The Samsung Fascinate for Verizon is part of Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy S family of smartphones. All the versions sold in the U.S. (AT&T's Captivate, T-Mobile's Vibrant, Sprint's Epic 4G) feature 4-inch
The Fascinate offers impressive specs overall, and its 5 megapixel 720p HD capable camera ranks high among them, since it even includes the flash that the Captivate and Vibrant lack. It also has none of the lag issues found on the earlier models, which is a relief. The speakerphone function on the phone, however, barely seems to work. Outbound audio on speakerphone calls is no louder than when the speakerphone is off. Regular calls work just fine. Some people might dislike the Microsoft Bing search and mapping features of the phone, but I'm not one of those people. I like them just fine.
Overall it's an attractive device with great capabilities that runs on a solid network. Its $199 price tag is not necessarily a bargain, but this is my favorite Galaxy S smartphone on the market and is also my favorite non-QWERTY smartphone available on Verizon. That's saying something.
Hardware
As a Samsung Galaxy S based smartphone, the Fascinate for Verizon features a simple touchscreen slab design. What makes that design special is not its subtle good looks, but rather the brilliant properties of its 4-inch, 800 x 480 pixel
That large display means that the Fascinate is not a particularly small phone, though: 125.5 x 65 x 10.0mm (4.9 x 2.6 x .4in). It's narrower, shorter, and thinner than a Motorola DROID X, which has a 4.3-inch display, but a couple of millimeters longer than T-Mobile's Vibrant.
Apart from the display, the design is simple. There are 4 touch sensitive buttons at the base of the phone, and a volume rocker on the left edge that is balanced by a power/lock button on the right edge. The 3.5mm headphone jack is at the top, next to a micro-USB port for power and data that features a sliding cover.
The rear of the phone has a classy gray pattern on black plastic, and feels slightly warm to the touch. Like the Samsung Vibrant, though, it can get a bit slippery. The 5 megapixel camera sits on the back with its LED flash, and there is little else to the rear cover except for the speaker grille and the Galaxy S logo. The rear cover can be easily removed to reveal the microSD memory card slot (16GB card pre-installed), and the battery doesn't have to be removed to swap cards.
The build quality of the device is good, but the plastic rear cover and relative light 118g (4.2oz) weight of the device don't make it feel particularly rugged. The rear cover also will be a bit more easily scratched than some, if the similar back of the Samsung Vibrant is any indication.
Usability
In spite of what you have heard about Samsung's TouchWiz in the past (including what we've said on this site), the user interface work that Samsung is doing is good. TouchWiz 3.0, as it appears on Samsung's most recent smartphones, is user friendly, attractive, and sensible. It still lacks the spit and polish of HTC's Sense, but it far out-performs the stock Android experience offered by some other manufacturers.
The new main menu, with its ability to be arranged into panels of the user's choosing, is a great example. Applications can even be uninstalled directly from the menu's edit mode. The shortcut buttons for WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and Airplane mode that appear in the notification area are another. Even Samsung's new home screen is nice: there are plenty of widgets, and users can add, remove, and rearrange home screen panels as they like. Unlike some other TouchWiz 3 Android devices, Fascinate users can even specify which panel is the default home screen panel accessed by the home button.
Samsung even added a proper task manager to the Fascinate, something rarely seen, though sorely needed, on Android smartphones. The task manager can be accessed by long-pressing the home key, which also brings up a list of recently used apps for quick access. Samsung's puzzel piece lock screen is also interesting, since it allows users to unlock the phone and jump directly to missed calls or messages in one fell swoop. The lock-screen controls for music, when playing, are also pretty cool.
There are still the general Android usability issues, like the back button being somewhat unpredictable, but that's not something you can fault Samsung for.
The Fascinate's contact system is very nice. It is easy to find a contact, thanks to the list's index letters and easy searching, and shortcuts to frequently accessed contacts can be placed on the home screen. The phone can import all or selected contacts from Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter and will make use of the appropriate contact photos, as well. Status updates can be viewed from the Activities tab in the Contacts app, where users can do things like reply and retweet, and contact history is also accessible in the History tab. The ring profile support on the phone is minimal, but text input options are well rounded, and include the very nice Swype keyboard system. Voice dialing is supplied by Nuance, but I had little luck with it when using a Bluetooth headset.
While there is much on the phone that can be customized, such as home screen layout and (live) wallpapers, there is no real theme support. I really do appreciate being able to reorganize the main menu, though, and the ability to swap out the Phone, Contacts, and Messaging icons at the bottom of the screen with other icons from the main menu is huge.
The fact that the Fascinate doesn't suffer from the lag issues of the Vibrant for T-Mobile and Captivate for AT&T is a definite feather in Verizon's cap, too.
Calling / Data
While the signal indicator on the Samsung Fascinate for Verizon seemed a bit low at times, I never had any problems with voice calls or data connections. Regular phone calls sounded fine, if not spectacular, but I had real issues with the speakerphone. The microphone in speakerphone mode just didn't work well; the outbound call volume was very low, as if the phone wasn't in speakerphone mode at all. The inbound audio coming through the phone proved that was not the case, as it was just fine.
As a Verizon Android phone, the Fascinate supports real Skype calling over the Verizon voice network. The Skype client can also be used for Skype instant messaging, but video calling is not supported.
Wireless data speeds on the Fascinate were a mixed bag. 3G data speeds from my office were unusually slow, in the 750kbps area. That's well below the rates I can get with some other Verizon phones. Wi-Fi data, however, was very speedy, and can be used to share the phone's 3G data through the 3G Mobile Hotspot application, which requires an additional monthly fee to use. The Wi-Fi system supports
Messaging
Like most Android smartphones, the Samsung Fascinate has great messaging capabilities. Samsung has added some of its own apps for messaging on the Fascinate, though, that make it more colorful and even more useful. The brightly colored threaded SMS/MMS system is very nice, for example. It lacks contact photos, but at least makes it clear as to which messages are from you, and which are from the other person.
The Fascinate has full support for IMAP, POP, and Exchange email through a very pretty application that Samsung has added to the phone. You can easily switch between multiple accounts using the tabs at the top of the screen, and the app also offers a unified inbox feature. Contacts and Calendar data can be pulled in from Exchange or Gmail accounts, though Gmail accounts need to be used in the dedicated Gmail client to get this to work.
No dedicated social networking apps are pre-installed, but official (and non-official) apps for Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are readily available (and free) if the built-in support in the Contacts app proves insufficient. Instant Messaging support is provided by a Google Talk client and a separate Verizon app that handles AIM, MSN, and Yahoo! IM. The Verizon app won't make use of a Wi-Fi connection and starts up a 3G connection, if there isn't already one.
Apps / App Store
While the Android Market can't compete on an application count basis with the iPhone App Store, the fact that there are over 70,000 apps to choose from should make most anybody happy.
Verizon loaded the Fascinate with a number of its standard apps, such as BlockBuster video, CityID, My Verizon, and the V CAST Music, Tones, and Videos applications. It's bloatware, to be sure, but at least you can move them out of the way in the Fascinate's configurable main menu. Placeholders for Need For Speed Shift and Tetris demos are also pre-loaded. I do appreciate the ThinkFree Office application for document viewing, though.
What seems to be irking other reviewers most about the Fascinate, however, is Verizon's decision to use Microsoft's Bing for search and mapping, and using VZ Navigator for navigation. You know what? I like the Bing search functionality. It does what Google does, for the most part, and offers better local and image search functionality. It's a shame that there's no Google search option for users, but most people should be quite pleased with what the Bing apps offer. And if you want Google Maps and Navigation instead of Verizon's solid VZ Navigator, you can just install it from the Android Market and use it - for free.
Browser
The web browser that is built into the Samsung Fascinate is first rate. The large, colorful display and accurate touchscreen provide the perfect foundation for what turns out to be a competent and fast web browsing experience. Pages render the way they are supposed to, and they load up quite quickly thanks, in part, to the phone's speedy 1GHz processor.
Zooming can be accomplished multiple ways, including through the use of multi-touch gestures and double tapping on the screen. When the browser zooms in or out, text re-flows to keep everything readable, too. Adobe Flash 9.1 support is built into the browser, though a dedicated application on the Fascinate takes over when you attempt to watch an embedded YouTube video.
The only real complaint people might have is, as previously mentioned, the use of Bing as the default search engine in the browser.
Camera
The Samsung Fascinate for Verizon has a top notch camera. It shoots very sharp 5 megapixel still photos, and is capable of producing equally nice 720p HD video recordings. There is an LED flash available for low light shots, and the fact that the user interface is very easy to use and visually appealing is just icing on the cake. I do wish there was a hardware camera shutter button, though.
The missing hardware camera shutter button makes the phone a bit harder to work since users are required to tap on the screen to focus and then tap again on an on-screen button to snap the photo. It slows the process down. I do like the wide array of features on the camera, though, such as face detection, anti-shake, and blink detection. The stock Android 2.1 gallery application does an acceptable job of presenting the photos to user, too, and also makes it easy to share mass quantities of photos via email or photo sites like Picasa.
You'll find some sample photos and 720p HD video in the gallery section at the end of this review.
Music
The Samsung developed music player on the Fascinate is a step forward from the stock Android player, in my opinion. I like the visual appeal it has, and appreciate the quick access to playlist creation, the many equalizer presets, and even the simulated 5.1 channel surround sound. It also features a nifty cover flow like look that can be accessed when the phone is held in landscape orientation, as well as the ability to set which categories are used for organization (year, artist, album, genre, etc).
Music can be purchased from the V CAST Music store for $1.99 per song, but users will be far better served by downloading and installing the Amazon MP3 store from the Android Market, which sells music for half as much.
You can use both Bluetooth stereo headphones or standard wired 3.5mm headphones with the Fascinate, though none are included with the phone in the box.
Battery
With its large 1,500mAh battery, the Samsung Fascinate was good for a day and a half of light to medium use. That's about par for the course these days. The fact that Verizon is selling an optional 2,200mAh extended battery and back, though, means there is still hope for super heavy users trying to get through a full day's use.
Samsung rates the phone as being good for 7 hours of talk time or 13 days of standby time with the included standard battery, but background application and data use can have a significant impact on battery life.
Reviewer Spin
I've used most every large touchscreen display phone to come down the pipe over the past year, and so far, at least, the Samsung Fascinate for Verizon is my favorite. It has a good hardware design, a fantastic display, and even good accessory options. I like the TouchWiz 3 user interface tweaks, and have had none of the lag issues seen on some other Galaxy S class Android smartphones.
I really think Verizon should have included some Google search options on the phone, but really don't have an issue with the Microsoft Bing apps that come as standard.
In the end, I think this phone does most everything perfectly well. It has a great HD camera, a great browser, and most everything people want in a smartphone today.
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