Reviewing the Samsung Captivate and AT&T in Montana

Hi guys,

I wrote a lot about AT&T's grand ambitions for Montana and other ex-Alltel areas. But I've wrote almost nothing since the takeover. What has the result been? Quite simply - a disaster. AT&T launched in Montana with only one 850MHz UMTS channel (DL UARFCN 1007). This simply proved inadequate. Blocked calls, dropped calls, and extremely low data speeds were a fact of life. They lost numerous customers, until things got better simply due to how many fewer people on the network. Now they're adding additional channels (there are three channels on air in Helena now, of which two I can confirm are in active use, and there are two channels on air in Kalispell now, though I've never seen the second one in use on my phone) by using their PCS spectrum and working on the network. In Helena, things now run very well (2-3 times the speed of Verizon). Even in Kalispell, network speeds are now on par with to somewhat better than Verizon. AT&T's definitely getting the capacity issues resolved. But what about coverage? Losing Verizon roaming is obviously a big hit in a few towns with only Verizon. The other big hit is that the 5MHz wide UMTS carrier simply doesn't reach as far, especially in mountainous terrain. AT&T is rapidly adding more sites to offset this and actually make their coverage stronger than ever. But it's too late. It should have happened BEFORE moving customers over.

Now, what about the device. I know it's a bit late for a year old phone, but I decided I should throw in a word. Why would you buy it? Well it's only a penny on AmazonWireless (shameless plug for Amazon, but they ARE GREAT):



Not only that, it's very hackable - mine is running an almost-pure Google build called CyanogenMod. The screen is beautiful. But it's buggy, especially with the stock firmware which tends to freeze. A lot. Sound quality is mediocre through the headphone jack. The device, while it looks GOOD, has a very masculine feel. The screen is beautiful, but an older-generation Super AMOLED screen that has fuzzy edges due to the subpixel layout. Overall - eh... It's good for the price, definitely. But do you really want to cheap out on the free phone? AT&T's HSPA+ network deserves a nicer phone, like the Samsung Infuse. :)