Gadgetblurb

I have recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the new Samsung Fascinate by Verizon Wireless, which is the Galaxy S variant, and am happy to report that I am pleasantly surprised with the latest Android handset to come from Verizon.  While there are some things that I like and some I dislike, I thought I would start off this review with my conclusion; I prefer this phone to the Droid X.  It doesn’t get as hot, isn’t as heavy and clunky, is more streamlined in that it has sleeker lines and nicer curves, I do prefer the Samsung bloatware to the Moto-blur, and overall the phone feels like it has less problems than the Droid X.  For now it is my favorite Android phone.

Hardware

The Samsung has a nice glass front and a plastic back.  The plastic back isn’t going to please everyone, but it is what makes the phone so light and sleek.  It doesn’t necessarily feel as cheap as I thought it would; it somehow feels well built even thought it has a plastic back.  When I first picked it up, I thought it was a bit cheap, like the iPhone 3G, but somehow, like the 3G, it feels well put together, and at the same time, feels great in your hands.  I also have to say, a 4 inch phone is a really nice sweet spot.  4.3 inches is a bit too clunky.  Maybe it is the industrial feel of the Droid X and the cold metal and rubber, but the Fascinate just feels more sleek to me like the iPhone 3G.  From a size perspective, 4 inches is perfect!  Not too big and not too small.  The phone fits great in your hand and the screen is a lot of real estate.  I love the super AMOLED screen.  Very bright and crystal clear.  The images pop both in and outdoors and are very bright.  I was able to read my kindle books while sitting at a Caribou Coffee after receiving the phone and really didn’t have too much problem with glare.  I can’t really do that with my iPhone or other phone, so I think that the AMOLED screens do help with that.

Unlike the Droid X (which has an 8MP camera), the Fascinate has only has a 5MP camera, but in my opinion, takes way better pictures.  Both have a 720p video camera, but again the Fascinate takes better video than the Droid X.  Both have a flash, but neither really do much of anything to help so it isn’t really worth mentioning.  I was never really able to take good pictures with the X, but was with the Fascinate.  The pictures were sharp, in focus and I was able to take a quality picture on the first take.  This was not my experience with the Droid X.  Another complaint I have from a hardware perspective is the lack of a notification LED.  Not sure why they missed this one.  It is one of the main complaints I have with the iPhone.  Oh well.

Two other bones of contention on the hardware side; first, the lock/unlock button is on the right side of the phone and it is tiny and hard to find without looking sometimes.  Here is the problem, when you go to lock the phone, the volume keys are on the left side of the phone at the same level and you inevitably will grip the phone and turn up or down or worse, turn the volume off, every time you lock the screen like I do.  Poor design in my opinion.  On to the software…

Software

The bloatware, I mean, Touchwiz 3.0 that is built into the Fascinate is what Samsung is calling their version of the modified Android.  It kinda of looks like romper room for Android.  It is a bit different, from the unlock screen, which is a puzzle piece that slides to the right, to the boxes that represent the apps, this is not your stock Android.  You can change the unlock screen to a slide the glass, thank goodness, but for the most part, Samsung has modded this Android in more ways than even Motorola.

I do like the built in SMS application, it is well put together and has a nice, threaded messaging interface.  For those that like Handcent, you may forgo the download, it is pretty decent.  Here is where other built-in’s get a bit weird.  Google search is no where to be found.  Bing is the default.  I am not sure if this is a Samsung or Verizon thing, but for a Google phone, I really am at a loss how this happened.  Also, Google Maps/Navigation does not come stock, at least on the phone I received.  You can download Google Maps from the Marketplace for free, so go ahead and do that once you get the phone.

All of the other standard Verizon bloatware comes on the phone from VZ Navigator to V Cast to Blockbuster.  There are also a bunch of other Samsung apps like Daily Briefing and other widgets that come on the phone you may want to check out and see if they are to your liking.  One of the things that I found, at least on the phone I received, was that there were way less stock Android widgets available to me than normal.  Usually there are dozens and on this phone, there were only a handful so check out the one at your local store to see if it has been crippled like my test phone was.

As always, you can install LauncherPro and do away with all of this customization these manufacturers put on the phone and create a near stock Android phone.  So feel free to do so and have a really awesome piece of hardware.  I personally found most of the widgets and bloatware that Samsung put on the Fascinate to be helpful and not too in the way.

Beyond my few gripes, I really enjoyed my time with the Fascinate.  Early on, there was a GPS bug that was fixed during my eval period with a firmware update so it isn’t really worth mentioning.  The phone is sleek, fast, light, has a fantastic screen, and if the lock screen button was larger and were on the top of the phone, it would probably be my phone of choice for Android.  For me, it is that annoying.  But, I would say check out the Fascinate, it really is that nice of an Android phone.

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