The iPhone 4 has a fantastic display. It is sharper and brighter than any previous iPhone and outclasses all other smartphones except for one. I blogged about the silly marketing gimmick Samsung engaged in wherein when one tweeted about iPhone 4 problems, they offered a free Samsung Galaxy S to the disgruntled wireless user. Shortly after hearing about that the Galaxy S was released in the US under the name Captivate. Taking advantage of our growing discontent with the iPhone’s performance, I offered to trade my iPhone for a new Samsung Captivate. Oddly, even thought the box said ‘Captivate’, the actual phone said ‘Galaxy S’. The forward facing camera that is available on the UK and European models is still present, albeit disabled.

Oddities aside I opened up the box, traded the SIM cards out and turned on the phone. Had I been standing I would have been knocked down. The super AMOLED (Active-Matrix organic light emitting diode) display was other worldly. You might think “Well of course, the display of your iPhone 3 was cartoonish” but I reply “No, my bosses have been using the iPhone 4 for weeks” and my comparison is based on the iPhone 4. Super AMOLED technology is similar to the fancy new super thin LED TVs that are all the rage in the market right now. The kinship is obvious. When Verizon releases their version this September, named Fascinate, the memory chip comes pre-loaded with Avatar so that you can be immediately introduced to the AMOLED’s awesomeness. It is hard to describe in words, in short, you have to see it to believe it.

Maybe examples are appropriate. Super AMOLED displays have no backlight. The pixels (I will explain that later) themselves emit the necessary light for the eye to see. On the red eye between Denver and Washington DC I took a couple of weeks ago, I had to hide the display with a blanket so as not to disturb the other passengers. My apple-head bosses, who stood in line for both the iPad (3G and non-3G) and iPhone 4 said nothing when they played with the device. I could tell they were impressed because instead of instantaneously putting the Samsung down and saying “Look what my iPhone 4 can do” they played with the device for 30 minutes before I had to tear it out of their hands, leaving them to the “retina display” on their iPhone 4.

When geeks like myself talk about resolution, we have a specific concept in mind. In light microscopy, resolution is defined as the ability to differentiate between two separate objects. Think about zooming into a picture on your computer, at some point the photo blurs. On screens what we are seeing is pixels, or very tiny dots that form the shapes we see on the screen. The higher the pixel density (Measured in dots-per-inch or DPI) the higher resolution. The iPhone 4 actually has a higher resolution than the Samsung super AMOLED. The iPhone 4 display is extremely sharp, but the shapes appear smaller and more confusing than on the Samsung super AMOLED. Resolution has nothing to do with the ability of the eye to easily recognize two separate objects. This is where the super AMOLED shines, the shapes are not only sharp, but they are relaxing to look at. The iPhone 4 causes my eyes to focus hard to read the screen. Over the long run I would prefer to look at the super AMOLED day in and and day out.

Thats not to say the Samsung is perfect. The GPS on early models (including mine) is defective and we are waiting for a software update to correct the problem. The 5 mega pixel camera underexposes and does not have a flash. This is unacceptable when its main competitor, the iPhone 4, has a flash and forward facing web cam.

I will, soon, have to hand my beautiful phone back in. In a later post I will explain why, but we are ditching ATT for Verizon and since ATT and Verizon use different chipsets, we will be getting all new phones. Luckily for me, the Samsung Fascinate will be available soon, leaving me no doubt about the phone I will have.