Honor 8 has Flagship Features, Mid-range Price: Hands On

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Jamison Cush

Good smartphones are getting cheap. You can snag near flagship-level Android device for less than half what the best of the best cost, especially if you’re willing to buy an unfamiliar brand from outside the carriers.

The Honor 8 has an all-glass back.

Case in point, the Honor 8, a 5.2-inch Android handset from Huawei’s house brand with specs that slot somewhere between Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7, and a price tag that falls below both.

The Honor 8 has more going for it than a reasonable price, it also has premium features, including a dual-camera setup that enables nifty photo tricks, like true monochrome photography and shifting focus fields.

All Glass

The Honor 8 has an all-glass build that is heavily reminiscent of Samsung’s recent releases. It feels and looks like a well-built device, though it’s slick to the touch and a fingerprint magnet. Its 5.2-inch display means it’s about as small as Android smartphone get these days, aided it by its buttonless design and thin bezels.

It sports a Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080), resulting in about 420 pixels per inch. That’s a notch below the best of the best, which top out at 500+ PPI, but it’s more than enough for everyday use. You’ll be hard pressed to tell the difference between FHD and QHD at this size for any use other than VR. Besides, lower resolution is better for battery life.

Huawei Features

Honor 8 eMUI

Huawei’s quick-as-a-whistle fingerprint sensor sits centered on the back panel, and it’s one of the best on devices. In our brief time with the Honor 8, it proved reliable and consistent; certainly better than any other Android device on the market (but not the iPhone, that still has the best).

Huawei also added the ability to quick launch up to three apps or shortcuts by doubling the fingerprint sensor with a button. Tap, double tap, and tap and press to open the camera, turn on the flashlight, open Gmail, or anything else. We like it here at NotebookReview; we’re a sucker for quick access to useful apps (especially the flashlight).

The novel and bizarre knuckle gestures also return from the Huawei Mate 8. Taps snag screenshots or record the display, while drawing a C can launch the camera app, and more.

Also on board is Android 6.0 with Huawei’s eMUI skin. Huawei applied some heavy tweaks here, giving Android and the app icons an iOS aesthetic. We liked it on the Huawei Mate 8 enough to keep it on there, but those pining for a purer Android experience can always install Google Now launcher.

Dual Camera

The Huawei dual cameras first popped up on the P9 flagship, and returns on the Honor 8, but without the high-end Lecia lens branding. The 12-megapixel rear shooter has two image sensors, one capturing colors and the other monochrome. Huawei claims the images combine to form richer pics, with greater focus control for depth of field.

The Honor 8 can also take true black-and-white photos with superior contrast, not just color photos with a filter applied. Our initial sample shots are very pleasing, and we look forward to testing the Honor 8 camera more in our full review.

Honor 8 black-and-white photo

Other Specs

The Honor 8 starts at $400.

Other Honor 8 specs include an octo-core Kirin 950 processor (Huawei’s own), 4GB RAM, 32GB or 64GB capacity with microSD expansion, USB Type-C, 3000mAh battery with fast charge, 8-megapixel front shooter, NFC, and an IR blaster.

That’s a great haul. The 4GB RAM is impressive, considering the P9 has 3GB. We also like seeing USB Type-C on a phone in this class. The IR blaster is also a nice touch, considering Samsung ditched it on its most recent devices.

Price & Availability

The Honor 8 will be available for preorder on August 17 for $400 (32GB) or $450 (32GB). Preorders run until September 3, with Huawei offering up a $50 gift card for those that make the effort. It will be available from Honor, Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, and B&H, in sapphire blue, pearl white, and midnight black. Blue is a Best Buy exclusive through October.

On paper this is a great smartphone at a good price. The Honor 5X impressed us with the same combination of price, build, and performance earlier this year, and Honor stepped things up for the 8, adding premium features. We look forward to testing its limits with a full review in the coming weeks.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Gets an Edge, Secure Folder, & New S Pen Features: Hands On

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Jamison Cush

Samsung’s latest Note has an edge. In fact, it has two of them, along with new S Pen capabilities, security features, and perhaps the sleekest design ever molded into a smartphone. It’s called the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, and it combines a modest spec bump with a host of new software tricks and elements, including some ported from the Galaxy edge line.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 magnify feature

It feels like an augmented smartphone compared against its predecessor, the Galaxy Note5. Maybe that’s why Samsung skipped the Note 6 for the Note 7. Officially, it’s a branding move to bring the Note series in line with the other Samsung 7s; including the S7, S7 edge, and Notebook 7 devices. This is more than an evolutionary update.

S Pen

At the highest level, the Note 7 merges the S Pen with the Edge UX. It has both capabilities, woven into Android 6.0.1. Samsung put its attention to improving the S Pen this time, with two new Air Command actions: magnify and translate.

Magnify works as it’s named, enlarging a portion of the display at the pen tip. Samsung obviously had business users and unwieldy PDFs in mind here, but it works anywhere, including images, exposing otherwise hidden details, and the camera viewfinder.

Translation is based on Google’s Translate API, and it translates from 38 languages, and to 71 (the discrepancy is based on word spacing in certain languages, which can throw off Google Translate).

Also new to the S Pen is a GIF creation and editing tool through Smart Select, which works by recording a portion of the display into 15 second clips (no word on the number of frames per second). And Samsung added the ability to pin those screen-off memos we loved on the Note5 to the always-on display we loved on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Finally, Samsung refined its literal note-taking capabilities by combining Action Memo with S Note to make for a cleaner note interface.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 S Pen works underwater.

Samsung altered the physical S Pen by moving the button up the shaft (to prevent accidental presses), and refining the .7mm magnetic tip with more screen grip, making it feel more like pen on paper than previous Notes. It now supports 4,096 points of pressure, and measures 4.25 x .22 inches, weighing 3 grams (just .0066 pounds).

In testing, the new S Pen felt great. The button placement eliminates one of our biggest complaints about previous S Pens, and the added friction provides a little more control for note taking and scribbling.

Maybe Note artists will disagree, but the added pressure seems like overkill to us (we couldn’t discern any difference in use), but compared side-by-side with the Note5 S Pen, the Note 7 S Pen provides a better overall experience. And it’s impossible to insert backwards, fixing a flaw that affected early Note5 models.

The Note 7 and S Pen are both IP68 rated for water resistance, meaning the S Pen works underwater. This is ideal for certain use cases outside of pools and underwater Pokemon Go. Think of field workers outside in the rain, delivery persons, and caterers on a job site. Touchscreens don’t work with a wet finger or wet display, but Note 7 users will still be able to navigate the device using the S Pen.

Note Curves

Samsung simplified its overall Android TouchWiz navigation scheme, making it flick and swipe based. This is part of an effort to improve one-handed operation — no easy task considering the Note 7’s large 5.7-inch display.

The Galaxy Note 7 has a sleek and symmetrical design.

Helping in that task are the curved edges, which result in a thinner smartphone (about .1 inches thinner than the Note5), and the symmetrical design. The smartphone feels entirely rounded, while the front and back pieces are identically sized and shaped. It’s very sleek, measuring 6 x 2.9 x .3 inches, and weighing .37 pounds. And those willing to shirk a protective case (brave souls!) will find it easier to grip than any previous Galaxy Note handset.

The Note 7 is the first Galaxy to feature USB Type-C for data and charging, and sports an iris scanner. Otherwise the hardware isn’t much different from the 2015 Galaxies. The Note 7 has either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or Samsung Exynos 8890 processor, 4GB RAM, and 5.7-inch 1440 x 2560 Super AMOLED display. It has the same excellent camera as the S7 and S7 edge (now with HDR video), and ships with 64GB capacity (up from 32GB), supports microSD cards, and has a 3500 battery with Quick Charge and wireless charging.

Iris Security

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 iris scanner

The iris scanner acts as another form of biometric security (the fingerprint reader is still there). It has a dedicated camera and is based on infrared LED, meaning it can work in low-light conditions. After initial setup, it can also work through eye glasses. Samsung included two safety precautions: it only scans for 9 seconds at a time, and it won’t scan if it senses the face is too close to the camera.

We didn’t get a chance to test it out during our brief hands-on time, but it worked quickly and flawlessly in demos. Samsung even included a fun on-screen iris camera overlay, giving the entire feature a sci-fi vibe.

The iris scanner pairs with Samsung’s new Secure Folder. This is an uber-locked section hiding behind an additional security layer where users can store sensitive and private materials, including emails, notes, pictures, and even apps. Its security is entirely user-focused; not even a corporate IT department can access or disable it. Here users can keep banking apps or even an email app tied to a private account. It’s an interesting approach to security, given the IT focus of similar features. We look forward to testing its limits when we have a demo unit in the NotebookReview test lab.

New Gear VR

The Note 7 launches alongside a new Gear VR, which is much like the old Gear VR. Samsung slightly altered its VR headset, giving it more padding and a longer headstrap for added comfort, along with a bottom connector for future peripherals. It also slightly expanded the field of view from 96 to 101 degrees. It supports now both USB Type-C and microUSB through swappable dongles, making it backward compatible, and it’s available in “blue black.”

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Price & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 launches August 19, with preorders beginning August 3. It will be available in blue coral, silver titanium, and black onyx for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless. Pricing has not yet been revealed, but previous Samsung Galaxy flagships ranged in price from about $670 to $800 at launch.

Samsung has a Note 7 promotion, offering up a new Gear Fit 2 fitness band or 256GB microSD card with preorders.

The new Gear VR is also launching August 19, for $99 (same as the previous Gear VR). The previously-announced Gear 360 VR camera is launching August 19 alongside it for $349.

Bottom Line

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 looks like the next great smartphone, and it’s certainly more than the slightly upgraded specs suggest. We called the S7 edge “near perfect,” and raved that the Note5 “excels at just about everything it does.” Think of the Galaxy Note 7 as a slicker S7 edge with a larger display and S Pen productivity.

Of its new features, Secure Folder impresses the most. We can imagine Apple cursing Samsung, wishing instead the brains at Cupertino thought of it first. So in addition to its literal edges, our early time with it suggests the Note 7 has the figurative edge in a very competitive smartphone market.

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Huawei P9 Smartphone Review: A Step In The Right Direction

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Dragan Petric

Huawei is no longer chasing the competition. With the P9, it has a flagship that matches the most powerful devices on the market. The P9 is also an evident improvement compared to its predecessors, especially with its rear-facing camera.

The Huawei P9 smartphone has two 12-megapixel rear cameras, which it cosigns with Leica. One is monochromatic and the other is color, putting the P9’s camera output on the same level as Samsung’s latest, at least on paper.

The smartphone sports a 5.2-inch IPS-NEO LCD with Full HD resolution, octacore HiSilicon Kirin 955 SoC, Android OS 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Huawei’s Emotion UI 4.1, as well as the 3000 mAh battery, and several design options featuring various materials.

The spec sheet suggests a very impressive smartphone. It’s too bad there are some shortcomings, as you’ll see in this Huawei P9 review.

Build & Design

Huawei P9 smartphone back panel

It is clear at first glance the Huawei P9 is a premium smartphone. Its industrial design is familiar to the line, and while it’s not the most inspired look, the P9 is still a very elegant, modern and credibly constructed smartphone. It seems exceptionally light and slim for a 5.2-inch device, even though its dimensions (5.71 x 2.79 x 0.28 inches) and weight (5.08 ounces) are ordinary.

P9 comes in several colors, depending on the material. There’s a ceramic P9 (white), sanded metal P9 (gold) and an aluminum P9 (various shades of gold and silver). Regardless of the finish, our only objections, which the P9 shares with many other devices, is that it’s a little too slick when held.

The front of the phone includes the Huawei logo, situated under the display, along with the phone speaker and 5-megapixel camera above the display. The P9 is buttonless, with the capacitive control keys on the display itself. The display is Gorilla Glass 4, and sports 2.5D glass. Its edges are slightly rounded, offering a pleasant feeling while swiping.

The back features two plastic antenna stripes, with the slimmer of the two located along the lower portion, with the thicker located on the upper. That upper portion also houses two rear cameras, LED flash and the Leica logo. The fingerprint reader sits in the middle. As we’ve stated before, Huawei has one of the most consistent fingerprint readers on the market.

The Huawei P9 has a USB Type-C input.

The bottom edge includes the speaker, 3.5-mm audio jack, as well as USB Type-C slot. That means your old microUSB accessories are useless without an adapter. USB Type-C is the certain future, and is becoming much more practical as it is symmetrical. The upper edge only houses the secondary microphone. The left side of the phone includes the nanoSIM and microSD card slots, while the right side holds the volume rocker and the power key at thumb’s height.

Display

The Huawei P9 is a 5.2-inch Android smartphone.

The 5.2-inch Huawei P9 smartphone runs Android 6.0.

With most flagships pushing Quad HD or even 4K, Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) is not the top end of the spectrum,. But on the Huawei P9 smartphone’s 5.2-inch display it results in a density of 423 pixels per inch, and that’s more than enough for an exceptionally sharp image. The device has an IPS-NEO LCD display, which is characterized with evidently better contrast sustainability than a regular IPS; however, we found that the basic contrast is still not on the same level as other devices on the top of the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.

To be precise, black tones should be slightly darker, while white tones have a dirty hue to them. The colors are well saturated, but are not precisely interpreted by default. Fortunately, Huawei included the option of manually calibrating colors to its display settings.

Overall brightness is exceptional, and can cut through overhead glare as well as almost any smartphone. We give the iPhone 6S, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Lumia 950 the edge over the P9, however.

Performance

Hisillicon Kirin 955 is one of the first chipsets to use Cortex-A72 architecture. Its performance is approximately 15 percent better per megahertz than those offered by Cortex-A57 cores, and is much more energy efficient. Kirin 995 has four such cores running a 2.5 GHz clock and four Cortex-A53 cores running a 1.8 GHz clock. According to synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores in the same park as contemporary SoCs from rival camps. On the Geekbench 3 benchmark, it scored 6550 on the multi-core test and 1812 on the single-core test. By comparison, the Galaxy S7 edge scored 5454 and 2061, respectively. The model with 32GB of memory storage offers 3GB of RAM, while the 4GB model secures 64GB. Kirin 995 supports four 2G frequencies, seven 3G frequencies and eighteen 4G frequencies. The device will have no trouble operating on all global mobile networks.

It is a shame then that the graphics performance from the Mali-T880 GPU is far poorer. The Huawei P9 smartphone performs fluidly during all tasks that don’t rely on its GPU, but it struggles running demanding games. To get around this, the P9 features a ROG power saving mode that reduces the display resolution to 720p (HD). Its primary task is to lessen battery demand, but better game performance is the added benefit (or a compulsory solution).

Battery

The 3000mAh battery is solid. P9 offers above average autonomy for a 5.2-inch smartphone, particularly during stand-by, when it requires exceptionally low power. Playing HD videos with maximum brightness enables 7 hours and 30 minutes of continuous playback. The Huawei Mate 8, with its larger battery, lasted just 37 minutes longer.

The rapid 2A USB-C charger ships with the phone, which recharges the battery up to 40 percent in just 30 minutes. Battery life can be extended by switching to Ultra Power Saving mode or the mentioned ROG mode.

Software

Huawei P9’s Android OS 6.0 (Marshmallow) and Emotion UI 4.1 combine Goggle software platform with slight iOS impersonation. The greatest difference between pure Android and Huawei’s UI is the lack of an app drawer. All apps are arranged across the home screens (there are up to 18 Home screens), just like on iOS. Of course, the applications can be grouped into folders as well.

Some of the more likeable quirks are the option of using rotating cover photographs for the lock screen (a different image displayed every time), turning the camera on from stand-by mode by double-clicking the volume down button, and other iOS-inspired swipes and shortcuts. We like Emotion UI, and those that don’t can turn to the Google Now launcher, available in the Play Store, for a more stock Android experience.

Camera

The Huawei P9 has a dual Leica-camera setup.

The two rear Leica cameras are the P9’s most interesting feature. Both feature identical 12-megapixel Sony sensors, with one monochromatic and the other in color. The monochromatic sensor doesn’t recognize colors as it lacks the Bayer filter. The tradeoff is that it receives three times the light, and it can take excellent photographs in dark settings. They are black and white, but they feature little to no noise.

The double back-facing camera enables other great photographer options. The device ‘knows’ how far the objects are from the phone, and it is possible to add a high-quality optical background defocus effect. What’s more, live-previews are also possible, making the P9 the only smartphone to offer this feature.

The P9 also has hybrid autofocus, which includes laser autofocus too, while the software offers three predefined color capture modes in collaboration with Leica. These include Standard, Vivid Colors and Smooth Colors, which come with the Leica-specific shooting sound. Standard mode offers usual color interpretation; Vivid Colors powerfully saturates the warmer areas of the spectrum; while Smooth Colors offers something in between.

Images look great, especially compared to Huawei’s previous handsets. Compared against other flagships, the P9’s photographs offer comparable exposure and detail level with well-lit day shots, while night shots taken with the color camera are a step below. Night shots taken with the monochromatic camera are better in this regard, however, but remember, they are black and white. The P9 is in many ways the artist’s smartphone camera.

The P9 doesn’t fare so well with video. It lacks 4K recording, and its overall output is anemic. And the camera software is confusing. So many options are not easily accessible, and Huawei does little to inform users some of the options are just a swipe up or down in landscape mode away. Finally, the 5-megapixel selfie camera is average, offering a gimmicky “facelift effect.”

Sample Photos

Conclusion

Huawei has been trying to shed its reputation for low-end and mid-range handsets, and the P9 represents a step in the right direction with its technological innovations, features, and above-average realization. The draw is undoubtedly the exceptionally creative and high-quality rear camera, while the solid battery, premium finish and intuitive user interface add to the appeal. The poor GPU, display contrast, and video output hinders the overall experience, but the Huawei P9 smartphone still gets the important parts right.

Pros:

Dual rear camera is very creative
Credible build
Solid battery
Intuitive Emotion UI

Cons:

Poor GPU performance
Display lacks contrast
Confusing camera software
No 4K video recording, while Full HD video lacks quality

The post Huawei P9 Smartphone Review: A Step In The Right Direction appeared first on Brighthand.com.

How to Buy a Chinese Smartphone

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Vince Font

There are excellent smartphones coming out of China. And they’re cheap! While some, like Huawei handsets, have a small foothold in the US, most only ship to other overseas markets. So how do you get one Stateside? Read on to find out.

Why Buy Chinese?

Honor 5X

Low cost is the most compelling argument for anyone considering buying a Chinese-manufactured smartphone. Xiaomi is widely considered the best price to performance. Its designs brazenly rip off Apple and Samsung (which might explain why they’ve avoided the US market), but the company offers its wares at a fraction of the cost of US flagships. In addition, the Xiaomi smartphone specs are top-notch and compete well in a “Pepsi Challenge” test among casual users seeking functionality over brand recognition. For example, the Xiaomi Mi5 launched in March has a 1080p display and comes equipped with a Snapdragon 820 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, and internal storage options ranging from 32 to 128GB. The fully tricked-out version goes for less than $400. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have higher-resolution displays, but the same internals. And those can cost up to and above $700.

But it’s not just about cosmetic ripoffs. Some, like Huawei’s Honor 5X, are uniquely inspired devices that rank high in performance and can be had for about $200.

Extended delivery wait times can be an issue if you need your phone yesterday, but if you’re shopping in advance that isn’t much of an issue. Pricey costs for overseas delivery is a potential issue with some retailers, but considering the amount of money you may save by buying Chinese, you’ll still end up significantly well ahead.

Where Can You Buy a Chinese Smartphone?

ZTE Grand X3

The availability of Chinese smartphones through traditional channels is one of the greatest barriers to ownership. Don’t expect to be able to pick one up from any of the big four carriers – and before you buy one from a third party, make sure the smartphone you’ve got your eyes on will work with your existing plan. This goes for smartphones manufactured by Huawei and Xiaomi, but also includes Meizu, Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo, and ZTE.

NewEgg, GearBest, Chinavasion, and GeekBuying are your best bets for getting your hands on a Chinese smartphone in the U.S., as are Amazon and eBay. Some of these sites offer free shipping, but they aren’t the only sources out there. Many manufacturers make their mobile devices available to U.S. buyers directly from their websites. This may provide a little more peace of mind than going third-party, but you may have to pay heavy shipping.

Stuff to Consider

Issues of network compatibility with stateside carriers are your chief concern when buying a Chinese smartphone. For example, the aforementioned Mi5 from Xiaomi was originally advertised to support US LTE bands, but that has since been proven not to be the case. Hence, the serious need to do your homework before you spend money on a Chinese-made smartphone.

One excellent resource that you can leverage to perform this pre-purchase resource can be found at Will My Phone Work. A quick look here reveals that the previously mentioned Honor 5X – although a good, cheap smartphone – has only a handful of sub-models that are compatible in the States for 3G and 4G connectivity. The vast majority can only be used running 2G, which will likely be a deal-killer for most tech-conscious users.

Taxes and customs can also add to your overall cost. You may be charged a duty fee on top of the device and shipping.

Finally, CYA when it comes to payment, and avoid paying direct with a credit card, debit card, or bank transfer. A PayPal account is likely your best bet. You can always channel any disputes through PayPal should things not work out.

Words of Warning

Huawei Mate 8

Without doubt, one of the most compelling reasons to stick with an American-made or U.S. carrier-warrantied smartphone is your easy access to service. If something goes wrong with your iPhone, getting someone to look at it is as easy as walking into the nearest Apple store. And if your Samsung takes the plunge, there are plenty of places where you can bring or send your smartphone in for repairs or—if it’s covered—replacement.

Getting quick customer service on a Chinese smartphone, on the other hand, can be a lot like negotiating a maze without the benefit of a map—and with a potential language barrier thrown in. Also, shipping costs to send your smartphone overseas for repair can be exorbitant. There’s always the option of taking your smartphone to a local repair shop if something goes wonky, but the vast majority of stateside experts specialize in readily-available brands, and you may have trouble finding someone local with the know-how to crack open and fix a Chinese-made smartphone. You’ll have even more trouble finding a resource that has access to individual replacement parts.

Security issues can also rear their ugly heads. It was reported recently that Taiwanese-manufactured MT6582 chips, which are in wide use on low-end smartphones from Huawei and Lenovo, can give root access to malicious software and hacker attacks. That said, no smartphone in the world is immune from attack, but it’s something worth considering.

Lastly, there’s the far less frightening—but equally important—issue of receiving timely operating system updates, which many adopters of Chinese-manufactured smartphones complain aren’t frequent enough.

Want to learn more about buying a smartphone? Read all about network technology, including LTE, GSM, and CDMA. And then read all about no-contract smartphone data plans and pricing. Finally, learn all about smartphone specs, the differences between iOS and Android, choosing the right data plan, recycling your smartphone, and buying an unlocked smartphone.

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How to Buy a Smartphone: Recycling Old Cell Phones

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Vince Font

Good smartphones are now cheap, which means good smartphones are now disposable.

The Honor 5X is a $200 phablet from Huawei.

The Honor 5X is a quality $200 phablet from Huawei.

According to the EPA, some 130 million smartphones are added to landfills every year. The lead, mercury, cadmium and other scary-sounding internal ingredients found inside can leak into groundwater and eventually find their way back into your mouth via the food chain.

We’re not just throwing away quality handsets, but also perfectly usable quality handsets, which can turn around and be resold.

But even an old iPhone with a cracked screen and dead battery still has use. Again, according to the EPA, every million smartphones recycled in the US results in 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium.

So whether intended for reuse, or set for recycling, don’t ever just throw your smartphone away.

Donate Your Smartphone to a Good Cause

A growing variety of nonprofit organizations are more than willing to take your old smartphone off your hands and put it to significantly better use than it would see in a landfill. Here are just a few suggestions.

Cell Phones for Soldiers is a nonprofit agency that’ll take your old mobile device (including flip phones, smartphones, tablets, even MP3 players) off your hands. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t send these devices to soldiers in the field – instead, they recycle these devices for money and channel your donation into prepaid international calling cards that soldiers can use to place calls to family and friends while they’re deployed. They’ll even offer to send you a shipping label, and your donation is tax deductible.

The Cell Phones for Soldiers website specifies the need for “gently used” devices, so if you’re looking to get rid of an old iPhone with a cracked screen, this may not be the best option for you.

The carriers themselves have their own established charitable contribution channels, like Verizon’s HopeLine, which takes smartphones of any make, model or condition and uses them to help victims of domestic abuse. Smartphones in good enough condition to be refurbished are resold, with the proceeds going to various domestic violence nonprofits. Often times, these proceeds go to buy usable phones for victims, but even phones that can’t be refurbished are stripped for parts, which are recycled for cash. That cash is then donated to various advocacy and prevention agencies. Please note, donations to HopeLine aren’t tax deductible.

Recycling for Charities takes old phones, iPods, digital camera and PDAs and lets you pick the charity the recycling proceeds go to. You’ll have to pick up the tab for shipping, however.

Gizmogul operates in a similar fashion, but it lets you kill two birds with one stone: you get paid, and the company donates money to help build schools across the globe. The donation is $1 per transaction generated.

Sell it Online

Not everyone’s a technophile who demands next-gen technology the moment it’s available. There are actually people in this world who’d be perfectly happy to own an iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S5. If you’ve got a few of these lying around, you could turn them into cold, hard cash by selling them to folks who’ll put them to use.

You can still use ancient, last-century platforms like eBay and Craigslist, but we suggest checking out some of the sites below.

Apple Buyback
Buybackworld.com
Gazelle.com
Glyde.com
Nextworth.com
Samsung Upgrade
Swappa.com

For example, you can sell a well-cared-for T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S5 through Glyde for between $95 and $145 (the lower you set the price, the quicker it’s likely to sell). Over at Buyback World, you can sell a 64GB iPhone 5S that’s in excellent condition for $77. If you’ve got an unlocked 32GB Nexus 6 in good condition, listing it on Gazelle will fetch you about $105.

Samsung Galaxy S5 on Glyde

Putting Your Old Smartphone to Work

You can always recycle your old smartphone by putting it to work for yourself.

For example, you can install any number of security apps (some free, some pay) that can turn your spare smartphone into a home security camera that you can access remotely to check in on your digs or your dogs. While this requires that your phone is still operational, you can get past the need to have cellular signal by connecting it via your home Wi-Fi signal. Apps like Alfred and Presence are functional across Android and iOS devices and can save you money on expensive security cameras.

Other uses for spare, disused smartphones abound – including leaving it in your living room to be used as a multi-purpose remote control for your TV, keeping it permanently plugged into your home stereo for streaming music services like Pandora, or pairing it with a Chromecast as a Netflix box.

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Apple iPhone SE Review: An Old But New Smartphone

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Brighthand Staff

This year’s unveiling of the iPhone SE smartphone felt like a mediocre trip down memory lane. Nevertheless, Apple’s $399 iPhone SE might just be one of the most important releases for the iPhone line in the last three years. At long last Apple has delivered an attractive new iPhone with the perfect combination of new features and low cost to tempt those customers who are still using old iPhones that are long overdue for an upgrade. More to the point, Apple finally has an iPhone that competes directly with Android smartphones that retail for between $350 and $500.

The iPhone SE might be small and looks like an old iPhone but it brings some impressive updates to the table. If you’re looking for a smartphone with better battery life, snappier performance, and abundant storage capacity that won’t break the bank then the iPhone SE probably belongs on the shortlist for your next upgrade. Read more of this Apple iPhone SE review to find out why.

Apple iPhone SE

Build and Design

We forgive anyone who struggles to spot the difference between the new iPhone SE smartphone and the iPhone 5S from 2013. The simple truth is that Apple leveraged the existing chassis of the 5s to create a new iPhone at reduced cost. The only “obvious” differences between the exteriors of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone SE are the different color options. The newer iPhone SE is available in Silver, Space Gray and Gold but the classic White has been replaced with Rose Gold.

The iPhone SE retains the aluminum frame, chamfered edges, and even weight and dimensions of the iPhone 5 and 5S; weighing just 3.99 ounces, and measuring 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.3 inches.

Once again, the Home button located beneath the 4-inch display features an integrated fingerprint sensor for both password authorization with Touch ID and compatibility with Apple Pay. The backside of the iPhone SE has a subtle upgrade to the main iSight camera, which now has a 12-megapixel image sensor, True Tone flash and supports 4K video recording (3840 x 2160) at 30 fps.

Display

The iPhone SE 4-inch LED-backlit widescreen multi-touch display with 1136 x 640 resolution. This is technically a “Retina display” with 326 ppi but it lacks the visual impact of higher resolution AMOLED displays like those found on the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.

The older screen technology is both a blessing and a curse for the iPhone SE. The iPhone SE’s smaller size makes the device easier to operate with a single hand than the Galaxy S7 edge and, as previously mentioned, the lower-resolution Retina display is less expensive. Text is still sharp, pictures and video both look good for a small screen and the touchscreen surface is extremely responsive and accurate.

In the Box

The iPhone SE smartphone ships with a standard 5W USB power outlet adapter, Lightning-to-USB cable, and earbud headphones. The headphones are Apple’s iconic EarPods with in-line remote and microphone. You won’t get anything else (other than the phone) inside the box but we aren’t surprised given Apple’s track record of including the bare minimum accessories with your purchase.

Performance

We would love to describe thae iPhone SE as a smaller, less expensive iPhone 6s but that’s not an accurate description. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have better front-facing FaceTime cameras and they both support 3D Touch; two features absent from the iPhone SE. The iPhone SE also lacks a built-in barometer for elevation.

That being said, the iPhone SE has many similarities to the iPhone 6s when it comes to raw performance. Both phones use Apple’s 64-bit A9 processor with embedded M9 motion coprocessor along with 2 GB of system RAM. That dual-core processor runs at 1.84 GHz and is backed up with support for the latest LTE and Wi-Fi standards. In short, you’ve got an affordable smartphone with flagship-like speed.

iphoneSE The single-core Geekbench score for the iPhone SE was 2539 and the multi-core score in Geekbench was 4420. Those scores are slightly better than what the iPhone 6s produced, although the iPhone SE uses a newer update of iOS 9 and probably had an easier time with the rendering portions of Geekbench since the screen resolution is lower. The single-core score from the iPhone SE is better than the score from the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge but the multi-core score from the S7 edge is better than the iPhone SE.

We only have two complaints that we feel compelled to mention in the performance section. First, the entry-level iPhone SE only ships with 16 GB of storage capacity and there is no option at the time of this writing to upgrade to 32 GB of storage. If you want more than the paltry 16 GB you’ll have to pay for 64 GB of storage. This seems like an obvious money grab by Apple since 32GB would be a perfectly reasonable middle ground between the lowest and highest capacities.

Second, we found that the iPhone SE smartphone delivers noticeably inferior voice call quality compared to the iPhone 5, iPhone 6s and even the ancient iPhone 4s. Granted, an ever increasing percentage of smartphone owners rarely use their phones for voice calls. Still, if your device has the word “phone” in its name then people expect the phone portion to work. We regularly experienced problems getting people to hear anything we said unless the phone was set to speaker mode. We felt like the Verizon guy from 10 years ago constantly asking people, “Can you hear me now?”

Ports, Sensors, and Connectivity

You don’t buy an iPhone because of its stunning array of ports and the iPhone SE is no exception. The right-hand side of the iPhone SE only includes the slot for the nano-SIM card The top right corner is where you’ll find the physical button for on/off/sleep/wake. The left-hand side of the device contains the switch for ringer/silent and volume up and volume down buttons.

The big things that the iPhone SE lacks are all those extra sensors you’ll find on the latest Android-powered flagship smartphones and no microSD card slot for upgrading the internal storage after purchase. You don’t get the heart-rate sensor built into the back panel like the Galaxy S7 edge and, as previously mentioned, if you don’t pony up the big bucks for the iPhone SE with 64 GB of internal storage then you’re going to fill up the iPhone SE’s 16 GB storage capacity very quickly.

The list of supported cellular and wireless connectivity options varies based on the model of iPhone SE that you purchase (Model A1662 or A1723) but all models support 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC. The cellular options run the gambit from LTE, TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, CDMA EV-DO, UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA, and GSM/EDGE.

Location services are supported via GPS and GLONASS, digital compass, Wi-Fi, Cellular and iBeacon microlocation.

Camera

As previously mentioned, the rear-facing camera inside the iPhone SE is the same backside-illuminated 12-megapixel image sensor inside the iPhone 6s and it’s a significant upgrade over the image sensor inside the iPhone 5s.

If you’re stepping up from an old iPhone 4s or 5s one of the first things you’ll notice is that this camera focuses faster and makes it easier to grab snapshots of quick action. The combination of the f/2.2 aperture lens and the 12 MP sensor captures more than enough detail to let you crop photos and still have a large image for full-screen display or printing. Color accuracy is great and the “True Tone flash” does a reasonably impressive job capturing accurate white balance as long as the shooting environment isn’t filled with a terrible mixture of differently colored lights.

Sample images:

Arguably the best camera feature in the iPhone SE smartphone is the support for 4K video recording at 30 fps. What really makes this a standout feature is that you can capture an 8-megapixel (3840 x 2160 pixels) still photo even while you’re recording 4K video.

Granted, the image quality of the 8 MP still images taken from the 4K video isn’t as noise-free or detailed as the 12 MP still images, but if you’re trying to capture images and video of a once-in-a-lifetime moment then it’s nice to have to option to just shoot 4K video and grab your still shots from there.

Of course, if you’re planning to use your iPhone to record 4K video then you really need to pay for the 64 GB storage capacity since 16GB will fill up before you’ve had the chance to record more than a few minutes of footage.

The front-facing FaceTime HD camera is actually a step beck from the 5 MP sensor in the iPhone 6s; the new iPhone SE features the old 1.2 MP image sensor. This is still perfectly adequate for 720p HD video calls. And 1.2 MP is enough resolution to check your hair or makeup using the FaceTime camera, just don’t expect to capture selfies with stunning amounts of detail if you’re using the low resolution of the front-facing camera.

Software and Features

Of course, one of the main reasons that people purchase iPhones is the reliability of Apple’s iOS software. The iPhone SE ships with iOS 9.3, which we covered in-depth in a separate review. All models of the iPhone SE come with 33 built-in apps ranging from FaceTime and Safari to iCloud Drive and the Apple Watch app. If you purchase the iPhone SE with 64 GB capacity Apple also preinstalls iMovie, Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iTunes U, GarageBand, Apple Store, Trailers, Remote and Music Demos.

The single biggest advantage that iOS brings to the table, other than the wide variety of 3rd-party apps available in the App Store, is that Apple doesn’t include the bloatware common to many Android smartphones and you can easily uninstall any carrier-specific apps if your service provider preinstalled anything you don’t want.

Battery

Our team of editors was worried that the new iPhone SE would deliver terrible battery life compared to the iPhone 6s due to the fact that both phones use the same processor but the smaller iPhone SE runs on a physically smaller battery with lower total capacity (1624 mAh in the iPhone SE vs 1810 mAh in the iPhone 6S).

Much to our surprise, the iPhone SE and the iPhone 6s deliver virtually identical battery life thanks to the lower power consumption of the smaller display and lower resolution. The Geekbench 3 battery life benchmark showed the iPhone SE lasted five hours and 32 minutes. That’s roughly 16 minutes more than the iPhone 6s but it seems less impressive when you compare those battery life numbers to the old Samsung Galaxy S6 (6 hours and 49 minutes).

Apple claims the non-removable Lithium-polymer battery inside the iPhone SE smartphone will last for up to 240 hours in stand-by mode on a 3G network and deliver up to 14 hours of talk time. If you’re just using your iPhone as a glorified iPod the you can expect to play music for up to 50 hours according to Apple.

Apple iPhone SE Review Conclusion

Our editors were initially quite skeptical heading into this Apple iPhone SE review. Sure, there are people who want a low-cost iPhone with many of the latest features in a smaller package. However, the low-res display and tired exterior design seems to run counter the position that Apple iPhones typical hold in the marketplace: premium smartphones that serve as luxury items and status symbols.

At the time of this writing Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed during a recent quarterly earnings call that Apple failed to anticipate the “overwhelming demand” for the iPhone SE and Apple can’t make them fast enough. Honestly, it has been a few years since Apple experienced a supply shortage with new iPhones and that might be the single best indicator that Apple has a hit on its hands.

The single biggest advantage that the iPhone SE delivers is lower cost … both in terms of the total cost of design and assembly for Apple and in terms of delivering a high-performance phone with a low cost per GB of storage.

Sometimes you don’t need the absolute best of everything in a smartphone. Apple’s iPhone SE proves it’s possible to strike a balance between excellent performance and affordability.

Pros:

Great performance
Excellent battery life
Lowest price per GB for a new iPhone

Cons:

Unimpressive display
Looks identical to the iPhone 5S
Voice call quality spotty at best
No 32GB option: Starts at 16GB and jumps to 64GB

The post Apple iPhone SE Review: An Old But New Smartphone appeared first on Brighthand.com.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Apple iPhone 6s

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Ed Hardy

Apple and Samsung have long vied for US smartphone market supremacy, and in 2016, each has a mid-sized flagship in its arsenal: the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Apple iPhone 6s.

Despite the obvious Android and iOS differences, these models have similar designs and feature sets. We already compared the larger Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Apple iPhone 6s Plus. So for those that want something smaller, which is the best?

Build and Design

The Samsung Galaxy S7 has a slightly larger screen, so it’s not surprising that it’s a bit bigger and heavier than the iPhone 6s. But the differences are so slight that they don’t affect real world use.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 has a slightly larger display and build.

Apple offers its iPhone 6S in silver, gold, space gray, and rose gold, while Samsung offers the S7 in silver titanium, gold platinum, and black onyx (some US carriers don’t offer the silver S7). Both devices look fashionable, and depending on color look appropriate for a board room or a nightclub.

They share one unfortunate feature: each smartphone has a slick casing that makes it hard to grip, and makes it easy for it to slide off a desk of table. That’s why we strongly recommend a case that can add some traction.

The Galaxy S7’s most significant design advantage is that it’s IP68 rated, meaning it can technically survive in as much as 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. But as we stated in our S7 preview, this feature is better suited for spill resistance and surviving a rain storm.

While not waterproof, the Apple iPhone 6S seems more durable. This is backed up by smartphone warranty company SquareTrade. It found Apple’s flagship survived its tumble test unscathed thanks to its casing made out of 7000 series aluminum, and had just cosmetic screen damage after being dropped on one corner 10 times from six feet up. The Galaxy S7 didn’t survive the tumble test nearly as well, sustaining “significant damage” to its back panel and minor cracks in the display. This device’s screen also cracked after being dropped on its corner 4 times. Both the iOS and Android devices resisted bending at 170 pounds of pressure.

Display

The Apple iPhone 6s has a 3D Touch display that sets it apart.

The Galaxy S7 has a slightly larger screen: 5.1 inches to the iPhone’s 4.7 inches. This isn’t a dramatic difference, but to many people even a modest increase in display size is welcome.

The Galaxy S7 also has a higher resolution at 2560 x 1440 and a higher density at a whopping 577 pixels per inch. The iPhone 6s has a 1335 x 750 resolution, resulting in a 326 ppi count. Apple’s claim here is that the iPhone’s pixel density is at the point the human eye sees the display as a continuous surface, not as bunch of tiny dots. This raises an important point: at some point increased pixel density is overkill, and the S7 is well past it. Text and images on both these screens are very sharp, and all the extra pixels on Samsung’s phone do not improve things.

On the other hand, the S7’s Super AMOLED display looks much nicer. This is a technology in which each pixel glows on its own, rather than depending on a backlight, which results in vivid colors. Our review of the Android model said its display is “real beauty,” and the “colors are deep and well saturated.” This isn’t to suggest the iPhone 6S LCD is ugly, but it’s not as good as the S7. Here it’s the difference between great and wonderful.

The Apple smartphone’s pressure-sensitive screen, a system called 3D Touch, is a highlight. This enables the user to press hard on the screen to bring up a convenient menu of frequently used options, which can be a real timesaver.

Ports, Buttons, and Speakers

Users can increase the Galaxy S7’s storage by up to 200GB with a microSD card. Apple continues its refusal to put an equivalent memory card slot in any of its iOS devices.

The Apple iPhone 6s’ fingerprint reader is especially reliable and consistent.

Apple iPhone 6s users looking for additional storage capacity can turn to flash drives and microSD card readers that connect to the device’s Lightning data and charging port, but this serves as more of a workaround than an equivalent. Samsung’s offering has a microUSB port, which can be also used for flash drives and card readers, and Samsung’s excellent Gear VR.

Both smartphones include a large home button below the displays that serves double duty as a fingerprint scanner. We’ve long been pleased with Apple’s biometric security system as its proven consistent, reliable, and fast. We described Samsung’s as “finicky” on the S7.

The S7 also has a pulse reader, which can be handy for those who want to use their phone as part of their fitness regime.

Both models have the usual power buttons and volume controls, all in the usual places.

Specs

iPhone 6s

5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches
5.04 oz
4.7 inch LCD display, 1334 x 750 resolution, 326 pixels per inch
16, 64, or 128GB storage
2GB RAM

Galaxy S7

5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 inches
5.36 oz
5.1 inch Super AMOLED display, 2560 x 1440, 577 pixels per inch
32GB storage
4GB RAM

Performance

The S7 supports microSD cards, giving it expandable storage up to 200GB.

The iPhone 6s is built around a 64-bit, 1.84 GHz, dual-core Apple A9 processor, with 2GB of RAM. The US Galaxy S7 has 4GB of RAM and is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 820 processor that sports one pair of cores clocked at 1.6GHz and a second, faster pair at 2.15GHz.

The result is that the Galaxy S7 performs better on the Geekbench 3 multicore benchmarking test, which Samsung netting a score of 4980 to Apple’s 4330.

Because benchmarks never tell the whole story, neither device is a slouch when it comes to real world performance, handling even the most demanding applications easily. Day-to-day functionality is essentially instantaneous on both.

Apple offers 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB versions of its flagship, while Samsung offers only a 32GB version. That said, the Galaxy S7’s microSD slot allows users to add up to 200GB of additional capacity, so Apple’s advantage here is slight.

Software

At the time of this writing, the iPhone runs Apple iOS 9.3 while the Galaxy is on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. For a more in-depth feature on the differences, see our Android vs iOS comparison.

Samsung tweaks Android with its TouchWiz UI to include some features the company thinks are missing from Google’s version. Most notably, Samsung includes its split-screen multitasking system, which is nice in theory but has limited usefulness on a 5.1-inch screen. This is much more effective on a tablet.

The iPhone generally has less bloatware, applications for services that manufacturers insist on putting on devices that most people don’t want and can’t delete. The amount of this varies from wireless carrier to carrier, though. Our Verizon Galaxy S7 was loaded down with bloatware, with five apps from Samsung and a handful of Verizon services. Out of the box, the OS and preloaded software takes up about 9.5GB with the Galaxy S7, and a bit less than 5GB on the iPhone 6s.

Wireless

No advantages here, as both the iPhone and the Galaxy are very well supplied with 4G LTE as well as all the latest Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band) and Bluetooth (version 4.2) standards.

Apple, Google, and Samsung each have their own competing wireless payment systems that make use of NFC, but adoption of these by retailers is still in its infancy. However, Samsung Pay supports MTS readers, meaning it can be accepted at just about any swipe card reader, regardless of NFC.

Camera

Apple Live Photos add video and audio with a still image.

There’s a 12-megapixel camera that’s capable of taking sharp, beautiful pictures built into both of these phones, and each has an advantage over the other. With the S7, it’s outstanding performance in low-light conditions and fast focus. The S7 has an LED flash, but it barely needs it. The iPhone 6s supports Live Photos, an Apple system that includes short videos along with each picture, bring motion and audio to them.

Again, both have 5MP front cameras. In this case, though, the advantage is all for Apple: the iPhone’s display glows white at full power when taking a selfie, which acts as a basic but effective flash.

Battery

Our benchmark testing shows that the iPhone 6s has a longer battery life than its rival. The exact amount of difference varies depending on how the devices are being used — web browsing, phone calls, video, etc. — but Apple’s offering consistently came out at least a bit ahead. That said, both devices can make it through a typical day of moderate use on a single charge, but neither is up to multiple days unless they are used very little

An advantage for Samsung is its quick-charging technology, as well as built-in wireless charging. These simplify the process of converting a phone with a low battery into something useful.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a slightly better smartphone.

Based on our experiences with Apple’s and Samsung’s mid-sized flagship smartphones, we give the Galaxy S7 a narrow victory. It has a somewhat nicer screen, moderately faster performance, it’s water resistant, and it has a microSD card slot.

This isn’t to suggest the iPhone 6s is a slouch. It stands up to punishment better than its rival, has a generally longer battery life, and comes with more built-in storage options.

Samsung’s victory isn’t dramatic enough to encourage iPhone users to switch over, and the iPhone 6s doesn’t offer enough for any Android-to-iOS converts. Both are quality devices, and users will be pleased either way.

Value

The retail price for the iPhone 6s starts at $649 for the 16GB version, while the 32GB Galaxy S7v ranges from $600 to $700 depending on the carrier. Neither really comes out ahead in this category.

Whether these two are a good value in general is another question. Flagship phones are always the most expensive, and are therefore intended for people willing to pay extra to get the latest and greatest. The older iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 are almost as good as the latest models and sells for roughly $100 less.

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HTC 10 Preview: HTC Finally Got it Right, Maybe

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Dragan Petric

HTC is playing it safe with its new flagship smartphone, simply called HTC 10, and finally giving fans exactly what they want.

In fact, with its up-to-date specifications and advances from 2015’s flagship, the HTC One M9, the HTC 10 has potential to be the flagship for Android OS enthusiasts, as it matches the competition, and in some cases exceeds it. The HTC 10 could also mark HTC’s return to the smartphone market big leagues.

Build & Design

Compared to One M9, the 10 introduces a different and more modern design. HTC has managed to both maintain the recognizable HTC style, and still design a handset that’s aesthetically innovative. Its metal unibody features two textures – sanded down and rounded in the back, as well as smooth edges with a rectangular slope. This provides a high level of ergonomics and a premium effect.

Perhaps in a nod to market trends, the display has slightly rounded edges, very slim right and left rims, and capacitive keys on the bottom to the left and right of the physical Home key, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor. HTC finally ditched the front logo, relocating it to the rear, better equalizing the real display surface and the actual surface.

All physical control buttons sit on the right portrait side, while the serrated Power key is now easy to identify by mere touch. The only design qualm we have is with the rear-facing camera lens, as it protrudes slightly in relation to the back surface. That aside, the HTC 10 is a great-looking smartphone.

HTC 10 SIM tray

HTC 10 power button and volume rocker

In addition, HTC representatives claim they have performed over 10,000 crash, scratch, corrosion, and bend tests, as well as exposed the device to low and high temperatures. HTC devices are already famous for physical reliability, and that should not change with the HTC 10.

Display

HTC 10 has a 5.2-inch Super LCD5 display with 1440 x 2560 resolution.

HTC 10 features a 5.2-inch Super LCD5 display with 2K resolution (1440 x 2560), which is a significant step up from its predecessor. This results in density of 564 pixels per inch. HTC claims the display offers 30 percent more colors than classic LCD. Indeed, we noticed intense saturation on the brighter portion of the spectrum. However, pastel coloring is still evident, which is something we’ve noticed with past HTC smartphones. This does in no way result of unrealistic interpretation, however. Quite the opposite in fact, HTC 10 imaging is extremely pleasant, offers immaculate sharpness, great brightness, and a sustainable contrast. Black tones are very dark, while white tones could be a bit brighter. But overall the display matches other devices in this class.

Interestingly, HTC boasts that the display response time is just 120 milliseconds, which makes it the fastest device in the world according to this specific criterion. In practice, you’ll only feel this exceptionally fast response when compared against another device. In everyday use, it’s not noticeable.

Performance, Battery, & Charger

The HTC 10 is supremely equipped on the inside. It sports the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and Adreno 530 graphics, with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of data storage. It also has a microSD card slot with support for capacity up to 2TB. In our brief hands-on time with it, the HTC 10 performed fluidly as expected and remained cool.

HTC claims its 3000mAh battery offers up to two days of autonomy, provided average use. With intense use and frequent fiddling about, using various antennas and the camera, the device will always make it until the end of the day, they claim. If true, we won’t complain that the HTC 10 is a bit chunky in the middle, most likely on account of the battery.

The HTC 10 supports one of our favorite technology features, Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, and ships with a quick-charge adapter. This means you can charge your battery about 80% in just 30 minutes.

And finally, the HTC 10 supports USB Type-C, the most recent and reversible USB standard.

Camera

Previous HTC flagships had cameras that left much to be desired, which is why we’re happy HTC put much focus on the HTC 10 camera. This Android smartphone has a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, officially called an UltraPixel 2 camera.

UltraPixel camera sensors have larger pixels, with each measuring 1.55 micrometers on the HTC 10. That’s larger than the 1.4 micrometer pixels found the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and S7, which operate on the same principle: larger pixels are better in low light. HTC claims that its new sensor picks up 136 percent more light than One M9, and it pairs with an f/1.8 aperture lens, OIS, laser autofocus (which is actually based on an infra-red beam and not laser) and an optional 0.6-second focus, which is 3x faster compared to One M9.

The HTC 10 has a much-improved camera.

The HTC 10 camera has a 12-megapixel sensor.

We tested the HTC 10 against the iPhone 6S Plus, comparing the images taken indoors. Indeed, the images are approximately the same when it comes to the sharpness, the level of details, color interpretation, exposure. It should be noted that the iPhone 6S Plus does not have the best camera on the smartphone market (the S7 and S7 edge hold that distinction of this writing), but it’s near the top. If HTC managed to match it, then they’ve remedied the one feature that dragged down previous HTC flagships more than any other.

Speakers

HTC has equipped the 10 with Boom Sound Hi-Fi sound edition, which includes a dual speaker (one in the lower part of the phone and the other in the same perforation as the call speaker), offers 24-bit DAC and, as HTC claims, 50x less sound distortion than the Samsung Galaxy S7 and 8x less noise. The device ships with Hi-Res Audio headphones, and the sound was truly impressive in our limited testing. Sound quality was one thing HTC got right with previous HTC One handsets, and we’re happy to see that continue here. This is also the first Android smartphone to support AirPlay for streaming to AirPlay-certified speakers and Apple TV.

Software

Good news: HTC’s latest take on Android is clutter free, with some power-management optimizations for better battery life. Still, there are two nifty software additions.

First, the new HTC Sense comes with the so-called Freestyle themes, as well as icons and widgets that can be placed anywhere on the desktop. This frees them up from the traditional Android grid and size constraints, allowing users to create their own individual chaos. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s unique to the HTC 10.

Second, this is one of a few devices that does not ship with redundant applications. It does not have both Google and HTC applications for image galleries, camera, and web browser. In fact, there are no two apps that serve the same purpose. Of course, many native applications can be replaced by others via the Play Store, but sticking with Google apps keeps the HTC 10 cleaner than some rival devices, which have many duplicate apps that simply can’t be deleted.

Improved Flagship

The HTC 10 is an extremely improved flagship compared to the last year’s model, and it has features that make it a contender in a very competitive market. There are no major gimmicks here, just a solid Android smartphone, which is what we loved about the new Samsung Galaxies. We look forward to taking a closer look when we have a review unit, but until then we are impressed with what HTC did with its latest Android device.

The HTC 10 is now available for preorder for $699 and is expected to ship next month. It is coming to Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, but not AT&T. An unlocked version sold by HTC will work on that network, however. It will be available in black and silver in the US, while a gold HTC 10 will be available in other markets.

The post HTC 10 Preview: HTC Finally Got it Right, Maybe appeared first on Brighthand.com.

Windows 10 Continuum: Don’t Throw Your PC Away Just Yet

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Brighthand Staff

Smartphones have come a long way since inception. Email, word processing, as well as video recording and editing: the list of the modern day handheld’s functionality is impressive. It begs the question: when will these devices be capable of replacing our PCs?

Microsoft says your phone is good enough to be your PC.

That day may be rapidly approaching with Microsoft’s Continuum for phones. Continuum is a software feature that allows Windows Phone devices to connect to a display via a wired dock or Miracast. It can be used to simply port the data over to a larger display, or offer dual-screen functionality. It all sounds rather simple, but mirroring the handhelds data onto a more work-friendly form factor (complete with keyboard and mouse) could have huge implications.

As the team at NotebookReview explored, the potential for Continuum is certainly great there are some caveats to consider. The first being that Continuum in its current stage does nothing to bolster the performance of smartphones, it’s merely mirroring content onto a larger display. While phones have made great strides in performance, the average handset will struggle to put together a professional PowerPoint presentation or solve a demanding spreadsheet calculation in a timely manner. HP believes it may have a device that’s up to the task, but NotebookReview has its reservations.

This could be your next desktop PC … if you don’t need to use older software.

It’s worth noting that Continuum doesn’t allow smartphones to run desktop applications, it’s just porting the handset’s apps onto a larger display. That means that a large selection of the applications users enjoy on their Windows PCs (namely legacy software) will not be available. App selection will be resigned to what is offered in the Windows 10 App Store, which has long been criticized for its lack of content.

The process of turning your phone into a fully functioning PC is also an expensive endeavor. Continuum may be baked into the Windows Phone software, but all the peripherals aren’t. Of course, you could opt to simply use the screen on your handset, but staring at a 5-inch or 6-inch device can become straining. To port your phone over to the big screen you’re going to need a dock or a Miracast enabled display, along with a keyboard and a mouse. Not to mention all of the Windows Phone apps you’ll need to purchase, considering PC applications won’t work on your smartphone.

The biggest problem for Windows phones is almost no one uses them.

That brings us to another issue. To get access to Continuum, you will need to switch over to Windows Phone. Microsoft has managed to convert a small selection of loyal fans, but the platform currently ranks a distant third with Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone accounting for 96.2 percent of the U.S. smartphone market.

Continuum is dependent on Windows Phone applications and app developers have very little incentive to currently create apps for the platform when the lion’s share of users exists on Android and iOS.

Continuum is a bold idea, but there is still a great deal of kinks to be worked out. A lot of ifs need to be answered before it can help transform our handsets into our primary productivity devices.

That’s not to say that the day won’t come. But for now, PCs still have their place.

For the full conversation on Continuum be sure to check out our editorial on NotebookReview.

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How to Buy a Smartphone: Understanding Smartphone Specs

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Vince Font

Did you ever take a close look at a smartphone spec sheet? Have any idea what the numbers and letters mean, what they tell you about the smartphone? While Apple fans have argued for years that “specs don’t matter” because they often don’t directly translate to the actual user experience, they can serve to guide to a buying decision. Here’s what you need to know.

Processor

The processor is sometimes listed as the SoC (system on a chip) or just CPU (central processing unit). The processor is essentially the brain of the smartphone, and as such is one of the single most critical specs to consider. On smartphones, the processor houses both the CPU and GPU (graphical processing unit), and it’s typically based on the ARM architecture.

ARM processor A processor’s speed is rated numerically, in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). These numbers define the processor’s “clock speed,” and it’s a reflection of the number of instructions a processor can handle per second. A processor running at 1 MHz can handle 1 million instructions per second, while a processor running at 1 GHz can handle a whopping 1 billion (1000 MHz roughly equals 1 GHz). As you might imagine, the higher the number attached to the CPU, the faster the processor speed, and you won’t find a new smartphone with an advertised speed of less than 1 GHz. Higher processor speeds are generally desired if you like to game or run intensive apps, but high speeds aren’t always necessary for casual use.

The next thing to look at in a processor is the number of cores, or processing units on a chip. Processors come in single-core or multi-core varieties. The differences are easy to grasp. The more cores there are, the more processing units, and the more tasks a smartphone is able to perform simultaneously without experiencing a significant lag in speed. As of this writing, smartphone processors top out at eight cores (octa core), but many still ship with four (quad core).

Multi-core processors are built for multitasking, and any new smartphone released in 2016 will have at least two cores. It’s important to note, however, that more cores and higher clock speeds don’t directly translate to better performance. Software plays a big role, and efficient software doesn’t need as powerful a processor to run swiftly. In addition, software has to be written specifically to take advantage of multiple cores and clock speeds.

Apple presents an excellent example here. The iPhone often lags behind Android flagships on the spec sheet, but new iPhone performance is always top notch. This is because iOS is very efficient, a benefit Apple enjoys because it produces both the hardware and software itself.

You may also see a “64-bit” processor. This is an upgrade over the traditional “32-bit” processors. 64-bit processors are able to access bigger chunks of memory, run more complex apps, and are better able to handle multi-tasking

Display

A smartphone’s display is often front and center to a buyer’s decision, and rightly so. You look at it and interact with it more than any other part of the phone, and displays that aren’t of sufficient size or quality will spoil the experience. But with the vast number of terms you’re likely to encounter, making the right choice can be tough. On the spec sheet, you’ll find references to display type, size, and resolution. All are important considerations.

Samsung Super AMOLED display The spec lists for smartphones are packed with an alphabetical overabundance when it comes to displays: AMOLED, Super AMOLED, IPS, LCD, OLED, Retina, LED and TFT, to list some of the more popular. Each of these refer to a specific technology behind the display.

At the time of this writing two of the best options in terms of the visual experience are AMOLED and IPS. Super AMOLED is a next-generation AMOLED, and LCD is sometimes called LED. IPS (in-plane switching) is an LCD variation that delivers extra-wide viewing angles so the contrast and colors on the screen won’t shift if your viewing angle changes.

Many Android smartphones feature some version of AMOLED. It’s a newer display technology that many prefer for its deep blacks and vibrant colors. Its high contrast makes it great for cutting through overhead glare, and it potentially results in thinner devices because it doesn’t require a backlight … which also makes it more battery efficient than LCD. Each pixel in an AMOLED display is individually lit separately (or off completely, which explains the deep blacks).

Apple still sticks with good-ole LCD for its iPhone and iPad (the Apple Watch is OLED). It’s a tried-and-true technology that produces more balanced colors and brighter whites than OLED. Because it’s backlit (you can often see hints of light bleeding around the edges), blacks appear slightly washed out. IPS delivers a better viewing experience at odd angles compared to a traditional LCD but requires a more powerful backlight, which can quickly drain the battery. You’ll see IPS displays on higher-end smartphones and phablets. TFT, which stands for thin film transistor, is a modern variation of the traditional LCD. It’s cheaper to manufacture, but won’t deliver the wide viewing angles of IPS and therefore is found in low-end smartphones.

After that, you’ll find marketing terms to define pixels and other unique display tech. Apple’s “Retina” is probably the most famous. It signifies a high pixel density. You can’t make out any one individual pixel when viewing a Retina display at a certain distance (10 to 12 inches for a smartphone display with 300 pixels per inch). All high-end smartphones currently exceed the Retina designation, but only Apple uses it because Retina is Apple’s trademarked term.

gorilla-glass You may also see “scratch proof/resistant,”or “Gorilla Glass” mentioned, or maybe even “Sapphire.” These are protection technologies built into the glass used for displays. Gorilla Glass is made by Corning and it’s what keeps your smartphone display from shattering when you drop it. Motorola has a similar technology in Shattershield.

Display size is another important consideration. It’s measured diagonally, corner to corner. Most Android phones exceed 5 inches, while the iPhone 6s stands at 4.7. For infrequent use, you don’t necessarily need to have a phablet-sized smartphone (exceeding 5.5 inches). However, if you’re buying a smartphone to act as a mobile media device capable of streaming movies, consider picking a screen large enough to view movies comfortably.

Big displays also equal bigger phones, and therefore may not be a good fit for you if you prefer single-handed use. But it’s important to keep in mind that as components shrink, so to do smartphones. It’s possible to squeeze bigger displays on smaller devices than it was just a few years ago.

Finally, display resolution is a straightforward spec. Think of a smartphone as a grid, with pixels running up along the side of the device, and then along to top. The number of pixels on those sides represent the resolution. Common resolutions include Full HD (1920 pixels by 1080, just like a common HDTV) and Quad HD (2560 x 1440), but these numbers vary. The iPhone 6s has a 1334 x 750 display, while the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium has a 3840 x 2160 display. More important than the resolution is the pixels per inch (PPI), or pixel density. High-end Android smartphones top 500 pixels per inch, while the iPhone 6S has a pixel density of 326 ppi. The higher the PPI the better, but there are diminishing returns as the number goes up. Anything over 300 is typically indistinguishable by the human eye unless you’re viewing the screen at extremely close distances (such as using your phone with a VR gaming headset).

Connectivity

We’ve covered cellular networking technology, and all smartphones now support Wi-Fi, with most supporting the latest Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac. Some budget smartphones top out at 802.11n; previously the highest consumer standard. Most smartphones also support dual-band Wi-Fi, which means it can connect to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks. The 5GHz networks typically provide faster and more reliable Wi-Fi, in part because they are less crowded with devices. But that’s not all. Smartphones have a few other networking technologies:

Bluetooth is a standard on all smartphones and is the preferred method of choice when connecting your mobile device to wireless speakers, headphones, keyboards, and other accessories. Bluetooth variants include 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. Version 4.0 is also often referred to as Bluetooth Smart, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) or just LE (Low Energy). As of this writing, version 4.2 reigns as the state-of-the-art upgrade to the technology, which enables faster connections, improved internet connectivity, and increased security. Apple has also developed its own class of BLE tech called iBeacon.
Bluetooth is reverse compatible, which means you can pair a Bluetooth 4.0 smartphone up with a set of Bluetooth 3.0 speakers. Smartphones have to have equivalent or higher Bluetooth tech in order to communicate with external devices. What this mean is that if you own a Bluetooth 4.0 headset, you’ll need a smartphone running 4.0 in order to pair up.
NFC, or near-field communication, allows you to transfer data, like photos and contacts, to or from your phone to another NFC-enabled device without the use of cables. Uses for NFC also include things like point-of-sale payments like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay.
USB Type-C, full-sized USB 3.0

USB connectivity is used to charge smartphones and also enables the transfer of data via a wired connection. The prevailing USB types on today’s smartphones are microUSB (version 2.0) and the newer USB Type-C (which supports the USB 3.1 standard). Smartphones equipped with USB Type-C ports are convenient because the cable ends are reversible and can transfer data faster when connected to another USB 3.0 or 3.1 device. One of the drawbacks of adopting a Type-C device is that it requires a different cable, rendering all those spare microUSB cables you have lying around useless. Additionally, Type-C cables aren’t compatible with traditional USB ports for your computer or external devices and require a USB Type-C-to-USB adapter to enable the connection.
When looking at the type of USB connectivity, consider the fact that sometimes a move “up” in handset iteration doesn’t always mean an equal move forward with respect to technology. A good example of this is the Samsung Galaxy S5, which came with a faster microUSB v3.0 port, and the Galaxy S6 and S7, both of which took backward steps in speed by re-incorporating a microUSB v2.0 port.
If you’re looking at an iPhone, take note: Apple has its own proprietary connectivity port called Lightning (replacing the large 30-pin connector), which is incompatible with micro USB and USB Type-C cables. This means that in order to connect your iPhone to another device, you’ll need a Lighting cable to do so.

Memory

Screenshot_20160321-104142 System RAM and Flash RAM aren’t the same thing, but both fall into the memory category. The amount of system RAM (random access memory) impacts the smartphone’s ability to multitask, just as it does on your computer. Therefore, more RAM means more speed and stability – but it’s also possible to overkill on RAM if you’re not going to be utilizing it all that often. High-end smartphones top out at about 4GB RAM as of this writing.

Flash RAM or Flash memory is often found on spec sheets as “internal storage” or “capacity,” and it reflects how much storage space the device has to house things like photos, videos, music, and apps – all of which can quickly fill up your device. The amount of internal storage available to you, as opposed the GBs being consumed by the device’s OS and included apps, differs from one device to another. Some smartphones ship with 10 GB of the internal storage already gobbled up by the operating system and the bundled apps out of the box. Before you buy, look into how much of that storage is actually available, as this is a more accurate representation of how much storage space you have.

In general, smartphones ship with 16, 32, 64, or 128GB of internal storage. Most find 16GB to be insufficient, especially as apps become more sophisticated, and photo/video files become larger. If you purchase a new smartphone capable of recording 4K video then you probably don’t want anything less than 64 GB worth of storage.

The presence of microSD card slots on some smartphones makes it possible for you to expand on the internal storage. Some Android smartphones have a feature that enables users to mount microSD cards as internal storage, using them to store and run apps. Otherwise, microSD is suitable for storing media, like photos and videos.

Sensors

Smartphones come equipped with all sorts of sensors that improve the user experience and turn them into something far more than “just” phones – or devices to be used for time-killing exploits like playing games and watching movies. Here’s what you’ll find on a smartphone spec sheet.

Accelerometers and gyroscopes detect motion in your smartphone, performing quick functions like automatically switching between landscape and portrait mode. Other smartphone features that allow you to launch certain actions with a shake of the phone, are reliant on an accelerometer or gyroscope.
Proximity sensors are helpful for identifying the difference between your fingertip and your cheek. Smartphones with proximity sensors won’t accidentally launch applications if you’re having a conversation and your face accidentally brushes up against the screen.
GPS, when engaged, uses satellite technology to find your location and is used for functions like mapping routes and finding your smartphone if it’s been lost or stolen. Many smartphones now ship with GPS and GLONASS, which are different, but do the same thing. While the US was deploying GPS satellites in the 1970s, the Soviet Union was deploying GLONASS. It’s now commercially used as a GPS alternative, or in conjunction with GPS for an overall better experience.

Camera

The lens and image sensor make up the bulk of the camera spec. Megapixel is the most common spec, and it refers to the number of pixels in an image, measured in the millions. Five megapixels is five million pixels. The more megapixels, the higher the resolution, and the greater your ability to crop a photo without experiencing pixelation.

aperature This isn’t to say that more megapixels always make for better quality pictures. Some image sensors have larger individual pixels, which are able to pick up more light and perform better in low-light conditions. Because they are physically larger, there are less of them, and the images have fewer megapixels.

The camera lens also affects image quality. A smartphone camera lens is measured by the size of the diaphragm, often called the aperture. The more open the diaphragm, the more light that can get in, the better the camera performance in low light. This is expressed in f/stops, or “f” followed by a number. The smaller the number, the more open the diaphragm. Many smartphone cameras hover around f/2 and f/1.9, with some now shipping at f/1.7. Remember, the smaller the number, the better.

Stabilization is also important. OIS stands for optical image stabilization, and it’s basically a suspension system that keeps the lens steady from shakes, twitches, and any other movement. Without it, your videos would look like earthquake footage and your photos would be blurry. The alternative to OIS is digital image stabilization, which uses software to correct images. OIS is better.

Video resolution is another consideration. A smartphone capable of recording video in 1080p or Full HD resolution at 30 frames per second (fps) is the base standard. Many flagships shoot Full HD at 60fps, and newer phones even record 4K video.

There’s a lot more to cameras, including focus technology/speed, and camera software capabilities. And just like the display, the spec sheet is loaded with marketing terms.

The Importance of the Test Drive

There is much more to smartphone spec sheets, including networking bands, networking category, battery size (the bigger the mAh number, the better), charging technology, and build material, to name a few. Just remember, the spec sheet best serves as a high-level guide. Our advice is always to realistically evaluate your needs, read professional reviews, and then pay a visit to your local big box store and devote some time to testing out your available choices.

Specs aren’t everything. Thanks to recent advances in smartphone technology, it’s possible that a $200 smartphone will do everything need – including saving you hundreds of dollars.

Want to learn more about buying a smartphone? Read all about network technology, including LTE, GSM, and CDMA. And then read all about no-contract smartphone data plans and pricing and picking the right smartphone plan. Finally, learn the differences between Android and iOS.

The post How to Buy a Smartphone: Understanding Smartphone Specs appeared first on Brighthand.com.

How to Buy a Smartphone: Android vs iOS

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Vince Font

Once you’ve narrowed down a carrier and a smartphone plan, it comes time to choose a smartphone. This part can be easy if you are happily tied to a particular platform or fond of a particular manufacturer, but if you’re looking for a change or coming in fresh, choosing a new smartphone is a daunting task thanks to the dozens, if not hundreds, of options.

There’s only one way to approach this to ensure you get the best device for your needs: start at the top. That means first pick your operating system. For the vast majority, that comes down to Apple iOS or Google Android.

At a basic level, both platforms are similar. You can get the same work done on an iOS device as you can an Android. And you can watch movies, play games, browse the internet, send messages, video chat, take pictures, and manage email just the same. But if you dive in, core differences emerge that lend the platforms to specific types of users.

The Issue of Choice: Android vs iOS

Picking between Android and iOS requires that you take something of a bird’s-eye view on what separates the two. The biggest difference between Android and iOS lies in customization. Simply put, Android smartphones offer more customization than iOS smartphones. As a consequence, there’s a natural trade-off: because iOS devices can’t be tweaked to the same extent as Android, they’re seen by many as more intuitive and user friendly.

The Android Way

android logo None of this is to say that you need a degree in computer science to operate an Android smartphone. But if you like to tinker and you want the ability to tweak your smartphone to give it a more unique and personalized interface, an Android smartphone is probably best for you.

Customization of Android smartphones is limited only by the functionality of the device and applications it’s running. This includes installing any number of themes; adding interactive widgets to home and lock screens; designating certain apps to launch specific file types; downloading third-party app launchers, app trays, dialers, keyboards, email, and SMS apps; and changing default fonts. Even better, Android smartphones enable app sideloading, which is the act of downloading apps to your smartphone from a source other than the official Google Play Store, like the popular Amazon Underground, or even straight off the internet.

Screenshot_20160315-113755 There’s more. If you’re not happy with the level of customization you can get with your Android, you’ve always got the option of “rooting” your device. Rooting is the process of stripping away all layers of control put in place by Android smartphone manufacturers or the carriers. The benefits of rooting your Android include having greater ability to sideload apps, removing bloatware and custom skins, and doing away with the ads that come with free apps. This last part is accomplished by installing ad blocking extensions for your browser, which are typically only functional on rooted devices. Again, this doesn’t require a computer science degree, but it’s best suited for advanced users, and there is always a risk of bricking (rendering your smartphone inoperable).

The Android OS is also known for having more functional quick launch buttons in its pull-down notification bar. With an Android, you can single-tap from the pull-down bar to toggle Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on or off, turn on GPS, engage airplane mode, mute the volume, lock screen rotation, read and respond to texts, and more. Holding down the function icon even launches the settings menu for each. In comparison, iOS devices include a pull-up Control Center that have many of these functions and let you toggle them on or off, but if you want to make any settings changes there’s no shortcut to getting there.

In short, Android sets a loose set of boundaries and allows users a certain level of freedom in determining their own workflows and preferences. This necessitates some trial and error, but Android fans would insist that’s all part of the fun.

The Apple Way

Apple iOS devices are a different animal. Apple has loosened iOS up with recent updates, adding interactive widgets to the Notification Center and third-party keyboard support, but aside from that and wallpapers, iOS is a very uniform and inflexible environment. Out of the box, users cannot sideload apps or universally change default apps like the browser or email client. If you click a link in an app, it will open in Safari. There are workarounds whereby users can designate defaults going app by app (instructing the Gmail app to open all links in Chrome, for example), but it’s cumbersome to say the least.

If you want to customize your iPhone to the extent that you can customize an Android, you’ll have to jailbreak it. Jailbreaking is basically the act of stripping away Apple’s iOS software restrictions, of which there are many. One benefit is the ability to sideload apps from sources other than the Apple App Store (which haven’t been approved for use on iOS devices). It also lets you do things like install custom themes, resize and change app icons, universally designate default apps across the device, gain access to system files, create gesture shortcuts, and customize your lock screen.

itjustworks Apple strongly discourages people from jailbreaking their iPhones and iPads because, according to them, doing so can cause your operating system to become unstable and susceptible to frequent crashes. Not only does jailbreaking an iPhone or iPad void your device warranty, but it also leaves you more vulnerable to malware that could gain entry through the sideloading of untrustworthy apps. Jailbreaking an iOS device also prevents you from being able to take advantage of frequent iOS updates. And again, there always the risk of bricking your iPhone and turning it into an expensive paperweight.

So why iOS? For all its rigidity, it’s very intuitive and relatively stable. If something breaks or doesn’t work right, Apple is quick to push out a fix. Apple iOS is also polished in ways that makes Android users envious. Apple once adopted the “It just works” slogan, and that applies here. There’s a uniformity with iOS and makes sense to users, and makes it very easy to pick up and use with little or no experience.

App Availability

Despite the fact there are more Android smartphones in circulation than there are iOS devices, many app developers hit the iOS market first. One reason for this, fragmentation. With literally thousands of different Android devices on the market with different RAM, processors, and display sizes and resolutions, and numerous versions of Android in use at any given time, it’s a challenge for app developers to keep up with support demands. Squashing hyper-specific bugs can be daunting. There’s also the issue of testing, which is significantly simpler when dealing with a handful of iOS devices versus thousands of Android handsets.

appstore

As a result, iPhone users sometimes get access to apps far in advance of Android users. In some cases, apps initially released to the iOS market may never make it to the Android market, like the excellent Photoshop Sketch and Tweetbot. The same can be said for apps created specifically for Android devices, but these are typically limited to apps like Tasker, which leverage customization capabilities iOS devices aren’t capable of off the shelf.

Generally, Apple’s tight grip and limited device variability ensures a level of quality control not found in the Google Play Store. It’s more commonplace for Android users to experience app failure or bugs after upgrading to the new OS because app developers haven’t had an opportunity to adapt their apps to the new software. This is a less frequent occurrence with iOS apps.

googleplaystore

Just because app developers sometimes lead with iOS doesn’t mean Apple holds the lion’s share of applications. On the contrary, there are more applications available to Android users thanks to Android sideloading support. But even looking at the official repositories, most estimates suggest the Google Play Store has a few hundred thousand more apps than the Apple App Store.

Other Things to Think About

The mobile carriers may make it easy for you to trade in your iPhone for a Samsung, but that doesn’t mean the cross-platform migration will be without its fair share of road bumps and obstacles. For one, any apps you downloaded on one platform will have to be downloaded on the new. Most importantly, any apps you paid for will also have to be purchased again.

For those unsure about making the leap, Apple has released an official app called Move to iOS which eases the transition by helping you to transfer content from your Android to your iOS device with ease. Google also offers a similar resource for Android adopters that help with transferring music, photos, contacts, and even offering assistance finding replacement apps.

moveios

The issue of USB hosting and general accessory support is another big consideration. Android smartphones are far more versatile with the number of USB-based peripherals that they can be attached to, like keyboards, mice, game controllers, and external hard drives. Apple uses its proprietary Lightning cable, and even with the proper adapters wouldn’t support an Xbox 360 controller like an Android device. Apple and third-parties offer all sorts of iOS hardware accessories, but most are Bluetooth-based with some exceptions.

What about Blackberry and Windows?

Windows logo Blackberry and Microsoft have been in the game for ages, and technically serve as alternatives for iOS and Android. There are a few things to consider here: Windows devices may be greatly appealing if you’re a dedicated PC user comfortable with the Windows environment, and BlackBerry was once the choice of businesses for its tight security controls. Both Windows 10 Mobile and BlackBerry 10 are fine operating systems in their own right, but both are crippled by their app situations and limited hardware selection.

The list of missing apps is as long as it is varied, including Pinterest and Snapchat, and a quick look at mobile operating system marketshare suggests the situation is only going to get worse, with both BlackBerry and Windows combining for about 4% of the total and trending in the wrong direction. Why would developers spend time working on platforms virtually no one is using?

In terms of devices, the last BlackBerry smartphone, the BlackBerry Priv ran Android instead of BlackBerry 10, and last BlackBerry 10 device, the BlackBerry Leap, launched in April 2015. Acer, HP, Microsoft, and a few others are still pumping out Windows 10 Mobile smartphones, but with the exception of Microsoft’s Lumia brand, most are budget or niche devices. BlackBerry_10_logo Bottom line: Technically these are iOS and Android alternatives. We would still recommend avoiding them unless they pull an incredible market turnaround.

You Do You

Once again, both operating systems will serve you well. Remember, there’s not much you can’t do an Android that can’t also be done on an iOS device, and vice versa. It’s more a matter of how you go about doing those things. If you want less restricted freedom to customize your smartphone and workflows, Android is the way. If you prefer to use a slick device that’s ready to go straight out of the box, iOS is the way. Pick your poison.

Want to learn more about buying a smartphone? Read all about network technology, including LTE, GSM, and CDMA. And then read all about no-contract smartphone data plans and pricing and picking the right smartphone plan. Finally, learn all about smartphone specs.

The post How to Buy a Smartphone: Android vs iOS appeared first on Brighthand.com.

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Review: Near Perfect

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Jamison Cush

The Samsung Galaxy edge smartphones are unquestionably the most attractive on the market. The sloped display edges literally turn heads, and Android icons almost appear to float on the AMOLED screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge is a stunning smartphone.

The problem is that the edges have limited utility. Sure, Samsung offers Edge panels, Edge feeds, and Edge lighting, all of which are novel and unique to the design, but those features – despite improving the general aesthetics – have done little to justify the premium price of the Galaxy edge.

With a move to make its smartphones more useful, evident by the returning microSD card slot and waterproofing, Samsung attempts to give its edge screen some more practicality through third-party edges and increased pixel space.

Does it work, or is the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge just another pretty and expensive smartphone?

Please note, the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge is very similar to the Galaxy S7 that launches alongside it. The S7 is slightly smaller, with a 5.1-inch screen, and does not have the edge display, but it’s otherwise the same smartphone. Much of what’s written here applies to it as well.

Build and Design

Those in the smartphone market owe it to themselves to look at the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. It has all the hallmarks of a Samsung smartphone, but with a slicker design. It has a metal-and-glass build with the curved display and contoured back edges that make it easier to grip than similarly-sized devices. It’s cool to the touch, and even though the glass is slipperier than the textured or rubberized plastic found on “grippier” smartphones, it shrugs off smudges and fingerprints better than expected.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge has a glass back that can be tough to grip.

The Android smartphone measures 5.94 x 2.85 x .30 inches and weighs 5.5 ounces, making it slightly thicker and heavier than the S6 edge and S6 edge+. This is actually good news, because with the added bulk come a larger battery than previous Galaxy S edges, and a microSD card slot. As we’ve stated in the past, utility trumps design, especially when the sacrifices are measured in fractions of an inch and ounce.

The familiar oblong home button returns, doubling as a fingerprint sensor and is bordered by the recent-apps and back softkeys, just under the display. The 5-megapxiel front camera sits above the display, to the right of the earpiece, with proximity sensors and status light to the left. The back houses the flash and heart-rate sensor, just right of the 12-megapixel rear camera and above carrier and Samsung branding.

A metal ring surrounds the device edges, with the two-button volume controls on the left side, and power button on the right. This is preferable to other devices with have the power volume rocker on the same edge, which too often leads to accidental power button pressings.

Left to right on the bottom are the 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB charger/data port, microphone and speaker. The microphone and SIM/microSD card tray sit on the top.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge is IP68 rated for dust and water resistance. Samsung claims it can technically survive in up to five feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Users will likely find it beneficial for shrugging off spills and rain. We dunked our review unit in about a foot of water a few times, used it in the rain, and spilled liquids all over it, and it powered through like nothing happened. Some users have reported that the S7 edge won’t charge if it detects moisture in the USB port, at least not until it dries. We didn’t experience this, but it makes sense as a protective measure against water damage.

Unfortunately, the S7 edge is not drop resistant. It feels solid and is definitely well-crafted, but it’s glass-covered. It could survive a drop or two (or three), but even a Gorilla Glass 4 display will shatter with enough force. As much as we hate covering up such an attractive device, a protective case should be the first accessory any S7 edge owner buys.

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge microUSB

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge power button

Display

The S7 edge has a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED Gorilla Glass 4 display that stretches across the front and bends slightly at the landscape edges, revealing a very slim bezel. For all intents and purposes, it’s a curved display with a 2560 x 1440 resolution and 534 pixels per inch.

The always-on display shows basic info.

Samsung hasn’t upped the pixel count from its 2015 smartphones, but the S7 edge is no worse for it. Anyway, the next step up would be in the range of 4K. A 4K display may benefit the Samsung Gear VR, which suffers from some pixilation, but it’s overkill for most users, and it would drive the price up and battery life down.

Even without 4K, Samsung displays are still the best on the market, and the S7 edge looks stunning with deep blacks and vibrant colors. Brightness is ample, and the S7 edge cuts through glare as well as any other device we’ve tested. One drawback of AMOLED is that whites appear a bit dirty, and there’s a bit of that here. Samsung offers a display setting that applies a sepia tone for those that like things a bit warmer.

Samsung added a new “always-on” mode to the S7 and the S7 edge. Users can toggle it on and off in the settings, and when activated it displays a calendar with meeting dates highlighted, clock with basic alerts, or screen saver-like image. No private information, like message content or meeting attendees, is ever displayed, and it’s based around the S7 edge’s light sensor. This way it can shut off when it senses the smartphone is in a pocket, or dim when it’s bedside.

It’s far from a necessary feature, but it’s well implemented and has a very minimal effect on the battery (Samsung tells us that it has an approximate 1% effect). We kept it on for the screen saver images alone, as they look very cool. Thanks to AMOLED’s deep blacks, the image patterns appear stamped into the glass.

Edge Features

CNN’s Edge panel

Of course, the S7 edge gets its name from the series of features that take advantage of the sloped display. Collectively managed through the “Edge screen” portion of the settings menu, they include Edge panels, Edge feeds, Edge lighting, and Night Clock.

These all function similarly as they have with previous edge devices. The Edge feed is a thin data scroll with news headlines, missed alerts, sports scores, and other basic information, which is activated via a quick finger slide along the display edge while the phone is powered down. Like the always-on display, it looks neat but offers little utility. A quick tap of the power button also reveals any missed alerts, and news ticker truncates too many headlines to be very informative. Night Clock is similar in that it displays a dimly-lit clock on the same edge during specified hours.

Those that actually use a smartphone as a phone will appreciated Edge lighting. When activated and the smartphone flipped on its display, the edge emits a light wave to indicate incoming calls. A 2-second press of the heart rate monitor rejects the call and sends a user-defined and automated text message. It works flawlessly.

Finally, Samsung tweaked the Edge panels for the S7 edge, doubling the pixel-width to 550, providing more screen real estate for shortcuts and info. People edge and App edge return with shortcuts for contacts and apps. Samsung added new edges for weather, stocks, and place-specific shortcuts like home and work. The standouts here are the new Quick Tools, which includes a compass, ruler, and flashlight shortcut, and the new Tasks edge, which includes quick shortcuts for taking selfies, adding calendar items, setting alarms, and the like. Samsung also opened it up to third parties like Yahoo and CNN for news bits and sports scores. This works much better than the Edge feed news ticker, as there is enough space for the whole headline along with a small image.

There’s enough here that users will find something of use, and it’s certainly better than previous edge implementations. Most on the NotebookReview team rely on their phone as an alarm clock, so we particularly liked the Night Clock. Quick Tools is another thoughtful addition. We’ve never needed a smartphone compass, but if we ever get lost in the woods we’ll be happy it’s there. But the entire edge experience needs refinement. It’s a classic case of feature creep, with some redundancies with the always-on display.

Samsung has a history of fine tuning features. TouchWiz was a bloated mess with the Galaxy S5 before Samsung scaled it back with the S6. Same goes with the S Pen and Note series. Samsung did a great job incorporating Pen functions into workflows with the Note5, making it feel like a natural extension of Android.

As with any and all smartphones, the S7 edge speakers are suitable for personal use, but not much more. The sound has a decent fullness to it on the low end, but it’s tinny on the high. As we often state, smartphone speakers are the last thing that should sway a buying decision because they are all various levels of “good enough.”

In the Box

The S7 edge ships with a fast charger, earbud headphones, and a microUSB-to-full adapter. The headphones are high quality, as far as these things go, with basic media controls and an extra set of rubber tips. The USB adapter is specifically useful for Android smartphone owners. In fact, it’s a must-own accessory. Thanks to Android’s USB hosting ability, the S7 edge can support a USB mouse, keyboard, external hard drive, and wired gamepad, even an Xbox 360 controller. We love it when manufacturers include unexpected extras (often in the form of a plastic case) and Samsung is the first we’ve seen to include this handy adapter.

The post Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Review: Near Perfect appeared first on Brighthand.com.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Review: Boring, And That’s Just the Way We Like It

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Grant Hatchimonji

Whether it’s a result of market oversaturation or manufacturers releasing new iterations too frequently, it’s starting to feel like “this year’s smartphone model” isn’t all that distinct from “last year’s smartphone model.” Sure, phones are getting better every year, objectively speaking; a slightly faster processor here, a marginally improved camera there. But when new versions are launching at such a fast clip, you’re bound to occasionally end up with phones like the Samsung Galaxy S7: undoubtedly excellent, but without many new and meaningful features.

Don’t get us wrong, this is a tremendous phone that defines “top of the line.” It’s just that the line isn’t all that far from where it was a year ago.

Please note, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is very similar to the Galaxy S7 edge that launches alongside it. The S7 edge is slightly bigger, with a 5.5-inch screen, and has the Edge display, but it’s otherwise the same smartphone.

Build & Design

The Samsung Galaxy S7 doesn’t deviate from the traditional Galaxy design.

The usual complimentary language applies to the Galaxy S7 build – sleek, gorgeous, premium, etc. – but it also leans a little towards futuristic. Part of this is due to the metallic, semi-reflective nature of the “Gold Platinum” color variant we reviewed. But it can also be chalked up to Samsung’s seamless blending of sharp and rounded aspects. Most of the Galaxy S7 edges come together at a sharp crease, but the back panel of the phone meets the rest of the body with gently sloped edges on the sides. This back “panel” is not actually removable; although it’s clearly a separate piece, you won’t find any battery access here.

Another attractive aspect of the Galaxy S7’s design, in addition to its beautiful metal and glass construction, is its manageable size. Many on the NotebookReview team have long lamented the unfortunate trend of smartphones becoming larger with each generation, but Samsung has finally taken a step back and created a phone with a more reasonable footprint than some of the competition (and even some of its predecessors). Thanks to an efficient use of real estate, the phone still has a good-sized screen at 5.1 inches while sporting comfortable dimensions, measuring in at 5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 inches. Together, the design and the more compact size make it great to use and hold.

The phone’s weight isn’t excessive either, also adding to the comfort factor. At 5.36 ounces (152 grams), this device strikes that perfect balance: it’s not so light that it feels cheap, but it’s not so heavy that it feels like a brick. It has just enough heft to feel like the byproduct of a quality build rather than poor engineering.

The Galaxy S7 has a metal and glass build, but the back panel is not removable.

A word of warning: this phone is slick, literally. Metal and glass are not the most grip-friendly materials. We fumbled with and dropped it a few times during testing. It may be a good-looking smartphone, but you’ll want to buy a case for it ASAP.

As for various ports and controls, nearly everything is where you would expect. Two separate buttons serve as a volume rocker and reside on the left side, while the right side plays host only to the power/standby button. The front of the phone is standard, with the physical home button/fingerprint sensor placed directly below the display, flanked by capacitive recent apps and back buttons. In addition to the sensors on the left of the phone’s earpiece, there is also a multi-colored notification light, while the 5-megapixel front-facing camera sits on the right. The back houses the 12-megapixel rear-facing camera and, directly to its right, the LED flash and returning heart rate sensor.

The 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB port, and speaker sit on the bottom edge. And finally, the card tray rests on the top edge. The tray holds not only the phone’s SIM card, but also a microSD card as expandable memory makes its triumphant return to the Galaxy S series.

Samsung Galaxy S7 microSD card slot

Samsung Galaxy S7 microUSB input

Samsung Galaxy S7 volume rocker

Display

There isn’t much new to be said about Samsung’s Super AMOLED displays, but it’s worth noting the S7 display is a real beauty. Colors are deep and well saturated, it’s bright (even on lower settings), and the sharpness is among the best on the market. Protected by a healthy layer of Corning Gorilla Glass, the Galaxy S7’s 5.1-inch display sports a 1440 x 2560 resolution for a density of roughly 577 pixels per inch. This iteration of the Galaxy S also introduces an “always-on” display feature, should you want it, which we’ll get to soon.

The only real gripe we had about the display is that it very occasionally suffered from some accuracy issues in testing, particularly near the edge of screen. This happened a few times with one handed navigation, particularly while navigating deep into menus, as the phone seemed to register just below our thumb taps.

Specs

Our Verizon Samsung Galaxy S7 review unit came with the following specs:

5.1-inch Super AMOLED Display (2560 x 1440 resolution, 577ppi), Gorilla Glass 4
5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 inches
5.36 ounces
IP68 certified dust and water resistance
Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 processor (dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo and dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo, Adreno 530 GPU)
4GB RAM
32GB capacity (microSD expandable to 200GB as of this writing)
Android 6.0.1 with TouchWiz UI
microUSB 2.0 charging and data
12-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front, f/1.7 lens, dual-pixel phase detection autofocus, OIS
3000mAh battery (non-removable)
Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE, apt-X
LTE Cat9, VoLTE, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi
PMA wireless, QuickCharge 2.0
Samsung Pay support (NFC, MTS), Knox 2.6
Black Onyx, Silver Titanium, Gold Platinum
Price: $672 (will vary slightly by carrier)

The post Samsung Galaxy S7 Review: Boring, And That’s Just the Way We Like It appeared first on Brighthand.com.

How to Buy a Smartphone: Understanding LTE, VoLTE, GSM, & CDMA

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Vince Font

When T-Mobile dropped contract requirements in 2013, it shook up the wireless world. The other carriers that make up the “big four” – AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon – eventually followed suit. As a result, smartphone manufacturers began making their “unlocked” wares available for purchase, bringing an entirely new level of freedom to smartphone vets and would-be smartphone owners. While this big change may have simplified things financially, it has also made things a bit murkier for discerning customers who need to know: Which carrier will meet my needs the best, and which one should I choose?

We’ve got the answers.

Coverage Technology

Digging deep into the various carrier offerings, you’ll find terms you may be familiar with (LTE) and others you might only have heard of in passing, if at all (CDMA, GSM, HSPA+, and VoLTE).

GSM vs CDMA

GSM (Global System for Mobiles) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) refer to the two primary technologies used by wireless carriers throughout the world to facilitate 3G and 2G networking. GSM and CDMA are incompatible with one another, which explains why in the past you couldn’t take a smartphone manufactured for AT&T and just jump over to Verizon – not without first making hardware changes.

While there are technical differences in how each handles network traffic, for consumers the difference boils down to the fact that GSM-based smartphones store customer ID data in SIM cards. This is why you’re able to pop your SIM card out of a GSM smartphone and pop it into another GSM smartphone (provided it’s unlocked) and get straight to business. Things are different with CDMA, which stores customer plan data within the smartphone. Carrier politics also play a role, as GSM is a more open standard, developed by an industry association, whereas today’s CDMA technology was developed by Qualcomm. CDMA carriers have traditionally been restrictive, “whitelisting” only certain devices, but that’s changing for the better.

Most CDMA-based phones these days include SIM cards, but this is only to facilitate the requirements of 4G LTE.

GSM is the predominant technology used throughout the world, and especially in Europe. Most international carriers use GSM technology, although there are some holdouts (including two of the major U.S. carriers) who remain CDMA-based. Here’s how the four main carriers are split along the GSM/CDMA divide within the U.S.

AT&T: GSM
T-Mobile: GSM
Sprint: CDMA
Verizon: CDMA

4G LTE

LTE (short for Long-Term Evolution and frequently marketed as 4G LTE) is now the current network technology, and is considered the next evolutionary step from both the GSM and CDMA standards. It’s widely considered the fourth generation of consumer networking technology, hence the “4G” designation. LTE is the protocol over which data is transferred, and at the present time is the fastest available data transfer platform for consumers. It’s also fast becoming the dominant technology. Over the past few years carriers have been phasing out older 3G networks in favor of LTE. Some analysts estimate that the move away from 3G could be complete as early as 2018.

VoLTE stands for Voice Over LTE, and is yet another step ahead in the technology that allows for telephone communication to be broadcast over LTE. Historically, voice conversation has been based on much older 2G technology. VoLTE also enables for more high quality voice calls (which is why it’s sometimes referred to as “HD Voice”), in addition to quicker call connections, Wi-Fi calling integration (more on that below) and what industry types call Rich Communications Services. This includes things like video calling and real-time translation built directly into a smartphone’s native dialing app, rather than a third-party app like Skype.

VoLTE will also help hasten the demise of the old GSM and CDMA dichotomy as all carriers will be using LTE for both data and voice, making it much easier to change carriers and keep the same smartphone. That said, LTE is segmented by bands, with each carrier supporting a handful with only a little overlap. We’ll explain that further in a future installment.

WiMAX & HSPA+

WiMAX and HSPA+ are two older “4G” technologies. Sprint launched WiMAX as the first fourth-generation network in 2010, about a year before Verizon launched the first LTE network in the US. It’s since been abandoned in favor of Sprint’s LTE network. T-Mobile and AT&T were marketing their HSPA+ networks as 4G prior to their LTE networks, though it was actually an extension of their 3G networks capable of speeds approaching LTE levels in actual use. HSPA+ is still available, though is being phased out in favor of LTE.

Wi-Fi Calling and Texting

Wi-Fi calling and texting has been possible for a long time, leveraging third party apps like Skype to serve as an alternative to communicating via cellular signal, but never through the traditional smartphone dialer and messaging apps.

This is in such high demand that now the carriers are starting to offer their own Wi-Fi calling and texting capabilities. The convenience is clear: with carrier-offered Wi-Fi calling and texting, you can use your own phone number instead of having to launch a third-party app. This enables calls and texts to be made in areas where there may be limited or zero cellular coverage. Additionally, cellular calls that lose signal can automatically toggle over to Wi-Fi to ensure a continued connection, as long as there’s an open signal available.

T-Mobile was the first to offer it, but AT&T and Sprint have followed in suit, albeit in a more limited capacity. Verizon is the only carrier that still hasn’t caught up to speed. Wi-Fi calling and texting isn’t available on all phones offered by the three participating carriers, but the list is growing. Be sure to check with the carrier of your choice to determine which phones support it.

Speed Ratings

Researching the estimated download and upload speeds for the various carriers can be a grueling exercise. Pulling facts and figures from any of the four main carriers is hard, as many of them appear to under-promise, while others (like T-Mobile) only declare best-case scenarios. According to data provided by the carriers themselves, here are the average 4G LTE download and upload speeds you can expect.

Average 4G LTE Download/Upload Speeds (in Mbps)

AT&T: 12 Mbps (download) / 5 Mbps (upload)
Sprint: 6-8 Mbps (download) / 2-4 Mbps (upload) Sprint claims peak download speeds can reach up to 25 Mbps, and peak upload speeds can reach 10 Mbps.
T-Mobile: 21.7 Mbps (download) / 12 Mbps (upload)
Verizon: 5-12 Mbps (download) / 2-5 Mbps (upload). Peak download speeds can “approach” 50 Mbps.

Again, some of these averages can (and should be) taken with a grain of salt, such as the T-Mobile claim which appears to dwarf the other carriers.

A recent independent report by OpenSignal determined the average 4G download speed in the U.S. is 9.9 Mbps. The report also ranked how the major carriers performed with respect to download speeds at 3G and 4G. These are the results.

3G

AT&T: 2.2 Mbps
Sprint: 0.64 Mbps
T-Mobile: 3.5 Mbps
Verizon: 0.66 Mbps

4G

AT&T: 7.93 Mbps
Sprint: 6.56 Mbps
T-Mobile: 12.26 Mbps
Verizon: 11.98 Mbps

It’s important to note that 4G coverage uptime plays heavily into what you can expect to get around the clock. This is represented by a percentage of time customers of a given carrier actually have access to 4G speeds. In OpenSignal tests, Verizon came out on top with 87 percent uptime; AT&T rated 83 percent; T-Mobile was third, with 81 percent; and once again Sprint placed last with 70 percent 4G coverage uptime.

What it All Means

Your carrier’s download speeds, as measured in Mbps, determines whether or not you’ll be able to do things like stream high quality video without buffering or experiencing hiccups in performance. The greater the Mbps, the greater your speed. Netflix has specific requirements that your device should meet in order to stream its data without interruption: for SD quality, you need at least 3 Mbps; HD requires 5 Mbps. The Amazon Prime Instant Video requirement for SD is 900 Kbps, and HD is 3.5 Mbps.

This leads to the issue of data limits. To put things into perspective, streaming a 90-minute movie in SD on Netflix will eat up approximately 1.5 GB of data. In HD, that same movie can devour 4.5GB of data. Data usage when streaming music varies, and depends on the quality of the stream. If you stream music at 320kbps, you can burn through some 115MB in an hour. Spread that out over an entire month, and it adds up. Some services, like Pandora, stream at lower quality bit-rates, which makes it possible to get away with more for less – but if you’ve got T-Mobile, you can take advantage of their Music Freedom and Binge On features, which let you stream music and video over certain platforms without eating into your data plan.

Coverage Maps

An accurate determination of which cellular carrier has the “best” coverage depends greatly on where you live. But with respect to pure numbers and greatest overall coverage, Verizon ranks first in the U.S. T-Mobile ranks second; AT&T ranks third; and Sprint comes in fourth.

Want to learn more about buying a smartphone? Read all about no-contract smartphone data plans and pricing.

The post How to Buy a Smartphone: Understanding LTE, VoLTE, GSM, & CDMA appeared first on Brighthand.com.

HP Elite X3, The Smartphone that Wants to be Your Next Laptop: Hands On

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Brighthand Staff

After nearly a two year absence, HP is returning to the mobile market with the Elite X3, a Windows phone designed for business users. The high-end phablet may be exactly what Microsoft needs to attract new users to the underpopulated platform. HP doesn’t just want the Elite X3 to replace your smartphone, but your PC as well. To put it plainly the X3 is a bold move. Armed with an array of high-end specs including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor along with Windows 10’s Continuum feature, the Elite X3 may just be able to make that bold idea a reality.

Built for Business

The Elite X3 runs large for a handset, the 5.96-inch screen offers a great deal of real estate, but it also may be a bit unwieldy for some users (especially when using the device one handed). It’s one of the largest displays on the market, dwarfing the sizeable 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 5. While the Elite X3 is quite the behemoth, HP doesn’t waste any space, the device is nearly all screen with incredibly thin bezels.

As expected of business-oriented device provides clean understated aesthetic. The face of the device is made of black metal, while the back is coated in a matching polycarbonate cover. The bottom face of the phone houses a silver Bang & Olufsen speaker grill. The silver grill adds a nice bit of flare to the otherwise plain looking X3, without making it look to flashy.

As a device that prides itself on unbridled mobility, the Elite X3 is built to stand up to wears and tears of the road. The phone has been designed to stand up to 810G military spec. testing. The Elite X3 is also waterproof up to IP67, which should protect the device from the occasional downpour or spilled glass of water.

Elite Specs

Considering that the Elite X3 wants to be more than just a handset, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the device is packing some serious heat under the hood. The Elite X3 is currently designed to be the most powerful Windows phone on the market. Running on Windows 10 Mobile the handset is powered by a Qualcomm’s newest chipset the 2.15GHz Snapdragon 820 CPU. The device also features a Qualcomm Adreno 530 GPU (integrated into the Snapdragon 820 chipset), 4GB of DDR4 RAM, and a sizable 4,150mAh battery. The device houses a USB-type C connector along with 64GB of on-board storage that can be expanded to 2TB via microSD.

The 5.96-inch display is no slouch either boasting a QHD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution. Considering the size of the display that will give the Elite X3 a slightly lower pixels per inch count than other leading handset, but from our brief time with the device we didn’t see a noticeable drop in image quality. The AMOLED panel actually looks pretty great offer vibrant colors and solid contrast. Additionally the screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 4, helping to protect from scratches and impacts, bolstering the already impressive level of durability offered by the X3.

The Elite X3 also offers a solid imaging capabilities as well, with a 16MP rear facing camera. The front of the device is also equipped with a 8MP sensor that is capable of capturing two images simultaneously and combine them to create an HDR like image. The X3 also boasts a few security features including a fingerprint scanner and an iris scanner on the front of the device.

It’s a Phone, It’s a Desktop, It’s the Elite X3

While the Elite X3 is a solid handset in its own right, the defining characteristic of this device is the ability to seamlessly transform between handset and PC. HP is attempting to tackle this herculean feat with the help of Continuum, a Windows 10 feature that allows Windows smartphones to plug into a display and function like a Windows computer with full keyboard and mouse functionality.

It’s an attractive idea, the prospect of being able to keep your files and data with you at all times on a singular device, but there are a few caveats. The most important being that Continuum doesn’t allow smartphones to run full desktop apps. Luckily HP does have a solution, the company is building in software for running apps from the cloud. Unfortunately this functionality will need to be installed by an IT department, locking in the phone’s identity as a business-grade device, this isn’t a device for the average consumer.

Truth be told the HP Elite X3 is still more of proof of concept at this point. The company is still working on the software streaming aspect, which undoubtedly is going to play a large part in how successful the Elite X3 is. However, from what little we have seen, using continuum to switch between smartphone and desktop modes is pretty seamless.

HP is planning on selling a pair of accessories alongside the Elite X3 that help make the transition between phone and PC even easier. The Desk Dock is a compact chrome dock with a small collection of ports in the back (two USB ports, one USB-C, DisplayPort and Ethernet connector) to provide users with all the connectivity expected of business-grade pc. We got a chance to briefly test out the X3 while using the dock and while the device is still in early development, it did work quite well. Both the keyboard and mouse attached to dock worked without a hitch, they were responsive with no noticeable lag. However, what impressed us most was just how quick and easy it was to hook the phone up. Within seconds of plugging the device into the dock it was up and running.

In addition to the dock, HP will also be releasing what is essentially a hollowed out laptop called the Mobile Extender. The accessory isn’t actually a laptop as it doesn’t have any computing components of its own, meaning the laptop is only functional when tethered to the Elite X3, which can be enabled via Miracast and WiGig technologies. Unfortunately, HP didn’t have a working model on-hand, but the peripheral will ship with a 12.5-inch 1080p display, physical keyboard and working trackpad.

A Wonderful Idea, but is it Plausible?

This isn’t the first time that a company has tried to deliver a phone that can replace a PC, but the Elite X3 is an ambitious idea that might come closer than any of those previous failures. With Continuum and its own suite of virtual apps, HP may have found one of the most compelling reasons for business users to consider the switch to a Windows phone. However, there are still a number of issues that need to be addressed before HP can make that a reality. The first being that Windows currently finds itself a distance third in the market behind both Apple and Android among developers. The app market is sparse compared to its competitors, so HP is taxed with picking up a lot of the slack via its virtual apps for software that runs on the Windows desktop.

The second (and perhaps more important) issue is whether the Elite X3 is powerful enough to fill in as your full-time PC? There’s no question that the X3 is incredibly powerful for a mobile handset, but how will the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 face off against more demanding productivity apps? Sure HP will be virtualizing a lot of the software, which should help to offset some of the workload, but until we see some benchmarks and real-world performance the X3 should be treated with guarded optimism.

There are some questions that still need to be answered, but the Elite X3 is an interesting prospect to say the least. It’s hard to really gauge at this point how successful the X3 will be, but we’re excited to see the product continue to develop. Considering that the HP Elite X3 is so early in development, the company has yet to set a price point or release date, but the company is shooting for a Summer release.

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