Anyone purchased the Ativ S in Canada

[Mhotep]

So has anyone gotten their hands on it in Canada and able to give us a review?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[the_thunderbird]

I am going to the Rogers store right now to get one... If it has internet sharing? Or else the 920.Bell and Telus here have none, as of yesterday, but the Rogers stores had several.

 

[12Danny123]

dude. can you please do a review if you can man?

the Ativ S is an interesting Windows phone

 

[soxoh4]

I bought one but alas it's gone under the tree till Christmas! Box has all usual Samsung stuff identical to a SGS III. Even the stickers are the exact same as is on the SGG III. Phone looks like a hybrid between a SGS III and an SGS II. It does look good though. The "cheap plastic back" looks great in the brushed aluminum look. I am usually very hostile to Samsung phones look but the Ativ S genuinely does look good and feel good in the hand. Some say that the similarity to the SGS III indicates that Samsung aren't committed to the platform. When you hold the phone though you see that it's clearly and consciously designed to be the "professional's" Windows phone 8. They've really aimed to make it classy and appealing to, say, the slightly older consumer, that wouldn't be too happy with a brilliant yellow Lumia 920. And in as much as Samsung with its love of plastic can do "executive and classy" it achieves it. Nice phone, understated, elegant, professional. How it works? that I'm in the dark about!

 

[12Danny123]

for some reason. the feel and materials look to the Ativ SmartPC and Ativ Tab. also I think the brushed aluminium is only for the Ativ Series

 

[the_thunderbird]

Will fire up some thoughts on the Ativ S shortly, but this post is from my device purchased a mere two hours ago!

 

[Mhotep]

Thanks. Does it have the Nokia apps like the mapping software?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[the_thunderbird]

It does not have Nokia Maps. Which, as a Canadian sucks because:

1. To set the MS Maps app to metric you're Browser & Search language needs to be anything except any United States variation; however
2. Local Scout only works on United States (English).

So, you can have one or the other. This is going to annoy me quickly as I used local scout a lot and I do not understand imperial measurements.

 

[freestaterocker]

I think it's a good phone so far, but I have one minor gripe and one MAJOR gripe.

Minor: Physical home button takes some getting used to.

Major: Music sucks through even good quality headphones. Sound is thin with no bass, and Samsung is the only OEM that didn't bother to include any kind of EQ. Apparently Samsung thinks "professionals" don't like music... As somebody who LOVES music passionately, I might return this phone... Unless somebody wants to trade me straight up for a Rogers or unlocked 920. Color doesn't matter, and I don't care if it's carrier branded as long as I can use it on Bell in Canada. This rules out ATT devices unless you somehow managed to convince them to unlock it for you. I will pay to unlock as long as I know I can get the code. ATT is notoriously stingy on this one... PM me if you're interested.

Update: Figured I'd give a more complete review now that I've had a couple days with the device. (and no bites on the trade offer )

The Good:
-Screen is GORGEOUS! Deep blacks, rich but not oversaturated colors, and text is pin-sharp!
-Battery life is fantastic. My HD7 had to sit on the charger so frequently that I wore out the micro USB port 16 months into my contract and couldn't get it to charge anymore. Even with all features on, AND new-toy syndrome, I haven't felt the need to head for an outlet before bedtime yet, and the battery hasn't been below 50% since I powered it on right out of the box.
-In hand feel is great. EASILY on par with the 920. I know it's still plastic with a fancy finish, but it feels premium, and the glass has a slight curve at the edges that would feel better if not for the bezel protruding past it.
-Call quality is loud and clear, and I get great signal even in traditionally weak areas of my commute.
-Data feels super fast. I haven't used speedtest.com or anything like that yet, but downloading a song from Xbox music takes but a few seconds, and there's no LTE in my area yet.

The Bad:
Music sound quality is pretty much my only valid gripe here, now that I'm getting used to the physical home button.

Update: I think Samsung may have responded with some firmware... I have my phone set to automatically receive updates, and I've gotten a couple, but in the last few days I've used my Sony ear buds quite a bit and it sounds better. A lot better. Still not what I was accustomed to with my HD7, but pretty good!

 

[Mhotep]

Thanks

It does not have Nokia Maps. Which, as a Canadian sucks because:

1. To set the MS Maps app to metric you're Browser & Search language needs to be anything except any United States variation; however
2. Local Scout only works on United States (English).

So, you can have one or the other. This is going to annoy me quickly as I used local scout a lot and I do not understand imperial measurements.

Sent from my RM-845_nam_vzw_100 using Board Express

 

[squire777]

I went to a couple of Rogers stores a few days back and they didn't have a working version, but just a dummy version. Also checked the MS booth/store and they didn't have it either.

Does anyone know which stores would have a working version on display?

 

[david90531]

A L920 user here, but love to see anyone who buys a WP, esp. in Canada! I loved my Samsung Focus, so I'm sure the Ativ is amazing as well. Have fun!

 

[Nataku4ca]

my sister just ordered Ativ S for Telus, not sure when it will arrive though, anything i should be aware of?

 

[pulkit10]

Had a chance to play with two at the Telus store (Southcentre, Calgary if you are interested) because I thought my sister was going to upgrade hers that day.

The phone is super light and feels great in your hand, not quite a Lumia 920 though. If you want a point of reference, it is built just like the Focus and has a little nicer (textured) feeling to it. It is still plastic but the silver look makes it look like a handsome device.

Samsung has basically pre-installed all the apps you can find in the Samsung Zone on the market place and they're all terrible. I can't comment on the battery life but if the SIII is anything to go by, you are in good hands. This phone only has Bing maps (Nokia provides the data - not the actual application I believe) and that is too bad because I find Bing Maps to be a pain over here in Canada. They're inaccurate, not quite as well featured as Nokia's offering and often don't even work properly for me.

I would definitely recommend the device, it feels great and is well featured (that screen looks amazing). Overall a solid offering but I still prefer the Lumia myself.

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"It does not have Nokia Maps. Which, as a Canadian sucks because:

1. To set the MS Maps app to metric you're Browser & Search language needs to be anything except any United States variation; however
2. Local Scout only works on United States (English).

So, you can have one or the other. This is going to annoy me quickly as I used local scout a lot and I do not understand imperial measurements."

There is a simple workaround for that. ONLY set the "Browser & Search Language" option as "English (United States)" - leave the rest as Canada. It works perfectly then.

 

[the_thunderbird]

That worked, thanks!

I am using about twenty percent of my battery with pretty decent use through the day... very impressive to have eighty percent left. It does take a long time to charge. My 920 would finish the day near dead, and my 900 around twenty percent remaining.

 

[bembol]

I wanted to try Windows 8 since Nokia released the Lumia 920. I played around with it at the Microsoft Store for a few minutes.

That was a few months ago and after hearing Samsung (finally) releasing the ATIV S, I figured why not. One thing for sure it's not as bland/boring as iOS/iPhone 5 (had it for two weeks) but I am disappointed with Apps, I was surprised TuneIn was available but I need my Starbucks, Cineplex and few others. I'm not an App w****. LOL BTW, not hating on Apple I'm a Mac user just disappointed with their latest release.

This is my 15th Super Phone, I'm currently using Samsung Galaxy Note 2 which IMO is THE BEST of 2012. I had the S3 and I'm really impressed the little changes Samsung made with the ATIV S.

I'm still playing with the OS but so far so good. I'm loving this Tactile home screen.

 

[freestaterocker]

There is an unofficial Starbucks app that supports NFC payment. It's called "SBUX Card". Only this you can't do in app is top up the card.

 

[travisel]

I had my ATIV S since December 14, It's the 16GB model "no 32GB model in Canada" the only two software things to fix is the music player and TellMe search both are not equal to Apple Sir or Goggle Voice yet! I believe these things will be fixed in the first big update in march to WP8.1

 

[freestaterocker]

I had my ATIV S since December 14, It's the 16GB model "no 32GB model in Canada" the only two software things to fix is the music player and TellMe search both are not equal to Apple Sir or Goggle Voice yet! I believe these things will be fixed in the first big update in march to WP8.1

What carrier are you with, and what software did your phone ship with? I'm curious to find out how many Ativs shipped with 10211 aka "portico".

 

[travisel]

I'm with TELUS and I have 16GB model OS v8.0.10211.204 still waiting for the bigger update WP8.1 to bring it up to power with Apple & Google hopefully