Review Archive

  • Symbian^3 reviewed in exquisite and ruthless detail by Eldar Murtazin

    Symbian^3 reviewed in exquisite and ruthless detail by Eldar Murtazin

    No folks, those mythical N8 review units still aren't on our doorsteps, but we can offer you the next best thing: a thorough (we mean thorough) overview of the Symbian^3 environment that will be front and center on Nokia's next great phone. Eldar Murtazin of mobile-review reports on everything from the sophisticated handling of contacts and caller ID pictures, through the noticeable speed improvements, past the limited utility of online widgets that display only two lines at a time, beyond the "weak spot" web browser, and all the way to Symbian's unhealthy habit of "clinging to continuity." It's an enlightening read, which pulls no punches with its conclusion: Symbian^3 is an evolutionary step up from S60 5th edition, which brings nothing new to the market and offers no comparative advantages. Strong words from Eldar, paricularly when he doesn't disclose what build of the OS he's using; his rationale, however, is that his analysis relates to overarching design decisions and ignores software bugs and version-specific foibles. Make of that what you will.

    [Thanks, scotsboyuk]

    Symbian^3 reviewed in exquisite and ruthless detail by Eldar Murtazin originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • iPhone 4 review

    iPhone 4 review

    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/The_first_iPhone_4_review'; The iPhone 4 is no small thing to review. As most readers of Engadget are well aware, in the gadget world a new piece of Apple hardware is a major event, preceded by rumors, speculation, an over-the-top announcement, and finally days, weeks, or months of anticipation from an ever-widening fan base. The iPhone 4 is certainly no exception -- in fact, it may be Apple's most successful launch yet, despite some bumps on the road. We've already seen Apple and AT&T's servers overloaded on the first day of pre-orders, the ship date for the next set of phones pushed back due to high demand, and die-hard fans in line outside of Apple locations a week before the phone is actually available. It's a lot to live up to, and the iPhone 4 is doing its best -- with features like a super-fast A4 CPU, a new front-facing camera and five megapixel shooter on the back, a completely new industrial design, and that outrageous Retina Display, no one would argue that Apple has been asleep at the wheel. So the question turns to whether or not the iPhone 4 can live up to the intense hype. Can it deliver on the promises Steve Jobs made at WWDC, and can it cement Apple's position in the marketplace in the face of mounting competition from the likes of Google and Microsoft? We have the answers to those questions -- and many more -- in our full review, so read on to find out!

    Continue reading iPhone 4 review

    iPhone 4 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • HTC Aria review

    HTC Aria review

    It's sort of hard to believe, but AT&T finally has an Android phone worth paying attention to. Mind you, the AT&T compatible Nexus One is easily the best Googlephone on America's largest GSM operator, but this is the first one that the company has bothered to brand and sell on a subsidized plan within its own stores. Pundits could argue the reasons why forever, but considering that the carrier's doing all it can just to keep up with the demand for iPhones, it's hard to imagine that AT&T has been longing to pursue Android with reckless abandon. Believe it or not, it's been over 1.5 years since T-Mobile gave the world the first taste of a mobile OS that would soon rival (and surpass) the other options already on the table, but outside of the forgettable Backflip (and the nowhere-to-be-found Aero), there's been no Android to speak of on AT&T. HTC has somehow managed to break down the blue and orange walls, piercing the heart of a hardened operator and squeezing a delightful mid-range Android smartphone into a lineup that's about to be monumentally overshadowed by the iPhone 4. So, is the HTC Aria worth the $129.99 that you'll be forced to pay on a 2-year agreement when it ships on June 20th? Read on to find out.

    Continue reading HTC Aria review

    HTC Aria review originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia E73 Mode review

    Nokia E73 Mode review

    Some two years after its release, there are still plenty of people who'll swear up and down that the E71 is the finest phone Nokia has ever produced -- and for good reason. As a platform, S60 was the product of a simpler time when the smartphone market was dominated not by touchscreens, but by numeric keypads, and the E71 was arguably the last of a string of bona fide successes that Nokia enjoyed in the platform's heyday alongside pioneering handsets like the N82 and N95. Thing is, the E71 was different than those other models in a very important way: it was elegant. Historically, Nokias have typically favored function over form and saved the highest-quality materials for the Vertu line, but the E71 bucked that trend -- it was slim, sexy, chock-full of metal, and curved in all the right places. In fact, to this day, it remains one of the best-looking, best-feeling smartphones ever made.

    Customers (and reviewers) made their love for the E71 clear, and Nokia sought to recapture the glory with the introduction of the refined, upgraded E72. For Americans, of course, the biggest problem with the E72 was that you couldn't buy it from a carrier -- and unlike the E71, it never got much traction as an unlocked purchase. That's where the E73 Mode comes into play, a mildly reworked version of the E72 with T-Mobile branding and, of course, support for 3G on T-Mobile's AWS bands. Put bluntly, though, this is still just a warmed-over E71 -- and in 2010, is there a market for that? Let's have a look.

    Continue reading Nokia E73 Mode review

    Nokia E73 Mode review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Review: T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide

    Review: T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide

    Short Version: A long, long time ago, I can still remember, how the MyTouch 3G’s touchscreen used to make me cry. And I knew that if they had their chance, that T-Mobile could add a keyboard, and maybe we’d be happy for a while. And how May/June made me shiver because T-Mobile has delivered – [...]

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  • Dell Streak review

    Dell Streak review

    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Dell_Streak_review_it_s_a_huge_friggin_phone'; Streak. It needs no introduction, as this slate's been gaining a lot of attention amongst gadget lovers around the world. Thanks to the UK launch last Friday, we were one of the first on this planet to procure Dell's finalized Android 1.6 phone from O2. Yep, you heard right -- Engadget's now in possession of two Streaks, with the older one still in its original and somewhat unstable prototype state. Our new toy sports a matte "carbon" finish instead of chrome (no word on future availability; the red version's coming in two weeks' time), and now 399MB of RAM instead of 405MB (according to Android System Info app; yet it's advertised as 512MB). Anyhow, now that we have the real deal, there's plenty to go through, so join us after the break to see if the Streak's really going to start a new trend.

    Continue reading Dell Streak review

    Dell Streak review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • HTC HD Mini review

    HTC HD Mini review

    We had to exercise our neglected patience muscle with this one, but at long last we've gotten ahold of a real live HD Mini and put it through its paces. Equipped with the same processor, screen size and resolution as HTC's Legend, but running the HD2's Windows Mobile 6.5.3 under a WinMo-specific Sense skin, the Mini is in many ways an amalgamation of its two better known cousins. You'll no doubt be aware that we weren't too displeased by either of those handsets, so what you must be wondering now is whether or not splicing them into one eminently pocketable package delivers an equally compelling device. Read on to find out.

    Continue reading HTC HD Mini review

    HTC HD Mini review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide review

    T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide review

    Like it or not, T-Mobile has now officially turned its myTouch brand into an entire franchise, thanks to the addition of a second model and an entire line of styled accessories -- but it's not just about the hardware. Far from it, in fact: with the myTouch 3G Slide, the carrier has actually built a custom skin on top of HTC's Sense for Android 2.1, and all kidding aside, this phone represents one of the deepest carrier-customized experiences we've ever seen. Seeing how this phone arguably represents the true successor to the G1 -- T-Mobile's (and the world's) first retail Android device -- it's pretty important that they get this right, particularly considering how critical it is for a carrier's bottom line to capitalize on the meaty, profitable midrange of its smartphone lineup. Does the myTouch 3G Slide live up to the G1's good name? Read on.

    Continue reading T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide review

    T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide review originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview

    SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview

    We can practically hear the collective sigh of relief among Slingbox owners now that Sling's finally just about ready to push out a version of SlingPlayer Mobile for Android -- by far the biggest hole in the company's lineup of mobile players ever since the iPhone version went live. This is no mere port, though; the company is boasting that it worked hard here to reduce load times, meaning the total wait you've got from app load to the time you're actually seeing General Hospital should be less than you're accustomed to, and that's a big win in our book. Check out our quick impressions (and video) after the break!

    Continue reading SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview

    SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 28 May 2010 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • LG Fathom VS750 review

    LG Fathom VS750 review

    Falling somewhere between the flash of the Chocolate and no-frills, no surprises industrial design of the recently launched Ally, LG has outed the Fathom (aka VS750) with little fanfare. Featuring a mercifully unadorned WinMo 6.5.3 (save for wallpaper, pictured above, designed by a certain Vera Wang), a 1GHz CPU, quad band GSM, and a handful of AC adapters for charging all over Europe and the UK, this is a device clearly meant to go global. But will it capture people's hearts and minds? Read on to find out.

    Continue reading LG Fathom VS750 review

    LG Fathom VS750 review originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 24 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • HTC EVO 4G review

    HTC EVO 4G review

    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Sprint_s_4G_iPhone_killer_reviewed'; As a mobile platform, the EVO 4G's Android foundation is still an infant -- well, okay, perhaps it's a tweener -- but in its two-odd years in the public spotlight, the list of truly revolutionary devices to use it has been a significant one: the G1 for being the first to market; the Nexus One for ushering in a new (and subsequently killed) retail model; perhaps the CLIQ for introducing Motorola to the platform or the Droid for bringing the company some desperately needed, long overdue success. For the moment, anyway, a whopping fraction of the world's most important phones are running Google's little experiment.

    Needless to say, Sprint, HTC, and quite frankly, many of us have come to expect the EVO 4G to join that short list for some obvious reasons. Put simply, its magnificent list of specs reads as though it was scribbled on a napkin after a merry band of gadget nerds got tipsy at the watering hole and started riffing about their idea of the ultimate mobile device: a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.3-inch WVGA display, 8 megapixel camera with 720p video recording, HDMI-out, and WiMAX compatibility. Of course, the list of potential deal-breakers for a phone is as long as the EVO 4G's display is wide; to put it another way, there are countless ways HTC, Sprint, or even Google could've screwed this thing up. So does this moderately intimidating black slab of pure engineering and marketing -- this high-profile bet on Sprint's future -- deliver the goods? Read on.

    Continue reading HTC EVO 4G review

    HTC EVO 4G review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Garmin-Asus Garminfone review

    Garmin-Asus Garminfone review

    The holy matrimony between smartphone and personal navigation device just keeps getting stronger, scorning dedicated GPS units like forgotten flings and leaving navigation-free handsets wandering lost and alone. Garmin-Asus has been flirting with the perfect bond with its Nuvifone series for some time now, but rather tragically from a branding perspective its strongest attempt yet comes without the nuvi moniker. It's the T-Mobile Garminfone, and its Android underpinnings go a long way toward making the best mix of PND and smartphone to date.

    Continue reading Garmin-Asus Garminfone review

    Garmin-Asus Garminfone review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • LG Ally review

    LG Ally review

    You know, not every smartphone has to be putting down maxed-out hardware. That's a lesson that Nokia is certainly taking to heart, concentrating many of its latest efforts on lower-end Symbian devices that it hopes will capture entire new swaths of users that'd otherwise be buying dumbphones with half the functionality (and far less than half of the revenue potential). In the world of Android, though, recent devices like the EVO 4G, Droid, Droid Incredible, and Nexus One have admittedly caused us to grow accustomed to the idea that we should all be using blazingly fast processors and huge WVGA displays.

    In reality, of course, Android is an extraordinarily scalable platform; there's a whole world of hardware (and around $200 of on-contract pricing) below today's latest round of "superphones." At $100 on a two-year deal, the LG Ally sort of typifies what we'd expect out of a midrange Android device right now -- a gap-filler that can capture users seeking a Droid experience on a Kin Two budget. So does it hold up in the day-to-day grind, or are you going to be begging for a Droid by day two? Let's find out.

    Continue reading LG Ally review

    LG Ally review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Twitter for Android: the best apps reviewed

    Twitter for Android: the best apps reviewed

    You know what's awesome? Cookie dough ice cream. But when it comes to the smartphone market, the 18-month-old, steadily-growing Android platform is equally wondrous. Sure, Google may have a tiny bit of catching up to do when compared with Apple's market share, but at least Android users are already spoiled with a handful of good Twitter apps. Better yet, Twitter has now thrown in its official app to spice up the competition, so we thought it'd be interesting to put it head-to-head against the third-party clients. Read on to find out if we have a winner.

    Continue reading Twitter for Android: the best apps reviewed

    Twitter for Android: the best apps reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 16:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Microsoft Kin One and Two review

    Microsoft Kin One and Two review

    Make no mistake: the Kin One and Two are coming into the world as the black sheep of the phone industry, and Microsoft would have it no other way. Straddling the fence somewhere between a dedicated smartphone and high-spec featurephone, they've been tricky to understand since the day they were first leaked (even Microsoft seemed unsure of what the devices meant until very recently). Billed as a Gen-Y (the "upload generation") social networking tool -- and sold in advertisements as the gateway to the time of your young, freewheeling life -- the Kin phones have admittedly been something of head-scratcher to those of us in the gadget world. Built atop a core similar (but not identical) to the Windows Phone 7 devices coming later this year, manufactured by Sharp, and tied into partnerships with Verizon and Vodafone, the phones dangerously preempt Microsoft's reemergence into the smartphone market. Hell, they're even called Windows Phones. But the One and Two aren't like any Windows Phones you've ever seen. With stripped-down interfaces, deep social networking integration, and a focus on very particular type of user, Microsoft is aiming for something altogether different with Kin. So do these devices deliver on that unique, social experience that Redmond has been selling, or does this experiment fall flat? We've taken both handsets for a spin, and we've got all the answers in our full review... so read on to find out!

    Continue reading Microsoft Kin One and Two review

    Microsoft Kin One and Two review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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