New Samsung Alias: What Do You Think?
April 2nd, 2008 by Avram Piltch, LAPTOP Online Editorial Director
Our editor in chief, Mark Spoonauer, says the original Samsung Alias “looked like a gaudy calculator” and that the new, improved version being shown at CTIA is “not quite as ugly.” As a long-time Alias user, I simply have to defend my possessions. I like the look of the Alias, and I love the combination of a clamshell form factor with a QWERTY keyboard. The new Alias, with a different color and an improved keyboard, has plenty of potential too. Take a look at our video of the new Alias and tell us what you think in the poll below.
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May 15th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Man, i love the new alias, ill b getting it next week but ive seen a bunch of vids and researched it, and it is one of my faves! im so excited to get it, and one more thing the alias is slim, sleek, and stylish… epspicially thin and it is definatly not ugly!!
June 13th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I love the Allias. I’m a little leary of the hinge. It moves from side to side a little when its closed but it seems to be holding up great. Just treat it gently.
June 14th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Still liking the Samsung Allias. One thing I noticed is that the phone shuts off when I am scrolling through the mobile web. Does this happen with anybody else? On any phone,on any service. I have the Verizon Inpulse prepaid plan,which I think is great. Lots of people say its too expensive but I say you get what you pay for. I almost went with Metro PCS but their coverage was not good, I did’nt even want the $60 a month bill, and I like Verizon.(I have like 12,000 on my phone).
June 26th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
i love my alias u shouldnt get it cuz i hav it and i dont lyke copycats. its a little squeaky but i luv how its an origami phon omg i harts it.
July 5th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I love it. I have never had a cell phone that was this expensive and had as many features. I was very cautious about getting it and very cautious about signing a 2 year contract. I originally went with metro and it sucked so bad i had to return it. (the service sucked) After all has been said and done, this phone is awesome and I am really happy with my service. I am still discovering new stuff this thing does… it’s great! The hinge is in fact a little shakey… kinda moves from side to side when closed like Jim noted above but I think as long as I dont try to rip it off it will hold up Ok…. so far so good!
July 17th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Samsung alias is holding up pretty well. I still feel I have to treat it a little more gently than other phones because of the hinge. AND I CAN’T FIND OUT WHY IT REBOOTS WHEN I AM ON MOBILE WEB. IT JUST SHUTS OFF OR RESTARTS. THE BATTERY IS FULLY CHARGED WHEN THIS HAPPENS SO ITS NOT THE BATTERY. I DON’T THINK IT WOULD COME BACK ON IT IT WAS THE BATTERY. IT DOES IT ON CERTAIN WEB PAGES AND NOT ON OTHERS.
August 30th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I’m thinking on gettting one for my birthday. Do you think I should?
September 13th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I’m getting this in one week on sept. 20th and i am so exited about getting it. I am also getting unlimited txting and now i only have a 250 plan and i go over that in like 3 days so i really need it.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I am going to say I love this phone…..but it randomly shuts off for no reason even when it has a full battery. And Ive heard this complaint A LOT!
September 29th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I see someone else’s phone cuts off. Mine cuts off when scrolling through mobile web,pluged in to charger so its not the battery. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT MAKES THEM DO THIS.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
I have a spot on the inner part of my lense of the camera on this phone. Not sure how it go there and can not remove it rendering the camera part useless. Anyone else have this issue? Any suggestions on how to fix it?
December 12th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
ive had this phone since the end of may 2008 and its held up very well for me. there were times when it would shut down randomly, but it was only every once and a long while. but now its starting to shut down randomly a lot! if i try to send a sound or something it just automatically shuts off every single time. i have no idea whats wrong with it! im taking it into the vzn store tomorrow, but has anyone found out why it does this??
January 24th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I would never recommend this phone to anyone. I am on my 5th because of hardware problems. It will shut off 5 or 6 times a day for no reason, and with my previous phones…they won’t turn back on, and then all of my information is lost. I had one that wouldn’t charge, or send/recieve pictures, and then it turned off. The next one shut off one day, and the next few wouldn’t charge unless i held the charger in it, or send or recieve pictures. I have this one now, and it shuts down frequently, and I am really scared that it’s going to not turn back on one day. I don’t want to go back to Verizon, because they will just give me another defective phone. I am really angry with both Verizon and Samsung for selling a faulty phone. It’s absolutely rediculous…
February 13th, 2009 at 2:02 am
Jena-sorry you are having so many problems!
I have had this phone for 2 years now (got it before it was called alias
), and it’s only have issues now – and I’m not careful with it. I’m not sure if they changed it a lot or something, but yeah I would recommend this phone to anyone. It looks great, it works really good – for the required 2 years
. The camera is a bit sucky, but besides that it’s an awesome phone. My phone now sometimes does that random turn off thing (so does my moms new phone…) but it hadn’t ever done that till a month or so ago.
Also, the hinge is really durable. I’m not careful with this phone at all and it’s lasted a long time. If you can’t get / don’t want a new touchscreen or iphone or w/e, I would recommend this one.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
I got the alias late June of 08, I really do not like this phone. I would nor recommend getting it. I will give some pros and cons
PROS:
1. it has very good battery life: if i plug it in for 20 mins it will almost be FULLY charged
2. it is thin and has a QWERTY keyboard.
3. it has OK connection
CONS:
1. turns off randomly A LOT!
2. the battery falls out A LOT!
3. its kind of ugly, haha,
HOPE THIS HELPED, ALL IN ALL, GOOD PHONE, BUT I DONT REALLY THINK ITS GREAT FOR ME!! i wouldn’t recommend this phone!
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:13 pm
just like kim i got the alias before it was called that. i got christmas of 2007 and i absolutely luvvvv it! not only is it a beautiflul sparkling gold, but it is one of the best phones i have ever had. it does shut off every now and then but it always turns right back on again. i have dropped it who knows how many times and yet it still works as good as the day that i got it! i luvvvv the samsung alias and i would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good phone!! : )
April 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
well i’m getting my 8th alias tomorow, it has sooo many hardware problems it’s unreal, good thing verizon is nice about giving out new phones. I wouldn’t recomend it, its okay, i think it’s cute and has many features, its shuts down constantly, so if u dont use your phone that much it would be okay
May 4th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
i plan on getting this phone when my plan expires june 22nd. my friend has it and i love txting on it. i was considering the palm centro, and i still like that phone..but its IMPOSSIBLE to txt on. lol are there any problems with the alias??
June 15th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
yes i really do like the alias..yhu should get it
June 16th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Man I love this phone. I am not sure what everyone else is talking about when it just shuts down. That has never happened to me. Then again I am VERY careful with my phone.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Alias 2-I like alot of features on this phone but I have also had shutting off problems and have only had it a few hours. I’ve found that if I let it flip closed (while vertical) it will turn off. If hold both sections and carefully let it close it will not, but I don’t always have both hands free to close my phone.
The other annoyance I have with it is the front display. I often use my phone for the clock, and in order to see what time it is you have to open it up-pushing outside buttons will not light up the front display.
I would say don’t let the novelty of the keyboard convince you to buy this phone. There are alot of cool features, shortcut buttons, and other things that make this phone really convenient, but I think Samsung needs to make some fixes. Wait til the next model comes out.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Have 2 of these phones. Bought them in March 2009. My son is now on his 3rd on. First one locked on its own & could not be unlocked even by verizon tech. 2nd one stopped charging after 6 weeks. 3rd one well we will see. Yesterday mine started turning itself off. If it continues I will return it to verizon. Cannot run a business on a phone that randomly turns itself off. Don’t buy this phone!!! Stay away!!! I will replace as soon as I can upgrade!!!!
December 15th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Good phone.. It shuts off when i don’t use it for extended periods of times… But so what? If you are on the phone 24-7, then don’t worry about it.. If you use it every 30 mins like me, then maybe Once-Twice a day you may need to turn it back on..GREAT battery life.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:25 am
Good phone, crap reliability. I’ve had the Alias for almost a year now, and from day 1, it shuts of or resets randomly. The service rep, and Verizon themselves had no answer. There are also plenty of times when I set it down, and it says “Loss of service” for no reason. I use it, hang up, and it says “Loss of service” Verizon has no response about it. It locks up, or resets when I’m on the web, resets when I make calls sometimes, the screen freezes when I close it, and try to open it again (sometimes many minutes to hours pass, and it still freezes) I also have problems with reception, I am often the only one without service while others are still making/receiving calls. I used to love this phone, I still really like it, but there are just too many problems with it. Sadly, I have to say, Don’t buy it.