Samsung Wave S8500 or Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate/Vibrant)

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desertflower

New member
When I first started looking I narrowed things down to the Wave. However now I've seen some Galaxy S at reasonable prices. I've been able to justify the added price because the Galaxy has more memory and I could hold off on buying a micro SD card for a bit.

The Wave seems to be a fairly durable handset with a metal body and scratch resistant screen. How would the two phones compare on a build quality/durability level?

They both have the same screen resolution but the Wave is 3.3" vs the Galaxy's 4"; would the Wave's be a sharper looking screen?

The phone will be used for music, vids and some games for the most part. I only use about 70 minutes of talk time per month, no texting and minimal data but with WiFi not plan. I'd occasionally use it for trip navigation, with no data plan it would have to be able to do stand alone GPS functions.

Thanks for your help!
 
Yes, the screen on the Wave would be sharper looking and quite noticeably too. You just have to ask yourself if 3.3" will be enough screen real estate for you.
 
Google Maps on the Samsung Wave S8500, Bada OS, is merely a homescreen link to the Google Maps mobile web via the Bada OS HTML5 browser. But the browser is fast on this sucker.

On the Samsung Galaxy S, you do get the native Google Maps 5.0 apps in all its full glory, and in the words of Blackberry, that is is a true superapp.

Personally, I never had problems of GPS in my Samsung Galaxy S, but other people do. I don't have know if the Samsung Wave S8500 has the same issues.

The Samsung Galaxy S i9000 ---which is the phone I have the most experience with --- has a plastic body build and it can creak at times. But all that plastic, is good and tough plastic. I've dropped my Galaxy S already a number of times and it is one tough phone. The screen is Gorilla glass and it is also tough, though I won't abuse it. The Vibrant is identical to the i9000 body but has four buttons on the screen. The four buttons makes it less confusing to use, but the i9000 can be wakened by pressing the center button like an iPhone, which the Vibrant and the Captivate are unable to do.

In usage, the Galaxy S is going to end up a lot smudgy though. That plastic attracts fingerprints like the way Apple is to money.

In terms of body, the Captivate is a different matter. The body is a lot more stylish and beautiful compared to the Vibrant/i9000. In fact, Samsung relabeled the Captivate, placed Android 2.2 on it and sold it as the limited Giorgio Armani edition. The body on the Captivate isn't going to get as smudgy as Vibrant/i9000. If you are to buy a Galaxy S on body looks alone, the Captivate is it.

The only thing the Wave is better here is having a neat metal body. Bada OS feels like Android lite and the Samsung app store is like a desert compared to the Android Market when it comes to apps. In terms of OS and app experience, the Galaxy S whether its the Vibrant or Captivate will be much better.

Please note something about the Samsung App Store. It won't work if the phone doesn't have a SIM on it, even if you get a Wifi connection. Samsung App store on the PC browser is region blocked in the US, but I don't know how it looks from Canada.
 
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