Samsung Droid Charge Review - Droid Goes LTE
by Brian Klug on June 22, 2011 7:47 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- LTE
- 4G
- Droid Charge
- Mobile
Software
The Charge as of this writing runs Android 2.2.1, which seems to be par for carrier-backed phones launching now, though comparatively old and a bit indicative of how long the device has been either been going through Verizon’s own testing or Samsung’s development cycle. The sad reality is that all the 4G LTE Verizon handsets are running either Froyo 2.2.1 or 2.2.2, which is a continual frustration considering how long Gingerbread has been out, and the eventual launch of the Droid Bionic which will hopefully come with 2.3.x.
Left: Original Software Build ED2, Right: Updated to Build EE4. Notice how the signal bars are different now.
One of the things changed when the Charge was flashed with the EE4 update was those status bars at the top, which now look vaguely like Android 2.3 style. Don't let that fool you, the Charge is still very much Froyo.
The Charge also is adorned with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, which includes a different launcher, icons, widgets, system skin, and shade. I can get behind what Samsung has done to the notifications shade, in fact, including quick-access toggles for WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, data, and rotation seems to be the way most custom ROMs go and like something Google will eventually steal adopt in future Android releases like it has already started in Honeycomb.
The system color for the Charge seems to be an earth brown with orange accent, which doesn’t really seem like the most striking choice and doesn’t really match the handset’s stealth bomber grey in most places. It works though.
There’s a bottom row of icons on the home screen that you can edit which persist across each home screen. It’s essentially iOS’ bottom dock embodied in Android style. Samsung also changes the launcher to consist of different windows that scroll left and right with icons, instead of the stock Android cube launcher.
There’s a grid and list view, with the former populating icons in the order things are installed, and the latter being alphabetically organized. Tap the settings gear and you can re-order applications in the grid view, delete applications from the launcher, and rearrange the dock.
Honestly the TouchWiz widgets are pretty barebones, and consist of solid transparent grey with text on top. It’s a far cry from HTC’s own Sense widgets. The only widget with any styling is the main clock and weather widget, which admittedly does work well and reports based on your current location.
The Charge doesn’t come super overloaded with bloatware, but does include some noteworthy pieces. Among those are Lets[sic] Golf 2, Bitbop, Blockbuster, CityID, Rhapsody, Rock Band, and all the usual Verizon applications. You can see the entire assortment in the gallery below. Thankfully there isn’t any Bing branding everywhere like what the Fascinate was saddled with, but it’s still software that can’t be removed, though thankfully none auto launch and consume RAM. Clearly Verizon does treat Droid branded devices a bit differently when it comes to selecting what bloatware to put on.
The Charge doesn’t have any bootloader shenanigans, and as a result you can easily flash custom ROMs. I’ve seen a few pop up already for the Charge, and if you’re an enthusiast and are bothered by bloatware this is clearly the way to go.
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tdenton1138 - Thursday, June 23, 2011 - link
Edit:strike: both phone for people
insert: both phones from people
NAblue - Thursday, June 23, 2011 - link
i don't like hard keys anymoreworldbfree4me - Thursday, June 23, 2011 - link
I'm happy to see that the NEXUS line particularly the NEXUS S can hang with the latest and greatest, while running a non-skinned OS and a single core chip. That formula seems to be the winner IMO. I only wish that future phones from any manufacturer would began life like the new Samsung Galaxy Tab, no skin from the factory, but add-on skins available via the market or the individual manufactures web store. This would enable Goog to keep the latest OS on more handsets from beginning and give end users even more options without having to root or hack the phone risking BSOD or worse voiding the factory warranty. Having said that, NEXUS 3G will certainly be a beast if NEXUS S is the ground floor! Thanks for another superb analysis ANANDTECH!!Nexus S 4G stock
jamdev12 - Friday, June 24, 2011 - link
Hi Brian,Thanks again for the great article. I've had an OG Droid since it came out November 2009 and lately, I've been looking for a phone to go to. I want to get into the unlimited plan which I've had since I bought that device and don't want to loose the privilege, even though I don't use 3G that often. I was seriously thinking of getting the Charge because of some of the reviews I had read on other sites, but was eagerly waiting on your recommendation. I now come to the conclusion that buying this phone is not in my best interest. I would love some 4G love, but the fact that battery life is outrageously in comparison to the LG and HTC LTE phones, I will have to see what the Bionic will bring. Like you stated in the previous article about the LG, battery life will likely not increased until the LTE radio is embedded in the phone CPU, which Qualcomm is working on right now. I guess I will try to grandfather my plan and see if Verizon will let me replace my phone when the Galaxy II S comes to the states.
Thanks again for the great article. I love Anantech for the indepth coverage you guys provide to all products. Informed consumers is what we need.
Jamdev12
360fish - Saturday, June 25, 2011 - link
all existing unlimited data plan customers are grandfathered in until ... further notice. I have this info from a leaked verizon document but ... sorry too lazy to find link right now. July 7 is the deadline to get grandfathered in, as I recall.Belard - Saturday, June 25, 2011 - link
Overall, the new data plans are a rip-off and hurt the abilities of these new phones.$25 for 10GB a month should be the min. One one company will drop to 2G when you hit the limit (rather than send you a $2000~4000 bill).
But when the caps are so low at 2~5GB, whats the point of having a 4G high performance internet phone when you can make out your data plan in 1-3 weeks?
They are promoting video and music downloads, streaming - that'll kill you. And google maps / GPS... that'll eat data as well.
Belard - Saturday, June 25, 2011 - link
It really shouldn't be this hard.- Thin doesn't always mean better. Strike a balance.
- Light-weight, if its feather-weight or poorly made, it may break easily.
- SIZE, sure its nice that phones come in various sizes... but as they get bigger, they become harder to get out of our POCKETS.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S Captivate (at&t)... the screen is great, the metal back looks nice.
But its design is flawed like all Galaxy S phones.
A) - Power button on the side, hard to feel (only on Captive)
B) - speaker on back = BAD BAD, I prop my phone a bit to hear the weak alarm.
C) - TOP and BOTTOM look exactly the same... HELLO? The Charge is better because YOU know instantly which side is up.
D) - my previous SONY phone, which I used for 2+ years still looks as new as my Captive (6 months old)... the whole bottom isn't flat and is not cheap plastic.
E) - REAL BUTTONS!! I like the charge already. Having a REAL HOME button is nice. Its location is STUPID as its the most use button on the phone but its NOT on the edge, nope... its in the middle? Should be: HOME / BACK / Menu / Search (Search can go away thou)
F - if using physical buttons, make the search a SHUTTER button when phone is in camera mode.
The Android interface FROYO fixed most of the GPS issues, but is somewhat DUMBER than 2.1.
- They removed NON-REPEAT function from the Alarm? STUPID!
- The Alarm profiles move around!! WTF?!
Heres a REALLY STUPID ONE...
The PHONE LOGS are defaulted to ALL, including MESSAGING?! The 2.1 had ALL or Phone Only... in 2.2 Froyo, they added some more, but TOOK OFF PHONE ONLY?! What idiot did this? Who the hell wants to SEE their TEXTING LOGS with their PHONE LOGS?! So I have to use SHOW only MISSED or SHOW ONLY incoming, etc... not just ALL phones. Again, STUPID.
Home button issues... Using an Ipad has shown how a HOME button is supposed to work. With my Android phone with its hard to find power button, I'm constantly turning the phone ON again, even in a phone call so I can see the screen. A Physical home button should always bring back the screen (if blank) rather than the power button. I hate getting a TEXT notification, and I could be in the middle of a swipe to unlock the phone to go to the text, and the PHONE shuts off.... gotta press the power, do the swipe all over again.
I like the flexibility I get from Android - but the User Experience is still crap . Having a WindowsPhone7 style launcher makes the phone much more usable.
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prakashpk - Sunday, July 31, 2011 - link
The article says that the phone has 512 MB RAM and 2 GB internal storage. However, my phone's task manger displays only 328 MB RAM and about 1.17 GB internal storage. Are there different versions of the phone?nitink - Monday, August 1, 2011 - link
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