Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S)
Phone Scoop Review
Jul 18, 2010 by Eric M. Zeman
Phone Scoop takes the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S -- the Captivate -- for a spin to see how well it performs. The display and battery life are amazing. How do the rest of the features hold up? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Amazing phone
This phone is exactly what I've been waiting for! I've pretty much used everything but web os, owned a Blackberry Bold 9700, Backflip, Iphone 3g/3gs, but the captivate tops them all!
First off the screen is amazing! Every color pops and the veiwing angles are the best I've ever seen on a phone. Very zippy processor makes tasks a breeze, browser works very well, and multi touch is spot on.
Not diggin the fact that there's no camera flash, but so far that's my only gripe. Best phone in at&t's stable, I would recommend this phone to anybody.
Very Solid Device
What you have here is a very well-built device with a ton of features. Its display is simply beautiful and the capacitive screen works fantastically. Mine has had a couple of crashes, but this is just as common in cell phones today as is it in computers. There's just so much going on that it's kind of a given.
PROS:
+ Beautiful display.
+ Quick, responsive interface.
+ Camera/Video is great (720p HD).
+ Solid build.
+ Endless customization (moreso through apps like ADW Launcher).
CONS:
- Bottom touch buttons can be bothersome at times (not as responsive as you'd like).
- Overheating can occur with certain games/apps. It's enough to make the metal backing too hot to touch.
Aside from that, the device works very well. Some early bugs/glitches seem to have been resolved with the Android 2.2 update.
Best Phone I have Owned in a LONG TIME
This is an incredible phone. iSheep can have their "status" and I'll keep my Android.
Pros
Easily Rootable, for one.
Battery Lasts all day with moderate use and 3/4 of the day with heavy use.
Screen looks fantastic.
Touch is flawless.
Signal in NC is great, I never drop calls
Texting is easy.
Swype is fun (not a huge fan, but still fun)
Running on Android 2.1 it's still a beast, Root it and it's friggin' Godzilla! on 2.2.
Downloads Aps quickly.
Camera is great.
Video is very clear.
Expandable Memory! EXPANDABLE MEMORY!!!!! EXXXXXXXXXXXPANDABLE MMMMMMEEEEMMMOOORRRYYYY!!!!
Cons
No flash. Ringtones start off soft and it's not changeable. Sans a custom ROM.
One of The Best I've Ever Used
Let me start by saying, I usually never five a perfect score as there is usually room for improvement on anything.
This is quite simply the best phone I have used in a long, long time.
Pros:
- Super fast processor
- 16GB memory, with micro SD expandability
(take not apple)
- Excellent reception even in poor areas
- Android OS is awesome
- Super AMOLED screed has superb resolution
- Touch screen super responsive
- 5M camera
- Fully customizable
- Samsung Swype interface
Cons:
- No flash on camera
- A little on the big side, though not as big
as the DroidX or Evo 4G.
Overall, I love this phone. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Awesome smartphone.
One of AT&T's finest!
I have been fiddling with this phone for the past week before it launched, and have had some really good experience with it.
My first impression was "dang! this thing is HUGE!" Then powering it on brings the big and beautiful 4.0" AMOLED display to life. That is the phone's "wow" factor. With absurdly bright colors and crisp clean display, this is one of the best I've seen, save for iPhone 4's retina display. The 1 GHz processor flies. Openiong a 700 MB movie, I was able to jump around in the movie from one part to another with virtually no lag.
The speaker quality leaves a little to want. Watching a movie, listening to music, or placing a call on speakerphone had me trying to turn up the volume a few more notches to no avail. Also... no camera flash. Why why WHY do manufacturer's exclude flashes from their phones is beyond me. But, I digress
All around, this phone is not perfect, but it IS a contender for the #1 phone in AT&T's lineup, and is definitely worth a try.
PROS:
- HUGE and beautiful AMOLED display
- 1GHz processor - everything is so deliciously fast!
- 16 GB onboard memory AND microSD slot
- solid battery life
CONS:
- Quiet speaker
- no camera flash
- no, seriously. NO camera flash
Great Phone
Phone is very smooth the touch screen is very nice on it being 4 inch touch screen. The phone is very light and compact. The way you have to charge it is cool with the sliding battery door on top. The other cool thing is the way you have to slide the bottom door as well to remove the back of the phone. AT&T's best Android Phone yet! I personally like how you can choose the amount of screens you want. I also like the live wall papers, Samsungs UI is also Great!!!
PROS:
2.1 Android
4 Inch Screen
Keyboard is Very Easy to use
LED Screen
1Gig Processor
Large Memory Preinstalled
Samsung UI
CONS:
No flash for the 5MP Cam
Can't Download 3rd Party apps unless you root phone
Def 5 stars would recommend getting this phone asap ATT's Best Smartphone yet!
a review of the reviews
I have had the captivate for 4 months now and have learned all the problems that come with the phone.
1. Dont download an appkiller aka spyware
2.Get rid of yahoo mail its kryptonite
3.yep no flash get over it and quit taking pictures in the dark
4.for those of you who have phones already and have major shutdown problems... call at&t your imei number will bypass any troubleshooting (they know how to fix it) send ya a new one its called a recall people
5. if you bricked your phone during the froyo upgrade... learn how to read the directions
6.a soft reset means dont power down just take the battery out... that is a a miricale fix
6.words with friends driving ya nuts? it means they have an upgrade in the market go download
7.if you have wireless and love DLNA you should prolly tap the app allshare learn how to use that app and your phone just got a lot sexier
8. batery life depends on what you do i got 2 new batteries and a dock for them for .01 on ebay so battery what?
9.quit thinking that phones are never gonna have problems... you aint that lucky... besides show me a smart phone that hasnt had at least one issue... besides user error isnt samsungs fault
theres the dirt and hopefully some help just remember other than those tidbits this is one of the best phones to date on the at&t network
for those of you who are looking to get a new phone... go with the atrix if only for the front facing camera... and download tango app... your welcome
MIND BOTTLING !
finally they got it right ! very immpressive phone with a iphone like amoled multitouch display ! hooray for samnsung and android alike ...no complaints about the flash not being installed....super fine video record 5 mp camera with enhancements ...wifi is easy to set up...and a removable battery !! awesome ! this thing is definitely an iphone killer ( sorry steve) android is gonna take the iphone 4 down ....don't get me wrong apple makes a beautiful product ...but with anything beautiful requires high maintenance.. no thank you !!
pros:
touch display - feels like the iphone
720p hd video record/playback
5mp camera
16g internal / up to 16g external memory
3.5 audio jack
tv out - micro usb conn.
removable battery
android market - lots of free apps
very customizable
large fonts - very easy to read
cons:
(i cant talk bad about my wife)
galaxy S and Gotdeathstar
married 7-23-2010
go get this phone ...or at least go check it out ! you wont regret it !
Captivate
I'm surprised, AT&T did it right.
Very easy to root and set up nice and clean.
Screen is fantastic, bright and sharp, readable outside.
speed is fast
OK, somewhat locked down, and no mac support. Not hard to do the former, just some reading support groups. Infact, one really doesn't need to do a thing if they don't want.
