I currently I have an iphone4 and just bought a Captivate. Now keep in mind when I say doesn't work, whether it's a phone issue or an app issue, at the end of the day, it doesn't work or needs to be tinkered to get it to work. Also, if there are ways to do stuff that I say can't be done, please let me know. So here's my comparison:
Build Quality:
The iPhone4 does feel like it's more sturdy and that it has a better build quality, but the Captivate is definitely good too. What I find is that since I have slightly smaller hands, it's harder to hold the Captivate in your palm and use your thumb specially if you have to drag the notification window down. Of course this is a funny little personal problem but may apply to others in the same boat.
Usability:
I find navigation is better on the iPhone 4 overall because it's more "simple" which is also the negative part. You definitely can't do as much with it as you can with the Captivate. iPhone4 keeps it simple and clean, but with the Captivate you have a lot more options which is why it can "Feel" complicated but with customization you can make it look any way you want. The one thing is that it does feel a little "slug-ish" moving around on the Captivate and it still does lag a little even after applying the fix, so maybe I'm doing something wrong.
Browsing:
Now many may disagree, but the fact of the matter is that "stock" browsing cannot be beat on the iPhone4. Maybe 2.2 will change that or other browsers, i.e. Opera Mobile/Firefox will give it the edge, but the stock browser sucks ***. Numerous sites don't show properly and you have to fiddle with it, If you use Opera Mini as an alternative, it's either full zoom in or full zoom out, Dolphin is garbage, skyfire is too new. iPhone4 browser is easy, fast, and very user friendly. It's not perfect mind you, but WAY better than any mobile browser I've seen so far. I do love Opera Mobile beta however, so I'm REALLY hoping that comes out and also curious to see how Firefox does. Little things like hitting the top on the browser to automatically jump the page to the top, easy copy/paste, things like that easy beat Captivate browsing.
Email:
Oh boy, do I have some gripe here. So first of all, both the iPhone4 and the Captivate have a minimum of 15 mins. for email frequency check time which is annoying. I don't care about data usage as I have a 6 gig plan so I should be allowed to set it much lower at least. I do know it drains the battery more. but at least the iPhone4 has an option to set email to Push which is nice not to mention that I don't seem to get the emails as fast as the iphone 4.
Also, email deletes are much slower on the Captivate, not sure why. On top of that, you can't seem (unless I just don't know how) to move an email from a folder to another. For example, if I happen to get an email from a legit address but it goes into my spam/bulk folder, you can't select it and move it back to your Inbox, like wtf? Also, I can't seem to find a way to change the default so that I don't always have to hit the stupid "show pictures" button in an email that has images. I just want the images to show automatically.
Also, I can't view attachments that are in my trash, again, not sure why. One example was I deleted a couple of emails with attachments and when I went to my trash to see what the attachments were, I couldn't view them.
Yet, another nuisance is there is no attachment download "progress" bar or anything like that. For example, if you get like a 6 MB attachment and try to save/open it, it says "Fetching" and sits there. You have no idea how much is complete or if it's stuck. At least on the iPhone4 it tells you how xx/xx kb downloaded.
Camera:
So this is a little interesting to compare. Yes, the iPhone4 has a Flash, BUT as long as there is even a little bit of light, the Captivate will take a GREAT picture. The camera itself is better on the Captivate in my opinion, BUT the screen on the iPhone4 displays the image better. When you do a side by side comparison, you can see a bit of pixellation on the Captivate, but because the screen is so vibrant and the contract ratio is so much better (not to mention the bigger screen), the image comes out much nicer. The Gallery is WAY cooler on the Captivate which I really like, especially since you can sort by date or storage media, etc.
The 720p HD Video Capture quality is also much better on the Captivate. Having said this, there is a HUGE negative that I am completely not impressed with on the Captivate, and that is that you cannot use your camera/camcorder while on a call. I don't know whether it's a Phone or App restriction, but that is completely stupid. There's definitely a lot of instances I use this in. A LOT as a matter of fact. Say you're on a call at a lounge and want to take a picture and send it to your significant other, etc., you can't. You have to hang up, take the shot, then call back. Really stupid. Android/Samsung really messed this one up and I hope it gets fixed.
Customization:
There is no competition here. Captivate just blows the iPhone4 away. The iPhone4 is VERY limited in what you do to it even with Jailbreaking. Everything from Widgets, to custom layouts, Facebook and Twitter integration (especially with a different launcher), grid view of your contacts, etc. the list goes on and on, the Captivate is just way superior.
Apps:
So yes, the App store has WAY more apps, but the Google Market is quickly catching up and keep in mind, # of apps doesn't equate to quality. The Google market has many apps that are integrated and native on the phone. For example, the navigation that comes with the Captivate is MUCH better and cooler than the iPhone4 "maps" apps. For something similar to that on the iPhone4, you'd have to go buy it from the App store. I thought I was going to have a lot of trouble with apps on the Captivate because of the wide variety available on the App store, but everything that is actually useful and needed is available on the Google market. Having said that, because the Google market is not "regulated" for lack of a better term, you will find apps at ridiculous costs whereas they are much cheaper on the App store. Alternatively, there are apps/games, i.e. Angry Birds which are free on the Google market, but you have to pay for on the App store.
GPS:
This is a little bit of biased opinion on my end. I seem to experience issues with the GPS and yes I have read many of the threads on fixes and how to improve it, etc., but like I said in the beginning, out of the box (and this is personally on my captivate), it doesn't seem that the GPS is as strong as the iPhone4 one. It's slower in picking up your location and it has a lot of problems getting a location when your indoors. Yes I know GPS is not expected to work indoors, but I hate to tell ya, the iPhone4's does.
Music/Sounds:
This is another area where I think the Captivate does a MUCH better job. First and foremost, you can actually MAKE ringtones from anything. You're not restricted like your are on the iPhone4 in either buying ringtones or finding a workaround to put ringtones on your phone. Now it doesn't integrate into iTunes well, but then again, this shouldn't be expected as it is not an apple product, although, there are some great apps that help with integration at least on some level. Music is treated like normal mp3's and so the drag and drops onto your Captivate are very simple. I do like the convenience of having iTunes on my iphone4 and being able to directly by the music and just have it download. Especially when you use Shazam and that part is missing in my opinion or I just haven't figured out how on the Captivate.
Softtouch/Power Button:
It took some time to get used to the power/screen button being on the top right on the Captivate as opposed to the iPhone4 on the top, but not a huge deal. What's a little annoying is because the apple only has the "main" button on the bottom front, you always know where it is even in the dark. On the Captivate, you have to touch the screen constantly to light up the 4 soft keys or if you're completely used to it, you can just press the one you want, but I do find that I sometimes hit the wrong one still. Other than that, no big deal.
Battery:
So I don't know if it's my Captivate, but I thought the iPhone4 battery was bad. The Captivate BLOWS. It really is horrible. Even after doing 5 full charges and letting the battery die all the way, it drains SO fast. On top of that, I have no idea why it takes SO long to charge back to full. Even with Bluetooth, GPS and all non-critical apps turned off, the iPhone4 battery charges at least 3+ times faster. It really takes FOREVER to charge a Captivate. One nice plus on the Captivate side though is you can always have extra batteries handy and just swap it out, but still a nuisance in my opinion.
Reception:
Well, I can't say I was ever on the bandwagon of everyone that complained about dropped calls when you hold the side antenna, but I do agree that the Captivate has much better reception. In certain areas where the calls drop on my iPhone4, it doesn't on my Captivate.
Misc:
Some really cool features that obviously makes the Captivate REALLY nice are:
- Swipe typing. This believe it or not was a huge contributing factor in me switching over from iPhone 4. It's just simply amazing. It's accurate and it learns. I absolutely love it. I can't stand conventional typing anymore.
- Auto Reject list. I love how you can put numbers on a list and it will automatically reject the call. Phone won't even ring and on the caller's end it just hangs up. It's beautiful.
- Reject call option while on Call. This is also very cool. The fact that you can customize up to 5 custom messages and quickly select it from a list while on a call. For example, if you get a call, you can just choose "reject with message", pick for example, "I'm on a call" and it immediately texts the person back. Very nice!
- Multitasking. I think multitasking it better on the Captivate as well, but this is probably arguable.
So which one is better? well, I would say it comes down to what can you live with and what's more important to you. I personally use texting/what'sapp, email and browsing very regularly, so for me, I do find that the iPhone4 does a better job, but I'm still going to work on the Captivate and see what I can do to make it better as better apps/fixes/firmwares comes out. I really do enjoy my Captivate though.
Hope this helps a little.
AZ
