Choosing a smartphone to meet my demanding needs was no easy task, but the Samsung Fascinate by Verizon Wireless (or the Samsung Mesmerize by U.S. Cellular) did not disappoint me. It’s a rare cellular device that provides amazing color and screen size, along with rapid high-speed response times.
This light-weight smartphone device is just simply awesome, from the Super AMOLED 4-inch display, right down to the online photo editing capabilities. Colors are brilliant and have a wet look about them. A side-by-side comparison with any other cell phone makes choosing the Fascinate a no-brainer.
The 5-megapixel camera makes taking photographs a breeze and a 5x-zoom capability keeps photos clean and less pixilated then other smartphone cameras. The one-touch social media upload feature sends photos and video straight to Facebook, MySpace and other social network sites.
A 16-gb removal/expandable SD card comes pre-installed from the factory, so there is plenty of room to store music, movies, photos and videos. And, unlike many other smartphones, the SD card can be swapped without having to remove the battery and repower the device.
The Fascinate runs on the Android operating system, which is easy to use and quick to personalize. With the Market, there are nearly 200,000 applications to add to the phone – many without additional cost. And, the presence of Google applications makes email delivery lightening fast.
My major problem wit the Fascinate is its tendency to lock up, especially when I move rapidly through the various screens. Too frequently, I have to remove the battery and restart the device to clear the error. Samsung claims to have fixed this problem, but it remains an issue I deal with often.
There are plenty of accessories made for the Fascinate, including a great desk top charging station. I bought two: one for my bedroom nightstand and the other for my desk.
Over all, the Samsung Fascinate continues to impress me with its versatility and light weight. It is a device that is hard to find these days, but it has had a great shelf life and continues to impress me.