@soydeedo I'm not so sure that your argument is correct (though I do see your point). Samsung has some other... shall we call it timing issues with the Behold II... launching the Behold II with 1.5 (because of TouchWiz) while simultaneously updating the Moment to 1.6 would certainly raise complaints from some users (and reviewers)... so they may have just opted to hold it off for now... and in reality the reason would still be (granted an underlying reason) because of the SKINS. Just look at how many people are clamoring for 1.6 (at least) on the Hero since they can already get it from HTC on the G1... see what I mean?

@(Unverified) Bada is not the answer if the are going to throw TouchWiz on top of it.

@jmdsdf Perhaps because all you are getting is a "really good look" at a "really bad UI" I suspect that takes away from the experience.

@zeesix "Hardware wise it is nice" ... well except for the slow processor... oh and the extra useless button... but it has more ram... though only allegedly... that is a lot of compromise to "nice"

So, take away the UI... and the extra button and what you have is... every other Android device. Thus the reason why this phone gets hammered. Everything (except for the AMOLED) that was done to make this phone "different" or (allegedly) "better" than other devices are done poorly. And the AMOLED screen alone is not worth the premium.

@CJ It becomes a negative when it detracts from the usability of the phone. "More Buttons" isn't the problem, more buttons in an ergonimic and design disaster that adds nothing to the mix *IS* a problem.

@(Unverified) If you say so... again, for me, I don't find it so much easier that this is such a talked about feature. Obviously some people like it, and that is fine... so now it has it... hopefully that is the end of this discussion because for all this phone does, it seems silly to dwell so much on this single point that every story about the Droid has to have this point drilled into it.

Give Samsung some credit, they have effectively taken a SmartPhone and made it a feature phone. They somehow made an Android Phone that looks and act no better than their Highlight or Memoir.

@Turk 182 I am actually surprised that people are so confused by there not being "immediate" updates for these phones. When you are buying a phone with SENSE UI, you are not buying into the Android eco-system, you are buying into the HTC eco-system that happens to use Android.

This is part of the reason (as I see it of course) that TouchFlo is being abandoned in favor of Sense on WinMo. HTC wants you to buy into their "system" regardless of the underlying OS. (Motorola has essentially said the same thing about Motoblur). And it is the reason that OS updates on these "skinned" phones will always lag behind the "barebones" models like the Droid, or even (in theory) the G1. These models get the new features that have been "pseudo-replaced" by the custom UI of Sense.

I guess someday I will figure out why people are so hung up on this pinch and zoom "feature" that it makes a perfectly capable browser "mediocre."

I have never found the pinch all that intuitive or user friendly, but fine, now it is here for those that want this "must have" Apple-esque feature. Can we move on now?

I can almost understand the complaints about the Droid's keyboard being too flat (*almost*, because just how flat is a glass screen virtual keyboard), but honestly... if this is the "feature" that is keeping you from getting a Droid... you'll just find something else to complain about.

Why is anybody surprised by this? If you allow users to multi-task, there is that chance (more like eventual likelihood) that there will come a time because the OS has to do some memory management when the screen... lags {{gasp}} and then people will realize that it is not Jobsian magic that keeps the iPhone from not having that occasional sputter like other "mere mortal" phones (you know... the ones that CAN do something else at the same time).