Which HD Smartphone shall I get ?

[Grooveriding]

Hi folks finally going to upgrade the old iPhone 3G, I know the 4G iPhone is nice, but I like trying different hardware out, I'm looking at the following phones:

Samsung Galaxy S Captivate
Samsung Focus
Nokia N8

and possibly a tablet phone

Dell Streak or the Samsung Galaxy Tab

Any opinions ?

Thanks

 

[gsaldivar]

If you plan to use GPS, stay away from Samsung...

 

[arod]

the gps on the samsung focus is great..... never has an issue.

I have been very happy with my focus..... I have spent time with the iphone4 and the more recent android devices and the focus is better than all of them imo.

 

[Deeko]

I would recommend the Focus out of that group.

 

[Bateluer]

Are you set on sticking with AT&T as a carrier? Might be a good idea to pick up a cheaper device for now and hold off until Feb/March.

 

[s44]

If you plan to use GPS, stay away from Samsung...

Captivate is fixed, Focus never had an issue.

 

[Strk]

the gps on the samsung focus is great..... never has an issue.

I have been very happy with my focus..... I have spent time with the iphone4 and the more recent android devices and the focus is better than all of them imo.

I guess that's thanks to the hardware requirements MS made and the software.

As for the OP, are you buying the phone with a 2-year agreement or not?

 

[Grooveriding]

Are you set on sticking with AT&T as a carrier? Might be a good idea to pick up a cheaper device for now and hold off until Feb/March.

I'm actually in Canada, in Toronto specifically. So I am limited to whatever phones Rogers Wireless carries here, don't want to use Bell Canada.

I'm going to go in and handle the Focus and Galaxy, the one thing turning me off is I hear the build quality of the Samsung phones is cheap. ie. they are light and plasticy. One thing that really makes the iphone nice is the solid build quality imo.

Unfortunately the Droid X is not available here as that sounds like a good contender. Maybe the Nokia N8 will be decent ?

The thing turning me off on the Focus is that the W7 OS does not support flash ? A big part of the reason I want to switch off an iphone is lack of robust web browsing with flash. I would get a BB, but I dislike the crappy screens on the blackberries.

 

[Strk]

I'm actually in Canada, in Toronto specifically. So I am limited to whatever phones Rogers Wireless carries here, don't want to use Bell Canada.

I'm going to go in and handle the Focus and Galaxy, the one thing turning me off is I hear the build quality of the Samsung phones is cheap. ie. they are light and plasticy. One thing that really makes the iphone nice is the solid build quality imo.

Unfortunately the Droid X is not available here as that sounds like a good contender. Maybe the Nokia N8 will be decent ?

The thing turning me off on the Focus is that the W7 OS does not support flash ? A big part of the reason I want to switch off an iphone is lack of robust web browsing with flash. I would get a BB, but I dislike the crappy screens on the blackberries.

There's a big WP7 coming out, so you never know.... I'm not sure if they plan on supporting flash though.

 

[YoungGun21]

I'm actually in Canada, in Toronto specifically. So I am limited to whatever phones Rogers Wireless carries here, don't want to use Bell Canada.

I'm going to go in and handle the Focus and Galaxy, the one thing turning me off is I hear the build quality of the Samsung phones is cheap. ie. they are light and plasticy. One thing that really makes the iphone nice is the solid build quality imo.

Unfortunately the Droid X is not available here as that sounds like a good contender. Maybe the Nokia N8 will be decent ?

The thing turning me off on the Focus is that the W7 OS does not support flash ? A big part of the reason I want to switch off an iphone is lack of robust web browsing with flash. I would get a BB, but I dislike the crappy screens on the blackberries.

They certainly are light. They are definitely made of plastic. I don't know that I would call it a cheap build quality though. Nothing about it makes me think it is going to fall apart. It is somewhat slippery though, especially in the cold weather.

 

[hanoverphist]

They certainly are light. They are definitely made of plastic. I don't know that I would call it a cheap build quality though. Nothing about it makes me think it is going to fall apart. It is somewhat slippery though, especially in the cold weather.

i have an older samsung phone, and this is my main bitch about it. the GPS usually works well, but sometimes it doesnt lock on at all. im hoping by feb the wp7 updates are all worked out and its the phone i want to get lol.

 

[s44]

It is somewhat slippery though, especially in the cold weather.

Seriously, who carries a phone without a case? Particularly the Samsungs seem sized to have a nice skin on top.

 

[Deeko]

Seriously, who carries a phone without a case? Particularly the Samsungs seem sized to have a nice skin on top.

What? I don't use a case, ever. They're a pain in the ass. They make the phones bigger than they already are, often times they get in the way of typing on the screen, and frankly, most of these phones are built pretty damn solid these days, even the lightweight ones, I drop phones all the time and have never broken one.

 

[rchrdrdr]

i have the i8910. my gf has the galaxy. the housing may be made of plastic, but they are definitely NOT poorly constructed. my phone has been dropped many times and it's strong as ever.

 

[YoungGun21]

Seriously, who carries a phone without a case? Particularly the Samsungs seem sized to have a nice skin on top.

I do. Why would I need a case?

 

[Bateluer]

Seriously, who carries a phone without a case? Particularly the Samsungs seem sized to have a nice skin on top.

I've never had a case for any of my phones. They're usually overpriced and make the phone entirely too bulky.

 

[Phobic9]

Seriously, who carries a phone without a case? Particularly the Samsungs seem sized to have a nice skin on top.

Seems like quite a few of us don't.

I don't because 99% of the available cases for any phone are fugly and way too bulky/annoying. I couldn't imagine using a case on the Droid X.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Nokia N8 is the only one out of the 3 with true multitasking capabilities.

 

[Deeko]

Nokia N8 is the only one out of the 3 with true multitasking capabilities.

The N8 isn't a bad phone. Fantastic camera, the OS might be ugly but its very functional. Although if you can get it, I'd go with the E7 over the N8 any day.

 

[Grooveriding]

Think I may go with the Galaxy S Captivate, the price just dropped $100 on it.

The reason I worry on build quality is I have a tendency to drop my phone often. I can't count the times I've dropped the iphone 3g and never any damage. I worry about the Samsung exploding if it falls on pavement.

 

[s44]

Put it in a TPU case and stop worrying. The Body Glove one is sorta nice, but pricey. $5 eBay protects just as well.

The case will protect far better against drops than some weighty build.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Seems like quite a few of us don't.

I don't because 99% of the available cases for any phone are fugly and way too bulky/annoying. I couldn't imagine using a case on the Droid X.

its bulky/annoying but the paint comes off the droids way too easily.

metal is nice and durable, but dang this metal chips away worse than the plastic of the Nexus Ones get damaged. While metal has a nice feel to it, it seems less resilient to keys.

So this bugs me. Perfect screen quality but the metal is all dinged up =[

 

[Grooveriding]

Ended up getting the Captivate S.

Got a great deal $99 and the store gave a $75 gift card after purchase, so $24 for the phone and a gift card stocking stuffer for someone this Christmas!

Very nice phone, the screen is beautiful. Ordered a Zagg shield for it, so I am not even really using it until the shield arrives in the mail, but so far liking it very much.

I do have the GPS issue where it does not get a lock when I'm in the house, other than that no other issues yet though.

Thanks all

 

[s44]

Most of the current custom Froyo ROMs have GPS fixes built in. (Particularly the i9000-based ones.) I'd avoid the heavy overclock kernels, though... No real need for it, and it may cause issues.