android vs apple

Here on BHT I'd love to get my hands on and review every single phone that comes out (yes even Apple ones lol), but thats just not feasible. Luckily I can reach out and rely on friends and family (and flexible return policies ;) lol). I recently helped out my friend Chris, Law and Journalism MA student at Miami U,  as he made the great exodus from the limited world of iOS to Android, grabbing one of my favorite devices of 2013, the HTC One. He was kind enough to provide his impressions of this top tier smartphone. Check out his quick review of the main features (with a few of my tips sprinkled in)! For full details check out HTC's site.





BASIC SPECS

• Size: 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm
• Weight: 143gDisplay
• Display: 4.7 inch, Full HD 1080p, 468 PPI
• CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 600, quad-core, 1.7GHz
• Platform: Android with HTC Sense™ with HTC BlinkFeed™
• SIM Card Type: micro SIM
• Total storage : 32GB/64GB, available capacity varies
• RAM : 2 GB DDR2
• Network:  AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile (World Phone support)
• GPS: Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS and Digital compass
• Sensors: Gyro sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
• Connectivity: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer, HTC Connect, Support consumer infrared remote control, micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)
• Sound Enhancement: HTC BoomSound™ Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers, Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio™

CAMERA

• HTC UltraPixel Camera, BSI sensor
• Pixel size 2.0 µm, Sensor size 1/3'
• Dedicated HTC ImageChip 2, F2.0 aperture and 28 mm lens
• Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
• Smart Flash: Five levels of flash automatically set by distance to subject
• Front Camera: 2.1 MP, 880 wide angle lens with HDR capability
• 1080p Full HD video recording with HDR Video
• HTC Zoe™ with Sequence Shot, Always Smile and Object Removal
• Gallery with Video Highlights and HTC Share
• Continuous shooting and VideoPic
• Slow motion video recording with variable speed playback 

MULTIMEDIA:

• Audio supported formats:
• Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9)
• Recording: .amr
• Video supported formats:
• Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3)
• Recording: .mp4

BATTERY:

• Embedded rechargeable Li-polymer battery
• Capacity : 2300 mAh
• Talk time: Up to 18 hours for 3G
• Standby time: Up to 500 hours for 3G

Best Buy exclusive blue HTC One

CHRIS's REVIEW:

Sound = A+: 
Beats audio makes a big difference, especially in your car. It is clear and the bass is significantly louder. If you have noise cancelling headphones - even non-beats headphones - there is a noticeable difference with beats audio. Also, playing through the phone speaker with headphones unattached is loud and clear.



Music Player = B+: 
I absolutely hate that the Android music app does not let you sort songs by title once you are in a playlist. You have to search by artist, which really sucks because most people know the song name instead of the artist, and even once you find the artist you have to search for the song you want. If you have downloaded music (not bought), the artist may be saved under a different name so it can be frustrating. I feel that this is the worst part of the phone if you use your phone as a music player with multiple playlists.

Luckily I stumbled across the Power Amp app and it let me sort by title. It also allows you to manually adjust the tone, bass, and treble, and save your settings under preset settings, which is amazing. I have a setting for my car and one for my headphones. My car, 2012 Camaro, already has nice factory audio as is, but the beats audio plus power amp makes it sound AMAZING. It is a very noticeable difference.

One thing I love is how quickly the phone downloads album art that you don't already have, and you can even select the option to display the song lyrics as the song plays! Very sweet and seamless.

HTC Sync allows you to easily transport media from your computer or iTunes so if you like your old media player you can edit things there and then just launch HTC Sync and transfer it to your phone. Simple.

Messaging = B:
The autocorrect is not as smart as it was on iOS. If often puts accent marks when the letter "a" stands alone and it took a week for it to consistently capitalize "I". However, after about a week the phone became better at recognizing words, namely because I would manually select the word I want it to autocorrect (the phone gives you options) and it apparently recognized my typing style. Also, after calibrating my finger with the screen the phone became better at selecting the letter my finger landed on, resulting in less typos. If all else fails using your voice to text by holding the voice icon is very effective and the phone rarely misspelled words I said when spoken clearly.

(I'd add to this that the beauty of Android is that it lets you change your default keyboard (or any system app for that matter), I've been using Swiftkey for about a year now, and have never looked back since!)

Speed = A+:
Very fast, faster than my laptop, and it made no difference when launching classic or mobile sites.

Customization = A:

You can pick your news sources (e.g. ESPN, CNN, Huffington, IGN ... a bunch) that will quickly launch and refresh by simply pulling the screen down. You can pick your widgets and apps and easily select what screen they are on and where. However, I don't like the limited choices for text messaging letter colors. You can pick a background for your text messaging screen, but it's hard to read the messages with the colors they give you.

(Again, as you play with Android you'll find text messaging apps you like better, I rarely use manufacturers text apps. Its an adjustment from iOS, but anything you don't like you can replace with an app of your liking in the Play Store. I'd reccomend popular apps, Go SMS and Handcent SMS they're both super customizable!)

Button Placement = B:
If you are right handed, when messaging or generally holding the phone it is a good chance you will incidentally hit the volume up/down button with your right thumb because of its placement. It is also awkward that the power on button is at the top left of the phone instead of top right, because again you have to stretch your finger really far to power on/off.



Camera = B:
Very good effect options after taking pics. It has some pretty cool lighting options to dramatically change the pictures you take and download. Before snapping effects are decent, but not too exhaustive. You also lose quite a bit of clarity when you zoom in. The camera is good, not great.



Overall = A-:
Very solid phone. The pros significantly outweigh the cons on this phone. It looks good, feels good in your hand, it's smooth, fast, trendy, the LED display is large and beautiful. The beats audio is what really sets this phone apart. If you really utilize music on your phone it will likely be your favorite feature, and it gets even better with the Power Amp app ($3.99). There are things about this phone to dislike - awkward button placement and at times ineffective autocorrect - but I can't imagine too many phones on the market are better than the HTC One and it is hard to imagine a better phone will be released at least within the next year or two.

I was fortunate enough to win a Seidio Convert case for my Evo 3D from one of my favorite Evo websites Good and Evo. Just thought I make a quick video to share my thoughts on the case.

One of the nice new features many people may overlook on their shiny new Evo 3D's (or T-Mobile's HTC Sensation pictured above) allows users to get Swype-like functionality right on the stock HTC keyboard! I've never been the biggest fan of Swype, preferring HTC default keyboard; but now there is no need to choose (unless you are a die-hard Swype fan).  I'm not sure if Trace matches all the intricacies of Swype's functionality, but I've always felt that it could be useful in certain situations if integrated into HTC keyboard and apparently they thought the same and decided to swype the design from their competitors.  I'm curious to hear from die-hard Swypers; how does it measure up to Swype?



  

After the Evo got its update to Android 2.3 (2.3.3 to be exact) a week or so ago it's keyboard equipped sibling the Evo Shift 4G will be getting its update too, just before the new big sibling the Evo 3D drops. Monday June 20th Sprint will start its OTA (over-the-air) updates to all Evo Shifts. Be on the lookout for the notice on your phone. Or if you don't want to wait Sprint has announced that the update is available now by manually starting it. Simply  press your MENU key from the home screen, go to SETTINGS, then SYSTEM UPDATES, then HTC SOFTWARE UPDATE. Your phone should start the download and run the necessary process to upgrade. In addition to the improvements in Gingerbread you'll get improved download management, fixes for media streaming and a few other tweaks.  I've really been enjoying Gingerbread on my Evo just from the improved battery life and enhanced cut-and-paste capabilities. I've read that updates have been going smooth and come with some enhancements to HTC Sense too, moving it to version 2.1! It also adds SWYPE for all you fans of this keyboard. Now if I could get a very special lady in my life to let me upgrade her Shift early.... lol ;) ;)

  

The official hands on reviews of the Evo 3D are beginning to come out and so far so good... Well except for Engadget's.  Most of the reviews found the E3D to be a great; emphasizing the main reason I want it, those 1.2GHz dual processors. Reports are saying that the phone is FAST!!! I cant wait. I love my OG Evo but I definitely push it to it's max running multiple apps almost constantly and multi-tasking like crazy, an extra processor should help with these issues.



Most of the reviews say the increased battery capacity helps; maybe not as much as hoped, but it improves noticeably. Honestly, even Engadget's review which said it wasn't to great gave it 14hrs 44mins with all radios on taking 80 pics and video (with 50% of it being in 3D) sounds pretty good to me. I'm pretty confident I can't get much more mileage out of the E3D with proper settings and still nearly 15hrs with 4G on alone is an improvement over what I see on my Evo 4G. (BTW looking at pics w/out battery cover show that the larger battery and dual cameras take up the space where the kickstand would've gone)


Engadget also slammed the camera and said that the optics on the camera cover created rings and basically that it was just not a great shooter; whereas other sites seemed to praise at least its 2D capabilities. I'm not surprised at all that most reviewers found the 3D to be  bit "gimmicky". I honestly feel all 3D tech is a bit gimmicky at this point and like many of the reviews I feel that the rest of the phone's specs hold their own with or without the 3D icing! But it seems clear that for some people the 3D just isn't a good experience some reviewers said it was even painful and nauseating, so you may want to try it out for yourself once its out.


The display is another area there where mixed reviews. It was criticized for its poor viewing angles, 3D funkiness and not having as vibrant colors as the Super AMOLED- Plus toting Galaxy S II.  But other reviews said the clarity was great and it has a much improved display that sits with the best available soooo... idk. I know it wont be as vibrant as a Samsung Super AMOLED-Plus and I can live with that. I was geeked tho, to find out that the screen is covered in Gorilla Glass, a super strong glass that helps prevents cracks and scratches. As far as the viewing angles.... Its a phone. When I hold it, can I see it? Yeah? Ok, we're good lol.  I honestly wouldn't mind reduced viewing angles for some privacy. One down side to these new massive screens is that it makes it too easy for nosy bystanders to look at your screen over your shoulder or while next to you. I wouldn't mind if their unwanted viewing angle was not view-able lol.



Finally, one last  area of concern was that reviews stated it had poor call clarity/quality... This is another one I will have to test for myself. I have never tried a phone after reading it had poor call quality and truly felt like it was a big deal. I guess my expectations just aren't as high or I have never truly experienced superior call quality. I'm sure it will meet my modest needs as long as it is loud enough and I can hear what you are saying I'm sure it'll be fine for me. But that's just me. I've just apparently never been as critical as these reviewers in this department and I doubt the average user is either. I never heard anyone I know say "Man I love this new phone, but the call clarity isn't good enough I think I'm returning it". Again, could just be me, but we'll see.


 I am not swayed and will still be getting my Evo 3D next week, then I will decide what I think is good or bad about the phone and determine whether or not to keep it. Tho I'm pretty sure since it upgrades my beloved Evo 4G in every area that matters I will be sticking with the Evo 3D until the next Evo with better specs (or slightly improved specs sans 3D) is offered. It's important to remember with any device, especially smart phones, if you buy it when it first comes out there will likely be some bugs! That's early-adopter 101! Most of the concerns in the reviews can and will be addressed in firmware updates before, at or slighlty after launch. Believe, Sprint is going to take care of their new baby. Like I said I'll have mine come launch day... What about you?!

Check out some of the early reviews below and share your thoughts!









Sources:
Engadget
The Wall Street Journal
CNET
This Is My Next
Boy Genius Report
Phone Scoop

  

Verizon showed it off, made promises, but did not deliver Skype with video calling upon release of its first LTE 4G phone the HTC Thunderbolt. But the file has been leaked and is waiting for you to download and install! Reports so far state that it runs well on 4G/WiFi and decent on 3G. I just did a test call from my laptop to my friends Thunderbolt and it seemed to work pretty well. I was really impressed with the sound quality.  Unfortunately the app only works for the Thunderbolt (tried on my Evo to no avail), but this is still a good thing for all of Android.  Just like the original (video call-less) Skype app for Android started as a VZW exclusive and was later released to all Android handsets, the video enabled version will eventually be available to all as well.  Hopefully some skilled developers and hackers will make that happen sooner than Skype or more accurately Verizon has planned.  Download the app from one of the links below and give it a try!

Download:
Thunderbolt Skype App [mirror] [mirror2]

Source: Droid Life

  

This past Friday the iPad2 dropped upping the ante once again in the tablet game. Just as Google's tablet version of Android, Honeycomb (Android 3.0) gets out the door with its first tablet the Motorola Xoom Apple unleashes the iPad that is everything the original should have been.

  The iPad 2 has cranked up the specs in almost every area over the original.  It has an A5 dual-core 1Ghz processor, front and back cameras is 33% thinner (and thinner than the iPhone 4!) while maintaining the same (industry leading) 10hr battery life and all of this at the same price as the original iPad! It's not the complete overhaul I'd have like to have seen in a second generation iPad, more like an iPad 1.5, but thats standard Apple procedure.  Complaints aside it is an undeniable beast of a tablet! Reviews state that it is blazing fast and super smooth just like most other Apple products.  There's nothing exceptionally new or exclusive here but it does say a lot for the tablet market as a  whole.  I played with the iPad 2 and I was very impressed, it has great build quality and instantly grabs you with it's Apple ascetic perfection. This is definitely a quality tablet and it puts more pressure on the competition to catch up.... Again!




This is sure to be a huge year for tablets. Last year saw the launch of the first tablet with mass commercial success (iPad) and this year we will see an onslaught of many more tablets.  With Apple raising the bar and at very least matching most of the perceived technical advantages that other tablets where boasting and doing so at a very competitive price it will force other manufactures to price their tablets more competitively. So despite the fact that I don't feel the iPad (1 or 2) is for me I am glad that Apple is applying the heat.  I'm sure that after watching how quickly Android closed the gap in the smart phone market Apple wasn't going to sit back and let the same happen with Tablets.  Samsung has already announced that due to the competitive pricing of the iPad 2, they will be reconsidering their own pricing strategy.

 I'm sure other manufactures are feeling that same heat, and will be adjusting pricing where possible as well as their release schedules... at least they better be if they are smart. Otherwise they may stand to lose many customers, who like me, are waiting to purchase a quality tablet at a competitive price. Tablets running Android from Mototola, LG, Samsung, HTC, Asus and many more, as well as Tablets from Blackberry, and HP/Palm are all on the way, but can they hit the market soon enough an priced competitively enough to survive in a world where iPad is becoming synonymous with tablet?

At the end of the day I really hope that other manufacturers get it together and get their tablets on the market. I really like the iPad 2, but want to stay in the Android family since I've already invested in their app system and personally prefer Android so I am waiting on a competitively spec'd and priced Android 3.0 Honeycomb (WIFI ONLY!!!!!!!) tablet. I'm also looking forward to the offerings from Blackberry and HP/Palm.  I hope they understand that now that we want tablets it'd be wise to get their devices out before Apple snatches up the entire market.  I WILL be getting a tablet soon; don't lose just because you delay or price yourself out of consideration....... WiFi-only Xoom - cough - cough.....

More on Tablets:















More in depth iPad 2 review via Mashable
More detailed review of Motorola Xoom via BGR
More on Blackberry Playbook via Crackberry
More on LG's 3D Tablet the G-Slate via Android Tapp
More on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 via Android Tapp
More on HP TouchPad via Cnet Reviews
More on HTC Flyer (may be branded as an  Evo Tablet) via Mobile World Congress


  

HTC's Verizon flavored Evo 4G, the Thunderbolt will be released this Monday February 14th and will bring with it the lightning fast speeds of LTE 4G.  It is rumored to get 5 to 12 Mbps download speeds!  Adittionally, it'll be packaged with a 32GB microSD card, Skype video calling and DLNA!! Check out the video un-boxing.



Source: Android Healines