Highly Rumored Samsung Galaxy S6 Officially Debuts

BARCELONA -- The highly rumored metal Galaxy S 6 finally debuts at Mobile World Congress.  As was rumored, there is two versions of the Galaxy S6 as there was with the Note 4 and Note Edge.  The S6 edge however does not operate in the same way as the Note Edge.  Despite being made in metal and glass instead of plastic, the design is pretty much evolutionary.  It's not as dramatic as the transition between HTC's EVO line and the original HTC One.  One thing that diehard Galaxy S fans will miss is that the S6 and S6 edge has a sealed battery and there is no microSD expansion slot.  This is disappointing considering even HTC saw fit to add the MicroSD slot on the One M8 and M9.  Both the S6 and S6 edge have a 5.1" Super AMOLED display with Corning's latest Gorilla Glass 4.  Both will come in 32, 64, or 128GB capacities.  You'll have to think carefully before you make your decision because unlike the S5 and Note 4/EDGE, the Galaxy S6 doesn't have a microSD slot.  Unlike with the S5 where the emphasis was on the loads of features, the S6's emphasis seems to be on its new metal and glass build and how powerful and fast it is.  We'll see how consumers and diehard Galaxy S fans respond to the new Galaxy S6 and S6 edge when its available globally starting from April 10, 2015.   

The Day That iPhone Grew

CUPERTINO, Calif --  The moment that Apple fans around the world and the competition has been anxiously waiting for has arrived.  They have grown larger and now come in two sizes.  Tim Cook called the new iPhones "the biggest advancements in iPhone history."  The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have larger displays and a smoother and rounder appearance.  The iPhone 6 is 4.7-inches and the larger iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5-inches.  This is smaller than Samsung's Galaxy S5 at 5.1-inches and Galaxy Note 4 at 5.7-inches respectively.  Although in order to win consumer's hearts, Apple doesn't need to exceed Samsung's display sizes.  They just need to demonstrate that their display is more usable.  We'll see how this plays out when both Apple and Samsung finally start selling their phones at retail.  The iPhone 6's 4.7-inch display has a resolution of 1134 x 750, and the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus has a resolution of 1920 x 1080.  Powering the new iPhones is the A8 processor that Apple touts is so powerful, it will allow "console-class 3D games to iPhone."  The new iPhones will be available through Apple, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.  Prices with a two year contract with AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon are $199 USD for the 16 GB model, $299 USD for the 64 GB model, and $399 USD for the 128 GB model.  We suspect that Apple debuted the new 128 GB model to combat Samsung's hounding on lack of expandability.  The larger iPhone6 Plus with a two year contract will cost $299 USD for the 16 GB model, $399 USD for the 64 GB model, and $499 USD for the 128 GB model.  T-Mobile will be selling both iPhone 6 models at around full retail price since they no longer sell phones at subsidized contract prices.   Both models will go on sale starting September 19th in gold, silver, or space gray.  Also debuting alongside the new iPhones was the much rumored iWatch.  The Apple Watch comes in three models and start at $349 USD.

Samsung's Note To The Competition

BERLIN -- Samsung has finally taken the wraps off the much anticipated Galaxy Note 4.  The surprise Samsung had in store was that there were two models they were revealing.  In addition to the Galaxy Note 4, Samsung also revealed the Galaxy Note Edge.  The Edge has a unique curved screen on the edge that was first seen on Samsung's Youm prototype.  The Galaxy Note 4 has a 5.7-inch QuadHD SuperAMOLED display and is powered by the latest version of Android, Kitkat 4.4.   Cameras on the Galaxy Note 4 has also been improved with a 3.7-megapixel front camera and a 16-megapixel rear camera with image stabilizer.  Like the Galaxy S5, the Note 4 features a heart rate sensor and a fingerprint sensor.  What's new is that the Note 4 also features a UV sensor.   Samsung realizes that a lot is riding on the success of their Galaxy Note series, but will it be enough to keep it the king in the phablet category that Samsung created when it first debuted the Note series?  We'll see when Apple debuts its much rumored larger iPhones on September 9th.  Sales of the Galaxy Note 4 will begin in October, and the Note Edge will begin sales later in the year.  

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Samsung Reveals The Galaxy S Of Smartwatches

SEOUL -- If the Samsung Gear 2 doesn't have enough features to suit your fancy, then Samsung has the answer for you with its latest smartwatch, the Gear S.  The Gear S is Samsung's latest foray into the smartwatch market.  The difference between the Gear, Gear 2, Gear Live and the new Gear S is that this one has the much rumored sim slot.  Yes, it actually has cellular connectivity.  Unfortunately, it's only up to 3G speeds, and not LTE, but remember it has limited space because its a watch.  The Gear S is powered by a dual-core 1.0 Ghz processor and like the Gear 2 is running Tizen OS.  It features a 2-inch curved SuperAMOLED display.  Like the Galaxy S5, the Gear S also features Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi connectivity, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, heart rate, ambient light, and barometer sensors.  However, it also features a UV sensor that's not on the Galaxy S5, but doesn't feature a camera like the Gear and Gear 2.  The Gear 2 is also rated IP67 for dust and water resistance.  Samsung says the Gear S will be released to the global market in phases beginning in October.  Samsung did not mention the price for the new smartwatch.  

Roabst's Picks For Best Smartphone 2013 Part II

In the previous part, we gave a brief history of AT&T and Sprint and we talked about the best smartphone for each of the two carriers. AT&T was the first wireless carrier in the United States to sell the Apple iPhone and Sprint is a carrier in transition. In this part, we'll be discussing the best smartphone on T-Mobile and Verizon in the next part.

Best Smartphone on T-Mobile

Like Sprint, T-Mobile is also a wireless carrier in transition. When plans to merge with AT&T fell through, T-Mobile needed a new plan. T-Mobile is currently buying MetroPCS and is in the process of rolling out their new strategy plan. Despite being the smallest of the big four carriers, T-Mobile actually has a lot of firsts. T-Mobile is the first to roll out HD Voice. T-Mobile will be the first to sell all their phones unsubsidized when their plan takes effect in a few months. T-Mobile was also the first wireless carrier in the United States to sell Android. The very first Android device was the HTC Dream aka T-Mobile G1 in the United States. A lot of things have changed since the T-Mobile G1 debuted. Android is now at version 4.2.1 Jellybean and T-Mobile has announced it will be selling an Apple product in 2013. Will the Apple iPhone be the device that keeps iPhone alive or should T-Mobile continue to rely on Android? Whatever the case may be, what is the best smartphone on the T-Mobile network?

Google Nexus 4 by LG

It may not have Samsung's TouchWiz features or HTC's Sense, but that doesn't matter because the Nexus 4 is a stock Android device.  It doesn't have Samsung's cool Multi-Window feature, but it'll surely get Android updates when Google announces them.  Sure we're tempted by Samsung's Multi-Window and motion gestures, but in the end getting updates quickly is more important to us.  Another bonus is that the Nexus 4 is unlocked and for a price that pretty much can't be beat.  The only problem with the Nexus 4 is when will it be back in stock and will we ever find out if it's LG or Google's fault for the inventory issues?  When Apple starts selling unlocked iPhones directly for a price that's closer to the Nexus is when things will get even more interesting at T-Mobile, but until then there's no better deal then a Nexus 4 with a Monthly4G plan from T-Mobile.  

Roabst's Picks For Best Smartphone 2013 Part I

The year is almost coming to a close and we hope next year will bring everyone a lucky `13!  Here are our picks for the best smartphones currently on the market. Some of our picks may even surprise you.

Best Smartphone on AT&T

Selection at one time was an issue at AT&T.  Rumors blamed the exclusive contract with Apple as the reason why the selection was somewhat poor.  Logically it does make some sense.  If iPhone sales were so great and helping their bottom line, what's the need to sell anything else?  Times have changed and AT&T is no longer the exclusive carrier for the iPhone.  Even T-Mobile has announced they'll be selling some Apple product in 2013, but it hasn't been announced what exactly it is.  It's pretty remote that it isn't the iPhone.  AT&T currently has a wide selection of smartphones and picking one phone as the best is a challenge.

HTC One X+

It was hard to choose one, but there can be only one winner and we picked the HTC One X+ on the AT&T network.  The One X+ is powered by a NVIDIA 1.7 Ghz Tegra 3 processor and Android 4.1 Jellybean with HTC Sense.  It runs quick and smooth and looks lovely on its 4.7" Super LCD 2 display.  The OneX+ can take lovely pictures with its 8 megapixel camera and a dedicated HTC Image Chip processor.  It doesn't have an expansion slot but it has a huge 64 GB of storage space.  Unfortunately, not all of it is user accessible.  The battery is a good size at 2100 mAh, but its the embeded type, so it's not user replaceable.  With a two year contract, the One X+ is $199.99 on AT&T.  It's a very good price considered a 64GB Apple iPhone 5 will set you back $399.99, and that's the two year contract price.  With a large and ample storage space, powerful processor, and lovely display, the HTC One X+ is our choice for best smartphone on AT&T.  

Best Smartphone on Sprint

Sprint is one of the carriers that is in transition. Nextel is just a memory and the company is being bought up by Japan's Softbank. What is interesting is that even though it's being bought up, Sprint is in the process of buying Clearwire. Sprint gambled big on Apple's iPhone and its made some traction except it hasn't really put a dent on its bigger rivals AT&T and Verizon.  Sprint touts its "Simply Everything" plan which gives you unlimited everything including data on its network.  The big question here is if Sprint is your choice of carrier, what's the best smartphone on the Sprint network.

Samsung Galaxy S III

The answer to that question would have to be the Samsung Galaxy S III.   It is one of the most advanced smartphones currently on the market.  It's quite a productivity workhorse.  It'll be even more useful when it gets the Premium Suite upgrade.   It's got a large and beautiful 4.8" display.  It's great for things like watching videos and navigation   Part of what separates the Galaxy S III from smartphones of other manufacturers is motion gestures.  Features like Direct Call, Smart Alert, and our favorite, Smart Stay, are useful and improves upon the wonderful experience that Android provides.  The Samsung Galaxy S III also still has two important features that are missing from a lot of phones these days and that's microSD card slot and user replaceable battery.  The Samsung Galaxy S III has an abundance of features so it's sure not to disappoint.