Well Gizmodo seems to feel the same about this phone as..

[Mrdroid921]

Engadget.

Samsung Fascinate Lightning Review: When Greedy Carriers Ruin Decent Phones

 

[EliC]

They basically say the hate Bing. The solution is this phone needs to be rooted. If you don't plan to root, I would stay away from this phone.

 

[Mrdroid921]

Might get it just to be a back up to my Droid X. I just don't
think this phone is good for anymore, then to be a back up
(Unless you plan to root it) and I don't....

 

[santeli]

They basically say the hate Bing. The solution is this phone needs to be rooted. If you don't plan to root, I would stay away from this phone.

They definitely say that, but there was absolutely no love for TouchWiz nor the bloatware Verizon loads on the phone either.

Disappointing that the Giz review was dominated by software criticism, but I guess it's fair.

To your point, I wouldn't even consider this phone if I wasn't rooting. Bing would be a dealbreaker in the first place, but multiple reviews now cite TextWiz as being a mediocre if not outright bad piece of software.

Boo Verizon.

Now, assuming that rooting is the great equalizer as far as software goes (which isn't necessarily true I suppose), the differentiation on hardware between Fascinate and Droid X for me would be:

Things I care about, in order:

• Fascinate has a more vibrant, more saturated screen.
• Droid X has a larger screen
• By all accounts, the GPU in the Fascinate owns.
• Droid X has a notification light
• Droid X has a mini-HDMI out
• There is a possibility that the GPS thing is more than software (moves to #1 if verified)

Things I don't care about:

• Droid X has hard buttons as opposed to soft
• 8mp Droid X vs. 5mp Fascinate (reviews on photos varies, leaning Fascinate)
• Battery life is all over the place based on various reviews/builds/uses/etc/etc/etc//////slashie!

 

[howdy]

that is really weak (speaking of the review).. I heard you can remove Bing without rooting, but I'm not sure. Either way you can root and remove Bing and all of the "crapware". btw all phones are loaded with "crapware". getting rid of bloatware is one of the major advantages of rooting.

I'm not sure why people are against rooting, but it may not be the phone for people that aren't going to root. I agree with that.

I hate the hard buttons on the droid x myself. Maybe if they were good quality I could deal with it, but I definitely prefer the soft buttons.

 

[Don S]

You might remember Gizmodo utterly trashed the Droid X with a review as well. So I am not sure what they actually like over there, other than iPhones.

 

[g-android10]

if Bing is going to be a big deal now then what will everyone do assuming future Verizon Android phones will have it as the default?

 

[EmOtaku]

Just seems to me to be yet another review that practically ignores the hardware and general performance of the phone to harp on the software skin and in this case the evil bing replacement.

Don't get me wrong, it does grind my gears to think Verizon and MS took away the choice to use a Google search widget...at least as it seems so far. But beyond the principles that are offended, how does it really affect the regular usage of the phone by a regular user? That's what I'd like to know and is what get's glossed over in a lot of these reviews and comments.

We already know that you can get Google Maps/Nav from the market and it works well. You can change VZ Navigator from the default (albeit with some effort in the menus, but it's doable and I'd imagine not arcane, just a bit of effort). It's unclear from reviews so far if you can get the Google search app from the marketplace and replace it, some say no, some say maybe. Regardless, you can still search Google from within the browser, which in all honesty, is what a lot of people might normally do anyways.

My only concern is if the switch from Google to Bing search negatively affects any integrated features native to AndroidOS. But that never really get's hit upon in any of these reviews. It starts with "OMG they stuck Bing...FAIL" throws in a little "OMG Touchwiz looks like an iOS knockoff...FAIL" and then treads light on the actual details of how the phone performs.

I've used a friend's Captivate, and found Touchwiz to be perfectly usable. I spent many hours over a week playing with the thing doing all sorts of stuff and didn't notice any notable lag. Sure, I'd rather have stock android and fast updates, but OS skins are the standard in Android land right now, not the exception. Touchwiz may not be the best, but I hardly see it as a default deal breaker, or if it is, just don't consider a Samsung. But as a professional reviewer, review the actual device. I mean, you know the Samsung phone is gonna have it, review the phone and the performance, don't just harp on the fact is has the skin you already knew it would. You don't fail an HTC phone simply because it has Sense do you, or a Moto phone for having some sort of blur? Yea, you may not like it, but if you're bothering to review it, review how it works.

All the harping on "bloatware" seems a bit much too. From what I've read we're talking about maybe a handful of apps, a lot of these reviews make it seem like you have 2 or 3 screens full of random stuff.

I'm not sold on this phone yet myself, but I am going to give it an open minded chance to convince me. Just seems a lot of these reviews and commenters dismiss it out of hand.

Just my 2 cents

 

[TheXFactor]

Just seems to me to be yet another review that practically ignores the hardware and general performance of the phone to harp on the software skin and in this case the evil bing replacement.

Don't get me wrong, it does grind my gears to think Verizon and MS took away the choice to use a Google search widget...at least as it seems so far. But beyond the principles that are offended, how does it really affect the regular usage of the phone by a regular user? That's what I'd like to know and is what get's glossed over in a lot of these reviews and comments.

We already know that you can get Google Maps/Nav from the market and it works well. You can change VZ Navigator from the default (albeit with some effort in the menus, but it's doable and I'd imagine not arcane, just a bit of effort). It's unclear from reviews so far if you can get the Google search app from the marketplace and replace it, some say no, some say maybe. Regardless, you can still search Google from within the browser, which in all honesty is what a lot of people might normally do anyways.

My only concern is if the switch from Google to Bing search negatively affects any integrated features native to AndroidOS. But that never really get's hit upon in any of these reviews. It starts with "OMG they stuck Bing...FAIL" throws in a little "OMG Touchwiz looks like an iOS knockoff...FAIL" and then treads light on the details.

I've used a friend's Captivate, and found Touchwiz to be perfectly usable. I spent many hours over a week playing with the thing doing all sorts of stuff and didn't notice any notable lag. Sure, I'd rather have stock android and fast updates, but OS skins is the standard in Android land right now, not the exception. Touchwiz may not be the best, but I hardly see it as a default deal breaker. I mean, you know the Samsung phone is gonna have it, review the phone and the performance. You don't fail an HTC phone simply because it has Sense do you?

All the harping on "bloatware" seems a bit much too. From what I've read we're talking about maybe a handful of apps, a lot of these reviews make it seem like you have 2 or 3 screens full of random stuff.

I'm not sold on this phone yet myself, but I am going to give it an open minded chance to convince me. Just seems a lot of these reviews and commenters dismiss it out of hand.

Just my 2 cents

Ok, so we will be patiently waiting for your review once you get the phone.

 

[Mrdroid921]

The skin is kind of a iOS rip off, and I am not even a Apple fanboy.
I mean, the way you move apps to a new screen, delete them,
put them in the dock, etc etc.....Very iOS, and don't deny it..

 

[EmOtaku]

Ha, and I will definitely post one after I've had a chance to really put it through it's paces.

If I end up finding the Bing integration or Touchwiz software to be a total toss-up that I can't stand, I'll definitely admit to it and report my exchange for a Droid X, which I am still very tempted by

Oh, and I'm not denying that Touchwiz is an obvious attempt at copying the iOS look and feel. I just don't see why it necessarily has to be an instant deal breaker just for the aesthetics. I mean, if you just plain hate the colors and such I guess, but at least see if it works too if you're reviewing it for others.

 

[TheXFactor]

Ha, and I will definitely post one after I've had a chance to really put it through it's paces.

If I end up finding the Bing integration or Touchwiz software to be a total toss-up that I can't stand, I'll definitely admit to it and report my exchange for a Droid X, which I am still very tempted by

Oh, and I'm not denying that Touchwiz is an obvious attempt at copying the iOS look and feel. I just don't see why it necessarily has to be an instant deal breaker just for the aesthetics. I mean, if you just plain hate the colors and such I guess, but at least see if it works too if you're reviewing it for others.

That would be appreciated. I have the X. Love it. Wanted to also have the F. But I will sit on the sidelines for this one.

 

[Mrdroid921]

That would be appreciated. I have the X. Love it. Wanted to also have the F. But I will sit on the sidelines for this one.

+1!

 

[ckochinsky125]

Might get it just to be a back up to my Droid X. I just don't
think this phone is good for anymore, then to be a back up
(Unless you plan to root it) and I don't....

then why waste your money or an upgrade buying it?

 

[Mrdroid921]

then why waste your money or an upgrade buying it?

1. Because it wouldn't be bad as a backup phone

&

2. Because I can...


BTW, I don't think it would be a waste. The phone aside from it's downfalls,
is still a power house, and I would still like to have it..

 

[Billy_617]

i know everyone here mainly hates ios & apple .. but i switch to android from the iphone .. so id feel kinda at home with the touchwiz ; ill probly root & get rid of it. BUT its not that bad.. imo it looks decent

 

[Vihzel]

I'd have to warn you to not really take anything from Gizmodo. They're not a respectable tech site.

 

[jroc]

Yea they slammed the hell outta the X cuz of the software too. Its amazing how ppl just overlook the hardware. That cant be replaced, software can.

 

[Eazail70x7]

You might remember Gizmodo utterly trashed the Droid X with a review as well. So I am not sure what they actually like over there, other than iPhones.

Possibly the Evo and Epic?