T-Mobile Sidekick 4G Review

Specifications:

Service Provider : T-Mobile

Operating System : Android OS

Screen Size : 3.5 inches

Screen Details : 800-by-480, 16.7m-color TFT LCD capacitive touch screen

Camera : Yes

Network : CDMA

Bands : 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 1700

High-Speed Data : GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA

Processor Speed : 1 GHz

 

The keyboard of the best mobile phone in America belongs to a new T-Mobile Sidekick 4G ($ 149 with contract). It is a classic, beautiful, spacious expanse of the row of five letters and numbers. Makes it easy to cut to list the top 10 telephone contacts. The rest of the phone is not bad, either. Sidekick flavored styling is certainly a matter of taste, but if you want to display the user interface, you'll love it.

 

 

 Physical design and characteristics Sidekick makes some very bold design choices, in particular, change the default font in Android. I am a fan: I think it's Jazzy, and stands out, and replace the small icons for the words in bold in mind the Windows Mobile 7, a good way. Your taste may vary. Take what you already know the Sidekick. The old Sidekicks were generally made by Sharp, they run a single OS developed by a hazard as any mirror you do on the Internet. And they had their own service plans. The new Sidekick Samsung, and is an Android smartphone that uses the standard T-Mobile provides service smartphone. Sidekick is an unusual 4G Android phone, the project seeks to balance the current Sidekick technology Android classic look. Closed, 5.0 2.4 0.6 inches (HWD), 5.7 ounces is a mobile Sidekick traditional, slightly 'boat-shaped displays four buttons surrounding the 3.5-inch, 800 x 480 LCD and a small optical mouse replaces the Sidekick The track ball. Four key to the house Android, menus and Back buttons and a special key to jump, which can be configured to create keyboard shortcuts for different applications.

In turn the Sidekick hand, push the good of the screen is only a little stubborn and prisoner of war is a landscape QWERTY keyboard phone with five rows best I've ever seen. The design problem is, when you have the phone sideways, the power button and volume are exactly where, naturally, the rest of your thumb, and are very sensitive. So you end up accidentally hit often until you can provide. I can not praise this keyboard is enough. The keys are firm and dislocation. There is a dedicated "@" key, a dedicated button smiley and two keys. All keys are separated enough, it is almost impossible to typographical error. It's just fantastic.

 The Sidekick has a 4G standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, to better listen to your music and videos

The 4G has a Sidekick 3 megapixels on its soft-touch, textured back. He feels very comfortable in the hand.

The Sidekick comes with a few custom applications, "texting cloud", which allows you to text from the Internet. But I am also this picture is mainly to show what the default Android App list is similar the language design Sidekick.

As you can see here, T-Mobile really customize the look of the basic features of Android. It's like the sheets of paper on "Battlestar Galactica" - each rectangle must have had a notch in it.

This is one of the best keyboards on the phone is a business. These keys are super-easy to write about it. Please note that the T-Mobile to put smiley faces many as the key target market is, you know, really emo.

The four keys to jump on the Sidekick corners are not as important as they were with the old operating system danger, so now only used for programmable shortcuts.

Four keys to jump Sidekick angles are not as important as they were in the old operating system Danger The old "disco ball" light ball has been replaced by colored LEDs that can be configured to light when receiving messages.

You can write 4G Sidekick device screen using the keyboard, which includes Swype.

 

Phone Calls and Internet Connections
The Sidekick is an acceptable voice phone. Reception is average. The earpiece is loud, although it distorts slightly with loud inputs. On the other end, transmissions from the phone sound loud and a bit harsh or scratchy. A bit of background noise came through, but my voice was so much louder that it didn't matter. The speakerphone is excellent—loud and sharp, with clear transmissions. The phone paired quickly with my Aliph Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset ($129, 4.5 stars) for both calls and music, and I easily activated the accurate Google voice dialing from the headset.

The phone also supports T-Mobile's Wi-Fi calling. I tried it in several locations, and it's very dependent on the quality of your Wi-Fi signal. With a fast, clear connection, calls sound like they're on a cellular network, but they get choppy quickly as connections decline.

The phone runs on T-Mobile's so-called 4G HSPA+ 21 network here in the U.S., and on 2G EDGE networks both stateside and abroad; there's no international 3G support. Only two T-Mobile phones, this one and the Samsung Galaxy S 4G (4 stars, $199), actually support T-Mobile's 4G speeds. The company's other "4G" phones, the T-Mobile G2 (4 stars, $199) and MyTouch 4G (4.5 stars, $199), run at a slower pace called HSPA+ 14.4. Ideally, HSPA+ 21 should deliver speeds around 6Mbps down, although I didn't see that on any T-Mobile devices during my testing.

The phone also supports Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth. You can use the phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five devices, with the right plan.

Battery life was a bit of a concern—I got five hours, 20 minutes hours of talk time on the 1500 mAh battery—while T-Mobile advertises 6.5 hours.

OS and applications
Sidekick has the same specs on the phone the Samsung S Galaxy, and it works the same way as most of the media and high-end smartphones, Android today. It is a 1GHz processor, Samsung Hummingbird and serves as Android 2.2.1, tailored enough to make purists angry. (These people should look at the T-Mobile G2, however.) T-Mobile has replaced some of the default icons in the text, added some stylish-looking basic issues, and has changed the character under the icons for some small-caps . Overall, visual disturbances are sharp and handsome.

The first ten minutes of phone use, even if I came across a small design errors. Sidekick is an attractive application (a step beyond most other Android phones) will not work properly with the keyboard open, living room transformed into a vertical position. Just as the layout of the volume, unfortunately, this was a point in this experience. You can also set up a Twitter account and Facebook, twice, without any explanation as to why.

Shortcuts are a major issue here. For example, custom lock screen has a track in the middle. Slide up and running a custom application configured I put my lock screen to launch e-mail. But the feeling has not sold HTC has a screen lock no longer functional.

Skip Button allows many more shortcuts. While most phones have a touch of action programmable key-Go, you can have 35 years to launch different applications with combinations of riders and letters or numbers. That's cool, and once again it's not like any other Android phone on the market.

Replacing the bright "disco ball" trackball alerts, custom red, blue and purple LEDs at the top of the screen to flash different colors if you have a new text message, or e-mail.

T-Mobile and Samsung have both added applications. Applications include exclusive Sidekick texting group "texting cloud," which lets you manage your text from the Internet. T-Mobile dropped TV T-Mobile, TeleNav GPS (which has worked well in my tests) and two apps, the App Pack and Highlight, which suggest other programs you love. ALLSHARE Samsung added, which is a DLNA client, you can read files stored on your phone with a HDTV television and too Media Hub expensive and films.

Otherwise, it is essentially Android. Of course, he was dressed, but none of the 100,000 applications that run on Android 2.2 should work here. Far from the dozen applications running on the old platform Sidekick. All components are standard here as Android, which means a wide selection of high quality Web browsers, some of which supports Flash 10.2, excellent Google and Microsoft Exchange email, calendar and contacts support, Twitter and Facebook Contact the integration of applications and all the usual features you expect from a smartphone.

Multimedia and Camera
Multimedia is a force here. The media under the Sidekick, known as the Press, combines music playback, video playback, and Slacker Radio. T-Mobile TV offers smooth, continuous and television screen. The phone has about 350 MB of internal memory and MicroSD card comes with a 2 GB memory, 32 GB of my SanDisk worked fine.

You can sync music from your PC using free software double twist. All the usual music formats (including OGG) plays fine through the headset connector of 3.5 mm or Bluetooth. HD video up to 720p resolution also looks good, even if the phone does not support DivX (XVID format it supports similar, however.)

Sidekick camera is only 3 megapixels, and it is slow, with a lag of 1.7 seconds autofocus. But if you can stand the wait, it takes great pictures, clear and sharp, they compare favorably with 5-megapixel images from camera phones to others. The phone captures sharp, bright 720-by-480 videos at 29 frames per second, interior and exterior. There is no flash, but I find the camera phone flashes terrible anyway. As long as you have a little light, this phone is perfect for capturing your next party.

There is also a VGA camera on the front Sidekick is designed to work with T-Mobile Qik video chat, but we never had much luck with Qik. The company was recently bought by Skype, however, so we should see dramatic improvements in the quality of its video chat soon.

Conclusions
4G T-Mobile Sidekick is not a Sidekick. The Sidekick is an entity with a cool, simple and OS swivel screen. This platform is dead. Instead, what we have here is an inspired Sidekick Android phone with a keyboard impressive, a nice interface overhaul, and the occasional sour note (poor position to the volume knob, for one). This is the best mail-oriented smartphone T-Mobile.

That said, Our Choice Editors' typed smartphone T-Mobile T-Mobile G2, largely because manufacturers typically added to the Android division, and G2 produced similar glasses, without a graphic redesign.



 

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BlackBerry Torch 9800 (AT&T) Review

Specifications:

Service Provider: AT&T

Operating System: BlackBerry OS

Screen Size: 3.2 inches

Screen Details: 360x480, 16-million-color TFT LCD capacitive touch screen

Camera: Yes

Network: GSM, UMTS

Bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100

High-Speed Data: EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA

Processor Speed: 624 MHz

The new BlackBerry 9800 Torch with 6 stops RIM's BlackBerry smartphone in the game. He is the first BlackBerry touch screen actually used, and it is packed with new features, a new web browser, new applications, a new interface and new social networking hooks. It can even save you money. Messaging is still clearly on this core phone, but unlike the flashy all-touch phones like the Apple iPhone 4 ($ 199.99 - $ 699). This leaves the torch a major effort for those who type all day and talk, and even behind the leaders, for those who prefer to play, surf the Internet or watch videos. He made the cut for our list of Top 10 phones with keyboards.
This is a more subtle benefit of the flame, too. Our other top AT & T phones tend to have a flashy, media-oriented brilliance that may not appeal to business customers. They also lack the QWERTY keyboard. The torch gives you a touch screen and excellent media, but with the keyboard and the BlackBerry takes serious attitude that can make it more welcome in the workplace.

Hardware and the phone rings
BlackBerry phones still want the high-end hardware, and the flame is not an exception. The 4.4 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches (DRC), 5.7 oz torch is black and silver with a soft-touch back and a reassuring heft. The phone is plastic, although plastic is prime, I could have a little more metal. Closed, the phone fits perfectly in your hand. The screen slides up with a strong, flexible movement, according to a BlackBerry Bold-like keyboard. Just below the screen, there is now a standard BlackBerry trackpad that works as easily as ever.
There is a note a little off. The keyboard feels unusually flat. It is always a good keyboard (much easier to use the keyboard with one hand many of Android), but not the depth, separation of keys and launch BlackBerry Curve 8330 star () on the keyboard, or even make Full-click BlackBerry 9700 ($ 199.99) on the keyboard. RIM had to do this low-profile keyboard to go under the knife.
Now, about that touchscreen. 3.2-inch torch, 360 x 480 screen is a modern and sensible, a capacitive touch screen. This is not a "click-screen," as the series BlackBerry Storm. It is a touch screen that works exactly the way you expect touch screens to work. The phone is equipped with wireless connections, but are not the state of the art. The flame works on AT & T 2G and 3G foreigners. The phone also has Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n. Internet HSPA get 3.6 instead of 7.2 HSPA, meaning that Internet connections are limited to about 1.5 megabits / sec down, especially when viewed when using the torch as a modem for your PC.
The torch has a good phone voice for some strange audio characteristics. The reception was average. Headphones and speakers are both pretty hard. But repression is not a microphone, my voice came through clearly on the other side of the call, but so did all the hustle and bustle of the streets around me. And I found a half-tone telephone, a voice that goes through the headset trying to stop yelling is very small, very noticeable buzz. Well our home phone Aliph Jawbone Icon (99.95 $,), Bluetooth headset, how to start a voice call.
Time to talk for 4 hours 36 minutes, there was a great 3G phone. But like other Blackberry, I found the torch is no longer "lifetime" of the other top smartphone, I could go on for at least one and a half days without recharging.

Web, messaging and entertainment Apps

The torch is the first device to run the new BlackBerry OS 6, which offers many new features, including desktop synchronization software. For more information on BlackBerry 6, check out our BlackBerry Revue 6.
I wanted to call an unusual feature here, but why did not RIM. RIM told me that the torch compresses all data, except to transfer the video over the airwaves to AT & T. This means that you may be able to get more web pages and messages in AT & T's $ 15/month 200 MB of data you can transfer agreement with other phones that do not compress the data.
The new operating system offers a good balance between the keyboard, trackpad, and touch screen input. You can do almost everything a couple of ways, making it the best of AT & T phone for the most comfortable to type on a keyboard so hard on a touch screen.
RIM new WebKit based web browser is a big part of the experience, and there is good news and bad news about it. The good news: There are Web sites faster and more desktop. I found the new browser 25 percent faster to pages that the browser on the BlackBerry Bold 9650 ($ 199.99), which has the same screen resolution and processor. The new browser has scored more than 10 times faster at JavaScript benchmarks. For the first time RIM has a solid browser built in.
The bad news: the browser can be a huge jump in the browser history of RIM, but is still slower than the iPhone IPhone 4 four had two or three times faster, so do the pages and the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark.
Part of the difference is clearly based on the processor and graphics: the flame using the same 624 MHz ARM11 processor class, such as bold, while 4 and Top iPhone Android phone is using a 800 MHz or GHz, Cortex-A8 processor class are twice as fast or faster. Stick to the base platform Gras helps keep the flame compatible with third-party software, however. I downloaded the BlackBerry App World applications usually worked, unless it was back in the browser (as Viigo (free), no.) Some applications do not use the touch interface, but it worked very well with the trackpad and keyboard. That said, the BlackBerry is still behind other platforms in the delivery of a wide range of applications. Although I thought the game applications, business and entertainment in the world of the application, it is not fair and much less if the Android Market or the iTunes Store.
The messages, of course, is the highlight of the phone. The official Twitter app is attractive and versatile. Twitter, MySpace and Facebook messages and IMS appears in both your inbox and a universal "social feeds" app and you can send items from the browser your camera or on Facebook or Twitter. Contacts Network Social included in your address book with a story about your communication with them. There is no easy way to merge duplicate contacts, though. And RIM devices have problems with synchronization with Microsoft accounts Exchange if you do not have a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which I discuss in the BlackBerry Revue 6.
The torch has GPS, which locks as quickly geotag photos and Twitter messages. It comes with the little annoying AT & T Maps app, but the BlackBerry Maps is available for free download. AT & T Navigator provides turn-by-turn directions for $ 10/month.
There are some other AT & T bloatware here. You can not delete, but is hidden, including AT & T Yellow Pages and hateful when applied location-based advertising apps And yes, there is a new touch-enabled version of Brick Breaker.

Multimedia and Camera Performance
For a description of BlackBerry 6's new music and video players, check out our BlackBerry 6 review. Here, we'll talk about performance on the Torch.
The Torch offers lots of media options. The device has 4GB of on-board storage and comes with an additional 4GB MicroSD card; our 16GB Kingston card also worked fine. You can sync and store your own music and videos using BlackBerry Desktop, which syncs with Windows Media Player and iTunes. You can download podcasts using the built-in client, buy music using AT&T Music, watch TV on MobiTV or PrimeTime2Go, or listen to Slacker Radio. A "Web Video Search" icon searches across several different streaming Web sites, including YouTube and ifilm.
Videos formatted using BlackBerry's desktop software or saved in QuickTime using iPhone settings looked great and played in full screen. YouTube videos, irritatingly, tended to have to buffer in the middle. Videos downloaded through PrimeTime2Go or streamed over MobiTV played smoothly over the phone's speaker, a wired headset, and a Plantronics BackBeat 903 Bluetooth headset. Face it, though: a 3.2-inch, 360-by-480 screen just doesn't give you the same cinematic experience as the larger displays on competing smartphones.
The 5-megapixel camera is a good example of the form. It's quick and responsive, though it every once in a while just forgot to focus; a software update in the middle of my testing period dramatically improved its performance, so I think the problem will be entirely fixed soon. Still images were sharp with good color, though occasionally slightly hazy. A "face detection" mode forces the autofocus to look for faces. VGA-quality videos were smooth at 24 frames per second; let's note, though, that competing phones such as the iPhone 4 can capture videos at 30 frames per second. One very neat touch: the camera added locations to filenames, such as "Queens-20100725-00043.jpg." That made filenames a little more readable than on most digital cameras.

Multimedia and camera performance

The higher the BlackBerry six new music and video players, please refer to the BlackBerry 6. Here we are talking about the performance of the torch.
Flame offers many multimedia options. The device has 4 GB of storage and comes with a 4GB microSD card added our 16GB Kingston card also worked fine. You can synchronize and store your own music videos with the BlackBerry Desktop software that syncs with Windows Media Player and iTunes. You can download podcasts using the built-in client buy music through AT & T Music, MobiTV for watching TV or PrimeTime2Go, or listen to Slacker Radio. A "Web Video Search" icon in the investigation several streaming websites like YouTube and iFilm.
Videos formatted using a BlackBerry desktop software or saved in QuickTime with the parameters of the iPhone was beautiful and play full screen. YouTube videos, irritating, tend to have a buffer in the middle. PrimeTime2Go or downloaded videos played on MobiTV to play smoothly on the speakerphone, a wired headset and Plantronics 903 Bluetooth BackBeat. Let's face it, if: a 3.2-inch, 360 x 480 screen does not give the same experience as the film shown on smartphone competitors.
The 5 megapixel camera is a good example of the form. It is fast and responsive, but sometimes forget to focus just a software update in the middle of my trial period significantly improved its performance, so I think the problem will be completely fixed soon. Still images were sharp good color, but sometimes a bit fuzzy. A "face detection" mode forces the auto-focus, looking for faces. As were smooth VGA video at 24 frames per second, but note that competing phones like the iPhone 4 can record video at 30 frames per second. A nice touch: the location of the cameras added to file names such as "Queens-20100725-00043.jpg." He did a few names more readable than most digital cameras.

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HTC Sensation 4G Review

Specifications:

Service Provider: T-Mobile

Operating System: Android OS

Screen Size :4.3 inches

Screen Details: 960-by-540, 16M-color TFT LCD capacitive touch screen

Camera :Yes

Network: GSM, UMTS

Bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100, 1700

High-Speed Data: GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA

Processor Speed: 1.2 dual core GHz

 The feeling of HTC is a powerful and advanced phone Android looks great even when turned off. With a fast dual core processor and software extensions HTC attractive in mind is the election of new Editor smartphone touchscreen T-Mobile, if not the highest available only device by the carrier.

Design of physical performance, Telephone & Internet
In short, the feeling of HTC is a class act. This is a great phone 5 2.6 0.4 inches (HWD) and 5.2 ounces, equal to the largest known Verizon Droid X2 ($ 149, 3.5 stars). Yet, Sensation, feeling a little 'less, because it has rounded edges and lack of holes. It is made from high quality metal, glass and plastic, and feels very solid in your hand.
The feeling is 4.3 inch LCD 960 by 540 Super, which outperforms its closest competitor, the G2X T-Mobile ($ 199, 4 stars), both in resolution and pixel density. (The G2X packages of 233 pixels per inch, while the sensation reaches 256.) The screen is amazingly deep blacks, for example, Super Plus Samsung AMOLED screen S Galaxy II ($ 799, 4 stars), but LCD screen perfectly, and the text is clear, given its large size and high density.
Nothing strange Sensation, as the voice on the phone. It 'was only average results in my test reception. The sound is a bit 'hard to the higher number, and there was a slight wobble, and itching in the mail. The voice quality is good enough to walk, though, and clearly the focus elsewhere in this HTC phone. Feeling good in tandem with our times aliphatic Jawbone (129 U.S. dollars, 4.5 stars), and a phone music, video and audio, but will not allow you to use voice dialing from a Bluetooth headset. It 'a disappointment. The battery life of six hours of talk time, was good but not great.

The sensation supports T-Mobile calling plan Wi-Fi works just as well as phone calls over the mobile network, as long as you have a strong wireless signal. During the test, I was able to connect the clear calls at Starbucks. When you move away from the signal, however, calls to break and then fall quickly.
T-Mobile to advertise this as a "4G" phones, but it is not even the T-Mobile standards. This is a mobile HSPA 14.4. And 'fast, reliable, but not faster HSPA + 42 and T-Mobile's network, or even 21 to use HSPA +, T-Mobile Sidekick 4G and 4G Galaxy S.
However, you will get high speed internet on this phone with a good signal to T-Mobile. In New York, where T-Mobile has a 42 + HSPA network, I got download speeds ranging from 4.3Mbps to 6.5Mbps and uploads at 800 Kbps-1Mbps range that pushes the real world expects 7.2 Mbps for 14.4 HSPA unit. The phone works both as a modem and a Wi-Fi hotspot, with the right plan.

Processor and applications
The feeling is the first mobile dual-core chipset Qualcomm U.S., 1.2GHz processor MSM8660 new adreno 220 GPU. Since most of the other phones I've seen dual-core processors up to now use the Nvidia Tegra 2 (with the exception of the Samsung Galaxy S II), I decided to benchmark this against the Tegra-powered 2-G2X to find differences.
The results are a little dizzy. I found many points of reference for free on the Android Market: BenchmarkPi, Softweg, CaffeineMark, Linpack, and Nenamark Neocore Droidfish and the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, and benchmarks Flash GUIMark HTML5, and the hand of time, a lot Load the Web page.
The sensation was consistently faster at loading Web pages in desktop browser on a Dolphin HD Wi-Fi network, with Flash enabled. It was faster on benchmarks HTML5, too. But wait! The G2X with Tegra 2 was much faster in Flash and a bit faster at JavaScript. The two processors divide the synthetic benchmarks. The G2X more successful on the benchmark Neocore game, but they scored almost exactly the same on Nenamark graphic reference.
Chips in the fact that, through its program TegraZone, Nvidia is working to develop games with exclusive high-end phones Tegra. The result is feeling appears to be something better for Web browsing, while G2X is probably better for games.
Sense of Web experience is faster in the standard browser, too, because the feeling of Android uses 2.3.3, while the G2X is stuck in Android 2.2.
Together with the 2.3 Android, HTC brings unusually throughful Sensation, Sense of well-designed skin. Sense adds a number of useful, interesting features of Android. It comes with a way to remotely monitor the phone via the website. You can immediately jump into popular applications on your screen lock. E-mail program and address book are both beautiful and easier to use than a standard Android applications. And the feeling does not seem to slow things down at all.
With Sense, the HTC has a music store called "Listen" and a film magazine called "Watch" or who worked on my phone for testing. T-Mobile added free shooter Qik video chat NOVA HD, T-Mobile TV streaming video and other non annoying bloatware, most of the time, of course. And, of course, you can download the applications 150,000-Plus in the Android Market.

Multimedia
The feeling, as G2X comes with a 8 megapixel camera with video recording of 1080. And as the G2X does not correspond with the quality of a video camera or laptop either. Still images in good light were strong, but there were dark shadows. In low light, the images became very soft and tablet research, but at least they are not blurred.
Indoor video capture at 1080p, 720p or 960-540-the resolution was a bit uncomfortable from 20 to 22 frames per second. Outdoor I got a smooth 30 frames per second, with blown highlights, but overall a decent quality.
The phone also has poor quality, a VGA camera in front of it, which is always made my face look orange, and could not reach more than 15 fps at home. E 'for video, which is a delicate thing, however, Android.
The phone has 1 GB of internal memory and comes with an 8GB microSD card in the back and you can replace it with a card up to 32GB.
Play music and video are excellent in the tests. The feeling that supports all standard music formats, and all video formats up to 1080p resolution, except WMV. Streaming music and video cable and Bluetooth headphones very well.
Moreover, as the G2X, the feeling may reflect its activities on a TV, you need a MMC adapter, which is not included, but should cost about $ 40. When I feel connected, I was able to play 1080p video stored on the device, browse the Web, playing Angry Birds gently, and watch streaming T-Mobile TV, even if the latter has become so pixelated blocks in the big screen was almost impossible to see. Netflix is ​​not available to the feeling again, but is not available for any of the G2X.

Conclusions
Last year, Verizon Wireless subscribers can choose between two slightly different, but an excellent smartphone Android basically as good as others, the Droid X (4.5 stars) HTC Incredible (4.5 stars). This year, but is difficult to choose gay seems to belong to T-Mobile.
Feeling our choice HTC gets Editors' best for touch-screen-only phone, but barely. It 'a little' more attractive skin G2X and a slightly more pixels, Android, and the average user will probably spend more time in the Properties Browser (Sensation, strength) and games (specialty G2X). But these are two great phones, and two terrible choices Android T-Mobile.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Wireless Verizon Review

Specifications:Service Provider: Verizon Wireless
Operating System: Android OS
Screen Size: 4 inches
Screen details: 854 x 480, 16.7 million color TFT LCD capacitive touch screen
Camera: Yes
Network: CDMA
Bands: 850, 1700
High-speed data: 1xRTT, EVDO Rev A
Processor speed: 1 GHz
Price: $ 599.99

This is not a PlayStation phone, but the control panel on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is the best phone available in the U.S. The game today. As with other phones unique, however, the big question is whether the game is based on Xperia Android will see a steady stream of new programs that play to their strengths.

Physical design, call quality and Internet
Play Xperia is relatively thick and heavy, 4.7, 0.6 2.4 inches (HWD) and 6.2 ounces, is the price you pay for the game controller. The phone is covered with fragile-feeling black plastic and silver, which does not feel the premium product. 4-inch, 854 x 480 display is strong, but the twilight.
Slide open the screen, however, and things brighten considerably. The controller is remarkable. There are four directional buttons, four action buttons PlayStation, two analogue trackpads, Select, and Start menu buttons, with two "wings" on the top edge of the phone and they all feel solid and hard to use.
Button mirror setting PSP, but they are a bit smaller and tighter than those on our PSP, for example, when you press the directional buttons of the PSP, it's like the whole keypad Wiggles Underlying this is not true to play Xperia. The biggest difference between Xperia Play controller and PSP is that swaps Xperia Play PSP joystick is gray for both analog trackpads.
This is a phone first, of course. (If you want a phone, buy a PSP.) The good news is it's a pretty good phone. RF reception was good, and call quality was sufficient in my tests. The handset offers voice calls strong and slightly blurry. There are plenty of side tone, feedback of your own voice in his ear that prevents "cell yell." The speaker is only acceptable to the side of calm. The transmission of audio through the microphone on the other hand, are not large, the phone grows through the background noise as well. The Xperia game had no problem hanging in our time Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset ($ 129, 4.5 stars) and the activation of voice dialing. Battery life was positively epic in 9 hours and 46 minutes of talk time, a phone designed to be played throughout the day.
The mobile internet hits the Verizon 3G CDMA EVDO Rev. network and 802.11 b / g / n Wi-Fi, and it does both very well. Verizon's 3G network is slower than T-Mobile and AT & T, but is a great national coverage. Phone is connected to a modem or Wi-Fi hotspots, the right service plan.

Games
Of course, what matters here are the games. If you are not going to spend a lot of playing time, do not buy this phone. Although it is medium to fine-tune the high end Android phone, game controller greatly increases the size and weight of the player Xperia.
You download Xperia Play in one of three ways: by going to the phone Xperia Play Gallery application you shunts Verizon V Cast to the store, by going directly to V CAST shop or go to Android Market, and making a free-text search for "Play Xperia optimized", which is incredibly awkward, and has a lot of things that are not really optimized Xperia Play.
Good news for storing V CAST is the use operator billing, so game purchases appearing on your phone bill, without a credit card. It 'great, but the bad news is that when I tried, it was horribly buggy. Download would crash, pause, or prolonged. I have errors such as "work in progress to buy" and "SD Card write error".
Verizon and Sony Ericsson have said that the applicant was still working on his shop, and that things are better than May 26 release date. When I was three days of this phone, they were already improving. Download Friday risen much faster than on Wednesday. So I hope.
Play Xperia is not a PlayStation phone, not the performance of PlayStation games, and it is out of the world PlayStation success. Instead, the phone works "optimized" Android games.
Sony Ericsson says that the 55 optimized titles start; stuff in stock at this time the quality varies wildly. First of all, I said this is not a PlayStation Phone? There is no law or authorized for the PlayStation emulator, there is no way to buy a PSOne games, do not have access to the PlayStation Network (although the latest security problems, some might argue that is a plus), and the only advice "classic" title is Crash Bandicoot.
The game varies greatly in quality. Preloaded games, Asphalt 6, Bruce Lee, and Madden 11 is puzzling, as they are easy to handheld gaming system. Head to store and find the star HD Battalion and Galaxy on Fire HD is nice to fly and shoot game, Aftermath XHD, suspense, an overhead perspective of zombie-fighting, and Zenon 2, a classic Japanese RPG complete with "all the basic belong to us, "the level of dialogue. Buried in the Android Market (and even the first results page, search for "Dungeon Defenders"), Defenders Dungeon: Second Wave, is a real-time strategy game killer.
But a lot of turnips. Wave Blazer is a low resolution painfully boat racing game. I have to run! is nice, but Apple 2-quality graphics and gameplay. Roller Coaster Revolution examines of 8 bits. Head into the Android Market, and things get Sketchies. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock says Xperia is a game, but the graphics are jagged and not even use the gamepad.
The gamepad adds a huge amount of gameplay. To play on a touch screen is always a little embarrassed, because your finger covers the field. The touch screen also involves much hand movement, which needs more than moving your thumb a close button. The reagent, physical buttons here you focus on what is happening on the screen.
Sony Ericsson has made some promises, but has a poor record of providing competent smart phones here in the SU not believe their promises, but rather buy this phone if you want to play games today.

Other commands Android
Xperia Play is one of the few phones to run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and Sony Ericsson said they have to keep us current. While the phone has some Verizon bloatware, it is no exaggeration, and it uses the stock Android interface (unlike the European version of the Game Xperia, offering widgets Sony Ericsson Timescape screen) . This does not mean that stock financing Android under the hood changes, to support gamepad. But it appears that the Android store.
Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset 1GHz The phone, with a GPU Adreno 205, 56.7fps is fast and delivered to the reference Neocore game, which is close to the reference up to 60 frames per second. However, the new dual-core chipset delivers faster performance processor pins, and Nvidia has convincingly demonstrated that the games specially encoded for Tegra chip 2 can show more detail of the same games in the versions written single core snapdragons. Thus, the game Xperia is not clear. The best game show to be good enough for most people.
The phone comes with a memory card of 8 GB that fits into a slot on the back cover, but may return up to a 32 GB card, be sure to copy all the files again, and save your game. Xperia play the game all the usual music formats in the Android standard music player, more than two cables and headsets. MPEG4 and H.264 safely play in standard definition, but no support XVID, DIVX and HD video, no HDMI output.
The images taken with the 5 megapixel camera was a bit 'soft and fuzzy, but it was a good color and not extinguished. The AF is relatively slow 1.2 seconds. The camera mode is a smooth 800 x 480 video at 30 frames per second. There's also a VGA camera in front of quality to the day when Android can be a decent video chat software.

Conclusions
Xperia Play could be better, of course. First it must be a PlayStation phone, with a PlayStation emulator to play PlayStation games on all platforms with the PSP and the NGP. It could also use up-to-the minute, super-gamer chipset Nvidia Tegra 2 or upcoming Qualcomm Adreno 220 GPU. It does not. Let's get over it.
But the fact is that with the right games, the game control Xperia Play makes it more fun playing with this phone than any other device. Apple iPhone 4 ($ 199, 4 stars) is a game most high-end, and the next Droid X2 has more graphics power, but nothing compares to playing with dedicated, high-quality gaming controllers.
The real question is whether great games continue to play out for the Xperia, or whether it will get the same lack of support we have seen in other Sony Ericsson products in the U.S. (Remember the AT & T Xperia X10? No?) Keep an eye on what Sony Ericsson announcement at the E3 gaming conference in June However, if you like the games available for this phone games.

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Apple iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G Review

Specifications:
Processor speed: 1 GHz
CPU: Apple Dual-Core A5
Operating System: Apple iOS
Screen Size: 9.7 inches
Storage capacity (tested): 64 GB
Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.3 inches
Network Options: 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 3G
Service Provider: AT&T, Verizon Wireless
Price: $ 699.00 - $ 899.00

So arrogant as it may seem, when Steve Jobs says that most of the new 2011 tablets can not compete with the original Apple iPhone, has a point. Currently, only the Motorola Xoom (Verizon Wireless) ($ 599 - $ 799, 3.5 stars) is simply a promise to compete with the Apple tablet. RIM BlackBerry playbook, touchpad and HP Galaxy Tab honeycomb may also be competitors, but Apple hits another round tablet, are still to come. 2 iPad iPad is thinner than the original, a faster processor, two cameras, video chat and FaceTime. Apple has also taught a few new accessories and large applications, such as the hood and an innovative Smart endless fun, yet affordable music application GarageBand. Android Apple fans and foes can not claim that the quality of the Apple tablet there, such as employment, have a point. But these are a few other tablets, and at this time, none of them can not compete with the 2 iPad, which easily wins our Editors choice 'of tablets.
Before proceeding to the meat of this review, here's how the price breaks the iPad 2. Wi-Fi only model costs $ 499 and $ 599 16GB and 32GB, 64GB and $ 699. Rates Wi-Fi + 3G models is $ 629 and $ 729 16GB and 32GB and $ 829 for the 64GB. U.S. 3G version is available for AT & T and Verizon Wireless. AT & T monthly plans are as follows: $ 14.99 for 250 MB per month (and $ 14.99 for each share of overfill above the limit of 250MB) or 2GB for $ 25 per month ($ 10 for every 1GB of overdose). Verizon plans to pay a 1 GB monthly data $ 20, $ 35 3 GB, 5 GB $ 50 and $ 80 for 10GB and $ 20 for the overflow fee of 20 euros per month, a budget plan and A fee of $ 10 from an overdose of others. Both AT & T and Verizon, the iPad the service is month to month sentence, then you are not tied to a long-term contract is for the operator. That said, if you buy 2 IPAD Verizon Verizon is locked, so you can choose between AT & T, or vice versa.

Design
Measuring 9.50 by 7.31 by 0.34 inches (DRC), the weight of the iPhone 2 may vary slightly by model. The heavier the dryer model AT & T Wi-Fi and 3G IPAD, to 1.35 pounds. Verizon's version, which weighs 1.34 pounds we tested, and the Wi-Fi model is 1.33 pounds.
The IPAD original measured 9.56 by 7.47 by 0.5 inches and weighing 1.5 kilos, so that the tablet has eased some, but your hands are not going to notice a big difference in weight or after holding unit for more than ten minutes. The real physical change in two IPAD rounded edges, narrow edges, while the original tablet was another bit more square with the side panels wider.

The 9.7-inch LED-backlit screen is multitouch enabled unchanged from the IPAD First, in terms of size and 1024 by 768 pixels. The front panel is still covered by the cup, but now the screen is framed in white gloss or satin black. The rear panel is brushed aluminum on both models black and white and has a high right of the Apple logo in the center.

Since the controls and hardware, front panel houses a new-for-this-model front-facing VGA-quality camera lens and the old, familiar from the Home button Apple, which is, as usual, under the screen. The left panel, there is no eye sees, but houses the magnets below the surface of the Smart Cover sold separately (more on that later). The new switch can lock the screen orientation, or mute the sound (you set the settings menu) is located just above the volume control panel. 30-pin connector for docking and syncing, and a built-in speaker (which is the same two-channel-but-not-in stereo speakers you can find the original separation of the iPad) are on the bottom of the tablet on the back panel . At the top Sleep / Wake button next to the antenna of the phone (which is hidden behind black plastic), a microphone and headphone jack 3.5 mm. Back to the top left is also a new front and back lens of the camera that captures video and 720p30 0
7 megaxpixel (yikes!) stills. It comes with the iPad 2: standard-issue white Apple sync cable and charging, and is pretty much it. Still can not find a box of buttons, which, despite how terrible the sound of Apple headphones would be accompanied by a $ 500 + device headphone jack.

 

Processor and Guts
Internally, the new 1-GHz dual-core processor-A5, only the second chip, Apple has deigned to name and to show off, however vaguely, to the public and is a "tailor-made, high performance and low power consumption system-on-a-chip ", to quote directly. Steve Jobs says it is up to nine times faster than the A4 drawing graphics chip. We know very little about the A5, these statistics so far, but it is a significant improvement over the already strong treatment of A4 graphics. For example, real-time effects, is able to make the live images with Photo Booth, are quite impressive as well as their speed and grace. Will almost never see the iPad stuttering or slow down during a game or a video, even if you block a couple of times with one in particular, the application (more on that a little '). In addition, the iPad 2 has three sensors, one of which is a new three-axis gyroscope.
3G Radio iPad offers solid speed, which is in line with other 3G devices from Verizon. Not surprisingly, our speed tests varied considerably depending on our sites in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the combined results gave an average of 0.72 Mbps and 1.35 Mbps on 3G. More Wi-Fi, we got 14.1 Mbps down and 0.61 Mbps up numbers very similar to the Motorola Xoom. The iPad 2 can connect to an 802.11n wireless networking and integrates Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. You can easily connect a wireless keyboard for iPad, but the wireless mouse is not supported, it was also the case with the original IPAD. Xoom 3G Motorola is currently the case, but Motorola and Verizon promises free updates for 4G LTE when it becomes available on the Verizon network. Apple has made no such promises at the launch of the second iPad
This adds a new dimension to the way you play games and use applications, not only the direction of rotation when switching between horizontal and vertical, but the iPad know when you are holding in over his head, down, or turn back in a chair, and some applications and games such as Jenga, enjoy it.

iOS 4.3
The iPad 2 races IOS 4.3 (free, 4 stars), an incremental version of Apple's mobile operating system. Apple Updates IOS are subtle, based on performance improvements for most, and least in the introduction of new features. There are more features through IOS consulting AirPlay 4.3. For example, you can now record videos on your iPhone and send it immediately to your Apple TV ($ 99, 4 stars) to display on an HDTV. Another cool new feature: AirPlay The tool can be integrated with the video on a website. If you go to the Vimeo site and play a video on the iPhone, playing AirPlay icon superimposed on the video will immediately begin to distribute in your Apple TV in the same Wi-Fi is the integration between their appeal not just the iPhone and the Apple TV if you have one, but Safari, the third party sites, and AirPlay. What's more impressive is how quickly things can change TV to iPhone, while maintaining the current.
The new JavaScript engine powers Nitro IOS Safari 4.3, and the result is faster load times and responsiveness. Of course, as always, thanks for your signal strength, whether 3G or Wi-Fi, but under ideal circumstances, IPAD make the pages load fairly quickly. Another nice change is the personal hotspot function. In other words, if you own an iPhone 4 ($ 199 or more, 4 stars), you can now use the cellular signal to charge your IPAD. You can use both points of Verizon and AT & T for the iPhone 4.3 update 4 with IOS. This means that if you have an iPhone and iPad 4, no registration is required for two separate service plans (but you'll pay extra to use the access point). You can extend the signal for Macs, PCs and other Wi-Fi capable. You may not use the iPhone as an access point 4, however, can not, for example, using your 3G-enabled iPhone IPAD as a point to another device.
Also, sharing home updated IOS 4.3, so you can play all your iTunes library, including videos, on your home computer to your iPhone or iPod touch as long as they are about same Wi-Fi network

Cameras
In addition, the cameras, front-facing VGA-quality camera and a rear facing in HD (720p) video camera, which can also store photos, is very welcome. The camera application is as simple as it gets. Tap the icon and you're watching a rear-facing camera lens. If you want to change the lens, click the top right corner of the screen. If you want to change the video still shots, the scroll bar at the bottom right and see the photo, tap the thumbnail in the upper left. You can take a picture or recording, press the shutter button halfway.
You can adjust the exposure of photos by dragging your finger across the screen until you have the desired brightness. Do not expect great photos in low light scenarios, but the iPhone camera two is more about capturing the moment and have fun than to take high quality pictures. To take photos, not digital zoom (press the screen) in the lens toward the rear, but obviously the more you zoom, the image becomes grainy. There is no zoom option for the video camera, but touching the screen changes to the default aspect ratio of 4:03 to 16:09 widescreen.
IPhone and iPad 4 2 times have returned to face cameras to record video 720p30, but they use different image sensors and provides images IPAD article. 4 While the iPhone camera can capture images at 5 megapixels (2593 by 1936), stills IPAD is only 0.7 megaxpixels (960 of 720), they are much less intense, especially when you see them on the almost ten-inch screen. High resolution images taken with other equipment, and loaded on the iPad looks great on the screen, highlighting the fact that the IPAD camera 2 is more toy than tool. Motorola Xoom is a rear-facing camera is not a masterpiece either, but it has much better resolution of 5 megapixels. Pictures taken iPad camera photo albums standard section Roll and videos are stored in the video section of the camera around. You can load and edit the videos you shoot iPad in iMovie, which is not included, but you can get in the App Store for $ 4.99.

 

The Council-Apps
The iPad 2 comes with the usual suspects: Calendar, Contacts, Notes, maps, videos, YouTube, iTunes, App Store, Game Center, Settings, Safari, Mail, Photo, iPod, Find My iPhone, and iBooks. In fact, you must download iBooks, for some reason, but it is free, takes seconds and is asked to do so during his first visit to the App Store.
New in iPhone application range are above the camera, FaceTime, and Photo Booth. FaceTime works like it does on an iPhone. The front camera is VGA quality here, so it is not in HD on a MacBook Pro last generation, and is a little disappointing because you will notice the low resolution of the camera facing in almost ten inches iPad . It is also important to remember that FaceTime is Wi-Fi single function, you can not keep a video conversation with cellular signals IPAD. Cats are still easy to start and in my tests, the latency is minimal. You only need an Apple ID and an e-mail to start. Initiate a call by pressing the button FaceTime page of your friend in your contacts, or by selecting import your contact list FaceTime. You can record any contact to your "Favorites", a shortcut for people FaceTime talk to most.
Photo Booth is not just an extension of the fun of the application that is included in most of the Mac, but uses the touch screen in a way that improves the fast CPU to handle graphics in real time. When opening the application, they are greeted with nine images in real time the movement of the camera front, each with different effects applied. Press one of the nine windows, and it filled the entire screen. When an effect that can be manipulated by touch-as, for example, "Whirlwind", in which the movement of the fingers to distort the images quickly and smoothly, there is no delay. Pictures taken at the end of a slideshow at the bottom of the booth's main screen photos and the "Camera Roll" album in the photo section. The only thing missing is the effect 3-2-1-countdown (which give it a second to get a close-up) that comes when you use Photo Booth on a Mac
Those familiar with e find nothing new: you can synchronize multiple accounts and e-mail notifications pushed to the main screen. Corporate accounts can be easily synchronized via Microsoft Exchange, and applications of multiple arms iPad shortcuts directly to your e-mail, can send a song that you recorded in GarageBand, for example, through an e-build- mail button.
IPod music and video experience of vision is practically the same and remains, unfortunately, lack of CoverFlow, which seems perfect for the big screen of the iPad. Anyway, the iPod menu is more like iTunes on your PC and iTunes, for example, the iPod touch. It is easy to navigate and album artwork is beautiful on the big screen. Video images and still look fantastic on the screen, but since the screen resolution is the same, not much new to cover here.

The experience of the Internet
Surfing Safari 2 iPad is not much changed from the original movie. The browser is a bit 'faster, though. Slideshow The New York Web site load faster times, if barely. Even in situations where there is Wi-Fi and Verizon weaker signal (say, three bars or less), I noticed that the waiting time to load the page, but not at the speed of light, not much longer about 6-8 seconds, the worst case. IOS Safari 4.3 is user-friendly, simplified experience, it is easy to navigate sites that use the virtual keyboard to create a new "pages" (tabs), bookmark, and perform fast searches. While browsing the Web is often to get the full version of the Web site, not a mobile version, or, in the case of ESPN.com, the welcome page that allows you to choose between two different versions.
The bad news is, there is still no Flash video. Technically, Motorola Xoom does not support Flash either, but Motorola says it will be fixed in the coming weeks. Apple says that the future of Web video is HTML5. And it seems that, given the popularity IPAD, many places are on board. Videos ESPN.com 's play 2 iPad smooth, like CNN. YouTube videos are more of a gamble, but of course there is a program for that. Vimeo and, as I mentioned earlier, even an Apple TV-AirPlay button enabled on their videos to send content directly from your browser for Apple TV iPad. The lack of Flash support is always a hit, but Apple has to find ways to make it less of an obstacle.

 

 

GarageBand and iMovie
IPAD in two speeches, two new iPhone applications were also released optional. For musicians, GarageBand ($ 4.99 in the App Store) is a great way to get song ideas quickly when you're away from their instruments, or simply time to record something quickly. For non-musicians, is a fun way to discover how a wide variety of tools to operate the organ, guitar. While the version of GarageBand for any given instrument is always a simplified representation, simplification of reality, but the way the touch screen interacts with the guitar strings and piano keys is really exciting. It really was almost no musical experience, write a song about this program and save it.
As I like the new GarageBand application, when I played the guitar notes intelligent fast, the screen froze twice and I had to manually restart the iPad. It 'was the only negative experience and was a pre-launch of the App, so I'm willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt here. Despite the crash, is the most fun I had with the iPad. GarageBand For more, check out the video and practical presentation.
I was wiped out in less than iMovie ($ 4.99 in the App Store), perhaps because it is very similar to the version we have already seen the iPhone and 4 'certainly easier to use iPad 2, thanks for the real added screen space, but nothing is totally different. That you can save the contents of the iPad, edit video clips, add music or store songs from your iTunes library, add sound effects, and export the finished product is very impressive. Some of the editing features seem a bit App 'simplistic, but it means in practice to make a fast, fun, on-the-fly movies, not for editing next year's winner of the Best Picture Oscar. The video quality does not always seem in HD while watching a video on the iPad 720p screen, but things have more to do with the noise and resolution. Movies that I shot in broad daylight was a grainy quality to it. All images and videos look good, but the iPad two cameras, as noted earlier, does not replace a dedicated digital camera.

Accessories
Smart Cover Lock, available in assorted colors, is not included, but it is an innovative accessory. A $ 39 to cover in polyurethane and $ 69 for the models in leather, is not so cheap, but it protects the screen without hiding the contours iPad seductive, or adding unnecessary bulk. It uses only the part of the magnets stick to the iPad, so it's a clean design, and can be removed easily. Close the snap-on lid is also automatically set the iPad to sleep and wakes up when you pull out is impressive. It elegantly solves the problem of how to protect the screen without the filler to set the iPad tablet case.
Another optional accessory, the € 39 Apple Digital AV Adapter allows HDMI output via 30-pin for the iPad. When connected to the HDMI port on your HDTV or HD Ready display, which shows on your TV or monitor is in the image on the screen of your iPhone in particular, 1080 (720p). However, the TV screen sizes different screen that fills the screen on most monitors. What is the screen size is more dependent on TV than anything else, but increased the mirror image does not fill the entire screen, is that the resolution is clear. Anyway, it's a way to watch your videos on your TV without Apple TV iPad. Can also be used to reveal more, including games in real time. In addition, the digital adapter from Apple can play Dolby Digital 5.1 surround through your home theater.

Support files and battery life
Support files from Apple rarely changes. The iPad 2 supports HE-AAC, AAC (protected AAC, including), MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV for audio, H.264, MPEG-4 and Motion JPEG for video and JPEG and RAW photo files.

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