Overview

What’s Good: Thin and light; fast processor; nice high-end addition to Verizon’s Android lineup.

What’s Bad: Device has some issues; doesn’t ship with Google Maps out of the box; Verizon has disabled Google search in favor of Bing, and the average consumer can’t change it.

The Verdict: The Fascinate is a decent device and a nice alternative to the DROID line, but the Verizon-inspired changes and random quirks are frustrating.

Introduction

At long last, Verizon’s launch of the Samsung Fascinate brings the Galaxy S saga to a close (at least for the nationwide carriers).  Like the other members of the family, it’s a high-end device that packs a 1 GHz processor, 4-inch “Super AMOLED” display, 5-megapixel camera, Android 2.1 with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface.  It’s thin, light, and with a consumer-friendly user interface, it should appeal to a wide range of users.  That said, it has a few annoying bugs that could keep people from adopting it en-masse like the DROID series.  Can it hold its ground against Verizon’s other Android devices?

Design & Features

Design-wise, the Fascinate is the most boring member of the Galaxy S family.  It’s a rectangular device with no special design cues beyond a carbon fiber battery door.  The left side of the phone houses a volume rocker, while the top of the unit offers the typical 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB charging port (with a handy sliding “door” to keep out dust).  The 5-megapixel camera is on the back, along with a flash.

The Fascinate ships with an AC adapter module, USB cable, instruction manual, and a 16 GB microSD card (installed in the phone), but no earbuds.  The overall design is the same (volume rocker on left side; power button on right side; 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB charging port on the top), but the battery door is slightly different.

Measuring in at 4.91 inches tall by 2.54 inches wide by 0.41 inch thick, and tipping the scales at 4.1 ounces, Fascinate is the current thin and light champion in Verizon’s Android lineup.  It offers a 4-inch “Super AMOLED” display, and like the other three, it’s stunning.  Picture quality is fantastic, and colors are rich.  Perhaps more importantly, I was able to use the phone in direct sunlight – something I can’t do with other AMOLED-equipped devices like the Nexus One and DROID Incredible.

Usability & Performance

Like the rest of the series, the Fascinate sports a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor and 2 GB of internal storage space.  Since these devices are still running Android 2.1, some level of internal storage is a must, since apps can’t be saved to the microSD card.  The Galaxy S devices have been fun to cover due to the slight differences between each model, and the Fascinate is no different.  Like the Vibrant and Captivate, it runs a relatively unchanged version of Android 2.1 with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, with Verizon’s 3G Mobile Hotspot, Bing, Blockbuster, City ID, Mobile IM, My Verizon Mobile, Skype Mobile, V CAST (Music, Tones, and Videos), Visual Voicemail ($2.99 monthly) and VZ Navigator ($9.99 monthly).  Samsung has committed to upgrading the Galaxy S line to 2.2, though current rumors pinpoint the update for October.

For an Android device, it surprised me that Google Maps wasn’t installed out of the box (the phone defaults to VZ Navigator), though you can pick up the app from the Android Market.  Unfortunately, Google search is another story.  Verizon opted to exclude Google search in favor of Bing, and the frustrating thing is you can’t change it.  Verizon has stated that the Android 2.2 update will bring the option for Google search, so we’ll see.  Like the rest of the series, the Fascinate is pre-loaded with Swype and the standard Android keyboard, though it’s lacking the Samsung keyboard that’s found on the GSM models.

Outside of the Verizon changes, it has some funky quirks as well.  When in a call, for example, tapping the “Search” button below the display causes the call to be disconnected every time.  Additionally, I’m shocked at the number of grammatical errors that are buried in the software.  Statements like “SNS message cannot be deleted” and “This history will be deleted call log, too.  Continue?” baffled me and made me wonder how Verizon missed them during field tests.  For a high caliber device like the Fascinate, these are bugs that should have been worked out prior to launch.

Like the other Galaxy S devices, the Fascinate ships with a 5.0-megapixel camera, though it includes a flash.  Editing options include ten shooting modes, the ability to change the exposure value, focus mode, scene mode, resolution, white balance, ISO, metering, and more.  Picture quality was very good (exactly the same as the other Galaxy S devices, as far as I can tell), and video quality (720p) was impressive as well.  After working with the Epic 4G, I was frustrated with the lack of a physical camera button.  You can click on the screen to enable autofocus, but the natural hand shaking that comes from holding an object made the picture less accurate.

I worked with the Fascinate in the Charlotte metro area, and was pleased with call quality.   Callers had no problem hearing me, with one caller unable to tell whether I was on a landline or a cell phone.  As with the other Galaxy S devices, earpiece volume was very loud.  When testing the phone in a Verizon dead zone in the city, I was able to complete a call, despite severe choppiness and audio dropouts.   I paired a Bluetooth headset to the device, and callers continued to be pleased with the quality.

It ships with a 1,500 mAh battery, and with moderate use like calling, text messaging, e-mailing, browsing the web, and downloading a few apps from the Android Market, I was able to make it most of the day.  Out of all of the high-end Verizon Android devices I’ve tested, I found it to have the best battery life (though not by much).  People that call or message on a regular basis throughout the day will want to carry a spare battery or a car charger.

Fascinate is an EVDO Rev. A device, so data speeds were strong.  Throughout a week of testing, I was able to obtain an average download speed of 1,120 Kbps, and an upload speed of 802 Kbps.  The phone offers Verizon’s 3G Mobile Hotspot capabilities, which allows you to connect up to five Wi-Fi-equipped devices and can be had for an additional $20 per month.

Conclusion

Like the other Galaxy S devices, the Fascinate is a feature-packed, high-end device that happens to be positioned in the same price bracket as Verizon’s DROID lineup.  Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface is a nice option for those venturing into the Android realm for the first time, and the colorful menus should appeal to those that want an iPhone-like device on Verizon.  That said, out of all of the Galaxy S devices, the Fascinate is the least exciting and has the highest number of issues out of the box.  The value proposition comes into play as well.  Sprint, for example, offers visual voicemail and Sprint Navigation (in addition to Google Maps) free of charge.  Purchase both of these on Verizon’s Fascinate, and you’re spending an extra $11.99 per month.

The Samsung Fascinate is available at Verizon Wireless for $199.99 after mail-in rebate.  For additional pictures, check out the gallery below!

When T-Mobile officially unveiled the G2, they said that pre-orders for current customers would begin “later this month,” but wouldn’t give a concrete date.  While the rumored release date has been pushed back, possibly as far as October 16th, it appears that T-Mo is still going to be offering pre-orders this month as they have updated the G2′s product page to say “Pre-ordering starts soon!”  The claim comes from the myT-Mobile pages of multiple customers, and it seems that T-Mobile is holding true to their statement that current subscribers will get pre-order access because when I went to the G2′s page, I was met with a less exciting “Coming soon.”  We still don’t know when pre-orders will go live, but there are only nine days left in September, so it should be soon!

T-Mobile has never come forward with the G2′s release date, but Best Buy has, saying that they’ll begin selling the G2 on October 6th.  We haven’t heard anything from BBY about a different release date, so I’m going to assume that the Oct. 6th date is still firm.  So there’s one option for those of you who don’t feel like waiting for T-Mo to offer the G2.  We’ve also heard that Costco will be offering free accessories with a G2 purchase, and RadioShack has also chimed in, saying that they’ll be selling the G2 for $149.99 with a two-year contract.  It’s obvious that there will be plenty of options when it comes time to buy a G2, so which one will you go with?

Via TmoNews

Some of Samsung’s Galaxy S devices in the U.S. have been having problems with their GPSs, and while Sprint’s Epic 4G seems to have avoided those issues, it’s having problems of its own right now.  We received a tip from an Epic owner stating that he’s had his uploads capped at 150 kbps on three separate Epics, and a forum thread over at Sprint’s forums has similar reports from several other users.  The problem has persisted even after the recent DI07 update.  We reached out to Sprint about the issue and were given the following response:

“We have heard reports of users experiencing less-than-expected 3G upload speeds with their Samsung Epic 4G.  After extensive investigation, Sprint and Samsung have identified an enhancement that may improve upload speeds on the Epic. This fix will be made available in the next maintenance release.  It’s important to note that network speeds are impacted by many factors when using commercially-available speed test applications and test results may or may not be true indicator of the actual network performance.”

There you go, Epic owners.  We only have to wait for the next maintenance update to come along and cure our slow upload woes.  Unfortunately, we have no idea when the fix will come but, considering the outcry from users on Sprint’s forums, let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.  While we wait for the update to come, maybe you should just try to stay near a WiFi hotspot if you’re going to be uploading anything.

Thanks to Vince for the tip!

Dell already has one entrant in the Great Tablet Race, but the company announced another tablet today at a conference in San Francisco.  Michael Dell, Dell’s CEO, announced that the company will be releasing a 7-inch tablet that will run Android.  Unfortunately, there were no other specs or launch information revealed.  If you’re interested in Dell’s currently available tablet offerings, Michael Dell also said that the Streak would soon be available at Best Buy.

Considering how huge tablets are now, combined with the lukewarm response that the Streak has received so far, I’m not surprised to see Dell planning to launch another tablet.  The company’s CFO said in the past that the low development costs of the tablet form factor will allow them to have a series of tablet devices.  What do you think Dell will have to do with their 7-inch tablet to help it stand out among the impending sea of similar products?

Via Wall Street Journal

The Motorola Flipout‘s U.S. debut has been in question ever since we heard news that it had been killed by AT&T at the last minute, but Moto has stepped in to clear things up.  Speaking to Engadget, Motorola has said that the Flipout is still coming to the U.S. some time “before the holiday season.”  Moto take the opportunity to mention which carrier would be launching the Flipout, but considering the amount of leaks we’ve seen in the past, I’d say that AT&T is still a safe bet.

Even though the next few months, which are already jam-packed with device releases, just got a little busier, I’m glad that Motorola is still planning to bring the Flipout stateside.  After all, with its physical QWERTY keyboard, unconventional form factor, and (probably) low price, I have a feeling that the Flipout will help Android infiltrate the mainstream even more than it already has.  As for a potential release date?  I would guess before Thanksgiving, that way customers have a chance to get hands-on time with the device and perhaps pick one up during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday madness.

Via Engadget

Aaron reviews Verizon’s Samsung Fascinate, the last member of the Galaxy S line.  With a 1 GHz processor, 5.0-megapixel camera, and Android 2.1 with TouchWiz, it’s a high-end device – even if it doesn’t sport the “DROID” moniker.  Part 2 of 2.

We’ve heard a lot of rumors about Motorola’s DROID 2 World Edition, but we haven’t actually seen the handset until today.  The folks over at Droid Life have received photos of the globe-trotting DROID and, as expected, it looks largely the same as the current DROID 2.  The obvious change is the color scheme, featuring a white back and chrome sides rather than the blue and gun metal found on the regular D2.  Considering how similar this device and the original DROID 2 are, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the DROID 2 World Edition eliminate the current D2 and become the one and only DROID 2 on Verizon.

While I’m not a huge fan of the mix of black, white, and chrome found on this new DROID 2, I have to admit that I’m pretty interested in the handset.  Considering that it’s a global device, it’s likely that those of us on AT&T could grab one of these and unlock it for use on the GSM carrier.  Unfortunately, I’m sure it would be stuck on EDGE speeds rather than the 3G we’ve come to know and love.  Still, the DROID 2 World Edition (or DROID Pro, or DROID 2 Global) is a pretty slick looking handset for those of you on Verizon.  Now you’ve got a dilemma: DROID 2 World Edition or the limited R2-D2 DROID 2?

UPDATE: It appears that Droid Life wasn’t stopping with the photos of the DROID 2 World Edition, as they’ve also posted benchmarks and system information for the device.  Most interesting?  A screenshot says that this new DROID 2′s processor is clocked at 1.2 GHz, up from the original DROID 2′s 1 GHz chip.  The rest of the components look to be the same as the regular D2.  Any of you DROID 2 owners contemplating a switch to the new DROID 2 World Edition/DROID Pro now?

Via Droid Life (1), (2)

As phones get more powerful and data speeds become faster, customers are using more data than ever before on their handsets.  We’re inching toward widespread 4G and wireless downloads that are faster than some home Internet connections, and tiered data pricing is becoming increasingly likely.  AT&T has already made the move, Verizon has said that they’re considering it multiple times, and now Sprint is mulling over the decision, too.  Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that “Tiered pricing is something we look at.”  Hesse also explained that some of the heaviest data users on Sprint have actually ended up costing the carrier money, which is totally within the realm of possibility.  No word on when Sprint will implement tiered pricing, but I’m sure that all carriers will be moving to tiered data at some point in the future.

While this news may come as a disappointment for many Sprint customers, it’s something that we’ll all have to get used to.  It’s been said in the past that most users don’t come anywhere near the 5 GB soft caps that are usually a part of “unlimited” data plans, so why not introduce data plans that save the customer money and potentially bring less congestion to the network?  Those of you who value unlimited data better get a good grip on your current plans, because they’re going to be disappearing.

Via IntoMobile, Wall Street Journal

Samsung Captivate owners, I’m about to make your day ten times better.  Samsung just contacted us to say that they’re teaming up with AT&T to send out an update for the Captivate today that will improve the handset’s GPS capabilities (a known issue with some Galaxy S devices) and bring other enhancements, like a full version of QuickOffice.  The update is available beginning today and will be pushed to Captivates throughout the next couple of weeks.  The full statement from Samsung can be read below.

I know, I know, you guys are all disappointed that this update isn’t Android 2.2, but an improved GPS is better than nothing, right?  If you don’t feel like waiting days or possibly weeks for your GPS to work properly, you could try hitting System Update on your Captivate to try and initiate the update yourself.  When the update does finally hit your beloved Captivate, you’ll come back and tell us all about it, won’t you?

An update to improve the Samsung Captivate’s GPS performance is now available. Captivate customers will receive a notification on their device that an update is available and will simply need to download the file to update their phone. The updates will be pushed to customers’ devices over the next few weeks.
 
The update for the Captivate will also improve additional device functions, such as media scanning time, add the full version of Quickoffice and address Microsoft Exchange 2003 policy support.

Remember that alleged Storm3 photo from a couple of days ago?  Well, aren’t any closer to knowing if the device is question is real or not (sorry!), but we do know that it may not be the next Storm.  What you see in the photo above is said to be a screenshot of a BlackBerry 9570 running BlackBerry 6.  As you probably know, the Storm2‘s model number is 9550, leading many to believe that the 9570 isn’t really a Storm3, more like a Storm2.5.  This all matches up nicely with a leaked slide that we saw a while back which showed off what looked like a Storm2, but touted 512 MB of RAM and BB 6.

It may be disappointing to learn that RIM isn’t really making any radical changes to the upcoming Storm refresh, but it makes sense for the company to have a handset capable of running their new OS.  The Storm2 certainly isn’t able to run BlackBerry 6 since it doesn’t have the all-important 512 MB of RAM.  I just feel bad for those Storm2 owners that are going to be left out of the BB6 fun when an extremely similar device hits the market, probably later this year.  Then again, obsolescence is nothing new when it comes to the cellular industry, right?

UPDATE:  It seems that BBLeaks has gone ahead and posted actual photos of the 9570 for us and guess what?  It’s exactly the same as the Storm2, save for the upgrade in RAM to make it BlackBerry 6-ready.  As you can see in the photo, the handset is already running BB6.  Any Storm2 owners feeling a little burned?

Via CrackBerry, BBLeaks (1), (2)

Related Blogs

• BlackBerry Storm 2 refresh gets a model number, 9570 « Boy Genius …
• RIM to unveil “BlackPad” BlackBerry tablet next week? | VentureBeat
• HTML5 href Anywhere Attempt « Toby's Blog
• php – preg_match string not within the href attribute » Technology …
• [IMG MGMT] Squiggles, Trees, Ribbons and Spirals: My Collection of …
• Multiple history battle nbsp; The various trifle with the law …
• SterlingTek's POWWER HP Pavilion dv6265EA Extended 9600mAh Laptop …
• Sexy GyllenHO Photo Fake | PerezHilton.com
• Create a Photo Realistic iPhone in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
• Speidi Sets Up Cheesy-Awful Photo-Shoot | PerezHilton.com
• Legends Of Springsteen: Engagement Photo Edition | Best Week Ever
• Flickr Photo of the Week | Art&Seek | Arts, Music, Culture for …
• The Suffolk Journal » Blog Archive » Make way! A new ram on campus!
• Amitabh Bachchan To Play Gangster-Politician In Ram Gopal Varma's Film
• Sale Walther RAM P99 Black Airsoft Gun Economical Price | BEST Top …
• Sale Walther RAM P99 Blue Economical Price | BEST Top Sell
• Tips On Installing A 1 GB RAM Module For Your Computer | Rapid …
• Hnam Vs Ram | mi(sual).com
• Last Week's Tweets 2010-09-19 | SRC-/-stark reAlity check
• Perdeby » Blog Archive » SRC election – (Letter)