HTC One SV Review

We have nothing bad to say about the way the earpiece performs. In fact, calls taken with the HTC One SV sound great – loud and natural, without any traces of noise or static. The microphone, however, could have been a bit better than that. On the other side of the line, voices are distinguishable, yet slightly muffled, probably due to the presence of a secondary microphone, which filters a fair amount of the background noise. 

There's a 1,800mAh removable battery powering the HTC One SV, but the maker has not published any official information as to how long it should last on a single charge. That mostly depends on your usage habits, as well as on whether LTE connectivity is being actively used. Judging by what we got out of it during our testing, you should expect it to last at least one single day, as long as you don't push it too much.

Not bad, HTC, not bad. The smarthpone that you've crafted may be a bit rough around the edges, but it is still a very solid Android offering, and the presence of LTE connectivity is, of course, more than welcome. Whoever picks the HTC One SV up will be pleased by the excellent performance driving it and delighted by its outstanding appearance.

Yet let us not forget that the HTC One SV belongs to the mid-range category, although one might assume it is a high-end handset prior to actually using it. In other words, there are some compromises that an One SV owner should learn to live with, among which are the relatively low-res display and the not-so-amazing 5-megapixel camera.

PROS

• LTE connectivity
• Slim, light, good-looking smartphone
• Excellent performance

CONS

• Camera leaves room for improvement
• Unimpressive screen resolution of 800 by 480 pixels

 

LG Optimus L9 review

 

 

Pros:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Dual-band 3G with HSPA
• 4.7" 16M-color qHD IPS LCD (540 x 960 pixels) capacitive touchscreen
• Android OS v4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, LG Optimus UI 3.0
• TI OMAP 4430 chipset, dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, 1 GB RAM, PowerVR SGX540 GPU,
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• VGA front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• 4GB of built-in storage expandable via a microSD slot
• microUSB port
• Bluetooth v3.0
• NFC
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Voice dialing
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

Cons:

• No Jelly Bean at launch
• Mediocre sunlight legibility
• Poor still camera and video recording quality
• Non-hot-swappable memory card slot

Samsung Galaxy S3 review

Feature set

Crammed full of features. We’re not sold on S-Voice but there’s still a fabulous eight-megapixel snapper that lets you share your pictures in all sorts of ways, plus 4G support for seamless media streaming.

Style and handling

The design is the same ‘inspired by nature’ type that we saw on the first Galaxy S III – and it looks great. But it’s not the sturdiest handset we’ve seen so don’t drop it.

Battery power 

You should get a good 24 hours out of a full battery – pretty good for a mobile sporting such a large, bright display. If you’re streaming media, the figure drops to a still-impressive seven hours.

Performance 

A quad-core chip sits under the hood, providing speedy, smooth performance and a good deal of futureproofing.

User friendliness

The operating system of choice here is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is beautifully accompanied by Samsung’s user friendly TouchWiz interface. The display measures 4.8 inches and is so bright it can be viewed in direct sunlight (if there ever is any).

Pros :
Really sharp,  colourful display; Snapper is crammed with features; Quad-core processor; support for 4G.

Cons :
S-Voice is disappointing; Few updates from first Galaxy S3.

Verdict:

Samsung has not changed a lot from the original Galaxy SIII apart from of course the addition of 4G support. However, the Galaxy S3 LTE is still one of the best handsets of 2012.

Sony Xperia T Review

Although its rectangular design seems rather retro, the textured rubber back and flat glass front look good and the Xperia T feels sturdy to hold.

User friendliness summary for Sony Xperia T

Android Ice Cream Sandwich offers some wonderfully streamlined apps, while Sony has added some neat touches to the interface

Feature set summary for Sony Xperia T

The 1.5Ghz dual-core processor and 1GB Ram runs HD films, games and video capture smoothly, while the 13-megapixel snapper produces clear, vibrant shots.

Performance summary for Sony Xperia T

The ‘Reality display’ has a fabulous resolution that makes games and movies look brilliant. It copes with multiple apps admirably, and the sensitive touchscreen makes finding your way around the phone simple.

Battery power summary for Sony Xperia T

You’ll see the Xperia T take you from one day to the next with moderate use

Pros

Fantastic snapper; great HD screen; good build quality; brilliant HD display, solid build, easy-to-use interface

Cons

Unimpressive design, well-executed but unexciting features

The verdict

Sony has produced yet another great media superphone in the shape of the Xperia T. It has an impressive snapper, captures HD video, and Sony has added its own neat touches to Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Motorola RAZR i Review

The display doesn’t quite go edge to edge, but it’s sharp and really colourful. The snapper is an eight-megapixel model that offers a burst mode of 10 shots a second. Startup is quick from sleep mode, but the shutter lag is frustrating.

Style and handling summary for Motorola RAZR i review

It looks good and is made to be durable – there’s even splashproofing to keep the insides safe. We also couldn’t stop stroking the soft rear panel!

Battery power summary for Motorola RAZR i review

A real strength – you’ll get a good day out of a full battery on light use, while if you play with lots of apps it will last a full day. Video streaming gives you an excellent eight hours.

Performance summary for Motorola RAZR i review

Under the hood sits an Intel Atom chip (also found in the Orange San Diego), which proves itself very able, even if you’re running the latest power-hungry games. You’ll only see better performance from a quad-core handset

Pros :
Large, crisp vibrant display; lengthy battery life; powerful performance; Ten shots a second 

Cons :
Snapper’s shutter suffers from lag

Verdict:

The Motorola Razr is a well-designed handset, offering top battery life, powerful performance and a stunning display. The snapper is feature packed too, although the shutter lag frustrates.

Apple iPhone 5 Review

Pros :
Sleek Apple design; 4G support to come; larger, vibrant display; powerful performance; nearly the same great snapper as on the 4S; Siri proves her worth now.

Cons :
Steep price; OS looks dated; Maps limited and suffer from bugs; Most apps have ugly borders; Lack of memory card slot; Fragile feel.

Verdict:

We’re not surprised that this is the best iPhone to date. It’s thin, light and has a roomy 4-inch Retina screen. But the operating system feels dated and there are some major issues. Plus, Apple has brought nothing major new to the show. Of course there are the usual iPhone issues too – that fragile feel and the lack of a memory card slot, along with the wallet-busting price.

Zen dual-SIM Android 'Ultraphone U1'

Zen Mobiles has launched a dual-SIM smartphone running Android 2.3 Gingerbread for Rs. 4,999. The Ultraphone U1 has a HVGA 3.5-inch display, 3.2MP camera, no front-facing camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 512MB of built-in storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. It runs on a 1GHz processor and is powered by a 1,200 mAh battery.

The Zen Ultraphone U1 comes preloaded with a bunch of apps that include Skype, Facebook, MapmyIndia, G-talk, nexGTV, WhatsApp, and GaneshaSpeaks.

At the launch of the Zen Ultraphone U1, Mr. Deepesh Gupta, Managing Director Zen Mobile, said, "We at Zen Mobiles aim to deliver consumer friendly products, with latest innovations in place. With our Zen Ultraphone U1, we have kept our commitment to the rapidly evolving smartphone market of the country, by bringing them top of the line product innovations. Zen Ultraphone U1 is one of the top of the ladder innovations from Zen Mobiles and reaffirms our business tenet of getting best of technology to the end consumers at affordable rates. We take pride in bringing pioneering technologies to the mobile users of today, which is in line with transforming their constantly evolving Android mobile experience."

In the sub Rs. 5,000 category, the consumer is spoiled for choice with the availability of a large number of devices such as the Karbonn A5, Spice Mi-320, iBall Andi 107, Micromax Superfone A45 and more.

In the recent past, Zen launched a budget tablet called the Zen Ultratab A100. The Ultratab A100 is priced at Rs. 6,199. It has a 7-inch display with a 480x800 pixel resolution, 1.2GHz single-core processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage expandable via microSD card up to 32GB, a 1.3MP video call camera, Wi-Fi and running on Android 4.0.3. You can read a review of the tablethere.

Samsung Galaxy Note II review

GOOD                           BAD

• Buttery-smooth performance
• Outstanding battery life
• Much-improved handwriting recognition
• S Pen is becoming legitimately useful

• Display remains imperfect
• Paucity of good stylus apps
• Plastic construction
• S Planner is a downgrade from default Calendar app

When first announced, the Galaxy Note II looked and felt very much like a supersized Galaxy S III with a slightly fancier stylus attached. After spending some quality time with it, I’ve come to the conclusion that that’s exactly what it is. And that’s a good, nay, a very good thing indeed. The S Pen has matured and improved in subtle but significant ways, while the GS III formula has only been upgraded with a larger battery and an even more generous screen size. At nearly 5 inches, Samsung’s flagship 2012 phone is already too big for a lot of people to comfortably use one-handed, so why should they not opt for the larger, but also more capable, Galaxy Note II?

Relative to its predecessor, the Galaxy Note II is a clear and unequivocal upgrade. It’s now more powerful, lasts even longer, and ships with the best software that Samsung has yet put on an Android device. It doesn’t feel as characterful or quirky as the original Galaxy Note, and it is indeed festooned with superfluous apps and software presets, but those are small hurdles you can either disable or avoid. The commercial success of the first Galaxy Note came as a surprise, however the same won’t be true of the Galaxy Note II. It represents the best possible marriage of the Note lineage and Samsung’s 2012 technology and is likely to cement the Korean company’s position as the premier Android device maker.

LG Optimus G review

LG Optimus G (Sprint)

GOOD                            BAD

• Great IPS display
• Thin, elegant design
• Very fast processor

• 13-megapixel camera underwhelms
• Difficult to learn software
• Sealed Micro SIM card

The Optimus G is the first time in recent memory that LG has managed to legitimately get a flagship Android smartphone on US carriers. Part of the reason for that is that the Optimus G hits all the right notes: a fast quad-core processor, LTE, excellent screen, and above-average build quality. LG has finally managed to put all those pieces together into an excellent hardware package with a modicum of design flair.

Unfortunately, as of this writing Sprint has yet to announce a price or a release date for the Optimus G. The absence is another sign that LG doesn't have the same marketing muscle as the company it so often emulates: Samsung. Taken as a whole, the Optimus G doesn't quite match the overall consistency that Samsung or HTC have brought to the table. That's primarily due to some software foibles that would be forgivable on a lesser phone, but feel out of place in the upper echelons. If you're experienced enough with Android to work around the software hassles, you'll find the Optimus G to be a fast and fluid smartphone.

Update: Sprint has announced pricing and release date information for the Optimus G: November 11th for $199.99 on-contract.

Which leads me to the elephant in the room: those rumors that the next Nexus device will be based on this phone. Every gadget needs to be judged on its own merits, but I'm imagining a world where Google helps LG refine the hardware and the software is stock Android — and it seems lovely.

Sprint's take on the Optimus G is much closer to what LG originally created for the smartphone, both from a hardware and a software perspective. The benefits of a cleaner set of software are offset by a 13-megapixel camera that simply isn't as good as the 8-megapixel cameras on other phones.

HTC Windows phone 8X

Windows Phone 8X

GOOD                            BAD

• Standout industrial design
• Pixel-dense, beautiful display
• New homescreen adds versatility
• Upgraded audio hardware

• App ecosystem remains deficient
• Not the best ergonomics for a 4.3-inch phone
• Beats Audio and new front-facing camera are superfluous gimmicks

The Windows Phone 8X is what every new smartphone should aspire to be: a combination of the software and hardware vendor’s best work to date, topped off with some unique new additions of its own. Everything that HTC could transport from its Android One series has made the leap to the 8X — the unibody case, dual-core processor, HD screen, camera filters, and even Beats Audio — and all of Microsoft’s mobile development efforts over the past few months are represented in the brand new Windows Phone 8. Topping them off is a truly individual design that will resonate with buyers tired of the smartphone monotony that has befallen much of the market.

Though laudable in its intentions and much of its execution, the 8X falls a little short. The primary culprit is Microsoft’s chronic inability to spur a third-party app ecosystem for the Windows Phone platform. There have been significant improvements in Microsoft’s own software and services, but without the ubiquitous support that competitors iOS and Android enjoy, WP8 faces an uphill struggle in trying to uproot users from their established ecosystems. HTC has done its utmost to assist this venture on the hardware side, but it barely moves the needle when it comes to software enhancements. You get a lot for your $99 when signing up for the LTE-capable Windows Phone 8X from AT&T, but in the end, it’ll be up to Microsoft to determine whether buying into its ecosystem was an investment worth making.

Nokia Lumia 920 review

The Nokia Lumia 920 is the company’s third attempt at launching the definitive Windows Phone. In April, Nokia and Microsoft tried to convince the world that theLumia 900 and Windows Phone 7.5 was that device, but that claim had a shorter expiration date than anybody realized. Its days were numbered, as Windows Phone 8 was an under-the-hood overhaul that wasn’t compatible with the phone.

The Lumia 920’s launch was mishandled at best. The compelling PureView camera was undercut by a marketing snafu when Nokia faked a video purporting to show its low-light capabilities. Neither Nokia nor its carrier partners could commit to a firm release date, and potential buyers have had to wait nearly two months to purchase the phone. In that time both the iPhone 5 and the Nexus 4 appeared on the scene — the competition has not stood still.

Though the Lumia 920 stumbled out of the gate, it still aims to be the long-shot, dark horse surprise of the smartphone race.

Nokia Lumia 920

GOOD                           BAD

• PureView camera takes incredible low-light shots
• Large, responsive screen
• Nokia software enhancements

• Very heavy and bulky
• App ecosystem remains deficient
• Some issues with LTE reception

Many of the frustrations we used to have in Windows Phone are now gone with this latest version, and Nokia has given the OS a very good stage with the Lumia 920. The speed and multitasking improvements, connections to Xbox and SkyDrive, and Start Screen experience are all much better, but there’s still a critical lack of apps and they too often feel as though they’re not as good as what’s on other platforms.

It’s fitting that I’m reviewing the Nokia Lumia 920 while Microsoft’s Build conference is going on here in Redmond. Microsoft has resolved many of the developer complaints with Windows Phone and is aggressively courting them to bring more and better apps to the platform. The work to bring Windows Phone 8 up to par is happening all around me — and it needs to keep happening. With its new core, Windows Phone 8 is in many ways a completely new platform that should enable rapid innovation — and users will need to continue to wait for it to come into its own.

The Lumia 920’s hardware and design is top-notch, the screen is lovely, and the camera is a marvel in low light — but you can’t ignore just how big and bulky the phone is. The software and hardware tradeoffs inherent in the Lumia 920 could be worth it if you’ve bought into the Microsoft ecosystem, but for most people I don’t think it’s a sure bet.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung’s next gen Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy S IV may be unveiled at CES 2013, which happens in January, or at MWC 2013 (Mobile World Congress) that takes place in February.

If rumours on the Internet are to be believed, theKorean giant's next smartphone is expected to feature a 4.99-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. This means that the display will have a 445 ppi pixel density, which is really high. Currently, the iPhone 5' 4-inch display is 326ppi, and the Samsung Galaxy S III's 4.8-inch display is 306 ppi.

Other speculation suggests that the device may also house a 13MP camera. The Galaxy Note II was also rumoured to have a 13MP camera but at launch we saw that the device housed an 8MP camera, so will believe the 13MP camera on the smartphone when we see it.

Under the hood, a quad-core Exynos 5450 processor clocked at 2GHz may power the device and we suspect the it will have 2GB of RAM.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard about rumours of the Samsung Galaxy S IV.

In September 2012, the Korea Times reads: “Samsung Electronics plans to unveil the latest in its Galaxy line, the S4, at a European technology exhibition in February, according to company officials and local parts suppliers for the technology giant.

The timetable was released just three days after rival Apple introduced the iPhone 5, which has received a mixed response from industry experts and consumers as it is seemingly lacking in innovative features.”

Samsung responded to the rumours in September from its official Twitter account stating that the reports of the Samsung Galaxy S IV are untrue.

LG Nexus 4 review

LG Nexus 4REVIEW

GOOD

• Improved build quality
• Android 4.2 is fantastic
• Excellent price for a device of this caliber

BAD

• Lacks LTE
• Screen a bit washed out
• Glass backing breaks easily

The Nexus 4 is absolutely wonderful, but it's also vexing. Frustrating. Annoying. It's easily the best Android phone on the market right now, and has some of the most powerful software that's ever been put on a mobile phone. It's an upgrade from last year's Galaxy Nexus in every way. It's terrific — save for one small thing.

In the US, a flagship phone without LTE is like a muscle car with no wheels. For other networks in other countries, and for the lucky T-Mobile customers out there that are getting great speeds on its HSPA+ network — great. No problem. Go get this phone. But for others — many others — it's hard to imagine buying this device when you know it's a generation behind in terms of network technology.

A little over a year ago, I bristled at the fact that the iPhone 4S didn't have LTE, but I also admitted that the phone was a still a "force to be reckoned with." The same can be said for the Nexus 4, with a caveat. The mobile industry has changed a lot in the last 12 months. LTE is the norm, not a nice-to-have, and its performance has shown the cracks in the aging GSM networks of the US. No flagship device is released without it. Not even the iPhone.

For a phone and an OS built for the cloud, I think it's unacceptable to not offer a version that takes advantage of our fastest mobile networks.

If you buy the Nexus 4, you have to decide whether you're willing to compromise data speeds for the purest and best form of the Android OS. After comparing the options and seeing the gulf between Google's flagship and other devices on the market, I've decided it's a compromise I won't be making again.

iOS users use 3rd party browsers more than Android users

The browser war on the desktop is very heated, but in the mobile space things are pretty calm – the overwhelming majority of Android and iOS users use the default browser on their device.

Here’s something you might not have expected though – Chitika, an ad network and data analytics firm, found out that iOS users are more likely to install and use a 3rd party browser than Android users.

A hair over 91% of Android users stick with the Android stock Browser that comes as part of the OS. The number of iOS users who use Safari is “only” 85%. These numbers come from Chitika‘s ad network, measuring a week of US and Canada web traffic.

Apple limits third-party browsers on its iOS platform – basically, they have to use Safari’s rendering engine and a slower version of Safari’s JavaScript engine (it’s the same engine, but third-party apps don’t get to use JIT).

So, almost all third-party browsers on iOS are just repackaged Safari with a different UI and some extra features (the exceptions being mostly Opera Mini-likew compression browser, which render the sites on a remote server) and yet 15% of iOS owners would rather have that than pure Safari.

Chitika found something else that’s quite interesting – of the 15% share of third-party browsers on iOS, only Chrome has a significant share (at 3%) and the other 12% are split between many different browsers, none of which has any statistically significant share.

On Android, however, only the big names have a measurable share. Surprisingly, Opera is the biggest non-default browser on Android, with Chrome having only half its share. The third player, with barely over half a percent share is Firefox.

Users are less happy with iOS6

A survey conducted by research company On Device shows that users who upgraded to Apple’s iOS6 mobile OS aren’t as less happy with their smartphones than they were before the update.

The survey included 16,000 people, and On Device says this is the first time it is seeing such a drop in user satisfaction after an update. The analysts found this pretty surprising, considering how well users reacted to the transition from iOS4 to iOS5.

Here’s what On Device CEO Alistair Hill told TechCrunch:

We have always seen an increase in device satisfaction as consumer upgrade their mobile operating system from one version to another.

The main reason for the drop in the happiness of iOS users when they started using its latest version is the dismissal of Google Maps in favor of Apple’s own Mapping service.

Apple Iphone5 Review

The Apple iPhone 5 brings the long anticipated larger screen and more capable internals that we already know are ready to trade blows with the most powerful chipsets out there.

   
Apple iPhone 5 official photos

There's also the new slender, slimmer body that no photos really do justice to. If all of Apple's claims are true then the iPhone 5 is a real engineering masterpiece - double the performance in a more compact package without sacrificing anything in terms of battery life.

They could've done worse. A lot worse. But this is Apple telling you to prepare to be wowed. So you have every right to play hard-to-please.

Pros:

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• LTE support where carriers support it and CDMA support when sold by CDMA carriers
• 4" 16M-color LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 1136px resolution
• Scratch-resistant screen glass, fingerprint-resistant coating
• 1.2GHz dual-core custom-designed CPU, PowerVR SGX543MP3 GPU, 1GB of RAM, Apple A6 SoC
• iOS 6 and iCloud integration
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and touch focus
• 1080p video recording at 30fps
• 1.2MP secondary front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 16/32/64GB storage options
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary microphone
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth v4.0
• Excellent audio output quality (though worse than 4S)
• Apple Maps with free voice-guided navigation in 56 countries
• Voice recognition, Siri virtual assistant
• Supports HD Voice (needs carrier support too)
• FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi and cellular
• Impressively slim and light
• Great battery life

Cons:

• Aluminum body looks cool but is easy to scratch
• Proprietary connector, incompatible with previous-gen accessories (needs adapter)
• The new display is not proportionally bigger, but only taller
• Unadapted apps run letterboxed due to the unusual resolution
• nano-SIM support only
• Apple Maps app not up to scratch
• No USB Mass Storage mode
• No FM radio
• No stereo speakers
• No microSD card slot
• No NFC connectivity (though that may be nitpicking)
• Stuck with iTunes for loading content
• Mono audio recording in videos

Should the iPhone 5 be worried about not doing quite enough in terms of new design and features? That question sounds ridiculous considering the sales numbers. But there's a long-term perspective that goes beyond a record-breaking opening weekend.

   
The Apple iPhone 5 live photos

People who thought the iPhone 4S was a half-hearted effort, are rightfully expecting the iPhone 5 to be the real upgrade of the brilliant iPhone 4. In the end, though, there's more to a smartphone's real worth than dry specs. Apple has, on multiple occasions, been able to produce devices that are better than the sum of their parts and few will be surprised at the iPhone 5 pulling off a similar trick.