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Leaving Windows thinking ATT Captivate

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

Buy Captivate now or wait!?

Hi,
I need some help to decide.
Should I buy this phone now or wait for later this year, or even maybe 2011(witch is to long time waiting).
Currently I own a Xperia X10(tired of this phone, no software update, captivate has way better screen) on Tmobile, and moving to ATT would be good I think.
Plan difference is not so big besides the cap limit on internet.
Please help, I will sell my Xperia X10, to have money ready for a new phone.
Thanks.

nj777 said:
Hi,
I need some help to decide.
Should I buy this phone now or wait for later this year, or even maybe 2011(witch is to long time waiting).
Currently I own a Xperia X10(tired of this phone, no software update, captivate has way better screen) on Tmobile, and moving to ATT would be good I think.
Plan difference is not so big besides the cap limit on internet.
Please help, I will sell my Xperia X10, to have money ready for a new phone.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well honestly it is really up to you. I don't think the community should decide for you. Would the possibility of having a non working GPS bother you? Would the possibility of having a phone that randomly shut down bother you? ( then you'd have to deal with AT&T warranty and such ) Those are some examples of problems that you should consider about. Samsung is known for having ****ty customer service and lack of updates. You see, the latest OTA update that we received were supposed to fix GPS problems... but it didn't... so... * shrug *
Don't get me wrong, I love my phone. It's just that samsung frustrates me at times because of their incompetence.

How about...would I if I were you...
I don't have the Xperia..but did have the Hero..and they are fairly close..
I look at it like this..as much as I loved my Hero with CM6 over clocked to 768mhz and all the themes and goodies...I wouldn't go back. I don't depend on my gps in my telephone to make my life easier..If you do..then you might want to wait..but..know this..You can copy Walmart's info from the web for the Captivate and go into a ATT store and walk out with one for $59.00.
As too the random shut downs..I'm running bare bones stock...I've had my phone on solid since last Thursday and have loaded and played 5 HD movies on it..talked for about 200 hours and sent about 30 text messages..and not one blip/fc/shutdown or anything else..Also..I told the sales lady I wanted one where it would do the 3 button recovery..She Googled it to see what I was talking about and said ok..no problem..Mine worked first time..but had to open the 7th box to get one that did for the wife.Both of ours works great..and the GPS isn't real bad..I lock on to about 8-10 sats under 10 seconds with mine..the wifes is about the same..
If it were me..Hell yes..I love this phone..
Mac

The leaked froyo sure is nice though. I haven't had any random shut down issues unless I let the phone stay on the charger to long and then it will only shut down when its sitting without being used.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Um, not to be a hater here but....
This was the only high end android device that ATT had. All the other phone s the carrier offers besides the Aria is a joke.
I feel very lucky that XDA and Design Gears is around or I would have a completely useless device. No way would I recommend this phone to John Q Public.
There are too many awesome devices out that work. Sure the screen is awesome and its fast as hell. But it is laden with bugs and took folks in this community to get it to run.
Couple that with Samsung's track record? I would recommend getting another device. Most likely an HTC.
Of course with all that being said... I love my phone and wouldn't trade it for any other on the market today...... Until the next shiny new device comes out.
With my phone using Cognition, because it just runs better.

avgjoegeek said:
Um, not to be a hater here but....
This was the only high end android device that ATT had. All the other phone s the carrier offers besides the Aria is a joke.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you meaning to tell me that the Moto Backflip is not a quality phone?! /sarcasm

Thanks for all your sugesstions,
A reply to second post: I am not looking for someone to pic a phone for me, I was trying to get information if there is a better choice comparable to Captivate and better than Xperia. And I didn't find any better device at this time or any confirmed device that would be available later. Sorry if I didn't express myself clearly.
As for Gps issue I know, trouth to be told I don't really use it so no big deal there, as for restarts and lag Captivate is not the only one doing that, my X10 does it to, I noticed it based on ever root or updates, mostly I think it's from incompatible software And hardware, even my Windows and Mac does that. My wife's IPhone 3GS does that too when using it too much and having to many apps xD.
So, are there any shortlly upcoming devices I should know? My google research didn't get far, maybe there is anyone with more information about it.
Thank you, I appreciet all your opinions

better but comparable to captivate, hmmm the g2 from t-mobile. thats about it. no other phone has the 3d procesing of a galaxy s. but some are faster at other things. the g2 is very fast across the board.
snapdragon htc phones have bad battery life, the aria has too small of a battery. i had one it had alot of features but the screen was too small and no battery life, its basically a hero with android 2.1. so other than the g2 that leaves motorola phones that are only on verizon and have less performance than the g2.
i like the captivate but i think i would also like a g2.

nj777 said:
Hi,
I need some help to decide.
Should I buy this phone now or wait for later this year, or even maybe 2011(witch is to long time waiting).
Currently I own a Xperia X10(tired of this phone, no software update, captivate has way better screen) on Tmobile, and moving to ATT would be good I think.
Plan difference is not so big besides the cap limit on internet.
Please help, I will sell my Xperia X10, to have money ready for a new phone.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would and did and don't have an ounce of regret. I have learned so much in the past few weeks which is empowering when it comes to choosing and flashing ROMS. My expectations from a $500 device that does so much is very low so I am rarely disappointed.
My GPS works to around 30 meters. Good enough. The Music player is phenomenal even through the stock buds.(and I normally use Westone 3s and ETY 4s) I have never seen such a customizable device and fool proof as well IF you take the time to really understand and follow directions
Read the later parts of long threads so you don't get into the middle error area where issues are resolved. Don't be afraid to ask questions after you look for an answer. It is a very friendly forum. Very few "self appointed forum cops"
I would not wait. get the JH6 and begin playing with ROMS and recovery. When the official 2.2 comes out you won't be afraid to burn a better cooked Cognition ROM of it later.
There will be bugs...There are always bugs......

i say get it, i went from the fuze to the captivate and im never looking back, couldnt be happier

If I were you, I will wait probably... X10 is a great device, but i dont know if they are going to release update... I will stick with X10, and change to a better phone next year... samsung is too ****ty, dont get ur hand with them if u can... also, dont even try to get att, they are ****ty too...
if u want, sell ur X10 and buy a vibrant...
im with att because they are the only carrier with rollover... and i have captivate because its the best android on att
Foxy Roxy said:
Well honestly it is really up to you. I don't think the community should decide for you. Would the possibility of having a non working GPS bother you? Would the possibility of having a phone that randomly shut down bother you? ( then you'd have to deal with AT&T warranty and such ) Those are some examples of problems that you should consider about. Samsung is known for having ****ty customer service and lack of updates. You see, the latest OTA update that we received were supposed to fix GPS problems... but it didn't... so... * shrug *
Don't get me wrong, I love my phone. It's just that samsung frustrates me at times because of their incompetence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tHe OTA update BRICK my phone, and att/samsung are blaming each other... they sucks...
Mac11700 said:
How about...would I if I were you...
I don't have the Xperia..but did have the Hero..and they are fairly close..
I look at it like this..as much as I loved my Hero with CM6 over clocked to 768mhz and all the themes and goodies...I wouldn't go back. I don't depend on my gps in my telephone to make my life easier..If you do..then you might want to wait..but..know this..You can copy Walmart's info from the web for the Captivate and go into a ATT store and walk out with one for $59.00.
As too the random shut downs..I'm running bare bones stock...I've had my phone on solid since last Thursday and have loaded and played 5 HD movies on it..talked for about 200 hours and sent about 30 text messages..and not one blip/fc/shutdown or anything else..Also..I told the sales lady I wanted one where it would do the 3 button recovery..She Googled it to see what I was talking about and said ok..no problem..Mine worked first time..but had to open the 7th box to get one that did for the wife.Both of ours works great..and the GPS isn't real bad..I lock on to about 8-10 sats under 10 seconds with mine..the wifes is about the same..
If it were me..Hell yes..I love this phone..
Mac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you mind to share your gps configuration?

I am one of the few or possibly not so few people who did not really have any problems with my Captivate on the android 2.1 release, and actually the 2.2 recently leaked os either.
One thing people do not appear to keep in mind that these phone are closer to a PC now than ever before with pound for pound nearly the same power house operating systems on them. With such a customizable OS on a phone like Droid its bound to have some kinks as I think alot can agree on this, most operating systems do.
That said, its not unheard of for there to be lots of updates, firmware fixes etc, and the numbers in this forum who are posting may not seem to be all that many people when you consider that there are probably far more Captivate owners out there with no issues whatsoever.
What I am saying is that this phone may have some kinks for the people posting in here but it clearly is not every captivate owner having a problem. You can go to any other forums from other sites, and even manufacturers and read hundreds of posts about nearly every phone made with problems.
Do not let the people here steer you one way or the other, but heed the notices regarding possible issues. All the reviews for this phone are not that bad at all, and there are alternative phones, but keep in mind that any galaxy s phone will most likely have the same OS and some of the same kinks. All are samsung so.
imo this is a pretty damn decent phone, it is better than my iPhone 3gs was and I am glad I dont have that pos anymore.
The GPS on my phone is pretty fast to get a signal, it was on 2.1 and 2.2 android, but I do find it to be a tad bit sensitive. Gotta leave in stationary in the open the first lock, after that it appears to maintain pretty well, and i have put it through its paces, average for me in my location for a lock on is roughly 10-45 seconds depending on occlusion.
The phones default power saving scheme to be appears to be very aggressive.

My 2 cents
If I were you, I would keep the X10. I just left my ATT Touch Pro and upgraded to a Captivate. At first i was really excited about it. The screen size, brightness, slim form-factor of the phone were awesome. A week later I am looking at the phone going is this really that much better than my Touch Pro?
All I ever used my phone for were to make calls, emails, texts and spreadsheets. Doing the same on the Captivate was better in some area's and worse in the other. Exchange support is no where near where windows phones, but that is to be expected.
I don't have any GPS issues, random shutdowns or reboots or anything, the phone just works great. Yet I still have a little remorse.
Also when the 2.2 update does come out for this, expect this to be the last update they ever make. I have had a few Samsung phones and they NEVER release a lot of updates, very few actually.

jev3gs said:
Exchange support is no where near where windows phones, but that is to be expected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Imagine that.
To the op,
I bought the Captivate, it's not a Cappy, as my first smartphone. I have no regrets what so ever. I must also be outside the norm because I understand that it's a phone first, GPS is a luxury. It works fine for my tastes as well.
If you like to tinker, then you can't go wrong. There is a lot of support and great support at that here.

i would wait. i'm on my 3rd captivate due to either build quality issues, or gps that never fixes. i must just have the worst luck ever to have 3 phones with non working gps i guess. and for those that say its a luxury, yes to a degree it is. but you cant use poynt, places, weather apps, all sorts of things if the gps isnt working right. forget foursquare, twitter locations, geo tagging photos, etc. i depend on my phone for work, and gps is critical to me as my phone replaced my stand alone tomtom unit. and yes i know that its a phone not a dedicated gps, but i never had issues with gps with my iphone 3gs, i left that phone for other reasons however. i like the android os, like the form factor of the captivate, and really like some aspects of the touchwiz interface. but in comparison to some of the other android phones, we really dont have it all that good on ATT. no flash, no led notifications, the capcacitve buttons dont stay on very long at all, and a real lack of accessories for the device in general.
i know that you can root and use custom roms and such, but i just want my phone to work as is. 200 dollars up front plus the cost of the phone over the contract time is a lot of money to spend on a device that i have to void the warranty on in order to get it to do half of what its supposed to. i would wait and try a different phone. problem is i dont think att is too worried about getting any other android phones right now. I would almost get the aria over the captivate at this point. i wish we had a good top line android phone from motorola, or htc to compete with the captivate at this point.

Anytime you buy a product and it has a feature, you expect it to work. To say it is a phone and has GPS but it doesn't work is alright is BS. That is like buying a car and when you take it home the radio doesn't work, the wipers don't work and the dealer tells you to live with it. I don't buy that one bit.
If MFG's can't make something work in a phone when they make it, they better just leave it out then.
I will say though that i have not had any issues with my Captivate.... especially since now I am not running the ESPN widget anymore. Man that always slowed down my phone like crazy!

eclypse3demons said:
I am one of the few or possibly not so few people who did not really have any problems with my Captivate on the android 2.1 release, and actually the 2.2 recently leaked os either.
One thing people do not appear to keep in mind that these phone are closer to a PC now than ever before with pound for pound nearly the same power house operating systems on them. With such a customizable OS on a phone like Droid its bound to have some kinks as I think alot can agree on this, most operating systems do.
That said, its not unheard of for there to be lots of updates, firmware fixes etc, and the numbers in this forum who are posting may not seem to be all that many people when you consider that there are probably far more Captivate owners out there with no issues whatsoever.
What I am saying is that this phone may have some kinks for the people posting in here but it clearly is not every captivate owner having a problem. You can go to any other forums from other sites, and even manufacturers and read hundreds of posts about nearly every phone made with problems.
Do not let the people here steer you one way or the other, but heed the notices regarding possible issues. All the reviews for this phone are not that bad at all, and there are alternative phones, but keep in mind that any galaxy s phone will most likely have the same OS and some of the same kinks. All are samsung so.
imo this is a pretty damn decent phone, it is better than my iPhone 3gs was and I am glad I dont have that pos anymore.
The GPS on my phone is pretty fast to get a signal, it was on 2.1 and 2.2 android, but I do find it to be a tad bit sensitive. Gotta leave in stationary in the open the first lock, after that it appears to maintain pretty well, and i have put it through its paces, average for me in my location for a lock on is roughly 10-45 seconds depending on occlusion.
The phones default power saving scheme to be appears to be very aggressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you are one of the VERY VERY few....5 million sold. The "issues" people are having are directly related to their expectations. I bought two..One to experiment with and one to use while giving my wife the N97. Once I realized they were both ok and I could not brick it I loaded froyo on both , gave her one and retired the N97......
I don't expect a $500 device to lock on to GPS within a minute with 10 feet of accuracy....a few minutes and 100 feet is ok and it EXCEEDS those expectations for me....at the end of the day it WILL get you home. I made some settings adjustments and dialed it in as best I could get it. I am confident Samsung will "fix" things that are broke.
I did not expect this phone to deliver the quality of natural lighting pics and videos it does.....bat my expectations.
There is no area where this phone did not at least meet my expectations.
But then again I took what the open device gave me.......did some leading and learning and MADE it what I WANT....not what ATT or Samsung wants. At least they gave me the choice to so, JB an Apple is a joke compared to what can be done with this OS. Been there done that..
My Nokia N97 cost the same and was 1/2 the device this is.....The iPhone is a toy compared to this OS and what can be done with it.
The people who are having issues usually are not following the directions SPECIFICALLY to do things. I know because I too have been guilty of missing a step here and there and panicking LOL
The carrier is fine...T Mobile's 3G is faster...Sprint 4G is faster...Verizon is Apple's sister in control freaky......The iPhone on Verizon will be a lock down on lock down But for those who want to press and play iPhone is perfect....fast and easy.
ATT is not the best nor the worst..they are what they are. You either stay wth them or leave...Simple choice. They give some and take some...

jev3gs said:
Anytime you buy a product and it has a feature, you expect it to work. To say it is a phone and has GPS but it doesn't work is alright is BS. That is like buying a car and when you take it home the radio doesn't work, the wipers don't work and the dealer tells you to live with it. I don't buy that one bit.
If MFG's can't make something work in a phone when they make it, they better just leave it out then.
I will say though that i have not had any issues with my Captivate.... especially since now I am not running the ESPN widget anymore. Man that always slowed down my phone like crazy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just saying it has "GPS" does not entitle it to be a good a GPS as a standalone! LOL It requires a phone to eventually lock on a satellite and get you to a destination. Which this phone does. I have Garmins in my cars. They SHOULD and do get immediate locks and tracking is perfect. They cost almost what this phone does. They don;t take video,pics, make calls...on and on.....
Some phones may have a real issue. But most of them have working hardware and SW is fixing many as well, It is just that people are fixing them themselves.....while waiting for an official fix. I fine very few posts where GPS does not work at all. More of people having to wait too long for a lock. That issue depends on so many factors it's silly to compare. Another brand may have a better GPS implimentation but be poor in other areas....
You choose a device based on it's STREGNTHS based on YOUR NEEDS...If you want a great camera you buy a Nokia N8, If you want geat GPS you buy a G2 or another camera with such.
It's not like this issues has been "hidden" I knew about it reading threads before I bought the phone but I also knew I could live without the GPS...and in all likelihood (as always) it would not be as bad as people claim......
It wasn't perfect..but it is not as bad as people claim either. It is exactly the same on both my Cappys.....when both are set the same and on the same ROM.

My two cents, get it now while you can still unlock it.
The 2.2 update will remove the file that gives you the codes for sim unlocking.

jev3gs said:
Anytime you buy a product and it has a feature, you expect it to work. To say it is a phone and has GPS but it doesn't work is alright is BS. That is like buying a car and when you take it home the radio doesn't work, the wipers don't work and the dealer tells you to live with it. I don't buy that one bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. It may not be "broken" but the quality is definitely "sub-par" IMO.
To the OP. If you can live without having quality GPS performance and willing to spend a few hours with ATT warranty department if Samsung releases a phone with a fix (if it is hardware) then I say get it now. That's my current plan. But I've never had much trouble with AT&T's warranty department.
Despite the GPS issues, the Captivate is still my favorite Android phone. One the few I've even liked.

Why I am not angry at Samsung or [email protected]

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.

I want to help the people having major issues. I want to eliminate the negativity.

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

We may need a campaign of annoyance...

Folks,
There's been no word, no dates given or leaked about the ICS update we're supposed to be receiving. Samsung has said we're supposed to get the update, but T-Mobile has been quiet. Hell, Samsung just announced that the GS2 will be getting JB and they've been working on it. I don't know how well that translates to the T-Mobile variant of the GS2, but it's still something. All we need is a kernel and some camera drivers. Hell, we could probably get away without the camera drivers and mangle the old ones using a compatibility HAL..
It is starting to feel like T-Mobile is simply going to forget the blaze. I mean, they released an update already, why would they hurry on to the next update...
I think if we're going to get something for nothing, we'll have to make noise about it. Same way we got this forum. I think it's going to take bugging t-mobile on the forums and on their support lines. You people on contract have it worse. You bought a really powerful phone in the presence of ICS, some of you after the promise that it would receive the update. T-Mobile wouldn't suffer penalties if they didn't push it, but I imagine they'll respond to some social pressure enough not to simply forget the update.
Hell, it'd be nice if we could even just get a date.

I agree with you. At this point I'd be happy with some sort of update from Samsung/T-Mobile. Even if they just said "we're still working on it" and gave no ETA at least we'd know they hadn't forgotten about it.
If the Blaze Q whatever the hell they've decided to call it launches here in a few weeks with ICS and we still don't get the software I will be ticked.
If push comes to shove and they don't release it can the devs port it or JB from another galaxy phone?
Correct me if I'm wrong but my understating is that it can but would take a lot of work and all are holding off since ICS is supposed to be dropping at anytime. No sense in going thru all that work only to have an official release dropped on us.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Blaze.

Lol bugging xda mods for a forum is NOT the same a bugging T-Mobile for eta.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda app-developers app

dr4stic said:
Folks,
There's been no word, no dates given or leaked about the ICS update we're supposed to be receiving. Samsung has said we're supposed to get the update, but T-Mobile has been quiet. Hell, Samsung just announced that the GS2 will be getting JB and they've been working on it. I don't know how well that translates to the T-Mobile variant of the GS2, but it's still something. All we need is a kernel and some camera drivers. Hell, we could probably get away without the camera drivers and mangle the old ones using a compatibility HAL..
It is starting to feel like T-Mobile is simply going to forget the blaze. I mean, they released an update already, why would they hurry on to the next update...
I think if we're going to get something for nothing, we'll have to make noise about it. Same way we got this forum. I think it's going to take bugging t-mobile on the forums and on their support lines. You people on contract have it worse. You bought a really powerful phone in the presence of ICS, some of you after the promise that it would receive the update. T-Mobile wouldn't suffer penalties if they didn't push it, but I imagine they'll respond to some social pressure enough not to simply forget the update.
Hell, it'd be nice if we could even just get a date.
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Click to collapse
I completely agree with you. To be honest, I am already pissed off that they still havent released it. When I got this phone, T-Mobile promised I was going to get an ICS update in July. Yeah, so much for that. At the very least they could acknowledge our presence and let us know that they havent forgotten about us

Chitown021 said:
If push comes to shove and they don't release it can the devs port it or JB from another galaxy phone?
Correct me if I'm wrong but my understating is that it can but would take a lot of work and all are holding off since ICS is supposed to be dropping at anytime. No sense in going thru all that work only to have an official release dropped on us.
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The problem is the kernel and libraries specific to our hardware. We have to have a working kernel and libraries before the rest of the rom can come.
I'm not sure why people thought the Blaze Q would've been a good thing for us because unless the hardware was identically similar (which no one had any proof that it was), the releases for that phone would've been useless for ours. The fact that it's now coming with a 720p display (I would've stayed with my Blaze 4G if it had that), and a keyboard tells me that there will be PLENTY different between the phones.
Hardware-wise, the T769 (Blaze) is EXTREMELY similar to the T989 (T-Mo SGS2). How similar you ask? In the original kernel configuration file for the T769, the options are set to build it as a T769 AND T989. There are a few ifdefs that exist purely to stop little snippets of the T989 code from taking effect.
I worked on my own time to try and hack together a kernel from the released sources for the T989 for ICS. Porting specific code from the T769 sources to try to come up with something that worked. Here's the problem: it was stressful and thankless, and at the end of it all I had a kernel that would compile and not boot. No one collected anything to help me attempt this and I was getting tired of having a non-functioning phone that pissed me off. So I ordered me a Galaxy Nexus. I received 2 in a row with screen issues and ended up returning them. I figured I would return to my efforts with the blaze, but at that point I was used to the big phone with a beautiful 720p resolution... so I shelled out the money for a GS3.
I have thought of returning and making a second attempt to port the kernel, and have actually started setting up to do just that. I think I made some mistakes my first time around, so the second time might actually work. But it is A PAIN.
chjema said:
Lol bugging xda mods for a forum is NOT the same a bugging T-Mobile for eta.
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You're right, it isn't... but it's the last time I saw this community bug an outside source for something, aside from buying a couple of guys a phone

Yeah, a 720p screen would have been nice... thanks for the detailed explanation.
I still find it comical that my old HD2 is on the verge of having a fully functional JB rom but my brand new Blaze is still stuck on GB.
Honestly if I could've afforded it I would have probably gone the Nexus or S3 route but given my limited funds and needing to cover two phones (wife needed an upgrade) I thought this was the best value ($30 upgrade cost at Target).
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Blaze.

Yes lets please do this.
T-Mobile hasn't updated their page for a month now, and that was for the Gingerbread update they released when they could have been making headway on ICS. I can't find out how to submit any new pages, but I can see two requests for an update that were a couple months old (click on the link, then read on the right side in section "Incoming Links") source = http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4182
I went to Samsung's page about ICS updates, and rated it "very dissatisfied," informing them they should have supplied target Year and Quarter (i.e. 2012 Q3) at the minimum, but preferably a specific month. source = http://www.samsung.com/us/support/SupportOwnersFAQPopup.do?faq_id=FAQ00046726&fm_seq=49755
Let's continue to put pressure on these assholes, or they will sweep us under the bus while they pursue development of the Samsung Galaxy Supernova 4G Touchwiz Xtra 4.1.

Not to be a **** ... but what's the rush? What's wrong with the software on your phone now? I've had this Blaze for a couple months and I don't think I ever had a problem. I have ICS on a tablet and like it, but I never felt like I needed to light the torches and march on the castle because I didn't have the latest **** on my phone.
And honestly, if a delay of an update for a great phone that works perfectly fine is what keeps you up at night, just wow...
If I am missing something critical here that I should know about (phone will explode without ICS ROM installed, I have a higher risk of cancer if I don't have ICS on phone, etc) please let me know immediately. I have poster boards, Sharpies, and a willingness to assemble if needed.

Dr4stic
If you need want help, testing, anything.let me know of beer more than happy to help.. we need to get ics to this phone
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda app-developers app

heavenlydemonic said:
Not to be a **** ... but what's the rush? What's wrong with the software on your phone now? I've had this Blaze for a couple months and I don't think I ever had a problem. I have ICS on a tablet and like it, but I never felt like I needed to light the torches and march on the castle because I didn't have the latest **** on my phone.
And honestly, if a delay of an update for a great phone that works perfectly fine is what keeps you up at night, just wow...
If I am missing something critical here that I should know about (phone will explode without ICS ROM installed, I have a higher risk of cancer if I don't have ICS on phone, etc) please let me know immediately. I have poster boards, Sharpies, and a willingness to assemble if needed.
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Nope, just a league of people whining because that makes things happen faster. There really is nothing more to it.

I'll be the first to admit I've become a bit jaded because of my experiences with T-Mobile / Samsung and the Samsung Vibrant.
I heard promises about updates to that phone - they even set dates and pushed them back and back and back and finally... nothing.
If anything I think the release of the Blaze Q is a strike against us because our phones are now the "out dated" version of the Blaze and why put development hours into an "old" device.
I'm happy that I have a fully functional phone as it is now (the Vibrant never really had a fully working GPS). An update would be nice but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it because honestly, you may just be setting yourself up for a lot of sleepless nights.
Oh, and on the Vibrant Forum they started a twitter campaign #NeverAgain demanding the promised upgrade or they would never use T-mobile or Samsung again. No one listened.
I know this all sounds cynical but I've seen this show before.
Edit to add: If memory serves correctly this was also the case with the Behold on T-mobile.

Hey i know im new here, but i was wondering if you guys have only attempted to port ics roms from the SII? Ive tried to do the same and only recieved a glittery sparkly screen. I was wondering if anyone tried other devices with similar hardware like the HTC amaze 4g. I tried to port that one and actually got the boot animation to pop up. I havent tried to do any logcats or anything because i have been to busy and i need my phone for work, but if anyone else has tried to port from other devices i would like to know so i can know where to start if i do decide to try again.

L7ChrisL7 said:
Hey i know im new here, but i was wondering if you guys have only attempted to port ics roms from the SII? Ive tried to do the same and only recieved a glittery sparkly screen. I was wondering if anyone tried other devices with similar hardware like the HTC amaze 4g. I tried to port that one and actually got the boot animation to pop up. I havent tried to do any logcats or anything because i have been to busy and i need my phone for work, but if anyone else has tried to port from other devices i would like to know so i can know where to start if i do decide to try again.
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The reason you get a glittery screen when coming from roms that are like the SGS2 is because they use different display panel hardware than we do. I'd be careful porting things from different manufacturers unless you really know what you're doing. You'd hate to go and format some partitions you can't get back

heavenlydemonic said:
Not to be a **** ... but what's the rush? What's wrong with the software on your phone now? I've had this Blaze for a couple months and I don't think I ever had a problem.
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What happens when more "cool new apps" are released to the market that require Android 4.0 API's or better? Chrome immediately comes to mind, and there are others with many more on the way. What happens 4 months from now when you are only 6 months into your 2 year contract and you're wondering why you can't realistically run things on your phone that has 1 gig of ram and a dual-core 1.5ghz cpu?
And honestly, btw... I had a myTouch 4G running CM7 that felt miles faster than my blaze. The samsung crapware is not only bloated, but breaks the system in a number of places. You can see this in the fact that you can't have a scrollable wallpaper, or that the system doesn't understand all the loop points in ringtones that work properly in other phones. I can't tell you how frustrated I get by an unlock and/or answer mechanism that can't track my fingers in real time like something as simple as CM7 does.
And don't get me started on the underutilisation of the video hardware.
AwesomeTurtle said:
Nope, just a league of people whining because that makes things happen faster. There really is nothing more to it.
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No, this phone was released with a promise. When it was released, ICS had been out for 6 months or more, and I'm sure the OEMs had access to the system and API's well before the official release. By the time ICS is released for our phones (IF it is released for our phones), JB will have been out for several months.
This is a matter of support and broken promises. I am NOT just whining. I was sold a phone with a promise of ICS and it has NOT been delivered, and at this point the time has gone beyond reasonable.
If we don't make noise now, it WILL be forgotten and you're going to end up with a phone outdated well before it's time.

dr4stic said:
The reason you get a glittery screen when coming from roms that are like the SGS2 is because they use different display panel hardware than we do. I'd be careful porting things from different manufacturers unless you really know what you're doing. You'd hate to go and format some partitions you can't get back
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Yeah the first time i tried to flash the rom nothing happened. ahah but then i went into the updater script changed some things and got it to flash. but since the hard ware is the same do you think i could use the display drivers from the amaze 4g and replace them in the SII rom and maybe it will work? well maybe i will have to do some logcats to see why the amaze rom isnt booting.

L7ChrisL7 said:
Yeah the first time i tried to flash the rom nothing happened. ahah but then i went into the updater script changed some things and got it to flash. but since the hard ware is the same do you think i could use the display drivers from the amaze 4g and replace them in the SII rom and maybe it will work? well maybe i will have to do some logcats to see why the amaze rom isnt booting.
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I doubt it. The drivers are baked into the kernel, they aren't modules or libraries. You'd have to get another compiled kernel working for our device, and you'll undoubtedly lose other drivers (camera, wifi come to mind). It's, of course, up to you to brick your own phone

dr4stic said:
I doubt it. The drivers are baked into the kernel, they aren't modules or libraries. You'd have to get another compiled kernel working for our device, and you'll undoubtedly lose other drivers (camera, wifi come to mind). It's, of course, up to you to brick your own phone
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Well cant you decompile a kernel? or maybe if i get the source of both devices i can use the code to compile a new kernel... hmmm all stuff to try. but compiling a kernel takes a while i think ill update my PC first haha. Im not necessarily worried about the other drivers not working, i just want to make progress, or at least help us make a push in the right direction. Im sorry if im being too optimistic or noobish, i just want to learn what people have and havent tried, so i dont waste my time on what has already been done.

http://support.t-mobile.com/community/phones_data_devices/android/blaze_4g?view=discussions
^--Post a thread in the T-mobile discussion forums! The most recent thread so far is asking for a status update, and if you guys can make more posts/threads about it, maybe we'll get a response from someone

here's a thread we can vent at!
spartanerik said:
http://support.t-mobile.com/community/phones_data_devices/android/blaze_4g?view=discussions
^--Post a thread in the T-mobile discussion forums! The most recent thread so far is asking for a status update, and if you guys can make more posts/threads about it, maybe we'll get a response from someone
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I already did - rather I saw a post and have decided to bump it daily so it remains at the top.
http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/31124?tstart=0
Create a support account and let's let them know they need to get this done!!!
Every post on the support forum discussing the ICS update will get a post (and bump) from me everyday!

anactoraaron said:
I already did - rather I saw a post and have decided to bump it daily so it remains at the top.
http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/31124?tstart=0
Create a support account and let's let them know they need to get this done!!!
Every post on the support forum discussing the ICS update will get a post (and bump) from me everyday!
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http://support.t-mobile.com/people/tmo_erica
Try sending an email to [email protected] and ask (nicely) about a status update on the ICS update for our phone! I just sent one, and hopefully if we send enough we can get some traction