Mobile Phone Reviews

What You Need to Know

* When you hold it in your hand you realize how much bigger it is than the average smart phone.
* It’s mostly plastic and surprisingly lighter than the iPhone, but doesn’t feel cheap.
* The back has a textured surface that fools you into thinking it’s not plastic.
* The Infuse is running Android 2.2, which isn’t the newest version, but there aren’t enough obvious differences between  2.2 and 2.3 to make it a factor.
* This phone runs stock android with some small tweaks.
* Touches are responsive and the Infuse launches apps as fast as the iPhone and the droid charge.
* There are a handful of AT&T apps built in, some useful and some not and unfortunately, you can’t uninstall them.
* AT&T 4G speeds here in Los Angeles aren’t that great, so if you’re buying this phone because it’s 4G, make sure you’ve got decent 4G coverage in your area.
* The massive 4.5” screen is one of the brightest and sharpest screens we’ve seen on any phone.
* The extra real estate comes in very handy for surfing the web; it’s also nice to have the added space when you’re using the on-screen keyboard.
* Videos look outstanding; you wouldn’t have a problem watching a whole movie on it.
* The phone also comes with a $25 credit to use in Samsung’s Media Hub App, which has a good selection of movies and TV shows.
* There’s an 8 megapixel rear facing camera and a front facing camera for video chatting.
* Pictures taken in day light looked great, low light shots didn’t, but the LED flash is insanely bright.
* It shoots video at 720p and the quality was as good as we’ve seen on any phone.

When Apple released the iPhone 4 it was originally met with cheers and first impressions that on the face of it presented it as the best iPhone yet. While many users will still say it is the best iPhone, Apple’s current handset isn’t without its faults.

The major problem with the phone is the antenna design, which means when held in certain ways (iPhone 4 death grip) the signal can degrade significantly to the point where you drop calls. The other much less significant issue is the lack of a white iPhone 4 appearing, thought to be because Apple’s manufacturing partners couldn’t get the color to work on the glass casing of the device.

The latest reports coming out of China suggest that Apple is fixing both these problems in the iPhone 5 with a bit of a design rethink and a different choice of materials.

With an iPad 2 available in white from day one on March 11, it seems inevitable Apple will want the same for the release day of iPhone 5 expected in June or July. With that in mind Chinese language website Economic Daily News (translated) is reporting that Apple has dropped the glass casing in favor of an aluminium back casing. In so doing the next iPhone can easily be colored white, will weigh less, and is less prone to scratching.

The other big change being reported is a brand new antenna design. Apple clearly doesn’t want the embarrassment of having to give away free bumpers again, so the new iPhone will use a different solution and hopefully signal the end of talk about death grips and call dropping. According to the report, the Apple logo on the back of the case will be the new location of the antenna which is an area usually left uncovered when a phone is held to the ear.

Read more at GadgetsDNA and MacRumors

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The Samsung Flight is rather unique.  It has a touch screen and full

Qwerty keyboard which slides out.  It has Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel

camera, GPS, a media player, and support for 3G networks.  The unique

design is sturdy, you can drop this phone several times and it still

works.  The menu and features are easy to use

With its Design and QwERTY keyboard positions it is a solid messaging

phone. The touch screen adds an additional way to interface with the

handset. Similarly, while the touch screen makes us think of a

multimedia device.  users will happily engage with the keyboard, others

may skip straight to the touch screen. Yes, it can be a bit confusing,

but we also think that the combination works. Plus, we’re never against

having too many choices.

The Flight is 4.17 inches by 2.2 inches by 0.5 inches. Weighing at 4.8

ounces, it remains relatively portable. The handset has a solid

construction and the slider mechanism is sturdy; we liked how the

Flight fits squarely in the hand. The Flight comes in red and gray; we

reviewed the red version, but the features are the same on both

handsets.

The touch screen measures 2.8 inches.  The browser is Opera Mini rather

than full HTML, You can use the touch-screen for selecting icons and

list options and for plunking at a virtual numeric keypad. For either

of those uses, the touch screen is adequate.

The display supports 262,000 colors and 320×240 pixels.  the Flight’s

screen is vibrant with bright colors and sharp graphics. You can adjust

the brightness, backlight time, and font type. The touch interface is

quite responsive, both when you’re selecting icons and scrolling

through a long list. You can adjust the display calibration and the

intensity of the vibrating feedback.

There are three touch icons that give access to the messaging folder,

the favorite contacts list, and a user-programmable shortcut menu.

Below them are touch controls for the main menu, the main contacts

list, and the recent calls feature. The latter is rather redundant

given the presence of the physical Talk button.

Below the display are a back key and the Talk and End/power buttons.

The controls are flush but their large size makes them easy to use. On

the left spine you’ll find a volume rocker, a second onscreen shortcut

menu, and the Micro-USB/charger port. Over on the right spine are a

display lock switch and a camera shutter. The camera lens and small

speaker sit on the rear side. Vanity shots are possible with the

mirrored border that surrounds the lens. The microSD card is located

behind the battery cover.

With the features of a smart phone the Samsung Flight is good for take-off.

You can experience the mobile world of mutimedia playback on your phone.

Enjoy

XLV Mobile Team

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The Samsung Impact is an inexpensive device that can really do it all.

Let’s start with the unique design of the Impact.  There are minimal buttons

stop (Call / Send / performance, volume rocker, lock and

One-touch button on the camera) and the shape reminds me of a Puffi

Instinct and chunkier.  Dimensions are 108.5 x 53.6 x 13.9 mm

and has a weight of only 105 grams.  It comes with a 3-inch

touch-screen with a resolution of 240 × 400.  Very clear detail you will

see in any multimedia playback, especially when viewing web pages.

In the back you find the 1200 mAh battery that has power to last about

4 hours of talk time.  In addition, under battery, is where you put your SIM

card and microSD (which can keep up to 16 GB of additional memory).

The call quality is clear, no dropped calls during our test phase.

When it actually comes to the features, the Impact is loaded, this is

Samsung’s own user interface and comes with pre-installed widgets (similar

to when  Omnia started).  These widgets are on the left side of the

Touch screen can be dragged onto the desktop for your personal

adjustment.  There are more widgets available for you online to download

when you are ready for your own personal look.

To access the main functions of the device, use the main menu

Button. You see here are all you’ll ever need: E-mail

text / MMS, Instant Messaging (Yahoo and Windows Live), access to the 3.0

Megapixel camera (video capabilities), contacts, music, web, and all

your phone settings and tools.

A brief overview of the Web. With the large 3.0-inch screen and its high

Resolution on the Web, the Impact has is a great user experience on the 3G

network.   The pages load quickly and have many options to view in different

ways:  Zoom in and out quickly, thanks to the acceleration sensor.

The one big mistake with the  Impact is listening to music, you have to use

their proprietary Plug works, it does not come with a standard 3.5 mm

headset jack.  There was certainly room to add it and would have made

it a better unit with the headset jack.  Overall, the impact with its small size

and navigation response with many feature is all you need to quickly

navigate the online world on your phone.

Enjoy,

XLV Mobile Team

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Enjoy,

The XLV Mobile Team