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| LG Optimus 2X |
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| Apple iPhone 4 |
The smartphone universe became ripe again for camera comparisons, especially with the introduction of handsets, capable of recording Full HD 1080p video. That is why we took a few of the most popular high-end smartphones that are on the shelves, and staged a shootout.
We got the Samsung Galaxy S II, the LG Optimus 2X, the Nokia N8, and the Apple iPhone 4. Two of those are capable of Full HD 1080p video recording, so we are only pitting them against each other in that department. In all fairness, these are still cell phone cameras, so, with maybe the exception of the big sensor on the Nokia N8, we didn't expect wonders from the snaps.
We've reached the stage, however, where you can leave your point-and-shoot at home for casual photos with a piece of mind, and just use your high-end smartphone, which you are lugging around anyway. So let's try to determine which of these cameras does what well. All phones were on Auto settings, no HDR was used, we only switched on the Macro mode for close-ups, where we had it.
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| Nokia N8 |
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| Samsung Galaxy S II |
Detail
Each of the phones captures plenty of detail in the frame, and it's hard to pick, since none of the cameras missed any major bit. At first look, the Samsung Galaxy S II has the upper hand, producing sharp photos with distinctive details out of the box.
The Nokia N8, however, captures the same extensive amount of detail, but since it bets on unaltered looks by default, the image appears slightly softer than on the Samsung Galaxy S II. The iPhone 4 also showed very good, almost equal results, and, alternatively, the LG Optimus 2X captures plenty of detail, but the lack of contrast makes the picture appear washed out.
1. Samsung Galaxy S II and Nokia N8
2. Apple iPhone 4
3. LG Optimus 2X
Color reproduction
Colors from the Nokia N8 came out being the most natural-looking. We have more saturation from the Samsung Galaxy S II, which makes its photos more appealing at first look, but unfortunately, looking at it closer, it becomes clear they are slightly colder than in reality. The ones with the LG Optimus 2X are both quite cold, and on the bland, undersaturated side. Finally, the iPhone 4 flips to the other side, producing contrasty, jolly, highly saturated images, which can be good and bad, depending on the situation.
We'd pick here the Nokia N8 for its natural looks, and the Samsung Galaxy S II, whose pictures, while slightly colder than reality, are a close enough shot.
1. Nokia N8
2. Samsung Galaxy S II and Apple iPhone 4
3. LG Optimus 2X
Exposure and dynamic range
Nokia N8 gets it right most of the time when there is a bright distraction in the frame, or a lot of sky. It also doesn't over- or underexpose, and you can clearly see the close gradients in the cloud and sky coloring. The Samsung Galaxy S II also does pretty well with exposure measurements and dynamic range.
The iPhone 4 sometimes overexposes bright objects, depending on where you focus at, so you have to be careful which spot to touch on the screen if there is such area in the frame. The LG Optimus 2X performs decently, with no drastic misexposed spots. We didn't turn on the HDR function on the iPhone 4, in order to keep the playing field leveled.
1. Nokia N8
2. Samsung Galaxy S II
3. LG Optimus 2X
4. Apple iPhone 4
Indoor shots
In low-light situations the large 1/1.8” sensor on the Nokia N8 with its big pixels played a role to capture the most light, bringing noise down to a minimum. Nokia’s pride is the king of indoor shots with its Xenon flash, and didn’t hesitate to fire it up every time the lights dimmed even for a bit. The Samsung Galaxy S II indoor shots seem quite crisp and detailed too, although in well-lit to medium lighting colors came out too warm, and the flash came a bit weak.
Indoors with incandescent bulbs the Apple iPhone 4 sometimes produces too warm, yellowish colors in low- to medium lighting, and inserts a fair amount of noise in the picture. The LG Optimus 2X exhibited less noise, fairly sharp photos, and the LED flash did a decent job illuminating the scene.
1. Nokia N8
2. Samsung Galaxy S II and LG Optimus 2X
3. Apple iPhone 4
Night shots
The most pleasing night shot results we obtained from the Nokia N8 and the Samsung Galaxy S II. Their shots were sharpest and the most noise-free of all four phones. The Nokia N8 fared well in night shots around town, largely due to its big sensor. There wasn't excessive noise or haloed lights in its photos. The Samsung Galaxy S II night shots also came out fairly clear, with no overblown light sources.
Despite its backlit sensor, however, the iPhone 4 produced quite noisy night shots, with blown-up highlights like neon signs, and halos around light sources. The LG Optimus 2X fared better with clearer night shots, but it had trouble with brighter objects like the lit-up shop sign below.
1. Nokia N8
2. Samsung Galaxy S II
3. LG Optimus 2X
4. Apple iPhone 4
Macro
All phones managed to focus well in close-up shots, blurring everything further than the object at hand.
Despite that the iPhone 4 doesn't have a dedicated macro mode, it automatically focuses on close-ups, thus saving you some extra fiddling in the interface.
The Samsung Galaxy S II produced very good close-up shots, clear, and with distinctive details on the nearest object. The close-ups with the iPhone 4 come out very good for its point-and-shoot concept – it manages to focus strictly on the near object, and with large amount of detail, too, with the only downside being a tad noisy shot.
The LG Optimus 2X also performed very well, capturing plenty of small details in a clear image. The macro mode of the Nokia N8 captures a bit more of the background scene than the rest from the same distance, since it has a wider field of view, and its macro shots are clear, with a good amount of detail.
1. Samsung Galaxy S II and Apple iPhone 4
2. LG Optimus 2X
3. Nokia N8
Ease of use and speed
The phones have very snappy shot-to-shot times, if you turn the preview function off, with only the LG Optimus 2X being behind the pack in that respect. As for ease of use, that goes to the iPhone 4, where you don't have to fiddle with anything - just point and snap, takes a split second. We’d have called it a draw here, since the Nokia N8 has a dedicated two-stage shutter button, but we still appreciate more the utter simplicity of the iPhone 4’s camera operation for casual snaps. Besides, the camera interface on the Nokia N8 is a bit cumbersome, and the least touch-friendly of all.
1. Apple iPhone 4
2. Nokia N8
3. Samsung Galaxy S II
4. LG Optimus 2X
Video
Besides sharpness, color or contrast, we have other characteristics to look for in videos, like frame rate and compression. 1080p video from the Samsung Galaxy S II came out bright, with good contrast, a lot of detail and fluid 30fps. The Apple iPhone 4 produces jolly, fluid 30fps videos, with bright, overly saturated colors and nice detail too. In night videos, though, it blows up highlights like illuminated signs or car bulbs a bit too much.
There's no doubt that the Nokia N8 has great sensor and lens, and it does produce natural-looking videos with good contrast and detail, but if you have to shoot sports or some other fast action, 25fps sometimes doesn't cut it.
We just appreciated the fluid 30fps that the Galaxy S II and the iPhone 4 capture with, adding continuous autofocus or touch-to-focus in the mix, too. Nokia's phone records pretty good stereo sound with the video, though, thanks to the nice noise-canceling mics. The LG Optimus 2X records in the .3GP format, compressing the files a bit too much, and skimming on quality. Moreover, its videos need quite a bit more contrast, similar to the stills taken with the phone.
1. Samsung Galaxy S II
2. Apple iPhone 4
3. Nokia N8
4. LG Optimus 2X
Conclusion:
So, which phone should you take on vacation with you? It depends on the functionality you desire from your convergence device, and we wouldn't scoff at any of them, except maybe the LG Optimus 2X as the worst performer.
If you can't be bothered, but just want to point, shoot and obtain flashy colors, get the iPhone 4. However, if you want to be able to shoot fluid video with extraordinary amount of detail, plus excellent, but slightly off-color stills, take the 1080p-capable Samsung Galaxy S II.
Finally, if you are somewhat of a shutterbug, and your foremost demand is realism and well-lit indoor shots - the large sensor, 12MP resolution, and Xenon flash on the Nokia N8 undoubtedly have your best interest at heart.
Microsoft and RIM announced at BlackBerry World 2011 a new partnership that will make Bing the default search engine and Bing Maps the default location and mapping service on BlackBerry devices.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made a surprise appearance during RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis’s keynote. The Financial Post quotes Ballmer as saying, “This goes way beyond a search box,” when discussing the new partnership. According to Financial Post, the Bing/BlackBerry integration will take place at an OS level and Microsoft will be working to support RIM technology in its cloud offerings.
When Mashable reviewed the BlackBerry PlayBook earlier this month, the unit shipped with Bing as the default search engine and with a stand-alone Bing Maps application. In hindsight, that should have been our first big tip that a more formal announcement between the two companies was coming.
Since launching Bing nearly two years ago, Microsoft has worked to build more partnerships with mobile handset operators. Select Verizon phones powered by Google’s Android OS shipped with Bing as the default search engine. With iOS 4, Microsoft added Bing as a search engine option (Google is still the default and powers the Apple Maps app).
The long-term impact of a Microsoft/RIM deal for search might be minimal, but it is always possible that it could open up future collaboration points between the two companies.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made a surprise appearance during RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis’s keynote. The Financial Post quotes Ballmer as saying, “This goes way beyond a search box,” when discussing the new partnership. According to Financial Post, the Bing/BlackBerry integration will take place at an OS level and Microsoft will be working to support RIM technology in its cloud offerings.
When Mashable reviewed the BlackBerry PlayBook earlier this month, the unit shipped with Bing as the default search engine and with a stand-alone Bing Maps application. In hindsight, that should have been our first big tip that a more formal announcement between the two companies was coming.
Since launching Bing nearly two years ago, Microsoft has worked to build more partnerships with mobile handset operators. Select Verizon phones powered by Google’s Android OS shipped with Bing as the default search engine. With iOS 4, Microsoft added Bing as a search engine option (Google is still the default and powers the Apple Maps app).
The long-term impact of a Microsoft/RIM deal for search might be minimal, but it is always possible that it could open up future collaboration points between the two companies.
Introduction:For the better portion of the last month, we’ve been toiling away getting comfy with some of the newest tablets to hit the market of late, and now that we’ve gotten a feel for all of them, it’s best to sit down to compare and contrast them all in one major showdown. With the Apple iPad 2, BlackBerry PlayBook, Motorola XOOM, and T-Mobile G-Slate all on deck waiting for their turn in the spotlight, we have to focus our attention on all of them simultaneously to better gauge how they differentiate with one another – and at the same time, what categories they excel at. Naturally, it’s rather hard to concretely say which one is the best out of the bunch, especially when user preferences come into play, but nonetheless, we need to look back and meticulously figure out which one is probably agreed as being the most balanced. So without any further delay, let’s get right into the thick of the battle!
Design:
Visually, all four tablets basically rely on the same foundations when it comes down to their designs, and none of them necessarily deviate from the usual slate form factor. However, we’re still at a gaze and really have to marvel at the design and construction of the iPad 2 since it embodies a combination of quality materials and attention to fine detail. Compared to the other crop, its remarkable razor thin profile impressively sets it apart, but it’s only marginally thinner than the BlackBerry PlayBook. With RIM’s model, we have to applaud it as well since it’s very sturdy for a 7-incher – while retaining a pocketable design. As for the two Android tablets, we favor the G-Slate’s design over the XOOM slightly because it’s more comfortable to hold and looks cleaner thanks to its soft touch rear cover. Still, the iPad 2 clearly has the striking figure from the onset that will easily attract any prying eyes from far away.
Evidently, the screen size of a certain tablet will more than likely dictate whether or not it’s favorable to an individual, but in all honestly, the PlayBook’s quality display shines above the pack. Sure it’s the tiniest out of the bunch at 7-inches, but combining its iridescent color production, stunning clarity, and high pixel density, it soundly comes together to offer an unbelievable experience. Adding to its sheer prowess, the PlayBook edges out the iPad 2 in delivering the highest brightness output, which contributes in making it visible under the gleaming eye of the sun. Apple’s pride and joy follows closely with its 9.7” display, but you can distinctively notice its jagged looking on-screen text. Moreover, the G-Slate still boasts a nice looking display at 8.9-inches, but there is a slight yellowish tinge with its output. And lastly, the XOOM’s 10.1” display provides the most real estate, but it’s recognizable that it’s employing the lowest quality display because of its weak luminance.
Visually, all four tablets basically rely on the same foundations when it comes down to their designs, and none of them necessarily deviate from the usual slate form factor. However, we’re still at a gaze and really have to marvel at the design and construction of the iPad 2 since it embodies a combination of quality materials and attention to fine detail. Compared to the other crop, its remarkable razor thin profile impressively sets it apart, but it’s only marginally thinner than the BlackBerry PlayBook. With RIM’s model, we have to applaud it as well since it’s very sturdy for a 7-incher – while retaining a pocketable design. As for the two Android tablets, we favor the G-Slate’s design over the XOOM slightly because it’s more comfortable to hold and looks cleaner thanks to its soft touch rear cover. Still, the iPad 2 clearly has the striking figure from the onset that will easily attract any prying eyes from far away.
Evidently, the screen size of a certain tablet will more than likely dictate whether or not it’s favorable to an individual, but in all honestly, the PlayBook’s quality display shines above the pack. Sure it’s the tiniest out of the bunch at 7-inches, but combining its iridescent color production, stunning clarity, and high pixel density, it soundly comes together to offer an unbelievable experience. Adding to its sheer prowess, the PlayBook edges out the iPad 2 in delivering the highest brightness output, which contributes in making it visible under the gleaming eye of the sun. Apple’s pride and joy follows closely with its 9.7” display, but you can distinctively notice its jagged looking on-screen text. Moreover, the G-Slate still boasts a nice looking display at 8.9-inches, but there is a slight yellowish tinge with its output. And lastly, the XOOM’s 10.1” display provides the most real estate, but it’s recognizable that it’s employing the lowest quality display because of its weak luminance.
Not something you’d necessarily think about, especially taking into account the larger size of tablets, we’re still presented with the ability to shoot photos and videos on the go with all four. In terms of sensors, both the iPad 2 and PlayBook employ fixed focused cameras that lack any flash, but the PlayBook manhandles the iPad 2 since it packs a 5-megapixel one as opposed to the less than 1-megapixel count of the iPad 2. Conversely, both the G-Slate and XOOM carry along 5-megaixel auto-focus cameras with flash, which is handy for macro shots, but the G-Slate has the novel feature of shooting videos in 3D with its dual cameras
Turning on a tablet shouldn’t be a frustrating experience in any sense, but unfortunately, the PlayBook’s annoyingly small dedicated power button is a nightmare to press. Thankfully it’s not much of a problem with the other three tablets, however, you can bypass on having to press the PlayBook’s power button because you can still execute a swipe gesture from the bottom bezel all the way to the top one to power it on – sadly, there’s no gesture to do the opposite.
Google is beginning its rollout of Google Talk video chat to Android devices.
Android device users will be able to use video and voice chat with any Google Talk contact using another Android devices (phones or tablets) or Google Talk on Gmail. The features will work of standard 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connections.
According to the Google Mobile blog, these features are rolling out to Nexus S phones over the next few weeks along with the next over-the-air OS update. Video chat via Google Talk will be available on other Android 2.3 and higher devices soon.
Using the new features is simple. On your Android device, from the Google Talk contacts list, you’ll see a video and voice chat icon next to each contact. Touch the button for the feature you’d like to use, and chat away.
Video can be paused while audio chat continues if you need to navigate elsewhere during a video session. During voice or video chat, text chats from that contact are overlaid on the device screen.
Android device users will be able to use video and voice chat with any Google Talk contact using another Android devices (phones or tablets) or Google Talk on Gmail. The features will work of standard 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connections.
According to the Google Mobile blog, these features are rolling out to Nexus S phones over the next few weeks along with the next over-the-air OS update. Video chat via Google Talk will be available on other Android 2.3 and higher devices soon.
Using the new features is simple. On your Android device, from the Google Talk contacts list, you’ll see a video and voice chat icon next to each contact. Touch the button for the feature you’d like to use, and chat away.
Video can be paused while audio chat continues if you need to navigate elsewhere during a video session. During voice or video chat, text chats from that contact are overlaid on the device screen.
We knew it was supposed to happen Thursday, but it’s still hard to believe our eyes. After an extended period of downtime, the white iPhone 4 is finally available in Apple Online Store.
The device should also become available in Apple retail stores when they open later today, as well as AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores and at select Apple authorized resellers.
The price and functionality of the white iPhone 4 is exactly the same as the black version, but the thrill of finally having the often delayed device should be enough to prompt quite a few customers to spend their hard-earned cash.
Bear in mind that the shipping time for the black iPhone 4 is “within 24 hours,” while the white version ships in “3-5 business days.”
The device should also become available in Apple retail stores when they open later today, as well as AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores and at select Apple authorized resellers.
The price and functionality of the white iPhone 4 is exactly the same as the black version, but the thrill of finally having the often delayed device should be enough to prompt quite a few customers to spend their hard-earned cash.
Bear in mind that the shipping time for the black iPhone 4 is “within 24 hours,” while the white version ships in “3-5 business days.”
Apple’s iPad 2 arrived in Japan Thursday, and the company has announced that the tablet will be in 11 more countries by Friday.
iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores and select Apple authorized resellers at 9 a.m. local time, as well as the Apple online store starting at 1 a.m. Apple’s suggested price for the Wi-Fi only iPad 2 is $499 for the 16 GB model, $599 for the 32 GB model and $699 for the 64 GB model. The recommended price for the 3G plus Wi-Fi version is $629 for the 16 GB model, $729 for the 32 GB model and $829 for the 64 GB model.The countries receiving the device on Friday are: Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and the U.A.E.
Furthermore, the iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in China starting Friday, May 6, and Apple will announce further international availability at a later date. Two weeks after the March 11 U.S. release of the iPad 2, Apple released the device in 25 additional countries.
Tuesday, Sony announced it’s launching two tablets, both of which run Android 3.0, a.k.a. Honeycomb.
One of the tablets, dubbed the S1, sports a 9.4-inch screen. The other is the S2; it bears a novel dual-screen design. The device’s two 5.5-inch screens can be used separately or together; they can also be folded onto one another to create a compact and highly portable package.
Both tablets are WiFi and 3G/4G compatible and integrate with PlayStation Suite, Sony’s new Android-friendly platform that allows users to download and play PlayStation games.And, as might be expected, the tablets are intended to be welcome additions to the living room, playing well with and enhancing traditional entertainment devices. Sony says the S1 in particular “uses infrared technology and works as a universal remote control for a variety of AV devices … turning on TVs, changing the channel and adjusting the volume.” The tablets can also take advantage of DLNA functionality to “project” content to other, larger screens and speakers.
The tablets will come to retail in fall 2011. We’re still waiting for details on pricing, but we’re expecting it’ll be competitive with what’s already on the market.
Check out the photos below. Do you think the S1 and S2 are tablets you’d consider buying?
One of the tablets, dubbed the S1, sports a 9.4-inch screen. The other is the S2; it bears a novel dual-screen design. The device’s two 5.5-inch screens can be used separately or together; they can also be folded onto one another to create a compact and highly portable package.
Both tablets are WiFi and 3G/4G compatible and integrate with PlayStation Suite, Sony’s new Android-friendly platform that allows users to download and play PlayStation games.And, as might be expected, the tablets are intended to be welcome additions to the living room, playing well with and enhancing traditional entertainment devices. Sony says the S1 in particular “uses infrared technology and works as a universal remote control for a variety of AV devices … turning on TVs, changing the channel and adjusting the volume.” The tablets can also take advantage of DLNA functionality to “project” content to other, larger screens and speakers.
The tablets will come to retail in fall 2011. We’re still waiting for details on pricing, but we’re expecting it’ll be competitive with what’s already on the market.
Check out the photos below. Do you think the S1 and S2 are tablets you’d consider buying?
Sony's S1, Front View
cer’s Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablet has arrived on schedule, bringing an interesting array of features for a very competitive price.The Acer Iconia Tab A500 features a 10.1-inch screen 1280×800 TFT WXGA screen, an Nvidia Tegra 250 1GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of flash storage (with the possibility of extending the storage capacity up to 32 GB via a Micro-SD card). It’s got a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front one for video chats, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a USB 2.0 port and a battery that should last around 10 hours if you’re using the device for browsing the web.While those specifications sound very similar to those of another Android 3.0 tablet, the Motorola Xoom, Acer’s tablet does have the advantage of a brushed aluminum back and a much lower price.
The Acer Iconia Tab is available at Best Buy for $450.
