My first impressions of the phone

[Mazeraski]

Well, I made the switch from the Droid X to the Fascinate Sunday night and I have to say I could not be happier. Time will tell, but thus far my experience with the Fascinate has been absolutely fantastic. Originally got the X because the Fascinate had no release date at that time and I had to upgrade before the end of August. The X was my first experience with a smartphone, as I had the Alias 2 (haha) prior to it. In terms of comparing the X to the Fascinate, for those of you looking to possibly jump ship or those of you simply considering the Fascinate as your next phone, I'll highlight my experience with it so far:

Fascinate

Pros:
- SAMOLED screen is amazingly vibrant
- 4" screen size is perfect (IMO)
- Thin form factor
- Ergonomic-like design (in terms of hard button placement/ feel in hand)
- Extremely snappy and quick (especially when using LauncherPro)
- 5MP camera > Droid X 8MP camera
- TouchWiz is actually pretty cool
- Capacitive keys at the bottom (preference)
- Battery life thus far is great (actually better than my X)
- GPS works fine (thus far, will test this more in the coming weeks)
- Native music player is great (beats the pants off the X music player)
- Notification shade containing WiFi/BT/GPS/Airplane toggle buttons
- Notification shade and lock screen contains mini version of the music player when playing music (don't have to unlock to control music)
- Lock screen can directly take you to a text via puzzle piece (small feature, but I like it)

Cons:
- Fingerprint magnet
- Signal strength not terrible but could be better

Droid X

Pros:
- HDMI out (though I never used it)
- 4.3" screen size is nice for typing/video (has cons though)
- Pretty much Vanilla Android (not much Motoblur crap)
- Battery life is quite good
- Call quality/reception is good

Cons
- 4.3" screen size a bit too large (hard for one-hand use/fitting in pockets)
- Camera hump is annoying
- Utilitarian design is okay, but somewhat disappointing
- Hard keys at bottom (prefer capacitive keys like Fascinate)

I just want to reiterate that the above are solely my opinion(s) on the two devices based upon what I was looking for in a device. Obviously some people will disagree, but as long as it helps others on the fence about switching I'm happy. I didn't dislike the X overall, in fact, it is quite a nice device. I just like the Fascinate better based upon what I outlined above. I will add some more points of interest as I experience the Fascinate more (i.e. - Bing, GPS). If anyone has any questions about it just let me know, I'm here to help

 

[Jodiuh]

C'mon...admit it. The X doesn't hold a candle next to the Fascinate. The only thing it's got goin' for it's the name.

Although, I call it the FAS.

 

[SirKronan]

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!

Haven't dropped a call with the Fascinate yet, even in the basement. The Droid X is still a little stronger, but the Fascinate has a good solid signal. It's as good as some of the better phones I've had. I think for most its reception will be fine. Part of that really is the network, for sure.

 

[Jodiuh]

And boy do we pay for that network. I didn't realize Sprint offers unlimited texting w/ free mobile to mobile for the same price.

 

[SirKronan]

C'mon...admit it. The X doesn't hold a candle next to the Fascinate. The only thing it's got goin' for it's the name.

Although, I call it the FAS.

Not true ... The Droid X still beats the Fascinate in reception and call quality, and still by a little bit in battery life too. I also believe it will be a more rugged device. It just feels heavier duty. It's designed as a tough, powerful, serious smartphone. The Fascinate has a different target in mind, and they've designed a phone that is still powerful but more of a total entertainment smartphone in an attractive and slim package.

And boy do we pay for that network. I didn't realize Sprint offers unlimited texting w/ free mobile to mobile for the same price.

Yep, and T-Mobile now has $5 family share lines and free kid lines until 2012 ....

 

[saps]

Not true ... The Droid X still beats the Fascinate in reception and call quality, and still by a little bit in battery life too. I also believe it will be a more rugged device. It just feels heavier duty. It's designed as a tough, powerful, serious smartphone. The Fascinate has a different target in mind, and they've designed a phone that is still powerful but more of a total entertainment smartphone in an attractive and slim package.

Agreed. You can tell by just where the TV commercials are that the target demographic is different.

 

[Veez]

love the phone so far

lol am i the only one who is babying the hell out of this thing..haha i dont want a scratch on it..kind of ocd haha keepin lint and dust off every corner and edge.. mos def gotta get a case and screen cover..i'll probably cry if i ever drop this thing..god i hope i never drop it...

 

[Jodiuh]

The Droid X...It just feels heavier duty. It's designed as a tough, powerful, serious smartphone.

Haha, the fast is def in need of a good case. I snagged the high gloss in black.

 

[saps]

love the phone so far

lol am i the only one who is babying the hell out of this thing..haha i dont want a scratch on it..kind of ocd haha keepin lint and dust off every corner and edge.. mos def gotta get a case and screen cover..i'll probably cry if i ever drop this thing..god i hope i never drop it...

Yeah I got a little white dot in the gap already and Im trying to not blow it out of proportion. However, I'd abandon fears of scratching the screen. Gorilla glass is as good as advertised.

 

[XsabaX]

Umm.. I dont ever post on here, yes I'm a lurker haha. But i just got my fascinate today coming from an Eris.

Night and day difference

 

[saps]

Umm.. I dont ever post on here, yes I'm a lurker haha. But i just got my fascinate today coming from an Eris.

Night and day difference

Welcome

 

[SirKronan]

Loving this phone more and more every day.

A word to root users: Don't set AutoKiller above "Optimum" settings. When I set it more aggressive, it consistently locked the phone, forcing it to auto reboot. And while set to some of the more aggressive modes, my GPS wouldn't lock on at all, even after several minutes of either waiting in the same spot holding still, or driving. Set it back to "Optimum" and no more freezes, GPS picked up instantly, and was dead on accurate the whole drive.

 

[burningembers]

Loving this phone more and more every day.

A word to root users: Don't set AutoKiller above "Optimum" settings. When I set it more aggressive, it consistently locked the phone, forcing it to auto reboot. And while set to some of the more aggressive modes, my GPS wouldn't lock on at all, even after several minutes of either waiting in the same spot holding still, or driving. Set it back to "Optimum" and no more freezes, GPS picked up instantly, and was dead on accurate the whole drive.

Weird, I was about to call shens on your statement. But for kicks, I set mine back to Optimum from Strict, and it actually does seem a tad more stable with no noticeable decrease in my user experience.

May report more later...but...interesting...

 

[SirKronan]

Weird, I was about to call shens on your statement. But for kicks, I set mine back to Optimum from Strict, and it actually does seem a tad more stable with no noticeable decrease in my user experience.

May report more later...but...interesting...

Hahaha. I tested and retested, and I kid ye not. Perhaps it's killing some of the stock Samsung services that it uses because of their particular oom value. Sometimes a seemingly useless service or process can still be relied upon by the phone in ways we end users might not know.

Regardless, that's what happened in my experiments. I have less memory free with that setting, but it seems a hair more stable.

I think we'll all feel better regardless when Froyo hits this device. Rumor has it hitting the international Galaxy S on the 26th. Seems so far away ... Oh well. Running great rooted and with launcher pro!

 

[saps]

Loving this phone more and more every day.

A word to root users: Don't set AutoKiller above "Optimum" settings. When I set it more aggressive, it consistently locked the phone, forcing it to auto reboot. And while set to some of the more aggressive modes, my GPS wouldn't lock on at all, even after several minutes of either waiting in the same spot holding still, or driving. Set it back to "Optimum" and no more freezes, GPS picked up instantly, and was dead on accurate the whole drive.

Agreed...I suppose thats why its called Optimum

 

[SirKronan]

Agreed...I suppose thats why its called Optimum

Lol.

(punches saps in face ... jokingly of course)

Yep, optimum is the ticket, I think. Now I'm up to 18hrs 21min unplugged. Battery is still a staggering 38%. In these last few hours I've let a buddy play Asphalt 5 for a spell, and used the flash-flash light for quite some time while upgrading his PC to a new P55 motherboard with an i7 processor and some G.Skill ripjaws DDR3.

 

[saps]

Lol.

(punches saps in face ... jokingly of course)

Yep, optimum is the ticket, I think. Now I'm up to 18hrs 21min unplugged. Battery is still a staggering 38%. In these last few hours I've let a buddy play Asphalt 5 for a spell, and used the flash-flash light for quite some time while upgrading his PC to a new P55 motherboard with an i7 processor and some G.Skill ripjaws DDR3.

Yummy look at you talking that [H] talk in here .

 

[arcanic]

Well, I made the switch from the Droid X to the Fascinate Sunday night and I have to say I could not be happier. Time will tell, but thus far my experience with the Fascinate has been absolutely fantastic. Originally got the X because the Fascinate had no release date at that time and I had to upgrade before the end of August. The X was my first experience with a smartphone, as I had the Alias 2 (haha) prior to it. In terms of comparing the X to the Fascinate, for those of you looking to possibly jump ship or those of you simply considering the Fascinate as your next phone, I'll highlight my experience with it so far:

Fascinate

Pros:
- SAMOLED screen is amazingly vibrant
- 4" screen size is perfect (IMO)
- Thin form factor
- Ergonomic-like design (in terms of hard button placement/ feel in hand)
- Extremely snappy and quick (especially when using LauncherPro)
- 5MP camera > Droid X 8MP camera
- TouchWiz is actually pretty cool
- Capacitive keys at the bottom (preference)
- Battery life thus far is great (actually better than my X)
- GPS works fine (thus far, will test this more in the coming weeks)
- Native music player is great (beats the pants off the X music player)
- Notification shade containing WiFi/BT/GPS/Airplane toggle buttons
- Notification shade and lock screen contains mini version of the music player when playing music (don't have to unlock to control music)
- Lock screen can directly take you to a text via puzzle piece (small feature, but I like it)

Cons:
- Fingerprint magnet
- Signal strength not terrible but could be better

Droid X

Pros:
- HDMI out (though I never used it)
- 4.3" screen size is nice for typing/video (has cons though)
- Pretty much Vanilla Android (not much Motoblur crap)
- Battery life is quite good
- Call quality/reception is good

Cons
- 4.3" screen size a bit too large (hard for one-hand use/fitting in pockets)
- Camera hump is annoying
- Utilitarian design is okay, but somewhat disappointing
- Hard keys at bottom (prefer capacitive keys like Fascinate)

I just want to reiterate that the above are solely my opinion(s) on the two devices based upon what I was looking for in a device. Obviously some people will disagree, but as long as it helps others on the fence about switching I'm happy. I didn't dislike the X overall, in fact, it is quite a nice device. I just like the Fascinate better based upon what I outlined above. I will add some more points of interest as I experience the Fascinate more (i.e. - Bing, GPS). If anyone has any questions about it just let me know, I'm here to help

An excellent post, thank you. I came from an X and couldn't have said it better myself.