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Captivate vs Iphone 4

IF GPS is really important to you and you use it a lot, I would not get a Captivate. There is just too much evidence that MANY, not all, people have severe problems with the GPS. To me, it is not yet clear either that it is strictly a software problem that will ultimately be corrected--and that won't be clear until it =is= fully eliminated, thus proving that hardware issues are not a factor as well.

I am in the same boat kind-of. I really want Android, am kind of tied to ATT because of a bunch of rollover minutes--yet I need/want GPS as a prime function in my phone. But I don't really want to participate in the Apple closed community, itunes, etc. So, for now, I am doing nothing.

It is a total shame that Samsung/ATT screwed up the Captivate. They could have hit a home run, but ended up with a foul ball--or striking out if they don't/can't fix the GPS
 
movrshakr said:
IF GPS is really important to you and you use it a lot, I would not get a Captivate. There is just too much evidence that MANY, not all, people have severe problems with the GPS. To me, it is not yet clear either that it is strictly a software problem that will ultimately be corrected--and that won't be clear until it =is= fully eliminated.

I am in the same boat kind-of. I really want Android, am kind of tied to ATT because of a bunch of rollover minutes--yet I need/want GPS as a prime function in my phone. But I don't really want to participate in the Apple closed community, itunes, etc. So, for now, I am doing nothing.

It is a total shame that Samsung/ATT screwed up the Captivate. They could have hit a home run, but ended up with a foul ball--or striking out if they don't/can't fix the GPS
Click to expand...
I know it is a software problem, i know this because my gps worked perfectly until i flashed a new rom, it still works but its not nearly as good, now this doesnt bother me as i dont use the gps but it shows me that software has something to do with it
 
How do you know "it worked perfectly" given "i dont use the gps..."?

I suspect you did not use it enough to encounter issues. But, indeed, there are people who say it works fine for them. I wonder though if they are infrequent users or are using it occasionally--but not for the demanding applications like navigation.

I also have seen people who think they their phone is using GPS (because the store told them so, when actually it is using aGPS that never does achieve satellite connect, or using tower triangulation. I even had a rep in an actual ATT store swear to me a phone was "real GPS" until I had him get it to 'find itself,' and it located itself 3/4 mile away.

In fact, its GPS was locked to work only with the provider's pay nav app that was not turned on, and it was actually doing tower triangulation--all too frequently called "GPS" by people who don't know, or who want to snow you. People are incorrectly applying the "GPS" lable to ANY kind of geolocation technique.
 
movrshakr said:
How do you know "it worked perfectly" given "i dont use the gps..."?

I suspect you did not use it enough to encounter issues. But, indeed, there are people who say it works fine for them. I wonder though if they are infrequent users or are using it occasionally--but not for the demanding applications like navigation.

I also have seen people who think they their phone is using GPS (because the store told them so, when actually it is using aGPS that never does achieve satellite connect, or using tower triangulation. I even had a rep in an actual ATT store swear to me a phone was "real GPS" until I had him get it to 'find itself,' and it located itself 3/4 mile away.

In fact, its GPS was locked to work only with the provider's pay nav app that was not turned on, and it was actually doing tower triangulation--all too frequently called "GPS" by people who don't know, or who want to snow you. People are incorrectly applying the "GPS" lable to ANY kind of geolocation technique.
Click to expand...
i used it rarely to see if it worked, ive owned it since the day it came out so ive had plenty of time to test it. and no i didnt use agps, i would actually get better locks with it off. but yes gps isnt important to me, and i dont really use it, but i use gps test every now and then to see if it does lock. completely stock my phone would lock in 10-15 seconds. now its closer to a minute, but i still get a 10m accuracy. and to prove that my gps has worked i have used my tracks and tracks a 1 hour drive i had and it was dead on the entire time. so eventhough i dont use it i know it worked because i have used it
 
I agonized between the captivate and the iPhone 4, but when it was time to bite the bullet, I got the iPhone. I've been loving it as well. I wish it was a 3.8" Screen (there is just too much empty space on the top of the phone, not necessary apple) and I wish it was all aluminum instead of Glass (which looks beautiful but is an incredibly stupid design choice), but otherwise I've been more than satisfied.

The pixel density and resolution is absolutely amazing. I find my self just looking at the keyboard and being blown away by the lack of pixels. Then I look at my 2G iPod touch, and just can't stand all the little squares I can see! It's thin, its solid feeling, its small, I've jailbroken it and gotten it set up very nice and customized to my likings. I get free apps by the score, games are amazing. The camera is amazing, the Flash (and Flashlight) is clutch. The battery is great and charges super fast

The only thing I don't like is the keyboard, and the fact that I have to pay for Cydia apps. Seriously, Cydia sucks, but its just as necessary evil as the App store.

The thing about the iPhone is you have to understand its limitations and understand what you can do with it. If you accept Apple's design and software views, and aren't afraid to jailbreak (which makes the phone a billion times better) then its simply a great device. The multimedia (which was one of my number one priorities) is unmatched, and Android has nothing close to the iPod app.

I like Android, but the Captivate hardware wasn't sexy enough and I think Android is still too raw for me. iOS is what it is, but its much more cohesive

I don't regret it at all
 
Bootlace creators bringing Froyo to iPhone 4, iPad | Android Central

This is bullshizz...

I cannot go to work in the morning and face my iPhone coworkers. They will rip me apart. I've been waiting for Froyo to rescue me from non-flash, dhcp netmask, no-sd card writing hell and it will be on the f'ing iPhone 4 before mine.

Maybe I shoulda listened to them and gotten and iPhone 4...

...no wait, that is blasphemy! I shoulda just gotten anything but a Samsung.
 
CrimsonPride said:
froyo has been on the captivate for over a month
Click to expand...

Not as a official release.

But honestly, Froyo doesn't bring anything important to the table other than Flash, which I've learned to live without. I don't know why everyone is sitting around waiting for it.
 
btswein said:
Not as a official release.

But honestly, Froyo doesn't bring anything important to the table other than Flash, which I've learned to live without. I don't know why everyone is sitting around waiting for it.
Click to expand...
well froyo for the iphone will never be official. but flash isnt even the biggest thing for me which i originally thought it would be, its the JIT compiler. flash is very nice too cause i watch tv shows online but i like the other much more
 
I'm sure the Captivate will be absolutely awesome come froyo, I just think they are spending time to make sure it is acceptable and fix all the gps lag and problems :).
COming from someone that doesn't even have it yet.
:D
I'm optimistic on this. why would samsung ignore there most popular phone?
it seems like such a great phone and when official froyo comes the ROMS will be killer.
 
Notice the quote I quoted was "Froyo has been on the captivate for a month" which as a Official release hasn't happened, you guys gotta read before you jump on me. I wasn't referring to the iPhone, obviously that won't be official.

I have NO lag on my stock phone as it sits, and my GPS works fine. Froyo is a OS release by Google and is not going to fix the GPS issues that people are having, that is up to Samsung and Google's Navigation dept.
 
kennz said:
- iPhone4: Faster system and applications, no lag compared to Captivate. iphone win.
Click to expand...

They run about same speed once you uninstall the worthless AT&T junkwares with Titanium backup + Root. Same hardware specs after all. Agree with everything else you said.

Four things keep Captivate from the #1 smart phone.

1. Shitty GPS ( hopefully fixed within next update)
2. No camera flash or front facing camera for video calls.
3. Mediocre call quality, speaker could have been louder
4. Too much plastic, not as durable as the special glass on iphone4.

I really like the kickstand on EVO 4G, whoever came up with it is a genius. Hopefully they can put it on the next product.
 
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Aerodrifting said:
They run about same speed once you uninstall the worthless AT&T junkwares with Titanium backup + Root. Same hardware specs after all. Agree with everything else you said.

Four things keep Captivate from the #1 smart phone.

1. Shitty GPS ( hopefully fixed within next update)(i wonder if it is fixed in the later phones,only time i had a problem was right in toronto, surronded by tall buildings, other then that its quick and bang on)
2. No camera flash or front facing camera for video calls.(the little led flash does very little other then make for grainy out of fucus pictures)
3. Mediocre call quality, speaker could have been louder(HUH for real,call quility is awesome,speaker does lack volume)

4. Too much plastic, not as durable as the special glass on iphone4. (glass more durable then plastic,, since when,)

I really like the kickstand on EVO 4G, whoever came up with it is a genius. Hopefully they can put it on the next product.
Click to expand...
 
Finally delved in and bought a Captivate for me and a Blackberry Torch for my wife. I hope that my stinginess pays off. Seen lots on this thread about the pros and cons for each.

Looking through this thread, I feel like the iPhone 4 is probably better than the Captivate with regards to applications, screen sleekness and camera as well as the GPS. BUT, it's $200+ more expensive. Now, the iPhone 3gs upgraded to OS 4 would be much more competitive - especially if you also upgrade the Captivate to 2.2 and get a good working GPS.

I hope I made the right choice. Don't know if my wife will like the Torch though. We'll see.
 
I just noticed the 'too much plastic' comment, and I have to say, where? The Captivate in my hand right now has a solid metal back, a rim of plastic, and a very solid glass screen - where is there too much plastic??

I find the iPhone to be way too heavy, it's a damned brick!
 
reinbeau said:
I just noticed the 'too much plastic' comment, and I have to say, where? The Captivate in my hand right now has a solid metal back, a rim of plastic, and a very solid glass screen - where is there too much plastic??
Click to expand...

Not to mention, plastic doesn't have to mean cheap or low end. We've had some fairly expensive vehicles that had some plastic where the shape was complex, or it was a high wear area. I've got other high[er] end HT and audio electronics that use some plastic.

I think in a phone, it's a material choice that makes sense. Everyone I know with a i4 has is in some kind of plastic/rubber/etc., case, or some kind of printed vinyl protection _stickers_.

I'm assuming the people that are so obsessed with the material choice in a phone, are driving around in a Bentley and wearing a Ulysse Nardin. :D
 
movrshakr said:
How do you know "it worked perfectly" given "i dont use the gps..."?

I suspect you did not use it enough to encounter issues. But, indeed, there are people who say it works fine for them. I wonder though if they are infrequent users or are using it occasionally--but not for the demanding applications like navigation.

I also have seen people who think they their phone is using GPS (because the store told them so, when actually it is using aGPS that never does achieve satellite connect, or using tower triangulation. I even had a rep in an actual ATT store swear to me a phone was "real GPS" until I had him get it to 'find itself,' and it located itself 3/4 mile away.

In fact, its GPS was locked to work only with the provider's pay nav app that was not turned on, and it was actually doing tower triangulation--all too frequently called "GPS" by people who don't know, or who want to snow you. People are incorrectly applying the "GPS" lable to ANY kind of geolocation technique.
Click to expand...

I use my GPS to navigate. It worked flawlessly from day 1. Strangely, I used to get almost instant locks to Satellites, but recently it's taken 1-2mins instead of 10-15 secs. Not sure why this is.

I typically use GPS with charger in. But this weekend, since I was going only a short distance, I decided to use on battery only.

Lo and behold, my GPS had me a few blocks away. I had already arrived at my destination, but my GPS was "rerouting" me.

So I wonder if the folks that are reporting GPS issues have them because they are "off-charger, on battery only"?

To test that theory, that on-charger is needed for accuracy, I had to drive about 15 miles to an appt and put my Captivate on charger using Navigation. Lock took about 2mins, but once locked on, it was pinpoint accurate. Showed my car crossing a cross-street as I was crossing it.

Perhaps the flaw is that with the triple drain of 3g pulling the data maps and the GPS (satellites) and Network (triangulation) also needing juice, that the battery is not outputting juice fast enough to accommodate for all that drain and GPS tracking suffers as a result? Just a theory.

With your GPS probs, did you experience them on-charger? Or were the probs experienced on-battery?
 
btswein said:
But honestly, Froyo doesn't bring anything important to the table other than Flash, which I've learned to live without. I don't know why everyone is sitting around waiting for it.
Click to expand...

Because you're wrong, and there's a ton more to it than "just Flash".

Froyo - CapFAQ

Personally, I'm most anxious for the apps that require 2.2 and don't work on 2.1.
 
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