Anyone interested in picking one up this Thursday?

[KnightCrusader]

EDIT: Whoops, Wirefly says it uses a micro-sim, and that it's the first VZW phone to have a micro-sim

Crap crap crap crap..... crap crap and crap.

I was hoping to switch back and forth from the TBolt and this until we can get some CM7 love ported to it.

I was just reading how the Epic 4G CM7 port is almost complete (lacking video acceleration, WiMAX, and in-call bluetooth, and a few other small bugs), so porting it to this shouldn't be that hard. I hope the cheap price means more people will jump on it and get some development rolling!

 

[wisevillageidiot]

Yeah, I can't even buy this phone without CM7 ported to it, or at least with a custom ROM with a CIFS module. So I gotta wait probably a month until they root this and get ClockworkMod Recovery on it. Sigh.

Droid 1 User here, as I'm sure a lot of us are. Telling Motorola what I think about their bootloaders with my wallet!

Still pretty excited though!

 

[KnightCrusader]

Telling Motorola what I think about their bootloaders with my wallet!

Still pretty excited though!

Amen to that. I can't wait to see what the community can do with this thing!

 

[rickhamilton620]

Crap crap crap crap..... crap crap and crap.

I was hoping to switch back and forth from the TBolt and this until we can get some CM7 love ported to it.

I was just reading how the Epic 4G CM7 port is almost complete (lacking video acceleration, WiMAX, and in-call bluetooth, and a few other small bugs), so porting it to this shouldn't be that hard. I hope the cheap price means more people will jump on it and get some development rolling!

Yup, tbh I'm shocked that the Epic hasn't seen CM at all yet. My worst fear with buying any device deemed "mid-range" (even though this isn't in vzw's lte lineup so far...) is that no one will dev for it. It's a huge reason why I've mostly passed on Merge, that and it's encrypted bootloader: after all...when even HTC barely acknowledges it's existence on their website, what are they odds they'll remember to add it to the web unlock tool?

Droid 1 User here, as I'm sure a lot of us are. Telling Motorola what I think about their bootloaders with my wallet!

Still pretty excited though!

Exactly! Lack of 4G and encrypted bootloader was why I passed on D3, despite it's oh so good keyboard.

Thanks for the GPS info btw, I'm excited now. Might wait until the 19th just to hear what Google says about Prime, that'll also hopefully be enough time for some reviews to come out.

Amen to that. I can't wait to see what the community can do with this thing!

Yep, hopefully it'll sell well.

 

[darthbubba]

Amen to that. I can't wait to see what the community can do with this thing!

Well, I grabbed one this morning. They must be getting out to all corners of the country, because I got one at the VZW store in Tullahoma, TN.

First off, it DOES use a micro-SIM, like the tablets. This caused a bit of a problem when I was trying to check out, the sales rep was trying to put a regular SIM card on it, and couldn't figure out why the computer kept rejecting it when he scanned the barcode.

Before pulling the trigger on the sale, I played with the display model for a bit, and installed Quadrant Standard on it to get an idea about its' performance. Quadrant came back with a score in the 1250 range. Respectable, but my Fascinate with ComRom 2.1 can poll 1500 on the same test. I found it interesting that Quadrant reported the EXACT SAME CPU for both phones...

I've tried GingerBreak on it, but so far no joy on trying to root the phone.

Loving the sliding QWERTY and the 4G. THIS is the phone I really wanted when I bought a Fascinate last year!

 

[KnightCrusader]

Well, I grabbed one this morning. They must be getting out to all corners of the country, because I got one at the VZW store in Tullahoma, TN.

First off, it DOES use a micro-SIM, like the tablets. This caused a bit of a problem when I was trying to check out, the sales rep was trying to put a regular SIM card on it, and couldn't figure out why the computer kept rejecting it when he scanned the barcode.

I went to the store in Florence, KY, and I think I am the only one that bought one cause no one had a clue about the microSIM. I even mentioned it to them from the start of the transaction and she didn't pay attention or didn't understand. The computer kept giving some non-specific error that she had to get help for, and it wasn't solved until - you guessed it - they figured out they had the wrong type SIM card.

NOW I got to get an adapter so I can use this SIM in my TB when I need it.

Before pulling the trigger on the sale, I played with the display model for a bit, and installed Quadrant Standard on it to get an idea about its' performance. Quadrant came back with a score in the 1250 range. Respectable, but my Fascinate with ComRom 2.1 can poll 1500 on the same test. I found it interesting that Quadrant reported the EXACT SAME CPU for both phones...

Yeah, the sales rep was blown away at how fast this phone booted and responds to presses. She said they were having more problems from the Bionic being slow than this thing. Never touched a Bionic so I am not sure if she was dumb or if that was true.

I've tried GingerBreak on it, but so far no joy on trying to root the phone.

Crap, I was gonna try that too. I assume this thing has download mode and support for Odin/Heimdall to get things loaded on it. I built one of those Download Mode USB dongles for my friend's Captivate and I'll try it on this when I get to work in the morning. As long as this can do download mode, we should find a way to root it.

Loving the sliding QWERTY and the 4G. THIS is the phone I really wanted when I bought a Fascinate last year!

I never had the Fascinate, but I hear ya. The Droid 3 should have been LTE, but, at least we have a slider now! I got a coworker at work that wants to wait for a dual core LTE slider (Droid 4 probably) because he thinks the Stratosphere is slow, but I think he'd like this.

 

[Tonymm]

I went to the store in Florence, KY, and I think I am the only one that bought one cause no one had a clue about the microSIM. I even mentioned it to them from the start of the transaction and she didn't pay attention or didn't understand. The computer kept giving some non-specific error that she had to get help for, and it wasn't solved until - you guessed it - they figured out they had the wrong type SIM card.

NOW I got to get an adapter so I can use this SIM in my TB when I need it.



Yeah, the sales rep was blown away at how fast this phone booted and responds to presses. She said they were having more problems from the Bionic being slow than this thing. Never touched a Bionic so I am not sure if she was dumb or if that was true.



Crap, I was gonna try that too. I assume this thing has download mode and support for Odin/Heimdall to get things loaded on it. I built one of those Download Mode USB dongles for my friend's Captivate and I'll try it on this when I get to work in the morning. As long as this can do download mode, we should find a way to root it.



I never had the Fascinate, but I hear ya. The Droid 3 should have been LTE, but, at least we have a slider now! I got a coworker at work that wants to wait for a dual core LTE slider (Droid 4 probably) because he thinks the Stratosphere is slow, but I think he'd like this.

 

[Tonymm]

I have a question, Verizon is selling the Stratosphere for $149. Amazon has it for $39. & Radioshack has it for FREE. This would be an upgrade for me. Is there any advantage/ disadvantage to buying it from radioshack?

 

[rickhamilton620]

I have a question, Verizon is selling the Stratosphere for $149. Amazon has it for $39. & Radioshack has it for FREE. This would be an upgrade for me. Is there any advantage/ disadvantage to buying it from radioshack?

It might be like amazon where if you cancel early you'll have two ETF's: One from VZW and one from Radio Shack.

I'd read carefully just to be sure. If you're buying from RadioShack.com it's 99% likely that that's the case as their mobile store is actually run by WireFly.

 

[Tonymm]

I'll probably stay with verizon, so that is not a problem, as long as I don't lose my unlimited data plan.

 

[KnightCrusader]

Download mode works with the dongle, however it looks different than it does on the Captivate and Epic. Those ones have Andy with a shovel digging inside a yellow triangle, but the Stratosphere just has a plain green Andy icon. At the top it says:

FACTORY MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SCH-I405
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT BINARY: SAMSUNG OFFICIAL

Downloading...
Do not turn off target !!

The whole "Custom Binary Download: No" line kind of worries me. I hope that doesn't mean its locked from downloading 3rd party custom kernels. :-(

 

[rickhamilton620]

Download mode works with the dongle, however it looks different than it does on the Captivate and Epic. Those ones have Andy with a shovel digging inside a yellow triangle, but the Stratosphere just has a plain green Andy icon. At the top it says:

FACTORY MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SCH-I405
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT BINARY: SAMSUNG OFFICIAL

Downloading...
Do not turn off target !!

The whole "Custom Binary Download: No" line kind of worries me. I hope that doesn't mean its locked from downloading 3rd party custom kernels. :-(

Oh crap :-(. Hopefully thats not the case or im running right into Nexus Prime's arms, keyboard or no keyboard


-- Sent from my HP TouchPad using Communities

 

[KnightCrusader]

Oh crap :-(. Hopefully thats not the case or im running right into Nexus Prime's arms, keyboard or no keyboard

Samsung has been pretty good about leaving their phones wide open, and even embracing the dev community. I hope it just means something else than locked down.

 

[northbanker]

Wow, I just randomly heard about the Stratosphere yesterday and said to myself "at last this may just be the android slider I've been waiting for!"

I was all jazzed up about the HTC Merge several months back but then VZW bagged that so I went into hibernation again.

All I have to do now is check out the Strato hands-on... especially the keyboard. But as long as Keybd isn't worse than the Moto Droids (how could it be?!) then I think I'm likely to get one.

I'm stuck on sliders. I still use an ancient Samsung (i760) and have to say it's a really really solid keyboard & spring. The Strato would do well to be as good.

The only other hesitation I have is that I really want to hear reports about how well it does ActiveSync to Exchange Server. If that doesn't work well, it's a deal breaker for me. Anyone tried EAS on the Strato?

With Moto's protracted problems with EAS on their D2 and their lack of desire to help their screaming customers, I vowed to not touch any Moto Droid with a 10 foot pole.

I've been a pretty happy Samsung customer for years, and have much much higher hopes for the Strato because of that.

 

[KnightCrusader]

I was all jazzed up about the HTC Merge several months back but then VZW bagged that so I went into hibernation again.

As was I, coming from a Touch Pro 2 before the Droid 2, I knew HTC keyboards were very high quality and more comfy to type on than the D2 was.

All I have to do now is check out the Strato hands-on... especially the keyboard. But as long as Keybd isn't worse than the Moto Droids (how could it be?!) then I think I'm likely to get one.

I got a Stratosphere yesterday, and let me tell you, the keyboard is better than I could hope for it to be. It has a physical click to it that satisfies your fingers so you know the key was pressed, sort of like how the old 80's IBM clicky keyboards did. Go to the store and try one, you won't be disappointed.

I'm stuck on sliders. I still use an ancient Samsung (i760) and have to say it's a really really solid keyboard & spring. The Strato would do well to be as good.

You and me both! I tried the Thunderbolt and it didn't do it for me, so I was glad to hear when this one came out.

And you are still using an i760? That was my first smartphone ever, I used it for a year and a half until the Touch Pro2 came out and moved to that. I tell you what, that i760 is still kickin and the TP2 has since died. That also told me that Samsung's build quality is far superior.

Even though the i760 only had a three-row keyboard, I really missed the front numpad when it was closed. You could text T9 with it closed if you only had one hand available, and that was pretty cool.

The only other hesitation I have is that I really want to hear reports about how well it does ActiveSync to Exchange Server. If that doesn't work well, it's a deal breaker for me. Anyone tried EAS on the Strato?

We use Google accounts for work email so I couldn't tell you that, but from what I read, this phone is supposed to have advanced support for Exchange.

With Moto's protracted problems with EAS on their D2 and their lack of desire to help their screaming customers, I vowed to not touch any Moto Droid with a 10 foot pole.

I've been a pretty happy Samsung customer for years, and have much much higher hopes for the Strato because of that.

Yeah I left the Droid 2 due to the locked bootloader crap. Samsung seems to be more dev friendly, and that's what I like to see.

 

[rickhamilton620]

I asked in the Android thread of another tech forum I'm on. A guy who's very well versed in the inner workings of Samsung android handsets (writes own ROM's/Kernals, mod's UI's, etc.) had this to say when I linked to KnightCrusader's post on what the Recovery said:

All Things Android - Apps, Phones, and Discussion [ICS confirmed, 18th Oct, 10pm EST] - Page 370

If the bootloader is indeed locked upon Verizon's request, I'm unfortunetly out of the race.

 

[KnightCrusader]

I also posted this on RootzWiki and they pointed me to here:

xda-developers - View Single Post - [HOWTO] reset custom binary counter in download mode

According to this, this is the new bootloader and it just signifies to someone whether or not its running Samsung approved binaries, or homemade. Something about once the homemade one is flashed, it will change over to YES. This will help Samsung identify phones that have been modified if they are sent in for warranty reasons. Makes sense.

EDIT:
I think we are okay folks. Another Google search has yielded this:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?p=57382305

It shows the Galaxy S2 phone that says the exact same thing before rooting it. I think my assumption about what that line indicates is correct.

 

[rickhamilton620]

I also posted this on RootzWiki and they pointed me to here:

xda-developers - View Single Post - [HOWTO] reset custom binary counter in download mode

According to this, this is the new bootloader and it just signifies to someone whether or not its running Samsung approved binaries, or homemade. Something about once the homemade one is flashed, it will change over to YES. This will help Samsung identify phones that have been modified if they are sent in for warranty reasons. Makes sense.

EDIT:
I think we are okay folks. Another Google search has yielded this:

Samsung Galaxy S2 - Guide to Rooting your phone (Always evolving and ever changing!) - Page 24 - www.hardwarezone.com.sg

It shows the Galaxy S2 phone that says the exact same thing before rooting it. I think my assumption about what that line indicates is correct.

Ah ha! He did mention the counter and such before when the GSII came out, but that totally slipped my (and apparently his) mind's this time round. That and he didn't post a photo of what it looked like on screen the first time he mentioned it. Good detective work!

 

[H.A.L. 9000]

Ah ha! He did mention the counter and such before when the GSII came out, but that totally slipped my (and apparently his) mind's this time round. That and he didn't post a photo of what it looked like on screen the first time he mentioned it. Good detective work!

It's very interesting that they would implement this on Hummingbird, when none of the other Hummingbird phones have this bootloader. We haven't received new Gingerbread bootloaders for the Infuse 4G or the Charge, so this may actually be coming to more Hummingbird devices with time.

 

[rickhamilton620]

It's very interesting that they would implement this on Hummingbird, when none of the other Hummingbird phones have this bootloader. We haven't received new Gingerbread bootloaders for the Infuse 4G or the Charge, so this may actually be coming to more Hummingbird devices with time.

A wild HAL appears :|

Glad to see you here