Advantages and Main Disadvantages of the HTC One mini

The aluminum unibody of the HTC One mini is great - it screams "premium" more than the big Galaxy S4, let alone its mini version. And the stereo BoomSound speakers on the front deliver an excellent audio experience, coupled with high-quality audio hardware for the 3.5mm audio jack and Beats audio tuning.

The HTC One mini is one of the very few phones trying to fill the gap of compact high-end phones. And it comes within walking distance of being the super mini, but it doesn't really go the whole way.

Let's start off with what we like. The build of the phone is amazing, easily rivaling current flagships (heck, it even beats quite a few). The screen is beautiful and the BoomSound speakers around it are well appreciated too. Software-wise the One mini is in lockstep with the regular HTC One, another plus. Then there's the LTE connectivity, which is becoming more important as new 4G LTE networks launch across the globe.

But why isn't it available in 32GB flavor? 12 gigs of user available storage will make you feel uncomfortably cramped with 3D games and music and movies quickly piling up, not to mention those Zoe shots or even plain 1080p videos. And going with a lower bin chipset with just 1GB RAM can cause headaches a year from now - those are early 2012 specs. And when you take out the Optical Image Stabilization, that 4MP camera does rather poorly. Some might miss, like NFC, the IR blaster or MHL.

Throw in an UltraPixel camera sensor and the latest Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5 (on par with the just updated regular One) and the feeling that HTC shortchanged the One mini almost subsides.

Advantages

• Premium aluminum unibody
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE
• 4.3" 16M-color 720p Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen with 342ppi pixel density; Gorilla Glass 3
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.0
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset: dual-core 1.4 GHz Krait 300 CPU, 1 GB RAM, Adreno 305 GPU
• 4 MP autofocus "UltraPixel" camera with 1/3'' sensor size, 2µm pixel size; LED flash
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR mode, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• HTC Zoe
• 1.6MP front-facing camera, 720p video recording
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 16GB of built-in storage
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Front-mounted stereo speakers with BoomSound tech
• Class-leading audio output
• 1,800mAh Li-Po battery

Main disadvantages

• Relatively slow chipset with limited RAM
• 4MP camera has disappointing performance in good lighting conditions
• No optical image stabilization that made the HTC One camera special
• No microSD cards slot, only 12GB user available storage on the 16GB model
• No NFC or MHL
• Non user-replaceable battery
• Poor video and audio codec support out of box
• No IR blaster

HTC One mini buying choices

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Advantages and Main Disadvantages of the Samsung Galaxy Core

There are a number of reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Core - the screen is decent, the camera is quite fine for the class and the smooth Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on board. But as this is quite a crowded part of the market, there are also many smartphones, who'd try and give you reasons to look the other way. Let's have a look.

If the Samsung Galaxy Core is very close to what you wanted, but no cigar, you should consider its Samsung Galaxy Win sibling. Costing slightly more than the Galaxy Core it brings a bigger 4.7" WVGA display to the table, quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A5 chip and matches the Galaxy Core on all other accounts.

Of course the dual-SIM smartphone market is no longer the wasteland it was a couple of years ago, so the Samsung Galaxy Core will face some stiff competition. Devices like the HTC Desire 600 or Sony's Xperia M are ready to take advantage of any chinks in the Galaxy Core armor and when you read the fine print you realize there are quite a few those.

Advantages

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band 3G with HSPA; optional Dual-SIM with dual stand-by and 3G on both SIMs
• 4.3" 16M-color WVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen; 217ppi
• Android OS v4.1.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
• Dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A5 CPU, Adreno 203 GPU
• 1GB of RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 480p video recording @ 30fps
• VGA front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS
• 8GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot
• microUSB 2.0 port
• Bluetooth v3.0
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• 1,800mAh battery; user replaceable

Main disadvantages

• No HD video recording
• No NFC
• No ambient light sensor
• Feeble chipset

 Get Samsung Galaxy Core offers and deals 

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Advantages and Main Disadvantages of the HTC Butterfly S

The HTC Butterfly S is obviously a very hot prospect and it can easily outdo its far more popular One sibling in all but two aspects - premium styling and camera. The large "ultrapixels" are there, but as we found out when we reviewed the One mini optical image stabilization is an essential part of the equation. And while the glossy plastic of the Butterfly S certainly catches the eye, it's no match for the aluminum unibody of the One.

The HTC Butterfly is an extremely capable device. It gave the Galaxy S4 some serious competition in our benchmarks, and the very well-rounded Android 4.2.2 build with Sense 5 has some great software features you won't find from other manufacturers.

The problem comes when you consider the Butterfly S next to what's currently on the table from HTC. With the ink barely dry on HTC One retail boxes, it feels like HTC are playing another trump card before the hand is even over. By releasing two flagships in such close succession, HTC could find itself with no response to a strong smartphone offering from a competitor come the holiday season.

But maybe the smartphone race, like many others, is really a game of inches where every little improvement counts. Maybe the extra 0.3" in screen estate, 200MHz in clock speed, 900 mAh in battery capacity, and expandable storage are what it takes to get ahead. But let's not forget that you're going to be paying a premium for those extras, and you'll be sacrificing superior build quality including a significantly more compact frame, as well as the optical image stabilization, which is the 4MP UltraPixel camera's saving grace.

Advantages

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE
• 5" 16M-color 1080p Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen with 441ppi pixel density
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.0
• Quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset
• 4 MP autofocus "UltraPixel" camera with 1/3" sensor size, 2µm pixel size; LED flash
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR mode, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• HTC Zoe
• 2.1 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 16GB of built-in storage, microSD card slot
• MHL-enabled microUSB port
• Bluetooth v4.0
• NFC
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Front-mounted stereo speakers with BoomSound tech
• Class-leading audio output
• Ample 3,200 mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• 4MP camera has disappointing performance in good lighting conditions
• No optical image stabilization
• Awkwardly-placed and uncomfortable power button
• Non user-replaceable battery
• Poor video and audio codec support out of box
• Questionable build quality - paint chips off easily

 Buy HTC Butterfly S with special offers and deals 

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Samsung Promotes BlackBerry Messenger App Earlier on Africa

Actually on September 27 BlackBerry Messenger was supposed to hit the Android and iOS app stores today, but there’s nothing just yet (but you can try the beta). More interesting is that Samsung has now kicked-off its promotion of BBM – earlier this month the two companies struck a deal to promote the messenger in Africa.

CrackBerry forum member PauloPlmenta spotted an ad of the Galaxy S4 running BlackBerry Messenger during a football game (Manchester United vs. Chelsea) broadcast in Mozambique.

Samsung Mobile Ghana is also taking part of the campaign by posting teasers on Facebook.

The post reads”Another messenger is coming on Samsung phones sooner than you think……..what is it?”

There was even a video ad that prematurely made its way to YouTube, but has since been pulled down. I’m not sure if this is the same video, but it shows the Galaxy S4 next to what appears to be the Galaxy Star and the Galaxy Note 10.1. It’s not clear how long this video will stay up.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of the Motorola Moto X

For sure there are many high-end smartphone available to choose right away now. It just needs how much money you have and what kind of needs you want. Other than any brand, the Motorola Moto X certainly is a smartphone full of character. Instead of following the established trend set by high-end Androids over the years, it dares go where no other handset has gone before. It may not look the flagship part on paper but it very much feels like one in real life.

From the day it broke cover, pundits and consumers alike have criticized the Moto X's lack of top-tier SoC and display. After wrapping up our review, we have to say that those aren't as bad as they are portrayed to be. The device will very rarely feel underpowered and the screen is still pretty great. Future-proofing is a whole other story of course, and it's probably one that Motorola isn't too keen on telling.

The ergonomics of the Motorola Moto X are among its most potent weapons - despite not being particularly slim, the smartphone handles better than just about any other high-end droid. We are also glad to report that, while the Moto X brings few changes to the stock Android experience, they all work great. From the always active voice commands, through the Active display to the innovative camera-launching gesture - it's all working as Motorola promises.

Another big draw of the Moto X is the Moto Maker design studio. If nothing else the hundreds of combinations that you can preview in detail on your screen will serve as great promo for the smartphone.

The biggest flaw of the Motorola Moto X as far as its smartphone skills are concerned is the lack of expandable memory. The 16GB version comes with only 11.9GB available - hardly sufficient considering the fact that a high-end mobile game can easily take over a gig of space. The 10MP only stills from the camera don't help the cause either.

Google has tried to offset the limited storage by offering 50GB of free Drive cloud storage, but that's hardly an optimal solution. The far better solution is for you to spend an extra $50 for the 32GB version of the Moto X. Which leads us to our main issue with the smartphone.

As if it wasn't bad enough that Motorola is only going to sell the Moto X only in the US, the company has also made the 32GB version and the Moto Maker exclusive to AT&T. The other major carriers are getting a smartphone that's not only more expensive than its better-spec'd rivals, but also deprived of two of its most valuable arguments. Motorola might have as well made this one an AT&T exclusive.

So assuming you do the sensible thing and go for the 32GB Moto X from AT&T you should be ready to part with $249.99 and sign a new two-year commitment. And as every deal, this one can only be ruled good or bad when you see what else you can get.

With the Moto X, Motorola has taken a rather unorthodox approach towards designing a top-shelf Android smartphone. Instead of focusing solely on putting together the most powerful hardware available on the market, Motorola's engineers have put more emphasis on ergonomics and software goodies. To top things off, the Motorola Moto X will be built in the United States with an unprecedented set of appearance customization options.

The one Moto X feature which its manufacturer is boasting about the most is Moto Maker. It offers you the option to design your own Moto X by choosing from hundreds of combinations and you also get to tune your boot animation and wallpaper before you have even received the smartphone. It is a clear sign that innovation hasn't dried up at Motorola, but we are yet to see how well it will be received by the market.

Advantages

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band UMTS/HSPA support
• 100Mbps LTE with a second dedicated antenna
• 4.7" 16M-color 720p RGB AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 316ppi pixel density; Gorilla Glass
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with stock UI
• Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon Pro chipset with dual-core 1.7GHz Krait CPU; Adreno 320 GPU;
• 10 MP autofocus ClearPixel camera with LED flash
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 2 MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
• Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac; Wi-Fi Hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS; GLONASS
• 16/32GB of built-in storage; 2GB of RAM
• microUSB port with MHL and USB host
• Bluetooth v4.0 LE
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Dual-microphone noise cancellation
• Touchless Control, Active Notifications
• Ambient light; accelerometer; proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Superb handling and overall ergonomics
• Moto Maker user customization program
• 50GB of free Google Drive storage
• 2,200mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• More expensive than more powerful competitors
• Non-expandable memory
• Non user-accessible battery
• Moto Maker is exclusive to AT&T at launch

 Get Motorola Moto X - 16GB, Black, Unlocked Phone 

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Samsung Galaxy Note III Phablet to record 4K (UHD) videos

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note III in Berlin on September 4, but as the Samsung Galaxy Note III announcement nears, rumors about the upcoming phablet are getting more and more specific. According to the latest gossip the Galaxy Note III phablet will capable of doing 4K (UHD) video recording. The report comes from The Korea Economic Daily and while there's no way to check its authenticity, it does seem rather plausible.

We already heard that the Sony Xperia Z1 (also known as Honami) will sport 4K video recording, so it would make sense for Samsung to try and match that with its latest flagship. The Snapdragon 800 chipset and the Exynos 5420, rumored to power the different Galaxy Note III versions, should both pack enough oomph to handle the increased load. And with the phablet almost certainly coming with a microSD card slot for memory expansion, the resulting huge files shouldn't be a problem either.

But that's not all the rumor mill brought today. According to the same report, the Galaxy Note III will will also offers higher-quality audio playback. This means the phablet will support 24-bit/192KHz sound compared to the 16-bit audio (CD quality) supported by all Galaxy smartphones to date.

 Buy Samsung Galaxy Note 3 III N900 32gb Black Factory Unlocked Android Cell Phone 

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Lumia 1520 will be the Nokia's Bandit Phablet Features 6-inch

Finally an interesting news has came out earlier. The most waiting smartphone or actually better to be called the Phone and Tablet or Phablet which made by Nokia is merely come to be true. The Phablet which will be based on the Windows Phone OS made by Nokia later on will be called by the code Lumia 1520.

Prolific source of insider info @evleaks posted that the Nokia Bandit will bear the retail name Nokia Lumia 1520. The Bandit is one of several leaked codenames and is most likely the 6" 1080p Windows Phone phablet we saw on a few occasions before.

Nokia Bandit = Lumia 1520
— @evleaks (@evleaks)

We've stumbled upon its front panel before, but the interesting bit is the software update called GDR3, which will enable 1080p resolution support in Windows Phone 8 along with support for quad-core processors.

Which is where the Nokia RM-940 comes in – it received a Bluetooth certification recently and attached to that certification was a separate certification for Snapdragon 800, Snapdragon 400 and Snapdragon 200 chipsets. That combined with an earlier rumor points to Snapdragon 800 power in the Nokia Lumia 1520.

Nokia has scheduled a "worldwide premiere" for tomorrow, August 28. Will the Lumia 1520 be there? What about that Windows RT tablet (also with Snapdragon 800)? The event is in Moscow, which isn't one of the traditional cities for major announcements so don't get your hopes up, but we'll be keeping an eye on things anyway.

 Nokia Lumia 1520, Black crazy deal and lowest price with AT&T Carier 

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