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  • SmartPhone Spotlight: Essential’s Essential Phone

    SmartPhone Spotlight: Essential’s Essential Phone

    Essential was founded by Andy Rubin, one of the creators of Android. Essential Phone works on all major carriers incl. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and features a beautiful edge-to-edge full display, titanium enclosure and a scratch-resistant ceramic back.

     

    The Great

    • No logo
    • No pre installed bloatware
    • Stunning design
    • Decent specs

    The Not

    • Accessory port needs to prove itself
    • Missing many features
    • A total fingerprint magnet
    • No headphone jack
    • Battery life is merely OK
    • No photo or video stabilization

    The Conclusion

    This is a decently powered Android with out all the stuff that makes us roll our eyes at Android. With no logos or identifying markings and a bevels less screen it looks unique. At half the price of most other premium Androids this is a steal at $499

     

    Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android, made waves earlier this year when he released the $500 Essential Phone. According to Rubin, the purpose of creating the Essential Phone was to address some of the problems people have with smartphones such as getting rid of “planned obsolescence”, having an open ecosystem, and premium build quality without the premium price.

    Its Hipster Cool Design

    The titanium body and ceramic back, coupled with this unique all-display front design really do make for an attractive phone. I’m sure some of you still hate that front camera notch at the top, but it has never really bothered me. While there is a solid black block of bezel at the bottom of the phone, the way the display carries all of the way up to the top front curved corners offers a uniqueness that no other phone really does. This is one of those phones that just looks cooler than everyone else’s. With no logo, company or identifiable markings it is the ultimate hipster design and it works.

    The Screen

    Of course, the display is the star of the device. Despite the Essential Phone’s small size, the display is an impressive 5.71-inches in a 19:10 form factor. It has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,312, making it very sharp. It’s a beautiful panel, though it could use a little more brightness. You can’t see individual pixels whatsoever and the colors are vibrant and accurate.The only down note is it has an LCD instead of an OLED display, meaning you’re not getting the same black levels and bright colors as you’re getting with the iPhone X or Galaxy Note8.

    What the Camera Mod

    There is a camera addition you can buy. it lets you capture you world in complete surround with the world’s smallest 4K 360 degree Camera that is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 . There is also no need for any dongles or chargers. Connects to Essential phone’s magnetic connector. The modular camera is neat, and magnetically clicks to the phone perfectly, but you have to keep track of it and keep it on you at all times to use it. And chances are you won’t. Also, 360-degree cameras haven’t caught on yet. The biggest thing is that the camera isn’t quite as good as other high-end smartphones. Even if the specs dual 13MP system sounds exciting, it wasn’t that impressive and  there was no setting that resembled a portrait mode, either.

    The Quick Specs

    •  5.71-inch 2,560 x 1,312 19:10 with rounded corners
    • Snapdragon 835
    • 4GB Ram
    • Camera: Dual 13MP rear (RGB + monochrome), f/1.85 lens rear, 8MP front
    • Battery: 3,040mAh, 27W fast charging
    • Operating system: Android 7.1.1 Nougat

    The Final Thought

    The Essential Phone legitimately feels different from any other smartphone I’ve tested in 2017. It’s heavy, in a good way, and has a beautiful edge-to-edge display that’s bigger the iPhone 8 Plus’s. The phone is fast, built with the latest Snapdragon 835 processor, and runs like a top-tier smartphone. Its Android OS is bloatware-free, which, as a lover of the original Google Pixel, I found refreshing.

     

     

     

  • Smartphone Spotlight: HTC U11

    Smartphone Spotlight: HTC U11

    With a stunning 3D liquid glass surface, the purest audio you can find with active noise cancellation, all wrapped in a beautiful water resistant package, HTC U11 sets a new standard of what you can expect from a  Android smartphone.

    The Great

    • Super LCD5 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
    • HTC Sense UI
    • upgradable to Android 8.0 (Oreo)
    • Octo core Snapdragon 835
    • 24 hour fast charging battery
    • Solid build quality
    • water resistant

    The Not

    • Edge Sense is half-baked
    • Poor lighting on the screen
    • Poor audio
    • No headphone jack
    • Smudges

    The Conclusion

    Its has everything you need, want and desire in an android and a cleaner os interface then all the others. Its pretty and powerful and packed with gimmicks. Its more then just its gimmicks at Only $649, its a premium smartphone at a slightly reduced price.

     

    Shake it, Squeez it

    The HTC U11 reinvents HTC’s design language with a bold new glass-backed chassis in a range of shimmering colors. It’s got a hugely impressive spec list, unique design, innovation in the form of squeezable sides and a great camera, and since launch it’s got that little bit better, thanks to the addition of Amazon Alexa. It’s the first smartphone to include Edge Sense, a new shortcut function that lets you squeeze the sides of the phone to jump quickly into the camera, take a photo, or launch your favorite personal assistant. It is the key design element and unique selling point is that the phone is squeezable. The firm calls this feature ‘Edge Sense’ and it’s achieved by pressure senors on either side of the phone.

    The Meat and Potatoes

    Aside from gimmicky new features, the U11 is a solid flagship phone with top-tier processor — Snapdragon 835 and one of the fanciest and finest cameras on an phone. The new Ultrapixel shooter features always-on “HDR Boost” post-processing, similar to the Google Pixel’s HDR+ trickery.

    Smuggen

    I have noticed The stunning glass rear is highly susceptible to fingerprinting and crumbgiming The pearlescent glass on the back. Don’t get me wrong the phone is gorgeous right out of the box in every color option (in red, black, blue, white and silver), but being a smudge magnet, which canceled out and allure.

     The Final Thought

    It’s a powerhouse and  monster, it’s spine-tingling to look at,  it’s water-resistant, it’s big-screen. The HTC U11 checks all the requirements that one should have on a top of the line android. With HTC’s clean, near-stock Sense UI, and you’ve got a viable android device. You won’t be picking this one up for its gimmick or sound but in comparing to the android field you’ll be chooseing the HTC U11 for the capable interface, power and beauty.