About to pull the trigger on Charge

electron

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Hello all, I'm electron :)
I've decided to buy a smartphone on Verizon before the new tired plans come into effect, and I've got a new questions on the Charge.

I can be a pretty clumsy person at times. Is the phone durable enough, or would I greatly benefit from a case?

Although I know almost nothing about android at the moment, I'm a very tech-savvy person. I've seen that rooting and changing the file system to ext4 greatly increases quadrant scores, but does it speed the phone up that much for, say, web browsing? If it does, is it worth the hassle?

If I do root my phone, and need to return it for some reason, how could I restore the phone to make it look un-rooted?

And finally, would you (assuming you have/do own one) recommend this phone in general? I know its gotten favorable reviews, but so has the thunderbolt, and many people seem unhappy with the TB.

The eariliest I could make it to a verizon store would be on next Saturday, so there isn't a huge rush.
Thanks!
 

jkeene81

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1.If you are a pretty clumsy person a case is always a good idea, Verizon has a gel case that fits very well that I am using, its not very bulky and provides good coverage in case of drops,
2. yes rooting to change the file system changes the whole nature of the phone,web browsing is much faster, there is no lag when switching tasks, makes a great phone even better.
3. Yes you can just reflash the stock files and make it look all touchwizzy again.
4. I would totally recommend this phone, even though it isnt dual core it is plenty fast for daily use and the aftermarket community has really shown some good support for it.
 
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Ken7

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My recommendation? Stay away from 4G phones on Verizon. I've got a Charge and am becoming more unhappy every day. As many others report, there are frequent total losses of data and thus you can't connect to any server. Yet someone standing right next to you with a 3G phone has no issues.

Battery life is terrible relative to 3G phones and there are other issues too numerous to mention. Other than that everything is super terrific!
 

electron

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Thank you for the advice, guys!

My recommendation? Stay away from 4G phones on Verizon. I've got a Charge and am becoming more unhappy every day. As many others report, there are frequent total losses of data and thus you can't connect to any server.
Are these problems really as common as you say, or are the forums just filled with a vocal minority?
I've read that turning off 4G helps with this issue, is this true in your experience? Could you also list some of the "other issues" you are referring do?

Also, if I was to avoid the extra G in my phone (;)), what would you recommend instead? The DINC2 seems incredibly mediocre, and the DX2 has no dev support (not to mention a locked bootloader).
 

Ken7

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T
Are these problems really as common as you say, or are the forums just filled with a vocal minority?
I've read that turning off 4G helps with this issue, is this true in your experience? Could you also list some of the "other issues" you are referring do?

Yes, they are as common as I say. Much depends on the area you live in. Since it's pretty apparent the radio/antenna isn't as strong as it is in 3G-only phones (admitted to one poster by a tech at VZW), then the problem will more likely manifest itself in more marginal areas.

But be warned, my area shows on VZW maps as being SOLID 4G areas and in many of those same areas I can go outside and get 3G only. But even that wouldn't be so bad if it was just a 3G data speed issue. The real issue is getting NO data despite having almost a full set of bars. That's the issue and it's a bad one.

Before you think I have a defective phone, I'm on my 2nd and it's exactly the same as the first. When I brought mine in to have it swapped, there was a guy standing right next to me who was also getting his Charge swapped out for the same reason. I should have realized right then there was an issue with the entire line of Charges, not just mine or his.

You can always give it a shot and give it a thorough looking over for 14 days and if it doesn't work out just return it and you'll be out only $35 for the restocking fee.
 

electron

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Yes, they are as common as I say. Much depends on the area you live in. Since it's pretty apparent the radio/antenna isn't as strong as it is in 3G-only phones (admitted to one poster by a tech at VZW), then the problem will more likely manifest itself in more marginal areas.

You can always give it a shot and give it a thorough looking over for 14 days and if it doesn't work out just return it and you'll be out only $35 for the restocking fee.

Thanks for the answers everyone!
I just realized that my house isn't in a 4G coverage area :mad:
Keeping this in mind, would you all still consider the Charge worth it? I mean, I love the dev community that seems to be behind the Charge, and the DX2 and DINC2 currently have no roms! Would I be better getting the DX2 and just hoping that ROMs eventually begin to appear? Or would I be better off with the DINC2 with the front-facing camera?
(sorry for the deluge of questions :p)
 

dubge

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I have not had any real problems with my charge, I came from a thunderbolt and was just not happy with that phone and wished I kept my DX (love and do miss it)

I am in a 4G area most of the time, yes the charge does not get as good of reception as the TB (first hand experience) if you will be getting 4G over the coarse of your contract or go into a 4G area then you should consider trying out the Charge.

If not then I would recommend the DX, that is my favorite phone I have owned, there is nothing I can say bad about it, I used the extended slim battery and could go for 48+ hours depending on use, still fit the phone in a case or a dock and there was a lot of good ROMs for it.

I use the charge with the extended battery now and can go a couple of days (36+ hours with light use) but there is no cases or docks that work with the extended battery. I really want a dock or the wireless battery charger/cover.

I can live without a case, I was standing on a chair and leaned over and the phone popped out of my shirt pocket and dropped about 5 feet onto a hardwood floor, the battery popped out and the phone went one way and the cover the other. I picked it up and it did not have a scratch on it and I put the battery back in and I was good to go! BUT I dont recommend doing that :)
 

jkeene81

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Im in a 3g only area and my coverage has been just fine and the battery life way better then my Droid Inc so if you are in a 3g only area its still a good phone to pick up!
 

basscadet

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I was carrier-free and open to purchasing any phone from any carrier that I wanted - money was not an issue.

I travel a lot for business and need a phone with good battery life, good network connectivity, and a good screen. Unlimited data and the ability to tether were a must (hotel WiFi sucks).

As a former iPhone user I am going to say something that is going to piss off a lot of people here:

AT&T's 3G network absolutely blows away everybody else's. No matter what city I was in I would routinely see 2-3mbps on AT&T's 3G network. Sprint and Verizon - I would be lucky to see 500-750kb/sec. Over the course of two months I probably ran 50-75 speedtests, that is how I back up my statement.

But I left AT&T because they have terrible data plans and I was frankly getting tired of Apple's lack of good Google integration (where the hell is Google Navigation on the iPhone?!).

I had tried Sprint's WiMax but found that all of their 4G phones were TERRIBLE at holding a signal whereas their dedicated USB modems for laptops were excellent at getting 4G speeds. It's not the network, it's the devices.

So I tried Verizon and the Droid Charge and while I'm not seeing these 15+mbps speeds that other people claim, I am happy. Right now I am deep in the bowels of a fancy hotel with thick walls and I have full bars of 4G/LTE, connected via tether to my laptop. Browsing on my laptop is FAST.

The worst thing about Verizon is the way they nickel and dime you ($3 a month for visual voicemail? Really?) but honestly you're not talking about more than $15-$20 difference from Sprint each month and frankly Sprint is FAR too reliant on those awful, cheap Chinese, gigantic HTC phones. ( I had an Evo 4G and couldn't wait to get rid of that thing.)
 

dubge

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problem for you now is you are going to lose either your unlimited data or the ability to tether/hotspot, the tether/hotspot plan is a totally different plan and can not be added. Unless of coarse you root and want to take the chance and tether that way
 

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