Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Best Android Phones: Sept-Oct 2010
Back in June, we gave you a list of the best Android phones that you could choose from. Since then several new phones have been released that we have reviewed. So, here's a list of top phones sporting Google's 'tasty' Operating System.
Under Rs. 10,000
For people not very keen on lightening their wallets for a mobile phone, but yet want features of this celebrated mobile OS, here's a phone that can do it all - the Samsung Galaxy 5 i5500. We had a brief hands-on with this phone, and going by what it offers at Rs. 9,000, we think it is a sweet deal.
Packaged in a cute and petite body, the i5500 has a decently sized 2.8-inch display, (unlike the tiny 2.55-inch one on the X10 mini) with a QVGA resolution. Being of capacitive nature and running a 600 MHz processor, this phone is snappy in its functioning. The phone has got good connectivity options given the price range -- 3G (HSDPA), Wi-fi and A-GPS. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack that lets you plug any earphone to it.
It runs Google's one-generation-older Android 2.1 OS, with access to the Android Market, which was surprisingly missing on the Acer beTouch e110. However, the 2 megapixel fixed focus lens is the only sore point of this phone. The X10 mini is cuter but paying almost Rs. 15,000 is just criminal, as the only thing that's brighter about this phone is its 5 megapixel camera. Incidentally, this is exactly what I'd said months ago even before the X10 mini had launched.
For Detail Click HereTips and Tricks for iTunes 10
Sync only specific albums and genres
While iTunes 9 only allowed syncing of entire music library into your iDevice, iTunes 10 offers more advanced music syncing choices. In addition to existing artists and playlists, users are now allowed to sync selected albums and genres. All you need to do is to go to the Music tab of your iDevice and select "Selected playlists, artists, albums and genres" to enable this option.
Get back the old Album view
The new Album view in iTunes 10 shows the cover art only when an album has five or more songs. If there are less than five songs only a blank space is displayed in place of the cover art, thus not wasting space. Still, if you want the old Album view, you can get it back by simply going to View > Always show artwork. This option is accessible when you are in Music Library.
Music player in album artwork
You know how you can click on an album's cover art in the lower-left corner of iTunes to enlarge it? In iTunes 10, it's not just for show - they've built playback controls into it. You can even close the main iTunes window and use the artwork viewer as a mini player.
For More Detail Click Here
Samsung Galaxy 3 Android Mobile Phone
Samsung’s Galaxy range of devices is gaining quite a bit of popularity and after the success of their Corby devices, the company is getting more of the spotlight. One of their latest Android devices is the I5801 aka Galaxy 3. It’s offered up as a lower end Android device and could make things for the Spice Mi-300 a little difficult. Here’s a closer look.
Form Factor
The design is chunky and although quite comfortable to hold, I’m not happy with the look. It’s quite plain and the bulky and I know Samsung has a better fashion sense than this. The chrome finish makes it more of a mirror than a display (3.2-inch, 240 x 400 pixels) making it hard to view in bright sunlight. The 3.5mm handsfree socket, micro USB port and power/screen lock button are placed at the top. A hot swap slot for both the microSD card and SIM card are located under the rear panel. The Galaxy 3’s bundled handsfree is an in-ear styled speaker and is capable of delivering high quality sound while being comfortable to wear for long periods.
Features and Performance
Interface
If you buy the device right now you’ll be running Android 2.1 aka Éclair but the Galaxy 3 does support Froyo which will be out soon via an OTA update. Samsung’s Touch Wiz 3.0 UI is running on top of Android and, while I’m no fan, is nevertheless easy to navigate. The integration of Social Networking accounts with your phone book could have been better, but it gets the job done. There are Android and TouchWiz widgets available for the multiple desktops and you can download more off the Android market or Samsung’s App store. Swype for Android is by far one of the best assets that the Galaxy 3 comes pre-equipped with. It’s disappointing that other a generic Android Swype app isn’t available for all Android phones.
One major issue I did have with the device is that it was quite sluggish. It took really long to read an 8GB memory card for starters and there was a considerable amount of lag when trying to accessing apps/games etc. The light sensor has similar problems with delay. Oddly though multi-touch capabilities were a non-issue. It could be an issue with the test piece, but if any of you readers who own the device are facing similar issues, please let us know.
Media
The one thing that almost all Samsung handsets, irrespective of price, manage to deliver on is media. The Galaxy 3’s media capabilities are no exception. Thanks to Samsung's DNSe audio enhancement the music player dishes out loud and very clear tones from the high to the low frequencies. With the assistance of Effects, presets and an 8 band customizable setting, tone quality can be personalized to your preference. A 5.1 Surround sound option is also thrown in to sweeten the deal. The device can also read .AVI video files in a DivX or XviD format which is another bonus. You won’t need to convert videos, just drag and drop files for playback. The 5.1 Surround option is also applicable here. The handset also comes with an FM radio that worked out quite well and a voice recorder.
For More Detail Click Here
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