In the ever-changing mobile market, it can be hard to keep pace with the latest mobile phones. That's why we've put together this hub for our latest mobile phone reviews: to give you the ideal jumping-on point for choosing the best handset for you out of the most current models around.
We cover a plethora of brands, including Apple, HTC, Nokia, Palm and Blackberry, and operating systems, such as Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7, so you should find something that piques your interest here.
In short, if you're seeking a new mobile phone, this is a great place to start.
HTC Wildfire S
The first Wildfire from HTC spread almost like its moniker, so popular did its blend of HTC Sense, durable form factor and affordable pricing prove. Now that it's burnt out, however, it needs a successor to carry the torch. Rising from the ashes is the Wildfire S.
The handset carries on the legacy well enough, with an impressively solid chassis, great social features and responsive touchscreen. The market's changed since the first Wildfire blazed its trail into history, though. With dual-core 'superphones' to contend with, it's hard to consider a 600Mhz processor hot stuff.
And while HTC's Sense interface proves as compelling as ever, the lack of grunt means missing out on Flash support for iPlayer and the like.
All that wouldn't matter if the Wildfire S only required liberating a token sum from your account, but you'll need a fair few sheets burning a hole in your pocket (around £220 SIM-free, or £15 a month) to lay claim to this little fella.
In the highly competitive market of 2011, that makes the Wildfire S a tricky proposition. Beginners will be well-served by the Wildfire S's rounded package, but you can certainly get a lot more for not much extra cash.
Samsung Galaxy S2
It's rare that a direct sequel to something awesome – be it film, game or hardware – is anything other than a disappointment when it comes to a new phone.
Rarer still is when the second instalment surpasses the original. We can think of just a scant handful of cases off the top of our heads: The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator 2 and Left 4 Dead 2.
Well, add the Galaxy S2 to that list, because this phone is awesome.
Thin, light and with an amazingly clear 4.3-inch Super AMOLED plus screen behind its toughened Gorilla Glass front panel, this is one handset you won't be pocketing in shame when your mates pass by.
In fact, we suspect you'll be evangelising about it to anyone who'll listen. That's because the dual-core processor within its tiny shell isn't just a marketing bullet point, but rather powers an experience that we're nothing short of effervescent about. For instance, web browsing is blisteringly fast and the Galaxy S2's Flash support is second to none.
We're thrilled to say that the plus points are just too numerous to do justice of here. Check out the full review to find out why this is one of the best smartphones we're likely to see in 2011.
LG Optimus Black
The LG Optimus Black has some great things going for it – a sleek, lightweight chassis and lush 4-inch NOVA display in all its colourful glory. It might not have much more than that but it's a slick, capable handset that does well in the core smartphone media categories.
If you like gimmicks, you'll probably love the Gesture UI, though we thought many of the options – such as tapping to skip music tracks – were a little pointless when you really got down to it.
Overall though, and despite running Android 2.2 (with an upgrade promised at some point), we'd say the LG Optimus Black's worth the money if you're looking for an efficient, easy to use device that's easy on the eye and light on the pocket coming in at a very palatable £20-£25 per month.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
PlayStation. Phone. The jury's still out on whether the two will go together quite as well as such classic double acts as Chas and Dave - but, at least in this iteration, it's turned out to be a damper squib than the time we believed Back to the Future would turn out to be real by the time 2011 rolled around. It features a four-inch screen, slide-out gaming controls and the PlayStation Suite.
With the PSOne-era games that are on offer, we were hoping for a little bit more raw power considering the 1GHz processor chugging away under the hood. While Final Fantasy VII might be a bit much to delve into on the bus, we can only imagine games like the original Rayman keeping people going for a few minutes.
Much of what ails the Xperia Play could be fixed with time and care. As it stands, however, we reckon you could do better for your money.
The Xperia Play is too pricey for casual gaming, while we'd suggest serious gamers would be better served by picking up a full-on mobile console. Sony fans have the NGP to look forward too, and we'd seriously recommend the 3DS as an alternative.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar