And here comes the Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy S, which forever shall be known as the Fascinate. It's going to give the Motorola Droid X a run for its money, no doubt. It's also launching with Android 2.1 but will get a Froyo update sometime later. Hands-on pictures after the break.
54 Comments
Did they not mention release dates?
Is that a camera flash I see there?
Yes.
Double post...
How was touchwiz?
Bing?!?
FU verizon.
BING isn't a "Verizon" Thing, it something that Samsung id doing on all of it's Android phones, regardless of carrier
Am I missing something? Why would Google allow ding (Bing) to be the default search?
Because it's an open platform. I'm hoping there's a way to swap it or disable it and put google search on.
Because MS paid a metric assload to Verizon for it. The did it on their Blackberries first, even sent out an OTA that changed software on phones people had already bought.
It's worse than Bing as default search. Did you notice the "B" Icon that said "Maps"... looks like this thing has Bing Maps, not Google Maps.
In fairness, this MIGHT not be a bad thing, but I've not had any trouble with Google Maps; there's a few people I know that have, though.
also, only 2GB Ram? Doesn't the X have 8?,Plus the 8MP camera... I'm thinking price is going to be the only thing this phone has going for it.
Although I am a huge fan of samsung. We are getting more and more samsung appliances in our house.
I have the default search widget turned off anyway on my Droid....
Yep. VzW is the new AT&T. This phone is either crippled or loaded with the most horrible bloatware known to man. Hampering the Ally or Backflip is one thing, but this is ridiculous.
VzW users - pray for root.
this is why you just get the Droid X, and pretend another fail of a Samsung phone dies a quick and painful death.
Or just get an Evo.. Droid X will be no better most likely
BING isn't a "Verizon" Thing, it something that Samsung id doing on all of it's Android phones, regardless of carrier. They are not crippling the phone, they are selling it the way Samsung gave it to them
Problem though is that without Google maps you aren't going to have the free Nav. I really just don't see the point of Bing maps anyway. The few fanboys they do have swear by it. But one of the biggest features they swear by is their birds eye view which is nothing more than a satellite view taken from satellites from apparently a lower lattitude so that you get a slanted view....who cares. Its no different that Googles and they don't have a street view which helps me when I arrive at my destination in some cases.
I think Google is still planning to push alot of their stuff into apps on the market so hopefully even when you get these Bing or Yahoo powered phones you can still get the Google apps. But its funny that these carriers would bite the hand thats feeding them. While Google of course wants to be open it certainly helps them keep their interest in Android if its driving them traffic. Making deals to have Android drive traffic to the companies that bring nothing to the Android table and even want to see it dead is kinda stupid. And you for sure can't tell me theres a consumer demand for Bing products lol.
So remove it from the home screen and download Google Maps from the market... problem solved.
Seriously, why is this Bing stuff a big deal?
internal memory and RAM are two different things, Droix X has 8gb of internal memory and 1gb of RAM
Geez, people, all the f-bombs at Verizon... it's just a freaking widget. Turn it off and turn on the stock Android widget... What's with the deep-seated animosity?
Does it have the front facing camera?
nope.
We need better confirmation than anonymous commenters declaring it so. That sure looks like a front-facing camera in pic 6... not saying it is, but I'd like to hear Samsung, Verizon, or someone who has actually handled the unit declare the FFC dead. Rumors on blogs (and in the comments) do not do it for me.
To be honest, I'm liking the X more still, the Fascinate is too rounded for my taste, and I personally am not a fan of touch sensitive buttons.
because its on the manufatures. but the bad thing is wouldnt that be breaking the terms of the aggrement for android use google services their for its free. but at the end a big F U VERIZON YOU PIECE OF CRAP if i wanted bing i would by a pos windows phone
BING isn't a "Verizon" Thing, it something that Samsung id doing on all of it's Android phones, regardless of carrier. Maybe do some homework before you throw the FU's around
On the picture next to the Droid X it looks very different but I think it's the flash from the camera. On the Tmobile pics http://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/articleimag... the flash hits the droid X and it looks just as bright if not (slightly) brighter as the Samsung one and you don't see the light from the flash on the screen which for me is also a plus for the Droid X. I'm still looking at the X over this one.
The back of the verizon version look pretty different from the galaxy s and the tmobile version. The build quality looks better on the version version...less plastic I guess. I wonder how it actually feels in hand in terms of build quality when compared to the droid x? Also, the galaxy S definitely seems to take better video and pics than the droid x from looking around youtube. Also, the Fascinate is missing that hump in back at the bottom that is on the original galaxy s.
Phil, which display do you prefer when comparing the X and the Galaxy? And did they give any word about availability?
Why is it that it seems like a new phone comes out for Sprint and verizon like EVERY week, yet t-mobile customers get left in the cold. On top of that if a phone does come out for T-mobile at all it gets little to no coverage or mention?
I believe that would be because T-Mobile sucks. It is for poor people.
While T-Mo isn't for poor people they do seem to want to capture younger folks...or at least in the past they have. Maybe its a marketing mistake but I think they believe that younger people or parents aren't going to go for these super high end phones as they seem them as too business oriented or something. But honestly Android has made it possible to have your fun and business in one package.
You do know that T-Mobile announced their version of this phone first, right? And that it was on display at the event right beside this phone?
I'm after that droid x. I have suffered to long trapped in a contract with my shitty Storm 1.
Don't you worry, you will get the chance to upgrade to another phone you will regret after a year, when there are phones again twice as fast and capable as yours.
@rh166c......Actually I am with T-Mobile because they offer the fastest mobile data speeds where I live and work (Washington DC). Don't believe me? Check out the link at the end of my post. I am a upper middle class 28 year old male who works on a salary just shy of $90,000. I can assure you I am not poor nor am I tied to a 2 year contract with T-Mobile since I like buying a new phone every 6 months. Last time I checked, poor people didn't spend close to $600 every 6 months on phones.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/TMobiles-3G-HSPA-Vs-WiMax-4G-108785
ROFL, ok boys! Bust out the yard stick and see who's got the biggest pecker. Damn people get mad too easy around here. I honestly don't know why you buy a phone every 6 months from T-Mobile. Basically all they've carried from the get go is the G1, myTouch, Behold, and Cliq. Hardly worth paying full retail for IMO. EVO or X is a different story. Sorry DC doesn't have better service. I'm sure sprint with have 4G there before too much longer. So much for fiscal responsibility in Washington DC. (sorry couldn't resist)
Phil or anyone who got to play with it, does it have google navigation?
EDIT: Pretty sure google maps comes with it, so a simple download would do the trick.
Which phone has the best GPU? Droid X or Fascinate?
Fascinate.
Don't like the following about the Galaxy S:
shiny black back -- looks cheap
Bing search? -- not interested
Samsung promising update to 2.2 -- don't trust them after what happened with their update promises for the Behold
I'm interested in the Droid X, but will definitely pass on the Sammy fone.
@sophi_psych...You obviously didn't take a look at the link I posted. Do your research and you will find that T-Mobiles HSPA+ is faster that Sprint's WiMax network. Notice I didn't call it 4g? It's because it's not a 4th generation network. You also obviously didn't read my post carefully. I have not bought a phone every 6 month's from T-Mobile. I didn't go to T-Mobile until the Nexus One was released. You see, the beauty of never signing a contract means you can hop around from carrier to carrier. The job I have means I'm never in the same area longer than 2 years of my life. I do research on data speeds before I move to that area since I rely heavily on mobile broadband speed. In October, when I move to Chicago I will most likely have to switch again. So..Go do your research and you will find T-Mobiles HSPA+ is the best option available when it comes to mobile broadband. Also, have fun with your EVO and that out-dated-over-hyped Snapdraggon who by the way is getting blown out of the water by the Hummingbird. Or you can have fun with the Droid X until November when Verizon rolls out there LTE network. Then your Droid X becomes old technology since it can't make use of the LTE speeds. Oh and by the way, your right. Washington needs a overhaul. Luckily I have nothing to do with politics.
Dude, your a douche
Nope sure didn't brotha. Couldn't care less about network speed. You're original post complained about T-Mo and T-Mo only. Someone makes a crack at Tmobile and you got all ass hurt screaming about money. Don't be a hot head. Oh, and I'm perfectly happy with my Droid thank you very much.
You must be mixed up because I havn't complained about T-Mobile. As long as your happy with your Droid then that's all that matters. If you don't care about network speed then that's great. Unfortunately I care about it and find it a pain in the ass to do my work getting anything less than 2 MB/s download speeds. As soon as Verizon rolls out there LTE network, I can assure you I will be switching to them as long as they offer it in the Chicago area.
I never thought it would be that big of a deal when I said network speed was important to me and the only reason why I posted my income was to prove a point to someone who said T-Mobile was for poor people. Maybe they are, who knows. But they are also for people who need that fast HSPA+ speed.
not sure about the Verizon android phones, but on the VZW Blackberrys, VZW pushes the bing app and several others to the phone, but all they are just hotlink buttons to download and install the applications. BING IS NOT the default search engine on the VZW blackberrys. They probably installed BING on these Samsung phones up, but I doubt you'll have to do that as an end user.
Agreed. I'm sure you can put google search there just as easily. Or nothing at all if that's your fancy.
Verizon just needed to give MS some free press because they totally left them off the X during their press event :)
I also think Moto has a little more pull with Verizon than Samsung, given the success of the Droid. So the X, though it has a locked boot loader, may be a little more open. Just my opinion here though.
Bing is the default search engine if you use the native Blackberry Browser. Verizon pushed it out as an OTA and will not let you use anything else as a search engine( in the native browser).
Bing? Meh. Soon the root method for the Galaxy S, and all of it's derivatives, will be safe and you will be able to rip that crap out of there and put on a nice fresh Froyo build.
You can just download google maps and services and make them default, I don't know why you drama queens are all up in arms over a minor annoyance. You are going to customize your phones the way you want anyway right?
Verizon advertises as a major selling point "With google" for their Android devices... so what is this Bing nonsense?
I can see MS laughing now because this phone could be marketed "with Bing!". Then a few months later scratching their head as to why their search and map number haven't went up when everybody downloads the Google apps or root their phone.
throw launcher pro over this, and im sold! gonna be krazzzy
Looks like the other three GS's have Google search as their default. Maybe Bing is just an option. For people who claim they choose Android because they like choice....
The colors on the screen look GREAT on the Samsung FASCINATE while the Droid X look very... WASHED OUT !!
WOW !!