The first is normal for the Samsung Intrepid. The failure of the notification light is a well known bug from day one and (surprise!) Samsung never fixed it. The same issue plagued at least one of their other devices and was actually fixed, but the fix for that phone causes problems on the Intrepid and doesn't work. So you're out of luck with the Intrepid if notification lights are of any importance to you.
And yes, it is a major flaw.
I remember the treo screensaver mode. It was interesting but probably eats (some) battery and most smartphones these days don't offer that option unless you're plugged in. Again you'd normally rely on the indicator light, but it will never work on the Intrepid.