thinking of getting captivated in a week

[samtr87]

Hi. I get to renew my contract next week and it'll either be iPhone 4 or the Captivate. Not feeling the 3 week wait for the iPhone so right now the Captivate is my top choice. Have a few questions.

I played with the Captivate twice in two different AT&T stores and tried loading a few clips on Youtube in high quality and they didn't load either times. They just show the loading screen and nothing happens. Is there a trick to it? I used the menu button and selected "high quality".

How durable is the phone? Anyone dropped his and still have a fairly flawless phone?

The two that I played with did feel a little bit laggy, but it wasn't too bad. I think I can deal with it.

I am aware of the gps issue, but I don't travel much in my day to day life so it really isn't that important. But I look forward to a fix from Samsung.

Early reviews about video playback indicated the audio and the video were out of sync sometimes. How prevalent is this?

Apps wise, are the good apps (the popular stuff) pretty comparable between Android Market and Apple?

I've never had a smartphone before so how difficult is it to get used to Android? I'm okay with technology as far as computers and electronics go. Rarely had a problem that I couldn't get through with some time and research.

Now things that I like about the one I played with. I have big hands and it fits like a glove. Feels very natural to hold. The 4" screen gives me more room to type too. And even though it's plastic, it doesn't feel cheap.

 

[kollarism]

Hi. I get to renew my contract next week and it'll either be iPhone 4 or the Captivate. Not feeling the 3 week wait for the iPhone so right now the Captivate is my top choice. Have a few questions.

I played with the Captivate twice in two different AT&T stores and tried loading a few clips on Youtube in high quality and they didn't load either times. They just show the loading screen and nothing happens. Is there a trick to it? I used the menu button and selected "high quality".

How durable is the phone? Anyone dropped his and still have a fairly flawless phone?

The two that I played with did feel a little bit laggy, but it wasn't too bad. I think I can deal with it.

I am aware of the gps issue, but I don't travel much in my day to day life so it really isn't that important. But I look forward to a fix from Samsung.

Early reviews about video playback indicated the audio and the video were out of sync sometimes. How prevalent is this?

Apps wise, are the good apps (the popular stuff) pretty comparable between Android Market and Apple?

I've never had a smartphone before so how difficult is it to get used to Android? I'm okay with technology as far as computers and electronics go. Rarely had a problem that I couldn't get through with some time and research.

Now things that I like about the one I played with. I have big hands and it fits like a glove. Feels very natural to hold. The 4" screen gives me more room to type too. And even though it's plastic, it doesn't feel cheap.

I had the iPhone 4 for about 1.5months (it was my first smartphone and i thought it was the coolest thing ever). I just replaced it with the Captivate, and I would never go back. The major apps are on both iTunes and Android Market, so there is nothing to worry about. The more popular Android gets, the more apps will come. I've never had a problem with YouTube. I usually start loading in regular, and then click the HQ format. You will always find new stuff on Android, since its always growing. If you dont like the iPhone iOS....too bad cuz your stuck with it. If you dont like something on Android, then just change it!! Widgets are the coolest part, so you dont need to constantly go into different apps to get information. I never had audio/video issues with playback, and I havent dropped my phone yet. Both phones are about the same weight, but the Captivate seems a lot lighter due to the size/density of it. My only gripe is the iPhone battery was way better. I could usually go 2 days with the iPhone, but only 1 on the captivate. I think my favorite part of the Captivate is Swype for texting. Its sick!!!

Good Luck!!

 

[getDange]

Youtube never failed on me. I would guess someone messed up some setting on the display models you played with.
I did not drop my phone, but I developed a scratch on the screen in the first week, had the phone since the 18th of July, with no case, till all paint in tact. I would think this phone is harder to break than iP4 with its glass front/back.
The lag is inevitable, and will get worse the more apps you install.a hack fix, or wait for a firmware update that will hopefully address the lag issue too.
GPS - do not lie to yourself. I also thought I did not need it, as I rarely drive and have a GPS in the car. BUT - most freaking apps depend on GPS! You pull up Maps to find a restaurant, it will try to find you geographically, and will fail. Layer app - fails. Basically all apps that rely on your location will not work reliably. I hope Samsung fixes this annoying thing very soon.

 

[mesasone]

I've had mine since launch. No problems with youtube, and haven't dropped it. The various lag fixes are now very easy to install with 1 click installers and help a good deal, so even if you don't think it will bother you it's worth considering. Hopefully in the future we won't need these.

I don't really have any issues with the GPS finding my location. It certainly functions well enough to use Google maps and get directions to a restaurant or whatever - as long as you can live with out the voice guidance and turn-by-turn instructions.

 

[samtr87]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[sremick]

I played with the Captivate twice in two different AT&T stores and tried loading a few clips on Youtube in high quality and they didn't load either times. They just show the loading screen and nothing happens. Is there a trick to it? I used the menu button and selected "high quality".

No trick. YouTube videos have played just fine for me. Maybe something at that location (blocking YouTube?).

How durable is the phone? Anyone dropped his and still have a fairly flawless phone?

Dropped mine the day I was picking up a case and screen protector. Slight scratches in plastic now covered by the case, and tiny nick in screen glass but in an unimportant location (just to the right of the at&t logo). Otherwise fine.

Early reviews about video playback indicated the audio and the video were out of sync sometimes. How prevalent is this?

I've noticed this off and on, but usually it's fine. My theory is it's related to how the file is encoded. Probably certain bitrates are too high for the CPU power of the captivate to keep up and keep things in-sync.

Apps wise, are the good apps (the popular stuff) pretty comparable between Android Market and Apple?

Depends what you're looking to do. In general, iPhone has more in numbers but there is plenty of junk skewing the stats. Make a list of what you care about and track down the options. People here can help.

I wish there were more high-end, in-depth games... but there are only so many hours in the day and I have my Wii for that I suppose.

I've never had a smartphone before so how difficult is it to get used to Android? I'm okay with technology as far as computers and electronics go. Rarely had a problem that I couldn't get through with some time and research.

Think of the Captivate as a handheld computer and you'll be fine. It's not a phone that can do some other stuff... the iPhone caters to that market. It's a computer that can make phone calls. This has pros and cons, and it suits some people better than others.

 

[peterpp]

I played with my sister's Iphone4 and I hated it. I love my Capt.

 

[samtr87]

Depends what you're looking to do. In general, iPhone has more in numbers but there is plenty of junk skewing the stats. Make a list of what you care about and track down the options. People here can help.

I wish there were more high-end, in-depth games... but there are only so many hours in the day and I have my Wii for that I suppose.

There is this one game that my friend has on his iPhone where you use your fingers draw paths to land planes on airstrips. He also has a graphic design app thats kind of like toned down Photoshop. Anything like that in Android Market?

A good racing game would be nice. Maybe a shooting game similar to MW2 or Halo.

I'm a college student so are there good apps to help study? Like flashcards or something so I don't have to carry a couple decks of them around?

 

[rajendra82]

Hi. I get to renew my contract next week and it'll either be iPhone 4 or the Captivate. Not feeling the 3 week wait for the iPhone so right now the Captivate is my top choice. Have a few questions.

I played with the Captivate twice in two different AT&T stores and tried loading a few clips on Youtube in high quality and they didn't load either times. They just show the loading screen and nothing happens. Is there a trick to it? I used the menu button and selected "high quality".

How durable is the phone? Anyone dropped his and still have a fairly flawless phone?.

There was a cringe worthy video done by a Korean guy showing how difficult it was to damage the screen of the Captivate. Putting the screen in a bag of metal bits, or going at it with a machine screw still left the screen undamaged. The guy then tried a boxcutter, and that did scratch the screen. In terms of scratches, the back plastic, and the metal battery cover, will scratch rather easily, but that's what a body glove case is for. In terms of drops, I think his first few drops up to a height of three-four feet did not damage the phone, but dropping it from about 5 feet did shatter the glass. The iPhone 4 will be more scratch resistant due to having glass on the back, but the same fact will make less likely to survive a drop.

The two that I played with did feel a little bit laggy, but it wasn't too bad. I think I can deal with it.

The phones in the store were running TouchWiz, which is pretty laggy. You will most likely replace that with LauncherPro, or ADW, and both of those are much more responsive.

I am aware of the gps issue, but I don't travel much in my day to day life so it really isn't that important. But I look forward to a fix from Samsung.

I have upgraded to JH2 firmware, and my GPS has been working very well. When the real fix is out, I am sure it will be as good as a dedicated GPS unit.

Early reviews about video playback indicated the audio and the video were out of sync sometimes. How prevalent is this?

The video playback is nothing short of fantastic. I've watched Youtube videos, DVD rips, and videos from other sites. Everything is flawless so far, and far more spectacular than any other handheld or desktop display I've ever seen. It's jaw dropping to see.

Apps wise, are the good apps (the popular stuff) pretty comparable between Android Market and Apple?

There are many good apps, with utilities and and widgets that have far surpassed anything on iOS. I don't have the iPhone, but from what I've heard, the games, and to a lesser extent productivity apps, are much better on the iOS. But I think that Android is in its infancy right now. Once it gathers full steam, with devices like the large tablets, dual core processor phones, NVIDIA Tegra 2 phones, and playstation phone under the same OS, there is going to be a flood of new commercial apps coming.

I've never had a smartphone before so how difficult is it to get used to Android? I'm okay with technology as far as computers and electronics go. Rarely had a problem that I couldn't get through with some time and research.

Now things that I like about the one I played with. I have big hands and it fits like a glove. Feels very natural to hold. The 4" screen gives me more room to type too. And even though it's plastic, it doesn't feel cheap.

If you are willing to put some time in, Android will reward you immensely. There are things on this phone (or any Android phone for that matter), that won't work quite as well as you'd like at first. But there is far more room for an official or unofficial fix to the issue you have. Take the laggy UI as an example. With iOS4 on the older iPhones, there is also an issue of lagging. But unlike the LauncherPro/ADW/Vanilla ROM solutions we have, they have nothing at their disposal. They either have to put up with what Apple gives them as acceptable, or buy a new phone.

 

[3gAndroid]

I've had both my iPhone 4 & Captivate since day one. The iPhone is nice, the Captivate is stellar. Hands down my favorite, I like all that Android has to offer. Especially the excellent build quality and stylish design. The 4" display is the sweet spot between 3.5 & 5 inches. I've had a Droid X, but the large bump on the back for the camera was just too much. I tried to live with it but couldn't. Just too cumbersome. The Captivate is sleek slim and barely larger than my iPhone. Even with its metal body and all glass front it is twenty five grams lighter than the iPhone. Finally I find the display even better than iPhone since it had much higher contrast and brightness.

 

[sremick]

There is this one game that my friend has on his iPhone where you use your fingers draw paths to land planes on airstrips.

Like these?
Air Traffic Control Lite - Android app on AppBrain
Air Traffic Demo - Android app on AppBrain
Air Control Lite - Android app on AppBrain

He also has a graphic design app thats kind of like toned down Photoshop. Anything like that in Android Market?

Well there's this:
Adobe Photoshop Express - Android app on AppBrain

But I don't think that's what you meant. There are these:
Paint - Android app on AppBrain
PRO Paint Camera - Android app on AppBrain
PRO Pic Paint - Android app on AppBrain

But I'd suggest just going into AppBrain and searching for stuff like "paint" and other related terms and see what comes up. Different people like different apps, so what suits me might not suit you.

A good racing game would be nice.

Asphalt 5 HD FREE - Android app on AppBrain
Light Racer 3D Basic - Android app on AppBrain
Wave Blazer - LITE - Android app on AppBrain
Raging Thunder 2 Lite - Android app on AppBrain
Speed Forge 3D Demo - Android app on AppBrain

Maybe a shooting game similar to MW2 or Halo.

HEAVY GUNNER 3D - Android app on AppBrain
ToonWarz - LITE - Android app on AppBrain

You can't get this through the Marketplace, you have to use Gameloft's weird distribution method but if you want it bad enough:
NOVA for Android - Amazing Sci-Fi FPS Game for Android, 3D First-Person Shooter in HD for Android

Also, this is coming:
3D FPS game on Android? Meet Project Chronos