What exactly is the Infuse 4G? And do I have a defective phone?

[dlee1001]

I know that sounds like a boneheaded question, so let me clarify it.

Is this phone part of the Galaxy series or is it just something that mimics a Galaxy phone? If someone were to ask me if my phone is a Galaxy S2, I'd probably say it's a Galaxy S1.5. With nothing to verify that the Infuse is or is not part of the Galaxy series, I can't say with much confidence.

Some websites call this phone the Galaxy S Infuse 4G. But something about that name doesn't sound right, especially because of the way this phone was advertised. Heck, AT&T no longer even sells it.

This is my second Infuse. My first one had a premature power button failure and was replaced under warranty almost 4 months ago. This second one (which I found was a refurbished model) is no better. With the latest GB update, I rarely get a GPS signal (and if I do, it's not very reliable), and the phone overheats, freezes, and reboots, all too often. The battery life is terrible as well, draining excessively even when not in use. Wifi disconnects itself after a period of time, even if the Wifi sleep policy is set to Never.

Do any of you have the same problems? Do you think the Infuse is struggling in performance due to the limited RAM and now-inferior single core CPU? Why exactly was this phone made? I'm not trying to badmouth Samsung or AT&T; they did a really great job working together to sell this phone, liven up Android, and grab market share. I'm just curious about this phone.

My full upgrade eligibility is on 1/1/13 (are AT&T stores open on New Years Day?). For now I qualify for an early iPhone upgrade. What would happen if I walked into an AT&T Device Support Center and told them about all the problems I have with this phone as I mentioned above? Would they consider replacing it with a different Samsung phone (wishful thinking: the Galaxy S3)?

 

[electricpete]

"Do any of you have the same problems?"
Not me. I'm on stock ROM, Froyo, never went to GB. Rarely have a problem with my connection when using home wi-fi router. Connection is somewhat spotty when on the road using my data connection.

Battery tends to get hot if I'm doing things that make it hot (charging while doing other intensive activities like GPS or long video streaming), but certainly it's manageable.

With proper attention to settings, my battery drain is maybe 1%/hr while idle. Can hit 20-30% per hour when doing heavy duty stuff. All very manageable for me.

I think timing and marketing factors quickly drove Infuse into the rear view mirror. But I don't think it was related to any performance problems

 

[dlee1001]

"Do any of you have the same problems?"
Not me. I'm on stock ROM, Froyo, never went to GB. Rarely have a problem with my connection when using home wi-fi router. Connection is somewhat spotty when on the road using my data connection.

Battery tends to get hot if I'm doing things that make it hot (charging while doing other intensive activities like GPS or long video streaming), but certainly it's manageable.

With proper attention to settings, my battery drain is maybe 1%/hr while idle. Can hit 20-30% per hour when doing heavy duty stuff. All very manageable for me.

I think timing and marketing factors quickly drove Infuse into the rear view mirror. But I don't think it was related to any performance problems

Let me cite two examples where the Infuse is never listed in Internet articles:

Android 4.0 upgrade list: Is your device getting Ice Cream Sandwich? | Computerworld Blogs, and Samsung Galaxy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The first site does not even list the Infuse in the "Iffy" section. The Wikipedia article does not list the Infuse in its Galaxy series article. See for yourself.

Where does that put this phone?

My phone gets extremely hot when I browse the Internet. I use Dolphin HD. When browsing while plugged in, the battery temperature goes to a maximum of 134°F; when unplugged, it's still hot, about 113°. The phone itself would obviously be extremely hot too. Not to mention daily freezes that require reboots, sometimes occurring up to 3 times a day. I'm using the official Gingerbread update that AT&T released in April.

Needless to say, I'm waiting for my upgrade date so I can ditch this phone and get the Galaxy S3. Until then, I have to put up with this phone.

I'd appreciate any suggestions as to how I can reduce the crazy overheating issues.

 

[electricpete]

My battery doesn't get that hot.

Attached is record (from battery monitor widget - free) of my activities this afternoon when I have been home, spending quite a bit of time on my phone.

On the left is battery temperature vs time. Never got above 105.

On the right is current over the same period of time. Some periods of heavy usage 1000 milliamps plus at the left/center of the time period, and charging at the end. Also the intermittent yellow line at the bottom is when my screen was on.

For the three battery temperature spikes on left side of screen, one thing is evident is that the phone was still increasing in temperature when I stopped doing whatever I was doing. So battery temperature depends of course not just on what you're doing but how long you're doing it.

To manage your battery temperature in a safer range (my preference is below 110F), I would say you need to do a little less or give your phone a rest from those activities when it gets so hot.

I think you already know the things that make your phone get hot. Charging, GPS. Also if you look at the other thread at things that use power are roughly the same things that make your phone heat up. And doing many at the same time just makes it worse.

Please don't set your display on full brightness. At 30% you can see perfectly well indoors and the current is less than half which means the heating is less than 1/4 (heating power goes as I^2*R where I is current).

I have different behavior on my phone in terms of temperatures and I can't say whether it's due to differences in the phone or differences in the way it is used.

As far as why you are having other issues like forced-close, I think with temperatures as high as you mentioned that may be the cause of those problems.

 

[electricpete]

Is this phone part of the Galaxy series or is it just something that mimics a Galaxy phone? If someone were to ask me if my phone is a Galaxy S2, I'd probably say it's a Galaxy S1.5. With nothing to verify that the Infuse is or is not part of the Galaxy series, I can't say with much confidence.

I'm not sure it makes much difference for your level of satisfaction with the phone, but fwiw, xda developers consider this part of the Galaxy S family (they ought to know)

XDA-Samsung Table

Samsung Galaxy S series summary

I presume (not positive) that Galaxy S series phones predate the SII family, which predate SIII family.

 

[ace064]

Is the Samsung Infuse 4 G really 4 G capable? An AT&T store employee told me that the Infuse is really not 4 G capable. Is this true?

 

[togethersjg]

There are no phones that operate at the 4G speeds established by the ITU any where in the world. There are however a bazillion phones that the marketing gurus at both the carriers and the handset manufactures have proclaimed to be 4G capable. In this instance it simply means operating at speeds higher than the 3G ITU standard. The Infuse is one of these. Its radios operate at the HPSA+ standard which you can think of as 3.5G. In addition, there is the LTE standard, which also is not 4G, but you can think of it as 3.75G. The last time I looked, the initial deployment of the 4G ITU standard by the carriers was projected to occur in the 2016-2017 timeframe.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

That's funny. The Infuse is 4G capable, but in most parts of the country, AT&T's network is not.

 

[togethersjg]

That's funny. The Infuse is 4G capable, but in most parts of the country, AT&T's network is not.

I know I shouldn't be wasting my time and I apoligize for my weakness but ...................in the marketing world reality you got it exactly right; in the standards world, not so much.

 

[TheBlackWidow]

How Can I update my ICS into any other new Android software?