Aaron unboxes the Samsung Strive for AT&T. Is it just another Quick Messaging Device, or is it worthy of consideration?
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19Mar
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
Overview
What's Good: Unibody construction cuts down on potential build quality issues.
What's Bad: Ships with Android OS 1.6; MOTOBLUR can be tricky and confusing at times; optical navigation frustrating at times.Introduction
Motorola is back with the Devour, the third Android-powered device to land on Verizon Wireless. Originally spotted in Megan Fox's bathtub during Super Bowl 2010, the phone is available at retail locations across the United States. The question that's in every technology person's mind, however, is: will the unit sell, given how close the company's flagship Android device (the DROID) is in regards to price?
Design & Features
The Motorola Devour ships in a small, environmentally conscious box. Inside, you'll find the device, battery, an AC adapter, USB cable (which doubles as the charging cord), an 8 GB microSD card (installed in phone, with support for up to 32 GB), and instruction manuals. Coming in at 4.55 inches long by 2.4 inches wide by 0.61 inch thick, the device weighs 6.35 ounces, making it a heavier smartphone. When it comes to the general size, the Devour is much larger than it looks in pictures. It's not as brash looking as the DROID, but you can tell that the two devices come from the same "family."
The left side of the Devour contains the battery door and microUSB charging port, while the volume rocker and camera button can be found on the right side of the device. The front of the device contains the screen, three touch buttons (menu, home, and back), the optical navigation pad, and the camera can be found on the back of the device. Slide the screen to the right to obtain access to the full QWERTY keyboard.
The device offers a 3.1-inch LCD capacitive touchscreen with 65,536 colors and 320 x 480 pixels. At first glance, the Devour's display is of lower quality (and smaller) than those found on the DROID and Nexus One, but it's acceptable. Despite the smaller screen, it's quite responsive and was a pleasure to use. The hinge is spring-loaded and clicks into place quite easily, though there was some play in my hinge. The winning feature on the Devour, however, is the unibody construction; gone are the days of wobbly battery doors and squeaking parts. The Devour has a beautiful metal body, and the battery and microSD card can be accessed from a side port.
Usability & Performance
The Devour sports a 600 MHz CPU, and while it suffered from the occasional lag, speed was generally good. From multitasking to general performance, everything felt relatively snappy. The device ships with Android 1.6, and Motorola's MOTOBLUR custom user interface. MOTOBLUR is an interesting animal, and I'll be honest - I'm not a huge fan. On one hand, I like the concept of being able to organize everything in one place, but on the other hand, BLUR feels way too busy. I placed the device in the hands of several "BLUR" newbies, and after ten minutes of use, both were quite confused with how to operate the phone. If you so desire, you can customize, add, and remove the widgets to your liking, so there's something you can do if the colors, text, and imagery becomes a blur (pun intended).
Sporting a full QWERTY keyboard, the Devour is ready for serious messaging. The keys are raised and curved slightly, making it relatively easy to feel them, but they're a bit too squishy for my liking. As such, I've found myself using the on-screen keyboard more than the physical QWERTY. This is probably where I'll disagree with every other journalist in the tech sphere, but I prefer the DROID's keyboard to the Devour's keyboard, due to the DROID's flat QWERTY configuration and non-separated keys. The optical navigation, while nice, wasn't necessary for most of the day-to-day phone operations. What's more, I found that it didn't work that well unless you were in the browser. It didn't seem like it was optimized for the menus. The buttons on the touchscreen operated well, with no issues whatsoever.
The Devour ships with a 3.0-megapixel camera, and in my testing, picture quality was mediocre and a bit grainy. Editing options include geotagging and color effects. The video camera quality was decent - good for quick clips to send to friends, but not for anything past that.
I tested the Devour in the Charlotte area, and call quality was mediocre. When I visited the Verizon dead spots in the city, most callers reported issues with hearing me, and I dropped several calls in service-challenged areas. Background static was present during conversations in the aforementioned areas. Despite those issues, I tested the speakerphone in a noisy gas station, and was able to hear my callers without a problem. While they were able to hear the background noise, it didn't prevent us from having a conversation. I successfully paired my Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset to the device without a problem, and callers were unable to tell that I was using a headset.
Estimated talk time is 6.5 hours of talk time, and about 19 days of standby time. Overall, battery life was admirable. With moderate to heavy use including calling, text messaging, instant messaging, browsing the internet, and use of Google Maps, I was able to make it just over one day before the device powered down. I find it to be much better than other smartphones like the iPhone, Nexus One, and DROID.The Motorola Devour offers 3G (EVDO) connectivity, so browsing speeds were very fast. The full CNN webpage loaded in about 18 seconds, and the PhoneDog homepage loaded in 26 seconds. Other data-intensive tasks such as Google Maps, the Android Market, Google Talk, and downloaded apps worked well. Though signal fluctuated on a regular basis, data speeds seemed to remain strong.
Conclusion
The Motorola Devour is a decent mid-level Android device that is a welcome addition to the Verizon lineup. It's a bit pricey in the $99-$149 range, leading me to believe that customers will (and should) opt for the DROID instead. I like the Devour in a lot of ways, but I found myself longing for the DROID or Nexus One after a few hours. I found MOTOBLUR to be relatively confusing, and wasn't a fan of the physical keyboard. That being said, it has a decent feature set and I love the unibody construction. If you're a Verizon customer in the market for a Android-powered smartphone, the Devour is worthy of a look.
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
On the heels of two new Samsung Quick Messaging Devices, Pantech has announced two of their own (for AT&T, that is). The Link and the Pursuit both offer QWERTY keyboards, and will be available in "the coming weeks." Pricing is unknown at this time, but the two phones come with new AT&T features such as Mobile Share, cloud-based address book syncing, and new messaging capabilities.
From the press release:
Pantech Link (pictured above) - An ultra slim and light, full keyboard quick messaging phone. Link's contemporary design makes it one of the sharpest in the popular, bar-style family of handsets. With black and blue accents, Link provides direct access to a fun and sought-after range of features such as Mobile Email, instant messaging, AT&T Mobile Share, AT&T Social Net, AT&T Navigator and more. Link will be available in AT&T stores and online in the coming weeks.
Pantech Pursuit - Combining a full touch screen with a vertical sliding keyboard, the Pantech Pursuit plays host to a set of cool and unique features via shortcuts on Pantech's first touch user interface for easy, customizable access to apps and features like AT&T Social Net, AT&T Address Book, and social networking sites. Available in the summer in green or blue, the Pursuit will also support face recognition software and geotagging to get the most out of your pictures.For those that aren't gunning for a smartphone, do the new devices appeal to you?
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
Mergers, joint ventures, IPOs, oh my! Often when we hear the name T-Mobile and any of the aforementioned keywords (i.e. mergers, etc.), we automatically assume "this has got to be a rumor." However, this time around Reuters brings some credibility to the table with quotes from an investors meeting where CEO Robert Dotson spoke.
The most recent rumors we've heard have been of T-Mobile merging with Sprint as well as the possibility of an IPO. However, potential joint ventures seems to be the name of the game today. "We continue to look at JV opportunities for additional spectrum... there are a number of different options we look at, (we) have been talking with cable companies, with Clearwire," said Dotson. When the obvious question about merging with Sprint was brought up, Dotson replied as follows: "What you never want to do is take one company that is going through challenges and take another company going through challenges," and put them together.
In the great race that is the US wireless industry, T-Mobile is running in fourth position. And while they are working tirelessly at standing up their 3G network across the US, they got a late start. Sprint has a leg up on the competition with their WiMax offerings and expected 4G capable phone around the corner, while Verizon is coming up from behind with LTE deployments planned for 25-30 markets by the end of this year. Increasing their spectrum could be a good move for T-Mobile both in terms of expanding their network and their 4G capabilities.
As usual, we'll believe it when we see it, but at least we know they're working on something. So, what do you think about a marriage between T-Mobile and Clear? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Via BGR, Reuters
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
If you own an Android device, and are tired of the stock Android browser, Opera Mini 5 may be for you. DroidDog's Dustin Earley has created a comprehensive review of the new browser, and finds a lot to like in it.
Check out the review at DroidDog, and let me know - Opera, or default Android browser!
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
If you always wanted a little more functionality from the standard voice control found on the iPhone 3GS, or you really don’t like typing with the virtual keyboard, then Vlingo’s recently updated application is likely to be of interest.Vlingo is voice control taken to the next level. Instead of just being able to make a call or search for a phrase, this application adds Google Maps search, Facebook and Twitter status updates plus email and SMS messages too. Upon starting the app you’re presented with a large button saying ‘press and speak’, with a tip for what you can say to Vlingo underneath it.
For example, if you want to send an email, you simply state ‘Email person’s name, subject test, message test complete. To update your social network you must first enter your login details, then say ‘Facebook update testing Vlingo‘ and it gets posted straight away. The other commands work in the same way, using Call, Search or Find before the name or phrase instead.
When you have spoken to the app, tap the ‘press and speak’ again for it to finish listening and it will perform the given task. It’s all very easy and the app has a very fast setup, asking only to upload the names of your contacts to the Vlingo database and your social network logins. Easy it may be, but does it work? Here are a few examples of Vlingo in action.
- What I said: Text name, message shall we go to the cinema tonight?
- The result: A message to the right person with shall we go to the cinema tonight as the content.
- What I said: Find Starbucks coffee in Croydon.
- The result: Directions to a Starbucks at 22 George Street in Croydon.
- What I said: Twitter update, reviewing Vlingo on my iPhone for Dial-a-Phone.
- The result: Initially, it recognised ‘dial-a-phone’ as ‘dollar find’, but going back and speaking the name a little more slowly, it came up with ‘reviewing Vlingo on my iPhone for dial a phone. Add in the hyphens and it’s done.
So as you can see, the results are quite impressive. The app does suffer if you’re in a noisy area or if there is a lot of ambient noise – traffic roar nearby confused it a little – but this is only to be expected. The more you talk to Vlingo, the better it works too, as the engine begins to recognise your voice and the way you say words, plus we love the way we can tell it ‘comma’ or ‘question mark’ and it adds them in automatically – very handy!
As well as simply speaking at the start screen, you can select the function you want to use from an App screen. Let’s write an email as a test, as these tend to flow and contain longer sentences than the examples above.
The app happily recognised who I wanted to send an email to, but the problems started when I started on the body of the text:
- What I said: Hello, I hope you have booked your tickets ready for your holiday, because if you leave it too much longer they will become very expensive!
- The result: Hello, I hope you book your tickets ready your holiday because usually it’s too much longer they can’t become very expensive.
Not quite what I had in mind. After correcting the mistakes, it would have probably been easier and quicker to finish the email by typing it out. With the SMS feature, you’ll have to copy and paste your text from Vlingo onto another screen thanks to the iPhone’s restrictions, which just made us wonder as to its usefulness in situations where using our hands was not an option. Fair enough, the process is performed well by Vlingo, but it still felt like a few too many additional steps for what should be an easy task.
On the positive side of Vlingo, it’s much better than Dragon Naturally Speaking, which only worked if I spoke with an American accent, a problem incidentally, that Vlingo doesn’t face as it has the option to select both British and American accents, plus making a call, updating Twitter and for doing a quick search or two, it performs very well. It gets even better when you realise that this part of the app is free.
Things take a turn when you find out that to use the email and SMS features, you have to pay for them. These can be purchased individually via in-app purchase for £3.99 , or as a pair for £5.99. This is quite a lot of money for a feature that basically works, but not well enough for you not to touch the keyboard; which is after all, the main reason you’re speaking to your phone in the first place.
So, overall, as a free application we recommend Vlingo, but we can’t get behind spending £6 for the additional email and SMS features. Have a go yourself and you may feel differently, but make sure you give it a good workout before getting out your credit card.
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
Enjoy our roundup of some of the best mobile phone stories that you may have missed this week:1. Help Nokia See the Future.
You may recall we told you our version of a dream mobile phone recently, well Nokia also want some input regarding what you’d like to see the phone of the future contain. Once they have enough information, they will create a render of said phone and present it on their Nokia Conversations blog during May.
2. Is the BlackBerry Slider the Talladega?
The mysterious Talladega BlackBerry phone has been linked with the equally mysterious BlackBerry Slider we have been seeing leaked shots of recently. Now, with an upcoming RIM tradeshow in a month, rumours have been flying that the devices are one and the same. Oddly, the rumour says that the ‘T’ will be a challenger to the iPhone, which as Engadget rightly points out, the Storm was also labelled as. Make you mind up RIM!
3. Nintendo DS Phone?
Once one starts, they all have to have a go! We’ve heard some more on Sony’s PSP Phone recently, and now Nintendo are rumoured to be preparing a 3G version of their DS handheld console, just in time for the Christmas period this year. Could it incorporate a phone, or Bluetooth for a headset?
4. HTC HD2 WinPho7 Rumours End.
But they don’t end well, as Microsoft has confirmed at this week’s MIX10 conference that their new OS won’t be finding its official way on to the current holder of ‘Best Windows Phone Ever’ crown.
5. Palm Continue to Struggle.
With an expected total of 650,000 units to be sold in the third quarter, Palm’s actual figure of 408,000 is worryingly low, especially as that is down on this time last year, before the Pre even went on sale.
6. Copy and Paste is Coming Say Microsoft.
We wrote about the new Windows Phone 7’s similarity to the iPhone earlier this week and now it has gone one step further. The lack of copy and paste will be rectified in a future build of the new operating system! Honestly, change the word Microsoft for Apple and we have a carbon copy of stories written pre-iPhone OS 3.0.
7. Silver Desire On Its Way.We’re very excited about the new HTC Desire, but if we had one small complaint, it would be the slightly drab colour scheme seen in the pictures so far. But, as this snap proves, the Desire will also be available in a very slick looking brushed-aluminium style silver!
8. Higher Average App Spend in USA.
A study commissioned by app store Getjar has shown that buyers of mobile applications in North America have an average spend of $1.09, while app buyers in Europe have an average spend of $0.80.
9. GPS On the Increase.
New research has shown just how popular GPS has become on mobile phones, by indicating a 92% increase in global shipments of GPS-enabled handsets, giving a total of 150 million phones!
10. Oh Mobiado, How We Love You.The 712AF was not a pleasant mobile phone in the first place, with its fiddly-looking keys and by today’s standards, small 2.2″ screen. But now you can get one with 18-karat yellow or rose gold for an undisclosed enormous sum. Aren’t we lucky.
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
The LG Pop and the Samsung Tocco Lite are both excellent touchscreen phones, especially if you’re looking for your first entry into this popular market or are on a strict budget. But choosing between them can be tough, so here is our in-depth comparison to help you make your decision:The Phones.
As we have already mentioned, these are two touchscreen tablet-style mobile phones. The Tocco Lite has three physical keys beneath its screen, a call start and end plus the central back button, where the Pop makes do with a single button offset to the side of the handset. Both feature clear branding above the screen where the speaker can be found too.
Handling the two phones together makes one thing very clear, the LG Pop is just so compact it almost feels like a toy! The measurements speak for themselves, as the Pop is 7mm shorter, 5mm slimmer and nearly 1mm thinner than the Tocco Lite. We are also won over by the Pop’s 87 gram weight – 6 grams less than the Samsung – as it disappears in a bag or pocket, something few mobiles do these days.
The Pop also gains points for looking as good as it does, with the screen taking up almost the entire front panel and the silver accents giving it a clean, modern look. The Samsung Tocco Lite does offer a variety of colours though, allowing more personalisation than the Pop, but it suffers from an older-look design.
The Connection.
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that there isn’t much going on here. Both handsets have a 2G radio with GPRS and EDGE data connections, so don’t expect any 3G speeds around here. Bluetooth is present inside the pair too, with version 2.1 and A2DP support on offer.
Browsing the Internet on the Tocco Lite reveals a WebKit-based browser with Flash support, and it’s really good. The LG experience is nowhere near as good, with the browser feeling a little basic and lacking the Flash support that is so welcome on the Tocco. Where the LG comes back is with its standard widgets, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace social network integration, plus fun little applications such as a Running Mate and Weight Tracker and a Sound Tuner which plays ambient sound.
The Basics.
Seeing as these are relatively basic phones, the pair perform very well as exactly that – phones. Both have extensive phonebooks, send SMS and MMS and the call quality is excellent, however the Pop does have smart dialling to match a number to an existing contact.
The big difference between the two lies in the user interface. As neither are smartphones, we have the respective manufacturers proprietary operating system overlaid with a touch-based UI. In the case of the Tocco Lite, it’s the familiar TouchWiz system of three homescreens, widgets for things like the clock and the music player, plus an easy to use 3×4 grid of icons leading to more detailed list-based sub-menu. It’s suitably responsive, but it’s no iPhone, so if you’re easily frustrated then take a good long demo with the Tocco Lite before making your mind up.
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
You are speaking on your HTC Tattoo and you want to say something that the person you’re speaking with won’t be able to hear. How do you mute the conversation? There isn’t a simple mute button on this phone which sometimes confuses its users. However, it’s actually really simple to mute your HTC Tattoo.Follow these steps:
- Place your call. You can’t mute a call until it’s already taking place so go ahead and make your call.
- When you are ready to mute the conversation, look at your HTC tattoo screen and find the MENU button.
- Press Menu. You will see an option to mute/unmute. Press this button once and you will mute the conversation. You will see an icon that shows that you have muted the conversation.
- When you are ready to unmute the conversation, simply press this button again. The icon will change accordingly.
See, it’s easy! Now you can have private conversations with others while speaking on the phone.
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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19Mar
Is your iPhone stuck on the Apple logo? Is it locked in a non-responsive app? In both of these cases, you need to perform a force-quit to get your iPhone up and working again. Thankfully it’s really easy to do and to remember:- Press and hold the On/Off/Sleep button on the top of your iPhone.
- If you’re in an app, the ‘Slide to Power Off’ slider will appear, then press and hold the Home button below the screen until the app closes.
- If the Apple logo is displayed, you won’t see the slider, but you still need to hold down the Home button at the same time as the On/Off/Sleep key. Do so until the screen goes black, a few seconds usually, and the phone will be switched off.
It’s worth knowing that if you perform a force-quit from the Apple logo, then some of your installed apps will not work until you sync your iPhone with iTunes again. You often get the ‘Your iPhone is Activated’ message when you plug it in too, but don’t worry, none of your content as been affected.
Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile
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