Samsung Charge (I have signal again!)

Well after a brief 5 month stint on T-mobile, I have now left. According to them, they have "the worlds largest 4G network", but according to me, their network sucks. I was using the kick ass Samsung Nexus S on T-mobile; everything about the phone was fantastic, except the carrier it was on. I found the service to be very weak, or non-existent in most of the areas I frequented. This mind you, was not in the middle of some random desert either; I live, work, and play in the Silicon Valley. One would think they'd have amazing coverage here; they do not.

I am back to Verizon now. I now have more bars than I know what to do with! It was easy to leave the carrier, but leaving the Nexus S was going to be hard since there were no phones that could match it, until I caught wind of the Samsung Charge. Slated to arrive on April 28th, it was of course delayed, for whatever reason, until May 14th. Today is May 14th. I have the Samsung Charge now.

Overall the specs are basically identical to the Nexus S. The Charge has a larger Super AMOLED Plus screen, and the addition of hardware buttons below the screen. I quickly installed Launcher Pro as the Samsung UI wasn't doing it for me. The phone feels snappy and looks pretty good, having similar styling to the Nexus S.

Once I get it rooted (so I can remove the preinstalled crapware) it will be a great Verizon alternative to the Nexus S for me. (until the next awesome Verizon Android phone comes out!) ;)

Side note to Verizon: Concerning this "droid" campaign you have going on right now, CUT IT THE F*** OUT!!! IT IS TERRIBLE!! NO ONE WANTS A PHONE THAT LOOKS LIKE IT IS GOING TO KILL THEM!! It is loud, obnoxious, and damages the android brand HEAVILY. Please stop. Stop it. Do not do it anymore.

UPDATE
I have returned the Samsung Charge to the Verizon store. Fortunately within 14 days, since it seems the return period is 14 days, not 30. This phone was the victim of Verizon branding and Samsung's terrible interface makeover. The Charge was a great phone hardware-wise, but was completely ruined by the software tampering. Samsung's Touchwiz interface is nothing short of terrible! Had this phone been running the "Google Experience" version of android it would have been much better off. The other major factor in the return was the HORRIFIC battery life. I was having the phone die on me before hitting noon. Completely unacceptable. On a side note, when I was returning the phone the Verizon rep flat out told me that the 4G was the reason the battery life was so incredibly terrible. Back the phone went. On to the next. My next phone may surprise many of you. :)