Considering the Fascinate... but should I consider the Incredible?

[WorldOfJohnboy]

As mentioned in post #21, the Youtube quality was based on connection speed. It's not the display's fault.

As stated in post #22, my test was not affected by connectivity/buffer speed. All 3 phones were sitting on a desk with the same FULL 3G signal with the same video in HD quality (same resolution), fully buffered. I also just tested this again with the DX and Fascinate on my home WiFi connection will full 3G and WiFi signals and the exact same issues are seen on the Fascinate. Either it's the screen, or possibly it's the YouTube app, but it's not a connectivity issue.

My point on this matter was not to say "those that want to watch videos on your phone: get a Droid X," it was a response to your opinion that "The display quality blows the DX away, super amoled is more vivid and rich," something that I have yet to see for myself and in fact, 12 of my co-workers would disagree with you on. Is this problem a dealbreaker for the Fascinate: NO. Both phones are fantastic and I would be happy in using either one.

 

[dricacho]

Watching youtube videos is simply not that important to me, certainly not the main basis for comparing phone display qualities IMO. I say this over and over again, the DX display appears washed out. The Fascinate display appears to be richer and colorful to me. And I didn't base this comparison on Youtube videos simply because my phone is not going to be a fulltime Youtube player, its a phone! When you unlock the screen, it goes straight to a vivid and colorful homepage which consists of a beautiful background, beautiful widgets, and shortcuts.

 

[tobytl]

All android phones do the stream quality downgrade on 3G. At least all the ones running the google youtube app. The mobile version of youtube (through the app) also only has 2 stream sizes, low and high. If you're on 3G it defaults to the low stream, this can be hacked, but by default it is the low stream.

I hate arguing on the screen quality issue, because it really is a losing battle on both sides. I think the "pixelation" that WorldofJohnboy is talking about is the smaller pixel density inherent in (S)AMOLED tech. It uses a different subpixel layout with one less subpixel (Yes, in the screen itself, each individual pixel isn't a "single" unit...). In standard "stripe" LCD pixel layouts, each pixel has 3 subpixels (red, green and blue). In the Pentile layout that all commercial OLED tech uses, each pixel has only 2 subpixels (each one has a green, but each alternating pixel has either an enlarged red, or an enlarged blue). This is to extend the life of OLED displays, as the materials are constantly degrading with use with green having a much slower decay rate than red or blue. What ends up happening is, colors that have red with very little blue, or blue with very little red, end up looking "dithered" with visible dark spots in between each pixel. Incidentally this is why the colors are so blown out, they drive reds higher to make that less apparent, with blues being driven a little bit higher, but not as high as reds (it's harder to see the blue-black gap than the red-black). All that assumes that you know what to look for, and are physically capable of perceiving them. But it does essentially quarter the resolution for blues/reds...

Does that matter? Probably not to most people (does to me, but I'm a nerd). The real issue I have is the overdriven colors, it just looks unreal to me. It's the same thing as when I buy a new HDTV/monitor. I take great care to break it in and professionally calibrate my screen and get it as close to reference as possible, whereas my sister (and sadly, most people) will just throw it into "vivid" mode if they touch the controls at all...

I have no idea why I wrote all that tl;dr. My geekness just esplodied into the text field... I have no life...

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

I have no idea why I wrote all that tl;dr. My geekness just esplodied into the text field... I have no life...

LOL, yeah, I don't know about all the "technicalities" of it all, I just know that the Samsung looked pixelated and very oversaturated on color. Your analogy of the Vivid Color setting on a TV vs. Manual calibration is a good one. But, as noted, some people love the Vivid setting. You and I don't.

 

[dricacho]

Do you guys like your food bland too?? LOL Just playing.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Do you guys like your food bland too?? LOL Just playing.

:biggrin: Nah, I like my organic food though...

So that must mean you must like yours full of steroids and hormones:lifting:

 

[dricacho]

Nah...I like mine with flavor and seasoning. For example, Prime Rib seasoned and seared to perfection with garlic mash potatoes.

 

[filthy1]

Do you guys like your food bland too?? LOL Just playing.

:biggrin: Nah, I like my organic food though...

So that must mean you must like yours full of steroids and hormones:lifting:

To each his own I love my fascinate screen and the shape/design of it compared to the X although I originally wanted an X but when it comes to TV screens I agree with you an over saturated TV screen bothers me more than with a phone.

 

[tobytl]

Nah...I like mine with flavor and seasoning. For example, Prime Rib seasoned and seared to perfection with garlic mash potatoes.

LOL, I think you're missing the analogy. I like that too, I just like my garlic mashed potatoes to taste like garlic mashed potatoes, not cherry jello because the chef thought it would add a nice splash of color...

Now I'm just hungry...

 

[dricacho]

You know some people are color blind. LOL

 

[jrl9851]

I'll just throw my opinion out there since I've used both phones...

Fascinate blows away the droid in every single way possible (IN MY OPINION). The GPU is better (backed up by tests), the screen is better, the camera is better, the feel is better, the speaker is better, etc. I know someone with a droid x and everytime I see him messing with his phone I think to myself (without even realizing I'm thinking this), "man, I feel sorry for him." I guess I'm just spoiled by the fascinate.

The droid x screen looks like absolute garbage compared to the fascinate screen. I don't care about the tech specs or whatever (like if colors are oversaturated)...in my opinion it's better if the screen just looks better to you. Every single person I have shown my phone to have said something positive about the screen. My uncle, who owns an iphone 4, even said "wow is this an HD screen?"

I'm not going to argue with anyone; that's just how I feel.

 

[ppazz1101]

Are you guys serious? Maybe this thread was a mistake. I wanted some opinions on the phone and overall user experience, but now I'm getting amateur descriptions of the technology... and with a lot of incorrect information to boot.

I'm aware of the physical differences between the phones. I'm a computer engineer and don't need a "geek's" description of AMOLED. You guys are all starting to sound like jealous owners looking for reasons to put down the other phone.

I appreciate the opinions, but I was hoping this thread would cover the user experience with Sense and TW. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

At any rate, thanks for weighing in everyone. In the end, I went with the Fascinate because of the better hardware. I'm not disappointed either. This phone blows away my coworker's Droid X. There's another coworker here with the Incredible and we all three agree that the Fascinate is the better phone in our opinions.

 

[x-iphone-user]

I would get the di or better yet the droid x or droid 2. I got the fasinate the first day it came out and i returned it by the end of the day. the gps was evan worse than the iphone 4s gps. the whole bing thing sucks and I did not like the ui. so I returned it and got the droid x. The fasinate is almost as bad as the iphone 4 if not worse. and with that amoled screen you will not be able to see what your doing in the sun.dancedroid

 

[dricacho]

I can see the Fascinate display under the sun just fine. The GPS on mine is on the dot. Something else is wrong.

....and with that amoled screen you will not be able to see what your doing in the sun.dancedroid

 

[x-iphone-user]

really, Did they come out with a softwere update for it? when i had it the gps was 3-6 blocks off from were i actually was.