Mobile FRC

Review by TechGeek for Samsung Captivate Android Phone (AT&T)
Rating:
Yes Friends!! after having my hands on DroidX, Nexus One…. I would say this is the best available Android Device with 3 perspective

1. Screen Clarity

2. Great User Interface

3. Pricing

Apart from that, here are some Pros:

1. Excellent Bluetooth Connectivity

2. Moto Blur like feature is cool

3. DLNA ( Which mean you connect this device to Samsung DVD player and Bingo…it integrates all the music and videos straight to the TV)

4. TV out capability is very good if not execellent

5. Phone and Speakers are astonishing ( YEAH!! No Antennae Reception issues)

6. 5MP is very good

7. Phone is even lighter than Droidx and Nexus One ( Was surprised with this result)

8.16 GB INTERNAL STORAGE

9. 512 Mb RAM, that mean any updates more than FROYO is possible (Remember do not buy any Android device less than 512 MB).

10. 3G speed in my area came to about 2.4 Mbps, which is about .3 Mbps faster than Nexus One ( when compared simultaenously)

11. Faster Wifi

Now here are few Cons:

1. No out of market App support ( off course this affects only small community of users, and blame it on At&t here)

2. 5 MP Camera is excellent, but a Flash would have been a Bonus.

3. No Notification Light, although the LED slot is visible ( not sure if this is a defect in my phone or it is standard, I will check back with Samsung and Update the review)

4. Wait for FROYO until September 2010.

All in all, if you are confused between iPhone4 and Captivate; My first and last choice will be Captivate coz of excellent Large screen and Freedom from iTunes. 4 Inch screen make Iphone4 look like a Baby. I am just surprised that Samsung has come up with such a Beauty!! and Nokia’s, RIMs are still wondering ‘WHAT WILL CONSUMERS LOVE??’

Review by T. Lee for Samsung Captivate Android Phone (AT&T)
Rating:
Was in the market for a new smartphone and stumbled upon this little beauty on CNET just one day before it was released. I had one year left on my AT&T contract and after seriously considering the Motorola Droid X on Verizon I ended up buying the Captivate instead (paying full retail price), and I honestly couldn’t be happier with my decision. I’ll try to condense this as much as possible since I have so much to praise about this phone so I’ll start by listing some of its shortcomings.

First of all, this phone has a lot of design flaws that could have easily been corrected but instead needlessly hamper the user experience. This is a very common and frustrating trend in consumer electronics and is also the same reason why companies like Apple have been so successful since they know how to keep their products simple and useable. Things like having the headphone jack on the top of the phone (incredibly annoying when you’re listening to music and have to flip the phone around every time you pull it out of your pocket) or, conversely, placing the power/lock key on the side of the phone when every other phone on the planet either has it at the top or on the front. The worst offenders by far, however, are the four touch-sensitive shortcut keys that Samsung insists on using for all their products. Why on earth would you use touch keys over physical keys when physical keys are more visible, more tactile, more responsive, and arguably look better too (touch keys in my opinion look tacky and uncomfortable to use). I can’t tell you how much time I spend fumbling for the back and home keys either because the backlight only feels like staying on for .6 seconds, or because they don’t always respond the first ten times I tap them. Touch keys are stupid and I hope manufacturers stop using them unless they provide some specific benefit or need. Lastly, the camera is pretty mediocre (my 2-year-old Sony Ericsson k850i crushes this in terms of picture quality) and the screen is also just the slightest bit lacking in the resolution department.

Having said all that, this phone does many, many things incredibly well. The super AMOLED screen has a real wow factor that’s particularly evident once you fire up some videos or start browsing the web. Browsing itself is a joy thanks to the roomy four-inch screen and screaming fast Hummingbird processor that makes everything just fly. The Samsung TouchWiz interface is very solid I have no complaints and the Swype text-input feature that comes preloaded is amazingly fast and accurate. I’m very surprised it doesn’t get more attention given how intuitive it is. And Android, what can I say, it’s completely blown away all my expectations. The level of customization is unreal and makes the iPhone OS look like Windows 7 Starter.

All in all, I’m in love with this phone even with all it’s design quirks. It’s nice that AT&T finally gets not just a worthy Android phone but a supremely capable one at that. If you’re interested in a new smartphone and aren’t totally enamored by Apple, I encourage you to take a long, hard look at the Samsung Captivate. It truly is a sight to behold.