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Samsung Epic 4G Is Fast and Bright, but No iPhone Killer
by Nicholas Kolakowski
Bigger and Bulkier
With its built-in keyboard, the Samsung Epic 4G (right) is both thicker and heavier than AT&T's Samsung Captivate (middle) and T-Mobile's Samsung Vibrant (left), two other phones based on the Samsung Galaxy S model.
Android 2.1
As with the rest of its Samsung Galaxy S brethren, the Samsung Epic 4G comes loaded with Android 2.1, although an Android 2.2 update is apparently promised soon.
Super AMOLED Screen
The Samsung Epic 4G includes a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 50,000:1 contrast ratio and resulting brightness and contrast.
Apps Page
The Epic 4G's apps page. Note the icon for the 5-megapixel camera, which takes notably clear shots.
Built-in Keyboard
The Epic 4G with physical QWERTY keyboard deployed.
Flat Keys
A detail of the Epic 4G's sliding-out keyboard. Notice the flatness of the keys.
GPS
The Epic 4G's tweaked GPS pinpointed the phone's location with a high degree of accuracy, even in urban and deep-woods environments.
Sprint Apps
As with the other Samsung Galaxy S phones, the Epic 4G includes a "skin" of Sprint apps, including Sprint Navigation, Sprint Hotspot and Sprint TV.
Samsung Media Hub
The Samsung Media Hub, which is supposed to offer an extensive library of media content, hasn't been launched quite yet; however, Android offers easy access to YouTube and other multimedia features.
Sharp Images
The Super AMOLED screen translates into sharp images for both video and e-reading.
Android Marketplace
The Android Marketplace includes thousands of apps and games, although many duplicate the same function.
Sprint 4G
In theory, Sprint's 4G network allows for faster app-downloading in select areas with coverage.
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The Samsung Epic 4G is the latest smartphone derived from the Samsung Galaxy S model, with a Super AMOLED screen and 1GHz processor capable of handling the device's multimedia-intensive features and apps. Like the Samsung Vibrant on T-Mobile, the Samsung Captivate on AT&T and the Samsung Fascinate on Verizon, the Samsung Epic 4G runs Google Android 2.1. Despite hardware and software designed to make it an Apple iPhone killer, however, the Epic 4G suffers from some of the same issues as the other Galaxy S phones: namely, an imbalance between the features that feel cutting-edge and those that feel decidedly half-baked.