Charge vs Incredible 2 July 28, 2011

Reviewer:  Mr Sparky  (TX, USA) -

Had the Charge for 3 weeks, at the same time my wife got a Droid incredible 2 so I had a chance to compare them side by side for a while.

Performance - win DINC2
The Charge seems a bit sluggish at times opening apps and flipping between screens. When that happens the phone is usually low on RAM and I have to kill some tasks. The DINC2 has 768 MB vs 512 MB on the Charge. That seems to make a big difference. The ton of bloatware on the Charge does not help either.

Screen - win Charge
The bigger Super-AMOLED on the Charge wins

Call quality - win Charge
My wife complains sometimes about low call quality on the DINC2, no such problem on the Charge

Data speeds - win Charge
LTE is indeed super fast. I live in the Dallas area and i get great LTE coverage. If you don't get LTE this is a tie.

Software - win DINC2
HTC Sense is more polished and easier to use then Samsungs TouchWiz. You get more usefull apps and widgets and less crapware. The incredible was updated to Android 2.3 while the Charge is stuck at 2.2. And if you care about it, the DINC2 is much easyer to root then the Charge.

Battery life - win DINC2
The DINC2 goes for 48 hrs or more with moderate to heavy use. The Charge goes about 20 hrs under the same load. I squeezed 34 hrs out of the Charge by turning down the screen brightness and turning off background data and auto-sync and carefully managing runing apps.

Price - win DINC2

Overall I would pick the Droid Incredible 2 over the Charge, especially if you don't care for, or can not get LTE. LTE is nice and fast but honestly I don't get much practical use out of the insane speeds. The stuttering interface and relativ low battery life however are realy annoying issues.

Very good phone May 22, 2011

Reviewer:  Biotech Sales Guy  (New Hampshire) -

I purchased the Droid Charge the second day it was available for sale and so far I have been very impressed with the phone. First and foremost, the display is beautiful. Super AMOLED+ delivers vibrant and deep colors and is very easy to read outdoors. The camera is fantastic. For anyone who plans to take a lot of pictures, this phone should be given serious consideration. It has a 8 megapixel camera and 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. There are a ton of features such as auto-focus, zooming, panorama shots, smile detection, and touch to focus.

The phone and call quality is very good. For a big phone, it feels surprisingly light in the hands. LTE is FAST!!!

There are a few negatives. It is expensive! Also, despite all of the positive reviews on battery life, I have not found it to be that great. I can make it through about 6-7 hours with moderate usage. I bought the charging dock, which comes with a spare battery, and I am glad I have it (the spare battery) available. I have had to swap it almost every day! The phone does not have a lot of memory compared to some of the other phones available. I use it mainly for work, so it is not a problem, but it can definitely be laggy at times. If I go from an app to the home screen, I sometimes have to wait about 5-10 seconds before the icons refresh on the screen. I also think the lack of memory makes for a less than enjoyable Flash experience. This leads to my biggest question/concern about the phone: what will video calling be like on it? Hopefully, we will find out soon when Verizon releases Skype with video chat or Samsung updates the phones to Gingerbread (so we can use Google video chat) or both. I would also imagine that hardcore gamers would not like this phone, but as I do not play a lot of video games, so I will leave this subject for someone else to write about.

UPDATE 6/5: After using the phone for about 3 weeks now, I am happy to say I am still very pleased with the quality of the phone. I have adjusted screen brightness down to about 20%, which is still plenty bright indoors, and that helps with battery life quite a bit. That said, if you border on moderate to heavy of the phone, carrying a spare battery is definitely recommended. I have also switched to a custom launcher (Go Launcher EX), which is much better and faster than TouchWiz.

Overall, it has been a great experience using this phone. I was hoping to hold out getting a new phone until the Droid Bionic came out, but after playing with the phone at the Verizon Wireless store, I felt pretty comfortable going with it. If you need a new phone and want LTE now, go for it. I have no regrets buying it!

Samsung Charge May 24, 2011

Reviewer:  Bryce Hale  (Inverness FL USA) -

I rarely give bad reviews, and in fact I had posted on here before that the Samsung Charge was a good phone with 5 stars. I take all that back after living with it for a few months. I have had this phone replaced under warranty 3 times and still have the same lag issues, have to pull the battery. Last time I did a master reset I only put in my email, no other apps, after a few days the lag came back, so I'm pulling the battery a few times a day. even going into the phone menu, scrolling the contacts there is 5-10 second delay. I have two Charge's that my coworkers use with the same issues. Save you money and get a nexus, RAZR, or bionic. Please skip this phone.

Best 4G phone in terms of battery life...but some effort is required. September 15, 2011

Reviewer:  Alex T. 

When Amazon set the Droid Charge to one penny, I jumped on the deal. And I think people still should, even though there are now three 4G alternatives in the market...

So the main issues for this phone I encountered in the first few days. First, the stock antenna for this phone may suck depending on your service area. I had a weird issue where my phone would go mute randomly in the middle of a call and I would have to restart the phone for anyone to hear me. When you search the internets, this issue is partly Verizon's fault, so it's not inherent to the phone hardware. Another issue: the battery drains if you're in an area with weak signal, which is typical of many smartphones.

After a few days of carefully following instructions, I now have an awesome phone. It gets on average 29 hours of battery (minimum: 12 hours on heavy use --> GPS + 4G; maximum: 2 days on light use!) and I don't have call issues.

But some tweaking is required. For people who are interested in 4G phone for 1 penny with long battery life:
1) Go to www.xda-developers.com
2) Root your phone and put a custom kernel on it.
3) Put a Gingerbread ROM on it (Gummy Charged) and update to the newest antenna firmware.
4) Calibrate your battery.
5) For even better battery life, install Green Power Manager app.

Also, for people that may find all of this tweaking intimidating, all that's really being done is a phone software update that Samsung is currently rolling out right now. So in about a month, an OTA update will give you the improved battery life and antenna that I currently have. I still recommend a power manager app that turns on/off your data so that you improve battery life and ration your data (this advice is for all Verizon data users).

But in the end of the day, the developer involvement in this phone has truly utilized it's hardware capabilities, and with this phone's specs and current price, I'm looking forward to what will be done to make this phone faster and more beautiful.

Nice phone July 22, 2011

Reviewer:  Victoria 

Got sick of waiting for iPhone5 and upgraded to Droid Charge. What a great phone - it has everything I need and more. Beautiful bright screen, overall great options, tons of features that are easy to use and customize. Battery life is okay - on average day it lasts me about a day, day-and-half, but coming from BlackBerry Storm it's fine with me. Purchased an extra charger and a car charger, which should take care of things. So far so good!

Pros and Cons of the Droid Charge June 30, 2011

Reviewer:  Andrew 

I purchased a Droid Charge 4 weeks ago. I've never owned an Android device before.

Here are the 3 things I like most about the phone, in order of desirability:

LIKES

#1. 4.3" Display.
The large, bright screen makes web browsing and using Android applications a relatively comfortable, even enjoyable experience. Turn your phone sideways (landscape) and set text to auto-fit the size of the viewable window when web browsing for a doable albeit somewhat compromised internet experience.

Additionally, colors are vibrant and touch sensitivity is perfect. Once you get used to the phone's touch interface, you'll hardly ever have to zoom in to click small buttons or links on webpages. Crisp colors and super brightness settings really help guide your finger in to touch the right spot on the screen, however small it may be.

#2. 4G Data.
4G is to cable internet what cable internet was to dial up in the 90s. 4G is your high speed home connection now, only faster, and it fits in your pocket.

Once you try 4G, 3G is like hearing finger nails scraping against a chalk board. 3G is only tolerable for GPS or for very light mission critical web browsing. Forget about Youtube or streaming music.

#3. Physical main menu keys
I really like how the main menu keys -- the single row of 4 buttons on the bottom of the phone -- don't occupy any virtual screen real estate. That means you get to squeeze every last centimeter out of the 4.3" display.

I also like the sense of security I get knowing that I can mash physical buttons in case an application locks up or gets bogged down. Having a physical home key button is sort of like having CTRL + ALT + DELETE keys on Windows; comes in very handy at the right times.

Here are the 3 things I like least about this phone, in order of mental anguish inflicted.

DISLIKES

#1: Battery life.
This is a phone that must remain plugged in if you frequently use 4G internet, in which case you can expect around 3.5 hours of battery life.

But, if you aren't constantly on your phone, and you turn off mobile data, and GPS, and all of the apps you don't need, the battery lasts a long time. I routinely leave my phone on all night like this and wake up to it having 90% battery.

I think a large number of people were effectively tricked into purchasing the Droid Charge because it was rumored to have defeated the 4G battery issue. That's just not the case. It's got the same battery life problems as every other 4G phone, but when you turn off mobile data, the battery life significantly improves.

In any case, it's a non-issue if you're geek enough to take your phone charger with you when you're out. I personally have a pure sine wave inverter for my car [[ASIN:B003FWPU5K Samlex PST -15S -12A 150 Watt DC-AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter - 12V]], and take my regular power cord with me if I know I'm going to do virtual work on my phone for several hours.

#2. The plastic coating.
This is a very slippery phone. I have a bad record of dropping phones on concrete; this phone's exterior finish doesn't help in the slightest. This phone feels like it wants to slide out of my own hand half the time I'm holding it, let alone any surface it might be perched on temporarily. I intend to solve this by purchasing an Otterbox Defender.

#3. The price.
At $250 on Amazon with contract, it's not inexpensive. But with the power of 4G and the productivity of Android in mind, the price is justifiable -- for the time being, e.g. the next 4-6 weeks from the date of this review.

CONCLUSION

I like it, but the phone leaves much to be desired. It will probably be obsolete in very short order, and will lose most of its appeal at that point. There's nothing special to see here. If you're comfortable with taking power cables with you everywhere and you love 4G internet, this phone is as good as any.

Learn how to use it properly and stop complaining about it.. July 28, 2011

Reviewer:  John Lockhart 

I've owned this phone since june and love it.Display is awesome,sounds are clear and have no problems with phone calls, bluetooth or reception like I'm seeing people complain about it.Its never crashed but it has lagged a little bit but thats only because I was multitasking and switching programs and pages too fast.Battery life is pretty good,it just depends on how much you're using it and what you're doing with it.I bought the desk cradle and it comes with an extra battery which can be charged while your phone is in cradle..As far as the 4g goes its amazingly fast and it only goes to 3g if I'm in a bad area,garages,in heavily wooded areas,etc..I recommend buying this phone and dismiss the people that are giving it bad reviews because they either don't know how to use it or are living in crappy areas of the country,sorry folks..If you want to talk about a crappy phone then you all should be talking about Iphone,my mother got Iphone 4 when I got the droid charge and I hate that phone it's a P.O.S. and it's harder to do anything on it compared to the charge..

Impressed! Came from an iPhone4 as well! June 9, 2011

Reviewer:  M. Dickson 

I left Verizon go to go AT&T just for the iPhone4. After three iPhone4's in less than 11 months due to signal issues, I decided to sell the iPhone and go back to Verizon. I didn't want to take another chance on an iPhone so I looked into DROID. I wanted the option to customize, and make the phone truly mine. Thus the desire for a droid.

After reading the reviews here, reading tech reviews, and asking friends about their older DROID's I decided this Samsung Charge would be the one I wanted. I went to a Verizon Store and played with the phone for 3 1/2 hours, talking to the staff, doing Speed Tests on this one and other Droids along with my iPhone to see how 4G compared. I was impressed, and knowing it was Verizon I knew my dropped call issue would go away as well. So here I am.

The phone is very light weight, and the screen clarity is BETTER than my old phone, IMO. When my fingerprints are cleaned off, the phone is fine in sunlight on full brightness. I keep it quite dim to help with battery life, and it's still very bright indoors.

Typing on it I think is WAY easier than my old phone. The smart type text this one has seems "smarter" and there's less of those "oops what did I say" texts.

The fact there's SO MANY apps you can download for this, along with color options, full capability to make and use ringtones right from the phone, and an 8 mega pixel camera, I'm very impressed with the features.

Battery life is a different story. An iPhone with heavy usage can go from the time I unplug it, at 8am, until 11pm (15 hours) right before bed. So far I have gone 10 hours with this phone after doing heavy research on what can help the battery. There are some MUST-HAVE apps out there to assist with this.

Bluetooth audio: I have to learn more about the settings but when I'm playing music via BT in my car which is BT audio ONLY, every now and then the sound cuts out for a split 1/4 of a second and comes back on. I think it's when alerts come to the phone. This is very annoying but I think it's something I can work with. I'll know more after my trip to Vegas this week coming up where I'll be using a BT headset the entire time.

APPS and APP Screens: Another I have to research thing, but at night I power off the phone..... mostly because it's better for your battery to be charged when turned off, but if I do leave it on and charge it over night, I end up having to reboot in the morning anyway since it get super slow if I don't. I have my app screen (not the home pages but the app listings pages) sorted: phone settings on screen 1, social media and email communications screen 2, customizations like ringtone makers and walls on page 3, etc etc. Once in a while these pages get all garbled up and several apps are on the wrong screen even though they were in their organized place moments before. Not sure why this happens.

So the PROS:
- lightweight
- screen clarity and colors are supurb
- easy to use
- completely customizable
- sound quality on calls and music is good and crisp
- a cross between an iPhone and a Blackberry in handling

the CONS:
- battery life is less than of my previous phone but there are apps to help
with that. You just have to learn. I am getting more battery each day! I
think part of it is cache files. As you use it the phone doesn't have to
work as hard to access files, so it uses less battery.
- randomly needs a reboot. No battery pulls yet thankfully
- randomly moves app icons around my app screen pages

In Conclusion: I am VERY happy with my purchase. Also using Amazon Wireless was super easy and simple.

I'll update this as I learn more too!

DROID Charge, Samsung's solid device May 26, 2011

Reviewer:  Shawn  (GAITHERSBURG, Moldova, Republic of) -

This is a solid device, all the way through.

Reasons why I bought this phone:
HDMI out / HD Mirror mode, Front-facing camera, 4G, 4.3 inch screen, Above avg battery (for android). RESULTS: For all the reasons I bought the phone, I'm pleased with. The 4G (I'm in the DC Metro region) is amazingly fast, tested side-by-side with an iPhone over their AT&T 3g:
iPhone .47 kbps
DROID Charge 10.5 kbps

The screen is indeed beautiful. The phone is very light (you will want to buy a case). It's pretty responsive, minimal lag. Camera is terrific.

The CONS: Verizon loaded this thing down with applications that you can't delete. Here's the upside to that: You have plenty of memory on this with the 32gb sd card. I installed launcherpro which you can use as a homescreen replacement, it also gives you a new app drawer, in the settings you can "hide" applications you won't ever use. Now you don't have to scroll through it all.

All in all, this is solid choice and you won't be disappointed. If you're shopping to use your upgrade for verizon, you are most likely looking between this and the thunderbolt. I'll say you can't go wrong with either, and I can't say that this device is better, but it's certainly no worse. I haven't had any problems with sync'ing with our corporate exchange either.

Well done May 15, 2011

Reviewer:  engintronic 

I got this phone recently. Very good battery life, no lagging whatsoever (except right after booting while things are initializing, same with all smartphones), AMAZING screen. the Samsung interface is different than what I'm used to, but it is easily changed to other things (I'm a fan of Go launcher). very bright and detailed, and I'm grateful for the built-in Swype. Been using it for awhile, Swype is definitely one of (if not THE) best input methods, and the large screen and smooth operation make it really fantastic.

The 1GHz processor does well, it's not dual core, but that doesn't really matter in all of the multitasking I've done so far. (1GHz processor for a phone is kind of insane, we've come really far). Front and rear facing cameras are nice, and the LED flash for the rear facing works well.

I haven't used the 4G yet (but will soon), so I can't comment on 4G data speeds, but 3G is pretty fast so far. I've heard talk that Verizon will start removing their unlimited data plans (possibly when the Verizon Iphone hits), and it is good to be locked into a 2-year unlimited data plan. Other Verizon smartphones might be a bit nicer in the future, but this phone doesn't need anything else, and if you wait for another phone, you run the risk of not getting in on the unlimited data plan.

The phone is fairly large, but it is lightweight and still operable. I can operate it with one hand standing up, but if I am laying down I use two hands. If that is relevant to anyone..

Run away from the Samsung Droid Charge as fast as you can!!! September 2, 2011

Reviewer:  super_dave 

The Samsung Droid 4G Charge phone by Verizon Wireless is a worthless piece of electonic junk. This gem turns your 4g experience into a living nightmare. Let me count the ways it sucks: 1.) It is always dropping calls. 2.) it is always losing the 4g network and sometimes it won't connect to the 3g network. 3.) Sometimes it gets very slow and can take up to 10 seconds to back to your home page. Sometimes it never makes it there. '4.) Apps will hang up regulary, requiring a reboot. 5.) The voice recognition is terrible. I will often dial a number in your phone book that doesn't even remotely sound like what you said. 6.) The blue tooth connection is always dropping off. 7.) The bluetooth connection doesn't want to connect at times until you turn it off and on a number of times, or reboot. 8.) The battery is anemic and can ony handle 2.5 hours of continuous use. On a regular day I will get around half a day's use out of it. 9.) The battery will overheat if you try to use it while using a car charger, i.e., GPS while driving. and lastly, 10.) today it send some messages on its own in triplicate. I sent two messages after that and they were also in triplicate. Who designed this thing, Microsoft???? Stay away from the Samsung Charge. This is my second Charge already (the first one was even worse so they replaced it) and I'm ready to chunk it out the window!!!! Unfortunately, I waited too long to complain and Verizon will not replace it with a different brand. They'll only replace it with another Charge. Why go through the trouble when I know the problem is with the model and not this particular phone. I am stuck with the Charge and Verizon for another two years. When my contract is up I guarantee you I will be heading for another provider FAST!!! Are you listening Verizon and Samsung???!!!

Literally the worst phone I have ever owned! February 26, 2013

Reviewer:  Muffin McFurry  (Los Angeles, CA) -

I'm a long-time Verizon customer and have owned many phones throughout the years- ranging from the FIRST camera phone from LG in 2002, to the enV, the Dare, the original Motorola Droid (which was a great phone, by the way) to now owning the Samsung Droid Charge. You would think as technology improved, the phone would get better and the experience would get better, but this is not the case. If it were not for the fact that I'm locked into a two-year contract, I would switch from the Samsung Droid Charge. This piece of junk phone is the reason why I'm ready to either pay $500 for another phone on eBay or pay the early termination fee and break my contract to go to another carrier. The screen on my OG Moto Droid is broken, otherwise I'd go old school and use that!

I've owned this phone since December 2011, which is a little over a year now. I upgraded and renewed my 2-year contract because Amazon was advertising this phone for a penny. That was literally all I paid- a penny, but believe me, even a penny is overpaying for this piece of junk! It worked great the first few months I had it, but after that, I experienced many problems with this phone and it has gotten progressively worse. If you search on Verizon forums, you'll find that many others are experiencing the same exact problems. It is not a Verizon problem but is in fact a Samsung problem. Samsung put in a crappy radio receiver, and this is the cause of many problems with the phone.

Here are the problems I've personally experienced, and many others have also experienced as well:
-NO 4G SERVICE, only 3G: I live in Los Angeles, and even Verizon has told me I should be getting 4G. The 4G worked for a few months but stopped working after that, and I believe it's a result of the crappy, cheap radio Samsung put into this phone. I had to switch it to CDMA 3G mode instead of LTE just to be able to get data service, so I am paying for 4G service that I am not getting.
-LOSES DATA CONNECTION ALL THE TIME: Even though I switched it to 3G mode, several times throughout the day, I get ZERO DATA CONNECTION or a 1X CONNECTION (if you're lucky). Restarting the phone several times a day solves this problem. Again, linked to the crappy radio. Don't buy this phone if you need to have constant access to your emails or the internet.
-PHONE REBOOTS RANDOMLY: It will restart on its own for no reason.
-PHONE LOCKS UP: Trying to dial someone, it will take about 2 minutes before it actually dials. I have more faith in reaching someone using 2 soup cans and a whole bunch of string.
-PHONE RANDOMLY DIALS PEOPLE FROM CONTACTS: This has happened a few times the last few months.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this phone like you'd avoid a hooker with VDs. That's all I gotta say! I'm counting down until December 2013 when I can get a new phone!

I wish I could give negative stars for this phone March 28, 2012

Reviewer:  Lane Bookwalter 

The Battery is awful
It freezes constantly
Battery pulls are required constantly
Startup takes nearly 5 minutes
It has the hideous TouchWiz
It didn't receive the Gingerbread update for nearly a year
It may be 4G but it never picks up a signal

DO NOT GET THIS PHONE. DO NOT GET THIS PHONE! I cannot stress this enough. YOU. WILL. HATE. IT.

DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE! March 9, 2012

Reviewer:  @cyberjob 

There is a known defect that causes the OS to send auidable data transmissions that the user hears as a deafening squak over the earpiece during telephone calls. I have been working with VerizonWireless World Support for the last 3 months running BUG detector after each occurence. Samsung is aware of the defect and will ONLY replace the phone if this occurs on more than 50% of calls.

Busness support suggested buying a new phone, different model, at FULL RETAIL as they said they are no longer recommending this phone to customers becasue of this known DEFECT. Management has not yet authorized full replacement yet as Samsung is not willing to replace the phone.

I SHOULD HAVE READ THE REVIEWS FIRST! March 6, 2012

Reviewer:  S. G. "s.g."  (United States) -

I REALLY wish I had read the reviews.

Here is what I have noticed in the first week:

The phone needs charging at least 2xs a day. And this is with NO data use (I just took 3 calls, with a bluetooth and was down to the red zone in battery life).

Any call I've made that is over a few minutes has durations of inaudibility. Either it fades out completely (and continues to show a call in progress) or it has these really loud clicking noises that make it impossible for the other party to hear.

I haven't even begun to experiment with the phone and its data capability. I just wanted to have a phone that would work and would also allow me to use it for driving directions and some occasional music listening. This one has to be CONSTANTLY connected to a charger, and I can't even imagine using it to listen to music and having it last more than a couple of songs. Trust me, buy another phone if you want to make more than 3 calls per day.

worst phone ever February 18, 2012

Reviewer:  john 

TOTAL JUNK. Do not buy this phone. It's the worst phone i have ever used. It will not sync with my 45K 2011 Dodge Ram Pickup or with any of the other bluetooth devices from various brands i own. When on a call and vmail ask's if you want to save or delete, the screen is black and you have to restart the pnone to access the dial pad. Same thing when you want to end a call. The disply screen timeout is set to 10 mins yet goes dark in seconds when your on a call. when i called india, oops i mean tech support, they cant help and blame the other devices and have no fix for the screen timeout issue. Also there is no sweetspot for the speaker/ ear end to hear very well.

Nice display, TERRIBLE battery life!!!!! Abysmal support. January 17, 2012

Reviewer:  LarryB  (Tampa, FL) -

I wanted a phone with a good display, true 4G data, and lots of available apps. The Samsung Charge does that....for a few hours.

I can't understand the people on these reviews who are saying "good battery life". Perhaps they are barely using their phone. I am a very savvy techie; I have done *everything* one can do to get better battery life (e.g., turn off WiFi when not using it, kill unused tasks, use a short screen timeout, etc.), and I cannot imagine getting a full day from this phone. I end up living tethered to chargers...at home, in the car, etc. Right now, my Samsung Charge shows 50% battery after very light use for 6 hours. I have *NEVER* made it a full day....not once in 5 months.

Otherwise, it has a nice display, and most things on it work. Other complaints:
1. The jerks at Samsung loaded the thing with apps that you cannot remove (Golf? Buzzbox, Rhapsody, Rock Band, etc) and Verizon packed it with a few of their own. That's seriously annoying.
2. No LED to indicate calls/messages is seriously annoying. The answer is an app named NoLED...which consumes battery! :-(
3. The phone has "issues" w/ BlueTooth; not sure what triggers it, but sometimes it just will not connect to existing paired devices. The only cure then is to re-boot the phone.
4. The phone is *very* sensitive to chargers...one charger I have makes the touchscreen almost useless, another (in my car) puts a whine on the audio coming out of the headphone jack. Neither is a cheap charger, BTW...the car one is a Verizon charger.

All in all, this isn't the worst phone I've owned...but you can bet that I am looking forward to my contract expiring so I can get something else!

Update 8/2012: I had the misfortune of having my phone partially fail, and I called Verizon to have it repaired...which, of course, actually meant that they shipped me a "new" one. Well, the new one was a re-furb, and it had its' own, severe problems. Back it went...and I got another refurb...which also was very seriously flawed....and back that one went....when I received the 3rd replacement, and it, too, was seriously flawed (I'm not being picky here: Wi-Fi didn;t work on it!), I went ballistic with Verizon and they offered me a different model phone. Thankfully, that Motorola Droid has turned out Ok. I'm reducing the phon e rating to 2-stars, for obvious terrible support and terrible QA.

awesome phone September 8, 2011

Reviewer:  J. Medina 

pretty cool no problems with it battery life is not bad i totally recommend this phone i am very pleased with it.

Beats my original Motorola Droid by lightyears! August 19, 2011

Reviewer:  Paul M. Silvan "dr_jpeg"  (Culpeper, VA USA) -

The Good: Much faster than my Motorola Droid. Don't have 4G in my area yet so have not tested network speeds. Super huge OLED screen is bright enough to see in full sunlight, and large enough to be useful. Decent battery life so far but have only had the phone for a couple of days. 2GB of internal memory and factory-installed 32GB microSD gives you lots of space for apps, photos, music, etc. Good quality images from both 8MP main camera and 1.3MP front camera. I rarely use my phone as a phone so cannot comment on the quality of calls.

The Not So Good: Internal speaker volume is not loud enough. TONS of useless pre-installed bloatware which cannot be removed unless you root the phone, and even then, may not be able to uninstall. Thus far I have been unsucessful at all attempts at rooting using z4 Root or super one-touch with psneuter or GingerBreak, nor has adb using GingerBreak been able to do it. I specifically chose Samsung because of their supposed root-friendly attitude. Will keep trying, and WILL eventually succeed!

Addendum: After lots of research and trial & error I was able to get root access on my Charge! For info on how to do it see the following URLs.

[...]
[...]
[...]

Please make sure to carefully follow all instructions on using Odin, but before flashing, remove the battery from the phone. Then once the phone is recognized by Odin, replace the battery and then flash. Please do not blame me if you damage your phone using this method. All I can say is that it worked for me. If you don't have much experience rooting Droids you may want to wait until a one-click method is developed for the EE4 build. Email me if you need more help. dr.jpeg1254@gmail.com

Droid Charge has wonderful screen August 19, 2011

Reviewer:  dwf "computer guy"  (Los Alamos, NM) -

I've had my Droid Charge for about a month. The screen and interface are wonderful and the added memory (over my old original Motorola Droid) are greatly appreciated. There seems to be about 1.2Gb of memory allocated to applications and 328 Mb available for running applications. Even though the phone is large, it is very light and thin and doesn't feel as large as it might seem.

I have two complaints about it which lowers its score. The battery life seems fairly poor. It is similar to my old Motorola Droid which is good when one considers its screen and speed. I can get up to 10 hours on the battery but typically less. I'm a fairly hard user, so perhaps this isn't surprising, but I need to have a charger handy regularly or it won't last the day. This may get better as I get used to the phone. The other complaint is that it freezes up and/or reboots about once a day, for no apparent reason. It says it is running 2.2.1. I hope it gets the 2.3.4 upgrade soon and perhaps that will help.

I don't have 4g in my area, so I can't report on its performance, but the battery life I'm experience is without the additional drain of 4g.

(Update 9/6/11). I've had the phone for more than a month now and the freeze ups/reboots persist with typically 3-4 per day. As aggravating is that having it dial a number sometimes takes forever. I can request it to call a number in my contacts and it may be a minute later that it decides to make the call. This is very bad. Battery life is not improving at all and I have a spare battery and external charger to help me make it through the day. It really needs some system fixes.

(Update 9/12/11). I did a full reset on the phone and reloaded my applications. This time I did two things differently. I didn't put any applications on the SD card, and I didn't use "folder manager" to organize my apps. I simply used folders in the home pages. So far the phone is behaving much better. Battery life still isn't great, but I've had far less problems with sluggish response and with freezing up and rebooting. It hasn't stopped entirely, but is much, much better so far.