Motorola Droid Razr Maxx
Specs
Screen: 4.3-inch Super Amoled Advanced qHD, capacitive touch screen
Camera: 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, 8X digital zoom, autofocus, HD 1080p quality, 1920X1080 resolution, up to 30fps capture and playback
Size: 130.7X68.9X8.99mm
Memory: 16GB internal, 16GB micro SD card preinstalled
OS: Gingerbread, upgradeable to Android Ice Cream Sandwich
CPU: 1.2GHz dual-core, dual-channel RAM processor
Spelling mistakes aside, Motorola Razr Maxx had me at Hello Moto. The Maxx is an extremely thin, sturdily built marvel made of DuPont Kevlar fibre and Corning Gorilla Glass. Furthermore, the phone and its electrical boards are protected by a field of water-repellent nanoparticles. Wow.
What stands out is the Maxx’s battery life. On a full charge the phone offers seven hours of continuous web browsing and 15 hours of video playback. Another marvellous feature is the Smart Actions application that comes preloaded with the Maxx. Think Sony’s SmartTags, and then think smarter. Smart Actions allows you to initiate predefined actions based on the time of day or location. The application studies your smartphone habits, then suggests new rules to apply throughout the day that will make your life easier. The Siri-slashing feature of the Maxx, called Voice Actions, makes it all the more user-friendly. Users can command the Maxx to send messages, emails, write notes, play music and much more just by speaking to it.
With all this and more, will I be buying the Maxx? Obviously!
Price: Dh2,299
HTC One X
Specs
Screen: 4.7 inches (1280X720)
Camera: 8MP rear camera with autofocus, 1.3MP front, LED flash, 1080p HD video recording
Size: 134.36X69.9X8.9mm
Memory: 32GB, 1GB RAM
OS: Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0)
CPU: 1.5GHz quad-core processor
After naming a phone ‘Desire’, one would think that no other name would be as impactful. That is until HTC released the One series. Though the One has been in the market for quite a while now, it is still a phone customers consider when buying a new smartphone. When you open the box, the screen guard on the device bears a cheeky message from HTC that says, “I’m the One you’ve been waiting for.” Well, let’s see, HTC.
First, the negatives. The Beats Audio branding on the back of the One serves no purpose as volume levels are abysmal. The quad-core-powered device makes it a point to drain your battery by the end of the day, and the lack of a memory card slot leaves you to satisfy yourself with a mere 32 gigs of memory. Besides these transgressions, the One X is a pretty cool device with its mammoth screen and light, sleek body that fits snugly in your hand.
Once you make peace with the battery life, the dreadful audio and limited memory, you notice that the One X’s pros outweigh its cons. The polycarbonate body offers a good grip, the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor is lightning fast, and you get 25 gigs of Dropbox storage space for two years. Design-wise, the only other phone that we can compare it with is the Samsung S III. Both devices are similar in many ways. Except that the One X is shaped better and can easily trump the rather generic-looking S III with its form. Although, just as we were about to crown the One X the best Android smartphone in the market, we received a package from Motorola containing the Razr Maxx.
Price: Dh2,499
Samsung Galaxy S III
Specs
Screen: 4.8-inch HD Super Amoled (1280x720) display
Camera: 8MP autofocus camera with flash and zero shutter lag and backside illumination (BSI)
Size: 136.6X70.6X8.6mm
Memory: 16/32GB user memory (64GB available soon) plus micro SD slot (up to 64GB)
OS: Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0)
CPU: Samsung Exynos 4212 quad
Men in Black II was a good movie. Men in Black III, on the other hand, was debatable as some loved it and some did not. The Samsung Galaxy S III, in my opinion, has several similarities with the science fiction comedy trilogy, the main one being unwarranted hype. A local website went as far as claiming that the S III is “definitely what the iPhone 5 should have been!” Not quite.
Being a successor to one of the most successful Android phones (in its time), the S II, the S III had big shoes to fill. The new toy on the shelves is a pretty neat device. However, Samsung packed the thing with almost too many features.
Some of the interesting, though somewhat inexplicable features are its Smart Stay (that uses eye-tracking technology and keeps the screen light on as long as you are looking at it), Direct Call (that automatically calls a contact if his/her contact or message details are open and you raise the phone to your ear), S Voice (Samsung’s rendition of Siri) and S Beam (that allows users to share media simply by placing two phones back to back).
But there are a few that are pretty cool. The S III’s buddy photo share feature recognises your friends as soon as you click a picture and gives you the option to share the photo with them instantly. Pop-up play brings screen-in-screen technology to the smartphone and lets users watch videos while they use other applications.
If you missed out on the S II, this is where you need to put your money.
Price: Dh2,499
Nokia Asha 303
Specs
Screen: 2.6-inch touch screen, 320X240 pixels, LCD transmissive display
Camera: 3.2MP, 4X digital zoom
Size: 116.5X55.7X13.9mm
Memory: Up to 100MB of total user memory, 128MB of SDRAM memory
OS: S40 Asha
CPU: 1GHz
Out of all the smartphones we had for review, we were most excited to receive the Nokia Asha 303. The Asha range is one of the cheapest smartphones in the world. We got our hands on the top-of-the-range Asha 303 that incorporates a touch screen and a full qwerty pad.
Some of the phone’s media offerings are interesting. Users can sort images by date using its simple Timeline feature. They can also apply image filters before clicking a photo, then instantly edit and share them. The only drawback regarding the camera is the lack of a dedicated button for it on the side of the phone. The volume it churns out is crisp and definitely louder than the Beats-equipped HTC One X, and the dedicated music key on the front of the phone is a plus point.
Nokia claims that the browser built into the 303 can compress web pages by up to 90 per cent — this provides faster and affordable access to the internet. The 303 is Wi-Fi and 3G equipped and comes preloaded with social applications such as Facebook Chat, Twitter and WhatsApp Messenger. The gaming front offers Angry Birds Lite and a demo version of Asphalt 4. Gaming on the Asha is an insult. However, if you’re paying Dh539 for a smartphone, high-definition and ultra-responsive gaming is something that you will have to live without.
Price: Dh539
LG Optimus L7
Specs
Screen: 4.3-inch TFT LCD, capacitive touch
Camera: 5MP
Size: 127.5X69X8.7mm
Memory: Internal memory up to 4GB, external memory micro SD up to 32GB
OS: Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0)
CPU: 1GHz Cortex-A5 Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon
LG’s superior electronics sets it apart from the rest, though it might serve it well to bring this superiority to its smartphones division. The L7 is one of the three new phones under LG’s L Style banner. The neatly designed L7 is a pleasure to look at, but slightly disappointing to operate, the main reason being its creators concentrating on aesthetics rather than what’s under the hood.
Despite being bigger than the iPhone 4S, the L7 weighs 121gm, about 20gm less than the Apple device. The phone does feel like a toy when handled, and since LG opted for style rather than specifications, it’s no surprise that its hardware is rather average.
A fascinating feature is the phone’s floating mass display, which in theory, is positioning the display closer to the screen — this is an interesting tried-and-tested feature seen on previous LG phones.
Due to the phone’s low-screen resolution and modest camera, the L7 will not be able to hold its own among the other new kids on the block, but it is special in its own way. The phone’s smart power feature automatically manages power consumption based on how much battery life you have left, something other smartphone manufacturers have to take into consideration.
For its price of Dh1,299, the L7’s main competition will come from the Sony Xperia U, priced at Dh1,199. The two phones share many similarities, such as the 5MP cameras, their close release dates, and the almost similar dimensions.
Price: Dh1,299
