Hands on with the Samsung Captivate with AT&T
by n3rdg1rl
Sep 10, 2010 3:07 PM –
After I received this phone to try out for this review, my boyfriend’s LG Xenon broke for probably the third time. He used the Captivate because it was on AT&T and he needed something. After learning that his phone would be replaced with something atrocious, he told the sales guy that he was more than willing to pay the extra money and get the Captivate. He loves it and I love it. And now everyone in our household has an Android!
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Samsung Captivate Back
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Samsung Captivate Front
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Samsung Captivate Home Screen
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Samsung Captivate Text
General
- Network Type: GSM Quad-Band phone capable of Global Roaming (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- UMTS tri-band global 3G (850/1900/2100 MHz)
- Data: EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA 7.2 Mbit/s
- Processor: Cortex A8 Hummingbird 1000 MHz
- Color(s): Black
- Software: Android 2.1
No matter how many applications are running, which live wallpaper is going, and how many widgets you touch, that 1 GHz Hummingbird processor keeps up. It’s quick and responsive. I haven’t seen it freeze at all. I have seen one little design flaw regarding the signal you get. I put a rubber case on the phone and it cut the cell phone signal in half! It also blocked the GPS signal, so if you are thinking about getting a case for this phone, I would really go for something like a full cover non-scratchable sticker that is thin enough to not block signal, such as Ghost Armor.
Size
- Dimensions: 4.18 x 2.50 x 0.39in
- Weight: 4.50oz
I absolutely love the clean lines on this phone. I also like how thin it is without feeling flimsy. It has a good weight to it. It fits nicely in the smallest pockets and any bag without being bulky.
Display
- Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels
- Type: 1,677,216 colors Super AMOLED
- Physical Size: 4” Screen
- Touch Screen: Capacitive, Multi-touch
AMOLED is becoming more popular and the price is slowly coming down. It’s that technology that gives the screen on the Captivate so much depth and clarity. More than a million colors can be displayed! Videos, pictures, and even the home screens and apps look crystal clear and truly amazing. It’s on of the prettier screens I’ve seen. At 4 inches, the screen isn’t so big you feel like it’s a tablet, but it’s big enough that you could look at text and video for long periods without strain. Add in the fact that the screen is made of Gorilla Glass and you have a very nice and somewhat durable phone.
Sound
- 3.5mm Stereo Headset Jack
I love testing the phone sound to it’s limit since that’s one of the most important things. You need to be able to hear clearly since in the end, it’s a phone. Even at it’s loudest, the speaker phone and the standard earpiece never crackled or sounded distorted. It’s not the loudest phone I’ve heard, but it’s loud enough that I didn’t feel like I had to strain to hear even with background noise. Music and video sound were clear.
Even though the standard head phone jack seems to be on almost everything now, I still think that was the best idea that phone manufacturers had. If I can put music on my phone, I should also be able to use my favorite headset! And I can with this with crisp sound no matter the volume!
Memory
- Built-In: 16384 MB
- Memory Slot: MicroSD/MicroSDHC
16 GB of on-board memory! This means that unlike other phones, you won’t have to pray that your update to Froyo comes faster just to get all the apps you want. Sure, Froyo is exciting and will make this phone even better, but for owners of the Captivate, the most anticipated feature won’t be the ability to move apps to the SD card.
Data
- Bluetooth: 3.0 Stereo Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g/n
- Internet: Android Browser, HTML
Thank you, Samsung, for putting wireless-N in the Galaxy S series. It’s the direction that networks are heading and it’s nice to know that you won’t be stuck behind with your phone. If you connect to an N network, the speed of the browser makes it feel like you’re on your wired computer. It’s fast and beautiful. Even over the cellular network, browsing isn’t painful. Now add in some Flash and it would be perfect!
The new version of Bluetooth doesn’t mean much yet since there are few devices that use it, but being able to keep up with the times and get the new, more functional devices when they become more redly available is a comforting feeling.
Camera
- 5 MP Resolution
- 1280 x 720 (720p HD)
- Auto Focus, Smile Detection, Digital Zoom, Multi-Shot, Effects, Self-Timer, Panorama, ISO Control
I love this camera! It’s not the highest resolution camera in a phone, but how often are you taking a picture with your phone that you are going to blow up to 24″ x 36″? Smile Detection is a fun feature and the built in effects are comparable to those you find in the better apps. Panorama is still my favorite thing to play with. You can take both vertical and horizontal shots and they all look beautiful!
The high-definition video is clear and beautiful as well. If there was an HDMI out on this phone it would be even better. Regardless, it’s perfect for those candid moments at that party you went to last week that are just screaming to be put on YouTube…which you could do straight from the Captivate.
Features
- Battery: Li-Ion, 1500 mAh
- Battery Life: 5.83 Hrs of Talk time, 340 hrs of Stand-by Time
- Included Programs: Alarm, Calendar, World Clock, Stopwatch, Countdown timer, Memo
- Voice: Recording, Speaker Phone
- Email: IMAP/POP3/SMTP/ Microsoft Exchange
- GPS: A-GPS
- Video Playback: MPEG4
- Music Player: MP3
- Keyboard: On-Screen
- USB: MicroUSB
This is where my one complaint arises. The GPS is just awful! It takes forever to find a satellite signal and even when it does it rarely has a clue to exactly where you are. According to this GPS I am constantly off-roading through backyards or even heading the opposite direction entirely. I had the GPS on the EVO going right next to the Captivate to make sure it wasn’t an issue with the area I was driving in and it wasn’t. The EVO had a clear idea of what was going on while the Captivate was taking the scenic route.
The size of the on-screen keyboard is large enough that I didn’t feel like a physical keyboard was missing. With such a responsive touch screen, even those used to physical keyboards won’t mind switching over to this one.
The battery life seems pretty standard. It can easily last a day, but I would keep up with the old routine of charging your phone overnight when you go to bed to make sure you have plenty of juice to make it though the next day.
Tags:
Android,
Android Phone Review,
Android Phones,
AT&T,
AT&T phone,
Cell Phone,
Cell Phone Review,
Galaxy S,
Samsung Captivate,
Samsung Galaxy S,
Samsung Phones
Categorised in: Android Phones, News
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