Samsung Captivate Glide Review and Features

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Close-up of a Samsung phone surrounded by transparent cases on a purple surface, showcasing modern technology.
Credit: pexels.com, Close-up of a Samsung phone surrounded by transparent cases on a purple surface, showcasing modern technology.

The Samsung Captivate Glide is a powerhouse of a phone that's packed with features. It has a 3.7-inch touchscreen display.

This phone is designed for business use, with a focus on productivity and efficiency. It has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for easy typing.

One of the standout features of the Captivate Glide is its 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, which provides fast and smooth performance. It also has 384 MB of RAM, which helps with multitasking.

The Captivate Glide has a 5-megapixel camera, which is perfect for capturing high-quality photos and videos.

A fresh viewpoint: Glide OS

Design and Hardware

The Samsung Captivate Glide is a surprisingly compact phone, with a 4-inch screen that's noticeably smaller than many of its Galaxy S II counterparts. Its depth is a full 13.7mm, which makes it feel even thicker despite the relatively small screen.

The phone's design is essentially a Galaxy S II with a slide-out keyboard, featuring the same capacitive Android buttons on the bottom and Micro USB and headphone ports on the top. It's a relatively good-looking phone, but I've never understood why Samsung uses so much plastic in its otherwise high-end phones, which makes the back feel a bit cheap.

Review: Thumbs Ready

Turned-on Black Samsung Android Smartphone Displaying Clock at 12:09
Credit: pexels.com, Turned-on Black Samsung Android Smartphone Displaying Clock at 12:09

The Samsung Captivate Glide is long overdue, but it's finally here. It's one of the many dual-core Android devices that have flooded the market.

The device's design is sleek and modern, and its slide-out QWERTY keyboard is a great feature for those who prefer a physical keyboard. The Captivate Glide is a great option for anyone looking for a device with a physical keyboard.

The market is brimming with dual-core Android devices, but the Captivate Glide's unique design sets it apart from the rest. It's a great choice for anyone who wants a device that's both stylish and functional.

Hardware

The Samsung Captivate Glide is a solid device with some notable design choices. It's noticeably smaller than the Galaxy S II devices, mainly due to its 4-inch screen.

One of the standout features of the Glide is its slide-out keyboard, which is a nice touch for those who prefer a physical keyboard. However, it's huge and can be a bit unmanageable, especially for those with smaller hands.

A captivating woman performs fire tricks at a nighttime outdoor event.
Credit: pexels.com, A captivating woman performs fire tricks at a nighttime outdoor event.

The keyboard's design is pretty good, with a nice blue-and-white color scheme and well-spaced keys. However, the keys do feel a bit cramped, especially in the middle, and the Enter button is tiny and hard to reach.

The phone's build quality is a mixed bag, with a textured back that feels like sandpaper and a plasticky feel that's not particularly premium. Despite this, it's not particularly heavy, weighing in at 5.2 ounces.

One of the biggest design decisions that affects the user experience is the 4-inch screen, which is a compromise between portability and usability. The 16:9 aspect ratio also means that you can't see much on the screen at any given time.

Camera and Battery

The camera on the Samsung Captivate Glide is decent, but not the best. It has an 8-megapixel camera on the back that takes pictures that are softer and noisier than those from other Galaxy S II models.

For your interest: Samsung Galaxy Camera

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The shutter speed is ridiculously slow, often taking up to a full second to take a picture, which can result in blurry photos. This is especially true in low-light conditions, where the slow shutter speed makes it difficult to get a clear shot.

The 720p video recording is also soft and noisy, but colors are accurate and audio is good. It's worth noting that the front-facing camera is only 1-megapixel, making it best suited for video chat rather than taking decent pictures.

The battery life is also a concern, as the 1,650 mAh battery barely lasts a full day of intensive use. You'll likely need to charge it every night to ensure it makes it through the next day.

Check this out: Samsung Corby Speed

Cameras

The camera on the Glide is decent, but not as good as other Galaxy S II models. It takes softer and noisier pictures than those from Samsung's other phones.

The biggest problem with the camera is its ridiculously slow shutter speed, which can be up to a full second. This can result in blurry photos, especially when trying to capture moving subjects.

Close-up of a black and white kitten with captivating eyes indoors, displaying a relaxed pose.
Credit: pexels.com, Close-up of a black and white kitten with captivating eyes indoors, displaying a relaxed pose.

In low light, the camera is even worse, with blurry photos almost guaranteed unless you're shooting a still life from a tripod. I've experienced this firsthand and can attest to the camera's struggles in dimly lit environments.

The Glide's camera does have a few cool features, such as panorama mode and tap-to-focus. However, these can't make up for the unspectacular image quality.

The camera's 720p video is also soft and usually noisy, even in good lighting. Colors are accurate, but the video quality is just not up to par.

The front-facing camera is even more disappointing, with a 1-megapixel sensor that's only good for video chat, not taking decent pictures. I've tried using it for photos, and the results are sorely disappointing.

Battery

The battery life of the Samsung Captivate Glide is a bit of a mixed bag. It can last a full day of intensive use, but just barely, and most users will need to charge it every night.

The battery warning usually starts around midnight if you unplug it at 7AM. That's a pretty tight squeeze, if you ask me.

Performance and Quality

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The Samsung Captivate Glide delivers impressive performance, with Quadrant scores consistently exceeding 3,000. This is as good as a stock, unmodified smartphone can be these days.

The phone's performance is noticeable, feeling zippier than some other devices I've used, including the Galaxy S II.

Performance, Quality, and Battery Life

The Samsung Captivate Glide is a powerhouse of a phone, with Quadrant scores consistently exceeding 3,000, which is impressive for a smartphone.

This phone's performance is on par with high-end devices, making it a great option for those who need a reliable and fast phone.

The battery life of the Captivate Glide is decent, lasting a full day of intensive use, but just barely. Most users will need to charge it every night.

I've used phones that felt a bit zippier, but the Captivate Glide is no slouch, with its Nvidia Tegra 2 AP20H processor and 1 GB of RAM providing smooth performance.

The 1,650 mAh battery is a decent size, but it's not enough to last through a full day of heavy use without needing to be charged.

The Bad

Credit: youtube.com, Lecture 5_Impact, Performance Quality and Bad Faith Claims

The Captivate Glide's performance is decent, but not without some drawbacks. Call quality was acceptable, but voices sounded loud on one end and natural, although with moments of digital distortion on the other end.

The phone's Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system is a bit outdated, and it doesn't come with Ice Cream Sandwich. This means it's unlikely to get updated anytime soon.

One of the biggest issues with the Captivate Glide is its poor noise cancellation. This can be frustrating, especially in noisy environments.

The phone's 8-megapixel camera lens with flash is a nice feature, but it's not the best in its class. There are other Android phones with slightly better cameras and specs.

The Captivate Glide's thickness and size make it less pocketable than other Android phones. This might not be a deal-breaker for everyone, but it's worth considering if you're on the go a lot.

For your interest: New Flip Phones Samsung

Call and Signal

The Samsung Captivate Glide's call quality is surprisingly good, with a clear microphone that lets you sound easy to hear and understand. Even in noisy environments, the phone's sound is loud and clear, but the noise cancellation is virtually non-existent.

Credit: youtube.com, ATT Samsung Captivate Glide cell phone

You'll still be able to hear background noise, like scratching your arm, when using the speakerphone. The phone's design doesn't allow for sliding the keyboard out to activate speakerphone, which is a feature you might find useful.

The phone's signal strength is also decent, rarely dipping below three bars in northern New Jersey and staying connected to AT&T's network. However, in NYC, signal performance was weaker, and the phone lost the signal at least once.

Signal

The Captivate Glide performed well in terms of signal strength, rarely dipping below three bars in northern New Jersey.

In NYC, signal performance was a bit weaker, and the device lost AT&T's network at least once.

Data speeds were good across the board, but the device had trouble connecting calls from NYC.

I didn't miss any calls while testing the Captivate Glide, but a single call failed to connect due to signal issues.

Call Quality

Call quality on the Captivate Glide is surprisingly good, as long as you're not in a very loud room or on a busy street.

Credit: youtube.com, How to improve cell signal at home for better call quality?

The microphone is clear and others can hear and understand you easily. I was even told I sounded very good on phone calls.

However, the noise cancellation on the phone is non-existent, so any background noise will be picked up by the person on the other end of the line.

The speakerphone story is the same - you'll sound good, even from a few feet away, but any small sound will get picked up by the phone.

One feature I wanted to see was the ability to slide the keyboard out to activate speakerphone, but that's not an option on the Captivate Glide.

Software and Hardware

The Samsung Captivate Glide's hardware and design are quite similar to other Galaxy S II devices, with the main difference being its smaller 4-inch screen.

It's actually quite hard to tell the Glide apart from other Galaxy S II devices, aside from the carrier logos and the fact that it has a slide-out keyboard.

Credit: youtube.com, Samsung Captivate Hardware Review | Pocketnow

The phone is 13.7mm deep, which is quite thick, and it feels even thicker due to its relatively small screen size.

It weighs 5.2 ounces, but its size makes it feel big in the hand.

The back of the phone has a textured feel that's a bit rough, similar to sandpaper.

It also has a more obvious plastic feel compared to other Galaxy S II devices, which makes it feel a bit cheap.

Overall, the phone's design is decent, but it's not particularly impressive given its high-end status.

The Bottom Line

The Samsung Captivate Glide is a feature-packed smartphone with a 4-inch touchscreen display and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, making it a great option for those who want to stay connected on the go.

Its 1GHz Hummingbird processor provides fast performance, and with 512MB of RAM, you can multitask with ease.

This phone's 5-megapixel camera is a great feature, especially for those who love taking photos.

The Samsung Captivate Glide comes with Android 2.2 Froyo, which provides a smooth and intuitive user experience.

Overall, the Samsung Captivate Glide is a solid choice for anyone looking for a reliable and feature-rich smartphone.

Patricia Dach

Junior Copy Editor

Patricia Dach is a meticulous and detail-oriented Copy Editor with a passion for refining written content. With a keen eye for grammar and syntax, she ensures that articles are polished and error-free. Her expertise spans a range of topics, from technology to lifestyle, and she is well-versed in various style guides.

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