• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Thinking of taking my Captivate back

PuffinNugz said:
I think you're being a bit too hasty with your decision here. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less if you return it, but of what you mentioned, GPS is the only real issue.


just sayin...

*disclaimer* No, I do NOT work for Samsung. Stuff just seems to get blown out of proportion.
Click to expand...


I agree with a few things you said, but on the whole 16GB thing he is right. You can only store apps on the 1.6whatever GB phone memory.
 
Intervenient said:
I agree with a few things you said, but on the whole 16GB thing he is right. You can only store apps on the 1.6whatever GB phone memory.
Click to expand...
Right on. I see what you mean. But then again, i've got about 100 apps on mine. It is sitting at 1.56. Now, if I'm really honest with myself, like others i'm sure, the majority of those apps will never get used.

Now, they shouldn't have limited it, but that's alot of apps that can fit.
 
Space Cowboy said:
If you purchased a phone simply for GPS capability, why didnt you just go out and buy a REAL GPS unit?

To say the phone is a POS is a little strong.
Click to expand...

Def agree, the iPhone 4 gps is not instant either sometimes it takes up to a min or more to lock on. I never quite had the issues with lock on with my any of my iPhones but still over all this is a great phone. I would never trust my iphone anyways when it came to car navigation. I have had issues before with mapquest and several other apps not getting directions correct. Not to say all of them do but I know when it comes to car navigation nothing like a Garmin or a Magellan. Still like you all have said it is a feature we paid for that doesn't seem to quite work right. I def think this issue will be addressed and hopefully fix the issues we all have.
 
PuffinNugz said:
Right on. I see what you mean. But then again, i've got about 100 apps on mine. It is sitting at 1.56. Now, if I'm really honest with myself, like others i'm sure, the majority of those apps will never get used.

Now, they shouldn't have limited it, but that's alot of apps that can fit.
Click to expand...

can you post the link to the drivers you used? I used two drivers so far with no luck what so ever. Thank you
 
Infinite-t said:
Very tue dude, We could also go to mapquest and print out a map on our computer and use the map to get us where we are going. But the issue is, at least for me, We paid 200 for a phone that claims GPS capability, and right now, that ability isnt working (for most people). Yea I have A GPS built in my car that works just fine, and I use it for driving and not the phone. But, with the phone, for me, I would like to be able to be walking down the street in a strange town (or even my home town) and jump into google maps and look for the closest coffee shop or something. That is not possible if my phone doesnt know where I am.
Click to expand...

Yah that is a good point, but at the same time if you have a sense of location (and I am not saying you don't have one) you can just check it out really quickly with another app like yelp or something. But yah, the GPS issues bother me, but at the same time I am giving it a chance seeing as I don't NEED it really.
 
radi0chik said:
So with the most recent comments stating the GPS update may not be out until September possibly when Froyo comes out, I'm going to take this back and get my money back. Problem is, we only have 30 days to return the phones. If they don't fix them within 30 days, or worse yet, don't fix them AT ALL, I'm stuck with this POS phone that won't lock onto gps 90% of the time.

Anyone had experience with returning a smart phone? I'm wondering if I can roll back to my media net plan (with proper phone on the account) or if that's just gone for good.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

My plan is to wait 25 days, say I would like to exchange my phone because of GPS issues, get a new Samsung Captivate, wait 25 days, say I would like to exchange my phone because of GPS issues, wait 25 days, say I would like to exchange my phone because of GPS issues... haha you get the point. I'm assuming that you'll have 30 days from the exchange/date of purchase. If Froyo comes out and there is no GPS fix, I will be returning this phone for good.
 
I got this phone for free from letstalk.com, and it's the only high end Android phone from at&t. There's no way in heaven I'm returning this phone! Google Maps without GPS works great for me.
 
Space Cowboy said:
If you purchased a phone simply for GPS capability, why didnt you just go out and buy a REAL GPS unit?

To say the phone is a POS is a little strong.
Click to expand...

There are other apps that use the GPS and is NOT related to driving directions.

Oh my car stereo is broken ... buy an ipod instead. nice!
 
ZDroid1 said:
I got this phone for free from letstalk.com, and it's the only high end Android phone from at&t. There's no way in heaven I'm returning this phone! Google Maps without GPS works great for me.
Click to expand...

If it was free, I'd keep it too... But I paid 199... For that, I'll return it and go to verizon and get an HTC, IF August 20th comes and I don't think a GPS fix is on it's way .
 
radi0chik said:
Makes one wonder how many captivates have to be returned before Samsung rolls something out PRONTO.
Click to expand...


I don't think Samsung honestly cares. They know that enough people will keep them, and they can just release another phone in 3-4 months anyways. They're in the hardware selling business, not the software managing business. They can just point the finger at AT&T if too many people jump ship.


It's for reasons like this that I'm not 100% convinced of Android. Too much hardware coming out too fast, and not enough support coming soon enough for the consumer. Say what you will, but this is when it's beneficial to be living in that gorgeous Apple tree garden.
 
artvandalay22222 said:
Go buy a tomtom
Click to expand...

Why do people use that justification?

The camera doesn't work... Go buy a digital camera.

The GPS doesn't work... Go buy a GPS device.

The music player is crap... Go buy an iPod.

No. If a phone is being sold on the premise that it has certain features and that it performs such features well, the that better be the truth. Don't blame the victim here and don't dismiss his expectations.

I personally don't care about GPS and won't return the phone because of it, but if it's important to someone, then they should return it.
 
Intervenient said:
I don't think Samsung honestly cares. They know that enough people will keep them, and they can just release another phone in 3-4 months anyways. They're in the hardware selling business, not the software managing business. They can just point the finger at AT&T if too many people jump ship.


It's for reasons like this that I'm not 100% convinced of Android. Too much hardware coming out too fast, and not enough support coming soon enough for the consumer. Say what you will, but this is when it's beneficial to be living in that gorgeous Apple tree garden.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking but if Samsung wants to meet their goal of selling 10 million galaxy S phones... they better get this right. I'm hoping they will have update soon to fix this. I don't think Captivate is only version of galaxy S to have this problem? I'm thinking the ones in Korea have the same problem? I'm sure they are working on it like Apple was when it knew about the antenna issue and quitely worked on it for 12 days before admitting to it and having a fix... well not really fix but a bandaid but at least they came right out and said it has issues.
 
As of right now I am leaning on taking the phone back. The biggest issue for me is Exchange support for email; Samsung's take on 'organization' (if it can be called even that) is terrible. No proper sorting of folders, minimal customization of emails/folders/calendar/contacts. The Touchdown app is better but why should I have to pay $20 extra for something a smartphone in 2010 should be perfectly capable of. Granted, I am coming from years as a BB user but still, even the iPhone has better exchange support than the Captivate.

Also experiencing the GPS issue, and more importantly, the battery life is awful on this phone (yes, I've tried many of the suggestions on the internet).
 
Infinite-t said:
But, with the phone, for me, I would like to be able to be walking down the street in a strange town (or even my home town) and jump into google maps and look for the closest coffee shop or something. That is not possible if my phone doesnt know where I am.
Click to expand...

Last week I tried an in-store demo Captivate and I could confirm that I couldn't get my location on the Maps app at all. I still went ahead and got my Captivate, however, and just thought I'd wait like everyone else for an update/fix. When I got it this past Friday, the first thing I tried was the Maps app. And I was able to get an accurate location as quickly as I could with my iPhone 4. I couldn't see any of the issues most people are writing about.

So maybe I'm not understanding the problem OR maybe people should return their phones now and exchange them for phones from a more recent delivery date. Maybe Samsung has recently sent phones with updated firmware?

For those of you with issues, are you not able to get a location over the wireless network? Or are you specifically having an issue with GPS? I honestly can't tell the difference between the two. I seem to get an accurate location with just the wireless network, but that could be because I live in NYC, and I might not get such performance in more rural areas. Maybe that's it... I guess i can't tell if my GPS is working or not.

Anyway, bottom line is, maybe you can return your phones for ones with a more recent delivery date because I definitely see a difference between my phone and the demo in the store. Something was definitely updated on my phone.
 
ZDroid1 said:
Why do people use that justification?

The camera doesn't work... Go buy a digital camera.

The GPS doesn't work... Go buy a GPS device.

The music player is crap... Go buy an iPod.

No. If a phone is being sold on the premise that it has certain features and that it performs such features well, the that better be the truth. Don't blame the victim here and don't dismiss his expectations.

I personally don't care about GPS and won't return the phone because of it, but if it's important to someone, then they should return it.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more!!!
 
ZDroid1 said:
Why do people use that justification?

The camera doesn't work... Go buy a digital camera.

The GPS doesn't work... Go buy a GPS device.

The music player is crap... Go buy an iPod.

No. If a phone is being sold on the premise that it has certain features and that it performs such features well, the that better be the truth. Don't blame the victim here and don't dismiss his expectations.

I personally don't care about GPS and won't return the phone because of it, but if it's important to someone, then they should return it.
Click to expand...
I agree. I remember when the iPhone first came out and Apple apologists used to say:

  • Who needs MMS? Use email!
  • Who needs a better camera? It's a phone!
  • Who needs a flash on their camera? It's a phone!
  • Who needs video recording? It's a phone!
  • Who needs voice guided navigation? Just hold up the phone and look at the map while driving! (LOL)
  • Who needs voice dialing on an all-touchscreen device? (Duh)

And yet Apple saw it fit to add all of the above items to their phone in subsequent models. Shows you how much the apologists know.

Point is, a smartphone is so much more than a basic phone these days. If something doesn't work for you, vote with your wallet and get something else.
 
Android_J said:
I agree. I remember when the iPhone first came out and Apple apologists used to say:

  • Who needs MMS? Use email!
  • Who needs a better camera? It's a phone!
  • Who needs a flash on their camera? It's a phone!
  • Who needs video recording? It's a phone!
  • Who needs voice guided navigation? Just hold up the phone and look at the map while driving! (LOL)
  • Who needs voice dialing on an all-touchscreen device? (Duh)
And yet Apple saw it fit to add all of the above items to their phone in subsequent models. Shows you how much the apologists know.

Point is, a smartphone is so much more than a basic phone these days. If something doesn't work for you, vote with your wallet and get something else.
Click to expand...

Hey, I agree - go buy your i4 and leave the more adventurous of us to the Captivate, there's nothing wrong with that. And while you say "Apple saw it fit to add all of the above items to their phone in subsequent models", you gloss over the fact that these were features that had been STANDARD STAPLES of "smartphones" for several generations before Apple got in the game. You can hardly commend Apple for adding MMS to the iPhone with the 3G when other MFRs had MMS for what, 3 years, before?

Sure, Apple stuff "just works" - that's why their hardware and software combinations are generally a year or 2 BEHIND everyone else's and usually costs at least twice as much! It's easy to have everything right when you release outdated technology as a new product line. Granted, they have SOME new & cool stuff, but you have to take their poison pill to get it.
 
Just a little FYI. I'm not recommending you do this but I flashed my Captivate with the Euro Galaxy S ROM. It takes a few steps and involves flashing the Captivate kernel after flashing the Euro ROM. The point is, that ever since doing that, my GPS has worked essentially flawlessly. I get a lock (GPS not location) within seconds and it holds. Using a GPS Test app (from the Market) I get 9 satellites with 7-8 locks. The bottom line here is that it's definitely not a hardware problem, it's a software issue. This means that Samsung will definitely be able to resolve this issue with an OTA update.
 
NaplesBill said:
Just a little FYI. I'm not recommending you do this but I flashed my Captivate with the Euro Galaxy S ROM. It takes a few steps and involves flashing the Captivate kernel after flashing the Euro ROM. The point is, that ever since doing that, my GPS has worked essentially flawlessly. I get a lock (GPS not location) within seconds and it holds. Using a GPS Test app (from the Market) I get 9 satellites with 7-8 locks. The bottom line here is that it's definitely not a hardware problem, it's a software issue. This means that Samsung will definitely be able to resolve this issue with an OTA update.
Click to expand...

Which version did you flash?
 
MrTony said:
And while you say "Apple saw it fit to add all of the above items to their phone in subsequent models", you gloss over the fact that these were features that had been STANDARD STAPLES of "smartphones" for several generations before Apple got in the game. You can hardly commend Apple for adding MMS to the iPhone with the 3G when other MFRs had MMS for what, 3 years, before?
Click to expand...
How did I gloss over the facts? I said "the fanbois" glossed over the facts. I didn't buy an iPhone until the 3G. I was one of the people laughing at early iPhone adopters. I see similar reactions to subpar hardware on the android side.

But the tables have turned. Now the iPhone has all the features and all the apps. Android, WinMo and Blackberry are playing catch up. Android is the strongest challenger and I'm ok with android as an OS. What I'm not ok with is a just released smartphone that has wonky hardware. It's the reason I went to the Captivate in the first place (because the iPhone 4's antenna issue). Turns out I get similar antenna issues on the Captivate AND a wonky GPS.
 
MrTony said:
Hey, I agree - go buy your i4 and leave the more adventurous of us to the Captivate, there's nothing wrong with that. And while you say "Apple saw it fit to add all of the above items to their phone in subsequent models", you gloss over the fact that these were features that had been STANDARD STAPLES of "smartphones" for several generations before Apple got in the game. You can hardly commend Apple for adding MMS to the iPhone with the 3G when other MFRs had MMS for what, 3 years, before?

Sure, Apple stuff "just works" - that's why their hardware and software combinations are generally a year or 2 BEHIND everyone else's and usually costs at least twice as much! It's easy to have everything right when you release outdated technology as a new product line. Granted, they have SOME new & cool stuff, but you have to take their poison pill to get it.
Click to expand...


He never said anything about wanting an iPhone 4, going as far as saying Apple has been behind and people always try to make excuses, as many of us are with the Captivate.

Cost twice as much? iPhones cost just as much as your average smart phone. The iPhone 4 has matching specs to the Captivate, even having a FFC, flash, working GPS, etc. Right up to the times, not 2 years behind. Don't be dramatic either, Apple is not a poison pill. It may not be open, but don't deny that it doesn't work, and that it's not a slick piece of capable hardware.

I don't care if you have a preference to Android over Apple, but don't be spreading slander about the phone. That makes you no worse than an Apple fanboy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom