Phone Reviews - 4/10 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

[Review] For A Budget Phone, The Pantech Burst Packs Plenty Of Bang For The Buck

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Burst, Phone Reviews

While the rest of the world looks to the next super-spectacular smartphone with the latest technology, Pantech has decided to keep it simple and cheap with the Burst. This nice little smartphone comes in at a measly $49.99 with a new two-year contract through AT&T, and that makes it great for Android fans on a budget, those looking for a decent but cheap phone for their kids, or people who are new to the smartphone world and are looking to test the waters. I know you must be thinking (because I did, too) that overall quality must suffer greatly for Pantech to get to such a low price point, but that's where you (and I) would be wrong.

Feb

[Review] AT&T's Samsung Galaxy Note - Size Truly Doesn't Matter

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Galaxy Note (GT-N7000), Phone Reviews

The Samsung Galaxy Note (and its unheard of size) has been a hot topic since its AT&T release this past week, and we have seen quite a few conflicting opinions on the practicality of the device over the last few days. Many say that the gigantic screen prevents users from carrying it around comfortably, while others claim that it doesn't feel much different than any other phone. I've had the pleasure of using the Note for the past week, and I must say that I am incredibly impressed.

When I first opened up the Galaxy Note's box I was astonished by its size.

Feb

[Review] Motorola DROID 4: An Incredible Device - If You Can Handle The Awful Screen

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Droid 4, Phone Reviews

The keyboard-packing Droid series is one known to most any smartphone fan. Over the past two years, we've seen the Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, and the Droid 3 all hit the market in an attempt to recreate the popularity of the the original Motorola Droid, all to no avail. All three handsets seemed to just miss the mark - be it lack of 4G or not enough RAM to please enthusiasts and power users.

The latest version of the Droid series, the Droid 4, definitely addresses those issues and more. It's the most powerful Droid that the world has ever seen - but that doesn't necessarily mean it's all good.

Feb

Initial Impressions And Hands-On With The Motorola Droid 4 On Verizon

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Droid 4, Phone Reviews

A little over two years ago, a phone hit the scene that changed Android forever. That phone was, of course, the Motorola Droid. It almost single-handedly put Android on the map. Its QWERTY slider made it one-of-a-kind, and Android 2.0 was the hottest thing smoking. Fast-forward two years and three keyboarded QWERTY Droids later, and what do we have? The newest generation of Does, the Droid 4.

While some may argue that past Droids have been a letdown, The D4 fulfills many, if not all, of the requests made of the Droid line (on paper, at least). It's fast. It's sleek.

Dec

Huawei Honor Review: This Is What A Budget Phone Should Be

Posted by David Ruddock in Honor (U8860), Huawei, Phone Reviews

Last Updated: December 26th, 2011

Budget phone. The very sound of those two words, together, makes me slightly ill. In fact, it makes me almost immediately seethe with a sort of "nerd-rage." I hate the way budget phones are peddled onto the tech-illiterate by commission-motivated hucksters at "Big Four" carrier phone stores. I hate seeing people get locked into 2-year contracts because they got a "great deal" on a smartphone. "It was free!" they'll say, and that the nice sales representative (his name was Jimmy) kept them from buying "something they didn't need," because they walked in with a firm spending limit and they weren't going to budge!

Sep

DROID BIONIC Review: This Is The Phone That The DROID X2 Should Have Been

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Bionic, Motorola, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

The DROID BIONIC has probably been the single most anticipated Android smartphone in the US. Since its unveiling at CES, subsequent total re-design, and sort-of-delayed release, it has been a long and winding road for Motorola's newest flagship handset. Verizon's massive marketing arm hasn't failed to promote this thing, either - walk into any Verizon store and you'll see employees garbed in BIONIC t-shirts, armed with BIONIC accessory display boxes and a tailor-made marketing spiel, ready to meet you with more LTE and dual-core madness than you can shake a stick at.

So, it's safe to say, this phone has spent extensive time in the hype machine.

Aug

Motorola Photon 4G Review Roundup: Unique Design And Blazing Fast

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Phone Reviews, Photon 4G

The Motorola Photon 4G has been anticipated for a few months now, as it's Motorola's first 4G smartphone to hit Sprint's WiMax network. Moreover, it's sleek, stylish, fast, and an all-around good device, according to the first round of reviews that we've seen. Below is a summary of those reviews, but first, a quick look over the specs:

4.3 Inch qHD PenTile display
1Ghz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
1GB RAM
16GB on-board storage
8MP rear camera, VGA front cam
Webtop-enabled
WiMax
Android 2.3.4

Without further ado, here are the reviews.

Boy Genius Report

After reading the review, there's no doubt that BGR's Jonathan Geller really enjoyed using the Photon 4G.

Jul

DROID 3 Review: It's The Best DROID To Date - Pentile And No 4G Be Damned

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid 3, Motorola, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: October 3rd, 2011

The original DROID blew everyone away. It saved Motorola from almost certain bankruptcy, breathed new life into Verizon's smartphone catalog, and made Android a desirable mobile operating system rather than a cheap alternative to iOS. In short, it ushered in a new age of Android devices.

A lot had changed by the time its successor, the DROID 2, launched. The latest Android handsets had larger displays, better designs, and (perhaps most importantly) less buggy custom UIs. While the D2 wasn't a bad phone, it didn't stand a chance - frankly, Motorola had brought a knife to a gunfight.

And now, in July of 2011, yet another sea of change has hit the Android realm.

Jul

Unboxing & First Hands-On With The Motorola DROID 3

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid 3, Motorola, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

I'm fairly certain that I don't need to tell anyone about the impact the original DROID had on Google's mobile OS. It almost single-handedly brought Android to the masses, saved Motorola from bankruptcy, and made Verizon's then-stale smartphone line-up interesting once more.

Then there was the DROID 2. While it was by no means a bad phone, it would be difficult to argue that it carried the same significance as its predecessor - not to mention its locked bootloader and the godawful addition of Ninjablur.

Well here we are, just about one year later, with yet another iteration in the DROID series: the DROID 3.

Jul

Samsung Galaxy S II Review: Modern And Powerful, But Will Samsung Keep It That Way?

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Galaxy S II, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Samsung

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012

Samsung's original Galaxy S was undoubtedly a great success for the company. One could say it was their first serious smartphone, and its core was widely dispersed around the globe, appearing as the i9000 in Europe and Asia, and - perhaps more familiarly - the AT&T Captivate, Sprint Epic 4G, T-Mobile Vibrant, and Verizon Fascinate in the USA. While we have yet to see firm plans for a repeat of this four-pronged attack with the successor to the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S II i9100 (aka the Samsung "It's Over 9000!") is already widely available throughout the rest of the world and is making waves while at it.