Samsung Fascinate

Question

Verizon's version of Samsungs new Galaxy S line, Fascinate, is due to hit the streets running on Sept 9th, so why isn't there any information about it on Verizon's website??  I'm super psyched about this phone being that my contract is up on the 8th, so I'll be first in line to pick one up on the 9th.  Just can't understand why Verizon won't at least post any "upcoming info" on this phone on their website.  Even Best Buy allowed you to start pre-ordering this phone last week, so what's the delay with Verizon?   I've been reading about Samsung's new Galaxy S series for months now as their putting out a Galaxy S model for every major wireless provider.  Verizon just happens to be the last one to put their model on the market.  There just doesn't seem to be any hype regarding this phone and I don't know why.  Sure, it's no Droid 2/X/Incredible "killer", but it's an awesome phone with some awesome specs, just don't know why Verizon refuses to say anything about it, when it's launch date it only a week away.  Regardless.....I can't wait!!!  Is anyone else looking forward to this awesome smartphone from Samsung??

Answer 1

That sounds about right, in regard to the Incredible. HTC makes poor quality products, and their customer service is terrible at dealing with problems that come up. When I contacted them about the last major issue I had with the Eris, they gave me 3 completely different stories from 3 reps! "The phone always did that," "Yes, that changed with our MR4 update, but it's intentional," and, "Don't blame us, Google did it, they changed it in 2.1 and we have no idea why your phone didn't work that way until you got MR4."
Despite them all saying that the problematic function was "intentional," and thus had nothing to be fixed...one rep described what the proper function was supposed to be--which is the functionality I was asking to get back--before saying it was working right. O_o It also looks pretty bad for them to claim the problem was intentional: after MR4, pictures in text messages auto-close after 5 seconds. To claim that's intentional is to claim that their coders, and the managers who approved the functionality, are inept.
Personally, I try to push people away from buying HTC products after this experience. Verizon, however, is usually exceptional when it comes to customer service--but because they're the ones who roll out the updates that manufacturers send to them, and since they're probably the first ones we go to for support before contacting the manufacturer, they sometimes get faulted for problems that aren't theirs.
In regards to the Fascinate, I can think of a couple reasons. The one that jumps to mind first is exactly what you said: they've been a success everywhere else. Perhaps Verizon doesn't want to follow their competitors, they want to be different to set themselves apart.
Another possibility is that they don't want to confuse their customers. Android is certainly growing fast, but it's still pretty new. If you advertise too many Android devices, it'll probably confuse those who haven't given it a try yet--when I initially got the Eris, my grandparents asked me, "is that that Google phone thing?" lol
It's probably also simpler to choose a flagship model and stick with it for advertising. The thing about advertising is that you can't possibly advertise everything you've got. I'm a videographer and one of the companies I work for does a lot of local advertising--if you notice local ads, you'll see that many businesses don't realize this. They try to cram all they can into an ad, and it can leave you feeling bored because you just had a ton of info you don't want thrown at you. Ads like these usually don't work very well because most people don't like them.
Advertising is also very expensive. Each device could theoretically have its own ad, so that the issue of cramming too much into an ad won't be a problem. That's why, for example, they highlight different ideas in their variety of Android ads, and never advertise those Android highlights in their device-specific ads. But on the level I work in, the costs aren't low--the company I work for averages about $800 for a simple ad, and starts at $1,200 for the same ad in HD--and we're on the low side, we stay competitive with Comcast's rates! Throw in the cost of an animator (which would start about $200 for a simple talking mascot on top of live video for a 30 second ad) and special effects, and the cost of the ad itself continues to climb.
And once you have an ad, you have to pay for air time. Comcast and Cablevision both recommend that to be effective, an advertiser should expect to spend about $10,000 on the campaign--and this is to people who are advertising in just one or two cable zones within the state of NJ. Magnify that across the country and the cost certainly becomes significant to a company like Verizon.
I think all of those factors add up to create an advertising atmosphere that will favor one, maybe two models. If the Fascinate ends up selling well and being a strong product overall, then maybe Verizon will spotlight Samsung devices in the future.