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Evaluating a Phone

B

Benrx

Well-Known Member
The contract for my Eris is finally up in about a month. I've been looking at everyone's comments here and am interested in the Fascinate. So I went into the Verizon store today, fired one up, and thought, Now what do I do?

Seemed fast. Screen was nice. I felt like I should be testing some app or running some program to tell me if I would like it. Someone had already installed Google maps. I was trying to think back to posts I had read and drew a blank.

My question is, what do you people that go in and look at these phones and try them out do? I don't want to spend an hour with a phone. Just give me a couple -four things that would help me evaluate a phone and find things I like or dislike.

BTW: I did think about the blue screen issue and this one actually had it. Looked like someone had set up their own blue theme.

Thanks in advance
 
first I looked for touch response, second I pull up youtube and click a video using high quality settings. I use youtube HQ as a benchmark for performance with the expected 2.2 update that includes flash, and although it is not flash that is playing, it is a very labor intensive app that will draw on the full system. third I look to the keyboard, both in portrait and landscape to make sure the keys are easy to use and they are responsive and accurate...fourth I consider overall form factor: this includes size, weight, and lines. I'm more of a minimalist so .3 of an inch actually appeals to me over the X. Camera if you plan on taking multiple photos....but 5 mp is quite enough compared to 8 which I think is just overkill....any of these categories I consider a deal breaker...
 
Definitely make a test call and evaluate how the audio quality sounds, ask the person you called how you sound on their end as well. A good test is if you're in a noisy area to see if the person can hear you over the background sounds.
 
I test everything I can. I got mine in store on launch day after testing the floor model out for 30-40 minutes. I did everything the guys above did and more. On the one hand you cannot learn everything in 30-40 minutes but on the other hand you dont just wanna make an under-informed decision either
 
For me its the camera that I test first. Then the screen by opening some hi-res photos using the browser. Last is the keyboard.
 
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