On the fence about the Charge?

[Balthazar B]

There's a lot to like about this phone (e.g., LTE, possibly the best screen available, tethering OOTB) and some stuff to like not so much (single core, 2GB RAM), but given the fact that there aren't any dual-core LTE phones out there (and may not be for several months), is anyone feeling on the fence about the Charge?

Things that could push me one way or the other:

• Battery life;
• Locked bootloader.

We should know within a week of release about both of these. If the phone can go a day or more with medium-heavy usage, and can get rooted and a Gingerbread ROM shortly, that might be a worthwhile purchase until clearly better devices are available late this year. Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[crspy]

Talk Time Up to 660 mins
Web Browsing over 3G Not Available
Standby Time Up to 280 hours

if this is true then this is my phone! that would be amazing battery life

 

[user311]

talk time isn't really a good way to measure a phone's endurance because the screen turns off on phones when people are talking on them. The people who complain about battery life are usually users that play games or apps which turn on the screen or use more power than a simple phone call would. (Granted when phones are making phone calls they are using the old 1x bandwidth which uses more power than the 3g antenna would but probably less than the 4g one will as it seems that 4g is a hog, the screens being on and the cpu usage makes up for the difference.) The best way to measure a phone's battery imo would be to play a video on the screen and see how long it lasts.

 

[czm2000]

talk time isn't really a good way to measure a phone's endurance because the screen turns off on phones when people are talking on them. The people who complain about battery life are usually users that play games or apps which turn on the screen or use more power than a simple phone call would. (Granted when phones are making phone calls they are using the old 1x bandwidth which uses more power than the 3g antenna would but probably less than the 4g one will as it seems that 4g is a hog, the screens being on and the cpu usage makes up for the difference.) The best way to measure a phone's battery imo would be to play a video on the screen and see how long it lasts.

And this is exactly why its so promising. It doesn't say "Talk Time". It clearly states "usage time" and in their definition of usage time they say they consider this to be time when the screen is ON. Im loving that claim. If it's anywhere near that in actual usage time then count me in.

My TB wont even make it 7 hours with hardly any use. Don't even get ask how long it lasts if I actually use the darn thing because it's really quite embarrassing.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[JakesPrePlus]

There's a lot to like about this phone (e.g., LTE, possibly the best screen available, tethering OOTB) and some stuff to like not so much (single core, 2GB RAM), but given the fact that there aren't any dual-core LTE phones out there (and may not be for several months), is anyone feeling on the fence about the Charge?

Things that could push me one way or the other:

• Battery life;
• Locked bootloader.

We should know within a week of release about both of these. If the phone can go a day or more with medium-heavy usage, and can get rooted and a Gingerbread ROM shortly, that might be a worthwhile purchase until clearly better devices are available late this year. Anyone else feel the same way?

I wish it had 2GB of RAM! It's actually 512MB. You're thinking of internal storage.

 

[BobR]

Count me on the fence until we learn more about the Charge, but I'm intending to buy it. It looks very promising to me. Sure, it's not dual core, it's only 512MB ram, and future phones will put it to shame - but that's always the case these days.

On the other hand, a lot of phones sound great until people actually use them and find out about the weaknesses. But as someone said above, we'll find out quickly about the pluses and minuses.

At this point, this phone has the potential to be anything from spectacular to dud. But it doesn't have to be perfect to get me on board because I'm looking to buy right away.

The screen sounds great, I'm pleasantly surprised to see there is an FM radio, I like the HDMI, and I'm still hoping for HID bluetooth profile so I can use an external keyboard and mouse.

Battery life is not a show stopper for me - there's a big extended battery, so it won't be any worse than the TB. Plus, reports are that it's better than the TB (whereas we knew in advance that the TB was having some battery issues). It's also a lighter phone than the TB, so an extended battery may be more tolerable in your pocket.

What IS a potential show stopper for me may surprise people, but if there is no way to switch between 3g and 4g I may have to pass. There is such fast battery drain on 4G LTE, especially if you happen to be in the wrong location. It's probably worse at the fringes of coverage, where I will be, and it's probably not just a TB issue. So if there is not 3G/4G switch, I may still jump on a Thunderbolt.

The TB does have it's own charm and feels so nice in my hand. Nobody else seems to care, but I think the kickstand would be really nice (even if the charging port faces down).

But like I said... the Charge could be pretty spectacular, and that's what I'm hoping for.

 

[Balthazar B]

Didn't it take someone to write an add-on/widget to turn 4G off on the TBolt? I agree that's a good, probably essential function to have. If it doesn't have that capability OOTB, I'd hope it would take only about the same time for some enterprising developer to figure out how to do it, as it did for the TBolt.

@Jakes: Yes, I meant storage...would like having 8GB available. In terms of RAM, I hope it turns out to be DDR2 whether it's 512KB or 1MB.

 

[barrycinti]

Talk Time Up to 660 mins
Web Browsing over 3G Not Available
Standby Time Up to 280 hours

if this is true then this is my phone! that would be amazing battery life

Does this mean it won't be able to use 3G at all? I live in area where 4G is spotty if it can't use 3G this is a showstopper for me. Why would they do something like that, does it not have a 3G radio?

THX

 

[Balthazar B]

Does this mean it won't be able to use 3G at all? I live in area where 4G is spotty if it can't use 3G this is a showstopper for me. Why would they do something like that, does it not have a 3G radio?

THX

Network
2G Network........CDMA 800, 1900 MHz
3G Network........CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
..................LTE 700 MHz (4G)

Read more: Samsung Droid Charge Full Specifications And Price Details - Gadgetian

I think you're covered on 3G...

 

[barrycinti]

Balthazar B:

Thanks for the info, when I searched for the Charge specs all I found was generic info. Your link answered all of my questions

 

[Stang68]

I think I'm going to recommend this to my brother coming from a Droid. He is looking for a new device and I am leaning between the Charge or the Inc2 for him. He isn't dying for 4G but seems to like the Charge more. I think I may wait for reviews to come out before I recommend something.

 

[Balthazar B]

Good plan to wait for some reviews from trusted sources.

 

[Droid800]

I'm on the fence right now, but the more I think about it the more I think I might get the Charge. I want an LTE device, but I also want a quality device. I was considering just settling for the Dinc 2, but the Charge would probably fit a bit better. I would obviously prefer a dual-core phone (and have considered getting an Atrix), but knowing me I'll probably just end up selling the charge and getting a Bionic or similar phone off ebay in a year.

 

[newdad28]

Totally on the fence. Price is a deterrent...with the Charge coming tomorrow, TB prices are down a lot I'm seeing. $129 for 4G LTE (anyone know if I'm assuming correctly that getting in on the unlimited (for real unlimited) data right now let's us grandfather that indefinitely..never having to pay more for tiered data plans later?) ...if that applies..is tempting. I use a lot of data, and even though I'm not in a LTE area (Austin, TX), I'm surrounded by LTE markets that I work in and travel to/from all the time.

Wish the Charge had a built in kickstand..
Have seen people talking about how bad Samsung is at releasing updates...
Familiar with HTC and like their devices a lot (TB looks great there)
Not sure I need the absolute latest technology in my screen (unless the battery life implications are good)
Don't care about dual core till that whole scene gets developed..and that'll take some time
What else?

 

[DolfanCole]

Totally on the fence. Price is a deterrent...with the Charge coming tomorrow, TB prices are down a lot I'm seeing. $129 for 4G LTE (anyone know if I'm assuming correctly that getting in on the unlimited (for real unlimited) data right now let's us grandfather that indefinitely..never having to pay more for tiered data plans later?) ...if that applies..is tempting. I use a lot of data, and even though I'm not in a LTE area (Austin, TX), I'm surrounded by LTE markets that I work in and travel to/from all the time.

Wish the Charge had a built in kickstand..
Have seen people talking about how bad Samsung is at releasing updates...
Familiar with HTC and like their devices a lot (TB looks great there)
Not sure I need the absolute latest technology in my screen (unless the battery life implications are good)
Don't care about dual core till that whole scene gets developed..and that'll take some time
What else?

There's been nothing official, just speculation and hope from consumers. If Verizon does grandfather people in, it'll only be until you renew your contract, i.e., if you upgrade again later on, you'll be signing a new contract (unless you buy the phone at retail), and then you'll be subject to whatever pricing is at that time.

 

[Droid800]

So I think I'm going to end up picking one up tomorrow. The biggest deterrent for me is TouchWiz, but I'll play around with it a bit to see how I like it.

 

[Cruiserdude]

So I think I'm going to end up picking one up tomorrow. The biggest deterrent for me is TouchWiz, but I'll play around with it a bit to see how I like it.

I've read many things indicating that you'll be able to switch back to the stock launcher if you prefer. We'll see for sure tomorrow, but still there's always LauncherPro.

To be honest, the only thing holding me back at this point is the hope that I'll still be able to get a Bionic with an unlimited LTE plan. If not, this will be my next phone, can't see what the T-Bolt or Revolution could have by mid summer that would make them more appealing than the Charge.

 

[Droid800]

I've read many things indicating that you'll be able to switch back to the stock launcher if you prefer. We'll see for sure tomorrow, but still there's always LauncherPro.

To be honest, the only thing holding me back at this point is the hope that I'll still be able to get a Bionic with an unlimited LTE plan. If not, this will be my next phone, can't see what the T-Bolt or Revolution could have by mid summer that would make them more appealing than the Charge.

I read that too. It would be nice if they did, though I wouldn't put it past Verizon to disable it.

The bolt and revolution are the same phone, with a different wrapper, and we all know how the Bolt turned out.

I was going to wait for the Bionic, but I don't see the point any more. If worse comes to worse, I'll sell the Charge on ebay and pick up a Bionic.

 

[Cruiserdude]

I read that too. It would be nice if they did, though I wouldn't put it past Verizon to disable it.

The bolt and revolution are the same phone, with a different wrapper, and we all know how the Bolt turned out.

I was going to wait for the Bionic, but I don't see the point any more. If worse comes to worse, I'll sell the Charge on ebay and pick up a Bionic.

Yeah, I'm really getting tired of waiting to be honest. I'll feel pretty stupid if I wait all summer just to find out I can't get unlimited with the Bionic anyway, and should have just gone with the Charge. At least it would probably be cheaper by then.

But yeah, hardware on the T-Bolt and Revo looks pretty similar, but most reports indicate that the LG will ship with the beloved experience of Bing...

So yeah, I don't think there's much of a question about which is the one to get out of the three...

 

[Droid800]

Yeah, I'm really getting tired of waiting to be honest. I'll feel pretty stupid if I wait all summer just to find out I can't get unlimited with the Bionic anyway, and should have just gone with the Charge. At least it would probably be cheaper by then.

But yeah, hardware on the T-Bolt and Revo looks pretty similar, but most reports indicate that the LG will ship with the beloved experience of Bing...

So yeah, I don't think there's much of a question about which is the one to get out of the three...

Yup. And it has the BMX seal of approval that the Bolt didn't get, so that's something.