Samsung Droid Charge Extensive Hands-On Review

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Although Verizon’s Droid brand has featured some top phones from some top manufacturers, Samsung , the world’s largest electronics company, had not yet had one of their phones granted the Droid moniker by Verizon. That changed with the recent release of the Samsung Droid Charge, which in addition to being a Droid device, was also the third 4G LTE phone on the red carrier’s network. With 4G speeds and a great big screen, is this the 4G phone to get? We’ve spent time with the phone, and we’ll tell you how it stands up.

Those who have read my previous reviews of 4G phones (on both Verizon and Sprint) will know that every time, I note the thickness of the devices. Because of certain components required in 4G phones, any 4G phone (LTE or WiMAX) will have a certain heft and thickness to it. This should change starting relatively soon, but I had expected the Samsung Droid Charge to fall into the “fat 4G phone” category. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by this device – sort of.

The Samsung Droid Charge is not as thin as the Droid Incredible 2 or any iPhone. It is still a thick, relatively heavy phone. But, what pleased me about this device the plastic construction and general shape of the device make it feel lighter and thinner than the other 4G phones out there, especially the two competing 4G LTE phones on Verizon’s network – the HTC Thunderbolt and LG Revolution. The Sprint 4G devices I’ve used are also thick devices, so I feel comfortable in saying that the Samsung Droid Charge is the lightest feeling 4G phone yet.

It should be no surprise to any mobile phone insiders, as Samsung phones are known for being light and thin. However, they also use plastic body panels often, and this usually results in a “cheap” feeling that some folks don’t like. While the Samsung Droid Charge shares the same plastic-style design found in the Samsung Epic 4G, Samsung Continuum and practically every other Samsung phone out there, the extra weight added actually helps the Droid Charge not feel “too light and cheap” (some reviewers have sarcastically called the Samsung Android phones “Fisher Price’s My First Cell Phone” for their light and toy-like feeling, this phone doesn’t have it.)

The Droid Charge features Samsung’s “Super OLED” screen technology, and like the other 4G phones on Verizon, it’s a comfortable 4.3-inch screen size. We’re a fan of big screens here at TFTS, but many folks don’t like them. This is a big phone, and folks with small hands may not like them. Buyer beware – if you’re concerned, try out the Droid Charge at a Verizon store or Best Buy.

The Charge is packing a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, made by Samsung themselves. It’s a fast enough processor, and we found the phone’s performance to be quick and responsive. App performance and switching between homescreens was also good. This is not a dual-core phone, however, and more and more 3G smartphones are coming out with dual-core processors. You won’t find a dual-core 4G phone for a while because of the negative effect both have on battery life (more on the Droid Charge’s battery life later), but if you want a “futureproof” phone  and believe that more and more mobile apps will utilize dual cores in the future, you may want to look elsewhere.

The Droid Charge is running Android 2.2. This is an older version of the Android operating system (over a year old!), yet it’s also incredibly stable and very adequate at what it does. The phone is running a custom user interface called “TouchWiz” which changes the way Android looks. These custom user interfaces are unpopular with Android power users as they slow down the phone from getting new updates (as the manufacturer has to port their skin to the new version of Android).

When I first encountered TouchWiz on a phone I reviewed last year, I was not fond of it. Either Samsung is making minor improvements to its, or I’m becoming used to it (call it Stockholm syndrome), because it is becoming increasingly more tolerable. It offers some extra widgets, an app menu and a dedicated set of app icons on the bottom of the phone screen for “Phone, Contacts, Messaging and Applications”, among other things. Generally, it’s okay and usable. It still has the light and colorful color scheme from other Samsung Android phones. This strikes me as odd, considering that the Droid line is very “manly” what with the bulkly, dark, matte phones. Usually, the user interfaces on Droid devices from Motorola and HTC keep up this appearance. Perhaps I’m nitpicking here (and I won’t hold it against the phone), but the lighter color scheme seems out of place.

Regarding the battery life of the device, those who follow the mobile phone industry will note that 4G phones have been getting generally below-average battery life because of the extra baseband components required for 4G connectivity. I recently blasted the LG Revolution for its poor battery life, and fortunately, the Samsung Droid Charge seems to fare a bit better.

In my unscientific testing of the Droid Charge’s battery life (which consists of using the phone the way a normal person would), I noticed that the Droid Charge would generally last about one day. It would not need to be charged during the course of a normal work day, but it might be pretty low by the time you’re driving home from work. As always, we recommend that you turn off services you might not need – like 4G (if you don’t live in a 4G area), GPS and WiFi – in order to conserve battery life.

The camera on the Droid Charge is fine, although there is no shutter button on the outside of the device. Instead, you’ll have to use the touchscreen. Not only is this counter-intuitive for using a camera, but it also makes it hard to hold and use the autofocus. Generally though, the camera quality is good – another trademark of Samsung phones. Check out my sample shots below and compare it to my controls (the Canon PowerShot G12 and the Motorola Droid X).

Seeing as this is a 4G device, and many folks haven’t been exposed to a next-generation cell network yet, I’ll touch briefly on the “4G experience”. Yes, it’s real. If you live in a 4G area, you’ll see extremely fast speeds on your mobile device that may exceed the speed of your home DSL/cable connection. I tested the phone in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois areas and constantly got 10-13Mb/s. Your results may vary depending on your area, but here’s an anecdotal story to attest to Verizon’s 4G network.

I brought the phone to Milwaukee’s Miller Park baseball stadium. Over the years, I notoriously have gotten poor 3G reception in that building with phones from all four major carriers (plus US Cellular – a local favorite fifth carrier). I found that I got amazing 4G LTE reception in the stadium with the Droid Charge, however, and I even downloaded a baseball scorekeeping app with exceptional speed! Again, that is a totally anecdotal story, but I believe that because Verizon’s 4G network is new, you may find that you can get reception in areas you traditionally don’t.

Unfortunately, the pricing of the Samsung Droid Charge is the worst part about this device. While Sprint has been charging a controversial $10/month “premium data fee” for every 4G device on their network, Verizon has gone the other route apparently, and all their 4G devices are seemingly a bit more expensive up front. The Droid Charge doesn’t escape this fate, and it’s been priced steeply by the carrier. The phone will cost you $300 with a new two-year contract, or $570 for the “full retail” price.

The first Motorola Droid set the bar for a premium Android phone to be priced at $200 on-contract, and we’ve seen almost every phone follow that example across every carrier. This means that the Samsung Droid Charge is almost $100 above the expected price of other “top-notch” Android phones. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide the value proposition of everything you buy. In my opinion, $300 is a bit steep for the Droid Charge, despite all that it brings to the table.

To sum it all up, the Samsung Droid Charge is a great phone. It feels great, has a nice big super OLED screen, and is fast enough for anything you’d want to do with it today. I have reservations about the $300 price and the lack of a dual-core processor (though that would likely destroy the battery life), but I can confidentially say that this is my current favorite Android phone on Verizon’s network. It’s ironic, considering that I despised the phone when it was unveiled as the Samsung “Stealth” at CES this year, but it’s had a needed makeover since then, and actually has turned out to be a fantastic smartphone with a speedy 4G connection.