As a loyal Mac lover, who would have Steve Jobs babies in a heartbeat on principle, I have to say I wasn’t predisposed to come over to the dark side, which is why it’s particularly shocking for me to type this next sentence: I really love my Droid Charge.
I know, I know, I feel like I’m publicly cuckolding Apple as I type this on my beloved MacBook Pro, but sometimes you just can’t help how you feel.
I was first introduced to the sleek and sexy looking Charge at a soiree thrown by Samsung for a select group of geeks and pro-tweeters. We took to each other almost immediately, and soon progressed beyond the basics, such as Gmail, Twitter, and Facebook set up. I even popped my Bump cherry that night (Mr. Ward you were awesome – I hope it made you shudder too!).
Unlike my ex, Nokia, I found Charge really easy to navigate, and we were doing some pretty advanced stuff within minutes. The camera has some cute quirks, such as the ability to put images through a cartoon filter, and an “add me” function, which allows you to create composite shots.
Me and Charge went home together that night, and he willfully submitted to a rigorous road-testing over the next three days.
One of the things the iPhone / AT&T cabal have been unwilling and slow to indulge in is tethering, so I was excited to try out a threesome with Charge and my MacBook Pro. We connected successfully first time, and it worked really well. After my AT&T-powered DSL forsook me, as it frequently and intermittently does, I downloaded a 28.9 MB video file for work using Charge’s very hot Mobile Hotspot, which was lightning fast thanks to the device's 4G LTE capabilities. When it comes to down and up-loading, it’s actually a plus to be a wham-bam-thank-you-man!
However, Charge and I did luxuriate in some unhurried time together. We spent a couple of long and pleasurable evenings in bed watching movies (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Case 39) via Media Hub’s direct-to-phone download service. Their download protocol was a little clunky, requiring several attempts, but Charge’s picture quality left me breathless and wanting more.
I was impressed not only with Charge’s prowess, but also his stamina. It might wane if we’d been active all day and all night, but his batteries were easily recharged thanks to a neat USB cable, which can either plug into your laptop (allowing simultaneous data back up) or the wall (via a socket converter).
Charge and I actually didn’t do much talking during our initial three days together, but then, ironically, analog conversation is almost redundant these days on a smart phone. However, when we did talk, we had no problems communicating on any level.
As things stand now, our three-day affair is likely to turn into something more permanent. The only hurdle is “The Conversation” that needs to be had with Verizon. Thanks to Samsung, who let me hang on to Charge, commitment isn’t really an issue. Here’s to a long and fruitful relationship (sorry AT&T and Mr. Jobs!).
XOX
Check out Charge's vital stats here.
