I just got the Samsung FlipShot aka SCH-U900. If you haven’t noticed by now, I am very family oriented, specifically focused on grandchildren. I frequently lament that I don’t have my camera on me. However, I always have my phone on me. Thusly I wanted a phone with a decent camera. The FlipShot comes close.
Samsung claims it is a 3 megapixel camera with flash and zoom. The photos are not what I would consider decent from a digital camera but compared to my last phone/camera, they are much better. The phone has a slot for a micro sd memory card. I popped a 2gb card in there for saving my photos. I have not been able to find a way to default the photos to the memory card. You have to manually move them. I haven’t given up and perhaps in a software upgrade there will be a way to get them to the card without moving them manually. Getting them off of the phone is interesting. If you don’t buy Samsung’s charging/data cable, you can send them to yourself and get them on your pc that way. You can upload them to the Verizon picture place which allows you to share them but still doesn’t let you download them to your pc. You can email them to yourself or you can print them….only to their print service which is Fuji Film. So if you actually want to work on the photos yourself you really need to get the charging/data cable. Verizon wants $30.00 for the cable. I found it on http://www.wirelessemporium.com/ for $16.00 plus shipping but I found a coupon on http://www.retailmenot.com/ that got the total down to $15.29.
Loading the software onto your pc is simple enough. Then you plug the cable into your phone and into a usb port on your pc. You can actually charge your phones batter off of your pc’s usb port, which is kinda of cool. Anyway, you get a menu on your phone screen asking if you want to access your card. At that point of you agree, your phone is seen as a memory card by your pc. You can then move, copy or whatever you want as if it is merely a memory card. The whole process is much easier than pulling the micro sd card out every time you want to move photos to your pc. The memory card is in a slot under the battery cover.
The software is a bit quirky. I found once you access the micro sd card from your pc the software doesn’t seem to want you to do it again without a reboot of your computer. I notice on my laptop if it goes into sleep mode and I re-log in, the software works again.
The same cable is supposed to let you use the phone as a modem on your computer. I can find nowhere, that is NO WHERE any reference to how you are to do that. Samsung’s site is dreadful. It is not easy to search and there are discrepancies with model number, serial numbers and English syntax. Butkus on how to use the phone as a modem. Even their contact form was goofy. Very disappointing as to how to find information.
The on-screen menu on the phone is so-so. It isn’t any worse than most but certainly no better. It is not intuitive and is difficult to navigate. The music function is decent as is the built in speaker. I have not been able to get the Bluetooth head set to work with the music yet, maybe never. The setting of ringtones is cumbersome. You can select specific tones for users but it does not appear to let you do so for a group. Then they don’t seem to function properly anyway since the default ringtone you set, seems to defeat setting individual settings.
Samsung claims it is a 3 megapixel camera with flash and zoom. The photos are not what I would consider decent from a digital camera but compared to my last phone/camera, they are much better. The phone has a slot for a micro sd memory card. I popped a 2gb card in there for saving my photos. I have not been able to find a way to default the photos to the memory card. You have to manually move them. I haven’t given up and perhaps in a software upgrade there will be a way to get them to the card without moving them manually. Getting them off of the phone is interesting. If you don’t buy Samsung’s charging/data cable, you can send them to yourself and get them on your pc that way. You can upload them to the Verizon picture place which allows you to share them but still doesn’t let you download them to your pc. You can email them to yourself or you can print them….only to their print service which is Fuji Film. So if you actually want to work on the photos yourself you really need to get the charging/data cable. Verizon wants $30.00 for the cable. I found it on http://www.wirelessemporium.com/ for $16.00 plus shipping but I found a coupon on http://www.retailmenot.com/ that got the total down to $15.29.
Loading the software onto your pc is simple enough. Then you plug the cable into your phone and into a usb port on your pc. You can actually charge your phones batter off of your pc’s usb port, which is kinda of cool. Anyway, you get a menu on your phone screen asking if you want to access your card. At that point of you agree, your phone is seen as a memory card by your pc. You can then move, copy or whatever you want as if it is merely a memory card. The whole process is much easier than pulling the micro sd card out every time you want to move photos to your pc. The memory card is in a slot under the battery cover.
The software is a bit quirky. I found once you access the micro sd card from your pc the software doesn’t seem to want you to do it again without a reboot of your computer. I notice on my laptop if it goes into sleep mode and I re-log in, the software works again.
The same cable is supposed to let you use the phone as a modem on your computer. I can find nowhere, that is NO WHERE any reference to how you are to do that. Samsung’s site is dreadful. It is not easy to search and there are discrepancies with model number, serial numbers and English syntax. Butkus on how to use the phone as a modem. Even their contact form was goofy. Very disappointing as to how to find information.
The on-screen menu on the phone is so-so. It isn’t any worse than most but certainly no better. It is not intuitive and is difficult to navigate. The music function is decent as is the built in speaker. I have not been able to get the Bluetooth head set to work with the music yet, maybe never. The setting of ringtones is cumbersome. You can select specific tones for users but it does not appear to let you do so for a group. Then they don’t seem to function properly anyway since the default ringtone you set, seems to defeat setting individual settings.
All that said, it is an ok phone. I like the camera even though blurring seems to be the only shots you can get. The phone shuts down all by itself occasionally and the guy at the local Verizon store thinks their will be a software fix out for that in January or February. All in all, a little better than my last phone.
Comments
To use your phone as a modem, here is what you do.
1. Use the Verizon Wireless website to download the VZaccess software for that phone. (You dont need the VZ access software, but you DO need the SCH-U900 driver, which is included with the software). Install it.
2. Plug your phone into the data cable and choose MODEM.
4. Wait...i mean 3. Launch NetZero or AOL or whatever program you use to dial-up to the internet. Go into the the "MODEM OPTIONS" and choose to use the "Samsung Mobile Modem".
Now, if you can figure out how to change the speed from 14.4K to something higher, drop me a line. Becasue thats where Im stuck.
Good luck,
Toby
U da Man! thanks, 14.4 is about the speed I text message. Hm,you'd think they would have done better than that. Otherwise the phone is doing well for me. Thanks for the comments.
Also, I found this article on the topic. Addresses the specific issue of 14.4K, and some other interesting stuff.
http://mark.cdmaforums.com/DUN.htm
Keep the words of wisdom comming. I enjoy reading your blog.
Good night.
Toby
I suppose some things should be more obvious...
Thanks!