AT&T is now the first US carrier to announce the Galaxy S; AT&T’s model will be called the Captivate and will have a slightly different body than the Galaxy S announced at CTIA. The Captivate should give many users an alternative to the iPhone 4 on AT&T’s network as both devices sport similar feature-sets, including 5-megapixel camera with HD video recording, gyroscope and accelerometer, and 1 GHz Hummingbird chip–Apple’s A4 chip is widely believed to be a rebrand of the Hummingbird design. According to AT&T’s press release:
In addition, the Samsung Captivate is designed with a six-axis sensor that combines the smartphone’s accelerometer and gyroscope to provide a smooth, fluid gaming experience when the user is tilting the device up or down or panning the phone to the left or right. The Captivate’s user interface also supports a series of advanced touch screen gestures capabilities including multi-touch pinch, long tap and zoom and vertical and horizontal swiping. This series of versatile gestures provide easier and quicker access to many applications including location-based services, Web browsing and digital photos.
Other features for the Captivate include Samsung Social Hub and AT&T’s Address Book:
The Captivate keeps users connected with Samsung’s Social Hub, which is built around Messaging and Contacts, both of which initiate the sending and receiving of information, whether it is e-mail, instant messaging, social network updates or SMS messages. Additionally, calendar information from portal calendars, such as Google Calendar™, and social networking services are displayed together in one calendar with two-way synchronization. The familiar text messaging experience is enhanced with group messaging and “reply all” functionality for up to 10 contacts, a threaded conversations format, a consolidated inbox, and enhanced multi-media display.
In addition, AT&T customers who choose Captivate can take advantage of AT&T Address Book. A Web-based service, AT&T Address Book syncs contacts to an online address book so customers can access and manage their mobile contacts from their handset – or their PC. Also available to users at no additional charge is access to AT&T’s entire national Wi-Fi network — any Captivate with the Wi-Fi turned on will automatically connect when in range.
Other specs include WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 4.1-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, GPS, Android 2.1 with TouchWiz, and DLNA integration.
The device should be released in the coming months; an exact date was not given. Users can go to http://www.att.com/captivate to learn more about the device.
