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Are you fascinated by the Fascinate?

B

benfgsg

Newbie
Back in September I had to pick between the Droid 2 and the Fascinate and ended up going with the Droid 2. What are the redeeming qualities of the Samsung Fascinate? because my decision ultimately came down to the Droid 2 having a physical keyboard.
 
I love my Fascinate, it has FROYO on it and does basically everything I ask of it. I think it is just the right size to put in my pocket yet the screen is large enough to surf the web and reply in various forums. I do wish the internet access was faster but overall Iam pleased with it. I really cant see going to a larger phone cause then I feel I would be carrying a tablet in my pocket. For
me its just right.
 
After using an Ally for about a month, the selling feature for me with the Fascinate was NO physical keyboard.

The Ally had a physical keyboard, but I got really good with the virtual one, on a 2.8" screen. I had assumed (Correctly) the virtual keyboard is wonderful to use.
 
I wouldn't let the lack of a physical keyboard turn you away from this phone. It is a very nice phone and typing on it comes quick and easy. My wife hated touch screens for the reason of that she can never type on them has a Fascinate and loves it.
 
I would be "fascinated" by it if this would have been my first Android phone or if I would have an older Android 1.6 gen phone with slower hardware. I'm comparing it to my DX with Froyo, both soft/touch key smart phones. IMHO its a decent phone, very slick iphone-like form factor, relatively light, big enough screen, and rich display colors. I did stumble across a few limitations where DX has more setup details, but its just a difference between Moto's motoblur versus whatever Samsung is using.

In general, I think physical keyboard adds bulk and in my opinion could be annoying when you are using touch screen for most of the functions and than have to stop, slide the keyboard and start typing. Unless if you are using that other global Droid Pro that looks like BB.

Overall its a great phone. We actually got it for free from VZW, once they dropped the price from $149 to $99 recently, than added $50 after renewing contract, and gave us another $50 credit after threatening to switch to another carrier :) BTW, they also gave me a break on my unlimited $30 plan, giving me and my wife $15 unlimited data plan each for a year. The lesson: give it a try, threaten them going to another carrier, and you can save some money ;)
 
I'll never buy Samsung again, Fascinate is garbage. Best thing is with 2.2 my wifes Thunderbolt has better battery life.
 
i started out with the eris, and then the incredible, now the fascinate for the last 4 or 5 months. definitely better than the eris (obviously) but nowhere near the incredible. I think the fascinate is garbage. its REALLY slow, easily as slow as the eris was, which is sad, especially in a high-end phone. I've had multiple issues, such as the phone muting itself, rebooting, problems with the messaging app, a signal issue, etc. the body of the phone looks good at first, but the back is very prone to scratching. if my phone looks this scratched from normal wear (sitting in my pocket or on the counter) i can only imagine how it would look after the expected 2-year term. (which is ridiculous in it's own right-the 2 year upgrade period, i mean) and most of all let's not forget how long it took samsung to come around with 2.2. how embarassing..... this phone made me feel like i paid a high-end price for a low-end android.

i do however, LOVE the way touchwiz looks, especially the lock screen.

recently rooted and installed a custom rom, and it seems to be a little better so far. hoping to make my way back to HTC though.

i'll never buy another samsung phone....
 
i started out with the eris, and then the incredible, now the fascinate for the last 4 or 5 months. definitely better than the eris (obviously) but nowhere near the incredible. I think the fascinate is garbage. its REALLY slow, easily as slow as the eris was, which is sad, especially in a high-end phone. I've had multiple issues, such as the phone muting itself, rebooting, problems with the messaging app, a signal issue, etc. the body of the phone looks good at first, but the back is very prone to scratching. if my phone looks this scratched from normal wear (sitting in my pocket or on the counter) i can only imagine how it would look after the expected 2-year term. (which is ridiculous in it's own right-the 2 year upgrade period, i mean) and most of all let's not forget how long it took samsung to come around with 2.2. how embarassing..... this phone made me feel like i paid a high-end price for a low-end android.

i do however, LOVE the way touchwiz looks, especially the lock screen.

recently rooted and installed a custom rom, and it seems to be a little better so far. hoping to make my way back to HTC though.

i'll never buy another samsung phone....
 
I think part of the allure of the Droid line up to me was the anti-iphone campaigning of it. I'll admit that the iPhone is an amazing device that pretty much sets the standard, but I'm an apple hater. I like grapes and the Droids are like grapes. I don't particularly like how much the Galaxy phones look like the iPhone. I imagine a situation where someone is like "hey is that an iPhone?" and I meekly resond "no, it's a samsung phone".

I like how with my Droid 2, people are like "Is that a Droid?!" as I proudly acknowledge them with a nod or yeah.

I've had it where my Droid 2 has boot looped constantly and would run slowly. I hated it, but I found that it was caused by buggy apps I had installed (Doubletwist).

I published a blog post about the Samsung Fascinate at Benfgsg

Before anyone sends hate mail about me dissing the Fascinate, keep in mind that the inspiration of it was based on solely the name of the phone. After reading the responses, I have a new respect for the Samsung line up of phones :)
 
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