GSM Dome - Mobile Phone News

HTC One S Review – One Dual Core To Rule Them All (Video)

James A. — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:07:27 +0000

HTC One S is a blessing in disguise for those of you who don’t like the fact that modern smartphones have jumped past the 4.3 inch mark and are behemoths with 4.7 inch screens. Well, to fix the problem we’ve got the HTC One S to the rescue, scoring higher than the HTC One X in some benchmarks even and looking very hot.

This is actually the thinnest HTC smartphone ever, just so you know. We’re dealing here with a model available in black or ceramic black and sporting an unique type of case. It’s got a special coating achieved by applying a bolt-like electric current (huge voltage) to a metallic surface that turns into something that feels like ceramic. That coating makes the handset both matte and offers a nice feel to your fingers when you touch it. However, it may be the cause of the phone’s slipping onto clothes or your palm.

Anyway, the process described above (electric current and all) is called micro arc oxidation so you can look it up, as there are some interesting videos about it. Moving on, we get a device that measures 7.8 mm in thickness, weighs 119.5 grams and features a microUSB port on one side and the volume buttons on the other. It’s marked with the Beats Audio logo on the back, close to the speaker and it’s got the already classic Android 4.0 capacitive keys upfront. Also upfront we have at the top the typical HTC grille and front camera, plus the 4.3 inch Super AMOLED display with 540 x 960 pixel resolution. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass technology.

Finally, at the back we have the 8 megapixel camera with flash. Since this is where the design ends, I have to mention yet again, that the phone feels incredibly light and basically you won’t even feel you have something in your pocket, for example. As far as specs go, there’s 1GB of RAM inside, 16GB of storage and at the upper back there’s the microSIM card slot, hidden behind a plastic lid that also covered the camera mechanism. No trace of microSD card slot here, in case you’re wondering.

HTC One S supports HSDPA connectivity, WiFi, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 and micro USB 2.0. Its brain is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait dual core 1.5 GHz processor, that provides us with an Adreno 225 GPU. The new One series model provides the user with the usual accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass, stereo FM radio, AGPS and this time we have a 1.650 mAh battery to juice things up. We got about 2 days of use from this battery, which is very good and once again a testimony that HTC’s battery technology has evolved, just like on the HTC One X.

On the software side we have Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4.0 and a terrific performance. Gone are the rotating carousel and useless effects and “efficiency” is the key word now. If you want benchmarks, know that the One S scores 5103 points in Quadrant, surpassing the 4.605 points we got with the One X in the same test. However, in the AnTuTu benchmark the One X wins with 11.200 versus the 7.069 we got on the One S. Finally, NenaMark 2 gave us 60.3 fps on this phone, while a week before we got 45 fps on a quad core Transformer Pad 300 tablet.

Anyway, back to the software, the experience is pretty much the same as the one you saw in the HTC One X review, so we get the settings area in the notification bar and now it includes connectivity sliders, we get a Play Store link in the apps area and the widget menu is completely changed and much more efficient. The camera UI is also better now and it gathers all of the important options in a single area accesible through a tap on the settings icon on the left. Speaking of camera, we have here an 8 megapixel sensor with autofocus, LED flash, simultaneous photo and video capture, geotagging, 1080p 30 fps video capture and the ability to also capture stereo sound when filming.

There’s a video stabilizer, HDR, slow motion capture, burst shot and tons of effects, so this is the perfect camera for you all Android lovers. You can also do photo capture while playing back video. The videos look stunning on the Super AMOLED screen, the colours are bright and the image is crisp. Some may regret the lack of 720p resolution, but I didn’t feel that lack. If we move on with the multimedia we discover the audio aspect, with Beats Audio settings if you have the needed headphones and a back speaker that to me was underwhelming. Its volume was simply too unimpressive…

Overall, the phone works like a charm, multitasking is easy to play with, by swiping apps you want to close in a more beautiful manner than on the Galaxy Nexus. We’ve got the Friend Stream area for socializing, a Car mode if you want to use the handset in the cradle and only access the vital features and obviously preinstalled Dropbox with 25 GB of storage free for 2 years. This model gets a 9 out of 10 from us on the design side, an 8 in hardware (only 16GB of storage, no microSD, bad lid at the back covering the microSIM, no 720p screen, poor speaker) and a 9 out of 10 for the software (HTC Sense 4.0 feels and looks great). It’s a solid 8.66 overall and a must have phone if you want raw dual core power and current quad core offerings are too expensive for you.

Kyocera Urbano Progresso Bone Conduction Phone Announced, Coming Later This Month

Radu Iorga — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:17:20 +0000

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show included an interesting and innovative technology from Kyocera: the bone conduction speakerphone system. This one doesn’t use the sound made by the phone and directed to ears, relying instead on vibrations transmitted as sound to our hearing organs.

So, next time when your speakerphone will bother people in a library, you’ll feel the need for one of these Kyocera handsets with no external speaker. Kyocera’s device transmits audio as imperceptible vibrations, so when you hold the handset, called Kyocera Urbano Progresso to your head, the vibrations are received by your ear and interpreted as sound. The advantage here is that this works through clothing, hats and even earbuds if needed. KDDI will debut this handset in Japan and odds are slim that you’ll ever see it in your country.

Kyocera Urbano Progresso runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, uses a 4 inch WVGA AMOLED screen, an 8.1 megapixel camera and it’s based on a 1.4 GHz MSM8655 Snapdragon CPU. Kyocera will brand the device as the Smart Sonic Receiver for its big launch later this month.

Exclusive first benchmarks with the HTC Desire C

Mircea Vasile — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:15:39 +0000

The Desire C is an entry level smartphone from HTC. It boast the same design as HTC’s One series, the One X and S, without the killer specs. The Desire C has a 600Mhz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU with a Adreno 200 GPU. The screen, with a diagonal of 3.5 inches (165 ppi), comes at a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. We have 4 GB of onboard storage and 512 MB of RAM. In the imaging department we have a 5MP autofocus camera while audio wise we get the usual Beats Audio sound enhancement.

The HTC Desire C comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, version 4.0.3 pre-installed. While Google may claim that their new OS is faster then Gingerbread (like Microsoft claim Windows 7 is faster then XP), I tend to disagree. We were very curious to see how this device can handel some benchmarks as it’s the lowest spec we’ve seen ICS run on. We also added some results from older HTC models, like the Desire S and Wildfire S to see how they stack up. The final result were pretty good, given the model’s price range. In real life it doesn’t feel sluggish at all, actually it runs as it should, without to many hiccups. Now, about those results, I personally don’t care for Quadrant very much and though we ran the test the comparison will be based on the Antutu scores. And here they are.

And there go the Desire S and Wildfire S. Mind you, both are running stock Gingerbread roms.

As you can see, the Desire C got a score of 1929 points, while the Desire S got 2627 points with the Wildfire S at 1522 points.Given the Desire C price range, I would say the results are pretty good. As previously stated, the device feels great and would surely recommend it to thous first time Android users or to someone that just wants a not too cheap but farley good smartphone . As of yet we have no info about the price but will let you know as soon as we do.

Wall Street Journal Claims New 4+ Inch iPhone Enters Production Next Month

Radu Iorga — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:12:05 +0000

A recent WSJ piece brings us details about the new iPhone, that once again is seen as a device with a 4+ inch diagonal screen. The sixth generation iPhone will finally spoil the tradition of having a 3.5 inch panels on Apple handsets.

Also known as the iPhone 5, the new handset (mockup above) is expected to feature a metallic design and a screen of at least 4 inches, supplied by Apple’s Asian partners. Production of the new iPhone will begin next month, at least as far as screens go, said WSJ. Apple supposedly decided to increase the screen size because of the competition in the field and the fact that their rivals are putting out models with a larger screen estate. Just look at the Galaxy Note and its huge 5.3 inch screen, that brought millions of sales in for Samsung.

Also, the flagship Galaxy S III has a 4.8 inch display and the latest HTC Windows Phone model has a 4.7 inch screen, so everyone’s doing it. Even Nokia has the successful Lumia 900 with 4.3 inch display in its portofolio. The question is: what will the other specs be on the iPhone 5? Many expect an Apple A6 quad core CPU, LTE, better battery and maybe a RAM increase.

Samsung Galaxy Proclaim Priced at $180, Budget Gingerbread Phone

James A. — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:03:15 +0000

Samsung Galaxy Proclaim is one of those budget phones with Gingerbread, that will do a fine job as your second phone. Also, since it’s part of the Galaxy series from Samsung, it insures some degree of quality through that, right? Here’s what the device looks like:

The Proclaim features a 1 GHz processor, 1GB of internal memory plus an extra 2 GB, since it comes with a microSD card with that capacity. Other features include a 3.5 inch HVGA display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. There’s a 3 megapixel camera at the back, a pretty underwhelming feature if you ask me. WiFi and Bluetooth take care of the connectivity side and there’s also a 1500 mAh battery on board to have fun with. With this capacity, I expect at least one or two days of moderate use from this model.

The price is still affordable and that’s probably the main appeal of the model. However, if you consider that you can actually get a good tablet with Android 4.0 for this money, the handset doesn’t look so appealing. Anyway, if you want a budget phone and don’t want to commit to contracts, this is a good choice.

HTC Ville C Specs Leak, Cheaper One S With Last Year’s Snapdragon CPU

James A. — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:58:05 +0000

Since we’ve now got the HTC Desire C as the lower end offering from HTC in 2012, why not make the “C” a series of sorts? Well, now the HTC Ville C just leaked, confirming that we’ll have at least one or two more C devices. This time we’re dealing with a slightly dumbed down HTC One S, as shown by the leak below.

The folks of Brief Mobile received the info from a tipster and you should keep in mind that the CPU frequency mentioned below is actually a typo, so no 1.7 GHz processor here. Most of the specs of the HTC One S were kept, but some were also altered, so we get a 4.3 inch qHD display (AMOLED), 16GB of storage, 1GB of RAM and a Qualcomm S3 dual core CPU (MSM8260) from 2011. The HTC Ville C is also expected to pack an 8 megapixel camera, front VGA shooter and a build quality that’s a bit lower than the one of the One S.

Thus, it will come with the standard aluminium chassis, so without the micro arc oxidation trick up its sleeve. There will be no ceramic feeling on the case, which might be a good thing since the One S tends to slip from the user’s hand once or twice because of this material.

BlackBerry 10 Screenshots Show Up; Here Are the App Tray and Home Screen

Radu Iorga — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:21:04 +0000

BlackBerry 10 OS may be in its early stage of life and it was showcased as such last week during BlackBerry World 2012. Now, a bunch of shots of the OS leaked online and they show us the Home screen, app tray and messaging inbox. You can see all of them below:

They appeared during a RIM media briefing event in London. The main homescreen will allow you to pass to the app tray through a swipe left gesture. From there you can launch all the apps you want. Their icons remind me of the QNX OS quite a lot, not that it’s a bad thing, since I liked those. Also, wherever you are in the menus you can swipe up from the bottom right corner to access the message inbox. The crucial thing that will decide the future of the OS will be the notification area and I’m dying to see that.

This is merely a tease and we have months to wait before seeing the finalized product. The first impression is finally a positive one, after so many months of problems associated with RIM’s image. Fingers crossed for them to finally make a breakthrough.

LG Optimus 4X HD Ready for Launch in Some European Countries

James A. — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:57:40 +0000

Everyone must be puzzled by now that the HTC One X quad core phone is already available, the Galaxy S III is days away from the stores and not even now we have the quad core LG Optimus 4X HD available. Announced a week before MWC, that means in February, the handset is still on the waiting list, but it was confirmed yesterday as coming soon to Germany, Italy, Sweden, Great Britain and Poland.

By soon I mean next month, so in June you’ll get your fix of quad core and choose between 3 top notch handsets from 3 of the biggest phone makers. Huawei’s Ascend D Quad phone should also arrive soon, making the battle more fierce. In this invasion, LG and HTC have come up with the Tegra 3 quad core CPU, while Samsung opted for the in house made Exynos and Huawei also made its own CPU. As far as the Optimus 4X HD goes, the smartphone features a 4.7 inch HD IPS LCD screen, Android 4.0 ICS and a 2,150 mAh battery.

On the software side we also see a Quick Memo feature, that comes with the ability to take and share notes fast. It even includes hyperlinks and it was first showcased on the Optimus Vu a while ago. There’s also the Media Plex video playback control system as a novelty. I’m really curios to see some benchmarks for this phone, although I have a feeling it’s well below Snapragon S4 handsets…

Sony Xperia ST27i Lotus Leaks, Sounds Like Xperia Active Successor

Radu Iorga — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:11:44 +0000

Sony has a lot of phones to show this year, so after unveiling the Xperia Ion and Xperia S at CES, they also showed the world the Xperia U and P models. Then came Xperia Sola and two new Japanese models and then the leaks of the Sony Tapioca and Hayabusa. And today we meet the Sony Xperia ST27i Lotus.

This model was uncovered by Unwired View, through some detailed leaked via user agent profiles on Sony’s website. The Lotus is supposed to be the successor to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active. The Active was a rugged model that we’ve reviewed here at GSMDome for you. Xperia Active was known under the codename ST17i/ST17a and the newcomer adopts the ST27i/ST27a codename, showing it could be a follow-up. The “i” is supposed to stand for international, while the “a” for America.

As far as specs go, the leak mentions a touchscreen with 480 x 854 resolution, a ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 1 GHz dual core processor and Android 2.3 Gingerbread as the OS. We would have expected Android 4.0 here frankly, but if this model is as resilient as the predecessor, or at least prettier, it may be interesting even with the older OS.

Intel Announces 22Nm Merrifield and 6331 Phone Processor for 2013

Radu Iorga — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:37:45 +0000

Intel is known for trying to get now in the mobile race by launching chipsets for smartphones and tablets. Over the past years they’ve complained that Nokia was pulling them back through their software partnership, but now they’re free to do anything. Thus, they showcased the Medfield phone CPU early this year and now they reveal the plans for 2013.

During a recent investor meeting in Santa Clara, California CEO Paul Otellini from Intel detailed next year’s new processors, Merrifield and 6331. Both are designed for phones and based on the new 22nm manufacturing process. The 6331 is a cheap single core chip, while the Merrifield is a dual core chipset meant for higher end smartphones. This solution also involves a new GPU that is supposed to provide an immersive experience, according to Mobile and Communications GM, Mike Bell.

Intel’s future roadmap also includes a 14 nm chip for 2014, but by then I’m sure Qualcomm and Nvidia will have figured out something even cooler. Considering that Qualcomm is playing with 28nm Snapdragons right now, they’re certainly more advanced then Intel, at least in the mobile area. Will Intel manage to power up some potent smartphones before the year is out?