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I was reading Game Informer magazine the other day, and the Letter from the Editor was basically a shout-out to everyone who's ever accused him of favoring one platform over another over the years.  He did this by running through a list of what he likes and dislikes about every major gaming platform currently on the market.

Dealing with accusations of bias is a sad, annoying truth when you make a living reviewing *anything* for a living.  While I'd be the first to tell you that I have my personal preferences when it comes to mobile devices and applications, I also do my very best to remain as objective as possible - and to view products from multiple perspectives - when reviewing a phone, accessory, or service.

That said, I'm stealing that gaming editor's idea here by offering a run-down of what I love and hate about the major smartphone platforms we've been spending so much time covering this Summer at PhoneDog.  Take it for what you will, but I'm tellin' ya, there are things I love and hate about every device out there, and I really mean it when I say that just because I like a particular phone doesn't mean you will, or should, as well.

Now if only I could get YouTube commenters to stop yelling at each other (and me) for a minute and come read my blog ...

Love it, Hate it: Google Android (HTC G1, Magic, Hero, myTouch 3G)

• I love Google's sorta-open source, sorta-we push our services on you approach to Android.  Seriously, if you're a GMail/Google Apps user you wind up with the best of both worlds: Tight integration with the killer apps you already use and a burgeoning community of developers churning out more and more neato apps every day.
• I hate how Google's sneakily drawing Android users deeper and deeper into the realm of targeted advertising opps.  No, I've yet to encounter ads in my Inbox on a G1 like I do everyday on GMail's web interface, but I fear the day is coming.  At the least, I know Google's tracking my mobile phone usage and putting that data towards their goal of world domination.  Or at least my paranoid twin thinks so.

• I love that Google partnered with HTC for the first round of Android phones.  HTC makes excellent hardware, and they've done a bang-up job building custom software for their TouchFlo 3D-enhanced Windows Mobile phones.  Capacative touchscreen AND a trackball on the G1?  Amazing that nobody else had thought of that combo before HTC and Google did.
• I hate that Android's been on the market for almost a year now and there's still only one phone that runs the thing in the US, and only two world-wide.  What is that?  Consumers like choice!  A single Android phone to satisfy all would-be US users smacks of an Apple-esque arrogance that the G1 simply isn't worthy of.  Let's face it, it's not exactly a sleek, sexy device that captured the mainstream imagination like iPhone did.  Also, while I love their value and customer service, T-Mobile isn't the leading carrier in the US - so why can't I get an Android phone on any other network in the States yet?

• I love Android 1.5, or at least love it a lot more than I did the 1.0 release.  1.5 ain't perfect, but it's a huge step forward in terms of usability, and the virtual QWERTY/spellcheck system is great.  1.5 got me to spend a big chunk of quality time with Android, and I'm more and more impressed with the apps, customization/skinning options, and widgets available to Android users.
• I hate that Google can't or won't release a truly marketable operating system.  Android 1.5 is better than 1.0, but it lacks iPhone's blatant, novice-friendly ease-of-use and WebOS' multitasking-meets-eye candy innovation.  Apple-haters harp on the "dumb grid of icons" and lack of true multitasking on iPhone, but the iPod, Web browser, and Mail apps are dead easy to use and full of consumer-friendly details.  WebOS on the Pre is still in its buggy infancy, but it's got an enormous upside.  Android?  We're coming up on a year now and 1.5 still kinda feels like it's more of a developers' sandbox than a consumer-friendly platform.

• I love what I've seen of the new Android handsets rumored to be launching this Summer and Fall.  HTC Hero, with a 3.5mm audio jack and TouchFlo-like custom UI?  Awesome!  Samsung Galaxy with an AMOLED display and 5 MP camera in a 12mm thin body?  Amazing!  Motorola Morrison, a full QWERTY side-slider made for the messaging masses?  Clever!  Android will really come into its own during the second half of this year, and there are more devices on the way than those three I just mentioned.
•  I hate that Android's first handset was boxy, clunky, had a big chin, and lacked a standardized audio port.  Is it so hard to use rounded lines and a 3.5mm headphone jack when building a smartphone?  Apple and Palm can do it, so why can't HTC and Google.  (Note: Check back with me on this one after HTC's event this week)  Android's first device should have been an absolute home run in terms of form and function - or at least form.  Instead, the G1 was a double at best.  Seriously, how are you going to compete with Apple when your premiere device feels twice as thick and heavy as the iPhone and music lovers have to plug their earphones into a dongle to use the thing?

• I love Android's push GMail support and subtle notifications system.  Unlike Apple's iPhone OS, Android doesn't bring everything to a screeching halt whenever a new message or other push notification comes in.  Like Palm Pre's WebOS, Android simply places an icon in the top-of-screen status bar to let me know when I've got a new voicemail, message, email, or download; I can flick the status bar down to see the details, or ignore it entirely until I'm ready to deal with the new information.
• I hate Android's mail app.  You might like the whole GMail conversation view thing, but I prefer a standard message-by-message Inbox, or at least the option to view Email that way if I want to.  Maybe I'm being ridiculous, but Android's mail app just annoys me.  And isn't it odd that Google just released improvements to their Android-compatible GMail web app?  It's like they want you to use the Web app instead of the Android app because they know the webmail experience is a better one.

Summertime is the time of new phones, and yet another device has jumped into the fray - the Motorola QA1 Karma.  Following in the footsteps of other QWERTY texting machines like the LG Versa, LG enV3, and Samsung Propel, the device will be a nice addition to the current AT&T lineup.  Sporting 3G connectivity, the QA1 offers a 2.5-inch QVGA display, AT&T Navigator, 2 megapixel camera.  It will be available on June 28th for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.  AT&T's official unboxing can be found here.

Source: Engadget Mobile

Our pals at LG have hooked us up with a limited-edition LG Versa "Transformers" phone (one of only 20 being given away), and we're passing it along to you.  Just play the One-Pawed Bandit here on the site and on our Facebook page, and you could win a phone with "aesthetic appeal and superhero durability."  What could be better than that, right?

We'll be giving the phone away this Wednesday to coincide with the release "TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN," which hits theaters the same day.  So sign up and spin the Bandit on Wednesday the 24th to win yourself a super limited-edition LG Versa.  Check out the details, courtesy of LG:

To support the role that LG's technology plays in the movie, the company transformed its sleek LG Versa into the limited edition LG Versa "Transformers" phone with exclusive multimedia functions, aesthetic appeal and superhero durability to excite movie-goers and "Transformers" fans everywhere. The phone has been changed inside and out and includes limited edition features to give the phone a larger than life feel. 

Features exclusive to the phone include:Optimus Prime voice tones recorded by Peter CullenLimited edition wall papers and ring tonesLimited edition phone design with "Transformers" aesthetic 

The limited edition LG Versa "Transformers" phone is estimated at $750.  

While your readers may not be able to transform themselves into super heroes, they're sure to feel larger-than-life, like Optimus Prime himself, when carrying one of these stunning phones.

This is one of the juiciest rumours we’ve seen in a while, a possible leaked picture of a future HTC handset, said to feature the company’s first 8 megapixel camera!  The picture bears a strong resemblance to the HTC Touch Diamond, so we will have to reserve judgement on its authenticity, however the design is similar to a previous rendering leaked at the beginning of the year.

The HTC Firestone, whatever it ends up looking like, should run Windows Mobile 6.5 and be powered by a 600Mhz Qualcomm processor and 512MB ROM, plus have a 3.6″ touchscreen, Wi-Fi, 3G and HSDPA, GPS and as we previously mentioned, an 8 megapixel camera.

Best of all, this impressive new HTC mobile phone is rumoured to be announced by August this year, so not long to wait until we find out all the facts!

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Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

Thanks to our friends at Ill Clan Animation Studios for producing this T-Mo "My Fave Five" based skit for our One-Paw Bandit promotion.  Since March of this year, the One-Paw Bandit has awarded 38 phones to lucky winners across the U.S. and Canada.  If you haven't done so already, become a PhoneDog Fan for your chance to play and win.  Check out the upcoming phones set to be given away soon.

Samsung recently made an exciting announcement about a brand new type of mobile phone. The Samsung s8000 Jet enters the mobile phone industry during a time when everyone wants a smartphone. That is, everyone except those people who remain a little bit wary of smartphones for one reason or another. The Samsung s8000 Jet is an advanced phone with an easy-to-use interface that places it squarely in between smarthphones and simple phones on the spectrum of cell phones. This makes it an ideal choice for many consumers today. In fact, it is so ideal that over 2 million pre-orders have already been placed with the company.

Overview of the Samsung s8000 Jet

The Samsung s8000 Jet is a touchscreen phone with some added features that make it easier to use than other popular smartphones. The four most outstanding features of the phone are its user interface, its advanced display screen, its speed and its new web browser. These four features provide the core reasons that you would purchase this new phone (with the user interface being the most important of those features). However, it also has a good music player, a decent built-in camera and GPS with mapping so it does more than (more…)

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

Even Apple isn’t immune to teething troubles, (despite this being their third time unleashing iPhones).  Many American users are experiencing delays activating their shiny new toys, and holding the actual factual device in your hands but being unable to use it must be the newly added tenth-circle of nerd hell.  It seems the flood of phone-users is overloading Apple’s activation systems, and while most get their gadgets going in moments, some have been delayed for days.

Luckily, Apple kind of make their own money these days (and early-Apple-adopters are certainly suitable recipients of same).  Victims of serious slowdown have been gifted with thirty dollars of iTunes credit.  It’s not much of an hourly rate if you work it out, but at least they’re acknowledging the issue (and not trying to blame the customer.)

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.