Huawei just announced the Ascend D2. It's the latest phone from an Android OEM with a 5" 1920x1080 display. It has a pixel density of 443PPI which is higher than most of last year's 4.x" 1280x720 displays which weighed in at around 3xxPPI. Huawei calls it a "super Retina display".

It also comes with a 13MP camera, 2GB RAM, Android 4.1, 32GB storage (yeah!), no MicroSD (boo!), a 3000mAh battery (why does the HTC Droid DNA only come with a 2100mAh?), dual-band 802.11 ABGN (finally) and is available in blue and white (sound familiar?)

It's also listed as being water resistant but I'm not sure how water resistant it will be. Will I be able to use it while I shower?

I'm not sure how the banding is going to work but according to this page it only supports HSPA. My guess is that the North American version will be HSPA only too but with more band support.

The dimensions are listed as 140 mm x 71 mm x 9.4 mm. 9.4mm is a bit thicker than the Xperia Z's 7.9mm but from my experience, anything under 10mm is thin enough. If the extra 1.5mm allows for the 3000mAh battery then I'm all for it.

Under the hood is a Huawei custom quad-core processor. It's listed as a "1.5 GHz quad-core Hi-Silicon K3V2 + Balong V7R1 ". I recently reviewed the Huawei D Quad XL which had the same processor core but a different GPU. If this is indeed the same processor then it should provide similar non-graphic performance as other Cortex A9 chips. That means performance will be adequate but will lag A15 (not sure if any current or 'coming soon' phones have an A15) and quad-core Qualcomm Kraits.

Looks like a nice device. The 3000mAh battery is a really nice surprise as is the water resistance. Can't wait to try this one! ...

Sony just announced the Xperia Z at CES. It sports a 5" 1920x1080 display, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB RAM, NFC and 13 megapixel camera. It's only 7.9mm thick

The camera has a Exmor RS sensor which supports HDR video (high dynamic range). Sony says it allows for clear images against a strong backlight. I wonder if it also helps in low light?

Also interesting is the fact that it's water and dust resistant (IP55 & IP57). IP55 means that it's able to be submerged in up to 1M of water for up to 30 mins. Does this mean I can use it while I'm taking a bath or shower?

Sony didn't reveal the size of the battery but it does have 'Battery STAMINA' mode which shuts down certain apps when the screen is off and turns them back on when you turn the screen back on.

Sweet phone. Anyone gonna get one or are you going to wait to see what other OEM's 5" 1080P devices are like? ...

Here’s the Samsung Galaxy Camera (I’m going to call it the “Camera” with an uppercase “C”). It’s basically the result of a wild night between a camera and a smartphone. It’s a digital camera with a 16 megapixel sensor and 21x zoom lens with a Samsung Galaxy S III complete with HSPA modem and 4.8” screen grafted onto the back.

It’s safe to say that these days, most pictures end up on the web and will never be printed out. So, digital cameras have it rough these days. You see, they’re just too inconvenient.

What would you rather do? Snap a picture, wait till you get home, download it to your PC before you upload it to the web and then tag it with the location? Or would you rather snap a picture with your Smartphone and then choose to upload it to the web complete with location information.

Why would anyone bother using a dedicated camera if it’s so much less convenient to use? There are 2 reasons; dedicated cameras usually have higher quality plus they usually offer you more flexibility/capabilities. ...

Hot on the heels of the sexiest phone on the market; the HTC Windows Phone 8X is it’s smaller sibling, the 8S.

Like the 8X, the 8S is quite a looker. It’s easily one of the best looking phones on the market. I’m sure HTC will sell a lot of these just based on how it looks. It’s minimalist, expensive looking and original. All at the same time.



Physically, it looks and feels just like a smaller version 8x. The only difference is the 8s has the bottom snaps off to reveal the MicroSD and MicroSIM slots, just like on the HTC Titan and Titan II. Also, the ‘edges’ of the 8s are a little more rounded than the 8x. It makes the 8s shape more organic and comfortable to hold.
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One of the great things about Android is the breadth of choice you get when it comes to hardware. Whether it’s a small phone with 2.6” display or something huge with a 5.5” display there should be something for you. Do you want a huge 3000mAh+ battery or maybe something with a physical keyboard. 1 core? 2? 4? 2GB of RAM? Variety is the spice of life.

Android even has water-proof, ruggedized phones. In Canada we have the Sony Xperia Go, Motorola DEFY PRO and now the Samsung Rugby LTE. While the Go and DEFY are lower-end devices the Rugby has the same processor as the Galaxy S III so it’s got considerably more horsepower under the hood. ...