You caught me in a bad mood! I am so tired of hearing people whine and cry about your phones. You should learn what the phone can do before you purchase it. There are apps so that you can see which satellites you are locked on to just like if you use your Tom Tom or whatever you have! There is NOTHING wrong with gps. It is, like most problems, operator error
Sorry, but your comment jerked my chain. I have a Droid 2 and a Droid Charge, no problems with battery, GPS, 3G/4G signal, or anything you people cry and whine about. LEARN UR PHONE!
Or better, get a land line and quit crying!
Actually, no, this IS something wrong with the Charge's GPS lock. This is my first (and last) Samsung, but I understand it is a common problem with the Charge. Yes, you can (and should) download any of several apps to tell you how many sats you are connecting to, but that doesn't actually allow you to connect faster, or have any control over which sats to connect to.
I understand bad moods. My wife is rather convinced that I've been in a bad mood for ten years. I'm also fully aware that every phone has it benefits and negatives, but the blame the user for poor/slow GPS lock on the Charge is not accurate or fair. The only POSSIBLE user fault is that they bought the phone within fully understanding every single detail and problem every available phone has. To expect that of any consumer is foolish. CAVEAT EMPTOR is only appropriate if the caveats are fully disclosed
before purchase. Does Samsung conceal the fact that their GPS lock is terrible (as compared to, say, Motorola phones which, while having other problems, GPS extraordinarily fast)? I'm not going to say their is an intention to conceal, but the doctrine fitness of use does take available substitutes into account. If most phones get a GPS lock in under 20 seconds (made up number as I only have anecdotal data on what is a "normal" lock) with inside, and within perhaps 10 seconds outside in clear skies, the Samsung's two, three, or perhaps 10 or 15 minutes lock times is, relative to consumer expectations, unfit for use.
Some people use GPS more than others. I tend to use it often. I drive to new areas a lot and, while I have GPS in my car that locks fast (pretty much immediately -- always-- I find to routes are poor so I prefer not to use it. Also, hate internet shopping (impatience, rather than concern over the process/security), so I try to buy locally. This means I like when Google gives me accurate locality information, plus there is weather updates (if I'm not in my "home" locale), and really prefer that my family can always see where I am from their own phone. In general, I think almost 1/3 to 1/2 half of the things I use my phone for (ironically, calls and texts make up perhaps 1% max) utilize GPS (or would IDEALLY use GPS). That make Samsung nigh-useless. In fact, even though I'm not up for a new phone for well over a year, I may have to buy a new one just to get full functionality out of my phone. This is not something I relish, since a new high-end smartphone can be between $600-700 off contract. Not something I can swallow easily since I paid several hundred about seven months ago with this Charge.