Help me choose a new phone

I own a Captivate, and I'm quite happy with it. However, there are some things you need to take into consideration...

If you want to be able to install apps that ARE NOT from the Android Market, then your only option (from AT&T) is the HTC Aria, if you don't want to go through the trouble of rooting your phone. Most Android devices with LED camera flash seem to only be available on Verizon and T-Mobile.

The Aria offers everything except 720p video camera recording (it does 5MP camera stills), from what I can tell, though I can be wrong. AT&T has never been good about being correct about the specifications. They don't list the WiFi support it has, and I know for a fact it has WiFi support. It is also an Android 2.1 device, just like the Captivate. It is also slated to get the Android 2.2 update by Christmas.

If installing non-Market Android apps isn't a big deal, then the Captivate would be a good choice. The newly released Sony Xperia X10 is also pretty good, except for the fact it comes with Android 1.6. However, Sony Ericsson has said it will eventually get the Android 2.1 upgrade. The Xperia X10 also has an LED camera flash. The Xperia X10 is also extremely media-centric (like the iPhone), so if you like that kind of functionality, you might appreciate it.

If you are able to purchase an unlocked phone, I'd highly suggest the Nexus One. While not available as a consumer phone, you can purchase it from Google if you have an Android developer account. Also, you could purchase it from eBay or something like that for considerably cheaper. The Nexus One pretty much meets all of your requisites.

Now, if you were able to switch carriers, I'd recommend the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide or the Samsung Vibrant. The Vibrant is pretty much the same as the Captivate, except the AT&T imposed restrictions don't exist, and you get a bit of free stuff with it (James Cameron's Avatar, Sims 3, and a 2GB MicroSD card to go with the 16GB internal storage). The MyTouch 3G Slide has an LED camera flash and includes a physical keyboard. It also includes an 8GB MicroSD card to go with it.

However, this does not preclude that you could go to eBay or something and buy the myTouch 3G Slide unlocked and using it on AT&T if that is the phone you want.

If rooting your phone isn't an issue and you need to stay with AT&T and you don't mind no camera flash, then I'd recommend the Captivate. However, if you don't want to root your phone (in fear of losing your ability to receive updates), then I'd recommend the HTC Aria. If you need an LED camera flash, and you don't mind rooting your phone to be able to install non-Market apps, then the X10 would be an excellent choice. The only downside to the X10 is that it still runs on Android 1.6 instead of 2.1. But, as I said earlier, that will be upgraded to 2.1 soon enough.

I hope this helps!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOr762xZnw4

As for apps. I recomend gensoid, nesoid, gearoid, snesoid, gameboid, GBCoid and psx4droid. :D

 

There is a major issue with the Captivate. The Captivate GPS system is very wonky. Comparatively, the Xperia is easy to root and activate sideloading, but the bootloader hasn't been cracked yet, so no "unofficial" Android 2.1 and/or 2.2 ROMs can be loaded yet.

The Xperia X10 will get an app to do HD video recording with the Android 2.1 update. I believe the reason why it doesn't support video recording because Android 1.6 doesn't have explicit APIs to easily handle video recording... It probably is possible to do video recording with an app when you are running Android 1.6, but I don't know for sure. It will also get DLNA and wireless media streaming capabilities with the Android 2.1 upgrade (which is arriving sometime this month).

 

Keep in mind that anyone is going to have a better phone a year or 6 months from now. Whatever you choose is going to be obsolete anyway.

Android Froyo has been ported to the iPhone, and since you've already jailbroken you could just install it any try it to see if you like the OS. The most recent versions of Android have gotten a lot better for usability, but as whole there are still some things that need to be improved. I'm not going to go into pros and cons because you should really just try it and see for yourself. In many respects choosing a phone now is a lot like choosing a console, where Apple is like Microsoft and won't allow Final Fantasy XIV because it's not hosted on their network, and Google is like Sony where they don't really care what developers do as long as it means you're on their platform even if the port sucks.

 

Yeah, but I already know AT&T is disabling most of the benefits of Froyo update. The only capability the Froyo update is keeping, as I was told, was the ability to install apps to SD card. That can easily be activated in Eclair using an app called "Apps to SD 2", which requires rooting the phone. I tried asking about JIT compiling, but nobody gave me a straight answer. I'm assuming that it is coming with it, though.

When I took a look at the X10, the TFT screen didn't really detract from phone usage, even in sunlight. The RAM could be a bit of a problem though. Interestingly, the X10 doesn't have a normal LED flash, but it is an LED light that can be toggled on in the camera application for as long as you are in the application. The 8.1MP camera definitely doesn't hurt matters either.

 

If you want to try out the OS, probably the best way is through the emulator, which is freely available from the Android Developer website as part of the Android SDK.

 

Another glitch I've just started experiencing on my Captivate (as of yesterday afternoon and able to reproduce it) is random screen blanking and hanging. The screen randomly blanks and gets stuck that way for a couple of seconds. Apparently this problem seems to be isolated to the Epic 4G and the Captivate, and Samsung will fix it with the 2.2 update.

 

I'm a bit late to this party, but I can't resist a topic that interests me.

If you are set on a galaxy S series phone, buy a T-Mobile Vibrant outright. It supports both T-Mobile AND AT&T 3G bands.

Also, the Xperia X10 is utter shit compared to other similarly specced phones. Hell, you can pick up a Nexus One with AT&T bands off ebay, root it, install cyanogen 6, and enjoy excellent benefits like 720p video recording.

Alternatively, you can wait for the HTC Desire HD or HTC Desire Z (aka T-Mobile G2 + Sense) to make there debut on a canadian cellular service like Telus which will be compatible with AT&T 3G.

 

Also, I've observed that the gitches I've had in my Captivate did not exist on the Vibrant. My friend, who is on T-Mobile and got a Vibrant, doesn't seem to have problems with the GPS or random screen blanking.

Additionally, since the Vibrant uses the same physical shell as the international Galaxy S, all the Galaxy S accessories work on it.

Since the Vibrant works on AT&T's 3G network and can be easily unlocked, I'd recommend it if you want a Galaxy S phone and are willing to shell out a bit more for it.

 

Well, T-Mobile has the policy of allowing you to get the phone unlocked for free if you pay the unsubsidized price for it. From T-Mobile directly, it is $500, which is $100 cheaper than the MSRP. They only require that you prove the purchase of the device. Obviously, if you purchase from T-Mobile directly, the proof is right there.

If you have a T-Mobile store nearby, go there and see if you can just buy the phone there. Most T-Mobile stores do allow you to. They can also provide you the unlock codes and instructions to unlock after purchasing the device.

Getting it with a plan (with 2yr contract obviously), the phone is $200. However, if you are signing up for a family plan, it is a Buy-one-get-one-free offer as well.

Also, it seems Samsung Spain has commented that Froyo will be arriving to international Galaxy S in late October, so it is quite likely the USA variants won't get Froyo until late November to early December.

 

You can also sell off your iPhone 3GS to make some money to reduce the money you need to supply to buy an unlocked phone....