a couple of quick questions from a new captivate owner.

kampk117

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Jan 5, 2011
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Hi everyone! Just purchased a new captivate and i like it very much. I had a couple of quick questions.

1) Is there anywhere online you can download the OFFICIAL user manual to see all of the phones capabilities? After multiple google searches i have come up empty.

2) Once connected to the PC, is there a "safe" way (i.e. eject) the phone from the computer; or do you just simply unplug it? I simply unplugged it after not being able to locate an eject option. This didnt hurt the phone; did it?

3) Any other suggestions/tips/tricks?

thanks for the help everyone!
 
slappy: thanks for the reply. I wasnt in mass storage mode, i was first in media player mode and there was no option to eject. Simply unplugging it didnt mess anything up, did it?
 
Thank you! If i just bought the phone, does it have 2.1, or 2.2? Is the upgrade of 2.2 worth it? How complicated is it to do? And what exactly is Samsung Kies?
 
Captivates come stock with Android 2.1.
The update to 2.2 is not that important if you are fully functional. Sooner or later the OTA update to 2.2 will come to your phone, but if you are looking to root your phone, there are custom ROMs available. Get to know and love your phone first though, and if you never run into a reason to root, continue to enjoy it. While not complicated, it does void your warranty (technically) and does carry the POSSIBILITY of ruining your phone. The more you learn about it though, it seems pretty easy to disguise the fact if you ever need warranty coverage, and these phones seem hard to "brick". But the risk IS there.

Samsung Kies is how Samsung pushes out updates... it is an interface between your computer and your phone. You can probably forget it exists, and never need worry about it again. I have never run it.
 
lora: thanks for the simple advice. That's what im looking for. Im sorry im so full of questions; im just always very cautious when i get a new phone to do anything to them because they're so expensive.

I have another question. After connecting it to the computer and clicking on Kies on the phone menu, the computer tried to go to install wizard but i told it not to, so i dont think it downloaded anything. However, now, under "software update" on the phone, it has "resume update" as an option, where as i dont think it was available before. Have i done something wrong or has this option always been available and i just didn't notice?

Also, when i texted free google (46645 or whatever the number is). It responded, but it didnt put the response in proper thread order. (I.e. i searched weather. And it responded with the weather for my area and then my search entry in the message thread...) Sorry guys, im just worried...

Also, i turned the phone off and back on twice simultaneously and noticed it drained the battery from 90% to 86%; have I done something to the battery, or am i simply worrying too much? (i think i know the answer to this...lol)
 
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ATT is probably pushing you out an update... not 2.2 Android, but there are sometimes little fixes they push out. You can safely ignore that, or tell it to resume. Either way, you will eventually get it.

There is a long standing bug in SMS for Android when messages come in at the same minute time-stamp. What you see is that bug. I think if you install something like Handcent (SMS app), you can get rid of that. You should only notice it when you have more than one message in the same minute.

Try not to pay too close attention to the battery percentage. Modern electronics do some voodoo with the battery to avoid it wearing out before its time. These things they do make the first bit of the battery drain faster, and the latter parts of the battery drain slower... don't get stuck counting minutes and percentages. Waste of your time.

If you are new to smart phones, you will have to reconcile yourself to less battery life than you had before. Solve this by plugging it in where available- have a cord at the office, one at home, and plug it in while in the car. That usually solves the problem. If you are a heavy user (or become one), you may want to grab a spare battery.

Battery technology is not essentially different than the lead-acid battery in your car. It has seriously lagged behind compared to the rest of our tech. We are overdue for a battery revolution... meanwhile, do the best you can and don't sweat the small stuff.
 
thank you so much for responding and not writing me off. I truly appreciate it. Im not new to smart phones (i had a bold, centro, blackjack, etc) prior to this...i just am nervous to do anything with phones when i first get them. So would you reccommend i go ahead and resume update? Is the "resume update" option always available? and the google 411 thing is normal?
 
I would resume, yeah. It is not always available. Only, I presume, when an update was started and interrupted somehow. Usually there is just the CHECK FOR UPDATES button, that never has the update :).

I have not used the text to google thing before, but the bug is normal. I don't see it anymore, now that I use Handcent for SMS, but that is common. Hopefully resolved soon.

There are some very nice weather widgets you can get that might make it easier even than sending a SMS for a weather report :). Beautiful Widgets has a very nice 4x1 weather widget I like.
 

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