[Samsung Captivate Glide] gtmaster303:
Hi all,

Every time I get a new phone, I like to write a guide giving my impressions and help anyone that may be interested in getting it as well.

Just to give you an overview, I've had android devices since September 2010.

Device history: Motorola Cliq>MyTouch 3G Slide>HTC G2> MyTouch 4G Slide

Now onto the Glide...

Build quality

is solid, albeit cheap at times. It's very plasticky and light. All of my previous phones have felt much more dense in the hand. The shiny plastic bezel around the sides gets scratched up very easily, as does the top bezel over the screen. The top bezel wear is mostly from using the keyboard, as when you go to press the top keys, your fingernails may scrape the bezel. The back cover is nice, although I prefer soft touch finishes. My G2 felt the best in the hand. Back cover withstands knocks fairly well, and doesn't show scratches easily.

The charging port cover is a nice touch.

This is the biggest device I've owned thus far, and the bulk is becoming apparent. I wish Samsung worked a little harder on getting the form factor down in size a bit, because I feel as though it's not as optimal as it could be. When I pick up a phone, I want to feel that I'm holding nothing but the screen and keys I need. This phone feels a little wider and taller than necessary. Very blocky. If they tapered the edges more, this phone would be much easier to hold. There's a lot of space between the soft keys and screen and around the screen in general. This is about as big as I will go for form factor, because it's just starting to get a little unmanageable.

I wish Samsung made the screen a little bigger or added a trackpad, instead of making room to stick their logo on the front. The amount of space it takes up is deliberate and offsets the entire screen on the phone.

Screen:

It's very bright and colorful. I appreciate the extra screen space over my old phones. This is about the limit for screen size for me. I don't think going any bigger would make the phone any better. I will however mention that the screen resolution is quite low for a screen this size. I didn't think I would notice it as much, but text does become hard to read when you try to zoom out on a webpage. 75% of the time, this is not a big deal but it's prominent enough that I mention it. There's a subtle hint of sharpness missing when it comes to the screen.

I hope that future phones will work more towards having edge to edge displays or displays without bezels (such as the Droid Razr M).

Keyboard:

It will take some time to get used to, but it's a decent keyboard. Tactile feedback, although the keys are flat. Not the best keyboard I've used, but heaps better than my previous phone the 4G Slide. The keys are big enough that the flatness doesn't matter much. But it is hard to type on this phone without looking, if that's your thing. The G2 keyboard is hands down the best keyboard I've used on a device. I like the accent colors for different symbols and numbers

Battery

: The stock battery that comes with this phone is very good. It holds a charge very well and can last you through the whole day with light to moderate use. I find myself charging my phone less than my previous phone, even though the screen size is bigger. Definite plus.

Speed:

This is all relative now. Any phone you buy today will have more than enough power for your daily tasks and beyond. I have noticed that the Tegra 2 chipset is terrifically fast and tackles anything I throw at it effortlessly. I did not expect anything less. I would like to point out that, when under load, the phone does not feel as hot as my older phones did, even though the temps still go fairly high. While playing GTA Vice City over an hour the temperature peaks at around 50 degrees Celsius. I suspect the plastic helps with this, as when my G2 got that hot, the metal accents made it uncomfortable to hold.

What's interesting to note is this: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

The Tegra 2 ranks all the way down at 640. But just the fact that it's on the list impresses me. I expect that phones will catch up to laptops in terms of computing power within the next 1-2 years. They are already matching laptop chips from 8 years ago.

Faults:

I sorely miss my physical trackpad. I used it on a daily basis, and it's a blaring omission on this device. I would always use my trackpad to wake the phone, as it's very easily accessible and the easiest button to locate on a device. It's also much easier to reach for, vs. the power button. The similar sized Relay 4G manages to incorporate a physical button (not trackpad) in the same size as the Glide. The trackpad was also a great way to edit text on screen without the keyboard open.

Speaking of the power button, I kinda wish it was placed up top. It's in an awkward position, very close to the top corner of the phone. If it's going to be that high up the side of the device, might as well put it on top because you index finger has a longer reach than your thumb (yes, I've thought about this extensively).

The charging port is poorly placed. It's almost impossible to use the keyboard if your phone is charging. There's no good way to wrap your hands around the phone when charging. Also puts unnecessary strain on the cable and port if you're talking on the phone while charging, as it's at the top of the phone. Having the headphone jack right next to it only compounds the problem. Although the keyboard is still ok to use when you have only headphones plugged in.

There is no notification light. Very big miss on Samsung's end with this one. Why they couldn't throw one in is beyond me.

I will update this review, the more I own the phone. If there's anything you'd like me to comment on or compare, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to add it.