possible new fascinate owner, some questions

[sdmf]

Hey guys, 1st post here. Anyways, I have an opportunity to get in another month or so a GREAT plan with TELUS (in canada). Im currently running a JB'd iphone 3G on Rogers and I'm sick of being "this close" to tossing the phone out on the highway due to dropped calls, OS slowness, freezes etc.

Anyways, I was looking through my options for TELUS smartphone and the Galaxy S Fascinate appears to be the only decent one.

Now for some questions...(ps sorry I havent dug through this site too much, but definitely will....as I've never used android before).

- "Verizon Fascinate" (US) ..."Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate" (can)..Im assuming this are the exact same phones?
- I see the phone can be rooted, is that essentially the same thing as jailbreak?
- Im sure the fascinate is MUCH faster than the iphone 3g, but how does it compare to the 4G? I hope its actually even better than that too

can someone give me some additional thoughts/pros cons of this phone coming from an iphone 3g? I really want to get into android, but dont want to regret it. I know that is hard to predict, but ... maybe there are some people here who would say something like "dude, DO IT NOW, Its way better than an Iphone because you can do this, this and this"...lol

Anyways, Im off now to read more threads on this site. Thanks in advance.

 

[Sta11i0n]

1.) "Fascinate" is just Verizon's name for their version of the Galaxy S phone. You won't see "Fascinate" labeled anywhere on it, but the battery cover has the Galaxy logo. Just like the "Mesmerize" from US Cell, the "Vibrant" from T-Mobile and so on...

2.) Yes. Jailbreaking is the same as rooting. The apple community just gave it a nickname.

3.) I have not handled a 4g iPhone yet, but looking at the specs between the 2 they seem fairly comparable.

One thing I've noticed is even though both phones are very close to the same size dimensionally, the iPhone has a 1/2" smaller screen. Thus, making it seem bulkier due to the extra unused space above and below it. I am an avid fan of Samsung and their displays. All of the TV's and computer monitors in my home are from them. To me, hardware is the most important factor. Software can always be upgraded and changed to what you but you're always going to be stuck with the physical attributes you have. Yes, they have their fancy Retina display, but there's something about the insane contrast and rich colors AMOLED provides that keeps me in love with my phone.

My $.02

 

[sdmf]

Awesome thanks for that! Anyone else?

 

[ocgreenmachine]

I personally like the fascinate. I came from a storm 2 and although I miss some blackberry traits(push email, international capability), android is a solid platform. The screen is bright and responsive, camera is solid, and UI is highly customizable.

 

[sdmf]

thanks again.

2 more possible touchy questions. Is the Fascinate the best at this time out of the galaxy s family?

what's is "currently" or is expected in near future to be the "best" or right up there in regards to android phones?

thanks

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Each of the Galaxy S series phones has some small advantages over the other. The Epic 4G is 4G capable and has a slideout keyboard, the Fascinate has a Flash for the camera...it's more of a personal preference as to which you think is the "best" of the Galaxy S line.

This arguably goes for the second question as well. The Droid X, and Galaxy S are probably the most talked about devices currently available, but the Droid, Droid Pro, Incredible, and Evo 4G are all also great Android devices. Again it's personal preference.

 

[sdmf]

Ah gotcha. I see, Im not interested in any slideouts etc. All i really care about is the ability to softmod a little, and have it customizable running fast and smooth. I'm not an app hound, but rather, get what I need, then have everything run clean, smooth and have options so to speak.

As of now here are my only choices for phones:
- Fascinate
- iPhone 4
- HTC 7 Surround (i have no clue about win7 and how "customizable" it is/will be
- LG Optimus 7

Actually any of these are my options. Smartphones?*|?* Phones & devices?*|?* TELUS Mobility Now which one to choose, so far it seem that the Fascinate is the "best" one for my needs out of these. Someone correct me if Im wrong...

ps - this seem to be THE site...so i guess whichever droid phone I get (if droid)...I'll be here for a while and will hopefully be able to help some newbs out tehe

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

All bias aside, if you are looking for a completely customizable experience, the iPhone is definitely not the best choice for you. I can't speak for Windows Mobile 7, but even a jailbroken iOS is not nearly as tweakable (if that's even a word).

 

[sdmf]

THanks Chris, thats kind of what I wanted to hear. The iphone has been pissing me off more and more as each day goes by. I have it clean (meaning not loaded up with a bunch of garbage apps etc, its the 16GB with about 1.5 GB of music on it, thats it!. Im still running on an old most reliable firmware and STILL sometimes takes 15 seconds to open up the SMS app. UHOH, getting angry just thinkging about it, blood pressure rising, getting ....ok you get the idea.

 

[Sta11i0n]

Aftermarket support is also a big factor to keep in mind. The android market has unlimited possibilities. The iPhone of course is a big headline for companies making apps. This was a huge reason for me to come over to the android world as blackberry's app world is pitiful.

 

[ocgreenmachine]

Another thing to consider is the network you will be on... Everybody I know has gripes about at&t with regards to poor network coverage/dropped calls, etc. As for the galaxy S line, there are some differences in both hardware and software. Hardware, such as flash for the camera on the Fascinate or slideout keyboard on the epic is a matter of preference. As to software, I noticed that the fascinate does not support tv-out through the 3.5mm jack whereas other galaxy s phones seem to have that capability. Also, consider bloatware you will encounter from carrier to carrier. Some are worse than others, but a simple root and that is fixed. Finally, software support... Personally, i've been waiting for froyo on this phone for almost 3months and now gingerbread is apparently coming out... So looks like the galaxy S phomes may be left out in the dust so soon after release.

 

[xgunther]

A lot of people have complained about the plastic-y feel of the phone. I personally love it. It's not made of solid gold, but it still feels very solid and durable, especially when comparing it to the droid incredible, which I found to be very very cheap in my hand.

 

[laroucja]

I'm also about to get this phone from Telus. According to what I've seen, there seems to be some differences between the Verizon and Telus versions: the Telus model has no camera flash and the speaker is not located at the same place on the back (now try to find the right case/skin for it!). Also, not sure if the 16 GB "internal memory" is onboard, like the Captivate does, or comes on a microSD.
Can someone advise? thanks

 

[Sta11i0n]

I would assume they're referring to the SD card even though they said "internal." That is pretty much standard for smart phones these days. The highest internal memory I've seen has been 8gb in the X and Incredible.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

 

[Ronindan]

The telus fascinate has as an internal (fixed) SD 16 gig card. And has a slot for an external SD card slot. I have another 16 gig card on it, mainly for backups and media files.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

From my understanding, all of the Canadian versions come with expanded internal memory because they don't supply an SD card. Someone correct me if I am wrong, though.

 

[sdmf]

Just Back to this now because I'll probably be getting my fascinate in the next week or two. Just a few more questions if you guys dont mind.

- I know there was speculation, but does any one know FOR SURE if/what are any physical differences between the verizon and TELUS fascinate? Is it confirmed no camera flash etc for the TELUS version? Also SD card etc?

- Apps, I know with the iphone there is a way to get paid apps for free (and no I didnt do this), is this the same with Android? Not that I condone this, as I have no problem paying for good apps.

- damn, forgot what this question was gonna be...lol

- is loading MP3's, Pics etc, just a drag/dop type thing through windows explorer? I cant stand that I need to use garbage itunes to get music on and off etc.

thats all for now. MANY MANY THANKS!

 

[chuban7]

IMO I think you should go to another carrier or wait because support for this phone is horrible and our dev team can't do much (e.g. port GB or FroYo) because we are lacking resources from samsung such as our RIL we need but here are some pros and cons

Pros
SAMOLED is great
Processor is good
best graphics
Flash
Camera
Good Battery life for Smartphone
Cons
Support from Samsung
GPS(with DJ05 its better)
Screen Burn(rare)

 

[sdmf]

IMO I think you should go to another carrier or wait because support for this phone is horrible and our dev team can't do much (e.g. port GB or FroYo) because we are lacking resources from samsung such as our RIL we need but here are some pros and cons

Pros
SAMOLED is great
Processor is good
best graphics
Flash
Camera
Good Battery life for Smartphone
Cons
Support from Samsung
GPS(with DJ05 its better)
Screen Burn(rare)

Yah but I'll be on the TELUS network which just got froyo today...Does that matter? Honest question, not sure....

 

[Sta11i0n]

To answer some of your previous questions:

Yes, there are p2p and ftp sites that you can download .apk files (android apps) from that people have uploaded. (Some of which are paid)

Yes, you can use the SD card in mass storage mode on your computer to copy/paste files to it.

Telus getting Froyo is just making impatient VZ customers jealous. Froyo boasts added features like the newest version of flash player and the ability to save apps to your SD card if you wish (vs internal memory).