If You Could Go Back In Time Would You Buy The Captivate Again?

robhs said:

I would not get this phone had I known of the problems and the apathetic attitude of AT&T and Samsung towards fixing them. I really love this phone, but the problems with it are inexcusable...especially considering the $500.00 price tag, plus tax.

That is no way to treat your customers.

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I agree with you 100%. Problems presist with the phone and neither AT&T nor Samsung does anything to fix them. This will be my last Samsung phone. I don't care what features are available in a new model. Samsung has abandoned the paying customer!

My wife had to return her first Captivate because the browser and apps kept crashing without warning. Her 2nd phone isn't much better. The GPS doesn't work. We are having issues with the Swype keyboard. It takes 2-3 presses on the home button and the back button to work. All said, this is probably going to be the first and last android phone in our household.

Neither my wife or I have the time to 'root' or do any number of other fixes that are available to make these phones just work. We have more important and better things to do in life. Why do we have to do spend time to fix the phones problems when it is just supposed to work? It is not like we are power users or anything, even simple things don't work. It is a big disappointment. My last hope for the Captivate is the 2.2 upgrade. If that doesn't fix all the issues, she is going to get an iPhone next year. Sorry Samsung/Android/ATT.

I brought up the same point a while back, why spend $200 and be a crash test dummy for Samsung. I came across the same issues and after three months, went back to AT&T and got an iPhone4, the rest is history. Samsung is horrible, I would never buy another Samsung product even if they paid my mortgage.

Froyo is not going to solve the hardware issues you are having (Home Keys and GPS), so prepare yourself for more disappointment. The leaked Froyo ROMs have not resolved the GPS issue and the folks around these parts of the woods that keep saying their GPS is great don't know what they are talking about. Most have aGPS enabled, so they are living a fantasy without even knowing it. Even the Windows Phone 7 from Samsung, Focus, also has the GPS problem. Reason, it is based on the Galaxy S hardware which we all know has some issues.

You are going to be a happy camper once you get an iPhone, I used to say never to Apple but after swallowing my pride and moving to one, there's no looking back. No need to tinker with the phone, things work out of the box. A new IOS update is coming out this month plus when the next major IOS release comes out, you can use it on older hardware. The OS on the iPhone4 is polished and not a work in progress like is the case with some portions of Android.

I think Android has the potential to be great but maybe after one or two more releases. Plus the fragmentation in Android is puzzling, depending on the phone vendor, you'll get a different experience each time.

Cuerbo said:

The leaked Froyo ROMs have not resolved the GPS issue and the folks around these parts of the woods that keep saying their GPS is great don't know what they are talking about. Most have aGPS enabled, so they are living a fantasy without even knowing it.

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You make some valid points. Your inferences regarding how other people will feel are not so valid. Your aGPS comment is also invalid. Most people have aGPS enabled (I bet you do on your iphone) it quickly gives you a rough estimate just like it's suppose to; it creates a huge blue bubble around your location though. It is useless used alone for navigation. If my "fantasy world" means my aGPS is accurate to 10meters and can navigate me without a hitch to where I'm going then you need to develop your imagination. Granted a lot of peoples' GPS doesn't work (yours obviously) but that doesn't mean that some do actually work. I wouldn't go off insulting the intelligence of people who have a working GPS just because you are bitter toward Samsung.

Endoran said:

You make some valid points. Your inferences regarding how other people will feel are not so valid. Your aGPS comment is also invalid. Most people have aGPS enabled (I bet you do on your iphone) it quickly gives you a rough estimate just like it's suppose to; it creates a huge blue bubble around your location though. It is useless used alone for navigation. If my "fantasy world" means my aGPS is accurate to 10meters and can navigate me without a hitch to where I'm going then you need to develop your imagination. Granted a lot of peoples' GPS doesn't work (yours obviously) but that doesn't mean that some do actually work. I wouldn't go off insulting the intelligence of people who have a working GPS just because you are bitter toward Samsung.

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That's possible, I have an ip4 too, after a poor performing Captivate. My Cap GPS was flawless on my first use of it, then it was poor - no inbetween, I was on a major highway - 10 lanes wide, it had me on some back road about 1/2 mile away.

My ip4 GPS is flawless, it's fast, it has realtime traffic (scary as it's pretty accurate too), and works for me showing me and my progress accurately once I start a trip. The bubble is sometimes off for me - particularly in multistory office buildings, but other than that, on the road - it just works.

Certainly. I got mine the day they came out. Only thing I've done is the one click root and lag fix. And since then it has run smooth enough for me. I dont use the GPS often, but in my car and I turn places on I can usually get a lock within 15 seconds. That's all I really use it for except for one trip up to north Georgia.

So far this is the only phone worth getting on AT&T imo. I'm coming from a Touch Pro (Fuze) and I was a windows mobile developer and I am extremly happy with where android is going and I am very ready for the 2.2 update. I just wish Samsung would get it out to us faster. I could use some of the rooted roms, but I just decided to wait for this one over the air.

Cuerbo is just trying to justify his eyephone purchase imo. Captivate is an excellent device..bad reviews are always more numerous. Regarding GPS..if one would change the supl server to google, port 7276, secure connection: off..this is what cured my gps lock issue. The accuracy has always been fine..its the lock time thats a problem for most. A valid agps server helps this. GPS chips in phones are not like a tom tom..they need help to get a fix..then they're on their own. Cuerbo's agps statement is invalid

I had an iphone (2g and 3g) and would really have to think twice about going back to the Walled Garden. I had to jailbreak both to get desired functionality, and to go back from the open world of Android would be realyl hard. The Captivate is a great phone that I was able to get for free (refurb version), so to give up on this deal would be a no-go for me.

No one is blaming Android for the GPS issues, purely a Samsung thing. And no, I don't waste minutes/hours of my day posting bad reviews because I own an iPhone. Don't know what's so hard about admitting that this is a flaw with the phone, I owned it and no one can tell me what I saw was within specs. Some folks don't care, I totally understand. But there's nothing more rewarding than opening an app that uses GPS and having it work when you need it. I originally had planned to go with the Evo but had to cancel my plan, making the jump too expensive. Decided to go with the Captivate instead. The walled garden statement is bogus, I'm just looking for a phone that works. Don't want to spend countless hours tweaking settings to find the right ones or rooting or loading new ROMs. For that, I would have bought a phone off eBay and not renewed my contract.

cuerbo has a point about the GPS. I agree that GPS may work well for a very few, but after hearing from so many 'working fine here' folks that: 1. it stopped working after a week. 2. it won't work while driving. 3. it works great for finding my location, but no good for navigation. it's hard to believe everyone who claims their craptivate GPS 'works fine'. I too swallowed much pride, and decided to 'test out' an IP4 after trying one and finding the GPS performance was very, very good. In 30days, I decided to keep it just long enough for a good android phone with ATT bands to become available. I've jailbroken, and learned the ways of apple (crapple), and it's just not for me. I cannot live with the purpose-built brokenness that is iOS, however, it does OK for now. The key factor for me was retail value. These IP4's are so valuable (especially JB'd and unlocked) that I can finance my next android phone *and then some* with the sale of my used IP4. I'm not bitter, but I'm disappointed with samsung's handling of the craptivate. There are alot of folks out there who have a bad impression of android, and feel stuck with a bad phone. I heard the warnings: 'never trust samsung on their phones', but went for the risk-free 30day trial anyway, and now I know first-hand. I went through 2 devices and all the GPS hacks just hoping it would be the device for me. In the end it was multiple issues (mostly suck-ass battery life and GPS) that made me give it up. Posts like mine and cuerbo's should not be seen as pointless whining. Please, grow up. These posts serve to warn others of what they *might* expect from a craptivate purchase. That's one purpose of forums like this one. I did my research before buying the craptivate, but didn't get the warning. I wish I had. Good luck out there...

a quick point for potential captivate buyers. The iphone4 is not great, but not unbearable. I love the screen and text-selection (only thing that's better than android), and the rest is bearable. Jailbreaking provides a few extra freedoms, but doesn't totally satisfy unfortunately. However, considering the rumored high-end android handsets due to land with ATT bands in Q1 2011 and the Iphone4's high resale value, one can actually gain from the modest iphone4 investment and buy an android handset off-contract. Don't let the call dropping scare you. I use a case, and have had the same or fewer dropped calls than my old BB bold 9700. Internet access is also faster on the iphone4, though it burns through more data.

xnoctis93 said:

If you could go back in time, would you still buy this device, or perhaps go with another device?

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Wait...Hold on everyone! Doesn't your Captivate allow time travel?

Guess I'm the only one...And yes I've bought it every time.

Yep. Because at this point in time, 4 months after my purchase, it's still the best choice for me (which includes display, features and carrier). I've been able to have fun customizing, with a few tweaks it runs extremely well, the GPS hasn't been an issue for me (as in, it works well enough for the way I use it) and it's been extremely helpful on business trips (for entertainment on the plane as well as access to business services/content).

Plus - and this isn't Captivate specific - I find Android really compelling and have even started to fiddle around with some code for possible inclusion into our business products.

4 months later after having used it and an iPhone 4 several times, I still prefer my device, though an i4 will eventually replace the woman's i3g. I like have both platforms

Side note: what do you mean by if?

After 5 weeks with the Captivate, I'll weigh in with a YES. Mainly due to the GPS performance being ALL I expected..but only after changing the supl server to google and port 7276. I don't know why anybody wouldn't do that-the spirent-lcs server is not working-period

I don't wanna be the troll, but after a few months now, I've been thinking over my decision to go for the iPhone 4 instead of the Captivate, and I am still loving my iPhone.

I bought it understanding its limits and its quirks, and I've had nothing but a wonderful experience. Now that I have it jailbroken and set up to my liking, I have no regrets what so ever.

Android is still just too raw for me. There are things that I don't like on the iPhone (Keyboard, 3.5" screen) but I still think the overall experience is more cohesive.

I find Android fascinating, but not captivating (pun completely intended)

If they fix that worthless GPS, add a camera flash, make the battery last a bit longer, and maybe throw in a front facing VGA camera, this phone would have been perfect hardware wise.

Software wise, once you hack it all the way (or root it w/e you call it) and get rid of all the garbage came with it, it should be very satisfying.

Android = Future.

jas2k9 said:

That's possible, I have an ip4 too, after a poor performing Captivate. My Cap GPS was flawless on my first use of it, then it was poor - no inbetween, I was on a major highway - 10 lanes wide, it had me on some back road about 1/2 mile away.

My ip4 GPS is flawless, it's fast, it has realtime traffic (scary as it's pretty accurate too), and works for me showing me and my progress accurately once I start a trip. The bubble is sometimes off for me - particularly in multistory office buildings, but other than that, on the road - it just works.

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But the iPhone is supposed to be a "phone" -- How's your call quality?

These are mobile phones with GPS or aGPS. The primary function of a mobile phone is PHONE...which the iPhones pretty much stink at.

Getting a phone with GPS is big bonus...and I personally can't live without either part functioning on my phone.

It seems that GPS is more important than making calls for you, so it makes sense that the iPhone would please you more.

I have no landline and I work from home often...I would probably be as down on the iPhone for their lack of call quality as you are on the Captivate's less than ideal GPS (for you, on mine, it's been perfect from day 1).

To each his own.

The call quality issue is bogus, I've had mine for two months now and works just like my ex-Captivate. Really comes down to service and yes some phones do better than others with weak signals but I have no complaints about my iPhone4. If your opinion is based on just reading, I would say give it a try before making your mind up. I'm telling you, most of it is hype and yes, I have a case for my phone.

BookLover said:

But the iPhone is supposed to be a "phone" -- How's your call quality?

These are mobile phones with GPS or aGPS. The primary function of a mobile phone is PHONE...which the iPhones pretty much stink at.

Getting a phone with GPS is big bonus...and I personally can't live without either part functioning on my phone.

It seems that GPS is more important than making calls for you, so it makes sense that the iPhone would please you more.

I have no landline and I work from home often...I would probably be as down on the iPhone for their lack of call quality as you are on the Captivate's less than ideal GPS (for you, on mine, it's been perfect from day 1).

To each his own.

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I kept reading about this issue in posts all over the place too, and I was quite aprehensive. Let me tell you I am deaf, next stop for me, after the hearing aids I wear now will be cochlear implants.

I use a bluetooth device for my calls, my music and in the car. I cannot hear at all on a regular phone - the ones in our house. I can use the iphone (and could also use the captivate) far better with my hearing aids than any normal phone. Even without the bluetooth. That said, the bluetooth on the iphone is remarkable in that it switches automatically (when I engage it) from device to device. With the Captivate I had to tell it to find the other thing, when I stopped using one of them.

Bottom line the use as a phone issue - is a non issue for me in the DC area anyway.

Have you tried the ip4 for calls at the same time/same area as your captivate? As I said this is a non-starter - frankly the ip4 holds calls and has call clarity that rivals any phone I have ever used indoors or out, cell phone or not.

jas2k9 said:

I kept reading about this issue in posts all over the place too, and I was quite aprehensive. Let me tell you I am deaf, next stop for me, after the hearing aids I wear now will be cochlear implants.

I use a bluetooth device for my calls, my music and in the car. I cannot hear at all on a regular phone - the ones in our house. I can use the iphone (and could also use the captivate) far better with my hearing aids than any normal phone. Even without the bluetooth. That said, the bluetooth on the iphone is remarkable in that it switches automatically (when I engage it) from device to device. With the Captivate I had to tell it to find the other thing, when I stopped using one of them.

Bottom line the use as a phone issue - is a non issue for me in the DC area anyway.

Have you tried the ip4 for calls at the same time/same area as your captivate? As I said this is a non-starter - frankly the ip4 holds calls and has call clarity that rivals any phone I have ever used indoors or out, cell phone or not.

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Actually, once you add BT into the mix I'm sure the iPhone is great (actually greater it seems than the Captivate) ... what's it without?

With my old WinMo phone, the speaker sound was HORRID, it sounded like the other side was speaking in tongues. So I started using a BT because of that phone. BT on this same WinMo phone was AWESOME! But speaker quality stunk.

So now with my Captivate, I can actually make calls to the pizza delivery joint without first connecting my BT, which is really nice when I'm at home.

The ONLY thing I really look forward to Froyo for is the BT activation of the phone (I think that was one of the features)...Currently I cannot make any calls at all while driving. On my WinMo, I had Voice Command, which I dearly miss...but I do have to admit, I don't *make* many calls while driving anymore, which is probably a good thing.

Back to topic...I like tinkering and typically would consider myself a "late adopter", meaning I'd rather get a device/car/phone after it's been on the market for a while since I don't like to deal with bugs in anything. But, despite its flaws, I love my Captivate, even with it's bugs, because I can surf on it 18/7, make phone calls without BT, take advantage of Turn-by-Turn navigation offered by GoogleMaps, get full HTML emails...all of which I couldn't do with my WinMo 6.1 smartphone.

I was somewhat interested in iPhones, but I'm one of the few people in the world without an iTunes account, so that was a dealbreaker for me. Didn't want to have an iTunes account just to use my phone. Plus, as I mentioned I work from home a lot, and don't have a landline, so call quality is essential for me...I couldn't take the chance with an iPhone.

To each his own! Long live democracy!!

BookLover said:

Actually, once you add BT into the mix I'm sure the iPhone is great (actually greater it seems than the Captivate) ... what's it without?

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And quoted from my original post:

"I can use the iphone (and could also use the captivate) far better with my hearing aids than any normal phone. Even without the bluetooth. "

Maybe I should have read this forum before ordering mine last Monday...

Anyway, I am somewhat new to this forum and device... but does the Vibrant have similar problems? Would you rather have had a Vibrant over the Captivate or is it just the Sammy Screw?

All Galaxy S phones have the GPS issue, including those in other parts of the world. There are some other carrier specific issues that you might find, check the phone specific areas of the forum for details. Lag and poor battery life are other common themes.

actually battery life,,, after getting away from live wall papers ,, battery is awesome again,,

lag,, no lag issue here,,,

Definitely would buy this phone again.... it's basically my child.