Tag smartphones

Entries 11 Total

COOL SMARTPHONE: HTC Sensation

May 27, ’11 3:30 PM
HTC Sensation

HTC Sensation

 

If you are a T-mobile  client looking maybe hanging on to your old G1 and thinking of upgrading to a quality Android smartphone, get in line and take a look at the hot new HTC Sensation.

When we first looked at the HTC Sensation we were impressed but felt that time would certainly tell if it would turn out to be a truly worthy iPhone competitor or replacement even. Well, some time has past and it may have fallen short of killing iPhones so it’s time to revisit the HTC Sensation. among a number of other devices from HTC such as the HTC Incredible S and HTC Desire S they have burrowed into our attention among the stiff smartphone competition coming from just about everywhere, including Motorola’s Atrix and LG’s Optimus 2X s.

HTC Sensation

  • :P erformance:
  • 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor
  • 768MB RAM4.3-inch screen
  • 960×540 resolution
  • revamped Android interface and HTC Sense V 3.0 UI
  • Well built solid three-tone aluminum back
  • Connections: micro USB for charging, and a 3.5mm jack.DLNA for wireless streaming
  • Bluetooth 3.0 you can use phone for tethering
  • Storage: 1GB internal, Vodafone bundles an 8GB card
  • Optional HTC Sensation MHL Cable rather than HDMI for HD TV
  • Quick launch in mere seconds
  • 3D homescreens
  • Native Flash support
  • Two cameras: A front-facing VGA camera, and rear 8-megapixel camera
  • Captures HD video and 1080p and 720p

The Sensation is “a real comer”, a serious device and in the opinion of many, outstanding. The metal build is welcome and feels durable. Performance is good, programs load quickly. The HTC Sense UI is cool and compelling.

scorecard-good.png

  • 1.2GHz dual-core processor
  • Nice 4.3-inch screen
  • Manufacturer-skinned Android 2.3
  • Aluminum with Soft-touch Casing
  • Gorilla Glass protective screen
  • Sense 3.0 UI customizations
  • qHD resolution
  • Camera with dual LEDs
  • qHD resolution
  • Well Built
  • Good Ergonomics
  • 1080p video recording
  • Sense 3.0 UI

scorecard-bad.png

  • Display not the best out there
  • Locked bootloader
  • A bit bulky
Comments Off

COMPETITION: Targeting Apple

May 2, ’11 10:19 AM

Bullseye

It must be very unsettling for high-flying Apple at the peak and apex of profitability and success to find itself in the crosshairs of every would be competitor nipping and chipping away at just about every aspect of Apple’s market success and dominance. On one hand Microsoft is busy going after Apple’s developer base. HTC is busy cranking out iPhone looking phones. Google is hard at work flooding the device mainstream with many flavors of Android OS’ for Smartphones and tablets allowing every hardware manufacturer to build a functional tablet device or Smartphone. Then you have RIM and IBM tightly holding on to their enterprise and corporate strangleholds. Lastly Amazon is following up on plans to build an AppStore that they believe should and will eclipse Apple’s.

We Shall See what we shall see!

No one has a crystal ball revealing the answers or the future. The jury is still out as to wether any or all of these efforts will succeed or fail but what is known is that Apple is in for very interesting times ahead. Such is the state of successful market leaders in the current technology ecosystem.

I was just thinking that given recent history, I would be careful if I was a competitor of Apple’s. They are one company that seems to have a knack for landing on their feet. Although it is not seen by all as the actual case, personally I would say that in the long run Apple beat mighty Microsoft and that is an unparalleled seriously momentus achievement.

Comments Off

COOL SMARTPHONE: HTC Droid Incredible 2

May 1, ’11 8:39 AM
HTC Droid Incredible 2

HTC Droid Incredible 2 (Verizon)

If there is any competitive company that Apple should be worried about it must be HTC. HTC is showing design and development expertise we thought only mighty Apple could muster. HTC also has demostrated partnership/relationship building skills that Apple, Microsoft, Dell, HP and most others are lacking.

We are beginning to see how versatile companies with hit devices follow up on those initial successes.
In this specific case we are beginning to learn how HTC and Verizon are following up and delivering on the success of the first iteration of the HTC Droid Incredible. The second generation Incredible is less of a drastic rebuild than useful tweaks and design upgrades and refinements like a solid unibody aluminum design with an all-black color scheme for the tactile aware It has a soft matte rubberized back that covers the back and sides. Spec enhancements are there  the Incredible 2 will ship with Froyo (2.2)—not with Gingerbread (2.3). HTC promised an upgrade to 2.3. However there are some omissions like 4G. So for that reason the HTC Thunderbolt is a better option.
The Incredible 2 is a bit larger than the first version. It sports a juicy bright 4-inch display. The 800-by-480-pixel-resolution display is marketed as a “super LCD display,” which means that it provides an 800:1 contrast ratio and a viewing angle of up to 160 degrees.
It has a handsomely appointed UI and runs on Verizon’s global CDMA network
The Incredible 2 ships with Froyo (2.2)—not with Gingerbread (2.3). HTC promises an upgrade to 2.3.
The Incredible 2 provides quite a few preloaded apps including Adobe Reader, HTC Footprints, City ID, NFL Mobile, and all of Verizon’s VCast apps.
MultimediaThe Incredible 2 makes watching video a treat. Music listening also doesn’t suck due to SRS WOWHD surround sound for videos and music.
CameraThe Incredible 2 sports an 8-megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash and 720p video capture. The Incredible 2′s camera interface has built-in face-detection software.

The Incredible sports a front-facing, 1.3-megapixel camera for making video calls. Without 4G you may not choose to use video calling.
PerformanceThe Incredible 2 runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon processor, same as that the HTC Thunderbolt.

Verdict: The HTC Incredible 2 is a nice upgrade from the original Incredible. Upgrades in  display, design, and specs are useful and make it worth a good look. The Incredible 2  is $50 less than the Thunderbolt which lets you switch between 3G and 4G when you need to.

Comments Off

Apple: “If you don’t have an iPhone…You don’t!”

Apr 26, ’11 8:08 AM

Apple’s “If you don’t have an iPhone Ad”

The ad says “If you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have an iPhone”

I interpret this as meaning there is something more about having an iPhone, it’s called status and cache, so you may have a smartphone that looks like an iPhone and does some of the things an iPhone does, but, without an iTunes App store, the developers base, doing iPod music functions with a retina display and in a thin cool design package  you really just don’t an iPhone, the very best available smartphone on the market.

That is a brag that should engage and enrage iPhone competitors and should also be taken as an “in your face” challenge to the many iPhone competitors.

With the many interesting new devices coming out we should probably look back at this bold statement a few months from now and we will view it as either hubris or a gauntlet thrown down and backed up.

This actually is a whole series of television ads in heavy rotation that stress the different aspects and advantages of iPhones that competitors don’t have or offer. I have seen it four times on ESPN while drafting this post.

Comments Off

Samsung Droid Charge 4G Smartphone.

Apr 25, ’11 9:22 AM
Samsung Droid Charge

Samsung Droid Charge (4G-Verizon)

Samsung’s Droid is being readied for Verizon following up on the recent popularity of Motorola’s Droid. HTC’s Droid Eris also has generated a sizable and growing following. Finally, Samsung will join the party adding one of its own devices to Verizon’s lineup with the Samsung Droid Charge, Samsung’s anticipated Android OS-powered smartphone. Verizon and Samsung have announced that the Droid Charge will be available stateside on April 28 in Verizon retail stores for $300, of course with a two-year contract commitment. Spec wise the Samsung Droid is not shabby. There is a 4.3-inch super AMOLED screen, 1-GHz processor, back and front facing cameras (8 megapixels and 1.3 megapixels). But, the Charge isn’t running 2.3 or 3.0 versions of Android,

The Samsung Droid is the second 4G LTE-enabled smartphone released for Verizon in 2011, the formidible HTC Thunderbolt was Verizon’s first 4G device. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are offering a few more 4G devices. The Thunderbolt has been a hit for Verizon in the short span since release. 4G Thunderbolts sales still were eclipsed by 3G Apple iPhone sales on Verizon.

Get ready for a literal avalanche  of Droid phones from HTC, Motorola and select others.

[Photo courtesy of Verizon]

Comments Off

COOL SMARTPHONE: Kyocera Echo

Apr 13, ’11 3:13 PM
The Kyocera Echo looks to be a very cool new phone from a company we are not used to offering exceptional phones. The Kyocera Echo that has a chance of generating good business for Sprint just on the strength of coolness. The biggest plus is that Echo features two (yes 2!) screens.

 

Call quality is decent and as a smartphone the Echo is both quick and responsive, allowing users to comfortably use two applications at one time.

From appearances and first impressions the Echo seems not very durable, however it does come with a useful if not limited set of features and functions. On the down side the Echo unfortunately lacks 4G.

Comments Off

COOL SMARTPHONE: HTC Sensation (T-Mobile)

Apr 13, ’11 12:51 PM
HTC Sensation (T-Mobile)

HTC Sensation (T-Mobile)

The Thunderbolt had hardly struck before HTC has launched a seriously competitive compelling product.

HTC has uncorked a its new topnotch multimedia smartphone for T-Mobile called the HTC Sensation. The Sensation sports a 1.2 GHz MSM8660 dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Spec wise you’ll be pleased to find a 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) touchscreen display, Sense 3.0, front-facing VGA camera, and 4G capabilities, Sensation also shares many of the cool features of the EVO 3D without having 3D. The Sensation comes with 768 MB RAM and 1GB of internal memory, HTC includes a 8GB microSD card. The phone weighs in at 5.2 oz. and is 0.44 inches thick. However, the Sensation’s 4.3-inch widescreen display is almost one full inch bigger than the 3.5-inch display of Apple’s device. Looks-wise the Sensation has a curved unibody aluminum body design and the high resolution 8-megapixel rear-facing autofocus camera can shoot 1080p video at 30fps. On-board editing allows stored video to be edited prior to uploading uploading. For downloaded videos, Sensation’s HSPA+ capabilities speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps.

Additional features include an active lock screen that updates social media, photos, weather or stock updates, which can then be viewed simply by waking the display.

The Sensation 4G may hit the shelves sometime around May or June 2011, with T-Mobile pretty much getting exclusive rights in the U.S.  As yet pricing and details on availability have not yet been announced.

 

Comments Off

COOL 4G PHONES

Apr 9, ’11 9:11 AM

Its really hard, and sometimes damn near impossible to keep up with new phones as fast as they hit the market, and with few stores to test them out we need to do our homework before we plop down the duckets. There are two new and uber-hot 4G phones appearing on the market these are the 1. AT&T Motorola Atrix 4G and  the 2. Samsung Galaxy S (T-Mobile) Both are sleek, extremely feature rich, and have good looking responsive screens. On the quality call side each offers reasonably acceptable call quality and sufficiently long talk times.

Brian Tong over at cnetTV offers up a good showdown comparison video.

 

 

Comments Off

iPhone Killer: HTC Thunderbolt

Apr 2, ’11 9:46 AM

Apple’s got a real problem on its hands! Its called the HTC Thunderbolt.

I finally got my hands on an HTC Thunderbolt and the tenor of the positive feedback and stories are indeed true. It is a very good phone, If there really is an iPhone killer out there and that is not just a figment of an overzealous marketer’s imagination and hype, then the HTC Thunderbolt is about the closest I’ve seen from among all the hordes of pretenders and want-to-be’s to hit the market. HTC Thunderbolt’s are literally flying off the shelves of Verizon stores in numbers closely matching those of the iPhone 4.   Right off, the extra screen space impresses, but overall, the Thunderbolt’s functionality and full set of advanced smartphone features users are looking for in a new device doesn’t hurt. HTC has been in the business making good phones for quite a while now since they came out with the G1 and now they seem to have poured their experience, expertise and design talents into the new Thunderbolt and have a sure-fire hit on their hot hands. Recently, I get more web page hits for Thunderbolt info than for iPhone. Apple needs to listen for the footsteps coming up behind them and be on notice. It’s time for Cupertino to stand and deliver on a newly crafted next generation iPhone 5.

Thunderbolt chimes in with a nice hi-res 4.3″ screen, 8MP camera, LED flash, in-camera effects and a 720p HD camcorder, 4G uploads, Built-in DLNA connectivity to support your flatscreen. Thunderbolt functions as a mobile hotspot  turning your phone into a wireless router, providing Wi-Fi™ connections and 4G power to up to five devices. With a 1GHz Snapdragon Processor and Verizon’s 4G network users can expect robust performance.

Comments Off

TOP 10 Smartphones

Apr 1, ’11 12:03 PM

1. Apple iPhone 4 – 16GB – black (AT&T)

2. HTC Thunderbolt (Verizon) HTC Evo Shift 4G (Sprint)

3. Droid X

4. Droid Incredible

5. Motorola Atrix 4G (AT&T)

6. Samsung Galaxy S 4G (T-Mobile)

7. Samsung Vibrant

8. T-Mobile G2

9. LG Quantum

10. BlackBerry Torch 9800

Comments Off

Mobile World Congress: All Done!

Mar 17, ’11 11:26 AM

MWC 2011: All Done Now!

Mobile World Congress
Mobile World Congress

Mobile World Congress 2011 was held from Feb 14-17 in Baracelona, Spain.
It’s all over now, and I only wish I had the time and finance to hop a fast plane to have attended, but for a small time freelance journalist, like me, that was “a dream deferred” and way the heck beyond reach. I had to rely on the timely reports of those that were privileged or deep-pocketed enough to attend. I really missed the incredible Spanish food, especially the Paella and red wine, but I’ll pretend and head to the nearest Taquiera and scarf down some seasoned frijoles negros and rice, and make do.

About Mobile World Congress:
MWC is the World Series of Mobile Expos. The major players choose this occasion to ramp up development and marketing in order to “come out” aand launch new products and services. A few will have just taken a first shot at CES and MacWorld and thus should be quite ready and prepared to put their best foot forward. Plus the really big International companies will be looking to get thier messages out globally all in one fell swoop. So, let’s get to where the rubber hits the road.

MWC 2011
Undoubtably, the biggest winner of the 2011 Congress will be Google with tons of new smartphones being introduced supporting the Android platform. The timing of HP’s WebOS event in S.F. was merely the opening volley across the bow for the Silicon Valley Mega company and realtime practice for the big show.

One of the side events was “App Planet – Centre of the Apps Universe” it spoke to the vital “what do they do” solution aspect of smartphones and tablets.

Meanwhile, speaking of tablets, we can soon expect to see a whole horde of “iPad killer devices from a wide range of players both big and small. The year ahead for first-mover Apple will without a doubt be about quieting down the noise and clutter surrounding many of these pretenders and the few real serious contenders, whoever they turn out to be. If Apple has a prototype iPad 2 in their back pocket, sooner than later would be a good time to give the world a sneak peek and then in effect “steal the thunder” of all the want-to-be’s.

It will be clear after the new product launches and P.R. hoopla of MWC tones down that HTML 5 is here to stay and signals new directions for development and content provision. Flash though still in the Android game is no longer the only option nor the best option for rich media.

Comments Off
Performance Optimization WordPress Plugins by W3 EDGE