HTC One S Review

HTC One S hands-on at MWC 2012 (video)

HTC Sense 4 review

HTC One X review

In some alternate universe, the One S would be HTC's flagship phone. There's the new, forged-for-space body, a uniform 7.8mm thickness and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display -- normally enough to qualify for the top slot. However, HTC decided to make this its (upper) middleweight contender, putting the quad-core One X right above it -- and launching it at the same time. We've got the HSPA+ global edition, but aside from the radio differences, this is the same hardware you can expect to see from T-Mobile a little further down the line, and it's powered by a Snapdragon S4 processor similar to the one that will run inside the US version of the One X. Can the dual-core Snapdragon Krait possibly hold its own against Tegra 3? If you're in the market for a new Android device, why would you go for what is possibly HTC's second best? Perhaps -- dare we say -- it's not allabout the cores and display size. Read on to see what the One series' mid-tier option has to offer.

HTC One S review

Hardware

The One S has an aluminum shell, but there's a difference between this and its unibody predecessors: this one's been treated to micro-arc oxidation. Throwing 10,000 volts at that body, what we're left with is a finish more akin to ceramic and stone than the usual matte metallic seen in HTC's past offerings. The company's gone on record saying that it toughens up the surface of the phone. While it certainly feels tougher, don't expect it to behave as flawlessly as Gorilla Glass -- we did notice some light scratches on the matte surface, though we at least didn't uncover any metal. Both the top and bottom segments are coated in a soft-finish plastic which doesn't disguise wear-and-tear as well.

HTC One S vs. HTC Sensation XE... fight!

The top part lifts off to show access to the micro-SIM, but that's all you can get to. Like the HTC Radarthere's no access to the battery or microSD storage, but it's probably this hardware lock-down that's helped HTC slim this dual-core phone down to this 0.3-inch profile and it fitted our hand great. If the One X borders on the bulky, the 4.3-inch screen here feels just right. We've come a long way.

The One S also packs HTC's new imaging tech: a dedicated ImageChip combined with a f/2.0 lens. The primary 8-megapixel camera gets a red trim on the black micro-arc oxidized version, while it's blue on the grey anodized variant. The module doesn't protrude as much as on One X, but we'd still have preferred a recessed lens. When we rest the phone down, you're resting it on the camera -- we can hear and feel the lens land on the surface. Aside from this flash of color on the camera, it's a relatively understated phone, with smaller Beats Audio branding at the base of the device, while the loudspeaker and ear piece grills are actually minute holes made into the body. Hidden behind the ear piece is a subtle notification light that glows from behind those holes to illustrate when the phones charging, charged and if there's some email or social networking nugget waiting for you.

A front-facing camera lies to the right of this, with the Super AMOLED screen dominating the rest of the front. While HTC's interpretation of Ice Cream Sandwich has been coupled with three capacitive buttons (no on-screen substitutes), it's replicated the original Android 4.0 phone by including a multitask button -- there's no menu or search buttons here. Protected by that plasma-bathed coating, you'll find Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Krait dual-core processor, ticking away at 1.5GHz, while 1GB of memory accompanies 12GB of available storage. A recent HTC-Dropbox deal means you'll also net an extra 25GB of storage for two years once you log in to the cloud storage service -- and yes, it's in addition to your existing cap.

Display

Which do you want first: the good news or the bad news? Well, the good bit is that HTC has married a 540 x 960 qHD resolution with Super AMOLED. The bad news is that it's missing a "Plus" at the end of that moniker. Yes, we're dealing with a PenTile screen, and while there are still plenty willing to overlook that graininess, after seeing it side-by-side against the high-definition beauty on the One X, we're going to rule in favor of the latter. While Super AMOLED wins with the blacker blacks, whites are just a bit too off. Comparing the resolution on the two One series devices, differences in sharpness will only be apparent in native apps and on the web -- unless games and video content are ready for 720p, there's no difference in graphical polish, aside from those color palette issues.

Camera

This, along with the One X, is possibly the best Android cameraphone we've seen yet.

HTC's been pushing its new camera chops ever since Barcelonaand we finally got a chance to try it out. And it works. Really well. This, along with the One X, is possibly the best Android cameraphone we've seen yet. Specification-wise, it's an eight-megapixel autofocus camera capable of 1080p video capture, with an LED flash and a tempting f/2.0 lens. In use, it's responsive, can capture video and stills concurrently and add several playful filters you might actually use. There's all the stable camera options to tweak inside the menus, including white balance, ISO and exposure, but if you're simply looking for an easy point-and-shoot, you'll never see them. The UI is an understated simple setup, with a big camera button matched by a similarly-sized video icon, while effects are located in a glass orb in the top right corner and a preview of the last still or video is in the lower right corner. Settings for flash, scenes, and the aforementioned technical options are all on the right side. Thanks to the f/2.0 lens, even shots in low-light turn out well, burst photography was especially impressive.

HTC One S sample shots

Video capture at 1080p is generally well-focused with a good balance of color and light adjustment. The takeaway here is that the One series have superb cameras; hardware and software both ensure good-quality images were taken quickly and easily.

Performance and battery life

	HTC One S	HTC One X	Galaxy Note
Quadrant	5,053	4,906	3,998
Linpack (single-thread)	103.88	48.54	64.3
Linpack (multi-thread)	222.22	150.54	95.66
NenaMark2 (fps)	61.0	47.6	32.8
NenaMark1 (fps)	60.8	59.5	56.6
Vellamo	2,452	1,617	901
SunSpider 9.1 (ms, lower numbers are better)	1,742.5	1,772.5	2,902

HTC's introduced us to a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 (MSM8260A) paired with 1GB of memory. The One S never shirked from what we asked of it. Attempting to make the browser stutter proved fruitless and tiling a complete non-issue. Provided your 3G or WiFi connection can keep up, you'll sail through the internet. Loading times on meatier apps was short, and it generally coped well with the likes of Shadowgun and GTA 3, although the audio didn't match the video on the venerable console title.

According to these benchmarks, the dual-core One S manages to trump its quad-core contemporary. Admittedly, tests like these can't be directly compared side-by-side, since the One X has a larger screen with much higher resolution, and takes advantage of a quad-core chip. Irrespective of this, the phone smoked its dual-core competition, leaving the likes of the Exynos-powered Galaxy Note choking on its exhaust.

The One S comes with a very middling 1,650mAh battery but performance betrayed those numbers. We hit just over eight and a half hours of constant video playback during our typical rundown test -- 2.5 hours more than its sibling, the HTC One X. This was at 50 percent brightness, with WiFi on (but not connected), and email and Twitter set to fetch updates at regular intervals. This pegs it at around the same lifespan as the iPhone 4S when it comes to video playback, although it doesn't quite match the bigger-screened Galaxy Note. Then again, it doesn't have the same 2,200mAh battery store to draw on. In more standard use, the phone lasted through our daily grind, including emails, web browsing sessions every two hours or so, some Spotify playback and a handful of voice calls and text messages. Charging the One S was still a daily ritual.

Call reception was good, with the extra mic located at the top performing noise-cancellation duties. Data speeds were as expected on both O2's HSPA+ and Three's HSPA service. On HSPA+, we reached speeds of around 2.5Mbps down and just under 1.5Mbps up, while HSPA circled around 1Mbps up and 1Mbps down -- all pretty similar to results on our other handsets. On the other side of the pond, AT&T's HSPA+ nabbed us average speeds of around 4.5Mbps down and 1.1Mbps up. This global version features quad-band EDGE and tri-band HSPA+ 42Mbps (2100 / 900 / 850MHz) support -- an AWS-capable model is coming to T-Mobile in the US.

Software

HTC One S screenshots

HTC's latest skin catches up with its corresponding Android version, at least number-wise. Sense 4 aims to cut the excess while offering up an experience that remains familiar to HTC fans in the past. A very difficult trick to pull off, but it's a definitive move forward. While it isn't stock, it certainly holds on to more Android riffs. Several widgets are also now available in both HTC and stock flavors.

Sporting a thinner and lighter design, the One S doesn't deserve to be hidden in the shadow of its pricier brother.

Something worth noting is the new Sense keyboard. We've been testing both the One S and the One X and found key spacing was a bit tighter than on HTC's polycarbonate number. Fortunately, it's held on to some of its better keyboard ideas -- you'll still be able to slide between numbers, accented letters and more obscure punctuation by holding down a letter and sliding across.

Don't forget to check out our full Sense 4 review.

Wrap-up

Sporting a thinner and lighter design, the One S doesn't deserve to be hidden in the shadow of its pricier brother. With the latest dual-core Snapdragon S4 and noticeable improvements to HTC's Sense UI, as well as Android 4.0 and a potent camera, this phone is likely to play a large part of the manufacturer's renewed efforts after a shaky 2011. With a tactile finish and enough power to go toe-to-toe with HTC's quad-core entrant, it comes down to whether you're willing to trade a technically weaker screen for a noticeable price difference and better battery life. It's a decision we'd prefer not to make.


(Source)

Read More

The Water Charger

Would you ever consider charging your iPhone with water instead of electricity? Well believe it not, this is something that you can now do. There is a company in Sweden that has created a charger called PowerTrekk. This is a small and portable charger that you can take with you wherever you go.

The charger consists of an eye glass case and a water tray. And the charger is actually a fuel cell. The fuel cell uses water as power. This is a fantastic charger and is useful if you are camping over the weekend and is especially useful for hunters or for people that spend a lot of their time outdoors. If you are away from a power outlet, then this is the specific charger to use. It can offer you the power that you need to charge up your electronic equipment that might include your smartphone, your digital camera and your GPS device.

Once you purchase the charger, you need to understand how to set it up. This is an easy process, so here is how you do this. Put water in the water tray and then connect your iPhone or electronic devise to the charger using a USB cable. This is one of the best features about this device is that fact that you can connect the charger to any device by using a USB cable.

You may be wondering how power is generated. The charger is contained in what is known as a Powepukk. This case is lined with sodium silicide which when combined with water produces hydrogen gas. This gas is used to help generate power. This unit will be available in either May or June and will have a price of around $200-$250. You can replace the tray if you have to for around $4.

Read More

Microsoft Office On iOS & Android?

Its a case of better late than never for Microsoft. According to a trusted tipster of the blog BGR, Microsoft have inevitably decided to release their productivity suit i.e the Microsoft Office to the tablet and smartphone domain. The release date is scheduled to be somewhere in November this year, which coincides with the launch of windows 8. Another reason coming up for the late release is that Microsoft would not want to undercut Windowstablets before they are made available in the market, so holding off on a release until the fall is a good strategic call.  The launch is planned to occur simultaneously for both iOS as well as Android although Android releases are nearly always a significant period of time behind that of iOS.

Leaked images of Microsoft Office running on an iPad surfaced a few months back but Microsoft were very quick to deny their authenticity however there has been no denial this time around. Office has been a major source of revenue for Microsoft for quiet sometime and It is quiet difficult to understand why it took Microsoft this long to launch this product of theirs on mobile platforms. If the mobile app is half as useful as its desktop counterpart and is reasonably priced, rest assured it will Generate a lot of sales for Microsoft.

There are many apps available on both Android and iOS which provide the similar functionality of that ofMicrosoft Office and many have been quite successful in generating enough sales, one must admit. In case of iOS, Apple’s very own iWork suit tops at the iOS App Store charts.

The BGR tipster is said to have seen Office running on an iPad himself and indicates that the productivity suit could be launched on iPhone and iPod touch as well because the loading screen stated “Office for iOS,” as opposed to simply for iPad.

The interface is expected to be as user friendly as the PC version and this could make Microsoft to charge a ludicrous price for it. All we can do is hope that Office for tablets turns out to be a supreme productivity suit and that too at an affordable price

Read More

Google Celebrates Bob Moog's 78th Birthday

A Google doodle today honors the legacy of Bob Moog, the creator of a famous line of synthesizers, and the grandfather of electronic music.


A Google doodle today is emblazoned with an interactive synthesizer, an homage to music pioneer Bob Moog, who would have turned 78 today

So who was Robert "Bob" Moog? A consummate tinkerer, an electronic music pioneer, founder of Moog Music, and the progenitor of a sound that has beendescribed as "assertive, bouncy, exotically wheezy and occasionally explosive." 

In Pictures: Google Doodles you'll never see

Moog was born and raised in New York City. He studied physics at Queens College and electrical engineering at Columbia. In the mid-1960s, as a doctoral candidate in engineering physics at Cornell University, he paired with the composer Herbert Deutsch to develop a voltage-controlled synthesizer module – a portable, relatively-easy-to-use synth that yielded a range of weird and otherworldly noises. 

As the Associated Press has pointed out, "other synthesizers were already on the market [at the time], but Moog's stood out for being small, light and versatile." Moreover, Moog's timing was right: Bands such as The Beatles, which would eventually use a Moog machine on the album "Abbey Road," wanted a psychedelic sound, and the Moog could provide it in spades. 

"A note might, for example, explode in a sudden burst, like a trumpet blast, or it could fade in at any number of speeds," the New York Times wrote in an obituary for Moog. A range of musicians adopted the Moog machines: Herbie Hancock and Sun Ra, the jazz greats;the Monkees and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, the rock groups; even the Beastie Boys, the rap group formed in 1981. 

"A lot of people today don't realize what this man brought to the masses," Charles Carlini, a New York concert promoter, told the Associated Press. "He brought electronic music to the masses and changed the way we hear music."

Moog died in 2005, at the age of 71. 

Read More