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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name99 - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
This is a silly statement. The problem is not specifically with CDMA, it is with Verizon, or if you prefer, with IS-95.CDMA as an underlying technology has won, no-one is arguing about this anymore. Every future cellular standard (even the GSM ones) utilizes CDMA as part of the suite of technologies that it uses.
You are correct about this particular problem with the Verizon system (along with various other dumb problems, eg issues in consolidating long SMS messages, or use of unicode in SMS), but are mistaken in what you blame for the problem.
tdenton1138 - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
Got a Charge after having an 1.1Ghz (OC'd) OG Droid on CM 7.0.3 and WOW what an upgrade. Of course, you'd think it would be but its amazing the difference.There are two custom roms out, a few kernels, voodoo lagfix and cwm recovery works, except for nandroid (at the moment).
Weird the review said the T-Bolt gets better battery life... Everyone over at XDA and AC complains about the T-Bolt battery and those that have switched to a Charge have seen a marked improvement in battery life. Don't know what to make of that, but I get 17+ hours of normal use, so I don't complain.
We've now got 3 Charges in the family and we all love them. Would I have rather waited for the SGS2? Not after using the Charge. It was more than enough of an upgrade for me right now. Dual core will be helpful sometime (Honeycomb? Ice Cream?), but I can do everything I need with zero lag (and I mean zero), so its no big deal for me today.
GrizzledYoungMan - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
Any advice on custom ROMs for the Droid Charge? The Google seems to come up with disparate results, and few reviews. I'd love to hear your thoughts!Omega215D - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
I get around that many hours of usage from my STOCK Thunderbolt. I just don't push e-mail or Facebook notifications as that will kill any phone (like my Storm 2). I find that my Thunderbolt gives me similar battery life that I was seeing under my Droid 1 but on LTE with the Thunderbolt.tdenton1138 - Thursday, June 23, 2011 - link
@ GrizzledYoungMan: I'm currently running Altered Beast v5 (its a themed rom) with gummyCHARGED 1.7.5 kernel, voodoo lagfix enabled. There's also a gummyROM that's more AOSP than Altered Beast. To each their own.@Omega215D: Not having a T-Bolt, I can only relay the comments I see on the Charge boards at XDA and AC. If you get great battery life, then great! FWIW, I also got great battery life "STOCK", but wanted to de-bloat and get rid of most of the poop brown that Samsung seems to like.
dudefrommars - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
The physical buttons are great. I wish my other phones had those.I had this phone for 3 days and returned it.
The voice quality had more pops and cutoffs than my nexus one on t-mobile.
Small difference in voice quality, but I found it really annoying.
The touchwiz ui is awful.
The browser lacks the +- on screen buttons that zoom in and re-format web pages to screen width. With touchwiz, you can zoom in, but end up scrolling left and right - I HATE that.
The disabled tethering was the final straw.
I only use mobile data with my laptop a few times per year, so paying fees for all those months with no usage is not acceptable.
On the plus side, verizon was very good about the return.
$35 restock, and they pro-rated the usage to the days I had the phone.
Omega215D - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
I felt the same way when I contemplated about returning my Thunderbolt for the Droid Charge. The screen on the Charge is great and the battery life seemed to be better (looking at the battery meter on an unplugged Charge and its usage) and for some reason didn't feel as slippery as many reviewers noted.Playing with the phone for an hour or so and it was a bit of a pain. The lag and lack of web reformatting got to me. Plus there isn't any LED notification light.
With 2.3 supposedly on the way I have no real reason not to like my Thunderbolt but Sense UI is great to use without being on 2.3.
sitharien - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
You seem to be way more thorough in your phone reviews. Please review the EVO 3D, for Sprint. The last guy just seemed to speed past everything. With Android devices, battery tests really matter, but the guy that reviewed the EVO 3D barely spent a paragraph on it. He seemed biased against the either the phone or the carrier from the outset. Maybe the 3D moniker ruffled his feathers....Impulses - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
What are you talking about, Anandtech hasn't reviewed the EVO 3D yet, they ran a hands-on performance preview but that was it. I think they're gonna be doing the Sensation and Droid X2 first, but I hope they tackle the EVO 3D after that...Other reviews on the web are so contradictory it's not even funny, and no one seems to be able to run a proper battery test. Honestly, all the news blogs reviews are mediocre at best, it's pretty dad when a CNet review actually gives more detail than almost anything else (Laptopmag's was pretty thorough too, still nowhere near AT standards tho).
I'm actually holding off on upgrading while waiting for the AT EVO 3D review, even tho my EVO 4G has been suffering from sporadic reboots lately (they seen to be heat related). If the Photon wasn't on the horizon I might've taken the plunge knowing I have 30 days tho.
Brian Klug - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - link
I think you're alluding to our hands-on piece with the EVO 3D from a meeting with HTC at Qualcomm Uplinq. We're absolutely going to review the EVO 3D, actually that's scheduled now. Anand is going to do that review however since there is no WiMAX in my state sadly. I've got the HTC Sensation, however.-Brian