HTC 8S - Review

The first device to sport Microsoft's shiny new Windows Phone 8, but how does it fare with its mid-range specs?

It has not been that long since HTC released their new mid-range windows phone called 8S, so it has a lot of competition these days, especially in the face of Nokia's Lumia series. But for a cheap device, this one is not so bad.

The design is simplistic, yet surprising. Smartphones using the Windows Phone OS usually come in a single-coloured casing, and while most of the HTC 8S is black, it has a blue-coloured stripe at the bottom, which makes it very easy to tell apart from other devices in the same category.

The buttons are uniform, like in most windows phones. The casing is built up from a sort of rubbery polycarbonate and the entire thing weighs only about 113 grams, so it feels very light in your hand.

Do not expect much from the screen. It is small, just 4 inches, but it is good enough for the operating system that this device uses, since Windows Phone 8 looks fine even on small screens. Its low resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, coming at around 233 ppi is also fine, but far from impressive.

HTC have chosen to power this mid-range handset with a dual-core 1 GHz processor and just 512 megabytes of RAM, but it is satisfactory for a cheap smartphone such as this one, and more than enough to handle the operating system without any glitches or lag.

The 8S, like most HTC smartphones, also has the iconic Beats Audio, so you will, at least, have a nice quality bass for your songs. The battery might look weak at just 1700 mAh, but it is more than enough for the weak hardware it has to power.

It is a standard practice to put 5 MP cameras in mid-range phones nowadays. Still, for a camera with such a small sensor, this one takes surprisingly good photos. You will not find many options to tinker with, though, and there are no scene modes. Note, also, that the HTC 8S lacks a frontal camera for video-calls.

If you are looking to try out Windows Phone 8 for a low price, and prefer other brands to Nokia, then the HTC 8S is definitely a viable choice, despite its low hardware specifications.

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Review and Unlock Sony Xperia ZL

Unlock Sony Xperia ZL

An awkwardly placed camera, and a nerve-wacking vibration feature

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At the beginning of May this year, Sony released their new high-end smartphone, the Xperia ZL. It may look like it costs too much at about 750$, but let's not forget that it is factory unlocked from the beginning, which means that, in the end, you will pay much less money than with an expensive contract. But what about the phone itself?

Well, it looks nice at first glance, and it has a smooth performance when handling apps and games, but when you look closer, you are bound to notice its oddities.

Sony are becoming famous for their weird designs these days, and the Xperia ZL is not excluded from the list. The LED indicator and the front camera are both below the screen. How anyone can find this practical can be a little hard to guess, and even though it does not technically hinder the way you work with the device, you may find it, at least, visually uncomfortable. You might also find it a little hard to not accidentally press one of the physical buttons, since most of them are on the right side of the phone.

Still, the Xperia ZL has an overall premium design, with a textured plastic back. The battery is not removable, but there is an almost unnoticeable removable lid for the SIM card and the micro-SD card.

As for the screen, it has a Full HD 1080 x 1920 resolution with about 441ppi pixel density. It also has Sony's famous Bravia 2 engine, which makes the picture crystal-clear, even when watching videos.

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The hardware performance of the phone is also nice, it runs Android 4.1.2 without any problems and handles most games and apps perfectly. This is thanks to the 2 GB of RAM, the 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor, and the Adreno 320 GPU. It might not benchmark as well as other devices, but the difference is unnoticeable during everyday use. Still, the bright screen and the powerful processor take their toll on the battery, so don't expect it to last very long if used continually.

The rear camera is also nice - it has a 13 MP sensor and benefits from the Superior Auto Mode setting, which assesses the lighting conditions quite quickly. Its HDR video mode is not as impressive as the one in the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, though, as it does not balance out shadows and light very well.

Overall, this is a very nice premium-looking high-end phone. So, if the weird physical interface is not a problem for you, and you have the budget, you will be more than satisfied with this device.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 - REVIEW

When we talk about smartphones necessarily shoud to mention Samsung Galaxy S4. With its over 10 million units sold to customers in the first month it turns into a leader on the market. And this is not an occasion. A very few smartphones could be boast with similar characteristics. It impresses with stylish and ultra modern design. Its comfortably sizes: 5.38 inches tall by 2.75 wide by 0.31-inch thick, make it perfect companion in every situation.

It's slim enough to carry in the pocket, which helps you to have fun in every moment in your life. The screen looks great, the speakers a loud and clear, and definitely looks more premium than its competitor Iphone 5. When we mention entertainment definitely the first thing that comes to mind is the camera features. Samsug put a lot of effort into their custom camera software and hardware, and more importantly they advertise their improvements as substantial aspects of their custom software experiences. Samsungs camera features are advanced from the 8 megapixels you'll find on the S3, up to a vigorous 13 megapixel shooter. In compare with other products of this class S4 produces generally good images with high level of the detail. With the help of camera extras Dual Shot, Drama Shot and Sound & Shot you will enjoy taking photos wherever you are. With the Dual shot option, you can combine photo from the main camera and front-facing camera into one frame.

Sound & Shot allows you to take a photo while recording nine seconds of audio. This feature of the camera gives you a possibility to add a music background to an image, hearing your favourite band with a photo to go with it, for example. The third camera mode that you will also find is Drama Shot. Here you can catch the movement across an unchanging background. Another new useful feature is Erase Shot. When activated it will automatically remove unwanted moving objects in the background. The pleasure of using camera will be full with suitable application, whereby you can tinker with brightness and contrast, applying different styles and frames.

It is essential to mention something about a screen. Samsung Galaxy S4 has a good news for a movie and video fans with its magnificent Full HD (1920 x 1080) Super AMOLED Screen, which comes combined with super improved video player. This super display is 440 ppi more than the human eye can perceive.
Furthermore the new Galaxy S4 Android 4.2.2 (jelly bean) offers comprehensive package of features, which include Air View and Smart Scroll. Air view allows you to interact with the touchscreen without making contact, while Smart Scroll is a the eye-tracking feature that allows you control it with a look. You can will scroll up and down on a webpage if you tilt your hand, and will do so only if you're looking at the phone.

Thus far everything sounds good, but how this could be combined with the battery life duration. For many of us is it important to be connected with the family, colleagues, clients and friends. That means that we will want it to be able to last more than a few hours away from plug. Unfortunately, S4 is no exemption of most smartphones, which charging at least once a day is essential. The screen, processor, 4G network helps to battery to drop from full to half after few hours. To preserve S4 battery life, the experts advise: “Avoid 4G network and try to keep the screen brightness down”.
There is no so big revolution after the S3, but all of these combinations make Samsung Galaxy S4 the best Android phone on the market.

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Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 - Review

Samsung’s Galaxy Ace 3 is yet another Android smartphone in the mid-range category. Truthfully, this device is not amazing or exciting to begin with and pretty much blends in with most of the other Samsung smartphones in its price range. Also, most people will find this device hard to distinguish from the other models in its product line. But still, here is what the Galaxy Ace 3 has to offer.

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The design of the phone is uniform at best. It suggests a connection to the high-end Samsung phones, but it is a bit more bulky and quite smaller. The button layout is also no different than the other models. Still, it is comfortable enough in your hand, but it is also easy to leave lots of fingerprints on.

It is outfitted with a 4-inch screen that has a resolution of 800 x 480, and a pixel-depth of 233ppi. The overall performance of the display is nice, with a decent brightness and a good representation of colours. The downside is that the screen is so reflective that it is hard to look at in the sunlight, even when the brightness is maxed out.

One thing that is not so bad about the Galaxy Ace 3 is the camera. The main camera is a 5-megapixel one and has a nice interface, though not as many options and functions as in the more expensive models. The overall picture quality is not bad for a mid-range phone, but there is still a lot of noise in every shot. The videos are also quite shaky, because there is no stabilization feature.

The performance of the hardware inside the phone is also nothing special. Generally, the Galaxy Ace 3 runs Android 4.2 without any lags or crashes, but when it comes to running more demanding applications like 3D games, it has trouble keeping up and almost always produces lag. This is because of the unimpressive Cortex-A9 dual-core chip, which is clocked at just 1 GHz and the weak Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU.

Looking at the battery life, the Ace 3 can drop quickly. Depending on the model, the 3G version has a 1,500 mAh battery, while the LTE version has a 1,800 mAh one, but both are pretty easy to drain.

Overall, this phone is nice for the mid-range category, but if you are looking for something with a bit more kick, you should probably consider something higher up the production line.

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