Micromax A110 vs Spice Stellar Virtuoso Mi-495 Specs Comparison

Micromax A110 vs Spice Stellar Virtuoso: The first one between the duos has been in the market for a while. In just couple of months of time the phablet has taken Micromax in a next level. In all respect it’s compact; but few customers are not happy with the 512 MB RAM. They just want at least 1 GB RAM. Others areas are appreciated by those customers too. Therefore, it’s understandable Micromax is planning something similar. May be a quad core beast with 1 GB RAM is coming soon. But before Micromax tries their luck Spice decided to launch a new smartphone, Spice Stellar Virtuoso or Spice Mi-495 with dual core processor and 512 MB RAM. iBall started a new trend with Andi 4.5H where 1 GB RAM supplied with dual core processor. You can check out the comparison between Micromax A110 vs iBall Andi 4.5H here. In this post I will compare Micromax A110 vs Spice Mi-495 to make it easier for you to understand which of these handsets is better choice for you-

1. Micromax A110 vs Spice Stellar: Performance Comparison

Well, both these beats are built on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich platform. MediaTek MT6577 is common in both handsets. The Soc couples 1 GHz clocked Cortex A9 processor cores and PowerVR SGX531 GPU. According to benchmark scores this is not the best GPU out there for gaming. But 1 GB RAM certainly increases the level of multitasking and gaming compatibility. Canvas 2 runs most of the games out there in market i.e. NFS Most Wanted, MC3 etc. Therefore, you can expect better gaming experience from the Spician. Quite surprisingly, iBall Andi 4.5H scores less in Quadrant and Nenamark 2 benchmark tests. In Antutu benchmark test it beats the Micromax phablet handsomely.  Therefore, without checking out the scores we can’t conclude anything. Consider both offers similar performance in real life.

2. Micromax A110 vs Spice Stellar: Display comparison

This is the other area where you will see some distinguishing features. Display size is bonus to many users while some prefer smaller display. The gamers would love 5 inch IPS LCD display of Micromax A110. Internet surfing or reading contents is easier and convenient in bigger display. However, Stellar Virtuoso is not that small. You can manage everything in it. But the overall dimension if small and slightly convenient to carry while you are on the go. Canvas 2 is using IPS LCD display panel whereas Spice Mi-495 is using TFT LCD or TN LCD Panel. IPS LCD enhances viewing angles which is very effective in real life. But in Mi-495 slightly small display size will increase the number of pixels in display which simply suggests better color rendering. One more thing in addition, Spice Mi-495 supports qHD 540×960 pixels whereas Micromax A110 supports FWVGA 480×854 pixels. Here the Spice model gets an edge.

Micromax A110 vs Spice Stellar Virtuoso

	Micromax A110	Spice Stellar Virtuoso	winner
Operating System	Android 4.0.4 ICS	Android 4.0.4 ICS	Tied
Performance	MediaTek MT6577, Dual 1 GHz Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX531 GPU, 512 MB RAM	MediaTek MT6577, Dual 1 GHz Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX531 GPU, 512 MB RAM	Mi-495
Display Type	IPS LCD, 480×854 pixels resolution	TFT LCD, 540×960 pixels resolution	Mi-495 for higher resolution, although IPS LCD offers better viewing angles
Display Size	5 inch	4.5 inch	A110
Sensors	G-sensor, proximity	G-sensor, proximity	Tied
Storage	4 GB, 2 GB free, 512 MB for apps, micro SD card support 32 GB	4 GB, 1.55 GB free and 0.98 GB for apps, micro SD card support 32 GB	Tied
Camera	8 MP rear, LED flash, auto focus, front camera VGA	8 MP rear, LED flash, auto focus, front camera  1.3 MP	Tied
Connectivity	Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, micro USB 2.0, USB OTG	Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, micro USB 2.0	Tied
Speed	GPRS/EDGE Class, 3G speed 7.2 Mbps HSDPA	GPRS/EDGE Class, 3G speed 7.2 Mbps HSDPA	Tied
Battery	2000 mAh	1700 mAh	A110
Music, Video Player	Yes, no Sound Enhancement	Yes, no Sound Enhancement	Tied
FM Radio	Yes	Yes	Tied
SIM Card	Dual Standby	Dual Standby	Tied

Final Conclusion: Micromax A110 or Spice Stellar Virtuoso Mi-495

Well, you have seen that Spice Mi-495 lacks any such hardware so that it can dislodge Micromax A110 from the number one spot. It’s too early to predict the future as we have not seen the performance of the handset in real time. From outset it looks brilliant. It might perform similar to MMX A110. Benchmark scores are yet to come. Best part of Micromax A110 Canvas 2 is it has larger community base, couple of custom ROMs. It’s already proven but the other one is yet to pass the satisfaction level of users. Let’s hope the competition continues for longer period.

Best 10 mobiles in the world

 

10. Samsung Galaxy S2

The king is dead - and the former number one phone in the world continues to slide down the rankings. That's not to take anything away from a cracking phone that is getting to a really low price these days, but it's nothing compared to its successor.
Make no mistake - this is still a great phone, thanks to the Ice Cream Sandwich update, and the design has moved from cool to iconic pretty quickly. However, we're still not sure when or even if the S2 will get an update to Jelly Bean, while those below it have all been confirmed (well, apart from the iPhone 5, obviously).
What we love about the Samsung Galaxy S II is the sheer amount of stuff that's packed in under the chassis - but more important is the way Samsung has used all that tech to create a phone that just works near-flawlessly.
The dual-core 1.2GHz processor, the Super AMOLED plus screen and the excellent sonic performance of the media player all combine to make a real doozy of a mobile phone.
Recording in 1080p is a nice touch (given that it actually works most of the time) and the camera is more than enough to take great shots in a short space of time - although we suggest you check out the phones lower in this list for more powerful snappers.
In short, be it internet browsing, navigation, media, or social networking- the Samsung Galaxy S2 is still more than good enough for all those functions in one phone.

Quick verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S2 has sold over many millions of units worldwide - and it's showing no sign of slowing down in the popularity stakes, so it stays in the top ten for now.
It's a cracking media mobile, still next generation in web browsing thanks to slick Flash integration, a very good replacement for a pocket camcorder and, goshdarnit, it makes calls pretty well too.
The Samsung Galaxy S II not only set a new bar for smartphones in 2011; it smashed the bar, recreated it in its own image and even managed to see off the competition of an Apple smartphone that doesn't drop signal all over the place - but now it's been usurped by a more powerful device.

9. Sony Xperia T

 

The Sony Xperia T takes over from the Sony Xperia S as the Japanese company's new flagship device, but borrows the design found on the popular, but now aging Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Arc S.
It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, with a 4.6-inch display boasting Sony's Bravia TV technology and on the back of the handset you'll find the 13MP camera – one of this phone's best features.
Sony has produced another impressive smartphone that offers the functionality and performance we're looking for in a top-level handset.
That being said, when compared with the earlier Sony Xperia S, or some of the other flagship Android handsets, the difference is negligible.

Quick verdict

The Sony Xperia T is a very, very good phone. Everything about it is slick and well-executed and the performance is certainly what we expect from a £400 device.
However, the Xperia S was a very, very good phone. When a new model comes out, we look for it to improve upon the previous one and unfortunately, hand on heart; this doesn't improve on the last generation of smartphones as much as it should - so that's why it just pips the S, but doesn't challenge the leading pack in our top 10.
 

8. Nokia Lumia 920

 

What's better than a top Windows Phone 7 handset? A Windows Phone 8 one, and we've got no qualms about telling you this is the best Windows Phone out there.
Simplicity is the key here, the Lumia 920 does the basics well, from contact integration and calling, to web browsing and messaging.
The 8MP camera on the back of the Lumia 920 is one of the best we've used and for anyone looking to get a top end cameraphone you need to seriously consider this Nokia.
The 4.5-inch display is also a good'un, crisp and clear it makes watching movies, surfing the web or Facebook stalking an enjoyable experience, thanks to the PureMotion HD technology on offer.
And you can even use it with gloves on... what more could you want? You're right: holograms. But they don't exist yet.

Quick verdict

The Nokia Lumia 920 is a worthy ambassador for Windows Phone 8 and if the Finnish firm continue to build and improve on this handset, it could well make a glorious return to the mobile market.
It's not got the clout to take on the likes of the Galaxy S3 just yet, but there's not doubt in our minds that the once-great brand is slowly getting closer to the summit.

7. LG Optimus 4X HD

If we didn't live in a world where we have the Galaxy S3 and the HTC One X, there is no doubt about it – the LG Optimus 4X HD would be one of the best phones out there. Its specs are fantastic.
The trouble is, LG has released this handset six months too late, which means it doesn't offer anything mind-blowing or really that alternative.
However, it's a media powerhouse, has sleek lines and has power in spades - plus a better battery than the One X, with the same chipset.
In summary, we do recommend it – it's a cracking piece of kit. And if you can get it on a good deal, we say 'go for it', but there's no real reason to pick this over a Samsung Galaxy SIII, an HTC One X or even a One S, with the last option impressing hugely on the design front.

Quick verdict

A fantastic phone that really joins the benchmark level set a few months ago, rather than breaking new ground. It's been usurped by the much-cheaper Google Nexus 4, so unless you're a massive fan of the user interface (which is still pretty good) you'll probably enjoy the stock Android experience more.

6. HTC One S

There are few phones we play with where we think that we have the complete package and would happily give five stars. The HTC One S would have had five stars had it not been for the 16GB memory cap and non-HD screen.
The phone actually climbs a place in today's rankings, thanks to a promised upgrade to Jelly Bean and a continuing drop in price... plus the more we fondle it, the more we realise this is the best-designed phone on the planet.
We'd have even settled for 32GB in the absence of an expansion card slot. If you're a music lover, you're much better off with the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Or check out the HTC One X if you're after a little bit more bang for your buck... although you'll need to spend more bucks to actually get the HD screen and quad-core processor in your pocket.
But let's not get caught up with negativity here: if you're not bothered about a massive memory (which most people aren't), you probably can't do much better now. The HTC One S is a beautiful handset blessed with beautiful capabilities and is already available at very palatable price points.

Quick verdict

HTC could have launched the One S and not bothered with the One X in many ways - it's a beautiful handset blessed with a nice skin and the latest version of Android in the shape of Ice Cream Sandwich.
It's more of an evolution of the HTC Sensation range: slimmed down, nicer finish and far more feature-rich - and you will struggle to put it down once you've popped it in your hand.

5. Samsung Galaxy Note 2

It hasn't even been a year since the original Samsung Galaxy Note launched. Many (including us, we admit) were not convinced. Who on earth would want something so big to make their calls and surf the internet, even with a glorified stylus? Cue awkward silence.
Millions of you, it would appear. The Galaxy Note sold by the bucketload, so how do you follow that up? With something better, of course - the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
Faster, stronger, better looking, and more functional, the Galaxy Note 2 is better connected than ever, and thanks to that increased screen size (up to an eye-bulging 5.5-inches), now takes the crown in our eyes as the perfect media player.
Samsung has achieved something special here, because it has made the Galaxy Note 2 bigger than the original, but pulls it off so that you don't notice it too much and the fact that it launches running Android Jelly Bean and has such grunt with that quad-core processor makes this a class-leading phone.

Quick verdict

As a phone, it's big, but once you get over that, if you can, it's great. As a PMP, it really does excel, and as a web communicator, it is almost second to none (though we can't fully get the taste of Flash absence out of our mouth).
Ultimately, there's no getting away from the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a niche device. But it does almost everything it sets out to do perfectly, with grace, class and maximum functionality. And if you're in the market for a larger smartphone or a small tablet, there really is no better device.

4. Google Nexus 4

Google and LG have worked together to bring to market a fantastic offering. We showed it to two friends who are both Apple fans. The kind of people who shower in holy water if they're exposed to Android. Both of them were smitten.
The fact of the matter is that this is a handset with world class specs – yet it's at a price you'd expect to get a budget phone for. Sure, there are a few things that could have been done better, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.
The Nexus 4 is beautifully designed with a stunning display and rocking the latest version of Android. It has more connectivity than a BT Telephone Exchange and even excels in the simple matter of making telephone calls.
We're not fans of the lower memory allowance, and it's not got the best screen on the market, and there will be a few that see Android 4.2 as too stripped-down to consider it a valid phone OS choice, more a platform for the big hitters to build on.
But that doesn't mean it's not a fantastic handset - it would have competed even without the stupidly low price tag.

Quick verdict

Make no mistake – this is the best Nexus handset so far by a long shot. We love it and can't recommend it highly enough. It is seriously a contender for our best smartphone of 2012, although it's fallen just short ahead of intense competition. If you're due a new phone, you should check the Google Nexus 4 out without delay.

3. iPhone 5

Did you see this one coming? The iPhone 5 in at third place in our rankings? Some thought higher, some thought lower - it depends on your level of Apple bias.
Never has a company polarised opinion in the smartphone world like Apple - and with the iPhone 5, so many are quick to decry it while others know it to be the smartphone they've been waiting for.
And let's make no bones about it: this is a stunning phone, with a gorgeous two-tone finish, a superbly high-res screen that's been extended to four inches and an efficient yet powerful core.
The iOS 6 update is a good one, and while some feel it to be ageing slightly, many see it as doing exactly what they want... and given Apple has built it smartphone reputation on simplicity, this makes sense.
However, it's not all cookies and cream for Apple, as it's ditched the Google Maps app for something that's not as slick or well-stocked in its own Maps app.
Sure, you've got turn by turn directions, but given some places are listed incorrectly or missing, combined with some of the laughable 3D modelling in the flyover mode, it's not Apple's finest hour.
Plus the iPhone 5 is very expensive... we're not sure how such sky high prices can be charged when equivalent smartphones are available on the market.

Quick verdict

Let's not beat around the bush here: the iPhone 5 is one of the best smartphones in the world thanks to a great package of technology, design and UI intuition.
iOS definitely needs an update, and we'll always hope for a price decrease soon... and if it wasn't for that and the Maps issue, the iPhone 5 might have been higher in our rankings.

2. HTC One X+

The HTC One X was an odd handset - not in the design (lovely) or the features (top-end) - but that it's seen as a 'renaissance' phone for the firm, despite its success in such a short time.
And now it's taken that design, thrown out the bits that don't work and had another go... while adding a '+' on the end to show it's all new and shiny.
It's addressed storage concerns and improved web browser efficiency and the always reliable HTC keyboard – although the battery is still a bit of a sore point.
The design may not be any different, but we like that as the One X+ was already a handsome looking handset, with the unibody design exuding a premium air of superiority which can only really be toppled by the iPhone 5.
The beefed up processor along with the Android 4.1 and Sense 4+ UI updates makes the One X+ an even slicker, smoother and more powerful customer than its older brother.
The already excellent HTC keyboard has once again been given further improvements making it even better and for the first time we didn't feel the need to download an alternative from Google Play – kudos HTC - and LOOK! It's now red and black with 64GB of storage.

Quick verdict

There are so many things to love about the One X+ and it really is a great smartphone. We urge you to give it a whirl in store, and while it may not have the fancy tricks of the Galaxy S3, or the cult following of the iPhone 5, it's happily rubbing shoulders with the big boys.
It still didn't have enough to impress us enough to push it ahead of the S3, namely the fact battery life is still not improved to an acceptable level in our eyes, but the gap between them is so close that you won't be sad with either handset.

1. Samsung Galaxy S3

Make no mistake: the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the best smartphone on the market. It's got every kind of feature we could ask for and more, and raises the bar once again in terms of what consumers should be expecting in terms of battery life, processor speed and media management.
Would we recommend you buy one? Yes, without hesitation. If you're torn between this and an HTC One X+, it's a very difficult one to call – the design of the the One X+ is better and the overall feel of the Sense 4+ user interface will appeal. But in terms of pure usability and power, we really like what Samsung has put on the table.
And we're sure some of you are wondering how the Samsung Galaxy S3 bests the iPhone 5 - well, for starters, Google Maps works properly. And it's nearly £130 cheaper. And it has a bigger screen, which we think is winning.
That's not the only reason the Samsung Galaxy S3 is at the top of our best phone rankings. Smart Stay, Super AMOLED HD screen, up to 128GB storage, Music Hub, removable battery, blisteringly quick camera... we're getting tired listing all the great things it does.
The design isn't as impressive as when we first laid eyes on the S2, but to us that's the only big issue we can find - and that's enough to recommend the Galaxy S3 without question.

Quick verdict

If you waited feverishly for the Samsung Galaxy S3, you won't be disappointed. It's fast, it's sleek and it packs the latest technology that will get your pulse racing.
Samsung faced an almost impossible task in trying to create a worthy sequel to the Galaxy S2, but the Galaxy S3 should definitely be one of, if not the phone you should consider on your next trip to your local handset emporium.

Samsung Galaxy S2- King Of Design

 

 

Dual-core power, beautiful screen - the Galaxy S II is the kind of sequel we like..

 

The Samsung Galaxy S2 - or Samsung Galaxy S II, as it's also known - is the phone the Korean firm deems the successor to its best smartphone so far. And with a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, super-slim chassis and feather-light innards, it's easy to see why.
The dual-core smartphone race is packed, with Samsung's own Galaxy Ace 2, the Huawei Ascend P1, Sony Xperia Go, iPhone 4S and many more handsets all boasting the fast processors, although bigger brother the Samsung Galaxy S3, LG Optimus 4X HD and a growing number of others run with quad-core CPUs.
Coming in at around £18 a month and £390-odd ($529) SIM-free, the Samsung Galaxy S2 has dropped in price since its launch and is now an attractively affordable high-end smartphone.

You can check out our Samsung Galaxy S2 video:

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is almost impossibly thin when you pick it up – dimensions of 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5mm mean it's one of the thinnest smartphones on the market, rivalling the likes of the iPhone 4S and Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, but falling behind the tiny 7.69mm-thick Huawei Ascend P1.

It's crazy-light too – when we show you what tech is rammed under the hood, you'll be amazed that it all fits into a handset that weighs only a shade over 100g (116g, to be precise).
Samsung clearly traded the premium feel that an all-metal chassis might have brought for keeping the grams off the Galaxy S2 – pop the battery cover off and you'll find you're holding a piece of pretty flimsy plastic.

However, most of the time you won't be removing this, and it fits nicely into the contoured chassis – the mesh feel on the rear also helps keep your hand from getting warm during extended holding.
The other thing you'll notice when you first pick up the Samsung Galaxy S2 is the screen – at 4.3 inches it's hard to miss, and when you turn it on the Super AMOLED Plus technology hits you square in the eyeballs (once it's got through the toughened Gorilla Glass).
It's not quite in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S3; while some will argue the pixel quality is higher on the S2 thanks to a different sub-pixel arrangement, it's still markedly lower-res than the S3.

We called the Samsung Galaxy S "the best phone on the market for media" when we reviewed it, thanks to its first-gen Super AMOLED screen. Now the Galaxy S2 has definitely improved on that, with a superbly crisp and vibrant screen - although again, it's been bested by the S3.
In the hand, the Galaxy S2 sits much better than we'd have expected, given the whopping screen on offer, and that's mostly down to its slim depth.

The front of the phone is pretty sparse, with the home key the only piece of furniture on offer. This rectangular button flanks two touch-sensitive buttons – Menu and Back – so there's no room for contextual search here, although this is called up by long-pressing the Menu key.
The volume keys are located on the left-hand side, and the power/lock key is on the opposite flank; both are easy enough to hit without error, and crucially the travel on the power key is softer so that it's much easier to hit when you're juggling it in the palm – compare that to its predecessor, where you could accidentally drop it trying to shut off the screen.

The 3.5mm headphone jack lives on the top of the phone, bucking the lower placement on other 4.3-inch screen phones, and the micro USB slot (which also doubles as an HDMI out port) lives on the bottom.
The only other element of note is the 8.1MP camera with single LED flash on the rear – it's slightly raised, but not so much that it disrupts the Samsung Galaxy S2 when you're placing it on a table, thanks to a rear lip to help you hold the phone.

We actually (foolishly, in hindsight) unboxed the phone while bouncing about on a powerboat on the Thames – and luckily, there was a camera rolling the whole time. (Note - we're well aware of the stupid spec mistakes we made while on the boat. Some were down to information given to us by Samsung that changed, and some due to sheer confusion at being thrown 10 feet in the air and having our spine crushed.)
 Things i found quite nice were:

• Predictive dialing: yes, a very small feature, but important to me nonetheless. Type a name instead of the number for quicker dialing. Should be essential on every device.
• Swype included: Swype is still one of the quickest text input options for me, so having this included was certainly nice to have on the SGS, and now on SGS II too!
• More multitouch and accelerometer features/gestures: pinch to zoom is nice and all, but zooming via holding a pic with two fingers and tilting the device, or moving widgets from one page to another with tilting the device is fun to. even if it’s just to show off.
• Split view in messaging: not many people knew this when i posted the pic, but try holding your screen in landscape position and enter the messaging app!
• Hubs: Samsung included 4 hubs to the SGS II, for socializing, music, reading and games. It’s obvious what all those are for, and if you don’t wanna waste time searching for apps in the market, you’ll feel right at home here. With a flood of Twitter apps f.e., its obvious that Samsung wanted to offer a complete package here and save time searching for apps
• Allshare: Filesharing via DLNA. lovely! worked nicely with all sorts of pictures, videos etc!
• Kies Air: Kies (Sammy’s version of HTC Sync or Ovi/Nokia/PC/Elop suite) can not only be connected via Bluetooth or cable, but also via WLAN. lovely part 2!
• Photo- and Video Editor: lovely to see Samsung not ending their thoughts after shooting a pic. both editors are actually quite usable, with the video editor especially standing out. Tons of features and nice effects to slap on your photos and videos.
• Task Manager: oh yees, a built in Task Manager, giving access to yo RAM-/storage data, downloads, and of couse all running tasks with the option to kill them.
• Chat app: The chat app provides access to Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, and worked very well in a short test! (so much stuff to try, so little time!)
  Pros
  
• Awesome display
• Ultra slim design
• 1080p Video recording
• Really fast

Cons

• No camera key
• Touchwiz UI
  

  Verdict

   

  And so we come to the end of our epic Samsung Galaxy S2 review – and we know some of you might have jumped straight here to see what we think.
  However, if you're considering purchasing this phone, we recommend you take a look through our review, as there's a lot to cover in the new phone and we wouldn't want you to miss anything now, would we?
  But if you're after a one-word summary of the Samsung Galaxy S2: awesome. We've were waiting for a phone to set a benchmark among the dual-core breed, and we found it in the Samsung Galaxy S2.
  

  We liked

  *Clears throat* We liked nigh-on EVERYTHING on the Samsung Galaxy S2. It's rare we get to evangelise a handset so much – in fact we haven't managed to do so since we opened the box on the HTC Desire and realised a slick experience could live outside the iPhone.
  

  Buying Guide

  

  But with the Samsung Galaxy S2, things have been ratcheted up a notch. The Super AMOLED plus screen, with improved sub-pixel density, is a joy to behold, and the 4.3-inch screen size is made palatable for smaller hands thanks to the ridiculously thin dimensions.
  The lightning fast reaction time of the phone was amazing too – of course, it falls behind the likes of the S3 and LG Optimus 4X with their fancy-pants quad-core processors, but it's not leagues behind - think Bowser vs Toad trying to accelerate in Mario Kart and you get the picture. Unless you've never played Mario Kart. In which case: it's a little bit slower.
  The pre-loaded applications, including the task manager and Polaris Office Suite, are for the most part excellent additions, and the sheer range of connectivity made the Galaxy S2 a fully-fledged phone out of the box.
  Kies Air, Wi-Fi Direct, USB on the go – this phone is indeed future proofed, and while we couldn't tax the handset with any properly hardcore games, everything we threw at it worked like a charm.
  

  Review

  

  In short, simply being able to open Google Maps and have your location in under a second is the kind of thing we love to be able to do, and the Samsung Galaxy S2 is the only handset we know that does it this well.
  While it's not an out and out positive point, the battery power of the Galaxy S2 was more than useful in every day use. It's not going to blow your mind, but smartphones today have to be very careful they don't drain before you get home, and provided you don't spend most of your waking hours playing with the phone, it will do just fine.
  

  We disliked

  There's not much we didn't like if we're honest, which is testament to the constant evolution of Samsung's phones.
  The keyboard is a little ropey, and the unlocking mechanism (swiping the screen to move it out of the way) looked a little cheap and nasty at times.
  The plastic construction might reduce the weight, but it still feels a bit inexpensive when people will be looking for the ultimate phone design for the price.
  The video recording can be a little patchy at Full HD, with the focus going in and out a bit at times.
  We're still perplexed about why Samsung Apps is still an option here – avoid it and go to Google Play instead.
  

  Final verdict

  You only need to look at the disparity between the things we liked and things we didn't to see what this phone is all about – and if we're honest, some of those dislikes wouldn't have made it into most phone reviews, but we didn't want it to look ridiculous.
  The Samsung Galaxy S2 is a phone we're excited to whip out in a pub and show off to our friends – it's the ultimate media mobile, the next generation in web browsing thanks to slick Flash integration, a very good replacement for a pocket camcorder and, goshdarnit, it makes calls pretty well too.
  If you're at the higher end of phone contracts already, we insist you must check this phone out. If you're more of a budget user, you might want to get the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (which is essentially an S2 Mini) but steer clear of any friends who have the full S2 – you'll be green with envy in no time.
  The Samsung Galaxy S2 not only set a new bar for smartphones; it smashed the bar, recreated it in its own image and put it out of reach of the competition. It's not the best phone on the market any more, but it's still gosh-darned good.

Run Java Games On Android With JBed

The desire to port famous games from one platform and play them on another one is something that most hardcore gamers have had for quite some time. Quite obligingly, the developers, modders and hackers have also been smart enough to achieve said purpose with some degree of success.  Apparently an app, JBed is a Java emulator for Android that lets you run Java files on your device. Developed by XDA Developers member mohammadN, JBed comes in the form of a flash-able ZIP package and according to developer’s claims, it should run on most Android devices. The app adds new dimensions to the possibilities that can be achieved through Android as users can now run almost any Java MIDlet on their device. If you wish to play the famous Bounce game (or any other Java-enabled app) on your Android, then JBed is the ideal platform for you. With JBed you can launch your favorite Java applications and games on your Android. Just copy your collection of JAR (Java) files on to your SD card and launch them with JBed. In case you wish to download Java files directly from internet, the app redirects you to the stock web browser. To load Java files directly from your SD card, tap Menu>SD card and select the preferred JAR file from the list. JBed compiles and optimizes the selected JAR file and prompts the users whether they wish to run the app/game or not. The app displays the location of all the compiled/optimized JAR files that are stored in its database for quick and easy access. Users can launch, remove, rename and update a particular Java file from within JBed. Also, the app allows you to update and view detailed information about a selected JAR file. Given that the app is new (one of the first of its kind too) and that JAR files have had a history of running poorly on their native platforms, you can expect JBed to return a few graphical glitches and minor performance-related bugs. We flashed the app on our HTC Desire Z with ClockworkMod Recovery v 3.0.2.4 and had mixed feelings at the end of our brief test run. While the app responded quite positively with most JAR files, it failed to compile and optimize a few as well. Also, few apps forced the emulator to force close. You can try out JBed on your own device by downloading its ZIP file from the developer’s forum. [via XDA Developers]  installation: download Jbed.apk from attachment and install it. if last section not working for you, download Jbed.zip and flash it with CWM! I created a signed flash-able package for easy install it! Tested on my wildfire and 100% working! you can press on Thanks button and download it from attachment. you can flash this package on all clockworkmod recovery version (2 and 3 and 4) enjoy! Note : It isn't my own app! please read my post carefully! I only created Flashable package to easy to install this app for all Jbed.zip - [Click for QR Code] (2.16 MB, 89168 views) Jbed.apk - [Click for QR Code] (1.50 MB, 110597 views)

Samsung Galaxy Mini - Basic Smarty

A small phone with faster cpu.
Features
HSDPA 7.2mbps
EDGE/GPRS
QVGA TFT LCD 3.14"inch
3.2megapixel camera
Touchwiz
Socialhub
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Micro sd adapter and2gb memory card free with this smarty

A phone for new smartphone users

Nokia N9~All that takes is a swipe.

Meego based phone from Nokia WoW!

 

Introduction

When the first touch-only OS debuts on one of the hottest pieces of hardware this year, you can bet we want a piece of the action. Windows Phone is where Nokia want your attention, but it might turn out that MeeGo is the place you want to be

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Penta-band 3G with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.7 Mbps HSUPA support
• 3.9" 16M-color AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of 480 x 854 pixel resolution
• Scratch resistant Gorilla glass display with anti-glare polarizer
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash, 720p@27fps video recording and fast f/2.2 lens
• Meego v1.2 Harmattan OS
• 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, TI OMAP 3630 chipset, 1GB of RAM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• Non-painted color polycarbonate unibody, curved screen
• GPS receiver with A-GPS support and free lifetime voice-guided navigation
• Digital compass
• 16/64GB on-board storage
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
• Built-in accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port
• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and EDR
• Nice audio reproduction quality
• Impressively deep and coherent SNS integration throughout the interface
• DivX and Xvid support

HARDWARE
It’s an incredibly sexy device, this N9. I would even go as far and throw it into one league of hotness with the C7 and 8600 Luna. There, I said it. I have received the black, 16 GB version, which is more than enough for my daily usage. I don’t carry my whole music or photo collection with me, so the 16GB version (gives around 10GB of user space) is alright. The Nokia N9 is the second Nokia device with no buttons on the front at all (after the N900). The whole front is covered by a 3,9″ Clear Black AMOLED display with a (finally!) 854×480 pixels resolution. 3,9″ hits my sweet spot of a phone/display size exactly, as I have never been the biggest fan of 4,3″ or the even worse upcoming 4,65″ phones. 3,7 – 4″ is exactly what i like and Nokia delivers. The display used in the N9 is just stunning, nothing less. Incredible black levels, and rich, vivid colors everywhere. This display does not have to fear any comparisons with the best out there, including the Samsung Galaxy S II, which features my favorite display to date. The CBD is covered by Gorilla Glass and has curved edges, which furthers the Swipe usability. Very well thought Nokia. Usability on the outside is just great, definitely amongst the best in the world. Interestingly enough, the front facing camera is at the bottom right end of the device, will be interesting to see how this all plays out, as there is not much video calling on the N9 going on yet. The usual light sensors etc can also be found at the front.

The Top of the Nokia N9 features your 3,5mm standard audio jack on the left side, one cover for the micro-USB connector and the micro-SIM holder. I don’t quite get the decision of the micro-SIM, but so be it. While the left side of the N9 features a whole lot of nothing, the bottom this time is home for the speaker. I like this decision, as the latest Symbian devices all have their speakers on the back, usually resulting in a poor perfomance when the device was placed on a soft surface. In the week I’m using it, I’ve never missed a call or SMS. The right side of the N9 contains the volume buttons, and also the Power-/Standby-button. This button can be used to wake up the device, however, I prefer the natural double tap method. Also new for Nokia, the N9 has no dedicated camera button. I know not many competitors have one, but I have always been a fan of dedicated camera buttons, even if it’s just for a stupid self portrait. However, Nokia has compensated this with a galore of camera improvements, which I will address a bit down below.
The whole body of the Nokia N9 is not in aluminium, like it’s Symbian relatives, but this time from a single piece of polycarbonate, which is coloured through and through. This basically means no paint job applied, but rather one completely coloured piece. In case the device gets dropped, the damage won’t be immediately visible, as there is no colour chipping. All the edges of the N9 are rounded, and feel great in the hand. Yes, it is plastic, but provides a very premium feel, as opposed to some of the horrible smartphones of competitors. It feels premium in the hand, material-wise and size-wise. However, the material choice brings one downside, as the N9 is a fingerprint magnet. It’s easy to clean, but won’t stay that way for very long.
A deep dive into the polycarbonate body of the Nokia reveal a ARM Cortex-A8 1GHz single core processor, which gets backed up by a PowerVR SGX530 GPU and a whopping 1GB of RAM. All those components play together for a very well rounded experience. Swiping around remains fluid, even with 30+ apps opened, while the non-removable 1.450mAh battery is “enough” for a decent performance. Which brings me to a rant i could repeat over and oooover again: I get there is a lot of  hardware crammed into the N9 body, and Nokia took good care in keeping the whole OS in a black colour tone, in order to save battery whenever possible. However, I question their decision of only 1.450 mAh. I get “it is enough”, the good old Nokia excuse, but clearly we are in a time where battery is everything. So why not give us more!? It surely is no question of space, if so, then please take a good look at Samsung. Due to Nokia’s work on Meego, the battery brings me through a full day easily with a full charge, around 20 hours in medium usage. Not bad, but still, there could be more! Anyways, included inside is a compass, a 3D accelerometer, 2 microphones and a galore of connectivity possibilities, incl. Bluetooth 2.1 and a NFC chip, yay! Furthermore, the N9 comes in two different storage options, 16GB and 64GB, with the latter one being exclusively available in black only. My black review unit is the 16GB model, with around 10GB available for user data, 4,2GB for installed apps and 2,1GB for app data. Unfortunately, there is no microSD expansion slot, so choose wisely which memory option you buy!

1. Notifications

The Notifications screen does exactly what it says: All incoming e-mails, text messages, MMS, missed calls will brought into this one place. Further than that, Facebook and Twitter timelines are displayed in here as well. I have been told, and I’m really looking forward to that, the user will be possible to f.e. only show twitter @-replies, instead of the whole timeline. Following 1.400 people like I do, can be a mess sometimes, which is why I’m really looking forward to this particular update. A nice little feature: the ability to delete all twitter or facebook items at once from the “feed”.  The Notifications center also shows a neat little weather overview in the top right corner, as seen in my screenshot. With a little more customization options, this will be perfect, only being outmatched by the brilliant Me-Tile in Windows Phone Mango!
2. Applications

The 2nd homescreen contains all applications in one list. There are no folders anymore, like we know it from Symbian, so all apps are listed up. You decide whether this is good or not, I for one don’t miss folders. However, the apps can be re-arranged from the user.
3. Multitasking


Multitasking is not happening in any form of shortcut or long-button-press, instead Multitasking can be found as the third homescreen! This dedicated homescreen allows users to easily manage all running apps, with all previews being shown in neat little cards, in either a 2- or 3-column view. The number of columns can be changed via pinch to zoom. I usually have around 20 apps opened in the background, with no lags or hickups at all. A long-press on one of the app cards will give options to either close one app, or all together. Very nice work there, this is how real multitasking should look like!
Swipe
Swipe is the big and unique feature of the Nokia N9 and Meego. With the lack of hardware buttons to operate the OS, all operations will be done with a simple swipe across the screen, with the curved edges giving a much more natural feel to the whole operation. The first few minutes definitely feel a bit awkward having no home button, but swiping around feels like something you don’t wanna miss anymore shortly after. God knows how often I have tried to swipe across my N8 or HTC Trophy screen. Swiping from left to right and vice versa puts an app into the background and gets you back to the last used of the 3 homescreens. There is an option in the settings, enabling users to close apps by swiping from bottom to top, but with the immense multitasking power of the N9, I never felt this was neccessary. A swipe will not freeze an app, instead it will remain active. Try swiping while watching a video for example, and stop halfway across. I applaud Nokia for this unique way of operating my phone. I never came across anything more natural and intuitive – try it yourself, you’ll see what i mean!
Lockscreen/Standby

In Standby, the N9 displays a big clock, something i already enjoy having on a Symbian device. With the CB display on the N9, this results in almost no additional battery consumption. A nice plus: missed calls, SMS, chat messages and e-mails will be displayed immediately. Everything that’s happening, directly on the standby screen, i love it! Double-tapping the display, or hitting the home button will reveal the lockscreen, which is the only part of Meego, that can be customized with a wallpaper. Missed events will be displayed in black bars, like shown above, sliding one of the bars across will bring you directly to the respective app. Sliding the lockscreen up a bit and hold it, will launch 4 (non-customizable) shortcuts: phone, messaging, camera and web browser.
Accounts
Apart from the obvious Nokia account, the N9 features a galore of social networking/IM-/Mail-accounts that can be set up. Mail for Exchange, Skype, Google, Facebook, Twitter, CalDav, Flickr, Picasa, SIP, Youtube – you name it, they got it. All those accounts will be supported throughout the whole Meego experience: Mail for Exchange (with Google) has worked flawless for me, Google can be used as mail, calendar and Gtalk, videos can be shared to Youtube, Facebook and Flickr, Pictures to Flickr, Facebook and Picasa, instant messaging works with Skype, Gtalk and Facebook Chat. The possibilities are endless, and finally, the experience is how it should be: built right into the core of the OS!
Status Bar


The Status Bar also deserves some credits. Normally, it is very discreet, hiding at the very top, giving only very basic information about the time, battery, network being used etc. A simple tap on it reveals Profiles (ringing, can be set up to three different volumes, beep and silent) and the current volume (of phone calls/media).  There’s also quick access to the currently used network, in my case my WLAN, or Bluetooth. In case instant messengers are set up, there’s also a quick option to set availabilities for those, including a “set all to offline or online”. Last but not the least, another option on the status bar, is a log of all recently uploaded media items, including when and where it was uploaded to and the size of the item!
Messaging
 
Messaging means big business in Meego. What we’re looking at, is a messaging centre, bringing together all your chats via SMS and instant messaging. Google Talk, Skype, Facebook chat, everything is in there and will be displayed just like a normal text message. In case that is overload for you, there’s also an option to show only one certain kind of conversations, like f.e., only SMS messages. Starting a new IM chat is just as simple as writing a text message, with all contacts already present on the phone. The keyboard is well spaced, text correction is nicely implemented and works fine. A great thing about text input on the N9? The ability to set up the most used languages (in my case german and english) and switching between them with a simple swipe across the screen, similar to sending an app into the background. Swype, which was initially in one of the demo devices I have tried, is not present anymore, but will be added in one of the next updates, which is another welcome addition to the overall experience!
Contacts


Another strength of Meego: the contacts integration. Everything is connected and will be merged, with infos being pulled in from all social networks and IM’s. Skype call directly from contact? no problem. @-reply to twitter directly from the contact? sure, go on! A facebook chat message? piece of cake! Even the Twitter bio gets pulled in and is displayed as a note. This is exactly how it should be! Now just bring in Whatsapp and I can die a happy man!
Phone

Yes, the Nokia N9 can also make phone calls, heeeey! The phone application is divided into 3 tabs: Log, Dialer and Contacts. There’s isn’t much new going on here, expect a direct switch to Skype call possibility. However, I really miss predictive dialing from Symbian phones here. It just takes too long to search for a contact, predictive dialing would help save a ton of time!
Web Browser


The Web Browser will be a love/hate relationship for most of the users. Impressions from fellow Nokia users have been on par with my own: First of all, i like the minimalistic approach. There’s no armada of buttons waiting to confuse you. Secondly: i like Top sites. Top sites is basically a list generated by your most visited sites, appearing in a nice overview right at the start of the web browser. Thirdly, I like how I am able to open a new windows in the web browser, and every windows gets it’s own multitasking card! And last but not the least, I like how i can pin a website right into my applications drawer via send to apps. Which already brings me to one of the downsides in the browser: There is no real bookmark support. Only Top sites or add a page to the apps is a way to memorize. Also, flash is a problem in the N9 browser (read: not there!). And, unfortunately, there is no text reflow in the browser, which makes reading a big website a pain sometimes. It’s quite a basic one, this browser. It’s extremely fast, renders websites quite nicely and has a ton of potential, so i sincerely hope Nokia continues to improve in the next updates!
Photo Sharing


Sharing photos on Nokia devices has, quite frankly been a pain in the rear end. With Pixelpipe not supporting their apps anymore, it was very difficult to share photos anywhere else than Twitter and Facebook. Fortunately, this has changed in Meego, with photo sharing finally like it should be! Sharing to Flickr with Tags and in the Set of your choosing, with name editing before posting etc, the same goes for sharing to Facebook, Picasa and Videos as well. Which brings up the question: What held them back with Twitter? Right now, there is no integrated photo sharing to Twitter, for god knows which reasons. There are workarounds (I’m using via Mail to Twitpic now), but that leaves me scratching my head. Thank God, this was also announced to be in the next update!
Facebook/Twitter


Both social networks have clients built in the N9 and well, let’s just say they work. Both applications are baked into the core, and launch whenever any action is done from within the contacts. Both apps are written in Qt, so a decent user experience is given, and they cover all basic operations, however, there is plenty of room for improvements. The twitter app for example only features the native retweet version, not the old, handy “Quote”-RT. Furthermore, “reply to all” brings up my own username as well. Gah. Help for Twitter is already available in TwimGo, a very nice, feature-rich Twitter app from the Nokia Market, Facebook Users will have to wait for either fmobi, or an update for the build in client for a better experience.
Photo Gallery

The Photo gallery continues the simplistic approach of Meego, with a very basic 3 column overview. Users can choose between several views, including tags, favourites, captures only, etc. In case you are wondering: Selecting multiple items IS possible, however the following action has to be choosen before that. So hit the options 3-bar-symbol, and either select to share or delete items, and there you go.
Music Player
 
The N9 can be filled up with a lot of music, playing that happens via the built in music player, a georgeous one, i might add. It features all the gimmicks of your usual mp3 player, minus an Equalizer, which can not be found yet. Missing album art is replaced by a generated picture of the album title in coloured letters. Glad they changed that from the Symbian music player. Everything is tied with the Music Store, with an option to search for similar songs/genres in the music store. very cool.
Video Player

Videos is another very well done part in the N9. The overview provides big thumbnails of all videos found on the N9 (Movies etc, not selfmade videos, which are found in the gallery). A simple tap starts the video player in landscape mode. Almost every video format runs on the N9 out of the box, with the options buttons giving details like length, format, or when the video has been added. Probably the coolest bit here, is the integration of Youtube’s related videos. After a video has ended, or with a tap on the options symbol will bring up related videos from Youtube directly in the video player. However, and here’s the sad thing about it, a tap on one of the suggested videos will not prompt the video to run in the video player, nor will it fire up a dedicated Youtube app. All we get here, is the Youtube mobile page. That, my friends, is a bit of a disappointment. However, the sheer amount of formats running natively makes up for that.

Nokia Maps


As usual for any Nokia device, Nokia Maps also comes on board. This time, it’s separated into two different apps: Maps covers all your maps needs, including searches and POI’s wherever you are. Drive, on the other hand, covers the actual navigation on the road, with bigger, use-in-car-friendly buttons and big fonts, making it as easy as possible to f.e. quickly change a root while driving. Even though it’s a toned down version, Nokia Maps also shines on the N9, and is itself another reason to buy it! Oh, and did i mention Nokia Maps is completely free and covers maps for almost every region of the world?
Documents
Documents is another built in app in Meego, allowing users to handle their .doc needs, however, in a very lite way, as only reading is possible, no editing!
Feeds
The N9 also contains a Feeds app, which is a basic feed reader, to keep you updated on the road. This one is coupled with the internet browser, with suscribed feeds showing up in the Feeds app immediately. Only thing missing would be an integration with my beloved Google Reader. Sharing to Facebook and Twitter is also supported by the way, which can only be a good thing for sharing-crazy maniacs like me!
Calendar

The calendar application continues the very sleek, simplistic approach of Meego and is actually quite usable. I’ve set up my Gmail calendar via Mail for Exchange, and it works completely flawless. There are different views, options to choose a different colour for every calendar set up (blue for work, red for private etc), and everything syncs nicely to wherever i want it to!
Wi-Fi Hotspot

Another App that comes straight out of the Box. Yes, the times of having to buy JoikuSpot are over – Nokia has cramed in a decent Wi-Fi hotspot app, for free. Setting up is very simple, with just a few clicks everyone can share their mobile connection as a mobile hotspot. A feature that could come in very handy at this year’s Nokia World
AccuWeather
Rounding up the galore of apps that come out of the N9 box, is AccuWeather, one of my favourite weather apps. AccuWeather also powers the tiny weather overview in the Noficiation/Feeds-area in the homescreen.
Nokia Store

Probably the weakest point on the N9 – the Nokia store. And I’m not referring to functionality, cause it actually works very well. However, the content is the main problem. Sure, some must have apps are already ported, like 4squick, and I’m sure many more of the existing Symbian developers will follow. However, is Meego worth it for Android/WP/iOS-developers to have a look? Will it even attract new developers who’re currently weighing in choices? With the way Meego was handled, and the events surrounding it, I’m afraid the answer is a big fat No.
Verdict
It is quite something, this Nokia N9. For one, it’s a brilliant piece of hardware. As stated at the start of this review – it doesn’t have the fastest processor, not the most megapixels, nor the biggest screen. Instead it is a well-balanced, well-sized and well equipped piece of kit. Now, we all know Nokia is capable of producing high quality hardware, even in entry level territories. A stunning display, a nicely made unibody, very good camera. What I missed thus far? An OS that delivers. And Meego is just that. Meego works, and it works very well. I love the unique UI approach, the simplicity of the apps, and nice integration of social networks. Meego has a lot of potential and I’m thrilled to find out what Nokia has planned for the N9. However, not everything is quite that cheerful when it comes to the future. It’s a product with a shorter shelf-life than I’d like it to. Updates are promised, but Meego was cut off on the infamous February 11th keynote, basically rendered worthless for every new developer. A presumable lack of apps is the logical result to that. It’s still very early to judge this entirely, but with such a lack of confidence from Nokia itself, it’s hard to keep a certain level of excitement. I however, will look into the future with an open mind and see what Nokia will deliver for the N9 in future update. And who knows, maybe Nokia can be convinced for more Meego-ness? Take it easy on those problems said before and I promise, you’ll be in for one hell of a smartphone with the Nokia N9!
Thanks to
 http://www.fonearena.com/
http://www.gsmarena.com

Iphone 5- King Of Smartphones

Apple again done the job!
        IPHONE 5
More powerful,elegant,stylish,lighter and gaming......

The Apple iPhone 5 is an amazing smartphone with LOTS of cool functions and features.The iPhone 5 adds everything we wanted in the iPhone 4S: 4G LTE, a longer, larger screen, free turn-by-turn navigation, and a faster A6 processor. Plus, its top-to-bottom redesign is sharp, slim, and feather-light. But, if you want a great, all-around, beautifully engineered smartphone that covers all bases, here it is. Just like the MacBook is to the world of laptops, the new iPhone is one of the top three, if not the best-designed, smartphone around. It's better in all the important ways. 

      First off, you're going to be shocked at how light this phone is. It's the lightest iPhone, even though it's longer and has a bigger screen. After a few days with it, the iPhone 4S will feel as dense as lead.Secondly, the screen size lengthening is subtle, but, like the Retina Display, you're going to have a hard time going back once you've used it. The extra space adds a lot to document viewing areas above the keyboard, landscape-oriented video playback (larger size and less letterboxing), and home-page organizing (an extra row of icons/folders). Who knows what game developers will dream up, but odds are that extra space on the sides in landscape mode will be handily used by virtual buttons and controls.


The look: Thin, metal, light as heck
You know its look, even if the look has been subtly transformed over the years: circular Home button, pocketable rectangle, familiarly sized screen. Can that design be toyed with, transformed a little, changed?

 The screen difference isn't always dramatic, especially compared with some ultra-expansive Android devices: the Samsung Galaxy S3 beats it both on overall screen size (4.8 inches) and pixel resolution (1,280x720). In the iOS 6 Mail app, with one line of preview text, I fit six and a half messages on the screen at the same time on the iPhone 5 versus five and a third on the iPhone 4 and 4S. Other apps toy with the layout more; I fit eight tasks on one screen in the new iOS 6 version of Reminders, versus five on the iPhone 4S with iOS 5.1.1.

Sep 12

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CNET Editors' Rating

4.0 stars Excellent

$149.99 to $749.00

Review Date: 9/18/12

Updated on: 10/04/12

Average User Rating

3.5 stars 132 user reviews

The good: The iPhone 5 adds everything we wanted in the iPhone 4S: 4G LTE, a longer, larger screen, free turn-by-turn navigation, and a faster A6 processor. Plus, its top-to-bottom redesign is sharp, slim, and feather-light.

The bad: Apple Maps feels unfinished and buggy; Sprint and Verizon models can't use voice and data simultaneously. The smaller connector renders current accessories unusable without an adapter. There's no NFC, and the screen size pales in comparison to jumbo Android models.

The bottom line: The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It's absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe.

Editors' Top Picks

• 

  Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) (T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular)

  Starting at$139.99

  4.0 stars

• 

  HTC Droid DNA (Verizon Wireless)

  Starting at$99.99

  4.0 stars

• 

  Pantech Discover (AT&T)

  Starting at$49.99

  4.0 stars

• 

  Nokia Lumia 920 (AT&T)

  Starting at$69.99

  4.0 stars

Low Price: $149.99

• Verizon Wireless
  $199.99 See it
• AT&T Wireless
  $149.99 See it
• Amazon.com
  $749.00 See it

Set price alert

The iPhone 5 is the iPhone we've wanted since 2010, adding long-overdue upgrades like a larger screen and faster 4G LTE in a razor-sharp new design. This is the iPhone, rebooted.
The new design is flat-out lovely, both to look at and to hold, and it's hard to find a single part that hasn't been tweaked from the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 5 is at once completely rebuilt and completely familiar.

Hands-on with the sharp, slim iPhone 5 (pictures)

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I've had the chance to use the iPhone 5 for nearly a week, and have been using it for nearly anything I can think of. Is it as futuristic or as exciting as the iPhone 4 or the original iPhone? No. Does this change the smartphone game? No. Other smartphones beat it on features here and there: if you want a larger screen, go with a Samsung Galaxy S3. If you want better battery life, go with a Droid Razr Maxx.
But, if you want a great, all-around, beautifully engineered smartphone that covers all bases, here it is. Just like the MacBook is to the world of laptops, the new iPhone is one of the top three, if not the best-designed, smartphone around. It's better in all the important ways.
Editors' note: We are continuing to update this review with additional observations and test results. Among the latest additions (October 4, 2012) are the inclusion of 4G LTE speed tests (see "4G LTE: Faster, at last" section); detailed comparisons to camera quality between the iPhone and rival smartphones (see "The camera" section); and detailed battery test results for both video playback and talk time (see "Battery" section).

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

What's different?
Look at our review of last year's iPhone 4S, where we said, "Even without 4G and a giant screen, this phone's smart(ass) voice assistant, Siri, the benefits of iOS 5, and its spectacular camera make it a top choice for anyone ready to upgrade."

(Credit: CNET)

Well, guess what? Now it has 4G LTE and...well, maybe not a giant screen, but a larger screen. That's not all, though: the already great camera's been subtly improved, speakerphone and noise-canceling quality has been tweaked, and -- as always -- iOS 6 brings a host of other improvements, including baked-in turn-by-turn navigation, a smarter Siri, and Passbook, a location-aware digital wallet app for storing documents like gift cards, boarding passes, and tickets.
The question is: a full year later, is that enough? For me, it is. I don't want much more in my smartphone. Sure, I'd love a new magical technology to sink my teeth into, but not at the expense of being useful. Right now, I'm not sure what that technology would even be.

(Credit: CNET)

Like every year in the iPhone's life cycle, a handful of important new features take the spotlight. This time, 4G, screen size, and redesign step to the top.
You've gotten the full rundown already, most likely, on the various ins and outs of this phone, or if you haven't, I'll tell you about them below in greater detail. Here's what I noticed right away, and what made the biggest impression on me.

(Credit: CNET)

First off, you're going to be shocked at how light this phone is. It's the lightest iPhone, even though it's longer and has a bigger screen. After a few days with it, the iPhone 4S will feel as dense as lead.
Secondly, the screen size lengthening is subtle, but, like the Retina Display, you're going to have a hard time going back once you've used it. The extra space adds a lot to document viewing areas above the keyboard, landscape-oriented video playback (larger size and less letterboxing), and home-page organizing (an extra row of icons/folders). Who knows what game developers will dream up, but odds are that extra space on the sides in landscape mode will be handily used by virtual buttons and controls.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

Third, this phone will make your home Wi-Fi look bad. Or at least, it did that to mine. Owners of other 4G LTE phones won't be shocked, but iPhone owners making the switch will start noticing that staying on LTE versus Wi-Fi might actually produce faster results...of course, at the expense of expensive data rates. I hopped off my work Wi-Fi and used AT&T LTE in midtown Manhattan to make a FaceTime call to my wife because the former was slowing down. LTE, in my tests, ran anywhere from 10 to 20Mbps, which is up to twice as fast as my wireless router's connection at home.
Using your iPhone 5 as a personal hot spot for a laptop or other device produces some of the same strong results as the third-gen iPad...and it's smaller. Of course, make sure you check on your tethering charges and data usage fees, but my MacBook Air did a fine job running off the LTE data connection at midday.

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The look: Thin, metal, light as heck
You know its look, even if the look has been subtly transformed over the years: circular Home button, pocketable rectangle, familiarly sized screen. Can that design be toyed with, transformed a little, changed?

From left: The Lumia 900, iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3.

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The newest iPhone has a wide metal body that stretches above previous iPhones, but is also thinner; still, this isn't a massive phone like the Samsung Galaxy Note or HTC One X. The iPhone 5 rises above the iPhone 4 and 4S, but subtly.

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From the front and sides, it looks very similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S. The same rounded metal volume buttons, sleep/wake button on top, and silence switch remain. The headphone jack has moved to the bottom of the phone, just on like the iPod Touch. Some will like it, some won't; it makes standing the iPhone upright and using headphones a virtual impossibility. Actually, the entire bottom is all new: the headphone jack, the larger, redesigned speakers, a different type of perforated grille, and a much tinier Lightning connector port.

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The Gorilla Glass back of the last iPhone is gone, replaced with metal. The two-tone look might seem new, but it's a bit of a reference to the silver-and-black back of the original iPhone. The very top and bottom of the rear is still glass. That anodized aluminum -- which Apple claims is the same as that on its MacBook laptops -- feels exactly the same, and is even shaded the same on the white model. So far, it's held up without scratches. I'd say it'll do about as well as the aluminum finish on your 2008-and-later MacBook. On the black iPhone, the aluminum matches in a slate gray tone. On my white review model, it's MacBook-color silver. That aluminum covers most of the back and also the sides, replacing the iPhone 4 and 4S steel band, and lending to its lighter weight. The front glass sits slightly above the aluminum, which is cut to a mirrored angled edge on the front and back, eliminating sharp corners.

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Why the move away from a glass back? Is it about creating a better, more durable finish, or is it about weight reduction? Apple's proud of its claims of how light the iPhone 5 is, and the new aluminum back is part of that. So is the move to a Nano-SIM card (making SIM swaps once again impossible and requiring a visit to your carrier's store). So is the thinner screen and the smaller dock connector. You get the picture.
Hold an iPhone 4S up to the new iPhone, and I could see the difference in thickness. It's not huge, but it feels even slimmer considering its expanded width and length. What I really noticed is how light it is. I still feel weirded out by it. The iPhone 5's 3.95-ounce weight is the lightest an iPhone's ever been. The iPhone 4S is nearly a full ounce heavier at 4.9 ounces. The iPhone 3G was 4.7 ounces. The original iPhone and iPhone 4 were 4.8 ounces. This is a phase-change in the nearly constant weight of the iPhone -- it's iPhone Air.
Yet, the iPhone 5 doesn't look dramatically different like the iPhone 4 once did. Actually, it seems more like a fusion of the iPhone with the iPad and MacBook design.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

And, of course, there's the new, larger screen. You may not notice it from a distance -- the screen's still not as edge-to-edge on the top and bottom as many Android phones, but extra empty space has been shaved away to accommodate the display. There's a little less room around the Home Button and below the earpiece. The iPhone 5 screen is just as tall as the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S 2, but it's not as wide. That thinner body design gives the iPhone the same hand feel, and what I think is an easier grip. The extra length covers a bit more of your face on phone calls.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

Over the last week with the iPhone 5, I started to forget that the phone was any larger. That seems to be the point. And, the iPhone fit just fine in my pants, too: the extra length has been traded out for less girth, so there's little bulge. And, with that awkward statement having been uttered, I'll move on.
That 4-inch screen: Going longer
The iPhone 5 finally extends the 3.5-inch screen that's been the same size on the iPhone for five years, but it does so by going longer, not wider. A move from the iPhone 4 and 4S' 3.5-inch, 960x640-pixel display to a 4-inch, 1,136x640-pixel display effectively means the same Retina Display (326 pixels per inch), but with extra pixel real estate versus a magnified screen. All the icons and app buttons are the same size, but there's more room for other features, or more space for videos and photos to be displayed.
The iPhone's interface is the same as always: you have app icons greeting you in a grid, and a dock of up to four apps at the bottom. Instead of a grid of four rows of four apps, the longer screen accommodates five rows of four apps. More apps can fit on the home screen, but that's about it as far as user interface innovation. Extra screen height means pop-up notification banners are less intrusive at the top or bottom.

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It's odd at first going longer versus also adding width, and it means a shift away from the iPad's more paperlike 4:3 display ratio. Pages of e-books could feel more stretched. In portrait mode, document text may not seem larger, but you'll see more of it in a list.

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In landscape mode, text actually seems bigger because page width stretches out (so, you can fit more words on a line). The virtual keyboard in landscape mode also ends up a bit more spread out, too, with a little extra space on the sides, which took some getting used to.

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I preferred portrait typing because the keyboard size and width remains the same, while the extra length allows more visible text above the virtual keys.
The screen difference isn't always dramatic, especially compared with some ultra-expansive Android devices: the Samsung Galaxy S3 beats it both on overall screen size (4.8 inches) and pixel resolution (1,280x720). In the iOS 6 Mail app, with one line of preview text, I fit six and a half messages on the screen at the same time on the iPhone 5 versus five and a third on the iPhone 4 and 4S. Other apps toy with the layout more; I fit eight tasks on one screen in the new iOS 6 version of Reminders, versus five on the iPhone 4S with iOS 5.1.1.

Infinity Blade II, before iPhone 5 optimization. Note the black bars.

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Of course, you'll need new apps to take advantage of the longer screen, and at the time I tested the iPhone 5, those weren't available because iOS 6 hadn't formally launched. Older apps run in a letterboxed type of mode at the same size as existing phones, with little black bars on the top and bottom. Apps work perfectly fine this way, especially in portrait mode, but you definitely notice the difference. App-makers will be scrambling to make their apps take advantage of the extra screen space, and my guess is it won't take long at all for most to be iPhone 5 (and iPod Touch) ready.

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I tried iMovie, iPhoto, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, GarageBand, iCards, and all of the iPhone 5's built-in apps (Maps, Reminders, Messages, Photos, Camera, Videos, Weather, Passbook, Notes, Stocks, Newsstand, iTunes, the App Store, Game Center, Contacts, Calculator, Compass, Voice Memos, Mail, Safari, Music, and, of course, Phone), and they all take advantage of the extra space in a variety of useful ways. How others will adopt the extra real estate remains to be seen.

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I'm looking forward to killer apps that will take advantage of the larger screen. So far, I haven't found any that do it in surprising ways. My guess is that games will benefit the most, along with video and photo apps, and, to some degree, reading/news apps.

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Video playback, of course, has a lot more punch because the new 16:9 aspect ratio reduces or removes letterboxing across the board in landscape mode. An HD episode of "Planet Earth" filled the entire screen, while the available viewing space shrank down even more on the iPhone 4S because of letterboxing. YouTube videos looked great. Some movies, of course, like Pixar's "Wall-E," still have letterboxing because they're shot in the superwide CinemaScope aspect ratio (21:9), but they look a lot larger than before -- and you can still zoom in with a tap on the screen.
I think that, much like the Retina Display, you'll miss the iPhone 5's new screen more when you try to go back to an older phone. The new display feels like a natural, so much so that to the casual eye, the iPhone 5 doesn't look entirely different with the screen turned off. The iPhone 4 and 4S screens feel small and hemmed-in by comparison.

iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S video playback of the same 1080p nature video.

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The new iPhone 5's display also has a layer removed from the screen, creating a display that acts as its own capacitive surface. I didn't notice that difference using it; it feels as crisp and fast-responding as before. Apple promises 44 percent extra color saturation on this new display, much like the third-gen iPad's improved color saturation. The difference wasn't as dramatic in a side-by-side playback of a 1080p episode of "Planet Earth," but the iPhone 5 seemed to have a slight edge. It was a little too close to call in game-playing, photo-viewing, and everyday experience with the phone, even held side-by-side with the iPhone 4S. The real difference, again, is the size. Autobrightness adjustments have also been tweaked a little, and I found on average that the iPhone 5 found more-appropriate brightness levels for the room I was in.

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This seems like a good time to discuss thumbs. As in, your thumb size and the iPhone 5. Going back to the iPhone 4S, I realized that the phone's design has been perfectly aligned to allow a comfortable bridge between thumbing the Home button and stretching all the way to the top icon on the iPhone's 3.5-inch display. That's not entirely the case, now. I could, with some positioning, still thumb the Home button and make my way around the taller screen, but the iPhone 5's a little more of a two-hander. It might encourage more people and app developers to switch to landscape orientation, where the extra length and pixel space provide finger room on both sides without cramming the middle.

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Game developers are likely to lean toward the landscape 16:9 orientation, because it more closely matches a standard HDTV's dimensions, and most console games. The extra width allows useful virtual button space, too.
4G LTE: Faster, at last
Last year's iPhone 4S had a subtle network bump to 3.5G (listed as "4G" on the iPhone 4S following iOS 5.1), offering faster data speeds on AT&T. The iPhone 5 finally adopts faster LTE, joining most other smartphones on the market and even the third-gen iPad, with the leap to LTE back in March. (On the top corner of the iPhone, the service indicator reads "LTE" when it's up and running.) However, the presence of LTE doesn't mean a world LTE phone; currently, LTE roaming between carriers overseas is impossible.

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There's also support, depending on the iPhone 5 version you buy, for slower GSM (including EDGE and UMTS/HSPA) and CDMA/EV-DO networks. The iPhone 5's LTE uses a single chip for voice and data, a single radio chip, and a "dynamic antenna" that will switch connections between different networks automatically.
In the United States, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless will carry the iPhone 5. T-Mobile loses out. In Canada, it's Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido, Virgin, and Koodo. In Asia, the providers will be SoftBank, SmarTone, SingTel, and SK Telecom. For Australia there's Telstra, Optus, and Virgin Mobile, and in Europe it will go to Deutsche Telekom and EE. On carriers without LTE, the iPhone 5 will run on dual-band 3.5G HDPA+. I didn't notice any problems when switching between LTE and 4G, but I tended to find myself stationary in a place that had LTE service or a place that didn't, without much time to test the transition midcall.
There's a catch, though: there are now two versions of iPhone 5 in the U.S., one GSM model and another version for the CDMA carriers. You may not have your dream of a universal LTE phone, but international roaming is possible between 2G and 3G. Also, get ready to accept that Verizon and Sprint iPhone 5s still won't be able to make calls and access data simultaneously, even though many other Verizon/Sprint LTE phones can pull this off. That's because those other phones use a two-antenna system for LTE/voice (voice doesn't run over LTE yet), while the iPhone 5 only uses one plus a dynamic antenna for what Apple says is more connection stability.
Nevertheless, data access via 4G LTE is stunningly fast. This is no gentle upgrade. In my home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I tested both my AT&T iPhone 4S and the AT&T iPhone 5 at the same time. The iPhone 4S averaged a 2.4Mbps download speeds over "4G," whereas the iPhone 5 averaged 20.31Mbps. In comparison, my home wireless Internet via Time Warner averaged 9.02Mbps at the hour I tested (1:30 a.m.).
For a more formal rundown, CNET editors Brian Bennett and Kent German tested both the Verizon and AT&T iPhone 5 models in San Francisco and New York, and compared against both the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S3.

Phones tested	Download (average)	Upload (average)
iPhone 5 (AT&T)	20.44	9.39
iPhone 4S (AT&T)	6.77	1.66
Samsung Galaxy S3 (AT&T)	19.37	9.12
iPhone 5 (Verizon)	9.78	7.47
iPhone 4S (Verizon)	1.71	0.91
Samsung Galaxy S3 (Verizon)	8.87	13.55

The iPhone 5, in both instances, edged the Samsung Galaxy S3 in download speeds, but the Galaxy S3 was faster in upload speeds on Verizon.

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The difference can be felt loading Web pages: the mobile version of CNET took 5.3 seconds over LTE, versus 8.5 seconds on the iPhone 4S. A graphically intensive Web site like the desktop version of Huffington Post took 16 seconds to load via LTE, versus 23.3 seconds on the iPhone 4S in 4G.
Those who already use 4G LTE may simply be nodding their heads, but to iPhone owners looking to upgrade, this is major news. For many people, LTE will be faster than their own home broadband.
Of course, that's a dangerous seduction: with fast LTE comes expensive rates and data caps. AT&T also requires a specific plan to even enable FaceTime over cellular. Make sure you don't fall down the rabbit hole of overusing your LTE, because believe me, you're going to want to. I tried setting it up a wireless hot spot for my MacBook Air, and the result was generally excellent.
Outside major cities, it's not quite as exciting if you don't have LTE coverage. Using the AT&T iPhone 5 out in East Setauket, Long Island, data download speed was merely 3.5Mbps because of a lack of AT&T LTE service. Verizon's LTE coverage map is larger, but Sprint's LTE network is small as well. My experience with AT&T and LTE may not necessarily be yours.
Wi-Fi has also gotten a bit of a boost via dual-band 802.11n support over both 2.5GHz and 5GHz. It should help in the event of interference with other Wi-Fi devices, although I never encountered that problem before, even with tons of Wi-Fi gadgets scattered about my apartment.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

The camera
Something on the iPhone 5 has to not be new, right? Well, even the rear iSight camera's been tweaked, but not quite as much as other features. It's still an 8-megapixel camera, but there's a new sapphire-crystal lens, and improved hardware enabling features like dynamic low-lighting adjustment, image stabilization on the 1080p video camera, and the capability to take still shots while shooting video.

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The camera takes excellent pictures, a bit more so now than before. The iPhone 5 takes far clearer low-light pictures, but the result, while more coherent, is grainier and lower resolution than the wonderfully detailed images taken in bright, direct light. I ran around in semi-darkness in my son's room taking pictures of his toys, and found that the iPhone 5 was able to make things out in places where the iPhone 4S couldn't. Read Josh Goldman's detailed, extensive testing of the iPhone 5's camera versus the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X.

Indoor shot with the iPhone 5.

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I settled for some indoor house shots instead to show off how the camera works in dimmer conditions. Of course, you'll probably use flash in those instances, but it can't hurt to have it as a backup.

iPhone 5 camera, outdoors.

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I took pictures outdoors and in, and the biggest differences I could appreciate were the awesome new panorama mode and the even faster picture-taking. One of these two features can be acquired on the iPhone 4S via an iOS 6 update. The other amounts to a bump up from the iPhone 4S camera.

(Credit: CNET)

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