HTC Desire C Review

Pros

• Nice styling and good build quality
• Good quality screen
• Android 4.0 is feature packed

Cons

• A little expensive for its features
• Can become quite slow

HTC Desire C - Design and Hardware

Key Features: 3.5in, 320 x 480 pixel LCD screen; 600MHz Single Core Processor; 5 Megapixel Camera; Android 4.0 Manufacturer: HTC

When it launched its flagship One line of Android phones earlier this year HTC suggested it would be sticking to a policy of creating fewer more clearly differentiated handsets. Well, it appears not to have taken very long for that policy to have been eroded.

The HTC Desire C is one of four new and rather similar Desire models hitting the market over the coming weeks and months. In fairness, the C is the most different of the four with a smaller screen and slower processor than the rest. What's more HTC has at least stuck to keeping the One lineup premium and demoting the Desire range to the budget end, which is a commendably clear differentiation – Samsung take note.

So, what does the Desire C offer? Well, it's built around an original iPhone-matching 3.5in screen, has a 5 megapixel camera but, key to its budget billing, it has a lowly 600MHz processor.



Design and Handling
As we've come to expect from HTC, where the Desire C definitely gets things right is in its styling and build quality. A nicely rounded matt plastic back butts up to a real metal bezel that surrounds an unbroken slab of toughened glass. It's simple but HTC has really made the most of things with some clever little touches. For instance the thumb notch used to prize off the backplate mirrors the power button on the top edge while the holes for the earpiece speaker are micro-drilled into the metal bezel, rather than there just being a big hole covered with a grille. Then of course there's HTC's penchant for making the insides from a brightly coloured translucent plastic – we love it in principle but it is pointless.



With dimensions of 107.2 x 60.6 x 12.3 the phone is a bit chunky by today's standards, especially for a handset that's not exactly packed with all the latest tech. But, it's otherwise small enough to easily handle, and the rounded back feels snug in the hand.

There is one problem though: that matt white finish. It looks great but its abrasive surface picks up dirt like you wouldn't believe – read a newspaper then handle this phone and it'll be covered in grey marks from all the print on your fingers. It does wipe off but not always as easily as you'd think.



The other issue with the back is that it's not as grippy as you might expect. In combination with its rounded edges this can make the phone slip from your grasp more easily than its rough nature would suggest.

Otherwise, usability is good with the three touch sensitive buttons under the screen being responsive and easy to use. The top mounted power button is also an easy reach as this is such a small phone.



Features
While this phone's build gives up little to more premium models, when we start to look at features the differences become all too clear. The camera on the back lacks a flash or autofocus, the microUSB socket doesn't support MHL video output (nor is there any other video output) and NFC is only an optional extra. But what you do get is Wi-Fi N with hotspot capability, Bluetooth v4.0, a microSD slot for adding up to 32GB to the miserly 4GB of internal storage (only about 1GB of which can you access), FM radio and GPS. In other words, all the essentials are there. 

HTC Desire C - Screen and Performance

Screen
The HTC Desire C may at first appear to have a fairly lowly screen – 3.5in, 320 x 480 pixels – but it's worth considering that it has the same specs as the first three iPhones and they did the job. The result is that while not the sharpest screen around, it's sufficient for all the usual smartphone duties and moreover it's of reasonable quality with fairly bright colours and good viewing angles. Like iPhones though, it's a little small to really enjoy watching video on and it can be a bit cramped for gaming.



All told, while perfectly serviceable you can get slightly larger, higher resolution screens for only a little more money, such as on the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, for instance.

Performance
The single most budget aspect of this phone, however, is its processor. It's a single core chip that runs at a mere 600MHz. This sounds like it should make the phone unusable but there's more here than meets the eye. This chip is based on a newer architecture (Cortex A5 compared to ARM11) that has inherently better performance for any given clock speed. So in actual use, it's not bad. Moving round the interface, typing and such basics are absolutely fine.



That said, it does have its limitations. So while you certainly can browse fullsize, graphically rich websites, it can be a bit slow to do so. Likewise some of the latest 3D games may not play ball.

Putting that performance to the test we were actually surprised just how slow it is in benchmarks, considering how nippy it feels in use. Both SunSpider and BrowserMark have this phone beaten by all but two of the phones on our current benchmark results. Only the Orange San Francisco and San Francisco II are consistently slower, though a few others do come close.



Part of the reason it remains nippy in use that this phone runs Android 4.0 which, while more demanding than previous versions, tends to feel that bit snappier.

Ultimately, if you're used to 1GHz or faster phones from yesteryear, you'll find the Desire C a bit too sluggish. But for a first smartphone or as a step up from something like the super budget Orange San Francisco, there's enough here to keep you happy.

Battery Life
Despite its chunky dimensions, the Desire C didn't set any new records for how long it lasted on a single charge. With heavy use it was mostly dead in a day while light use had it last a day and a half or so. So, same old, same old really.

 

HTC Desire C - Interface

Interface
At its core the Desire C is a typical Android 4.0 smartphone with all the latest features that entails, and this one factor is enough to put it ahead of many budget phones running older versions of the software. But HTC has of course had a fairly thorough tweak of the overall look and feel.



The homescreen experience is pared down compared to HTC's flagship One series, with only five homescreens on offer, but we hardly see this being a problem for most users. Likewise animations aren't rendered in 3D so screens simply slide left and right rather than rotating as though on a carousel. Also missing is the zoomed out thumbnail view of your homescreens that is normally activated by a tap of the Home button when already on the main homescreen. Both these latter changes we're actually quite happy with as they're rather superfluous anyway.

To customise your homescreens it's just a case of holding down your finger on the homescreen and up will pop the customisation interface. This is really nicely implemented, making it really easy to get all your favourite apps and widgets arranged as you like.



Jump into the App Launcher and you've got options for Frequently used apps and Downloaded ones as well as the standard list of everything you have loaded on the phone. Again, it's simple and easy to use.

As with most new mobiles coming out at the moment, HTC hasn't used software buttons – as stipulated by Android 4.0 – for Back, Home and Multitasking but instead has these as touch-sensitive buttons under the screen. On a phone this small this makes sense and we felt overall navigation was a cinch.

Setting up the phone is also very easy thanks to plenty of easy to follow setup instructions and Android's in built support for most online email and social network accounts.

HTC Desire C - Phone Basics

Calling and Contacts
Another area prone to corner cutting on budget models is call quality, and so it is here. The microphone isn't noise cancelling so doesn't deliver the best audio to the person you're calling while the earpiece is nothing special either.

Likewise, the loudspeaker is pretty weedy, just about sufficing for hands free calls in quiet environments. We had no issues with reception though.



As ever with HTC's Android phones, the contacts interface is excellent providing quick access to the dialler and a contacts list from one screen. Social network integration is also very good making it easy to get to not just basic information about friends and family but see their Facebook pictures or latest updates.

Messaging
Text messaging is as simple as we've come to expect on a modern smartphone, as is the overall email experience. However, we do have a few niggles.

HTC has implemented its own onscreen keyboard rather than use the default Android one and while it has its plus points, certainly when it comes to word prediction and text editing, it's not the best we've used. But it's a simple procedure to download and install another one.



If you're a fast typer the slowness of the phone may cause you to make a few mistakes, whichever keyboard you use, but with a modicum of patience it keeps up pretty well.

As for email, as is common on a number of Android phones, you can't view the whole of html emails in a zoomed out view so you have to constantly scroll around, which is very annoying. Like with the web browser, it can be a little sluggish with large graphical emails too.



Internet
As mentioned, despite its slow processor this phone does surprisingly well with web browsing and is perfectly adequate for mobile sites. In fact, it also copes pretty well with full size web pages and can run Flash - it just gets a little sluggish, and we wouldn't recommend running too many tabs at once.

HTC Desire C - Multimedia and Verdict

Video
With a screen this size video playback was never going to be the primary use of this phone, but driving the final nail in the coffin – HTC One S style – is the poor playback quality. The slow processor simply can't cope with anything of remotely high quality, making youtube about the limit of your video ambitions.



Camera and Gallery
Continuing the 'less than stellar' theme is the camera which not only lacks autofocus and a flash but also produces pretty grainy shots. There's also little in the way of effects or extra modes. All told, it's really only for the most occasional of use. Likewise video, which is only offered in up to 480 x 320 pixel resolution.



Viewing images isn't so bad with the simple to use Android Gallery app and that decent quality screen. However, you don't get any fancy integration of photos from your social networks or such like – hardly a surprise at this price.

Music
Along with video, the big advantage of this and most Android phones is that you can load up your files without the need for any extra software of fancy syncing procedure – just plug the phone in and go – and with a microSD slot on hand there's potentially plenty of room for your vast music collection. HTC has also done a good job in terms of the music interface.

The big draw here, though, is of course the Beats branding, and it means precisely naff all. It amounts to an EQ setting that boosts bass and treble. Overall sound quality is okay but is noticeably a step below higher end rivals.



Value
But, all these issues have to be weighed up against the cost of this phone. At just £150 on PAYG (on Three) and £180 SIM free it is very definitely budget. You can get cheaper phones such as the original Samsung Galaxy Ace or Orange San Francisco II but they're a step down in quality and features again. That said, it doesn't take much of an extra outlay to get a lot more capable device. At £250 you can get a brand new larger and much faster Galaxy Ace 2, while second hand you'll be able to pick up some of last year's high-end phones for that money.

Verdict
It's always a difficult task to judge a budget phone as for some people the compromises made won't matter but for others they'll be fundamental – like the missing LED on the flash in this instance. Also, there's always the competition from second hand models to consider. But overall we think HTC has done enough to make this a sensible option if you're looking for a first mobile for a child or just for a stylish low cost handset for yourself.

Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises Special Edition Review

Pros

• Excellent design
• Useful additional apps
• Easy to use operating system

Cons

• Screen isn’t as sharp as other premium phones
• Performance could be speedier

Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises Special Edition

Key Features: 4.3inch AMOLED touchscreen; 8.0 megapixel camera; 16GB of memory; 1.4Ghz processor Manufacturer: Nokia

The last in the series of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies – the Dark Knight Rises – released in cinemas on July 20 and as a tie in with the movie Nokia has produced a limited edition version of the Lumia 900 called, unsurprisingly, the Dark Knight Rises Special Edition. The handset is currently available exclusively from Phones4u for free on a £26 a month contract.



First things first, what's the different between this Batphone version and the standard Lumia 900? Basically, what you get here is the Batman logo laser etched into the rear of the phone, an exclusive Dark Knight theme for the phone, and the Dark Knight app. The latter includes trailers, info on the movie and a rewards based game that's based around Foursquare check-ins. Other than that, the phone is pretty much identical to the normal Lumia 900.

If you've seen the Lumia 800, the Lumia 900's design won't come as much of surprise, as it essentially takes it's smaller sibling's styling and supersizes it in order to fit in a larger 4.3inch screen. The phone's body is essentially a single piece of polycarbonate with Gorilla glass covering the screen on the front. There's also a chrome badge on the rear that has the Nokia logo stamped on it and which also surrounds the camera lens and LED flash.



The round edges of the phone also make it more comfortable to hold than its more angular rivals, including the iPhone 4S. Overall, it's a very elegant design, and feels robust in a way that many Android phones don't. It's is relatively wide though, due to the larger screen, so if you have more petite hands you might find it slightly awkward to hold single-handed.

Also, there are a couple of other niggles. The microUSB port is slightly awkwardly sited at the top of the phone and the power button is on the right hand side, which is different to most other smartphones on the market.

Nevertheless, like all Windows Phones this one has a dedicated camera button – something that's sadly fast disappearing from other smartphones – and we love the way you can just hold down the camera button to quickly launch the camera even if you're in a different app or the phone is in standby. Naturally there's also a standard headphone jack at the top as well as volume up and down buttons on the right hand side.

As with all Windows Phone models there are also three touch button across the bottom f the screen with the Window button (essentially a home button) in the middle, the back button on the left and the search button on the right. These are nice and responsive to use and light up when the screen is on.

Speaking of the screen, it uses AMOLED technology rather than the more usual LCD display's that most smartphones rely on. The advantage of this is that it really is searingly bright when used indoors, but unlike some of the other OLED screens we've seen brightness levels thankfully don’t drop off too much once you're outside. The increase in the size of the display over the screen on the Lumia 800 does give photos and videos more impact. However, it's still stuck at the regular 480 x 800 pixels, so essentially it's just enlarging what you get on all other current Windows Phone handsets.


Thankfully Nokia has moved away from the Pentile subpixel arrangement of the screen on the 800, which caused some graininess, especially when rendering smaller text. The Nokia Lumia 900's screen uses regular RGB subpixels instead and so text and graphics actually look a fair bit sharper. However, it's no match for the high resolution screens on the iPhone 4S or Galaxy S3. Also, the colours can look a bit overly saturated and there's a blue-ish tinge on whites – something that's very noticeable when you're viewing webpages as most of them have white backgrounds.

The Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises Special Edition isn't exactly a beast when it comes to specs either. It relies on a relatively modest single core Snapdragon processor that runs a 1.4Ghz and is twinned with 512MB of RAM. There's also 16GB of storage space for apps, photos, videos and the like. As with the iPhone, this storage space is fixed because the phone doesn't have a microSD card slot. OK, so 16GB is probably enough for most people, but it's still annoying that you haven't got the flexibility to expand it using cheap memory cards in the way that you can on most Android phones. 

 

Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises Special Edition - Performance, Apps and Camera

It's a testament to Windows Phone's design that the OS and applications actually run very smoothly on the Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises Special Edition's hardware. Scrolling is pretty much always deliciously smooth, apps load relatively quickly and you very rarely come across any slowdown.

In the Benchmark Free application the Nokia Lumia 900 racked up a score of 39.5 (higher is better) , compared to 37.9 for the HTC Radar and 35.6 for the older HTC Mozart. However, the lack of horsepower is sometimes noticeable in the web browser, as it sometimes seems to get itself stuck when loading and rendering webpages, especially ones with lots of pictures or graphics. This is reflected in its browser benchmarks, which are fairly lowly compared to the iPhone 4S and high-end Android handsets like the S3. In the Sunspider test it posted an overall score of 6795.9ms, while in Browsermark it managed to rack up of result of 32, 173. The iPhone 4S by comparison, when running iOS5, scores around 51,300 in Browsermark (higher is better) and 2200ms in Sunspider (lower is better).



Microsoft doesn't allow much room for manufacturers to alter the look of Windows Phone, so the OS experience here is really little not much different from other Windows Phone 7 handsets. This is no bad thing, as Windows Phone has one of the best UIs in the business. It brilliantly integrates social networking services, including Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin within the People Hub, while the Live Tiles and neat 3D-style page flips give the whole OS a very modern and dynamic feel.

What Nokia has done is add a few of its own apps and services to the phone. You get both Nokia's Drive GPS navigation software which is actually very good, as well as is Nokia Maps application, which is significantly better than the standard Bing Maps baked into the OS. The handset also comes with Nokia Music. This is essentially an online radio service. You choose a music genre and the app streams tracks to you. You can skip a certain number of tracks per hour, but if you try skipping too many it'll disable the skipping feature for a while before enabling it again. We really quite like the Nokia Music app, especially as it is free to use.



Nevertheless, there are still weaknesses in Windows Phone. There's no graphic equaliser, bass boost settings or any kind of audio presets. The calendar also needs work, as the overall monthly view is next to useless and although range of apps available is improving, there are still significant gaps in the Marketplace.

Of course, the other elephant in the room is that the Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises Special Edition won't be upgradeable to Windows Phone 8. It will however get an update to add many of the Windows Phone 8 user interface enhancements including folders and resizable tiles. If you're someone who always wants to have the latest OS then this is likely to put you off this phone, but if you think the feature set as it is will be enough for you - and it will for most people – then you may not be so worried about it, especially as developers are likely to continue to focus on Windows Phone 7.8 compatible apps until there's a much larger installed base of Windows Phone 8 handsets. 

When it comes to photographs and videos the first thing to note is that, unlike the 800, the Nokia Lumia 900 Dark Knight Rises Special Edition does have a front facing camera so you can use it for video calling in apps like Skype. The rear camera has an 8-megapixel sensor as well as an LED flash. The camera is good, but as with the 800, it's not in the same league as the cameras on the iPhone 4S or the Galaxy S3. You can get great pictures from it, but it makes you work harder than the cameras on those phones.



The focus is slower and it doesn’t always judge exposure correctly, so often you'll find yourself having to take a shot again to get a better result, whereas the S3 and 4S cameras tend to get it right first time more of the time. Shots also tend to be slightly noisier, unless it's working in optimal lighting conditions – ie outdoors in bright sunlight. On the video front it can captures clips at resolutions of up to 720p, but as with pretty much all other Windows Phones it can be slow to readjust its focus when you hop between subjects.

The call quality of the phone is up to Nokia's usual high standards, as the ear piece delivers loud and crisp audio, while callers also said that speech from the mic as easily intelligible. However, battery life is no different to most of today's smart phones, so you'll need to recharge it at the end of each day.

Verdict
There's no compelling reason to buy this Special Edition version over the standard Nokia Lumia 900, unless you feel you just can't live without the laser etched Batman logo on the rear. However, the 900 is still a desirable phone thanks to its combination of stylish design and easy to use operating system. It's screen could be a little bit sharper and we would have liked to see slightly nippier performance, but we think most people who end up buying the 900 will like it. That said, it does seem a tad overpriced at present, especially when directly compared against the likes of the iPhone 4S and Galaxy S3, which offer beefier performance at a similar price point.

Sony Xperia U Review

Pros

• Surprisingly stylish and well built
• Great perfromance for a budget phone
• Really easy to handle

Cons

• Screen quite small by today's standards
• Only runs Android 2.3

 

Sony Xperia U - Design & Features

Key Features: Dual-Core 1GHz processor; Android 2.3 operating system; 3.5in, 480 x 854 pixel display; Interchangeable coloured end caps; Flashing clear plastic strip Manufacturer: Sony

Introduction
The Sony Xperia U is the third tier in Sony’s current lineup of Android phones. Costing around £150, it’s comfortably within budget phone territory but, like the Xperia P, it belies its low cost, making for a handset that’s well worth a look. With a funky strip of flashing lights and interchangeable end caps, it has a bit more personality than most too.


Design and Features
Unsurprisingly, where the Xperia U feels most budget is in its design and build, but not in the way you’d expect. Its combination of a matt white unibody chassis and glass screen is as classy as most premium handsets, while the clear plastic strip that runs below the screen is a nice touch, just as it is on the rest of the Xperia lineup.



No, where the budget leaning is most obvious is the size of the thing. Although the screen is technically the same 3.5in diagonal as that of the iPhone, it’s considerably narrower and all told the phone looks and feels small. What doesn’t help is the thick bezel that makes the display look even smaller than it is.

Otherwise, there are just a few subtleties that further take the edge off, such as the thick black trim round the screen’s edge and the rather obvious gaping hole for the front facing camera, but neither of these are close to being deal breakers.



What’s more that smaller size makes this a superbly easy handset to handle. It weighs just 110g and with dimensions of 112 x 54 x 12mm it’s an easy fit in the hand. As with the rest of the current Xperia line, those stylishly squared corners do dig into the hand a little but not enough to really worry.

One point to note is that the matt finish of this white version does pick up dirt quite easily, which is something to be aware of if you’re a regular newspaper reader.



That removable end cap simply pulls off and alternates slide on. There was a spare yellow one in the box of our review sample which we tried and then promptly ditched – we weren’t all that impressed with the combination. You can also get a black version of the phone that comes with an alternative pink end cap. Gimmick? Yeah, pretty much.

Adding to the overall ease of use are a great selection of buttons and other features. Below the screen are three nicely responsive touch-sensitive buttons for navigating the main interface while the right edge is home to the three other main controls, the power, volume and camera shutter buttons.



The power button isn’t quite so easy to reach in left-handed use but for right-handers it falls perfectly under your thumb making for easy one-handed use. Likewise the volume rocker is easy to reach, and the shutter button is great for controlling trickier shots – hold it down and it’ll jump straight to the camera even when the phone is locked too.



Up top is a headphone jack while on the left edge is a microUSB socket for charging and hooking up to a computer to transfer files. There isn’t, however, a microHDMI socket for hooking the phone straight up to a TV.



You can remove the backplate to access the 1290mAh battery and (normal size) SIM slot but there’s no microSD slot for expanding upon the 8GB of built in storage. This latter point could be the deal breaker for many as in fact only about 4GB of this is user accessible. This will mean regularly having to remove and backup images captured on the camera to make room for more, swap in and out different music depending on your mood and possibly even having to uninstall some apps to make room for others.

Sony Xperia U - Screen & Interface

 

Screen
We mentioned that the screen of the Sony Xperia U isn’t all that big but while it certainly doesn’t rival the big guns for watching video or playing games it’s actually perfectly adequate for everything else. It’s an LCD panel with a typical resolution of 480 x 854 pixels, which in combination make for a reasonably sharp display that’s easy to read emails or browse the web on. Viewing angles are good and it’s reasonably colourful too.



About the only area of concern is typing. We found it absolutely fine for typing on, despite the keyboard being visibly narrower than that of the iPhone, a phone that many people already find a little slim. But, for those that do find smaller phones a tight squeeze, this one is no exception.

What makes the typing experience so tolerable for us, however, is that the screen is super responsive and the word prediction excellent. We could type away at near enough as fast as we can on any touchscreen.

Performance
Part of what makes that screen feel so responsive is that under the hood of this phone is a nippy dual-core 1GHz processor. Dual-core is becoming more common in mid-range phones but it’s still pretty rare at this price point. It keeps the phone feeling fast and responsive during almost all typical activities, coping with graphically rich websites, fancy 3D games and, as mentioned, our feverish typing speed!

Putting that subjective feel to the test, we ran our usual suite of benchmarks and the Xperia U came up trumps. SunSpider, BrowserMark and Linpack scores of 2499, 66437 and 33.7 (single) and 64.7 (multi) show this phone is fast when it comes to raw CPU power while scores of 2178 and 1529 in the Egypt and Pro offscreen tests of GLBenchmark prove it has gaming chops too.



When it came to calling the Xperia U also held up reasonably well. A noise cancelling microphone is something of rarity at this price point and the earpiece delivered enough volume to keep us happy.

Likewise battery life was more than adequate with the phone delivering a reasonably heavy day’s use. Yes, it’s a charge every night scenario, but what phone isn’t these days?

Interface: Android 2.3 with Timescape UI
Like all of Sony’s current Android handsets, the Xperia U runs the older 2.3 version of Android but an update to 4.0 is in the works. That update will bring welcome enhancements in terms of both features and performance but even as things stand the Xperia U is a very capable and easy to use handset.



Hitting the homescreens, you’ve got five to choose from with four fixed shortcuts across the bottom of the screen – two either side of the main menu shortcut. These four fixed apps are interchangeable with any other app or folder, with a simple hold-and-drag gesture being all that’s required to move them around.



The main app menu can be ordered in a number of ways with the default being however you choose to arrange them. But you can also change them to be in alphabetical , most used or recently installed order.

As ever, there are more widgets loaded onto the homescreens than we’d ever want but it’s easy enough to remove a few and speed up the interface even more in the process.
 

Sony Xperia U - Interface, Camera & Verdict

Perhaps the most noticeable Sony addition is the swirling desktop which dances and flows as you tap the screen. There are plenty of other equivalents on other Android devices but this if one of the nicer and more obvious versions we’ve seen.



Okay, we lied, the most noticeable addition is the flashing clear bar that chops through the bottom of the phone. This glows all manner of different colours depending on what app you’re in, whether you’ve got a message or a call, or if the phone is charging. Perhaps the neatest trick is that the collection of lights will do there best to match whatever’s on screen when using the Gallery app, a bit like a tiny version of Philips’ Ambilight TVs. Otherwise, it’s essentially an oversized version of those little pin-sized LEDs you get on BlackBerrys. It’s a nice, if somewhat superfluous, addition.



On a more practical note, another key Sony addition is that of Timescape, which is a social network feed aggregator that brings together updates from Facebook and Twitter and presents them in one long stream. It’s quite nice in a way but the snaking style of the app makes it a bit impractical. The accompanying widget is quite effective though.

You also get Sony’s Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited streaming services, both of which offer a reasonably competitive selection of content at a reasonable price - films are around £3.49 a pop to rent and £12 to buy while music is delivered based on a flat monthly fee of £9.99. Ultimately, though, there’s little reason to pick either over a rival service.

All told, it’s not the most convincing implementation of Android we’ve seen but it’s easy enough to get along with and includes full access to the vast Google Play Store app library.

Camera
The Sony Xperia U has a 5megapixel camera on its back and a 0.9megapixel front facing one. The rear one comes with autofocus and an LED flash so is a reasonably versatile tool. But, like most phones cameras, it’s still fairly limited in terms of picture quality. On a dull day like when we took our test shots, the London skyline looked almost totally devoid of colour, and the overall look is fairly patchy. As ever, the rule of thumb is that it’s fine for small social snaps but doesn’t really stretch to anything more.



The shutter button is also of less use than we’d hope as, like quite a few phones that include this feature, it requires quite a hard press to activate it, greatly increasing the chance of making your shot wobbly. Still, we’d rather have the option than not.


Detail is reasonable but the Sony Xperia U over emphasises the dullness of this day.


Touch focus means you can easily pick out the object you'd like to focus on.


The flash is reasonably powerful but like most it struggles to focus in the pitch dark.

You get a pretty decent selection of scene and shooting modes, including the really easy to use sweep panorama feature where you simply pan the camera left or right to build up an ultra-wide shot. The overall interface isn’t all that slick, though, paling in comparison to HTC’s for instance.

Much the same can be said of the phone’s 720p HD video performance in that it’s fine for grabbing the moment but certainly doesn’t reach new heights.

ValueIt doesn’t seem long ago where even £200 was being a bit stingy to get a genuinely satisfactory smartphone experience but in the last few months several top-dog cut-price blowers have hit the market. Nonetheless, the Sony Xperia U offers a great combination of features for its price.

The ZTE Grand X offers a much larger, sharper screen for a little more money while the Huawei Ascend G300 is much cheaper, has a slightly bigger screen and a microSD slot, though it does only have a single core processor. Another alternative is the super stylish and well built HTC One V, though again it’s only single core.

VerdictThe Sony Xperia U isn’t perfect but then what phone is for little over £150? It’s compact yet has a screen large enough for core smartphone duties, it’s fast thanks to a dual-core processor and it’s just plain easy to use. An easy recommendation for anyone looking for a phone on a budget.

LG Optimus 4X Review

The good: The LG Optimus 4X HD's quad-core processor makes it incredibly zippy, it runs on Android 4.0, and it has NFC capabilities and a stunning HD-IPS LCD display.

The bad: The 4X HD can be unwieldy for small hands, the quality of its output speaker is less than stellar, and its UI isn't as elegant as the original ICS.

The bottom line: With its lightning-quick CPU, newest Android version, great touch screen, and NFC chip, the LG Optimus 4X HD is firing on all cylinders.

Design
Though I love the LG Optimus 4X HD's simple, sleek design and lightweight build (considering its size -- it weighs only 5.12 ounces), it's a tall device. Measuring 5.19 inches long, 2.69 inches wide, and 0.38 inch thick, I had a hard time using it with just one hand. It's not impossibly large or bulky, but my petite paws did oftentimes have to scoot upward and downward while handling it. And you can forget about sticking it in your jean pocket. When I slipped it into either my back or front jean pockets, a good inch and a half would peek above the top seam.

On its left side is a volume rocker, up top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and a sleep/power button, and at the bottom lies a Micro-USB port.

I'm particularly fond of a couple of the phone's aesthetic traits. Along the left and right edges is a subtle but interesting diamond pattern you can feel. In addition, the plastic back is textured with a lined, almost woodlike design. Even though it feels a little flimsy, this plastic build keeps the handset light, and the craggy pattern is unique.

On the back's top left corner is an LED-flash-supported 8-megapixel camera. Below that are two small slits for the output speaker. Using a small indentation at the bottom, you can use your fingernail to pry the back off and gain access to the microSD slot, SIM card, and 2,150mAh battery. On the opposite side of the backing are two small gold antennas for the NFC capabilities.

 

 

On the other side of the back plate are two antennas for the 4X HD's NFC feature.

The phone sports a 4.7-inch True HD IPS display that has a 1,280x720-pixel resolution. After spending time playing games and watching videos, I can confirm that it's gorgeous. Images were crisp and vibrant, and colors were richly saturated. Color variation was broad, as blacks were truly black, and dark and light hues contrasted well. On maximum brightness, the display was even more terrific. The viewing angle is wide, even while outdoors in the sun.

Above the display in the left corner is a proximity sensor and to the right is a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Below are three front keys (back, home, and menu) that light up when in use.

Features
As previously mentioned, the LG Optimus 4X HD runs on an unprecedented Nvidia Tegra 3, 1.5GHz quad-core processor. The CPU speeds are impressively fast. Elementary tasks like pinch zooming, scrolling through apps, swiping through its seven home screen pages, and switching from landscape to portrait mode were a piece of cake.

What amazed me the most, however, was how well it could handle large apps. The device comes preloaded with three games: ShadowGun, Samurai II: Vengeance, and Dark Kingdom. All are graphics-intense and I didn't experience any hiccups or stalling during gameplay. These games launched without any problems, and the moment I pressed the home button the apps would close and I'd transition back in a snap.
In addition, the handset runs on the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, and comes with all the Google goodies you expect like Gmail, Search, Plus, Latitude, Play Store, Messenger, Maps with Navigation, Places, Talk, and YouTube.

Other preloaded content includes an app that backs up your content; a finance app for keeping track of your stocks; a news and weather app; the mobile office suite known as Polaris Office; RemoteCall, an app that lets LG support services remotely access your phone for troubleshooting; SmartShare, a content distribution app; LG SmartWorld, which lets you download LG apps and ringtones; an FM radio; and an app that enables you to receive cell broadcast messages.

Basic task-management features present are texting, e-mail, Bluetooth, a Web browser, a calendar, a clock with alarm settings, a memo pad, a calculator, and a voice recorder.

The Near-Field Communication chip, or NFC, enables the handset to wirelessly communicate with other NFC-enabled devices within a short distance. Using an included feature called Android Beam, you can wirelessly transfer browser pages and contacts between devices by simply touching the 4X HD's back with another device that has Beam too.

LG included three Tag+ stickers labeled Office, Sleep, and Car mode that let you use the NFC feature to activate certain settings on your phone that you customize. For example, every time you go to sleep, you may want to put your 4X HD on vibrate, dim your screen, and have your music turn off after 10 minutes of playing. Once you set up and save those settings using the LG Tag+ app, you can activate them whenever you tap your Sleep Mode Tag sticker.

The LG Optimus 4X HD comes with these NFC Tag+ stickers.

When I tried out this feature, it didn't work as consistently as it did on the LG Optimus 3D Max. Sometimes, I would get an error message. But after a few more trials, the tags worked reliably, and the LG Tag+ app made this feature easy to set up.

The device is also equipped with LG's newest user interface, the Optimus UI 3.0, which isn't as stylishly simplistic as the vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich skin. The icons are boxy, the widgets look clunky (especially the unattractive weather widget), and even though I like that it's sporting the Roboto font, the keypad itself still looks a little outdated. There are a few welcome changes, however, like the fact that you can access up to four apps of your choosing from the lock screen by simply swiping over its icon.

Another is QuickMemo, a feature you can access by either pulling down the notifications bar or holding down the volume rocker keys for a second. It lets you jot down, with your finger, quick notes or sketches directly over screen images, which you can then save and share. You can customize the color and style of your pen tip. Personally, I prefer Android's minimalistic interface, but it's refreshing to see LG actively changing and taking chances with its products' UIs.

A couple of other services include Wi-Fi hot-spot and gesture support -- the latter of which isn't so uncommon in LG devices. Gesture support lets you stop or snooze your alarm, pause video, or mute an incoming call, all by flipping the handset over.

The 8-megapixel camera offers a variety of options: autofocus, touch focus, a flash, a 15x digital zoom, face tracking, geotagging, a timer, continuous shooting, panoramic shooting, and HDR imaging. It also has an exposure meter (-2 to +2); seven image sizes (ranging from 1,536x864p to 3,264x2,448p); five scene modes (normal, portrait, landscape, sports, and night); four ISO options (100, 200, 400, and auto); five white balances (auto, incandescent, sunny, fluorescent, and cloudy); and four color effects (none, mono, sepia, and negative). Lastly, there's a time machine mode, which takes pictures a few moments before you press the camera so you won't miss a shot.

The LG Optimus 4X HD's 8-megapixel camera comes with a variety of features.

The front-facing camera offers the same exposure meter, white-balance options, color effects, timer, and geotagging feature, but only two scene modes (normal, and night) and three sizes (ranging from 640x480p to 1,280x960p). There's also a "mirror image" option that saves a vertically flipped version of your photo and a "beauty shot" meter that lets you adjust the brightness and blurriness of an image. This comes in handy when you're taking self-portraits and want to soften the photo.

Recording options consist of the same digital zoom, flash, exposure meter, geotagging, color effects, and white balances. In addition, there's audio muting and you can choose from six video sizes (ranging from full HD 1080p to QCIF). One of the two new interesting features (I've only seen these options in tablets until now) is the "silly faces" mode, which will distort your face while the video records. It can squeeze your face together, shrink your mouth, or make your eyes huge and Lady Gaga-like. Needless to say, I got a kick out of it. The other is a background module, where you can change your background to outer space, a sunset, a disco, or your own custom image.

Though the front-facing video option has fewer options, it still retains a good deal of features. There's still the same exposure meter, white balances, color effects, geotagging, and audio muting feature. The "silly faces" and background module are also retained, though there are only five video sizes (ranging from HD 720p to QCIF).

After you record video, most handsets let you watch it in a standard video player that doesn't do much. This phone, however, is loaded with Media Plex, which lets you preview any single frame in the video when you drag your finger across the scroller. You can also pinch-zoom within your video during playback, control the speed at which your video plays, and even play thumbnails of other recorded videos while watching a video. Despite the fact that the playback speed module is clunky and the thumbnail option causes sensory overload, I like that there are more options for viewing video.

Performance
I tested the LG Optimus 4X HD in San Francisco. Because it's unlocked, I used an AT&T SIM card in. I didn't have any problems with signal quality; no dropped calls, extraneous buzzing, or audio clipping in and out. Sound quality, however, was mediocre. Voices were audible but muffled. Though turning up the volume helped a bit, my friends still sounded like they were talking underneath a thin sheet. Likewise, I was told I sounded stifled too. Oddly, however, one of my friends told me I sounded clearer when talked over speakerphone than when I held the device to my ear.

The output speakerphone quality was also disappointing. Calls, as well as music, sounded incredibly harsh and severe, making it unpleasantly sharp to hear. You can also hear the sound bouncing off the back plate of the phone. Turning the volume down helped somewhat, and you can still hear what's being said, but it was disappointing regardless.

 The 8-megapixel camera's photo quality was stellar. You can use the onscreen shutter button, or the physical volume buttons to take pictures. Images were in focus with distinct edges and sharp contrast. Colors were true to life and vivid. In both outdoor and indoor lighting, objects were well-defined. In addition, because the camera has a back-illuminated sensor, photos taken in low lighting looked perfectly adequate. Though there was some understandable graininess, photos looked noticeably better than those of other handsets in this class. The fewer amount of megapixels did give way to more blurriness and poorer focus, but you can still make out faces and objects easily.

Video recording also was impressive. Audio was picked up well and images were crisp. Colors were true to form and there was no lag time between the viewfinder and my moving of the camera. I've a word of warning about recording a lot of moving objects, however. Because the camera wants everything to be in focus, it refocuses itself constantly as objects move and as you move the device. This can be jarring to the viewer, but if you want to record sharp video, this camera has the speed capacity to do that.

Using AT&T's 3G network, the phone's data speeds were fast. It loaded both our full page and the New York Times' Web page in an average of 10 seconds. The New York Times' mobile site took about 4 seconds. ESPN's mobile site took 5 seconds, and its full site loaded in an average of 8 seconds. Ookla's Speedtest app, which is 2.99MB, took 15 seconds to download, and showed me an average of 2.70Mbps down and 0.86Mbps up. The 24.25MB game of Temple Run downloaded in 57 seconds.

Although I haven't finished our battery drain tests, anecdotally, the handset had solid battery life. LG reports that its 2,150mAh battery is the biggest among quad-core phones, and after spending a few hours playing games, watching videos, and chatting with my friends, the battery only drained by about half. With heavy use, especially when all cores are operating, you'll easily need a good charge or two during the day. But when just doing regular activities like making calls and texting, I got a good handful of hours in without much loss of battery charge. According to ICNIRP radiation standards, the device has a digital SAR rating of 0.62W/kg.

Conclusion
Unlike the LG Optimus 3D Max, which also isn't available in the United States, the LG Optimus 4X HD makes me want to jump on the next flight to Europe.
Even though it has some drawbacks, like its inelegant user interface and disappointing speaker quality, I'm still impressed by LG's first quad-core phone. In addition to being fast, its display and camera are top-notch, the NFC capabilities are convenient (and a cool party trick), and the newest Android OS rounds everything out nicely.

Apple iPhone 4S Review

The good: Apple's iPhone 4S has a faster processor and an upgraded camera, all the benefits of iOS 5, and a useful and immensely fun voice assistant. Call quality on the Sprint model is admirable, and the data speeds, while certainly not 4G, get the job done.

The bad: It's about time we get a larger screen.

The bottom line: The iPhone 4S isn't the king of cell phones, but it's part of the royal family nonetheless. Even without 4G and a giant screen, this phone's smart(ass) voice assistant, Siri, the benefits of iOS 5, and its spectacular camera make it a top choice for anyone ready to upgrade.

For the first time since the iPhone was born four years ago, a new model didn't arrive in June this year. The wait set the iPhone 5 rumor mill frothing to overflow, so when the iPhone 4S arrived as an incremental upgrade, fanboys commenced an Internet-wide rending of garments. Some critics grumbled that they didn't get more, and I sympathize...kind of. Yes, the lack of 4G is disappointing. And yes, a totally new design would have been fun. But this is hardly the first time that Apple has chosen to make a subtle upgrade. Remember the iPhone 3GS?

The truth is that the 4S brings healthy improvements to an already excellent device. iPhone owners finally get a 64GB model and a better camera, the dual-core processor delivers more speed, and Siri, the iPhone 4S' personal assistant/robot friend/gofer, adds a new and sassy experience. iOS 5 also trots out changes big and small, and we're glad to see Sprint join the Apple family with a true world phone. So while the iPhone 4S isn't the Jesus phone, it's quite enough for plenty of other people-- more than a million, actually.

Not everything impressed me. I'd prefer a slightly larger screen and my list of iPhones misses remains hefty. Performance on the Sprint model is satisfactory. We encountered slower 3G data speeds than on the Verizon phone, but Sprint has a slight edge in call quality. Remember that there will be a discernible difference between the 4S versions (just like we found with the AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4S) so it's important to choose your carrier wisely.

In the end, the decision to buy an iPhone 4S will depend on your current carrier contract. If you aren't eligible for an upgrade with a rebate, I don't think the new features are worth paying full price (at least $500). But if you can upgrade with a discount, or if you're a Sprint customer waiting to get your hands on the iPhone for the very first time, there is enough here to warrant a switch. Sure, there's the chance that a better "iPhone 5" will come next June, but that's a long time to wait. Besides, in the cell phone world, something better is always around the corner.

Design
As I said, the iPhone 4S is indistinguishable from its predecessor. For the most part, that's fine with me. Having lived through the thin phone craze started by the Motorola Razr, I'm not aching for a slimmer device. Granted, the 4S can feel bulky at times, but I continue to enjoy its solid feel in the hand (something that's not always there with skinny phones). I don't have any problems with the handset's general aesthetics, either. A thinner phone may be prettier, but it's what's inside that really counts.

The iPhone 4S' design is unchanged from the iPhone 4. That's fine with us, except that we'd like a larger display. 

 

I also can live without some of the rumored "iPhone 5" features, like a wider Home button and a curved profile. The Home button has never plagued me, after all, and I'd prefer to rest the phone flat on a table and tap away. The glass back continues to concern me a bit, particularly after seeing a handful of iPhone 4s fall to their doom. That shouldn't be an issue if you have a case, of course. But speaking of which, some iPhone 4 cases will not fit on the iPhone 4S because Apple moved the ambient light sensor. So if you're looking to dress your 4S, make sure the case fits perfectly before buying. And if you need suggestions, Executive Editor David Carnoy has a few.

My real design gripe is that the iPhone's display is beginning to look rather small when compared with some of the Android competition. Keep in mind that the iPhone's screen has remained at 3.5 inches since the first edition appeared in 2007. At that time, it was plenty big, but as smartphone screens have crept above the 4-inch mark, I now consider 3.5 inches the bare minimum size for a high-end device.

Absolutely, the Retina Display remains stunningly beautiful (as do many Super AMOLED screens), but its size isn't always practical for in-car and hands-free use. Even worse, it can get rather tiring watching a full-length film with the iPhone perched on your airline seat tray table. How much bigger would I want? Nothing too big--the 4.5-inch displays on some Android models are a bit ridiculous--but something in the range of 3.75 inches or 4 inches would be a Goldilocks just right. I'll leave that up to the next iteration of the phone.
At the iPhone 4S' unveiling, one of the biggest elephants in the room was whether the company would mention any differences to the antenna following the iPhone 4's "antennagate." Yet, when Apple VP of Marketing Philip Schiller took the stage, he revealed that the iPhone 4S has two antennas that it can choose between to find the best signal (more on that later). Even if you can't see any changes on the outside, it appears to fix what I found to be a very real problem.

You'll also see the same virtual keyboard. 

 

Basic features
The 4S inherits all the standard iPhone features from the preceding models, including the calendar, voice memos, weather and stock apps, the various clock features, Google Maps, the compass, text messaging and e-mail, and the Notes app. The iPod player is there as well; the 4S splits your music and video libraries into two separate icons. In another change, the 4S also offers an upgrade to Bluetooth 4.0. Though still a growing technology, Bluetooth 4.0 uses less power and will enable the iPhone to talk to small battery-operated devices like Nike+ sensors and fitness machines at the gym. For more on Bluetooth 4.0, check out this deeper dive from Nicole Lee.

Siri
The feature that Apple is touting most is the new voice assistant called Siri. It doesn't completely replace the current Voice Control feature--that's still there if you want it--but it certainly does a whole lot more. Basically, Siri both follows commands and answers your requests for information. For example, you can check the weather, ask for a contact's address, set up a reminder, get directions, and ask for obscure trivia. You speak to a robotic female voice (you can't change her identity) and access the feature by holding down the Home button (just as you do to access Voice Control). It uses both your location and a Google search to find a response, so you will need to have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. The feature is in beta mode and supports English, French, and German. More languages will come later.

Siri may just wind up being your best friend. But be warned: she has an attitude. 

 

On my very first pass the day the 4S was announced, I asked for the next day's weather, the mileage between Cupertino, Calif., and Seattle, a reminder to book air tickets to Chicago, and the capital of Canada. It responded to most of my questions and commands quickly, but it flaked on finding that Ottawa is the capital of our neighbors to the north. I'm not sure why that was a problem for her; Siri uses Wolfram Alpha to check facts, which has information on the Canadian city.


I meant the question about Brian as a joke, of course, but Siri is quite adept at answering a range of queries. When I asked about the best local burrito, she used GPS to give me a list of nearby taquerias with rankings. Yet, not all questions for a preference turned up a good answer. Asking for the best camera, for example, just gave me a list of camera stores. I'm not being critical, since the information Siri delivered was useful--except for listing a Japanese restaurant as a burrito joint--but it is worth noting. On the other hand, Siri didn't hesitate to tell me the best cell phone on the market. "The one you are holding," she replied. Yeah, she can be a bit sassy. I've explored Siri further in this post.

By all means, Siri is a fun and useful feature. Like with FaceTime on the 4S, I got a big kick out of it around the office and I imagine that lots of other people will, too. Over time, I wonder just how much I'd use it, but features like this can surprise you. I asked the same question about FaceTime and I ended up using that pretty frequently while traveling. The challenge for Apple will be to fully integrate hands-free technology. You will be able to activate Siri with a Bluetooth headset (no word on if you can do it with a wired headset), but I understand that car integration is "coming." Given the abundance of hands-free driving laws, it's important that Siri is fully accessible to drivers while they keep both hands on the wheel. Also, it's important to note that even when your phone is locked with a passcode, Siri is usable without entering the code. That means that anyone could use your phone to send a text message, access your calendar, or make a call. You can disable this security flaw in the Settings menu, but bypassing the code is the default option.

Camera
The iPhone 4's 5-megapixel camera was already great--especially when you add a third party app--but the iPhone 4S' is significantly better. The 8-megapixel camera offers autofocus, flash, f/2.4 aperture lens, and a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor that allows 73 percent more light than the previous sensor and should deliver better low-light performance. A hybrid IR filter is also onboard for better color accuracy. Apple also claims the new camera performs 33 percent faster than the iPhone 4's camera, and the A5 processor has a built-in image processor that adds face detection and 26 percent better auto white balance.
From the start I noticed a difference in image quality over the iPhone 4's camera. Colors were brighter, and the focus was a little sharper with a bit less pixelation. Not surprisingly, the camera also does better in low light, though flash continues to be a little overpowering at times. Here's an in depth look at how the iPhone 4S' camera compares with the iPhone 4. And for more photo fun, Senior Editor Lori Grunin compared the iPhone 4S to the Canon PowerShot 100 HS.

The camera viewfinder now adds gridlines.

 

The user experience is almost the same, from the tap-to-focus feature to the video toggle and the shutter control. You will, however, notice a new "Options" icon between the flash control and the button for switching between the cameras. Press it, and you'll find both the HDR feature and an option for adding gridlines to the viewfinder.

Thanks to iOS 5 (more on that later), you also get new choices for cropping and rotating your shots, red-eye reduction, and a single-tap color correction option. The red-eye reduction is a simple process that offered instantaneous and impressive results. Similarly, the single-tap color correction tool balances your colors and, in my tests, did indeed make the image look better. Though I welcome these additions, Apple is way too late to the photo-editing party, as this functionality has existed on basic phones for years. I'll take what I can get, but I'd love even more user control.

The iPhone 4S' photo quality is very sharp.

 

The iPhone 4 takes good photos, too, but you can see a difference.

 

iOS 5 also adds several requested features to the camera app, making it much more like a point-and-shoot camera. You get a shortcut on the lock screen that will launch the camera immediately, even bypassing the lock code. A simple double-tap of the Home button brings up both the basic music controls (as before) and the camera icon in the lower right. You then can use the volume control to snap a photo. The picture is saved to your Camera Roll, but for security (having not used your access code) you'll only be able to delete the shot (keeping unwanted users from browsing your iPhone photos).
Videos also get a boost with the ability to shoot 1080p HD video clips at 30 frames per second and with video stabilization. Videos continue to be sharp with fluid movements and sound that matches the action on the screen.

Here's our standard studio shot with the 4S' camera.

 

The Sprint factor
In the weeks leading up to the iPhone 4S' unveiling, its imminent arrival at Sprint was one of the wireless world's worst-kept secrets. I'm always a fan of customer choice, so it's great to see these two crazy kids get hitched. What's more, it further releases the iPhone from its AT&T shackles.
Sprint's commitment to keep its unlimited data plans is a very big point in its favor over the tiered options from AT&T and Verizon. I wouldn't be surprised if Sprint eventually changed its mind as well--nothing lasts forever in carrier land--but for now I admire Sprint's chutzpah.

On the other hand, we'll have to see just how the increase in data-hungry users will test Sprint's network and how the carrier's strong Android lineup will withstand the new competition. We'll also continue to see how its model fares against its rivals once all those new iPhones go online. Sprint's WiMax 3G EV-DO Rev. A network typically delivers average download speeds of 600Kbps to 1,400Kbps and average upload speeds of 500Kbps to 800Kbps. If you're used to 3G you won't see a difference, but if you're accustomed to the carrier's 4G WiMax network, the change may be painful.

Verizon's promised 3G data speeds are comparable, but AT&T is doing everything it can to boast that it has a faster HSDPA 14.4 network that's capable of reaching theoretical speeds of 14.4Mbps down, 5.8Mbps up (twice the speed of the iPhone 4, if anyone is counting). Note, however, that AT&T has taken some liberties with its marketing by also saying its iPhone 4S is compatible with even faster HSPA+ speeds. To really be classified as HSPA+, its iPhone 4S would technically need to be capable of reaching theoretical download speeds of 21Mbps, such as the Samsung Galaxy S II for AT&T. At present, Apple's device isn't there yet.

Connectivity
For making calls, I'm glad to see that the Sprint and Verizon handsets are dual-band world phones. That means you'll make CDMA calls at home, but then switch to GSM when roaming abroad (Verizon's iPhone 4 is CDMA-only). Sprint and Verizon say that they will unlock the iPhone 4S' preloaded SIM card on request for customers in good standing. Just remember that the handset uses a Micro-SIM, which may not be easy to find for prepaid international service. On the other hand, AT&T will limit international GSM roaming to its specific partners. Oddly enough, the AT&T phone also has the dual-mode chip inside, but the CDMA functionality has been deactivated. It will continue to support all four GSM bands (850/900/8100/1900) for international travel, though.

Unfortunately, the CDMA models still won't permit simultaneous voice and data transmission. That's a current limitation of the CDMA technology (see our Verizon iPhone 4 review for a more detailed explanation) and though new chips are coming, I'm thinking they'll arrive in the next model. So if you really need to be on the phone and surf the Web at the same time, then you should stick with AT&T.

Admittedly, one of the biggest letdowns from the 4S' unveiling was the lack of 4G for Verizon and Sprint. Though AT&T's LTE network is inching along with just six cities at the time of this writing, Sprint and Verizon's 4G coverage (WiMax and LTE, respectively) is quite widespread. What's more, the networks perform well and both carriers offer a wide range of compatible handsets.

Apple has its reasons, no doubt. Battery life remains an issue for 4G phones and Apple must have decided that, at this point, it couldn't offer its optimal customer experience on a 4G handset. Customer experience, after all, is really what Apple loves most. Secondly, the company never jumps on a technology that is still growing, and it must think that 4G doesn't cover enough people quite yet. Remember that 3G networks were pretty developed when Apple rolled out the first iPhone, but it chose to wait a year later until unveiling the iPhone 3G.

iOS 5


Though iOS 5 is not as drastic of an upgrade as we saw with iOS 4 in June 2010, it does offer some long-overdue and exciting enhancements. A few are quiet and just improve the user experience while others will seriously change how you use your Apple handset. For a full analysis on the update, check out our iOS 5 review and how-to guide.

iOS 5 features

Notifications: Instead of pop-up menus that interrupt your work, a new Notification Center will combine messages, missed calls, app updates, a stock ticker, and the current weather in a single place. You can access it by swiping your finger downward from the top of the screen, and notifications will appear on the lock screen as well. You then can jump directly to the related feature for each notification and delete items by tapping the small X next to each line. Though not exactly original--the pull-down menu has long been a hallmark feature of Android--the ability to see all notifications in one place in iOS 5 is certainly welcome.

Newsstand: This app will bring together magazine subscriptions in a central place. The concept is similar to iBooks, even down to an icon that looks like the periodicals shelf at your local library. As you subscribe to a publication through a new channel in the App Store, new issues are delivered in the background, eliminating the need to manually grab them when they publish.

Twitter: Thankfully, users now will be able to post photos to the social networking service without leaving the image gallery or camera application. It's a nice change, given that it will end the need to take a photo, switch to the iPhone Twitter app, and then post the photo. You'll be able to add a location, sync Twitter with your contacts list, and tweet directly from YouTube, Safari, and Maps.

Safari: The mobile version of Apple's Web browser now has the Reader option that was announced at the 2010 WWDC. Rather than having to deal with complicated layouts of various Web sites, the reader streamlines multipage articles in an RSS-like view while stripping out ads, but leaving photos. You can change the text size and you can e-mail the entire text of a Safari page to a contact (under iOS 4, you could send only a link).

The Reader is a great option for scanning strangely formatted Web pages and when there's no mobile site available. My only problem with the Reader is that it may strip out too much--I often want to see comments on an article, but the Reader deems them unnecessary. In other Safari news, you can add a Web page to a Reading List for future perusal on any iOS device.

Reminders: This handy addition lets you store multiple to-do lists with dates for each event; you can categorize reminders for when you leave or arrive at a GPS location. So, for example, if you have a reminder of "Call home when I leave work," the app will use GPS to note when you're on the move and send the reminder via push notification. Reminders can be shared between devices and sync with iCal on the Mac with CalDAV, and on Windows with MS Exchange. The app has its own sleek-looking scrollable calendar as well, so you can browse or add new tasks and reminders for future dates.

I tested the reminder by location by having it tell me "Don't forget your iPad" once I left the building. Sure enough, the iPhone reminded me once I got about a half block away from the building. Browsing through your reminders is easy with a starting page where you can quickly track and search for reminders using a search field. You also have the option to create tasks for more-open-ended reminders that don't need to be done by a specific time.

Mail: The iOS Mail app now has rich text formatting, better indent control, flagging of messages, and the ability to drag addresses between To, CC, and BCC lines. Also, you now can search within the body of a message instead of just in the From, To, and subject lines.

PC Free and iCloud: Arguably the most notable iOS 5 change, PC Free will bring over-the-air software updates and device activations. So as on Android, Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry OS 5 devices, you'll no longer have to plug your device into a computer or even own a computer at all. Activation for the iPhone takes quite a few steps, but it's easy and very quick. I was up and running in a just a few minutes, though it took a few tries for the phone to recognize my Apple ID. You don't have to use a Wi-Fi network to set up your 4S, but it helps.

The wireless updates to apps will serve only the changes, so they'll be shorter, and you'll be able to sync, back up, and restore your device using the new iCloud features. You'll also find new features within apps, like wirelessly editing photos, managing e-mail folders, and creating and deleting calendars. I'll add more details about iCloud as I explore it further.

To sync your iOS device to iTunes on your computer, you need only be on the same Wi-Fi network and your device needs to be charging (plugged into a charger). You can then go to Settings > General on your iPhone to select iTunes Wi-Fi Sync. From there you can select Sync Now on your iPhone and your photos, music, and calendars will be backed up in iTunes.

Game Center: Additions for gamers in iOS 5 include the addition of profile photos, the ability to compare achievement points, friends of friends lists, recommended friends and games (based on your current library), and support for turn-based games. The ability to buy games from within Game Center makes it a bit more of a destination, but it still seems like the service will still be a behind-the-scenes social connector as it was before.

iMessage: Apple takes a shot at BlackBerry with this instant messaging app that will work across all iOS 5 devices. As with BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), you'll be able to exchange unlimited text messages, photos, and videos with your friends, family, and colleagues. Even better, your messages won't cost you anything and they won't count against the monthly allotment of messages from your wireless carrier.

You'll also get group messaging, an indicator to see if someone is typing to you, delivery and read receipts, secure encryption, and conversation syncing that is pushed to multiple devices. I'm a little disappointed that the location and contact sharing features don't come straight from iMessage (you need to initiate the process from the related app instead). For example, to send a contact, you'll need to go to your home screen, open your contacts, select a person, choose the Share Contact button, and choose iMessage. It's a bit tedious, but the ability to send that data to a friend is an improvement.

Find My Friends: Announced at the unveiling of the iPhone 4S, Find My Friends is an iOS 5-exclusive app that lets you view your friends' and family's locations in real time on a map when they agree to share location info with you. For added security, you can set a time limit for how long you share your location, a major concern of people who don't want to continually broadcast their location.

After signing in with your iTunes account ID, you can send an invite to friends using their iTunes account ID (they'll need to send you one as well). Once you're hooked up, you'll be able to get a pretty close approximation of where your friends are on a map. The app also has options to give you directions to your friends (via Maps) or speak to them on FaceTime (iPhone 4 or newer) if you can't get an exact location.
In my testing in San Francisco, performance was variable. My location would be very accurate on one street, but in another location it would be a block away from where I was standing. I have the same issue with the GPS fix in general, so it's not surprising. While these types of location features might be useful in specific situations, Android has similar services that have received mixed reviews--specifically by those who were worried about security concerns.

Cards: A new greeting card delivery app also became available in the iTunes App Store alongside the iOS 5 release. Cards lets you design a card on your iOS device and have Apple print it up on high-quality paper (yes, it will be real paper) and send it to your chosen recipient. The service comes with a price, though; you'll pay $2.99 to send a card within the U.S. and $4.99 to send a card anywhere in the world. It's an easy process and you get a lot of design options.

Personal dictionary: A new keyboard shortcut feature lets you create your own personal dictionary. While nothing new, you'll now be able to set up keyboard shortcuts for phrases. Head to Settings > General > Keyboard, then scroll down to Add New Shortcut. Here you can add a phrase like "Talk to you later" then make the shortcut "ttyl." Now, every time you type those letters in an e-mail or text, it will be spelled out automatically.

Alternate Routes: Another new feature that travelers will appreciate is Alternate Routes. When in the Map app, you can get directions as usual, but instead of giving you just one route to your destination, the Map app will now give you two alternate routes (in case of problems like traffic or if you know of nearby construction sites). Simply touch a route to find out how long it will take to get to your destination, then choose the best for your situation. In our tests here in San Francisco, the routes were solid options, and I think this will come in handy wherever you are. The noticeable downside here is that once you've picked your route, the other ones remain on screen, which can be distracting.

What's missing?
Yeah, I have to include this section. With each version of the iPhone, Apple knocks more things off of my wish list, but the list still has plenty on it. Primarily, I'd like to see more choices in autocomplete, shortcuts to individual contacts on the home screen, a way to color code e-mails in the unified inbox, and easier access to common features like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Smaller needs include an HDMI-out port and support for NFC services. I'd also like for Mail to get Safari's Reader feature. With iOS 5, I still stumbled upon the occasional e-mail with its own special formatting that the app didn't adjust to make eyeball-friendly on the smaller screen. Considering how much e-mail reading people do on their iOS devices, this would be a welcome addition.

Call quality and reception
I tested the dual-mode (CDMA 800/1900) iPhone 4S in San Francisco using Sprint's network. Call quality was great in my initial tests. I had no trouble getting a signal and I didn't encounter any static or interference. According to FCC radiation tests, the iPhone 4S for Sprint has a digital SAR of 1.11 watts per kilogram.

The volume on my side was loud and voices sounded natural. I heard a very slight background hiss during calls, but it didn't distract from the conversation. Calls in noisy places weren't quite as satisfactory--at times I had to strain to hear--but that was my only real gripe. My friends said I sounded good, as well. They could tell that I was using a phone, and a few folks said my voice had a higher pitch than usual, but the complaints were few. On the whole, Sprint offered the most accurate voice quality of the three phones even if it was more muffled. See my separate call quality post to see how the voice samples from the three carriers compare with each other.

Speakerphone calls were agreeable. Like with many cell phones, there is distortion at the highest volume levels (the speaker gets pretty loud) and I had to sit close to the phone to be heard. My friends could understand me, though, and I had only occasional troubles with automated calling systems.

As I mentioned, the iPhone 4S has two antennas wrapping around the phone. Though Apple never said so directly, we can't help but think that the fix was in response to the attenuation problems on the AT&T iPhone 4. As such, the phone is designed to scan for the best signal and switch to that antenna. I haven't gauged exactly how the two antennas have improved call clarity, but I'm happy to report that the iPhone 4S doesn't suffer from the dreaded death grip.

Data speeds
Like I said, the iPhone 4S runs on Sprint's 3G EV-DO Rev. A network. What that means to you will vary by location, your connection to a tower, and the capacity of the network at a given time. In early testing, Sprint delivered speeds that were comparable with its other 3G devices. It took about 30 seconds to open graphics-heavy sites like the New York Times, Airliners.net, and Giantbomb.com. Mobile sites took a bit less time.

In initial testing, Verizon's 3G was faster than Sprint's network, particularly for download speeds. After running four tests in neighborhood, Verizon's network delivered an average download speed of 0.88Mbps and an average upload speed of 0.76Mbps. Compare that with Sprint's 3G network, which had an average download speed of 0.45 Mbps and an average upload speed of 0.47 Mbps. I know that San Francisco is not representative of the entire country. As such, your experience may be completely different. But either way, Sprint's speeds are pretty respectable and the network delivered the experience I needed for a 3G device. Absolutely, 4G users won't be happy, but true Apple fans shouldn't be shocked. In any case, you could cheat and connect to a Sprint 4G-capable hot spot using Wi-Fi.

Processor, graphics, and internal performance
The new chipset is the iPhone 4S' biggest star (like on the iPhone 3GS, the "S" in iPhone 4S stands for "speed"). The handset features Apple's A5 dual-core 1GHz processor along with a dual-core GPU. Apple says the new chipset will make the iPhone 4S twice as fast and will offer graphics performance that is seven times faster than the iPhone 4's.

Indeed, there is a noticeable change for the better. Applications across the phone opened quicker--sometimes by up to 3 seconds--and switching between apps using the multitasking feature was smoother. In additional testing, Senior Editor Eric Franklin found just how much faster the iPhone 4S is over its predecessor. On a similar note, Senior Associate Editor Jason Parker found that for some games the iPhone 4S' graphics are far richer. For more on the iPhone 4S gaming experience, check out this post from Senior Editor Scott Stein.
The performance upgrades are indeed welcome, though it's almost a feature that I didn't know we wanted. Previous iPhones never struck me as particularly slow, but if Apple wants to make the experience faster, I'm not going to refuse. And if it can do it without hampering battery life, then even better.

Battery life
Despite the more powerful processor, the company claims that the smartphone will be able to provide 8 hours of talk time over 3G, 14 hours over 2G, 6 hours of browsing over 3G, 9 hours via Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback, and 40 hours of music playback.

The promised battery times are impressive, but manufacturer promises can be just that: promises. Though the Samsung Epic Touch 4G and Motorola Droid Bionic had rated talk times of 8.7 hours and 10.8 hours, respectively, the Samsung lasted a less stellar 7 hours in Labs tests and the Droid Bionic went for just 7.55 hours. In talk time battery life tests, the Sprint iPhone lasted a very respectable 9 hours and 13 minutes. The other carriers' phones may fare differently, so we'll be testing them separately. For media features, the 4S delivered 8.2 hours of video playback and 64 hours of audio playback.

Since our review posted, some iPhone 4s owners have come forward to complain of poor battery life. According to those owners, their phones will last just a few hours, even when the phone is in standby mode. I tried leaving the 4S unattended for 24 hours with GPS, Wi-Fi, notifications, and Bluetooth on. As I long as the display was off, it didn't drain faster (83 percent full to 71 percent) than an iPhone 4 with similar settings. On the other hand, the battery would deplete quickly over the course of half a day with the display on. I also found that during "real-world" testing, where I was multitasking with several features running in the background and the display on, the battery didn't drain abnormally fast. On November 2, 2011, Apple admitted that "a small number of customers have reported lower-than-expected battery life on iOS 5 devices." The company also said that it was issuing a fix in the form of a software update.

Conclusion
Android fans are right: the iPhone 4S adds features that competing smartphones introduced months ago. But that misses the point. It doesn't have everything, but Apple's attention to the user experience remains unmatched. Some consider that focus a worthy trade-off for a regulated and locked-down device, while others prefer more control. Apple's philosophy isn't necessarily right, but it may be right for you. And if so, the iPhone 4S won't disappoint.