What You Should Know About the Inspire 4G

AT&T’s Inspire 4G is an Android smartphone of many firsts. It’s the first 4G, HSPA+ handset for AT&T. (Many more are being promised for release in 2011.). It’s the first AT&T Android with a 4.3-inch touchscreen. It’s the first AT&T phone to offer a built-in Wi-fi/Mobile hotspot. And, it’s the first Android superphone to begin life with a sub-$100 bargain-basement price.

From the beginning, the Inspire 4G is made for AT&T by HTC. That’s why the Inspire is so reminiscent of HTC’s Evo 4G that they produce for Sprint. For the most part – they could almost be considered twins. Almost.

Obviously, the Evo 4G runs on Sprint’s WiMAX 4G network and the Inspire 4G runs on AT&T’s HSPA+ network. And both contain certain featured applets that highlight each carrier’s best offerings (video streaming, video calling, music downloads, direction services, etc.). The Evo has a nice little kick-stand which allows you to prop-up the phone and watch videos hands-free. The Inspire does not – but does have two small, separate, tight-fitting, back cover hatches – one for the battery (on the side) and one for the SIM card and 8GB mini-SD card slots (on the bottom).

On the other hand, both utilize a speedy 1GHz processor, and (now) run on Android 2.2 (Froyo). Both use HTC’s Sense screen environment. I particularly love when the home screen tells you it’s raining outdoors – a big windshield wiper slides across the screen to make the point! Both phones have Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 8MP cameras, HD video recording and so on. They’re both terrific devices.

The Inspire 4G measures 4.8 by 2.7 by 0.46 inches and weighs in at 5.78 ounces – pretty good for a device with such a large screen. It must be noted that the battery pack is physically quite small for a smartphone of this magnitude. The rechargeable, lithium-ion pack measures a capacity of only 1230mAh (most big Androids sport 1500-1600 batteries). Officially, the battery is said to provide up to 6 hours of talk time and as much as 15.5 days of standby. Those are pretty amazing estimates for such a small battery. In our tests the Inspire 4G was able to provide 10-11 hours of use – including making a bunch of voice calls (some longer than 15 minutes), watching live-streaming TV news feeds, checking and answering my emails every 5 minutes or so, having the built-in GPS help find a friend’s location and even playing a few games of Solitaire. HTC is doing something right with squeezing so much from such a compact battery pack.

Everything on the Inspire 4G seemed to work as described. That’s a huge compliment for any modern-day electronic device – especially a smartphone. The little indicator at the top of the screen (H+) tells me that I’m connecting to AT&T’s HSPA+ 4G network from my fringe/big-city location. That’s better than many other phones and carriers I’ve dealt with at this location. On the other hand, using the (free) Speed Test applet from the Android Marketplace the best I could get were downloads of 1,480 Kbps and uploads of 248 Kbps. Those are more like 3G numbers in my book – similar to what I get from Sprint’s Evo 4G and some of the T-Mobile 4G phones I’ve tried.

In Las Vegas, last month, we saw Verizon 4G/LTE modems provide speeds that destroy the competition. Of course, we haven’t tried Verizon’s LTE is real-life situations (like in NYC’s canyons), T-Mobile is promising much faster HSPA+ network speeds will be rolled-out this year and AT&T is promising a LTE network of their own. At least, the trend is in the right direction.

Upon it’s release, the Inspire 4G will begin selling for the low price of $99.99 along with the signing of a two-year contract. That’s pretty terrific considering what one hundred bucks will buy you from the cellular carriers.

I know the next generation of faster/better super-Androids are on the way. Everyone I know is waiting for handsets like Samsung’s Galaxy S 4G and Motorola’s Atrix 4G which promise even better specs and maybe even higher prices in some cases.

That’s where the brilliance of HTC’s Inspire 4G comes into play. It is a great Android smartphone right now – should be for at least the next two years of your contract – and it sells for less than one hundred bucks (even a penny less means it’s less). If you’re looking for a top-tier Android right now you should include AT&T’s Inspire 4G on your short list.

Highly recommended – especially for the asking price.

The post AT&T’s Inspire 4G: A Top-Tier Android at a Good Price appeared first on The Faster Times.

What You Should Know About the Inspire 4G

AT&T’s Inspire 4G is an Android smartphone of many firsts. It’s the first 4G, HSPA+ handset for AT&T. (Many more are being promised for release in 2011.). It’s the first AT&T Android with a 4.3-inch touchscreen. It’s the first AT&T phone to offer a built-in Wi-fi/Mobile hotspot. And, it’s the first Android superphone to begin life with a sub-$100 bargain-basement price.

From the beginning, the Inspire 4G is made for AT&T by HTC. That’s why the Inspire is so reminiscent of HTC’s Evo 4G that they produce for Sprint. For the most part – they could almost be considered twins. Almost.

Obviously, the Evo 4G runs on Sprint’s WiMAX 4G network and the Inspire 4G runs on AT&T’s HSPA+ network. And both contain certain featured applets that highlight each carrier’s best offerings (video streaming, video calling, music downloads, direction services, etc.). The Evo has a nice little kick-stand which allows you to prop-up the phone and watch videos hands-free. The Inspire does not – but does have two small, separate, tight-fitting, back cover hatches – one for the battery (on the side) and one for the SIM card and 8GB mini-SD card slots (on the bottom).

On the other hand, both utilize a speedy 1GHz processor, and (now) run on Android 2.2 (Froyo). Both use HTC’s Sense screen environment. I particularly love when the home screen tells you it’s raining outdoors – a big windshield wiper slides across the screen to make the point! Both phones have Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 8MP cameras, HD video recording and so on. They’re both terrific devices.

The Inspire 4G measures 4.8 by 2.7 by 0.46 inches and weighs in at 5.78 ounces – pretty good for a device with such a large screen. It must be noted that the battery pack is physically quite small for a smartphone of this magnitude. The rechargeable, lithium-ion pack measures a capacity of only 1230mAh (most big Androids sport 1500-1600 batteries). Officially, the battery is said to provide up to 6 hours of talk time and as much as 15.5 days of standby. Those are pretty amazing estimates for such a small battery. In our tests the Inspire 4G was able to provide 10-11 hours of use – including making a bunch of voice calls (some longer than 15 minutes), watching live-streaming TV news feeds, checking and answering my emails every 5 minutes or so, having the built-in GPS help find a friend’s location and even playing a few games of Solitaire. HTC is doing something right with squeezing so much from such a compact battery pack.

Everything on the Inspire 4G seemed to work as described. That’s a huge compliment for any modern-day electronic device – especially a smartphone. The little indicator at the top of the screen (H+) tells me that I’m connecting to AT&T’s HSPA+ 4G network from my fringe/big-city location. That’s better than many other phones and carriers I’ve dealt with at this location. On the other hand, using the (free) Speed Test applet from the Android Marketplace the best I could get were downloads of 1,480 Kbps and uploads of 248 Kbps. Those are more like 3G numbers in my book – similar to what I get from Sprint’s Evo 4G and some of the T-Mobile 4G phones I’ve tried.

In Las Vegas, last month, we saw Verizon 4G/LTE modems provide speeds that destroy the competition. Of course, we haven’t tried Verizon’s LTE is real-life situations (like in NYC’s canyons), T-Mobile is promising much faster HSPA+ network speeds will be rolled-out this year and AT&T is promising a LTE network of their own. At least, the trend is in the right direction.

Upon it’s release, the Inspire 4G will begin selling for the low price of $99.99 along with the signing of a two-year contract. That’s pretty terrific considering what one hundred bucks will buy you from the cellular carriers.

I know the next generation of faster/better super-Androids are on the way. Everyone I know is waiting for handsets like Samsung’s Galaxy S 4G and Motorola’s Atrix 4G which promise even better specs and maybe even higher prices in some cases.

That’s where the brilliance of HTC’s Inspire 4G comes into play. It is a great Android smartphone right now – should be for at least the next two years of your contract – and it sells for less than one hundred bucks (even a penny less means it’s less). If you’re looking for a top-tier Android right now you should include AT&T’s Inspire 4G on your short list.

Highly recommended – especially for the asking price.

The post AT&T’s Inspire 4G: A Top-Tier Android at a Good Price appeared first on The Faster Times.

The Nexus S

Is the Nexus S Different from the Galaxy S?

In case you’re still looking for the newest-of-new Android smartphones to give as a holiday gift there is one more new device to consider. Google has announced the release of the Nexus S. The Nexus S is Google’s second, self-branded phone – and it’s another terrific one.

Their first phone was the Nexus One. It was made for them by HTC. It was the first device to lead they way with Android’s 2.0 operating system and also the first with a LED screen. It was also the first Android to run a completely “accurate” Android OS. That means it ran Android as Google invented it. No add-ons, extras or do-dads that everyone phone manufacturer seems to add (special home screens, themes and additional software that subtly change Android to be more of a Motorola, HTC, LG or Samsung Android device. A Nexus phone is a pure Android phone.

This new device is called the Nexus-S. It’s made for Google by Samsung (hence the “S”) and mechanically is very, very similar to Samsung’s Galaxy-S line of Android smartphones. As a a matter of fact it resembles a Galaxy-S phone in nearly every way imaginably. Except for the addition of the updated operating system. That’s a very good thing.

That means it has the great pedigree of Samsung’s Galaxy-S line of Androids including their amazing 4-inch AMOLED display (although, this time, it’s a new, slightly convex “Contour” model, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 16GB of internal storage (there is no microUSB slot), front and rear-facing cameras (VGA up front and 5 megapixel with a flash on the back one), a 3-axis gyroscopic sensor, a 1500 mAh removable/rechargeable battery and loads more.

The biggest difference here – aside from the industry’s first curved (slightly convex) screen – is that this is also the first phone to run on the next version of the Android operating system – version 2.3 – codenamed Gingerbread.

The new OS has a loads of refinements and a bunch of new features. First of all, Google has updated and refined their basic interface. It now looks even more three-dimensional when viewed on Samsung’s amazing AMOLED screen. There’s also an enhanced keyboard scenario with slightly re-sized keys, multi-touch support and what Google says is enhanced smart typing suggestions. Don’t forget, since this is a pure Google device there’s no Swype software as standard equipment. You can add that separately from the Android Marketplace.

According to Google, Gingerbread also accounts for improved application and battery use managers, a new Download Manager applet, Internet calling (VoIP/SIP), a new text selection tool along with better copy/paste support, improved gaming and the addition of a new kind of processing chip that allows the phone to handle what is being termed as “Near Field Communications”.

Near Field Communications, or NFC, allows a device to communicate with other objects that have NFC chips allowing the two devices” to talk with each other. At the moment, the NFC function is only turned on in one direction with all information going to the phone.

The idea here is that by holding your Nexus-S close to one of the new Google Map Places decals (which also have a NFC chip inside) you’re about to notice (especially in Eugene, Oregon – Google’s test city) you’ll be able to download stuff. You’ll get special “links” downloaded to your phone with information, files, videos, coupons, etc. You name it.

But, fast-forward a few months and think about what happens when Google allows NFC to be a two-way communications system. At minimum, you’ll be able to interact with the new information on your phone and, of course, use your phone as a sort of credit card to make payments, react to special new offers downloaded to you phone – and, in general, buy stuff – making your Android phone more valuable to you and to businesses (and possibly to someone else handling your smartphone).

So far, the Nexus-S has proven itself to be fast and beautiful. What more can you ask of a new and very exclusive device?

Hardware-wise, there isn’t much to complain about. It has a great screen, speedy processor and very good battery life. I’ve been able to get a full day’s worth of use on a single charge with judicious use of the Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC radios. That means I turn them off when I’m not using them. The phone’s shell is completely plastic. That’s so radio signals from inside the phone get out and vice-versa (unlike some recent designs which value looks over functionality. Some might consider that cheaping out. I think it keeps the weight down. I’ve also heard one of two complaints about the “bump” on the back – near the bottom of the phone – but it doesn’t bother me at all.

As for the software, Android 2.3 is not a tremendous breakthrough in smartphone software design. Gingerbread turns out to be a slight update of a good mobile OS. They’ve made a number of small, somewhat noticeable improvements in this update. Hence the small number change from 2.2 (Froyo) to 2.3. Expect the really big changes to come with Android 3.0 (nicknamed Honeycomb). However, since Nexus phones have always been many developers’ hardware platform of choice, expect your Nexus-S to be among the first to be able to download and run OS version 3.0 as soon as it’s made available.

Because it uses Samsung’s Galaxy platform and because it’s runs the latest/greatest version of the operating system, Google’s Nexus-S is the best Android smartphone on the market today. That’s today, though. Who knows what else will be introduced in the next few months?

The Nexus-S is a GSM world phone smartphone that comes unlocked – and works on T-Mobile’s 3G (HSPA not HSPA+) or AT&T’s (and the rest of the world’s) 2.5G EDGE networks. You can get one from T-Mobile or your local Best Buy for $199 with a 2-year contract or $529 without a contract.

The post Nexus S Vs. Galaxy S appeared first on The Faster Times.

Avoiding the recent barrage of myTouch 4G TV commercials is becoming very, very difficult these days. In case you’ve been vacationing on Mars, the commercials are more than coincidentally similar to Apple’s annoying Mac/PC ad campaign – only this time the “good guy” is an attractive woman in pink and instead of one nerd there are two goofy men, representing an iPhone and AT&T’s wireless network, who don’t have a clue when it comes to what smartphones can really do. Thankfully, the handset is better than the commercials.

This MT4G is being called a 4G phone because the handset runs on T-Mobile’s rapidly-expanding HSPA+ network. Whether it’s really 3.5 or a true 4G source is in question, at the moment, because new international standards for 4G services that have just been proposed.

But, T-Mobile has decided to call the phone 4G to get in on the rush to cash-in on faster data services. Sprint ‘s 4G is up and running. MetroPCS’s 4G network is in a bunch of cities so far. And, Verizon’s LTE “4G” network is being promised for a number of markets before the end of 2010.

So, what T-Mobile has done is to change the little 3G notification at the top of the screen to an “H” to let you know you’re on their “4G” network. One other thing you should know – T-Mobile isn’t standing still when it comes to data download speeds. They’re reportedly on track to expand its HSPA+ to reach 200 million people by the end of this year – with plans to move to even faster speeds (42Mbps) in 2011.

The MT4G is a quad-band, candy bar-shaped worldphone (that means there is no slide-out QWERTY keyboard) which runs on Android’s 2.2 OS. Overall, it has a terrific 3.8-inch touchscreen, a second-generation, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5 MP camera and video camcorder, video chat capabilities, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a terrific Swype keyboard, Flash 10.1, DLNA screen sharing for HD videos, Wi-fi tethering, 8GB memory card and more – all in a remarkably thin little package which weighs less than 5-and-a-half ounces. Although some might feel that the MT4G feels somewhat heavy we like the fact that the phone is solid and reminds us of a precision scientific instrument).

In our testing in the NY City metropolitan area, the myTouch 4G was, indeed, a very fast smartphone. Trying the carrier’s new video store called T-Mobile TV, the handset did an admirable job of streaming video via both the 4G network and via Wi-fi.

What it didn’t handle so well was video conferencing. During our trials we found a number of drop-outs, stalls and downright freezes at times when trying to handle a video conference call. I’m guessing that a software fix will be coming down the pike real soon. Those faster 4G speeds next year will surely help as well.

As for hardware, we wish that the myTouch would play a little louder. Maximum volume seemed somewhat limited to our ears. On the other hand, we found battery life to be in line for what we expect from a feature-laden Android phone. That means, with judicial use, you should be able to squeeze an entire day out of a fully-charged battery pack.

Just as an aside, I’ve never understood why someone would want an optical track pad (like the one on the MT4T) in addition to a touch-screen. It doesn’t make much sense.

MyTouch 4G currently comes in four nifty colors: White, Black, Red and Plum (no Pink to match their spokeswoman’s outfits?) and will set you back the somewhat standard $200 after discounts and mail-in rebate. Of course, you’ll have to sign a 2-year service contract as well to get that price.

The post The myTouch 4G: What You Need to Know appeared first on The Faster Times.

The T-Mobile Comet

Why the T-Mobile Comet is a Big Story

This tiny, little wisp of a smartphone could turn out to be one of the biggest stories of the year. Not because the T-Mobile Comet is the best at anything in particular but because of what it ultimately stands for.

The T-Mobile Comet is made by Huawei in China. It’s small in stature but jam-packed with features:

On the outside, the T-Mobile Comet is really small: 4.1 by 2.2 by 0.5 inches and weighs only 3.6 ounces. It easily fits into any pocket or purse you can think of.

On the inside there’s a full-blown, modern-day, 3G-fast, world phone running Android 2.2 – that’s the latest version of the now infamous, open-source operating system. There is also Wi-fi, stereo Bluetooth, turn-by-turn directions via GPS, a 3 MP camera, Swype keyboard, 2GB memory card and just about anything you can think of when you’re talking about modern smartphones..

And the major feature list doesn’t end there. The Comet is also a Wi-fi hot spot. It allows you to connect other devices (as many as eight) to T-Mobile’s over-the-air 3G network. T-Mobile is now calling that network 4G. Let’s split the difference and call HSPA+ 3.5G.

Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. The T-Mobile Comet comes with a somewhat dated processor chip chugging along at 528MHz. Even though the phone runs Android 2.2 – and with 2.2 you can theoretically use Adobe Flash – this processor is actually too slow run Flash. The Google Marketplace won’t even show it to you as an option for downloading. And if you use a live wallpaper background (like the one that comes loaded as standard equipment) you can actually watch the processor working hard to keep up with everything that’s moving around on the screen.

Despite that cost-cutting measure on Huawei’s part, I found the Comet to be a terrific smartphone. I never felt that the processor or the teeny 2.8-inch screen ever slowed me down at all. Build quality is absolutely top-notch. The phone pretty much runs like a top. Especially if you’re the type who likes using your cell phone as a phone. Voice calls sound great in both directions. And the Comet is able to generate enough volume to let you hear the other party even in a moving NYC subway train. And a big shout-out for the battery pack they’ve included. Expect a full day (or a little more) of per charge.

But it’s best feature is its price. If you decide to “buy” the phone online the Comet is FREE with the usual 2-year service/voice/data contract. In T-Mobile stores it’s a whopping10-bucks. $199 without a nasty old contract. Plus, the carrier has a special data plan – for customers new to smartphones: $10 per month for 200 megabytes.

That makes the T-Mobile Comet a paradigm changer. Remember, the bulk of cell phones purchased today are still priced at under $100. And the Comet is WAY under $100 for a full-featured Android smartphone. Go to any U.S. carrier’s Website and look at the list of “dumb” and “feature” phones they’re selling for a similar price. Why would anyone choose, say, a $50-$100 phone that does a few things well when they can get a taste of being a member of the “elite” smartphone users club and get a phone capable of providing 85% or so of the best there is. And for free!

The Comet is squarely aimed at attracting the millions who buy the cheapest phones they see. Now they can choose a great Android device (plus an affordable data plan) instead of what has been available to them up until now.

Pretty darn amazing for a free smartphone. I wonder what Huawei can do with a $200 device.

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The Samsung Galaxy Tab and the iPad Go Head-to-Head

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Takes on the iPad

The iPad now has some big competition. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet computer is hitting the U.S. marketplace with a big bang.

Just like the iPad is an oversized iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is an oversized Galaxy S Android smartphone. Except the Tab has a 7-inch screen (diagonally measured) compared to the nearly 10-inch model on the iPad. And, the Galaxy Tab is easily held in one hand while you navigate and type on the screen with your other hand. Don’t try that on an iPad.

The Galaxy Tab runs on Froyo – the most current version, 2.2, of Google’s Android OS. That means it is able to run Adobe Flash applications with ease. Buried inside the nicely shaped enclosure is a 1 GHz Cortex A8 “Hummingbird” processor, a great-looking 1024 by 600 pixels TFT multi-touch screen, 802.11n Wi-fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, a 3 MP camera on back and a 1.3 MP on the front, the terrific Swype keyboard, 16GB of onboard memory which is expandable viz a microSD card and just about everything you might expect from a modern-day Android device.

For the record, the Galaxy Tab measures 7.48 by 4.74 by 0.47 inches and weighs in at 13.4 ounces. That’s smaller and nearly half the weight of the iPad– even though the Tab feels strangely heavy for it’s overall size.

To help you visualize, quickly check out the Galaxy Tab’s first commercial:

Our first test Galaxy Tab came from Sprint. That means it connects to the Internet with Sprint’s 3G wireless network in addition to Wi-fi. (I wonder why it’s not Sprint’;s 4G network but 3G speeds are pretty great as you’ll soon read.) The other US carriers have their own versions of the Tab too.

We can tell you that on Sprint’s network the Galaxy Tab is amazingly fast. In our informal testing in the New York City metropolitan area, the Tab was the fastest Android device we have ever tested especially when it comes to loading Web pages and switching between tasks.

The Galaxy Tab comes loaded with dozens of great programs as well. Samsung’s new Media Hub store, Daily Briefing (a combination of AccuWeather, Yahoo Finance and AP Mobile), Facebook Amazon’s Kindle book reader, Google Talk, Latitude, News & Weather, Qik (video chat, and video mail), Sprint Hotspot (share your Tab’s 3G connection with other devices), Think Free Office (handles Microsoft Office documents), Voice Search, YouTube and more. And if that’s not enough, there;s always the Android Marketplace and the tens of thousands of apps available for download there.

We should also mention battery life. It’s also seems better than any other Android device we’ve ever tried. We came close to getting 2-days of use on a single charge. For the record, the iPad has even better battery life.

The screen, while not Samsung’s famous AMOLED design – is terrific. E-reading, e-writing and e-watching has been a wonderful experience so far. Sound quality from the stereo speakers on the back is very good for a portable device.

Sprint is asking $399.99 for their Galaxy Tab with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement… a 2GB data plan with unlimited messaging for $29.99 per month or a 5GB data plan with unlimited messaging for $59.99 per month.

T-Mobile is also selling their Galaxy Tab for $400 with a 2-year contract (or $600 without a contract). Verizon is charging $600 with a contract and AT&T is rumored to be asking either $599 or $649 when their Tab is released later this month.

As much as I like the Galaxy Tab I still question its existence. I understand since Apple has such great success selling it’s oversized iPhone in the form of the iPad that Samsung (and a slew of others that we’ll be hearing about in the next few months) wants a piece of the action. I understand that having more than one device run on your mobile OS is a terrific business plan.

But, aside from the coolness factor of the Galaxy Tab and the iPad (and believe me – they ARE cool) I’m not sure I actually get the sudden appeal of tablet computing as a whole. In previous decades, tablets have been utter failures. Very, very, very few customers bought them despite supposed breakthrough every few years. Now, all of a sudden, they’re all the rage. Why? Not much has changed.

I wonder what would happen if Amazon decides to offer real Web browsing and a few other more highly-evolved applications onto their Kindle book reader platform. Especially if they sell that new device for, say, $150-$200. I think they’d have a popularly-priced hit on their hands. I understand tablet devices in that price range.

But at $400-plus, the iPad and Galaxy Tab tablets are expensive toys. As good as these on screen keyboard are, typing on them can be an exercise in frustration and futility. That’s somewhat tolerable in a large smartphone. But, why do I need to spend even more money per month for a contract on a second cellular device? I know Apple has a Wi-fi only iPad but it’s their cheapest model at “only” $500.

For now, netbooks and notebooks are still better for people who need to work on their computers. I believe tablets have their place as an extra computing platform – something in addition to your smartphone and laptop. Or, for those who don’t need to use a laptop. For instance, tablets are great for personal gaming. They have bigger screens than cell phones.

But, in these somewhat shaky economic times, computer toys which cost $600 should be thought of as luxury items and purchased accordingly.

You may feel differently. That’s exactly what these hardware and software companies are hoping for and planning to bank on.

Watch a video review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08iBWAgjEvk&feature=player_embedded#!

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The Blackberry Style 9670

Sprint Introduces the Blackberry Style 9670

I know it’s really a Blackberry but it looks more like a Raspberry or even a Blueberry to me. Officially, the color is called Royal Purple. It also comes in a boring Steel Grey.

It refers to Research in Motion’s new Blackberry Style – 9670. It operates on Sprint’s 3G network.

Style is not the first flip-open Blackberry. That honor belongs to the Flip Pearl (8200 series) from T-Mobile, a few years back. That phone had RIM’s clever SureType keyboard (most keys had two letters and software did the task of sorting it all out). But, the Style is the first phone of any kind, in recent memory, that actually flips open to reveal a full – QWERTY keyboard.

The new Style also runs on the latest version (that’s version 6 if you’re keeping track) of the Blackberry OS. That means the new phone is capable of improved handling of social feeds (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), a greatly improved Web browser (now able to compete with rival browsers Apple, Google and HP/Palm), 21st Century multimedia capabilities as well as what RIM calls Universal Search – a seamless system that lets you easily find what you want anywhere. That means on your device or on the InterWeb. It’s so cool that others will be trying to emulate it (think the Palm Pre 2, for instance.)

The Style is a fully loaded smartphone. It sports terrific color displays inside and out – a 5-megapixel camera – GPS (with turn-by-turn directions) – Wi-fi (802.11b/g/n) – Bluetooth – an optical trackpad – 512 MB of built-in memory and an 8GB microSD expansion card (it will take cards as large as 32GB) – a bunch of carrier-specific apps including Sprint TV – and, of course, the world-famous Blackberry enterprise e-mail system. It weighs a shade less than 5 ounces.

Because of the full keyboard the Style is slightly wider than most other flip phones. The keys are close together but very usable. My only problem was that I couldn’t get my IMAP mail to update if I read messages on another device. That meant I was forced to deal with emails twice. Not a major fault but a slight pain. On the other hand, you could consider it a blessing having your mail backstopped on another device.

I’d like to praise the Blackberry people for their dual displays. The 360 by 400 pixel internal display is terrific. But the 240 by 320 pixels external display comes in handy in ways you never think about if you don’t have one on your phone. For instance taking a quick look at the time on the always present clock face. Or whether you’ve received new messages and/or emails. Or checking who is calling without opening the phone when it’s ringing. I liked the feature on the original Flip and still think it’s neat!

Plus, I think the new keyboard is terrific. Yes, the keys are small and placed fairly close together, but they are perfectly shaped and with very little practice you find your fingers flying through the words. RIM have done a good job at integrating a full QWERTY keyboard and a flip-style handset.

If you don’t have every feature running at the same time – all the time – RIM believes you can squeeze as much as 4.5 hours of talk time and up to 10.5 days of standby time from their fully-charged 1150 mAh lithium-ion battery. That means a full day of use. But, as with all of these numbers, your mileage WILL vary.

Currently, Sprint will be selling the Style for a penny less than $100 – after a $100 rebate – and with a two-year service agreement. I wouldn’t be surprised if other carriers get a Blackberry Style of their own in the near future.

The post The Blackberry Style – 9670: What You Need to Know appeared first on The Faster Times.

The HTC HD7

Introducing the HTC HD7

This is a big smartphone. It’s called the HTC HD7. And believe me, it’s a handful. This is the top of the line Windows Phone 7 device from T-Mobile (at least, so far)

The first thing you notice about the HD7, and it’s very, very hard to miss, is the size of the screen. It’s a 4.3-inch monster – the same screen you might have seen in the older HD2 (which runs on the last Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5) or Sprint’s EVO 4G (both also manufactured by HTC). Consider this HTC’s Windows 7 version of those two phones.

It’s also the kissin’ cousin (screen wise, at least) of Verizon’s Droid X Android monster (produced by Motorola). Interesting point of fact, even though Samsung’s 4-inch AMOLED screens on their Android (and Windows 7) phones are sligitly smaller both the Samsungs and HTC HD7 (4.3-inch screen) are very similar in size on the outside.

The HD7 has pretty much the same specs as all the other Windows 7 phones because that’s how Microsoft wants it – at least for the first round of devices. These features include a 1GHz processor, 5MP camera, 720p video, GPS, Wi-fi, Bluetooth and Microsoft’s terrific new mobile operating system called Windows Phone 7.

For those who’ve been watching the commercials but don’t really know about WP7 (or you’ve been on vacation for the past year or so) it’s Microsoft’s new mobile operating system designed to bring their devices into the 21st Century to compete with modern day iPhones, Androids, BlackBerries, webOS and Symbian devices.

Under no circumstances should you confuse Windows Phone 7 with the slightly similar looking Microsoft KIN devices from earlier this year. WP7 phones are the real thing – with a terrific look and feel. Whether they’ll be able to compete with everything else out these is another story.

Overall, I really like the Windows Phone 7 operating system. The number of available apps in the Windows “Marketplace” is expanding daily with an ever-expanding number of terrific free apps for your downloading pleasure.

In our tests, we found that the HD7 is no slouch. We had no problems connecting to – and staying connected to – T-Mobile’s 3G network. E-mail and message delivery was quick. The 5MP camera produced good results under normal conditions. Overall, we found the HD7 handles tasks with aplomb.

And, it’s best feature, it’s huge screen is fun to watch. I’ve spent a lot of time enjoying videos on the HTC EVO 4G’s screen and have had similar luck with the HD7. In addition to the big screen they also share a pop-out stand, on the back to prop up the phone while you’re watching. It makes enjoying videos on the big screen a hands-free breeze.

The biggest problem we experienced was with battery life. Like other super-large screens – this one sucks-up battery life. If you put your mind to it (turning off Wi-fi and Bluetooth when not essential and keeping the brightness control away from the “supernova” setting you should be able to have the battery last an entire workday. On the other hand, if you usually turn everything on – and up – expect to need to recharge your battery by dinner time.

As for price, Windows 7 phone manufacturers all seem to be towing the same line. T-Mobile is asking $200 for the HD7 – after a $50 mail-in rebate – and with a 2-year contract.

The post The HTC HD7: What You Need to Know appeared first on The Faster Times.

Here comes the HTC 7 Surround – one of the first Windows Phone 7 devices to hit the market. Forget everything you’ve known about past Microsoft-based cell phones. Especially the somewhat similar looking, late and barely lamented KIN. The Surround is a very modern, competitive devices.

As with all these newly announced Windows Phone 7 handsets, the big selling point for the HTC 7 Surround is the new operating system. I could go on about it for hours – about how the screen interface seems strangely alien when you’re used to dealing with Androids, Blackberries, iPhones, or Palm and Symbian devices. But, after 10 minutes or so of adjusting you’re a pro at dealing with the new WP7 “Metro” interface..

WP7 is a complete re-write of the Microsoft smartphone rules. It combines up and down page views, sideways-scrolling pages within apps, pinch-to-zoom screen commands as well as new ideas like keeping your finger in one spot for 2 seconds or so for what they call the “long touch” which slides down a contextual sub-menu.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. What you really need to know is that Microsoft has created a terrific cell phone operating system paradigm which also integrates portable Xbox gaming, Zune music and video along with Microsoft Office and Exchange software. Out of the box it’s usability is in the same league as Apple and Google-based smartphones.

Of course, the competition has a few years’ head start on downloadable apps in their respective online stores. Microsoft’s Marketplace is working hard to catch-up. According to Todd Brix, Senior Director of the Windows Phone Marketplace:

“At the time of this writing our Marketplace contains over 450 published applications, with hundreds more going through certification as we speak and up to a few hundred coming in each day. We’re confident that by US availability we’ll offer more than 1,000 apps and games and expect to add several hundred more each week through 2010.”

The Surround is a slider phone – but it doesn’t have a slide-out keyboard. What DOES slides out is some “hi-fi” Yamaha speakers that are normally hiding behind the screen. HTC also includes a little flip-open kick-stand on the back to reinforce the illusion of this device having hi-fi speakers. As a long-time audiophile I can tell the phone sounds fine – but hi-fi? I’ll let you be the judge.

On the other hand, it IS called the Surround for a good reason – there’s also Dolby Surround sound built inside to go with the HD video capabilities that bears some attention.

The handset has terrific hand-feel – a 3.8-inch touchscreen and all the features and standard software necessary for the phone to bear the WP7 moniker. Microsoft has strict rules about what goes on – and into (down to the processor and memory) – their new phones. They want to assure consistently great devices. For instance:

Minimum Hardware Requirements

The post HTC 7 Surround – What You Need to Know appeared first on The Faster Times.

The Samsung Focus

Introducing the Samsung Focus. It’s one of the first samples of a new breed of smartphones.

At first glace you might be fooled by the Samsung Focus. It looks very, very familiar. Like some of the recent Androids you’ve been hearing about. So, think of this handset in terms of it being a very close cousin of a Samsung Galaxy S quad-band world-phone – except for the fact that it’s not running any version of Google’s Android operating system but IS running Windows Phone 7.

Forget about all the Windows Mobile phones of the past. And please forget about KIN – even though its start page looks a whole lot like the the one on the new WP7 phones. This new OS – with its “Metro” screen layout – is ultra modern, super powerful, extremely intuitive plus very easy to learn and to master. Overall, I’ve found the Focus to be fast (to switch from one menu to another) and great with battery life (a full day – or much more.)

It seems to do handle every task with a definite flair – from the cute little animations page turns – or the little blue dots that dance across the screen while you’re opening a Web page or document – to the manner in which home pages go up and down while some new downloadable apps (like IMDb, Fandago, eBay and OpenTable) open to multiple screens which slide left and right. It’s like Microsoft studied the competition and made a concerted effort to do it better.

Being a Microsoft it is loaded with Microsoft software (just like Apple and Google handsets). Only this time it’s Xbox Live, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and more. My most important test is whether a smartphone can easily handle both my Outlook – Exchange and Google Mail, Calendar and Contacts. Windows Phone 7 passed with flying colors.

The Focus sports a beautiful, 4-inch, Super AMOLED screen. The screen serves to differentiate the devices from all the other new WP7s. There is also a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 5MP camera with dedicated flash, 5 sensors (A-GPS, accelerometer, compass, proximity and light), Start, Search, Back Camera, Volume and Power buttons-plus FM Radio and Direct-X GPU support – all of which are part of Microsoft’s minimum specifications for these devices.

The big difference here is that Microsoft is not actually building the handsets – they’re leaving that to a number of high-end manufacturers who have years of experience making top-notch devices. And, nearly as important, unlike Apple these new devices will soon be appearing on all the major U.S. cellular providers.

This type of macro-management over the devices should cuts down on the massive confusion I’ve experienced in testing different Android phones. I’m never exactly sure which button I’m pressing when I go from one Android test phone to another.

Microsoft has really done their homework on this phone (and, because they’re so similar, all the new WP7 devices). I’ve been living with this phone for a week now and I’ve only begun to scratch the surface with what it’s able to do. For instance, since I try not to memorize the special instruction sheets they hand-out to reviewers I’m always surprised to find a feature or three that I didn’t know about or wasn’t expecting. I was amazed when my finger lingered on the screen for an extra second and I was rewarded with a pop-down menu on the screen. Microsoft calls it the “long touch”. There are dozens of pleasant surprises like that to discover.

Then again, because this is a pre-release device (although it was loaded with their final production OS software) there were some things that weren’t prefect. First of all “cut and paste”. Microsoft was actually going to address that feature sometime in the future. Expect a software update to handle that within weeks.

Plus, Microsoft’s app store – named Marketplace – has been pretty sparse when it comes to apps to try on the new phones. Microsoft had an answer for that too. They say they have lots of apps which will be ready when WP7 phones hit the stores next month. They’ve just started releasing them in bunches – to make sure their new store isn’t completely swamped when customers begin downloading programs, music, video and Xbox game files.

One of the smartest things Microsoft has done is to (finally) is to figure out a way to have WP7s (and, by entension, Zunes) handle the 21st Century reality of synching with Apple computers and iTunes. Microsoft is promising a software release to handle by the end of the year. That’s because if you prefer listening to your music from un-compressed files (WAV/AIFF) then iTunes is the way to go (Zune doesn’t do WAV files).

Aside from the great screen, the other major feature of the Focus that separates the Focus from the WP7 competition concerns memory. It’s the only handset among all the new Windows Phone 7 device that can utilize microSD memory cards (as much as 32GB in addition to the built-in 8GB of memory.

Now, it is time to discuss price. AT&T is the only cellular provider who has announced pricing – but they’ve made it very easy to remember. AT&T plans to sell the Samsung Focus for $200 with a new two-year service contract. They’re charging the same for their HTC and LG handsets. It will be interesting to see what price tags other/future WP7 phones will

WP7 phones go on sale in the U.S. on November 8th.

And so far, this looks like AT&T’s Windows Phone 7 to watch.

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