Best Mobile Phone 2012: 9th Pocket-lint Gadget Awards nominees

Five to call from

Arguably the most important and heavily contested category at the Pocket-lint Gadget Awards is the title of Best Mobile Phone and 2012's dog fight between the usual suspects is no different. As ever though, it's your vote that counts, so don't forget to head over to the voting page to add your views.

If you haven't seen this year's hot five or don't know much about them, then here's a run down of the Best Mobile Phone 2012 nominees. Read well. Vote better.

iPhone 5

Price

?529

Release date

September 2012

What Apple has created with the iPhone 5 is an extremely polished smartphone that oozes appeal. It's incredibly well built, easy to use, features a beautiful screen, and comes packed with enough speed and power to service all your requirements. The hardware is just stunning and it really is impressive how much is crammed into such a tiny box.

For those that have already left the Apple ecosystem for Samsung or HTC, though, the iPhone 5 isn't likely to draw you back. It’s good but it’s safe, and the Apple Maps issue has proved something of a disaster for the time being. Will that count against it too much for the iPhone 5 to win Best Mobile Phone 2012?

READ: Apple iPhone 5 review

Samsung Galaxy S III

Price

?375

Release date

April 2012

There is a lot to love about the Samsung Galaxy S III. As a premium flagship smartphone, it has plenty going for it. The huge display, the power, the smooth and fast operation are all to its credit. Add to this the ability to change battery and expand storage and you've a very good package indeed.

Of course there are always areas that we might want an improvement: the display could be brighter, for example, which is our biggest real gripe. We found some bugs with screen unlock and the Smart Stay feature designed to keep the screen on when reading never really worked for us and, in some areas the UI is a little cartoony. Still, 30 million people can’t be wrong.

READ: Samsung Galaxy S III review

Nokia Lumia 820

Price

?380

Release date

November 2012

Nokia was so focused on packing the Nokia Lumia 920 with as much tech as it could, that for us it forgot about what people might actually want from a phone. With the Nokia Lumia 820, ?however, that's not the case. That micro SD card slot gives you plenty of storage for movies, photos, and music, while the removable battery gets you over any power issues you might have.

Add that to a great core operating system and a design that stands out on its own and you start to feel this is the phone Nokia should be putting all its efforts into promoting. Sure, it’s not the flagship and the camera isn’t as good as the knock out unit on its bigger brother but this is a mobile that anyone would be happy to use.

READ: Nokia 820 review

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Price

?530

Release date

October 2012

The Note is a device that shouldn't work; a device that the Koreans dreamt up after too little sleep, and too many energy drinks. But somehow, it's the most captivating phone we've used for a long time. Some will find it absurd, but those who want a big screen with loads of beautiful detail, a much better battery and some cool pen features will "get it” within 10 minutes of holding it for the first time.

It manages to invalidate the tablet to some extent, because it's big enough to be a powerful media device, but small enough to carry everywhere. It isn't a phone for everyone, but those who love gadgets will take to it, and it will change their lives.

READ: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 review

HTC One X+

Price

?495

Release date

October 2012

There are a few disparities between the HTC One X+ and the straight One X but it's the battery that makes the biggest difference to us. It was the weakest element of the previous device and it's now a better performer. If you're a One X owner, this is the thing of which you should be envious.

There's little to complain about, save a minor gripe with HTC Locations, and nothing is insurmountable. The hardware, the power, the build and the design of the HTC One X+ make this a phone we'd highly recommend, but recommend above all the others on this list? Well, we’ll see.

READ: HTC One X+ review

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Tags: Phones Mobile phones Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2012 Features

 

Best Mobile Phone 2012: 9th Pocket-lint Gadget Awards nominees originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:40:07 +0000

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

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APP OF THE DAY: iCueda v2 review

Memorable

We would like to think, given that we remain a fairly young crowd at Pocket-lint, that our memory isn't completely gone. iCueda however has proved us wrong.

Here is a fiendishly difficult app, which asks you to do something as simple as copy patterns briefly flashed on screen, using a series of coloured 3D blocks. It sounds easy, right? It isn't.

iCueda v2

Format

Free

Price

?1.99

Where

iTunes

iCueda works very simply. You are shown an image for around five seconds. You then have to remember this image and reproduce it using varying numbers of coloured blocks, depending on difficulty. The problem is, all the time you are busy playing about with the blocks, your brain is forgetting the original image. The app was developed in consultation with a clinical psychologist, and we wonder how exactly they would view our skills with the app.

Rather shamefully, we couldn't even handle the first level of this app on beginner settings. We did eventually conquer it, only to go on a smile-inducing winning streak. We then hit the brick wall that is intermediate difficulty. Getting started on the harder difficulty was nigh on impossible, although after a while your brain does start to think in the iCueda way.

The reward comes when you manage to solve a puzzle, however simple, because of the time it takes to get some of them right. The app then ranks you based on time and gives you a score in stars, raising the incentive to come back and play some more, just to get that high score.

Simple and addictive, while hopefully helping to bring your brain up to speed, iCueda comes highly recommended.

Tags: Apps App of the day Phones Mobile phones iPhone

   

APP OF THE DAY: iCueda v2 review originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:01:00 +0000

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

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APP OF THE DAY: Band of the Day review (iOS)

AOTD BOTD

Today,?App of the Day on Pocket-lint goes under a different name. Today it’s Band of the Day. Why? Well, because that’s the name of the app that we’re reviewing. Welcome one and all, to Band of the Day.

Band of the Day

Platform

iOS

Price

Free

Where

iTunes

Band of the Day is website that’s got itself together into both smartphone and tablet forms to bring a little mobile love to iOS devices everywhere. Sorry peeps, no Android version at moment.

The service, if you’ve never used it before, is a simply enough premiss. It’s a music discovery system packaged up into an alternative and entirely uniquely useful way. Rather than getting lost in Led Zeppelin radio, listening to the tracks you don’t actually want to hear by artists that you know anyway, Band of the Day presents just one band each day for the punters to try out. You get free access to stream a bunch of that artist’s tracks, and previews of some others, as well as, if anything, rather too much info on the artist themselves.

To be fair, that information is presented somewhat beautifully - particularly on the iPad version - allowing you to swish about a look book-like profile with lots of nicely rendered pictures, albums, track lists and even a Mix Tape section where you can listen to hours and hours of songs from the most liked artists on the system.

Naturally, there’s all social pushes and pulls that this kind of service thrives upon but it’s the touches like the Airplay support that makes Band of the Day a class act.

Wherever you are, this app is free. So, don’t delay. Download today.

Tags: Apps App of the day Band of the Day Music Websites iPad apps iPhone apps

             

APP OF THE DAY: Band of the Day review (iOS) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

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32GB Google Nexus 7 UK release date revealed, hitting stores tomorrow

EXCLUSIVE: Pocket-lint told by PC World

Today's Nexus New York press event may have been postponed due to severe (life-threatening) weather warnings, but the 32GB Google Nexus 7 is still planned to hit UK stores tomorrow (30 October).

An assistant in a London branch of Currys & PC World told us that the version of the tablet device with a higher storage capacity than its stablemates will be available to buy from "tomorrow" or "online tonight".

"We've sold out of the 16GB models because the 32GB comes tomorrow," the assistant told us in a very matter of fact way. "You can order it online tonight and arrange to collect it in store if you like."?

It had been rumoured for a week or two that the Asus-made device would be made available this week, and that Google had started to drop the price of its 16GB equivalent to ?160 in?preparation, but now we know the exact date.

Read: Nexus 7 review

In the US, there are reports that the 32GB edition has already started to hit shelves. American store chain The Office Depot has put 32GB Nexus 7 models "on display" and some consumers are claiming that they were able to purchase them.

With the iPad mini going on sale this Friday (2 November), Google is clearly attempting to steal Apple's thunder by offering a premium version of its competitive tablet several days beforehand. And at a much cheaper price point (believed to by ?199).

Tags: Google Tablets Nexus 7 PC World

 

32GB Google Nexus 7 UK release date revealed, hitting stores tomorrow originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:10:00 +0000

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

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