Samsung Epic 4G Specs

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Of the seemingly countless variants of the Galaxy S that Samsung’s in the process of deploying around the globe, one stands out in a couple very unique (and important) ways: Sprint’s Epic 4G. The Epic hangs on to a couple of the Galaxy line’s most important characteristics — namely the 1GHz Hummingbird processor and the 4-inch Super AMOLED display — but adds in a sliding landscape QWERTY keyboard, support for the wickedly fast WiMAX network that Sprint shares with partner Clearwire, and a handful of other notable one-off customizations.

We’ve already taken a look at two of the other US-bound Galaxy S models — AT&T’s Captivate and T-Mobile’s Vibrant – but it shouldn’t take more than a quick glance at the Epic to tell you that this is a very, very different beast. Becoming just the second WiMAX phone released in the States (and the first with a physical keyboard), this is a pretty critical release for Sprint at a time when its subscriber count is just starting to pick up after several quarters of decline — and making things even more interesting is the fact that Sprint’s first WiMAX handset — HTC’s EVO 4G – is simply one of the best phones we’ve ever reviewed. In other words, yeah, you could say that the Epic’s got a lot to live up to. Is it up to the task? Let’s find out.

Epic 4G review

Packaging

Sprint has ditched the strange (or cute, depending on your attitude) “TV dinner” packaging of the EVO in favor of a more traditional box here. Boring, yes, but look on the bright side: unlike the EVO, this setup is easier to keep closed (assuming you care and you’re going to hang onto it) because it doesn’t rely on a flimsy cardboard sleeve to keep the lid on, and fortunately, they’ve gone with a really thick, sturdy, high-quality material for both halves of the box. Inside you’ll find — besides the phone, of course — a USB charger, micro-USB cable (there’s no cable permanently attached to the charger, a pretty common trend these days), and the same surprisingly decent earbuds found with the Vibrant and Captivate. Anyone intending to use the Epic for serious music use is still encouraged to bring their own headphones or earbuds of choice, but it’s pretty cool that Sammy’s offering buds in the box that are high-quality enough to include replaceable tips.

You also get an SD-to-microSD converter that you’ll be able to use with the 16GB microSD card that comes pre-installed underneath the phone’s back cover (though you don’t need to remove the battery to get at it, which is nice). Why 16GB when AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s versions only include 2GB? Good question: turns out the Epic only has a little over 400MB of app storage internally — not the capacious 16GB of the others — so Sprint compensates by throwing in a beefy card. Though that’ll work just fine for 95 percent of users, it’s important to note that this means you can’t get it up to 48GB of available storage by picking up a 32GB card. Since it’s obvious Sprint tried to make this phone as “epic” as possible, it’s unclear why they left out that internal capacity; the only thing we can think of is that they simply ran out of room with all of the phone’s modifications over the standard Galaxy S like the slider mechanism, the LED flash, and the WiMAX circuitry. Hard to say.

Hardware

Of all the Galaxy S flavors we’ve seen, the Epic 4G — despite its name and form factor — might have the most nondescript appearance. Depending on your personality, that’s either a good thing or a bad thing (for what it’s worth, we liked it). The front of the phone is dominated by an expanse of black gloss rimmed by a matching black bezel, which makes it almost intimidating when it’s sitting there with the screen turned off because you can’t readily see the outline of the screen or the capacitive buttons below it — just a whole lot of black with tastefully-proportioned Sprint and Samsung logos at the top and bottom, respectively. In fact, it’s so black that it almost seems like you could be looking at the back of the phone.

Speaking of the back, Sprint got it right where AT&T and T-Mobile frankly got it wrong. It’s a subtle black soft-touch — not the Vibrant’s cheap, glossy plastic or the Captivate’s faux carbon fiber weave — which gives you just a little bit of grip when you’re holding it. The sparkling flecks in the back cover are actually one of the few concessions to style on the entire phone, and though we generally don’t like our phones to sparkle, we’ll begrudgingly admit that it probably would’ve been a bit too plain if they’d just done it in a flat black. Another place where the Epic wins over its Galaxy-branded cousins is just below the 5 megapixel camera, where you’ll find an honest-to-goodness LED flash (more on this later). One very minor complaint we have about the back is that it pries off; we always prefer the sliding style because it involves less of that uncomfortable “I wonder if I’m going to break this” feeling you get when you’re trying to yank a flimsy cover straight up and out, but considering how rarely you should need to get in there, it’s basically a non-issue.

The sides of the Epic are where you’ll find the only other blatantly stylish element on the entire phone: a thin chrome ring that runs all the way around, roughly in the middle of the edge, without extending into the keyboard area at all. We don’t frequently say this about chrome, but it’s tasteful and it actually works here. You’ll also find the usual array of edge-mounted doodads, including a volume rocker on the left side, power and two-stage camera buttons on the right, and a 3.5mm headphone jack and micro-USB port up top. Like other Galaxy S models, the Epic has a neat retractable door to protect the port, a far better arrangement than the flimsy rubber plugs you usually see (though we still don’t think micro-USB ports really need a lot of protection, considering they were specifically designed to be robust). The volume and camera buttons have plenty of feel, but the power button — which is more flush than the others to prevent accidental actuation — would be much easier to deal with on the top for a couple reasons: one, that’s where you usually find it; and two, every time you press it, you risk accidentally sliding open the phone a bit. Considering how often you press power to take the screen in and out of standby, this is actually a topic worth discussing, but it’s not a deal-breaker (and interestingly, we didn’t like the design of the power button on the EVO, either).

Read more at: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/epic-4g-review/