Holiday Smartphone Buyer's Guide
by Vivek Gowri on December 4, 2010 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Guides
- Holiday 2010
- Mobile
Unlocked/International
We realize that a significant portion of AnandTech readers aren’t located in the USA, and to that extent want to also cover some of the international and unlocked phones that are potentially on smartphone shopping lists this holiday season. It’d be completely disingenuous if we had a myopic, USA-centric world view, and we’re actively working on getting a more international spread of devices whenever possible that’s of interest to everyone.
With companies like HTC, most of that is pretty easy. The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer generally spins a particular piece of hardware in multiple varieties for specific markets, keeping the general reference design unchanged. For example, we have the HTC Desire, which is almost the same as the Nexus One, and the HTC Desire HD, which is a mildly updated version of the HD2/HD7/EVO 4G.
The most prominent international smartphone carrier of course is Nokia. Our top picks there are the N900 which can be had unlocked for around $330 unlocked, which runs Maemo 5 and MeeGo. We reviewed the N900 and loved the freedom of having real Linux running on a smartphone. The other awesome choice from the Finnish smartphone powerhouse is the Nokia N8, which we’re currently in possession of and in the process of reviewing. Although we’re not finished, the hardware itself is awesome - anodized aluminum all over, 12 megapixel camera with real Carl Zeiss glass optics, and a pentaband UMTS baseband. Though Symbian is showing its age, the N8 is an otherwise awesome device, and can be had for $530 unlocked. We’ve also looked at the Nokia E5 previously, but it looks like a sidestep from its excellent predecessor, the E72. You can find the E72 for less than the E5, so if you're looking for a Symbian-based BlackBerry alternative, the E72 is probably the way to go.
If you’re on a budget and want an Android 2.2 phone, the other option which has seen a lot of success recently is the LG Optimus One, which we also have and are in the process of reviewing. The Optimus One is a solid little device, packing a 3 megapixel camera sans flash, Android 2.2, HVGA capacitive display, and one of Qualcomm’s newer SoCs with an Adreno 205. Though it isn’t the speediest hardware on the block or the most flashy, the Optimus One is an admirable mass market device with a lot of potential, and we can certainly understand why they sold more than a million in the first 40 days.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
52 Comments
View All Comments
VivekGowri - Monday, December 6, 2010 - link
Trust me, I'm a fan of the Adam and have been following it pretty closely ever since CES last year. As an Indian, I'm pretty psyched about the potential for an electronics boom happening in India. However, until it gets closer to shipping, it's only worth a mention. I have the Viewsonic and the Galaxy Tab in hand, which is why I wrote more about them,strikeback03 - Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - link
While I also am an Apple hater, the iPad is shipping now, while the Adam still only qualifies as vaporware. So while the whole Android tablet market is poised to grow, and almost certainly some better designs than the Galaxy Tab and host of cheap iPad knockoffs will be coming, if you are looking to give or get one this holiday season your choices are relatively limited.quickbunnie - Monday, December 6, 2010 - link
Couple of minor errors:The Samsung Epic 4G does have an LED flash.
Also, while there are no reports of OTA pushes for FROYO on the Epic 4g, a signed (no rooting needed) FROYO build is sitting on Google's servers:
http://android.clients.google.com/packages/ota/spr...
Rename to update.zip (make sure windows is showing extensions), put the file on your SD card "root" folder, boot in recovery mode and hit the update.
FROYO v2.2.1 on Epic 4G goodness.
Mixed reports on GPS - seems its either working or not at all with this update. Also, it breaks MediaHub, which requires a workaround to get functional again.
SilthDraeth - Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - link
Exactly, I kept looking at my epic wondering if that isn't an LED Flash then why the heck does it flash when I take pictures?Maybe it isn't LED? Nah, just an error I guess.
And dangit, I just updated to dl18, I need to update to dk28. If I run the update the way you stated, will I lose my contacts, and installed applications?
strikeback03 - Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - link
Samsung has recommended not using that update anyway (http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-says-froyo-ep... though the choice is up to youssj4Gogeta - Monday, December 6, 2010 - link
Hey Brian,I wonder why you didn't recommend the international Galaxy S version in the international segment. It's similar to the US Galaxy S versions but trades camera flash for a front camera.
Dodger52 - Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - link
Why do all you techblogs get it wrong and don't get your facts right.!!!The blackberry Torch is powered by a new generation PXA 940 built using the 45nm process
(sources:)
http://www.ubmtechinsights.com/reports-and-subscri...
http://translate.google.nl/translate?js=n&prev...
Mook1e - Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - link
You mention the wrong model (or carrier) when talking about the Captivate. If you've used the other models, they would be on Verizon and T-Mobile, not AT&T and T-Mobile. Also, your sentence regarding the flash implies that the Epic doesn't have a flash, when it does.Also, the Epic hasn't been priced at $249.99 on Amazon for months now. It was actually $99.99 for a while (It's currently $149.99)
jed22281 - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
Agreed Re the N900 in the international/unlocked category....Very happy camper, the possibilities really are limitless on this device, I'm surprised on an almost daily basis.
asliarun - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
I've been visiting Anandtech for many many years now, and have come to place a lot of trust and reliance on most of the articles.While I am not disappointed with what was IN this article (which was well analyzed and written), I am more disappointed with what was NOT in the article.
Firstly, I had expected this smartphone buyer's guide to be similar to the PC guide - I had definitely expected much more than 1 page worth of content for non-US visitors. I had mainly expected to see recommendations in various price points (budget, price-performance, high-end), detailed breakdown of strengths and weaknesses of key contenders in each segment, and at the very least 3-4 options in each segment along with their price points. A tabular analysis of the various contenders would have, for example, worked very well.
I normally hesitate to write a critical comment as it is easy to criticize as opposed to doing something. I do understand that it takes time and effort to analyze a large number of phones. But man, you have high standards to live up to! This is what separates AT from the thousands of other so-called tech review websites. I'm sorry to say but there is a marked difference in the quality of articles and quality of analysis written by Anand and other senior members and some of the other articles that I am reading nowadays.
Please take this constructively. I am not dissing you guys, but only telling you how you could continue to "wow" loyal readers such as myself. One more thing: you don't always need to do a PhD in every device before being able to write about it. You can, for example, easily do a comparison of the top 10 or 15 Android phones on the basis of various parameters that are relevant to buyers such as speed/responsiveness, battery life, display quality, camera quality, construction quality, price, usability, etc.
Basically, what I want to be able to read a "guide" article on Anandtech, and be able to make an informed purchase decision after reading it, and/or become more knowledgeable about the subject. Please help. There are hardly any such websites nowadays that I can put my trust in nowadays.