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OK, so I've been using a Kaiser/Tilt with Eclair on it for awhile. I've spent countless hours drooling after the Nexus One. When AT&T finally got the "Backflip" from Motorola, I just couldn't resist. I took the plunge.
I should've known better. I have plenty of AT&T horror stories, and this is the same carrier that wont allow you to tell your Java apps NOT to ask for permission more than once (making Opera mini a PITA but the only usable browser for non-smart-phones).
There is NO option to install applications from untrusted sources. This means anything on your SD card, downloaded from the web or over your wifi at home WILL NOT WORK. Naturally, you also cannot use the "su" command in terminal.
Motoblur is nice I guess, but the uninstallable AT&T paid apps, the limitations of 1.5 firmware (ie: no google navigator, no voice search) and the locked-to-yahoo-search-bar are enough to get me to say NO to any further AT&T abuse.
With the Kaiser's bloatware, they removed/hid apps from you so you wouldn't try to use them and replaced them with their crapware.
AT&T does not know the meaning of "open" and they do not understand Android. You are not buying an Android phone when you buy from AT&T.
You are buying a device LOCKED to a market with a smaller number of applications than the iPhone (I don't use Apple products either ) forced to use a lesser search engine for your most convenient option and subject to losing any application that was once on the market but then removed. You can't install your own apps or even test them on your device. Period.
Also on my first day of using it I got a number of "Force Close" messages including on the built-in applications (ie: Motorola's flavor of the desk clock).
It's decent hardware, it feels pretty zippy to me, but this is exactly why I WONT buy an iPhone.
Screw you, AT&T. I will make sure that everyone I know is properly informed about this crippled device that is nothing like the Android experience is supposed to (expected to!) be.
/endrant phew, going to go breathe for awhile.
EDIT: I will add:
- Set "orientation" on this phone when you tilt it and somehow it gets stuck in one orientation or the other (who knows maybe this one is just me, not seen any other backflips) if you set it back to just when you open/close it it's fine again though
- The desk clock can't be launched manually and is tricky to get to appear trying to get the phone in that perfect angle to display it
- I don't have a separate camera on me right now to show you the menu but to back up with sources:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/1910...n_atandt_not_the_full_android_experience.html
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/121849
Don't buy this phone. Stay away from AT&T, stay away from Motorola (IMO or at least the motorola backflip).
This is pretty horrible.
I have two questions, though.
1) Can you take a screen cap of the Settings > Applications screen so we can see the lack of Unknown Sources option? That'd really help people see the validity of this issue.
2) I hope you have some kind of 30-day money-back guarantee when buying a handset from AT&T like Sprint offers. Otherwise, ouch =/
I haven't tried to install an apk from astro or anything, but i have pushed a few with ADB which seems to work fine. It kinda sucks, but I really hope that we can figure out root access soon! I don't care for blur, but I like android. Hopefully we don't have to wait to long. Here is an ADB guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=643866
I wonder if Apple suddenly took over AT&T because this kind of behaviour is more common to them
... It's not only AT&T who manages to confuse their customers about an OSS... Don't forget who decided to lock down an open software system boot-loader for everyone *cough*Motorola*cough*
Apple made them an offer they could not refuse!
nuff said
I spent some time with one yesterday.
Ouch, even my Fuze running eclair is faster.
They really broke this machine.
I am worried about other att phones!
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mines as well. i hope they dont. i know its off topic but is there an officail release date for the x10 on att? i hear it may be april/may
Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.
IConrad01 said:
Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.
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Click to collapse
Assuming the software running on the Backflip is the same software they released the source to on opensource.motorola.com, there may be hope of that. I'll dig into it when I get time.
Wow. I am surprised that this was picked up by Gizmodo. Do we have anyone corroborating this? Doesn't this somehow violate Google's terms of service?
HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine too! Just means to spend the couple extra hundred dollars and get an unlocked unbranded one.
I got the Backflip just because I am moving on from my jailbroken iPhone and I wanted something neat and shiny.
I can say that there is a lot of smack talk here, but give these guys a chance here to root the phone and get some things working on it.
It's been two days since the release and I can already say, that I like the phone a hell of a lot more today then I did on Sunday. I've been able to install untrusted sources using the Droid Explorer, a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's okay, considering that if I want Android, then this is the only way to go for now.
But I have faith in someone out there... Someone will figure this out.
I just hope it's within my 30 day return policy.
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...
This may just be my unit but the A2DP doesn't work right, it starts playing music then begins to fast forward whatever you are watching or listening to. Did a hard reset, no luck. Looks like I already need a replacement lol.
Squeaky369 said:
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?
nutcake852 said:
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh; fail on my part. It's mostly a cosmetic fix. I didn't actually test it, but when you click on it, it changes to "Yahoo".
So my bad on that one.
God, I hate Yahoo. Ever since that stupid ass cowboy did that commercial, it's ate away at my soul...
I don't know why...
To think we were all worried about how Verizon was going to cripple android only to have ATT do it instead. At first I was amazed and then I realized that any android phone would have outshown their prized phone...oh well one more reason to love being on T-Mobile. ;-)
I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)
Help i ****ed up my phone
So i just rooted my g1 to get the nexus one features to it and now all it is doing is foreclosing instead of going to the home screen if anyone can help can you please email me at [email protected] thank you
Xodium said:
I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really do think though that this is going to end up to be a decent phone.
I know I am a little pro for that comment, just because I bought one. But lets look at every phone that ever comes out. There is always some sort of challenge that we have to overcome.
And; with all the threads I've been reading about this; it looks like it was BOTH AT&T and Motorola that are to blame for locking this phone down. ATT cause they don't want us to install from anything but an "App Store" and Motorola because they don't want their devices used for what "there were not intended to be used for," is the wording I've seen floating around the internet.
But in all seriousness. I am coming from an iPhone 3GS which I had jailbroken. So I am coming from a phone that I had everything and anything on to this, and I am, overall, happy with it. Although it's only been 5 days, I can say I don't think I'll change my mind in the next 25 days.
But that's just my two-cents.
Because of all of the issues about the Captivate S I've read about on this forum, I've decided not to purchase one. I travel a lot (read GSM/UMTS) and need an unlocked handset for local numbers. I also depend on GPS navigation that isn't functional on the Galaxy S.
Goodbye Android, hello Symbian ^3 in the form of a Nokia N8 I just ordered.
I really appreciate the good info I got from this forum. Next year I'll again consider an Android handset.
And Symbian dont have ANY problems? That is hard to believe.
ha great choice, not.
To each his own I suppose... have you tried using the Captivate? I have a feeling with even all the supposed negatives, it still blows any Nokia away. The GPS isn't a big deal for me and I'm sure a sim unlock is just a call to ATT away (I've called and asked for 3 unlock codes for an LG and two blackberries just last year).
The problem with coming to this type of board for the kind of advise you're seeking on getting a new phone is, a lot of people complain about the negatives. People are seeking out fixes or mods for this issue or that.
To be fair, I'm not a big fan of Nokia or Symbian. I owned a 5800 XM and it was pretty horrible and the N8 or Symbian ^3 doesn't really do it for me. The apps are sorely lacking, messaging and email left a lot to be desired. I'll probably get another iPhone 4, jailbreak it and run ultrasn0w baseband unlock so I can use international sim cards before going with the Nokia again.
I can tell you from personal experience that one of the better phones from Nokia in the past 3 years is the e71.
The n81 is a very cheap feeling phone, and you'll hate the buttons. The n82 is good, but only has european 3g.
n95 is still a beast of a phone, and the 8gb model is nice.
You should be looking at the n8 if you really want to go with symbian, or wait for their S-Series to come out running MeeGo!
And it is not symbian^3, it is just s60.
Go to any forum for any phone and you will see hundreds of negative posts, but most issues don't effect most people.
I have not had the gps issues or many other problems. Also, the users with no problems never post.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
alphadog00 said:
Go to any forum for any phone and you will see hundreds of negative posts, but most issues don't effect most people.
I have not had the gps issues or many other problems. Also, the users with no problems never post.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats a good point. ne way his loss. I question the purpose of this thread though, what exactly was the intention here?
ua549 said:
Because of all of the issues about the Captivate S I've read about on this forum, I've decided not to purchase one. I travel a lot (read GSM/UMTS) and need an unlocked handset for local numbers. I also depend on GPS navigation that isn't functional on the Galaxy S.
Goodbye Android, hello Symbian ^3 in the form of a Nokia N8 I just ordered.
I really appreciate the good info I got from this forum. Next year I'll again consider an Android handset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. I used the GPS tweak on this forum and my Captivate has been rock solid since the tweak! I use the Google navigation all the freaking time! By the way, the Google navigation is > the ATT Navigation (AKA Telenav) & it's free!! Sorry to hear you didn't utilize the level of detail available to you. Good luck with the Nokia.
returned my captivate for an iphone 4 today...i wanted to love this phone and it just didn't work out. today was real bad and i had enough of it. it was lagging really badly, it would take 10-15 seconds to open an app, screen froze up for a good 30 seconds, and phone wouldn't turn on from being locked. gps is still an issue, even with the tweaks...it takes 15-30 seconds to lock on which is not good enough for me. The music player is terrible, its very sluggish and theres no set program to transfer music/videos/whatever onto the phone. It took me an hour just to transfer 300 songs over to the captivate...wtf. android market wasn't that great, the facebook app was terrible for it btw. there are some good points to the phone, it has nice widgets, swype, camera, and videos are amazing on this. i blame samsung, they pushed this phone out before it was ready, if they had waited and fixed the problems it would've clearly blown iphone out of the water.
kashc2 said:
returned my captivate for an iphone 4 today...i wanted to love this phone and it just didn't work out. today was real bad and i had enough of it. it was lagging really badly, it would take 10-15 seconds to open an app, screen froze up for a good 30 seconds, and phone wouldn't turn on from being locked. gps is still an issue, even with the tweaks...it takes 15-30 seconds to lock on which is not good enough for me. The music player is terrible, its very sluggish and theres no set program to transfer music/videos/whatever onto the phone. It took me an hour just to transfer 300 songs over to the captivate...wtf. android market wasn't that great, the facebook app was terrible for it btw. there are some good points to the phone, it has nice widgets, swype, camera, and videos are amazing on this. i blame samsung, they pushed this phone out before it was ready, if they had waited and fixed the problems it would've clearly blown iphone out of the water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow..... Seems like you had a "special" captivate.
Wow, I'm just really surprised that you researched some Captivate problems but didn't bother to research all of Symbians problems.
The biggest problem not having as much features as any Android phone does.
I've been happy with my Captivate, and it does everything I need it to do and a lot of times it does more than I need it to.
I even save $15 a month with free SMS with google voice. Picasa syncs and saves all my pics to my phone from my PC, and so does my calender.
Captiate has been the best phone I have ever had.
dressanderc said:
Wow..... Seems like you had a "special" captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope. mine was starting to get to that point and then did a factory reset and the phone is blazing again. I think it was all the apps because i felt like some apps like apndroid didnt uninstall right(yes i know i gotta enable b4 uninstalling).
tytdfn said:
nope. mine was starting to get to that point and then did a factory reset and the phone is blazing again. I think it was all the apps because i felt like some apps like apndroid didnt uninstall right(yes i know i gotta enable b4 uninstalling).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i also did factory reset...it didn't help. i might have had a defective captivate maybe idk, but im the type of guy that likes it simple and get it done, with the captivate you have to do a lot of tweaks and stuff like that, until it gets fixed atleast. i was disappointed when i had to return the phone...i really wanted to like and i thought it was the phone i was gonna keep for a long time when i first got it.
Your experience hardly reflects the average user experience with this phone though....i love mine and so do a lot of people...sorry to hear about your issues but maybe you should have gotten a replacement or do you really think all the people praising it are just putting up with all the stuff you experienced?
I've used message boards for years. I've even adminned a few, and I still maintain my own small one. And I still don't understand why people start threads based on this kind of pap, other than to draw attention to themselves either for self-aggrandizement or to make martyrs of themselves.
In either case, I don't care. I'm not here to find out what phone anyone uses or why, nor do I care about the second-hand opinions that fuel those decisions. All I care about is learning more about the experiences of others with the one I've chosen in an effort to both expand my own experience with it and to share likewise.
I agree with not buying the captivate, I would have gone with a Nexus One or a Dell Streak though.
shaolin95 said:
Your experience hardly reflects the average user experience with this phone though....i love mine and so do a lot of people...sorry to hear about your issues but maybe you should have gotten a replacement or do you really think all the people praising it are just putting up with all the stuff you experienced?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i admit, i think most captivates are fine but i also think there are plenty of users that are willing to put up with the problems of this phone, i wasn't one of those users though. those users that are willing to put up with this phone are hoping that samsung will come out with a fix for it and who knows when that is and whether that even fixes the problem. Like froyo, i hardly doubt it will come in September. I'm not going to sit and wait for that to happen when i can get a phone (iphone) that works flawlessly and can perform the same core functions as a captivate. i gave this phone a try and didn't work out, it's simple as that.
Shwiggie said:
I've used message boards for years. I've even adminned a few, and I still maintain my own small one. And I still don't understand why people start threads based on this kind of pap, other than to draw attention to themselves either for self-aggrandizement or to make martyrs of themselves.
In either case, I don't care. I'm not here to find out what phone anyone uses or why, nor do I care about the second-hand opinions that fuel those decisions. All I care about is learning more about the experiences of others with the one I've chosen in an effort to both expand my own experience with it and to share likewise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yet you take the time to vent on other people expressing their opinions. Whats the difference from the man telling us why he dosent like the phone, vs. You telling us why you dont like the thread?
kashc2 said:
It took me an hour just to transfer 300 songs over to the captivate...wtf. android market wasn't that great, the facebook app was terrible for it btw. there are some good points to the phone, it has nice widgets, swype, camera, and videos are amazing on this. i blame samsung, they pushed this phone out before it was ready, if they had waited and fixed the problems it would've clearly blown iphone out of the water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at your complaints, seems to me that your biggest problem is that you never got off the Apple tit, and don't know how to live without iTunes.
The rest of the issues you listed have easy fixes found on this very forum.
to the OP...
Obvious Troll is Obvious...
After 6+ years with a Windows Smart Phone (1st MPX220) I see the platform is dead and I have to go elsewhere. I am thinking of going to the Captivate. I like the new BB also but I am not sure if I want a crack berry. I think the Captivate will be more fun to have in the long run.
The cheapest I can find the phone with a 2 extention and keeping my old plan is Best Buy for $149 plus a $30 one time credit to my account.
I am wondering how to get I get all my texts and info from my old phone to my new phone. I have used PPCPIMbackup when doing firmware updates to my phone to back up all my info. Does this work with Captivate also? I am not sure because of the different OS.
I have never had a phone with out a keypad. This will be new for me. I wish I could have a phone with one. I see having a nice slim phone will also be nice. I think the keyless pads is how all phones exept for BB will be very soon.
Does anyone have any good tips or information before I go over to this phone? I know going from a Windows phone to this is going to be very different.
Thanks,
Swype makes everything all good.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I'm using the xda app so can't see your sig, what phone are you coming from? I've used winmo for about 2 yrs and love this phone. Not sure how to copy things over, seen alot of posts with problems. Best I've seen is manually enter em in google and sync that way. I just used my sim card. Didn't have a bunch of special contact info to copy.
From a phone on an app
I am coming form the Samsung Epix.
Anyone know if the PPCPIMbackup software will work on getting my old texts to my new phone?
veener79 said:
I am coming form the Samsung Epix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also migrated from the Epix... you will not be sorry. With regard to your question about transfering texts, generally anything is possible in Android, and a quick google search confirms this:
http://www.google.com/search?q=transfer+texts+from+windows+mobile+to+android&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=
veener79 said:
I am coming form the Samsung Epix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave up on my Epix. Were you one of the lucky ones?
The Captivate is a wonderful phone, if you don't mind waiting for a GPS fix.
My own experience: I was concerned about the lack of a physical keyboard, but found that swype makes things easy. However, I am more frustrated that I expected at the lack of really good business applications in android (I am waiting for Pocket Informant android, specifically). Also, if you use Outlook, you may have some frustration with syncing.
There is certainly no android phone to compare on ATT.
Thank you for the link. Looking over this site the only issues I see is with GPS on this phone. Is that about correct? Also it looks like it will get the 2.2 upgrade?
Kanzeon said:
I gave up on my Epix. Were you one of the lucky ones?
The Captivate is a wonderful phone, if you don't mind waiting for a GPS fix.
My own experience: I was concerned about the lack of a physical keyboard, but found that swype makes things easy. However, I am more frustrated that I expected at the lack of really good business applications in android (I am waiting for Pocket Informant android, specifically). Also, if you use Outlook, you may have some frustration with syncing.
There is certainly no android phone to compare on ATT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After ATT sent me my 4th or 5th phone I was doing better because it did not have the ID1 update. I kept on using firmware updates from this site to make the phone better. After the 6.5 update came out and the phone still was not right I gave up. GPS is still a issue but not like ID1. My texts and e-mail keep on crashing on it. I have not been able to update my hotmail via Live for over a week. Every time I close out of my texts it locks ups for about 20sec to a minute or two. I have finaly given up. Now my battery is only lasting about 2 days on standby. After about 1 hour long call I go though about 40% battery. I am just happy I can start doing a upgrade now.
I just hope the GPS fix comes soon for this new phone.
veener79 said:
Thank you for the link. Looking over this site the only issues I see is with GPS on this phone. Is that about correct? Also it looks like it will get the 2.2 upgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, GPS is not fully functional at this point, but it appears that Samsung is working on correcting the problem. 2.2 is in the works, but no word yet on when it will be released for the Captivate... best estimates seem to shoot for 1-2 months from now.
The gps works well for me with the update. It just takes longer than what I was used to wth the iphone. I get a solid lock in 30 seconds.
k2snowboards88 said:
The gps works well for me with the update. It just takes longer than what I was used to wth the iphone. I get a solid lock in 30 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excuse me, *for some*, GPS is not fully functional.
For the most part the captivate is great. Just needs a little bit of tweaking here and there. Gps is pretty much b0rked at the moment. Til Samsung gives us an actual fix. Or we find one. Gps can lock somtimes but it will jump around a lot or lose the fix. Navigation wont work for the most part. Aside from that the phone captivate is a great choice.
OK so the GPS sounds about as good as my epix right now. I can not even get a GPS signal in the car unless I have it on the dash with nothing blocking it. If all it takes is 30 seconds to lock on I will be set. That is better then the Epix. What is up with Samsung and the GPS.
veener79 said:
...What is up with Samsung and the GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nobody knows for sure. Some speculate it is hardware and won't be fixed. Most of us feel it is software. It supposedly works for some people, but those that can't get it to work are dubious that the ones that work are just not hitting the right circumstances for it to fail. It actually seems to be accurate a high percentage of the time, but when it is off, it is waaaaayyyyy off. Sometimes only for a few seconds. Very inconsistent.
Samsung has indicated it will be fixed in September. Not much time left for them on that commitment.
If they don't make it by then, there will be lots of whining and griping. I'll be doing that in my mind, but plan to refrain from doing so in the forum The GPS problem is probably the single largest issue that has caused a lot of threads, and several contentious posts.
It is a great phone. Hopefully the GPS issue will have true resolution very soon.
I switched from a moto Q. To a samsung jack, used a epix for a bit as well. Got this phone a few weeks ago and have not regretted it for a second. Android and win mobile 6.5 are not even close enough to compare.
Also swype beats out any virtual or physical keypad I have ever used.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I'd SERIOUSLY wait 2 months until the Windows Phone 7 devices are out. I was at MSFT this week and got to play with a dev model for a few minutes, it does seem pretty nice. It will all really depend on what apps are available.
[email protected] said:
I'd SERIOUSLY wait 2 months until the Windows Phone 7 devices are out. I was at MSFT this week and got to play with a dev model for a few minutes, it does seem pretty nice. It will all really depend on what apps are available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My impression, personally, was that windows mobile seemed like it was as locked down as the iphone, but without all of the iphone's features and polish. In short, It seemed like the worst of both worlds. The only thing I that it has going for itself is the nice looking homescreens. That is just my initial impression though and I hope I'm wrong.
You can see my list of phones in my SIG and I know my thing when it comes to HTC and WinMo.... all those phones in that list, were me trying to find a device that ran...well.... the way my Captivate does. Even with fat thumbs I can still type on the software keyboard... I go back to my TP2 and I actually type slower. I just cant type without looking at the keyboard, one thing a software keyboard will never accomplish.
Ive been following WinMo for years, and I can tell you, this makes me never want to go back, even for WP7.
ewingr said:
Nobody knows for sure. Some speculate it is hardware and won't be fixed. Most of us feel it is software. It supposedly works for some people, but those that can't get it to work are dubious that the ones that work are just not hitting the right circumstances for it to fail. It actually seems to be accurate a high percentage of the time, but when it is off, it is waaaaayyyyy off. Sometimes only for a few seconds. Very inconsistent.
Samsung has indicated it will be fixed in September. Not much time left for them on that commitment.
If they don't make it by then, there will be lots of whining and griping. I'll be doing that in my mind, but plan to refrain from doing so in the forum The GPS problem is probably the single largest issue that has caused a lot of threads, and several contentious posts.
It is a great phone. Hopefully the GPS issue will have true resolution very soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I got the phone on the way home.
I am likeing it a lot all ready. I used Travel for the GPS app. That thing worked great. I hope maybe I got a good one. Before I did anything on the phone I did the software update. I am going to play with it for a little and see what else if great. I do love the voice activated things. That is great.
veener79 said:
Ok I got the phone on the way home.
I am likeing it a lot all ready. I used Travel for the GPS app. That thing worked great. I hope maybe I got a good one. Before I did anything on the phone I did the software update. I am going to play with it for a little and see what else if great. I do love the voice activated things. That is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from a HTC Tilt, which had HORRIBLE GPS. I was able to get a great Froyo ROM in it and had a ton of time to play with it before I got the Captivate. The learning curve is very low for basic operation. It'll take a bit of research to get the rooting/sideloading etc down. Most everyone here is fantastic at helping out and I've gotten some excellent advice from people on how to mod my Captivate. Coming from a WinMo phone to this one, I HIGHLY doubt you'll be disappointed
Maybe I am the only one, but flashing roms and learning how to screw up my captivate, and more importantly learn how to fix it afterwords, has made me not really care about when my phone will get 2.2 or 2.3. The developers here have made roms that I believe are just as good, if not better than the "official" versions. Sure Samsung promised 2.2 a long time ago, but what is the fun in just a boring update? Am I the only one who feels this way, or am I just addicted to flashing?
Here, here!
The only thing an official AT&T update would bring at this point in the game, would be better custom ROMs.
IMVHO of course.
I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.
Custom ROMs saved me from hating this phone and made it a really great device in every way I can think of, but it doesn't excuse AT&T+Samsung's lack of support on this device.
All I can say is thank goodness for people on this forum who have the interest, know how and drive to do what those companies have not done: make the Captivate a great device.
sarcasmo said:
I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had no issues exchanging my phone with random shutdowns...call att and exchange it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
delugeofspam said:
Here, here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where? Where?
sarcasmo said:
I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
acctually there is a working media hub .apk in one of the forums and it works great
Wdustin1 said:
acctually there is a working media hub .apk in one of the forums and it works great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where? 10 characters
I agree, I love this phone and I'm thankful for samsung and AT&T not doing their job, because it's made people on these forums come up with some amazing roms/kernels/what-have-you.
The rom leaks developers are working on are part of a conspiracy. Think about it.
rwj5279955 said:
The only thing an official AT&T update would bring at this point in the game, would be better custom ROMs.
IMVHO of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup! My Sentiments exactly.
fldude99 said:
Where? 10 characters
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was on the Epic forums.
I tried this a while ago on one of the early versions of cog and it worked fine, but I don't use it enough to keep it on my phone. But I can confirm that it did work for me.
sarcasmo said:
I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very well said! Btw, LOVE the screen name, lol.
I don't even own this phone, my gf does and I've done limited research so I could flash Cog2.3b8. The phone is WAAAAY better with Cog, but the gps blatantly disappeared on us halfway to our destination last weekend. I sighed and pulled out my mt4g which caught a lock in about 1/10th of a second and guided us there with absolutely no errors.
This made ME feel pretty stupid considering I gave her the phone as a gift. Thank god I bought it used and can probably sell it for what I paid for it.
From my limited experience with AT&T and Samsung I am furious. This phone had tremendous potential but I will avoid Samsung and AT&T like the plague from now on.
Delaying updates is one thing but the GPS issue is ****ing ridiculous. It's a joke!! There's no other way to describe it. You should all be irate and demand your money back.
Yes, T-mobile has had QC issues with the MT4G but everyone in the thread who has returned their phones has praised T-mobile for the way they handle their customer service, including myself. How many have had that experience with AT&T?
You should still be mad at Samsung.
Instead of making good ROMs great, we're making crappy ROMs good.
vunuts said:
It was on the Epic forums.
I tried this a while ago on one of the early versions of cog and it worked fine, but I don't use it enough to keep it on my phone. But I can confirm that it did work for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked for me as well. I just didnt care for it. I would much rather have netflix. I have a different apk somewhere around here. If his doesnt work for you let me know via pm and I will send it... nm i just posted it
Phateless said:
You should all be irate and demand your money back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah. I don't really need GPS, and last time I tried it outside my work building it got lock in about 2 or 3 seconds. I've tried it a couple of times while driving with mixed results. It seems to depend a lot on the area. As expected (or maybe not), it seemed to worked the best in the "wealthy" part of the city. I live in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Other than that I don't know. I haven't had any single random restart that I know it wasn't caused by me, same with charging death, mainly caused by bad UV settings.
I only used the stock rom for about 2 days before I moved and lagfixed it. I killed it once in a bad kernel flashing attempt. The fact that I can revive it using a home made usb jig makes me love it even more.
Right now, I just wished people could experience that same phone I'm experiencing. I think I'm in love with it.
I'm mad at both. My Captivate is my work phone, provided by my employer - so I am less comfortable flashing it to overcome the shortcomings of the standard AT&T build - yet I did root the phone and install the MobileAP so I can actually work when my client doesn't let me connect to their network.
My beef is on smaller things like - disabling tethering, not having more robust support for Exchange, the inability to sideload, or even load Android Market apps that AT&T doesn't want me to see.
As a work tool, I want my phone to let me work, and these limits, largely self-imposed are galling.
I've learned so much over the last week. I must have flashed my phone at least 20 times and got a few good bricks out of it too. Samsung and At&t can do what they want. These roms works much better than anything they could ever do.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I'm not mad at Samsung or Rogers for the reasons stated above, I'm mad at them for broken promises as they relate to hardware - namely the USB-to-HDMI issue, which was a big reason for me to go with this phone over another. We were promised a software update to enable this and were even shown a cable on the official Sammy site, but nada.
Maybe we can help. I have several theories regarding people that are are having issues.
1. People do not read or do not understand what they are reading regarding instructions. This has happened to me, so I am not calling people out.
2. Restoring apps and settings from Google. This is a cool feature concept wise, but I believe google has created more problems by allowing people to restore apps and settings across different versions of android.
3. Titanium backup. Same issue as above. I personally love the program, but it has limitations. I believe many are restoring data and in some cases system info from previous roms.
4. Defective batteries. I firmly believe that screen of death while charging is a battery issue.
5. Pushing their hardware beyond its stable limits. It is fun to rack up big scores on benchmarks, but it can lead to instability. Not all hardware is created equal.
For those that have ongoing issues, I would love to help. I am not guru and I am constantly learning new things, but many of us can help with the basics.
When you ask a question, please let us know what rom you are using and what baseband you are using. Let us know what you have tried to correct your issues. The more info you provide, the better chance you will receive an answer that corrects the issue.
Like many, I am tired of seeing the same old questions again and again, but many of those people are new to android or the G2x and so I encourage patience. We need to help our fellow G2x users and make this forum the envy of the board.
I am relying on my fellow xda members to chip in and help those with major issues. I know this happens already, but lets step it up a notch.
I will help too
been around since the g1 and pretty savvy (no coding) but hacking/flashing/fixing/troubleshooting is my forte.
+1 on the OP.
-----------
sent from my calculator with android
This is my first smartphone. Gave up my company provided BB for an honest to goodness smartphone. I don't think I have a "bad" G2X but I don't think I have a perfect one either. Probably on par with what 90% of others have I'd guess. I get occasional reboots, have had to pull the battery a time or two. Nothing more drastic than what I had to do with any BB.
I really don't get the hate for this phone (I do see a bunch of lazies that don't know how to; A: READ, B: Follow instruction), but conversely I don't get the adoration either. What makes it so great? I see "ZOMG SOOOO FAST" comments all the time. I don't find it blazing fast (maybe because it's my first?) but it's not slow (minus the occasional slow-down).
I must say I'm looking forward to an official ICS. Hopefully an honest to goodness dual-core OS that our devs can further improve upon.
G2X=Good Phone.
sidenote: Google desperately needs to improve their email client for business useage.
Dr. Bogenbroom said:
This is my first smartphone. Gave up my company provided BB for an honest to goodness smartphone. I don't think I have a "bad" G2X but I don't think I have a perfect one either. Probably on par with what 90% of others have I'd guess. I get occasional reboots, have had to pull the battery a time or two. Nothing more drastic than what I had to do with any BB.
I really don't get the hate for this phone (I do see a bunch of lazies that don't know how to; A: READ, B: Follow instruction), but conversely I don't get the adoration either. What makes it so great? I see "ZOMG SOOOO FAST" comments all the time. I don't find it blazing fast (maybe because it's my first?) but it's not slow (minus the occasional slow-down).
I must say I'm looking forward to an official ICS. Hopefully an honest to goodness dual-core OS that our devs can further improve upon.
G2X=Good Phone.
sidenote: Google desperately needs to improve their email client for business useage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something I found to improve the speed of the interface is Spare Parts. It does not change benchmarks, but makes the phone feel much more responsive. Set all the animations to fast in the options.
The problem here is that there really are defective g2x's out there. A small portion of the problems could undoubtedly be user error or as you say. But the vast majority of the original issues were because of defective phones. Period.
I got multiples bad ones. I finally got a refurbed one that was awesome. Then when I broke the screen on that one recently, my (brand new) replacement has performed PERFECTLY as well.
I did nothing different on any of them. Nothing. (Although I have not rooted this new one...it's got the updated oftware).
But it's purrrfect!
This is why I'm now mostly a lurker here. I've nothing to complain about. I love this phone. And I also got a Sensation. Didn't like it as much and sold it.
ickster said:
The problem here is that there really are defective g2x's out there. A small portion of the problems could undoubtedly be user error or as you say. But the vast majority of the original issues were because of defective phones. Period.
I got multiples bad ones. I finally got a refurbed one that was awesome. Then when I broke the screen on that one recently, my (brand new) replacement has performed PERFECTLY as well.
I did nothing different on any of them. Nothing. (Although I have not rooted this new one...it's got the updated oftware).
But it's purrrfect!
This is why I'm now mostly a lurker here. I've nothing to complain about. I love this phone. And I also got a Sensation. Didn't like it as much and sold it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey ickster. I know what you are saying. I was just hoping to address some the the current problems and present a list of things I know caused me issues. I exchanged my first phone purchased the day of release because of reboots. At this point I think a lot of the issues are user error. I actually have 4 G2x's. My wife and I each have one and I gave a pair away to my two best employees. All four are running flawlessly now after some tweaking. Day after day of thread after thread about problems that can probably be rectified with a few simple steps was making me nuts.
I just want to make this forum the best I can. Maybe I am going about it in the wrong manner. I thought I would give it a shot.
ickster said:
The problem here is that there really are defective g2x's out there. A small portion of the problems could undoubtedly be user error or as you say. But the vast majority of the original issues were because of defective phones. Period.
I got multiples bad ones. I finally got a refurbed one that was awesome. Then when I broke the screen on that one recently, my (brand new) replacement has performed PERFECTLY as well.
I did nothing different on any of them. Nothing. (Although I have not rooted this new one...it's got the updated oftware).
But it's purrrfect!
This is why I'm now mostly a lurker here. I've nothing to complain about. I love this phone. And I also got a Sensation. Didn't like it as much and sold it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a refurb that was acting wonky from the get go, did a factory reset and its the honestly the best one yet.
jcbofkc said:
1. People do not read or do not understand what they are reading regarding instructions. This has happened to me, so I am not calling people out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course.
jcbofkc said:
2. Restoring apps and settings from Google. This is a cool feature concept wise, but I believe google has created more problems by allowing people to restore apps and settings across different versions of android.
3. Titanium backup. Same issue as above. I personally love the program, but it has limitations. I believe many are restoring data and in some cases system info from previous roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've NEVER seen google restore any of my data. Not one iota. I don't think the feature was there when I had the G1 or MyTouch 3G. On my Vibrant, I always ticked the box hoping I'd at least get my wifi passwords, but alas no.
Titanium backup works fine, as long as you don't try to migrate system data. I've NEVER had an issue with it. I even do move data for News and Weather app which "counts" as system data, as well as Wifi passwords, because I have way too danged many of them NOT to move it. As far as moving user apps/data, have never had any issues other than market items not attaching properly.
jcbofkc said:
4. Defective batteries. I firmly believe that screen of death while charging is a battery issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe. I was having screen of death using MIUI, and when I switched back to an LG build it went away.
jcbofkc said:
5. Pushing their hardware beyond its stable limits. It is fun to rack up big scores on benchmarks, but it can lead to instability. Not all hardware is created equal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CERTAINLY. This is the biggest issue. Undervolted kernels, overclocked kernels, etc. When I had my Vibrant, it couldn't handle even the slightest hint of an overclock without issues. And, of course, the issues wouldn't show up right away, so it was easy to hope it wasn't due to the overclock. But it was. It could undervolt all day long, however. Other phones of the same make were just the opposite. Dunno about the G2X, but that's why manufacturers set things as conservatively as they do -- to take into account the variances in the manufacturing process. Those variances can be a benefit to the crafty, but you can never DEPEND on it to not introduce instability.
jcbofkc said:
When you ask a question, please let us know what rom you are using and what baseband you are using. Let us know what you have tried to correct your issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious how many of those with ongoing issues are running the old baseband. I have the July baseband, and always have as I just bought my phone. But if someone who was rooted before the official LG update never got the baseband update, that could be an issue.
jcbofkc said:
Like many, I am tired of seeing the same old questions again and again, but many of those people are new to android or the G2x and so I encourage patience. We need to help our fellow G2x users and make this forum the envy of the board.
I am relying on my fellow xda members to chip in and help those with major issues. I know this happens already, but lets step it up a notch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still learning the G2X ecosystem. A few differences from the Vibrant, and a much quieter forum overall. Strangely for a US only released phone, lots of posters from outside the US. Not sure why?
Some of the repeated "over and over" questions have to do with lack of a good all-in-one FAQ I think. There's a thread that lists a few key threads, but some aren't on it, and some info just isn't presented super clearly. No offense to Mr. Clown (the moderator that maintains the FAQ thread), but there's just a lot of info you can't get from that thread that really should be there. For the "one and only, don't ask" sticky, it's not the best. How could it be, when the moderator that maintains it doesn't even have a G2X? It's merely a list of links suggested by forum members, and there's no experience shared there that's helpful to newbies.
There's not even an XDA wiki on this phone that I can find... Maybe that would help -- I might be talked into contributing to that.
The majority of problems with the phone at launch were related to a badly programmed OS by LG. The GB update fixed almost all of the related problems. I have minimal screen bleed that can only be seen in a dark room. I can live with that.
Awesome Post, I bought my g2x the day it came april 20, 11 and i never had any problems posted in xda developers beside the backlit bleeding around the corners which is not really a big issue for me. It is really an awesome device. I use hdmi to watch my netflix movies or even to play games on my hdtv, everything performs flawlessly and the battery last a day in moderate use and 2 days in slight use. I think thats pretty good for a dual core smartphone. The only thing i am not happy is the support it got from lg. The gingerbread update took away awesome camera app and the signal bars didnt work according to the connectivity. I think the gingerbread build was incomplete. Waiting for the ICS on my g2x. I get a unexpected reboot probably once in 2 weeks or some which is mainly because of the extensive multitasking and lack of ram, i know 512 is not less however the hd games and livewallpapers consumes huge lot of ram. so those seldom unexpected reboot does make sense as i never switch off my divice. I think it is still an awesome device. The tegra really has some potential, you can play shadowgun to figure out the gpu capability of g2x.
+1 to the OP
@OP I agree with the principle behind what you said, but isn't that exaclty what this whole xda forum is about in the first place, users helping each other out? I'm not trying to put your idea down, but just saying its nothing new really. Maybe I misunderstood what you said and if so, then my apologies.
The problem you identified in #1 is exactly correct -- people don't read or don't understand what they read. They get ahead of themselves and start doing stuff to their phones without understanding the potential consequences if something goes wrong. Then they freak out and instead of searching for a solution to their own problem they just post a new thread saying "ZOMG!!!! Plz help!!! Plz!!!!!!!!!!!!" I've read several threads like that and then found the answer to their question literally 2 threads down.
Anyway, I'm starting to digress. You make a very good point and ideally people will read and follow. Sadly, and realistically, they wont.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App