Fascinate pre-order and Froyo

[substring]

I went to the local Best Buy this evening and talked to the sales people there. They are taking pre-order of the Fascinate right now. With 2-year contract, it is going to be $199. Unlike the Verizon store, there is no need to do mail-in rebate which is a big plus. If I order now, the phone will be at the store at launch day.

Also, the Best Buy folks told me Froyo will be available for the Fascinate later this month and it will be OTA.

They told me the GPS issue is not fixed yet, but will be fixed by the OTA upgrade. It affects some app but not all. Google Navigation will be affected. But if I continue to use VZ Navigator which I am currently subscribing, it will be fine.

They showed me the Samsung Captivate which shares the same screen and interface. The screen is gorgeous! And it is very responsive. I watched a short video and it looks fantastic!!!

My NE2 is not up until October. I am seriously thinking of forego that $100 discount and pre-order this phone.

Now, I have one question for the Android expert here. I want to find out if I can get all the same app that I have on my BlackBerry for the Fascinate? Is it possible for me to browse the Android Marketplace without an Android phone? Can I access it through my laptop just to check?

 

[Darkhan]

I use the GPS on my X a lot, this is almost a deal breaker for me until it gets fixed. Guess I better decide fast.

 

[Don S]

I went to the local Best Buy this evening and talked to the sales people there.....

They told me the GPS issue is not fixed yet, but will be fixed by the OTA upgrade. It affects some app but not all. Google Navigation will be affected. But if I continue to use VZ Navigator which I am currently subscribing, it will be fine.

...

LOL ! I hope you didn't actually put any faith in the BB employees comments. We will see when the reviews are out, but it is very, very unlikely that the above BB statement is correct

 

[substring]

LOL ! I hope you didn't actually put any faith in the BB employees comments. We will see when the reviews are out, but it is very, very unlikely that the above BB statement is correct

It does not really matter to me whether this is true or not. I am just passing on what I heard.

If the GPS works, that's great. If it does not, at least I know there is a fix available out there that I can download if I have to. Regardless, I am planning to keep VZ Navigator as it is only $10 a month (much cheaper than StarBuck's coffee, ha). This app uses Assisted GPS, so it is not completely relying on the device's GPS. This solves my turn-by-turn navigation need.

I will find out if it is true or not next week.

 

[hanano17]

I think I read some hands on that mentioned the GPS working fine, can't remember...could have been the epic (which does work fine).

If your NE2 is in October, just wait. Unless you want to pay retail, which will be $499-$549. Or if you haven't upgraded at all this year, you can go to a verizon store and do an annual upgrade to get the discounted price (assuming your voice plan is 49.99 or higher, I believe thats the stipulation). Best Buy, that i'm aware of, only honors NE2 upgrades.

To answer your last question, yes you can. I believe App Brain is the popular choice to browse the market and, now, push apps to your phone.

 

[substring]

The NE2 only keep me from getting the additional $100 off, on top of the $199 discount price with 2 years contract. You don't have to be at the end of your 2 year contract to get this 2 year contract price. I have been a long time Verizon customer and they always let me do that. But of course, I cannot say the same for those who jump carrier every 6 months or so.

I don't really mind to pay the $199 and get the phone now instead of waiting for another month just to save $100.

Thanks for the tips on App Brain. I will check it out.

 

[substring]

The NE2 only keep me from getting the additional $100 off the $199 discount price with 2 years contract. You don't have to be at the end of your 2 year contract to get this 2 year contract price. I have been a long time Verizon customer and they always let me do that. But of course, I cannot say the same for those who jump carrier every 6 months or so.

I don't really mind to pay the $199 and get the phone now instead of waiting for another month just to save $100.

Thanks for the tips on App Brain. I will check it out.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

I went to the local Best Buy this evening and talked to the sales people there. They are taking pre-order of the Fascinate right now. With 2-year contract, it is going to be $199. Unlike the Verizon store, there is no need to do mail-in rebate which is a big plus. If I order now, the phone will be at the store at launch day.

Also, the Best Buy folks told me Froyo will be available for the Fascinate later this month and it will be OTA.

They told me the GPS issue is not fixed yet, but will be fixed by the OTA upgrade. It affects some app but not all. Google Navigation will be affected. But if I continue to use VZ Navigator which I am currently subscribing, it will be fine.

They showed me the Samsung Captivate which shares the same screen and interface. The screen is gorgeous! And it is very responsive. I watched a short video and it looks fantastic!!!

My NE2 is not up until October. I am seriously thinking of forego that $100 discount and pre-order this phone.

Now, I have one question for the Android expert here. I want to find out if I can get all the same app that I have on my BlackBerry for the Fascinate? Is it possible for me to browse the Android Marketplace without an Android phone? Can I access it through my laptop just to check?

I use the GPS on my X a lot, this is almost a deal breaker for me until it gets fixed. Guess I better decide fast.

I have heard from two sources who have been using the phone that the GPS works fine when compared side by side with their Droid X's.

Look at the comments section of DontHateTheGeek's hands on with the phone. Also ask sund0wn on the forums.

 

[hanano17]

The NE2 only keep me from getting the additional $100 off the $199 discount price with 2 years contract. You don't have to be at the end of your 2 year contract to get this 2 year contract price. I have been a long time Verizon customer and they always let me do that. But of course, I cannot say the same for those who jump carrier every 6 months or so.

Yeah, that is probably the annual upgrade. They allow customers to to upgrade once annually for the contract price, but you still have to renew your contract for 2 years. But only verizon themselves honor this, Best Buy won't do it. At least they wouldn't when I got the original Droid.

 

[sund0wn]

yeah, GPS worked fine for me. i had no issues whatsoever. also, i would like to know their source on FroYo dropping this month. i'm not saying they're wrong, but i havent heard anything. and, i dont think there is a way to get google search. i just set a shortcut to google.com. you can get google maps/navigation, though.
i just did a factory reset on my fascinate, and boxed it up and sent it back (i am getting something new next week). but, i liked the phone so much, i ordered one to replace my droid 2.
here's a pic of the one i just boxed up. gotta give it back to fedex on tuesday. :/

 

[Don S]

yeah, GPS worked fine for me. i had no issues whatsoever. also, i would like to know their source on FroYo dropping this month. i'm not saying they're wrong, but i havent heard anything. and, i dont think there is a way to get google search. i just set a shortcut to google.com. you can get google maps/navigation, though.
i just did a factory reset on my fascinate, and boxed it up and sent it back (i am getting something new next week). but, i liked the phone so much, i ordered one to replace my droid 2.
...

Great to hear about the GPS, thanks! Not liking the Bing lock, but doesn't sound like a deal-breaker for me. Thanks so much for your insights on this phone!

 

[Bearly]

Now, if only Case-Mate would make the Tough Case for this point. They don't seem like they will.

There's a customer comment thread (Twitter-style feed) where someone asked about the Fascinate and a rep marked the thread as "Declined." Bastards!

The Tough Case is the most legit case I have used and I love it on the Incredible.

 

[substring]

In my humble opinion, the best case for smartphones is the Otterbox (http://www.OtterBox.com). My tennis coach has an Otterbox Defender for his iPhone and it looks very cool while protecting the phone well.

I really wish the Otterbox will make one for the Fascinate.

 

[EliC]

They told me the GPS issue is not fixed yet, but will be fixed by the OTA upgrade. It affects some app but not all. Google Navigation will be affected. But if I continue to use VZ Navigator which I am currently subscribing, it will be fine.

I had some hands on time with a Fascinate and can confirm on the unit I had that GPS was broken. It was slow and only got the 60 meter lock, which was actually off by a mile, literally. This was in Google Maps.

BTW, regarding VZ Nav, the VZW employee told me it would be no charge on the Fascinate. Personally I would be very surprised if this is correct, but we will see.

 

[KB3MMX]

In my humble opinion, the best case for smartphones is the Otterbox (http://www.OtterBox.com). My tennis coach has an Otterbox Defender for his iPhone and it looks very cool while protecting the phone well.

I really wish the Otterbox will make one for the Fascinate.

The Otterbox is good protection but IMHO it makes the phone look like a super fugly 1980's electronic device, my god its huge !!

 

[substring]

The Otterbox is good protection but IMHO it makes the phone look like a super fugly 1980's electronic device, my god its huge !!

Ha ha, I don't know because 1980 is way before my time.

Please check out this video and tell me if it looks like a 1980 electronic device. I am not going to use the belt clip as it does not match my clothes, but I like the fact that it can be used as a kick stand like the EVO.
YouTube - OtterBox Defender Series? for iPhone 4

 

[droid_head]

hope the otterbox is water proof. all those layers are rediculous. looks like a modern brick phone.

 

[Bearly]

hope the otterbox is water proof. all those layers are rediculous. looks like a modern brick phone.

I doubt OB will make a case for the Fascinate; not enough publicity = not enough anticipated demand = not enough predicated sales = no reason to make a case!



But, for the MONEY, Case-Mate Tough Case is the best case with the best protection.

 

[substring]

I doubt OB will make a case for the Fascinate; not enough publicity = not enough anticipated demand = not enough predicated sales = no reason to make a case!



But, for the MONEY, Case-Mate Tough Case is the best case with the best protection.

I think the chance of either Otterbox or Case-Mate to make one for the Fascinate is equally slim. Both vendors have a case for the Nexus One, but neither one of them has made any case for any Galaxy S variants. So it is a fair assumption that these 2 vendors will not make a case for the Fascinate.

I have not seen the Case-Mate case, so I cannot comment on it. But I have seen the Otterbox case and I know it is high quality. I am a firm believer of "you get exactly what you pay for", and the market dictates the price. If someone is charging more than the true value of the product, the product will not last long and the price will drop. Since so many people are willing to pay the $40, $50 for the Otterbox Defender, it has to worth the price.

Anyway, we probably are not going to see any one of these vendors to come out with a case for the Fascinate. It was just a wishful thinking.

Correction: I did not see any case for the Galaxy S variants on the case-mate web site. But I just saw a youtube video of a case-mate case for the Vibrant. But I did not see anything for Captivate. So their support is selective and I wonder why? Why just the Vibrant and not other Galaxy S variants?

 

[Bearly]

I think the chance of either Otterbox or Case-Mate to make one for the Fascinate is equally slim. Both vendors have a case for the Nexus One, but neither one of them has made any case for any Galaxy S variants. So it is a fair assumption that these 2 vendors will not make a case for the Fascinate.

I have not seen the Case-Mate case, so I cannot comment on it. But I have seen the Otterbox case and I know it is high quality. I am a firm believer of "you get exactly what you pay for", and the market dictates the price. If someone is charging more than the true value of the product, the product will not last long and the price will drop. Since so many people are willing to pay the $40, $50 for the Otterbox Defender, it has to worth the price.

Anyway, we probably are not going to see any one of these vendors to come out with a case for the Fascinate. It was just a wishful thinking.


Correction: I did not see any case for the Galaxy S variants on the case-mate web site. But I just saw a youtube video of a case-mate case for the Vibrant. But I did not see anything for Captivate. So their support is selective and I wonder why? Why just the Vibrant and not other Galaxy S variants?

The Vibrant is probably easier to make a case for given its shape - as a function of the % deviation from the international Galaxy S chassis - versus the Captivate which has a totally different case/housing.

I think the OB Defender series is fantastic but I don't think it's worth the money given the marginal improvement in protection over the Tough Case.

For instance, I got my Tough Case for $21 with shipping included (!) and the OB Defender case for the Incredible looks to be about $50. I don't think the OB Defender case is 2.5x the protection (correlating with 2.5x the price) despite having clearly high build quality.

And with respect to the "true value" of a product dictated by the market, that's a very one-dimensional way of looking at it (no offense), considering there are historical examples of how the market can be manipulated to affect prices. But that discussion doesn't belong here