Sometimes size doesn’t matter. Most other times, though, size really counts. Take smartphones, for example. We’re always looking for a thin waistline (we’re a superficial bunch), big helpings of processor power, and a huge touchscreen. It’s all about size. We would have never thought a Windows Mobile device would be the first smartphone to completely meet all those criteria. The HTC HD2 Windows Phone packs in a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen into a package about as thick as a No. 2 yellow pencil. It’s about as good as it gets for Windows Mobile. Heck, the HD2 massive touchscreen, powerful processor and impressive 5-megapixel camera make the handset one of the best phones of the year.
What? A Windows Mobile phone that’s actually worthy of competing at the same level as the iPhone and Android phones like the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid? You bet your ass. Here’s the thing: HTC does a great job of covering up the Windows Mobile interface with its own TouchFLO 3D UI (infused with HTC’s “Sense” design philosophy, of course). So, the HD2 might be a Windows Phone, but with the TF3D interface in place, it’s easy to forgive the HD2’s WinMo roots.
Add in a dash of 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen goodness, sprinkle on a 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and add a pinch of GPS, 3G data, WiFi and digital compass, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot, and the HD2’s recipe is sure to please even the staunchest Windows Mobile haters. The barely-there bezel surrounding the touchscreen really highlights the ginormous display – it dominates the handset.
Some say the display is too big, which makes the handset too big, but we have to disagree. The HD2 is just thin enough to pull off the bigscreen look without feeling bloated or unwieldy. It feels a little wide in the hand, but nothing we couldn’t get used to. And, when you’re watching a music video or browsing the web, any complaints about the HD2’s size immediately vaporize into the ether.
We’ll leave the Windows Mobile commentary for a full review, but for now, enjoy the HTC HD2 hands-on video and photo gallery!
This holiday shopping season is dominated by Android. Smartphones running Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s mobile operating system are flooding the market, and we really couldn’t be happier. The latest Android smartphone to find its way into our eager hands is the Samsung Behold II. Just in time for the holidays, T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) is offering the Samsung Behold II for $229.99 when purchased with new 2-year contract. It’s slightly pricier than the iPhone and the Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid, but with a sleek design and a quirky new 3D Cube UI, you might not mind shelling out the extra bucks for the Behold 2.
Unlike the original Samsung Behold, the Behold II sports Android 1.5 OS. It sports an impressive 5-megapixel camera (with LED-flash), 3G data, WiFi, GPS and microSD card slot. But, the one feature that outshines them all is the Behold 2’s 3.2-inch capacitive AMOLED touchscreen. The display doesn’t need a backlight, so it draws less power than traditional LCD displays, but manages to deliver a brighter, crisper, more color-rich picture.
The camera is a bit laggy, but serves up some impressively crisp and well-balanced pictures. The 3D Cube UI is quirky, to say the least. We’re sure some people will find it useful, but we just don’t see ourselves using it for more than just showing off to our friends. But, with a speedy browser and an incredible OLED display, the Behold II will more than make up for its confusing UI.
We love seeing hot new smartphones getting their price tags slashed mere weeks after its initial launch. The latest price reduction on the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid comes from Dell.com, making it possible to put a Droid in your pocket for just $119 and a 2-year contract with Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless. The deal also applies to contract extensions, so you don’t have to wait until you’re eligible for an upgrade to take advantage of the low price.
If you like high-tech smartphones and want an Android-powered handset, the Droid fits the bill perfectly. If you’re not sure that the Droid is for you, check out our hands-on impressions and video. Keep in mind that the Droid is so far the only Android smartphone to rock the new Google Maps Navigation app.
To recap: Dell is selling the Droid for $119 with new 2-year contract (or a contract extension for existing customers), and will even ship the handset to you for free via Fedex. That’s one “hot deal,” to be sure.
Ow, did anyone else feel like their wallet just got kicked in the crotch? At a Swedish press event, Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) revealed that their Android-powered X10 to be released in February will be costing 6,000 Swedish kroner (which works out to $US 860 at the current exchange rate). Even among high-end smartphones that’s pretty steep, and considering SE’s history with selling the xperia brand unlocked, odds are we won’t see X10 carrier-subsidized for awhile. We’ve seen the super-slick user interface built on top of Android, 8 megapixel camera, slim profile, 1 Ghz processor, and 4-inch display, but it is a very small niche that will shell out that kind of money for this device. Anyone out there unfazed by the pricetag?
Cash-strapped webOS hopefuls and deal seekers alike, take note: Amazon is offering Sprint (NYSE: S)’s Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pixi for just $25. The entry-level webOS smartphone hasn’t been on market for more than a week and we’re already seeing the handset hovering dangerously close to “free with contract” territory. As it stands, Amazon will sell you the Palm Pixi for $24.99 when you purchase it with a new 2-year wireless contract through Sprint.
Remember, though, the Palm Pixi’s entry-level price comes with compromises. The 2.6-inch capacitive touchscreen is smaller than the Palm Pre’s display. The 2-megapixel camera falls short of the Palm Pre’s 3-megapixel shooter. And, WiFi isn’t an option. Still, you get GPS, 3G data, 3.5mm headphone jack, and 8GB of onboard storage.
If that’s enough to get you to make the jump, here’s a link to Amazon’s $25 Palm Pixi.
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) UK’s X10 launch page has spelled out their launch window in black and white: February is the month to hold out for. The most we got out of the announcement of SE’s impressive Android handset was an expected release in the first half of 2010, so it’s good to have that narrowed down a bit. The X10 promises to be the biggest, baddest Android handset out there – an 8 megapixel camera, 1 Ghz processor, and 4-inch WVGA display put it head and shoulders above the HTC Hero, and will give the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) droid a run for its money. Their custom Timescape user interface is exceptionally slick, all practicality aside. If you’re interested in a prerelease tour, check out this video.
The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pixi is due to hit market on Sunday, November 15th. Following on the slider-style Palm Pre, the Palm Pixi will launch as Sprint (NYSE: S)’s second webOS-powered smartphone. It’ll feature the same touchscreen and gesture-support we first saw on the Palm Pre, but trades screen size for a slate-style QWERTY keyboard and does away with WiFi. Big Yellow will be asking $100 for the Pixi when purchased with new 2-year contract, but savvy webOS fans like you won’t have to pay full retail. LetsTalk.com is offering the Palm Pixi (with new contract) for just $30 on pre-order. If you’re willing to put up the money on pre-order and wait for the Pixi to ship to your door, this is one hot deal.
There’s a lot competition in the smartphone space right now. Android phones abound, and the iPhone is still going strong. webOS has yet to really hit it big in the US, but at just $30, the Palm Pixi makes a strong case for picking the webOS as your next smartphone platform of choice.
The Palm Pixi features a 2.6-inch capacitive touchscreen, 2-megapixel camera, GPS, 3G data, 3.5mm headphone jack, and 8GB of onboard storage. You don’t get WiFi, but as long as you’re within reach of Sprint’s network, you’ll get 3G data speeds. It’s a tradeoff that might be worth the discounted $30 entry fee.
There’s no denying the almost magical draw of the iPhone and the world of good it’s done for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s bottom line. A new report from Gartner today backs up that notion with data that has the Apple iPhone accounting for 17.1% of global smartphone sales in Q3 2009. That figure puts Apple in the No. 3 spot, behind Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Research In Motion (BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM)), as far as global smartphone market share.
Apple shipped some 7 million iPhones in the third quarter of 2009. The continued success of smartphones like the iPhone is fueled by a disproportionate growth in the mobile phone market that has the smartphone segment growing 12.8% year-on-year while the overall mobile phone segment languished with just 0.1% year-over-year growth.
It’s clear that smartphones are here to stay and will soon become the “norm” in the mobile space. Can Apple sustain its third-place position in the face of hot new smartphones running the Android operating system? It’s going to be a tough battle, and we can’t wait to watch it all unfold.
The Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N900 inches closer to a retail launch today with Espoo’s announcement that they’ve started shipping their N900 to distributors and retailers. Nokia recently missed its initial October 2009 window for shipping the N900, so today’s announcement is great news for fans of the N900’s 3.5-inch touchscreen, powerful ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 5-megapixel Car Zeiss camera and Maemo 5 OS. Nokia says that the N900 will soon be available in retail stores with an estimated price-tag of €500 EUR. We had a chance to go hands-on with the N900, read up on our impressions here.
“The Nokia N900 has generated a lot of interest since its public launch in August, which has been reflected in the device preorders,” says Jose-Luis Martinez, Vice President, Nseries, Nokia. “What’s exciting is the Maemo software, which takes its cues from the desktop computer and offers a full browsing experience like no other handset. We believe the Nokia N900 will be a very compelling device for people who are passionate about technology.”
Nokia has officially announced that they’ll be launching a completely revamped Maemo 6 OS next year, which is expected to blow Maemo 5 out of the water, but won’t work with the N900. For some, that’s not going to stop them from picking up an N900 this year. Will you be picking up the N900 with Maemo 5?
The Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid isn’t just the first Android phone to run the latest Android 2.0 OS, it’s also the first Android phone to record video in DVD-quality 720×480 resolution. Putting clarity and video-quality arguments aside for a second, the Motorola Droid’s video camera is as high-res as you can expect in a smartphone today. Qik, the real-time video streaming service, has taken notice and will soon be releasing a new beta that will support high-resolution streaming from the Droid’s video camera.
Qik’s upcoming beta will make Qik the first video streaming service to support live streaming for the 720×480 resolution. According to MobileCrunch, the new Qik update will bring with it a UI refresh and enhanced “Speed Sharing Ribbon,” Qik’s speed-dial, of sorts.
Droid owners can get in on the Qik beta by shooting an email to droidbeta@qik.com
Here’s a sample Qik video taken with a Droid:
Here’s another Droid video sample, for comparison. Background: I recently forgot my SD card for my HD video camera and had to resort to recording video using the Droid.
Ow, did anyone else feel like their wallet just got kicked in the crotch? At a Swedish press event, Sony Ericsson (
Cash-strapped webOS hopefuls and deal seekers alike, take note: Amazon is offering Sprint (
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