My first impressions of the phone

[substring]

You guys are crazy, the glossy back makes it incredibly difficult to hold onto. It slips all over the place. I sure hope someone makes a matte back for it.

Verizon store sells a black silicon cover which has the rubber feel. It helps you to hold on to the phone. It is perfect for this phone. I also bought the screen protector as well at the store. You should drop by the Verizon store to check it out.

 

[tats_06]

I went and checked out the Fascinate today and it's a really nice device...but not enough to pry the Incredible from me. The one in store was pretty laggy. I made a few calls to 611 to test out and to start/end a call, I got like a 2-4 second delay. App screen was a bit jerky...but I know LauncherPro would probably fix that lag... The other thing, is it was hard to determine how it would feel in hand because of the huge security thing attached at back. I may give it a try in a few days again and see... Picture quality was outstanding...I did test that out. Better than incredible..especially if I zoomed in after taking a picture, it was clear even super upclose...with Incredible, as soon as I zoomed in the pic I took, it became more and more blurry. Those were my initial 10-minute impression.

 

[The Saucier]

I can't get used to that at all, and it's very difficult to naturally and comfortably pull off with a one handed grip.

Thats what she said.

Seriously though, the Fascinate is an amazing device. Like some of the others who have posted in this thread, I have also been hanging around trying to learn as much as possible before taking the plunge on a new smartphone. What I learned and read on this forum gave me the assurance I needed to purchase the Fascinate on launch.

At this point I must say I am very impressed with the Fascinate 'experience'. Most of my initial concerns were simply from lack of familiarity with Android and the UI. After some time getting acquainted with the system, I soon realized just how intuitive the whole thing is. Essentially I can do more with the Fascinate then I could with my old smartphone, minus the brain damage.

I am probably someone who won't root, or load custom roms; just want something that works right out of the box, and allows a certain level of customization. The Fascinate is just that: crisp, clean, and easily configurable.

Great F'in phone.

- The Saucier

 

[kriss76]

I've been using the Motorola Droid since around April and was pretty set on getting a Droid X as yesterday was my upgrade date (I wasn't happy about having to wait 2 weeks to get the X, but whatever). So, after about 4 days of research and watching countless Youtube videos, I decided to go to the store and try (to talk myself out of) the Fascinate....

Guess what I walked out of the store with? Yep. My beautiful new Fascinate. AND....my boyfriend, who is a die-hard fan of Motorola's Droid X, bought one before we left, as well!

I love this phone. I played around with it for about an hour beside the Droid X, in the store (It wasn't crowded so I was able to really test them out side by side).

My observations:

The screen on the Fascinate is amazing. I love it! It is so vibrant and crisp. The live wallpapers are beautiful on this phone.

The speakerphone (which is pretty much all I use) is loud and very clear. No strange sounds when I put it on the counter, like I was getting with my Droid.

The web browsing was so smooth. Very iPhone like in the scrolling, in my opinion.

It was much faster than the X at loading webpages in the store. I have had all of my webpages load lightning fast, and that was my biggest want in a new phone: Speed.

I actually like the camera. It's not amazing, but it's good and that's all I expect from a phone camera.

I actually really like the look of the phone. I didn't think it looked or felt cheap at all. However, I put a pink silicone case on it before I left the store, so...

I've gotten better reception at my apartment than I did with my Droid, so that's a plus.

I haven't noticed any lags as of yet.

GPS worked on the first try for me and was surprisingly accurate. I did download Google Maps.

As much I love Google (it pretty much runs my life), and as unhappy as I was that Bing was the default search browser....I haven't been bothered by it at all. I just added the google bookmark shortcut to my screen, threw that Bing search bar in the trash and haven't given it another thought.

The Daily Briefing widget is really cool.

I'm going to really put this phone to the test for the next 29 days, but I don't see myself returning it. It suits my needs perfectly and I'm very, very pleased with my purchase!

Thanks to everyone on here, who gave their input! It was a huge help in making my decision.

 

[Rimzy]

Thats what she said.

Seriously though, the Fascinate is an amazing device. Like some of the others who have posted in this thread, I have also been hanging around trying to learn as much as possible before taking the plunge on a new smartphone. What I learned and read on this forum gave me the assurance I needed to purchase the Fascinate on launch.

At this point I must say I am very impressed with the Fascinate 'experience'. Most of my initial concerns were simply from lack of familiarity with Android and the UI. After some time getting acquainted with the system, I soon realized just how intuitive the whole thing is. Essentially I can do more with the Fascinate then I could with my old smartphone, minus the brain damage.

I am probably someone who won't root, or load custom roms; just want something that works right out of the box, and allows a certain level of customization. The Fascinate is just that: crisp, clean, and easily configurable.

Great F'in phone.

- The Saucier

I have to agree this phone is great! And I am not looking to load custom roms or root. Although I am using launch prplus. That's really all I need. After using this phone, the screen on my iPod touch looks like shit! I am posting this from my phone too! Oh, we seriously need a phandroid app with access to forums!! K, anyway this is a great phone and after using my first android phone,I have to say that I see why the iPhone appeals to people. It s a simple ui, Android is all about making it your own.

 

[II Kings 9:20]

I've been using the Motorola Droid since around April and was pretty set on getting a Droid X as yesterday was my upgrade date (I wasn't happy about having to wait 2 weeks to get the X, but whatever). So, after about 4 days of research and watching countless Youtube videos, I decided to go to the store and try (to talk myself out of) the Fascinate....

Guess what I walked out of the store with? Yep. My beautiful new Fascinate. AND....my boyfriend, who is a die-hard fan of Motorola's Droid X, bought one before we left, as well!

I love this phone. I played around with it for about an hour beside the Droid X, in the store (It wasn't crowded so I was able to really test them out side by side).

My observations:

The screen on the Fascinate is amazing. I love it! It is so vibrant and crisp. The live wallpapers are beautiful on this phone.

The speakerphone (which is pretty much all I use) is loud and very clear. No strange sounds when I put it on the counter, like I was getting with my Droid.

The web browsing was so smooth. Very iPhone like in the scrolling, in my opinion.

It was much faster than the X at loading webpages in the store. I have had all of my webpages load lightning fast, and that was my biggest want in a new phone: Speed.

I actually like the camera. It's not amazing, but it's good and that's all I expect from a phone camera.

I actually really like the look of the phone. I didn't think it looked or felt cheap at all. However, I put a pink silicone case on it before I left the store, so...

I've gotten better reception at my apartment than I did with my Droid, so that's a plus.

I haven't noticed any lags as of yet.

GPS worked on the first try for me and was surprisingly accurate. I did download Google Maps.

As much I love Google (it pretty much runs my life), and as unhappy as I was that Bing was the default search browser....I haven't been bothered by it at all. I just added the google bookmark shortcut to my screen, threw that Bing search bar in the trash and haven't given it another thought.

The Daily Briefing widget is really cool.

I'm going to really put this phone to the test for the next 29 days, but I don't see myself returning it. It suits my needs perfectly and I'm very, very pleased with my purchase!

Thanks to everyone on here, who gave their input! It was a huge help in making my decision.

Cool, can't wait to get mine. In the daily briefing widget, is there a setting to show on the widget your next event on the google calender if there are no appointments for "today" and the next thing on the calender is in 3 days? I noticed in the store, the widget showed "no appointments today" and my Droid 1 calender widget would show the very next event if there were none today.

 

[Bearly]

I actually like the camera. It's not amazing, but it's good and that's all I expect from a phone camera.

I actually really like the look of the phone. I didn't think it looked or felt cheap at all. However, I put a pink silicone case on it before I left the store, so...

Where did you get the silicone case? Can you post a link to it?

I'm hoping Case-Mate comes out with a Tough Case for the Fascinate but it might take them a few months

And I actually love the camera. Very good for a phone. Need to test out the video...

 

[kriss76]

Cool, can't wait to get mine. In the daily briefing widget, is there a setting to show on the widget your next event on the google calender if there are no appointments for "today" and the next thing on the calender is in 3 days? I noticed in the store, the widget showed "no appointments today" and my Droid 1 calender widget would show the very next event if there were none today.

I don't think it shows the next day's events. It may, and I just haven't figured out how to do it yet?? I use Jorte for my calendar b/c it syncs with Google and then I add the weekly agenda widget so I can see my week's appointments at a glance.

 

[kriss76]

Where did you get the silicone case? Can you post a link to it?

I'm hoping Case-Mate comes out with a Tough Case for the Fascinate but it might take them a few months

And I actually love the camera. Very good for a phone. Need to test out the video...

I got the case at Verizon. I asked the rep if he had any cases and he went in the back and brought out a selection of almost 15 different ones! He had hard cases with kickstands and lots of silicone ones. Flat, glossy, textured etc. I tried to find a link on the VZW website, but was unable to locate one.

I do hope Case-Mate comes out with some cases too, they are my favorite!

Also, I've decided that I love the camera!! Went to a college football game today and it was awesome!! I especially love the "continuous" option!

 

[SirKronan]

I don't think it shows the next day's events. It may, and I just haven't figured out how to do it yet?? I use Jorte for my calendar b/c it syncs with Google and then I add the weekly agenda widget so I can see my week's appointments at a glance.

I would seriously give Pure Calendar a try:

Pure Calendar widget (agenda) v2.2.3 Application for Android | Productivity

I was skeptical at first, but it is unreal. Customize the color schemes, the size, the fonts, etc. The calendar is even scrollable if you have Launcher Pro. Most amazing calendar app/widget I've ever tried. It's about $1.90 USD, and it is worth every penny. It should be the only calendar that comes with Android, in my opinion. It's a calendar with the same customizability as the Android OS.

You can actually set how far in advance you want it to show appointments, and I use the scrolling feature to get a mental snapshot of my week every day, especially when I need to reschedule a meeting or client visit. In addition, you can customize the functions it performs when you tap the calender or one of the buttons on the top right, such as to add an event using the stock Google calender built into the phone. It's seamless, and very powerful.

 

[KCLARK]

Verizon store sells a black silicon cover which has the rubber feel. It helps you to hold on to the phone. It is perfect for this phone. I also bought the screen protector as well at the store. You should drop by the Verizon store to check it out.

yeah I wanted to check this out too, but think i messed up by buying the 2200 extended battery before seeing this. most likely have to make a choice between the two because im pretty sure that silicon cover wont fit and is only for covering the phone using the 1500 battery.

 

[saps]

yeah I wanted to check this out too, but think i messed up by buying the 2200 extended battery before seeing this. most likely have to make a choice between the two because im pretty sure that silicon cover wont fit and is only for covering the phone using the 1500 battery.

Yeah big 10-4 there the belly bulge is huge on the extended battery; rumors that fit in under standard door were very false

 

[II Kings 9:20]

I have a real problem with silicone skins collecting every speck of lint on the planet (or at least in my pocket). I need a Body Glove or other semi soft case. The BG has served well on my D1.

 

[SirKronan]

Ok, I finally have my own personal Fascinate in my hands now, and at home, upon closer examination, I can actually see the pixel patterns when the phone displays text or other white objects. Does anyone else notice this? Text appears crisper and smoother on the Droid X, even though it's not as bright. I'm trying to decide if I want the brighter contrastier Fascinate look over the long haul, or the crisper text look.

The fascinate definitely feels nicer and more comfortable in the hand. Lighter weight, too, and with the rounded edges it's a better fit in the pocket.

What do you guys think of text though? I also noticed it looked a little blueish like others have said.

 

[II Kings 9:20]

Ok, I finally have my own personal Fascinate in my hands now, and at home, upon closer examination, I can actually see the pixel patterns when the phone displays text or other white objects. Does anyone else notice this? Text appears crisper and smoother on the Droid X, even though it's not as bright. I'm trying to decide if I want the brighter contrastier Fascinate look over the long haul, or the crisper text look.

The fascinate definitely feels nicer and more comfortable in the hand. Lighter weight, too, and with the rounded edges it's a better fit in the pocket.

What do you guys think of text though? I also noticed it looked a little blueish like others have said.

I think I don't like that at all. I'll check text to see if it is an issue for me. Did not notice when I played with it for an hour ( I was giddy just to have my hands on it). Like a test drive, some things you don't find out until you get it home.

 

[SirKronan]

I think I don't like that at all. I'll check text to see if it is an issue for me. Did not notice when I played with it for an hour ( I was giddy just to have my hands on it). Like a test drive, some things you don't find out until you get it home.

Try to look at it in a darker room, as if you were reading a book at night. it isn't so bad in brighter rooms.

 

[Don S]

.. upon closer examination, I can actually see the pixel patterns when the phone displays text or other white objects. Does anyone else notice this? ...

I only notice this in a very few spots actually. The g-mail Inbox view for one. On web pages though, and in other spots, I don't notice any pixelization. I came from the Droid 1, which has a higher pixel density than the X or this, so I know exactly what you mean about seeing pixels. But as I mentioned I only notice in a few spots. 95% of the time it's no issue.

 

[xliderider]

Kris76, I'm surprised you found the Fascinate to get better reception than the Droid. I've found the exact opposite with the 2 Fascinates we got on launch day.

I'm returning my Fascinate and getting an X for the reception and call quality. The large screen and slightly denser pixel count will be a plus as well.

 

[google123]

Went to the VZ store today as I had some time to kill and checked out several devices.

LG Ally: Not a bad device. Didn't care for the keyboard. Better than the Droid but still very blah. I liked having hardware End/Send keys. That was a plus on the Eris that I had for about a month. I liked the sharpness of the screen since its 800x480 on a smaller frame. Makes for very sharp graphics just like my brother's Env Touch screens. I'm a resolution freak. I'd run 1920x1200 on an 11" laptop if I could. LOL. Moving on....

HTC Incredible: Really nice device. I liked the size of the device. Felt way better than my Droid. Sharp, vibrant screen but when I was typing on it, it reminded me of one reason I hate the Droid. The screen is too narrow for comfortable portrait typing. I know I know, turn the phone sideways and use landscape.

Droid X: Whoa! This screen is huge! However, it was sitting next to the fascinate and the X's screen looked terribly washed out compared to Samsung's offering. It did make portrait typing very easy, but overall the device felt very cumbersome. My hands are a bit on the smaller side and I could not use this one handed comfortably for most tasks. I like the feel of the device though. Feels very "premium" as opposed to the Incredible's cheap "plasticky" feel.

Fascinate: Wow! This thing is gorgeous! First off it had the wavy watery live screen and it almost made my eyes water. The screen is very very colorful and vibrant but didn't look, to my eyes, as sharp as the LG screen or the Incredible. The watery live screen actually hurt my eyes though. Once I turned it off it was easier on my eyes. Screen is perfect size, not too small (Droid) and not as big as the X. Typing on it was comfortable. The thin shell felt very comfortable in my hand but not very grippy, something that can be taken care of with a PhantomSkinz skin. The plastic felt better and not as cheap as on the Incredible. I would have liked a dedicated camera key and LED notification on it though. Software "features" like the Bing integration don't bother me because the Android community is quick to find a solution for just about anything on these devices. Overall, I had just a few minutes (10-12) or so with the Fascinate. I had been curious about all these devices for a while now just hadn't had time to check them out yet. The Fascinate is a great phone. I could see myself extending my contract for one more year to use this device. I didn't get a chance to play with items such as the media player but from what I have been reading on these forums, it won't disappoint.

 

[SirKronan]

Droid X: Whoa! This screen is huge! However, it was sitting next to the fascinate and the X's screen looked terribly washed out compared to Samsung's offering. It did make portrait typing very easy, but overall the device felt very cumbersome. My hands are a bit on the smaller side and I could not use this one handed comfortably for most tasks. I like the feel of the device though. Feels very "premium" as opposed to the Incredible's cheap "plasticky" feel.

Fascinate: Wow! This thing is gorgeous! First off it had the wavy watery live screen and it almost made my eyes water. The screen is very very colorful and vibrant but didn't look, to my eyes, as sharp as the LG screen or the Incredible. The watery live screen actually hurt my eyes though. Once I turned it off it was easier on my eyes. Screen is perfect size, not too small (Droid) and not as big as the X. Typing on it was comfortable. The thin shell felt very comfortable in my hand but not very grippy, something that can be taken care of with a PhantomSkinz skin. The plastic felt better and not as cheap as on the Incredible. I would have liked a dedicated camera key and LED notification on it though. Software "features" like the Bing integration don't bother me because the Android community is quick to find a solution for just about anything on these devices. Overall, I had just a few minutes (10-12) or so with the Fascinate. I had been curious about all these devices for a while now just hadn't had time to check them out yet. The Fascinate is a great phone. I could see myself extending my contract for one more year to use this device. I didn't get a chance to play with items such as the media player but from what I have been reading on these forums, it won't disappoint.

Yep, the industrial feel of the Droid X is very impressive and sturdy-feeling. Makes you believe the phone will really last. So far the Droid X is doing extremely well as a phone. Rooted, w/launcher pro plus, and removed bloat, the thing is a dream of a phone - in every respect except ergonomics.

That's where the Fascinate comes in. Despite the lack of grip, I find it quite more pleasant and ergonomic to use, right from the get go. And the media player is certainly impressive. I like the coverflow clone on it. Droid X has a similar feature as well. I didn't discover it until I read about the Fascinate having that feature. So just for fun, I tilted the droid X to the side, and what do ya know, a motorola version of coverflow popped up with my album arts. LOL!!

 

[superconnected]

Now having played with it for the past 4 hours straight I can honestly say that I love it. I think a lot of Android purists are upset without merit. This phone is on all 4 carriers and it gives the consumer the freedom to choose. Android is open, which gives a carrier the option of customization and branding and consumers the option to build workarounds. I've had 2 Droids and neither were perfect and I returned one and sold the other. The Droid was enormous and heavy and the Eris was too slow but I loved that Sense brought something different to the table. Bing isn't a tragedy and neither is the GPS problem and it all boils down to preference. I'm just thankful I had the choice to take my business elsewhere if I wanted a different variation of the Galaxy S, but this its the one for me. It's sexy, snappy, holds its own and ultimately is a completely different animal than a stock 2.2 device.

 

[tats_06]

Now having played with it for the past 4 hours straight I can honestly say that I love it. I think a lot of Android purists are upset without merit. This phone is on all 4 carriers and it gives the consumer the freedom to choose. Android is open, which gives a carrier the option of customization and branding and consumers the option to build workarounds. I've had 2 Droids and neither were perfect and I returned one and sold the other. The Droid was enormous and heavy and the Eris was too slow but I loved that Sense brought something different to the table. Bing isn't a tragedy and neither is the GPS problem and it all boils down to preference. I'm just thankful I had the choice to take my business elsewhere if I wanted a different variation of the Galaxy S, but this its the one for me. It's sexy, snappy, holds its own and ultimately is a completely different animal than a stock 2.2 device.

I love the combination of beautiful widgets app and Launcher Pro Plus...cause it give me the sense stuff that I like

 

[Jodiuh]

Verizon store sells a black silicon cover which has the rubber feel.

I went w/ the high gloss version in black. It's very thin and light just like a silicon softy, but wo/ all the...

...silicone skins collecting every speck of lint on the planet (or at least in my pocket).

Try the high gloss case, it's a nice improvement over the regular silicon for another $5. Although, I'm a little sticker shocked that a small piece of plastic goes for $20.

...upon closer examination, I can actually see the pixel patterns when the phone displays text or other white objects. Does anyone else notice this?

Yes and it drove me nuts when I first noticed it on the Incredible. I can now say that I'm used to it and it no longer bothers me. I had the DROID 2 and the Fascinate @ home for a day. I would read an article on one, then the same on the other. What bothered me more than the blurry text was the contrast on the DROID. The different colors, especially black or gray would stick out and sort of 3D the background. I found it incredibly distracting after using the Fascinate. It's almost like a glare when viewing the regular LCD on the DROID.

 

[SirKronan]

I went w/ the high gloss version in black. It's very thin and light just like a silicon softy, but wo/ all the...


Try the high gloss case, it's a nice improvement over the regular silicon for another $5. Although, I'm a little sticker shocked that a small piece of plastic goes for $20.


Yes and it drove me nuts when I first noticed it on the Incredible. I can now say that I'm used to it and it no longer bothers me. I had the DROID 2 and the Fascinate @ home for a day. I would read an article on one, then the same on the other. What bothered me more than the blurry text was the contrast on the DROID. The different colors, especially black or gray would stick out and sort of 3D the background. I found it incredibly distracting after using the Fascinate. It's almost like a glare when viewing the regular LCD on the DROID.

Yep, I'm getting used to it as well. It's amazing what our minds can adjust to and accommodate, to the extent that it becomes automatic and natural. As advanced as our droids are getting, they still got nothing on the human brain!!!

 

[kriss76]

Kris76, I'm surprised you found the Fascinate to get better reception than the Droid. I've found the exact opposite with the 2 Fascinates we got on launch day.

I'm returning my Fascinate and getting an X for the reception and call quality. The large screen and slightly denser pixel count will be a plus as well.

I'm very surprised as well! I live in an apartment complex that isn't in the greatest service area for Verizon, so my hopes weren't high for the Fascinate. I'm still perplexed as to why I'm getting better service with my Samsung, but I'm pleased, nonetheless!