Why the heck does Verizon have to limit Bluetooth usage? Cheap b*stards have to make money on the ringtones and pics??? I'll stick to my GSM phones, thank you very much!

TB: Because then you won't use that spiffy EV-DO connection to send photos and ringtones...

kool phone dude

ill be back to terminate this phone ha

why is this phone only available online???

I love how this phone is antennaless. A first for verizon. And they only ship them online until retail stores get them in.

The rebate is no longer available.

I think LG's VX9800 is the first one with internal Antenna from verizon wireless.

nope, samsung n330 had integrated antenna

I hate verizon for limiting bluetooth. I've looked at what they have online pics/rington-wise, and it's all crap. Nothing worth paying for... if they are forcing their customers to buy pics/ringtone, at least they should have some high quality content..

i have had the A950 for 5 days NOT HAPPY with it , first off it will ONLY hold 7 ringtones yes only 7 if u doownload any u need to delete one so basicly you will have to get the memory card for it,to use the mp3 player at all u need the mem card for that also . as for the antennaless design it sucks unless your under a cell tower , i get very bad reception or signal strenth ,overall sound from the handset is not good people sound muffled, and the camera does not give a good picture colors where off and not clear , it also uses the LG software same as the VX 8100- im glad im with in the 15 day exchange so im gonnna get the LG VX8100

nice try samsung try again

AWESOME! WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR.

This phone is definitely a plus! The reception is great, and i do not live under a tower. The style is great and the picture quality is great for a phone. (we cant expect digital camera quality...) The speakerphone is much better than i expected. I had the Motorola E815 and it doesnt compare... The only con is the space available for the ringtones. I had to delete 3 just to be able to download the new ones. That is a definite negative b/c the ringtones arent free.... Overall, I am very pleased with this phone. I would recommend it!!!

Does anyone know if u can play a song on a transflash memory card in the phone as a ringtone?

From reviews and comments I have read on other sites it doens't seem like it.. They said you can only use the Transflash card for strictly MP3's and those MP3's cannot be used as ringtones.. Verizon is really starting to piss me off.. WTF did I do to them.. They would make more money in revenue if they stopped restricting bluetooth usage. Fukk paying for polyphonic ringtones. I want to use my own music as my ringtones.. I want to know how much they want me to $pay$ to get a Samsung SCH-a950 without these out the a$$ restrictions...

I really like the A950--okay, so Verizon's requirements for some of the menu interfaces are logical to almost NO ONE--but overall, this phone is great. The call sound quality rocks, the design shape and color has the fun factor I was looking for, the phone is, overall, easy to use and the speakerphone sounds SO much better via the little speakers on the hinge. Plus, NO ANTENNA on the outside means I don't get gouged in the hip by my phone when it's in my pocket--so maybe guys with voluminous pockets don't care, but I do. I get rock solid connection in my apartment and on the road.

My one major complaint--totally with Verizon Wireless, the money sucking company disable the majority of the ring tones leaving the boring and no fun ones on the phone.

Samsung SCH-A950 Review by Matt Hoffman (matthoff@cox.net)
The Samsung SCH-A950 is one of the worst implemented pieces of technology I have seen in recent years. The hardware has a whole list of nice features including stereo speakers, 1.5 megapixel camera, and bluetooth, but the software has been hobbled and poorly implemented by Verizon and Samsung.

User Interface
The user interface is very minimal with pull down menus instead of a graphical user interface. Many of the menu items are not in logical places. For instance, the menu for playing mp3 files is buried two levels down under a menu called, for no logical reason, "Get It Now". The user must go to this illogically named menu then into a submenu called "Get Tones & Tunes" then into a sub sub menu called "My MP3s". Alternately, you can go into the main menus, then into "Settings and Tools" and then to "Tools" and then to "MP3 Player". The MP3 playing feature is essentially hidden from the user on a phone that Samsung calls the "MP3 Maestro". There is a button on the outside of the phone that can be held down for two seconds to play MP3 files, and it allows you to use the jog wheel to select and play a single song. A single song only, you can't pick multiple songs and the "MP3 Maestro" does not have play lists(more about this horrendous oversight later).

Bluetooth
Most of the inherent bluetooth features in this phone have been permanently disabled. You can use bluetooth to connect a mono-headset to the A950. That's it. There is no support for Modem Functionality, Serial Port Emulation, Phonebook Synching, Calendar Synching, or File Transfer for MP3 files (remember, this is the MP3 Maestro!), or imagery.

So if bluetooth can't be used for these basic functions, then surely you can just hook a USB cable to the A950 and transfer data.....nope, that is not supported either. Samsung does not sell USB cables or provide drivers for Verizon phones. Verizon has not provided them either. This leaves the owner without the ability to use any form of direct connectivity to move files or to synch the phone with a computer.

Memory Card
The A950 does support a Transflash/SDMicro card from SanDisk. You can put up to 512MB in the phone and a reader for the card can be purchased for your computer for under $30.00. This is the only method for moving MP3 files to the phone. You insert the card in the phone to initialize it, then remove it and put it in your computer, drag the mp3 files to the virtual disk volume, remove the card, and then insert the card back in the phone. The Transflash/SDMicro card is a tiny, fragile device about the size of the fingernail on your pinky finger. It is not intended for repeated removal and insertion. If you are like most people, you will want to change the tunes in your phone quite often --perhaps you want to listen to a daily podcast on the phone. This little card or the spring-loaded receptacle in the A950 is going to fail after a period of time.

From SanDisk's own web site describing their Transflash product:

"Semi-removable Memory Module...Due to the ultra small size of the Sandisk Transflash, it is not intended to be handled or removed on a frequent basis."

When the card fails due to excessive insertion and removal, the user is going to have to shell out $70 for another one. Sandisk wouldn't be obligated to replace it under warranty since, by definition, the card is being used improperly. If the receptacle in the A950 fails after the first year of repeated use, the user is going to have to pay for an expensive repair and be without a cell phone during the time the phone is repaired. Better sign up for an extended warranty.

MP3 Software
The SCH-A950, "Mp3 Maestro" does not have software for managing MP3 files! There is no way to create, manage, or store play lists, view songs based on artist or genre, or shuffle play. When you finally do discover the buried menu for playing MP3 files, you will be presented with a single list of file names, each of which has a checkbox next to it. You must scroll down this list to choose which song/s to play and then hit the play button. Also, since this selection function is only available from the inside screen, you can not use the jog wheel to scroll. You must hit the down button over and over and over.

Again, there is no way to store this list of songs. If a call comes in while your laboriously selected group of tunes is playing, MP3 playback ceases as one would expect. However, once the call ends, there is no way to continue playing your list of songs! You must go back into the buried menu, select the songs one by one all over again and then hit the play button.

Camera
The 1.5 megapixel camera does a nice job of taking pictures and video. There are a variety of comparisons that can be made between the A950's camera and those in other phones, but cameras in most cell phones are their for taking quick snaps, not for professional photography. The A950 makes very nice still photographs and Verizon's system of mailing these images to another phone or to an Internet address also works well. However, without direct computer connectivity, the user is still in the position of having to remove and insert the fragile Transflash/SDMicro card to move these files to his/her computer. The only alternative is to mail the

Conclusion

Overall the SCH-A950 is an attractive-looking phone with a list of nice features. The devil is in the details however, and this phone completely fails when the details are examined. For reasons known only to Verizon and Samsung, the A950's software has been poorly implemented and key features that the hardware is capable of providing are not implemented in the phone's software. No doubt that Verizon has a long list of reasons for hobbling the phone. They clearly want to force their customers to use the pay as you go system of video and still image file transfer instead of allowing direct connectivity. They have an obligation to game providers to prevent users from transferring games between phones, though this could be done without eliminating the transfer of MP3 files, address book synching, etc. Perhaps they have some sort of paranoia about cell phone viruses, though these are almost unheard of. In any case, there is no excuse for the poor MP3 software implementation. Samsung and Verizon should be embarrassed to call this phone the "MP3 Maestro".

if i get a memory card for this phone will i be able to transfer mp3's or other media via bluetooth since i have a bluetooth adapter for my computer?

No, the bluetooth is only good for headsets and such. It doesn't support the transfer of objects, such as MP3's or pictures.

can you sue the mp3's as ringtones?

Yes you can.

http://www.pyro42.com/

For reference the post was on Nov 3 05.(in case it gets moved or people check like 2 years from now).

Note: This is tested and confirmed. I can show you pics of songs on my phone if anyone doubts this. Oh, and it is extremely easy.

i dont know what your talking about its A GREAT PHONE its the best the attenna is greato nly bad placec is if your in a mall downstairs a little but any phone is, it has great features and everything.

ight... this phone is hot. BUT the limit to only a few ringtones im not liking so much. So after a lot of searching i got the mobile mate 5 in 1 reader for my phone. got the transflash card. downloaded napster. all my songs transfer (paying for each song because my device isn't compatible with napster) take my card out (After multiple tries) and press play on my phone and says NO MP3 FILES FOUND IN MY_MP3S ON CARD!.. nice verizon real nice.. Unbelievable

how do u get the mp3 songs on the phone do u need a memory card?

Chris, the songs have to be in the MY-MP3 folder. If you are able to browse the transflash card using a computer, you will see that folder. I need to put all your songs into that folder in order play them.

I hope that help.

I still need help using my MP3 songs as ringtones.

Gary

Yea thanx Gary.. but i do that.. once i put in the mobile mate.. the My Mp3 folder comes up i drop the songs in it. remove my card and put it in the phone and it says the same thing. so i go to my card memory it says i have 20.23 w/e used up in My Mp3s and when i go to My Mp3's i have no songs. i dunno what im doin wrong. i read in the book the first time i put in my transflash card.. the card should format itself. so yea i obviously have no clue what im doin.

I have had my phone now for 5 days now and I am still trying to get aquainted with it. But I am having trouble with the front LCD, Does anyone know how to keep the light on so I dont have to keep opening my phone to check the time?

I had the same problem. With Samsung you are suppose to hold the button down for about 3 seconds so the light can come on.

I had the same problem. With Samsung you are suppose to hold the button down for about 3 seconds so the light can come on.

I've only had the phone for a couple of days, but at the moment I'm not too happy with it. Is there a way to make the keypad backlight and LCD stay on while you are on a call? I've selected the "always on" options but the backlight still goes off after a little bit. Tech support was not helpful. Also, does anyone else have a problem with a high-pitched tone in the background at times?

Yea Jana.. i hear the same thing. its like high pitched sounds when im talkin to someone.. or like a sound when tryin to find a radio station..

I am having the same problem Chris, NO MP3 FILES FOUND IN MY_MP3S ON CARD even though on my computer it says that files are in that folder! Aggh!

I am getting the same high pitched noise in the background as well and it's annoying me very much. Both my Dad and I bought these phones and both of them have the problem, although mine is a lot worse than his. We are on the phone now to get two more and to return these, so hopefully that problem won't follow us. If it does, I don't think I could live with this phone for 2 years.

Other than that, it's a decent phone.

When I plug a stereo 2.5mm headset into the phone and listen to mp3 or any other sounds, sound comes to headphones and also plays on phones internal speakers at the same time. There is no privacy while listening to headset. Is there a setting that must be engaged to use the headset? Without the whole world listening to my sounds as well? I would appreciate any help! :)

in case amanda comes back on... The music can't be separated into folders on the card. u have to have them out, but verizon has to initalize it first, so make sure they did. they can do it at verizon stores.

I love my phone. my one complaint is that my music is shuffled a little, still haven't found a way to get it in the order i want. I'm really in to soundtracks, and the music gets mixed, so no normal storyline for the soundtrack is followed. if anyone has found a way to fix this, E-mail me.

I'm having problems with the high pitched tones in the background also.... Tech support is trying to fix it, and this is the 2nd phone with the same problem! Otherwise I like the phone a lot... The tones are really annoying....

I need some help! I've put my songs into my mp3 folder on my transflash card and now I'm sick of those songs. I put my card in the reader and whatnot and I'm trying to delete the current songs in my folder but it's coming up with an error that the disk is write protected and it can't be deleted. I can copy the music to other folders but I can't remove it. Anyone know what to do?

I also have that background noise...Good to know I'm not alone.

I am having the same high-pitch tone problems as other users have experienced. Seems like something they need to address with the phone design. This baby is going back to Verizon tomorrow for a Motorolla.

What the heck? There is NO where online that offers free ringtones! What is the deal? K, if I bought a phone that is voice capable, why the crap would I download the polyphonic trash. Honestly Verizon, suck us dry for every penny so you can make money. Every other server has free voice tones. My friend is sitting next to me with the voice capable phone and downloading unlimited songs for only two bucks! COME ON NOW! We're not all rich!

So now that I have that out of the way, OTHER than that, I'm actually really satisfied with the phone.

Hi. I just got the A950 and I, like many others, am experiencing that horrible hight pitch background noise. I was wondering if anyone has found a solution to this problem yet. I am on my second one - I got one that did it, took it back, and that one does the same thing. Can anyone help me??? Thanks guys and girls!

Oh, and by the way, I called Samsung about it and they said they haven't gotten any complaints or heard any problems like that with this phone at all. Nice, ha?

I have the phone and a 512mg trans card. I tried to bring songs over form my computer to the card. but when I go into My Music its either not there or its there but it says player error. What am I doing wrong?

Hello, I have been having a problem with my phone that hopefully someone else can relate to. I tried to use my phone the other day and I could not hear anything. I turned it off and about a half hour later i was able to use it. The next day I tried it and again it didnt work. It had no sound whatsoever. I can use the speakerphone but why should everyone hear my conversation? Can anyone relate?

i haven't had any problems with mine, besides a few clicks through a song. but its the same song and at the same place. The only thing i know about ringtones is that i just record the 15sec. of a song that i want. or i just use stupid things that my friends have done. Also be careful with your micro sd card. its not made to be taken in and out of your phone. I haven't had any problems with loading or changing music though. u might have just gotten a bad micro sd card.

by the way, don't listen to the 7 ringtone guy. mine has over 10. it really depends on the memory.

We bought 2 new SCH-A950 phones at Thankgiving for $49 each. The phones were $49 each after rebate so that was a deal. We are in SE Penna and the reception is very good. Bluetooth works great and the 512 micro disk holds enough songs for our use. Does anyone know how to use the full 512 for music? Apparently there is only so much that can be allocated to music vs video. Also, the mini jack for the MP3 stereo only seems to work with the Verizon headphones. Using another brand with the Radio Shack converter (1/4 to 8/32 I think) does not work. Anyone have any suggestions othe rthan buying the Verizon headset for $30 buckos?

i purchased a 256 mb transflash card, and im dragging the songs to the my_music folder, but i cant seem to get them on the phone... will someone please help!!!

all mp3's must be converted to .wma Nicole... Also, after some research I have found a detailed explanation of how to CREATE

all mp3's must be converted to .wma Nicole... Also, after some research I have found a detailed explanation of how to CREATE mp3 ringtones... Check the post on this forum...

http://cellphoneforums.net/showthread.php?t=202351&page=2&pp=15

I love my phone...always heard that buzzing sound, even on my old LG, so I thought it was a "cell phone thing". I have a problem with the outide LCD...does anyone know how to turn it off while charging? I charge mine in the bedroom and leave it on because it is pretty much my only phone, but the front LCD stays on and is extremely bright...

This cell is lik the best ever! My friend just got a cingular and it looks pretty sucky! I mean this phone is just not lik other cells! It is atena less! so cool! and the pics r lik so clear and i can hear good out of it too!

ur crazzzyyy if u dont lik this fone!!!!

this cell sucks d i c k

I just purchased the 256 trans flash memory card for my motorola a950 phone, and i have no idea how to insert it, it goes in but doesn't stay in, the last part of it just sticks out, and ive tried closing it with the peice of the phone that says trans flash and its not working, anyone know what i can do?

push the card all the way in till you hear a click and make sure you inserted the card correctly, should be facing down opposite the front of your phone.

I am just glad to know that I am not crazy. The high-pitched tone bugs me to no end. I thought it was just me, so I had to have someone else listen. Finally they heard it. Exchanged the phone...same problem on the new one. Checked my father's phone (the free one), he has the same problem, but of course, he hardly uses his. Guess I have to make another trip to Verizon.

To the WHENDEE, as for the birght light. All you can do is turn the phone faced-down - Technology.

Ditto on the HIGH PITCHED TONES!!! I have already exchanged for replacement phone and the new phone does the same thing. If you mind nuissance noises, DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PHONE.

There are a lot of nice features on this phone (even though the navigation is cumbersome) but Samsung needs to get the basics right first: good sound quality without nuissance buzzing in my ear.

The high pitch noises sound like someone using a tuning fork. They usually occur during pauses in the conversation leading one to believe the call was dropped or interrupted. My favorite is when the first pitch is followed immediately by a different pitch!

Does anyone know how to turn off EVDO on the samsung a950? I hear it will save you battery life in low EVDO signal areas.I also have the yk24 version with vcast optional encase that makes any difference.THANKS!

F U fu. And for anyone to prefer a GSM phone with s**ty reception over a far better proven technology as CDMA just b/c verizon restricts bluetooth is childish. GSM only works in 1900mhz which gives you capacity issues-meaning you cannot make a phone call during peak hours. Bluetooth is restricted b/c it is an unsafe means to xfer data. How do you think Paris Hilton's phone was hacked, genius? Your stupidity is ineffible. All those who are having reception problems, *228 your phone. Then press 2 to update your roaming. That doesn't work, *18+send. It will hang up the call after 3 to 4 secs and the phone will select the nearest tower to give you better reception. Music: you have to buy music kit from verizon. Don't be cheap. You wanted these capabilities, you have to pay for them. There was recently a 2 for 1 sale on these phones so don't bitch. Get a 1gig card to show up that s**ty rocker phone. The phone now only plays wma files. You open your Windows Media. You plug in the usb cable to your pc & the other end to your phone(make sure t-flash card is in the handset unless you want to save it directly to your phone). You press the Get It Now button. Select Get Tunes & Tones. You go to "Sync Music" and check the phone to make sure it's connected. On your computer, go to sync tab and select the songs you want to sync. Once sync is complete, close the phone. Press & hold play/pause button. If you downloaded the software that came w/ the kit, you can purchase songs for $.99. You can also purchase albums. You don't like Windows Media?-Tough!! You're a P.O.S for wanting free music. Songwriters deserve to get paid for what they do. And how can you possibly want more than 7 ringtones. I only have 3 and I think I'm being pompous. Sorry, I'm ranting again. That myth that EV-DO eats up your battery is false. It only eats up your battery if you are not in an EV-DO area b/c the phone is always looking for that signal first.

Well, I exchanged my A950 and my dad's last night, but 5 phones later...Same HIGH PITCHED ANNOYANCE. I can only assume that this last batch of Samsung is problematic. I'll be copying all of the relevant messages from this board, print them out and give them to the manager at Verizon. This has to be brought to Samsung's attention. Don't know what I'll get now...

I purchased a samsung a950, I purchased the flash card also, I did what the book told me about transfering, my songs on my pc to TF card using sync. Most of the song once the TF card is inserted into the phone do not appear on the damn phone.....and if by chance one song happens to show up.. it doesn't play......it says it has a error......

For "understangding_u", you probably need to format the card. Insert the card into the phone & turn the phone off, then turn it on again. And remember, this phone w/ the new software only plays wma files... not mp3s.

You are also supposed to keep the card inside the phone while the phone's in sync mode. All the "for dummies" steps are on my other "contribution".

I'm on my second A950 and still am lucky to get 2 bars, and the reception is awful. I only hear 85 percent of the conversation because of signal bfreak up. This is at home whre my old phone always worked fine.

I hate to sound really stupid, but does the memory card have to be formatted to use it or is that to play a different format? I don't know what they are talking about when they say you have to put it in the adapter and then in the reader and then hook the reader into the PC. When I bought the card, it came with the adapter to slide it in, but what about the reader?
Also, I can't get it to go in the slot without feeling like I am going to be forcing it in and breaking it. Also one side sticks out further than the other one. So what should I do, just force it in? It does go in with the little metal things facing down and the writing on top, correct?

CAN THE MP3 SONGS CAN BE USE LIKE RINGS TONES???
CAN YOU PUT A 1GB MEMORY IN THIS CELL PHONE???

To get the mp3's to play just stick the transflash into the phone and go to the Tools menu and to mp3. Then when it says it doesn't find any take the card out and stick it in your card reader then copy your mp3s to the mp3 folder that the phone created on the card.

Question, I want to listen to songs on the flight to Dallas today. How do I shut off the wireless portion of the phone and still keep the mp3 operational?

Want to stick it to Verizon? Go to www.freeringers.net and for a one time fee of only 7.99 for the rest of your life download as many ring tones, wall paper and it even has software to convert mp3 and other music files to ring tones and then you can send it to your phone as a .pix file in the Samsung A950.You can use the service for up to 4 cell phones and the service will support 21 cell phone companies!! Don't pay 1.99 per ring tone, its crazy!! Before you purchase any phone from verizon or anyone else make sure it is compatible this this service., if you subscribe to this service make sure that your phone is compatiable!!! YOu will know if this phone is compatable b/c in the menu you will be able to set sounds as ring tones!!

I just bought the Samsung A950 and I also the music essential kit, primarily for the data cable. HOWEVER, using the data cable (with drivers), when I attempt to access the internet using VZ access manager through quick 2 net or National Access, I can't get a dial tone. Is it the cable or am I missing a correct setting somewhere?

i have the samsung sch a-950 and heard i could not play music through a bluetooth headset but one day my friend was playin music on my phone and i was wearin the headset and i grabbed the phone from him and went to call someone usin voice dial and what do you know i was listenin to my music through the headset... but i cant seem to do it again so please let me know how to play music through the damn thing

people - it's the 21st century. you don't have to remove the card. u can purchase a usb data cord that connects to your computer to transfer mp3 and pic files - bought one the other day for $11 (www.cellphoneshop.net). you access the card thru My Computer (shows up as a lettered drive). transfer your files back and forth that way. plus, you can buy brand new 1 gig transflash drives on ebay all day for less than $40 (incl shipping). yes, you can use 1 gig cards. when the phone came out, 512 was the biggest, that's all. also, why would you want to listen to stereo mp3 files on a single ear bluetooth headset??? buy a stereo cell phone earbud set for $10 on-line.

you can convert wma's to mp3's... go to askjeeves and type it in the subject line - it'll tell you. you can change mp4's to mp3's simply by "renaming" the file and changing the 4 to a 3. do it all the time.

hey Marcelo - Paris' phone was hacked because a T-Mobile employee gave out the info. - got connections at T-Mobile HQ who shared that intel - had nothing to do with bluetooth.

I bought the music essentials kit the other day. Stupidly, I connected the phone BEFORE installing the cd-rom stuff. The phone didn't sync so I uninstalled it. After numerous tries per day of uninstalling/reinstalling and using every USB port on the computer, the phone does not sync. Can anybody tell me how to get it to work?

I have the 950a and can not get the voice req. to pull up applactions i called verizon they transferd me to samsung tech support and they had no idea how to help anyone els haveing this problem

I absolutely LOVE my a950!!! that Alan person up there on Oct.15 is juss sayin' that sutff,everything he said that was bad about it actually is really good...with the exception of the memory card thing. But I have an iPod so it doesn't matter anyways. So whatever to you,Alan !

I like my A950, however I do have some issues, I have the Music Kit from Verizon. I installed the drivers and Windows Media 10. But WM-10 doesn't recognize my phone, and I do not have the "Sync Music" option on my phone. I only have 4 options under "Get Tunes & Tones". Does anyone know why this is???

I have the verizon version of the a950. here are my feelings about it:
it looks cool and had so much potential but i almost gave up on it an went with a clunky LG V before the trial time expired..this is an mp3 phone that wont play mp3's? Bluetooth with no OBEX support, high speed EVDO connection but you can't use it as a modem? verizon and Samsung need to get their acts together before more people become cell savvy about what a good phone is capable of and wont put up with their phone being crippled for the carriers monetary gain. we even have microsoft sticking their greedy fingers in the mix here and forcing us to convert to wma with media player.

now to why i stil have such a piece of crap? well it is better than the sch-a890 i replaced with it ( i have a 1 gig memeory card available now woohoo! )
with the exception they should have stuck with the a890 animated menu system,much easier to navigate an looked cooler too. also im gonna miss my camera phone telling me to say cheese...

but back to the whys, i finally found a usb driver and this phone is now supported by BITPIM, so f.u. verizon i can have any ringtone and background pic i want that i allready own on my pc. also i have spent the last several hours converting about 100 songs an syncing them with mediaplayer 10.. works pretty well (with my 890 usb data cable, after some finessing the plug to make it fit past the two tabs on the bottom of the connector, i wouldnt even buy the media kit from verizon.. they suck and i will go out of my way wherever possible to see they get as little of my money as possible after this. )

it would have been easier if i had just ripped my cds to wma to begin with, which you can do an save some time here if that is the source of your music.

anyways basically this was a great phone design ruined by greed and/or stupidity that can be somewhat brought back to what it could have been if you are determined enough.

D.

can someone tell me step by step, and dumb it down for me, how to put music on the phone.

Here it is, nice and simple, how to get your music/pictures/etc on your phone.

1) Music
Your music MUST be in .wma format. Go to Google, search and download the program GoldWave. At least, this is the program that I use.
Open GoldWave, go to File, Batch Processing, and then either Add Files or Add Folder. At the bottom of the window, where it says 'Save as type:', select
"Windows Media Audio (*.wma) ". Then, just click begin. The converted files will be saved in their original folders.
Then you simply transfer these .wma files to your TransFlash card, click it into your phone, and.. if you really need further instructions, go to the Get It Now menu, select Get Tunes and Tones, and then select My Music or Manage Music.

2) Pictures
Very simple, just save it onto your card and find 'em in My Pix or whatever the submenu is.
To transfer pictures from your phone to the card to your computer, rather than e-mailing them to yourself, just highlight a picture, select options, and press 7 to move it to your card. Voila. It works vice versa, to move things from-card-to-phone.

3) Ringtones
To get your own music as a ringtone... here is the helpful, wonderful link that taught me how:
http://www.pyro42.com/

And for the love of god, if you still need help with something, just e-mail and ask me. I've had this phone for two or three days and I've already got all the little quirks and kinks down pat.
tylertylertyler@hotmail.com

I noticed when I try to sync music that I've downloaded WMP gives me an error. But when I try to sync music that I ripped from my own CDs it works fine.

Anyone else have this problem?

Can anyone help here? I can't play downloaded songs from napster. They are protected. What must I do to get them to play? Thanks in advance.

Does anyone know where I can get the SCH-A950 driver to download to my PC. Can I then use Smith Micro's Quicklink Mobile (phone book software) as I have in the past with my sch-650? Thanks!!!

Guys, I think the beeping is a minuite alert. I have the a930 and i turned it off the second i got the phone.
here's how (or somthting close):
1) Open menu
2) go to Settings
3) then Sound Settings
4) then click on service alerts (something like that)
5) and Minuite Beep
6) turn it OFF!!
I hope this helps the people kinda left and stopped posting...
*Lyv

Chris,

There are tools out there that can remove the copyright protection from songs. The cheapest way to do it, although time consuming, is to burn the songs to CD's and then use a line-in cable to create your own MP3's (without the copyright protection). You may need software that allows you to use the line in as the recording source.

I have put songs from old records, tapes, and 8-track cartriges to MP3 using this method. Although I've not done it from a CD player, I see no reason why it shouldn't work. Furthermore, I'm not sure what the quality from CD will be like, but I would assume that there wouldn't be much difference.

Dave,

I'm with you on not giving Verizon any more money! I'm buying the kit off of Ebay. Screw the sales clerk who neglected to mention that the $140 that I spent on a phone didn't actually include the tools to use the features in my phone, which in my case is the a930.

I'm all for paying for features in my phone, as Marcelo erroneously points out as a flaw in our reasoning. However, false advertising is putting a bunch of MP3 type buttons on the face of the phone and then neglecting to tell buyers that there's no VCast service in the area and that additional items are required. That's just wrong.

What we need folks, is open source software for our phones!!!! Instead of limiting us to either Windows Media Player or ITunes, open source software tends to expand capabilities of what we can do since there's no profit involved.

Uhh.. How much is a transflash card? If i get one will it let me play my mp3s as my ringtones??

No, in the most basic terms you cannot use your mp3s as ringtones. You can't just drag an mp3 onto your transflash card and set it as your ringtone. What you can do is download the newest Bitpim (google search it) which allows you to get inside your phone. Send a .midi file to your phone, and overwrite it with 30s of an mp3 file on your computer... If you're technologically stupid, or know you don't have a chance in setting this up, it's safe to say that you're stuck buying $2 ringtones. :)

Umm... I called Verizon today and they claim that Samsung is to blame for the switch to wma format files...

Once someone updates their software you lose the mp3 feature that orginally came with the phones when they first came out...

See.. I do not want to be converting my 2500+ Mp3's to wma format just so I can listen to them on my phone...

Its a stupid change and one that Verizon needs to fix. You should be allowed to listen to mp3 files....

Umm... I called Verizon today and they claim that Samsung is to blame for the switch to wma format files...

Once someone updates their software you lose the mp3 feature that orginally came with the phones when they first came out...

See.. I do not want to be converting my 2500+ Mp3's to wma format just so I can listen to them on my phone...

Its a stupid change and one that Verizon needs to fix. You should be allowed to listen to mp3 files....

I've got a Samsung a930.

My question is this... can we enable the OBEX Bluetooth features that every phone should have? I'm purchasing a Bluetooth phone to be able to use it handsfree from my car reciever and want to use those reciever featurs such as displaying phone book info on my car radio display (phone number, name).

It bites that Verizon disables this feature.

I think the answer to all these woes is: Attack! We need some people to hack this cellphone or its software and create loopholes where in we can tweak or reverse engineer the software to work with what we need it to do.

I dont give a F#@K what Verizon tries to sell through this phone by locking its software capabilities. I am not going to be Verizon's victim by buying its stupid plans. I will go out of my way to get my phone's software hacked, no matter how illegal it is.

Where do I get the driver or software for my A950 phone? I want to get music from my pc onto my phone!!! I have the USB cable but no software, Please help me!!!!!

I'm looking for samsung drivers as well, to transfer my phone book entries from my old a-540 to my PC and then into my new a-950.
does anyone know where I can get a free download? thanks!

my card for my lg vx9800 no longer works it plays only two songs out of 84 on all the others it says file read error i need some help

hello i got a samsung a950 and i cant download songs onto my phone from the computer, my phone says usb connected and i cant get into it anyhow, the error message comes up... handset is set as a modem for a pc or pda device and cannot play downloads or somthing like that, ive tried everything whats going on??