Having owned both an iPhone 3G and a 3Gs, I have to say I was looking forward to the release of the i4. However, what I saw on release day did not impress me. I saw no benefit to the i4 over the 3Gs.
That being said, I tried out the Captivate for a couple of weeks. After a learning curve with the Android opsys, I can say that any Android based phone allows you to do way more than iTunes and an iPhone ever will; given Apple's "walled garden" approach to user capabilities. Don't get me wrong, the whole Apple marketing and ease of use is a blessing to people who want it just to "work", hence its limited capabilites for expansion.
The Captivate (and the Galaxy S line as a whole) has known GPS issues, which may or not be fixed with the 2.2 Froyo update. I experienced this first hand; the device would not lock on, and if it did would often show me traveling on a road parallel to the actual one I was on! I was happy in general with the phone, but given Samsung's spotty reputation for product support, I was not going to wait past my 30 day trial period and be stuck in a 2 year contract with the hopes that Samsung would fix the issue.
I finally ended up with an Evo 4G, and I have to tell you: simply amazing. This is a handheld computer that makes phone calls also! There are a ton of great apps for Androids; and if you "root" the phone, it opens up a whole new world to you in regards to what you can do with the device. Sprint service is cheaper; I am getting the same unlimited data and text, with unlimited minutes (vs. 900 on AT&T) for 10 bucks cheaper a month. Like you, I was also concerned with their coverage. Sprint roams on Verizon, so coverage has not been an issue thus far. UPDATE: Sprint Customer Service sent me an Airvana to use at home for free, with no monthly cost.
Our plans are broken down with 6 EVOs as follows: 3 lines on the Everything Data Family - with Any Mobile, Anytime plan including 4G is $189.99 a month, and shares 3000 minutes. 3 more lines on the Simply Everything plan including 4G at $99.99 a month each, which is unlimited voice, data and text. This totals $489.96 a month before taxes.
A comparable program on AT&T would be broken down cost wise as follows: 3 lines sharing only 2100 minutes ($119.98) plus data for all 3 (which is NOT unlimited) is $25 for data per line, and $30 for 3 lines of unlimited text = $224.98. 3 more lines with unlimited talk, plus (limited) data & (unlimited) text is $114.99 per line for a total of $344.97. The 6 lines on AT&T would total $569.95 before taxes.
Differences: 900 minutes less talk time and limited data on the family plan for $34.99 more on AT&T vs. Sprint.
Limited data on the "unlimited" individual lines on AT&T vs. Sprint, at a cost of $45.00 more on per month AT&T.
Whatever you choose, I hope you are happy with it. I hope my experiences give you a little more information to make an informed decision.
