Possibly moving from Windows to Android

[brettmc]

I presently have a windows 6.0 phone, an older htc fuze on at&t. it's getting long in the tooth and a little quirky so I'm looking to upgrade.

I saw the captivate appear a few days ago on at&t's website and did some research on it. Although it has a few potential problems, I don't think they outweigh the pluses.

What I'm really concerned about is I have quite a few Excel spreadsheets and Word docs on the fuze storage card that I would like to be able to continue to use on the captivate. Is this possible?

Keeping in mind that I do not have to upgrade now, does the forum think it would be better to wait until the at&t captivates ship with 2.2 or go ahead and get a 2.1 unit now and do the android upgrade later? Or is the 2.2 release date still to iffy to wait?

Thanks for the info!

 

[t-readyroc]

What I'm really concerned about is I have quite a few Excel spreadsheets and Word docs on the fuze storage card that I would like to be able to continue to use on the captivate. Is this possible?

I also went from WinMo 6.1 to Android. Yes, this is possible. AT&T has made the QuickOffice application suite available to Captivate owners for free.

As for the upgrade timing, I'd go for it now, but that's completely up to you

 

[brettmc]

Glad to hear about the Quickoffice!!

What would be involved in upgrading a captivate from 2.1 to 2.2 when it comes out?

 

[MrTony]

I came from the Fuze as well! My digitizer went bad. It sounds like you never did any custom ROM loads on your Fuze since you still have 6.0, so updating the Captivate to 2.2 will be even easier for you as it will be OTA and you won't have to do anything but accept the update.

Yes, QuickOffice is provided free and it's pretty decent. I have no problems modifying spreadsheets and docs between QuickOffice and MS Office.

I LOVE this phone, it's a great replacement to the Fuze. I still wish my Fuze hadn't died, I liked it a lot and would love to have it around as a backup. All you really have to do is go play with a Captivate for about 5 mintes and you're going to be sold

 

[Simba501]

I came from the Fuze as well! My digitizer went bad. It sounds like you never did any custom ROM loads on your Fuze since you still have 6.0, so updating the Captivate to 2.2 will be even easier for you as it will be OTA and you won't have to do anything but accept the update.

Yes, QuickOffice is provided free and it's pretty decent. I have no problems modifying spreadsheets and docs between QuickOffice and MS Office.

I LOVE this phone, it's a great replacement to the Fuze. I still wish my Fuze hadn't died, I liked it a lot and would love to have it around as a backup. All you really have to do is go play with a Captivate for about 5 mintes and you're going to be sold

+1, I came from a Samsung Jack (and still have it as a backup ).

 

[brettmc]

After what I've read, a demo isn't necessary but I'll go by the local at&t store anyway. Hope they have one.

I can get one thru at&t for $199 w/the 2-year contract. Can I get one cheaper anywhere else? Will it be warranteed?

Thanks again!

 

[MrTony]

I got one for $149 at BestBuy by taking in a screenshot of Wirefly's $149 deal and asking them to price match. However, I think I'm going to take mine back to BestBuy and by directly from AT&T for $199. The extra $50 is worth it to me to get my warranty issues addressed directly by AT&T. I am a Premier Business customer though, so I don't know how AT&T's service compares between premier and regular customers. I just know that they take REALLY good care of me if I have a problem.

 

[evileyez3]

I was a long term Windows Mobile user. My last phone before coming to the Captivate was also the HTC Fuze running a custom 6.5.3 build. Honestly the Captivate has been the best phone I have ever used. You won't be disappointed.

 

[brettmc]

thanks again for the help. i've been a customer since 2004 so they might give me a better price as the at&t person i was talking to told me to call the premier line when i asked for a better price. who knows...but i'll pay 199...they just don't know that. HA!

 

[DT]

I moved from an 8925/Tilt2 running a 6.5.<something> ROM. Even with the built in MS app compatibility, the SGS is an order of magnitude better. I mean, it's a significant hardware upgrade, but the OS is so incredibly customizable, and so nicely tuned for hand use (I always hated having to break out a stylus).

The Wifey

 

[kstruck]

Came from a Fuze to a Tilt2 (both running custom ROMs) and now to the Captivate. I have not for one second looked back. I have been using a WinMo phone for about 5 years as I needed it for work and connectivity to my Exchange server and for working on Office docs. I also loved my "real" keyboard on my Fuze and Tilt phones. I never went to an Iphone because I never liked a onscreen keyboard.

I threw caution to the wind and went and got the Captivate the day after the launch. I am still getting use to the keyboard issue but office docs are not a problem, and connecting to our Exhcange server and synching calendar, email and contacts have been a non-issue.

Got my phone from a AT&T store for $149 (instant rebate) and of course renewing a 2 yr contract.

You will not regret moving to an Android phone, it is so much slicker and nicer than any WinMo phone I have had.

 

[brettmc]

ahhh, more accolades for the captivate. anyone else?

ok, school me on something else. I've read where this phone is "locked down" by at&t. do i have to root it to get any android apps or widgets (wth is a widget?) loaded on it?

 

[DT]

ahhh, more accolades for the captivate. anyone else?

ok, school me on something else. I've read where this phone is "locked down" by at&t. do i have to root it to get any android apps or widgets (wth is a widget?) loaded on it?

There are literally 1000's of apps (and widgets) you can load right out of the box. A root allows a few that AT&T wouldn't normally let you install, plus access some of the phone filesystem to tweak things like allowing direct install of apps (vs. through the approved market).

A widget is just like a Windows sidebar sort of thing, it's a small app that runs resident, usually on the home screen and tends to be a notification/information type app (like news, weather, twitter updates, etc.)

You'll find Android feels more like a desktop OS.

 

[sparker366]

Here is a link for the Captivate for 99 bucks. They will remove the unlimited data package from you plan but a quick call back to att cs will get it put on. I bought from them and love the phone came from an iphone 3g and won't be looking back unless apple comes out with something more open then what they got now

 

[ewingr]

I came over from an AT&T Tilt, and I love it. I was watching and waiting, about to go nuts.

The one thing that I am unhappy about compared to the WinMo device is that they voice apps do not have near the functionality that MS Voice Command does. (I knew this going into it). Some will point out all the stuff you can do with voice on it, but it does not do well what is really needed: provide completely hands free calling. I presume you use that on yoru WinMo device.

For those of you that aren't sure what I'm talking about, I was very accustomed to this capability in my car:

Motorola T505 Blue Tooth mounted on visor; press anser button and could say:

Call Tom Jones on Mobile
Call Mary Smith at home
Load <whatever app, even 3rd party>
Load TomTom
Play <Genre, artist, album>
What time is it?
What is on my schedule today​

etc.

Now a couple of those examples can be achieved on the Android phone, but not without pressing a button to turn it on; then do the unlock, then press a button to bring up the voice app. Not very conducive to driving.

All that being said, I understand that response to blue tooth is in Froyo (I am not sure, but very hopeful), and that in not too distant future will have the capability to call w/o touching the phone.

 

[normkol]

What did you say to AT&T cs to get the unlimited plan reinstated?

I also got my phone from LetsTalk and gave up the unlimited. I'd like to get it back.

 

[sparker366]

Told them I bought the phone activated it and the unlimited plan fell off and I wanted it back. She put me on hold talked to a manager and boom it was back on. Took no longer then 3 mins once I got a rep.

 

[ewingr]

Anybody know how good LetsTalk is to work with for support/warranty issues?

 

[brettmc]

Anybody know how good LetsTalk is to work with for support/warranty issues?

I'd like to know this too

 

[ewingr]

I hear crickets.

I went and read some reviews here, and as usual, many good reviews, but some complaining about problems with returns. One of them indicated that while it was difficult to figure out how to do a return (ended up having to email them for an RMA), they did take care of them.

The phone is about $50 less than purchasing at Walmart. Not sure if it's worth the risk.

 

[brettmc]

it's much less of a hassle to have the option to drop a bad phone off at an at&t store. well worth the extra bucks spent, imo. I tried to order one online yesterday though the chat since the chatgirl said i get the phone for 129.99. we tried for about 15 minutes then I had a meeting to go to so we had to cut it short with no phone ordered. gonna try again this weekend.