Monday, April 02, 2012

HTC One X review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/htc-one-x-review/

HTC One X review
It's been a difficult year for HTC. After several successful quarters, things have started looking less rosy in recent months with the company facing stiff competition and suffering from apparent brand dilution -- the results of launching too many handsets with forgettable names, making too many compromises for the carriers, continuing to rely on Sense, and lacking an iconic flagship to take on Samsung's mighty Galaxy S II. We knew something important was coming for Mobile World Congress after HTC timidly revealed the Titan II at CES -- after all, the company has a long history of innovation.

A few days before flying to Barcelona and after being sworn to secrecy, we were quietly whisked into a San Francisco conference room with clear instructions: no pictures or video. There, in the middle of the table, was a white phone that instan! tly caug ht our eye -- the HTC One X. To write that we came away impressed after briefly using it is a massive understatement. This was obviously a halo device made for geeks like us, something designed to take on the Galaxy Nexuses of the world, something with the mother of all spec sheets, something running Ice Cream Sandwich with a significantly thinner and lighter version of Sense. Better yet, there were two other handsets with the same impeccable attention to detail -- the One S and the One V. HTC was finally showing some vision again with strong branding, gorgeous design and a polished user experience. While first impressions go a long way, there's a lot to be learned about a product by living with it for a few days. So is the One X truly HTC's comeback device? Are we still delighted? Is this the Engadget phone? Hit the break for our full review.

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HTC One X review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Sense 4 review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/htc-sense-4-0-review/

HTC Sense 4.0 review
Over the last year, HTC has established a reputation for fragmenting its proprietary Sense UI even within the same version of Android. Why, Gingerbread alone is the foundation for at least three different iterations (2.1, 3.0 and 3.5) of the firmware. The bump to Ice Cream Sandwich is no different, with legacy devices getting an update to Sense 3.6 and the One series (and presumably any future devices) benefiting from version 4.0.

When we previewed Sense 3.6, we were disappointed at its similarity to previous versions and the sloppiness of its integration with key features in ICS. Even though it marked an improvement in functionality and performance, it seemed as if the OS and customized UI were at war with each other.

Sense 4 is a different story. It's lighter, cleaner and much more visually appealing than older versions of the user interface, and it has the full suite of ICS goodies to go along with it. HTC also throws in its own imaging technology, dubbed ImageSense, to offer some cool new enhancements to the camera. Ultimately, HTC has successfully tweaked Sense's design in a way that keeps the spirit of stock Android 4.0 alive, while still offering ! somethin g familiar to loyal HTC fans. The tour is about to begin, so park yourself in your favorite chair and join us.

Continue reading HTC Sense 4 review

HTC Sense 4 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/intel-330-ssd-leakage-hints-at-bargain-price-tag-perhaps-just/

Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB
A number of online retailers listed an Intel 330 SSD over the weekend, which would have been cool except that the drive was supposed to remain in the shadows until given a proper announcement. Some sellers pulled their listings pronto, but not before giving us a good glimpse at the drive's likely specs. These include the arrival of the SATAIII 6Gbps interface in this budget line, the same 25nm NAND fabrication process used for last year's 320, and promised sequential read / write speeds of up to 500MB/s and 450MB/s. None of this is especially thrilling, perhaps, when you recall that a similarly-specced SSD, the SanDisk Extreme, topped even the premium Intel 520 in recent benchmarks, but it all starts to make sense when you look at the pricing. SabrePC lists $149 for the 120GB variant, which is a full $40 cheaper than SanDisk's rival, $60 cheaper than the Intel 320, and only enough to pick up 60GB-worth of Intel 520. There are also 60GB and 180GB flavors, listed at $89 and $234 respectively. Assuming these prices hold tight, and that there's no repeat of the 320's firmware issues, this could be a bargain drive worth waiting for.

Update: Amazon UK helpfully lists April 13th as launch day.

Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung throws in free extended battery with VZW Galaxy Nexus, applies to new purchases only

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/samsung-direct-verizon-galaxy-nexus-free-extended-battery-promotion/

Samsung must be keenly aware that the Galaxy Nexus' battery life takes a hit on Verizon's LTE network: for a limited time, the outfit's throwing in a free 2,100mAh extended battery for first-time buyers (sorry, current Nexus owners are out of luck). To take advantage of the promotion, you'll have to purchase it through Samsung Direct (link below), which means you'll be paying $300 for the device and agreeing to a two-year contract. As Android and Me notes, though, you'd save quite a bit of money picking up the VZW Nexus and accompanying battery pack at Amazon for a combined $134. Suffice to say, then, this isn't a stellar deal, but those of you who disagree can avail yourselves through May 10, or while supplies last.

Samsung throws in free extended battery with VZW Galaxy Nexus, applies to new purchases only originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday, April 01, 2012

CrowdCall Is a Simple Way to Make Group Calls from Android and iPhone [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5897735/crowdcall-is-a-simple-way-to-make-group-calls-from-android-and-iphone

CrowdCall Is a Simple Way to Make Group Calls from Android and iPhoneiOS/Android: Group calling isn't something most of us need to do often, but it comes in handy when you're trying to make plans with a bunch of people or when you're making the rounds for holiday calls. CrowdCall simplifies the process by making it easy to make calls to up to 20 people directly from your iPhone or Android phone.

The nice thing about CrowdCall is that only one person needs the app to use it so you don't have to worry about getting everyone set up in front of a computer or having their apps in order. To set up a call you tap a plus symbol and start adding people from your contacts list. You can save that list for later so you can quickly bring up sets of people. CrowdCall is supported by ads and with that comes a slightly annoying text message that follows the call, but as an annoyance to an otherwise free app and service it's a reasonable trade-off.

CrowdCall | via The Next Web

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