Phone Reviews - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

LG Lucid 2 Quick Review: It Might Be The Best $350 (Off Contract) You Can Spend On A Verizon Phone

Posted by David Ruddock in Lucid 2, Phone Reviews

We review a lot of high-end phones here on Android Police. In fact, we probably review a disproportionately low number of entry-level and mid-range devices, because many of them are, well, boring. We also know that you, our readers, are rarely interested in the often no-value value-proposition that these handsets tend to represent, especially in the US. Here, a wireless contract is two years long whether you're buying a refurbished Galaxy Nexus (ew!) or a shiny new Galaxy S4.

This is particularly frustrating for Verizon subscribers. Verizon's prepaid smartphone plans are basically worthless (strict phone options, no LTE). There is no national Verizon MVNO.

Apr

Galaxy S4 Deep-Dive Review: More Of The Same, But Better (For The Most Part)

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy S4, Phone Reviews

How do you follow up the most popular Android smartphone ever? That's the question Samsung had to ask itself after the Galaxy S III became a worldwide sensation, and arguably the only widely-recognized competitor to Apple's iPhone. Despite a less than totally-enthusiastic reception from some critics, the S III was apparently the recipe for success that sent Samsung's mindshare into the stratosphere. That, and the massive marketing budget that successfully plastered its mug on televisions, billboards, magazines, and websites the world over. That probably helped a little.

Anyway, the Galaxy S4 is easily the second-most-anticipated smartphone of 2013, and it's not hard to see why.

Apr

LG Optimus G Pro (Korean Version) Review: LG Finally Finds The Sweet Spot (A Relatively Large One)

Posted by David Ruddock in Optimus G Pro, Phone Reviews

Giant smartphones are becoming increasingly popular the world over, and for the last two years, it's a market Samsung has absolutely and utterly dominated. The Note and Note II are both excellent devices, and Samsung had the rare luck of getting something right the first time with the Note line. If you want a big phone, and money is no object, the Note II stands alone. It seems LG, though, has something to say about that.

After the rather abysmal failure that was the hilariously-shaped Optimus Vu, it had been rumored LG was getting out of the big phone game. Apparently, though, it's had a change of heart - the Optimus G Pro being the result.

Apr

HTC One Deep-Dive Review: The Most Important Smartphone This Year May Also Be The Best

Posted by David Ruddock in One, Phone Reviews

Last Updated: April 15th, 2013

Yep, I'm calling it: the HTC One is the most important smartphone that will be released this year. And I know, this year is far from over - but let me explain why I think it will hold true regardless of what's to come.

Right now, the smartphone industry is slowly but surely evolving into a duopoly. Samsung and Apple control a larger piece of the proverbial pie than ever, as almost every other major Android OEM's market share shrinks - a trend that has continued for nearly two years now. HTC has borne the brunt of this sea-change, something a quick look at the company's financials can tell you in more words than I will here.

Mar

Sony Xperia ZL Review: Dangerously Close To Smartphone Greatness, But Not Close Enough

Posted by David Ruddock in Phone Reviews, Reviews, Xperia Z, Xperia ZL

The Xperia ZL is the 'little' brother to Sony's recently-unveiled Xperia Z, and to get the most pressing question out of the way immediately: what's the difference between the two? Well, the ZL isn't waterproof (and thus has a different chassis and design), has a hardware camera button, and uses a minutely larger (by 40mAh) battery. That's really it. The display, the chipset, the camera, and the software are all near as makes no difference identical to those on the Z.

Why make the ZL, then? Well, Sony has talked up things like different design direction and regional marketing strategies, but the reason this phone came to be is really quite simple: the ZL is slightly cheaper than the Z.

Feb

Oppo Find 5 Review: Not Perfect, But You Should Probably Pay Attention To It Anyway

Posted by David Ruddock in Find 5, Oppo, Phone Reviews

Last Updated: March 14th, 2013

In a world where Samsung and Apple dominate the smartphone sphere, and multi-billion dollar companies like Sony, LG, and Motorola struggle to maintain single-digit market share, it's rather easy to convince yourself that real innovation and excellence costs lots of money. And, as an extension of that thought process, that there's little reason to look outside the current crop of popular phone makers.

But you'd be wrong.

Known mostly in the United States for its Blu-ray players (yes, really), Oppo is a Chinese electronics maker that is easily ignored. I hadn't even heard of their Blu-ray players until last week (and only because I looked them up on Wikipedia).

Dec

LG Spectrum 2 Review: Verizon's Mid-Range Handset War Just Got More Interesting

Posted by David Ruddock in Phone Reviews, Spectrum 2, Verizon Wireless

If you're a Verizon Wireless customer, and you're not looking to spend over $100 or so on an Android smartphone, your options aren't exactly limited at this point. If you want one that's relatively current, though, the RAZR M and Incredible 4G are basically your choices, one of which we actually really liked.

Both of those phones, though, by modern Android smartphone standards, are relatively small, with 4-4.3" qHD displays. For some, such a size may actually be desirable - there have always been a steady stream of complaints about the growing dimensions of Android phones. I, too, often wonder if this is indicative of a larger trend (pun intended), or if it is merely a symptomatic of some subtle problem with the current touchscreen interaction paradigm.

Nov

DROID DNA Review: Love It Or Hate It, This Is Verizon's Best DROID Yet

Posted by David Ruddock in DROID DNA, Phone Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: November 23rd, 2012

The latest and greatest from Verizon and HTC's ongoing DROID partnership marks something of a shift in strategy for the two companies. In the past, if you wanted an HTC "DROID," your options were basically limited to the Incredible brand, which has become decidedly, well, less incredible over time. And while the Incredible started out as a top-of-the-heap smartphone back in 2010, it too was quickly eclipsed by bigger, better phones. Verizon's approach to HTC from basically day one has been "the DROID phone that costs less than some other DROID phone we throw a lot more marketing money behind."

There's nothing so wrong about that, but it hasn't exactly helped HTC grow its reputation on America's largest wireless carrier.

Nov

HTC One X+ Review: A Mid-Cycle Refresh Makes A Great Phone Even Better

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in AT&T, News, One X+, Phone Reviews

The HTC One X was (and still is) a fantastic device thanks to its solid hardware, excellent build quality, and stunning display. But it's a little long in the tooth, partially because the newest high-end smartphones have both quad-core CPUs and LTE, and partially because in the smartphone world, anything that's 7 months old is (unfortunately) outdated.

That brings us to the HTC One X+, which is more of a mid-cycle refresh than an all-new model. It keeps the same basic frame and the outstanding display, but packs a more powerful version of NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 CPU, and the AT&T variant even comes with LTE.

Nov

DROID DNA Battery Life Impressions: It's Not Nearly As Bad As You Think (With Stats, Methodology)

Posted by David Ruddock in DROID DNA, News, Phone Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Since its announcement, many internet comments (and tech bloggers, frankly) have lambasted the 2020mAh battery inside the DROID DNA as obviously being too small. A 5", 1080p display, quad-core processor, and LTE - with a 2020mAh battery? HTC must be nuts. Well, it turns out, they actually aren't nuts and actually do know how to make a phone that doesn't die after half a day off the charging cable teat. Surprising, I know. And despite what you may be hearing elsewhere (I won't name names), my experience with the DNA's longevity has been quite positive. I got a lot of requests for an in-depth look at battery life on the DNA when I posted my initial impressions, so here's what I came up with.