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Samsung Galaxy S Series: What’s the difference?

Wirefly Learn » Resources » Cell Phone Comparisons

August 24th, 2010

Overview

By and large, members of the Samsung Galaxy S Series (Vibrant on T-Mobile, Captivate on AT&T, Epic 4G on Sprint, and Fascinate on Verizon Wireless) are very similar devices — packing equivalent horsepower, the same 4-inch Super AMOLED display, similar cameras, and Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 user interface built on top of Android 2.1. Each respective smartphone, however, differs slightly in its look and feel — and some members of the Galaxy S fleet offer features that their counterparts lack.

Key Differences

Look & feel: Although they aren’t tremendously different in any way, each Samsung Galaxy S Series phone adopts its own differentiable look and feel. Because of its physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Samsung Epic 4G (Sprint) is the odd man out with a slightly thicker profile and somewhat different overall feel.
Data speed: The Samsung Vibrant (T-Mobile), Captivate (AT&T) and Fascinate (Verizon Wireless) are capable of operating on their own respective 3G networks. While the Epic 4G is of course able to operate on Sprint’s 3G network, it also capable of connectivity to the carrier’s super-fast 4G network — enabling the Epic 4G to reach average download speeds of 3 to 6 Mbps and peak download speeds of up to 10 Mbps.
Camera: The Samsung Vibrant (T-Mobile), Captivate (AT&T) and Fascinate (Verizon Wireless) are each equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and the ability to record HD-quality video at 720 P. The Samsung Epic 4G (Sprint) touts the same camera, but also offers an LED flash for improved photos in low light.
Front-facing camera: The Samsung Epic 4G (Sprint) boasts a front-facing camera (VGA) for video chat, while its brethren are without a front camera.
Storage space: While all Samsung Glaxy S devices support up to a 32GB microSD card, they differ in the amount of storage space available right out of the box (see comparison chart).
Keyboard: While the Samsung Vibrant (T-Mobile), Captivate (AT&T) and Fascinate (Verizon Wireless) are pure touch screen devices, the Samsung Epic 4G (Sprint) offers a physical sliding QWERTY keyboard in addition to the touchscreen and available virtual QWERTY keyboard. Users preferring a physical keyboard may have an easy decision between these four smartphones.
Mobile hotspot: The Epic 4G (Sprint) and Fascinate (Verizon Wireless) offer mobile hotspot support, enabling up to 5 users to wirelessly share the device’s internet connection. The Vibrant (T-Mobile) and Captivate (AT&T) do not offer mobile hotspot support.
Wirefly’s price: Wirefly prices can fluctuate frequently and often come down several months after a device debut. That said, at the time of this comparison, the Galaxy S Series’ price range is dramatic — with on-contract prices for phones with new accounts ranging from $9.99 to $239.99.

Side-By-Side Comparison


	Samsung Vibrant	Samsung Captivate	Samsung Epic 4G	Samsung Fascinate

Wirefly’s Price (as of publish date)	$99.99	$9.99	$239.99	TBA
Carrier	T-Mobile	AT&T	Sprint	Verizon Wireless
Operating System	Android 2.1	Android 2.1	Android 2.1	Android 2.1
Interface	TouchWiz 3.0	TouchWiz 3.0	TouchWiz 3.0	TouchWiz 3.0
Display	4″, 480 x 800 Pixels, Super AMOLED	4″, 480 x 800 Pixels, Super AMOLED	4″, 480 x 800 Pixels, Super AMOLED	4″, 480 x 800 Pixels, Super AMOLED
Data Speed	3G	3G	3G/4G	3G
Global Roaming	Yes	Yes	No	No
WiFi	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n	802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GPS	aGPS	aGPS	aGPS	aGPS
Mobile Hotspot	No	No	Yes; Up to 5 users	Yes; Up to 5 users
Camera	5-megapixel, autofocus	5-megapixel, autofocus	5-megapixel, autofocus, LED flash	5-megapixel, autofocus
Front-facing Camera	No	No	Yes (VGA)	No
Video Capture	Yes; HD up to 720P (30 fps)	Yes; HD up to 720P (30 fps)	Yes; HD up to 720P (30 fps)	Yes; HD up to 720P (30 fps)
HD Output	None	None	None	None
Apps	Android Market	Android Market	Android Market	Android Market
Adobe Flash Support	Adobe Flash Lite	Adobe Flash Lite	Adobe Flash Lite	Adobe Flash Lite
Storage Space	16 GB on-board + 2 GB microSD card pre-installed (support for up to 32GB card) = 18 GB	16GB on board; support for up to 32GB microSD card = 16GB	16 GB microSD card pre-installed (support for up to 32GB card) = 16GB	TBA
Keyboard	Virtual QWERTY	Virtual QWERTY	Physical slide-out QWERTY & virtual QWERTY	Virtual QWERTY
Battery	Up to 6.5 hours talk time; up to 432 hours standby	Up to 5.8 hours talk time; up to 340 hours standby	Up to 7.5 hours talk time; up to 500 hours standby	TBA
Processor	ARM Cortex-A8 Hummingbird, 1 GHz	ARM Cortex-A8 Hummingbird, 1 GHz	ARM Cortex-A8 Hummingbird, 1 GHz	ARM Cortex-A8 Hummingbird, 1 GHz
Memory	RAM: 512MB	RAM: 512MB	RAM: 512MB	RAM: 512MB
Microsoft Outlook Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
View Word Docs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weight	4.16 oz	4.41 oz	5.46 oz	4.1 oz
Dimensions	2.54″ x 4.82″ x 0.39″	2.52″ x 4.83″ x 0.41″	2.54″ x 4.91″ x 0.56″	2.52″ x 4.91″ x 0.41″