Where Is the Samsung Droid Charge?

Last week, Verizon got a bit of egg on its face when its 4G LTE network failed across the entire U.S. This was especially bad timing for this carrier, as it was scheduled to release its second smartphone with LTE support, the Samsung Droid Charge, the next day. Verizon got the network running again in about 24 hours, but still postponed the launch of its next 4G handset.

More than a week later, the Droid Charge is still MIA. I had expected it to launch on May 5, as this carrier likes to introduce new models on Thursdays. But this didn’t happen, and Verizon is keeping mum about why. And, in fact, the company has never said what the problem was that caused its LTE network to fail.

Verizon customers have been able to access LTE service again for more than a week now, but this carrier has yet to release the Droid Charge. Why the extra delay?

Is the Droid Charge at Fault?
I’m slightly suspicious about the timing of the LTE outage — less than a day before the launch of the Samsung Droid Charge. Is it possible that a bug in this model is somehow responsible?

I know this sounds like a conspiracy theory, but the fact that the network failed at the same time Verizon stores all across the U.S. were getting this model in stock, followed by the long delay in the release of this smartphone, seems to stretch coincidence more than a bit.

Whatever the case, I’m sure there are plenty of Verizon customers across the U.S. who will be happy when they can finally get their hands on the Samsung Droid Charge. Assuming it’s bug free, of course.

UPDATE
The Samsung Droid Charge finally launched on Saturday, May 14, over a week after this blog post was written.

Samsung Droid Charge Preview
The Droid Charge is going to be a cutting-edge smartphone with a 4.3-inch WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen. It is going to debut with Google Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) running on a 1GHz processor, with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface layered on top.

In addition to Verizon’s 4G service, this Samsung model is going to have Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS, and DLNA. Multimedia features will include a rear-facing 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash, a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video conferencing, and an HDMA (720p) video-out port.

It is being priced at $300 with a two-year contract, well above the typical cost of similar models.

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Samsung - Galaxy Mini

Samsung seems to churn out smartphones at a rate of knots. Part of its strategy involves keeping those at the top end of the market on their toes, and the recent Samsung Galaxy S II has really given the market leaders something to aim at. But Samsung is busy at the middle of the market too - and the Galaxy Mini feels in many respects like another very samey product with a different name.

The clue is in the name
One thing about the Galaxy Mini that's indicated by its name is that it is small. At 110x61x12mm and weighing just 107g. it's handy for little pockets and smaller, probably younger, hands. Such people might be fine with the somewhat lower-end specifications, as might those just dipping a tentative toe into smartphone waters for the first time.

Squished screen
But users should take care when they compromise, as the combination of features might not be quite what they're after. The small overall size of the Samsung Galaxy Mini makes for a slightly squeezed screen - 3.1 inches, in fact. And its resolution is low, at just 240x320 pixels. That's not ideal for web browsing, catch up
 TV or other media-rich activities.

The Galaxy Mini's screen is also unusually proportioned; slightly wider than usual so that you don't get the full widescreen effect when you twist it into 'wide' mode. That might sound like a small thing, but if you like your widescreen video or widescreen web browsing, it could be a bind.

Compromises, compromises
While the basic smartphone essentials of Wi-Fi, GPS and HSDPA are all present and correct, and the Samsung Galaxy Mini runs Android 2.2, there's no Flash support. The 600MHz processor can't handle it. So there's no streaming of video embedded into web sites. And in general the processor did seem to struggle at times. Finger presses were not responded to with lightning-fast reactions, video occasionally stumbled... that kind of thing. It's not a disaster by any means, but it's something to note.

Entering text is no fun fest either. The small screen makes for a squished keyboard, and only very small adult hands or children's digits are likely to find the process comfortable. There's 164MB of internal memory, which is a bit on the mean side, but you can add more using a microSD card. A 2GB card is supplied in the slot on the right-hand side to get you started.

The 3-megapixel camera does a reasonable job, and you start with three home screens to pepper with widgets. You can raise this to seven in individual increments if you need more. We rather like that feature.
The Samsung Galaxy Mini is a neat, small smartphone at an attractive price. But check the specifications carefully to make sure the compromises will suit you before buying, though.

BEST POINT: Small and pocket-friendly; low cost.
WORST POINT: Low screen resolution; under-powered processor; basic camera.

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Related Products

Samsung Infuse 4G First-Look Review: Big and Beautiful

AT&T's latest Android OS smartphone offers a 4.5-inch touchscreen, larger than the 4.3-inch displays on some of its competitors. Other cutting-edge features include a 1.2GHz Hummingbird processor, HSPA+ support, and an 8-megapixel camera.

I've had the new Samsung Infuse 4G for about 36 hours now, and I'm ready to make some preliminary observations.

BUILD & DESIGN

Right out of the box, the Infuse is unlike most smartphones. Broad, long, and thin, its design is clearly all about the screen. I'm sure some people will be disappointed that the resolution on the 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display is "only" 800 x 480 (WVGA), instead of the new vogue 960 x 540 (qHD). Realistically though, the screen looks beautiful as it is, and I could hardly ask for better.

In fact, using it is enough to make me a convert to OLED screens: not only does it have fantastic contrast and colors, but the greenish tint I observed in my last OLED-based review unit is entirely absent. On top of that, it has superior performance in direct sun, not just compared to older OLEDs (which struggled in sunlight), but also to most LCDs.

I feel like if they made this thing much thinner, I could peel fruit with it. Not only is it one of the thinnest smartphones on the market (just 0.35-inches), but the large, flat footprint makes it feel even thinner in the hand. You might think that due to its size, the Infuse would be unwieldy to hold. Surprisingly, this isn't the case: it's width is quite manageable, although people with smaller hands might find it less comfortable. And yes, it feels a bit strange to put it up to your head to talk on it.


PERFORMANCE
There's been a rumor going around that starting with the Infuse, AT&T would start to allow "sideloading," which is installing applications from sources other than the Android Market. I can confirm that this is indeed the case: the Infuse now loads non-Market apps with no more hassle than any other Android device. This means AT&T users can finally load apps from other sources, including the Amazon app market, without having to hack their devices first.
The broad, flat design also provides room for a surprisingly large battery: 1750 mAh, much higher in capacity than most phones, which run from 1200 to 1500. And the difference shows, since the battery performance so far has been stellar: even after a fairly robust day, with Wi-Fi running constantly, music playing, some streaming video, a little GPS, and lots of web surfing, the battery was still showing 32%.


PRELIMINARY CONCLUSION
So far, the Samsung Infuse 4G is showing a great deal of promise. I'll have a lot more to say about it in the full review, including performance benchmarks, more battery testing, and discussion of who the design is aimed at, and why. Stay tuned.

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