HTC EVO 4G: A Multimedia Powerhouse

EVO 4G Review, by Ginny Mies  

HTC has struck gold again with the HTC EVO 4G ($200 with a two-year contract from Sprint), which is easily the best smartphone available on Sprint and is second to the HTC Droid Incredible (Verizon) as the best smartphone available today. The EVO 4G packs powerful specs and a lot of features in a slick, stylish design. The biggest drawback is that not everyone will get to experience 4G connectivity, one of the phone's best features at launch--yet they'll still have to pay for it.

In addition to the phone's $200 price tag, EVO 4G owners will have to shell out $70 per month for unlimited data, as well as a mandatory $10 Premium Data add-on for 4G use. Given that only a handful of cities have WiMax coverage, this strikes me as unfair. Why should a user in, say, San Francisco have to pay that additional fee if they don't have 4G available to them?

Minimalist Design

Though I'm all for recyclable, minimal packaging, the EVO 4G's box is a little strange. A colleague pointed out that it resembles a tofu container. Other reviews have remarked that it looks like a microwavable meal. But really, it's what's inside the box that matters. The EVO 4G comes with the bare minimum: a Micro-USB cable, a USB wall charger, a 1500mAh battery, and an 8GB MicroSD card.

Design-wise, the EVO 4G is a bit imposing with its 4.3-inch WVGA (800-by-480-pixel) touchscreen, glossy black bezel, and blood-red detailing. Measuring 4.8 by 2.6 by 0.5 inches, the EVO 4G is also a bit larger than your average smartphone. Even so, it feels pretty comfortable to hold (and my hands are small), and I was able to use it with one hand without any issues. Like the HTC-built Nexus One, the four navigation buttons (Home, Menu, Back, Search) are part of the display rather than physical keys. This gives the EVO 4G a sleek, minimalist look. In my hands-on tests, I found the touch-sensitive buttons quite responsive, as well. The phone also has a much-hyped front-facing camera, which I'll cover later in this review.

Like the Nexus One, the EVO 4G has no dedicated camera key on its spine. The right edge houses the volume rocker. At the top of the phone sits the 3.5mm headphone jack and the power button. At the bottom is the HDMI port, along with the Micro-USB connector for both data transfer and charging.
Flip the EVO 4G over, and you'll find the 8-megapixel camera and dual LED flash, plus the phone's sturdy kickstand for tabletop video watching. When you pull out the kickstand, you see the aforementioned blood-red detailing. Remove the rubberized, matte-black battery cover, and you're greeted with even more color; the phone's interior and battery cover are both that same shade of red. HTC pulled the same design move with the Droid Incredible, as well as with the HD Mini (except that phone's interior is mustard yellow).
Honestly, the native Android keyboard isn't my favorite; the keys are too narrow and tightly packed, and its dictionary isn't always as on-point as the iPhone 3GS's. For an alternative, however, I recommend downloading the keyboard app ThickButtons, which follows a letter-by-letter algorithm to shrink the letters that you aren't likely to use and enlarge the buttons that you are.

Android 2.1 With Sense

Out of all of the custom skins for Android, HTC Sense is definitely my favorite. It is the easiest on the eyes, and it doesn't bog down the operating system by trying to do too much. The latest iteration of Sense features Leap, which is essentially an elegant way of handling multitasking; it's actually a bit reminiscent of Palm's WebOS deck-of-cards visualization. Pinch anywhere on the homescreen, and you'll jump to seven thumbnail versions of your open pages. From there, you can go to any of those open applications or close out of one.

Friend Stream, HTC's social network aggregator, allows you to view your friends' status updates, shared links, and pictures all in one seamless view. Supported social networks include Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and others. I find such social network feeds a bit annoying--do I really need to see everybody's tweets and Facebook status updates all mixed up together? But I suppose if you're an avid social networker, seeing all of these updates in one place is useful.
One feature I found especially cool: You can tap and drag to highlight a block of text and either look up a word in a dictionary or translate it via Google Translate.

Along with the standard Android applications, such as Gmail, Google Talk, and YouTube, the phone offers HTC's Twitter app (Peep) and its photo-geotagging app (Footprints). In addition, you get a handful of Sprint apps, like SprintTV, Sprint Navigation, Sprint Zone, and Sprint Football Live.

Multimedia Machine

I'm not really a fan of HTC's Sense music player. Why? The album art doesn't take advantage of the EVO 4G's large display while the app is in Now Playing mode; it remains thumbnail-size. The Sense player is slightly prettier than the dull-as-dirt Android player, but I prefer iTunes or Palm's WebOS player. Audio sounded good, though, and the player supports a respectable range of audio and video formats. On YouTube, you get a feature called HQ, which enables you to watch better-quality videos (if available). You simply press the HQ button in the corner of the video, and a crisper, larger video--one that actually uses the EVO 4G's entire screen real estate--will load. Better yet, no 4G connectivity is needed.
Video playback via SprintTV was a disappointment, however. The video stuttered quite a bit, and the sound didn't match up. According to other reviews I've seen, it wasn't much better over a 4G connection, either.

Superb 8-Megapixel Camera

While 5 megapixels seems to be the standard for high-end smartphone cameras, the EVO 4G goes a step further with an 8-megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash. As with the iPhone 3GS, you can touch to focus on a subject. The camera's user interface is pretty straightforward, too, and it offers a handful of advanced controls such as exposure, color, white balance, and various photo effects.

Photo quality was impressive, both indoors and out. Colors appeared vivid but natural, and details looked sharp. My only complaint was that the flash tended to blow out details and color in indoor shots (see below).




You can also capture HD video with the EVO's 4G camera. I was really pleased with how well my videos turned out, though the results don't hold a candle to those of a 1080p camcorder (see test video below). You can output your photos and videos in HD quality (720p) via the HDMI port. Of course, you'll have to purchase an HDMI cable--which is unfortunately sold separately.

To share videos, look no further than Qik, an application that will come preloaded on the EVO 4G. One of my favorite mobile apps, Qik allows you to stream live videos from your phone to your family and friends, as well as to share them via social networking sites like Facebook. And, yes, Qik supports HD-quality videos.

Last but not least, the EVO 4G sports a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera with video recording. This feature, paired with 4G speeds, opens up many exciting opportunities for app developers. I'm anticipating lots of apps with integrated video-chat clients. Imagine being able to play a multiplayer game while video-chatting with your opponents. Or, what if you could watch a video while simultaneously discussing it with a friend? The application possibilities are endless.

4G and Mobile Hotspot

Unfortunately, at this time we were unable to test the phone's 4G speeds and features, as 4G coverage has not yet rolled out in San Francisco. For more information on the advantages of 4G, see "4G Wireless: 20 Questions Asked & Answered." We'll follow up with more testing as soon as possible.

Sprint says its 4G network delivers peak download speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G average download speeds. Though Sprint has been talking about its WiMax service (provided via the Clearwire network) for a few years now, we haven't seen many WiMax-enabled devices outside of laptop cards and modems.

If you are in a 4G-connected area, you can use voice and data simultaneously. I'm sure you've seen those Luke Wilson AT&T commercials, so you know this is a necessary feature. Yes, you can look up a restaurant while you're on the phone making dinner plans with your friends (even though that's kind of rude). Really, though, the most useful purpose for this function is when you're connected to the mobile 4G hotspot: You won't be disconnected if you get a phone call.

With the built-in mobile hotspot, you can connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including a laptop, camera, music player, video player, and any other Wi-Fi-enabled device, to the 4G network. Connecting to the hotspot is simple: You can access it either by a dedicated icon on the Launcher or in your Settings menu. You then type in your SSID name, the encryption type, and your password, and you're good to go. The hotspot will cost you $30 per month on top of the $80 for the data plan and Premium Data add-on. Fortunately, there's no cap on data usage.

Solid Performance

We were able to test 3G performance, and overall I was impressed with how quickly multimedia-rich pages loaded over Sprint's network. Additionally, I was pleased with how clear my phone calls were in San Francisco. A few of my colleagues on the other end of the line noted that my voice sounded a bit tinny, but my voice was still sufficiently loud and clear--even while I stood on a busy street corner.

Like the Nexus One, the HD2, and the Droid Incredible, the EVO 4G runs on Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The EVO 4G was pretty speedy in my hands-on tests, even when I had multiple applications open. Applications launched quickly, too, though a few crashed on me (Sprint Football Live and Qik were the offenders).

Though Sprint hasn't released numbers for talk-time or stand-by time, I found that I was able to go a full day with moderate data usage without needing to recharge. 4G connectivity will definitely affect battery life, however, and we'll update our review once we're able to test it.

The HTC EVO 4G represents a huge step forward for both the Android platform and Sprint's 4G network. Unfortunately, it might be a little too ahead of its time, as 4G is fairly limited here in the United States. Aside from that issue, the EVO 4G is a winner with its solid hardware, multimedia capabilities, and speediness. Even if you don't have 4G connectivity in your city, you'll be pleased with this smartphone. But don't say I didn't warn you about that additional $10-per-month fee.





SOURCE:pcworld.com

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Next iPod Touch: 7 Must-Haves

If the latest Apple rumor is true, a new iPod Touch should arrive in September. U.K. retailer John Lewis says we can expect an iPhone 4-inspired device with a front-facing camera, video chat, and a gyroscope.

All good stuff, certainly. But like most rumors, the U.K. report is short on specifics. So why not fill in the blanks with a personal wish list for the next-gen iPod Touch? Here are some features I'd like to see:

1) A really good camera. The new iPod touch will feature a 5-megapixel, front-facing camera with a flash, according to John Lewis. That sure sounds a lot like the iPhone 4's rear-facing camera (5MP, LED sensor, 720p HD video at 30 frames per second). If true, that's great news. A more likely scenario, however, is that the touch adds a VGA-quality (640-by-480 pixel) camera like the iPhone 4's second front-facing cam. Another question: Will the iPod Touch be able to shoot videos and photos, or only videos like the iPod Nano?

2) Video chat with non-Apple users. Face it, as long as FaceTime video chat is limited to the Apple faithful--as is the case today--it'll never rise above novelty status. Steve Jobs has vowed to make FaceTime an open industry standard, but that development could take an eternity (or longer) as standards bodies and tech's major players like Google and Microsoft mull their options. And unfortunately Skype for iPhone, which runs on the iPod touch, doesn't support video calls.


3) Retina display: Apple, bring the iPhone 4's glorious 960-by-640-pixel screen to the iPod Touch. Assuming the Touch adds FaceTime, as well as gyroscope for more advanced gaming, Apple's critically-lauded "retina display" would be a nice match.

4) Faster Wi-Fi: Today's iPod Touch supports 802.11b/g wireless, but not the newer 802.11n spec. According to Samsung, 802.11n Wi-Fi throughput on mobile devices could reach up to 35M bps (bits per second). The iPhone 4 supports 802.11n, as do a growing number of laptops and smartphones. It's the Touch's turn.

5) Built-in microphone: If the iPod Touch adds a video camera, an integrated mic would be essential. Currently, the earphones that ship with the 32GB and 64GB models have a mic and a remote. If the Touch adds a video cam, an earphone-based mic won't cut it.

6) Longer battery life: Apple managed to squeeze a larger battery into the iPhone 4, an upgrade that could mean up to 10 hours of Internet use on a Wi-Fi network. The power-hungry iPod touch could use the extra staying power as well. 

7) 3G option with iPad-style data plan: I know, I know--this isn't going to happen. A 3G-enabled iPod Touch would encroach too far into iPhone 4 territory. Still, a 3G Touch with an AT&T data plan--200MB for $15/month, or 2GB for $25/month--is high on my wish list. Perhaps when pigs fly.



SOURCE: pcworld.com

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iPhone 4 Fiasco: No Easy Fixes For Apple

Pardon the produce-heavy language, but Apple is in one serious pickle.

The company's iPhone 4 antenna debacle has quickly spiraled into an all-out PR disaster. After nearly three solid weeks of customer complaints -- all of which were pooh-poohed by Apple -- Consumer Reports dropped a bomb on Monday when it reported its hardware tests had "confirmed" a problem with the iPhone 4's reception. Apple's stock has already fallen following the news.

"When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side -- an easy thing, especially for lefties -- the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether," Consumer Reports says. "Due to this problem, we can't recommend the iPhone 4."

Apple, of course, is no stranger to conflict and controversy -- hell, the company's practically as famous for its self-righteous ways as it is for its products -- but with the iPhone reception issue, Steve Jobs' team has dug itself into a pretty deep hole. And the prospect of escaping with grace grows more difficult by the day.

Apple's iPhone 4 Antenna Issue: A Problem of Positioning

The problem isn't so much the iPhone 4 antenna issue itself; it's how Apple has responded to it. From the get-go, Apple's maintained that the issue isn't with how it designed the phone, but rather with how everyone else is using it.
Take a deep breath.
First, we have Jobs' infamously terse e-mail responses to customers inquiring about iPhone 4 reception problems. One user described the so-called "grip of death" and asked what could be done; Jobs dismissively replied: "Just avoid holding it in that way." That gem of a note was followed by another classically-Jobsian response: "There is no reception issue."

But it doesn't end there. Apple soon released its own official response to the matter, further downplaying the idea of any defect. 

"Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone," Apple's statement said.

("Except that the antenna is not located in a place where people put their fingers on any other phone," it probably should have added.) 

Next, the Cupertino company came out with an open letter declaring that a problem with the way the iPhone measured signal strength was actually to blame.
"Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong," the letter said. "Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength." 

(Consumer Reports says its findings "call [that claim] into question.")
Finally, in the most sigh-inspiring move of all, Apple appears to have started erasing threads that mention the Consumer Reports study from its official support forums. Go ahead and sigh. I'll wait.

Apple's iPhone 4 Options

Back with me? All right -- so, given that messy foundation, where does Apple go from here? There are really two basic options:
1. Acknowledge that there's a problem with the iPhone 4's antenna. By doing this, the company effectively confesses that either it (a) was previously lying and trying to downplay the issue or (b) got it wrong and doesn't have a clear understanding of its own products. It's sure hard to imagine a guy like Steve Jobs taking either of those stances.
2. Continue to flagrantly ignore the issue and pretend, in one way or another, that the problem doesn't exist. This has been Apple's approach thus far. Now, however, given the lab-driven report by Consumer Reports -- an independent, nonprofit, highly regarded organization -- Apple is going to look pretty ridiculous if it continues maintaining this position. 

It's a lose-lose scenario; Apple has simply dug itself in too deep to emerge from this unscathed. Even a fix of some sort -- be it a full recall or a distribution of free bumper-style cases that'd protect the antennas from direct skin contact -- can't get Apple off scot-free, given everything that's transpired. 

Now, I'm fully aware that the most devoted portion of Apple's fan base -- "Apple fanboys," as they're known -- are fully supportive of Apple's actions. And that's to be expected. But outside of that wildly allegiant group, people are starting to ask questions.

Unfortunately for Apple, I'm not sure there are any good answers.



SOURCE:pcworld.com

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YouTube Mobile Site Trumps Dedicated App

Goodbye YouTube software app, hello YouTube Web app. Google aims to kill off the YouTube mobile software app with a better mobile Web version compatible with iPhone and Android phones. The new YouTube mobile Web site was introduced Wednesday for smartphones and uses higher-quality HMTL5 video, a more polished user interface, and features video search suggestions.

Key Differences With Web App
Since Google doesn't control the native YouTube app on the iPhone -- Apple does -- there are features you won't find in the Web version of YouTube. For example, the native iPhone YouTube app features the 5-star rating system, which the site abandoned in January in favor of thumbs up/down ratings.

Another problem with the native iPhone app is that it uses video streams meant for EDGE (2.5G) connection speeds, which are usually quite blurry -- especially on the iPhone 4's high-res Retina Display. Given the competition between Apple and Google in the smartphone area, perhaps YouTube decided to up the ante with an improved mobile site.

The new YouTube mobile site leverages higher-quality HTML5 videos, which won't open in your dedicated YouTube app anymore. So instead of using the app, Google wants you to use the mobile site (it even allows you to bookmark the page on your home screen by tapping the plus sign at the bottom in Safari and tap "Add to Home Screen").


YouTube Web App Advantages
There are several key advantages of the new YouTube mobile site over the dedicated app. First off, you get higher quality video. I pitted an iPhone (dedicated app) alongside an iPod touch (Web app) and the video quality on the iPod touch was noticeably better.

The YouTube Web app also features search suggestions as you type in the search box, something that is missing from the native app. The Web app makes it easier to comment and rate videos as well, and clips will play within the browser, and fill the screen when the phone is oriented horizontally.

Additionally, any new features YouTube rolls out for its site will be integrated faster in the Web app, rather than waiting for an OS update for your phone to integrate them.

The one hurdle YouTube's mobile site will have to jump is getting iPhone users to add the Web app to their home screen, so that it is easier to access. As seen on TechCrunch, Google has that ground covered -- when you visit the site from your iPhone a pop-up will prompt you to bookmark the site.

In recent weeks Google has also made several updates to the interface for the mobile Gmail Web app that runs on Apple mobile devices, giving users a more solid alternative to the built-in Mail app on iPhones and iPads. This follows the tensions between Apple and Google with the rejected Google Voice app, which took the form of a Web app as well, signalling that the search giant is still trying to reach the huge iOS user base.

If you haven't tried the new YouTube mobile yet, the company made a brief promotional video demonstrating the new features (embedded below).







SOURCE:pcworld

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Samsung Galaxy S: How Does It Measure Up to the Competition?

This spring, Samsung introduced the Samsung Galaxy S, a super Android smartphone to rival the HTC EVO 4G, the various Droids (both Motorola's and HTC's) and of course, the iPhone 4. Versions of the Galaxy S will be making its way to U.S. shores this summer in four different form factors to all four major U.S. carriers. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the original European Galaxy S and did some quick side-by-side comparisons with the other hot phones of the summer.

Design and Display
When I first picked up the Galaxy S, I was amazed with how thin and lightweight it was. I was also surprised by how familiar it looked. The design is actually very iPhone 3GS-like with an all black, shiny plastic body and minimal buttons on the phone's face. It is thinner than both the EVO 4G and the Droid X measuring 0.39-inches thick, but slightly beefier than the ultra-slim 0.37-inch iPhone 4. It is the lightest of the bunch, weighing a scant 4.2 ounces.

The Galaxy S's feather-light weight is due in part to the Super AMOLED technology, which the Samsung first introduced at Mobile World Congress on the Samsung Wave. Super AMOLED technology has touch sensors on the display itself as opposed to creating a separate layer (Samsung's old AMOLED displays had this extra layer) making it the thinnest display technology on the market. Super AMOLED is fantastic; you really have to see it in real life to experience it. Colors burst out of the display and animations appeared lively and smooth.

The Galaxy S' 4-inch display is larger than the iPhone's (3.5-inches), but smaller than the HTC EVO 4G and Motorola Droid X's displays (4.3-inches). Despite its smaller size, the Galaxy S outshined both the Droid X and the EVO 4G in my casual side-by-side comparisons. The side-by-side with the iPhone 4 was a closer call. The iPhone 4's display appeared slightly sharper, but I thought the Galaxy S's colors looked more natural. It is really hard to declare a winner--both displays are stunning.

Samsung TouchWiz 3.0 with Android 2.1
The Samsung Galaxy S runs Android 2.1 (Eclair) with Samsung's own TouchWiz 3.0 user interface. Overall, this version of TouchWiz is a lot better than the version on the Samsung Behold II for T-Mobile, which was slow and difficult to navigate. But while this version is an improvement, I encountered some familiar issues with TouchWiz 3.0. Despite the 1GHz Hummingbird processor, the phone lags when launching apps, flipping through menus and scrolling down contact lists or Web pages. This could be due to the fact that this is a pre-production unit, however, and not everything is in perfect working order.

Like HTC Sense, Samsung has its own social media aggregator. Social Hub combines streams from your Facebook, MySpace and Twitter accounts into a single view. It is a useful feature if you need a simple way to keep track of your networks. One odd feature is Mini Diary, which lets you create blog entries with photos, weather info, texts and more. This would be a great feature if you could actually sync this information to your blog or Facebook profile--but weirdly, you can't.

Camera
We put the Galaxy S's 5-megapixel camera through a modified version of our PCWorld Lab Test for point-and-shoot digital cameras along with the iPhone 4, the Motorola Droid X and the HTC EVO 4G. Unfortunately our test panel was not very impressed with the Galaxy's photo quality. The Galaxy S phone earned the lowest score out of the four and an overall word score of "Fair." It finished ahead of the Evo 4G in terms of exposure quality, but finished in last place in our color accuracy, sharpness, and distortion tests.

On the other hand, it took second place in overall video quality. Its performance was skewed heavily toward good performance in bright light. According to our panel, bright-light footage looked a bit underexposed and slightly grainy in a full-screen view, but great at smaller sizes. The Galaxy S's auto-focus searches a bit before locking onto a crisp image. Its microphone actually picks up audio a bit too well: our audio clip sounded far too loud and blown-out, while it was barely picked up at all by some of the other smartphones in this comparison. In low light, the footage was a bit too murky and undefined to earn a better rating.



SOURCE:PCWORLD.COM

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Droid X vs. iPhone 4: Spec Smackdown

On Wednesday, Motorola introduced the Droid X -- the company's response to the Apple iPhone 4. On Thursday, the iPhone 4 goes on sale. As a result, the digital world has a smartphone smackdown rivaling a wrestling match promoter Vince McMahon might emcee. What follows is a specification comparison between the hardware and software of the Droid X and the iPhone 4. Stay tuned for hands-on testing comparing the two models.

Like the iPhone 4, the Droid X is not a big surprise, as "leaked" images and specifications of the device surfaced on the Web weeks ago.

Image courtesy of WWEBut it's official now: Verizon, Motorola, and Google have launched their latest competitor to the iPhone 4, which created mayhem at pre-ordering stage, with over 600,000 advance sales recorded.

So how does the Motorola Droid X stack up against the Apple iPhone? Ultimately, this is a battle royale between two very different platforms: the iOS from Apple, a walled garden that sees no stopping in growth, and the Android platform, which is quickly catching up by adding powerful devices and galloping software updates.

We will look at some of the key software and hardware features of the iPhone 4 and Droid X, comparing and discussing. Note that, until the Droid X arrives on July 15 (with a price of $199 after a $100 rebate with a two-year contract), we won't be able to do a hands-on comparison, so this a comparison based on listed specifications.

Before we start, you can also have a look at our comparison chart.

Processing Power
Tie

Like most modern smartphones, the Droid X runs on a 1GHz processor. The iPhone 4 runs on the same A4 chip you'll find in the iPad, though the clock speed has not been disclosed. (In the iPad, it's 1GHz.) Both Motorola and Apple have not specified the amount of RAM memory in their devices, but we know so far from a recent teardown of the iPhone 4 that the device features 512MB of RAM, a figure that you can expect from the Droid X as well.

When both phones become available, a proper speed comparison will be in order.
 
Display & Resolution

Winner: iPhone 4

The Motorola Droid X features a 4.3-inch screen, a whole 1.2 inches larger than the iPhone 4's 3.5-inch display. Both devices' displays are multitouch. But the winner in this category has to be the iPhone 4 because it packs more pixels per inch in its 'Retina display' than the Droid X.

The screen on the Droid X might be better for watching videos due to its larger size, but in terms of picture quality, the iPhone 4's higher resolution and IPS screen technology packs the final punch.

Screen size, of course, can be a matter of preference, but most consumers probably won't need the extra screen space on the Droid X, especially when it's at the detriment of image quality. Also, the extra screen estate on the Droid X makes the phone wider, taller, and heavier than the iPhone 4.
 
Storage

Winner: Droid X

The iPhone 4 does not come in a 64GB version, like the iPod touch, but only in 16GB and 32GB models like the previous 3GS generation. The Droid X however, comes with 8GB of storage built-in, as well as with a 16GB microSD card included.

Because the Droid X supports microSD cards up to 32GB, you can extend its storage up to 40GB. The iPhone 4 does not have extendable storage.

Overall, for the $199 base model price, the Droid X comes with 8GB more storage than the iPhone 4 carrying

the same price (the 16GB model).
 
Camera & Multimedia

Draw

We have already seen photo samples taken with the iPhone 4's 5MP camera, and they look great. It has an LED flash for taking pictures in low-light conditions, and it can record 720p HD video. But the Droid X comes with an 8MP camera and a dual LED flash, and it can also record 720p video.

Add to that the HDMI-out port on the Droid X, and Motorola's device wins hands down. The iPhone 4 however, has a couple more tricks up its sleeve here. Apple's device has a front-facing video camera for video calls (a feature missing on the Droid X), and you can purchase, for $4.99, iMovie for iPhone, simply the best mobile video editor seen so far (and exclusive to the iPhone 4).

We'll conduct side-by-side tests of the cameras on these phones in the near future. Until that time, based on the specs alone, we'll call it a draw.
 
Connectivity

Winner: Droid X

In the connectivity department, the Droid X and the iPhone 4 reach a draw -- to a point. Both phones come with Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth, and both devices can be used as a modem (tethering) for $20 extra per month. What the Droid X can do and the iPhone 4 can't is to act like a mobile hotspot. For those extra $20 per month, the Droid X allows you to connect up to five compatible Wi-Fi devices to Verizon's network, such as your laptop, your iPad, or other gadgets.
 
iOS vs. Android

Draw (So Far)

The Droid X might have the edge over the iPhone 4 in terms of hardware overall, but lately consumers are focused on how easy and rich the OS on a smartphone is. In this department, Android is making huge leaps lately, but still has some catching up to do.

Usability aside, the problem with the Droid X is that it won't ship with the latest version of Android (2.2) on July 15, but only with the current Android 2.1. This means that only in sometime "late summer," when the Droid X goes Android 2.2, will the phone have full Adobe Flash support (something you won't find on an iPhone any time soon).

Multitasking arrived in iOS 4 as well, so Android doesn't have that advantage over the iPhone anymore, either. Same goes for applications, as Apple's App Store reigns supreme with over 225,000 apps, while Motorola says Android Market has over 65,000.

A cool trick the Droid X will have, one not yet available on iOS, is Swype, a system that allows you to enter data on the software keyboard without lifting your finger off the screen. Swype is the default data-entry mode, but you can also use a regular multitouch software keyboard on the Droid X.
Other Things to Keep in Mind

A notable feature now present on the Droid X is noise cancellation technology, which is supposed to improve call quality by blocking other sounds around you except your voice. The iPhone 4 has two microphones, one of which is used for noise cancellation, while the Droid X boasts three. How these features will behave in real-life tests has yet to be seen.

And of course, last but not least, the iPhone 4 vs. Droid X battle is not only a challenge between Apple, Motorola, and Google. It is also a competition between the country's two largest wireless carriers, Verizon and AT&T. The latter is well known for dropped calls and poor reception in some areas, while Verizon mocks AT&T over its lesser 3G coverage and overall mediocre network stability.

Note that both the iPhone 4 and Droid X feature revamped internals and antennae structures to tackle reception issues, but AT&T still remains with a bruised eye in comparison to overseas iPhone users, who don't experience network problems like their U.S. counterparts.


SOURCE:pcworld.com

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Apple Sells 3 Million iPads in 80 Days

Apple says it has sold 3 million iPads in just 80 days, validating the tablet computer's popularity among consumers and business users.

Sales of the iPad have been hot from the start, with the company passing 2 million sales mark in under 2 months and the 1 million mark in 28 days.

"People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We're working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world, including those in nine more countries next month."

Initially a Wi-Fi version of the Apple iPad was introduced, followed shortly by a 3G edition of the tablet device, which boasts 5 antennas.

Apple says more than 11,000 new apps have been developed for the iPad that exploit its touchscreen interface and large color-friendly screen (the device also runs most apps built for the iPhone and iPod touch). Some have pointed out that the iPad apps come at a premium cost.


One sign that the iPad has really made it already is that malware has already started to pop up in an attempt to scam users and hackers have targeted email addresses of iPad customers.

Also read: Apple iPad vs. Amazon Kindle, one of networking's greatest arguments

The iPad isn't just winning over consumers, but it's also showing up in business settings. A slew of iPads could be seen being used by exhibitors and attendees at the recent Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston, for example, and even the Boston Celtics IT director was using one as he prepped the tech infrastructure for the team's NBA Finals games.

The iPad's explosive sales come at a time when there's no slowdown in demand either for Apple's iPhone 4, with its new iOS 4 operating system.

The Apple iPad's popular has spurred a slew of developments by rivals, including lots of new devices being rolled out at trade shows like the recent Computex. One other development: vendors of eBook readers have started dropping prices as a way to combat iPad mania. Meanwhile, some say the iPad and other tablets will kill off netbooks, which until recently themselves had been looked at as PC killers.



SOURCE:pcworld.com

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Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 Sent to Phone Makers

Adobe Systems plans to release the final version of Flash Player 10.1 for smartphones on Tuesday, but very few people will be able to use it right away.

Flash Player 10.1 is designed to offer a consistent user experience across laptops, desktops, tablets, phones and televisions. The player for desktops became available June 10.

Users of phones running Android 2.2 will be the first to get the player, said Anup Muraka, director of technology strategy at Adobe. The trouble is that version 2.2 has so far only been pushed out to review units of one phone model, the Nexus One. All Nexus One phones, Motorola's Droid and other Android models are expected to get the operating system soon.

Adobe also is releasing the final version of the player to partners including Research In Motion, Palm, Symbian and Microsoft; however, it's unclear yet which phones currently on the market might get it.

"We have to work with each platform company to figure out which phones can support it," said Muraka. If existing phones can handle it, Adobe will work with the phone makers to determine how to distribute the player to users.

"We may not see a huge number of these devices available on Tuesday, but the pipeline for Christmas, CES, Mobile World Congress next year is really exciting," he said. The Consumer Electronics Show and Mobile World Congress are two large conferences early in the year where many phone makers announce new products

The software can be pushed out to users over the air or it can be made available in application stores whereusers can choose to download it, he said.

It will also be possible for an operating system provider to display a pop-up for users who visit a Web site that requires Flash Player 10.1, explaining that they need the player and letting them download it immediately, he said. That would work similarly to the way computer operating systems allow people to download the most recent Flash Players when they visit sites that require it.




Otherwise, Flash Player 10.1 will be built into new phones that may appear by the end of the year or early next, Muraka said.




Flash Player 10.1 for mobile phones will support multitouch, gestures, soft keyboards and other input methods like accelerometers, he said. It will incorporate some other new features aimed at simplifying viewing Web pages on small devices. For instance, double tapping on a Flash object on a page will automatically zoom in on the object, he said.


Still, he cautioned that Flash Player 10.1 doesn't have loads of new features. "This release is redesigned from the ground up to build a new foundation that not just scales across the Mac, Windows and Linux, but for the first time supports a wide range of mobile and emerging TV platforms," he said. "While there may not be the usual long list of new features, that foundation is critical to upcoming growth and features coming in future versions."


Adobe listed a number of high-profile companies that support the newest version of the Flash Player including Dell, Samsung, Google, RIM, HTC, Arm, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Intel and Texas Instruments. Content partners that said they're happy for the new release include Turner, Viacom, HBO, MSNBC and Photobucket.


One company notably absent is Apple, which has publicly derided Adobe and is pushing the next-generation HTML 5 instead. Many content producers have been willing to recreate or format their content for display on Apple's iPhone and iPad. But many haven't, as is evident in a comment made by Forrester Research analyst Jeffrey Hammond in a blog post about Flash Player 10.1. He tested it on his Nexus One and wrote: "I think it's great to not have to deal with 'little blue cubes' on the sites I visit every day." Instead of content, iPhone users see blue boxes on pages designed with Flash.


Still, Apple's stance throws a wrench in Adobe's strategy. "[Adobe] realized there was an opportunity in the market and they got ahead of the game and positioned themselves to be the cross-platform form factor across mobile and desktop," said Al Hilwa, an analyst with IDC. "They thought it was just a matter of implementing those variations but it turned out it's not just that. The owners of the platforms like [Apple's CEO Steve] Jobs have to say we'll use it, and he didn't," he said.


However, all of the major platforms except the iPhone are supporting Flash Player 10.1. That means that developers who wish to make their content available to most smartphones will be able to use Flash to cover most devices, creating separate content or applications for iPhone users.


Adobe's battle with Apple points to the challenges that software makers face in the mobile market, a challenge that not just Adobe faces. "It's not like in the desktop world where they could do all the work themselves and release it," said Hilwa. "They have to work hand in hand with the device makers. That's the nature of mobile software. It's gated through the device makers so it's a much more complicated integration story."








SOURCE :pcworld.com

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