You spend a lot of time telling everyone that you don’t want to appear biased, but any objective viewer would clearly see your Samsung bias.
For example – The Fascinate is 1/2 the weight of the iphone? Please… 10 seconds on the internet and you wold see that the Samsung phone = 4.1oz. vs. iphone = 4.8 oz. The fascinate feels very cheap with the plastic housing. That is what is probably misleading you. It’s like the sound of the door closing on a Mercedes vs. a Hyundai. Much more solid feel. Makes you think it is twice as heavy, but you’re just feeling the quality.
Out of the box, I had to run to Best Buy to purchase a memory card before I could use the Fascinate camera. What a big disappointment. The iphone comes complete right out of the box!
You spend a lot of time arguing the great wifi tethering on the Fascinate. Please tell me who needs to tether their laptop through a phone when they are in the presence of a wifi hot spot? When’s the last time you bought a portable computer that didn’t have a wifi port inside?
Look, it is great that you did this review. But don’t spend so much time talking about how you don’t want to sound biased when the presentation is clearly biased.
I’ve been playing with the Fascinate for a few hours this evening and comparing it to the iPhone 4. I’m not ready to make a judgment call, but my first impressions are not positive. I bought two. I plan on tearing down one of the Fascinates to take a look inside a bit.
Sean McCarney
on December 20, 2010 at 12:24 am
Scott…. buddy… don’t be ripping on him. Respect his reviews, and trust the man. plus, he owns the iPhone, so just because he might really enjoy using the Fascinate, doesn’t mean he’s biased for it. I watch and read reviews everyday from Zollotech, cnet, Phone Arena, Technobuffallo, etc, and honestly, everyone seems to have a high opinion of the Fascinate. I’ve owned the iPhone, and currently own the Fascinate and can safely say that I love my phone. I would choose it over the iPhone any day, and since AT&T’s network is just awful, it’s all the more reason to lean towards Verizon and their great Android phones. so respect what the review is, and just take the man’s work. the iPhone is… well… the iPhone. and the Samsung Fascinate is the best phone I’ve ever used.
Pete F.
on December 31, 2010 at 11:41 am
Zollo, Thanks for a very nice review. I’ll bet there are many Verizon customers out there who are waiting for the iPhone to be avialable from Verizon before upgrading their turn-of-the-century Razr phones. When they start selling Verizon iPhones, there will be lots of us who want a fair comparison between iPhones and Android phones like the Fascinate. Your review is much better than those who simply list features and specs. As for Scott’s comments on bias, I personally want a review where the reviewer sets aside his initial personal bias and gives both devices a fair assesment. By the end of the review, I want to know which phone is best for me. Zollo’s comments on bias just let me know he is trying to be fair. However, after he spends time evaluating the two phones, I really want to hear his final opinion(or bias)on the merits and faults of each. If one is clearly superior, I want to know that too. Thank you Zollo, this was helpful to me.
Mary
on February 5, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Thanks…great quick overview. I was leaning towards the fascinate, now I am sure that is the way to go for me!
Atlantaguy
on July 4, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Thanks for the review. It was just a bit drawn-out (you seemed nervous), but the major points were covered. I have a Fascinate and a couple of people I know have the iPhone 4 – I just helped a friend set up his iPhone 4 last night as a matter of fact.
I think the iPhones are maybe better for people who are a little less tech savy, as they’re a bit easier to use (except the multi-steps to set all the crap up in iTunes). Androids best feature is it’s ability to customize everything, but for less computer/tech savy people, that might be a drawback, too. The iPhone is more of a phone that’s “like a computer without being one”… the Android phones are more like a “real” handheld computer.
I’ll stick with my Android, but there are pluses and minuses to either of them.
You spend a lot of time telling everyone that you don’t want to appear biased, but any objective viewer would clearly see your Samsung bias.
For example – The Fascinate is 1/2 the weight of the iphone? Please… 10 seconds on the internet and you wold see that the Samsung phone = 4.1oz. vs. iphone = 4.8 oz. The fascinate feels very cheap with the plastic housing. That is what is probably misleading you. It’s like the sound of the door closing on a Mercedes vs. a Hyundai. Much more solid feel. Makes you think it is twice as heavy, but you’re just feeling the quality.
Out of the box, I had to run to Best Buy to purchase a memory card before I could use the Fascinate camera. What a big disappointment. The iphone comes complete right out of the box!
You spend a lot of time arguing the great wifi tethering on the Fascinate. Please tell me who needs to tether their laptop through a phone when they are in the presence of a wifi hot spot? When’s the last time you bought a portable computer that didn’t have a wifi port inside?
Look, it is great that you did this review. But don’t spend so much time talking about how you don’t want to sound biased when the presentation is clearly biased.
I’ve been playing with the Fascinate for a few hours this evening and comparing it to the iPhone 4. I’m not ready to make a judgment call, but my first impressions are not positive. I bought two. I plan on tearing down one of the Fascinates to take a look inside a bit.
Scott…. buddy… don’t be ripping on him. Respect his reviews, and trust the man. plus, he owns the iPhone, so just because he might really enjoy using the Fascinate, doesn’t mean he’s biased for it. I watch and read reviews everyday from Zollotech, cnet, Phone Arena, Technobuffallo, etc, and honestly, everyone seems to have a high opinion of the Fascinate. I’ve owned the iPhone, and currently own the Fascinate and can safely say that I love my phone. I would choose it over the iPhone any day, and since AT&T’s network is just awful, it’s all the more reason to lean towards Verizon and their great Android phones. so respect what the review is, and just take the man’s work. the iPhone is… well… the iPhone. and the Samsung Fascinate is the best phone I’ve ever used.
Zollo, Thanks for a very nice review. I’ll bet there are many Verizon customers out there who are waiting for the iPhone to be avialable from Verizon before upgrading their turn-of-the-century Razr phones. When they start selling Verizon iPhones, there will be lots of us who want a fair comparison between iPhones and Android phones like the Fascinate. Your review is much better than those who simply list features and specs. As for Scott’s comments on bias, I personally want a review where the reviewer sets aside his initial personal bias and gives both devices a fair assesment. By the end of the review, I want to know which phone is best for me. Zollo’s comments on bias just let me know he is trying to be fair. However, after he spends time evaluating the two phones, I really want to hear his final opinion(or bias)on the merits and faults of each. If one is clearly superior, I want to know that too. Thank you Zollo, this was helpful to me.
Thanks…great quick overview. I was leaning towards the fascinate, now I am sure that is the way to go for me!
Thanks for the review. It was just a bit drawn-out (you seemed nervous), but the major points were covered. I have a Fascinate and a couple of people I know have the iPhone 4 – I just helped a friend set up his iPhone 4 last night as a matter of fact.
I think the iPhones are maybe better for people who are a little less tech savy, as they’re a bit easier to use (except the multi-steps to set all the crap up in iTunes). Androids best feature is it’s ability to customize everything, but for less computer/tech savy people, that might be a drawback, too. The iPhone is more of a phone that’s “like a computer without being one”… the Android phones are more like a “real” handheld computer.
I’ll stick with my Android, but there are pluses and minuses to either of them.