Charge? Thunderbolt? or even commando?

[katoom400]

Now that the Charge is available I'm hoping to get some good feedback.

I'm thinking about the charge or the thunderboldt to replace my D1, the thunderbolt is cheaper, however the charge has a better screen.

the draw for me from the d1 is the screen, and hopefully faster processing (once rooted with new file system) also 32gb...although the memory chip is faster in the thunderbolt than the charge...I don't know how much of a difference that makes.

the camera seems really good in the charge, which is a huge draw for me from the crappy D1 cammera

4g really doesn't matter to me since I'm not in area designated to get it within the next year and I'll probably be on to another phone by then.

also the casio commando...while very down on specs is a very cool 3g phone for someone who is outdoors alot......I just don't know if I can deal with the poor camera

 

[8-Bit-Soldier]

honestly I'd go with the Thunderbolt. It has a much bigger dev community than the Charge ever will, plus it has faster RAM and a beefier processor. If you can tweak the battery settings then it will last you much longer than the battery normally would.

 

[Pretkomel]

Charge? No way.

 

[moondrius]

The Charge is a great device. I could not get past HTCs quality control so I ended up selling my Thunderbolt. I have no regrets about buying the Charge.

 

[Heelpir8]

Sounds to me like the HTC Droid Incredible 2 would be the ideal phone for you. 3g only, great battery life, same internals as the Thunderbolt minus the 4g and a smaller form factor.

 

[tmaxey1]

I would recommend going to a real verizon store and spending much time with both. I will warn you though...if you are into the screen thing then dont hold the charge next to the thunderbolt. I just did this at my local verizon store. It will make you fall in love with super amoled plus tech.
You will find many htc fans that will bash the charge. Also many phone spec nerds that will bash charge because its not the galaxy 2. Make up your own mind about what's right for you. If you like camera, screen, and battery life then the charge has much to offer. Its not a perfect spec sheet phone. But walk across the mall and play with the Atrix and then tell me spec sheets matter. Based on resolution, dual core ect the Atrix was the love child of every phone nerd based on spec sheets. Now they have all abandoned it.

Either way. Figure out what's most important to your enjoyment of your phone and spend time using in that way.

Disclaimer...I'm an htc evo 4g user.

 

[carmendiva]

I would recommend going to a real verizon store and spending much time with both. I will warn you though...if you are into the screen thing then dont hold the charge next to the thunderbolt. I just did this at my local verizon store. It will make you fall in love with super amoled plus tech.
You will find many htc fans that will bash the charge. Also many phone spec nerds that will bash charge because its not the galaxy 2. Make up your own mind about what's right for you. If you like camera, screen, and battery life then the charge has much to offer. Its not a perfect spec sheet phone. But walk across the mall and play with the Atrix and then tell me spec sheets matter. Based on resolution, dual core ect the Atrix was the love child of every phone nerd based on spec sheets. Now they have all abandoned it.

Either way. Figure out what's most important to your enjoyment of your phone and spend time using in that way.

Disclaimer...I'm an htc evo 4g user.

I wish i could thank your post twice..

HTC Fans Bash the Droid Charge because it's not the Sensation/Evo 3D(and Verizon probably won't be getting anything like that anytime soon)

and praise the thunderbolt even though the thunderbolt has issues of it's own

and the few Samsung Fans will bash it because it's not a Galaxy S 2(Even though no phone company in the US has actually announced this phone will be released in this quarter).

It's a great phone. I chose it over the thunderbolt because hardware wise, the thunderbolt reminds me of nearly every HTC phone that has been released...which in theory makes the phone quite forgettable

Software wise, the Droid Charge offers a great UI as well as I like the fact that Samsung focuses on multi-media.

It's a great phone

Disclaimer: I'm a phone whore...I give all the manufacturers my love

 

[shadowdude777]

ThunderBolt. The Charge will never have a good dev community. By contrast, the TB has so many custom ROMs already. Since you're coming from a D1 (as am I), you'll have a lot of trouble adjusting to a phone without custom ROMs, unless you're one of the three stock Droid 1 users, of course.

 

[stanlalee]

I chose it over the thunderbolt because hardware wise, the thunderbolt reminds me of nearly every HTC phone that has been released...which in theory makes the phone quite forgettable

I find this quite hilarious since its the Samsung with the exact same hardware as any other old galaxy phone while the TB shares ziltch from 1rst generation snapdragon devices. Sure on paper it all sounds the same but the other than brand and clock speed the CPU and gpu are not even remotely the same. Other than 4G might as well get a $99 facinate which is way cheaper and doesn't look like a deceptagon.

 

[carmendiva]

I find this quite hilarious since its the Samsung with the exact same hardware as any other old galaxy phone while the TB shares ziltch from 1rst generation snapdragon devices. Sure on paper it all sounds the same but the other than brand and clock speed the CPU and gpu are not even remotely the same. Other than 4G might as well get a $99 facinate which is way cheaper and doesn't look like a deceptagon.

I disagree. Every Galaxy S model released in the US on A major carrier had it's own different style look.

I could tell a Captivate from A Vibrant

Just like I could tell an Epic from a Fascinate/Mesmerize/Showcase

HTC's designs are quite old and Stale.

My 2010 EV0 borrowed the look of the HD2 which was released in 2009 and my HTC HD7 was nearly Identical to the HTC EVO

The Tmobile G2 is nearly identical to Sprint's HTC Arrive

The Incredible S/Droid Incredible 2 and Desire S and a few of their other newer models are way too similar to me.

HTC has an apple mindset when it comes to their hardware and they usually stick with the same design and only add minor changes here and there and when I buy a HTC product(and I've owned plenty...Most of my phones last year were HTC) I feel like I have already owned it.

Samsung Galaxy S 2 looks nothing like it's Original Counterpart.....

 

[thepedestrian]

Best way to decide between the phones is to get to a store and play with actually use them for a while. I spent about an hour and a half at the store before walking out with the Charge (and by walking out, I mean purchasing elsewhere, because there is no way I'm paying 299 for any phone)

Both the Thunderbolt and Charge have pros and cons. Thunderbolt's got more RAM, 1400mAh battery, capacitive buttons, Sense, a slightly better web browser, and a slightly better processor. Charge has the better screen (the colors on this thing are incredible), a bigger 1600mAh battery, TouchWiz, physical buttons, and hdmi out. So they're both great phones, but have draw backs. I'm not as in love with Sense as a lot of people are, but I suppose it has a slight edge to TouchWiz, which looks kinda iOSish, especially in it's App menu, which is kinda ugly. As for the quadrant scores, I think people put way too much stock in them.

I chose the Charge because I didn't feel like being a slave to the battery life. Sure, you can tweak it and make it last most if not all day, but you've got more wiggle room with the Charge's bigger battery. I have some apps continuously syncing and I consistently make it through the day. The Thunderbolt's screen doesn't come close to the Charge's super amoled plus screen; the colors are amazing and it's really easy to see in direct sunlight, even without the brightness turned all the way up. The HDMI out is great too. Sure they both have dlna, but we're still a while away from a market saturated with dlna capable devices, whereas everything these days has an HDMI port. I personally find the Charge easier to type on. The call quality is better on the Charge, and voice to text almost never worked for me on the Thunderbolt, although i suspect that was just the unit I was using.

They're both great phones. I think the Charge has the edge. If you're a disciple to HTC, go with the Tbolt, don't let the battery hoopla scare you away because if you know what you're doing, you'll be fine. That being said, the Charge is the way to go.

 

[golfbiz]

Best way to decide between the phones is to get to a store and play with actually use them for a while. I spent about an hour and a half at the store before walking out with the Charge (and by walking out, I mean purchasing elsewhere, because there is no way I'm paying 299 for any phone)

Both the Thunderbolt and Charge have pros and cons. Thunderbolt's got more RAM, 1400mAh battery, capacitive buttons, Sense, a slightly better web browser, and a slightly better processor. Charge has the better screen (the colors on this thing are incredible), a bigger 1600mAh battery, TouchWiz, physical buttons, and hdmi out. So they're both great phones, but have draw backs. I'm not as in love with Sense as a lot of people are, but I suppose it has a slight edge to TouchWiz, which looks kinda iOSish, especially in it's App menu, which is kinda ugly. As for the quadrant scores, I think people put way too much stock in them.

I chose the Charge because I didn't feel like being a slave to the battery life. Sure, you can tweak it and make it last most if not all day, but you've got more wiggle room with the Charge's bigger battery. I have some apps continuously syncing and I consistently make it through the day. The Thunderbolt's screen doesn't come close to the Charge's super amoled plus screen; the colors are amazing and it's really easy to see in direct sunlight, even without the brightness turned all the way up. The HDMI out is great too. Sure they both have dlna, but we're still a while away from a market saturated with dlna capable devices, whereas everything these days has an HDMI port. I personally find the Charge easier to type on. The call quality is better on the Charge, and voice to text almost never worked for me on the Thunderbolt, although i suspect that was just the unit I was using.

They're both great phones. I think the Charge has the edge. If you're a disciple to HTC, go with the Tbolt, don't let the battery hoopla scare you away because if you know what you're doing, you'll be fine. That being said, the Charge is the way to go.

agree....went to store and played with TB, DC & Inc2...after an hour decided to save my upgrade and stick with my rooted Inc...since I use wifi mostly for surfing web, other than 4G didn't seem like any were that big a deal....TB too big/bulky and my daughter has a fascinate which I have had replaced already once, very unimpressive phone compared to my Inc, but maybe the DC is better designed.

 

[rcyphermd]

The pedestrian....
Good comments. Where are you buying it at for less?

 

[stanlalee]

I disagree. Every Galaxy S model released in the US on A major carrier had it's own different style look.

I could tell a Captivate from A Vibrant

Just like I could tell an Epic from a Fascinate/Mesmerize/Showcase

HTC's designs are quite old and Stale.

My 2010 EV0 borrowed the look of the HD2 which was released in 2009 and my HTC HD7 was nearly Identical to the HTC EVO

The Tmobile G2 is nearly identical to Sprint's HTC Arrive

The Incredible S/Droid Incredible 2 and Desire S and a few of their other newer models are way too similar to me.

HTC has an apple mindset when it comes to their hardware and they usually stick with the same design and only add minor changes here and there and when I buy a HTC product(and I've owned plenty...Most of my phones last year were HTC) I feel like I have already owned it.

Samsung Galaxy S 2 looks nothing like it's Original Counterpart.....

I was talking internal hardware. I agree most HTC phones are simular in design/appearance. I also think the charge is a step backwards from the facinate in that department. Galaxy SII is on the other hand is awsome outside and inside.

 

[jreed2560]

I disagree. Every Galaxy S model released in the US on A major carrier had it's own different style look.

I could tell a Captivate from A Vibrant

Just like I could tell an Epic from a Fascinate/Mesmerize/Showcase

HTC's designs are quite old and Stale.

My 2010 EV0 borrowed the look of the HD2 which was released in 2009 and my HTC HD7 was nearly Identical to the HTC EVO

The Tmobile G2 is nearly identical to Sprint's HTC Arrive

The Incredible S/Droid Incredible 2 and Desire S and a few of their other newer models are way too similar to me.

HTC has an apple mindset when it comes to their hardware and they usually stick with the same design and only add minor changes here and there and when I buy a HTC product(and I've owned plenty...Most of my phones last year were HTC) I feel like I have already owned it.

Samsung Galaxy S 2 looks nothing like it's Original Counterpart.....

The Epic 4g and the Captivate on Att were the only two of the galaxy s phones that didn't look alike. Otherwise you can't tell a Fascinate from a Mesmerize or a Vibrant if you took the carrier logos off of them. atleast HTC switches up the color scheme a bit. From the front HTC phones have a similar speaker grill up top and you can't really change up the capacitive buttons much. but from the back they are all different. color, camera placement. If you like the charge, great. Hope you like Android 2.2 because you won't see gingerbread on that phone ANYTIME SOON. Nobody gets updates out to phones faster than HTC or Motorola and nobody is slower at it than Samsung (just ask those Fascinate guys about just now getting 2.2). If 4g really isn't an issue, and you like to root, the Incredible 2 is both cheaper and will have a ton of roms ported form all the HTC models (EVO, Sensation, Thunderbolt, etc...) I do own a thunderbolt, but I would go back to an encrypted bootloader of the droid X2 or bionic before I ever bought a samsung.

 

[thepedestrian]

The pedestrian....
Good comments. Where are you buying it at for less?

Costco. The phone sells for 249 (still expensive) and comes with a horizontal pouch and car charger. The return policy is also amazing. You get the 14 day verizon return policy, but also the 90 day Costco electronics return policy, which works off exchange or store credit, I believe. If you have the membership, definitely the place to buy.

You can also buy it off amazon for the 249 price, but be wary. There have been activation problems with the Charge and Thunderbolt through amazon. With the new verizon 4G LTE phones, you need to activate the sim card before you put it in the phone. If the phone is turned on with an unactivated sim, it will fry the card, and then you have a very expensive paperweight.

 

[jinwons]

The Epic 4g and the Captivate on Att were the only two of the galaxy s phones that didn't look alike. Otherwise you can't tell a Fascinate from a Mesmerize or a Vibrant if you took the carrier logos off of them. atleast HTC switches up the color scheme a bit. From the front HTC phones have a similar speaker grill up top and you can't really change up the capacitive buttons much. but from the back they are all different. color, camera placement. If you like the charge, great. Hope you like Android 2.2 because you won't see gingerbread on that phone ANYTIME SOON. Nobody gets updates out to phones faster than HTC or Motorola and nobody is slower at it than Samsung (just ask those Fascinate guys about just now getting 2.2). If 4g really isn't an issue, and you like to root, the Incredible 2 is both cheaper and will have a ton of roms ported form all the HTC models (EVO, Sensation, Thunderbolt, etc...) I do own a thunderbolt, but I would go back to an encrypted bootloader of the droid X2 or bionic before I ever bought a samsung.

The Galaxy S oversea got updated to Froyo on last November. And now they are getting Gingerbread update beginning this week. Where is official gingerbread for EVO, Incredible? It was only issue in the U.S, especially with Verizon's ridiculous requirements for Samsung. It will get better this year for sure.
You can't put them down just because of U.S froyo gate on Galaxy S. They definitely got their acts together for SGSII and are on track to overtake HTC in android phones this year.

 

[sean76]

I was talking internal hardware. I agree most HTC phones are simular in design/appearance. I also think the charge is a step backwards from the facinate in that department. Galaxy SII is on the other hand is awsome outside and inside.

Lol...man I will tell you this! Carmen knows her stuff, she'll make most guys cringe after you get her goin on spec sheets about a phone and how they operate in the real world. As for me I'll say this, I'm a phone whore just like her, so I show love to just about all the big manufacturers. So what I say is pretty much based on what works for me at the current time...

I'm a TB user, and happen to like HTC phones, yes the TB is BIG and bulky, but the size and weight never bothered me, however...out of all the things that do bother me, I would have to say that battery life is number one....its terrible! No getting around that. Yes you can tweak and turn everything off, but who wants to do that on a smart phone. Couple that with the fact that the sms bug that adds typing lag makes me want to throw it out the window. If VZW pushed out an update that helped battery life, and eventually Gingerbread, with the new version of sense...honestly, I'd be pretty happy and call it a day until the Galaxy S2 comes to town, and who knows when that will happen...which brings me to my next point....

At vzw's rate I just don't see a version of the S2 coming until Sept or Oct, and there's a good chance it releases as a 3G only phone....no way they can fit 4G LTE guts in that thin shell...physics will not allow it to happen.
So for right now, I really miss my Fascinates screen, battery life, and definitely the camera...The Charge while not being the best looking kid on the block gives me all those things, plus with 4G speeds. So for me it works at this very moment to grab it now, and patiently wait for the S2 or the next super phone that will arrive with Super Amoled plus technology amongst other great features. Bench marks mean nothing to me in the real world...but great multimedia capabilities and 4G speeds do. So for now my choice would be the Droid Charge...just my 2 cents.

 

[tmaxey1]

Lol...man I will tell you this! Carmen knows her stuff, she'll make most guys cringe after you get her goin on spec sheets about a phone and how they operate in the real world. As for me I'll say this, I'm a phone whore just like her, so I show love to just about all the big manufacturers. So what I say is pretty much based on what works for me at the current time...

I'm a TB user, and happen to like HTC phones, yes the TB is BIG and bulky, but the size and weight never bothered me, however...out of all the things that do bother me, I would have to say that battery life is number one....its terrible! No getting around that. Yes you can tweak and turn everything off, but who wants to do that on a smart phone. Couple that with the fact that the sms bug that adds typing lag makes me want to throw it out the window. If VZW pushed out an update that helped battery life, and eventually Gingerbread, with the new version of sense...honestly, I'd be pretty happy and call it a day until the Galaxy S2 comes to town, and who knows when that will happen...which brings me to my next point....

At vzw's rate I just don't see a version of the S2 coming until Sept or Oct, and there's a good chance it releases as a 3G only phone....no way they can fit 4G LTE guts in that thin shell...physics will not allow it to happen.
So for right now, I really miss my Fascinates screen, battery life, and definitely the camera...The Charge while not being the best looking kid on the block gives me all those things, plus with 4G speeds. So for me it works at this very moment to grab it now, and patiently wait for the S2 or the next super phone that will arrive with Super Amoled plus technology amongst other great features. Bench marks mean nothing to me in the real world...but great multimedia capabilities and 4G speeds do. So for now my choice would be the Droid Charge...just my 2 cents.

Well said. I am like you only instead of the thunderbolt I own its brother the EVO. I do love the build quality of HTC phones. I love sense UI. I dont love the battery life. Now as long as i stay on 3g my battery is ok with the evo....just ok. And some days its terrible. A friend of mine is charging her EVO by lunch everyday. I am a little luckier for some reason.

But what I am really interested in with the Charge is that screen. Wow. Its really something to see for those that havnt yet.

I think the thing stopping verizon from having a LTE dual core type of phone like the Galaxy S2 is the cost. I think they will only subsidize a phone so much. If the Charge is costing about 700 from the manufacturer then how much would a LTE Galaxy S2 cost? I just dont think they want to subsidize an $800-900 dollar phone all the way down to 299. So I think it will be awhile.

Sure ATT will get the galaxys 2 before verizon. But its not a 4g phone on att. Its a fake 4g phone so the cost dont have to increase for it.

 

[jreed2560]

The Galaxy S oversea got updated to Froyo on last November. And now they are getting Gingerbread update beginning this week. Where is official gingerbread for EVO, Incredible? It was only issue in the U.S, especially with Verizon's ridiculous requirements for Samsung. It will get better this year for sure.
You can't put them down just because of U.S froyo gate on Galaxy S. They definitely got their acts together for SGSII and are on track to overtake HTC in android phones this year.

Well as we are in the US, and the galaxy s is Samsung's only major Android release here I would say they have something to prove as far as supporting their devices. Nothing new that phones overseas get updates first. Always have (except for nexus devices) always will. As far as gingerbread goes the only devices with 2.3 so far in the Us have either launched with it or are a nexus device. So its not like everyone is sitting on gb except HTC. Which is exactly what happened with froyo and Samsung.

 

[rcyphermd]

I do not see the charge on Costco web site?

 

[carmendiva]

lol thanks Sean

But i agree that we probably won't be seeing the Galaxy S 2 Variants appearing till later this year.

Something tells me T-mobile will get theirs first just like they did the Vibrant.
They need a successor to the vibrant(and Samsung Galaxy S 4g)

and then At&t will follow suit shortly with their Samsung Galaxy S 2(Samsung Attain...lol i see what they did in the name lol)

and I guess Sprint would theoretically be releasing there's around August sometime....and Verizon coming last.

But i think a lot of people will be disappointed to find out that it is 3G only because as stated before, the phone is extremely thin and by adding LTE in the device that will take away one of it's selling points.

And plus according to a story on Engadget, the At&t, Sprint, and Verizon versions all have the same battery covers.

 

[addictedtocars]

I do not see the charge on Costco web site?

I see it for $249 and it includes case and car charger.

 

[jinwons]

Well as we are in the US, and the galaxy s is Samsung's only major Android release here I would say they have something to prove as far as supporting their devices. Nothing new that phones overseas get updates first. Always have (except for nexus devices) always will. As far as gingerbread goes the only devices with 2.3 so far in the Us have either launched with it or are a nexus device. So its not like everyone is sitting on gb except HTC. Which is exactly what happened with froyo and Samsung.

My point was that it's not entirely Samsung's fault for delayed Froyo in U.S. Yes it was done overseas, but it proves that they are capable of pushing out major OS update just fine when there is no ridiculous relation/politics with carriers like Verizon.
In my book, OS update are about tie between two and both makes fast enough phones. But Samsung has superior hardwares than HTC in screen, camera, call quality and battery.

 

[jinwons]

Timing wise I would probably wait a few more months till late summer. By then there are more LTE phones to compare including Revolution and hopefully Bionic. There will also be DX2, D3 and much hyped SGSII to see what kind of spec, features it has on Verizon. Outside verizon, there will be Sensation, Thrill and SGSII (GSM/HSPA+) in case VZW upsets me even further. Android is really on roll/onslaught while iPhone is stuck on 4!