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Thee Official Captivate First Impressions

E

emuneee

Android Enthusiast
Since the number of people with Captivates will blow up tomorrow, I'm starting this thread ahead of time.

I don't have one...yet. :D
 
My first impressions:
I dislike the Samsung Keyboard. SwiftType Beta is pretty good though.
I'm not a fan of the default browser. I may experiment here. Recommendations welcome.
The camera is better than people are giving it credit for.
The screen is everything everyone says it is.
The thing gets really f'ing hot under heavy use. You can fry an egg on the thing after using Google Nav for a half hour.
Fits fine in my pocket.
First phone I ever bought insurance for. It feels pretty solid in the hands, but it doesn't look like it would survive a drop very well.
I've copied a few movies off DVD and copied them onto the phone. They make for a pretty impressive demo of the screen.
Related to the above, Virtual surround works really well. I copied Transformers to the phone with the 5.1 surround audio. Impressive.
The ring tone isn't loud enough for me, and the call volume doesn't get loud enough for me sometimes. I'm hoping there's a hack/app for that somewhere.
WiFi is a little funky for me. If the phone's been asleep for a while, or if I'm just coming back home from being out, it'll sync to my wifi, but won't transfer any data. I have to drop wifi and re-enable it. I'm wondering if it's my wifi gateway. I'm going to reboot my gateway to run further tests.
I'm really wishing Samsung included an RSS reader in TouchWiz with half the capability of the one in Sense.
 
maerlim said:
My first impressions:
I dislike the Samsung Keyboard. SwiftType Beta is pretty good though.

I'm not a fan of the default browser. I may experiment here.

The thing gets really f'ing hot under heavy use. You can fry an egg on the thing after using Google Nav for a half hour.
Click to expand...

ooh these intrigue me. Would you mind elaborating on the keyboard and browser? Couple pros and cons of each maybe if you have time?

That heat problem makes me wonder if I should get insurance just in case it overheats or is recalled by chance of meltdown haha.
 
The screen is AMAZING. Best I've ever seen on a cell phone. So far the camera is above my expectations as well, haven't tried any low light pictures though, so I can't comment on that aspect. I haven't put much on here yet, but I have watched some YouTube HQ movies and was REALLY impressed with the quality. I haven't had a big problem with it overheating, it does get hot around the battery door (obviously) but nothing intolerable, at least on mine. I still can't believe how they got so much in here and kept it so thin, and also agree with the poster above, thing seems pretty sturdy but it's also the first phone I felt compelled to buy insurance on.
As far as cons, the only real problem I have with the phone at this point is the design that is inherent in all Galaxy S phones, with the power button on the side and the charging port on the top. But that's nothing I didn't know before buying it, and the screen alone makes up for that!
 
I like the samsung keyboard, and I don't hate anything about the phone itself or the stuff on it by default. Solid phone app and build wise. It does get hot after heavy use, but no wonder. It's using a high-end chipset.
 
Well. Define warm. It's not bad enough to burn, or anything of the sort, and I can hold it just fine for as long as I need to. But I still say hot because that's what it feels like.
 
ghostfox1 said:
Well. Define warm. It's not bad enough to burn, or anything of the sort, and I can hold it just fine for as long as I need to. But I still say hot because that's what it feels like.
Click to expand...

Warm is just that, slightly warm to the touch I guess is the best way to describe it. But it definately doesnt get overly warm or hot, Stays alot cooler than my iphone did thats for sure.
 
Darkeligos said:
ooh these intrigue me. Would you mind elaborating on the keyboard and browser? Couple pros and cons of each maybe if you have time?

That heat problem makes me wonder if I should get insurance just in case it overheats or is recalled by chance of meltdown haha.
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of how difficult it is in the default keyboard to type things like apostrophes and commas and such. It's a decent keyboard for texting but not for things like forum posts.
The browser defaults to zooming way out then doesn't reformat the text when you zoom in.

So far my biggest complaint is the wireless. Every time I bring the phone out of sleep mode, I have to turn off wireless then turn it back on.
 
maerlim said:
I'm not a fan of how difficult it is in the default keyboard to type things like apostrophes and commas and such. It's a decent keyboard for texting but not for things like forum posts.
The browser defaults to zooming way out then doesn't reformat the text when you zoom in.

So far my biggest complaint is the wireless. Every time I bring the phone out of sleep mode, I have to turn off wireless then turn it back on.
Click to expand...

When you say reformats the text, are you using pinch to zoom, or double tap? When I double tap it reformats it perfectly.

And as far as your wireless, that really sucks. I havent ran across that issue
 
You want my INITIAL initial impression? Not too thrilled right now. BUT I am willing to put my frustration aside and spend some time with the settings to see if I can correct my issues before I go on a negative tangent. I will say one thing right now though:

The Samsung Captivate drops signal to zero as soon as you hold it like a phone. Still works though. Dunno what that shit is about.
 
Screen is great.
People say iOS is more intuitive...as my first Android device, and coming off a 3G...I gotta say that both are intuitive in their own unique ways. The UI is fine, if not extremely pleasant.
Having a bit of frustration with email, but it's ok for now.
 
mnicb said:
Nice try Mr. Jobs, get out of the android forums!
Click to expand...

Okay annoying person, it took forever because I kept hitting buttons and my webcam sucks donkey balls, but I managed to get two short videos that show the reception issue. I'm uploading right now and will post as soon as it's ready.

part 1 shows bar drop by touching the back of the phone with your hand. I know that no one holds their phone that way,but I wanted to establish that contact had immediate results. In the second part, and you don't know how long it took to get a good capture without me cursing for hitting the volume or phone buttons, shows me holding the phone, and then letting go. The bottom right hand side of the phone is the contact problem.

Mind you, I've made a call with zero bars under these circumstances without a problem.

YouTube - captivate-reception.wmv
 
Jofaba said:
Mind you, I've made a call with zero bars under these circumstances without a problem.
Click to expand...

I've been having the same problem with mine, but it seems like it's only confined to area's of VERY low signal (my house) for me. When I tried to recreate this at work, I went from having five bars, to still having five bars. When I'm at home, I'll go from two or three to one or zero, like the video shows, almost instantly. But also as noted, I can make and receive calls, texts, and go online without problem (or drop in normal speed). I even ran SpeedTest when it was showing zero/one bar and there was no difference than when it was ran in the same spot without my hand covering it.
 
I also noticed my bars being very touchy. My Blackberry Bold always had 4-5 bars, but now the Captivate is showing me with 1-4 depending on how I'm touching it. Data connection still seems to be working though.

If I place the phone on the left part of my stomach -- it gets 2-3 bars. However when I put the phone on my right side, 0-1 bars. :P
 
Darkeligos said:
If I place the phone on the left part of my stomach -- it gets 2-3 bars. However when I put the phone on my right side, 0-1 bars. :P
Click to expand...

org_1032.jpg


WHO NEEDS PLATES WHEN WE HAVE OUR TUMMAYS!
 
Pretty much any phone is susceptible to this if you hold it in the right spot. That's just the nature of technology. As long as you can still make and receive calls, who cares if you have 1 bar or 5?
 
Duck Tales LOL said:
Pretty much any phone is susceptible to this if you hold it in the right spot. That's just the nature of technology. As long as you can still make and receive calls, who cares if you have 1 bar or 5?
Click to expand...

Um, when you hold your phone and your displayed signal drops to zero, that's an issue. Whether or not the phone still works, that is not normal and should be fixed. Also, SOMETHING is obviously happening to the signal. The displayed graphic may be blowing the effect out of proportion, but if you can touch your phone and lower the bars significantly and repeatedly, then it's not just a display issue. You are obviously reducing the signal to whatever degree. That is pretty unacceptable.
 
True, but every video I've seen so far, it only drops to 1-2 bars. I understand it's an issue, but the phone still works.

*edit* After rewatching the above video, it does show the bars drop down to 0 so I stand corrected.


Get a bluetooth. :)
 
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