Better than a Windows Phone, but ...
I finally gave up on the Windows Phone, not because of the phone itself, but because I could never get the horrific mess of Microsoft domains and accounts to properly synch with the device and do the most basic things, such as deliver the mail. Many will be surprised that I strongly believe that the Windows phone has a dramatically superior user interface to the Android devices, but it is clearly the case. I looked at a lot of Android devices before choosing, and this one came the closest to my needs. I wear it in a belt/clip pouch, and it is perfect for that. Battery life is amazing. And, as one always expects from a Samsung product, it is rock solid in its performance. The sound is clear, and the pics are more than good enough (the Microsoft Nokia Lumina was a lot better in the photo department, but the Samsung is good enough).
What is still a horrible mess with all smart phones is the quality of the backend services. None of them synch worth a darned, You have to setup all sorts of auto-forwards from your various mailboxes, which causes many messages to be doubled, tripled or worse. Calendar synch is a joke, and that includes all of them, including Apple. But, more things work in the Google/Android and Apple worlds than they do elsewhere, which is faint praise at best. Frankly, they are all a bunch of unreliable crap in this regard. That is not Samsung's fault though.
I'm a Samsung fan. My home video setup is pure Samsung and it all integrates and works flawlessly. So I expected the same from the phone. The parts that are under Samsung's control meet that high bar. Nothing on the backend comes even remotely close to meeting those expectations.
Verified purchase:Yes
