Samsung Montage

**toronado455** · 08-21-2012, 12:15 PM

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/...hone/features/

Says 1.4" display. Huh? This phone is around the same size as the M575 which has a 2.4" display. In the pictures, the screen on the Montage looks larger than the screen on the M575. Please tell me this 1.4" spec is an error.

**Bugatti Veyron** · 08-21-2012, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by toronado455

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/...hone/features/

Says 1.4" display. Huh? This phone is around the same size as the M575 which has a 2.4" display. In the pictures, the screen on the Montage looks larger than the screen on the M575. Please tell me this 1.4" spec is an error.

Must be because 1.4 inch is unusable for most people.

**omicron00** · 08-21-2012, 07:48 PM

Yeah, it's 2.4" QVGA color display according to the user guide on Virgin's website.

**toronado455** · 08-22-2012, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by omicron00

Yeah, it's 2.4" QVGA color display according to the user guide on Virgin's website.

Thank you! I ran the numbers and 2.4" QVGA (320x240) works out 167 dpi. Not bad for a feature phone.

For anyone interested, here's a working link to the manual:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/resou...390_UG_Eng.pdf
(the link under support is broken and points to the manual for the SPH-M270)

**toronado455** · 09-20-2012, 11:26 AM

I'm thinking about ordering the Montage. I returned a Entro after I got it and it wouldn't charge. This is going to be for my dad and I want something better than the Entro. The screen was too small on that.

**omicron00** · 09-20-2012, 07:41 PM

It's a good phone. I've been using it for almost three weeks. Nice photos/videos. You could put a card and use it on the phone for photos/music.

**toronado455** · 09-20-2012, 10:10 PM

I ordered one this morning - hopefully I'll get it next week.

The Micro SD card slot is an unexpected plus. I noticed in the user guide it says it supports connection to a PC for file transfer (photos, music) - pretty cool if it works. Also says that you can change the font size. That's a big plus if it works. I'm prepared to be disappointed with the key pad and keyboard feel. Unfortunately, that's probably something one just has to accept at this price point.

**toronado455** · 09-25-2012, 11:01 AM

This phone just went on sale today 20% off. I wish I had waited. )-:

**toronado455** · 09-28-2012, 03:39 PM

I got the Montage in and activated it yesterday. It's worlds better than the Entro. The size of the screen on this phone makes the OS much more usable.

The screen resolution and brightness are good, though the viewing angles are very narrow. The fonts actually look OK. The font size adjustment does work, but only to a degree. There are certain things which are still small, even with the settings maxed out. But it is usable, and the adjustment does help.

The contacts menu (and other menus) work much better on this phone than on the Entro because of the larger, higher resolution screen. Basically, everything on this phone is much much better than the Entro. It should be, since it costs more.

The Micro SD card slot works, and I put an extra 2MB card I had into the phone and was able to transfer photos between the SD card in the phone and my computer using a USB cable. There is even a file browser on the phone!

I've been mostly playing around with the eMail app. I have been able to get it to sync with IMAP, but only manually. I haven't been able to get it to notify/alert me of a new incoming eMail message. I always need to go in to the app manually and hit "sync" to get it to pull down the new message headers. The eMail app can be left running in the background, and I have "New Email Alerts" checked in the settings for the IMAP account. So I don't know what else to do. If anyone has figured out how to make new eMail alerts work, please let me know.

I also noticed that Virgin will let you switch to a Beyond Talk plan on this phone.

**vmobi** · 09-29-2012, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by toronado455

I got the Montage in and activated it yesterday. It's worlds better than the Entro. The size of the screen on this phone makes the OS much more usable.

The screen resolution and brightness are good, though the viewing angles are very narrow. The fonts actually look OK. The font size adjustment does work, but only to a degree. There are certain things which are still small, even with the settings maxed out. But it is usable, and the adjustment does help.

The contacts menu (and other menus) work much better on this phone than on the Entro because of the larger, higher resolution screen. Basically, everything on this phone is much much better than the Entro. It should be, since it costs more.

The Micro SD card slot works, and I put an extra 2MB card I had into the phone and was able to transfer photos between the SD card in the phone and my computer using a USB cable. There is even a file browser on the phone!

I've been mostly playing around with the eMail app. I have been able to get it to sync with IMAP, but only manually. I haven't been able to get it to notify/alert me of a new incoming eMail message. I always need to go in to the app manually and hit "sync" to get it to pull down the new message headers. The eMail app can be left running in the background, and I have "New Email Alerts" checked in the settings for the IMAP account. So I don't know what else to do. If anyone has figured out how to make new eMail alerts work, please let me know.

I also noticed that Virgin will let you switch to a Beyond Talk plan on this phone.

Re: the e-mail alerts...
I do not have the Montage yet, but the E-mail app looks similar to previous VM E-mail/IM apps.

Try the following...
Select: an E-MAIL Account after you launch the E-MAIL app.
After the Specific E-MAIL Account opens Select: OPTIONS (there should be a SETTINGS option).
Look for: Alert Sound & Vib (sub-menu) where you can set your desired alert.

Can you save your contacts to the SD card?
Can you Transfer Media Files via USB Cable from a computer?

**toronado455** · 09-29-2012, 02:01 PM

I've already set that option. It asks you if you want new eMail alerts when you first set up the account. Additionally, if you go into settings you can see a check box for it as well. There are also settings for the alert volume & vib. I've played around with this extensively, even trying different eMail accounts, and I can't get it to work. I actually got one random alert one time, but never again. It just seems like a software bug.

**vmobi** · 09-29-2012, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by toronado455

I've already set that option. It asks you if you want new eMail alerts when you first set up the account. Additionally, if you go into settings you can see a check box for it as well. There are also settings for the alert volume & vib. I've played around with this extensively, even trying different eMail accounts, and I can't get it to work. I actually got one random alert one time, but never again. It just seems like a software bug.

Not sure which PayLo service plan you are using, but if you are using gmail, you can set it to forward a copy of your inbound e-mail to your Montage via sms. That can serve as an Alert that you have new e-mail in your inbox. It's an old way, but it works and uses your text service to notify you.

forward to (your telephne number)##########@yrmobl.com

**toronado455** · 09-29-2012, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by vmobi

Not sure which PayLo service plan you are using, but if you are using gmail, you can set it to forward a copy of your inbound e-mail to your Montage via sms. That can serve as an Alert that you have new e-mail in your inbox. It's an old way, but it works and uses your text service to notify you.

forward to (your telephne number)##########@yrmobl.com

Thanks. That seems to be working.

**toronado455** · 12-30-2012, 12:32 PM

Although I was able to connect to a PC via USB and transfer files, when connecting to a Mac it doesn't work. The phone isn't showing up on the Mac desktop. I've tried two different cables so I don't think it's a faulty cable. Does someone know if there is a setting on the Mac that would allow it to see the phone?

**Cpt_Midnight** · 01-01-2013, 04:12 PM

Hello, I found this discussion thread when Googling for reviews on this phone. You should be able to get your Mac to recognize the phone as a generic USB storage device, if you have a MicroSD card installed in it. Just click the main menu button (the one with the blue ring around it), go to Tools + Settings, select Tools, click on Mass Storage, connect your phone to your Mac with the USB cable, and select "Connect to My PC."

64-bit Windows does not appear to recognize the phone no matter what (I've Googled this extensively with no luck), but it will at least recognize the MicroSD card. 32-bit Windows apparently does not have this problem.

Other than that, I think it's been a pretty good phone for $40. This is the first phone I've used that had a built-in app to check my webmail, so that's nice. My PayLo service allows me to log in and see the headers for free.