Hello, folks.
First, let me apologize in advance to moderators if there's a specific place to start these "new android user" threads.
Second, I'm sure everyone wants to know the circumstances which led me down the Android path.
I have an iPhone 3 GS, 32 GB. It has served me quite well over the past year and a half. I bought it as at the upgrade discount price in July of 09, jailbroke it, kept iOS 3.1.3 and abstained from any iOS updates during all this time. Since that time I was in smartphone heaven. My phone did exactly what I wanted it to do, and other than not being able to add attachments to my emails in a conventional manner, I never had any complaints
About two weeks ago, I shut down my phone, and when I restarted it, nothing happened. Soft bricked. I had to restore my phone, and was forced to upgrade to iOS 4.2. My jailbreak is gone, and my phone is running a little sluggishly. I am available for an upgrade, but even before a couple of weeks ago, I was interested in getting the iPhone 4. One problem. When I purchased my 3 GS, Even at the upgrade discount price ($300), I bought a case, a screen protector, and after purchasing an Apple Care package, I was out nearly $500. I wasn't prepared to do the same a year and a half later (because if I was gonna get the new iPhone, it was going to be the 32 GB model).
Upon the iOS 4.2 fiasco, I was confronted with the upgrade issue once again. Then, I asked myself:
Yes, the iPhone 4 has new features (well, new in the iPhone universe), and is a hardware upgrade, but it's still basically the same user interface. Do I really want to stare at iOS for another year and a half to two years? No, I don't. I'm bored with it.
Second, everyone has one, and yes, I understand it's a great phone, and unbelievably easy to use. I know this. But, I don't want to bah it up with the rest of the flock anymore. I don't want to be like everyone else. It's just part of my nature. Go against the grain and what not, and while it won't be the case in the future, I like that Android isn't absolutely everywhere you look. I also like that you need to work at making the Android experience enjoyable. I get that ultra nerd sense of accomplishment when I get my phone working the way I want it to.
So, I check out CNET, bring up their top phones for AT&T list, and see the Captivate. I check out the review, and the specs, and go digging around the interweb for additional info. I go to the AT&T store to play around with it, and of course, the demo model isn't going to be a very good representation of what the actual user experience will be, but I liked it, regardless.
AT&T has the phone at $199 at the upgrade discount price. I saw the Captivate at Wal Mart for $100. I decided I would hold off until after christmas to get my phone, because I would still need a microSD card, a case, a charger, and a screen protector.
I then see an advertisement on the net for Amazon. They're selling the Captivate for 1 cent (yes, .01 in American currency). I go to the Amazon Wireless site, but the 1 cent price is for new users only. For users available for an upgrade, the price is $40. After seeing another couple of good deals on Amazon, my girlfriend bought me the phone, a cheap case, car charger, and screen protector (which will be replaced a little later...I just wanted something to keep my phone from harm until I can get what I really want), and a 16 GB microSD card as my Christmas present, and all for $70.
My phone should be arriving early this coming week.
I'm going to be rooting my phone, along with flashing it with a custom ROM, so I think I can work my way through the common issues some users face with the Captivate.
My only concern is this: One of the things I loved about my iPhone is its battery life. Two to three hours of music a day (MP3's, not streaming), about an hour talk time, approximately fifty text messages, about twenty to thirty minutes of web browsing, and sometimes an hour or so of video, and at the end of a fourteen hour day, I have approximately thirty percent battery left.
I did have 3G off most of the time, same with location services (I only turned these on when I used GPS), and had my brightness down pretty low.
Can my Captivate provide the same experience? From my understanding, the only way to toggle between 3G and 2G is to change the settings through the dialer, and honestly, I'm okay with that. It appeals to my nerdiness, but can I still have the same multimedia use that I had with my iPhone? Does it have enough battery life to last the entire day with the usage described above?
I'll still have my 3GS of course, and can continue to use it as my MP3 player, but I liked having my phone and my music in one device, and if I can still avoid carrying two devices around, it would be great.
Please let me know your opinions, and thanks in advance.
***********UPDATE*******************
Just got my Captivate last night, and it has blown my skull apart. Beautiful screen, and even on the stock ROM, it's pretty snappy. The browsing experience is outstanding, and even the GPS works fine in my part of the world. I'll be rooting and flashing this weekend. Wish me luck! In your face, that particular company named after that fruit which allegedly reduces visits to a medical physician!
First, let me apologize in advance to moderators if there's a specific place to start these "new android user" threads.
Second, I'm sure everyone wants to know the circumstances which led me down the Android path.
I have an iPhone 3 GS, 32 GB. It has served me quite well over the past year and a half. I bought it as at the upgrade discount price in July of 09, jailbroke it, kept iOS 3.1.3 and abstained from any iOS updates during all this time. Since that time I was in smartphone heaven. My phone did exactly what I wanted it to do, and other than not being able to add attachments to my emails in a conventional manner, I never had any complaints
About two weeks ago, I shut down my phone, and when I restarted it, nothing happened. Soft bricked. I had to restore my phone, and was forced to upgrade to iOS 4.2. My jailbreak is gone, and my phone is running a little sluggishly. I am available for an upgrade, but even before a couple of weeks ago, I was interested in getting the iPhone 4. One problem. When I purchased my 3 GS, Even at the upgrade discount price ($300), I bought a case, a screen protector, and after purchasing an Apple Care package, I was out nearly $500. I wasn't prepared to do the same a year and a half later (because if I was gonna get the new iPhone, it was going to be the 32 GB model).
Upon the iOS 4.2 fiasco, I was confronted with the upgrade issue once again. Then, I asked myself:
Yes, the iPhone 4 has new features (well, new in the iPhone universe), and is a hardware upgrade, but it's still basically the same user interface. Do I really want to stare at iOS for another year and a half to two years? No, I don't. I'm bored with it.
Second, everyone has one, and yes, I understand it's a great phone, and unbelievably easy to use. I know this. But, I don't want to bah it up with the rest of the flock anymore. I don't want to be like everyone else. It's just part of my nature. Go against the grain and what not, and while it won't be the case in the future, I like that Android isn't absolutely everywhere you look. I also like that you need to work at making the Android experience enjoyable. I get that ultra nerd sense of accomplishment when I get my phone working the way I want it to.
So, I check out CNET, bring up their top phones for AT&T list, and see the Captivate. I check out the review, and the specs, and go digging around the interweb for additional info. I go to the AT&T store to play around with it, and of course, the demo model isn't going to be a very good representation of what the actual user experience will be, but I liked it, regardless.
AT&T has the phone at $199 at the upgrade discount price. I saw the Captivate at Wal Mart for $100. I decided I would hold off until after christmas to get my phone, because I would still need a microSD card, a case, a charger, and a screen protector.
I then see an advertisement on the net for Amazon. They're selling the Captivate for 1 cent (yes, .01 in American currency). I go to the Amazon Wireless site, but the 1 cent price is for new users only. For users available for an upgrade, the price is $40. After seeing another couple of good deals on Amazon, my girlfriend bought me the phone, a cheap case, car charger, and screen protector (which will be replaced a little later...I just wanted something to keep my phone from harm until I can get what I really want), and a 16 GB microSD card as my Christmas present, and all for $70.
My phone should be arriving early this coming week.
I'm going to be rooting my phone, along with flashing it with a custom ROM, so I think I can work my way through the common issues some users face with the Captivate.
My only concern is this: One of the things I loved about my iPhone is its battery life. Two to three hours of music a day (MP3's, not streaming), about an hour talk time, approximately fifty text messages, about twenty to thirty minutes of web browsing, and sometimes an hour or so of video, and at the end of a fourteen hour day, I have approximately thirty percent battery left.
I did have 3G off most of the time, same with location services (I only turned these on when I used GPS), and had my brightness down pretty low.
Can my Captivate provide the same experience? From my understanding, the only way to toggle between 3G and 2G is to change the settings through the dialer, and honestly, I'm okay with that. It appeals to my nerdiness, but can I still have the same multimedia use that I had with my iPhone? Does it have enough battery life to last the entire day with the usage described above?
I'll still have my 3GS of course, and can continue to use it as my MP3 player, but I liked having my phone and my music in one device, and if I can still avoid carrying two devices around, it would be great.
Please let me know your opinions, and thanks in advance.
***********UPDATE*******************
Just got my Captivate last night, and it has blown my skull apart. Beautiful screen, and even on the stock ROM, it's pretty snappy. The browsing experience is outstanding, and even the GPS works fine in my part of the world. I'll be rooting and flashing this weekend. Wish me luck! In your face, that particular company named after that fruit which allegedly reduces visits to a medical physician!
Last edited:
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