First Impressions: Samsung Behold II smart phone

Samsung Behold II

Usually successor phones bear a fairly close resemblance to their earlier namesakes. But the Samsung Behold II, $230, available Wednesday from T-Mobile, looks and behaves little like the first Behold.

While that predecessor is an advanced phone with touch screen and a 4.9-megapixel camera with advanced controls, the Behold II is a smart phone, with a larger screen (3.2 in. vs. 3 in.) and more buttons at its base for accessing the phone's more advanced features. Measuring 4.57 in. x 2.2. in. x .48 in., the Behold II is about average in size for a smart phone. It includes built-in Wi-Fi, a full Web browser, virtual QWERTY keyboard and a 2GB MicroSD storage card, which you can upgrade to 16GB. The phone runs on the Android operating system, but the older 1.5 version. That aging OS lacks the native support for Microsoft Exchange Server, Facebook, and some of the advanced e-mail capabilities built into the 2.0 version of Android found the Motorola Droid, Samsung Moment, and other phones.

Our telecom engineers are currently testing the press sample we received from Samsung, but I've already had a chance to use the phone for a few hours. Overall, I found the phone decent enough, though not up to the standard of the Droid and some of the other smart phones that have hit the market recently, which offer better performance for less money. Here are my first impressions:

Display. Its 3.2-in. active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display is pretty sharp: about 185 pixels per inch. Images seemed crisp and the colors were vibrant. Videos, including those I shot with the phone's camera, appeared smooth and sharp.

Phone controls. Where some smart phones lack hard phone buttons, and bury virtual phone controls on the desktop, the Behold has a well-located phone button on the bottom left corner of the phone. The virtual dial buttons were also easy to see and use, too, and buttons for voice mail, speed dial, contacts, and call log were conveniently displayed on the bottom.

Verizon's sky-high ETF: Do the math

Bloggers have speculated that Verizon's fat new $350 fee for breaking its smart phone contracts is intended to thwart phone flipping, a scheme in which you take the two-for-one deal, quit the contract on the second phone, then sell the handset on eBay at a profit, even after you pay the old $175 early termination fee (or "ETF").

Verizon didn't directly answer when we put that theory for the $350 ETF to them. "Our general reasoning is that it reflects the higher cost associated with the phone," said Tom Pica, a Verizon spokesman.

That suggests Verizon is giving customers bigger savings in the form of a bigger subsidy for those devices out of its own pocket, right?

Wrong.

Droid vs. iPhone: Them's fightin' words

A fight has broken out over last Friday's boxing-themed preliminary head-to-head comparison of the brand-new Motorola Droid and Apple's iPhone. The post has drawn scores of comments, and more readers continue to weigh in. The overwhelming majority of commenters feel our review gave short shrift to the Droid, though one reader, Robinson, noted, "this is a blog comparison not a formal CR review. So, don't trash what CR still does so well." Our testers continue to evaluate the Droid and our in-depth review will be posted in the coming days. In the meantime, some  thoughts on the issues raised by commenters:

Critics: The Droid's display is clearly better. Commenters are puzzled by why I called the display comparison a tossup even though I acknowledged that the Droid's display is bigger, boasts higher pixel density, and appears sharp and bright. (When comparing two identical Web pages side-by-side, text on the Droid's screen was noticeably sharper.) A key reason for my judgment: I wasn't able to test the Droid's display in the myriad of different lighting conditions, modes, and apps that our testers used to arrive at their scoring of the iPhone 3G S display (available to subscribers), the highest they've awarded to a phone screen. We'll see what our testers have to say about the Droid's display.

Critics: The Droid's camera is the better-equipped. I called this feature for the iPhone 3G S, in large part due to the camera's appealing interface and rich features. In addition to describing the Droid's camera as "well-equipped," I should have also have cited its flash and 16x9 (widescreen) video recording, both missing from the iPhone. Critics:

The iPhone's GPS isn't demonstrably better and costs more. On the first point, our Cars colleagues, who test GPS on all its platforms, demurred in their first impressions of the Google Maps Navigation found on the Droid, as I wrote. Since my post, there's now a full review on the Cars blog, which calls GMN only "adequate," and says the app should not be "the leading reason to purchase" an Android 2.0 phone, such as the Droid. But the review also acknowledges that the free software does "eliminate the need to pay for GPS and traffic services," including the cost of buying the pricey iPhone navigation apps and services. A couple of parting observations about the passion of the comments about this phone:

• They suggest the Droid has quickly emerged as the phone around which iPhone critics have coalesced. It's emerging as the preeminent un-iPhone or even anti-iPhone.
• The comments are further evidence that no community of observers takes a closer and more critical interest in how we test and assess than smart-phone fans. We've experienced that in the past, when we updated the methodology and presentation of our smart-phone Ratings (available to subscribers) in response to the changing nature of these devices.

Even though it sometimes hurts to be hit with repeated jabs, we love to hear about your hands-on experiences with and technological insights on smart phones.—Mike Gikas

Droid vs. iPhone: A 10-round bout

[Update: See the author's response to commenters in his follow-up post: "Droid vs. iPhone: Them's fightin' words'" —Ed.]

The Motorola Droid, available today from Verizon for $200 after rebates, is the latest in series of phones, including the Blackberry Storm, T-Mobile G1, and Palm Pre, to be floated as a potential threat to Apple’s iPhone, the undefeated champion of the smart-phone world. Other media who’ve weighed in on the showdown include Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

I liked what I saw when I put a press sample of the Droid through its paces. (See the Droid review here.) Now, as our testers complete their extensive tests on the Droid, here’s my 10-round preliminary take on how the new Verizon smart phone fares against the iPhone 3G S, which remains—at least for now—the highest-rated smart phone in our Ratings (available to subscribers).

Ding ding:

Round 1. Touch screen. Advantage: iPhone. Both phones have highly responsive touch screens. But the iPhone's is multitouch for all functions, allowing you to zoom in and out of photos and Web pages by pinching or spreading your fingers. The Droid has such multitouch functionality only when running certain applications, according to Engadget.

Round 2. Interface. Advantage: Droid. A tough call, since both phones have a terrific icon-based interface that makes finding and launching their many features a snap. However the Droid, which employs the latest 2.0 version of Google’s Android operating system, allows a higher degree of personalization via widgets and other tools, and you put all of your e-mails from different accounts (except Gmail) under one view.

Verizon's first Droid ad goes on the iPhone attack

Click for the the Droid promo site (with ad).

Verizon has begun running a hard-hitting ad aimed at building excitement for its first phone powered by Google's Android-operating system. Dubbed the Droid, the phone, which until recently went by the code name "Sholes," is expected in early November. It joins other Android-powered phones already on the market, including T-Mobile's G1 and myTouch, HTC's Hero on the Sprint network, and the Motorola Cliq, which debuts this Friday.

The ad, which first appeared on network TV over the weekend promotes the Droid mostly by assaulting the iPhone, the Apple smart phone.Over happy pop music and rapid-fire images, apparently to emulate Apple's own advertisements, the ad highlights the iPhone's limitations, including these:

• The lack of a physical keyboard
• An inability to run simultaneous applications
• The absence of a 5-megapixel camera
• It's hard to personalize
• Its batteries are not replaceable by the user

The happy music ends abruptly, and the ad shifts to emulating a futuristic broadcast alerting the masses that a new mobile challenger will arrive in November. Viewers are directed to DroidDoes.com, a Verizon site that brags that the Droid possesses the missing iPhone features. It also highlights the new 2.0 version of the Android operating system, which succeeds the existing 1.5 version.

Some people who’ve handled the device say the Droid is the most sophisticated mobile device to hit the market to date from a hardware standpoint. When you combine that with the Verizon network, a consistent leader in our cell-phone service Ratings, available to subscribers, you’ve got a promising challenger to the iPhone.

Learn from the Sidekick saga: Back up your smart phone

Back up your smart phone and avoid losing data in a disaster.
[PHOTO courtesy of magerleague]

Last week’s T-Mobile incident, in which data from the carrier’s Sidekick smart phones stored on a Microsoft server was lost, ended late in the week with the carrier announcing that most or all of the lost data had been recovered. But the incident should serves to show, that as cell and (especially) smart phones become more like mini-computers, and add the likes of sophisticated cameras, the need to back up the data they carry increases.

Here are some tips on backing up smart phones. (We’ll cover options for cell phone backup in another post soon.)

It’s preferable to have data from your phone stored not only with the carrier itself, but also in duplicate on your computer. Generally, smart phones are easier to back up in this manner than cell phones, thanks to their sophisticated operating systems, which resemble those of computers.

One method to backing up at least your contacts—among the most valuable phone data, after all—is to sync the smart phone to your e-mail account on your computer, typically via Outlook, and then export the contacts from Outlook to the desktop.

You may already be syncing by having your office e-mail pushed to your smart phone via MS Exchange or, with some phones, via syncing to a Gmail account. With the iPhone, you can sync via iTunes as you add or remove music or other content from your phone.

If you’re not synced by these means, you may need a separate syncing program, perhaps at some cost. iPhone owners who don’t often enough sync contacts and the like physically via iTunes have the option to use MobileMe, a $99-a-year Apple syncing service. For phones that use the Windows Mobile OS, such as HTC TouchPro 2, there’s free software called Active Sync.

Extra Extra: Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide is on sale

(Click to enlarge.)

It may be a tad early to start your holiday shopping, but there’s a good chance you’ve at least been thinking about it. Maybe you’ve had a big-ticket gift—like a new TV or home theater—in mind for a while now, but are putting off the purchase till November or December. If it’s sales you’re waiting for, you probably know what you want and how much you’re willing to pay. On the other hand, you might just a teeny bit leery of throwing so much cash at something you know very little about. Which is better: a plasma or LCD TV? Should you upgrade to a Blu-ray player or stick with standard-def DVDs?

If you find yourself in need of expert advice, consider the newest edition of the Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide. Inside you’ll find a wealth of information on everything from televisions and computers to smart phones, GPS units, and much more. For each product, the Consumer Reports editors walk you through the basics, explaining what’s available, which features matter, brand profiles, and offering tried-and-true shopping tips.

In addition to product information, the guide offers advice on how to shop smarter, including:

• Netting the best deals online, and protecting yourself when you shop on the Web


• When to repair and when to replace a broken item


• How to haggle effectively


• Finding the best electronics retailer based on our comprehensive annual survey


• How to save—and what to be wary of—with refurbished or open-box products on store shelves


• Where to get free office software, free computer security programs, and more useful freeware

Does the Samsung Instinct HD really shoot HD video?

The Samsung Instinct HD.
[PHOTO courtesy of Samsung]

The Samsung Instinct HD, available from Sprint for $250 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate, is the first cell phone we've seen that claims to make high-definition video recordings. It also boasts a 5-megapixel still camera with flash. That camera is a step up from the flashless, 2-megapixel camera found on previous Instincts, also from Sprint, including the S30 version now in our Ratings, available to subscribers.

We’re evaluating the Instinct HD now, and will post full test results on it to our Ratings later this month. Meantime, our initial results on its imaging are promising, albeit with a few quibbles.

The new Instinct’s camera is easy to access, thanks to a dedicated camera button, conveniently located on the lower right side of the phone. Pushing the button activates the camera’s still mode. Tapping a camera icon on the upper left of the largish (1.78 x 2.66 in.) display switches the camera to video mode. Tapping again summons controls for auto-focus, exposure, and other camera functions.

The Instinct HD claims it can record video resolution of 1280 x 720p, which is a true HD format—although, as we often point out, HD format alone does not assure images of pristine, high-definition quality. To assess quality, we shot a series of videos on the Instinct and hooked it up to a 50-inch Panasonic plasma television using the optional ($30) HDMI cable.

Our findings: Color was good in the MPEG4 videos, though they lacked fine detail and texture. They blurred even more when we panned the camera to the left or right. In short, they couldn’t rival the image quality you’d enjoy from full-sized HD camcorders in our Ratings, available to subscribers.

But such camcorders are much bigger and pricier than the Instinct HD, and do nothing except shoot video and stills. The high-def video quality of the Instinct was comparable to what you’d get from a standard-definition pocket camcorder, such as the Flip. And that's still way ahead of the video we've seen any other camera phone.

AT&T to allow VoIP apps for iPhone—but you may still have to pay

The brouhaha that’s been brewing since AT&T and Apple squelched the Google Voice app for iPhone back in July just took an interesting turn. In an apparent reversal, and capitulation to an FCC inquiry, AT&T now says it will permit iPhone VoIP apps—those phone services that allow you to place voice calls over the Internet at little or money—to operate over its 3G and 2G networks.

iPhone (and Touch) users already have the ability to make VoIP calls via Skype service when they're within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot—but not over AT&T's 3G network. AT&T has a history of curbing iPhone access to its network for fear of overloads. Only in late September did it begin allowing iPhone users to send text messages with pictures (MMS).

This issue of allowing people to bypass their networks to make phone calls has been far more contentious. Many consumer groups, including Consumers Union advocates, contend that blocking such innovative apps is unfair to consumers. 

The announcement, CU advocates say, is a step in the right direction. However, AT&T's new VoIP offer may yet prove to be a very limited victory for consumers. Blackberry users can already make VoiP calls via Skype and other providers on AT&T's 3G network. However, the calls go over the voice portion of the network, so consumers use up their minutes. The only time it pays to use Skype over 3G is when calling foreign countries, which will be charged as domestic minutes rather that the much pricier foreign minutes.

No details of permitted apps or app rollout have been released. —Mike Gikas

First impression: The HTC Hero doesn't quite 'Cliq'

The HTC Hero. (Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO courtesy of Sprint]

Sprint's first Android phone, the HTC Hero, will debut on October 11 for $180. The Hero resembles another Android-powered HTC phone, the T-Mobile myTouch ($200), but has additional features that put it in a league with the upcoming Motorola Cliq and Apple iPhone. We took a look at a pre-retail version of the Hero. But as we found, the Hero wasn't quite a match for either of them.

More for less. The Hero's 5-megapixel camera beats the more costly myTouch's by about 2 megapixels, adding digital zoom and a tap-to-focus feature like the one found on the iPhone. Another iPhone-like feature is Hero's touch screen, which allows you to zoom in and out of photos, Web pages, and other on-screen elements with a pinch, poke or swipe. It has Wi-Fi and a fairly competent Web browser.

Intriguing interface. Hero’s custom interface, called Sense, sits atop the Android operating system, making it fairly easy to access its briar patch of programs. It's similar to Motoblur, the interface Motorola added to its Android powered Cliq, but slightly inferior to it, I found. The Cliq, for example, puts all of your social-networking applications like Twitter and Facebook on one screen, making them easier to monitor. Ditto for contacts, calendar appointments, and e-mail and text messages. The Hero, by contrast, doesn’t integrate apps quite as well, nor does it dig as deeply into apps residing in the Android OS. Also, some of the widgets, like the music player, take up almost an entire screen, defeating the space-saving purpose of a widget.

Slick, but sluggish, navigation. The Hero's fairly responsive touch screen makes it a snap to view Web pages and photos. Launching applications, however, seemed to take longer than on other phones I've tried recently. Occasionally the display would snag on a photo or Web page. But the Hero's trackball—something the iPhone lacks—did make it much easier to zero in on tiny or closely packed hotlinks. Pushing the magnifying-glass button, a standard feature on Google phones, launches Google. But searches don’t factor in your location in this mode. You have to go into Google Maps for that. Other phones, such as the Samsung Instinct, make local searches much easier.