Why I Chose the Samsung Captivate

I recently took the plunge and signed up for two more years with AT&T. I had been using the HTC Wizard and was long overdue for a new phone. I needed a smartphone and it had to be on AT&T due to the shared-minute plan I am on. My original plan was to get either a BlackBerry for its great e-mail and notification capability or an iPhone because of the great apps. I assumed that I would end up with a BlackBerry because it had a physical keyboard.

To help determine if an iPhone was right for me, I borrowed a friend's iPhone 2G. Unfortunately I could only keep my $30 unlimited data plan by going straight from my current phone to a new phone so I used the iPhone in WIFI only mode.

It took me a few days to a week to get used to the virtual keyboard. If it weren't for Apple's error correcting, it would have taken much longer. I was definitely much better in landscape mode, but still not as fast as with a physical keyboard.

After playing with a number of free applications and determining that the virtual keyboard would be good enough, I realized that my decision was between having the notifications of a BlackBerry along with the ability to tether for free and having a great mini computer that had an okay e-mail program. I wanted to get the iPhone, but I was torn.

It was at that point that I started looking into Android. With Android, I could get some of the same (or similar) apps as the iPhone. I also had the openness to install any application I wanted without rooting or jailbreaking my iPhone, which I refused to do. Android phones exist with all major U.S. carriers, so I would have the ability to keep my apps and switch providers, if I desired. I was intrigued.

My choices switched to the iPhone or the Samsung Captivate. I had the ability to play with the Captivate before it was available for sale. I also played with the iPhone 4. While some feel that the Captivate is too light, I enjoyed the feel of it much better than the iPhone 4. In fact, I enjoyed the feel of the iPhone 2G better than the iPhone 4. The bigger screen on the Captivate also helped typing on the virtual keyboard.

After much thinking and research, I settled on the Captivate despite the lack of the front-facing camera. I still wish AT&T had included it, but the openness of the Android platform (both apps and carriers) as well as the integration with Google swayed me.

I picked up my phone the day it came out. While I've had some issues with it, I still think it was the right choice. Stay tuned for more on my experience with the Samsung Captivate.

[edit]
To see the next post in this series, click here.
[/edit]