When you break out your iPhone 4S and ask Siri what the ‘best smartphone ever’ is, your humble virtual assistant will recommend you to buy Nokia’s Lumia 900.
Which is, of course, a decent phone indeed.
But really, an iPhone 4S-only service prompting you to check out a rival device when you ask it what the best handset is?
Siri’s amusing recommendation is drawing comments from hosts of Nokia and Microsoft fans worldwide (yes, there are still many of them), which in itself is rather amusing. It’s kinda like watching people cheer because the magical mirror told the queen that Snow White is actually the fairest of them all.
Hopefully needless to say, the reason why Siri is making the above recommendation isn’t because Apple thinks the iPhone 4S is subpar (as if).
It’s simply because Siri bases its answer to that particular question on results from Wolfram Alpha, which itself draws from users reviews Web-wide.
User satisfaction rates for the Lumia 900 in the United States happen to be very high, hence why WA will tell you that it’s the ‘best smartphone ever’.
Our recommendation is: give both the iPhone 4S and the Nokia Lumia 900 a whirl and decide for your damn self instead of asking Siri.
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Design and Display
The Blaze has a fairly basic, Samsung-esque design with a glossy black face and rounded corners. The soft-touch, textured back gets fingerprint-greasy fast and seems to be a magnet for dust, crumbs, lint, and whatever else is in your pocket or bag. It's easy enough to clean, though. The Blaze looks a bit chunky, measuring 4.8 by 2.48 by 0.46 inches thick. It weighs a satisfactory 4.51 ounces.
The Blaze's 3.97-inch 480-by-800-pixel display is roomy enough for watching videos and playing games. Viewing angles are excellent on the Blaze's display, which uses Super AMOLED technology. Unfortunately, like other Super AMOLED displays we've encountered on Samsung phones, the Blaze's looked oversaturated in our color-bar and grayscale tests. In our color-bar test, the colors bled into each other; in the grayscale test, we had trouble differentiating the light-to-dark shades from one another. Still, oversaturation isn't always a bad thing: Colors looked rich and bright, and blacks were deep.
Software and Extras
Instead of the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, the Blaze runs Android 2.3.6, (Gingerbread). Like other Samsung Galaxy phones (but not the Galaxy Nexus), it runs Samsung's TouchWiz user interface over Android.
Consumers (and reviewers) have a love/hate relationship with TouchWiz. On the one hand, it's relatively light and fast, and it adds some needed color to Android Gingerbread. On the other hand, the borderline cheesy, cartoony look of the user interface is a bit of a turn-off.
This phone comes with a ridiculous amount of carrier- and manufacturer-added software. From T-Mobile, you get 411, Game Base, More for Me, Netflix, Lookout T-Mobile TV, T-Mobile Name ID, T-Mobile Video Chat...and the list goes on. Sure, you might want some of these apps, like Netflix and Lookout, but the collection as a whole is unreasonably large. Some of the "apps" aren't even real; they're just links to app stores or trial versions of services. Samsung adds a few apps of its own; and again some--like Kies Air and AllShare--are useful, but others are merely pseudo-apps that require a separate download to get up and running. When you open the Samsung MediaHub, for example, a message informs you that you must install a separate app and create an account before you can run the app. Really?
One lovely thing about Android is the customization features and the bevy of apps available to you in Google Play. When carriers and manufacturers add all this junk to phones, they take some ownership away from the consumer. The phone you just bought with your hard-earned money doesn't feel like your phone--and that's unfair. Even worse, you can't remove many of these extra apps. On some Android phones, you can go into your settings and manually remove unwanted apps. But on the Galaxy S Blaze 4G, as far as I could tell, there is no such option for any of the added apps. Unless you root your phone, you're stuck with the bloatware.
Performance
The Galaxy S Blaze 4G is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM. We ran both Qualcomm's Vellamo benchmarking app as well as a third-party app, Quadrant. On Vellamo, the Galaxy S Blaze achieved an admirable score of 1071, putting it just below the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. We take these scores with a grain of salt, as the Blaze has a Qualcomm processor and Vellamo is developed by Qualcomm. Oddly, on Quadrant, the Blaze scored better than the Galaxy Nexus.
The true test of a phone's performance, in my opinion, is how well it handles the most heavy-duty apps and high-resolution video. I tested a handful of graphics-heavy games on the Blaze including Anomaly HD and Osmos HD. Both games ran flawlessly with the Super AMOLED display beautifully showcasing the 3D graphics.
The Galaxy S Blaze supports T-Mobile's faster HSPA+ network, which has theoretical speeds of up to 42 mbps. I tested the Galaxy S Blaze in various parts of San Francisco, using the FCC-approved Ookla Speedtest.net app, and achieved average download speeds of 6.77 mbps and upload speeds of 1.45 mbps. Signal strength varied around the city: Some areas produced speeds on par with Verizon's 4G LTE while other areas had more 3G-like speeds.
Call quality over T-Mobile was good, with ample volume and praiseworthy clarity on both my end and my contacts'. We haven't yet run battery testing for this model, but Samsung claims that the battery delivers 7 hours of talk time and 9 hours of standby. The Blaze 4G lasted for a full day (about 8 hours) of regular use before I needed to plug in again.
Camera
The Blaze's 5-megapixel camera took good pictures indoors and out. My outdoor pictures had bright, natural colors, though details were slightly fuzzy and I detected a bit of graininess (see the blue sky in the photo of the San Francisco Bay Bridge). My indoor photos had a little more graininess, but good colors. Details, such as the Furbies' fur, were lost, however. Still, for a 5-megapixel camera, it produced very satisfactory pictures. The TouchWiz camera interface is clean and easy to use, and it offers a few advanced controls such as white balance and exposure value, as well as some shooting effects (sepia, black-and-white, and others).
Bottom Line
The Galaxy S Blaze 4G has the performance and the specs of its Galaxy S II siblings but at a smaller size and a more affordable price. The bloatware is the phone's only real weakness, but the fact that users can't easily remove these carrier/manufacturer-added apps makes me hesitant to recommend the Blaze 4G enthusiastically.
If you're a fan of Samsung's Galaxy series and want the latest and greatest smartphone, you might want to hold out for a few months as the Samsung Galaxy S III is rumored to be launching soon. Another phone that might be worth waiting for is the HTC One S, which is headed to T-Mobile in the next month or two and has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, and 16GB of internal memory. It's unclear whether it will be plagued with the same bloatware issue, however.
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These new findings point to the striking penetration of smart phone enabled shoppers or "smart-shopping" into the everyday lives of Americans.
Based on data from a hybrid phone/online study conducted in December 2011 and February 2012 with a national sample of 314 smart phone owners, the survey found that sixty-six percent (66%) use their smart phones to aid in shopping, and thirty-eight percent (38%) do so while actually in a traditional retail store. Smart phone owners are about as likely to access shopping information in the store aisle (29%) as in the rest of the store (25%).
While actually near point of sale, shoppers are most likely to:
- Look up facts and features (15%)
- Compare prices at different stores (11%)
- Read product reviews on retail sites (9%)
- Compare prices at retailer's websites (8%)
"Smart phone enabled shopping or 'smart-shopping' is rapidly becoming a mainstream activity for smart phone owners. Given the rapid rise in smart phone ownership, traditional retailers and product brand managers face a new wave of challenges to serve increasingly informed and independent consumers," notes Owen Shapiro, Vice President of LJS. "The use of point of sale price checks breaks down one of the long-standing advantages held by retailers on 'blind priced' items – products that consumers buy infrequently or that are low involvement."
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AT&T's Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals will go live for customers exclusively online starting on Black Friday, November 25th through Cyber Monday, November 28th, with select Windows 7, BlackBerry and Android smartphone devices starting one penny. That's right, they'll have some one cent deals for Motorola Atrix, Samsung Infuse, BlackBerry 9810, HTC Inspire and LG Thrill smartphones while supplies last, with free shipping and waived activation included as well.
Naturally, these offers will require a two-year service agreement, along with monthly Smartphone voice and data plans from AT&T.
AT&T Black Friday and Cyber Monday Smartphone Sale details:
Friday, November 25, 12:01 a.m. ET
- Touchscreen devices, including tablets, starting at unbelievably low prices
Saturday, November 26, 12:01 a.m. ET
- All Windows 7 and select Android devices, for just $.01
Sunday, November 27, 12:01 a.m. ET
- BlackBerry 9860 for only $.01, HTC Red Inspire for $29.99
Monday, November 28, 12:01 a.m. ET
- A lineup of some of AT&T’s most popular smartphones—Motorola Atrix, Samsung Infuse, BlackBerry 9810, HTC Inspire and LG Thrill—all for only one cent!
November 21, 2011 in Black Friday Ads, Cyber Monday Deals, Electronics Deals, Smartphones | PermalinkSUBSCRIBE
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The exact list of nations exactly where international support will be enabled isn’t known, though today Siri - which Apple describes as being in beta - is just available for US English, UK English, Australian English, French and German anyway. 2012 will bring support for additional languages, Apple additionally confirms, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian as well as Spanish.
Without having the local functionality, many of Siri’s headline-grabbing features don’t currently work outside of the US. Asking your iPhone 4S to find nearby restaurants isn’t supported, as well as neither can the smartphone bring up business addresses as well as phone numbers.
Is this partial feature-set enough to make you reconsider your own iPhone 4S purchase intentions? Allow us know whether or not you re still planning on choosing up the phone in the comments.
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AT&T has been touting that its iPhone 4S will be the fastest because the device supports the carrier’s HSPA+ enhanced 3G network, while on Verizon to Sprint, we d be getting just standard 3G speeds. But in the below video, you ll see that Verizon and AT&T are neck to neck with Sprint generally behind.
However, the SpeedTest.net comparison shows AT&T method ahead with a download speed of 0.65Mbps, Verizon with 0.26Mbps, as well as Sprint with 0.16Mbps. The tester claims that the results have been similar no matter how he arranged the positions of the devices.
Although the comparison isn’t exactly scientific, it does give you an idea of what you may expect. But speeds will additionally depend on which part of the nation we re located along with other factors. Sprint looks clearly to be the slowest, but they are hoping to offset that with unlimited information plans. And if you re still debating on whether to upgrade, then ensure to check out our full iPhone 4S review and our iOS 5 review.
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Motorola’s phones were tanking available after the Razr flip phone years ago was and so popular. The company hadn’t had a really desirable phone till it embraced Android as well as started anew in popularity. Motorola is now set to revive that Razr name with a brand new smartphone dubbed the Droid Razr. A brand new rumor has surfaced with a tipster claiming that the Droid Razr will be a telephone to watch.
In fact that tipster claims that the hardware inside is faster than the iPhone 4S. The smartphone is expected to go official on October 18, but the tip sheds light on the hardware before that release. The unverified tip claims the smartphone will run a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and has 1GB of RAM. The iPhone 4S has 512MB of RAM.
The screen is said to be a 4.3-inch device similar to the qHD offering on the Droid X2 as well as Bionic. The smartphone will also apparently support LTE 4G connectivity and is said to be the thinnest LTE smartphone to date. Other rumors point to the Droid Razr being in Verizon stores today.
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According to Verizon’s MAP’D devices list, you can see that both of these mega devices will hit the store running at a cool 300 bones. Sounds regarding right for Verizon. They tend to put their top end devices at that cost point.
We can also see the MAP’D dates listed to the right. The end date usually is when there are the price of the device to start to decrease. Usually certainly not more than $50 bucks, but still. If your time for upgrade is running around April, we can would like to hold of a yet another month or perhaps and so to save a little more coin.
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The update is reported to fix a number of areas that user have been complaining regarding and the following has been noted:
Known Issues:
- Home button haptic doesn’t work
Fixes:
- Home button lag
- Lockscreen bug
New Features:
- Overscoll glow
If your rooted an can’t wait for the official launch of the firmware update, head over to this thread on RootzWiki as well as get the downloads going.
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We’ve picked some of the top devices currently available or coming around the corner as well as we’d such as to understand which device your own thinking about buying. If we such as to expand ever further, be sure to leave us your own thoughts in the comments below when you ve created the vote in the poll.
We understand that we haven’t included every rumor or future devices, but we think think this is a good list of the current technology solutions thus here are a couple of the major releases just happening in the industry and a few simply around the corner, including:
The Samsung Galaxy S II is the to of the list for many of you today. Available on almost ever major network except Verizon, it’s the fastest telephone available today.
The HTC Amze is HTC’s latest offerring on the T-Mobile network. Released on the same day and currently in direct competition with the Samsung Galaxy S II on T-Mobile. With 4.3? HD Screen, it offers top notch specs that should last till your next upgrade is available.
Initially rumored to be launched on the Verizon Network, but expected to follow up closely with launch on most major networks, The Nexus Prime is expected to be the first device to be released with Ice Cream Sandwich as well as super HD display.
The Motorola Atrix was the first device to provide a docking solution that turned the telephone into laptop as well as we assume that the Motorola Atrix 2 will offer the same solution to continue the Atrix path.
There are usually other devices coming down the road as well as we’ve probably missed something the thinking regarding buying. If we don’t see the device in this list, allow us understand in the comments and we’ll add it.
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The handset comes preloaded with Maps, as well as social networking games and apps. Users will also be able to capture, edit, and share photos to friends.
Judging from its press release, Nokia 603 is tagetted to loyal Nokies who want a smartphone that offers the latest in technology without feeling left out to the iPhone and BlackBerry users around them. The handset is available in six different back cover colors (black, white, fuchsia, green, yellow, and blue).
Nokia is also taking this opportunity to introduce its Luna Bluetooth Headset, which also supports NFC and works for up to eight hours of extended talk time.
The Nokia 603 will cost 200 euros (about US$275), while the Luna headset will be priced at 70 euros (around $96). Both products are expected to be shipped in fourth quarter of 2011.
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Running on the latest version of Android, or 2.3 Gingerbread, the latest version of Google’s operating system, Motorola XT531 is the perfect balance of sleek design, affordability and intuitive functionality. Capture and share your memories in crystal clear clarity with its 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with built in flash. With the *Qik Video Connect you can easily create videos and share with friends in real-time. You can also use the Qik app with the front-facing camera for video chatting. Typing text and email messages is faster and easier with the touch-screen keyboard. Plus, with access to leading social media applications users can stay in constant contact with friends and family.
The fashionable Motorola XT531 also offers unique personalization options through the Moto Switch user interface that enables users to switch between friend and work-centric modes depending on what they're doing.
"Smartphones have become integral, personal parts of users' lives – that's why Motorola believes they should be fun, fashionable and feature-packed," said Fei Liu, senior vice president, mass market consumer products, Motorola Mobility. "Motorola XT531 is an affordable device that gives young, fast-moving users everything they want from a top-quality smartphone."
Motorola XT531 also has best-in-class battery life, allowing users to talk for eight hours or have 28 days of standby in 3G mode. The battery can handle regular multitasking between apps, games and Web browsing, as well as heavy messaging. Users also have access to more than 250,000 apps from the Android Market™ and in some countries will have access to SHOP4APPS.
The Motorola XT531 will be marketed as Motorola FIRE™ XT in Europe and as Motorola SPICE™ XT in Latin America. The Motorola XT531 will be available as single-SIM and dual-SIM models in select parts of Asia. The dual-SIM model will be available starting this fall.
Key Features and Specifications:
Runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)Dual-band HSDPA/Quad-band EDGE3.5" HVGA display with capacitive multi-touch5MP camera with auto-focus and built in flashFront-facing VGA camera for video call, chat and sharingMoto Switch UI allows users to shift to different modes800MHz chipset512MB onboard memoryMicroSD card slot expandable up to 32GBAccess to Google Apps (Mapping, Voice Turn-by-Turn Directions, 360 Mapping, Google Talk™, Browsing)FM Radio with RDS supportWi-Fi b/g/nE-compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometerGPS.aGPSLED notifications3.5mm Audio Jack1540mAh battery, up to 8 hours of talk time and 28 days in standby in 3G mode
Availability
Motorola XT531 is available starting this August in China. The device will be available in Hong Kong, Taiwan and select countries in Europe and Latin America starting this Fall.
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ChaCha HTC smartphone runs Android OS v2.3 and features a 2.6 inch touch screen with a resolution of 480 x 320, physical QWERTY keyboard, a 5MP camera with LED flash, 512 MB ROM and 512 MB of RAM.
HTC smartphone that is ChaCha and delivery is expected to begin June. But you can get for £ 300 on Pay As You Go. At Carphone Warehouse, Phone ChaCha Facebook is selling £ 230 SIM-free.
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NTT DoCoMo P-07C has includes a 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen display having a resolution of 480 x 854 pixel, 5.1 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Gps navigation, and digital TV tuner. You will find Sd card slot, as well as an infrared port. Dimensions of NTT DoCoMo P-07C are 128 x 67 x 14 mm and weight about 140 grams.
The NTT DoCoMo Panasonic P-07C smartphone is made for women clients that the candybar form factor with whitened or black color options. It is made for use within 3G/HSPA and GSM systems. Battery of P-07C will work for as much as 300 minutes in talk-time, 340 hrs in standby. There’s no reported about prices yet.
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Packing a dual-core application processor within, the new device Samsung Hercules really should arrive in the wireless carrier as an upgraded Samsung Infuse 4G, capable of delivering better overall performance than the already launched device. One of the most attractive features of the new device would be the large 4.5-inch 480 x 800 Super AMOLED Plus display it may reportedly sport when produced accessible for acquire.
Samsung Hercules would contain 1GB of RAM, complemented by 16GB of internal memory, in addition to a microSD memory card slot with help for as much as 32GB of additional storage space. The new smartphone is just not official as of now, but it might not be as well lengthy ahead of it arrives on shelves using a Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core APQ8060 application processor inside, rumor has it.
The identical as Samsung Galaxy S II, the new device will be powered by Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. The Samsung Hercules smartphone is also expected to arrive on shelves with HSPA+ connectivity on board – Category 24 HSDPA (42Mbps) and Category 6 HSUPA (5.76Mbps), at the same time as with NFC help. It really is rather interesting that Samsung chose to pack the smartphone using a Qualcomm chip, considering that it already has dual-core Exyno CPUs in the marketplace.
The handset would sport AWS plus 850 / 1900MHz compatibility for AT&T’s network, which would prove a great feature if the merger between the two carriers is approved. At the same time, it really should incorporate an 8-megapixel photo snapper on the back, with 1080p HD video recording capabilities, complemented by a secondary camera on the front for video calling. The smartphone would measure 5.16 x 2.76 x 0.37 inches and will need to arrive on shelves with an MHL port to provide users with USB and HDMI connectivity.
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The device features a 4-inch 600 x 1024 with touch screen, a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus with face detection and a 0.3-megapixel front camera for video chat. The F-07C supports 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and offers microSD / SDHC memory card slot. Delivers up to 60,000 hours of standby time on 3G and 370 minutes of talk time on 3G. The Windows 7 Phone 125x61x19.8mm measures and weighs 218g. Navy comes in Black. The phone comes pre-loaded with the Personnel Office, 2011.
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The super slim Infuse 4G sports a 1.2GHz single-core Hummingbird processor. It packs a full HD 1080p video camera, HDMI playback, a 1.3 Megapixel front camera as well as Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity but still Samsung Galaxy Tab with 7-inch display can beat it. The Samsung Infuse 4G is scheduled to arrive in the second quarter of this year via AT&T network in the US.
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