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So far so good on the Fascinate

droid_head

Android Enthusiast
Jun 5, 2010
253
5
Indiana
FedEx Claus brought my Fascinate today. Man I hate waiting for new phones to arrive. Our area is always last on their route and it sucks.

Just thought I would throw in my wooden nickels worth on my first impressions of the phone:

What I like:
1. Feels like a million bucks in my hand. Thin, light, and even though it might look like the iPhone, its better looking and very sleek and drop dead sexy. Best feeling and looking phone I have ever owned.
2.Super bright and clear screen, but of course we already knew that. Makes the X look really bad in regard to clarity.
3. Very user friendly. Buttons and controls are in the right place. Super friendly screen setup.
4. Super fast.
5. Anti-smudge screen works great. But, I upgraded from a Blackberry Storm I, so its anything is an improvement. Of course, if you eat fried chicken and touch the screen it's gonna smudge.
6. Awesome photos. Even thought its a 5MP, it's all about the other photo features, and the Fascinate has them.
7. BATTERY LIFE! I had the Incredible for a whopping 4 days before it died and the battery sucked. I left a bunch of stuff running on the Fascinate, like the water effect wallpaper, just to see what this baby's got. I'm workin' this thing like a borrowed mule and it's holding its own like a champ. It's been 3.5 hours since activation on full charge and the first bar just disappeared. I'm sure this thing will easily last all day with the proper tweaks.

what I don't like:
1. Nothing new here, Bing. I'm not too worried because I just go to my browser and set home page to Google.
2. The keyboard doesn't seem as accurate as the Inc, and the keys are smaller than the X. Will take some getting used to and I'm sure I will have to play with the settings to suit my needs.

I really haven't found anything I don't like yet. I'm sure I will, but it will probably be minor. I'm very happy with this phone and am ready to keep a phone for awhile after going back and forth for a while.

Probably nothing new in this review, but maybe some reassurance for someone on the line in deciding on what phone to get. I know I made the right choice and have had several compliments on the phone so far. I had the Inc and it died, and I refrained from getting the X...good things come to those who wait.

 
4. Super fast 2.2 rocks the house.

2. The keyboard doesn't seem as accurate as the Inc, and the keys are smaller than the X. Will take some getting used to and I'm sure I will have to play with the settings to suit my needs.

4. It doesn't have Froyo yet sir, that is just the Hummingbird processor at work!

2. I use Smart Keyboard Pro and love it. Keys are bigger and better spaced, plus it has voice commands and multi-touch...but it does cost $2 (i think).
 
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Verizon reps are schmucks. They either don't know what they are talking about or just try to sell phones with BS...I have yet to meet one that knows more about their phones than I do...or our general community. If I don't know something or can't figure it out, I come here or Android Central. I'd never ask those baboons!
 
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This was the asst. manager, and I deal w/ him every time. I walk in and he get me right to the counter and I don't have to wait, and there is usually a 20 min wait. My backup asst. wasn't working and he hooked me right up and even replaced my Moto bluetooth that quit working. That store is really a good store. I drive 20 minutes just to go there because my town has a crappy independent dealer and they can't even setup email.

So i can't really criticize him for a simple mistake. I know Verizon reps have a bad rep on this forum, but in this instance I can't criticize at all. I'm so happy just to finally have a droid phone and no blackberry. I'm not complaining about anything. :D

Verizon reps are schmucks. They either don't know what they are talking about or just try to sell phones with BS...I have yet to meet one that knows more about their phones than I do...or our general community. If I don't know something or can't figure it out, I come here or Android Central. I'd never ask those baboons!
 
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FedEx Claus brought my Fascinate today. Man I hate waiting for new phones to arrive. Our area is always last on their route and it sucks.

Just thought I would throw in my wooden nickels worth on my first impressions of the phone:

What I like:
1. Feels like a million bucks in my hand. Thin, light, and even though it might look like the iPhone, its better looking and very sleek and drop dead sexy. Best feeling and looking phone I have ever owned.
2.Super bright and clear screen, but of course we already knew that. Makes the X look really bad in regard to clarity.
3. Very user friendly. Buttons and controls are in the right place. Super friendly screen setup.
4. Super fast.
5. Anti-smudge screen works great. But, I upgraded from a Blackberry Storm I, so its anything is an improvement. Of course, if you eat fried chicken and touch the screen it's gonna smudge.
6. Awesome photos. Even thought its a 5MP, it's all about the other photo features, and the Fascinate has them.
7. BATTERY LIFE! I had the Incredible for a whopping 4 days before it died and the battery sucked. I left a bunch of stuff running on the Fascinate, like the water effect wallpaper, just to see what this baby's got. I'm workin' this thing like a borrowed mule and it's holding its own like a champ. It's been 3.5 hours since activation on full charge and the first bar just disappeared. I'm sure this thing will easily last all day with the proper tweaks.

what I don't like:
1. Nothing new here, Bing. I'm not too worried because I just go to my browser and set home page to Google.
2. The keyboard doesn't seem as accurate as the Inc, and the keys are smaller than the X. Will take some getting used to and I'm sure I will have to play with the settings to suit my needs.

I really haven't found anything I don't like yet. I'm sure I will, but it will probably be minor. I'm very happy with this phone and am ready to keep a phone for awhile after going back and forth for a while.

Probably nothing new in this review, but maybe some reassurance for someone on the line in deciding on what phone to get. I know I made the right choice and have had several compliments on the phone so far. I had the Inc and it died, and I refrained from getting the X...good things come to those who wait.


Thanks!!! As far as keyboard, try the HTC_IME...I absolutely LOVE it!!!! Here is a link for you: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=624416

Use Astro File Manager (free from market) to unzip the file and install the 2 .apks. It works awesome and is really outstanding at text prediction. :)
 
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Oh you want advice on apps too? Best app to get off the bat is Handcent, by far the best text app out there!

Get Google Voice for VM, and get its app too! Free and way better than stock.

Grab NoLed, if you want something to fill the space of not having an LED for notifications.

Grab Tiny Flashlight so you can have a light anywhere!

Barcode Scanner/Shopsavvy pretty good for scanning items/apps.

Astrid for tasks, Astro for file management.

Beautiful Widgets (and Beautiful Live Wallpaper), if you want a different and probably better clock/weather widget + live wallpaper.

Ok, i'm gonna stop now :/
 
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DH, my absolute must have app, the one I always load first on any phone is screebl lite. It is an app that keeps your screen from timing out, as long as you are holding the phone.

That way, you can set the screen timeout setting to the shortest setting to conserve battery power.

Thanks. That's the biggest pain when it comes to Androids. the only thing i miss about my Storm, touch the screen and it comes on. I think Android is going to have to come up w/ something else down the road and eliminate jumping through hoops just to turn on your phone.
 
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Thanks. That's the biggest pain when it comes to Androids. the only thing i miss about my Storm, touch the screen and it comes on. I think Android is going to have to come up w/ something else down the road and eliminate jumping through hoops just to turn on your phone.

I see a problem with that. Lots of people keep their phone in a pocket or purse. If my phone were to come on just by touching the screen, my battery would be dead halfway through the day.

On my X I have the lock turned off. I just have to press either the power button on top or the home key. Phone on. I think with the X you can also turn the phone on by pressing the volume up/down keys too. So, one step.
 
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Verizon reps are schmucks. They either don't know what they are talking about or just try to sell phones with BS...I have yet to meet one that knows more about their phones than I do...or our general community. If I don't know something or can't figure it out, I come here or Android Central. I'd never ask those baboons!

Agree. You'd think someone working for commission would try harder and take pride in knowing their products. Half of them talk out of their asses and don't even know the difference from eclair to froyo.
 
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Agree. You'd think someone working for commission would try harder and take pride in knowing their products. Half of them talk out of their asses and don't even know the difference from eclair to froyo.
You are so right, i mean even basics the guys at the store by me didn't know. Tried to tell some guy Fascinates had an 8mp camera, i was just like "It's 5". Then he was like, "the processor is the same as the Droid X", i just walked away, wasn't going to get into that conversation.
 
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You are so right, i mean even basics the guys at the store by me didn't know. Tried to tell some guy Fascinates had an 8mp camera, i was just like "It's 5". Then he was like, "the processor is the same as the Droid X", i just walked away, wasn't going to get into that conversation.

Omg. Just reading that makes me hurt and die a little inside. I would have started laughing so hard if I was there.
 
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Case in point, my Storm was touch to turn on, and if I was at a bar or something, i just hit the lock button and problem solved.

To me, this the one achilles heel of Android. The whole unlocking thing is rediculous, but oh well. I got NoLock and problem solved. Just hit power button which I can live with.

So, the touch to turn on is not an issue as long as there is a screen lock button. If Storm can do it, Android surely can.

I see a problem with that. Lots of people keep their phone in a pocket or purse. If my phone were to come on just by touching the screen, my battery would be dead halfway through the day.

On my X I have the lock turned off. I just have to press either the power button on top or the home key. Phone on. I think with the X you can also turn the phone on by pressing the volume up/down keys too. So, one step.
 
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You are so right, i mean even basics the guys at the store by me didn't know. Tried to tell some guy Fascinates had an 8mp camera, i was just like "It's 5". Then he was like, "the processor is the same as the Droid X", i just walked away, wasn't going to get into that conversation.

The independent stores, YES. One of our local independent stores says "Premium Verizon Retailer" or whatever and they couldn't even setup my Mom's email. What the heck? Pretty bad when you know more than someone who does it for a living.

Now my official Verizon store is great. When I walk in, they take me right to the counter, no wait. And they always solve my problem and I have their personal numbers so I can call them any time and get help. I'm sure this is standard, but it works for me.

So there is a huge difference between official stores and independent. Independent is only good for accessories.

One HUGE drawback with independent stores, if you buy a phone there, you must return it there. My Mom bought an X, and we are going to do the Fascinate 2 for 1, and she has to wait til they get a Fascinate in before she can take her phone back in the 30 day "worry free period". A real pain.
 
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The independent stores, YES. One of our local independent stores says "Premium Verizon Retailer" or whatever and they couldn't even setup my Mom's email. What the heck? Pretty bad when you know more than someone who does it for a living.

Now my official Verizon store is great. When I walk in, they take me right to the counter, no wait. And they always solve my problem and I have their personal numbers so I can call them any time and get help. I'm sure this is standard, but it works for me.

So there is a huge difference between official stores and independent. Independent is only good for accessories.

One HUGE drawback with independent stores, if you buy a phone there, you must return it there. My Mom bought an X, and we are going to do the Fascinate 2 for 1, and she has to wait til they get a Fascinate in before she can take her phone back in the 30 day "worry free period". A real pain.
This wasn't independent, it was an actual VerizonWireless store, not an "authorized retailer", or whatever they are called, it could have just been this particular employee, I would have just thought the basics would have been covered, like camera, OS, Processor, Memory, screen, etc. This guy was batting 0-2 from that list from what i heard, but then again, like i said, it could have just been that one guy.
 
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Ok, my major complaint about the Fascinate, and it's not anything new, is the lack of an LED indicator. I really like this as my phone is my business hub and I like having the led indicator.
i checked out NOLED, but its only sms, missed call, and gmail. I need an indicator for my private emails, which are set up through Google Apps.

Anyone have any ideas until Samsung fixed this with a flashing key?

Thanks for the awesome replies. I would buy everyone here a beer if I could.
 
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