Nokia Lumia 900 vs HTC Titan II: Head to head

The two LTE smartphones, which we have on our hands today, couldn't be more different as far as the manufacturer goals and ambitions are concerned. The Nokia Lumia 900 for instance, carries the burden of turning the fortunes for the Finnish giant. The smartphone was launched with an aggressive price tag, and a massive marketing budget. The Nokia offering has no other choice but to succeed.

The HTC Titan II is on the other side of the urgency scale. Being one of the best established players in the Android realm, HTC needs not bet its fortunes on a smartphone, running a less than popular OS. The Titan II does not need to sell in large numbers - the Taiwanese company has the One Series up to this task. Such lack of pressure is sometimes the key to a great product.

This head-to-head feature should hardly be a surprise - after all the LTE sporting Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC Titan 2 were both announced during CES 2012. The two Windows Phone handsets also hit the AT&T shelves in the same day. All in all, great news in case you are a fan of Windows Phone devices, shopping around for the latest hardware.

Speaking of hardware, you have probably guessed by now, that the HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900 have quite a few things in common, thanks to Microsoft's strict hardware policy for the mobile platform. Displays and camera units aside, the two smartphone can almost pass for identical twins hardware-wise.

Here's a quick look at what the two flagship wannabes have to offer.

HTC Titan II over Nokia Lumia 900

• A slightly faster CPU, clocked at 1.5GHz
• Lighter by 13 grams, despite being larger in measures
• Larger 4.7" S-LCD screen
• 16MP camera sensor with various shooting modes
• Video recording has a better continuous auto focus
• A number of handy, exclusive HTC apps
• Equalizer/sound enhancer preinstalled

Nokia Lumia 900 over HTC Titan II

• Arguably better design, and more distinctive looks
• Polycarbonate unibody and Gorilla Glass covered display will handle abuse better
• 4.3" AMOLED screen is a better match for Windows Phone OS; has better pixel density too
• 8MP camera sensor has excellent dynamic range
• Costs half as much with a contract
• Better battery life performance
• Nokia Drive free lifetime navigation out of the box

If looks are main factor, then the Nokia Lumia 900 is likely the favorite here. Its polycarbonate unibody, coupled with a display, sporting infinite contrast levels and punchier colors, looks like nothing else on the U.S. smartphone market. Free navigation from Nokia Drive is a sweet proposition on the software side of things. In a nutshell, there is plenty to like about the newcomer.

The HTC Titan II on the other hand, sports a faster CPU, and weighs less, despite it being larger overall. Its 16MP camera sensor is the biggest you can find on a smartphone in the United States. HTC's exclusive apps add a much needed dash of Sense-d eye candy to an otherwise generic Windows Phone OS look.

Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC Titan II live photos

We are now going to put these two on each other's path, and try to find out which one deserves your hard earned cash better. Following next is a look at the handsets' design, build quality, and hardware features.

Sony Xperia P review: Ironclad

Introduction

Sealed in an aluminum unibody but still oozing the new NXT series style, the Sony Xperia P joins an elite club of metal-clad phones. And then there's the WhiteMagic screen to make it unique in the mobile world. In short, the Xperia P is one of the most advanced midrange phones out there.

Sony Xperia P official photos
The Reality display on the Sony Xperia P spans 4 inches and has qHD resolution, featuring the traditional for the Xperia series Mobile BRAVIA Engine. What's unique to the Xperia P is the WhiteMagic technology - an extra white subpixel to the usual RGB setup pushes brightness up to extra high levels while reducing power consumption. Specialized software aims to keep both power usage and color rendering optimal at all times.
The other standout feature is the aluminum unibody - if you like the solid feel of metal, there aren't too many phones that can deliver. The build of the Xperia P isn't just about the metal though - the phone is part of Sony's GreenHeart program and uses nature-friendly recycled plastics and waterborne paint.
Here's the cheat sheet on the Sony Xperia P:

Key features

• Aluminum unibody
• Quad-band GSM /GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• Bright 4" 16M-color capacitive LED-backlit LCD touchscreen of qHD resolution (540 x 960 pixels) with Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine and WhiteMagic (fourth white subpixel); Scratch-resistant glass
• Android OS v2.3.7 Gingerbread, planned Android 4.0 ICS update
• Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, 1 GB RAM, Mali-400 GPU, NovaThor U8500 chipset
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, Multi Angle shot
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• VGA front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS
• NFC connectivity
• 16GB built-in storage (13GB user accessible)
• microHDMI port, dedicated TV launcher
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Voice dialing
• Adobe Flash 11 support
• Deep Facebook integration
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor

Main disadvantages

• No Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box
• Display has poor blacks, high brightness levels result in poor color rendering and loss of contrast
• No memory card slot
• microSIM only
• Modest battery capacity of only 1305mAh results in mediocre battery life

While it was the outside of the Sony Xperia P that grabbed our attention, a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and Mali-400 GPU should easily be able to keep it. We just wish Sony would get over the ICS hurdle once and for all (the update is expected in Q3).
Some users will certainly appreciate the standard microHDMI port and hardware shutter key - two things that are just about going extinct in the mobile world, even though virtual shutter keys aren't as comfortable and MHL ports require you to carry (and pay for) additional adapters.

Sony Xperia P live pictures
With all this buildup, the Xperia P is starting to sound like the Sony phone that people "in the know" will buy. You know, not the top of the product line, but the one that offers the best set of features for a fair price.

LG Optimus L7 review: L-egant droid

Introduction

A fashion phone for the designer-challenged. Last season's Prada at knockdown prices. The LG Optimus L7 will have to face comparisons with the latest Prada phone by LG and we cannot think of many that will swing in its favor. But there's no need to be negative. The L7 is big-screened, inexpensive and Ice Cream Sandwich-flavored. Doesn't sound too bad now, does it?
A very respectable connectivity set, complete with NFC, is sure to give the LG Optimus L7 a good advantage against midrange competition. The phone is well built and quite attractive, much of which goes down to the impressive slimness. Changing out of the designer outfit was no big deal but one CPU core had to go with the Prada dress. In theory, the old Snapdragon chipset should flash red on all alarms but our concerns over speed have eased a little.

LG Optimus L7 official pictures
The bigger loss is HD video recording. The L7 is obviously not even half the cameraphone the Prada is. And LG know they have no use of an overpriced designer handset in the midrange. An affordable, good-looking and reasonably equipped smartphone is what they need instead. The Optimus L7 might just be it.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.3" 16M-color capacitive IPS LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Android OS v4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Single-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A5 processor, Adreno 200 (enhanced) GPU, Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon chipset
• 512 MB RAM
• 4GB of inbuilt storage (2.7GB user available)
• 5 MP autofocus camera, face detection and geotagging
• VGA@30fps video recording
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
• NFC
• GPS with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microSD slot up to 32GB
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Front facing VGA camera, video calls
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0, MHL TV-out
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• Polaris Office document editor
• Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement

Main disadvantages

• Outdated hardware with a single-core processor
• Occasional performance hiccup and laggy browser
• Less than impressive camera performance
• VGA video recording only
• Poor sunlight legibility

The LG Optimus L7 is in charge of the new L-style series that debuted at this year's MWC. Much of the latest Prada styling has been carried over to the three new phones, which should give LG good coverage of the entire midrange. This is not the first time LG have taken design cues from collaboration with a fashion brand to use on their own line of devices.

The Optimus L7 live pictures
The L-Style phones continue the Black Label series tradition of iconic phones like the Chocolates and the Secret. The big difference is that smartphones are involved this time around. And as far as we can tell, Android wouldn't put up with anything too fancy. The L-Style phones seem to have gotten it right though, with a distinct but subtle design. Let's see. The full hardware inspection is coming up after the break.

Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 review: Happy meal

Introduction

Samsung are back to basics and they say there's always room for one more in the low end. Especially one that doesn't take too much space. The Galaxy Pocket makes the Galaxy Mini look like it's on steroids and the Y series like a bunch of semi pros.
Life at the bottom of the food chain is far from enjoyable but it can be pretty exciting, and some creatures have figured out how to adapt. They're usually small, fast and good at mimicry. The Galaxy Pocket meets the size requirement, but we'll have to check about the speed. And no, no one will mistake it for a trimmed down S III but some feature phones may be fooled into getting too close.

Samsung Galaxy Pocket official photos
It's an exaggeration perhaps that the likes of the Galaxy Pocket herald the demise of the dumbphone. But this and other droids in sheep's clothing will just keep on coming.

Key Features

• Quad-Band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 2.8" 256K-color QVGA TFT touchscreen
• 832MHz ARMv6 processor, 289MB of RAM
• Android OS v2.3.6 (Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UI
• 3 GB of internal storage, hot-swappable MicroSD slot (up to 32 GB)
• 2 MP fixed-focus camera with geotagging
• GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Swype text input
• MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth 3.0
• Social network integration

Main disadvantages

• Low screen resolution limits choice of apps
• Fixed focus camera
• No secondary camera
• No camera flash, no dedicated camera key
• QVGA video recording @15fps
• No Adobe Flash support

This is obviously as basic as a smartphone package gets, but the Galaxy Pocket is still a true droid. It gives users quad-band GSM connectivity and dual-band 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a capacitive, multi-touch enabled screen. It can be a basic music player and a basic camera - and the expandable memory is one of the key features that make the Galaxy Pocket a smart buy.
There're lots of blank spots on its spec sheet, which make it vulnerable to older midrange droids in the same price range, but the Samsung Galaxy Pocket is for learners, not knowers. Convenience and affordability were top priorities, in what Samsung would like to see as the first step towards a long-term commitment.

Samsung Galaxy Pocket live photos
We too are going to look at the Galaxy Pocket one step at a time. As usual, we start with the look and feel.