Is it that bad?

[SOTK]

So, not to totally disagree with you but...to partially disagree with you:
Most phones just aren't this buggy.

I've never had a phone that spontaneously rebooted (frequently).
I've never had a phone that when the battery is low and you take a picture, crashes.
I've never had a phone that randomly doesn't work with bluetooth devices it successfully paired with.
I've never had a phone that took 10 seconds (randomly) to redraw the screen.
I've never had a phone that ran out of battery power within about 4 hours with any level of heavy use.
I've never had a phone that required a third party launcher to make the basic functions work fast enough to not drive me insane.

And, well, I've had about 10 different blackberries, 4 iPhones (iPhone 3, 3GS, 4, 4S), 10 Palm devices and others, Good devices, and many other devices.

The only thing I've never had before is an Android device. But from what I can tell the other Android devices don't behave like the Charge. (DO THEY?!) You seem to be implying this is par for the course with mobile phones. I can assure you it isn't for non-Android phones. And my bet is that it isn't for Android phones either. Right?

I'm personally looking forward to the Galaxy Nexus, if only because I'm certain it will get regular updates.

Sorry that you've had such a bad experience. My experience with the Charge has not been what you've experienced. Honestly. I did experience lag and screen redraws when I first got the phone. This was with the stock Froyo firmware. Also, I've experienced slow GPS locks and the battery performance should have been better than what we got, however, the Charge has better battery performance than other Verizon LTE devices. I quickly left stock Froyo when I got the phone. In fact, I rooted my phone the day I got it and immediately placed a custom Rom and Voodoo Kernel on it. Screen redraws and lag disappeared especially when using V6 supercharger. As far as rebooting and freezes and whatnot, I haven't really experienced this. Granted, I've had to take matters into my own hand to achieve some of these improvements but I've had to do this with the three Blackberry phones I owned too. The Storm 1 and Storm 2 both released with horrendous firmware. I had forward and hardware problems with my Tour. I have NEVER experienced a bugless experience with any of the smartphones I've owned. Ever. Each had quirks and issues. They all pretty much got better as time went on except where there were hardware issues of course.

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[Dnoravian]

So any idea when GB will go OTA SOTK? from your description, its fixes the only things that bug me about this phone.

 

[SOTK]

So any idea when GB will go OTA SOTK? from your description, its fixes the only things that bug me about this phone.

No. I haven't heard of a specific day or eta. I only know that the firmware came from Verizon and that it is strongly being considered as an official firmware release. Out of all the firmware leaks Verizon has rejected and which I've tried, this is the best.

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[sv_one]

Sorry that you've had such a bad experience. My experience with the Charge has not been what you've experienced. ... I quickly left stock Froyo when I got the phone. In fact, I rooted my phone the day I got it and immediately placed a custom Rom and Voodoo Kernel on it. ... I have NEVER experienced a bugless experience with any of the smartphones I've owned. Ever. Each had quirks and issues. They all pretty much got better as time went on except where there were hardware issues of course. ...

Yeah, I'm bummed about it too. I wanted to and still want to love the Charge. (Still love the screen!) I've never experienced a bug-free smartphone either...but nothing has come remotely close to this.

A key point to mention -- for the OP (and, really that's what this thread is about, right?). You noted you rooted/custom rom'd. I didn't do that. Neither will the OP, from what I can tell:

Im looking to switch to Verizon and get a family plan for me and my fiance, in Lieu of the release of the Galaxy Nexus . My fiance however, is not a power android user. She has a captivate and it works for her, it has some problems, but its still ok. I was thinking of getting her the Droid Charge because it has a similar interface as the captivate so she wont have to re-learn anything and it has a pretty nice screen. However, it seems like every one in the forum HATES this phone lol. Is it really that bad? Do you guys advise against buying this? All of your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanx everyone for the responses.
I noticed that you guys said you flashed cutom roms. I have rooted aplenty phones and flashed a few roms, however, this is going to be for my girl and she isnt into all that. I just want to get her a phone that will work out of the box without having to do these things. My question is, can the charge do that for her?

So, while your experience with stock FroYo was a brief transitory moment, for me and for most people who buy the phone, this thing is buggy as heck. If what you're saying is: Don't buy the charge unless you plan to root....what you're really saying to the OP (and to most people) is that they shouldn't buy the Charge. I know I wouldn't, had I to do it all over again.

So I think the answer to the OP is: Unless you plan to root/rom (or VZ/Samsung release a bug-free update before you buy), I would avoid this phone. Wait and get the Razr or the Galaxy Nexus.

(Why wouldn't you, if you were him?)

 

[MaxBuck2]

Wait and get the Razr or the Galaxy Nexus.

(Why wouldn't you, if you were him?)

My quick answer is that I've used the Charge and find it to be an excellent phone. Pretty much every smartphone has people complaining about one or more aspects of it. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard or read "this (insert phone name) sucks," I could buy Manhattan. And for current market value.

I'd be very wary of buying any phone with a non-removable battery like the Razr. And we have no idea what quirks and issues the Galaxy Nexus might have.

 

[SOTK]

Yeah, I'm bummed about it too. I wanted to and still want to love the Charge. (Still love the screen!) I've never experienced a bug-free smartphone either...but nothing has come remotely close to this.

A key point to mention -- for the OP (and, really that's what this thread is about, right?). You noted you rooted/custom rom'd. I didn't do that. Neither will the OP, from what I can tell:

So, while your experience with stock FroYo was a brief transitory moment, for me and for most people who buy the phone, this thing is buggy as heck. If what you're saying is: Don't buy the charge unless you plan to root....what you're really saying to the OP (and to most people) is that they shouldn't buy the Charge. I know I wouldn't, had I to do it all over again.

So I think the answer to the OP is: Unless you plan to root/rom (or VZ/Samsung release a bug-free update before you buy), I would avoid this phone. Wait and get the Razr or the Galaxy Nexus.

(Why wouldn't you, if you were him?)

As I've pointed out, there is an unofficial firmware leak out. You can flash this via a program named Odin. You don't have to root your phone or anything. You can install it and be just as stock as you are with Froyo.


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[droidbio]

Don't get the charge.
Love it but hate it!!

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[sv_one]

As I've pointed out, there is an unofficial firmware leak out. You can flash this via a program named Odin. You don't have to root your phone or anything. You can install it and be just as stock as you are with Froyo.


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Hey, if they release an official firmware version for the Charge that fixes most of the bugs, I'm all for reconsidering this phone. Hope they do it soon.

 

[SOTK]

Just plugged in my Charge for the first time after flashing Humble 5.0. Keep in mind that I haven't even fully calibrated it yet!

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[shastrich2005]

I love mine. No complaints. So far my favorite phone I have owned to date.

 

[Dnoravian]

I love mine. No complaints. So far my favorite phone I have owned to date.

yup, agreed and now that i rooted it with 2.3.6, its even better!