The Sony Xperia go just can’t catch a break – the durable Android handset was tortured in the summer and now the same guys are back to torment it in winter conditions. The poor guy was thrown around, ran over, jumped on, bashed, dunked and put through other trials.
The Xperia go sports an IP67 certification, giving it dust and water resistance, but it also seems to handle subzero temperatures quite well.
By the way, the Xperia go is sold as Xperia advance in the US where it’s $250 unlocked.
Microsoft’s latest mobile OS is getting ready for prime time and the ailing HTC is marketing its Windows Phone 8X as the “signature” Windows Phone 8 handset. We already reviewed the 8X, now it’s time to see how long it lasts in our battery test.
The HTC 8X has an 1800mAh Li-Ion battery and a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 chipset – virtually the same specs as AT&T’s One X, expect for the smaller screen (4.3″ vs. 4.7″).
During the call test, the screen is off, so it’s not a factor and the HTC Windows Phone 8X actually manages to beat the One X (which is sold as One XL outside the US). It also beats the Tegra 3-based One X, the Samsung Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5. Good start for the 8X.
Talk time
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 21:18
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24
Motorola RAZR i 20:07
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 16:57
LG Optimus G 15:30
Huawei Ascend P1 12:30
Samsung Galaxy Note 12:14
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 11:58
HTC Windows Phone 8X 11:07
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 11:07
HTC One X (AT&T, LTE) 10:35
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:20
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 10:15
HTC One V 10:00
Meizu MX 4-core 10:00
HTC One X 9:57
HTC One S 9:42
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 9:40
HTC Sensation XL 9:30
Nokia Lumia 710 9:05
Motorola Atrix HD 9:04
HTC Vivid 9:02
HTC Rhyme 8:48
Apple iPhone 5 8:42
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 8:42
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 8:41
Meizu MX 8:39
Samsung Galaxy S II 8:35
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 8:28
Nokia Lumia 800 8:25
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 8:23
HTC Desire V 8:20
Samsung Captivate Glide 8:20
Sony Xperia T 8:15
HTC Rezound (LTE) 8:10
Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE) 8:02
LG Optimus Vu 7:57
LG Optimus 4X HD 7:41
Apple iPhone 4S 7:41
Samsung i937 Focus S 7:25
HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE) 7:21
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 7:14
Sony Xperia acro S 7:09
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 7:09
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 6:57
Nokia N9 6:57
HTC Radar 6:53
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 6:53
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:52
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 5:54
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE) 5:53
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:52
Sony Xperia P 5:33
Nokia 808 PureView 5:16
LG Nitro HD (LTE) 5:16
HTC Titan II (LTE) 5:10
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:00
Pantech Burst 4:46
Next up is web browsing and with a time of 6 hours, the Windows Phone 8-powered 8X manages to beat its Android cousin. The screen size makes a big difference here, though. The HTC Windows Phone 8X is the top half of the table, but lags the best in the category by a pretty wide margin.
Web browsing
Apple iPhone 5 9:56
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 9:12
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 7:23
HTC Radar 7:17
Motorola RAZR i 7:06
Apple iPhone 4S 6:56
HTC One V 6:49
Motorola Atrix HD 6:40
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:40
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 6:27
Samsung i937 Focus S 6:15
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:01
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:56
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 5:53
Pantech Burst 5:51
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 5:45
HTC Desire V 5:44
HTC Evo 4G LTE 5:41
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 5:34
Sony Xperia T 5:33
Samsung Captivate Glide 5:33
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 5:28
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE 5:24
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 5:23
HTC Sensation XL 5:20
Meizu MX 4-core 5:19
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 5:17
Sony Xperia acro S 5:16
HTC Rezound 5:16
LG Optimus G 5:15
HTC Rhyme 5:08
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 5:07
HTC One X (AT&T) 5:03
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 4:50
LG Optimus Vu 4:49
HTC Vivid 4:46
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 4:45
Meizu MX 4:35
Nokia N9 4:33
Samsung Galaxy S II 4:24
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 4:20
HTC One X 4:18
Nokia 808 PureView 4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 4:10
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T 4:10
Nokia Lumia 800 4:07
HTC Titan II (LTE) 4:05
HTC One S 4:03
BlackBerry Bold 9790 4:02
LG Nitro HD 4:00
LG Optimus 4X HD 3:59
Sony Xperia P 3:59
Nokia Lumia 710 3:51
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 3:47
Samsung Galaxy Note 3:35
Huawei Ascend P1 3:23
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3:01
In our third test, video playback, the HTC Windows Phone 8X matched the score of the One X for AT&T. On the other hand the droid has a 0.4″ bigger screen, so the WP8 handset was expected to do better.
Video playback
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 16:35
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 14:17
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 11:27
Apple iPhone 5 10:12
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:01
Nokia 808 PureView 9:53
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 9:42
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 9:34
HTC One S 9:28
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 9:27
Apple iPhone 4S 9:24
HTC Evo 4G LTE 9:07
Nokia N9 8:40
Samsung Galaxy Note 8:25
Motorola RAZR i 8:11
Samsung Galaxy S II 8:00
Samsung i937 Focus S 7:55
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 7:52
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 7:45
Huawei Ascend P1 7:38
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 7:33
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE 7:30
LG Optimus G 7:16
Meizu MX 4-core 6:33
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:27
HTC Desire V 6:26
HTC One X (AT&T) 6:26
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 6:25
LG Optimus Vu 6:23
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 6:21
HTC Sensation XL 6:12
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 6:06
Samsung Captivate Glide 6:04
Sony Xperia ion LTE 6:03
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 6:02
Sony Xperia T 6:01
Motorola Atrix HD 6:01
HTC Vivid 6:00
HTC Radar 5:54
Nokia Lumia 800 5:52
HTC Titan II 5:50
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:47
HTC One X 5:45
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 5:44
Sony Xperia acro S 5:38
Pantech Burst 5:38
Meizu MX 5:27
HTC Rhyme 5:23
HTC One V 5:20
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T 5:18
BlackBerry Curve 9380 5:09
HTC Rezound 5:03
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 4:30
Sony Xperia P 4:30
LG Nitro HD 4:17
LG Optimus 4X HD 4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 3:28
Nokia Lumia 710 3:27
The HTC Windows Phone 8X is showing slightly above average performance so far, but the truth is it has a serious issue – standby power usage. We re-ran the test and the result came out the same – if you leave the 8X in the drawer with 3G and Wi-Fi on, the battery will drain completely in 59 hours.
We calculated an endurance rating of 31 hours – that is the time you go from 100% battery charge to 0% if you do an hour each of talking, browsing and watching videos every day. You can read more about how we do battery tests here.
Basically, the HTC 8X won’t last very long whether you use it or not. It will loose a good 12% while you’re sleeping, so you best remember to switch Wi-Fi off before going to bed.
The Nokia Lumia 510 aims to be the company’s most affordable Lumia handset, but still bring excellent features like a 4″ screen and a 5MP autofocus wide angle amera. It will run Windows Phone 7.5 at first (complete with Nokia Drive navigation), but it should get the WP7.8 update too.
The first promo video is already out, giving you the lowdown on the newest Lumia member, check it out after the break.
The Nokia Lumia 510 will launch in November in China and India with an estimated price of $200 before taxes and subsidies. What the video doesn’t tell you is that the phone will have only 256MB RAM and 4GB of non-expandable storage. Still, it looks pretty good for its price.
HTC rolls out a new version of the HTC J -- the J Butterfly. The handset will be exclusive to Japan, but comes with a screen that will make the world envious. It's 5-inch display comes packed to the brim with 440ppi resolution.
HTC brought its latest creation to Tokyo today, and now we’re wondering how long it takes a butterfly to fly over the Pacific Ocean. The HTC J Butterfly is the new flagship handset from the Taiwanese phone maker and it comes fully equipped with a screen that you just can’t help but to stare at. There’s plenty to see with the 5-inch HD Super LCD 3 display that is ready to run at 1080p — the highest resolution yet for a phone.
The screen isn’t the only attraction on the J Butterfly, the successor to the HTC J. The black-and-red skinned phone will come running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It’s powered by a 1.5GHz Snapdragon quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM and is equipped with a 2020mAh battery that will have its work cut out for it. It’s also loaded with an 8-megapixel camera with a f/2.0 lens. All of this is housed within a thickness of 9.1mm. A quick comparison of the specs makes the J Butterfly most comparable to the One X, the crowd-pleasing offering from HTC released earlier this year.
It’s that screen that puts the J Butterfly in the league of its own, though. The HTC One X came with an impressive Super LCD screen that was worthy of comparison with the best displays on the market. The J Butterfly aims to float above the competition, and may well do so. It’s promising a resolution that reaches 440-pixels per inch (ppi). For comparison purposes, the iPhone 5 sits at 326ppi. I’d hate to be the guy that has to try to pack all those pixels in. That’s how those things work, right?
The J Butterfly will be exclusive to the Japanese market, but that doesn’t mean the Super LCD 3 screen won’t find its way on the front of some U.S.-bound handsets. Until then, we’ll just have to look forward to the day we can wipe the drool off our screen.
The promo video for the freshly announced, Full HD display-packing HTC J butterfly has been released. Naturally, the short video clip is focused on the handset’s design and hardware highlights, with the 5″ 1080p getting the most attention.
It is needless to say that we are quite jealous that this monster of a smartphone is exclusive for the Japanese carrier AU/KDDI for the time being. We are however, more than certain that we will see its brand new, stunning Super LCD3 display, as well as its new internals make their way to more HTC devices in the nearest future.
Announced at yesterday’s glitzy event, the Verizon Wireless exclusive Motorola DROID RAZR M is the first of the trio of announced devices to become commercially available. The LTE sporting handset is the baby in the new DROID RAZR family, but don’t be deceived – it is just as powerful as its bigger brothers.
The Motorola DROID RAZR M is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset, featuring two Krait CPU cores, clocked at 1.5GHz. There’s a gig of RAM on board and 8GB of built-in memory, which can be further expanded through a microSD card slot. The DROID RAZR M’s display is a familiar sight – it is the same 4.3” PenTile Super AMOLED unit with qHD resolution, found in the original DROID RAZR. The camera is an 8MP unit with FullHD recording capability. A 2MP unit at the front will help you with the video calls. The smartphone is powered by a beefy 2000mAh battery.
Visually, the newbie is easily identifiable as a member of the Motorola RAZR family. The back is covered by Kevlar, while the front sports the easily identifiable chromed-looking earpiece.
Thanks to its practically edgeless screen, the Motorola DROID RAZR M sports extremely elegant measures. They are 122.5 x 60.9 x 8.3 mm, while the handset’s weight is 126 grams.
The build quality of the smartphone is superb. The DROID RAZR M is not metal clad as its bigger brothers, but it still feels well crafted. The exposed bolts on the handset’s sides are a great new touch, which further enhances the phone’s quality appearance.
Software wise, the Motorola DROID RAZR M boots Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which has been lightly skinned in a fashion similar to what we saw with the Atrix HD for AT&T. A Jelly Bean updates has been promised to arrive by the end of the year. Curiously, the handset comes with Google Chrome for Android preinstalled instead of the stock ICS browser.
Sony brought so many new smartphones to IFA that we almost forgot about the Xperia miro. Almost. The handset was announced back in June and is expected to hit the market next month, but it was showcased at the company’s booth.
Specs-wise the Xperia miro has lots of common internals with the Xperia tipo but offers two major upgrades – a 0.3″ bigger LED-backlit LCD screen and a 5 megapixel snapper. Thanks to the LED-backlit upgrade, the phone is also thinner and lighter.
The phone has escaped Sony’s square design, but is still pretty nicely looking for an entry-level device.
Sony Xperia miro hands-on
There are no metallic parts on the Xperia miro’s body, but the plastic used for its panels seems quite solid and feels decent to touch. The battery cover attracts almost no fingerprints and smudges.
Sony Xperia miro hands-on
Xperia miro runs on Android 4.0 ICS skinned with Sony’s familiar user interface on top. There are no surprises within the software department – we’ve seen this combo in action a few times already.
Got an iPhone 4S? Looking to buy an iPhone 5? Apple is willing to pay you up to $345 for your old 4S handset, depending on its condition and specs.
Of course, Apple hasn’t yet made any official announcement on the subject of its next-generation iPhone; the company will, as usual, make no mention of it until it actually comes to mention it on stage in front of a crowd of adoring, expectant fans. That’s how Apple works. It likes to keep you hanging on. And hanging on.
The heavily smoking iPhone rumor mill is currently turning so fast that it’s in danger of coming loose and rolling out of view, but as things stand, it seems fairly well agreed upon among Apple-watchers that the phone, possibly called the iPhone 5 (or simply the ‘new iPhone’, or something else altogether…) will be unveiled on September 12 and go on sale September 21.
The company has also given a subtle hint that things are afoot with the news it’s now offering to buy your iPhone 4S from you for $345, because of course, as soon as the latest device shows up, you won’t be wanting the old model anymore, will you?
The Next Web happened upon the offer, which is part of Apple’s buy-back scheme, officially known as the Apple Recycling Program. A spick-and-span 64GB 4S phone will net you $345 – albeit in the form of an Apple gift certificate.
You’ll need to fill out a short online questionnaire to see how much it’s worth – eg. Has it been water damaged? Does the battery fully charge? Any scratches? If you’ve treated it like you would a newborn baby (ie. with great care), then you might be able to secure top dollar, but who really has such a perfect-looking phone?
Bear in mind that the online questionnaire is just a guide – a full assessment is made by Apple once it receives the handset. Of course, if your answers are honest and accurate, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t receive a gift certificate equivalent to what the online evaluator came up with. Of course, you’d be wise to check out other trade-in options, such as Gazelle, which might offer a better price.
Once the next-generation iPhone is unveiled, do you think your 4S is suddenly going to feel extremely old?
Five leaked tutorial videos surfaced on YouTube over the weekend allegedly revealing Motorola’s new flagship Android handset, the Motorola Razr HD.
Motorola and Verizon are due to host an event on September 5 and we’re beginning to think that the Motorola Razr HD will be unveiled. Five leaked Razr HD tutorials were posted on YouTube over the weekend and soon popped up on Droid Life and other websites, but they have since been removed and the user account responsible for posting them has been closed.
None of the videos explicitly mention the Motorola RAZR HD and details are scant. The tutorials explained how to set up email, messaging, and Wi-Fi, along with a few other bits and pieces, like battery saving tricks. The phone appears to be running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with a MotoBlur overlay, just like the UI on the Motorola Atrix HD.
Nokia and Microsoft are also set to make a joint announcement at a press conference on September 5. It seems likely that it will involve a new line of Nokia Windows Phone 8 devices. The timing is clearly not accidental and Motorola and Verizon will be aiming to steal their thunder – the invitations they sent out for their event say “Motorola. On Display. Join us for the day’s main event.”
A restaurant in Los Angeles is offering a 5 percent discount to diners willing to hand over their handset for the duration of the meal. The owner says he wants people to connect again (with the person sitting opposite them rather than with someone in another part of the country).
There was a time when visiting a restaurant with a friend meant enjoying a tasty meal together and having an engaging conversation. Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones, however, it’s now also about texting a friend between the starter and the main, taking a call from a co-worker mid-meal, tweeting a photo of the dessert, and firing off an email during the post-dinner coffee. Of course, a review of the eatery posted online even before you’re out the door is also obligatory.
If both of you are at it, no one gets hurt, but it kind of defeats the whole point of going to a restaurant with a friend, does it not?
Discount
One restaurant owner/chef in Los Angeles has decided to encourage people to once again enjoy the company of their fellow diners by offering a 5 percent discount on their check if they hand over their phone before the first course is served.
Southern California radio station KPCC reported that Mark Gold, who runs Eva restaurant on Beverly Boulevard, is hoping to create a more homely atmosphere by giving patrons the chance to enjoy their meal without the possibility of a handset interrupting the flow of the dining experience.
“For us, it’s really not about people disrupting other guests. Eva is home, and we want to create that environment of home, and we want people to connect again,” Gold told KPCC. “It’s about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and we’re trying to create an ambience where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company.”
Gold added that so far just under half of the diners visiting his restaurant have taken up the offer, though he failed to mention whether anyone had broken into a cold sweat halfway through the main course, begging to have their phone returned.
Phone Stack
Earlier this year another Californian man, Brian Perez, also had an idea to get diners looking at each other again, instead of at their handsets, creating a game called Phone Stack. The idea is that after taking your seat, everyone places their mobile in the center of the table. The first person who grabs their device during the meal, regardless of the reason, has to take care of the check.
How do you feel about Mark Gold’s idea of taking your phone away for the duration of the meal? Could you handle it? Or does the thought of being separated from your handset for even just a few minutes fill you with dread?
