[Captivate General] moto749:
It seems like some people here have to justify their choice with blatant fanboyism on both sides. The 2 phones are actually very equally matched. That doesnt mean however that you arent going to favor one over the other

Ios is undeniably a smoother and more seamless experience. The apps do have a slightly higher level of polish over android due to higher dev participation.

Iphone to me is marketed towards the non-techie. The non-techie wants a device that they can pick up, sync their playlists, maybe install a few apps, but overall not mess with it too much outside the factory settings. No need to complicate things. Simplicity of use is generally where the iphone excells. Yes I will venture to say "it just works".This comes however with "golden handcuffs" in that you are basically locked into Apples ecosystem and are forced to obey 'ole Jobsies every whim. Wi-fi sync? NO!! you may not add or alter the original funtions of the phone! Wanna read dirty novels or install apps that have provocative materials? NO! you dont know whats good for you so we will keep you safe from the boobies!

Android, on the other hand, one ups Ios in terms of customization. Just about any feature can be changed or modified on the stock os. There is a slight learning curve however. Productivity is the name of the game here and the implementation of widgets and the more advanced notification system pretty much wins here. This is the Techie OS. For the tinkerer, or the power user that wants their phone to do exactly what you tell it to. Also lets face it, live wallpapers are just freaking cool.

Now there is always going to be the argument that you can root this or jailbreak that. The average user does not want to risk a bricked phone or voiding their warranty though (in my opinion the reward outweighs the risk). Jailbreaking and rooting levels the playing field even more because most problems can be eliminated by doing so.

The difference between these two phones is pretty much going to boil down to preference in OS. Personally I upgraded to the Captivate from my jailbroken 3GS because I tinker with my phone a lot and I wanted a bigger screen. As nice as the retina display is, I dont think I could ever go back to a 3.5 inch screen. The gps is a non issue for me since I tried the recommended settings in another thread. I like being able to customize as heavily as the captivate lets me. I do have the lag issue every once in a while. I think its a little exaggerated by some people but I cant say since I only have my phone to base my judgement on. Its still faster than my 3GS was and when comparing side by side with the iphone4 it was about equal although I felt the Sammy had a slight edge in the browser. The Phone isnt without faults but neither is Iphone. The problems with both phones can pretty much be fixed either via software update or bumper. Hopefully the problems that are present on the Captivate will be corrected in a timely manner resulting in a superior device.. For now though the iphone has the more stable software.

Best advice I can give is try both. Give each at least 2 weeks of use before you decide to switch. If it really matters that much to you then a restocking fee cant be that big a deal anyways. Be glad we have the option of "totally awesome super phone" or "totally super awesome phone".