Return Captivate for 4G Inspire or Atrix?

[knubie]

Hello, I purchased the Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S) less than two weeks ago and have 14 days left to try it out without penalty. Today, AT&T announced the availability of the first Android 4G phone, HTC Inspire 4G for $99 on Feb 19. they also mentioned the Atrix and Infuse, but no release date yet.

Here's my question, Should I return the Captivate and wait for a 4G phone? If so, which one are people more excited with, HTC Inspire, Motorola Atrix for Samsung Captivate? The HTC Inspire is the first one with the announced date and price.

I want to make sure the phone will last me the two years of the contract. I paid $75 for the Captivate, and is my first experience with Android. The Touchwiz interface is nice, the phone is light and have 1Ghz processor and 16GB of RAM built in and is on the 3G network. The Inspire is $99 and has same processor speed, a bigger screen, has less built-in memory by default, but it has front facing camera and flash, both that Captivate lacks. However, Inspire runs on the 4G network, Captivate runs on 3G.

How does the HTC Android interface compare to Captivate? How's the battery life? My friend has to charge his throughout the day. My Captivate will go over a day for average talk and surfing.

My apologies for so many questions, but I have less than 14 days to decide if I'm going to return/replace the phone before the grace period expires.

Here are links to the specs of each phone:
Samsung Captivate 3g:
Samsung Captivate (TM) Cell Phone - Wireless from AT&T

HTC Inspire 4g:
HTC Inspire 4G Android 2.2 Smartphone - Wireless from AT&T

 

[AndreaCristiano]

Im.swapping it.for the inspire for me I do not need the docks or dual core for game play. Sense 2.0 features will be much more relevant for my usage

 

[knubie]

OK, I'm definitly not getting the Atrix. They announced the cost of the dock, $500 + you must have the unlimited data plan + pay for tethering. AT&T knows how to turn a great phone into a crapfest. There's no reason to charge that much for the dock and make you buy the tethering. The dock doesn't tether, it just makes your phone appear on a larger screen.

 

[AndreaCristiano]

OK, I'm definitly not getting the Atrix. They announced the cost of the dock, $500 + you must have the unlimited data plan + pay for tethering. AT&T knows how to turn a great phone into a crapfest. There's no reason to charge that much for the dock and make you buy the tethering. The dock doesn't tether, it just makes your phone appear on a larger screen.

Chalk another for the inspire

 

[ranova]

get rid of the captivate, god awful phone from a god awful company

 

[dwd3885]

so don't buy the dock.

 

[oceanos]

Will the HTC Inspire work in Europe using a local SIM card?

FREQUENCY
UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+: 850/1900MHz, GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

I see the Inspire is lacking the 2100 frequency, so I am curious what limitations that entails.

Thanks.

 

[HustlinDaily]

Basically, you would not get 3G.

Honestly, the Inspire is pretty much the same thing as the Desire HD only with more internal storage (4GB v 1.5GB).

Just get a Desire HD and a MicroSD card and you are good to go.

 

[oceanos]

I should have clarified, I'm with AT&T, live in NY, and travel to Europe where I use a local SIM card. I'd like to have one phone no matter where I am, just swap SIM cards to economize on roaming.

I looked up the specs of the Atrix and it seems to have more bands, including 2100.

 

[HustlinDaily]

Ooooo I apologize.

Yeah if you take an Inspire to Europe, everything should work except for 3G connectivity.

There are not many phones with AT&T 3G bands along with the 2100MHz 3G band. The Nokia N8 and Apple iPhone 4 are a couple which come to mind. Surprisingly the Backflip is as well so it wouldn't be surprising if the Atrix does (I have yet to see any specs directly from Motorola and AT&T so no clue how accurate that data is).

Obviously if you want to use a European SIM, you need to purchase an unlock code or find some unlock method of some kind.

 

[HustlinDaily]

Scratch that, just looked at AT&T's website.

The Atrix does have the 2100MHz 3G band so it would get 3G in Europe.

 

[AndreaCristiano]

Also Im going out on a limb and saying that the inspire will as well. wanna know why, because some internal menus still say desire HD so im betting they didnt take that frequency away just didnt label it

 

[oceanos]

Also Im going out on a limb and saying that the inspire will as well. wanna know why, because some internal menus still say desire HD so im betting they didnt take that frequency away just didnt label it

Very interesting, I wonder if there is a way to confirm this...

The following PC Mag review has 2100 listed as one of the bands.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379290,00.asp?kc=PCRSS02129TX1K0000530

HTC's website makes no mention of the Inspire.

 

[AndreaCristiano]

Very interesting, I wonder if there is a way to confirm this...

The following PC Mag review has 2100 listed as one of the bands.
HTC Inspire 4G (AT&T) Review & Rating | PCMag.com

HTC's website makes no mention of the Inspire.

yea HTC website only mentions inspire if you select US other than that its Desire HD thats why I believe that the band is there! The Inspire is just an american rebrand for the Desire HD thats why some menus like i stated above in the internal phone say Desire HD still

 

[HustlinDaily]

I think this method (post #5) can test which 3G bands the phone has- Samsung Vibrant - T-Mobile *AND* ATT 3g-capable!!

 

[oceanos]

This is very interesting, thanks. If anyone can confirm existence of 2100 band on the Inspire, please advise.
It's launch day today, if anyone buys the Inspire, let us know your impressions.

 

[John I]

OK, I'm definitly not getting the Atrix. They announced the cost of the dock, $500 + you must have the unlimited data plan + pay for tethering. AT&T knows how to turn a great phone into a crapfest. There's no reason to charge that much for the dock and make you buy the tethering. The dock doesn't tether, it just makes your phone appear on a larger screen.

Huh? Where did you hear this? The website, chat and my local AT&T store all say that you don't have to buy the max data package or the tethering? The unlimited data package is not even available anyway...

John

 

[AndreaCristiano]

Huh? Where did you hear this? The website, chat and my local AT&T store all say that you don't have to buy the max data package or the tethering? The unlimited data package is not even available anyway...

John

You have to buy tethering if you buy the dock

 

[John I]

You have to buy tethering if you buy the dock

Ah I see. One more question... Which dock? I assume the laptop dock and not the multimedia dock?

Thanks
John

 

[oceanos]

I think this method (post #5) can test which 3G bands the phone has- Samsung Vibrant - T-Mobile *AND* ATT 3g-capable!!

I went to the AT&T store earlier today and tried the above method to see whether the Inspire has the 2100 band, but it did not work (only works on the Captivate). So I was unable to ascertain if the Inspire has the 2100 band. The salespeople were not very helpful unfortunately. By the way, the Inspire was sold out at this location.

If anyone can confirm the availability or lack of 2100 mhz band on the Inspire, I would appreciate it. This is the deciding factor for me.

Thanks!

 

[AndreaCristiano]

Ah I see. One more question... Which dock? I assume the laptop dock and not the multimedia dock?

Thanks
John

Laptop dock for sure

 

[oceanos]

HTC support forums indicate that the Inspire does not have the 2100 mhz band. So far none of AT&T's announced Android phones have met my requirements, ugh!

 

[nb_mitch]

Obviously if you want to use a European SIM, you need to purchase an unlock code or find some unlock method of some kind.

Or just ask At&t to unlock it for free

If you are a customer in good standing, I would think they will do it for anyone. Just contact them and tell them you want to travel overseas.

Every device I have had in the last 5 years, I have just contacted them and they unlocked it for free. With my Dell Streak (while I was still in the initial 30 day period), I sent an email via the att.com site and about 4 days later, they sent me the unlock codes.

 

[next_release]

I faced the same dilemma - I bought the captivate just before the CES. Once the new options became clearer it was a no-brainer - don't get stuck with an older 3G phone when the 4g's are the same price on newer versions of Android and better all-around specs. Two years is just too long to wait in an industry that changes so fast.

I fell in love with the Atrix until I learned of the extra charges - I was willing to do the data plan but the $20/month tethering charge was a deal-breaker. Now I have my sights set on the Infuse ( I now also won't have to deal with Motoblur!)

"But," you say, "The Infuse is still months away from being released..." I got a temp phone to hold me over. You can get a cheap "go phone" for $15 or borrow something from a friend's closet - whatever it takes.

Here's a good site to compare phone features (including the soon-to-be-released models like the Atrix & Infuse; with a little work to select & deselect the phones you want to compare you can make your own comparisons...)
Compare phones: Samsung Infuse 4G, Motorola ATRIX 4G - Phone Arena

 

[AndreaCristiano]

I faced the same dilemma - I bought the captivate just before the CES. Once the new options became clearer it was a no-brainer - don't get stuck with an older 3G phone when the 4g's are the same price on newer versions of Android and better all-around specs. Two years is just too long to wait in an industry that changes so fast.

I fell in love with the Atrix until I learned of the extra charges - I was willing to do the data plan but the $20/month tethering charge was a deal-breaker. Now I have my sights set on the Infuse ( I now also won't have to deal with Motoblur!)

"But," you say, "The Infuse is still months away from being released..." I got a temp phone to hold me over. You can get a cheap "go phone" for $15 or borrow something from a friend's closet - whatever it takes.

Here's a good site to compare phone features (including the soon-to-be-released models like the Atrix & Infuse; with a little work to select & deselect the phones you want to compare you can make your own comparisons...)
Compare phones: Samsung Infuse 4G, Motorola ATRIX 4G - Phone Arena

Why would you want the infuse after all the mess with the galaxy S phones. I won't ever buy a Samsung