Samsung Captivate is AT&T's version of the Galaxy S, launching 'in the coming months'
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 17th 2010 12:01PM
posted June 17th 2010 12:01PM
AT&T AND SAMSUNG MOBILE ANNOUNCE UPCOMING AVAILABILITY OF THE SAMSUNG CAPTIVATE™, A GALAXY S™ SMARTPHONE
New breed of smartphone powered by the Android™ 2.1 platform features 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen, 1GHz application processor and innovative entertainment and social networking features
DALLAS, June 17, 2010 - AT&T* and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.**, today announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Captivate™, a Galaxy S™ smartphone. The Android™ 2.1-powered Samsung Captivate will bring users a fully integrated entertainment, messaging and social networking experience packaged in an alluring, streamlined design surrounding a stunning 4-inch display.
The Captivate's powerful set of Web-based features is maximized with the addition of AT&T's High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 Mbps technology, which provides a considerable speed boost to the nation's fastest 3G network when paired with expanded backhaul. Speed plus AT&T's dedicated focus to mobilize everything – including video content, social networking, music and messaging – is reflected in Captivate's strong feature set.
The Captivate represents a new breed of smartphones powered by the open and innovative Android platform, with full support of Google Mobile Services including Android MarketÔ, Google SearchÔ, Google MapsÔ, GmailÔ, YouTubeÔ, Google TalkÔ and more. Users can also access the Android Market™ and customize their experience with more than 60,000 exciting and useful applications. The Captivate also features Samsung's Super AMOLED display screen technology, a 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird Application Processor and Samsung Social Hub, a feature that integrates the user's social networking services, messages, personal and business email, calendars and contacts.
"Add up Captivate's amazing screen, huge amounts of onboard storage, a super-fast processor, all fueled by the nation's fastest 3G network and a nationwide Wi-Fi network and you get a smartphone we know our customers will crave," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.
"With the launch of the Captivate, AT&T customers will experience a groundbreaking handset with world class features that are unique to Samsung's Galaxy S class of devices, including Samsung's Super AMOLED screen technology and 1GHz Hummingbird Application Processor," said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer for Samsung Mobile. "The Captivate represents a new breed of smartphone that will truly change and enrich the way consumers interact with their device on an everyday basis."
Leading Hardware Features
The Captivate provides a premium viewing experience on its large, brilliant 4-inch display powered by Samsung's Super AMOLED touch screen technology. Super AMOLED technology yields thinner displays, delivering one of the thinnest, most responsive full-featured smartphones in the industry. Samsung's innovative display technology makes watching movies, viewing videos and playing games come to life like never before, even in bright light and outdoor environments.
In addition, the Samsung Captivate is designed with a six-axis sensor that combines the smartphone's accelerometer and gyroscope to provide a smooth, fluid gaming experience when the user is tilting the device up or down or panning the phone to the left or right. The Captivate's user interface also supports a series of advanced touch screen gestures capabilities including multi-touch pinch, long tap and zoom and vertical and horizontal swiping. This series of versatile gestures provide easier and quicker access to many applications including location-based services, Web browsing and digital photos.
Powering the Captivate is a 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird Application Processor, which produces amazing 3-D graphics, faster upload and download times and full richness of HD-like multimedia content. The Captivate is also outfitted with 3D sound capabilities, giving the user surround-sound stereo quality, when listening on hard-wired headphones.
Features for All Users
The Captivate keeps users connected with Samsung's Social Hub, which is built around Messaging and Contacts, both of which initiate the sending and receiving of information, whether it is e-mail, instant messaging, social network updates or SMS messages. Additionally, calendar information from portal calendars, such as Google Calendar™, and social networking services are displayed together in one calendar with two-way synchronization. The familiar text messaging experience is enhanced with group messaging and "reply all" functionality for up to 10 contacts, a threaded conversations format, a consolidated inbox, and enhanced multi-media display.
In addition, AT&T customers who choose Captivate can take advantage of AT&T Address Book. A Web-based service, AT&T Address Book syncs contacts to an online address book so customers can access and manage their mobile contacts from their handset – or their PC. Also available to users at no additional charge is access to AT&T's entire national Wi-Fi network -- any Captivate with the Wi-Fi turned on will automatically connect when in range.
Not just for social networking and messaging, the Captivate truly brings your home and office computer to the palm of your hand with support for push email and integrated calendar services, including Google™ and Yahoo for consumers and small businesses and ActiveSync for enterprise users. Messaging is simple and easy with the Captivate's virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swype technology, which allows users to input text faster and in a more intuitive way with one continuous finger motion across the screen keyboard.
True Mobile Entertainment
In addition, the Captivate features best-in-class entertainment features, including future access to Samsung Media Hub, a full library of video and literary content powered by some of the biggest names in entertainment. Samsung Mobile looks forward to sharing additional information about Media Hub in the near future and the Captivate will feature a pre-loaded app that can take users to download Media Hub in the future. The Captivate features Samsung's All Share application, which enables inter-device connectivity through DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) technology, allowing users to send user-generated video content wirelessly to other DLNA-enabled devices, such as TV's, monitors and laptops, allowing for a rich, interactive entertainment experience.
The Captivate is packed full of features that enhance users' daily life, including a 5.0-megapixel camera/ camcorder with auto-focus and HD video recording (720p)***, MP3 player, 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and expandable memory for photos, videos and music, up to 16 GB. This combined with an on-board 16 GB of storage allows for up to 32 GB of capacity for music and video.
The Captivate also includes AT&T Navigator, which offers voice-guided and visual turn-by-turn GPS driving directions with automatic reroute, full-color maps, and real-time traffic alerts and AT&T Family Map, which gives families the ability to track a child's location from a PC or cell phone and request location updates at any time.
Additional key specifications of the Captivate include Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), full HTML browser with tap & hold zoom), Bluetooth® 3.0 technology. The Captivate also includes tri-band 3G connectivity and quad-band GSM technology, which allows AT&T customers to make calls in more than 220 countries and download data in more than 195.
The Samsung Captivate is scheduled for release in the coming months at AT&T retail locations nationwide or at http://www.att.com/wireless. For more information or to register for notification when available visit www.att.com/captivate . For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com.
@tva77433
Give it a few months and AT&T won't be the only one with data plans like theirs.
@Waltah
You may be right, but honestly, at&t has nothing I want. Anyway, I'll keep my unlimited data plan for the next two years, thanks. However, I am looking for an upgrade for my device.
@tva77433
Is this the phone you are going to upgrade to?
Holy crap. The search bar actually says google, not yahoo! For now anyway.... Till AT&T modifies it.
@Shakeandblake
The Aria uses Google everything, so it's not going to be an issue. I can't wait until some people run out of things to complain about.
I'll stay with the original design.
Well let's see. According to Apple haters, this phone is complete shit. Why? Let's look at the haters' most common complaints about the iPhone:
"Other phones did it first"
Yep. The Captivate is loaded with things that other phones did first. It makes calls? Other phones did that first. Android? Other phones had it first. 1GHz processor? Other phones did it first. Clearly this phone is a complete fail because of that.
"5MP camera? What is this, the stone age?"
Indeed. Since megapixels are the only thing that defines whether a camera is good or not, this one clearly fails. Why bother testing it? Engadget didn't need to test it before proclaiming that the Evo's 8MP camera was better than the iPhone's 5MP camera, because obviously the ONLY thing that matters is the megapixel count.
Optics? Image quality? Bah. Irrelevant. Everybody knows MP is the only thing that matters.
"Too bad you can't make calls on it."
It's true. This phone is on AT&T, therefore it can't make calls. The Apple haters said it, so it must be true.
So there you have it, this phone has already been determined to be a complete fail thanks to the Apple haters and their unimpeachable logic. Although for anybody who is rational or has common sense, I'm sure this phone will be just fine.
@Jack
Can I get an amen?!
@Jack
None of that will apply to this phone. Have you seen any comments regarding that as of yet? ;)
@Jack i forgot how much of a whiney tool you were
@Jack Amen is right.
@SteveyAyo
Considering you're one of the people that belongs to the "Apple hater" group, that response doesn't surprise me. But feel free to try again when you have something worthwhile to say, mmmkay?
@Jack
Ooh, an Apple troll. Just to clear things up about iphones not being able to make calls - its not all AT&T. BBs and other phones work fine on AT&T. The fact is the iphone just has really really bad reception. Face it, its a POS phone. Great for games and fart apps though.
Oh, and amen
@Jack whiney ANNOYING tool?
@Jack id like to point out that my hatred of Apple came about because i used apple products... as opposed to your love of apple which stems from being 14 and only ever using an iPhone... diversify before deciding its the best phone ever
@chack the thing is the iPhone still has better apps than Android. I'm an Android user and an iPod Touch user. No comparison.
You can laugh about fart apps all you want, but the fact is even those are of higher quality than most Android apps. Until developers start making better Android apps that don't look like @$$ or are terrible iPhone ports, Android will continue to suffer.
As for RF, yes the iPhone had terrible RF due to its small size. Its no surprise the Droid does well because its a huge metal tank. Ask the Nexus One and Droid Incredible about RF issues. It's just like the iPhone.
@chack
O RLY?
http://www.iphonealley.com/news/scientists-test-iphone-3g-antennae-reception-say-it039s-just-fine
Better luck next time. And yes, the truth does hurt.
@chack that's slippery-sloped. In my case (not saying all), I have an iPhone 3G and a blackberry curve for work. I have far better reception on the iPhone then the Curve (based out of NYC area) and have had far fewer dropped calls on the iPhone. I think its great that better phones are coming to AT&T and giving customers more choice since i'm one of the what seems to be few happy customers with AT&T, but the arguments against the iPhone are now ignored and flip-flopped for people in favor of this announcement like yours.
@Jack so if the antennae is just fine that makes the crippled iOS the issue? i remember when it couldnt switch from edge to 3g without dropping the call... what did you say its all about the pixel count and not about the software driving it, same thing applies here
@SteveyAyo
Diversify? Well it's probably not a stretch to say that I was working with Apple products since before you were born, but I've been using Windows products that whole time as well.
Your hatred of Apple came about because you're an idiot. It's pretty clear from all the comments you make here. Everything you say is provably wrong, and you wouldn't know how to use OS X if it were given to you as instructions in double spaced brightly colored crayon.
Macs, Windows, hell I was even using BeOS for a while. And before all that it was C64s and Apple IIs. Why do you think I'm able to show you how everything you say is wrong? Think about it.
@Jack i know how to use OSX...
1. Insert Windows7 install disc ... problem fixed
Not to mention you havent once proved anything i have said wrong, at best you do exactly what you are doing now and say that you have despite it being a straight up lie...
@SteveyAyo
You didn't read that article I linked, did you? There is no "issue". So no, the iOS isn't crippled, and it's not causing reception problems either.
Scientific facts > your badly informed opinion.
my distaste for Apple comes from the fact Steve Jobs is fulla crap and I wont have anything to do with his BS
@Jack thats funny, because my iPhone had a lot of issues but i guess tests on a single device would certainly apply to every single phone in existence and nullify the majority of iPhone users who still to this day bitch and moan about the horrible reception theyre getting on their iPhones and dropped calls... yeah well damn im glad that single phone test could disprove them all
@SteveyAyo
I'm glad you think your completely informal and biased opinion holds more weight than actual scientific tests conducted specifically for the purpose of determining where the reception issue was. No matter how much you want to dismiss the results, you can't. The world doesn't work that way. Sorry.
And of course I've proved you wrong. Remember this?
"so if the antennae is just fine that makes the crippled iOS the issue?"
I proved that wrong, you just didn't like the proof. But that's really your problem, not mine. My advice would be to get over it.
@Jack its not my informal or biased opinion, its a fact that almost everyone who owns an iPhone bitches about the reception and dropped calls. id even say my experience with it was better than most but still annoying...
and you havent proven that iOS isnt crippled, it is and your undying love of Steve Jobs wont change that ever
@SteveyAyo
No, see, the point is that the reception and dropped calls are because of AT&T, not the iPhone. I explained that already, but you are still unreceptive to things you don't want to hear. I gave you proof, you didn't like it.
Tough. Get over it.
@Jack i did get over it, i traded my POS iphone for a much more capable HD2... greatest phone decision i have ever made, i mean shit my HD2 is even better than the iPhone4
@Jack
If it were truly ATT causing all the dropped calls then I'd expect to have a shitload of service issues with my A827. Guess what, I don't. I very rarely have any dropped calls and the places I do have dropped calls are notorious deadspots with any carrier.
The previous iPhones seemed to have way more issues keeping signal than other phones did.
@Jack Actually Jack, if I could interject. The iPhone up in Canada under Telus, Rogers and Bell has received numerous complaints about dropped calls. I'm with Telus on my Motorola Milestone and I think I've had two dropped calls since February. I've never had an iPhone so I can't comment personally but it seems to be commonplace whenever that device is involved.
@Jack
Yes that's why Apple made it a point to say that the iPhone 4's metal band is integrated with its antennae to hopefully alleviate the reception issues right? Drop it dude, you're not winning this.
I bet Apple hires people to spread viral marketing.
@SteveyAyo
what is the HD2 liike?
@SteveyAyo
iphone and other phone had issues. I guess even HTC had some issues with their previous devices. the HD2 or EVO whatever they call it, we will find out how solid the phone really is.
@SteveyAyo
Well the Galaxy > HD2
Just my judgement
@obobo
Jobs is a BS artist/
@SteveyAyo
probably
@themess
iphone never was known to have good reception.. the blackberry is a bad comparison subject. I would compare an LG phone or a Samsung..
@lerxst
iphone have dropped calls? Big surprise!,, I'LL BE DARN
@Jack
Apple didn't do much to earn marketshare TBHWU..
They were pushed by the MM to the top.......
that part is obvious.. That is why there are many apple haters.
Even their hardware is not Theirs..it is samsungs and other manufacturers.
the UI isn't even that creative IMO
@AmerKan
let's stick with the Samsung phone.. totally out of topic
@dmo580
apple has the lead at this moment. who know where the tide will stay the same or shift...
let's see where developers do to the Android Platform..
I do hope that Samsung develops their own OS and spends millions to promote and invest into it. THey have the money to do it.
@Jack
why is this about apple all of a sudden?
@chack
I agree with you 100%
From a Nexus one owner on AT&T
Why the need to launch the same phone with a different name? A rose by any other name still smells as sweet, right? Why can't we just have the same phones on different networks? Oh, right. Because that would make sense and be consumer friendly. Also, it would lead to unsubsidized phones, which of course is a bad thing. /sarcasm
@Triscuit Actually there's talk of the next generation of phones being capable of running on both AWS (T-Mobile) and UMTS (AT&T) bands. Now that's choice! Sorry CDMA. You're on the way out.
@Triscuit
Samsung probably wanted it to name it similar to the Galaxy, but ATT wouldn't but the Samsung product without a name change. hence Samsung gave in and ATT won. Well, Both parties win Samsung will sell a ton of phones because of ATT. hopefully ATT will sell a ton of contracts because of Samsung.
that is how business should work.
wow! sweet looking phone.
@jason s
are you going to get the captivate?
@TheTLO11
I think I'm going to get it.
@holisticH
Too many choices at this point.... If the UI is nice, I'll get it.