Strats a hot seller?

[kelton]

In looking through the verizon store, Best Buy, and in a conversation with a Verizon customer service person.... I'm hearing that the Stratosphere is turning out to be quite popular.

The Best Buy salesman, helping me find a case for the phone, said he can't believe the number of people asking about the Stratosphere. Same from the Verizon store salesman (also helping me find a case).

The Verizon phone rep (helping me alter my phone plan) said that it was his next phone, too.

Hopefully, this means that Otterbox and the like will develop for this phone.

Kelton

 

[Dubbman]

They can't keep stock at my local Verizon. I'm surprised by the demand not generating more experienced devs. I mean, we're getting attention for sure, just not as much dev love as we would like.

However, I see KC becoming a mastercraft kernel dev.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Really? I'm shocked it's doing so well to be honest. Everyone saying that slider keyboard phones are a dying segment. Guess they thought wrong. I echo Dubbman though, but have a theory as to why dev stuff's a bit slow:

While Stratosphere's popular, the majority of growth is likely coming from smartphone newbies who want that keyboard from their enV Touch, Cosmos or whatever. Most (not all...there's a surprising amount of people dedicated to tinkering with the dumbphone set, exposing hidden features and such..its pretty cool and hopefully some of those people who choose to move up with Stratosphere get into Android development...) aren't the type to get down and dirty with modding their handset, at least for a long while.

KC is indeed awesome and I can't wait to see the work he's done so far.

 

[Dubbman]

Thing is, the phone is dirt cheap. I know not all devs can afford the $200 and $300 phones. My old Eris was the low end of the Android phone spectrum and has enjoyed incredible dev support. The Eris was the first commercially available phone to run Gingerbread. With the popularity the Strat should be doing better.

 

[kelton]

I'm using the heck out of this thing... GPS... video.... and learning the android system (as a user)... and the battery is lasting as long as my blackberry (which was pretty good). This is huge.

Yes... I'm thinking the keyboard is the "thing" of it that makes it popular. Hopefully, this model will become a winner and attract attention.

I would LOVE to root, do the hotspot, and eliminate Verizon's junk apps.

 

[MofoMan2000]

The keyboard is the "thing" that made it my first choice for an upgrade, and this is coming from a previous Android smartphone, also with a keyboard. Of course, that phone couldn't run Swype, so I'm getting to know that feature a little better now. Swype is neat and I'll use it for maybe four-five word SMSes, but for anything longer I'll use the physical keyboard. I always text in pure, readable English, so a virtual keyboard is too damn slow.

 

[Moo Cow]

Really? I'm shocked it's doing so well to be honest. Everyone saying that slider keyboard phones are a dying segment. Guess they thought wrong. I echo Dubbman though, but have a theory as to why dev stuff's a bit slow:

While Stratosphere's popular, the majority of growth is likely coming from smartphone newbies who want that keyboard from their enV Touch, Cosmos or whatever. Most (not all...there's a surprising amount of people dedicated to tinkering with the dumbphone set, exposing hidden features and such..its pretty cool and hopefully some of those people who choose to move up with Stratosphere get into Android development...) aren't the type to get down and dirty with modding their handset, at least for a long while.

KC is indeed awesome and I can't wait to see the work he's done so far.

The keyboard is the "thing" that made it my first choice for an upgrade, and this is coming from a previous Android smartphone, also with a keyboard. Of course, that phone couldn't run Swype, so I'm getting to know that feature a little better now. Swype is neat and I'll use it for maybe four-five word SMSes, but for anything longer I'll use the physical keyboard. I always text in pure, readable English, so a virtual keyboard is too damn slow.

The Stratosphere is my first Android phone, as I just got it about a week ago thanks to an early upgrade with Verizon. I had been waiting for one to have two features, 4G and a physical QWERTY. I used to be a BlackBerry user and I loved their physical keyboards. My fiancee has a HTC Evo and I can't type on the virtual keyboard worth a darn. My fingers are just too big to be accurate with it, hence my preference for the physical keyboard. I want to know when I push a button, it types what I tell it to type, not what the screen decides to interpret on its own, lol.

I'll also say I bought the extended battery and love how the phone thickened up to feel natural in my hands. For what I wanted an Android phone for, this is certainly turning into being a very good investment.

 

[KnightCrusader]

Well, I think the big issue is, this phone is an extension of the Droid Charge more than any other Samsung phone. Its got the exact same partition structure and most likely the exact same 4G radio... the same radio that they have yet to reverse engineer on the Charge to get CM7 running.

I'll also say I bought the extended battery and love how the phone thickened up to feel natural in my hands. For what I wanted an Android phone for, this is certainly turning into being a very good investment.

Yeah, I am finding the extended battery doing the same for me. Typing on thin phones with big hands hurts my fingers way too much, and the extended battery has helped alleviate that problem. The only thing that is weird is how the new battery cover tapers at a different slope on the top than it does at the bottom... it messes with my head while I hold it, makes me feel like I'm holding two different things.

 

[Moo Cow]

Yeah, I am finding the extended battery doing the same for me. Typing on thin phones with big hands hurts my fingers way too much, and the extended battery has helped alleviate that problem. The only thing that is weird is how the new battery cover tapers at a different slope on the top than it does at the bottom... it messes with my head while I hold it, makes me feel like I'm holding two different things.

I never noticed that slope, to be honest, until I read your post and physically looked at the phone. I guess for me and how I hold the phone when the keyboard is slid out, my pointer fingers tend to be on "top" of the keyboard behind the screen. My middle fingers on each hand tend to rest and make contact with the "bottom" of the keyboard right after the first knuckle bends from the fingertips. My thumbs do the typing. So the slopes do not bother me too much.

 

[rickhamilton620]

So I assume you guys would say the extended battery's a must get? I've been getting solid battery life but I'm primarily in a 3G area. I've used it in 4G and it's barely on the side of OK though haha.

Another reason why I got the stratosphere is that it feels good in the hand...I like a thicker phone, like the rezound for example...because its more ergonomically friendly to hold in your hand unlike the "gotta hold it by your fingertips" RAZR and iPhone 4

 

[Moo Cow]

So I assume you guys would say the extended battery's a must get? I've been getting solid battery life but I'm primarily in a 3G area. I've used it in 4G and it's barely on the side of OK though haha.

Another reason why I got the stratosphere is that it feels good in the hand...I like a thicker phone, like the rezound for example...because its more ergonomically friendly to hold in your hand unlike the "gotta hold it by your fingertips" RAZR and iPhone 4

I live in a 4G area. Between that, the fact it's a "new toy" and my addiction to Angry Birds, I ran the normal battery down quick. Plus I get a decent VZW discount so I went ahead and got the extended battery and case. It suits my needs pretty well. Will I constantly run it down like I am now? Eventually I won't, but still, I also don't think a normal battery would suit me, so I just got the extended one now.

That and as I mentioned above, the phone now feels normal to me.

 

[CHIP72]

In looking through the verizon store, Best Buy, and in a conversation with a Verizon customer service person.... I'm hearing that the Stratosphere is turning out to be quite popular.

The Best Buy salesman, helping me find a case for the phone, said he can't believe the number of people asking about the Stratosphere. Same from the Verizon store salesman (also helping me find a case).

The Verizon phone rep (helping me alter my phone plan) said that it was his next phone, too.

Honestly, this doesn't surprise me at all.

Here's a link to one of the press articles that discussed the best-selling cell phones in Q3 2011. While the press focused on the fact the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3S grabbed the top 2 spots, take a look at the device at #4:

Aging iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS still best-selling phones in Q3

When you consider the Droid 3 doesn't even have 4G AND there were 3 4G LTE smartphones available on Verizon for the entire quarter (HTC Thunderbolt, Samsung Droid Charge, and LG Revolution), it makes the Droid 3's solid sales even more impressive.

There are a lot of people (me included) that want physical keyboard phones. (I'm like one of the posters above who said he uses correct English; I'm like that too.) The Samsung Stratosphere is the only 4G LTE physical keyboard smartphone on Verizon, at least until the Droid 4 comes out, AND the Stratosphere is relatively inexpensive (and was/is even more so with some of Verizon's recent promotions).

I personally gave strong consideration to buying a Stratosphere off-contract for $410 and having it replace my Droid 2 on my line/contract, but I ultimately decided as much as I wanted 4G LTE (and loved the look of the Stratosphere, especially the screen), I really wanted to test out non-Android operating system devices to get a better sense of which OS I want to use in the long-term, so I bought an HTC Trophy (which itself has been having a discounted price promotion on Verizon if you buy on-line) and added a second line.

 

[MofoMan2000]

There are a lot of people (me included) that want physical keyboard phones. (I'm like one of the posters above who said he uses correct English; I'm like that too.)

That would be me.

Yeah, the extended battery is a nice thing to have. I ordered mine from verizonwireless.com and still got it for $25, free shipping. I don't know if that sale is still going on, but if it is and you're interested, I suggest you go for it. It adds some oomph to your phone without making it ridiculous. Makes it run all day without a charger, even when torrenting things over 4GLTE. Only way to wear this down in less than five hours is to watch Netflix constantly.

 

[JoeFresco]

I've looked for the battery sale and don't see it. Let me know if it's still out there somewhere.

 

[MofoMan2000]

I've looked for the battery sale and don't see it. Let me know if it's still out there somewhere.

I ordered it online on Verizon's website here: Samsung Stratosphere™, Stratosphere™ Bundle Extended Battery w/Cover from Verizon Wireless

It won't show up as $25 until you go to checkout.

 

[kelton]

Oh... very cool... just ordered an extended battery for myself.

Although I was just about to say that I have had no problem getting through a day on the regular battery.

Wanted another battery "just in case" so why not get an extended battery? (well, I guess accessories won't fit it)

 

[experiment 626]

Is there a white extended battery cover for the Stratosphere?

 

[OceanDroid]

New Member, First time Smartphone/Android owner.

Things I like and things I don't like.
Love the AMOLED screen. Love the QWERTY. Love the apps, music, photos, ect. It's awesome basically having a little computer in your pocket.

Things I don't like.
Once in a bluemoon, it lags, or is unresponsive. Pretty annoying. based on the research i've done. EVERY android phone suffers from this (once in a bluemoon). Still, me being a tech geek, it bothers me. lol. The camera seems to be a bit low end for a device such as this. Don't get me wrong, it takes great photos. but it seems it suffer in some areas.

Here's a big one, and I don't know if it's just my phone, or every Stratosphere, but when it vibrates (silent mode) it seems to have some plastic touching/raddling noise going on. I CANNOT STAND THIS. I like a nice, solid, clean vibration. not a vibration that feels like my phone is loose or something.

Other than that, I love this phone, and I feel like I'm in the modern day in age with this smart phone, lol. Please reply with your thoughts and comments

 

[Dubbman]

I feel like I got the only perfectly working Strat out there. My vibrations are solid and rather intense, my screen is great. The only issue I have is with the loathsome Touchwiz dock not registering my apps I've put in it for sometimes up to 30 seconds making using the phone impossible.

Somebody with more skill than I, make a stripped ROM please. This is too much.

 

[KnightCrusader]

I feel like I got the only perfectly working Strat out there. My vibrations are solid and rather intense, my screen is great. The only issue I have is with the loathsome Touchwiz dock not registering my apps I've put in it for sometimes up to 30 seconds making using the phone impossible.

Somebody with more skill than I, make a stripped ROM please. This is too much.

Yeah, I am with ya dubb, my phone has been pretty solid, and I've flashed it at least 75 times so far.