• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Would you get a Fascinate right now?

Sweet Chaos

Sweet Chaos

Android Enthusiast
I am going to be getting a new phone soon and I'm pretty sure I made up my mind on the Fascinate. My question is that if you could buy the Fascinate right NOW would you? I don't care about 4G, so I'm not interested in either waiting for them to come or paying for the phones that are likely to be back up in the $300 range. I AM concerned about them taking so long to get FroYo on board, and I have no interest in rooting so that's one of the reasons I'm second guessing my decision now. The other phone I would consider would be the Droid 2, which ships with FroYo and has the keyboard. I like the look of the Fascinate better, and like the feel of the Galaxy S line as well, but I want to make sure it'll be worth getting. What do you, as experienced Fascinate users, think?
 
if i was in your situation and did root and didnt have my personal wacky philosophical issues with motorola, id probably have a droid x or droid 2 global....or the droid incredible

i think the fascinate is the weakest out of the box experience of any of the top tier verizon android devices. samsung just left the phone with too many issues, and froyo ota still hasnt been detailed or announced yet. thankfully the gps issue has mostly been resolved for many with the dl09 ota (but that caused different issues)

i love my fascinate and dont regret having gotten rid of my x and inc...but i also had no intention of leaving it stock for a second :o...if i didnt root, i wouldnt have it, or wouldnt get it again

just my opinion of course
 
2.2 is really over rated. I remember everyone getting all dissappointed when the droid x got 2.2 because they thought it was going to be the second coming and all they got is a slight performance increase.
 
nitsuj17 said:
if i was in your situation and did root and didnt have my personal wacky philosophical issues with motorola, id probably have a droid x or droid 2 global....or the droid incredible

i think the fascinate is the weakest out of the box experience of any of the top tier verizon android devices. samsung just left the phone with too many issues, and froyo ota still hasnt been detailed or announced yet. thankfully the gps issue has mostly been resolved for many with the dl09 ota (but that caused different issues)

i love my fascinate and dont regret having gotten rid of my x and inc...but i also had no intention of leaving it stock for a second :o...if i didnt root, i wouldnt have it, or wouldnt get it again

just my opinion of course
Click to expand...

Just outta curiousity, why do you say that? What do the other phones you mentioned do better than the Fascinate out of the box?
 
HauntedHallows said:
2.2 is really over rated. I remember everyone getting all dissappointed when the droid x got 2.2 because they thought it was going to be the second coming and all they got is a slight performance increase.
Click to expand...

2.2 is a overhyped...but it does offer real tangible benefits....mostly the updated google apps imo...the average user may/may not care what version of android on their on and thats fine...some do
 
I have to add, I don't expect all that much out of a $30 phone (The price I paid w/2 year renewal), but it has exceeded expectations.
 
I honestly would wait a few more weeks to get the thunderbolt. Right now its supposedly coming 2/14. Its an upgrade to any current phone on vzw just cause the processor and ram.
 
I would say get the Fascinate. Get a white one, theyre HOT! It's a good phone. 2.2 Froyo is good stuff but there isn't going to be a noticeable difference for you really. And when it does come around it will be great though. 2.1 "Eclair" isn't bad, it's what we have right now and it works just fine. Everyone worked up about 2.2 is just in anticipation of something new and different, myself included. I say get the Fascinate!
 
I am with Omj, I have owned a D2, hated it. I bought a fascinate earlier this month and really like it. But this was only because I knew I would root it, and I was using a family members upgrade and I'll still have mine for the next wave of phones.

If your not going to root, maybe just wait to see how the Thunderbolt pans out and pick Thunderbolt or Fascinate at that time.
 
I have not put my phone down since i got it. I thought i was clear after Socom died on the Playstation. My girl was so happy i disliked the new game. Now she is mad because i do not put the phone down!

I have had an Ipod. Didnt like it. Tried the X. Didnt like it. My son has an Incredible and i do think it is decent. But i love the Fascinate. It does all i want it to and i dont care about the update too much. There are enough people doing things here that you can flash stuff until your eyes go numb!

But you need to root it, In my opinion. If you are willing to do that then i would say you will be a happy phone owner.
 
OMJ said:
I honestly would wait a few more weeks to get the thunderbolt. Right now its supposedly coming 2/14. Its an upgrade to any current phone on vzw just cause the processor and ram.
Click to expand...

Agreed...with just the caveat that pricing for the thunderbolt appears to be$ 250 for a 2 year contract....so a tad pricey

But if i was on an older phone looking to go to a top tier device id hold off for that....if you are already tied into a fascinate, dx, d2, inc then id hold off for the summer and see what's out then
 
Honestly I would wait! I've had my Fascinate since launch, and have pretty much enjoyed it, up until recently that is. My GPS has completely stopped working, the battery for some reason has not been performing as well at it has in the past, and has trouble holding a charge after only say 4 months of use, lastly the update fiasco with Samsung is just out of control and beyond failure if you ask me. Now that's me stating some typical cons, but I will go on record as saying the screen is beautiful, the phone for the most part is fairly clear with a pretty minimal amount of dropped calls, and the form factor is perfect in my book.

But with so many new phones coming in the next few months, I would wait it out. I would love to see a pure Google experience come to vzw with 4G, but I doubted. However, the Thunderbolt drops in Feb and looks like a cool refreshed EVO, the Bionic is maybe 2 months away and should stomp on anything available right now as far as speed goes, and who knows if Samsung drops a bomb and brings a brand new Galaxy 2 varient before Spring to vzw. Yea, my advice is to wait!
 
I've had my SF since Jan. 1 and I am considering returning it. I have had issues with the GPS locking in. I was able to get it to lock in when I turned on my Wifi which makes absolutely no sense. This worked for awhile but then it wouldn't lock in again. Some times it took about 10-15 minutes to lock in. The earpiece also sounds very distorted when I am on a call and I am talking. I have adjusted the in call volume which helps a little from time to time. It pretty much comes and goes. I don't think my battery life is very good at all but this is pretty subjective. I can say with out a doubt, that I could get through two days with my battery sometimes with my Droid 1 but I can only make it a day with the SF. I honestly don't do much with the phone other than some email and a couple of short calls each day. The battery life issue has a lot of variables. Searching for service can really run the battery down quickly.

I know of two occasions when the screen just locked up. I could see all my icons but when I would touch them, nothing would happen. I usually would just take out the battery and reinstall it and reboot the phone. This usually worked.

I really like the phones screen and size but I feel that if I keep it past my 30 day trial period, it's going to start acting up worse than it already has. I'm just kind of uneasy about the phone. I went in yesterday to Verizon and they did a factory reset on the phone to see if that would help with teh GPS. It is locking in right away at the present time but I still feel uneasy keeping the phone. More than likely, I will be returning before the end of the month for the Droid X.

Read the other postings and see if you can make an informed decision. Some people have had no issues. Be careful what you read on the battery life issues because often times people leave a lot of information out about what they have or don't have running on the phone and how much they are using it.
 
I got my SF on Dec 29, knowing that I would root it the first day. If I didn't root, I think that the X or Inc would be a better choice. I would not deal with the gps issues or bing and those would be great right out of the box without any mods. The only thing I'm missing at this point that the others offer is the video out function. That is a minor loss imo though. I LOVE my SF, the size, shape and weight is perfect for me and just what I was looking for. Perfect phone, once I fixed all the issues, lol. For me the X was just too big and heavy and the Inc was too small. It really boils down to what feels good for you. If you're unsure then just wait for the next best thing to come out! ;)
 
I got my fascinate just last week and I'm loving it. Maybe because it's my first smartphone? The battery life I haven't really had an issue with. The GPS well.... still figuring that out but google navigated me to the right address the one time I used it. I don't know why it's always asking for wifi to be turned on. The swype tips thing is annoying... and I have noticed a bit of lag / stuttering / hangs. Maybe it's time to root? lol
 
Thanks for all the input. My only question is why all the comments about rooting? What does rooting do that makes the phone so much better, or makes the difference between getting it and not?
 
Sweet Chaos said:
Thanks for all the input. My only question is why all the comments about rooting? What does rooting do that makes the phone so much better, or makes the difference between getting it and not?
Click to expand...

A rooted phone running custom kernels and roms is almost an entirely different eevice. While the fascinate stock is a decent phone.....a fascinate running a slimmed down rom and a voodoo5 kernel is a signifantly faster.device....and with certain kernels one that gets a lot better battery life

tjats why the "if you root" stuff comes into play :)
 
Sweet Chaos said:
So all it's going to do is make the phone a little faster and get a little better battery life?
Click to expand...

well...id say a lot faster and a lot better battery life

but really its more than that...roms that add various enhancements or new apps, themes for the phone, mods like reboot options and battery percentage...the list goes on and on
 
Sweet Chaos..... just had to pipe in here to say... LOVE you signature... lol... "No I will not go out with you.." ... LMAO... I can see all the guys gearing up to attempt to do just that... touche, girl!
 
Sweet Chaos said:
So all it's going to do is make the phone a little faster and get a little better battery life?
Click to expand...
Well as nitsuj17 said that a pretty significant boost. Im not sure you were trying to be so nonchalant about it. But yeah, a rooted phone on a better than stock performing kernels and rom combo has the potential to make you say :eek: when you potentially see noticeable improvement in responsiveness and battery life.
nitsuj17 said:
well...id say a lot faster and a lot better battery life

but really its more than that...roms that add various enhancements or new apps, themes for the phone, mods like reboot options and battery percentage...the list goes on and on
Click to expand...
:)
gingergirl said:
Sweet Chaos..... just had to pipe in here to say... LOVE you signature... lol... "No I will not go out with you.." ... LMAO... I can see all the guys gearing up to attempt to do just that... touche, girl!
Click to expand...
Hey Peanut Gallery
quiet-sign.jpg

Why dont you actually root your phone and get clock work on so you can speak from experience :p:p:p:p:p:p;)
 
Seeing that you aren't into rooting, don't even bother with the Fascinate. If you read most of the responses to your question they mention rooting the phone. This quote from one of the more active users on here should be all you need to read.


i love my fascinate and dont regret having gotten rid of my x and inc...but i also had no intention of leaving it stock for a second ...if i didnt root, i wouldnt have it, or wouldnt get it again
Click to expand...
 
tonyb81 said:
Seeing that you aren't into rooting, don't even bother with the Fascinate. If you read most of the responses to your question they mention rooting the phone. This quote from one of the more active users on here should be all you need to read.
Click to expand...

yeah, i stand by that...but i will say that if you've never had a top tier android smartphone (or a smartphone before) the fascinate *might* be just what you are looking for.

its just a stock fascinate doesnt stack up as well as i would have hoped with the other superphones out there...the potential is there (thus root), but the finished product is underwhelming
 
tonyb81 said:
Seeing that you aren't into rooting, don't even bother with the Fascinate. If you read most of the responses to your question they mention rooting the phone. This quote from one of the more active users on here should be all you need to read.
Click to expand...

I've never left any device stock. Modding it makes it mine. In fact, I wouldn't buy a device I could not mod.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom