Device: Samsung Charge. Runs Android, Froyo. Carrier Verizon.
Roar Rating: 2.5 roars.
Scale: Fire-->5 roars-->4 roars-->3 roars-->2 roars-->1 roar-->1 purr-->2 purrs-->3 purrs-->4 purrs-->5 purrs
(Fire is so awful you should run away gibbering. 5 roars is as bad as it gets, don't even bother with the product or service. 5 purrs is so good you should drop what you're doing and run and get whatever I'm talking about.)
So, I was really excited a few months ago to get a top of the line smartphone, the Samsung Charge! The reviews were pretty good to excellent - the specs and links to a few reviews are below so you can see that for yourself.
I get this baby home and start to play. Um. I can't get 4G. It crashes every hour. Using the camera crashes the phone. The touchscreen doesn't respond. What the what? So I bring it back to the store where they assure me it's perfect, and refuse to exchange it. Yelling, crying, and a head bonk on the counter ensued but the manager remained firm. Fine. Then I said I would return it, eat the $35 restocking fee, and leave on the river of tears I cried while I was there. OMG! Suddenly the manager can exchange my phone, no fee, so sorry! I should have refused, but I am a sucker.
Now I have this replacement "smart"phone, and please note that Verizon doesn't allow more than 2 device exchanges. They know what they're doing. This new Charge, contrary to the store manager's assertions that the previous one was perfect, is actually much better. But, holy cow, I have to say it, Regina Says It Sucks anyway. Why? Ok. First of all, it gets "4G", which I think someone made up, about 10% of the time, and I notice nothing discernible in the function or speed of the phone between 4G and 3G. It may have a super-duper AMOLED screen, but somehow the software turns down the brightness all the time. BY ITSELF. The camera crashes the phone so that it needs a hard reset at least once a week, and I lose charming pictures all the time. The delay between photos is so long - like 8 seconds - you can forget about snapping two shots, because by that time the person (or animal, or event) has moved away, or grown older, or forgotten you. I was taking pictures at the Greenwich Village Halloween parade, and I took a phot of a scary monster. While I was studiously staring at my screen to see if the damn photo came out, in real life the monster reached over the barrier (causing gleeful screaming all around me, but of course - I didn't notice. I was busy) to mock-grab my phone. Did I see this? No. Then when I realized what was going on (as the crowd moved away from me), I was thrilled and scared and delighted and decided to take a photo of this unique moment! And my phone crashed. Samsung Charge: 1 Regina: 0.
Oh, there's more. The ringer doesn't always work. Now, I thought that how the phone let me know I was getting a call is by ringing. Right? Maybe the designers had a different idea. I can't be sure. But I miss a lot of calls.
The battery life on this device is well known for being short, but c'mon. It's about 5 hours. I can't go anywhere without my recharger. I previously had a first generation Droid and I never ever carried the charger. Now I simply Don't Leave Home Without it. I know where the plugs are in diners all over Manhattan. Sigh. And, it takes a loooong time to recharge. Far longer than my Motorola Gen 1 Droid, what's up with that, engineers?
Random annoying and very real software issues that I have no idea how they slipped through the designers, uh...fingers so to speak: clock has non-intuitive repeat feature, and one can easily think they are setting the alarm for the next morning - and have the alarm actually set for a week from the next morning. Disconcerting. I've had apps simply disappear, and other apps launch randomly all by themselves. The home page doesn't stay set and randomly changes. I've had the contacts lose numbers I use a lot. Sometimes the touchscreen will just go dark while I'm using it so I can't make any commands at all and have to reboot the phone. Whaddup wit dat, Samsung? And, sometimes the screen doesn't dim by itself after I've used the phone, and just sits there, mocking me, wasting the battery. Sometimes I can't swipe the lock screen off and have to - you guessed it - hard reboot. This phone has a mind of its own. Wait - I wonder if it does? It seems to. Now I'm scared, a little.
Yes, there's more. You can't edit photos on the phone like you could with my old smartphone, that good old solid Motorola Droid which never bothered me in any way. The Google Maps app loses the GPS signal all the time. My older droid rarely failed me, but this one loses me all over the country. I would be better off leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, and the birds would like me better too. Hmm, I wonder if there's an app for that?
That's not a comprehensive list, but you get the picture. The phone is definitely -- interesting. So, this device not only gets 2.5 roars, but I have to wonder what all the other reviewers were thinking. I just can't wait to upgrade this clunky, bossy piece of hardware. You hear that, little Samsung Charge? You're toast. Just please keep working until my contract runs out.
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http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-droid-charge-verizon/4505-6452_7-34468678.html
http://tinyurl.com/c3eqnzw
http://www.bgr.com/2011/05/09/samsung-droid-charge-review/
http://phandroid.com/2011/05/02/samsung-droid-charge-review/
