Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S)
Phone Scoop Review
Jul 18, 2010 by Eric M. Zeman
Phone Scoop takes the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S -- the Captivate -- for a spin to see how well it performs. The display and battery life are amazing. How do the rest of the features hold up? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
One of The Best I've Ever Used
Let me start by saying, I usually never five a perfect score as there is usually room for improvement on anything.
This is quite simply the best phone I have used in a long, long time.
Pros:
- Super fast processor
- 16GB memory, with micro SD expandability
(take not apple)
- Excellent reception even in poor areas
- Android OS is awesome
- Super AMOLED screed has superb resolution
- Touch screen super responsive
- 5M camera
- Fully customizable
- Samsung Swype interface
Cons:
- No flash on camera
- A little on the big side, though not as big
as the DroidX or Evo 4G.
Overall, I love this phone. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Awesome smartphone.
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One of AT&T's finest!
I have been fiddling with this phone for the past week before it launched, and have had some really good experience with it.
My first impression was "dang! this thing is HUGE!" Then powering it on brings the big and beautiful 4.0" AMOLED display to life. That is the phone's "wow" factor. With absurdly bright colors and crisp clean display, this is one of the best I've seen, save for iPhone 4's retina display. The 1 GHz processor flies. Openiong a 700 MB movie, I was able to jump around in the movie from one part to another with virtually no lag.
The speaker quality leaves a little to want. Watching a movie, listening to music, or placing a call on speakerphone had me trying to turn up the volume a few more notches to no avail. Also... no camera flash. Why why WHY do manufacturer's exclude flashes from their phones is beyond me. But, I digress
All around, this phone is not perfect, but it IS a contender for the #1 phone in AT&T's lineup, and is definitely worth a try.
PROS:
- HUGE and beautiful AMOLED display
- 1GHz processor - everything is so deliciously fast!
- 16 GB onboard memory AND microSD slot
- solid battery life
CONS:
- Quiet speaker
- no camera flash
- no, seriously. NO camera flash
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Great Phone
Phone is very smooth the touch screen is very nice on it being 4 inch touch screen. The phone is very light and compact. The way you have to charge it is cool with the sliding battery door on top. The other cool thing is the way you have to slide the bottom door as well to remove the back of the phone. AT&T's best Android Phone yet! I personally like how you can choose the amount of screens you want. I also like the live wall papers, Samsungs UI is also Great!!!
PROS:
2.1 Android
4 Inch Screen
Keyboard is Very Easy to use
LED Screen
1Gig Processor
Large Memory Preinstalled
Samsung UI
CONS:
No flash for the 5MP Cam
Can't Download 3rd Party apps unless you root phone
Def 5 stars would recommend getting this phone asap ATT's Best Smartphone yet!
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a review of the reviews
I have had the captivate for 4 months now and have learned all the problems that come with the phone.
1. Dont download an appkiller aka spyware
2.Get rid of yahoo mail its kryptonite
3.yep no flash get over it and quit taking pictures in the dark
4.for those of you who have phones already and have major shutdown problems... call at&t your imei number will bypass any troubleshooting (they know how to fix it) send ya a new one its called a recall people
5. if you bricked your phone during the froyo upgrade... learn how to read the directions
6.a soft reset means dont power down just take the battery out... that is a a miricale fix
6.words with friends driving ya nuts? it means they have an upgrade in the market go download
7.if you have wireless and love DLNA you should prolly tap the app allshare learn how to use that app and your phone just got a lot sexier
8. batery life depends on what you do i got 2 new batteries and a dock for them for .01 on ebay so battery what?
9.quit thinking that phones are never gonna have problems... you aint that lucky... besides show me a smart phone that hasnt had at least one issue... besides user error isnt samsungs fault
theres the dirt and hopefully some help just remember other than those tidbits this is one of the best phones to date on the at&t network
for those of you who are looking to get a new phone... go with the atrix if only for the front facing camera... and download tango app... your welcome
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MIND BOTTLING !
finally they got it right ! very immpressive phone with a iphone like amoled multitouch display ! hooray for samnsung and android alike ...no complaints about the flash not being installed....super fine video record 5 mp camera with enhancements ...wifi is easy to set up...and a removable battery !! awesome ! this thing is definitely an iphone killer ( sorry steve) android is gonna take the iphone 4 down ....don't get me wrong apple makes a beautiful product ...but with anything beautiful requires high maintenance.. no thank you !!
pros:
touch display - feels like the iphone
720p hd video record/playback
5mp camera
16g internal / up to 16g external memory
3.5 audio jack
tv out - micro usb conn.
removable battery
android market - lots of free apps
very customizable
large fonts - very easy to read
cons:
(i cant talk bad about my wife)
galaxy S and Gotdeathstar
married 7-23-2010
go get this phone ...or at least go check it out ! you wont regret it !
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Captivate
I'm surprised, AT&T did it right.
Very easy to root and set up nice and clean.
Screen is fantastic, bright and sharp, readable outside.
speed is fast
OK, somewhat locked down, and no mac support. Not hard to do the former, just some reading support groups. Infact, one really doesn't need to do a thing if they don't want.
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iphone killer to say the least
everything except the bloatware and volume on this phone is superb. but theres a 3.5mm headphone jack so that helps as well as the 16gb internal memory.
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iPhone killaaa
Listen, for those of you programmed to the iPhone the Samsung Captivate does EVERYTHING the iPhone does.
Pros: Best Screen among Android devices
1 GHz Processor (beast)
16GB built in (not that most iPhone users take advantage of this)
Excellent Reception
100,000+apps...majority are free
INSURANCE! iPhone only offers 13.99 insurance thru Asurion which is a third party company..LETS DO THE MATH:
2 YR price on iPhone4 $199.99
Insurance: 13.99 x 24 months = $335.76
which equals: $534.76
-OR-
Captivate $199
Insurance 4.99 x 24 months = $120
equals: $319!
So, is that apple logo on the back worth spending $215 dollars MORE? Well the 4 does have a front facing camera which is obviouslt engineered towards Skype video chat. Do you use this? No? Go get the Captivate.
CONS: The Hardware on the outside isn't the best material of all time. The iPhone 4 does feel better in the hand..mainly because it was built with tougher, more durable materials (better be if youre not getting insurance!)
No Camera Flash, really?
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Great phone
This is a great phone. It's amazing how much Samsung packed into such a thin device. You'll see other posts on the internet discussing whether this is an iPhone killer. Actually the iPhone is so good I don't think there is any phone that could be called that. But in the last 3 years, other phones have caught up, including the Adnroid phones like this one. Based on specs it is a very even match, and for my preferences this phone is actually better. But the point is that there is now more than one choice if you want a thin smart phone with a big, beautiful, super-responsive touch screen.
As far as screen resolution goes, the iPhone's retina display has an insane pixel density. But it is actually overkill for practical purposes for most people. If you need a magnifying glass or macro camera lens to see the difference, then that amount of difference doesn't matter. If you can't see it with the naked eye, what's the point? And that extra resolution just puts more load on the gpu. To my eye, I prefer the vividness and deeper black levels of the Captivate. Plus the technology puts less drain on the battery, since black is represented by the LEDs just being off, where LCDs have a bright backlight and then have to block that light to get black.
Pros:
Awesome screen
Responsive interface
Fast CPU
Great battery life (for a smartphone)
Great call quality
Huge internal memory (16G before adding your own card)
Lots of apps on the Android Market (much better than I used to find for my WinMo Fuze).
Cons:
Outlook sync requires Kies software, which you have to look for on the internet. It worked fine for my contacts list, but I'm still working on an issue with the Calendar sync.
It is a large phone. But the thinness makes it easy to carry in a belt case. It is actually less volume than my previous phone (HTC Fuze).
Requires a data plan. I chose the $25 plan initially but hope to be able to drop back to the $15 plan once I get it all set up. (I mostly use WIFI at work and at home).
Conclusion:
This is an awesome phone and I am very impressed with everything about it. The lack of a camera flash is not an issue for me, as it is for some. It does everything I need and then some!
Ed. note: updated July 26, 2010
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Moderate
Phone was graphic good pics but am on second replacement for connectivity (even with exceptional location), shutting down, backing out of websites without prompting.
Kies does not backup contacts, ATT backup only backs up contact name, and one number, no other data, gmail is sporatic with ability to keep contacts. Paper address book still required.
AT&T help desk had no clue and franchise refused to use their machine to copy full phone to replacement phone; Samsung apologized and that did not really help. Gmail, no accountability really.
Looking for better connectivity.
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