Cell Phone recomendations

[Grumsh]

Short and sweet: My cell phone didn't survive my last camping trip, so I need a new Phone.

It's down to an Iphone 4 or a Samsung Captivate i897.

Asking for opinions on droid phones. I already know the apply hate ;) .

Anyone maybe recomend a good phone? Caveat is it has to be a AT&T phone since my contract is still locked.

Thanks in advance.

PS: phone needs a good camera built into it (yes i know i know I could just get a dang good camera, but I hate carrying around multiple devices).

[Syl]

My last cellphone also died on a camping trip.

Which is why my current cellphone is completely impact resistant and fully waterproof. I've texted underwater just to prove this point.

It doesn't do anything fancy like take good pictures though. With AT&T i can't really help you.

[Jotoco]

Depends on what you want.

For me, neither of the phones you mentioned cut it.

I just (yesterday night) bought an n900 and an eagerly waiting for it.

It is FAR more customizable, it can run Android (although phone functions are still wonky, and to be fair, it can run KDE, Ubuntu, Mac OS X, Win 3.11, Win 98, Dos......). On top of that it has a physical keyboard (a must for me), good camera, gps, FM receiver AND transmitter, IR (!!!!), Bluetooth and WiFi.

The only major drawback is the resistive screen, if you prefer capacitive. And lack (sort of) apps. It probably has WAY MORE apps than iphone, but those are linux apps that can be run in the n900, as with native apps it will have very few.

The good thing is that probably most of the apps will be free and open source on top of that. And customization is on a whole new level. And it has it's own "face time" (as with every smartphone in the last 4~5years), and is natively integrated to skype.

Overall I think I will be satisfied, but most people that just want to be told what's better for then instead of having to research and customize every inch of their phone will probably be better with Android or Iphone.

IF you do not want to fiddle with Xterminal and stuff and don't know to operate Linux you're probably better off with something else.

[Anenome]

My last cellphone also died on a camping trip.

Which is why my current cellphone is completely impact resistant and fully waterproof. I've texted underwater just to prove this point.
Lol, why are you guys taking cellphones camping? XD

[Syl]

Lol, why are you guys taking cellphones camping? XD
Because an obnoxious amount of my life revolves around having a cellphone with me at any given moment.

[Anenome]

Because an obnoxious amount of my life revolves around having a cellphone with me at any given moment.
Haha, well, when I go camping I go far out enough there ain't really any service. Things stay off and in the car :P Besides, kinda ruins the point of "getting away from it all."

[Syl]

Haha, well, when I go camping I go far out enough there ain't really any service. Things stay off and in the car :P Besides, kinda ruins the point of "getting away from it all."

Well, my cellphone also acts as both my watch and my alarm in the morning.

Which were kind of important on the camping trip due to one of the people i went with having to be at work the morning of our last day out....

[pwnophobia]

Well, my cellphone also acts as both my watch and my alarm in the morning.

Which were kind of important on the camping trip due to one of the people i went with having to be at work the morning of our last day out....

You don't have to justify your actions to Anenome!

[Anenome]

I dunno, my paladin holds the Justicar rank :P

[Grumsh]

Depends on what you want.

For me, neither of the phones you mentioned cut it.

I just (yesterday night) bought an n900 and an eagerly waiting for it.

It is FAR more customizable, it can run Android (although phone functions are still wonky, and to be fair, it can run KDE, Ubuntu, Mac OS X, Win 3.11, Win 98, Dos......). On top of that it has a physical keyboard (a must for me), good camera, gps, FM receiver AND transmitter, IR (!!!!), Bluetooth and WiFi.

The only major drawback is the resistive screen, if you prefer capacitive. And lack (sort of) apps. It probably has WAY MORE apps than iphone, but those are linux apps that can be run in the n900, as with native apps it will have very few.

The good thing is that probably most of the apps will be free and open source on top of that. And customization is on a whole new level. And it has it's own "face time" (as with every smartphone in the last 4~5years), and is natively integrated to skype.

Overall I think I will be satisfied, but most people that just want to be told what's better for then instead of having to research and customize every inch of their phone will probably be better with Android or Iphone.

IF you do not want to fiddle with Xterminal and stuff and don't know to operate Linux you're probably better off with something else.

Thank you that is the kind of advise I was looking for. The N900 does indeed look like a nice piece of tech. Only negative I could find was the older gen 600mhz processor versus the newer phones using a full 1ghz. Very tempting (the Samsung doesn't hit market until Sunday, so I have until then to make my decision).

[mydnyte]

Having owned an iPhone 3GS, MyTouch 3G, HTC HD2, and now a Nexus One... I'd have to say the Nexus One is hands down the best phone I've ever owned.

My girl has the MyTouch Slide 3G, and enjoys that very much.

The things I really like about the Nexus One vs. the iPhone is the voice search function. The ability to just speak "Navigate to Quiznos" and have a fully functioning turn-by-turn navigation through google maps is amazing. The ability to actually make calls (went from AT&T to T-Mobile). And the customization. You can get a lot more out of your Nexus One (and some other android devices) through ROM updates. I'm currently running the 6.0.0-RC1 release of Cyanogen mod and it really is amazing. Trackball colors for different notifications, fully customizable home screens, widget size adjustments, dock bar, touch input customization, sms color customization, faster performance, and extremely good battery life.

The N1 is Google's flagship device and currently receives all the official android updates before any other phone on the market. I was running FroYo for almost 3 months before any other phone had it. The ability to have flash on-demand on my mobile device browser is important.

And the Nexus has a pretty decent camera. :)

[Grumsh]

Nexus one, nice phone suggestion thank you. Its like the captivate except it adds a flash tot he camera. Speaking of a flash, the motorola droid X looks absolutely droolworthy!

[mydnyte]

the motorola droid X looks absolutely droolworthy!

You may want to take a look at this article: Motorola Droid X Self Destructs if you try to mod it. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/14/droid-x-actually-self-destructs-if-you-try-to-mod-it/)

[Jotoco]

Thank you that is the kind of advise I was looking for. The N900 does indeed look like a nice piece of tech. Only negative I could find was the older gen 600mhz processor versus the newer phones using a full 1ghz. Very tempting (the Samsung doesn't hit market until Sunday, so I have until then to make my decision).

You're welcome. I hope my phone arrives before sunday and I can actually give hands on review.

And there is one other flaw in n900. Although Ovi maps for symbian is terrific (and I mean it) it doesn't have all options on n900. It doesn't give VOICE directions... and it's annoying. But I expect it to be fixed someday (maybe).

Let us know what you finally get, ok?

[Grumsh]

It' funny now at this point, my wife has called me numerous times today to tell me how much she thinks the Iphone 4 that just arrived in the mail today is the best thing in the world! "If you buy anything except an Iphone you are crazy! I can say Delerium and it plays Delerium! I can say Korn and it ques up the next song!" Thats nice, have some more Kool-aid hon!

mydnyte, Thanks for the link you saved me some money. Not that I would jailbreak a phone (i'd buy a Iphone if I wanted to do that kind of stuff, more of a principle thing... and the fact the Droid X has a pretty high SAR).

[Grumsh]

It's too bad I don't have the bad attitude I used to have when I was younger. After reading mydnytes linked article there was a time I would buy the droid just to see how many I could brick in a week and abuse the warranty (so the company would learn their lesson not to cheat their customers)!

[mydnyte]

Glad I could help! ;)

Just in case you were still thinking about it, apparently Gizmodo also hates the Droid X as a phone. Link to Gizmodo Droid X Hate. (http://gizmodo.com/5587801/motorola-is-willing-to-break-the-phone-they-just-sold-you)

The iPhone was a great phone... on T-Mobile and jailbroken.

I really like to customize the phone, so having something so locked down definitely isn't for me.

[Grumsh]

I think I am back to deciding between a jailbroken Iphone 4 or the Samsung Captivate. Although the SAR (http://www.cellrisk.com/samsung/upcoming/page1.html) of the captivate is really enticing (0.42 W/kg) vs the Iphone 4 SAR (http://www.cellrisk.com/apple/page1.html) of (1.17 W/kg). Fairly large difference. Even more intrigueing is the Droid X SAR (http://www.cellrisk.com/motorola/page1.html) of (1.49 W/kg).

[Grumsh]

Barring an apocalypse, The Samsung will be getting my dollars. Assuming that there isn't some weird AT&T rule making it so some apps won't run/install on it. The review on CNET just paints a great picture. Only negative I could see was the lack of a flash for the camera. I'll play with it some and (since I am getting it through Best Buy and am a silver member)if I don't like the lack of flash i'll return it and betra to the apple camp.

Thanks again all.

[Capt_Thad]

I'm really considering picking up a Captivate at some point in the not too distant future, tell me what you think of it.

[Grumsh]

I am posting this from my Samsung Captivate. So far... YES much better than an iphone. The screen clarity is phenomenal.

[Jotoco]

I am posting this from my Samsung Captivate. So far... YES much better than an iphone. The screen clarity is phenomenal.

let us know how things go.

Do a small review for us.

[Anenome]

Yeah, a review would be cool. I know nothing about Samsung stuff, is it even a smartphone?

[Capt_Thad]

Yeah, a review would be cool. I know nothing about Samsung stuff, is it even a smartphone?

The Samsung Captivate is the AT&T model of their Galaxy S (http://www.samsungmobileusa.com/GalaxyS/Default.aspx?cid=ppc_gxy_goo_Galaxy+S_General_gala xy+s) platform. It's an Android phone, so the answer would be yes.

[Anenome]

Ah, well, I like it already ^_~

[Anenome]

Oooh, Samsung Epic looks nice, since I'm on Sprint :P

[Tintivilo]

Glad I could help! ;)

Just in case you were still thinking about it, apparently Gizmodo also hates the Droid X as a phone. Link to Gizmodo Droid X Hate. (http://gizmodo.com/5587801/motorola-is-willing-to-break-the-phone-they-just-sold-you)

The iPhone was a great phone... on T-Mobile and jailbroken.

I really like to customize the phone, so having something so locked down definitely isn't for me.

The hate is for eFuse, not the Droid X

[Grumsh]

Samsung Captivate I897

The Captivate is a new generation Smartphone that hit the market July 18th 2010.

This little marvel comes equiped with the newest AMOLED (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active-matrix_OLED) screen that not only displays some amazingly crystal clear video, it also uses much less energy than the prior generation of screens increasing battery life by a noticeable amount. To go with this nice crisp clean video is a very generous amount of speaker power for such a small device. Compared to my Ipod Touch the built in speakers are loud and clear with no hint of tinny sounds as of yet (although I have yet to crank anything with strong bass through it yet).

Samsung phones have a tendency to have a lower SAR (http://www.cellrisk.com/) than rival phones, and the captivate keeps up this trend with a SAR of 0.42 W/kg, compared to the Iphone 4's 1.17 W/kg (http://www.cellrisk.com/apple/page1.html). For a rough comparison early 90's cell phones were rated at 1.6 and much much higher, while currently .80 is considered low and 1.20 is average.

Samsung put this smartphone out with Samsung's 1GHz Hummingbird Cortex A8 processor, which in all honesty seems to be a pretty zippy processor. I have yet to experience any lag going between apps or feeling of extreme heat coming from the phone like the processor is being overworked. Either it's cooled rather well, or it is holding it's own in the processing department.

Ok enough about the hard evidence now to the squishy huggy feelings about the phone (*note* my wife has a new Iphone 4 so I'll compare my feelings on the two a little). It's light and very flat, fits in my back pocket easily enough and well enough to forget its even there... until I sit on it when I get into my vehicle. It also doesn't feel as "fragile" as the Iphone with its front and back glass laminate case. It's very comfortable to hold in the hand while its up to your ear or while using the speakerphone option.

A very strong selling point for me was a slot for removeable storage media on top of the already generous 16gig of built in memory. So you have the built in 16gig plus a second slot that can hold up to a 32 gig microsd card bringing total memory space up to a very generous 48 gigs (don't forget apple charges $299 for 32 total gigs, the captivate is only $199 and I was able to get a 16gig from Amazon.com for a measily $30). I also like having more than just one "Do everything" button like is standard on apple products. The Captivate has 4 touch sensitive buttons on the bottom that are not part of the screen and have various functions depending on what screen/app is currently being displayed. They are responsive and I like this idea better than the all in one button.

The Negative
There always has to be a negative and sadly there is one. The camera has some decent software to improve picture quality on this 5.0 megapixel camera, but they neglected to add a flash! While during shots (and video) with sufficient light the picture quality is definitly adequate, it suffers in low light where a flash could help. Sadly this is a hardware issue so there won't be "An app for that".

Conclusion
The Captivate is a smartphone Running Droid os 2.1 and has been guaranteed to support at least droid 2.2, a 5.0 MP camera that can take HD video, a great screen that can output HD to your TV and you know Droid doesn't hate Flash. All of this for $199 with contract and I would vote this as >>>> 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

[Grumsh]

Outside the mini-review, I will admit I am jealous that the Iphone does have a better camera (its camera has a flash), I cannot share apps between my wife and I, and my wife is still pissed I didn't get an Iphone. All that being considered (and assuming she doesn't threaten those 2 magic words) i'll happily keep my Captivate!

[brandonjclark]

http://cdn.androidcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/sprint_HTC_evo_4g-540x470.jpg

[Jotoco]

Samsung Captivate I897

The Captivate is a new generation Smartphone that hit the market July 18th 2010.

STUFF

Thank you for your time and review. My n900 got stuck in customs, it seems. (it is not officially launched in Brazil, yet.) I will have to wait till monday.

My n900 comes with 32Gb + 16Gb SD (so, 48Gb as yours can reach). It has a 5mpx cam, and FLASH! HAH!

I too, need buttons, but I need lots of then, like a physical qwerty lot.

And on much things the phones aren't that different. The screen is an obvious plus for the Samsung, and of course the processor. Which is very much alike the one in the n900, only in 1Ghz format (I can overclock to it!). More ram is always better, although the 1Gb of swap will surely help the n900.

I can't wait for it to arrive, although it is not as *new* as the captivate (or iphone 4) I think it will suit my needs and more, as I will be using a whole bunch of linux apps in it. AND, I will install Android to an SD as soon as it arrives, and will keep it with a dual boot option.

When mine arrive I will try to do a mini-review too, and I'm so eager to get it!

[Grumsh]

http://cdn.androidcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/sprint_HTC_evo_4g-540x470.jpg


Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Alaska
Posts: 1,003

Sprint Hates Alaskans! Else I would have bought the Evo and been done with it. No way in *($)!@ I could justify forking out $600 it would cost me to get a Evo up here.

Jotoco let us know how your N900 works out. Would be interesting to see the comparisons.

[Jotoco]

Sprint Hates Alaskans! Else I would have bought the Evo and been done with it. No way in *($)!@ I could justify forking out $600 it would cost me to get a Evo up here.

Jotoco let us know how your N900 works out. Would be interesting to see the comparisons.

Ok.

And to pay U$600 for a top tier smartphone would be a dream. The n900 is costing me more than this! (actually R$1279 = U$720,97)

Even subsidized a phone like the Captivate, Iphone 4, n900 or EVO would cost at least some U$800,00 or something like U$1500,00 without contract.

I'm importing my n900 and getting a pretty sweet deal.

[Anenome]

Grumsh... what are you doing in Alaska? o_O or did I just never notice that.

[brandonjclark]

....subsidized.....

Subsidized?! SUBSIDIZED?!?!?!

[Grumsh]

Grumsh... what are you doing in Alaska? o_O or did I just never notice that.

I have been in Alaska since 1981. Long enough to hate the cold winters ;)

[Anenome]

Thanks for the picture of your pad :P

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UaQX6WcYa2c/S8KoMTWYK_I/AAAAAAAAAO0/ZzgnTV-FLQc/s1600-R/igloo%2520at%2520night.jpg

[Jotoco]

Subsidized?! SUBSIDIZED?!?!?!

What?

Are you saying the price is too high? 'Cause it is about the norm around here. With 127% taxes you would expect it to be a little expensive.

At least it is not Starcraft II collector's edition, since it cost here U$281,84 (R$499,99).

It's almost 3 times as expensive. Whereas I'm just paying double on the cellphone. And I only grab phones with subsidy when they are free or almost free.

[Grumsh]

What?

Are you saying the price is too high? 'Cause it is about the norm around here. With 127% taxes you would expect it to be a little expensive.

At least it is not Starcraft II collector's edition, since it cost here U$281,84 (R$499,99).

It's almost 3 times as expensive. Whereas I'm just paying double on the cellphone. And I only grab phones with subsidy when they are free or almost free.

Good Lord! Get a paypal account and a friend in the states to make your purchases and send in the mail! heck I bet a dozen people on this website alone would do it for a picture of US Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

[Jotoco]

Good Lord! Get a paypal account and a friend in the states to make your purchases and send in the mail! heck I bet a dozen people on this website alone would do it for a picture of US Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

Not so simple.

I asked in the dealers thread a while ago, and it didn't work quite like I wanted...

http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116757

Tried it before too. Once Blog (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/member.php?u=6301) helped me buy Oblivion. Nice fella.

But it is not as easy to find someone willing to help as it seems.

But it is ok, we make do with what we get. And I do have a paypal account, I buy stuff overseas all the time.

[brandonjclark]

I guess my "subidized!?" post was more about trying to figure out exactly HOW your phones there are subsidized.

Fill me in....

[Jotoco]

I guess my "subidized!?" post was more about trying to figure out exactly HOW your phones there are subsidized.

Fill me in....

The phones costs U$1500 unlock. And U$800 with a contract.

Actually, the phone itself is unlocked anyway, you can use it in whatever operator you like, but you have to sign a contract to have the discount. The amount discounted is proportional to how expensive your monthly plan is. Usually a 1 year U$100,00 per month contract will yield a discount like what I put above. Which is a good deal for most who use smartphones as they will already have data and voice plans.

Is that the explanation you wanted? I'm not entirelly sure, yet.

[Grumsh]

The phones costs U$1500 unlock. And U$800 with a contract.

Actually, the phone itself is unlocked anyway, you can use it in whatever operator you like, but you have to sign a contract to have the discount. The amount discounted is proportional to how expensive your monthly plan is. Usually a 1 year U$100,00 per month contract will yield a discount like what I put above. Which is a good deal for most who use smartphones as they will already have data and voice plans.

Is that the explanation you wanted? I'm not entirelly sure, yet.

Wow, If only I knew. For $650 I could have had an Evo4 from sprint unlocked and shipped to you, and still had money left over for Pizza from mooses tooth and a Piture of the best beer in the world.

[Jotoco]

Wow, If only I knew. For $650 I could have had an Evo4 from sprint unlocked and shipped to you, and still had money left over for Pizza from mooses tooth and a Piture of the best beer in the world.

hahaha!

No biggie. The biggest problem is that on 90% of cases it would be taxed in customs as well.

If it's not a sale (as in, it is a gift) it can be taxed on 60%, so it would still be absurdly expensive if taxed, most of the time it is, but not always.

Thanks, though.

[Grumsh]

Ok, I have had some more time with the Droid and I am seeing the negatives. Simple apps you would think exist such as Facebook integration (I wanted a phone with a good camera so I could share pics and videos with my family who lives across the world from me) just does not work well.

Also the phone itself, the lack of a flash on the camera is becoming terribly obvious. Not only are pictures lower quality 100% of the time compared to the iphone 4, but in lower light conditions the pics are dare I say it, flat out terrible. I have also noted that the camera is slower (again still comparing to iphone 4). Iphone snaps shots in under a second, yet the captivate takes up to 4-5 seconds on some photos. Have you ever tried to get a 2 or 4 year old to hold still that long? Yes blurry photos are common. Interestingly the video quality is very good. That point alone is odd enough to make me think I might have a defective camera. I might hit up AT&T tommorrow after work the phone is still under the 1 week return policy period.

Such a dilemma, enjoy the freedom from oppression that is the droid openess, or fall for the kool-aid but damnit at least it works that is Apple.

[Jotoco]

Ok, I have had some more time with the Droid and I am seeing the negatives. Simple apps you would think exist such as Facebook integration (I wanted a phone with a good camera so I could share pics and videos with my family who lives across the world from me) just does not work well.

Also the phone itself, the lack of a flash on the camera is becoming terribly obvious. Not only are pictures lower quality 100% of the time compared to the iphone 4, but in lower light conditions the pics are dare I say it, flat out terrible. I have also noted that the camera is slower (again still comparing to iphone 4). Iphone snaps shots in under a second, yet the captivate takes up to 4-5 seconds on some photos. Have you ever tried to get a 2 or 4 year old to hold still that long? Yes blurry photos are common. Interestingly the video quality is very good. That point alone is odd enough to make me think I might have a defective camera. I might hit up AT&T tommorrow after work the phone is still under the 1 week return policy period.

Such a dilemma, enjoy the freedom from oppression that is the droid openess, or fall for the kool-aid but damnit at least it works that is Apple.

Hum...

I though the flash, being LED, shouldn't make too much difference.

Strange, even my Nokia 5530 with symbian S60 v5 has facebook integration (via a plethora of apps) and takes photos in 1, 2 seconds tops. And it makes nice, beautiful pictures too.

And I wouldn't trade freedom for 'quality'. I envy the iphone 4 specs, that's for sure. But without the freedom and a nice qwerty I won't buy one ever.

It seems to me you have a problem with this specific device, not the Android platform, you can give a try to other devices, can't you? Of course the pressure from your loved ones may be too much, but still. I, personally, wouldn't have an iphone even if it cost me LESS

EDIT:

Hell, I opted for the most open phone OS EVER. Where even the drivers and firmware are open.

[brandonjclark]

Conversely, my HTC EVO takes pics in under a second and has DUAL-flash.

and a forward-facing camera as well for video-talk.....

EVO Bitches....EVO.....

[Grumsh]

Conversely, my HTC EVO takes pics in under a second and has DUAL-flash.

and a forward-facing camera as well for video-talk.....

EVO Bitches....EVO.....

If I could get an EVO in Alaska I would. You got any inside contacts ?

[Grumsh]

Conversely, my HTC EVO takes pics in under a second and has DUAL-flash.

and a forward-facing camera as well for video-talk.....

EVO Bitches....EVO.....

Would you be willing to snap a few pic's with it and post them? I am almost at the point with my Apple loathing I might fork over the $500 for an unlocked Evo.

Day/Night and anything that captures movement? I took a few pic's again last night of my 4 year old son, nothing to intense just him walking out of his room. THe shutter is so slow that my son is a moving blur. Pissed off I am hrrrmmm!

[Jotoco]

Would you be willing to snap a few pic's with it and post them? I am almost at the point with my Apple loathing I might fork over the $500 for an unlocked Evo.

Day/Night and anything that captures movement? I took a few pic's again last night of my 4 year old son, nothing to intense just him walking out of his room. THe shutter is so slow that my son is a moving blur. Pissed off I am hrrrmmm!

Are you using tap to focus?

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s-review-478p6.php

It says here it has a very quick shutter speed!

Maybe your unit really is defective.

[Grumsh]

Well consumer reports just saved me $500 on an Evo 4! I can't link it since its a members paid website, but to cut and paste.


Lows:Can't create or edit documents. Fair voice quality when listening. Lacks a physical button for quick phone access. Virtual keypad makes dialing difficult without looking. Heavier than most. Doesn't include PIM software for your computer. Lacks single-key, last-number redial. Auto answer doesn't work with headset. Ringer is not easy to mute. Camera has a long shutter lag. Memory card is hard to access.



So maybe Droids are using some really out of date camera software or this is an endemic to droids in general? Not sure, I am hoping my droid just is defective. I am taking it back today after work.

I also tried the tap to focus mentioned in the link, things are still blury.

[Grumsh]

Heres some more information and comparisons I have found at PCMag:

http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/26/0,1468,i=268962,00.jpg


Shutter Lag
I find that when people complain about a slow camera, it's often shutter lag that's the culprit. Shutter lag is the time it takes for a photo to be captured once the shutter button is pressed—and every millisecond counts, especially when you're trying to capture live action. This is one of the reasons to opt for a D-SLR; these big, expensive cameras offer virtually no shutter lag.

With the image already in focus, the HTC EVO captures an image in an average of 0.60 seconds after the capture button is pressed—this is a very solid showing and is on a par with the Canon SD4000 with 0.50 second. But the iPhone 4 can capture an image even faster than the Canon SD4000—a mere 0.20 second.

The Motorola Droid X comes in last here: Its camera application doesn't focus on an image until you press the capture button, which makes catching your subject more difficult, especially if it's moving. The other phones' camera apps autofocus before you press the capture button.




http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/26/0,1468,i=268961,00.jpg

Very interesting stuff !

[Anenome]

The thing about blurry pictures is that without a flash you have to increase exposure length with anything but optimal lighting conditions. But long exposures create blur with the slightest movement of the camera.

I actually love taking natural-light exposures, they look so much better than flash shots 90% of the time, but the downside is you have to "base" the camera so it absolutely can't move. I usually do this on door frames or by putting the camera down on something. Lately I've taken to using a bag of water-set clay so you can angle it however desired on any surface. Beanbag works too.

[Jotoco]

Well consumer reports just saved me $500 on an Evo 4! I can't link it since its a members paid website, but to cut and paste.


So maybe Droids are using some really out of date camera software or this is an endemic to droids in general? Not sure, I am hoping my droid just is defective. I am taking it back today after work.

I also tried the tap to focus mentioned in the link, things are still blury.

There is a reason most camera MONSTER phones were symbian (and ARE symbian). It has the most mature drivers for cameras. Even my lowly, almost free, 5530 can take very nice photos. And all japanese 13mpx+ Full HD waterproof monster cameraphones use symbian.

The camera app in Android is built in JAVA. and that is a HUGE problem. And I empathize HUGE, here. Froyo should make things a LOT better, but without a completely new and native app the camera on the droids will lag behind. Even Maemo/Meego now have better drivers! (released this week, which can output RAW files).

The iphone 4 seems to be using a very mature app with nice algorithm. But it can make colors TOO artificial and smear away fine detail. The photos are very beautiful, but unrealistic in my opinion. Compare that to the n8 from Nokia, and see the difference. The thing is that the n8 is almost exclusively a camera phone, so it should be better. And that the photos passes through almost NO algorithm before output, being almost raw so they are very real, which is better for me.

my n900 got further delayed, and will probably arrive on thursday. But I will have to test the new drivers and see what I can do with RAW files it output. Should be interesting.

As for your phone, you should seek technical assistance and see if you have a defective unit.

[Grumsh]

Final verdict, not a defective phone. Apparently the captivate uses the same camera hardware as the Droid so sadly, I am shamed into an iPhone 4. I am really not happy about, but it is what I am stuck with.

[Jotoco]

Final verdict, not a defective phone. Apparently the captivate uses the same camera hardware as the Droid so sadly, I am shamed into an iPhone 4. I am really not happy about, but it is what I am stuck with.

It is a shame really. I know that the iphone today has probably the best all around hardware specs.
But I really don´t like to be shackled to Jobs will and would not buy an iphone to jailbreak it.
I would say to go for to jailbreak and install porn and flash just to piss Jobs off, but in reality that's what he wants. You have the freedom but in the eyes of the media it is a family phone and all.

AT least tell us how it goes and if you are satisfied with it.

[Jotoco]

Final verdict, not a defective phone. Apparently the captivate uses the same camera hardware as the Droid so sadly, I am shamed into an iPhone 4. I am really not happy about, but it is what I am stuck with.

I was doing a little research and short of waiting for new unreleased phones Sony seems to have the best camera phones, in order:

1- Satio
2 - Vivaz
3 - X10

And again what I said about symbian having the best environment for cameras

[Capt_Thad]

If picture quality is a big concern, why not just buy a digital camera? 5mp is kinda weak by today's camera standards... I get the whole camera in your pocket without thinking about it thing, but I generally accept that even the best camera phones are a bit above mediocre.

Looks like those Sony phones might actually have some decent camera tech though.

[Anenome]

Same here, I have a dedicated camera. Takes better photos than any phone, including Japanese models. It's the last feature I care about in a phone. I'll still take phone pictures, but not for anything I really care about.

[Jotoco]

Well.

I have my n900 for more than a week now and I can say I am very satisfied with it.

It got delayed because I had to travel on business and it was waiting for me at home for more than a week.

Points:

Beautiful screen: The resistive screen is very bright and good resolution. Viewing angles couldn't be better. Sunlight readability is best in class. Even in the brightest days (some 50.000 LUX luminance, measured in an app that uses light sensor) it is very good. Touch screen is very sensitive for a resistive unit. And the different levels of pressure sensing is very nice for drawing apps. And it can track bigger objects. Example, if you draw using a stylus it will make a fine line that is darker the more pressure you apply. If you use your finger it will instead make a larger, thicker line and be darker according to pressure. Look up MyPaint videos on youtube, it is really impressive.

Nice form factor: Physical qwerty! Good keyboard that enables you to fast typing. It IS very big, and somewhat heavy, specially since I had an E71 and 5530 (tiny phones) before that, but already got used to it.
Quick and Responsive: Good management of resources. Can open LOTS of apps at the same time, just a few apps that seem to be badly written (or ported) hang the system. Using it with overclock just for the hell of it. Browser is almost a desktop one, by far the best mobile browser I ever saw. And if you don't want it there are LOTS of options, including the DESKTOP version of firefox and chromium.

Hard to get apps: There aren't many apps for it. But I find that almost every app is useful and there is very little overlap of functions between apps, unlike apple store which has hundreds of fart apps. The 1200+ apps that are in the repositories all are useful in some way, except maybe some 100 themes. And that is not counting Ovi Store (which is pathetic), but the repositories are all you will ever need.

Excellent camera: Stock camera app is very good, crispy photos and good balance. Very good auto settings, but can be tweaked to be better, changing ISO, exposure, white balance and other. Other camera apps makes it even better. Low-light photos, HDR and Panorama are functions that work VERY well.

Good sound and video: Good external speakers, and good headset that comes with it. Video playback is smooth and support virtually any format ever (with extra codecs downloaded for free). Video out is nice, only limited by the output res (800x480) but still very nice even in bigger screens. Couple that with bluetooth keyboard and mice and you got yourself a very good desktop replacement. Just install Ubunt or even easy debian and you get access to most Linux programs, and with a little overclock you got yourself a very good linux workstation that gets the job done in 80%+ of situations.

Hardware is complete: In 2010 what good is an IR port? Or an FM transmitter? I can say you they are very handy. I can kiss my remotes goodbye and never look back and with fm transmitter I don't need to carry a thumb drive, CD/DVD or memory card inside my car. Transmitting FM the bat lasts some good 9~10 hours. Not to mention the other things it has inside it, like the good processor and graphics (equal to 3GS and Milestone), 256mb of ram and 1Gb of swap (not that much, but enough), Excellent camera, very fast GPS, bluetooth, light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer, physical qwerty, front camera and nice tough screen with strength sensors that can read different pressures.

Customization: In this baby you can have: Windows 3.11, windows 95, windows 98, Mac OS X, Android, Maemo 5, Meego, Dos, Debian, Ubuntu and a slew of other OS's installed. At the same time. Freedom! No need to jailbreak or to root your device. It is freely open right out of the box. For people (like me) that like to use every single feature a device has, this is very nice.

This is my smallish review of the n900. Thank you all.


In short, It is a beautiful piece of tech and I am very satisfied for the time being.

[Jotoco]

Bump because it got no views after my review, and it took some while to write it.

[Sion]

I only value the camera on a phone for the unplanned candid pic taking. I dont carry around a camera all the time, so its nice to whip the phone out and be shooting pretty quickly, that's why one of the few priorities I have is a good exposure.

I have an iPhone 3GS, and while some pics are dark, I can do some improvement by fooling around in photoshop.

[Anenome]

Google has a new feature up, an Android-phone side-by-side comparison tool.

Select three phones to compare, of the various makes and models and carriers, and it will give you list out the stats:

http://www.google.com/phone/

Oh, sweet Android, you will be mine.