Which Manufacturer has the most customizable features, and is best for gaming?

**jim200** · 07-07-2012, 12:42 PM

I have an iPod and was thinking about getting an iPhone because of the general solidity of its iOS.... except when I use iTunes on it. My goodness I can't even itemize what I want to back up it only lets me do a full backup, and restore? hah, good luck with trying to save a game's settings and remembering which date you saved it! It doesn't even let me name my backup! If Apple doesn't even have features for this, I can only imagine how disappointed I will be with other features I'm looking for like Microsoft Word document syncing.

My understanding is the only ones close to achieving this for me are Windows 8 phones and Android phones. So which should I get? Or is there an underdog which fits the bill?

I'm in the US.

I like the Xperia phones because of the Playstation games, but do they have other company games as well?

Thank You!

**Aurelian** · 07-08-2012, 11:22 AM

Having a good gaming phone and having an Android phone are mutually exclusive.

There's certainly more porting going on, but some big game developers actively avoid Android -- look at Epic (Infinity Blade) and id Software (Rage) as examples. I've used the Xperia Play... no. It's not fast enough, and the library of games isn't enough to make you want to switch. Not impressed with the Xperia Ion or Xperia S, either.

I also should clarify what's going on with the backup in iTunes. It's like an image backup, so that you can restore if your phone is completely hosed. This isn't like some Windows backup utility... if you want selective backup, either just let iTunes syncing minus backup do its thing, or use iCloud! It's just easier that way.

**Drillbit** · 07-10-2012, 12:58 AM

I would go with a Tegra3 based device, either a phone (non LTE HTC One X for example) or a tablet (Nexus 7 or Asus Transformer Prime for example).

Not many, but there are a few games that are optimized for the Tegra3's special effects. Like I said, not many, but when they do, its a whopper, like Shadowgun. The Tegra3 will run Android games just fine, but there is a growing number that has special routines designed to detect, and then make use of the Tegra3's special effects.

Other than that, phones with quad core CPUs or the 4th generation Qualcomm (eferred to as the Qualcomm S4), will also, like the Samsung Galaxy S3, will do quite well.

If you are looking for an Xperia phone, better wait till the next generation with the Qualcomm S4 chips comes out, though the current generation with the Qualcomm S3 does fine (but why pay for something that will be outmoded soon anyway). If you want to go cheap, look for the Xperia P or U, which has the Novathor chip, which has the same graphics unit as the Samsung Galaxy S2. Even these phones --- considered mid to low end --- will do much better on game performance than the Xperia Play. Do note these phones are not available in the US. With your best Xperia choice being the Ion, I would probably look for a Galaxy S3 or HTC One X instead.

Heck, for the price of the money, I would go for the Nexus 7 tablet instead. Can't beat a quad core Tegra3 tablet for $199.

**Drillbit** · 07-10-2012, 01:07 AM

I'm going to add something to the fact that HTC will soon have a deal with Sony that will put the Playstation Store app on their phones. I am not sure if this applies to the US too, though that might be likely. If this was an international phone, the GSM international HTC One X with the Tegra3 will have the TegraZone games, and add the Playstation Store to that.

**jim200** · 07-13-2012, 07:57 AM

Originally Posted by Aurelian

Having a good gaming phone and having an Android phone are mutually exclusive.

There's certainly more porting going on, but some big game developers actively avoid Android -- look at Epic (Infinity Blade) and id Software (Rage) as examples. I've used the Xperia Play... no. It's not fast enough, and the library of games isn't enough to make you want to switch. Not impressed with the Xperia Ion or Xperia S, either.

I also should clarify what's going on with the backup in iTunes. It's like an image backup, so that you can restore if your phone is completely hosed. This isn't like some Windows backup utility... if you want selective backup, either just let iTunes syncing minus backup do its thing, or use iCloud! It's just easier that way.

Can I do itemized recovery using iCloud? Can it save save games along with its itemized save of the game?

I think I'll wait for the next Xperia Play type phone from HTC that has the playstation store on it. I have a feeling iCloud still has restrictions on its restore selection.