2011 Tech Review: The HTC Incredible S - Sexy and Curvy (google android repair, iPhone 4 Repair)

23-March-2011:  The unfortunate naming aside (seriously, didn't anyone say it out loud before they announced it?), the Incredible S is a pretty great smartphone. You've got spotless connectivity, an exciting new screen, those cool rotating buttons and the proven power of Snapdragon under the hood.

 
HTC Incredible S official photos

HTC has earned a name for itself and there's no wonder that the launch of the Incredible S was greeted with excitement. Their new potential bestseller is too important a device to go unnoticed even if it tries to be merely an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary step forward.

It seems the Incredible S has got the proper set of ingredients to make for a really capable smartphone at a reasonable price (for a high-end device, that is).

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4" 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• The best screen on an HTC device by some distance
• Android OS v2.2 Froyo with HTC Sense UI (ver. 2.3 update promised soon after launch)
• 1 GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset
• 768 MB RAM and 1.5 GB ROM
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
• 720p video recording @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• microSD slot up to 32GB (8GB card included)
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• Front facing camera for video calling
• DivX/XviD video support
• Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement
• HTC Locations app
• HTCSense.com integration
• HTC Portable Hotspot
• Ultra-fast boot times (if you don't remove battery)

Main disadvantages

• No dedicated camera key and no lens cover
• Runs Froyo on launch, instead of Gingerbread
• Poor video recording, 720p footage is pretty jerky
• Uninspiring audio quality

2010 was the year of the droid in the smartphone calendar and Google will undoubtedly try to serve us more of the same in 2011. To achieve such an explosive growth is a tall task, but certainly not impossible. There are two things that the Open Handset Alliance will need to achieve in order to complete it.

First, they will need to finally grab a sizable share of the lower mid-range market and second they need to maintain their positions in the high-end segment, which has been their stronghold lately.

And while the implosion of Symbian will certainly help the droid army with their march towards lower segments, some serious efforts will be required to keep iOS and the rapidly improving WP7 at bay on the top.

That's why devices like the HTC Incredible S are so important. Not only do they need to generate as much revenue as possible for their manufacturer, but they also need to perform well to maintain the platform's reputation.

    
This certainly is a heavy burden, but is the Incredible S fit to carry it?

Apple iPad 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 (google android repair)

The tablet wars have just heated up immensely and we might be on the verge of an explosion right now, as Samsung has just revealed its two new weapons – the refreshed Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Tab 8.9. We already told you what they are all about and now comes the time for the big question – how do they compare to the new tablet blockbuster – the iPad 2?

A couple of weeks ago, Samsung's CEO said that he feels the Galaxy Tab 10.1 felt "inadequate" to the newly released iPad 2 and that some changes needed to take place, one of which was the pricing. I can only say bravo to Samsung for making such radical of a changes in such a short period of time. They actually managed to make the new Tabs even thinner than the iPad 2, measuring at just 8.6mm thickness.

And here comes a head-to-head comparison of the two new Samsung slates and the Apple iPad 2 on some of their most important features.

	IPAD 2	GALAXY TAB 10.1	GALAXY TAB 8.9
OS	iOS 4.3	Android 3.0	Android 3.0
Display	9.7-inch  LED-backlit IPS LCD	10.1-inch PLS LCD	8.9-inch PLS LCD
Resolution	1024 x 768	1280 x 800	1280 x 800
Height Width Thickness	241.2mm 185.7mm 8.8mm	256.6mm 172.9mm 8.6mm	230.9mm 157.8mm 8.6mm
Weight	601 grams	595 grams	470 grams
Processor	900Mhz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor	1Ghz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor	1Ghz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor
Storage	16GB / 32GB / 64GB	16GB / 32GB / 64GB	16GB / 32GB / 64GB
microSD card slot	no	yes, up to 32GB	yes, up to 32GB
Front camera	0.3MP VGA	2.0MP	2.0MP
Rear camera	0.7MP Fixed-Focus 720p video	3.0MP Auto-Focus with LED Flash (720p)	3.0MP Auto-Focus with LED Flash (720p)
Wi-Fi	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n
Network	UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 850, 900, 1900, 2100GSM/EDGE  850, 900, 1800, 1900	HSPA+ 21Mbps850/900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS850/900/1800/1900	HSPA+ 21Mbps850/900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS850/900/1800/1900
USB	USB 2.0 (Host with Adapter)	USB 2.0 (Host with Adapter)	USB 2.0 (Host with Adapter)
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR	3.0
Battery	25Wh (~6750mAh @ 3.7V)	6800mAh	6000mAh
Price  (Wi-Fi only)	$499 (16GB) $599 (32GB) $699 (64GB)	$499 (16GB) $599 (32GB) $??? (64GB)	$469 (16GB) $569 (32GB) $??? (64GB)
Availability	Currently available	June 8	Early summer
Sensors	Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light Sensor	Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light Sensor	Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light Sensor

Of course this table doesn't tell the whole story – there are other things such as app count (where the iPad 2 is a leader by some distance), build quality, display quality etc. Head to the comment section and tell us what's your take? Which one of those relatively equally priced bad boys would you give your hard earned cash for?

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, thinner Galaxy Tab 10.1

Surprise, surprise! Samsung announced not one, but two tablets during their CTIA event. The Galaxy Tab 8.9 was joined by a reworked version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Both tablets run Android 3.0 Honeycomb with TouchWiz 4.0 user interface.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 has a 8.9" screen (no surprise here) of WXGA resolution. It measures 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6mm(!) and weighs just 470g with a 6000mAh battery. The rest of the features are very much like the ones on its bigger brother.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been revised - how Samsung managed to do it so quick we can't tell but the Tab 10.1 now measures 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6 mm. It used to be 10.9mm thick and a bit lighter - now both the Tab 10.1 and Tab 8.9 are thinner and lighter than the iPad 2. You can check how those three compared.

    
The reworked Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is thinner than the iPad

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 uses a PLS display, which should offer even better image quality than IPS displays. The battery on the 10.1 is 6800mAh.

Both tablets feature 1GHz dual-core CPUs. On the software side they run Android Honeycomb with some new TouchWiz 4.0 modifications. Flash Player 10.2 and Quickoffice HD editor come preinstalled.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Tab 10.1 feature 3MP autofocus primary cameras with 720p video recording and 2MP front-facing cameras. Wi-Fi a/b/g/n (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and Bluetooth handle local wireless connectivity (v2.1 for Tab 8.9 and v3.0 for Tab 10.1).

    
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 looks pretty much the same

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available on 8 June for $499 (16GB version) or $599 (32GB version). The old, thicker version of the Tab 10.1 is still on course to hitting Vodafone stores outside the US so it hasn't been canceled. We are yet to learn more about the availability of the two devices, but we can confirm that the thicker version won't be coming to the US.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 specs also mention a 64GB version, but there's no pricing information for that one yet.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 should launch early this summer for $469 (16GB version) or $569 (32GB). You can always get a microSD card to expand the memory, so getting the bigger version isn't necessary.

Those prices are for Wi-Fi only versions of the tablets - there will be versions with mobile Internet too (quad-band GPRS/EDGE and quad-band 3G with 21Mbps HSPA+).