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has anyone gotten it yet?
- Thread starter nifer
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- samsung stratosphere
wewantutopia
Newbie
I just went into my local VZW store and the girl looked at me like I have 2 heads when I asked if they have the Stratosphere...
AmazonWireless has it on back order too, I wonder what that means.
AmazonWireless has it on back order too, I wonder what that means.
I saw a Stratosphere today at my local VerizonWireless store. Liked it. Am considering it, or a Droid 3 since I love my slide-out keyboard on my (very old) Droid. The only problem is it had a bad sim card in it, so it wasn't booting. We're supposed to upgrade this weekend, but since the iphones my kids want won't ship until the end of the month, I don't feel I HAVE to order the phones on Sunday when my contract is up. I hope to go back to the store and see the phone in working order.
It looked nice...the keyboard keys are slightly smaller than the Droid3. It's larger than my Droid. It's probably what I'll go with when I can see it in action.
It looked nice...the keyboard keys are slightly smaller than the Droid3. It's larger than my Droid. It's probably what I'll go with when I can see it in action.
I was at the verizon store yesterday at 9:00am sharp. I figured since they were expecting a line around the block for the iPhone, I should get there early for the Stratosphere since it's so much better. Okay, I didn't really think that. I've become resigned to the poor reality that I'm one of just a few people really excited about this phone.
Anyway, when I asked for the Stratosphere, the manager did look a little confused, but not because she didn't know what it was - I think she honestly didn't expect anyone to buy it. It was setup on display, but not yet labeled with a name or price. Anyway, I played around with it and confirmed that it worked almost identically to the Droid Charge which I had checked out a few days earlier. That was good enough for me.
It took like an hour to buy the phone - we eventually figured out that it wouldn't go through the system because the cashier was trying to scan a regular SIM card (or mini? whatever it is), instead of the micro SIM that the Stratosphere uses. They apologized for the delay, saying that this is the first phone they have that uses it and hadn't realized that was the problem (the error message their system gave wasn't very helpful).
Anyway, I'm completely enamored with the phone. Would I like to have a dual core processor and at least 1 GB of memory? Sure. Would I like an 8 MP camera? Yeah. Would I like true HD video recording? Of course not - why would I want to record HD video on my phone? That's ridiculous. But all of that stuff is secondary. The phone runs very smoothly and very fast with the processor and memory allotted. The camera is light-years better than the one on my OG Droid, the click to focus is a nice touch and it's much faster to snap a picture. If I want better definition, I'll use an actual camera. Oh, almost forgot - the 4GB SD card is also a negative, but I just yanked the 16GB one out of my Droid. Even if you don't already have a bigger SD card, they're not that expensive to just buy one.
The big thing is - the keyboard is really nice. At least compared to the flat membrane on the Droid, which I know has been improved in more recent models. The keys are raised a decent amount, although because of its width it can be a little hard to press letters in the center. The only real complaint is that the upper portion of the snap-on protective case makes the numbers a little hard to press. It's not impossible, but if you have fat fingers, you might have trouble with it. It's always an option to not use the case or only use the bottom half that really protects the phone.
The screen is way more vivid and sharp-looking than the Droid 3 - I do not like whatever the technology is that Motorola is using for displays. Super AMOLED is great. The interface is nice too. I don't know how much of it is a factor of the new Android version (god only knows what version I have on my old Droid) and how much is Samsung, but it's nearly identical to the Charge if you're at all familiar with that.
4G LTE is FAST. I've turned off wifi because I have unlimited data and 4G seems to me to be as fast or faster than wifi. Wow!
All in all, I love this phone. I would have liked higher specs, but everything considered it is closer to what I want than anything else on the market.
Anyway, when I asked for the Stratosphere, the manager did look a little confused, but not because she didn't know what it was - I think she honestly didn't expect anyone to buy it. It was setup on display, but not yet labeled with a name or price. Anyway, I played around with it and confirmed that it worked almost identically to the Droid Charge which I had checked out a few days earlier. That was good enough for me.
It took like an hour to buy the phone - we eventually figured out that it wouldn't go through the system because the cashier was trying to scan a regular SIM card (or mini? whatever it is), instead of the micro SIM that the Stratosphere uses. They apologized for the delay, saying that this is the first phone they have that uses it and hadn't realized that was the problem (the error message their system gave wasn't very helpful).
Anyway, I'm completely enamored with the phone. Would I like to have a dual core processor and at least 1 GB of memory? Sure. Would I like an 8 MP camera? Yeah. Would I like true HD video recording? Of course not - why would I want to record HD video on my phone? That's ridiculous. But all of that stuff is secondary. The phone runs very smoothly and very fast with the processor and memory allotted. The camera is light-years better than the one on my OG Droid, the click to focus is a nice touch and it's much faster to snap a picture. If I want better definition, I'll use an actual camera. Oh, almost forgot - the 4GB SD card is also a negative, but I just yanked the 16GB one out of my Droid. Even if you don't already have a bigger SD card, they're not that expensive to just buy one.
The big thing is - the keyboard is really nice. At least compared to the flat membrane on the Droid, which I know has been improved in more recent models. The keys are raised a decent amount, although because of its width it can be a little hard to press letters in the center. The only real complaint is that the upper portion of the snap-on protective case makes the numbers a little hard to press. It's not impossible, but if you have fat fingers, you might have trouble with it. It's always an option to not use the case or only use the bottom half that really protects the phone.
The screen is way more vivid and sharp-looking than the Droid 3 - I do not like whatever the technology is that Motorola is using for displays. Super AMOLED is great. The interface is nice too. I don't know how much of it is a factor of the new Android version (god only knows what version I have on my old Droid) and how much is Samsung, but it's nearly identical to the Charge if you're at all familiar with that.
4G LTE is FAST. I've turned off wifi because I have unlimited data and 4G seems to me to be as fast or faster than wifi. Wow!
All in all, I love this phone. I would have liked higher specs, but everything considered it is closer to what I want than anything else on the market.
KnightCrusader
Member
I have it! Spent two and a half hours at a VZW corporate store last night to get it activated (long story), but it has been worth the wait!
I don't care what other haters say about it having the normal 1Ghz Hummingbird w/ 512MB RAM in it, cause this baby flies. The sales rep even mentioned that it was more responsive than the Bionic right out of the box. I found that hard to believe, but then again, I've never used a Bionic so I wouldn't know.
The keyboard... is wonderful. It is one of the most comfortable phone keyboards I've used. The keys are slightly raised and nicely spaced, and they give you a real tactile feel when you press them, so you know when you typed the letter successfully. It sort of reminds me of the old IBM keyboards that click and how you felt when the key threshold was made. I am not sure if this keyboard tops the one Touch Pro 2, but it sure beats the Droid 1 and Droid 2 hands down (Never tried a D3 one).
Until a killer app or game comes out that needs two cores just to run, or a GB of RAM to eat up, I think this phone will be a very good, long-lasting phone. I still have my old Samsing i760 slider w/ Windows Mobile 6.1, and its about 4 years old and skill kicking. Samsung makes good, long-lasting hardware.
I hope this thing gets some momentum in the dev area cause I would really like to see CyanogenMod on this thing. I've seen what it can do on the Captivate.
I don't care what other haters say about it having the normal 1Ghz Hummingbird w/ 512MB RAM in it, cause this baby flies. The sales rep even mentioned that it was more responsive than the Bionic right out of the box. I found that hard to believe, but then again, I've never used a Bionic so I wouldn't know.
The keyboard... is wonderful. It is one of the most comfortable phone keyboards I've used. The keys are slightly raised and nicely spaced, and they give you a real tactile feel when you press them, so you know when you typed the letter successfully. It sort of reminds me of the old IBM keyboards that click and how you felt when the key threshold was made. I am not sure if this keyboard tops the one Touch Pro 2, but it sure beats the Droid 1 and Droid 2 hands down (Never tried a D3 one).
Until a killer app or game comes out that needs two cores just to run, or a GB of RAM to eat up, I think this phone will be a very good, long-lasting phone. I still have my old Samsing i760 slider w/ Windows Mobile 6.1, and its about 4 years old and skill kicking. Samsung makes good, long-lasting hardware.
I hope this thing gets some momentum in the dev area cause I would really like to see CyanogenMod on this thing. I've seen what it can do on the Captivate.
KnightCrusader
Member
Yeah, I had almost the same reaction.
Yep, same thing happened with me. Before we started, I even specifically mentioned to the rep "Does this thing use the new MicroSIM card?" cause I had a feeling from reading the manual and she had no clue but said she'd check. The system kept erroring out and she had to get a manager and a tech to help, and it wasn't until I said to her "I don't think that SIM is gonna fit in that phone slot" while pointing at the slot on the phone did she finally understand what was going on.
EXACTLY! As I mentioned in my previous post, this thing will last awhile, at least until some app I have to have won't run on its hardware. But for now, its freakin awesome!
I am not using a case on mine so I haven't had that issue, but I agree with you completely on the keyboard.
Yeah, I had the Thunderbolt and I loved the 4G speed, but the 'bolt being the first smartphone I've ever had without a slider was killing me. One thing I will miss on the 'bolt, though, is the SVDO, which is awesome for me cause I only work in a 4G area - I live in a 3G area and SVDO lets me do data + voice at the same time in 3G. Oh well, I guess I can live with it until 4G expands to my town.
Next thing on the list - getting a microSIM adapter so I can swap that little thing into the 'bolt whenever I feel like doing some dev work.
Well, one of the reasons I needed to upgrade is that I dropped my Droid on the ground and both volume buttons broke off. And the general wear and tear from dropping it previously. (Although primarily because the Droid had gotten so slow as to be almost unuseable.) So I wanted to make sure and get a case so my Stratosphere will bounce better. The back of the phone feels so slippery, that when I try to slide it open without a case, I can just feel myself about to use both thumbs to fling it across the room.
As it is, the number buttons are still pressable, but if I'm not concentrating, my fingers will bounce off the case and hit the buttons below the numbers. I'm sure that will stop once I get used to it (and again, just taking the top half of the case off is always an option).
Oh, you raise a good point. I work close enough to Chicago that I get 4G, but I live in a pretty remote suburb - I haven't really tested if I get 4G out there because I had it on WiFi last night. I'll keep my fingers crossed. If not - well, it's not like I'm going to need 4G data very much of the time when I'm out in the suburbs and NOT at home to use the WiFi. Not planning to do much web surfing from my car...
Can you tell me what kind of case you got? Sounds like if I get a Stratosphere, that I would be wise to invest in a good case. Have gone through 2 cases on my current Droid.
First, I will say it's great compared to my original droid. That barely functioned any more. But I wonder if anyone is having the same problems that I am, or did I just get a bad phone. When I try to use Google Talk, with video, or a program called Tango, that has video calls, nothing happens. Google Talk doesn't even show up with video cameras as an option, so do I have a bum phone, or is everyone experiencing this problem with the software. Google Talk works by itself, just not the video calling. What is the point of the front facing camera if these are not working? I can take pictures or video with it, so I know it is there, and I like the phone otherwise. Anyone else used these yet and have any feedback. Otherwise I have to return the phone, and I have already put 4 hours into personalizing it. Thanks
wewantutopia
Newbie
What is the GPS like on this phone? Has Samsung got their act together in that regard?
I too wish that this phone was a dual core, had more RAM, and had a SAMOLED Plus screen, but I can't wait anymore. I'm still sporting a Samsung Saga! (love Android though have Android x86 running in Virtualbox for ~2 years and my wife has a Captivate...)
I want a phone with LTE and a Keyboard, preferably a Samsung (AMOLED screen and no locked bootloader). Those 2 requirements outweigh dual core.
And... Remote Chicago Suburbs FTW! (I'm in Woodstock, IL)
I too wish that this phone was a dual core, had more RAM, and had a SAMOLED Plus screen, but I can't wait anymore. I'm still sporting a Samsung Saga! (love Android though have Android x86 running in Virtualbox for ~2 years and my wife has a Captivate...)
I want a phone with LTE and a Keyboard, preferably a Samsung (AMOLED screen and no locked bootloader). Those 2 requirements outweigh dual core.
And... Remote Chicago Suburbs FTW! (I'm in Woodstock, IL)
M
Member 536573
Guest
I like this phone & probably would have gotten it when I upgraded to my current Samsung Droid Charge from my Samsung Rogue. I loved my Rogue ( still my favorite phone ever...really ), & this phone reminds me of it. I remebered saying when I had my Rogue only if it were 4G & had a keyboard. Folks that are upgrading right now just aren't going to go to this phone w/ the Bionic out now & the Prime coming out in a month. This phone was just launched at a bad time. It's a shame b/c it's a really nice phone. Verizon isn't even promoting this phone at all. It's just Bionic, Bionic, & more Bionic. Enjoy this phone for those that pick it up, I'm kind of jealous.
Ok guys is it just me or is this phone buggy? my phone seems to have worked for about an hour and a half i setup google and fb accounts on it, got my contacts settled, downloaded a handfull of apps (nothing out of the ordinary, google voice, google + etc) and GOSMS which i used on my thunderbolt with no issues.
now everytime i try to do ANYTHING it gets slow, than freezes, then drops 4G, than freezes again, about 3-4 minutes later screen goes black, and becomes totally unresponsive for the next 5 min or until i pull the battery. if i dont pull the battery the screen eventually turns back on, it says "no service" than searching for service, than jumps into 3G, than if im lucky back to 4G. i cant open ANY app (system app or downloaded) without it freezing up.
i figured it was defective, i exchanged it for a new device.... no dice. hour and a half now its doing the SAME thing. (note the 1st one did not have ANY apps downloaded...just what came on it...all apps downloaded on 2nd one)
Am i missing something?????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0JImexmNS0
now everytime i try to do ANYTHING it gets slow, than freezes, then drops 4G, than freezes again, about 3-4 minutes later screen goes black, and becomes totally unresponsive for the next 5 min or until i pull the battery. if i dont pull the battery the screen eventually turns back on, it says "no service" than searching for service, than jumps into 3G, than if im lucky back to 4G. i cant open ANY app (system app or downloaded) without it freezing up.
i figured it was defective, i exchanged it for a new device.... no dice. hour and a half now its doing the SAME thing. (note the 1st one did not have ANY apps downloaded...just what came on it...all apps downloaded on 2nd one)
Am i missing something?????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0JImexmNS0
I have been having many of the same issues, and every time I reboot the phone I get a force close with some background sync issue. Will they take it back in exchange for a new one or do I have to pay a "restocking fee?" Anyone having the problem I mentioned with video chatting? Looks like these are early adopter bugs that I hope will be worked out with an update. Do we report them to Samsung?
Oh dear, not good news for a new phone! As I said in a different post, my sister is thinking of exchanging her faulty D3 for the Stratosphere. We are heading out to Verizon shortly. Now I'm not sure if she should just get another D3 or not. Ugh.
Please keep us posted...I'm still waffling over what to do. My daughter is trying to talk me into the iPhone.
wewantutopia
Newbie
I bought it last night and so far I love it! I haven't been experiencing any problems and it is MUCH more responsive than my wife's Captivate (which is also a Galaxy S 1). I haven't had too much time to play with it but it definitely feels like a solid build (physically). And LTE is GREAT!
The best part... I got it last night for FREE at Radio Shack. Just renewed my contract with no changes so I get to keep my unlimited data!
The best part... I got it last night for FREE at Radio Shack. Just renewed my contract with no changes so I get to keep my unlimited data!
It looks like a nice phone, unfortunately the store never activated the display model so I couldn't play with it. It's very light compared to the D3, felt solid though.
My sister ended up keeping her D3, it seems to be behaving better after a factory reset. She still has a few days left on her 14 days so we will see.
If she ends up returning it though I think the Stratosphere is still a good option, provided the issues are addressed. I will be keeping an eye out for additional info here and around the interwebs...
My sister ended up keeping her D3, it seems to be behaving better after a factory reset. She still has a few days left on her 14 days so we will see.
If she ends up returning it though I think the Stratosphere is still a good option, provided the issues are addressed. I will be keeping an eye out for additional info here and around the interwebs...
I dunno. It just says "Verizon" and "Snap On Gel Cover" and "Fits/Para Stratosphere". It's $20 for a cheap piece of rubber, but that's what all of these stupid cases cost, so what are you going to do? I just need something to help it bounce instead of crack when I inevitably drop it. I kind of doubt there are many case options since I don't think the shape of it is exactly like anything else out there.
Oh, and also... I said that 4G was "as fast or faster than" my WiFi. Well, those of you who already have 4G were probably laughing at me, because I tested it and got 10 Mbps on 4G vs. 1 Mbps on WiFi. I hadn't really researched 4G before I bought this phone - I just knew that I probably didn't want to go 2 more years on old technology if I could help it. I hadn't realized that 10 megabits was not only possible but common on 4G. Wow!
To the person having lots of trouble - that sucks. I'm sorry to hear about that. I have had no trouble with my Stratosphere so far - hope you're able to get yours fixed.
dropped my poor d1 and killed it today 
so off to VZW i went to pick up the stratosphere. so far, i'm liking it... it'll just take some time to adjust to the size of the keyboard/keys (HUGE), the overall weight and shape (seems less 'solid' than the d1), and i already miss the LED notification light :-/ nothing will ever compare to the d1, but i think this is going to be a good replacement for right now.
so off to VZW i went to pick up the stratosphere. so far, i'm liking it... it'll just take some time to adjust to the size of the keyboard/keys (HUGE), the overall weight and shape (seems less 'solid' than the d1), and i already miss the LED notification light :-/ nothing will ever compare to the d1, but i think this is going to be a good replacement for right now.Thanks for the early reviews of the new Stratosphere. My wife has an OG Droid, prefers to have a hard keyboard, and is thinking of upgrading in the next couple months. I have a Thunderbolt, which works great for my usage patterns, but we are certainly aware of how quickly 4G LTE can run down a battery.
On paper it sounds like this phone could be a good fit for her. She mainly uses it for phone calls (imagine that), e-mail, web surfing, navigation, etc., so the fact that it isn't dual-core is fine. But it is important that it work well as a phone and that the battery life be better than what I get from my Thunderbolt. I can see where it could be with the bigger battery and smaller display, so we are hoping that is the case. Any early impressions on those aspects of this phone?
Thanks!
On paper it sounds like this phone could be a good fit for her. She mainly uses it for phone calls (imagine that), e-mail, web surfing, navigation, etc., so the fact that it isn't dual-core is fine. But it is important that it work well as a phone and that the battery life be better than what I get from my Thunderbolt. I can see where it could be with the bigger battery and smaller display, so we are hoping that is the case. Any early impressions on those aspects of this phone?
Thanks!
KnightCrusader
Member
GPS works great. Quick lock, very accurate, even inside my 2 story house.
Wow, the Samsung Saga... I almost forgot about that phone. I remember planning on moving to upgrade to it when I was still on my i760. Seems like forever ago.
Wow, that's crazy. Mine has been super smooth and I've loaded all my apps on it. Sounds like to me one of your apps is doing it, to be honest. Try doing a factory reset and run it without loading apps for a while, and see if that helps. If it does, load one app at a time until it starts back up again. That is what I would do. But yeah, if my Stratosphere did that, I'd be upset too.
Yeah, my both my best friend and my boss had the Captivate and were having serious locking up issues with it, so I recently put them both on CyanogenMod and they said its like a whole new phone. I hope us Stratosphere users will get the same love. I had CM7 on my Thunderbolt and I loved how smooth it was.
Yeah, the battery life so far on this phone has been vastly better than the TB. I can get by most of the day on one charge with a mix of 4G and 3G coverage. I haven't really been using it as much as the TB yet so I could be off.
I know I probably won't have 4G at the house - will the phone draw extra power searching for it, or will it switch to 3G on its own? (Which we DO have here at the house).
My daughter's Eris JUST quick working (well, her microphone, so she can't make calls). She's wanting the iPhone but they aren't shipping those until the 28th if I order over the phone, and they didn't have any in the store she went in to. That Eris was a piece of junk! This was her second one...warranty on that replacement expired a week ago. Guess the microphone just wanted to play games with us!
asmallchild
Member
Just ordered, expect arrival via mail tomorrow or Tuesday, excited!
to anyone who was worried by my video/post.... i figured it out.
GoSMS (a stock messaging app replacement) was causing the issues. (i used it on my thunderbolt with no problem) phone is running completely smooth still a few times it drops data/LTE completely for no reason but no freezing or reboots now that gosms is gone. guess its just not built for 2.3.5
GoSMS (a stock messaging app replacement) was causing the issues. (i used it on my thunderbolt with no problem) phone is running completely smooth still a few times it drops data/LTE completely for no reason but no freezing or reboots now that gosms is gone. guess its just not built for 2.3.5