HTC Desire S vs Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Tweet

This time the HTC Desire S takes on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
We compare the HTC Desire S to Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc.
Form:
HTC Desire S - 115 x 59.8 x 11.6 mm, 130 g
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc - 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm, 117 g
The HTC Desire S doesn’t really stand out that much in the current smartphone market. Nor does it look very different from the majority of other HTC handsets, but in each case this is not necessarily a bad thing.
There’s something to be said for the elegant simplicity of the Desire S, something HTC seem to consistently get right, with smartphones at least.
The Desire S is thin, sleek and professional-looking with that HTC minimalist style and slightly rounded (though not overdone) corners bucking the trend for the angular.
Sony’s device is a completely different ball game, like the rest of the Xperia range, each is different and distinguished from each other and they’re very much attention seekers in the wider world of mobile tech too.
The clue is in the name for the Arc, with the whole handset curving along its back panel in the palm of your hand.
At the front it’s very straight and angular and very clean looking, while the back is a peculiar but effective mix of curves and angles, there’s some chrome trim but it’s tastefully done and actually suits the overall bombastic visuals of the device quite well.
We think the silhouette of the Xperia Arc from any angle looks fantastic, it looks like it shouldn’t work but it simply does.
The Desire S looks average and ‘okay’, but the Xperia Arc really is something exceptional and very special indeed when it comes to design, if only all smartphones were so interesting to look at.
Winner – Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
Display:
HTC has, funnily enough, opted for Sony technology for the Desire S’ display with a 3.7-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen which is reinforced with toughened Gorilla Glass.
The display comes in at a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and 252 dots-per-inch (dpi). The Desire S has multi-touch input as well as an accelerometer and comes preloaded with the HTC Sense user interface (UI).
The Xperia Arc boasts a larger screen than the Desire S at 4.2-inches, it’s an LED-backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen at 480 x 854 pixels and 233 dpi.
The Arc’s display has a scratch-resistant surface and features multi-touch input and an accelerometer. This curved handset also has the Sony Mobile Bravia engine and Timescape UI pre-installed.
Quite a tricky one to call, we prefer the larger screen size of the Arc and it also has a slightly higher resolution. However, the Desire S has the upper hand with a higher dpi rating for a sharper picture and the S-LCD screen technology offering better power economy as well as enhanced brightness and colours.
We think the Desire S will offer the most satisfying display quality overall.
Winner – HTC Desire S
Storage:
Storage on the Desire S is not what we would describe as fantastic, it’s got 1.1 GB of ROM for internal capacity which is acceptable but nothing to write home about, meanwhile on the RAM side of things it has 768 MB, which is rather good. Micro SD is supported for cards up to 32 GB.
The Arc isn’t great in this area either with a mere 320 MB of onboard storage space, RAM is decent enough at 512 MB though it comes in behind the Desire S. Card support is the same as the HTC and the Arc includes an 8GB Micro SD card as part of the package.
Neither handset provides as much storage as we would like but of the two the Desire comes out better with more RAM and more internal memory for your contacts, apps and multimedia.
Winner – HTC Desire S


Processor:
Oddly enough, the Desire S and Xperia Arc use identical single core processor setups and pretty speedy ones at that.
In both cases it’s a 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion running the MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset while graphical number-crunching comes from an Adreno 205 graphics processing unit (GPU).
There’s nothing to distinguish the two phones here. These are both very good single core offerings and the Qualcomm technology means performance is great, though they won’t keep up with all the dual core monsters roaming around freely these days.
Winner - Draw
Camera:
The Desire S has a nice enough primary camera at 5-megapixels, the resolution comes in at 2592 x 1944 pixels and video capture is 720p. There’s a secondary camera but it’s only VGA but the primary’s feature-list is decent with autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus and image stabilisation.
The camera setup really is one of the Xperia Arc’s most standout features with an 8-megapixel primary at 3264 x 2448 pixels with autofocus, LED flash, touch focus, image stabilisation, geo-tagging plus face and smile detection.
Video capture is at 720p and has a continuous autofocus mode and video light. This excellent setup had to compromise somewhere and the Arc has no secondary camera, but we feel it’s no great detraction.
There’s no doubt that while the Desire S’ camera is admirable the Xperia Arc is a much better offering and the clear winner of the two.
Winner – Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
Operating System:
Both phones run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is as good as it gets right now for Android on smartphones. It’s better than 2.2 Froyo, but not quite as good as what the tablets get on 3.0 Honeycomb.
It’s very fast, the multi-tasking is brilliant, the user interface is slick and responsive and the touch keyboard is a refreshing change from the treacle-y iterations of the past.
We wish the browsing was as good as Honeycomb, though. No contest here as they’re both on the same version.
Winner - Draw
Final Thoughts:
Neither handset is perfect but both have a lot of positives which make them rather endearing in their own right.
The Desire S has a slightly nicer screen and more storage and RAM to play with, though both phones are somewhat lacking on storage, it is the lesser of two evils in this case, and the Arc’s screen isn’t bad either truth be told.
The Arc excels in a couple of areas but neither of which are significant enough to make the phone particularly desirable for those reasons alone.
The first one is it’s visual design, which is just phenomenal, but buying your phones on looks alone is a quick way to accumulate a large but attractive paperweight collection. The other area is the camera which is a very high-end setup.
With the same processor and operating system these phones are more similar in terms of basic functionality than their vastly different looks would imply and there simply isn’t an obvious winner here.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S2 vs LG Optimus Black

Tweet

How will the LG Optimus Black fare against the Samsung Galaxy S2? We find out
We compare the LG Optimus Black to Samsung’s Galaxy S2.
Form:
Samsung Galaxy S2 - 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm, 116 g
LG Optimus Black - 122 x 64 x 9.2 mm, 109 g
You could be forgiven for thinking both phones were designed by the same person as each seems to be inspired by the trends set by the iPhone for neat, minimalist slabs topped with glass. Both these handsets are incredibly thin and light, in fact it takes some doing to get something lighter than the Galaxy S II and the Optimus Black has achieved that here, though the Samsung still maintains its position as the thinner of the two. We like the looks of both these phones and will have to look elsewhere to figure out which is superior.
Winner - Draw
Display:
The Optimus Black uses a 4-inch IPS LCD Nova capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and dots-per-inch (dpi) rating at 233. The phone has an accelerometer and comes loaded with the Optimus 2.0 user interface (UI) and the Gesture 2.0 UI.
The Samsung’s display setup is a more advanced affair with a 4.3-inch Super Amoled Plus capacitive touchscreen reinforced with ‘Gorilla Glass’.
The Super Amoled Plus technology offers better power efficiency as well as greater colour depth and image sharpness than standard LCD screens and the Gorilla Glass should keep it all in good condition.
The display comes in at 480 x 800 pixels and 218 dpi and features multi-touch input, accelerometer and gyro sensors.
The Galaxy S2 is loaded with the TouchWiz 4.0 UI.
It’s a fairly close one here, both screens offer the same resolution, the Samsung’s is slightly larger which is a positive point in its favour but the Optimus Black has a higher dpi, however, the Super Amoled Plus screen goes a long way to compensating for the Galaxy S II’s lower dpi rating and this, combined with the additional features with multi-touch and reinforced glass makes it a preferable choice for us.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy S2
Storage:
With 2 GB of storage the Optimus Black may not have a vast archive of space like some smartphones but it should be adequate for a reasonable amount of content and is certainly better than many other handsets with less than 1 GB. RAM is 512 MB and Micro SD cards are supported up to 32 GB.
The Samsung does have a lot of space by comparison with variants available for either 16 or 32 GB of internal storage, the Galaxy S II boasts 1 GB RAM and Micro SD support up to 32GB, while an 8 GB card is included as standard.
Again, the Optimus Black is better than most without being exceptional, the Samsung though really does give you a lot of space to play with as well as more RAM to help the processor out, for those reasons it wins this round.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy S2
Operating System:
The Samsung runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and while the LG comes with the earlier 2.2 Froyo build it is fortunately upgradeable to Gingerbread - but you'll have to wait for that.
There’s no real competition here with both phones having access to the same operating system, Gingerbread is the best choice for each handset as it offers enhanced multi-tasking over previous versions along with an advanced app management suite, an improved touch keyboard which offers excellent performance and responsiveness, and a generally upgraded, faster and more intuitive user interface.
Our only gripe is the web browsing which hasn’t received the attention we would like to bring it up-to-date with Honeycomb 3.0’s smooth and tabbed browsing experience.
Winner – Draw
Processor:
LG has given the Optimus Black a single core 1 GHz TI OMAP 3630 processor, the single core shows the Optimus Black as being more of a budget option with a lower spec, still with the TI technology clocked at 1 GHz it’ll give decent enough performance even if it doesn’t have the slickness of its dual core counterparts.
Speaking of which, the Samsung packs just such a dual core power plant with 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor running the Orion chipset. This is supported by a Mali-400MP graphics processing unit (GPU).
Naturally this stomps all over the Optimus Black’s relatively humble offering, we don’t wish to discredit it as it's a good processor in its own right but it simply can’t keep up with the Samsung’s performance.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy S2
Camera:
The Samsung Galaxy S II has a really nice camera setup with an 8-megapixel primary at 3264x2448 pixels, while video quality is at 1080p. Autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection and image stabilization complete the features line-up and there’s a secondary 2-megapixel camera too.
The Optimus Black has a 5-megapixel primary camera at 2592 x 1944 pixels with video at 720p, the secondary camera is the same as that on the Samsung at 2-megapixels. Features-wise it has autofocus, LED flash and geo-tagging along with face and smile detection.
An easy win for the Samsung here but that’s mainly due to its 8-megapixel camera is the exception rather than the norm and there’s still nothing wrong with the Optimus Black’s 5-megapixels, but the Galaxy S2’s setup is far superior.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy S2
Final Thoughts:
The Galaxy S2 tends to beat most competitors save for the LG Optimus 3D, HTC Evo 3D where it draws even, and the HTC Sensation and LG Optimus 2X where it is shaken slightly but not toppled.
In this case it’s not surprising that it outranks a mid-range phone like the LG Optimus Black, but that’s not meant as a slight to the LG, it’s a perfectly competent piece of kit and it isn’t pretending to be anything other than what it is, a slightly lower spec but more affordable smartphone. It isn’t as good as the Galaxy S2 but it’s a decent handset if the Samsung is out of your budget.
If you want the better of the two though it is definitely the Galaxy S2.

Read More

LG Optimus 2X vs LG Optimus Black

Tweet

We compare the LG Optimus 2X and the LG Optimus Black to see which Optimus is truely prime

Infighting from LG this time as we compare the Optimus Black to the Optimus 2X.
Form:
LG Optimus Black - 122 x 64 x 9.2 mm, 109 g
LG Optimus 2X - 123.9 x 63.2 x 10.9 mm, 139 g
Being from the same manufacturer and indeed the same range there’s not a huge difference between these handsets and clearly they were both inspired by the same design ethos for sleek, black, slab-like smartphones.
The Optimus 2X is the higher-end device but it is in fact a little thicker and considerably heavier than the lower spec Optimus Black, which lends the Black a slightly nicer profile similar to the Samsung Galaxy II or iPhone 4. The 2X is a bit more angular and seems to have been designed to look more premium with the screen more closely hugging the edges of the bodywork than it does on the Optimus Black.
Both phones look equally nice in our view.
Winner - Draw
Display:
LG has fitted both handsets with the same screen, a 4-inch IPS LCD capacitive Nova touchscreen at a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. These handsets keep things basic on the display features side of things, the Black has the Optimus 2.0 user interface (UI) and the Gesture 2.0 touchscreen interface installed, while the 2X has a little more with a reinforced Gorilla Glass display and multi-touch, as well as accelerometer and gyro sensors.
The Optimus 2X’s extra display features make it the preferable model here.
Winner – LG Optimus 2X
Storage:
The Optimus Black has 2 GB of internal storage against the 2X’s 8 GB, but apart from this significant difference the two handsets are similarly equipped with 512 MB of RAM and identical card support up to 32 GB on Micro SD format. Of course the deciding factor here is the internal storage space and the 2X is leaps and bounds ahead of the Black making it a clear winner this round.
Winner – LG Optimus 2X

Processor:
The Black uses a single core 1 GHz TI OMAP 3630 processor which offers great performance but isn’t quite in the same league as the 2X’s dual core 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor. The Optimus 2X’s power plant runs on Nvidia technology with both the Tegra 2 chipset and a ULP GeForce graphics processing unit (GPU).
Once again the difference between mid-range and premium becomes apparent with the 2X’s dual core muscle putting the Optimus Black’s otherwise impressive processing power to shame.
Winner - LG Optimus 2X
Operating System:
Both handsets use Android 2.2 Froyo – although a Gingerbread update is expected very soon. In this sense, there's nothing to really separate the handsets.
Winner – Draw
Camera:
The Optimus 2 X comes with an 8-megapixel primary at 3264x2448 pixels resolution while video capture quality is 1080p. Features include autofocus, touch focus, LED flash, geo-tagging, image stabilisation and face and smile detection. A 1.3-megapixel secondary camera completes the package.
The Optimus Black falls behind a bit but is still a very nice setup with a 5-megapixel primary camera at 2592 x 1944 pixels. Video capture is 720p and strangely the secondary camera is better than its more expensive cousin at 2-megapixels. For camera features it has autofocus, LED flash and geo-tagging as well as face and smile detection. Not bad at all, but aside from the secondary the 2X still does better here.
Winner – LG Optimus 2X
Final Thoughts:
Both handsets are very well equipped but with the 2X clearly set up as the premium, high-end (non-3D) model of the Optimus range it comes out significantly better than its mid-range cousin.
There are a lot of similarities between the two here with the basic display, RAM, card support and operating system, but in one or two key areas the 2X really excels with a much, much faster dual core processor which leaves the Optimus Black’s single core in the dust. On top of this the 2X also has four times the internal storage of the Optimus Black and a much better camera too.

Read More

LG Optimus Black vs HTC Sensation

Tweet

We take a look at how the new HTC Sensation stacks up against LG's new Optimus Black

We compare the LG Optimus Black to HTC’s Sensation.
Form:
LG Optimus Black - 122x64x9.2mm, 109g
HTC Sensation - 126.1x65.4x11.3mm, 148g
The Sensation is one of HTC’s most up-to-date looking handsets and the company seems to have paid attention to many of the current industry trend with more and more smartphones being thinner, longer and cleaner in design.
However, the Sensation still retains the distinctive HTC aesthetic and has opted for rounder corners rather than keeping everything angular. There’s not a great deal that can be said about the design, it’s not bad looking but it isn’t exactly ground-breaking either and at 148g it’s a reasonably heavy device too.
The LG is smaller, thinner and lighter as well as going the whole hog on the contemporary visuals front with its boxier, obelisk-like design, but we feel it has paid off and works very well in its favour.
It looks more premium and that’s what we like to see.
Winner – LG Optimus Black
Storage:
The LG has 2GB of internal storage for contacts, games, apps and multimedia while 512MB of RAM backs up the phone’s processor. Micro SD cards are supported up to 32GB.
Storage space isn’t the Sensation’s strong point and it falls down against many other current handsets here with only 1GB of onboard capacity, however, there is some slight redemption with the 768MB of RAM to make things run smoothly while card support is the same as the LG with Micro SD up to 32GB and an 8GB card provided as standard.
As both phones have less than 1GB of RAM we feel the internal storage space is the deciding factor and as the LG has twice that of the HTC it’s a clear winner in this round.
Winner – LG Optimus Black
Display:
The Optimus Black’s display is a 4-inch IPS LCD Nova capacitive touchscreen with a 480x800 pixels resolution and 233 pixels-per-inch (ppi). Features-wise it’s only got an accelerometer but has both the Optimus 2.0 user interface (UI) and the Gesture 2.0 touchscreen interface preloaded.
The Sensation uses a Sony-manufactured S-LCD capacitive touchscreen at a slightly larger 4.3-inches and with a resolution of 540x960 pixels at 256ppi. It’s a lot of numbers but they’re all a bit better than the LG’s stats. The display features toughened ‘Gorilla Glass’ while the phone comes preloaded with the HTC Sense 3.0 UI and features the usual multi-touch input, accelerometer and gyro sensors.
We think HTC has done quite a bit better than LG here and the Sensation’s display is the more desirable of the two.
Winner – HTC Sensation


Processor:
LG has used a single core processor in the Optimus Black, a TI OMAP 3630 clocked at 1 GHz, it’s going to be less powerful than its dual-core cousin, the Optimus 2X, but it’s decent tech though and should give some pretty quick performance.
HTC, on the other hand, has gone all out with some fairly hefty dual core power, the Sensation features a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm processor on the MSM 8260 Snapdragon chipset and teamed together with an Adreno 220 graphics processing unit. What the Sensation has here is a powerful setup indeed and is certainly enough to blow the LG out of the water.
Winner – HTC Sensation
Operating System:
The HTC Sensation is on Android Gingerbread 2.3 and while the LG Optimus Black comes with 2.2 Froyo it is upgradeable to Gingerbread too, which is well worth doing.
As both handsets have access to Gingerbread they’re on an equal footing with the best Android smartphone build available, there really isn’t anything to differentiate them on operating systems so we’ll call this one a draw. Move along people, nothing to see here.
Winner - Draw
Camera:
LG has fitted the Optimus Black with a 5-megapixel primary camera at 2592x1944 pixels, video capture quality is 720p and there’s a 2-megapixel secondary camera. On the features side of things it’s got autofocus, LED flash and geo-tagging as well as face and smile detection.
The HTC is considerably better off here with an 8-megpixel primary at 3264x2448 pixels, video capture is 1080p and features stereo sound recording. Features-wise it’s got autofocus, dual LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, image stabilisation, face detection and instant capture while the secondary camera is VGA.
The Sensation has more camera features, a higher megapixel count and a higher resolution as well as better quality video capture, the secondary camera is a bit sloppier than the LG’s but it’s not enough to detract drastically from an otherwise sterling camera setup.
Winner – HTC Sensation
Final Thoughts:
The LG may have the looks but the HTC has it beat in most areas that count. The Sensation is a very well equipped, competitive and contemporary phone which we regard quite highly but on the other hand we feel it could have been so much better with a bit more RAM and internal storage.
It’s a great phone but it’s a shame to think what could have been and we hope HTC don’t repeat the same mistake with future handsets.
Apart from the memory issue it has a brilliant screen, an excellent processor, an up-to-date Android operating system and a fantastic camera – so there’s still a lot here to recommend.

Read More

HTC Incredible S vs LG Optimus Black

Tweet

It's time for HTC's Incredible S to earn its moniker as it goes head-to-head with LG's bank balance friendly super phone, the Optimus Black

As the successor to the fantastic Desire HD, the HTC Incredible S has had some pretty big shoes to fill, but fill them it has. Now it's time for a new challenge as we pitch the Incredible S against LG's fantastic Optimus Black, a device which under promises and over delivers.
Screen
LG has imbued the Optimus Black with a stunning 4-inch IPS LCD display which, although it operates at a slightly lower resolution (480 x 800) has plenty in common with the iPhone 4 and its stunning Retina Display. The Optimus Black's screen is sharp, responsive and offers vivid colours and pin-sharp clarity.
The HTC Incredible S comes with a Super LCD display that operates at 480 x 800 and provides the user with everything they need to enjoy a full and rewarding multimedia experience. Colours are well rendered, blacks are deep(ish) and the screen is responsive and sharp but for all its virtues the Incredible S falls just short of the quality on offer in the Optimus Black.
Winner - LG Optimus Black
Power
The LG Optimus Black is powered by a Ti-OMAP 3630 CPU clocked at 1GHz and features 512MB RAM. Operation is pretty snappy and you won't find any lag or slow-down on the device. If we were nit-picking we'd say the device could do with some more memory to allow it to hold its own into the future but that's a small drawback to what is overall a pleasing and fast device to use.
The HTC Incredible S is similarly spec'd with a Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset that includes a 1GHz Scorpion CPU and Adreno 205 GPU, as well as 768MB RAM allowing the device to chug along at a good turn of pace. Even with the extra burden of HTC's Sense UI on its shoulders the device manages to run lag-free and cope with multi-tasking well, making it a pleasure to use.
Winner - HTC Incredible S
Form & Build
HTC Incredible S - 120 x 64 x 11.7 mm, 135.5g
LG Optimus Black - 120 x 64 x 11.7 mm, 109g
The Incredible S is based upon HTC's standard design and it proves the old adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' perfectly. The device is constructed of high-grade materials and feels comfortable in the hand, even if it is at the weightier end of the smartphone chart. The sweeping curves give it a sleek appearance which even the most fashion conscious user will be happy to whip-out at the pub and you'll find yourself operating the device one-handed without much difficulty (unless you're particularly small handed).


The LG Optimus Black is a slim, light device which is pleasing to eye as well as the pocket and it's nice to see LG take a step in the right direction when it comes to design. The curved edges and bevel effect on the rear give the device a pleasant, unique feel and the variety of colours on offer (white, pink & graphite) will likely appeal to younger users.
Winner - Draw
Camera
The LG Optimus Black comes features dual cameras and we were pleasantly surprised to see the front facing, video -call shooter was a 2-megapixel offering! The rear-facing 5-megapixel snapper performs well and captures video at 720p as well as offering an LED flash, geo-tagging and face and smile detection, making the device very competitive.
The HTC Incredible S features a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and a top notch, 8-megapixel rear-facing effort with a dual-LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus and image stabilisation as well as 720p video capture capable of some really impressive shots, making the Incredible S a shoo-in for this round.
Winner - HTC Incredible S
Software
The LG Optimus Black runs on version 2.2 (Froyo) of Google's Android OS with an upgrade to 2.3 (Gingerbread) planned for the near future, though there aren't many drawbacks with the installed software.
LG's customisations are a little thin on the ground though, which led us to wonder why the company didn't just leave things be and give the Optimus Black a vanilla install of the OS which would, of course, speed-up rollout times for planned software updates.
The HTC Incredible S comes with version 2.2 of Android too (though it will be updated to at least 2.4 in due course) but the icing on the Incredible S cake is the inclusion of the aforementioned Sense UI, HTC's stunning custom overlay, which includes apps, widgets, social networking integration and a raft of visual enhancements to make the user experience unparalleled in the world of Android.
Winner - HTC Incredible S
The totting up of the scores show a well deserved victory for HTC's Incredible S, a device which takes some beating. Even now, three months after its original release the device should be seriously considered if you're after a decent, mid-range Android smartphone.
The LG Optimus Black is a good device though, and with a few tweaks here and there would be close to perfect. Value-wise it's one to watch out for because it can be snapped up for some good deals, but if you're looking for the complete package we couldn't currently recommend it over the Incredible S.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S II vs HTC Sensation [VIDEO]

Tweet
Behold the ultimate right now battle of the century. In this corner the newest and greatest dual-core device from Samsung, the next generation of the best selling series of Android smartphones in history, Samsung Galaxy S II! And in this corner, newly formed 4.3-inch round-sided king of the HTC world, blasting forth with another dual-core processor for a battle that’ll be remeniced about for centuries to come, the HTC Sensation! This war is a long time coming – or a long time coming if you consider technology time which is basically 100x faster than normal time. Let the fight begin!

Samsung offers the thinner of the two devices while HTC’s feel is what Chris Davies considers “better in the hand.” It’s curved on the front and curved on the back for a fully comfortable feel – high-quality metal and soft-touch plastic make for a device that appears to be much more expensive feeling than its Samsung opponent. The HTC here is thicker with 11.3mm versus 8.49mm and just under a millimeter longer, but it’s narrower than the S II by a bit. Rounded corners on the Sensation also add to the feeling that this is a smaller phone.

Display technology is a deal both HTC and Samsung say they’ve got the upper hand on, and what you’ve got here is a battle between quality and resolution. HTC has a qHD 960 x 540 resolution LCD panel on the Sensation, while the Galaxy S II has a lower-resolution, WVGA 800 x 480 screen – it’s Samsung’s own Super AMOLED Plus panel though, so you’ve got to take that into account. You’ll notice the extra pixels on the HTC when you’re up in the browser and looking at text lists – this means more on the screen and more readable text without a zoom on the higher-res Sensation.




Note: Davies accidentally say the Sensation has 1GB of RAM in the video, whereas it actually has 768MB

Brighter whites appear to be emanating from the HTC device but the contrast and colors don’t POP like they do on the Samsung Super AMOLED Plus featured on the Galaxy S II. Blacks are more inky on the S II, colors are more saturated, and as you can see by the shot of the benchmarks below, richness can be seen quite clearly on the left. Something to consider here on the other hand is that the Sensation looks fantastic on its own, streaming video looking more than acceptable in most situations. Outdoor viewing goes to Samsung though by a mile.

As for performance, Samsung’s Galaxy S II is still the clear winner. Benchmarking in Quadrant Advanced showed the Samsung score 3504 overall, with 7119 in the CPU category. In contrast, the HTC managed 2245 overall, with 5918 in the CPU category. It’s important to note here that of course benchmarks aren’t everything and that, if you view the video above, Quadrant cannot identify the CPUs because they’re so new.

What do you think? Battery life going to let you decide which one you want? In that case you’d better wait on our full review of the Sensation as HTC hasn’t been the most impressive in such a category as of late. Will you let processor speed win you over? Better get on board with Samsung. How about feel? Samsung seems to have a bit of an edge in industrial design here if we’re talking about corners that wont poke your eye out.

Read More

What Happens When It’s Google/Android Vs. Amazon/Android?

Tweet

Reading the news in recent weeks, it’s becoming increasingly clear that there are the early signs of a new war brewing in the mobile computing space. And it’s a war that promises to be the most fascinating one yet. It doesn’t involve Microsoft or Nokia or RIM or HP or Palm. It doesn’t even include Apple. It’s all about Android.
Whereas right now, it’s all Google/Android vs. Apple/iOS, what happens when it becomes Google/Android vs. Amazon/Android? It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of “when”.
First, a bit of backstory. Last August, The New York Times reported that Amazon was looking into creating hardware beyond its Kindle e-reader. A month later, we received a tip which proved to be a confirmation that Amazon was gearing up to launch their own Android app store. Alongside that tip, we received one from the same tipster stating that Amazon was also working on an Android-based tablet. This past March, we saw the Amazon Appstore launch, but Android hardware from Amazon was not yet anywhere to be seen. Still, as we wrote at the time, it seemed inevitable.
Fast forward to last week. In an interview with Consumer Reports, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said two words when asked about a new Amazon tablet that set the Internet on fire: “stay tuned.” The following day, the site Android and Me published another tip coming from “an industry insider with direct knowledge” who says that Amazon is not only gearing up to launch one Android device, but an “entire family” of them. And those devices would come in time for this holiday season.
And that brings us to today. BGR is now running the rumor that Amazon is prepping a dual-core “Coyote” and a quad-core ” Hollywood” tablet for release this year. Android isn’t mentioned, but well, yeah. If there’s truth to these claims, that’s how they’ll work.
And that brings us to our war.
Imagine a 2011 holiday shopping season where Android-crazed consumers hungry for the latest tablets have to pick a side. Do they go with the Google-backed variety (perhaps a Nexus model tablet)? Or do they go with the Amazon-backed variety?
Even if it doesn’t happen this year, extend the same question into next year. Again, this seems inevitable at this point. There’s a reason why Amazon not only built their own Android-based app store, but is working on deals left and right to get exclusives on apps and pricing. Just today, it was revealed that PopCap would give the Amazon Appstore the exclusive rights for Chuzzle and the all-important Plants vs. Zombies for a set timeframe. This means they’ll have the games and Google’s own Android Market will not (at first). That’s huge. And you can expect more of those types of deals.
Still think Amazon won’t be making Android devices?
They have to. The experience of installing their Appstore on current Android devices, quite frankly, sucks. They need to get devices in consumers hands that has their store pre-installed. They may be able to work out deals with some carriers to do that. But remember that Google also has deals with the same carriers. You don’t think Google would figure out some way to block (or heavily discourage) such maneuvers? Amazon needs to make their own devices with a customized version of Android that is centered around their software/experience. And they will.
And what does Google do if it’s significantly better than that experience they offer with Android? Do they stick to the “open” nonsense? Or do they start locking stuff down when they realize that Amazon is commandeering their own platform? What if Amazon strikes a deal with Microsoft to put Bing on their Amazon tablets? What if the ads are handled by someone else whose name doesn’t end in “oogle”? It could be bad news for the search giant.
Google has succeeded in building a massive platform that doesn’t fully rely on them. That’s awesome on paper. But it can work both ways. If others start to realize that they don’t need Google, what does Google do? Just sit there and take it?
The answer, of course, is “no”. They’ll fight back. Maybe they’ll use carrots. Or maybe they’ll resort to sticks.
All I know is that I’ll be watching. With popcorn.

Read More

Droid Charge, HTC Thunderbolt Face Off Videos

Tweet
Today we have a little Verizon Android against Verizon Android smartphone comparison battle for your viewing pleasure below that pits the new kid on the block, the Samsung Droid Charge up against the current hot handset on Verizon, the HTC Thunderbolt.
The two-part Samsung Droid Charge versus the HTC Thunderbolt comparison video comes our way courtesy of Aaron Baker over at Phone Dog and delivers up just over 27.5 minutes of face to face fighting between the two top Android handsets capable of playing nice on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
Spec wise both devices are somewhat similar with 4.3-inch touch screens, Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, 8 megapixel camera, 1.3 front facing camera, while the Samsung Droid Charge has a 1GHz Hummingbird processor and the HTC Thunderbolt has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.
But can either of these two Android smartphones come out an overall victor in this battle, well to find that out you are going to have to hit those play buttons, and of course we’d like to know if you agree or disagree with the outcome…enjoy.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S II vs Infuse 4G Quadrant Benchmark Pummeling

Tweet
I know there’s a mob of citizens out there saying that these benchmarking tests are bad and unreliable and can be fixed to win and etc, etc, but I’m not going to start every single post with this warning – in fact, hold me to this – this is the last time I post this warning. If you don’t like benchmarks, don’t read benchmarks, and sit on it, Potsie. That said, we’ve been going through the guts of both the Samsung Infuse 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S II (the Euro version still since the USA version isn’t exactly ready for the world yet.) What we’re finding is that at first glance they seem pretty similar in their cosmetics. Upon closer inspection, they’re COMPLETELY DIFFERENT – and in no small way, let me tell you that.

First, have a look back at our first post on this war between the two brothers (or sisters, or cousins, whatever you like,) then come back and see the true test of mightiness. While it may seem that the Infuse, having a bigger screen and being released at least a few weeks before the Galaxy S II, may be the better of the two, you’ve got another thing coming if that’s you’re opinion. Have a look at this simple Quadrant benchmarking test:

You know how much of a difference that is? A whole heck of a lot. That means that in essentially every single category listed here, CPU, Memory, I/O, 2D, and 3D, the Galaxy S II wipes the floor with the Infuse 4G. It’s as if it’s a whole different generation of phone. And it is. Once this GS2 machine is released in earnest (and by earnest I mean the USA, since I live here, ya know,) you’ll find that there’ll be basically no other choice but for manufacturers to step up their game not just a couple of steps, but a couple of leaps and bounds.

Read More

HTC ThunderBolt vs. Samsung DROID Charge: Battle Of The Specs

Tweet
Verizon’s pair of LTE handsets are sure to confuse some shoppers – though one is from Samsung (the DROID Charge) and the other from HTC (the ThunderBolt), the two sport relatively similar feature sets and designs that somewhat resemble one another. So what’s the difference? Well, aside from the Charge being $50 more expensive than the already-pricy ThunderBolt, there really aren’t many differentiators – let’s take a side-by-side look at their spec sheets:

Spec type	DROID Charge	ThunderBolt
CPU	1GHz Hummingbird	1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655
Display	4.3" Super AMOLED Plus	4.3" SLCD
OS	Android 2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz UI	Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Sense UI
Front camera	1.3MP	1.3MP
Rear camera	8MP with 720P HD recording	8MP with 720p HD recording
RAM	512MB	768MB
Internal storage	2GB	8GB (though not all of that storage is usable)
Included SD card	32GB	32GB
DLNA support	Yes	Yes
Buttons	Physical	Capacitive
Size	130 mm x 68 mm x 12 mm	122 mm x 66 mm x 13.2 mm
Weight	143g	177g
Battery capacity	1600 mAh	1400 mAh
Price on contract	$299	$249

As you can see, neither device is anything to scoff at, though – at least in my eyes – the fact that the ThunderBolt runs Sense UI turns the tide in its favor (despite the Charge’s superior screen and slightly thinner profile). Additionally, the Charge’s $300 asking price isn’t exactly the most budget-friendly deal in town, making it hard to recommend over the T-Bolt. Scroll down for images and videos of each device before commencing holding your breath in anticipation of our DROID Charge review.

 

Read More

Compared: HTC Droid Incredible 2 vs The Original Droid Incredible [Specs]

Tweet

It’s April 28th, the official release date for the 2nd generation Droid Incredible from HTC, and if you haven’t studied this phone in detail yet, you’re probably wondering just what exactly has changed since the original "Dinc" entered the market last April. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Key Differences

Network

First and foremost, just like the Droid 2 Global Edition, the new Incredible 2 is a world phone with both CDMA and GSM frequencies. Verizon Wireless provides the following interesting numbers:

• voice service in over 220 countries
• data in over 200 countries
• 3G speeds in more than 125

Quite a step-up from the original already, isn’t it?
A notable omission I should mention while we’re on the subject is the absence of 4G/LTE. If you need a phone capable of faster LTE speeds, the Incredible 2 may not be for you, but if you don’t care about speeds that much and would rather own a world device, you can’t go wrong here.

Screen

The Dinc 2 sports a 4" SLCD screen compared to Dinc’s 3.7" AMOLED (although it was later switched to SLCD as well due to AMOLED shortages). The resolution remained the same at 480×800 pixels.

Cameras, Trackpad

Want video calling? The Dinc 2 has a front-facing 1.3MP camera, which the original Dinc didn’t have, but as a trade-off, it lost the optical trackpad (or "nipple" as some might call it) that so many users grew to love so much. It kind of bugs me that manufacturers insist on omitting it and then end up including a whole row of arrow keys on the keyboard, wasting valuable screen real estate, but I guess aesthetics and a simpler manufacturing process are more important to them.

Memory

To help keep more applications in memory at the same time, the 2nd Dinc includes 768MB of RAM, compared to the 1st one’s 512MB. For comparison purposes, it’s lacking compared to the Atrix 4G’s 1GB (though, in its defense, the Atrix also needs to use a bunch of memory of the Webtop UI), right in line with the Thunderbolt’s 768MB, and noticeably more than the Droid Charge’s 512MB.
The internal storage on the 2nd Dinc doubled to 16GB from 8GB, though it looks like this storage is no longer built-in and comes in the form of a removable SD card.
Space available for apps and system data (what the manufacturers are calling "ROM," though it is clearly writable by the system) seems to be around 1GB, although it would be great if someone else with a real device could confirm it.

Processor

On the CPU side, don’t let the same 1GHz clock speed fool you – instead of the 1st generation Snapdragon QSD8650 processor that used the 65nm technology, we now have the 2nd generation MSM8655 built using the more efficient 45nm technology. This should translate into better performance and [marginally] better battery life.

UI, Sense

Moving on to the UI, the Droid Incredible 2 ships with the 2nd version of HTC’s Sense UI (2.1 to be exact), compared to the 1st generation Sense on the 1st Incredible. While this is no Sense 3.0, which the upcoming EVO 3D and Sensation devices are going to sport, Sense 2.1 is a nice upgrade over the original (see here and here for info on the 2nd generation of Sense).

Battery

Next up, we have a slightly beefier battery on the Dinc 2 – 1450 mAh vs the original Dinc’s 1300 mAh. This should translate into a little bit more usage, but it’s really nothing to write home about.

Wi-Fi

On the networking side, the Dinc2 supports 802.11b/g/n, while the original only officially supported b and g at launch (the chip on the device was capable of supporting 802.11n, but for some reason it wasn’t enabled until Froyo).

DLNA

Droid Incredible 2 supports DLNA streaming for your wireless picture, audio, and video needs.

Weight and size

The weight and size differences are pretty negligible, with the Incredible 2 being slightly larger and heavier, which is not surprising considering the larger screen size.

Conclusion

The Droid Incredible 2 offers a host of both noticeable and subtle upgrades to the original Incredible. With a beautiful larger screen, a front-facing camera, improved capacity and speed, and an updated UI, the Droid Incredible 2 is one of the best (if not the best) world phones available on the market today.

Pictures

Droid Incredible 2

 

The original Droid Incredible

 

   

[Sources: Wikipedia, HTC [1] [2] [3], Amazon Wireless, Phone Arena, Verizon]

Read More

HTC Thunderbolt Battles T-Mobile G2x in Comparison Fight

Tweet

We have a comparison battle between Android on T-Mobile and Android on Verizon for your consideration below, a two-part video comparison pitting the T-Mobile G2x in a face off against the HTC Thunderbolt.
The HTC Thunderbolt against the G2x comparison videos come our way courtesy of Aaron Baker over at Phone Dog who digs deep into the comparison between the two Android smartphones over a nice long 28 minutes in total.
Both smartphones came out to play sporting Android 2.2 Froyo, but the T-Mobile G2x offers a 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor and 4-inch touch screen, while the HTC Thunderbolt offers a 1Ghz single-core Snapdragon processor and a 4.3-inch touch screen, while both deliver an 8 megapixel camera.
The T-Mobile G2x can play nice on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ (4G) network while the HTC Thunderbolt plays nice on Verizon’s 4G LTE, but can one of the smartphones out pace the other and come out on top?
Well you should know by now I’m not going to tell you the outcome, but let you skip on down to mash the play buttons to find out for yourself, and feel free to let us know if you agree or disagree…enjoy.

 

Read More