Great Phone December 9, 2011

Reviewer:  John H. Eickhoff 

Finally an Android Phone with a good keyboard. I purchased this phone from the AT&T store the day it was available. It is more than I had hoped for. I saw it announced and was awaiting its release. In preparation I checked out some of the other Samsung keyboard phones for Verizon and Sprint to see what I thought but was very disappointed. The Captivate is so much better than the older keyboard sliders Samsung made for other Carriers.

Keyboard is great the slide is solid and feels like it will last. They keyboard spacing is good also. They keyboard touch and feel is well done.

The screen is perfect. It is crystal sharp and I have had no issues with its touch sensitivity.

Camera. It is an 8mp phone cammera. It is good for a quick point and shoot camera but lacks the features of a high end point and shoot camera. It compares to the other good camera phones of 5mp or higher.

Space. I am not sure how it calculates space but it does not seem to have 8gig like is advertised although I am not sure what it is counting. I stuck a 32gb card in it and have more room than I need. The Internal SD shows up as 4gb and then another 2 if you add in some protected storage.

Web browser is so much faster than my old HTC Tilt 2 Windows phone and being a true touch screen it works great.

Dual Core processor keeps everything running faster than you will notice. I have lots of games and movies and it runs fine.

Size: This is a great size. They kept it thin even with the slider and it is not so big as to be a full size tablet like the Galaxy S2 Rocketship at 4.5 inches.

Now the bad. It is from AT&T. They bloat it with worthless trial software. some of it runs so it taking up processing power even though you declined buying it. Of course there is no way to remove it. In defense of AT&T's poor practices they all do it.

Battery life. I have never had a phone I am happy with the battery life and this one is no different. At times you can almost hear the life being drained out of it. You will never get more than a days use out of it. Plan on charging it every night (and sometimes more).

Did not come with syncing to outlook. You can sync to Google but why do I want my information in Google's hands. Plenty of free synching software is available so this is not an issue.

I love the phone. It was a perfect replacement for my HTC Tilt 2 (windows mobile). If I had to do it all over again I would still buy this phone.

Best Physical QWERTY GSM Android Smartphone March 4, 2012

Reviewer:  M. Muzammil "IncidentFlux"  (Ajman, United Arab Emirates) -

My first phone was a physical QWERTY Nokia 5510, and my last was a Nokia E71 (Unlocked). These phones have very well built hardware keyboards, Samsung is not entirely there yet, but this is a very well built classy looking phone.

Note: AmazonWireless was selling this as "Unlocked" which implied that it won't need a network unlock code, so I had to get it unlocked. Now I'm using it in the United Arab Emirates.

Pros
1. Slider is well built, the spring action is helpful. Hopefully it won't get loose over time.
2. The 4" screen is ideal for me, since I mostly listen to radio.
3. The slider on the USB door is very cool, keeps the dust out.
4. Beautiful back-light keyboard, very clear.
5. Fantastic value for the price.

Cons
1. Major con - No notification light. (Rooting allows touch button lights to become notification lights)
2. Major con - Android doesn't clearly indicate if caps lock or num has been engaged on the physical keyboard.
3. Minor con - No slot to attach a hand strap. (workaround: get a case)
4. Major con - Speaker should've been stereo and on the sides, for louder sound. (workaround: use apps like Volume+ or Equalizer)
5. Major con - No hardware FM radio receiver. Really useful if you're out roaming or on vacation.

Observations
1. Not Samsungs fault, but it's hard to find good quality leather covers for sliders.

Edit:
The AT&T ROM has carrier restrictions which means you can't manually toggle between 2G and 3G networks. This is not a deal breaker, but those who don't use data packages or want to conserve battery can't switch to 2G if they want to.

Even after sim unlocking you can't do network searches, other network's sim will work, but you won't be able to see a list of them. This is not an Android or Samsung limitation, since flashing with other ROMs from XDA will release you from these restrictions.

2nd Edit:
The GPS receiver on this phone keeps accurate locks on satellites, I was driving at 140 Km/hr and Google Latitude was tracking me accurately, even exiting at high speeds or traffic jams. I don't have a data package and it was switched off as well. So it wasn't getting any help from AGPS.

3rd Edit:
The [[ASIN:B005V7WIA2 SanDisk 64GB Mobile Ultra MicroSDXC Class 6 Memory Card with SD Adapter - Retail Packaging]] works really well, without any issues. This phone keeps getting better and better!

4th Edit:
If you're not happy with the battery life, try these larger capacity third party batteries:
1. 1,950mAh - [[ASIN:B007KCWQ4O Mugen Power Slim Extended-Capacity Battery for Samsung Captivate Glide i927]]
2. 3,600mAh - [[ASIN:B007KCWQ8K Mugen Power Extended Battery w/ Battery Cover for Samsung Captivate Glide i927]]

Great Cell! June 4, 2012

Reviewer:  Ronald 

I bought this phone searching for an upgrade for my old galaxy 3. I wanted something current, with good specs and if possible with a keyboard. I have to say that this cell is just what I wanted. I haven't seen it lag in any way, the screen is gorgeous (even if it's only a super amoled, not an amoled plus like some sources say) and it runs many games and emulators without a hitch. The keyboard is nice to have although It takes some time to get used to it. The camera is great, to the point that I don't take my standalone digital camera anywhere anymore. The battery is just good, It lasts a day with normal to heavy usage, but just that, you may want to invest in a car or portable charger if you use it heavily all time. I highly recommend this cell for anyone that wants a QWERTY smartphone, I couldn't be more happy with it.

Love this phone! February 18, 2012

Reviewer:  D Allen  (CO, USA) -

I've had my Samsung Captivate Glide for a little over a month now and I love it. My previous phone was an older Motorola flip phone so this phone felt large to begin with, but after using it for a couple weeks, the bigger screen is worth the extra size. The QWERTY keyboard has a nice feel and is large enough to make typing easy. Nice camera w/flash, haven't tried the camcorder yet. WiFi works great! The screen is sharp and clear and the touchscreen is really nice. The battery seems to last better than I've heard about smartphones, I usually have 1/4 to 1/2 a charge left at the end of the day.

My only (really minor) complaint: although there are lots of protective covers out there supposedly for this phone, the only one I've found that fits the phone is the dusty blue Body Glove cover sold by AT&T; the others are too "thick" and don't allow the phone to slide smoothly.

the i927 April 9, 2012

Reviewer:  Charles W. Jefferson 

This device is awesome!!! I truly enjoy the responsiveness the ease of use out of the box. And the clarity of the calls. Not too big to hold in your hand to use and not too small to be highly functional.

Where has this device been all my life???

I especially enjoy the full keyboard. The device is very light considering that it has a full keyboard. I have had extremely good usage times out of the device.

All and All I say this is a very very nice device to have in your tool belt.

amazing phone May 29, 2012

Reviewer:  Antoun Toubia "Antonio Toubia"  (New York) -

i was searching for a phone that has a keyboard that won't eat the screen size, nad has all the features in the other phones, i couldn't find one from samsung other than this one which only can be taken from at&t and i do not live in Usa to take it, but this company has it unlocked now after i received it, the usage is so amazing, i can't believe that this phoen is so fast and heavy duty, so many features and additionally it has android, great phone from samsung really, other phones has big screens but when you want to type the keyboard takes half of the screen, but with this sliding keyboard feature that this phone has, i can enjoy always the big screen. thank you.

good phone until it stopped working February 22, 2013

Reviewer:  eels 

Bought the unlocked phone (from Tablet Distributors) and it was a Rogers (Canadian carrier) phone. Other than the minor annoyance of Roger's specific apps (probably less than what AT&T would have loaded) and the little configurations for Canada (default settings to metric, Canadian searches, etc), it seemed to be working fine with my AT&T SIM card and I was fairly happy with it. The keyboard is a far cry from Blackberry's in terms of ease and comfort of use, but was one of the few nice phones I found with a physical keyboard so was willing to live with it. Was planning to try it on an upcoming trip to Europe with a European SIM card, but after 3.5 weeks the phone inexplicably turned off and will not power on past the Rogers start-up screen. Tablet Distributors was very responsive in trying to get a positive review from me, but went radio silent when I emailed them about my problem and asked for a replacement. The phone number listed for them on the Amazon website also does not work.

amazing phone for work use February 6, 2012

Reviewer:  wizkid 

The phone is very snappy because of the dual-core CPU and 1GB RAM. Upgraded from Galaxy S and phone feels very responsible.

Also tried Skyrocket, which is another great phone. But if you need to do a lot of typing and need a physical keyboard, this is the phone to go phone.

Best ATT Android Phone December 29, 2011

Reviewer:  Shiva Ho "amppcguru"  (Stowe, VT USA) -

Refused to upgrade my old Samsung Propel until they came out with this Phone with QWERTY Slider. ATT wanted $150 to upgrade to it & Amazon was selling it for $0.01!!! So I dumped old # to get this Phone. Amazingly fast, crystal clear screen, solid feeling & build. Won't go into any details since the previous reviewer covers it all. Love this PHONE!

I love this phone February 10, 2012

Reviewer:  CL 

I'm a long time blackberry user and I was very apprehensive about switching to a different brand. I did my research, picked the Samsung Captivate Glide, and am thrilled that I did! The phone is so light and thin that everyone is shocked it has a little keyboard. The keyboard keys are spaced in such a manner that the keyboard is easy to use. The camera is awesome and the screen on the phone is beautiful. I'm also told that my voice comes through much more clearly when I'm talking to people. Setting up the phone was a breeze and using the phone was a breeze. Before I used my phone when I had to, but I just can't put this phone down. Love it, love it, love it!

Best in it's class December 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Richard A Nolan  (USA) -

This is only my fifth cell phone going back easily over a dozen years. I changed phones infrequently to avoid being locked into the big cell company's contracts. I was very happy with my flip phones but finally needed internet access on the go while traveling and also at a second home where I did not want to subscribe to local carrier services. So my 4th phone was what's known as a full feature phone, it was inadequate for my purposes but helped me learn what I wanted...and actually needed.
The Samsung Captivate Glide is almost exactly what I wanted...it does fit my needs. It has a very fast processor with no lag. It's Android so I don't have to pay for the big markup of an iPhone. It can be unlocked so I'm not chained to any carrier. I use Straight Talk and pay upfront for unlimited no long term contract service each month, cheap compared to the big guys. It has a nice physical qwerty keyboard, although the keys are flat and it would be nicer if they were slightly raised like on the feature phone I had. The screen is reasonably sized but I would like this phone even more if it was a bit larger, say 4.5 to 5.0 inches in size. Battery life is average for a smartphone. Most of the time I can go a full day without running outta juice. I do carry a spare charged battery just in case, cuz they're cheap and small and not too hard to change out. I do miss my flip phone days when I could sometimes go a week without recharging...plus those flip phones were inexpensive and bullet proof compared to today's smartphones, but whaddya gonna do.
Hopefully Samsung keeps improving the glide keyboard line but the trend seems to be away from this format. If a physical keyboard smartphone is what you're looking for you'll be hard pressed to find one better than this Captivate Glide. I give it five stars despite some small shortcomings (un-raised keyboard, wished it had bigger screen, average battery life) because it's the best in it's unique class (tactile keyboard) smartphone. BTW, Android 4.0 is now available for this phone.

Best QWERTY option on AT&T by far. August 14, 2012

Reviewer:  Snowgator 

This is a great device. It seems as though physical keyboards are fewer and fewer, and when one comes out that is a blast to use it needs to be shared.

Samsung has really put out some great devices, and also some bad ones in the last two years. So I am very pleased to say this is a great one. While some do not like the look of the "Touch-Wiz" UI that Samsung uses, it compliments the Android OS very well. One of the drawbacks of Android is that it can lag in commands and the Glide is no exception. There are some longer loading times on email updates and web sites. But nothing that will bother an average user. It is a good media phone, although again more complex media (movies, videos) will take some extra loading times.

The keyboard has 2 drawbacks: The phone is thin, but it does it at the expense of the keys. They are very flat and that makes the experince a little to get used too. Also, why a device which has a nice 4.0" screen has so much wasted space and uses only 4 rows instead of 5 (Like on Verizons excellent Droid 4 and the 2010 Samsung Epic on Sprint) is beyond me. However, they are decently spaced and very responsive. It takes just a little getting used to and the accuracy and speed you can type is so much better than the average on screen keyboard.

I can easily recommend the Glide so long as you take it for a test run at an AT&T shop or another mobile store. There is no better keyboard option on AT&T- Samsung has a dud in the Doubletime, and there are some BlackBerry options with fantastic keyboards (Bold, portrait sliding Torch) but with an underperforming internet experience and poor media options. The Captivate Glide has got a great screen, decent battery life, a decent performance and a great keyboard. Easy win and I expect anyone will enjoy it.

NOT a good BlackBerry replacement December 24, 2012

Reviewer:  Emily  (Bethesda, MD USA) -

Note: I don't "play" with my phone very much at all. I work on my phone. The purpose of my smartphone is to function as my connection to the office when I am not there. Games and apps are not very important to me.

My company is moving to a Microsoft Exchange server that will not support BlackBerry, so I was forced to find a replacement for the BlackBerry Torch I owned and liked a lot. I of course loved the QWERTY keys on the Torch and did not want to give them up for an iPhone. The Samsung Captivate Glide seemed liked a great option, and it had good reviews.

I've had it for about a month, and I have to say, I'm not impressed.

1. Battery life is pathetic. This phone drains within several hours, even with NO activity (i.e., without even being touched). Exiting all applications doesn't help extend the battery life in any tangible way. I know I could purchase an extended battery with case and make the phone even fatter with the keyboard factored in, but I don't think I should be forced to do so just so that I can leave it on my desk all day and not have it die completely.

2. The thing I care about most on my phone, email, is in no way built to facilitate work.
--There is no Mark All as Read option. Not even a work around trick.
--If you have the keyboard open drafting a response to a email with a fairly long thread (many emails back and forth before yours), you have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the email trail to reach the Send button. There is no other way to send an email with the keyboard open. (If you close the keyboard, the Send option will reappear on screen.)
--Sometimes it takes a full minute or more for an email to load on the screen after you open it, even with strong wifi connection. This is true of both large emails with attachments and smaller text-only emails.
--On the pros side, it does provide excellent viewing of PDF documents and attachments, and you can run multiple email inboxes together in one screen.

3. You can't change the 4 icons (Phone, Messages, Web, and Applications) locked to the bottom of the screen on all pages. I don't know if that's true of all Androids, but it's stupid. If I consider Email more important than Messages, I should be able to switch them.

4. The keyboard keys require a fair amount of pressure. You have to really push them down to get the letters you want. And the symbols menu when the keyboard is open is extremely limited, even though the symbols available with the keyboard closed are more extensive. And there's no way on screen to tell if you've selected the caps or alt key.

5. When using the phone on speaker during a conference call, the screen goes to sleep (normal). The only way to wake it up is to slide the keyboard open or to bring it up to your face like you're talking into it, then pull it away again. The first time I encountered this issue, I tried pressing the lock button on the side (because that's how my BlackBerry worked) and it dropped the call completely, without even waking up the screen.

There are things I like about this phone--the app selection is infinitely better than BlackBerry, the sound and speaker are good, the screen is crisp, the phone is still pretty slim even with the keyboard, the camera and video are excellent--but I need this phone to help me work, not help me play, and it definitely can't handle that to the extent that I need it to. I really wanted this to work out considering the QWERTY keys, but I'm giving up and switching to iPhone.

Bottom line: battery life and email program ruined this phone for me.

Phone cases. April 10, 2012

Reviewer:  QQZJ  (LA, CA) -

The phone is great. If you want a keyboard, this is the best. Otherwise, GSII is a better bet. The most common case is the Body Glove case, but I read from reviews that it is hard to get the phone out from the case. Finally I went with the Speck case 'sure slider'. At first, the fit feels loose, but after a while, it becomes more snug. Don't buy cheap ones from Ebay, they broke really easily. I learned it the hard way.

Phone locked to Rogers April 14, 2013

Reviewer:  Susan Jung Choi  (Glen Cove, NY USA) -

This phone is sold as unlocked but is actually locked. After few weeks of using with GSM Sim card, it has now reverted to Rogers. TERRIBLE!!

First smartphone- just what I expected February 27, 2013

Reviewer:  Jenessa 

I bought the Samsung Captivate Glide as an upgrade from my previous basic messaging phone. I mainly wanted my new phone to be able to use the internet and access my e-mail, so my AT&T salesman suggested I buy a smartphone.

I selected this phone mainly because it was the only smartphone in the store that came with a QWERTY button keyboard. I didn't like the idea of typing on a screen, so I wanted to make sure I would still have some feel of my older phone. However, I NEVER use the slide-out button keyboard. I just find it easier to type on-screen.

I also was fearful that it would be difficult for me to understand how to navigate through and use the phone, but within the first 2 days, I had completely gotten used to it.

Overall, I think it is a pretty good phone that does the jobs that I want it to. I would recommend it especially for someone who has not had a smartphone before and/or doesn't want an extremely expensive/fancy phone.

Pros: The phone is easily navigable, has decent storage, works/loads quickly, and is a good size (fits easily in my hand). The camera quality is also great (you won't need your digital camera anymore because you can just use the phone.) You can easily share pictures you take through messaging, e-mail, social media sites, etc.

Cons: The one major con is the battery life. Even if I use the phone moderately, sometimes I still need to use my car charger during the day. Other minor cons are that you can't delete some of the pre-installed apps, and if you don't buy a case for it, it will get scratched up pretty quickly.

What i was looking for December 26, 2012

Reviewer:  Humberto Hernandez  (Venezuela) -

This phone is amazing, good looking, nice material, very fast processor, not that big like S3. The only thing is you have to upgrade manually to ICS. I root and install the new OS 4.0.4 and block the phone. I recommend ask for the unblock code to he seller before doing some upgrade. Forgeting this detail is all what i was looking foward. The keyboard is a Plus+++ , and the price is great deal!

It's an amazing phone! October 3, 2012

Reviewer:  Chantal Bauldie "why try and fit in when I was born to stand out?"  (Jamaica, W.I.) -

Sleek, fast performance, beautiful screen, the phone is worth the buy. My last touchscreen failed so I decided to get one with a back-up keyboard and though I rarely use it, I'm happier knowing its there, just in case.

I have few complaints so far - some of the AT&T branded apps preloaded with the phone, I don't use and would rather uninstall, but so far, I can't, and I don't update them, so. The camera is fantastic, tho the front cam only performs better in good light, video-recording, video playback, youtube, web browsing, flawless so far.

It's good for a techie, professional, texter and for someone who wants to take amazing pictures who doesn't want to be lagging around a digital camera, and I happen to be both. I can be talking to my mother on the phone, take a pic, send it to her and resume my conversation, I can be checking work emails while I talk to my boss and I can Skype my mother from the airport - I'm good with this one for now. Birthday present well loved.

Great phone - bad support August 13, 2012

Reviewer:  MsEE 

The phone is excellent and easy to use. I do love it.

But the PC backup and access software is obscure, obtuse, and doesn't work. If I had known that Samsung no longer distributed software or drivers with the phone, I wouldn't have bought it.

I've had the phone for three months now, am a power user on the computer, but can't get Kies (the only software that appears to work with the phone) to connect to the device. A quick check of the internet tells me I'm not alone.

Samsung, you are messing up here.

The phone is five stars, the software to support it is zero (won't install on any of three computers). So zero for the software.

Love Love Love Love this Phone. May 8, 2013

Reviewer:  Robin Francis "Stemcelltycoon"  (Trinidad and Tobago) -

If you are a techie and phone freak - Highly recommend getting this phone. It has almost all the features you can possibly want. Trust me it would leave you wanting no other phone once you have it. Special features it have that makes it attractive is its slide out keypad, Quality Color Screen, Access to Google Play Store to download apps, Quality Camera - too may features that you could possibly use consistently. It is also great for the socialite wanting to keep track of their facebook, whatsapp, twitter, emailing, google +, kik messenger and lots more!