yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fascinate General] iTz Nicholas72:
Don't get one. Wait a few months for the dual core LTE phones to be released and stay away from Samsung.

Sent from my Samsung Fascinate running BH3.0, DL09, 125mv undervolt Voodoo5 using SwiftKey and Tapatalk
[Fascinate General] phooky:
QFT. The Fascinate hardware is amazing, but its not worth it to waste an upgrade with so many great LTE phones coming so soon. HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution, Moto Droid Bionic, etc.
[Fascinate General] Bawb3:
Yeah, the fascinate is a nice phone and, I am happy with it, but a bunch of new phones are coming out soon that are even better.

Sent from my Fascinate - DJ05/SuperClean/Adryn's 12/30
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
Yeah, those look great... but I think it's worth nothing... I didn't plan on throwing down for a 4G/LTE data plan. I've never had a smartphone before (despite techy), and was perfectly happy with unlimited 3G.
[Fascinate General] ilogik:
Stay away from samsung, if you get one you will regret it in a few months when the kickass phones come out.
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
I appreciate everyone's opinions, they do help... but I am concerned that everyone answering will be LTE adopters. I plan on going the $29.99 unlimited 3G data route, but do not plan on throwing down extra for LTE. Does that factor into this decision at all?
[Fascinate General] eshu68:
Buy it.. Our devs are rocking
[Fascinate General] denpad2010:
Hello I'm reading people talking about the new phones coming up, the lte, the 4g etc, my question is, with this nw phones will I have to pay the extra $10 for the 4g like sprint charges???? Cause in my area I don't think the 4g exist anyway I don't care about it thanks, hour hope you understand my question, my english no good
[Fascinate General] denpad2010:
I agree, the unlimited 3g is enough for me have wifi with 10mbpsspeed so I'm good.....
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
I'm glad there appear to be a couple of people who understand my position.

I don't anticipate opting for LTE coverage, nor do I need it. I would assume these new LTE phones will work on both 3g and LTE, but am I forced to get an LTE plan if I get one of these phones? Also, I'd assume that these new phones will be higher than the $199 price point.
[Fascinate General] Kevin Gossett:
The slew of new phones won't be available for a couple months anyways, so if you're looking for something in the immediate future, the Fascinate has the best hardware available right now. OEM support is lacking, but our devs are making tremendous progress on porting 2.2 and 2.3
[Fascinate General] nmyeti:
At this point, I don't think anyone knows what lte plans will cost or if they will be above and beyond a normal 3g plan. We can't even say they will be required yet. With so much unknown, and really much better phones on the way, the safe thing is to wait. Honestly, I can't see the fascinate getting more expensive.
[Fascinate General] Daswolven:
Despite the Froyo delays, i have been more than satisfied with this device. I also concur that our devs do indeed rock.
[Fascinate General] s44:
"Few months"? Thanks to Apple, the first dual-core (Bionic) isn't coming until June.

LTE will be a mixed blessing.

Swyped from my Voodoo-powered Fascinate via XDA
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
I feel like a few months, coming soon, Q1 2011 and first half 2011... really all mean mid year. My upgrade is January 21st, and I don't really know if I wanna wait that long. I have patience, if its warranted... but is it worth it to wait for one of these recently announced phones if I don't plan on getting LTE?

My main concern is updates to Android. I don't want to get a phone that will cease to be supported because the manufacturer sees opportunity to make more money elsewhere. While I like the form factor of the Fascinate more than any other current Verizon phone, am I better off just getting a Droid X or Droid 2.
[Fascinate General] attitudes1:
Or an iPhone 4.

Unless you really against it like many here. Then DX D2G would better suit you.

Fascinate is really nice machine but lack of oem support. Unless you don't mind replacing it when or if something does happen to it while flashing dev version of froyo/gb then go ahead grab one.

Personally would suggest an iPhone to first time smartphone users. It has great support guaranteed updates annually. More solid user experience it has more and better apps compared to Android.

Despite many claims.

Non-jailbroken iPhone > unrooted Android device.

Jailbroken iPhone = rooted Android device.

I have nothing against Apple/IOS or Google/Android. Above is all based on personal experiences (iPhone 3/3GS. Droid 1/Fascinate). and by no means to start another Apple vs Android mouth fight.
[Fascinate General] trunks1667:
After owning this phone along with the moto droid and droid x and htc incredible and eris i would say get the iphone 4 its better.
[Fascinate General] zachsx:
First an foremost, i understand where.yor coming from about the 4G. My opinion on the fascinate is that its an amazing phone. Best phone i've owned. I've had the x, the inc, the og droid, and iphones. I love this phone. Fast smooth. Camera is amazing. The only drawback os customer service and.the upgrades. But when you root samsungs customer service goes out the window anyways. And the rate our devs are going who needs verizons updates. Now the question is what devs will stay around when the new lte phones come out in the main factor. Cause without devs you wont have updates. Im staying with sf as long as the devs continue to work as hard as they are to produce these amazing updates. Just my two cents.
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
I see that this community is really churning out some great roms, in fact, I found XDA because of all the talk about it on other forums I frequent. That being said, I see A LOT of roms and kernels for 2.1 What is the typical timeframe for ports of newer Android versions? I've read other phones getting ported to 2.1, 2.2... without the carrier even releasing it. I know this phone has only been out since November, but are we on track for 2.2? Or at this point, is the dev community already behind.

I swear, that the main thing I'm looking for is supported updates. I know iOS has that, but other than that... I like everything about Android.
[Fascinate General] jccowardin:
No matter which phone you buy, unless its a Nexus S, you will end up with a large outcry for the newest version of Android as soon as it is released. This is simply not going to happen immediately for any phone. It always takes some time, and every manufacturer is going to try to maximize their profits on their newest platform even if its at the expense of some older phones.

That said, I feel like I read a post on Engadget recently showing that some survey suggested HTC was the best major Android phone manufacturer in terms of updating to new OS versions. I'd take that with a grain of salt though, as I did not read the details of the survey and it was still some dismal number like 33% of their phones had 2.2+. It also suggested that VZW was the best carrier in terms of updates.

This Fascinate has been my first smartphone and my first foray into rooting, flashing, etc. and it has been a blast. There is virtually zero support from Samsung though. But you really can't complain with the great work that is being done by our devs.

This is a personal decision and one that only you can make.

edited for grammar.
[Fascinate General] Steezus:
I would prefer some of the new HTC phones myself, but that isn't an option for Verizon as far as I can tell. So I think that the Fascinate is the best offering that Verizon has. Froyo and Gingerbread are not the end of the world. While I look forward to them, the phone is currently pretty amazing once you root and install some ROMs.

Dual core sounds nice, but seriously, what in the hell are people doing with their phones that will need dual core and actually take advantage of dual core? The only time the Fascinate bogs down for me is when I run a whole bunch of applications in the background because I forgot to properly quit out of the program. Once I installed ADW EX, everything just flies paired with a good ROM. I say get it. Hell, my wife will be needing a phone in about a month and I will just be picking up another Fascinate for her.
[Fascinate General] imnuts:
The Fascinate is the best non-4G phone on Verizon. If you like pretty pictures and candy icons, wait until 2/10, but for an Android phone, it has the best hardware available. The only bad thing is the software side, but it seems like Red Bull made a stop at the dev's houses recently with the speed of progress recently. I'd say that when we get an AOSP ROM running, it will be the best device by far for both hardware and software, but until then, a custom Eclair rom isn't to bad either.
[Fascinate General] woolster22:
Definitely worth picking up. I rooted mine almost immediately. Invest in titanium backup, read up on voodoo. I use jts voodoo paired with the dj05 blackhole rom and this thing flies (and gps works much better than out of the box). Then wait for kaos and co to iron out the rest of froyo and what is not to love? (not to mention ginger bread in the oven!?) This thing flies, great screen, decent battery life, comes with a good amount of memory (might pick up a bigger card myself, but I have it loaded up with music too), thin, solid feeling, and not too bulky (dx!). When comparing it to my bosses dx I know I made the right choice, it looks better with the screen off, and when they are on its no contest. Not that the dx is no good, I just felt this screen was much nicer, and liked the soft corners and edges. The usb door was a nice little gimmick I hadn't seen before too, much cleaner than a rubber plug. The camera is great, might only be five mp or whatever but it takes great pictures, better than some digital cameras out there anyway. Sort of showing the number doesn't matter as much as how well those pixels are being used.

The downside? Thats easy, SAMSUNG. Sure the hardware is great, but the support has been lacking (thank you jt, birdman, sos, kaos, geek, and all the others for doing something for us). If you pick up a fascinate be ready to root and convert to voodoo (really pretty simple...odin, some flashing, not too complicated if you read carefully!) since its looking like you will need that for froyo/gb anyway.
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
The more I think about it the more I feel that even without rooting the Fascinate or any 2.1+ Android phone is better than the iPhone. I have an iPod Touch and have loved it for the last 2 years. However, I LOVE the idea of built in Google Navigation, which as of now, I know the iPhone doesn't have anything close.

I don't care if I have to wait for updates, as long as I know they are coming. I'm okay if we keep hearing 2.2 is on its way, because we know we will eventually get it. My biggest fear is that I get the phone and then its like discontinued and Samsung moves onto the next one.

Besides, it doesn't sound like 2.2 has A LOT that 2.1 doesn't. The only thing, other than flash, that I can think of is full use of Google's Voice Actions, right? You can't like say "Send a text message to....", but "Navigate to...." works?
[Fascinate General] voghan:
I would wait till the summer and buy a phone then. Hopefully that phone will have 2.2 or 2.3 running on it. If you like hacking your phone I'd check out the dev forums on this phone and a coyote others then decide. Personally I hope the new phones are even better and don't require any hacking to make them work great.
[Fascinate General] s44:
This is easy to say when you already have an older Android, but the OP seems to be stuck on a dumbphone. Six months is a looooong time not to have a real device.
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
I am actually stuck on an LG env3... You know that phone that turns off all the time? Ha, well it's a but that I've dealt with.

I am techy and while never rooted before, am sure I'd be fine doing it. I'm also pretty sure I'd be extraordinarily happy with a Fascinate, or for that matter a Droid x, 2 or incredible. I just like the form factor of the fascinate most of all.

Basically, it sounds like 2.2 will come eventually. Decent chance that it won't get 2.3, but that's what the devs are for right? We just don't have flash and google voice actions without 2.2 right?
[Fascinate General] s44:
Correct. And yes, it's got the best physical package on Verizon... and given the ugliness of the i510, it may continue to have that for a while.
[Fascinate General] voghan:
Get a Droid Incredible. You'll be happier.
[Fascinate General] ksizzle9:
Voghan: you sir are correct
[Fascinate General] ksizzle9:
All of my old friends in here I don't mean to sound like I'm bashing my phone. Just sorely disappointmented with Samsung. Not jt,adryn, or bird, you cats do good work. Much better than Samsung.
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
I liked the incredible form factor and have heard good things about HTC, but hav read that the battery life is horrendous. I also don't love the idea that it's been out for a long time and I'd be afraid that it'll stop getting software updates quicker than the fascinate.
[Fascinate General] voghan:
Just cause the fascinate has been on Verizon for four months doesn't make it a young phone. Actually I think it was first shown a year ago. Buy an incredible on eBay and save your upgrade for a phone that isn't two versions of the OS behind.
[Fascinate General] ivorycruncher:
Here's my take on this. If you are on Verizon, need a phone now, and want the best hardware, buy the Fascinate. If you are on Verizon, need a phone now, and want all the latest software (short of GB of course), then buy either the Incredible or the Droid X, depending on how big of a phone you want and/or what OEM UI you prefer. If you are on Verizon and DON'T need a phone right now, but will in the next couple months, wait for the new LTE phones to come out, as they will all likely beat the Fascinate in the hardware department, and will all have at least Froyo on them, if not GB. If you're not on Verizon....well, I don't have time to write up a buyers guide for every carrier, sorry. :D
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
Won't VZW abollishing the early upgrades help the Fascinate, in a way? I mean, in the past, the dev community could upgrade after 10 months... now they'd havta pay retail to do that. I mean... barring some swap on ebay or something, isn't there a good chance that a decent amount of XDA users will stick with the Fascinate until around the summer of 2012?
[Fascinate General] ivorycruncher:
Grr, why do people keep getting so confused about Verizon's upgrades? Verizon has always (in recent history) allowed both 1-year and 2-year contracts, and allows you to get the standard upgrade discount on new phones after fulfilling 10 months of a 1-year contract or 20 months of a two-year.

In addition to that, if you chose a 2-year contract, as most do, you were eligible for an additional $50-100 off of the standard subsidized phone discount price when renewing your contract after 20 months (1-year contracts were not included in this program). Also, they had recently started another promotion where people with 2-year contracts could upgrade at full subsidized discount price after just 12 months.

As I understand it now, unless I'm grossly misunderstanding the changes I've read about, the extra discounts and extra-early upgrade windows are gone, but the original 10 and 20 month upgrade windows still exist, and the standard subsidized discount upgrade pricing still exists. Also, 1-year contracts still exist. They didn't ever not exist, rather they're just not marketed, because Verizon makes way more money off of 2-year agreements.
[Fascinate General] sanewicked:
I really like the Fascinate as a phone; however, the big ugly beast of Samsung makes it hard to love. I have no problems with the phone itself, I actually am pleasantly surprised with the performance of the Fascinate, sure it stutters every once in a while, but nothing a couple servings of Froyo won't fix. The lack of Froyo and ambivalence by Samsung is incredibly aggravating; however, if you're willing to install custom ROMs, then the experience is less irritating. I won't buy another Samsung device, but I can live with waiting for Froyo (and if it doesn't come, I have a plethora of more than capable options waiting for me from the wonderful developers of this community).

Good luck deciding!
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
I've havent tried yet, but it doesnt sound like it makes sense to wait for official updates when the dev updates are debloated, debinged... And etc. Sounds like if you are willing to root and flash, the fascinate is a great phone with no cons whatsoever.

That said... It sounds like 2.2 will be released unofficially, at very least by Kaos, in the near future. And 2.3 us being worked on for the not too long after by another dev. Is that correct? I mean is it safe to say based on the postings we've seen thusfar that the devs will definitely take us to 2.2 and most probably to 2.3? I mean that's absolutely far enough for me for a 2 year contract.

What are the chances alpha roms like 2.2 from Kaos and alpha 2.3 by the other dev not work out and get dropped.
[Fascinate General] ludionis:
You are correct sir. Effective Jan 16th, all customers signing new 2 yr contracts will no longer get the 'early' upgrade at 12 month mark. 1 yr customers may continue to upgrade at 10 months. No further new-every-two discounts will be given to new contract signers.

To address the original purpose of the forum, it sounds like you are not in desperate need of a phone. Coming from the Eris, I am finding myself very dissapointed in Samsung, not only for their slowness to develop updates like Moto and HTC have, but in inhibiting our wonderful dev community by releasing crap-code under the opensource requirements (I understand the code they released was not even what was put on devices at launch, but an earlier bug-filled code). As a VZW tech, I would encourage you to wait for either the Thunderbolt (HTC) or the Bionic (Motorola dual-core processor) to release in the next few months. My vote is for HTC, as Motorola also took a jab at the dev community with the kill-switch chips they began placing in the droix x and subsequent models.
[Fascinate General] attitudes1:
Sorry but seeing all your replys and the amount of readings you have done it doesn't seem like your asking for our opinions, it seemed like your already made up your mind about getting this phone. Not saying its bad to gather more info just saying, do what you like man.
[Fascinate General] Bwangster12:
It's not that at all and I am here cause I value other opinions. At the same time, I would love for an overwhelming positive review of the Samsung Fascinate, but I understand thats not possible.

I get the sense that the only and major beef people have with the Samsung Fascinate is the problems there have been with updates. If I root and flash, isn't that a non issue? I'm genuinely asking... not telling anyone I have my opinion made up. Like I was "asking", either VZW/Samsung will release 2.2 or Kaos releases it (chances are good of him finishing it right?) and then it sounds like 2.3 could get released by the dev community (what are the chances of this?)

I almost don't care if the Fascinate tops out at 2.2... the part that scares me are amazing apps being developed that aren't supported by my ancient 2.1. Such as Google's Car Dock app, Google's Voice Actions.... I don't want this to become a trend. Which is why I was asking for 2.2, 2.3.
[Fascinate General] deitiphobia:
I have a Droid X. The Droid X has excellent support from the Dev community with many Roms to choose from and the excellent Liberty Rom that came out not to long ago.

That being said, it does not have that great of a camera when compared to the Fascinate. I like taking lots of pics and video with my phone. The Droid X HD video is 24fps and for some reason just seams very laggy in comparison. Also has a lot of noise in dark situations. The Fascinate fairs much better and has a 30fps HD recording capability.

So for the camera alone, I'm considering the Fascinate. But honestly, it appears that the Droid X gets better battery life, has an OK camera, Froyo and lots of DEV support, HDMI output, no issues with GPS.

All of these things really make the Droid X appealing. It seems that there is no shortage of folks on craigslist in Los Angeles area that will trade their Samsung Fascinate for a Droid X. So you may as well get an X, and if you don't like it, trade it for a Fascinate.

I'm still torn myself. I want the better camera! But I use GPS literally every day as well as voice actions.
[Fascinate General] bruteforce037:
Right on! Nice points.
[Fascinate General] Naris:
I'm sure we'll have 2.2 soon enough from either the developers or Samsung (my money's on the developers), and frankly this phone's got probably the best balance of screen size and hardware power out of anything currently out on Verizon.

If you don't mind buying used from Verizon, they're offering the pre owned ones with a one year contract for ~$100 and ~$40 if you're selling your life away for two years. I have a refurbished one and it looks like new.
[Fascinate General] zander78:
well my input is that it all depends on where you live. if you live in an area where you know you are going to get LTE coverage within the next couple of months then just wait for them to hit the market. the fascinate i have now has been perfect for what i need and i like the way th ui is set up.
[Fascinate General] lordshark12:
word every1 is right wait for the new lte phones but i think the first dual core phone for verizon is gonna be the bionic which is coming q2 -_-, because the lg revolution didnt get dual (WTH). But luckily i got my phone from costco and got grandfathered into the regular smartphone plan, instead of this new 3g smartphone plans. So if you are not grandfathered then idk, because lte will prolly be extra, but if you are wait!
[Fascinate General] wiseone78:
please tell me how to root samsung fascinate with dl09 the easiest way.my computer knowledge is limited.thank you
[Fascinate General] obededom:
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but if your knowledge is limited you might not want to root your phone.

If you can set up adb, follow simple commands, get the proper drivers installed for your phone to be recognized by your PC, etc...it's a fairly simple process.

first post: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=779238
[Fascinate General] mike919:
Another example of the community spoiling people with 1 click root apps :)

Please for the sake of your phone, read about rooting and sut up your PC to use ADB before rooting your phone, or you will be in a world of hurt and looking for more help... I'm sure you are smart enough to do it, just do some research... it is actually a very easy process as everything is layed out step by step... Every thread in development here is worth reading... sorry i'm not here to preach, just help... but def read first so when your ready you'll know what to do, and where to go for help. unfortunately a post like this won't get you much help.
[Fascinate General] fubar1982:
I see what the OP is saying. Verizon's handy work imitates a cd drive when plugged into PC. So putting in commands through cmd doesn't work -- at least it didn't with me, because it's not finding the device. I've got a lot of homework to do myself but Z4 1.3 sideloaded works on DI01 and not on DL09.

OP -- check out this thread:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=913470

adrynalyne is hot on this and f'n amazing

Use ODIN To push with root. I'm going to be trying this later...
[Fascinate General] Poloasis:
Put your phone on USB debugging, plug your USB cable and reboot your phone. You will have the access to your SD instead of the CD and you PC will detect your phone.