Talking Mobile // Tablet // Web Development

Last week, I dished out a few of my thoughts on the DROID Charge by Samsung, for Verizon Wireless.  I’ve had some more personal time with the device, so now can give you a more in-depth review.

In general, I like the phone.  While this isn’t technically a Galaxy S phone, it takes a lot of cues from the S line.   Samsung also piled some upgraded features on top.  On the flip side, it’s also not a Galaxy S II, or a ‘next gen’ device.  It doesn’t have a dual-core processor, a super-mega-high-resolution screen, and it doesn’t run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).  Since Samsung likes to use prefixes and suffixes (see: Super AMOLED Plus), I’m going to call this a Galaxy S Plus phone.

The Good

The Screen

Awesome screens are pretty standard issue on most of the current Samsung phones.  The Super AMOLED Plus screen on the DROID Charge is no different.  The “Plus” nets you 50% more sub pixels, which is supposed to make the display more clear, thinner, brighter and more energy efficient.  I compared it to a Samsung Vibrant that one of our developers has.  Just arbitrarily looking at it, we didn’t notice much of a difference.  Maybe that’s the point.  The Vibrant has a 4″ screen, whereas the DROID Charge has a 4.3″ screen.  Super AMOLED Plus is supposed to give the illusion that both phones have the same PPI, even though they don’t.  In any case, the screen is big and beautiful.

Verizon 4G LTE

This isn’t the first 4G phone on the market; It’s not even the first 4G phone for Verizon or Samsung.  All that aside, the DROID Charge is still a contender in the 4G race.  Apps install in seconds.  Streaming music buffers quickly.  Queueing up YouTube videos is almost instantaneous.  I’ve had solid 4G coverage everywhere I’ve been in the Twin Cities — except at my house, which is affectionally known as the “Verizon Black Hole”.  I’ve used the mobile hotspot feature with my Macbook, and it works just as well as a purpose-built MiFi or other 4G hotspot.  There’s even a setting, deep in the menus — but not as deep as the ThunderBolt — that allows you to turn 4G off (Settings>Wireless & networks>System selection> LTE Automatic or CDMA mode).  This could help out the folks that want to conserve battery life.  Speaking of 4G, Verizon is now offering unlimited 4G for $30 per month.  That’s a pretty good deal.

Physical Buttons

In a world where more and more manufacturers are switching to capacitive touch buttons, the DROID Charge says “PSH! You and your touchy-feely buttons”.  The Charge rocks four physical buttons, that are tactile and easy to find.  Personally, I would have reordered them so that the menu button wasn’t the furthest away (for a right handed chap).  The only drawback is that the backlighting is a little dim on the buttons.  I also miss physical camera buttons.  Why don’t more manufacturers include them?  If these phones are intended to replace my point-and-shoot camera, they have to have a two-stage camera button. </rant>

The Bad

TouchWiz = TouchWhat?

I’m going to go on record by saying that I have no problem with manufacturers adding their own layer for the user interface.  I’ve been a proponent for HTC’s Sense UI since day one.  For me, it’s just another deciding factor when I’m making a new phone purchase.  Plus, there are plenty of apps, tricks, hacks and mods that can pretty much erase — and in some cases, improve upon — this extra layer.  The original TouchWiz UI layer, on the Galaxy S models, was pretty toned down, with the exception of the blue highlights everywhere.  The color palette for the DROID Charge is a bit different; It’s brown and orange.  It literally reminds me of the Cleveland Browns or Autumn.  So it’s just limited to the TouchWiz UI right?  Wrong.  It’s deeply rooted.  Every pop up dialog box is orange.  Every toast notification is brown.  If an app developer (i.e. Google) doesn’t override all of the stock UI assets during development of an app (i.e. Gmail) you end up with a brown header bar in an app that’s not really brown.

Plastics

If you’ve ever held an HTC phone, like the EVO or the ThunderBolt, you’ve probably thought “Hmm. Hefty. Durable”.  If you were to hold a Samsung phone, you may thing “Meh. Flimsy. Cheap”.  Don’t get me wrong, the DROID Charge is a durable phone.  It’s well put together.  The seams are tight.  There are really no flaws.  However, the back cover is very ‘plasticy’, if you know what I mean.  It’s glossy, and doesn’t have a texture; Soft-touch or otherwise.  This makes the phone slippery, and it doesn’t hide blemishes very well.  I’ve only had the phone a couple of days, and there are already some minor surface scratches on the back.  I’m VERY careful with my phones…especially phones that are loaned to me.  Also, with the phone being so slippery, it slides around in your pocket a lot.  Usually it falls over on its side, which gives me a wicked case of ‘phone bulge’.

Bloatware

I’m not going to talk about this too much, because it’s pretty common.  However, many of the bloat apps aren’t even apps on the phone.  They’re shortcuts to install an app.  To top it off, you can’t even delete these shortcuts.  NO MORE BLOATWARE!

The Ugly

Three Hundo

There is only one ‘ugly’ aspect of this phone;  The price.  Verizon Wireless has priced the DROID Charge at $299.99 (new contract and such).  That is $100 more than any other phone, on the other carriers.  The DROID Charge is an awesome middle-to-higher end phone.  It’s on par with the EVO 4G or the Inspire 4G or the myTouch 4G.  It’s is not worth the extra $100-$150.  The Charge is almost, if not, identical to the Samsung Infuse 4G (not yet available), which has been rumored to be priced at $178.88 at WalMart.  Amazon Wireless briefly had the Charge listed at $249.99 (contracts, yadda, yadda), but has since taken it down.  If a ‘gen 2′ Android phone is priced at $300, I’ll be interested in seeing how Verizon prices the next generation of phones; I.e. the dual-core DROID Bionic.

At the end of the DROID Charge by Samsung is a great phone.  There are no major flaws or annoyances that would keep me away from the phone.  However, I wouldn’t be able to justify the price.

It all started with the T-Mobile G1 in 2008; The first Android powered smartphone.  3.2″ screen, 528 MHz processor, 192 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, QWERTY keyboard.  It was a very underpowered device, but it set the wheels in motion.  The Android revolution had begun.

Fast-forward to 2010.  Google releases the Nexus One.  The N1 was intended to be a “reference” phone.  It had the latest hardware (1GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and ROM, 5 MP Camera), a larger, 3.7″, AMOLED screen with a higher resolution, and it ran vanilla Android.  This phone (along with the previously released Motorola DROID) signified the start of “Gen 2″ in the Android universe.  Throughout 2010, many manufactures followed suit, releasing phones with similar specs to the Nexus One.  Some had larger screens.  Some with QWERTY keyboards.  Heck, a couple even saw a bump in processing power, to 1.2GHz.  Never-the-less, they were all still pretty much Gen 2.

Fast-forward to present day…well, a few weeks ago.  Consumer Electronics Show 2011 (CES) opens its door to the public.  Traditionally, CES was all about audio and video products.  Over the past decade, computers and other tech gear has started to infiltrate the show floor.  Mobile phones and tablets have now carved out their own space.  Manufacturers and carriers alike are using CES to announce upcoming products and services.  Most of the phones shared some common attributes; larger screens, 4G technology, front-facing camera.  But just a few stood above the rest.  What makes these phones so special? Dual-core processors.

Motorola stole the show by announcing, not one, but two phones that feature dual-core processors.  The Atrix 4G and the DROID Bionic.  The Atrix 4G will be available on AT&T and features a 4″ qHD screen (540×960 @ 240 dpi), 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, 5 MP rear camera and a .3 MP front-facing camera.  Additionally, the Atrix 4G will have a whole host of accessories, including the standard-issue home and car docks.  It will also have two specialty docks.  The Laptop Dock has a large screen and keyboard.  It gives you access to Firefox web browsing, as well as the ability to still access your apps and make calls.  The HD Multimedia dock allows you to connect up to 3 USB devices, like a keyboard.

As the name suggests, the DROID Bionic is part of the Verizon Wireless’ DROID series.  It has the same processor as the Atrix 4G.  However, it only has 512 MB ram.  Other differences include a 4.3″ screen (still qHD), 16 GB internal storage, and an 8 MP camera (with the front cam).  It doesn’t look like the Bionic have the same accessory mix as its brother.  I’d be willing to bet that there will be basic home and car docs.  One neat feature of the Bionic is Mirror Mode.

Multiply your fun with Mirror Mode, which lets you enjoy all of your favorite apps, websites, videos, photos, and games full-screen on your larger home TV.

This is something that I’ve been looking for in a phone.  It will be great to be able to demo apps for clients or for presentations.

Motorola isn’t the only manufacturer throwing their hat into the dual-core ring.  LG announced the Optimus 2X some time ago and Samsung is teasing their next generation phone, just ahead of Mobile World Congress.

With Mobile World Congress and CTIA just around the corner, I expect that most of the hottest new phones will rock dual-core processors.  Rumor has it that there will be quad-core phones out by December of this year.  I’ll believe it when I see it.