AT&T's version of the HTC One M7 has received technical approval yesterday and is ready to be dealt Android 5.0 Lollipop. That?s the news according to HTC's Vice President of Product Management, Mo Versi, who says that the roll out of the upgrade will start on today. He also dished on when the newer HTC One M8 will be getting Lollipopped, April 8th.
We have heard plenty about Huawei's next flagship the P8, a sequel to the Ascend P7 with the company opting to drop the Ascend branding. The company has now announced that the handset will be announced on April 15th at a special event in London. Huawei said that it would start selling smartphones in the United States officially this year, so could the P8 be the first flagship widely available from the company in the U.S.?
Gmail is making its way to the MobileBurn news page, and that is because Google has been updating its Android version of the email app. The upgrade follows a slew of recent updates for the company's main apps on its mobile operating system.
The Samsung Galaxy S versus the Apple iPhone. It’s a battle as old as time itself, as long as you don’t count every year before 2010. These the two highest-end phones from by far the two most popular phone makers in the world, and despite the many outstanding competitors that arrive each year, millions of shoppers end up whittling their choices down to one or the other. For better or worse, Samsung and Apple’s respective flagships are largely going to be judged in light of each other, and oftentimes only each other.
Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6
At the risk of contributing to this borderline duopoly, we’re going to compare these two rivals again. Apple’s iPhone 6 juggernaut has been out and about for almost seven months, but with Samsung’s newest attraction, the Galaxy S6, now approaching its usual spring release date, we’re finally able to stack the two side by side. And thanks to the drastic changes to the latest Galaxy’s hardware, various gaps in quality that used to exist between the two now appear to have been closed, making any choice between the two that much more difficult.
Still, we’re not going to tell you which one is better here – the Galaxy S6 only just launched, and in general that’s an argument that usually comes down to personal preference. But we can present some info, based on the phones’ spec sheets and things we’ve found in our own testing, that’ll make any choice you’re facing a better understood one. So with one last futile reminder that these aren’t the only two phones in the world, here’s the tale of the tape for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Apple iPhone 6.
Up until a couple of months ago, build quality was a box you could dependably check in Apple’s favor. Every year a new Galaxy S would arrive, and every year Samsung would aim for function over fashion. Its phones have long been powerful, well-proportioned, and relatively lightweight, but in the process they’ve often turned up as boring rectangles made of cheap-feeling (and occasionally silly) plastic. The iPhone, with its cleaner lines and affinity for aluminum, has always come off as the statelier, more mature device.
Apple iPhone 6 back
That’s no longer the case. Or at least, the once obvious chasm between the two has been reduced to a few small cracks. The iPhone 6 is an evolution from its predecessors, jumping up in overall size, rounding out its sides, and coating itself entirely in aluminum. It still has that innate look and feel of an iPhone, though, which is to say that it’s still a gorgeous piece of hardware.
The Galaxy S6, meanwhile, is a wholesale revamp of any Galaxy S device that’s come before it. There were hints of Samsung’s aesthetic alterations in its Galaxy Alpha offshoot, but the S6 is an even bigger leap than that phone suggested. While the design language of its front isn’t much changed, all the plastic that plagued past Galaxy devices has been erased, replaced by aluminum sides and a plate of Gorilla Glass 4 on its back. It’s nothing revolutionary in the wider smartphone market, but it’s a landmark moment for Samsung, and the first flagship it’s made in years that doesn’t come off as cheaper than its asking price.
It also looks kind of sort of looks like the iPhone. Most major smartphones share similar design points these days, but the overall shape of the Galaxy S6—along with little details like its speaker grilles, antennas, and port placement—make the device resemble its biggest competitor more than anything else. It’to claim that Samsung has “copied” Apple here, but all of this is say that anyone who once favored the iPhone 6 for its design may not feel too out of place with the Galaxy S6.
Samsung Galaxy S6 bottom
These two share plenty of traits that aren’t as curious, though. Both are exceptionally thin, for instance, with the Galaxy S6 measuring 6.8mm at its slimmest, and the iPhone 6 coming in just a hair thicker at 6.9mm. The S6 is larger than the iPhone on the whole–the former is 143mm tall and 71mm wide, while the latter is 138mm tall and 67mm wide–but that’s only due to its more spacious display (which we’ll get to in a sec). Similarly, the S6 (at 138g) is a tad heavier than the iPhone (at 129g). We have to judge these phones relative to their respective sizes, though, and in that sense both devices get a great deal out of their available space without burdening your hands.
Finally, both the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 come in a variety of colors. For those who want their S6 to feel slightly more personalized, Samsung will offer the device in black, white, gold, and blue. Apple, on the other hands, offers the iPhone 6 in its usual slate of silver, “space gray,” and gold. One minor thing to note here is that these colors only apply to the back of each iPhone—the front will always be black or white–whereas the Galaxy S6’s paint jobs take effect on both sides.
Apple iPhone 6 front
As previously mentioned, this year’s Galaxy S continues to dwarf the iPhone in terms of display size. The iPhone 6’s 4.7-inch panel is a marked jump from the iPhone 5s’ 4-inch counterpart—largely because Apple wanted to keep up with the big screen craze Samsung helped popularize—but it’s not as roomy as the Galaxy S6’s 5.1-inch screen. Bigger doesn’t mean better when it comes to smartphone displays, but the S6 provides more room for texting, gaming, and viewing media.
Both screens are sharp, but the S6’s super high 1440 x 2560 (or “Quad HD”) resolution equates to a comically large pixel density of 577 pixels per inch. That keeps the panel eternally crisp—and it should make the S6 play nicer with Samsung’s Gear VR virtual reality headset—but it also goes well beyond the point where the human eye can discern individual pixels on a screen this size. Still, there’s a certain comfort in having this sort of overkill.
The 750 x 1334 resolution of the iPhone 6’s display sounds much more modest by comparison, and with a pixel density of 326 ppi—the same as 2010’s iPhone 4—it’s never going to be as crisp as the S6’s screen. Again, though, the spec sheet can be deceiving. You’ll be able to see pixels here if you strain your eyes hard enough, but with ordinary use, you’ll have a hard time finding any obvious dips in sharpness. Apple’s been efficient in this regard.
Samsung Galaxy S6 front
Samsung and Apple continue to employ different types of display technology, which both have their unique benefits and deficiencies. The Galaxy S6’s Super AMOLED panel should bring especially luscious colors, while the iPhone 6’s IPS LCD display should have a slight advantage in brightness.
In all honesty, it’ll be hard to go wrong with either screen here: The S6 will be sharper, sure, but display quality has been one trait that both of these manufacturers have excelled in over the years, and so far we’ve seen nothing to suggest that’ll be any different going forward. Viewing angles, contrast ratios, touch sensitivity, outdoor visibility, general color accuracy—it’s all fantastic on the iPhone 6, and it looks like it’ll largely be the same on the Galaxy S6. We’ll confirm or deny these hunches once our Galaxy S6 review goes live in the coming days.
The post Samsung Galaxy S6 vs. Apple iPhone 6: The Tale of the Tape appeared first on Brighthand.com.
Hotspots aren’t for everyone. For most, the free Wi-Fi at coffee shops, libraries, and public parks is more than enough. When it’s not available, a smartphone hotspot feature can suffice.
AT&T Velocity is about the size of an old feature phone
But for some users, publically available Wi-Fi isn’t plentiful enough and is rife with security risks. For them, particularly the business-minded set who just has to get work done, smartphone battery life is equally important. That’s why many still turn to hotspots for their mobile connectivity, which offer the added benefit of connectivity options typically limited to home routers.
The AT&T Velocity from ZTE is one such device. It’s a 4G LTE mobile hotspot a bit larger than a smartphone that spits out 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. It supports both dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz), and allows up to 10 connections at once. It has a relatively large touchscreen display and basic security features to satisfy even the most guarded business users.
So is that enough to justify its off-contract price or another two years of additional fees? Let’s find out.
The AT&T Velocity is made by ZTE, and has dimensions typical of early feature phone. It measures 4.5 x 2.5 x .7 inches (WHD) and weighs 0.28 pounds. It has a sturdy plastic build with a removable back cover and 2.4-inch display adorning the front along with a thick bezel covered in glass and LED indicator light. The top landscape side houses a microSD card slot (up to 32 GB), WPS key, and power button. The bottom houses a microUSB input next to a SIM card slot and hard reset button.
For a device designed to simply sit on a desk or in a pocket, there’s nothing wrong with it. It feels durable, and will likely survive the occasional drop, or a time jostling around a purse or backpack.
AT&T Velocity back panel is removable
The 240×320 display is serviceable. It’s touch-enabled but not nearly as responsive or swift as a modern smartphone. It works well for what it is, however, and navigating the menu system is as easy as it should be.
The display can be toggled off and on and set to varying levels of brightness. It typically displays the Wi-Fi network name and password, but that can be hidden. Hiding it provides minimum security however, as there is nothing stopping snoops from diving into the display settings and selecting “show.”
Fortunately, the display can also be locked. The promotional images of the AT&T Velocity also show a quick-see bar of monitoring data consumption. Our test unit didn’t have that, and instead had a note that read, “To check your data go to att.com/mygophone.” This is most likely because we tested the Velocity on a prepaid SIM, and not a monthly data plan.
There are no options for setting a custom message on the display. That’s a minor gripe, but would be nice nonetheless.
AT&T Velocity has a microSD card slot
The AT&T Velocity offers Wi-Fi through AT&T’s LTE, HSPA+, and 3G networks. It’s dual-band, meaning it offers both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. The former band is the more common standard, provides a wider signal range, and consumes less battery. In areas busy with other Wi-Fi signals, 5GHz reduces the chance of signal interference and offers better throughput on the newer devices that support it. It will also work overseas wherever AT&T has a signal.
The Velocity also lets users set the Wi-Fi range to short, medium, or long.
There are various other settings for dealing with guest networks, WPS security, international data, and device blocking, to name a few. Logging into the online manager via a web browser reveals deeper settings (managing the network name, changing the password, etc.), and it’s also where users go to take advantage of the microSD file sharing feature.
Finally, the Velocity is tied to a cell number and can receive SMS messages, or so the documentation claims. There is a “messages” section, and AT&T sent us account information through it, but any attempts to send SMS messages from our own smartphones failed. Again, this is likely because we tested the Velocity on a prepaid card.
AT&T Velocity USB and SIM card side
In various tests, we were able to maintain a steady connection at approximately 120 feet of open office space on both bands with the wireless router set to “long.” Once connected speed is extremely variable. AT&T has ample network coverage, and between the LTE, HPSA+ and 3G, users won’t be far from a decent-enough connection.
With a strong LTE connection, we managed a max of 17.48Mbps down and 15.06Mbps up on the 5GHz band, and 8.94Mbps down and 9.55Mbps up on 2.4GHz. That’s perfect for streaming and dealing with email attachments. Even with weaker LTE connections, we were still able stream Netflix without issue. Users should expect slightly slower performance with HSPA+, and 3G is suitable for email and simple web surfing, but streaming media will be frustratingly slow.
We caution any user to be careful with all that speed. In testing, two work days of LTE connectivity with minimal video streaming were enough to almost eat through our entire 2 GB allotment.
In terms of battery, the Velocity shines. AT&T claims the user-replaceable, 2800mAh unit can last for 10 hours of usage and 10 days of standby. To test this, we maxed the display brightness and set it to never time out. We then connected multiple devices via the 5GHz band with the Velocity set to “long.”
It easily lasted 10 hours. In other words, the bare minimum an individual user can expect from the Velocity is 10 hours, and that’s great. Your laptop or tablet battery will likely die before then.
If you’re the type who needs a personal hotspot, then it’s worth getting one with full connectivity features. That’s the AT&T Velocity – at least for AT&T customers. As of this writing, it costs $0.99 with a two-year agreement, or $149.99 without. There are more expensive options that allow for up to 15 connections and share a battery charge, but that’s overkill.
The Velocity is a good hotspot with a tough build that offers great performance. Buy it off contract and pay as you go on data. If you travel enough, you’ll eventually be happy you did.
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The post AT&T Velocity Review: A Wi-Fi Hotspot for “Almost” Anyone appeared first on Brighthand.com.
It seems as though we are nearing the launch of the LG G4 as the company has sent out invitations for a media event that will be held on April 28. The Initiation carries the "Save the Date" tagline and LG invites us all to "See The Great, Feel The Great". The event will be held simultaneously in New York, London, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, and Istanbul, which will make it April 29th in the final three nations.
Sony has only recently started rolling out Android Lollipop to the Xperia Z flagship range and the company has been pretty vague about its update schedule. For example, it was widely thought that the company would only upgrade its Xperia Z flagship devices to Lollipop, especially as Sony has not mentioned handsets like the Xperia E3, Xperia C3, Xperia M2, Xperia T3, or the Xperia T2 Ultra. That has changed through.