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Olympus vs Captivate.. my plan.

Snow_Fox

Snow_Fox

Android Expert
So... I am not due for an update till feb.. however, when we went into the at&t store.. the lady said she could "push it through" and sure enough she managed to.

Unfortunately the flight II has quirky battery life which is a deal breaker considering its not a smartphone.. I'm not gunna carry a cable around for something that isn't using up lots of juice for a good reason.

So now.. if she can push it through again.. I am hoping that a data plan may be an option for me where it is currently not.

The captivate is currently at&ts star line up... however, the motorola olympus is looming on the horizon.

One thing that keeps bugging me.. is the olympus is suppose to be a real superstar as far as phone's go. Supposedly best battery life and most powerful phone yet..

However, I've been following at&t and android for a while now.. and I'm really worried. Just like "5 devices by the end of Q2"... I am worried the olympus could end up being either A. really pushed back.. or B. the rumors could just be crap.

So.. I am thinking... since CES is so close anyway... if I can go ahead and get a data plan.. I will pick up the captivate... and I have 30 days to swap it out/get a new phone should I choose to do so.

If the olympus is released, I will switch over.. if it gets a solid release date within a month.. I will cancel the upgrade if needed and wait.

If no solid release date is given and nothing is announced by the end of my 30 days.. I will stick with captivate.

I want the olympus and the idea of amazing battery life + serious power is highly appealing.

However, given the history on this topic.. and the fact that I build computers.. I know how tech works..

Intel was suppose to release fermi around christmas.. I waited till over june just to see if they would at least push ATI's prices down.. didn't even dent the prices 6 months later.

And while for us consumers.. june seems like forever away... The truth is at&t hasn't been very serious about android so far, and there is a lot of politics up in the air at the moment..

So.. any real reason to not just go with captivate and switch if possible later?

I mean.. I've been waiting on a new phone or a few months now..words no longer really express my annoyance with my lg neon.. and lets face it..

For all we know.. the olympus could be 400$ WITH an upgrade... which is well out of my price range for a phone with an upgrade... without upgrade? sure 400$ no bigge... with upgrade? your not getting over 200$ from me.
 
Honestly, I would just wait. The HTC Inspire or the Olympus would be so much better than the alternatives. If you waited this long, I would just keep waiting. I believe I have been waiting for a good Android phone for AT&T for a little over a year and a half (should have purchased the AT&T band Nexus One) and it looks like I finally might purchase my first Android phone (unless you count putting Froyo on an iPhone 3G).
 
lol...

I am a serious over clocker.

I've learned the hard way when to hold and when to fold.

Your talking about two phone's that may not be out for a while.

I don't "need" a phone for school.. but, This is gunna be my first android I've ever gotten.

I would really like to have whatever phone I'm getting BEFORE jan 18th. I don't "need" it for school... but, the reason I originally got into android was for the whole benefit of productivity and well ease of mind. Instead of having to boot my desktop up every morning and manage everything.. email, check weather.. try to check traffic ect ect. before driving 40 miles and getting hit in freezing rain without an umbrella or jacket... With a phone its all there.. I can have everything I want right on widgets as I roll out of bed.

I have been using my lg neon for a long time and I'm sick of it.. more than sick of it.. My e71x was amazing till it got killed in a freak accident.

I held out for over 6 months for fermi.. and nvidia royally ****ed me.. They didn't even release anything impressive enough to drop the ati prices... Luckily the 6870's came out a while later and were epic enough..

I am not really holding my breath that much any more.

The fact that I even have an opportunity to get the captivate is amazing.. If the olympus doesn't come out within a month (which according to my plan would allow me to get it) I may lose the opportunity to get the captivate anyway :/ the person who handles the phone bill isn't exactly "stable" when it comes to what is "ok" and whats "not".

Also.. I am not trying to diss you or anything... I understand waiting.. I did for computer parts..

But, man.. for a year and a half.. you missed out on an upgrade :/.. in some ways that cost you money right there.. upgrades are "free" and you haven't used one.. you could be getting another by now.

I'm not going to pretend I've waited as long as you.. but, patients is not always a good virtue in this particular game.

I want to have the better phone I can get.. Not denying that.. But, I also think there are unrealistically high expectations for olympus...

And at the end of the day.. its a tool. I own it, it doesn't own me.

If it is out before the end of the 30 days.. WONDERFUL! if not..

Then, for 30's I'll have already been using/enjoying a solid phone.

We are still holding our breath at&t won't end up putting it off till june..

I mean my brother got the 5870 relatively shortly after it came out.. by the time fermi came out.. he had been enjoying a better card for like 6 months..

Plus.. there are cost of early adoption to phone's like olympus.. how soon do you think the otterbox defender series will be out? It would be a long time to go and no telling what cases/screen protectors will be out before it gets dinged to hell and back..

I actually had 550$ in hand a year ago to pay full price for N1 with at&t bands.. but, again.. the person who handles the bills is a bit.. flaky.. oh well.. N1 did have problems that I wasn't comfortable with anyway.. (burn in ftl)

*Edit*

Also.. hummingbird is still in the developers phone... so for at least one more year.. its going to be "standard" even if not "above average" which is really more than you can ask for.

no telling what kind of debacle the olympus could end up having..
 
Well, I did not miss out on an upgrade but rather purchased different iPhones. Better resale value and not as many issues as AT&T's previous Android lineup.
 
capitanbuzo said:
Well, I did not miss out on an upgrade but rather purchased different iPhones. Better resale value and not as many issues as AT&T's previous Android lineup.
Click to expand...

Ah that makes sense.

I should just get an IP4 and then sell it.. I could afford whatever comes out..
 
I just know that I can sell my iPhone 4 32GB for over $300 but I plan on keeping it as an iPod Touch and probably using a microsim adapter for the Atrix.
 
if The IP4 is 32 gig and in good condition you can probably get at lest 550$ for it

300$ is the price WITH an upgrade..

full price is like 700$ almost..
 
Snow_Fox said:
if The IP4 is 32 gig and in good condition you can probably get at lest 550$ for it

300$ is the price WITH an upgrade..

full price is like 700$ almost..
Click to expand...

I was thinking of my iPhone 3GS that I had sold once I purchased my iPhone 4. That's a my bad.
 
No worries, I would have just been alarmed if you had gotten ripped off..

You seem pretty on top of the game.

Now that atrix has been offically released.. I am really wishing I was a more patient person... but, there are still a lot of variables that could easily go sour making the wait frivilous.

There are cons to waiting too. >.<
 
Snow_Fox said:
No worries, I would have just been alarmed if you had gotten ripped off..

You seem pretty on top of the game.

Now that atrix has been offically released.. I am really wishing I was a more patient person... but, there are still a lot of variables that could easily go sour making the wait frivilous.

There are cons to waiting too. >.<
Click to expand...

If the HTC Was out, I wouldn't say it was an issue but the Captivate just has a horrible background. Logistically, I do not see the purpose in purchasing a phone when the successor was just announced.
 
capitanbuzo said:
If the HTC Was out, I wouldn't say it was an issue but the Captivate just has a horrible background. Logistically, I do not see the purpose in purchasing a phone when the successor was just announced.
Click to expand...


By the end of Q1 doesn't mean any of these are coming out for sure in q1.

Even if at&t is about to lose iphone exclusivity which may or may not happen.

They still have till june most likley before it is fully out of their hands.

That gives them 6 months.. to run the game at their own pace.

Could I wait to grab an atrix or HTC?

If I knew for sure I would get it by the end of feb.. maybe.

But, I am starting school back up.

I do love gadgets and high end specs.. and all the toys and everything else.

But, I view smartphones a tool to make my life easier. I view android as ahead of the game with weather widgets and other stuff I can all access as soon as I unlock my phone.

If there is a more powerful phone for the same price am I going to get it?

Abso freaken lutely.

But, I want my new phone before the end of Q1.

Not in april when school is already 2/3rds over :/

And sadly if they are losing the iphone exclusivity... I can see all this stuff really popping out in april.

Why april? they will be 30 days too late to sign that IP5 contract with verizon..

And yes, I realize the captivate is a horribly flawed phone..

However, it and the aria are the best released at&t has had from what I've heard.. the motorola devices are all borderline nameless..

A bunch of developer work is more than a lot of these phone's have had.

A very possible scenerio is that Atrix is flawed as hell and released in april.

It takes till june for all of the kinks to be "worked out" by devs.

and by that point. School is over..
 
Not trying to sway you in any direction. Captivate is a great phone, Hummingbird is among the top single-core processors out there and will probably be relevant for at least 2 years now that the developer phone employs it. It can be easily rooted and there are many ROMs available.

Just found that video impressive and randomly decided to post it here.
 
I doubt I would ever use the portable laptop part.. but, that is cool..

I doubt I would ever connect it to a monitor.

It is really cool it can do all that and 11 hours of wifi browsing sounds like a dream come true.

I'd kill for a solid release date..
 
Snow_Fox said:
By the end of Q1 doesn't mean any of these are coming out for sure in q1.

Even if at&t is about to lose iphone exclusivity which may or may not happen.

They still have till june most likley before it is fully out of their hands.

That gives them 6 months.. to run the game at their own pace.

Could I wait to grab an atrix or HTC?

If I knew for sure I would get it by the end of feb.. maybe.

But, I am starting school back up.

I do love gadgets and high end specs.. and all the toys and everything else.

But, I view smartphones a tool to make my life easier. I view android as ahead of the game with weather widgets and other stuff I can all access as soon as I unlock my phone.

If there is a more powerful phone for the same price am I going to get it?

Abso freaken lutely.

But, I want my new phone before the end of Q1.

Not in april when school is already 2/3rds over :/

And sadly if they are losing the iphone exclusivity... I can see all this stuff really popping out in april.

Why april? they will be 30 days too late to sign that IP5 contract with verizon..

And yes, I realize the captivate is a horribly flawed phone..

However, it and the aria are the best released at&t has had from what I've heard.. the motorola devices are all borderline nameless..

A bunch of developer work is more than a lot of these phone's have had.

A very possible scenerio is that Atrix is flawed as hell and released in april.

It takes till june for all of the kinks to be "worked out" by devs.

and by that point. School is over..
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The HTC phone has been completed for months. That could come out anytime. I know a smartphone increases productivity but you also have to figure if you waited 6 months already and see something better on the not-so-distant horizon, is it worth buying something old just to be disappointed soon? You can do what you like but AT&T will likely announce the release dat of the HTc phone by January 27th so, if it were me, I would wait till then.
 
While you are making a lot of sense..

Unfortunately "release date by jan 27th" means it could be another 2 months before I get a phone.

While you are right.. there is a possibility I will settle now and be disappointed later.

There is a possibility that in 2 months after I finally have my phone.. I will be disappointed with whatever came out.. and I'll have lost 2 months waiting on it.. plus another 2 months before decent roms come out.

Thats 4 months I could have just rooted and been done with the captivate and gotten use out of it.

I am seriously considering your advice and waiting, and you do make a alot of sense.. I am not going to deny this.

However similar situations with graphics cards come out all the time.

A good graphics card comes out.
Wait 6 months on competition.
Competition is so disappointing the graphics card that has already been out 6 months doesn't even drop in price!

Last round my brother got his 5870 before 6 months or more before the competition released their answer to his card.

Sure.. they had a faster card.. but, my brother was on top 6 months. AND even after there was competition.. his card was still cooler AND more energy efficient...

I am also worried that the atrix may actually for once be a non iphone on at&t that is going to not be able to keep up with demand.. that could be another issue...
 
Even if you purchase the Captivate, you have 30 days to return it (you can always unroot it and put stock ROM back onto it).

If you purchase it and the HTC you want drops within 30 days (which is possible as it is rumored for early Feb), then you can exchange it.

Personally, I think that the Captivate is a great phone. Especially if you have intention to root it and install different firmwares. I've heard good things about Darky's Gingerbread ROM for Galaxy S.
 
Snow_Fox said:
While you are making a lot of sense..

Unfortunately "release date by jan 27th" means it could be another 2 months before I get a phone.

While you are right.. there is a possibility I will settle now and be disappointed later.

There is a possibility that in 2 months after I finally have my phone.. I will be disappointed with whatever came out.. and I'll have lost 2 months waiting on it.. plus another 2 months before decent roms come out.

Thats 4 months I could have just rooted and been done with the captivate and gotten use out of it.

I am seriously considering your advice and waiting, and you do make a alot of sense.. I am not going to deny this.

However similar situations with graphics cards come out all the time.

A good graphics card comes out.
Wait 6 months on competition.
Competition is so disappointing the graphics card that has already been out 6 months doesn't even drop in price!

Last round my brother got his 5870 before 6 months or more before the competition released their answer to his card.

Sure.. they had a faster card.. but, my brother was on top 6 months. AND even after there was competition.. his card was still cooler AND more energy efficient...

I am also worried that the atrix may actually for once be a non iphone on at&t that is going to not be able to keep up with demand.. that could be another issue...
Click to expand...

The difference between the 5870 and the 400 series and waiting for a new Android phone from AT&T is that AT&T has already announced the new phones. You can go ahead and get th Captivate and root it. It will be nice but, personally, I would rather wait 4 months more and have a phone I would be pleased with rather than be stuck with something old. I am not going to argue that the Captivate is the best current Android phone for AT&T but it has too many drawbacks for me (the lack of a camera flash is terrible. I never carry a camera on me so I rely on my phones flash despite the subpar flash quality).
 
capitanbuzo said:
The difference between the 5870 and the 400 series and waiting for a new Android phone from AT&T is that AT&T has already announced the new phones. You can go ahead and get th Captivate and root it. It will be nice but, personally, I would rather wait 4 months more and have a phone I would be pleased with rather than be stuck with something old. I am not going to argue that the Captivate is the best current Android phone for AT&T but it has too many drawbacks for me (the lack of a camera flash is terrible. I never carry a camera on me so I rely on my phones flash despite the subpar flash quality).
Click to expand...

The problem is your assuming you will be pleased.. you could wait 4 months and still be disappointed..

@hustlin..

The atrix can do some really really cool things.. even if I would never use them... battery life of 11 hours on wifi is a HUGE seller to me..

it is just with the atrix being the first dual core phone.. no telling if its going to have a million different bugs or overheating issues.
 
Yeah I have no idea what problems would come with a dual core phone. My phone does get hot with a single-core Snapdragon when clocked at 1GHz (after playing a game for a long time or something intense like that).

1GB of RAM is quite impressive (thats probably more than I'd need on current Android). The highest resolution of any Android device (4" 960x540) tho I don't really see much difference between my sisters iPhone (3.5" 960x640) and my Liquid (3.5" 800x480), front-facing camera is interesting (tho I probably wouldn't use it much), HDMI out that can display the entire screen instead of just multimedia is quite interesting as well.

After looking into it, I'm gonna wait until a powerful Android device that supports AT&T's LTE comes out.
 
I actually like the idea of a front facing camera since my girlfriend has IP4 and it could allow us to video chat on the go.. since we are gunna both have busy schedules coming up.

Personally I have and will continue to make fun of people who "NEED" a front facing camera just because the IP4 has one.. but, it would be cool.

However, I'm really scared if I get the dual core.. and push it.. bad things will happen.. I mean.. its hard and well pointless to have the power to do something and not do it.

And unlike my laptop.. phones act a bit wierder when you take out the batteries.. So excessive heat could kill bat fast.

And people like to pretend these releases will be perfect.. but, until we see some solid reviews.. it is gunna be a gamble just about no matter what.

So.. It could be fermi all over again.

Tegra 2 could show up 6 months late, and hot (in a bad way).

Early adopts always gamble more than anyone else.. and in this game if your not early.. your already looking at something better coming out.

If I'm not gunna have LTE I don't know how much point there is on waiting another year when I need a phone now..

No easy answer either way...

BLEEEHHH.

Want Atrix... scared its gunna go crazy on me.

TBH nothing out there besides atrix is even tempting..

Lets just say they do get a 1.2 mhz processor that becomes standard in the next 3 months.

Well there will be a 1.5 by mid year or end year..

Solid release dates at this time are what really count more than anything else..
 
Snow_Fox said:
I actually like the idea of a front facing camera since my girlfriend has IP4 and it could allow us to video chat on the go.. since we are gunna both have busy schedules coming up.

Personally I have and will continue to make fun of people who "NEED" a front facing camera just because the IP4 has one.. but, it would be cool.

However, I'm really scared if I get the dual core.. and push it.. bad things will happen.. I mean.. its hard and well pointless to have the power to do something and not do it.

And unlike my laptop.. phones act a bit wierder when you take out the batteries.. So excessive heat could kill bat fast.

And people like to pretend these releases will be perfect.. but, until we see some solid reviews.. it is gunna be a gamble just about no matter what.

So.. It could be fermi all over again.

Tegra 2 could show up 6 months late, and hot (in a bad way).

Early adopts always gamble more than anyone else.. and in this game if your not early.. your already looking at something better coming out.

If I'm not gunna have LTE I don't know how much point there is on waiting another year when I need a phone now..

No easy answer either way...

BLEEEHHH.

Want Atrix... scared its gunna go crazy on me.

TBH nothing out there besides atrix is even tempting..

Lets just say they do get a 1.2 mhz processor that becomes standard in the next 3 months.

Well there will be a 1.5 by mid year or end year..

Solid release dates at this time are what really count more than anything else..
Click to expand...

Get the ATRIX they have been testing the tegra for almost two years its gonna be fine :)
 
Lol..

Your still assuming even if hardware is fine software is gunna be on par.

We could get borked software with a tough as nails bootloader..

Meaning we can't fix whats wrong with an otherwise simple root.

Plus, NEVER understimate overheating issues..

2 years is a long time to test.. but, don't ever underestimate corporate pressure..

I think I'm not the only person who would kill to hear a solid release date.
 
The encrypted bootloader is more than just bugfixes/ROMs. That bootloader would be a MAJOR problem once Motorola decides to stop supporting the phone. The day they decide to stop issuing OS updates, you will be SOL. Just ask owners of the Cliq XT and all those other little crappy MOTOBLUR devices.
 
Well the reason I mention the bugs is because, as much as everyone loves to be unhappy about the captivate.

The devs managed to fix the major issues.

Just imagine if they COULDN'T.

What if the atrix has a problem that is easily fixed but, we are spending the next 6 months trying to just figure out how to root it.

I am not saying no one would try.. but, as much as they have invested in that phone.. if they want it locked.. I have a feeling they will have invested some hefty cash in R&D on how to keep it that way.

And in some ways I can see why motorola would WANT it locked.. I mean its their most powerful device yet, so I am sure they want to maintain every bit of power they can.
 
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