Samsung Galaxy S Series: Four Phones to Captivate, Fascinate and So Forth

Phone contract coming to a much-anticipated end? To switch phones in style, you probably want to give the Samsung Galaxy S Series a long, hard look. Unlike many carrier-specific models (like the Droid clan on Verizon and the iPhone 4 on AT&T), Samsung chose to launch a Galaxy S device on each of the four major American carriers.

Each flavor of Galaxy will sport a slightly different design, but the main feature set remains constant across carriers. Here’s a little breakdown of of each device, so you can peek at the one for your own carrier or develop some serious cross-carrier lust. Meet the Samsung Vibrant, Captivate, Fascinate and Epic. These puppies are on the upper echelon of mobile devices today, so you might want to brush shoulders with them.

Galaxy S Series Features:

+ Android 2.1, but Android 2.2 expected by the end of September, which offers a very noticeable speed boost, tethering and many other wonders

+ The best graphics processing available on a phone to date, for better video streaming and gaming

+ 4.0″ (480×800) SUPER AMOLED Screen (more sunlight-friendly than your average AMOLED, but just as bright!)

+ 1GHz Hummingbird Processor

+ 5.0 Megapixel camera

+ HD Video Player & Recorder, captures video at 30fps

+ 16GB/8GB+ MicroSD, up to 32GB of storage (except the Verizon Fascinate for some reason)

+ Swype app pre-loaded, for an awesome keyboard alternative. Check Swype out, if you haven’t already. It allows you to drag to select letters, rather than pecking– it can really speed things up.

+ Qik pre-loaded for video chatting

+ Touch Wiz 3, Samsung’s custom, arguably useless, Android skin

+ Wireless N capable, for fast Wifi speeds (depending on your router)

AT&T: SAMSUNG CAPTIVATE

+ On Amazon right now, the Samsung Captivate appears to be on sale for $49.99, which isn’t a penny but it’s still a damn fine steal.

+ AT&T iPhone alternative if you’d like to stay with the carrier but try Android on for size

+ Available now, which counts for somethin’.

VERIZON: SAMSUNG FASCINATE

+ Expected to have 2GB of internal storage (vs 16GB of the other models)

+ LED flash for the camera (I’m not sure why other models don’t feature this– it seems standard these days)

+ Not yet available or priced officially, expected by the end of summer. With the cutting-edge Droid X and Droid 2, it’s no wonder they’re spacing out these launches)

SPRINT: SAMSUNG EPIC 4G

+ At $249.99, its the most expensive of the four, but probably also the most distinctive.

+ Front facing 1.3 MP camera (not found on the other devices, inexplicably)

+ Only Galaxy S phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

+ Speedy 4G network, depending on where you live. This is Sprint’s second 4G phone and one of two available on the market.

+ Available 8/31/10.

T-MOBILE: SAMSUNG VIBRANT

+ Insider tip: Buy the Vibrant right now from Amazon Mobile for A PENNY. Repeat! Buy a brand new cutting-edge Android device not for the now-standard $199.99, but for ONE PENNY. The deal appears to only be on Amazon, so don’t waltz into the T Mobile store and expect to get the same deal.

+ Bundled with Sims 3 and a full copy of Avatar on the 2GB MicroSD card, if you like your blue cat-folk on the go.

+ Available now

While the Samsung Galaxy S series boasts a top of the line feature set, the Fascinate likely won’t make as much of a splash on Verizon, since there’s an entire fleet of Droid phones with comparable features to choose from. But for AT&T, the Captivate marks a milestone in the carrier offering solid Android devices for those of us who aren’t iPhone-inclined. And its nice to see new, competitive options for T-Mobile and Sprint, since the two carriers could use a little bait to attract defectors from the big two.

But since all four devices are nearly identical, design aside, you can’t really go wrong in your choice for a Samsung Galaxy S. Pick your poison!

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Taylor has written 136 articles for us.

14 Comments

  1. We just got our Vibrants (<— typing that totally tripped me up) yesterday!

    Looooooooooooooooooooooove them!

    • yup, that’s true. most outlets are using the gt-19000 pics since press photos of the fascinate are rather elusive at the moment. but the bottom is slightly different, which would deter me from the euro version, anyway.

  3. I got a Vibrant on Sunday. I love her. Her name is George. George and I take all the pictures and do all the social networking things. I’ve also watched the first third of my pre-installed copy of Avatar (which I will promptly delete upon completion) and I made a SIM who resembles Lisbeth Salandar from the Millennium Trilogy.

  4. I got my Vibrant on launch day. Have loved the phone since. You can’t delete three pre loaded apps. But they give 2gbs of apps storage on the vibrant. Plenty. Of course with app manager you can save apps to the sd.

    With 2.2 update it will be truly a beast. Best gaming phone you can buy.

  5. I want the Captivate so badlyyyyy. My bff traded in his iPhone after the screen shattered and apparently the Captivate is nearly indestructible. Also, an HD PHONE OMG SO EXCITING!!

    It makes the iPhone look like a brick with a number pad carved into it.

  8. I played with a Samsung vibrant at a store and it’s AMAZING. It’s so light compared to an iphone. In a sense, it is harder to make a phone decision now than it was when I first got the iphone 2g bc it was really the first of its kind (killing blackberry in its user-friendliness). But now … there are all these different phones. And playing with each of them has just made me want ALL of them instead of choosing one.

    I’m very tempted to get the t-mobile version because I’m on t-mobile now and reception and service is not so bad. Although you can’t get it free from a t-mobile store, I highly recommend you talking to an authorized dealer. They will probably be able to give you the phone free with a 2 year activation. Also, get them to waive the activation fee.

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