Michelle Gilbert from Verizon graciously lent me a Droid Charge - the latest Droid smartphone from Samsung - for a few weeks, and I was very sad to give it back. I’ve tested out several smartphones and tablets via Verizon in the past year, and I think this is finally the phone that’s going to get me to take the plunge and learn to live without a physical keyboard.

Like most the of the new phones coming out, it was super fast and had a beautiful 4.3 inch display. The Charge runs on the 4G LTE network, which I just happen to get in my house. I also noticed this time around that I was able to access the network in a lot more locations. I traveled with the phone to Northern Michigan and to Boston, and found it a great tool for being on the go. It took great pictures, had a great connection in multiple areas, and allowed me to surf the web, tweet, check in, email, etc.

My favorite thing about the Charge and the reason I most likely will go out and purchase it soon is it was extremely lightweight. Phones seem to be getting larger, which stinks because I like to keep them in my pocket - not a purse person. This one was still pretty long/wide but it was so slim.

The negatives were the battery never made it through the day. I was running TweetCaster and GroupMe, not sure if that was the reason for the drain. I also had a hard time seeing the screen in bright sunlight. I know the screens are supposed to be better in bright light, and advertised as glare-free, but I used my old Droid in instances of sun, instead of the Charge. The biggest downfall is the price. Right now the Charge is retailing for $299 with a new contract and $569 without. That’s more than the iphone and the Thunderbolt. I’m thinking I’ll wait a little while til the price goes down before I snag one up.

In all, great experience, great phone, I want it! Thanks Michelle and Verizon for letting me try it out!