I know that the Epic 4G is obviously one of Sprint's two high-end Android phones and the Transform is a mid-level Android phone, but please hear me out before scoffing at the comparison. I'm not looking for a comparison of features; I'm more interested in how the build quality of the Epic 4G is compared to the Transform.
We added another line to my account and got a Samsung Transform for my girlfriend. However, after having the Transform for about a week, we have no choice but to return it. It has a ton of issues. We have a Sprint Airave device to boost reception in our apartment... the Transform won't connect to it automatically (as it's supposed to). The only way to get it to connect to the Airave is to reboot the Transform while the phone is actually physically touching the Airave (I know this sounds crazy...but that's exactly what Sprint Airave customer support told me to do...and that's the only way it's worked so far). Additionally, it always gets about two bars of reception less than my Evo...which isn't good, because there are a lot of parts of our town where my Evo only gets two bars of reception. Additionally, when using the hardware keyboard, it automatically is launching shortcuts as if the "search" button was being pressed. That makes it impossible to type out something with the hardware keyboard. On top of all that, the "touch buttons" (I don't remember what they're actually called) are not very responsive. It often takes multiple presses before it registers.
So now, we're returning the Transform, but don't know what to get instead. My girlfriend really wanted a hardware keyboard, so that pretty much only leaves the Epic 4G left out of the Android phones on Sprint. After our experience with Samsung on the Transform, I'm a bit worried now about how the build quality will be on the Epic. Has anyone had a lot of experience with both phones? We didn't go for the Epic 4G initially mainly because we thought the Transform would be more than enough for what she needed and it wouldn't be worth the extra $240 over the course of two years with the Epic's $10 a month add-on fee (especially because there's no 4G in our area...and probably won't be anytime soon).
I know many will say that we must have gotten a bad Transform, and just try a new one...the problem is that the closest Sprint store is 40 miles away. We had to get the phone online...and each time we exchange it, it essentially means almost a week with no phone at all. My girlfriend can barely afford to go a day or two without her phone (she needs it for work) and she certainly can't afford to go a few weeks without one (which may be the case if we swap the Transform with another one, only to find the same problems again).
Thanks for any replies.
We added another line to my account and got a Samsung Transform for my girlfriend. However, after having the Transform for about a week, we have no choice but to return it. It has a ton of issues. We have a Sprint Airave device to boost reception in our apartment... the Transform won't connect to it automatically (as it's supposed to). The only way to get it to connect to the Airave is to reboot the Transform while the phone is actually physically touching the Airave (I know this sounds crazy...but that's exactly what Sprint Airave customer support told me to do...and that's the only way it's worked so far). Additionally, it always gets about two bars of reception less than my Evo...which isn't good, because there are a lot of parts of our town where my Evo only gets two bars of reception. Additionally, when using the hardware keyboard, it automatically is launching shortcuts as if the "search" button was being pressed. That makes it impossible to type out something with the hardware keyboard. On top of all that, the "touch buttons" (I don't remember what they're actually called) are not very responsive. It often takes multiple presses before it registers.
So now, we're returning the Transform, but don't know what to get instead. My girlfriend really wanted a hardware keyboard, so that pretty much only leaves the Epic 4G left out of the Android phones on Sprint. After our experience with Samsung on the Transform, I'm a bit worried now about how the build quality will be on the Epic. Has anyone had a lot of experience with both phones? We didn't go for the Epic 4G initially mainly because we thought the Transform would be more than enough for what she needed and it wouldn't be worth the extra $240 over the course of two years with the Epic's $10 a month add-on fee (especially because there's no 4G in our area...and probably won't be anytime soon).
I know many will say that we must have gotten a bad Transform, and just try a new one...the problem is that the closest Sprint store is 40 miles away. We had to get the phone online...and each time we exchange it, it essentially means almost a week with no phone at all. My girlfriend can barely afford to go a day or two without her phone (she needs it for work) and she certainly can't afford to go a few weeks without one (which may be the case if we swap the Transform with another one, only to find the same problems again).
Thanks for any replies.