Samsung Captivate and Vibrant reviewed [Competition] 48
webOS has a little more competition on AT&T these days now that big blue has finally seen fit to allow a world-class Android phone on their network: the Samsung Captivate. Over at Android Central you can not only get a Samsung Captivate Review but also another check out another Galaxy S class device, a Samsung Vibrant Review for T-Mobile.
We don't expect either to make a huge dent in webOS-land like the EVO 4G did, though we wouldn't be shocked if later on the Sprint Galaxy phone, the Epic 4G, does make another run at eroding the webOS fan base in from the traditional Palm stronghold network.
You know the saying: great artists steal. Anything from Samsung's new phones that you'd like to see land on webOS? The Super-AMOLED screen (or at least its 4" size)? The keyboard-less slab design? Some of that Android homescreen widget action?
48 Comments
getting the Epic when it is released for Sprint.
Me too.
I'm also going to pick up the Epic 4G day 1. I have been eligible for upgrade since June 6th and tired of waiting. Please Palm make an announcement about a new 4G phone before the Epic comes out...otherwise, I'm jumping to the dark side.
+1 if palm would just announce a phone I would wait...i hope android's not that bad
Guys, its the droid-of-the-week, just get on with it. WebOS 2.0 will go on without you. Dont worry about us. The sooner you sign your droid contract, the sooner you can end your suffering and come back to WebOS 2.5.
i agree and good riddance to them. whiners.
Why are they whiners? WebOS are the biggest cry babies online you all get offended and take it personal when someone is switching to a better phone Note i said better phone not better OS
jrde
It's the whole "I'm jumping if Palm doesn't..."
We know the Pre hw is old, we get it. It's the whole teenaged gf/bf extortion thing, do this or I'll leave, it's so juvenile. We come here for insights on WebOS, we've handled droids we know their limitations, whoever is still here is obviously committed to a superior o/s experience. We endure these limp noodles trying to strongarm HP into releasing a phone that isn't ready...Just GO already! We didn't know them before, we're not going to miss them after, let them get over to droid and cry about how infrequently (if ever) droid brings their device up to date. I don't want them staying and then whining for another year after 2.0 and the new device releases, screaching about how small their screen is or how poorly they maintain their RAM in a multitasking environment.
And your constant reference to the Pre as a "little turd", what are you 12? Is that supposed to make us feel sad? Is that supposed to embarrass us? Just fortifies my interest to not be associated with droidnation, where the community is so weak, their members continue to hang out here looking for validation because they're outgunned in the droid camp by that week's device.
Keep defending your 18 month old hardware. Stay in denial. The rest of the world is moving on looking at updated hardware that isn't so slow. So what if we get 2.0, it's still going to be slow. My camera app will still be unreliable. We'll still be watching app logos blink forever before the app opens. I have a patch that makes it blink faster so it seems faster, how sad is that? What good is multitasking when you don't have a powerful phone to multi-task? They better give us 1.5ghz on the next phone.
I want WebOs on a Sprint Epic 4G. Heck, I just want WebOs on a state of the art feature laden phone. I've been holding on waiting to see what HP does, but i'm pretty sure that if they haven't announced anything by the time the Epic has been out a couple of weeks (wanna wait to see the reviews), I'm reluctantly jumping off the Palm bandwagon
Until Webos can produce feature rich apps that work well I could never say what you just said. That has to be the main gripe with Webos. Before I use to think they will come but after a year they never came so I am ready to jump ship.
Looking at an Android UI never ceases to make me realize that webOS is just way, way better looking.
4" screen? I don't know. I guess if I wore a pocket protector and suspenders, I might as well carry a huge slab of phone around. At that point, I probably wouldn't care so much about aesthetics. I'd take my phone out at the table, slap it down, and glance around and think "yeah, I've got the biggest phone here, that totally compensates for my various insecurities". But I don't. I've got bad vision and I don't need a bigger screen, you've got to be nearly blind if you can't make due with the Pre's screen (and don't give me that gaming crap, adding half an inch doesn't make up for the fact that capacitive touch screens are poor gaming interfaces in general). The Pre screen is about the right size for me. If Palm got rid of the plastic and found a way to replace it with anodized aluminum, that's all I'd care about. Maybe 4G if I plan to keep that phone for a couple years. Other than that, the OS is everything...if you've got great hardware and a crummy OS, you're not taking proper advantage of that hardware. If you've got a great OS and crummy hardware, at least you can do what that hardware will let you do.
I mostly agree. I don't want a big phone to put up to my ear. I work with somewhat older individuals that have yet to come fully to grips with the notion of a phone as anything other than a phone. The Pre does not look like a smartphone (in a good way) when you just use it for making a call
Although I would prefer to see the gesture area go away so the screen coud be a little longer. (apps could show information in that area, but would respect gestures in that area when the phone was held vertically.)
Further I wish you coud put "shortcuts" to specific Launcher pages in the quick launch slots at the bottom. With the ability to give the shortcuts custom names.
Lasty, I'd give all of Rome for an improved keypad that had arrow keys... But the Pre as it is proves that even the worst physical keyboard is still better than an on-screen keyboard.
-Suntan
you got it. webOS IMO beats androidOS anyday. listen google is great obviously the way do things allow them to be on a whole bunch of new phones(i'm no techie a'right.)still for UI and just plain potential i'm sticking with webOS.
i am patiently waiting for a new device and with all the tweaks we think we got to have these days. not to rehash the past but palm shot themselves in the foot with those bogus commercials. recently saw a fan commercial showing of what webOS can do and wow. Palm should've hired that guy. not jumping ship,there said my piece. patiently,anxiously,patiently waiting....
that's ok keep carrying your outdated little turd in your pocket
edit lock
i Think at this point i can hold out by getting a preplus and doing the comm board switch to hold me over another year.. then if no new pre ill get the best phone out at that point...
For me there is no competition to WebOS. My son has the EVO and it just doesn't do it for me. He had all kinds of trouble with it rebooting last week. I'm not a gamer, but I do use my Pixi heavily and it does almost everything I need it to. Now if we can get Sprint Nav to work with a Pixi that has had the radio switched out of Pixi Plus, I'm more than good until new hardware arrives. I'm patient and hopeful for the future interms of new hardware and apps.
Really, my wife got one last week. I am simply amazed at the camera (not the quality or size), merely that you open the app, tap the button and it takes pictures. And the video, you open it up and click the record button and it works! Imagine that, my Palm Pre still can't get that right. No lagging in the user interface, you drag a list and it drags -- not like my Pre where there are times is pauses for a second or more before it will scroll.
Granted, when I've doctored my phone I've always noticed it is less laggy, so we will have to see how that EVO does with time.
The browsers rocks on the EVO, and all the apps in the marketplace are nice. My wife said, i want it to do this, and this and that -- I was able to find all of that in the marketplace very easily and install it for her.
Overall I think the EVO is a very nice phone, and I agree -- if Palm has nothing available (or even announced) when the Epic is released, it will be touch choice between the Epic and the EVO (if HPalm hasn't announced anything by then, I don't think they ever will).
I had to send my phone off for repair through Best Buy's Geek Squad protection (which I can't recommend against enough). During the 7 weeks it took to get a replacement, they offered to let me get any other Sprint phone up to whatever the Pre's non-contract price was when I bought it, which included the Evo. That took a lot of internal debate, but I stuck it out with webOS because I loves me some hardware keyboards.
tl;dr
The Evo couldn't make me jump ship to the USS Android, but the Epic would (contract notwithstanding).
i just want a webOS phone to save me from the clutches of my 3GS!!!
Palm / HP need to get with the program and get some new devices out into the market!
Me and my wife's plan is up in October and we've been really looking hard at the new Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G that is coming this summer on Sprint. She is really tired of her old phone and I'm getting tired of the Palm Pre. Plus, we have the premier package on Sprint where you can upgrade to a new phone each year. The Samsung Galaxy S is an excellent phone for both of us to have and be satisfied with.
It's simple my choice, once the Samsung Epic 4G drops I'm droping this Pre. Webos is by far the most elegant OS but at the same time it's by far the youngest and premature. Even if Palm gets new hardware, do you really think the Pre2 will have the specs to compete with the processor and screen of the Epic 4G, I doubt highly. I will say this, once Hp gets the Palmpad thing down I'm definitely going to get one of those. Lets be honest, palm is losing it's crowd solely on the fact that they haven't given us any new hardware, and it's app catalogue is limited only by Palm itself by not allowing devs full acess to the phone. Love ya webos but I'm jumping ship for a more mature OS and hardware you simply can't match. Hate all you like but you all know it's true!!!!!!!
I really don't see anything special about these android phones that would make me leave my pre and webOS. All I want is a better hardware with a bigger screen.
I've played with them both vibrant is better jus saying. I lik thescreen size but it's a little to narrow I wish it was wider the screen res is nice, the colors on the movie avatar was real nice but android is wack and no front facin camera
I've played with them both vibrant is better jus saying. I lik thescreen size but it's a little to narrow I wish it was wider the screen res is nice, the colors on the movie avatar was real nice but android is wack and no front facin camera
Meh. They're both JAAPs (Just Anothe Android Phone). There's nothing special about either of them to distinguish them from any other Android flavor-of-the-month. They're big slabs with ugly UI's. *Yawn* Pass.
My point exactly!
+1.
+2
epic has a front facing camera... I'm with alot of people.. Thought I was gettin a free evo.. The guy backed out so now I'm forced to wait again.. Need a hardware fix.. And epic looks like it's gonna do it for me.. Guess I'll wait for webos 2.5.. Unless..... Palm has something to share with us in a couple of weeks!!!
Nothing about the Palm Peralta before September, go get the Epic if have to have a dual camera now.
I will wait for the next Palm phone, but I definitely want similar hardware. The Evo is outrageously big, but 3.5-3.7" and keep the physical keyboard would be ideal for me. Really, if they upgrade the Pixi, a 3" screen with non-sliding keyboard would be my preference, but I don't really expect that. Android, though, is a hassle to use and I will not leave Sprint, so I will stick it out with my Pre until the keyboard twists off or a new Palm launches.
As someone who has had (and returned) the Evo I can honestly say the Android OS still pales in comparison to WebOS in terms of functionality and multitasking. (at least for me) Also, Android's "flavor of the week" phone launch mentality leaves me underwhelmed. The Evo had its 15 minutes of fame now it's about to be pushed aside for the Epic. And don't forget all the upset Droid owners that see their handset achieve obsolescence in one short year for the Droid 2. In summary, I would much rather wait patiently for new hardware built around a superior OS experience (again, at least for me) then choose to frustrate myself daily to have the "new shiny" which is only "new shiny" for about a month.
As someone who has had (and returned) the Evo I can honestly say the Android OS still pales in comparison to WebOS in terms of functionality and multitasking. (at least for me) Also, Android's "flavor of the week" phone launch mentality leaves me underwhelmed. The Evo had its 15 minutes of fame now it's about to be pushed aside for the Epic. And don't forget all the upset Droid owners that see their handset achieve obsolescence in one short year for the Droid 2. In summary, I would much rather wait patiently for new hardware built around a superior OS experience (again, at least for me) then choose to frustrate myself daily to have the "new shiny" which is only "new shiny" for about a month.
The Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G is the phone to get. Can't wait until it comes out. I'm tired of the Palm Pre. It will probably be another year until they come out with new hardware. Plus their App catalog is terrible compared to Android and Apple.
Nah new hardware is easy. Palm is just working off the remnants of the GSM Pre's and getting 2.0 ready for launch (this year per Rubi). Enjoy that droid, we'll miss you.
It takes about two years to type a text message on the disgusting horizontal keyboard. Otherwise it is nice, but Android is not my thing.
I'll give palm 6 more months then I'll start looking around for another phone hopefully a new palm is announced by then if not the samsung epic is in my pocket
By then, there will have been a dozen more droids-of-the-week, and maybe even one will come with Froyo!! Why are people buying droids running 2.1 with Froyo coming on new phones? It takes more than a year for Android to reconfigure upgrades. We're still waiting for the G1 to make it to 2.0. G1 is Google's OWN PHONE!!! What a scam.
I got my T-Mobile Vibrant today, it's amazing...never looking back to WebOS again...the hardware is a year old for Christ's sake...the 1500mah stock battery crushes the Pre's...and it's only 9.9mm thin
i wonder if you understand the difference between webOS and the phone running it
People keep referring to Android phones as the "Droid of the week", but wasn't that the whole point of Android? Google made an OS not a phone (at least originally, Nexus One anybody). I'm a huge fan of the Pre and wont be getting rid of mine any time soon as I'm quite happy with it overall (especially with Uber Kernel and all the home brew stuff I've done to it), but I'm also not going to sit here and try and compare it to the newest Android phones. It just wont compare. Yes I think WebOS is far superior to Android in usability and multitasking (not to mention appearance), but facts of life are, Android has better support for App development and that's what people want. I think if WebOS was marketed better that it'd be a lot farther along right now, but Palm dropped the ball on that one in the beginning and now we are still playing catchup because of it. I'm with all of you in hoping Palm announces some new hardware really soon because I really would love to see WebOS succeed, and like I said I'm not going anywhere any time soon. My Pre suites my purposes just fine and with my upgrades from Preware and whatnot it's plenty fast enough. Basically the only thing the Evo or iPhone 4 has that my phone doesn't that I'd like to add is that front facing camera. Sorry if I rambled a bit, but I guess I'm a supporter of all the Linux based phone systems and look forward to seeing the future of smartphones as a whole. The bar keeps getting pushed higher and higher, so I wonder what is coming down the road.
Most sensible comment I've seen here in a long time. Somehow comments are starting to make it seem like choice is a bad thing. I wish the market would be flooded with droids of the week, webos of the week, ios of the week, etc. That way, I have a much better shot at getting the phone for "me". I've found that in the EVO, but it's not for everyone. Android is not for everyone. WebOS is not for everyone. iOS is not for everyone. Choice, however, IS for everyone. Here's to hoping more Droids, webOS devices, iOS devices flood the market and keep giving us choices.
Thank you. I don't know why it matters that there are a few dozen Android smart phones. That plus their app development support are the keys to Android's success. If webOS said screw the Pre but then marketed the OS out on 10 phones across all the major carriers would all of the Pre "fan-boys" be angry about that too?
Excellent comment. My choice is the Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G.
I'm sorry but to those people who say they bought an Evo 4g and returned it are full of crap. Me being a palm pre Sprint owner from the first day it came out I can tell you that since the switch I have been nothing but happy. The evo 4g is amazing.. with the 4.3 inch screen there is no way u need a physical keyboard and I have really big hands. I am 6'3 by the way. The on screen keyboard is 100 times better than that small cramp one on the pre..and u people are full of crap talking about the evo size..this phone is thinner than the pre..just longer but trust me its not as big as these idiots want u to believe..there is no way I can go back to that small screen..web pages are beautiful on the evo . I loved web OS but those of u wanting to make the switch I encourage to go for the evo. U won't be disappointed believe me...web OS community I still love and support hall but Android Nd its market is just to big to compete with.
web os on this device would be effin awesome!