number but fatal) errors coming with GDR3 (I have no plans to bump it to 8.1 until the consumer release), it looks like the general public loves this phone to death. If this was the case, I'd take it as a full replacement for my L925 if my concerns were alleviated. If my concerns remain, I'd most likely go with the 520 option. So, with that, I had a few questions:

1. For the ATIV S, which version should I buy to use on AT&T? The I8750, or the T899M? The latter is listed at a lesser price (no AZ Prime, sad face) but is there really any difference and/or detriment to getting one over the other?

2. I have no desire to bump it to 8.1 dev prev, but GDR3 is a MUST. I heard of a few storage errors and app installation errors. How prevalent are these? Could anyone who is an owner of this phone with an American network speak for this particular part if possible?

3. How prone to failure in any way is this phone? I know if suddenly the home button breaks or becomes unresponsive, or really anything screws up, in S.O.L since Samsung will not honor any warranties due to this being a non-US phone (something I never forgave Samsung for) and I'd be out two hundred bucks plus any accessories.

As well as any other information you'd be willing to provide me. Thank you so much guys!
 

mary beth hale

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Mar 13, 2013
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Hi guys!

I currently own a 925 (I'm in the USA, btw) and it's a wonderful phone, however the limited storage available on top of a few general quirks have had me considering a spare phone or a new one altogether to use as a media player or even my own daily phone. I came in to a nice chunk of change for my birthday and I've looked at a 520 due it its sheer cheapness, and I can also buy a somewhat extended battery and an SD card for under two hundred bucks. Would be used like a zune and if I REALLY liked it (debatable, compared to my L925), I'd merely swap the sim and take it as my main phone.

There's THAT, or I found Amazon has a great deal for the ATIV S. Other than a few (few in number but fatal) errors coming with GDR3 (I have no plans to bump it to 8.1 until the consumer release), it looks like the general public loves this phone to death. If this was the case, I'd take it as a full replacement for my L925 if my concerns were alleviated. If my concerns remain, I'd most likely go with the 520 option. So, with that, I had a few questions:

1. For the ATIV S, which version should I buy to use on AT&T? The I8750, or the T899M? The latter is listed at a lesser price (no AZ Prime, sad face) but is there really any difference and/or detriment to getting one over the other?

2. I have no desire to bump it to 8.1 dev prev, but GDR3 is a MUST. I heard of a few storage errors and app installation errors. How prevalent are these? Could anyone who is an owner of this phone with an American network speak for this particular part if possible?

3. How prone to failure in any way is this phone? I know if suddenly the home button breaks or becomes unresponsive, or really anything screws up, in S.O.L since Samsung will not honor any warranties due to this being a non-US phone (something I never forgave Samsung for) and I'd be out two hundred bucks plus any accessories.

As well as any other information you'd be willing to provide me. Thank you so much guys!
Hi! My experience from using the Ativ S T899m in the US on Straight Talk-AT&T SIM- for 11 months.
1)- From what I've read, the T899 has LTE capabilities but the band is not compatible with AT&T. I think some have been able to get LTE using T-Mobile. Other than that, I don't think there is any difference in specs. data/mms work perfectly with my AT&T SIM from Straight Talk.
2)- I personally had no issues with gdrs 2 & 3, but I think some had problems with random reboots. I am currently running 8.1 along with the update to 8.1 that was recently released. I initially had battery drain issue, but that resolved in about 2 days. The camera app problem(stops working if I switch from camera to video and back or change camera settings and go back into the app) is inconsistent and kind of random. Since I am not much of a photographer, this doesn't bother me. I believe it's an issue that will be fixed with the Samsung firmware update.
3)- I am fortunate in that I have experienced ZERO problems with the hardware. Love the physical Home button. Battery is excellent and everything runs like silk. all in all a stellar experience. The screen is beautiful. For an older phone it works great. I will be getting the Samsung SE in a month or so mainly because of the great experience I've had with my Ativ S. Have had no problems with using my SD card nor have I experienced "other storage" issues. I am not a "hardcore" user though, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I am a moderate user-phone calls, email, texts, web surfing, light camera use and some video streaming. I don't use the phone for games and I don't have a million apps. good luck.
 
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anon(8648115)

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Thanks! I myself am not a POWER user and only have essential apps plus a few simple games like flow-free and what not.

If you don't mind me asking, what is Straight Talk?
 

mary beth hale

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Straight Talk is an MVNO-mobile virtual network operator-like Boost, Virgin Mobile, Net 10, etc. They use towers from the major carriers. Really not sure exactly how it works. No contract. $45/month. recently upped the data to 3gb/mo. I've been using ST for 4 years with 3 different windows phones. Straight Talk offers T-Mobile and AT&T SIM cards for GSM phones.
 

Tony_Offends_U

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T899M only gets LTE on T-Mobile. Plus side is since its a non US phone carriers think this is a flip phone so I get unlimited unthrottled HSPA+ for $35.
 

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