I would do it, especially coming from a non android phone. The fassy does have some problems, most of which are now fixed stock, but I would recommend rooting it. Getting a fassy and activating it will not affect your upgrade unless you get it from VZW. You can buy all the used phones you want outside of vzw and just activate them on your line.

 

Check it out... I've had the Fascinate for almost a year now, and aside from when vzw forced the Froyo update on my phone, I have had nothing other than incredible performance on my phone. You will not be disappointed with your purchase. We all know bloated stock vzw ROM's suck anyways, so this information should be disregarded. I am currently running MIUI 1.9.2 (Android 2.3.5) ROM, with Glitch's OC/UV kernel. I am running 1.6Ghz max stable with quadrant scores over 3000. Multi-touch test max at 10 recognized points of contact. IMO, this phone is keeping up with newer generation of phones for a fraction of the cost. Plus, there are a multitude of choices of ROMS, Kernels, Mods, etc. Your money will be well spent. Let me know if you need any links!

 

^^ I bought a used one as well, its fantastic so far. having a bit of a problem installing cm7 though.

 

I just bought a used Fascinate as well and will take you up on the link offer. I would like to have the most stable version of Android and a way to root so I can overclock and rid the phone of the Verizon blab. Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

I just moved from an Eris running CM7 to a stock 2.2 Fascinate. I really like the improved speed but there are some odd things that I've come across, like some videos I had will not open on the Fascinate. I had a 3GP file recorded from an EVO that worked fine on my Eris but will not open on the Fascinate. Also I had some .WAV files on my SD card that will not open on the Fascinate.

One thing's for sure, the screen quality blows away any other phone I've used and co-worker's iphones.

 

I wouldn't. Go with a used Droid Incredible if you can find one. The performance and reliability on the DI seems to be much better.

I've had my Fascinate for about a year now. The stock OS was slow and annoying, so I've been installing custom ROMS. I've gone through a few already, but I'm still having the occasional performance problem. Rumor has it that Samsung royally messed up when they developed the core file system, causing the issues.

If I were to do it over, I'd go with the Droid Incredible. Every person I ask says that it runs great out of the box. My next device will probably be an HTC... or a Motorola, depending on how much they've changed since Google bought them.

 

ha ha, no way.

I'll sell a used fascinate, 3 chargers and 2 batteries for it for $150 lol