Fascinate- Good or Bad for the average user?

[JessieRN08]

Thanks for all the replies! I do appreciate you taking the time to try to help me.  

I'm very tempted to try this phone out, as it does seem to be good for what I need.   After doing my research on Motorola's website and also on the X boards on here, it seems that the proximity sensor and in-call problems are known issues on the X and one that they are not addressing at this time.  Since being able to TALK to people is one of the main reasons I have a cell phone, that's kind of a big deal for me.  

Thank you also for explaining the perspective of these boards.  I didn't realize that they were mainly for people venting about problems with their phones, etc., but makes sense now! 

[szeck87]

For GPS, they just release an update that fixes a GPS issue where it doesn't lock.  I use Google Maps and the GPS works great.  As far as Bing, its not a big deal.  Go into the browser and go to Google.com.  Or if you download Google Apps you also get the "voice search".  Overall its a really nice phone with plenty of features.  Quite a bit different interface than the Droid X, its more like the iPhone.  Make sure you play around with one before buying to see if you like it.

Good, clear reliable phone connection

I've had clear reception wherever I go.  However, I had to switch out my first Fascinate due to a very noticeable and annoying echo effect when speaking into it.  Make sure you test yours before leaving.  Otherwise its a great phone to talk on.

A touch screen that actually locks while on a call and doesn't call/ hang up

Fascinate has a proximity sensor to the left of the earpiece.  This will lock/shutoff the touch screen so you cannot accidently touch it while on a call.

Texting

Comes preloaded with Swype, which takes time to get used to but ultimately is the fastest.  If you don't like Swype it can still be changed to the regular keyboard input.  It doesn't have a physical keyboard though.  Texts are threaded by conversation by default, you may be able  to change that if you want.

Reliable email

Don't use e-mail client on phone myself.

Facebook

Won't be anything different than any other Android device and its very similar to iPod/iPhone.  Should be fine for everything you do.

Internet- casual browsing

Decent built-in browser for casual browsing.  However until Android 2.2 comes out you won't see any Flash.

Apps for myself and my kids

Not as extensive as iPhone yet.  Plenty of apps out there though, almost all of the popular ones on iPhone are also on Android.  Same as Facebook, all Android apps are going to be similar on each Android phone so will be similar to Droid X.

A Good camera (I hate the X camera)

Has 5MP vs the Droid X's 8, but actually looks better most of the time.  And has a flash and can take HD video.

[KSGerber]

I like the Fascinate very much, The newest software patch fixed the crummy GPS, made syncing with my computer wmp better and a few things like able to read more types pdfs on emails. The E-mail works great for me but I had to manually enter the info in correctly by mostly copying the info on my laptop to access my service provider and not use their default info to set up my account. After that it works great. The default stuff does work for a Gmail account. I don't drop phone calls. There are very few glitchy things with the phone. The screen is great. The music player sounds incredible with some Klipsch headphones I got on Amazon. It works well with my Bluetooth headset. The camera is good but it is a bit of a pain not to have a button for it and you have to use a shortcut. I don't use the camera much so it is not a big deal. Bing is fine with me. I have Google shortcut so I can use that when I want and I can use Google maps, navigator etc easy, just access it from the apps or make a shortcut. The battery life is OK unless you are using the games or stuff like Google navigator for a long while. If you do have the car charger or be ready to charge it up at home. Some talking and a bit of web browsing or checking email is not a big battery drain. Is the phone perfect? No. It works and I am happy with it.