Customer reviews from Samsung US
Samsung - Captivate Mobile Phone - Black (AT&T)
Average customer rating
4.2
(1,846 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 1,846 reviews
5 Stars
949
4 Stars
544
3 Stars
150
2 Stars
109
1 Star
94
82%of customers recommend this product.
(
1,418 out of
1,721)
Customer Reviews for Samsung - Captivate Mobile Phone - Black (AT&T)
Customer Rating
3
Android OS only problem
on December 2, 2010
Posted by: JollyRoger
Expertise:Intermediate
The features, phone, tools, design and everything else are great, however with other android phones already able to do twice what the captivate can do simply because they have the new operating system severely cripples the Samsung captivate. there is news of Android 3.0 rolling out sometime at the beginning of next year and the captivate in the U.S. has yet to receive the update to make its GPS work better, and able to view the new flash 10.1. The full capabilities of the Samsung captivate are lost without the new Android 2.2, and getting out as slowly as it is means 3.0 will take even longer.
The speakers also make it difficult to hear and watch a video even in the most quiet of settings.
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Lightweight
Cons: Did not meet expectations, built-in-speakers, update takes to long
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
3
Design
4
Value
2
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Waiting on Froyo
on February 14, 2011
Posted by: kpmacatl
from Atlanta, Georgia
I like the phone so far, however it seems that Samsung is not getting their service together in adding the new Froyo 2.2 out. When and if that comes out will determine if I purchase another Samsung product.
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color
Cons: Did not meet expectations
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
2
Design
4
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
1
...Too Bad the 2.2 Destroyed It
on April 17, 2011
Posted by: EsSee
I LOVED THIS PHONE! I found it to be so smooth and easy to use. So customizable and with so many great features.
Why I gave it a 1 star performance though?
I had this phone for 7 months and loved it. Then I installed the update and my phone automatically started running slower. I thought it was just the phone getting used to everything so I let it be but within a few days, programs were randomly opening and unexpectedly closing, things were freezing up, the smooth scrolling and typing I loved about the phone was slow and glitchy... everything was acting up. I waited a few weeks until I couldn't take it anymore and brought it to be replaced.
They replaced the phone with another which also had the 2.2 update. I had that phone for under a week before it started glitching and freezing only this time, it would turn on and off every five minutes and vibrate constantly. I brought it to a retailer to ask about it and the man told me that they have had similar problems with the updated version and that there's nothing they can do to fix it. I can't find a phone without the update and I can't uninstall it.
I am extremely disappointed. I prefer this phone over every other phone I've had or tried including the iphone but this update has really messed things up and I am really disappointed.
I had this phone for 7 months and loved it. Then I installed the update and my phone automatically started running slower. I thought it was just the phone getting used to everything so I let it be but within a few days, programs were randomly opening and unexpectedly closing, things were freezing up, the smooth scrolling and typing I loved about the phone was slow and glitchy... everything was acting up. I waited a few weeks until I couldn't take it anymore and brought it to be replaced.
They replaced the phone with another which also had the 2.2 update. I had that phone for under a week before it started glitching and freezing only this time, it would turn on and off every five minutes and vibrate constantly. I brought it to a retailer to ask about it and the man told me that they have had similar problems with the updated version and that there's nothing they can do to fix it. I can't find a phone without the update and I can't uninstall it.
I am extremely disappointed. I prefer this phone over every other phone I've had or tried including the iphone but this update has really messed things up and I am really disappointed.
My original overall rating was a 5 but considering this is about how it runs now, I have to give it a 1.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
5
Performance
1
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
1
Would not recommend this phone to anybody
on August 4, 2011
Posted by: stonecoldsteve
Both my wife and I bought these phones a few months ago and I really wish that I had my Iphone back.
I can't tell you the number of times both of these phones have frozen and we have had to take the battery out to unfreeze it. I use mine to listen to my music that I have downloaded on it, on my way to work. I will no longer be able to do that or use the ear phones with it because the plug in the top of the phone no longer works. I can hear music when I don't have the ear buds plugged in and I have tried 3 different sets of ear buds so I know that its not them. I'm sure that I will have to send it off to get it fixed some where and be without my phone .
I can't tell you the number of times both of these phones have frozen and we have had to take the battery out to unfreeze it. I use mine to listen to my music that I have downloaded on it, on my way to work. I will no longer be able to do that or use the ear phones with it because the plug in the top of the phone no longer works. I can hear music when I don't have the ear buds plugged in and I have tried 3 different sets of ear buds so I know that its not them. I'm sure that I will have to send it off to get it fixed some where and be without my phone .
Cons: Poor quality, Did not meet expectations
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
3
Performance
1
Design
2
Value
1
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
3
Powerful, But Crippled By Lack of Features and Terrible Software
on September 20, 2010
Posted by: JustinPS
Expertise:Expert
For such a late-comer to the high-end smartphone arena of 2010, I would expect a few more features to be present. There's no LED flash, no front-facing camera, and no secondary mic for noise suppression. The screen, while very vibrant, has a rather low resolution for its size.
The camera is sub-par. Pictures are comes out hazy compared to other Galaxy S phones, including the similarly featured Vibrant. Most attribute it to inadequate camera software.
The software also cripples an otherwise decent phone. It's loaded with bloatware, most of which has cleaner, faster alternatives as standard android apps.
TouchWiz, especially the Daily Updates widget, bog down the system, often causing stuttering and lag.
IM, the instant messaging app that comes pre-bundled, is very simple in appearance and functionality, however it is by far the most power-efficient messaging app I've used. Unfortunately, it is completely useless due to one show-stopping fault: it does not work over WiFi.
GPS is simply unusable. Ridiculously long lock times, absurdly inaccurate tracking, and dropped signals; any one of these would render GPS useless, and the Captivate exhibits all three. Supposedly it is getting fixed with a September update, however I have little faith in Samsung to deliver on a promise.
And what about Android updates? Yes, supposedly this phone is getting Android 2.2 (Froyo) "soon," but Froyo has been available for months. Most phones released during the Summer already shipped with Froyo, and those that didn't got their update some time ago. The "new phone" excuse is hardly legitimate as other manufacturers have released phones during the same period and updated them far quicker. And this is just the first update! What happens when Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) comes out? Will I be left high and dry for a year?
The four capacitive buttons near the base of the phone are very unresponsive. The difference in responsiveness between the screen itself and these four buttons is laughable. The fact that the buttons only illuminate after being pressed adds to their un-ergonomical deisgn.
There's too much branding on the phone. It's like one team of designers came in and made the phone as sleek as possible, then the next team of designers came in and plastered as much tackiness as possible. There is more branding on the phone than there are physical buttons.
The hardware itself is, of course, cutting edge. It's overall the most powerful phone currently available in terms of pure processing horsepower, but its lack of features, sub-par software, and incredibly slow updates hold this phone back. I ALREADY BOUGHT THE PHONE. YOU CAN STOP ADVERTISING IT TO ME.
Pros: screen color and contrast is excellent, very powerful hardware, great expandability with the external microsd slot, overall design shape and weight are impressive, good battery life
Cons: Not high def, no led flash, no front-facing camera, relatively low-resolution display, ridiculous amount of branding, gps is unusable, no secondary mic for noise suppression, stock software is terrible, software updates are slow
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
2
Performance
5
Design
3
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
1
Hurry up and wait.
on September 23, 2010
Posted by: ktooty
from cape coral, fl
1. The GPS is inexcusably bad. Anywhere from 30 feet to 2 miles off my actual location, and that's IF it locks on.
2. Samsung Kies is supposed to be an exchange between your phone and your computer, however Samsung has absolutely dropped the ball on installing driver issues for the USB. (just do a search on Google for USB drivers for Samsung Captivate, and you will see the same thing I have been dealing with for two weeks now.... a whooole lot of frustrated customers)
3. When I bought the phone the website said (upgradeable to 2.2) (froyo) as a selling point, but little did I know that it now looks like 5 months into my contract, according to rumors, is when I will finally enjoy this feature. This would not be an issue if the phone actually ran o.k. on 2.1, but the fact is that this phone is garbage on 2.1.
4. I never thought I would say this but it may be time to return to my Iphone
2. Samsung Kies is supposed to be an exchange between your phone and your computer, however Samsung has absolutely dropped the ball on installing driver issues for the USB. (just do a search on Google for USB drivers for Samsung Captivate, and you will see the same thing I have been dealing with for two weeks now.... a whooole lot of frustrated customers)
3. When I bought the phone the website said (upgradeable to 2.2) (froyo) as a selling point, but little did I know that it now looks like 5 months into my contract, according to rumors, is when I will finally enjoy this feature. This would not be an issue if the phone actually ran o.k. on 2.1, but the fact is that this phone is garbage on 2.1.
4. I never thought I would say this but it may be time to return to my Iphone
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, can take it back within 30 days
Cons: Poor quality, Did not meet expectations, no urgency on part of manufacturer, not once have i been contacted back by samsung, no rush on froyo, gps inexcusable (bad), i expect more from samsung
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
1
Performance
1
Design
1
Value
1
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Decent phone, could easily be better
on September 1, 2010
Posted by: DaVinster
from Northwest Indiana
Expertise:Intermediate
Don't get me wrong, I really like this phone. The display is phenomenal and the OS works great. What I don't like is the mini USB connector. I have a feeling it won't last long. I don't like that I can't set it to turn off and on by itself. I also don't like that the alarm won't work unless I leave the phone turned on. I love being able to have different home screens and being able to place any icons I choose on them. I think the apps that Yahoo and Facebook have come up with for the android are very poor. Yahoo won't let me click on links and Facebook is really limited. I've found that using the browser works much better. Battery life is ok, not what I was used to with my BB Curve, but then this phone has features light years ahead of the Curve so it's bound to use more battery. One other thing I have a problem with is trying to find out how to make things work on the phone. The phone came with minimal documentation that didn't even tell how to answer a call. Samsung does have online user guides which are good but I have yet to find where they explain how to add ringtones. I did find a website that explained it though. The Samsung software, KIES, isn't very good. I had to run the install file 3 times to get it to work. Not a very intuitive program at all. BlackBerry software is head and shoulders above it.
All in all, I really do like this phone though. I think it could easily be much better. I've only had it a week, and coming from a BB I have a lot to learn, but some BB features are extremely useful and I think Samsung could incorporate them into their OS and make a good phone great.
All in all, I really do like this phone though. I think it could easily be much better. I've only had it a week, and coming from a BB I have a lot to learn, but some BB features are extremely useful and I think Samsung could incorporate them into their OS and make a good phone great.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
4
Design
4
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
3
Improvements Needed
on September 23, 2010
Posted by: goodboyo
Expertise:Intermediate
Overall the phone is AWESOME and EXTREMELY glad I went with this over the *Phone4...Some improvements needed are:
- Get Froyo out for it already!! (Expected phone to be Flash ready).
- Music pauses when using camera or viewing pics in SMS (ANNOYING!!!)
- When pictures are contained in SMS thread, trying to scroll past them jumps right back to bottom of thread. Have to swipe your finger very fast from top to bottom of screen to get past this.
- Difficult to get email downloaded to phone sometimes even when connected to Wi-Fi.
- Quick mute of volume is great but to go back to your volume level in music player you have to repeatedly press VOL+ (ANNOYING!!!)
- Music pauses when using camera or viewing pics in SMS (ANNOYING!!!)
- When pictures are contained in SMS thread, trying to scroll past them jumps right back to bottom of thread. Have to swipe your finger very fast from top to bottom of screen to get past this.
- Difficult to get email downloaded to phone sometimes even when connected to Wi-Fi.
- Quick mute of volume is great but to go back to your volume level in music player you have to repeatedly press VOL+ (ANNOYING!!!)
HOWEVER.....trust me, this IS an AWESOME phone and well worth the money even at full price!!
Pros: Bright display, Lightweight
Cons: does not have froyo out of box, sms threading hiccups
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
3
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US