Android Smartphone Round-Up: December/January Edition
We took a break from the Android round-up in December because, well, to be honest I was on vacation. But Jan gave us a few extra smartphones and the holidays are over, so we’re back. What we’ve got for you this day leans into more costly turf, and unfortunately, our favorite Android devices for the past two months are also exclusively at Verizon, so Huge Red subscribers should pay attention.
Without further ado, these are our favorite December/January releases of the Android persuasion: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the LG Spectrum, and the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx.
Enjoy!
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Features:
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Verizon 4G LTE support
4.65-inch 1280×720 Super AMOLED display
5MP rear camera (1080 video capture), 1.3MP front-facing camera (720p video capture)
1.2GHz dual-core processor
MSRP: $ 299.99 with a two-year contract
Pros:
Ice Cream Sandwich is a solid step up from Gingerbread
That 720p display is large and beautiful
Google Hangouts
Cons:
The phone might be a bit too huge for one-handed actions
Feels a bit plastic-y
No pre-loaded Google wallet, but you can download it
If you’re looking for Android, the Galaxy Nexus is where you’ll find it. Ice Cream Sandwich is a joy compared to Gingerbread, and this coming from someone who is quite hard on Android. Of course, the screen on this bad boy is amazing, but as MG points out in his review, sometimes the phone is just too huge to perform one-handed actions.
We also expected image calibre to be better out of that 5-megapixel rear camera, but it simply can’t compete with the iPhone’s 8-megapixel shooter. (And no, I’m not saying that based on megapixels… Image calibre is simply better with the 4S.) But that doesn’t really matter — an Android fan is an Android fan, and this is as good as Android gets.
LG Spectrum
Features:
Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
Verizon 4G LTE support
4.5-inch True HD 1280×720 Display
8MP rear camera (1080p video capture), 1.3MP front-facing camera
1.5GHz dual-core processor
MSRP: $ 199.99 with a two-year contract
Pros:
Beautiful display
Pre-loaded ESPN Sports Center app in HD
LG Y is actually a nice custom overlay
Cons:
Not a fan of that brushed plastic back panel
The silver bezels don’t handle prints well
I was hard on this phone when I first played around with it, and I still maintain that there’s nothing super special about the Spectrum. It’s not like the Rezound with Beats Audio imtegration or the Razr with its anorexic region line. That said, you really won’t find these kind of specs on an Android phone for just $ 200. In fact, I’d be so bold as to call it a steal.
I’m also pretty excited about that display. I have yet to place a Super AMOLED Plus up against this 720p True HD display, but I’d state it’s one of the most (if not, the most) stunning displays I saw at CES. Certainly worth consideration, especially if you are a fan of LG phones to start with.
Motorola Droid Razr Maxx
Features:
Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
Verizon 4G LTE support
4.3-inch Super AMOLED advanced 960×540 display
8MP rear camera (1080p video capture), 1.3MP front-facing camera (720p video capture)
1.2GHz dual-core processor
MSRP: $ 299.99 with a two-year contract
Pros:
3300 mAH battery is a huge improvement from the Razr
Less of a “Moto bump” along the back
Bump in storage from 16GB to 32GB
Cons:
1.89mm thicker than its predecessor
UI can slow things down a tad
The Droid Razr Maxx is a very special phone. It kills the few things that were wrong with the original Razr — which is an excellent device, mind you — and then doubles the storage, to boot. I was originally bothered with how light the Razr was. It prefabricated premium materials feel cheap, but the extra heft and weight on the Razr Maxx really gives this phone a pricey, solid feel.
A Droid Razr update for Android 4.0 leaked out this week, so if you’re comfortable with tinkering than that’s an extra benefit to the Maxx. We’ll have a full review on this phone up very shortly, but from the short time I’ve spent with it thus far I’d state it has the better hardware in this particular bunch of Android handsets.
It’ll all come down to what matters most to you. If that giant 720p screen excites you, go Galaxy Nexus all the way. The Spectrum, on the other hand, offers up some pretty killer specs at a much more reasonable price, while the Droid Razr Maxx wins in the hardware/design department.
Android is a software platform for mobile devices based on the Linux operating system and developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. It grants developers to write managed code in Java that utilizes Google-developed software libraries, but does not support programs developed in native code. The unveiling of the Android platform on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 hardware, software and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards…
New additions to PlayStation Certified selection of games
Several PlayStation Portable (PSP) titles for ‘PlayStation Certified Devices’ have appeared on the ESRB – Entertainment Software Rating Board that will add to the previously released PlayStation One titles that are currently acquirable through the PlayStation Certified program.
Titles such as flOw, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, Daxter are listed along with a range of Pinball Heroes games inspired by previously released Sony titles including UnCharted, Hot Shots Golf, ModNation Racers and MotorStorm. The games should be acquirable to play on the Xperia Play, Xperia Arc, Xperia Acro (and Acro HD), Xperia S and Xperia ion along with the two Sony tablets , the S and the P tablets, which are both PlayStation Certified devices.
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Disney, Q-pot Choco, Honey Bee: Japan Gets 3 Extra-Cute Android Phones
Android adoption is growing rapidly in Japan, with local handset manufacturers doing everything they can in order to meet the demands of customers in all segments of the population. One particularly captivating target group seems to be women, given how many Asian companies state they design Android phones specifically for female users.
Here are three current examples.
First, Sharp has designed a weird “chocolate bar”-type handset that Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo plans to roll out on Valentine’s Day.
The so-called “Q-pot.Phone SH-04D” [JP] comes with Android 2.3, a 3.7-inch LCD with 540×960 resolution, NFC e-wallet function, Wi-Fi, and an 8MP CMOS camera.
Here are some accessories owners can get:
Second, Asian carrier SoftBank rolled out Kyocera’s HONEY BEE 101K [JP] today, another handset designed with female customers in mind.
This model features Android 2.3, a 3.5-inch LCD with 800×480 resolution, a 5.1MP CMOS camera, a MP5225 dual-core CPU with 1.2GHz, 2GB ROM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.
Third, Disney Mobile has come up with the DM012SH, a Android 2.3 handset (made by Sharp). It comes with a 4-inch LCD with 960×540 resolution, an 8MP CMOS camera, NFC e-wallet function, infrared, digital television tuner, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, and a microSDHC slot.
Disney Mobile, a Japanese MVNO, is planning to offer the DM012SH (pre-installed with a special Disney UI, Disney apps, wallpapers, etc.) next month. Each buyer will get one the cases below for free:
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