Samsung Fascinate Deliberation

[Nicgb]

So after sadly breaking my incredible, I purchased the fascinate having seen the impressive specs. It hasn't exactly lived up to its name and I am now considering my options. I have 3 weeks left until my 30 days are up but i was considering trading it for the droid x (don't think i could downsize back to the incredible screen).

My other thought was perhaps buying a crappy phone and holding out until the next generation of droid phones built for android 3.0 come out, perhaps the galaxy S2 (Samsung Galaxy S2 has a 2 GHz CPU, 720p screen)

I was hoping for some advice as I am newer to the android community, how likely do you think the release of a much more advanced phone by the end of 2010 or at least early Q1 is? I don't really have the means to purchase a new phone after this upgrade is used so i don't want to regret not waiting for the next generation in two months.

 

[Frisco]

Welcome to Android Forums, nicgb.

It might be easier to help you with your options if we knew what your specific concerns are about the Fascinate.

Could you post some detail about that? Perhaps it is configuration related and you don't have to get rid of it after all.

 

[Gitykins]

Install Voodoo or something.

If you want a zippy phone with a great screen, great specs, and dev support, keep the Fascinate. If you want a phone with good call quality, good reception, and quick when doing anything on a network, get a Droid X.

 

[Nicgb]

Welcome to Android Forums, nicgb.

It might be easier to help you with your options if we knew what your specific concerns are about the Fascinate.

Could you post some detail about that? Perhaps it is configuration related and you don't have to get rid of it after all.

Since getting the fascinate I've had repeated problems with freezing/lag when opening and closing applications and when unlocking the screen. After messing around with a few theme applications I realized most of them increase the freezing to unbearable amounts which is a shame considering I'm not too happy with the default UI. The call quality is also pretty bad, worse than my incredible or the dare I had before, I can usually hear my own voice. I'm probably going to try to get it replaced first and see if I just had a lemon but it seems a lot of fascinate users are having similar problems. I know rooting can take care of a lot of problems but I'm a little skeptical about potentially bricking it.

 

[Gitykins]

It's legitimately impossible to brick unless you do something totally unprovoked. And like I said, it doesn't have good call quality and it has pretty average reception. If that's your thing, then the Droid is for you.

 

[JJBetty]

I have no issues at all with my call quality. Not everyone does. I'd swap it out and see if you notice a difference. Sounds like you have a defective unit.

 

[ckochinsky125]

It's legitimately impossible to brick unless you do something totally unprovoked. And like I said, it doesn't have good call quality and it has pretty average reception. If that's your thing, then the Droid is for you.

Yeah i have no issues with call quality and get the same signal as i did with my droid and droid x

 

[MutantCheese]

My Fascinate is much better than my Incredible. At first I missed Sense UI, but after installing LauncherPro, all is right again.

 

[Wolfedude88]

I have no issues at all with my call quality. Not everyone does. I'd swap it out and see if you notice a difference. Sounds like you have a defective unit.

This is what is scaring be to buy one from ebay, what if I get one that has problems, I wont be able to swap it out.

 

[saps]

Since getting the fascinate I've had repeated problems with freezing/lag when opening and closing applications and when unlocking the screen. After messing around with a few theme applications I realized most of them increase the freezing to unbearable amounts which is a shame considering I'm not too happy with the default UI. The call quality is also pretty bad, worse than my incredible or the dare I had before, I can usually hear my own voice. I'm probably going to try to get it replaced first and see if I just had a lemon but it seems a lot of fascinate users are having similar problems. I know rooting can take care of a lot of problems but I'm a little skeptical about potentially bricking it.

A lot of these problems and issues could be alleviated if you rooted and installed the voodoo fix, your call if you want your cpu OC'd to 1.2Ghz or not. But this revision to the filesystem makes a significant difference to the performance and apparent speed of the device. There's a tad bit of work. You'll need root, CWM. But if you do a little research at xda you can be up and running in a short period of time. Like I said, read first, see if its something you wanna try and then go for it.

 

[rehpyc]

You can fix the lag, but you can't fix the poor call/reception quality. The phone is not only inferior to the droid x in these two areas, but there seems to be a significant number of defective units being sold. If you're experiencing poor reception or call quality (other say you sound like you're in a can or tunnel, or you can hear yourself when you talk), it's best to try and get the phone replaced. If the replacement does the same, then at that point decide what your best option is.

 

[Fynx]

I don't typically have an issue with the reception, but for the OP, run with it for a while, use up your 3 weeks, and then decide. I'm still on the fence and have another 2 weeks to go. Hopefully some new phones or news of one will come out to help us decide.