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Samsung to CNET: Promises update for Captivate GPS issues

T

thindery

Well-Known Member
Have a look at:
Samsung promises update for Vibrant and Captivate GPS issue | Android Atlas - CNET Blogs

"We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible."

While it's not a specific date, I see this comment as better than some tech support guy's word or a quick tweet we've seen over the last week.

I'm still finding it remarkable that Galaxy S phones in Europe had this problem for MONTHS before they made it to the States. Yet, the same problem continued over here. I think it shows really two major flaws in Samsung:

1. Lack of dedicated commitment to resolve issues with consumer cell phones. Months of problems in Europe - still no fix.
2. Lack of quality control. They basically had a heads up that GPS didn't work on the same phones, yet they did absolutely nothing to check/prevent the issue in US.

So does hearing this news change your mind about returning the phone in your 30 days?
 
Nice way to put it...

I'm looking at this as a HARDWARE purchase, like a PC...

The underlying hardware is BAD@SS, so it can only get better from there!

T
 
I can't comment on the greener grass comment - but I am taking mine back to find if the iphone is better for me/my needs/wants.

I have no doubt that the problem(s) will be addressed and fixed. But I am not willing to stick my neck out and blow my 30 day free return to find out when.

One thing that keeps me wondering is this, there are MANY android phones, and android, while not far behind IS behind apple - I have NO doubt they will catch up.

My gut feeling is this, I can live with the captivate, if fixed, but I need to know what the other alternatives are before making that choice - and trying an iphone - is the only way for me to make the best decision for me (I have never had ANY smart phones before).

I think the next batch of android phones, coupled with 2 more upgrades to the OS and all will be great on this side of the grass - but that is a guess/hunch, and I again, I can't throw away $200 to find out if I was right or wrong (and about 18 months before I can get a new phone).
 
Jack45 said:
Keeping it. The grass is not greener elsewhere...and Captivate's own grass will get even greener.
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My feelings exactly. If there was a better option, I'd probably take it. But with Froyo, its potentially insane speeds on the Captivate, AND the gps fix/update, this phone is destined for greatness...And it's pretty close already...

Samsung's announcement pretty much assured that I wouldn't be returning the device. I have confidence that this will be resolved.
 
Ditto.

Will exchange friday for a replacement, but sticking with the Cappy...

Until something nicer/better/faster comes along :D

T
 
Unfortunately, an "update" doesn't narrow anything down. That's PR double-talk. In a month, an "update" could be a simple announcement that it's a hardware limitation that will be addressed in the Galaxy S2.
 
I'm returning mine if there is no real fix before my 30days are up. Considering that the test app shows only a small number of satellites receiving at low S/N levels, I have my very serious doubts this is a software issue. Considering how wildly wireless reception fluctuates on the craptivate (hasn't dropped a call, or had data transmission probs, in fact, it's *fast*), I wouldn't be surprised if there are antenna issues with the GPS. I'm happy to go back to 'old reliable' (bold 9700) until ATT has a solid android device for me.
 
razholio said:
I'm returning mine if there is no real fix before my 30days are up. Considering that the test app shows only a small number of satellites receiving at low S/N levels, I have my very serious doubts this is a software issue. Considering how wildly wireless reception fluctuates on the craptivate (hasn't dropped a call, or had data transmission probs, in fact, it's *fast*), I wouldn't be surprised if there are antenna issues with the GPS. I'm happy to go back to 'old reliable' (bold 9700) until ATT has a solid android device for me.
Click to expand...

I haven an feeling the gps issue wont be fixed anytime soon, i had an replacement the gps worked flawlessly then just started to crap out. Sounds like an hardware issue to me , i dont imagine them doing an recall with the captivate
 
alphadog00 said:
Keeping mine. Every phone has its own issues - depends which ones you want to deal with.
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Exactly. My wireless network/wifi GPS works perfectly fine for all the apps that require location.

I still want GPS to be fixed but I'm not going to jump ship just because Google Maps shows my location as across the street.
 
It's definitely a software/firmware/driver issue. The reason I believe this is because when you load the i9000 rom the GPS works almost perfectly. It appears that some people notice degradation after a few days but reloading the rom again seems to make it work better again. To me, this suggests a memory leak of sorts or an issue with the hardware getting stuck by something in the system.

Samsung is really aiming high with the Galaxy S series so it would not make sense for them to ignore this issue.
 
This is a tough call, glad to hear that Samsung is publicly acknowledging it, but it does worry me that it could be an unfixable hardware issue. In reality though to my knowledge iOS does not have free GPS and thats where I came from. I wish and hope it would work, but I havent used it before and could go on without it.
 
Intervenient said:
Returning it. I'll buy an iPhone, sell it in a year, and see if a new, better Android offering is out next year.
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That is a thought I have as well. I do admit one concern on this thought process though.

Apple releases a phone and tweaks it for what a year or more?

With so many Android phones there is a better one almost every couple weeks (exaggeration).

I wonder if ATT has people over a barrel? They offer I think, 3 android phones, and many just don't like the HTC (too small) or the backflip just not too good. So that leaves it as iphone or Captivate - I wonder if ATT had say 8 different Android options how it would work out?
 
evodon84 said:
This is a tough call, glad to hear that Samsung is publicly acknowledging it, but it does worry me that it could be an unfixable hardware issue. In reality though to my knowledge iOS does not have free GPS and thats where I came from. I wish and hope it would work, but I havent used it before and could go on without it.
Click to expand...


Honestly I don't know if your statement is correct or not, but I was running google maps on both - (preloaded on the iphone).
 
Iphone has no free navigation. It has gps and gmaps but definitly does not have a free turn by turn navigation program.
 
Yea i wish att had the android options that vzw has. If the droidx or droid incred were on att i would jump on those in an heartbeat. Aria is nice an bit small and underpowered. The captivate would be an very good phone if there wasnt lag out of box and didnt have the gps issues
 
mongstradamus said:
Yea i wish att had the android options that vzw has. If the droidx or droid incred were on att i would jump on those in an heartbeat. Aria is nice an bit small and underpowered. The captivate would be an very good phone if there wasnt lag out of box and didnt have the gps issues
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I rooted mine and took out all the bloatware and dont see any lag. I should not I came from an iphone4 also
 
reno55 said:
I rooted mine and took out all the bloatware and dont see any lag. I should not I came from an iphone4 also
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I was referring to phones that arent rooted and havent applied lag fix. For regular consumer , i dont think they will root an device and apply fix, they want it to work right out of the box. If you try to run twitter or browser its rather slow , you have to run lag fix to make those apps usable imo
 
I think I'm going to keep mine. I have the GPS working fairly good with the tweaks. I've rooted it and removed the bloatware, so it's seems to run better. I just ordered a new 16gb class 6 card, so I'm hoping that will smooth out the access times to the external car.
I came from a iphone 3gs and iP4 (3 weeks), the iP4 had way to many problems and it really wasn't that much of an update from the 3gs except some hardware additions. The only thing I miss about the iphone 4 is the battery. I was getting 12 hours usage with 24 hours standby.
 
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