Posts Tagged ‘Android’
Motorola XOOM review: The Big Bang
Introduction
Phones far and wide wanted to be the iPhone killer and you know what – tablets are no different. The iPad needs to get used to living with a bounty on its head. And always be ready for the likes of the Motorola XOOM.
But the XOOM is no ordinary competitor. We’re talking the first Honeycomb tablet, a cornerstone for Android. It’s Motorola’s first tablet too. If they play their cards right, it could be a big money earner for a company in trouble, so we know Moto gave it their best.
Motorola XOOM official photos
The XOOM has a 10.1” screen of 1280 x 800 pixels resolution, Google’s latest Android OS (after the update rolls out in full), purpose made for tablet use, and a powerful Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core chipset with 1GB RAM. Barely a few lines into the spec sheet and we already like the sound of it.
The Motorola XOOM has more to offer than that. The Verizon US version will be getting a (delayed) LTE update, while dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) sounds sweet too.
But we won’t go on and on about the specs of the XOOM. Here go the highlights followed – as usual – by what we didn’t like.
Key features
- 10.1” capacitive touchscreen of 1280 x 800 pixel resolution; multi-touch
- 730g of weight
- Dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity; Wi-Fi hotspot
- Optional 3G connectivity (data only) – HSPA or 1xEV-DO (LTE via upgrade)
- GPS with A-GPS support on all models
- 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H Dual Core processor
- 1GB RAM
- Android 3.0 Honeycomb, upgradable to 3.1
- 16/32/64GB of onboard storage
- microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor; barometer sensor
- 5MP auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash
- 720p video recording at 30fps
- 2MP secondary video call camera
- HD TV-Out via microHDMI port
- microUSB with host functionality
- Flash-enabled web browser
- 10 hours video playback, 3.3 days of music playback
Main disadvantages
- Seems quite laggy despite the 1GHz dual-core CPU
- Screen is very reflective, hard to use outdoors
- Quite a porker at 730 grams
- No kickstand – it cannot be stood up on a table without a dock
- Non-replaceable battery
- Can’t charge off USB
- LTE-enabling update not out yet for the Verizon version
- Still waiting for an update to enable microSD slot as well
- No document editor pre-installed, not even a viewer
We’re really curious to try out the tablet minded version of Android – the one we’ve tested before was clunky to use and clearly not intended for big screens. And we’ve had a positive experience with the Tegra 2 platform. It’ll be interesting to see how it performs inside a tablet.
And let’s just say that seeing a standard microHDMI port was a pleasant surprise – no need of an adapter to get the TV-Out working. The competition doesn’t even have a standard microUSB port so thumbs up for Motorola and keeping to standards.
Motorola XOOM in our office
The XOOM we’re about to get started with is the 3G-enabled variety with 32GB of inbuilt storage. And yes, it’s got Honeycomb inside – the version of Android meant for tablets. We can hardly wait. Jump to the next page and try to keep up.
Samsung Infuse 4G review: Extra legroom
Introduction
In America, it is widely believed that bigger is better. Or so Samsung must have thought when they decided to launch the phone with the biggest and brightest screen first in the United States, and with the biggest network – AT&T. The Samsung Infuse 4G is definitely meant to stand out – its 4.5” Super AMOLED Plus screen is nearly unmatched on the market, and a beauty to look at. It makes 4-inchers look petty and irrelevant.
Despite its humongous screen, the Samsung Infuse 4G has an impressively thin body. At 8.99 mm, it is only a tad thicker than a Galaxy S2. It does have an excuse though – it’s packing a larger screen than the current Samsung flagship. That’s the spirit.
Key Features
- Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
- 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
- 4.5″ 16M-color Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
- 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 512 MB of RAM
- 8 MP wide-angle lens auto focus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
- 720p video recording at 30fps
- Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
- GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
- 16GB internal storage, microSD slot
- Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support
- Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
- FM radio with RDS
- Great audio quality
- Super slim and lightweight at 8.99mm and 139g
- 1.3MP secondary camera, video-call
- Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration enable 1080p flash video playback in the web browser
- Document editor
- File manager preinstalled
- The richest video format support we’ve seen
Main disadvantages
- All-plastic build
- No dedicated camera key
- Super slim body has poor grip when taking pictures
- Single-core processor
- No 1080p video recording despite having the same camera unit as the Galaxy S2
- Sheer size raises questions about single-handed use
- Non-hot-swappable memory card slot
- The device ships with Android 2.2 (Froyo), not the latest Gingerbread
Certain comparisons are not in the Samsung Infuse 4G’s favor. It looks like a flagship, but it’s not quite there. The Infuse just doesn’t have the raw processing power of the Galaxy S2. What’s fair’s fair though – it does look even more impressive.
Oddly enough, Samsung has decided to go with their older generation, single-core CPU which we know well from the Galaxy S line of phones. Is it going to be enough to power the Infuse 4G? We are about to find out.
Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn’t include all of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our office and test lab. The Samsung Infuse 4G is a US-only phone, so it will probably never get to the shores of the Old Continent. Still, we think we’ve captured the essence of the phone in the same precise, informative and detailed way that’s become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!
HTC Wildfire S review: S-size droid
Introduction
Mini phones are hot and HTC don’t want you take Sony Ericsson’s word on that. What started as a small niche is now a segment that keeps growing – and one that no manufacturer can afford to ignore. Sony Ericsson have just announced their updated mini lineup while Samsung and LG routinely have more than one thing going on in the midrange.
HTC know they can’t afford to stop right in the middle of what they’ve been doing with the Wildfire, the Aria and the Gratia. Going all the way back to the Tattoo, which first put Android on the radar for budget shoppers.
HTC Wildfire S official photos
There’s plenty of choice already for those who like their droid in a small package. The HTC Wildfire S seems to be aware of that and does well to make itself seen. The lively paintjobs and friendly compact size are the right features to show to potential buyers. The Wildfire S has found a way to further reduce size while keeping the same 3.2” screen.
One thing we should keep in mind though. HTC seem to be in power-saving mode currently with all their recent releases but facelifts offering minor improvements over predecessors. That holds true for the Wildfire S too, though this is not to say that it shouldn’t be on your list if you’re looking for the next hot mini. HTC seem to have worked exactly on the things that most needed improvement. Display is key here, HVGA finally bringing it to acceptable levels. CIF video-capture was upped to VGA and the phone runs the latest Android Gingerbread.
These things should give it enough value as an upgrade. The Wildfire S is well-designed and well-built – a colorful little droid to offer good bang for buck. Let’s look at what else the S stands for.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
- 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, 384 Kbps HSUPA support
- 3.2″ 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of HVGA (320 x 480 pixels) resolution
- 600MHz Snapdragon MSM7227 CPU, Adreno 200 GPU; 418MB of user-available RAM
- Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) with HTC Sense 2.1 UI
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n with hotspot functionality
- GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
- 5 MP autofocus camera, LED flash, geotagging and face-detection
- VGA video @ 24fps
- microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
- microSD slot (up to 32GB, 2GB in box)
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- Gorilla Glass display
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- Light and compact
- Turn-to-mute, lift-to-tone-down, flip for speakerphone
- Smart dialing
- XviD video support
- HTCSense.com integration
- HTC Portable Hotspot
- Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)
Main disadvantages
- Poor camera performance
- No HD 720p video recording
- No shutter key for the camera
- No Adobe Flash player, Flash Lite only
- No Document viewer
- No secondary videocall camera
- No ambient light sensor
The Wildfire S is the usual all-round smartphone – with the latest Android inside at that – but now in an even friendlier shape. All work and no play wouldn’t do for the Wildfire S and HTC have added some twists to the old recipe to make it 2011-ready.
HTC Wildfire S live shots
Balance was sought above all – no groundbreaking features are to be expected. Not in this price range, not in a pint-sized package. Minis are friendly and playful. Let’s see if the HTC Wildfire S matches the description.