Even though the Fascinate didn't impress me during my time with it earlier this week I decided to give it a second chance after reading some of the positive posts by a few people here the last two days.
I will be testing one of the Fascinates along side my Droid X and the other will be tested along side my wifes Droid Incredible. They will be tested over the next weeks or so.
I used the Fascinate along side my Droid X for most of today. My experience with it today has not been what you would consider good. Here are my impressions after the first day.
1. After hearing about all the success stories with the GPS I was excited to get a new one and try it out. Well its sad to say that again the GPS did not function correctly on either my or my wifes Fascinate. I tried using GPS thru both VZ navigater and Google Maps and could not get a GPS fix at all while my wifes would see the sats but reported that her position was in another state. Very frustating after so many reported good results.
I called tech support and was told that nothing could be down to fix it at this time but that a fix is promised by the end of the month.
2. The capcative touch keys. These things just dont function properly. It takes 3-5 presses to get the keys to respond. I have read a few others here are having the same issue. Again I was told by tech support that it was a known issue, that a fix is not available at this time but it would also be fixed by the end of the month.
3. The capacitive touch keys part two. I would like to know what moron decided to have the backlight for the keys turn off after two seconds on a device that you can't see the keys unless you have the backlight on. I searched high and low for a setting to change the timeout and came up empty handed. Again tech support acknowleged the issue, reported no fix at this time, will be solved by the end of the month (sensing a theme here)
4. The charging port. The same moron that set the key timeout must have decided to put the port on top. I use my phone in my vehicle ALOT and also have to charge it in my vehicle ALOT. I very often have to talk on the phone while the phone is charging. I cannot do that since the charging port is on top. I know some are going to say just use a bluetooth headset. I would do just that but the Fascinate refused to pair with the only headset I had with me.
5. Talking on the phone. While call quality was clear and volume was fine both through the ear piece and speaker phone the phone would get very hot after only about 10 minutes use. Its would get hot enough that I would have to end the call to let it cool down. It did not get hot at any other time other then when in a call. Any others experience this?
6. The screen. The screen is very good. It worked very well in all situations. It is easily the best screen I have ever used in direct sunlight.
The contrast ratio is staggering. I will test it directly agaisnt the Droid X and Incredible and will report back with my findings.
7. Signal strength. Samsung phones are known for week atennas and the Fascinate is no different. While I did not drop any calls I did have an occasional call be very broken up. It would generally report 2 bars in good signal areas where the Droid X would have 4. In areas with weak signal the Droid X would still work fine but Fascinate would not. I am generally in good cell areas so I do not think this will really be an issue for me but thought it prudent to share.
8. Battery life seems decent. I did use it heavily today and the battery lasted about 12 hours before needing a charge while my Droid X usually lasts about 18 hours before needing a charge. I think it should get a bit better after a few charging cycles and as long as it gets at least 12 hours its a none issue for me.
So thats it so far. Although I am disapponted with it so far I really really want to like this device. Its multimedia capabilities are second to non and I look forward to using them over the weekend. I will be comparing camera's, camcorder's, music players, and video playback over the weekend and I think its going to be very nice. The multimedia capabilities on this phone are so good its almost as if the put all the hard work into them as opposed to the things I mentioned above.
No matter what I will be holding onto this device until the end of September to see if the firmware fixes the issues I am having so if you have any questions I will be happy to answer them
I will be testing one of the Fascinates along side my Droid X and the other will be tested along side my wifes Droid Incredible. They will be tested over the next weeks or so.
I used the Fascinate along side my Droid X for most of today. My experience with it today has not been what you would consider good. Here are my impressions after the first day.
1. After hearing about all the success stories with the GPS I was excited to get a new one and try it out. Well its sad to say that again the GPS did not function correctly on either my or my wifes Fascinate. I tried using GPS thru both VZ navigater and Google Maps and could not get a GPS fix at all while my wifes would see the sats but reported that her position was in another state. Very frustating after so many reported good results.
I called tech support and was told that nothing could be down to fix it at this time but that a fix is promised by the end of the month.
2. The capcative touch keys. These things just dont function properly. It takes 3-5 presses to get the keys to respond. I have read a few others here are having the same issue. Again I was told by tech support that it was a known issue, that a fix is not available at this time but it would also be fixed by the end of the month.
3. The capacitive touch keys part two. I would like to know what moron decided to have the backlight for the keys turn off after two seconds on a device that you can't see the keys unless you have the backlight on. I searched high and low for a setting to change the timeout and came up empty handed. Again tech support acknowleged the issue, reported no fix at this time, will be solved by the end of the month (sensing a theme here)
4. The charging port. The same moron that set the key timeout must have decided to put the port on top. I use my phone in my vehicle ALOT and also have to charge it in my vehicle ALOT. I very often have to talk on the phone while the phone is charging. I cannot do that since the charging port is on top. I know some are going to say just use a bluetooth headset. I would do just that but the Fascinate refused to pair with the only headset I had with me.
5. Talking on the phone. While call quality was clear and volume was fine both through the ear piece and speaker phone the phone would get very hot after only about 10 minutes use. Its would get hot enough that I would have to end the call to let it cool down. It did not get hot at any other time other then when in a call. Any others experience this?
6. The screen. The screen is very good. It worked very well in all situations. It is easily the best screen I have ever used in direct sunlight.
The contrast ratio is staggering. I will test it directly agaisnt the Droid X and Incredible and will report back with my findings.
7. Signal strength. Samsung phones are known for week atennas and the Fascinate is no different. While I did not drop any calls I did have an occasional call be very broken up. It would generally report 2 bars in good signal areas where the Droid X would have 4. In areas with weak signal the Droid X would still work fine but Fascinate would not. I am generally in good cell areas so I do not think this will really be an issue for me but thought it prudent to share.
8. Battery life seems decent. I did use it heavily today and the battery lasted about 12 hours before needing a charge while my Droid X usually lasts about 18 hours before needing a charge. I think it should get a bit better after a few charging cycles and as long as it gets at least 12 hours its a none issue for me.
So thats it so far. Although I am disapponted with it so far I really really want to like this device. Its multimedia capabilities are second to non and I look forward to using them over the weekend. I will be comparing camera's, camcorder's, music players, and video playback over the weekend and I think its going to be very nice. The multimedia capabilities on this phone are so good its almost as if the put all the hard work into them as opposed to the things I mentioned above.
No matter what I will be holding onto this device until the end of September to see if the firmware fixes the issues I am having so if you have any questions I will be happy to answer them