Monthly Archives: May 2015

Huawei Ascend D1 quad XL Review

 

With the Huawei Ascend D1 quad XL, the team brings us what at first appears to be a powerhouse of a smartphone with a giant battery to boot. As it turns out, the processor doesn’t take down its competitors in Samsung, Qualcomm, or NVIDIA, but certainly does nice enough to keep up with them in many ways. You’re certainly able to play high-powered games, videos play smoothly even at their highest of definitions, and the whole smartphone is easilyHuawei’s most powerful to date. The lack of uniqueness in the build of the device, on the other hand, should remind you of Huawei’s competitors’ devices from this past year – it’s put us on guard right out of the box, but ends up proving to be far less important than the end product, which is great.

Hardware

This machine is the largest of the several slightly different iterations of the Huawei Ascend D – here with a quad-core processor running at 1.2GHz, an extended battery, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. We got to experience the Huawei Ascend D Quad at MWC 2012 right after it was first introduced, as well. The biggest differences in the hardware are in the weight and the thickness of the device, of course, with this XL version bringing in the slightly fatter of the two beasts. It being rather light and tall either way makes this a comfortable one-hand smartphone.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/huawei-ascend-d1-quad-xl-review-15251804/

Motorola Electrify 2 Review (US Cellular)

 

Motorola’s first Electrify was a handset that we couldn’t help but love. Now Motorola is back with the Electrify 2 on US Cellular, and though its a great looking phone that has some respectable specifications, there are just a few things that come off feeling a little lackluster. The question is: are those underwhelming features enough to make potential owners look elsewhere, or is the Electrify 2 a phone that should have your attention despite a few missteps? Keep on reading to find out.

Design

I have to say that I really like the design of the Electrify 2. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s still a good-looking device. It’s a super slim phone, coming in at only 0.33” thick. That doesn’t mean it’s the slimmest smartphone on the market – nor the slimmest Motorola phone around – but it’s still pretty thin. It has a height of 5.06-inches and width of 2.59-inches, and the whole package comes in right around 4.6 ounces in weight. That means it’s very slightly on the heavy side as far as smartphones go, but that helps it feel sturdy despite its thin design.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/motorola-electrify-2-review-us-cellular-15251803/

AT&T LG Optimus G Review

 

With the LG Optimus G, this OEM brings on its most powerful device by a long shot, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor inside and a 4.7-inch TrueHD IPS+ LCD display up front, this running on AT&T’s 4G LTE network here in the USA. What we’re seeing here is a device that’s ever so slightly confused in its identity – with more power than it knows what to do with in a device that looks and feels fabulous, but is just a bit bigger and more slippery than a normal-sized human being will be comfortable holding. Perhaps this combination of looks and processing power are enough to convince us that LG has suddenly become as much of a top-tier contender in the USA as Samsung and Apple?

Hardware

The LG Optimus G’s display resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels across 4.7-inches of real-estate rings in at 317.6 PPI, right between theSamsung Galaxy Nexus and the iPhone 5 for pixel density. The iPhone 5 (also the 4/4S, being that they’re all the same) works with 326 PPI, and the Galaxy Nexus is literally the next densest display-toting smartphone in the world on the grand chart of them all at 316 PPI. The Samsung Galaxy S III, just so you know, has a screen density of 306 PPI, while the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha has the densest display of them all with 355 PPI, (this followed closely by the HTC Rezound with 342 PPI.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/att-lg-optimus-g-review-16252010/

Motorola DROID RAZR HD Review

 

With Verizon’s next in an ever-expanding line of RAZR devices here with the Motorola DROID RAZR HD we’re getting essentially the same experience as we did with the RAZR M, except this time it’s quite a bit larger. With a 4.7 inch Super AMOLED display on top of a dual-core processor from Qualcomm, it’s not just the screen we’re impressed with. This device brings on one of the most refined Motorola experiences we’ve seen thus far, matching at least the impression we’ve had with the M, and out-doing it for the large-display-lovers.

Hardware

This device presents the same greatness we saw with the DROID RAZR M with enhancements well surpassing the original DROID RAZR as it was presented many months ago. With the RAZR branding we’ve got a certain amount of excellence that Verizon and Motorola have to live up to, and with the RAZR HD they’ve certainly done it. The display is a massive 720 x 1280 pixels spread across 4.7-inches of Super AMOLED screen, that ringing in at 312 PPI dense. That’s above the Galaxy S III (306 PPI) and just under the Galaxy Nexus (316 PPI) – have a peek at the S III next to the RAZR HD here, bright as they can be.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/motorola-droid-razr-hd-review-16252259/

HTC Windows Phone 8X Review

 

Today is the big day for the folks at Microsoft and their brand newWindows Phone 8. What we have today is the brand new Windows Phone X8 by HTC, better known as the HTC 8X. With the combination of Windows Phone 8 supporting much better hardware, and HTC bringing their A-game the HTC 8X is a much better, faster, and more personal and improved Windows Phone experience. Read on for our full thoughts.

Now there’s a lot to get here with the 8X from HTC, but we’ll be digging into the impressive new hardware they’ve brought to the table with this flagship WP8 device, as well as everything that makes it fly. The 8X from HTC is the best from them, and from Microsoft so lets take a peek.

Hardware

The Windows Phone X8 by HTC has a clumsy name, but very classy hardware. Combining this awesome new hardware with the latest from Windows, this just might save HTC. Nokia might not like it, but this has been confirmed as the “signature handset” for Windows Phone 8 — and the hardware is a huge part of that. HTC’s really stepped up their game.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/htc-windows-phone-8x-review-29254236/

Nexus 4 Review

 

Google is up to its fourth Nexus smartphone, and the LG Nexus 4 faces a very different mobile world from the heady days of the Nexus One. Back then, Google’s Nexus led the field in specifications, a deliberate kick to manufacturers to be more imaginative with their Android devices. The Nexus 4, however, faces ambitious and best-selling Android phones (not to mention the iPhone 5, and the launch of Windows Phone 8) that are already capable and compelling. Does the new Nexus have a place in the mobile market? Read on for our full review.

Hardware

If you’ve been keeping up to date with recent Android devices, the Nexus 4 should come as little surprise. Like Samsung before it, LG has looked to a recent flagship to build from, and the Nexus 4 is a not-too-distant cousin to the LG Optimus G.

That’s not a bad place to start, however. The Optimus passes over its 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 resolution HD IPS+ display – mustering 320ppi, versus the 326ppi of the iPhone 5, but in practical terms equally smooth in appearance – and while LCD is a first for the previously all-AMOLED Nexus line-up, it’s a beautiful panel. Blacks are deep and rich, while colors are bright but not over-saturated as can sometimes be the case with AMOLED. LG’s integration of the touch-layer and the top glass means graphics swim right underneath your fingertip.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/nexus-4-review-02255292/

AT&T Nokia Lumia 920 Review

 

With the Nokia Lumia 920 we’ve been promised a hero device forWindows Phone 8, and indeed it has been defended several time before its release by Nokia and Microsoft – in so many words. But is Nokia’s Nokia’s brand power enough to make us believe the hype? This is supposed to be a “fundamental shift” right along with the wave of Windows 8 touchscreen devices that are currently on their way to retail stores and homes right this minute – is it time for Nokia to shine?

Camera

This device comes with PureView – Nokia’s way of saying that they’ve dedicated their best workers in the imaging department to create a fabulous media experience. What’s that mean in the real world? It means that when you’re taking photos here, you’re going to have a difficult time taking something that’s absolutely terrible. This camera’s mix of hardware and software create a situation in which you’re going to be able to take still photos even with a shaky hand and will be shooting video with lovely results even with a little stutter in your fingers.

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The colors can be odd – while most of the time we’re getting photos that look good, often they don’t appear to be “correct.” Have a peek at our Nokia Lumia 920 camera hands-on post (with bonus comparison to the Samsung Galaxy S III and see how diverse the photos can be. These color variations as well as the end result of photos that with one device appear to be much sharper than the Lumia 920 mean that we’ve got software at work here that attempts to create for you a finished image – not just something raw, but one that always looks “good.”

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Above you’ll see three photos of the same subject matter – notice how they’re each ever-so-slightly different in their temperature and sharpness. While this has a little to do with the photographer and non-machine-precision, it’s not impossible to see how the Lumia 920 is processing differently – the photo that’s warmest was taken with the physical camera shutter button while the other two were taken with a tap to the screen.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/att-nokia-lumia-920-review-03255516/

LG Optimus L9 Review (T-Mobile)

 

Most of us know that when it comes to smartphones, it’s a constant struggle to find the right balance between power, looks, and affordability, with affordability normally losing out in the end. The problem most of the time is that the affordable phones don’t always look the best and typically don’t have the best hardware under the hood. If you want a phone that looks sleek and performs great, you’re going to have to shell out the big bucks, right? LG is attempting to challenge that idea with the Optimus L9, a new handset at T-Mobile that comes with the very manageable price tag of $79.99. The question is: can this phone deliver the goods at a budget price, or do the savings mean that the phone ultimately disappoints in other areas?

The Optimus L9 features a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel shooter. The 1.3-megapixel camera will obviously only do for video chatting, but the 5MP rear camera is decent for taking pictures. As with most 5-megapixel cameras, the images aren’t the best, and I’d suggest using an actual camera for taking photos as opposed to the camera on the L9.

The L9’s camera also features a panoramic mode, and while that’s pretty cool, again the quality of the images isn’t any to write home about. Have a look at the sample shots I took to get an idea of what I’m talking about.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/lg-optimus-l9-review-t-mobile-10256444/

Nokia Lumia 810 Review

 

With the Nokia Lumia 810 comes T-Mobile’s chance to jump aboard the Windows Phone 8 / Nokia train to victory with a slightly powered-down version of the hero Lumia line introduced earlier this year. We’ve got our review of the Nokia Lumia 920, a beast of a machine with its own set of top-tier features, now we see the lower end of the spectrum with the 810 and its slightly less daring smartphone body. As it turns out, much of the experience here is the same, with not a whole lot of apparent difference to be seen between this and any other high-powered Windows Phone 8 smartphone on the market thus far.

Battery Life / Camera

The battery on this device is up on the high end with 1800mAh capacity – that’s going to last you at least one day’s worth of average usage as well as camera work. If you’re a heavy user, you may have to charge before 10 hours are done, but if you’re only going to use the device for web browsing, texting, and taking photos, you’ll have more than a day’s usage out of the Lumia 810. This is due in part to the software not needing too much from the battery to keep up and running, but mostly because Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor is great at battery conservation.

The camera is 8 megapixels strong on the back with 1080p video recording ready for action – and it’s pretty nice. Again you’ve got partially the Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor to blame for the nice images at the end due to its dedicated image processing architecture, but Nokia has really stepped up their efforts in the hardware department as well with a fabulous lens. The Nokia Lumia 810 works with a camera that’s easily one of the top in its class – both in your ability to quickly and easily shoot photos and video and in the end result photos.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/nokia-lumia-810-review-12256622/

T-Mobile HTC Windows Phone 8X Review

 

The HTC Windows Phone 8X is without a doubt the finest Windows Phone machine HTC has ever produced, and certainly one of the most beautiful devices they’ve ever created regardless of operating system. Because we’ve already done a full HTC Windows Phone 8X review as the device exists on AT&T, the following look a the T-Mobile version will be shorter than your average SlashGear review – especially here since the differences between the devices are so incredibly few. Just as Samsung got wise with the Galaxy S III and having the same hardware and software build, for the most part, for carriers across the earth, so too has HTC kept the fighting “one design for all” spirit here with the 8X, a strong device from all angles.

What you’re seeing here is a device with a perfectly loud and well-working set of hardware. The Windows Phone 8X has a lovely 4.3-inch 342 PPI display using S-LCD2 technology with 720 x 1280 pixels – that’s quite a few, mind you. Up front you’ve got a pane of Gorilla Glass 2 from Corning with curved edges and around the edges and the back you’ve got one single piece of soft-touch plastic. Don’t let it fool you though, this device is designed to be rough and tough and hardcore even without a 3rd party case to protect it – though they do already exist, mind you.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/t-mobile-htc-windows-phone-8x-review-14257103/

DROID DNA Review

 

HTC has gone all out with the DROID DNA, and it pays dividends: the new Verizon exclusive breaks records with its 1080p display, putting HTC back into the limelight with a legitimate flagship. A Full HD screen, 4G LTE, and a quadcore S4 Pro chipset tick the spec boxes more comprehensively than we’ve ever seen before, though big displays and fast processors do make us worry when the battery is non-removable. Has HTC redeemed itself with the best Android phone on the market, or are the DROID DNA’s ambitions simply ahead of their time? Read on for the full SlashGear review.

Hardware

HTC hasn’t strayed too far from its recent design language with the DROID DNA, and unlike its brightly-colored Windows Phones, the new Android flagship sticks with sober black for its chassis, lightened only with some splashes of red and fine detailing. That’s not to say it’s an ugly phone, nor a badly constructed one. It’s plastic, but HTC’s polycarbonate feels far more impressive than Samsung’s comparatively flimsy materials.

Camera

The DROID DNA’s cameras aren’t unfamiliar to us: HTC used the same 8-megapixel/2.1-megapixel combination on the One X+. The phone is capable of Full HD video recording front and back, and Sense 4+ has various tweaks to improve usability. Self-portrait shots using the front-facing camera now support an optional timer countdown, helping reduce phone-shake when you tap the button, while if you leave the camera app active when you lock the phone, it bypasses the lock screen when you next hit the power button so that you don’t miss your shot.

Those shots turn out to be very good, with plenty of detail albeit with colors slightly more subdued than on other phones we’ve tested of late. Low light performance can’t hold up to the PureView technology on Nokia’s Lumia 920 – you do get an LED flash, though it’s as mediocre as all of its ilk – but daylight shots are solid, and the extra detail we spotted in frames in comparison to what Samsung’s Galaxy S III produced is welcome, especially if you’re subsequently cropping.

The front-facing camera, meanwhile, suffers some from its lower resolution, and pictures can tend toward the grainy. HTC’s vaunted wide-angle lens does what it promises, however, and there’s comfortably room for three people to fit in-frame with the DROID DNA at arm’s length; four people if you’re closely packed in.

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As for video, it has the same balance of extra detail though slightly less saturated colors as we’ve seen in the HTC’s stills, but is watchably smooth and the twin microphones are sensitive. Both video and still capture buttons are on-screen throughout, meaning you can grab a still shot without interrupting video recording.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/droid-dna-review-16257403/

Samsung Galaxy Camera Review

 

Times are tough for point-and-shoot cameras. The rise of the smartphone and its ever-increasing megapixel count, as well as a demand for instant sharing, has seen dedicated camera sales droop. Yet, as any photography aficionado will tell you, there’s more to snapping shots than mere megapixels. Enter Samsung and the Galaxy Camera, promising the best of its mobile and photography teams in a single gadget. Is there room in the marketplace for a new hybrid: the heart of a true camera with the added sprinkle of some smartphone magic? Read on for our full review.

Hardware

You won’t mistake the Galaxy Camera for anything other than a camera: while phones like Nokia’s Lumia 920 are making a play for being taken seriously as photography tools, the Samsung shooter approaches the space from the other direction, adding mobile smarts to a camera housing. In fact, it’s based roughly on Samsung’s existing WB850F Smart Camera, though the interface and controls are very different by virtue of the Android OS.

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The 21x optical zoom dictates most of the bulk, and while the body of the camera is – aside from the bulge of the grip – reasonably slim at 19mm, the non-removable lens means the Samsung is hardly pocket-friendly. It’s also quite slippery, and while there’s some texturing to the grip, the large expanse of glass touchscreen and the otherwise smooth plastic body don’t exactly make grabbing the Galaxy Camera an entirely reassuring experience.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/samsunggalaxy-camera-review-19257604/

Verizon Nokia Lumia 822 Review

 

It’s time for Verizon to get its hands on the Windows Phone 8 universe with the lovely Nokia Lumia 822, another iteration of the original Lumia 820. This device is essentially the same as the original Lumia 820 with a 4.3-inch 480 x 800 pixel resolution AMOLED display with ClearBlack technology to make it extra vibrant – covered with a Corning Gorilla Glass 2 pane of reinforced glass and surrounded by some more of that fabulous near-soft plastic we’ve seen on each of the Lumias thus far. This device takes on the Lumia 920 with many of the same features but just ever-so-slightly less top-notch specifications – there may be a little less magic, but there’s certainly magic enough.

Camera / Battery

With a combination of the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4’s battery conserving abilities and the ease with which you’re able to manage how much energy you’re using via Nokia and Windows Phone 8, this device will last you at least a full working day. If you’re doing nothing but streaming video via 4G LTE, expect less than a standard 8 hours – anyone can drain a battery if they try hard enough. Also note – we’ve not yet heard about wireless charging for this unit, but the removable back panel gives us hope that the 822 will follow the 820’s lead.

The camera, again, works rather well here with the Nokia Luma 822, just as well as its brethren each starting with the number “82”. It would appear that the Snapdragon S4 processor helps here as well as the high-quality lens and sensor to create an image processing package that’s right up there with the top tier smartphones on the market. Windows Phone 8 also provides a unique opportunity to closely integrate apps with the camera itself rather than opening apps that also have camera abilities, this making the entire photography experience a joy no matter which Windows Phone 8 device you’re on.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/verizon-nokia-lumia-822-review-19257692/

Nexus 4 T-Mobile Review

 

The difference between the Google Play Nexus 4 and the T-Mobile Nexus 4 is neither in the hardware nor in the software, but in the cost and agreement you’ll be making with T-Mobile – but that doesn’t mean we can’t give some more time to Google’s own smartphone hero for Android 4.2 Jelly Bean – for science! First be sure to take a peek at our original full Nexus 4 review as done by our own Vincent Nguyen, then have another dive in with the slight differences between it and the T-Mobile edition – must be something for the massive difference in price, right?

Camera

The camera is a vast improvement over the Samsung Galaxy Nexus’ clunky 5-megapixel shooter, and not just because you’ve got a few more megapixels to toss around here. It would appear that LG, Qualcomm, and Google have come together to create a camera experience here that’s sharp and clear. It’s not perfect, and we’re not quite ready to say it beats out the Samsung Galaxy S III, Nokia Lumia 920, or iPhone 5, but it’s certainly a contender.

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The panorama mode as well as Photo Sphere create images that are impressive to behold, but again, are not perfect. While the stitching of images together to create a whole are rarely done without error, the final product is almost always worth keeping. Have a peek at a couple of Photo Spheres in action in the following: [Mall Parking Lot], [Gas Station], [Arcade] – each are posted to Google+ in full-on exploration mode so you can see them in their natural state. Google cross-promotes their social network and the software here as Android 4.2 Jelly Bean+ will bring on this Sphere ability to all devices that run with it from that point onward – fun stuff!

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/t-mobile-lg-nexus-4-review-28258622/

Verizon HTC Windows Phone 8X Review

 

HTC’s new Windows Phone 8X proves that the manufacturer is capable of building a solid Windows Phone 8 device. We’ve already taken a look at AT&T’s version of the 8X, as well as T-Mobile’s variant, but Verizon has the new device in its repertoire as well, and we’ve got it right here in front of us to see what this version offers. Since we already went over the basics as well as the more advanced stuff with the original full review, as well as dabbled around with T-Mobile’s version, I’ll just be briefly providing an overview of Verizon’s version for those who may be interested in grabbing the device from Big Red.

The HTC Windows Phone 8X sports a 4.3-inch Super LCD2 720p display with a pixel density of 342ppi, and it’s protected with Gorilla Glass 2. We have to say that there’s not much to complain about with the display — viewing angles are adequate, and images and text are really crisp. The back consists of a curved piece of soft-touch plastic that provides a wonderful grip for those with butter fingers. The back is also flat enough that the device is able to rest on a surface without rocking back and forth. Holding the device feels great, and since it has a smaller 4.3-inch screen, the overall size of the 8X doesn’t make it overwhelming to hold.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/verizon-htc-windows-phone-8x-review-28258459/

LG Spectrum 2 Review (Verizon)

 

We’ve been seeing a lot of really good high-end handsets lately (like the Galaxy Note II and the HTC DROID DNA), but all the while, LG has been putting out some solid mid-range phones. Not too long ago, we reviewed the LG Optimus L9, a mid-range device at T-Mobile that wasn’t extraordinary in any way but still a quality handset all around, and today it’s the Verizon Spectrum 2 that’s taking center stage. The question is whether or not this smartphone is yet another good mid-range entry from LG, or if it falls short when held up against the dozens of other mid-range handsets ready to be taken home.

Design

Pulling the device out of its box for the first time, I immediately started drawing comparisons to the look of the Optimus L9. Aesthetically, both phones look pretty similar – while the dimensions are different, both are black with silver trim, and both have the same textured back cover. The black color scheme lends to a minimalistic feel to the design, which I have admit is something I like. This look worked well for the Optimus L9 and it works just as well for the Spectrum 2. I think the phone looks pretty sleek, though I could also see some people finding the design to be a little on the boring side.

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Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/lg-spectrum-2-review-verizon-02259185/

Huawei S7 Review

 

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab isn’t the only 7-inch Android slate taking on Steve Jobs’ iPad preferences; Huawei still falls short of being a household name, but the company has nonetheless managed to get its Ideos S7 tablet on Best Buy shelves alongside the Galaxy Tab later this month. It’ll also make its European debut in early December, and at $299.99/£288 it’s also significantly cheaper than the Tab, though with a few understandable compromises along the way. Keep reading for our full Huawei S7 preview.

To be clear, the S7 we have is a pre-production unit, so we won’t be treating this as a full review; instead it’s a preview of the Huawei, and certain aspects may be subject to change by the time the slate goes on sale. It’s been loaned to us by the guys at Clove.co.uk, who expect to have UK stock of the S7 in the first week of December 2010.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/huawei-s7-preview-09113116/

Verizon Galaxy Tab Review

 

You can’t accuse Samsung of lacking ambition with their recent mobile device launches. After pushing out versions of the Galaxy Sacross all the major US carriers, they’re doing the same with theSamsung Galaxy Tab. We’ve already looked at the original European and T-Mobile USA versions of the 7-inch Froyo slate; now it’s the Verizon Wireless model on the SlashGear test bench. Read on for the full review.

Hardware

Compared to the European and T-Mobile versions of the Galaxy Tab which we’ve already reviewed, the Verizon model marks the most significant hardware changes. Even then, they’re relatively minor, though enough to boost the Verizon Tab into pole position when it comes to everyday use.

Out goes the UMTS/WCDMA modem, replaced by a CDMA/EVDO Rev.A modem for data and messaging use on Verizon’s network. The relative benefits of CDMA and GSM service are well-argued; most important is whether your carrier of choice has coverage in the areas you’ll be looking to use the Tab. We’ve not noticed any specific differences in data performance between the T-Mobile and Verizon Tabs.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/verizon-galaxy-tab-review-15113997/

Advent Vega Review

 

Low-cost Android tablets aren’t unusual; good low-cost Android tablets are a different matter. Advent’s Vega slate – on sale through DSG’s PC World, Currys and Dixons in the UK – bucks the Android trend by carrying a low sticker price of £249 ($395) and decent hardware specs, including NVIDIA’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor. It’s a combination that has seen DSG struggle to keep the Vega in stock for more than an hour at a time, but is this really the bargain Froyo slate we’ve been waiting for? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

Compared to the brushed metal of the iPad or the sturdy compactness of the Galaxy Tab, the Vega’s plastic construction and uninspiring design feels more mundane. Still, it’s also around half the price of those rivals, so we’re more forgiving of the bland aesthetic. The rear panel sounds somewhat hollow when tapped, and squeezing it in the middle causes distortion on the LCD; the edges – where you’re more likely to be gripping – are sturdier. At 275 x 177 x 14 mm it’s reasonably thin, though it’s longer (and narrower) than the iPad.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/advent-vega-review-07118007/

Dell Streak 7 Review

 

Coming to T-Mobile as their first 4G tablet, Dell is set to launch its foray into the 7-inch tablet market with the Dell Streak 7. Packed with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual core processor and a 7-inch 800×480 Gorilla Glass touch screen. Is it poised to take on the Tab? Check out the full review.

Hardware / Design

The hardware design for the Streak 7 is vastly improved from the Streak 5. I was one of Dell’s harshest critics of the Streak 5 as the back battery panel came to easily detached from the device.

Like the Tab the back of the Streak 7 is a solid non-removable panel. The back also contains a small diamond texture design similar to the texture feel Dell has been putting on more of their consumer notebooks.

One of the things that stands out the most with the design of the hardware is that it appears to be designed with landscape mode in mind as the major way the product will be used.   From the camera positions, to the power and volume buttons and most noticeably the orientation of the side buttons.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/dell-streak-7-review-31129564/

Motorola XOOM Review

 

Motorola’s big launch of CES 2011 and the first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet on the market, the Motorola XOOM has a lot to live up to. In its haste to reach Verizon shelves, the XOOM could seem a little half-baked; it doesn’t get Flash Player support for another few weeks, and won’t have 4G until an update sometime in Q2. Still, as the iPad has shown, there are undoubtedly benefits to being first out of the gate, and there’s undoubtedly plenty on offer. Can the XOOM bypass pricing skepticism? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware and Performance

Motorola’s design is sober and discrete, and where the iPad shows off its brushed metal the XOOM seemingly prefers to let the 10.1-inch display do the talking. It’s a 160dpi, 1280 x 800 WXGA panel with a capacitive touchscreen supporting multitouch gestures, and while it doesn’t use the same IPS technology as the Apple slate, it still manages decent viewing angles. We’ve had no issues with touchscreen responsiveness, though at 9.8 x 6.61 x 0.51 inches and 25.75oz it’s a somewhat heavy device, and one-handed use can get tiring.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/motorola-xoom-review-23135670/

iPad 2 Review

 

The iPad shaped the consumer tablet market. Now, just as Android 3.0 Honeycomb slates are rising to the challenge, the iPad 2 is here to move Apple’s game on even further. Squeezing a faster processor, boosted graphics and twin cameras into a 33-percent thinner design, yet keeping the same 10hr battery and – perhaps most importantly – the same price, the iPad 2 promises to refine what rivals were still struggling to beat. Is the Apple iPad 2 the best tablet today? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

It may be a little smaller, a fair amount lighter and a whole lot thinner, but the iPad 2 is still unmistakably an iPad. The original, bow-backed model measured in at 246 x 190 x 13 mm and 680g (for the WiFi-only version); the new iPad 2 slims that down to 241 x 186 x 8.8 mm and 601g. Since the display is still 9.7-inches, that means a slightly narrower bezel as well, though the difference is minor. Like the latest iPod touch, the edges of the iPad 2 taper neatly: the slate sits flat on a table, not rocking like its predecessor, and feels even thinner in the hand thanks to the narrowing sides. That makes one-handed use – such as when reading ebooks in iBooks or the Kindle app – more practical. Two color options are on offer, white or black, though both have a brushed aluminum back panel.

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https://www.slashgear.com/ipad-2-review-09139014/

T-Mobile G-Slate Review

 

2011 may be the year of the tablet, but so far only one Android 3.0 Honeycomb (review) example has managed to reach the market. Motorola’s XOOM was criticized for launching perhaps before Honeycomb was quite ready; now the T-Mobile G-Slate by LG is making its own play, with the dual hope that 3D photography and an 8.9-inch screen will be enough to carve a niche against the iPad 2. Is Honeycomb’s second hurrah the cry of victory or a dying gasp? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut to find out.

Hardware

LG hasn’t strayed too far from Motorola’s example when it comes to the G-Slate’s core specifications. At its heart is NVIDIA’s 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, paired with 32GB of integrated storage. The 8.9-inch display runs at 1280 x 800, making it more pixel-dense than the XOOM, though it lacks the pop and super-broad viewing angles of an IPS display as on the iPad 2. There’s WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and HSPA+ 4G connectivity built in. Unlike the XOOM, the Verizon version of which only supports 3G at present, the G-Slate offers 4G support out of the box, though whether that adds up to high speed browsing depends on T-Mobile’s coverage.

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https://www.slashgear.com/t-mobile-g-slate-review-18146775/

BlackBerry PlayBook Review

 

Until today, the consumer tablet market has been defined by the battle between iPad and Android. Apple’s best-selling slate has set expectations for mobile utility and usability, managing to persuade users that – despite years of Microsoft Tablet PC promotion – the company pretty much invented the tablet segment. Google’s Honeycomb (review) has launched its offensive against the iPad titan, and now it’s the turn of RIM and the BlackBerry PlayBook. Initially billed as the enterprise-focused slate a BlackBerry phone toting business person would covet, the PlayBook’s scope has gradually grown to encompass the consumer market too. Has that spreading focus left RIM with the jack of all trades or the master of none? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

A nondescript black slab measuring 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches and weighing 0.9lbs, the PlayBook is a combination of the very glossy and the pleasingly matte. The whole front is a slab of glass hiding a 1024 x 600 WSVGA LCD touchscreen, the touch-layer of which extends – Palm Pre style – off into the bezel around the panel itself. The sides and back are metal with a rubberized coating for easier grip. Ports and controls are minimal, which makes it all the more frustrating that the one button you’ll probably be spending the most time tapping, the power key, is such a frustration. Tiny, recessed and overly-sprung, it’s hard to find without looking and hard to press without jabbing the tip of your finger at just the right angle.

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https://www.slashgear.com/blackberry-playbook-review-19146913/

ACER Iconia Tab A500 Review

 

Welcome to the newest Android tablet on the block, Acer’s Iconia Tab A500. This is an Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet, that being a version of the Google mobile operating system made specifically for tablets, and it’s got a big fat 10.1-inch screen. In the front there’s a 2-megapixel camera for video chat and photos, on the back there’s a 5-megapixel camera for video recording and photos as well. This is a device that will go in direct competition with the Motorola XOOM and the Apple iPad, with a bit of competition from the LG G-Slate, mostly because their dual-core processors come from the same parent: NVIDIA. Will this slice of aluminum carve its way into your Android loving heart?

Hardware

This tablet joins the still small ranks of approximately 10-inch tablets, this one measuring in at 10.1-inches in the face surrounded by a 10.24 x 6.97 x 0.52-inch (260 x 177 x 13.3-mm,) 25.75-oz (730-g) heavy (display included) body. From there you’ll want to notice that the entire back section is made of a thin, light aluminum while either side of the device is made of plastic. There’s a removable cover at the top (or the side, however you’d like to look at it,) that reveals your SDcard slot and future functional slot for LTE SIM card. You can jam up to 64GB of memory on an SDcard in that first slot, while the SIM card slot remains inactive for now.

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https://www.slashgear.com/acer-iconia-tab-a500-review-20147156/

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Review

 

ASUS has been plugging away at tablets for years now, experimenting with convertible netbooks and trying to coax some semblance of finger-friendliness out of Windows. It’s taken Android 3.0 Honeycomb and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 to actually deliver, however: an eye-catching hybrid offering the touch-usability of a slate and the content creation flexibility of a Keyboard Dock. Has Eee Pad outclassed iPad 2 or do the ASUS Transformer’s two halves not quite add up to a whole? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

With its plastic chassis and brown color scheme, the Eee Pad Transformer is always going to struggle against the brushed metal and wafer-thin build of the iPad 2. At 271 x 171 x 12.98 mm and 680g, ASUS has produced a bigger slate than the Motorola

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https://www.slashgear.com/asus-eee-pad-transformer-review-03149807/

HTC Flyer Review

 

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen an HTC tablet: the HTC Shift, in fact, all the way back in 2008. Even then the company didn’t play by the normal rules, pairing Windows Vista and Windows Mobile on a single device. Now, it’s the turn of the HTC Flyer to shake things up once more, and the talking point today is whether a slate with a stylus can compete when fingers are in fashion. 7-inch star or ‘droid dud? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

The Flyer’s HTC heritage is clear, looking at first glance like an oversized Desire S with its unibody-style aluminum and white plastic insert-sections. It’s 7.7 x 4.8 x 0.52 inch chassis is a little longer and thicker than that of the original Samsung Galaxy Tab, and it’s heavier as well at 14.82oz. Still, that’s because of the metal used in the construction, and the upside is a far sturdier, more expensive feeling slate.

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https://www.slashgear.com/htc-flyer-review-16152175/

Galaxy Tab 10.1 Review (Limited Edition)

 

Samsung helped lead the Android tablet charge last year, with the original Galaxy Tab, a 7-inch slate which even Google admitted may have been released before the OS was ready. Now, with Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets like the XOOM, G-Slate and Eee Pad Transformer on the market, Samsung is back with its second attempt, the larger Galaxy Tab 10.1. Heavily reworked – even after its first official appearance – in order to better compete with the iPad 2, Samsung has high hopes that this is the slender slate to knock Apple off its pedestal. SlashGear brought back the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition white version from Google I/O 2011 this week; check out the full review after the cut.

Hardware

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has had a complicated inception. Samsung first outed the slate at Mobile World Congress in February, running NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual-core processor with a 10.2-inch 1280 x 800 display, 8-megapixel rear camera and 10.9mm thick chassis. At the time Samsung was talking about a March release, which has obviously since slipped; that’s because, in the meantime, Apple announced its iPad 2.

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https://www.slashgear.com/galaxy-tab-10-1-review-limited-edition-17152498/

HTC Flyer WiFi Review

 

Let’s take a look for a bit at the United States’ first look at HTC’s Flyer tablet. As you may well know by now, there’s another version of this device out there by the name of EVO View 4G – have a look at our hands-on with that version of the device from back at CTIA 2011. The device we’re looking at here and now is the Best Buy-sold version of the device being here a WiFi-only piece of hardware. This device has a nice silver metal and white plastic chassis, Gorilla Glass front over a 7-inch 1024 x 700 pixel resolution capacitive touchscreen working with a 1GHz single-core processor and Android 2.3.3 with HTC Sense 2.1 for Tablets. And it’s got a pen. Is this the writer for you?

This device totes what they’re calling the Scribe Pen. This device works much like a pen touching a touchscreen normally would, but because it’s working with Android, much more than you’ve ever had before is in store. The reason a person would purchase this device is its size, it’s ability to use the pen, and/or because they love HTC Sense. The form of the device is beautiful, based heavily on HTC’s popular line of smartphone handsets from this past year, sized up and formed into a very nice tablet form factor. You must decide if all this is worth what basically amounts to the same amount of money you’d be spending on most other Android tablets these days and just about $100 less than an iPad 2. Furthermore, the choice is yours whether you’re going to want this WiFi-only version or if you’re going to want to go 3G for constant connection. Keep all this in mind as you read the following!

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https://www.slashgear.com/htc-flyer-wifi-review-23153565/

HTC EVO View 4G Review

 

Welcome to a review of a tablet we essentially had a pretty good look at already, but have come to understand in a slightly better way now that it’s got a new handsome color set on its outer bits. Head back to the review of the HTC Flyer EURO then see the review of the HTC Flyer WiFi for a full understanding of what we’re about to deal with here, then behold the greatest color scheme of them all: black and red. The difference between those models and this one is the internet connection capabilities. While that, the difference in the colors of metal and plastic, and some app additions and subtractions may be the only changes between here and there, an epiphany of usefulness has come over your humble reviewer – have a look below to see how this is your note-taking champion and the bigger version of the EVO you’ve always wanted.

What I’d like to show you first is a series of hands-on videos from each of the three different versions of this device, starting with the Euro, moving on to the Wifi, and finally looking at the newest version, the EVO View 4G, the device we’ve got here today. Notice the similarities and note how while there are slight differences, they’re all basically the same device. This does bode well for those realizing that this means HTC has a lot of confidence in this device, only altering the way it connects to the internet in the guts, leaving the software and the user interface, for the most part, very much alone.

Camera

The camera in the past we’ve called generally mediocre. The past few days we’ve got to look at this iteration of the device, it’s seemed to be better. Perhaps it’s the weather, maybe it’s just that everyone’s excited that it’s summer, who knows. You’ll be able to see for yourself below, have a look at the highest quality photo the back-facing camera is capable of here:

And some of the highest quality video as well – look at that good puppy getting into position for the video – cute!

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/oBCNTDVFUr4″]

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/htc-evo-view-4g-review-24161303/