Samsung Captivate Glide

“AT&T has plenty of smartphones, but it doesn't have plenty of keyboarded smartphones. Sure, there's the Sharp FX Plus and the RIM BlackBerry Torch 9810, but neither of those devices are particularly cutting edge. Enter the Samsung Captivate Glide. It's a lot like the popular Samsung Galaxy S II, with the addition of a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a slight bump down in specs. It's our Editors' Choice for keyboarded smartphones on AT&T.”

“The Samsung Captivate Glide is aiming for the interest of a special group of people – the messaging and social network junkies, which abound here in the United States. We believe that, especially for those who are already fond of Android, the device will be a welcome upgrade. It also has plenty of appeal for potential OS converts. We liked the hardware QWERTY of the device a lot – it is a perfect addition to an already familiar package. Having it on board, along with the Exchange ActiveSync support and virtual private network access and device encryption capabilities, makes the Samsung Captivate Glide a serious business alternative – something which until recently was almost exclusively reserved for the offerings of a certain Canadian company. In the case of the Captivate Glide however, you are bound to have a much better experience in terms of OS and sheer entertainment capabilities. The rest of the smartphone’s hardware is more than adequate. The presence of an NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU made us raise our brows at first and be a bit skeptical. It turned out that there is no reason for such feelings – it performed up to our expectations. Plus, you get access to the graphics-rich Tegra-only games in the Android Market. We gotta admit, the lack of full HD recording is a bit of a letdown. The other fault is the lack of any Galaxy related branding. Like we mentioned earlier, Samsung and AT&T have overlooked the brand potential here – the Captivate Glide is more than capable of carrying the Galaxy moniker. Besides, its predecessor on AT&T, the Samsung Captivate, was marketed as a Galaxy S phone.”

“Right now, the Samsung Captivate Glide is your best choice on AT&T if you want Android plus a physical keyboard. It offers solid performance with a bright display and strong audio. However, the flat keyboard on the Glide doesn't provide the best tactile feedback, and the phone offered below-average battery life on our tests. Plus, you don't get 4G LTE, so this handset isn't future-proof.”

“After seeing nothing but some stellar Android smartphones back-to-back, like the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II and the 4G LTE Skyrocket, it’s hard to imagine the Samsung Captivate getting some credible recognition following those two. Surprisingly enough, it’s able to establish its own identity by proving to be a commendable solution with its useful physical keyboard. Even though it might not have the brand name recognition like its siblings, the Samsung Captivate Glide is easily deemed as a high-end offering with its dual-core processor, HSPA+ connectivity, and vivid Super AMOLED display.Meticulously looking at its arsenal of features, we’re pleased to see it priced competitively at $149.99 on-contract. Obviously, if you don’t fancy keyboard devices, the previously aforementioned smartphones are great offerings, but if you simply require something with a more physical feel when typing, then the Captivate Glide is surely the right one for you.”