When Phones Were Fun: Samsung's Forgotten RAZR Rival
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
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[WHEN PHONES WERE FUN: SAMSUNG SPH-A900 / MM-A900 / "BLADE"]
“All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.” That Battlestar Galactica quote is never far from my mind, and it came to me recently as I shuffled through a folder of photos I shot over 18 years ago - on the very last feature phone I ever carried as my daily driver.
It was a time of more imitation than iteration, but also a time when traditional mobile phones were plateauing as a newer, smarter form of communicator was poised to take over. I’m Michael Fisher; the year is 2006; and Samsung is still a "fast follower." Join me for a look back at its rapid-release RAZR competitor, the Samsung Blade (aka the A900).
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[ABOUT WHEN PHONES WERE FUN - SAMSUNG BLADE / SPH-A900]
This is the 23rd in a series of MrMobile videos exploring the mobile tech world's most vibrant period in design and experimentation. In “When Phones Were Fun,” Michael Fisher re-reviews cellphones from the golden age of mobile, the decade-long span from the turn of the century to approximately 2013.
When Phones Were Fun: Episode 23 was produced with an A900 purchased through eBay by MrMobile's publisher. The archive photos featured in this video were shot by Michael Fisher on his personal SPH-A900, circa 2006.
MrMobile does not offer manufacturers the opportunity to preview, edit or approve content before publication. Neither Samsung nor any other manufacturer provided compensation in exchange for this coverage. The lone sponsor of this video is Surfshark.
[LINKS]
Samsung SCH-V740 [Mobile Phone Museum]:
www.mobilephonemuseum.com/pho...
Samsung SPH-A900 Review [PhoneScoop]:
www.phonescoop.com/articles/a...
The History Of Us: A Sprint Story [TH-cam]:
• The History of Us: A S...
[MUSIC]
"Untouchable" by PALA [Soundstripe]:
app.soundstripe.com/songs/16718
"Arcade Fire Red" by Reel Life [Soundstripe]:
app.soundstripe.com/songs/12869
[CHAPTERS]
00:00 My last dumbphone
00:49 More than a RAZR re-hash
02:30 10 pounds of phone in a 5-pound bag
05:48 Surfshark
06:44 The most 2006-looking photos you'll ever see
08:31 Superior, but not iconic
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[DISCLOSURES]
This post may contain affiliate links, which afford Future plc a commission should you make a purchase. This does not affect MrMobile’s editorial content. See Future's disclosure policy for more details:
www.futureplc.com/terms-condi...
Additional information concerning MrMobile’s ethics policy can be found here:
mrmobile.tech/ethics
#samsungblade #samsungace #samsunga900 #samsungschv740 #samsung #razr #2006 #throwback #whenphoneswerefun #mrmobile #retro #flipphone - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
So stoked that during a week infested with apple vision pro reviews? Michael decides to bring back when phones were fun. Soooo refreshing.
true that❤
Agreed.
Holds true to what he has decidedly set out to do more of this year (and last year). Refreshing indeed.
Funny because these of phones are arguably more useful than the Vision Pro is now
Dudes hands down the best tech reviewer on the Tube.
Glad to see another episode in the series! Some of my favorite videos on the channel!
Some of my favorite to make, as well! Thanks for watching.
It's crazy how far ahead flip phones were in Japan. I purchased a few Sanyo and Toshiba phones from the early to mid 2000s and they were watching live TV and doing video calls long before FaceTime was a thing. The Sanyo Katana was a Japan model remade for the US market, I had that too through Sprint.
Japan's just far ahead period.....
But also that means that love and romance is more messed up there then it is here (but the west is catching up)
Japan really has tomorrow's mind in yesterday's clothing
In this same period Best Buy had some "secret" non-Best Buy branded niche stores, including some that sold almost exclusively unlocked Japanese market phones. I don't recall the name of them now - they were an experiment. I visited one in Chicago and the stuff they had was way more advanced than what we could get in the US at the time (pre iPhone)
I remember my classmate in high school had a pink vodafone flip phone from japan. that was 2006 and her phone can do video calls(but too expensive in the philippines at that time) and has built in tv app that she configured to local channels in the philippines. The screen also swivels to its back for easier viewing when watching the tv and videos.
Key word was
I kinda wish we had physical media buttons again. Not that we need them, but they are fun
Get a Zippo lighter or a nice Opinel pocket knife I'm with you I'm missing the tactile feeling of stuff
I use an app on Android called Button Mapper that allows me to use my volume buttons for media controls. You can configure a double press or a long press for extra actions such as launching apps, keypresses, media controls and more.
Yes we DO need media buttons. A lot of the stuff I have has shortcuts based on holding down the volume buttons for skipping tracks, but it's really not the same.
It's a missed opportunity for HMD/Nokia: Bring back the good old Xpress Music phones on Android with color stripes and music buttons.
@@Sonic6293that's just so finicky though, more finicky than things used to be
Man I became emotional and shed a tear in nostalgia of the 2000s - seeing the pictures that Michael shared.
I have some VGA to 1MP pics of my own and my life, somewhere in my external hard drive from my college days.
When cameras spun, ringtones rocked, and phones were fun. 💯
Thanks for the refreshing nostalgia, Michael!
I was -5 years old in 2000 😭😭
I'd move them somewhere safe, if I were you. Personally, all the pictures I ever took are backed up on the cloud as well as solid state drives. Those shitty pics are irreplaceable
@nickduplooy8845 Yeah, I know man. Just been very lazy.. although it's important and worth the time. Given how timeless the pictures are.
Id like to imagine that being in your 20s during the noughties was a much more enjoyable experience than in the 2020s
Time to put them on Mdiscs instead of risking them being gone from some hd.
“I don’t remember this video” *posted 14 minutes ago*
Oh yeah that’s why
this was funny and weirdly relatable
@@brickman409 we're all in a the loop hoping the algo spits out something good lol
@@TheAnthonyMarlowe this is sooooo true.
I sold these at a Sprint Radio Shack Kiosk in the mid-2000s after my attempted career in motorsport flamed out. I sold through them quickly when I showed off the rotating camera and upsold quite a few Power Vision plans for unlimited picture messaging. I had a Samsung A920 for an employee phone and (ab)used the built-in tethering for my nascent mobile and tech blogging career. Thanks for bringing fond memories flooding back.
This is one of the best series of videos on TH-cam, and one of the few things I always stop everything to watch immediately.
7:46 you know this was taken in 2006 when Waldenbooks was still in business
The 2000s song references just hits homerun! ❤❤❤
I can’t believe you made this video … I LOVED my a900! It was my last non-smart phone too. Had it through most of high school before the BB pearl and man, that flip camera was COOL. I could download! Apps! I could browse! The internet! The front screen was color! Not to mention a genuinely good build quality.
Thanks so much for highlighting a truly excellent mid-00s phone.
Hands down that the "When phones were fun" saga is enjoyable and entertaining to watch. I know that it takes quite some time to make a video, but I'd love to see Michael doing deep dives of the phones that changed the way we use them and/or had special features that were unusual for that time period, but are normal now. And it also shows us that back then, every company used proprietary connections, whereas now, we can use USB-C most of the time.
Same goes for the LGR Oddware saga (among his other things). It shows us, how daring some of the companies / models were back in the day. And that how much it has changed in almost 20 years later.
20 years ago, you'd had a phone that could only call and text and if you'd be very lucky, it had a camera and some multimedia things too.
But most of the people had a phone just to call, a camera to take pictures, a camcorder (with tapes and later SD cards) to record videos and a music player, to play music.
And now, we have a complete powerhouse inside our pockets that can handle all of those things in one device. Heck, you can even program the ECU of a car through your smartphone now too!
When it comes to physical media buttons, the Nokia N95 pops up in my head (and also has been in one of the previous episodes).
Michael, don't ever change your format and how you present it. You're one of the few genuine creators, that let us remind how much we've grown into using our phones for everything and how different phones were back then (since a lot of the old phones ends up either on a scrap yard or donations).
And not to forget, you're learning the new kids about how tech was back then.
P.S.
My very first "smartphone", was the LG KU990i Viewty and I had that phone 14 years ago.
Sometimes I still catch myself watching the pocket now throwback reviews 😅
I revisit the other When Phones Were Fun reviews occasionally too!
omg same! even if I have already watched it many times before
Those 2006 photos brings back memories! 😭🥹
This is literally my comfort series to watch. I actually spent my entire weekend binge watching all the episodes again on a loop.
When cameras spun, ringtones rocked, and phones were fun :") :") :")
I'm choking in tears right now out of sheer nostalgia, everything had such distinct personalities and design, and you'd look forward to what new and different thing you'd experience...
And all those photos took me to a time that I'd experienced as a kid, always yearning for it, but would never be able to experience as a young adult. I really wish I could experience a time as an adult in the 2000s or 2010, when things were simpler...
Although a DIE HARD Nokia fan (owning 40+ different models) I DO REMEMBER the days I had the chance to use the great Samsung SGH-D600 & SGH-D900 slider phones! They were little powerhouses!, the the D900 was designed to be slimmer, the main fault was the bar at the bottom edge of the keyboard that hampered typing a little...
😎🇬🇧
Glad to see you're hopping back into your new plan of variety this year by bringing this series back. I think it will pay off for you in the long run as it seems you really enjoyed making one of these again!
The pictures you showed from this phone made me really sad than it should have. So nostalgic. Majestic.
Same here. I became emotional and it reminded me of how much fun the 2000s (technically the 90s were the most fun, but the 2000s were pretty good too) were when we were not slaves of our current "smartphones".
Bro, tell me about it! They've made me yearn for a time I remember fondly and vividly, but didn't experience as an adult. A time when we weren't rules by smartphones or algorithms...
Those photos, despite being yours, bring back so much nostalgia for my youth. 2006 wasn't the greatest time in my life but boy do I miss the simplicity and innocence
There was another TH-camr, reviewing, or rather remembering older phones, but he stopped doing videos. I am just very thankful for your dedication to the topic, my favorite TH-cam series. :)
I have a drawer full of old and not so old Nokia and Lumia devices, so I can really appreciate the effort here. Btw, maybe a tribute video now that Nokia Mobile is done for good? ;)
Thanks this is my absolute fave series on TH-cam. Gives the nostalgia hit I need…I worked for Verizon Wireless in my local mall in 2006. This was such a time with so many great memories!!
I loved this phone! The camera, playing music while it was closed, the style.
it reminds me the good old days when that one relative who owned a Nokia device and it was used as the main source capturing moments and picture like these actually was awesome
This is my favorite series on this channel for all the nostalgia and great storytelling and this is now my favorite episode in said series. I had the A900 and remember loving it! It was all the things this video described and did it all really well. The pics you posted only fueled the nostalgia and hit me, right in the feels. Great video!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I love these when phones were fun series. Its like taking a time machine and going back to when things were simpler and not so complicated. Sure there were tons of downsides to these phones but they were high tech back in the day. Makes us appreciate what tech we have now and how far we have come.
I still have my ol' Razr its one beautiful phone and I use it to disconnect from the hurly burly of our busy online lives.
I'd been eagerly awaiting a new episode for a while, and it's finally here! Thank you for continuing to make these videos MrMobile, they're always so fun to watch, as well as informative. Can't wait for the next one!
What surprises me the most is that you kept the photos that didn't even remotely turn out well. I don't keep those for 3 seconds, let alone 18 years. I'm impressed.
Just started watching and I’m so glad you’re still adding videos to this series. Keep going Mr. Mobile. The Nextel one hit home. Thank you 🙏
Michael, you need to make a whole sub series of 'When Phones Were Fun', featuring the Nokia 'N' series phones. So many cool phones from back in the day.
This is ONE reason why I stay hooked to this channel.
Best series on TH-cam, no question! It’s funny how many vivid memories are tied to my pre-smartphone cellphones. Those pictures, man… I had so many just like them. Back when life was simple and fun. I’d love to see a deep dive into the Samsung Juke sometime. Keep it up!
So glad to see this series return. I've had this festering nostalgia towards the 2000s lately, and I'm not really sure why (probably just general disassociation with internet culture nowadays and feeling like I don't fit in, that and I grew up in the 2000s), and this video definitely scratched that itch for now. Hope to see more soon!
My favorite MrMobile content are these time machine pieces. Cheers, Michael! Pure nostalgia for me, I loved this phone. I still remember having the opening sequence of Radiohead's Myxomatosis as my ringtone on this device.
6:50 - I know that patio! A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I went to the bookstore around the corner from the and ended up having lunch at the Tex-Mex place that occupies location today.
I totally missed this phone at the time and exactly for the reasons you said - Sprint really didn't offer great coverage in the part of Pennsylvania and then North Carolina where I lived for those years.
I can't wait to see a video on the Samsung Alias 2. At the time, the e-ink keys felt light-years ahead of the competition and truly like the ultimate evolution of the dumb-phone, flip-phone concept. I was blown away by it. Funnily enough, I still feel this way.
That was an incredible script, what a closing statement too!
it's always nostalgic whenever you have episodes like this in your channel, Michael. Love this one :)
Instantly clicked. This was the phone that got me through undergrad.
This was a great video and look back. I like these revisits to the fun phones. I really missed these videos of when phones were fun. Well done and keep them coming when you have time.
That was totally AWESOME! Thanks for a break from the present to remind us of the good ol' days and where tech came from Michael!
Possibly one of the most original series on TechTube. I love it. Thank you
Man, you just reminded me Ive still got photos on a memory card from 21st birthday, taken on a Nokia 6600!
Thanks for the trip down the mid-2000's memory lane! The look and feel of your old photos really took me down the nostalgia memory lane 💯
These videos still bring such a large wave of happiness and nostalgia even though I was wayyy too young when these phones were launched. Though still remember my mom's nokia phones and a simpler time when phones.......were fun!
I had the a900 when I was in NYC. Most ppl I worked with had even more basic phones at the time and I was one of the coolest ppl around that had a phone that could play music. I racked up a horrendous bill from sprint due to the mentioned overpriced song cost in the store, but loved that phone for its place in time. Keep up the great work with this series and making this old man feel young again.
I love your "When Phones Were Fun" videos! Please, never stop making them!
I'm so happy this series is back, and because of you also starting off with Sprint as your wireless carrier way back when, I feel like we share a sense of nostalgia together when you do these reviews! Great work as always
I actually still have my A900 (Blade) and yes! It still turns on! I won't lie, all the sounds and menus really took me back... Every last one of them! It really was a great phone and I always turned the heads of razor owners! The flippy camera, the media buttons, the dual speakers, etc. Thanx for reminding me how great this phone was!
Whoa! I saw the Naro cinema on Colley picture and was shocked my town was graced with your presence, then your additional Norfolk pics confirmed it! You’re doing great work here! Keep it up!
I remember this phone VERY fondly. They should have kept the "Blade" name, which would have suited this gorgeously sleek flipper. The mid placed swivel camera was awesome, and the UI touches you mentioned were fantastic. I loved this phone so much I held onto it until I basically had to upgrade because I'd driven it into the ground. I vividly remember it as a phone that felt fantastic to physically hold and enjoy as a well designed piece of hardware. Great video that brought back a lot of fond memories.
I worked at Sprint from 2005-2009! The nostalgia from this video was crazy good! I still own the A900 and it is a museum piece of tech. Loved this phone so much, thank you for the trip back to the future!
My getaway from Apple Vision Pro.. I am a huge Apple fan, but it's just so much! Love Michael's Nostalgia Vibe!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: you are my favourite TH-camr when it comes to tech and "When Phone Were Fun" is my favourite segment. Suggestion (because I don't remember if you ever reviewed it, I think you didn't) - could you make a video of the Nokia 8800 and its derivatives? It is still to this day one of my favourite designs from that era, I just could never afford it!
Great stuff as always!
😂 the music puns!
The specific Razr imitator that I had was the Sanyo Katana. I felt so lame having it while my friends had the Razr. But now I appreciate what Sanyo did. And it was pink ❤️. I love your channel and seeing a community that loves these devices. I hope they come back.
This was my first phone senior year of high school. This really brought back memories thanks man.
Oh my god Micheal! I love this series of videos. So calming and nostalgic.❤❤
Phones have changed a lot in a very short time. I still remember oogling over the v3i at its launch and the satisfaction I got when I finally got the device after about 4 years. Even after 4 years of its launch, it was as suave as the time it launced.
Man i was wondering this series has finished. Thank you it's back
Love the series. Michael, you should make a video about on orthodox Nokia asymmetrical phones that were a fashion statement and yet nobody copied, like 7610, 7260, 7270, 7280.
The completely nonchalant drop of the "All digital, all PCS" tag line just made me even more infatuated with Mr. Mobile, I didn't think that was even possible.
Please please make more "When Phones Were Fun" videos!
They invoke feelings and emotions like no other tech video ever did!
Thank you MrMobile.
I always catch myself watching most of these with the dumbest smile of nostalgia on my face.
AWESOME!!! LOOOOVE this series, Michael!!
I remember having this phone (still do in a box somewhere) when I was on Sprint. It was durable and my favorite feature phone. This video takes me down memory lane for sure.
been DYING for another video in this series!!
This made me go back into the Wayback Machine to look up first brand new phone I ever bought that advertised itself as the world's thinnest phone over the Motorola Razr and the Kitana... June 20,2007 (according to my blog entry) I bought the Samsung M610, similar to the m900 but Nick thinner and lighter. It was plastic, no media controls on the face, had an amazing screen I watched Sprint TV on , played some pretty high res games on was fast enough to also use as a hotspot for my Dell Axim Pocket PC. The rotating 2mp camera was just great to have and it really was record-breaking for how ridiculously thin it was... Until 3 months later when the Razr 2 came out.
Samsung M610 was my last and best "dumbphone"! I specifically sought it out after reading reviews stating how thin it was. And luckily, I was already on Sprint. Like all Samsungs of the era, it was extremely well-made.
@@Johnny_Socko mine too! After that it was the m800 Samsung Instinct ... They advertised it as an iPhone killer... But it wasn't Android. After that I went HTC and got the Evo 4G.
Thank you for bringing back this series
Bro, why you gotta remind me that 2006 was 18 years ago? I just turned 38 last week, so that hits particularly hard right now! 😅
I really love this series. I was working for nTelos around the time you were working for Sprint and I always enjoy the throwback.
I had one of these! I was a sales rep in a RadioShack and bought the first one we got in stock. I loved my Blade. It was so cool back then. It was a head turner back then. People always asked me about it because the music controls and swivel camera kind of stuck out. They thought it was a new RAZR. Hearing those notification sounds again gave me chills. lol
I am so excited for another episode in this series! I love these!!🎉🎉🎉
I was genuinely searching up info on this phone when i learned that this nickname was a thing, so i thank you for this video. Makes sense that it ultimately was only ever a nickname.
Those photos almost look like ones taken by a film camera (in a good way). Thanks for sharing, so cool
Such a good video! If you never want to review modern phones again, and just want to focus on these videos every so often, I'm right here for it. You are a master of this craft.
This was my first contract phone and I was ABSOLUTELY in love with it! I remembering buy The Cable Guy movie from the store and my friends were so jealous that I could watch movies on it! What a time to be alive!
I didn't expect to be greeted by a Battlestar Galactica quote in a Mr. Mobile video! Always going the extra mile with top of the line production values!
Reminds me of my fabulous Z540, with its Batman-y design, which was the primary reason I persuaded the phone shop to call me if they ever decided to get rid of it by cutting the price by at least a half. It was their last piece and it was just at that ridge of space and time when flip phones went nearly extinct. Amazingly, the shop did cut the price two weeks later and even more amazingly, they did call me, even though I knew no one there and it had been the first time I stepped onto their premises. The Z540 is still right up there on my shelf.
I'm still impressed about the pictures you were able to capture, somehow anything from that time that I got on any device was terrible looking for today's standards, but somehow your pictures were pretty good, maybe not award winning or flagship but decent enough to understand and appreciate the scene, and yes something that was happening already at that time was the downfall of Nokia.
Jeez! The Long's Drugs reference shot me back.
Ritz Camera too! I bought batteries for my Pentax there... 😢
Great retro review! I got this phone as a early trial unit and I think it was also a first trial for Sprint TV. I still have it somewhere.
I absolutely LOVE Mr. Mobile’s dedication to retro tech preservation 🥰🥰
only just discovered this page, it’s just brilliant - thank you
The a900 was my last traditional flip phone as well, and I still have it in a box somewhere! Loved this phone!
Great to see another look back, highly enjoyed this video.
I watched this excellent video with a lot of nostalgia as I bought the A900 at launch and actually still have it. I was just looking at it a few days ago and then I come across this video.
My obsession was not with phones at the time. I used phones to call and text. But I also had a first-generation video ipod. You should talk more about the 2G and 3G wireless cards for your computer. I drive for a living and I had my laptop with me all the time.
This is my favorite series in the tech space.
I always love these types of videos . Learning about where phones are coming from is quite interesting.
Loved this!
In Europe we had the SGH-Z510 (Z was Samsung's UMTS line at the time), but the real RAZR rival was the later Z620, truly a slim and powerful phone!
I'm younger than Michael and this phone and tech era felt like it's developing with me.
I learned how to multiply - phones got color screens, I've lost my baby teeth - phones got cameras, I've acquired boobs - phones got bluetooth, understood eggplant - phones have touchscreens now, got my heart borken for the first time - phones have memory slots, my first kiss - phones are smart now. This neverending development, underdelivery, flashiness, specialness. As a tech girl then and tech woman now, I feel connection to these devices. There was never such thing as "let me look at your phone. may i browse music? send me this funny pic" again, but in this era. Thanks for bringing it again
Aaaahhh, how good it was to capture the young version of you michael...😃
Very happy this segment is back :)
I love when phones were fun, this is what for me into the channel, its great to see a new one!!
Hands down, one of my favorite series on TH-cam. I remember these phones fondly. I didn't have the A900, but i knew plenty that did. I DID have the Sanyo Katana, and i loved that damn phone! I would love to see a video on that! They had some of the best ring tones lol
Man thank you for this I love this series
It always takes me to my childhood nostalgia backyard watching "when phones were fun"
Finally, this series is back!! It's so refreshing to see something else than the usual iPhone 15 Pro and Samsung galaxy S24 ultra reviews and comparisons!
I remember around 07-09 having a Sanyo Katana LX on my family's sprint plan. So mad that it didnt allow for music playback, but I still loved that phone.