Samsung Galaxy Mega (TRI-BAND) [SPH-L600]

[WiWavelength]

I need the biggest screen possible...

 

Oh, then you need the HTC One IMAX.

 

 

AJ

[BenChase7]

Oh, then you need the HTC One IMAX.

 

 

AJ

lol. But, Seriously, man.. I'm scrambling here!  

[The Dave]

I would say the One Max is the nicer phone. The Mega, however, has a bigger screen.

[floorguy]

We now have confirmation that the Galaxy Mega will receive its Spark software update tomorrow.

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4950-sprint-spark-official-name-for-the-tri-band-network-was-sprint-to-demo-its-25ghz-network-technology/?p=238747

 

AJ

soooooo wait a sec....

 

are you telling me this thing should then connect to band 41 if enabled in your area???  or the one max to???

[WiWavelength]

lol. But, Seriously, man.. I'm scrambling here!

 

If you are scrambling, then you want the Samsung Galaxy Megatron. Every handset comes with Calvin Johnson.

 

AJ

[The Dave]

If you are scrambling, then you want the Samsung Galaxy Megatron. Every handset comes with Calvin Johnson.

AJ

Honey badger don't play like that, he gets what he wants!

[twospirits]

Hey Buddy,

I am looking for a last minute Christmas gift and this phone is on the top of my list. I am between this and the HTC One Max.  I was hoping you might be able to give me a more detailed impression after a few days of use.  I need the biggest screen possible, which is why I am considering these 2 devices. My local Sprint store is open till 5 on Christmas Eve so, that's my deadline. lol Your input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! 

To be honest I don't know if asking me is the right choice since I am a bit bias towards Samsung phones. But here goes..

 

i went for the Mega because after playing with it and the One max in the Sprint store, it felt lighter plus i am already used to the Samsung stuff on devices (touchwiz, settings, etc) Screen size its closer to a Nexus 7 tablet than a Nexus phone.

Been using it for about 4 days. The battery life is about the same as my previous Note 2 which is nice since this is a bigger screen to power. The display is about on par with the Note 2 and looking at text/graphics etc both inside and outside is like the Note 2. 

I can't tell if its gorilla glass though and i am not about to test to see if it is. lol

I have not experienced any lag although I did notice a reboot on its own for no reason yesterday.

The phone seems to get recharged a bit longer than usual. But that may be the cable I'm using since i am not using the supplied OEM cable. Regardless if you get the white or black version, you will get a white data cable, plug and headphones all in white.

There is no S-Pen (which I miss) but i got one of those wrist wrapped stylus that not only looks cool but functions well. 

 

You can't use this phone one handed no matter how you try (unless you have long fingers) but considering that I actually used both hands with the Note 1 & 2, I'm already used to it. It only has 16GB of memory but at least it has the option of putting apps on the SD Card which my Note 2 did not have unless you root it. 

Speaking of root, there is no root option yet, although there is a Kingo Root method, but that was taken down on xda.

The device has multi-window and on the bigger screen it really is nice.

Since its a bigger screen most sites now come in as desktop/tablet versions.

It only has a 8MP camera but that is fine since it keeps the size of the pic smaller. I never understood the fascination with high resolution cameras on a phone anyway. 

 

Bottom line, its a keeper. 

[BenChase7]

Great info.. Thanks, TS! 

[estarkey7]

Can you set this phone so that band 25 is secondary and band 26 is primary? I have a friend in the Dallas Fort Worth area who is getting horrible speeds with her Mega and I'm wondering if there is any configuration that would help her. She can only pull down 1.1Mbps and she has horrible signal strength too. So I was hoping she could get access to 800LTE (DFW is a Sprint Spark City).

[thewezgrays]

I just got this phone (off of eBay) and it is so cool... LTE800 hunting here I come!

[bbspot]

How do you get to the engineering screen in the mega?

[twospirits]

How do you get to the engineering screen in the mega?

Good Question, one I can't answer since my version is the Wifi one.

 

TS

[thewezgrays]

Three issues on this phone (or network??)... one is Wi-Fi calling keeps failing to start... two is that I can not text on my airrave (have to shut it off).. three it seems to lose signal for a few moments once and awhile (seems to be in fringe areas)... Anyone else? Any ideas on what it could be... always concerned with issues like that when buying off of eBay, etc...

 

EDIT:  I appear to be getting texts and MMS over my Airrave today... Maybe it just needed a night off..

 

Still have the brief lost signal issue and the failed wi-fi calling...

[hescominsoon]

I lock my mega into cdma only mode when near an airave.  also the mega doesn't play nice with legacy towers in any mode other than cdma only IME.

[thewezgrays]

CDMA mode didn't change the behavior for me. Only three legacy sites left around here and I am not near them. I will keep an eye on it... Wondering if next time the radios are updated the problem will go away...

[thewezgrays]

FYI Sprint/Samsung have pushed out the Kit-Kat update on this phone.... I have been using it for several months -- and while it is a bit slow and the screen isn't as high quality as the premium phones it is a great phone.  It also fits in my pockets just fine along with my iPhone 5s (the screen on that looks SOOO small to me now LOL)...  I am not sure if the upgrade to the kit-kat has made my occasional connection issues on 3G go away as of yet, but we will see.  It was just good to see this midrange phone get updated!

[hescominsoon]

FYI Sprint/Samsung have pushed out the Kit-Kat update on this phone.... I have been using it for several months -- and while it is a bit slow and the screen isn't as high quality as the premium phones it is a great phone.  It also fits in my pockets just fine along with my iPhone 5s (the screen on that looks SOOO small to me now LOL)...  I am not sure if the upgrade to the kit-kat has made my occasional connection issues on 3G go away as of yet, but we will see.  It was just good to see this midrange phone get updated!

I do not have the kitkat update on my mega 6.3..

[hescominsoon]

of course literally as i hit send my phone is downloading kitkat..

[The_Chemist]

I just started using this phone as my LG G2 has GPS issues which were repaired by LG and stopped working again. 

 

I must say I am really impressed with the Mega!  Screen is beautiful, battery life outstanding and call quality is excellent.

 

Did anyone notice that after the KK update, some of the fonts on the phone appear smaller?  Is this my imagination?  For instance, if I go into the 'Speedtest" app, the entire graphics of the app are smaller than on a phone with a smaller screen.  I don't remember it being like this before the KK update. 

[twospirits]

Hmmm Can't say I have noticed a difference.

[nmartine3]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to see a newer model of the Samsung Galaxy Mega. A model with a 6.5 inch, 2560x1440p resolution, 3GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, 4,600 mAh battery, USB 3.0, the latest cpu and gpu.

[thewezgrays]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to see a newer model of the Samsung Galaxy Mega. A model with a 6.5 inch, 2560x1440p resolution, 3GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, 4,600 mAh battery, USB 3.0, the latest cpu and gpu.

I am totally with you!  I loved my Mega but it was just too sluggish and the screen was way too washed out...

[twospirits]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to see a newer model of the Samsung Galaxy Mega. A model with a 6.5 inch, 2560x1440p resolution, 3GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, 4,600 mAh battery, USB 3.0, the latest cpu and gpu.

Rumor has it that the next Note 5 will be a 6 incher. And if it is to be true, then I will be happy. I still have my Mega and even though it is not on contract I keep it around and use it via wi-fi at home since I like the bigger 6.3" screen. And i agree it would be nice to see an updated Mega  but even the recent update one sold in Korea isn't that great in specs.

Speaking of rumors, around the time the Note 5 comes out, word has it that they may also introduce a foldable version that turns into a mini tablet. But I'll believe it when I see it. 

 

I am totally with you!  I loved my Mega but it was just too sluggish and the screen was way too washed out...

Yeah that is one of the issues that many say. I end up removing alot of stuff and just use it for videos, social media only. Then I went and got the Nexus 6. I would have kept the Nexus 6 if it wasn't such a pain in the ass. Ended up with the Note 4 and Note Edge. But I still keep the Mega around. 

 

Personally I feel that Samsung should just make mini versions of these phones (for those that like smaller phones.) as well as larger ones too  But that would mean many more devices being spit out to the market that is already saturated with too many from Samsung.

For example, S6 Mini (5.0"), S6 (5.5" or 5.9"),  S6 Edge (5.5" or 5.9"), Note 5 Mini (5.7"), Note 5 (5.9" or 6.3"), Note 5 Pro (6.3")

Then again, if they start to make those edge to edge (no pun intended) with no bezel displays then we can have bigger screens without having to make the devices too big.

 

TS

[The_Chemist]

I am totally with you!  I loved my Mega but it was just too sluggish and the screen was way too washed out...

I resurected my Mega 6.3 just this week and use it at home on WiFi as "twospitits" does.  I cannot say that my screan is washed out.  I was comparing photos on the Mega 6.3 screen to my Galaxy Note 4.  I was really impressed with the screen quality.  I couldn't believe how vivid and vibrant the colors were along with the overall brightness and saturation.  I liked the way the 720p Mega 6.3 screen held up against the Note 4 quad HD screen.  No complaints. 

 

I really wish Samsung would make a new Mega 6.3 with an amoled panel and modern Snapdragon processor.  It would be killer. 

[nmartine3]

Is there a way to factory reset the Mega outside of using the screen. I dropped mine, and the screen isn't functional, and I've got the LG G3.