iPhone 4 / 4S Anti-Glare, Anti-Scratch, Anti-Fingerprint - Matte Finishing Screen Protector








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iPhone 4 / 4S Anti-Glare, Anti-Scratch, Anti-Fingerprint - Matte Finishing Screen Protector


I like to buy the best products out there, which normally means I buy the more expensive items. But come on, this is a piece of plastic to protect my iPhone 4 screen. I have only bought a screen protector once before, for my toddler's iTouch, and had bubbles all over the screen. So I thought these screen protectors were all garbage. But after getting a big scare by accidentally putting my iphone in my pocket with my car keys, and getting a very light scratch on my screen, I thought I'd give these screen protectors another try.

And again, I thought I'd try some of the cheapest at Amazon, because, well, it's just a piece of plastic. If I was wrong, I was only out a buck or so, and could then go and buy the expensive screen protectors. But this time, I researched around and read some blogs, and found out dust is the culprit for bubbles. Taking that advice, I followed the directions and was able to put the screen protectors on 2 iPhones bubble-free! Here's what I did:

1. I chose my desk as the place to do the application. I wiped it down with an all-purpose cleaner, then wiped it down with a damp wash-cloth. I also did this during the day, with bright sunlight coming into the room. Do not try this at night, I don't think it shows all the dust hitting the screen.
2. Turn off your iPhone. You want to make sure the screen stays black, it's much easier seeing dust.
3. I then used another damp wash-cloth (if you squeeze it and water comes out, it's too wet. It needs to be barely damp), and wiped down my iPhone, front and back.
4. Then I got the little piece of cloth that shipped with the screen protectors and wiped the screen down until it was as clean as I could get it.
5. The iPhone was laid down on the damp cloth so it wouldn't rock and slide as i was applying the screen protector.
6. Peel off "Side 1", and start by lining up the camera hole and the ear hole. Then slowly lay down the rest of the protector on the screen, making sure no bubbles form as you go. You will get some, but if you do it right, they will only be near the edges.
7. Once it's laid down, then take a fingernail and apply gentle pressure from the center of the screen towards the edge. Basically driving the bubble out from underneath the screen protector.
8. The last step, peel off "Side 2".
9. Done!

Should only take about 5-10 mins. But it's so worth it. I bought the matte version of these and it's a nice improvement.

So my initial assessment that screen protectors are garbage is wrong, my technique at applying the screen protectors was garbage. A little bit of homework on the Internet, dust control, and I got a quality result. I highly recommend these screen protectors from this seller. I'd buy them again!

Nokia Lumia 920 4G Windows Phone, Red (AT&T) Review

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Nokia Lumia 920 4G Windows Phone, Red (AT&T)


I don't review much unless I get a product that really stands out. The 920 is that product.

I own the Red 920 and actually owned a Windows Phone prior to the Lumia 920; it was the HTC Arrive on Sprint, which was WP7. Now even though that was a fairly decent phone, HTC makes cheap products so it ended up breaking in multiple areas because it was made out plastic and poorly shaped aluminum.

However, the 920's unibody framework is sturdy. You can tell how well built it is when you hold it. There is not a single area that feels like it's going to break or bend or give any form of trouble. The edges are smooth and its curves make it a beautiful phone to look at.

The Windows 8 Operating system is the best on the market. Anyone can say what they want but, when it gets down to it, this OS is fast, functional, efficient, and effective. Even though the App's market could use some growing, many of the apps that you would need or want on an iPhone and/or Android device, comes native to the Windows Phone Operating system. Thus, all other apps are pretty much geared to entertainment--which is, at least in my humble opinion, what a phone should do.

Now to be fair, there are a few aspects that do need attention but they aren't deal breakers by far. For example, although the phone comes with Microsoft Office Suite, it only has Microsoft Word and Excel within the suite. OneNote, which is my most used and favorite app by far, is its own separate app instead of being included in the suite. Now this is a minor annoyance to me because in WP7 everything was in ONE suite/hub. Either way, its more of me being picky than anything else.

The battery life is Insanely good. I can go up to 17 hours straight without needing to charge and that's with fairly heavy usage. If anyone has owned a smartphone before, you know that that's an admirable feat. My last phone barely did 10 to 12 hours. My Palm Pre+ barely got 7 hours. My wife's HTC Thunderbolt is constantly dying multiple times a day. The only other phone that'll match it is the iPhone in regards to battery life that is.

Now, if you are planning on getting Windows 8 for your computer or are going to purchase a computer with windows 8 on it, then this is most definitely the phone to have (or any windows phone for that matter). It syncs up like nothing I've ever seen before. Between Windows 8 and skydrive, moving files around couldn't be any easier. I was lucky enough to get the 25gb skydrive that MS was handing out with WP7 so it's even better for me. Nonetheless, anything over 5gbs is good enough for documents and pictures. I say this because I literally have hundreds of pictures and documents (including work documents) and I'm not even close to hitting 5gb in storage. So believe me when I say its plenty enough storage.

The best feature of the phone is definitely the Camera. Nokia went out of their way to create a beast of a camera. It literally takes the best pictures I've ever seen any phone take. Nearly every picture looks professional even when you're hardly trying. The low light pictures are bar none the best on the market as well. Couple that with the exclusive Nokia apps in the App Store and you'll feel like a photographer no matter how little skill you actually have. Add the fact that it's a floating lens which reduces shaking and blurring, and you can take incredible pictures that rival stand alone cameras. The ONLY con I've seen in regards to the camera is that while taking Low-Light pics, you have to be really, really still. It's the only time that movement will ruin the picture. This is because the Lens "aperture" has to stay open longer when in dark environments; thus, any movement will cause a blurring/streaking effect. Other than that, you'll notice more pros than cons.

Rather than babbling on I'll say this...Go to any store that has the 920, play with it for a bit. It'll seem a bit alien at first but as you use it, the more it'll grow on you. After giving it a whirl, use any other phone i.e. Android and/or iPhone and you'll see the difference. If you want to have a phone that gets you what you want and how you want it as fast as possible then Windows phone is the one to have and the Lumia 920 is definitely a great choice. If the 920 isn't your gig and you'd want something more mid-range, then the 820 series are pretty awesome as well. Windows has really put thought and effort into this platform and they're leaving their competitors in the dust. Nokia is the premier manufacturer as well so the two together is like a peanut butter and jelly haha. Seriously, try one, hold it, use it...but make sure you use it as you would in real life and you'll see the difference.

if you read all of this, then thanks! I hope it helped and I hope you enjoy whichever phone you choose!

Connectivity Ultra-fast 4G LTE connectivity via AT&T's HSPA+ network Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go. AT&T Mobile Hotspot capable enabling you to connect multiple devices--from tablets to gaming devices--to the phone's 3G/4G cellular connection via Wi-Fi. Onboard GPS for navigation and location services Optional AT&T Navigator service includes audible turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates, and re-routing options Bluetooth connectivity (version 3.0) includes profiles for communication headset, hands-free car kits, and the A2DP audio streaming Bluetooth profiles Hardware 1.5 GHz Qualcomm dual-core processor speeds up everything--from playing games to watching shows to opening files from work 4.5-inch ClearBlack OLED capacitive touchscreen with PureMotion HD Communications & Internet HTML 5 web browser for accessing real web sites. Text (SMS) and picture/video (MMS) messaging Access to popular instant messaging services Personal and work e-mail

Camera Rear-facing camera Eight megapixels with autofocus, image processing chip and dual LED flash HD 1080p video recording with Carl Zeiss optics 1.2-Megapixel front camera for video chats and self portraits. Multimedia Facebook and Twitter integration so you can always stay connected Camera tools let you easily share photos Memory 32 GB internal memory and available SkyDrive cloud storage

Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android Phone, White 16GB (Verizon Wireless) Review




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Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android Phone, White 16GB (Verizon Wireless) 




Samsung Galaxy S3 16GB White, Verizon

I upgraded from a Motorola Droid 2 to the S3 and am completely satisfied with the S3. The large 4.8 inch AMOLED screen is beautiful and it fits perfectly in my palm. The resolution is exceptional, words cannot describe it.

I can use one hand/thumb to do most tasks and feel that the S3 could have been even larger without compromising convenience. I'd say a 5.5 inch screen would be the highest I'd go. The problem arises when using a holster. As a guy, I have a hard time just putting a phone in my pocket because I use my pockets for keys, pens, and my wallet, which can easily scratch/damage the phone when moving around. I don't always have a backpack or pack on hand, so that leaves me with a holster as the only logical method of carrying a phone. The Otterbox Defender has been by far the best case/holster I've found for the S3. Unfortunately, with the Defender, the S3 feels like I am hauling around a Texas Instruments graphing calculator on my belt. When calling someone, it's like I am calling in an airstrike. However, it is never uncomfortable to use. Even for such a large phone, I find myself not getting fatigued when making long phone calls. The audio quality during calls is exceptional and there are multiple equalizer/sound settings to improve the audio quality.

The T9 dialing is perfect - I never understood why my Droid 2 did not have this feature, but T9 is a time saver. The predictive text and swiping keyboard takes some getting used to at first, but it works fairly well for a built-in feature. The voice-to-text input isn't bad but there are some odd mistakes from time to time.

S-Voice is essentially Samsung's version of Siri, although Siri started off as an independent app designed for the iPhone and Android before Apple took them over and squashed the Android project. S-Voice is tied into Wolfram Alpha, and I find that although it is innovative, it is more of a gimmick. I can find the weather info a lot faster using the browser/weather app and the 4G LTE network than waiting for "Galaxy" to answer my question.

S-beam is interesting at first, but a co-worker (who also bought a S3) and I played around with this and we both agree it is essentially a local peer-to-peer network not unlike Bluetooth or a WiFi-based LAN. It is definitely innovative, but I don't feel it is essential.

The battery life could be better from the rather large 2.1 Ah battery. I was able to get 3.5 days (3 days, 12 hours and change) out of 1 charge. My daily usage pattern is auto brightness, 4G LTE, and airplane mode at night, with occasional surfing/usage during the day.

The mechanical Home button feels antiquated and out of place. I never understood why Apple used this, and I don't understand its place on the S3. It should have been a capacitive soft key like the menu and back keys on the S3. However, Samsung decided to make the soft keys "disappear" when not backlit, which is annoying. I am used to the Droid 2 where the soft keys were all etched into the display. The LED indicator on the S3 is also subdued and is only visible when it is illuminated. When fully charged, the LED will glow green but it is not strong enough to bother me when I am sleeping. It's a soft and subdued glow. When there is new email or a new text message, it flashes blue. When it is charging, it glows red.

The front and rear camera quality is exceptional. The front is a 1.9 MP camera that produces beautiful video during video conferences. The rear camera is the same camera they used on the iPhone 4S, and has burst mode and truly has zero lag. The flash is extremely bright and has a white color (close to 6000K or so) unlike my Droid 2 which was more yellow (about 3000K-4000K). The picture quality is really good, especially for a smartphone.

The Samsung S3 does not come with a micro SDHC card, so I purchased a Sandisk 32GB Class 10 micro SDHC card. Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operates differently from Gingerbread with the respect that all apps are stored on the phone's internal memory. That means all of the apps are run off the 16GB "SDcard" and not your external SD card. When I inserted the 32GB Sandisk micro SD card, a new folder popped up "ExtSDCard" which points to the actual external SD card. Luckily, the camera app will notice this and ask to store all photos/videos on the external SD card. The apps and associated files remain on the 16GB internal memory.

I ran the AnTuTu benchmark and got a score of 6885, which was run without power saver and the dual-core CPU was at 1512 MHz. When I activated Power Saver, my score was 5221 with a CPU speed of 1026 MHz. As one can see, the score with Power Saver is still very respectable. The external SD card read speed was greater than 50 MB/s, while the write speed was about 29.7 MB/s max. The S3 has a lot of processing power and it is putting my Core 2 Duo laptop to shame when accessing YouTube videos and opening files. The S3 menu interface just glides seamlessly with zero hiccups or delays.

Verizon's network is the main reason why I stayed with Verizon instead of hopping to Sprint. Even though Sprint offers unlimited data (until they throttle you above 2.5 GB if you do this consistently), their network coverage is poor and their network speeds are abysmally slow. Verizon's coverage is the best in the US, and I can still get a signal 16 nautical miles off the shore of South Carolina. Verizon's 4G LTE coverage is also very good in my area, with my download speeds ranging in the 20 Mbps, and upload speeds in the 14-16 Mbps range. I get these speeds consistently using Speed Test, which means that the 4G LTE network in my area is competing against my Comcast cable internet connection. My biggest complaint about Verizon is how they forced me off the Unlimited Data plan - the alternative was to pay $600 for a new phone to keep the plan. However, from a business perspective, I understand and agree with Verizon's decision. Bandwidth is expensive and with cable internet speeds in the palm of your hand on a machine that rivals laptops, data usage goes quickly out of hand.

My friend at work had some issues with her S3, but she purchased her S3 the day it came out on Verizon based on my recommendation because her Droid 2 was really messed up. She experienced random ghost calls with the S3, and the data network kept switching between 3G and 4G LTE. I don't recall her experiencing the "No Sim card" issue that others saw with their S3. I've been using my S3 for almost 2 weeks and have not experienced any of the above problems. I solved the constant WiFi notification by deleting my known WiFi networks on the phone. The negative aspect is that I cannot use WiFi to save on my data consumption with this method. I've heard theories about the No Sim error and the ghost calls, some of them recommend pulling out the battery and Sim card, but others have recommended using Airplane mode. Since I use Airplane mode on a nightly basis, this might be the method of resolving some of the network problems.

UPDATE: 16 NOV 2012, there was a firmware update released over-the-air for the S3 about 1-2 months ago that appeared to resolve the WiFi Notification problem. I am happy to report that I can use WiFi at home to save on data consumption without any problems. There are infrequent problems where the WiFi somehow shuts itself off, or if you are shopping in an area with secured WiFi connections - it will refuse to automatically log into your secured Wifi network once you arrive home. I still stick with my original 5/5 star recommendation.

Overall: 5/5 stars. I purchased the S3 because I hate iTunes with a passion. The verdict from the Apple/Samsung case also affirmed my feelings about how Apple conducts business. I really like my S3 phone and like the Android operating system. Samsung really knows how to design their products which includes televisions, refrigerators, and other devices.

Connectivity Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct, DNLA Built-in mobile hotspot functionality Next-generation Bluetooth 4.0 backward compatible with older Bluetooth-enabled peripherals and includes stereo audio streaming Near Field Communication (NFC) for sharing contacts, web pages, directions, and more to compatible phones as well as payments via Google Wallet GPS for navigation and location services Integrated Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation, street and satellite views Communications & Internet Full messaging capabilities including SMS text, MMS picture/video and IM instant messaging Full HTML browser with Adobe Flash Support Personal and corporate e-mail access with support for Exchange ActiveSync as well as mobile e-mail accounts (Google push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP)

Hardware Dual-core 1.5 GHz processor capable of opening web pages twice as fast as most other smartphones 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED multi-touch screen (1280 x 720 pixels) MicroUSB port 3.5mm headphone jack Memory 16 GB internal memory (non-expandable) microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 64 GB 2 GB RAM for improved multitasking Camera 8-megapixel camera with continuous auto focus, zero shutter lag, face detection, high dynamic range mode, burst mode, and more Full HD 1080p video capture (30 fps) Front-facing 1.9-megapixel camera for HD video chats and self portraits Multimedia Music player compatible with MP3, WMA, AAC/AAC+, eAAC+, MIDI amd WAV Video player compatible with MPEG4, H.264, H.263and DivX

Samsung Entro Prepaid Phone (payLo by Virgin Mobile) Review

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Samsung Entro Prepaid Phone (payLo by Virgin Mobile)

LG Optimus Elite Prepaid Android Phone (Virgin Mobile) Review

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LG Optimus Elite Prepaid Android Phone (Virgin Mobile)

Kindle Fire HD 7", Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers 









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Kindle Fire HD 7", Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers


I've been an iPad user since the original came out. I also have an iPad 3. I have worked in IT for the past few years so I would say I am pretty good with technology and fancy new devices. With that introduction out of the way, I will be reviewing key points that I have seen touched upon in other reviews. Here goes...

BUILD
The device feels nice and solid. I'm a little surprised at how heavy it is, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The rubberized backing is always nice for added grip. It's not as nice as say unibody aluminum, but it's not $500 either.

SCREEN
The screen is fantastic. But my problem is the same as when iPad got Retina Display, other than the OS, most apps look rather pixelated. A lot of the games I tried are not high definition, at least not high enough to look smooth on this screen. Hopefully apps get updated to higher resolutions.

LOCK SCREEN ADS
Yeah there are ads on my lock screen. I'm not sure why this is such a big deal. How much time do people really spend looking at the lock screen? The first thing I thought when I saw the ads is WOW the pictures are really crisp! The ads are there to subsidize some of the $200 price tag. I might pay the $15 to get rid of them so I can customize it, but I might not. I feel like this has been blown out of proportion by other customers.

SOUND
The sound from the speakers is great. Much better than you would get from more expensive devices, very crisp and clean. I have the official Amazon case on and it has not affected the sound at all. Nothing much else to say, I doubt anyone will complain about this.

CRASHING
I've had two apps crash on opening. I don't know if it is the app or the OS. It's probably somewhere in the middle. Again, not a big deal for me. If it crashes, then I just tap it again and it works. I've also watched a few movies using the built in player as well as Netflix and Amazon Prime. No crashes for me at all. I'm sure OS stability will be improved as time goes on.

OVERALL SATISFACTION
Compared to my iPad 3, obviously the Fire HD is not as "good" so to speak. I mainly got it because I wanted something smaller. I also mainly used the iPad to surf the web, watch videos, and play some simple games. The Fire HD accomplishes this and does so much more. If you are expecting an iPad killer, or a desktop replacement, or a productivity machine, then you should look elsewhere.

I bought this to be a media device, and I believe that is what Amazon meant this to be. In this regard, I think this is a great device. In fact, I decided to keep this and sell my iPad 3, which will give me another $200+ to spend on other things. Just remember, this device is not for everyone. If you want a media device, you will be happy with this. Do not expect an iPad for $200.

Just wanted to add a few more things I have noticed over the past 24 hours.

- Power/Volume Buttons: There are a bit hard to press, which is somewhat alleviated by having the official case. Maybe it's because I'm a longtime iPad user, but this will definitely take some getting used to.

- Screen Glare: It took me a little while to notice, but I was playing a Seek & Find game while on Caltrain, with the bright Palo Alto sun shining right on me, and didn't have any trouble seeing the screen. I remembered that Amazon mentioned how the screen was changed to reduce glare, and they did an amazing job.

Two days later and I am still very happy with the device. Here are some more thoughts from me:

BATTERY LIFE
I have been playing Enigmatis (a hidden object game) for about an hour and a half each day on my commute. This drains about 15 - 20% of the battery with the screen brightness almost at the highest setting. Again, not iPad gold standard, but still very good.

SYNCING MUSIC
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and used an app called Easy Phone Transfer to get all my music from iTunes onto the phone. It transferred everything, including album covers, and I was hoping to find something like that for this device. I tried iSyncr, a $3 app, which did the job, but did not sync over album covers. I uploaded all my music into the Cloud, then downloaded it from Amazon, which increased the audio quality for a lot of my songs and added artwork, but this still did not show up on the device.

I got very frustrated getting all the album artwork over and eventually just gave up. It's not a big deal but I am kind of anal about those kinds of things. Just a heads up if anyone else out there is crazy about it like I am.

I got a call from Amazon Customer Service about this review, which surprised me very much. They advised me the best way to get the artwork to show up is have the songs in both the Cloud Player as well as the device, which I know does work fine. I was hoping to have the artwork show without needing things in the Cloud, but not a big deal any more.

I am more impressed with the fact that Amazon called me to give me advice on how to remedy the situation and ask if there were any other questions I had on the Kindle. The representative said he wanted to make sure I was happy with the Fire HD. This is one of the big reasons I went with the Kindle, and with Amazon in general. I have had great experiences with their customer service, who have always been able to handle my issues quickly and efficiently. No need to set up an appointment days later with a wannabe IT guy with a hugely overstated job title.

So this update is not really for the device itself, but sometimes it's not just the device, it's the company that offers it that makes a difference. This is why I no longer have any Apple devices, as cool as they may be. But it's not 100% gravy, as I have noticed lately that the keyboard keeps popping up randomly on screens where there is nowhere to enter text, ie. while playing a game. I just have to press the Back arrow to get rid of it, but maybe a bug the Amazon engineers want to take a look at.

So I don't know if it was always there, but over this past weekend I noticed a dead pixel on my Kindle's screen. I called Kindle Support and after a short 5 minute call, they sent me a new Kindle, no questions asked. So once again, very happy with Amazon customer service. I am still very happy with the device, and have some more thoughts on it:

HDMI CONNECTION
I bought an HDMI cable to hook up the Fire to my 46" Samsung and was quite impressed with the results. The quality was very good, not Bluray quality of course, but better than SDTV on an HD screen. You actually see every single thing you do on the big screen, like you are using a giant Kindle.

GOOGLE PLAY APPS
One of the main drawbacks in my opinion is, or should I say was, the lack of all the Google Play apps available on the Kindle. With a little research, I found out how to add apps that are not available in the Amazon store. It is pretty easy to do and works very well with the apps I tried. This greatly improves my opinion of the Fire HD.

PLASTIC AROUND THE SCREEN
The outer most edges of the Kindle are plastic. I noticed some kind of discoloration on the corner of mine, and just thought it was some dirt to scratch off. So I rubbed my thumb nail on the area, and noticed there were visible marks on the plastic. It appears this plastic can scratch some what easily, but I think this is just cosmetic as not of the plastic actually flaked. If you are not very anal about how your stuff looks, you probably won't notice it.

OS CHANGES
Here are two small gripes I have with the OS that I'm sure could be fixed with an OS update:

- Battery Meter: It would be nice if the battery meter could show percentage instead of just a graphic bar. Some people have mentioned Battery HD, but you still have to swipe down to see the percentage, so this makes it easier but does not solve the issue I had.

- Personal Videos: The mp4 videos I put on the device are located in the "Personal Videos" app, which shows screen shots of all the videos I put in. The problem is, all that is shown are the screen shots. You can get more info by holding your finger down on each video, but when you have multiple seasons of a show on the Kindle, it can get confusing. Ideally we should be able to look at videos in a list like our music.

Still very happy with the device. Here are some more thoughts:

LEFT HAND MODE
I did't think this would be a problem until I played a Solitaire game that DID have a left-handed mode. As a lefty who usually uses the Fire in landscape, I often have to reach across the screen to access the Settings or Home button in the menu. It's a small grievance, but can be really annoying when watching a movie or reading something. If there was an option for a left-handed layout with the menus on the left side of the device, that would be great.

PERSONAL VIDEOS APP
I had earlier complained about this app, as it did not list my movies and crashed playing a pair of them. I recently drove down to LA from SF, and put 5 movies on device, only to find that 4 of them would not play! I was pretty mad, until I remembered a simple solution, download another app. I downloaded Avia Media Player, which is not the greatest either, but it played all the movies I put on the Kindle. My faith was restored.

GOOGLE PLAY APPS
A lot of people have asked how to do this. If you are not having luck with Google searches, try this

Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Prepaid Android Phone, Titanium (Virgin Mobile) Review

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Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Prepaid Android Phone, Titanium (Virgin Mobile)

Virgin Mobile has always been a great value, delivering acceptable phones and service at a far lower total cost of ownership than the big contract carriers. Low cost coupled with much more flexible terms, from being contract-free, makes these carriers worthy of consideration for all cell phone consumers.

The downside to Virgin Mobile, is that the phones that they offer are always about a year behind the current, cutting edge offerings. This remains true, however being a year behind is mattering less and less now that smart phone technology is reaching a plateau. I'm not saying that the iPhone 5 is not better than the iPhone 4S, that the Samsung Galaxy S3 is not better than the Samsung Galaxy S2, or that 2012 HTC Evo 4G is not better than the 2010 version of the same phone. What I'm saying is that the improvements are far more nuanced now, in 2012, than they were in 2010 or earlier. Getting a phone with last year's technology is not as big of a deal now as it once was, especially when you look at the cost difference.

This phone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 4G is obviously not the newest version of this phone available. If you want the very newest and best, you won't get that on Virgin Mobile or any other budget priced contract free carrier. It is however very adequate, and by far the best phone ever offered for this low of a total cost of ownership.

I have had six different Android phones on Virgin Mobile, including the HTC EVO 4G, Motorola Triumph, Optimus, etcetera. I bought this phone in November 2012 at Radio Shack, the day that it became available. I still have an HTC Evo 4G in our family, but personally have been using this phone for over a month now, quite heavily.

This Samsung Galaxy S2 4G runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is currently (at the time of this review) one version behind the newest versions of Android (Jelly Bean 4.1 & 4.2). It has a fast dual core processor, good 8MP camera, is 4G capable, has great battery life, and has overall great performance. Although it has been out for over a year on Sprint, it is not nearly as far behind the mainstream as previous Virgin Mobile offerings have been.

Size. This phone is more similar in size to the Motorola Triumph than it is to the bulkier HTC EVO V 4G. With a 4.52" AMOLED touch screen and a thin body, it is the most compact phone for the screen size that Virgin has ever had available. I really like the form factor. After using it for about a week without a case, I put an Otterbox Defender on it. That case bulks the phone up quite a bit, but it is still comfortable. I like it with or without the case, but got the case because of my clumsiness and lifestyle.

Cases. Since this phone is identical to the one that has been on Sprint for over a year, there are plenty of great cases available for it, including ones from top of the line companies like Otter Box. There are many times more accessories available for it than for previous Virgin Mobile phones, except for the HTC Evo V 4G which also had a lot of cases to choose from.

Screen. I love the 4.52" screen size, and this one is even sharper and more vivid than the one on the HTC Evo 4G, which was better than the Motorola Triumph. It is great.

Touch Screen. The touch screen is very responsive, accurate, and precise. By far the best touch screen I've ever used. Even better (or equal to) the one on the Apple Ipod Touch. I use that comparison because I've always felt that the Touch was better than the Android phones I'd had in the past. The HTC Evo V 4G is the same in this regard. Both phones have excellent touch screens.

Keyboard. The touch screen keyboard on this phone is awesome. The touchscreen keyboard on the HTC EVO V 4G was far better than any of the previous Virgin Mobile offerings, and this one on the Samsung Galaxy S2 is even better.

Battery. The battery life on this phone is incredible because of its increased size and better power management and network management. It lasts 3 times longer than the battery on the Motorola Triumph, and about twice as long as the one on the HTC EVO V 4G. I like that this phone gives you an actual percentage reading for the battery instead of just the imprecise icon.

Network management. This phone is great at making seamless transitions between 3G, 4G, and Wifi, always switching to the best available choice. The HTC Evo V 4G used to give me some problems in this area. The S2 is flawless at this.

Camera. The 8MP camera on this phone is far better than any cell phone I've ever had. I think that it rivals the iPhone and in most conditions can fully replace your compact point and shoot camera. The video camera shoots 1080p video and is also very good.

4G. Having 4G is great, especially since the Virgin Mobile 3G network is a little slow sometimes.

Internet Sharing. The ability to share this phone's internet connection is awesome and works really well. It works great on both 3G and especially 4G. It is simple to use, and at $15 a month is a much better value than a Mifi card.

Call Quality. The call quality is great on this phone, and is much better than the Motorola Triumph which sometimes sounded muffled, and slightly better than the HTC EVO V 4G which wasn't bad. It is clear for both you and the person you are talking to.

Bluetooth. The Bluetooth on this phone works great both with a headset and with my car. I love how it seamlessly transitions from my Podcast Application (Doggcatcher), Navigation, and phone calls.

Processor. This phone is snappy and doesn't seem to have any processor induced lag at all. No matter what I run or play, it works the way it is supposed to, even when I'm multi-tasking. The processor seems to be more than adequate.

Durability. This phone is no more or less durable than any of the other plastic smart phones out there. I personally wish that more phones were available with unibody metal housings. I used to wish the same things about laptops and they are finally moving that way. Hopefully more phones will be more durable in the future. Anyway, this phone is adequate in this area.

Reliability. So far, I have had no issues with applications or functions crashing on this phone. It works consistently and flawlessly. I will update this review if I find anything getting hung-up or crashing. I have had the phone since they first released it, and still haven't had any problems. My experience in this area was the same on the HTC EVO V 4G.

If there are any topics that you wanted me to address that I failed to, please let me know in the comments and I will update this review for you.

Key Features

• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Get Android Apps on Google Play
• Dual Mode 3G/4G
• 4.52 inch Super AMOLED Plus Touchscreen
• 8MP Camera (2MP Front Facing) wtih 1080P Full HD Video
• Dual Core 1.2GHZ Processor
• 16 GB Internal Memory
• 8.7 Hours Talk Time
• Wi-Fi/Mobile Hotspot Capability*
• Dual Mode: CDMA 3G EVDO Rev A/4G WiMAX
• Processor: 1200 MHz processor
• Memory: 16GB (ROM)/1GB (RAM)
• External memory card supported up to 32GB
• Bluetooth: Yes (3.0)
• Headsets: 3.5 mm
• Speakerphone

HTC One V Prepaid Android Phone (Virgin Mobile) Review

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HTC One V Prepaid Android Phone (Virgin Mobile)




I'd been stuck with a Droid X on another big carrier for nearly 2 years and my X started acting wacky, and since the X was out of warranty my options were to buy an expensive upgrade or walk away from it. Since I had Virgin Mobile phones for my wife and kid I took the leap and walked. Happy I did.

It is a very compact phone, very light, yet does not at all feel cheap. No plastic backing, this one has a real aluminum unibody that both looks and feels great and offers much better protection than cheaper plastic units. It has Gorilla Glass on the screen as well, so right out of the box this phone is more solidly constructed than most of the competition. I dropped it my second day (my hands still being used to gripping a big-screened monstrosity) and it took quite a tumble before it hit the floor, picked it up and brushed it off, not a scratch and kept walking. It has a no frills appearance to it that I find aesthetically pleasing as well. Slides right in and out of the pocket, don't even notice it's there. I like that coming from a big phone that you have to struggle with to get out of the pocket.

The screen is nice and vibrant. Not the best out there but it is crisp and very responsive, with every indication of quality. Decent viewing angles. I find the 3.7" just small enough to still be easily usable and easy to type on, and still big enough for some gaming and video. Big screens are nice for those things, but I think they hit the sweet spot with 3.7" - big enough but not so big as to make the phone itself too big.

The ICS operating system is very smooth, noticeably more refined (and simpler, once you get used to it) than previous versions. I don't even care if this phone ever gets Jelly Bean or not, I am perfectly happy with ICS. App compatability has been very good so far - nearly every app I had loaded on the X (and every single one I use regularly) works fine on this one, which is surprising since this one is so new.

Under the hood this one has similar specs to what my Droid X had: a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and 512MB of RAM. Higher end phones nowadays are sporting dual and even quad core processors paired with 1GB of RAM, but really, what do you need that for? Pretty much newer graphically intense gaming, which I don't really do with my phone (I have an Acer Iconia Tab A100 for that). I do light gaming on the phone, and for that this works just fine (although even this one will play many of the higher end games like Shadowgun, it's just not as smooth as the S3s of the world). As for other apps the hardware in the One V runs everything just fine with very little to no lag, so I'm not missing those extra cores and extra RAM. Note that if you intend to do serious gaming on your phone then this one is not for you, but if you are just a casual phone gamer then this works just fine.

The GPS is possibly the brightest spot on this phone - it is simply phenomenal. I toggle the GPS on, hop into GPS Status and *immediately* acquire 8 satellites - indoors. Then open maps and see that it has located me to within about 3-5 meters. I sometimes had to wait up to 5 minutes for my Droid X to get a position, this one took about 5 seconds.

The camera is not bad at all. The Droid X had an 8MP camera, this one a 5MP camera, and I can't tell the difference in quality. It does, however, have a neat little function where you can hold down the shutter button for a few seconds and it takes multiple pics rapidly, and lets you pick the one you want to keep. This is VERY handy for capturing stills of moving targets. Also, there is little to no shutter lag, which also helps.

Battery life has been pretty good so far. After about 10 hours at work doing some browsing, light gaming, some tunes, fiddling with GPS a bit, and no recharging I get home with anywhere from 20-40% remaining. That is perfectly adequate for me.

Cell reception seems to be quite good for me so far. I get decent 3G signal and download speed even when walking in an underground train tunnel and in areas where other big carrier phones don't. I had expected worse from a no-contract carrier, but am pleasantly surprised. I understand this will vary greatly depending upon location, but where I live it is very good. Call quality has also been good on both ends.

Wifi and Bluetooth work fine. I was even able to tether my tablet using FoxFi and run it off of Bluetooth... To save my data plan I turn on Wifi whenever I have access (like as soon as I get home). The 3G is for when I am out and about, and I should have no problem bumping up against VM's throttle limit of 2.5GB of data. That would only really be a problem if one was streaming lots of video or music, which I don't do.

So, in conclusion, is this a top of the line phone? No, if you want that then you will get a contract with a big carrier, and you will pay alot for it. For me, and I suspect for most users out there, this phone does what I need it to do, and it does it well. If the Galaxy S3 is top of the line, and say a Droid Razr is runner up, then this one would place third. But I am factoring the cost into my evaluation, and the cost for a One V from VM is *much* less than those types of phones, and you get a platform that does pretty much the same stuff for the vast majority of users out there. And the monthly bill is far easier to swallow. Even if you get the $55/month unlimited everything plan and add the $5 insurance (worth it IMO) it's still far less than you will be paying on any smartphone contract. As an example, our 2 smartphone contract with the old carrier with 700 minutes cost us just under $200/month, while 3 smartphones with VM with 1800 minutes total cost us $120/month. More phones + more minutes + lower monthly cost = Win every day of the week.

And one of the best things: you are not stuck with this phone. Phones become obsolete quickly, generally long before the 2 years is up on contract. About a year into the contract you're sitting there fiddling with your phone looking at the cool new stuff everyone is playing with and thinking "Oh great, I'm stuck with this thing for another year...". You have no easy ability to upgrade; you either pay a huge penalty to do so or you are just stuck with what you have, which will certainly be obsolete after the first year. With these you can just toss the phone and upgrade easily any time you want, and the new phones aren't that expensive. That is probably my favorite feature of all.

So if you are in the market for a decent no-contract phone and don't need the bells and whistles of the Evo or want it's size and bulk, this is a fantastic choice. The phone itself is not a 5 star phone, I'd give it 3.5-4 stars in today's environment - but realistically that is perfectly fine for 95% of the users out there. Most people do not actually need the uber-cool hardware of the latest release, they just need something that works, and this one does. Factoring in the cost and the flexibility of going off-contract is what gets it to 5 stars. And if you are looking at the Optimus Elite I'd recommend considering the One V; it's worth the extra $50. The OE is a nice little phone and worth its price, but this one is better; my wife is already bugging me to get her one...

Oh, and BTW - Otterbox already has a case out for these, and it is great. Amazon has them, too.

Battery: most Android phones take a week or two to learn the user's patterns and optimize themselves, and this one is no exception. During the first week or so I had some days where it almost died on me, but now it knows me and is sipping juice. It's not abnormal for me to get home with close to 50% battery left now, which is quite good, I think. The inability to remove the battery will not be an issue, as by the time this battery goes bad (they all do eventually) this phone will be obsolete and it will be time to replace it anyway. Tough it out through those first couple of weeks and you won't be disappointed in this battery.

OS: ICS is running very smooth. I had a couple of FCs at first but as with the battery, it smoothed itself out and is running nearly to perfection now. App compatibility is still phenomenal for a relatively new phone.

Cell signal: During the first week I had 3-4 instances where the phone lost 3G signal, but I don't fault it much as I was deep within a heavy metal structure building and buried under lots of concrete. It hasn't happened since, and when it did it found the signal again within a minute, so not exactly a big deal. I have since traveled across state (TX, a big one) and found cell reception / 3G to be quite good pretty much everywhere. I never noticed any areas where I couldn't get a signal. Running on Sprint's network I didn't expect any problems in this area, and haven't really found any; they have a very well developed network and their expansion is ongoing. Also, as more people move onto 4G networks it makes 3G easier to ride.