HTC Incredible S Review

Posted on 08-07-2011 | By: david | 

Category : HTC

The HTC Incredible S is the latest Android equipped mobile phone from the popular Taiwanese brand. Given the previous success of the Samsung Galaxy S and a range of forthcoming mobile phones with a 4-inch screen hitting the UK (like the LG Optimus 2X) it’s easy to see why HTC is bringing the Incredible handset to the UK (after a highly successful début in the USA).

In appearance the HTC Incredible S strangely resembles the Motorola Defy rather than other HTC models, the rugged appearance of the handset is a welcome change however, especially when compared to the more conventional slick styling of more conventional mobile phones like the Galaxy S which are slowly becoming generic despite being highly original at launch. The HTC Incredible S chassis is encased in a practical plastic that actually looks and feels like rubber. Somehow, HTC have managed to make a mobile phone that looks slim, but feels quite chunky in the hand and is easy to grip and hold.

This rugged outdoor appearance doesn’t mean the Incredible S is unattractive, far from it. The four inch stunning Super LCD screen fits well with the black exterior with the four touch sensitive Android navigation keys (Home, Menu, Back and Search). Unlike some touch sensitive keys, the HTC keys are tactile and although there is no actual click as such, there is a nice tactile buzz.

There is no physical dedicated camera key but the excellent 8 megapixel camera is easy to use and takes brilliant photographs courtesy of rather large camera sensor on the back of the handset. Strangely there is a dock connector fitted but no dock currently available (although HTC say they have one in the pipeline but no time scale is available).

The HTC Incredible S does everything pretty well and nothing too badly. It is particularly great when browsing the web or viewing videos or photographs on that amazing Super LCD screen. Movies also sound great with virtual surround sound via SRS WOW HD.
The HTC Incredible S is likely to be hugely popular in the UK. With the slick HTC Sense user interface, fantastic 8 megapixel camera, huge, high quality screen and that great feeling chassis. Particularly when you consider the HTC Incredible S retail price places it right in the mid-range market. The only downside is the large screen isn’t great in direct sunlight and some may not like the rugged appearance.

HTC Wildfire S review

Posted on 07-07-2011 | By: david | 

Category : HTC

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Marketed by HTC as the smartphone for those on a tight budget, or the low cost version of the HTC Desire. The HTC Wildfire however, doesn’t skimp on specification. This budget priced touch screen handset runs the Android 2.1 operating system with the neat HTC Sense user interface and comes with the same processing power as the HTC Hero. The 3.2 inch QVGA capacitive screen works well with the optical trackpad work for easy navigation and the 5 megapixel camera with LED flash is one of the best. The social networking integration is awesome on the Wildfire, with facebook integrated into everything from calendar and home screens through to caller ID.

In appearance terms the HTC wildfire looks a lot like a compact version of the HTC Desire, but although the Wildfire is small, its not tiny like the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini for instance, but at just 118g in weight the Wildfire is usefully compact. Despite the small size, the HTC Wildfire looks grown-up (unlike the children’s toy looks of its predecessor, the HTC Tattoo) , feels solid to hold and is available in a range of classy colour schemes.

The screen on the HTC Wildfire is 3.2 inches, smaller than the largest most expensive smart phones but larger than many competitors with none of the problems associated with capacitive touch screens such as difficult icon selection – in this format 3.2 inches seems to be a good compromise between size and usability. goodness. However if you’re used to a smartphone with a larger screen you may be slightly disappointed.

The HTC Wildfire is simply a budget phone that doesn’t look cheap, featuring a slick and fast web browser (with Flash content) an excellent camera with LED flash, responsive capacitive touch screen and all the best of HTC Sense with particularly brilliant social network integration. The only real downsides for the attractive pricing are that the screen is perhaps a little small for watching videos and the media player, while good, is not brilliant. Not a lot of downside really considering the low price for a budget version of the brilliant HTC Desire which is almost as good! You can get the HTC Wildfire free on a contract for around £10 per month – try doing that with an HTC Desire or any of its main competitors! The Wildfire offers much of the top of the range smartphone performance, for a fraction of the price so is likely to be a big seller in the UK this year.

LG Optimus 7 Review

Posted on 05-07-2011 | By: david | 

Category : HTC, Mobile Phones

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The LG Optimus 7,is a Windows Phone 7 phone, therefore, in many ways a review of the Optimus 7 is a review of the software itself, as the hardware on Windows 7 phones is virtually identical. However, the LG Optimus 7 is one of the smallest Windows Phone 7 handsets available in Europe, especially when you compare this compact handset to heavy duty handsets like the HTC HD7 and the Samsung Omnia 7 ( and the only Windows Phone 7 handset currently available with physical as opposed to touch sensitive buttons). Every operating system has its good and bad points, Windows is no different, but most find that in general Windows Phone 7 is a positive experience when mated with the LG Optimus 7.

The very similar Samsung Omnia 7 actually has a bigger and better screen, but the LG Optimus 7 might just trump the Samsung handset in other areas, its certainly one of the most enjoyable phones to use we have come across. While the LG Optimus 7 cant match the contrast or colour saturation of the Samsung Super AMOLED screen, the TFT of the LG Optimus 7 has an advantage in terms of its higher pixel density, which makes smaller text sizes easier to read.

The LG Optimus 7 feels reassuringly well made, with good overall build quality and it feels solid in the hand with no signs of that
“plasticky” cheapness often found in cheaper models such as creaks or squeaks from the handset while in use. When you first power up the LG Optimus 7 you are greeted with the red Vodafone brand by default but this can easily changed in the settings menu. The LG Optimus 7 is a fully loaded smartphone with that 3.8 inch TFT touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera and the acclaimed 1GHz Snapdragon processor chipset with 16Gb of RAM on board. Measuring just 125mm x 59.8mm x 11.5mm with a weight of 140g, the compact dimensions do well to hide the considerable power under the hood.

The combination of Optimus 7 hardware and Windows Phone 7 operating system work perfectly well with applications opening almost instantly and switching between apps happening in a flash. Of course the same can be said about all the other Windows Phone 7 handsets on the market like the HTC HD7, Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC 7 Mozart. Like those other phones, the LG Optimus 7 will also have access to Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Zune services for accessing your favourite music and games on your mobile device.

Latest HTC Evo 3D hands-on test

Posted on 01-07-2011 | By: david | 

Category : HTC, Mobile Phones

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HTC Evo 3D hands-on test

For the mobile phone consumer who wants everything, the HTC Evo 3D has it all, even though some have criticised the 3D feature as being little more than a gimmick. Whatever your feelings about 3D, the Evo brings a new dimension to the mobile marketplace – the ability to shoot 3D stills and video, with a screen that can display them in 3D without requiring special glasses. Essentially the Evo 3D is an HTC Sensation with 3D on board! Of course that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the HTC sensation was and is a top of the range smart phone. The only downside to adding 3D functionality of 3D to the Sensation is the fact that the extra hardware makes the handset bulkier. But 3D aside, the Evo 3D does share the majority of its features with the Sensation.

When you are not utilising the 3D feature, the large screen on the Evo looks like any other. The screen is huge, very responsive and slick to use. The Evo comes with the HTC Sense interface which looks great with cool widgets, however many purists may prefer the traditional Android user interface, at present HTC sense cannot be turned off, but HTC are apparently working on a hack to keep everyone happy.

Thankfully the Evo will ship with the Watch movie store which means finding movies to watch on your phone will be easy, in addition HTC are saying they will ensure there are a choice of 3D movies to download at launch. But even if there is a poor selection initially, there is nothing to stop you shooting your own video in 3D to watch! There is also no need to worry about compatibility when sharing videos with your friends – you can share in 2D or 3D formats no problem.

All this 3D trickery requires some serious power under the hood, especially when you consider that the 3D effect is obtained through having double 5 megapixel cameras shooting simultaneously, the Evo doesnt disappoint in this regard with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM on board.

If you love having access to all the latest technology with mobile devices and simply must have the phone with every feature possible – the HTC Evo 3D is a no brainer. If you think the 3D feature is just a gimmick you will rarely if ever use, then you probably should pocket the price difference and buy the HTC Sensation. However, there is no doubt the 3D technology is really cool, both photos and video had amazing depth and if 3D movies become readily available in the near future then the Evo 3D may be the trailblazer for the rest of the market.

New HTC ChaCha review

Posted on 01-07-2011 | By: david | 

Category : HTC, Mobile Phones

Tags: , ,

The HTC ChaCha ticks pretty much every box in the must have smartphone feature list, with the added bonus of a dedicated Facebook button and a full Qwerty keyboard. Featuring the power of the all new Android 2.3 Gingerbread the HTC ChaCha is an immensely likeable handset and one of two HTC models boasting the Facebook logo (the other being the HTC Salsa). Facebook apps are definitely big business today, many manufacturers are pushing Facebook integration as a method of increasing sales and customer satisfaction. The massive popularity of Facebook means just including the logo on the casing will no doubt have an effect on sales volume!

In addition to the Facebook integration with a useful range of Facebook-focused apps (withan especially good chat client) the ChaCha features an excellent qwerty keyboard, sharp 480×320 pixels 2.6 inch screen, GPS and a whole host of technological features, as you would expect from a handset which is equipped with state of the art software, namely Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC’s latest Sense user interface, surprisingly the potential of the software is slightly limited by using a fairly modest 800MHz CPU.

The qwerty keyboard is a real joy to use, the comfortable width of the phone means its easy to use both thumbs when typing, even if you have large fingers or are wearing gloves, the keys themselves are well defined and tactile with a discernible click when pressed, putting other devices like the BlackBerry Curve 8250 to shame. The touch screen is also sharp with good contrast in all light conditions, however at 2.6 inches you cant help feeling it could have been bigger, never the less it works well. If there is a weakness in the ChaCha its the limitation of the small screen combined with that 800Mhz processor, HD video streaming is not available on this model and flash support is very limited. On the plus side, that small screen helps with battery life, there is no need to charge the ChaCha every day (unless a very heavy user) unlike some other smartphones on the market.

The biggest selling point of the ChaCha, the much-hyped Facebook button, is useful and after a while you definitely come to rely upon it, however when you get down to basics, its really only saving a few seconds/clicks compared to other handsets with Facebook widgets – its still cool though!

If you love watching HD movies on your phone the ChaCha probably is not the handset for you, however if you are a Blackberry user looking to transition to an Android powered phone, this handset could be right up your street!

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