Cell phones / Reviews

Despite the gimmicks and reduced storage space, the Galaxy S4 is a great bit of hardware for the most part, complete with a few useful features. But many others impact on the overall usability of the phone.

It might be a great as a camera, it may play advanced 3D games without breaking into a sweat, and may have the stamina to go on for a full day, but unless you're easily impressed by the gimmicks, you'll feel that this phone is a bit of a handful on a day-to-day basis.

You should also stick to getting all of your music, games, movies, books and magazines from Google and skip all the Samsung stuff. Although the S Health app is worth a look.

The intermittent lagging can probably be eliminated by the new Google Edition, but until that's available I have to conclude that the S4 falls short of perfection.

Read original review at Pocket Gamer.

Less

The Q10 leaves no key hardware feature out, with Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi and 4G all present and correct, and we still love BlackBerry 10 OS’ messaging facilities and gesture controls. However, with that small screen with middling performance, the Q10 certainly doesn’t justify its premium price tag. The keyboard is excellent, and will no doubt attract a section of BlackBerry devotees, but, for the most part, we prefer the Z10.

Read original review at PC Pro.

Less

Most of the shortcomings in the Galaxy S 4 are the same as in other Android devices -- such as the issues with its VPN client and its tendency to carry bloatware. Most of its software, UI, and hardware work just like they do in the Galaxy S III. That means, unfortunately, the battery life is still low. I didn't even get 24 hours in mostly standby use on a full charge. Be sure to enable all power-saving modes in the Settings app to stretch the S 4 to run a full workday.

It's too bad that most of the S 4's cool features are limited to a scant handful of apps that don't work all that well anyhow -- but that means you won't get in the habit of using and being frustrated by them.

Read original review at InfoWorld.

Less

This is still one of the best Android smartphones that you will be able to buy this year. The trinity of specifications, hardware and performance on the Galaxy S4 work in absolute unison. That said, while the abundance of new features are great, they still require a lot of polish, as it can get overly complicated at times.

Samsung has pretty much checked off all the technical aspects that make a great smartphone, but the end product looks as though only their engineers worked on it, while the designers were goofing about. The Galaxy S4 is a technical marvel through and through, yet its distinct lack of personality and finesse to be truly crowned the Android smartphone of the year, even if sales figures might refute that.

Read original review at Mobile88.

Less

Even though it lags behind the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4 in pure performance numbers, there is no denying that the Xperia ZL is a solid Android option. Sony has done a great job of packing a giant display and decent hardware into a relatively compact form. Despite the use of cheaper body materials, the ZL still manages to feel great in your hand with the side-mounted power button falling neatly under your thumb.

Read original review at Electronista.

Less

What Samsung has done here is taken the Galaxy S III and made everything bigger and better; except the device itself, which – impressively – is both smaller and lighter. As a technical tour de force, the S4 is hard to criticise and, thanks to the increasingly rare features of a removable battery and a micro SD slot, it will be the default choice for many canny smartphone users.

That said, the styling leaves me cold, the plastic body looks and feels a bit cheap when compared to the opposition, and TouchWiz really is a bit of an aesthetic shambles compared to Jelly Bean’s stock UI. I’ve no doubt all those extra features will attract buyers but I’d be lying to you if I said I thought many of them were essential to the smartphone user experience.

Read original review at Register Hardware.

Less

The HTC One is an outstanding smartphone that has very few obvious flaws. It combines a gorgeous design with a very slick operating system. It is probably slightly tall for its 4.7-inch display – the Google Nexus 4 with its 4.7-inch display is a bit more compact in this regard. However, HTC has put this extra height to very good use packing in the best speakers on a smartphone to date. If you want a smartphone that you can use to play music in a dorm or small room, you need look no further.

Read original review at Electronista.

Less

There’s a good chance we’ll look back at the HTC One as a turning point for Android. It’s the first time build quality for an Android phone has reached Apple levels of obsession, and it also shows off just how far Android and HTC have come over the past few years.

With the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, and HTC One on the market, it’s a good time to be looking for a smartphone. They’re all solid choices — but if I had to pick just one, I’d recommend the One wholeheartedly. It’s not just a great phone, it’s a rare piece of technology that instantly makes everything before it seem less interesting.

Read original review at Venture Beat.

Less

I liked the Samsung Galaxy S4 a lot. The screen is wonderful, and I found myself switching to it every time I needed to check out a YouTube clip or a film trailer. I can’t say the same for the rest of the device however. Yes, having a removable battery and an SD card slot is great, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of a premium feel handset, and performance on a phone this expensive (and with these specs) should be blazing. I’m not talking about benchmarks, I’m talking about real world use. There’s not point having the fastest CPU out there, if the software running slows it down. This seems like something Samsung can fix, but will they? I don’t know.

Read original review at Coolsmartphone.

Less

The Sony Xperia ZL is undoubtedly Sony’s best offering to come to Canada to date. It’s their best hardware and best software for any phone I’ve used from their camp. However it’s going to have a tough time with the current competition because it’s essentially now running last years hardware. If you pair it up against the Optimus G, S3 and One X+ it definitely holds its own but against the S4, and One it looks, well, dated.

Again, this is not to say that it’s a bad phone, it’s a great phone. But when you put it up against the competition and even against it’s own co-flagship device, it doesn’t feel like to matches up well.

Read original review at Android In Canada.

Less

Coming from an iPhone to the Nexus 4 ,I was nervous.
This phone is amazing, I won't go into details about what it does ,but I will say, if u need a phone and u don't want to be locked in with a company this is the phone for u

Less

This is my 3rd samsung phone, my first smart phone. First thing it does not have a manual, being a very much older user, I am not tech savy, I NEED A MANUAL. I have DIAL-UP service 167 pages of manual takes forever to download.

This phone is NOT BLUETOOTH COMPATIBLE. I spent 1.5 hours at the telus store before someone called the dealer only to have him say, that samsung has not fixed the bluetooth glitch. Needless to say $80 some odd dollars later, I do not have a hands free, wire free connection to my phone.

After having my phone for a week, I accidently learned today how to make outgoing calls and text messages. Sorry, no manual I will probably not buy samsung again.

Louise Kerr Ormstown Q.

Less

In the case of the Samsung Galaxy Ace II X, you get a little more than what you pay for.

Considering this is a very cheap, entry-level smartphone, it works quite nicely. The screen is big, the phone is very light and slim, battery life is excellent (provided you are not using wifi, that is a killer, as it is with all phones), and the touchscreen works well. Video runs smoothly, and I've not yet had problems with connectivity or dropped calls.

That being said, there are certainly some downsides to the phone. It has very limited RAM, and can be pretty sluggish at times (which can be frustrating). As well, the camera is not fantastic (even as far as phones go) - although I suppose I could call it 'satisfactory'.

If you are looking to upgrade to a smartphone, but you don't want something extremely expensive, buy this phone. It works well and you will like it.

If you want to do a million tasks at once on your phone and need something fast, upgrade to a faster phone, the Samsung Galaxy Ace II X won't cut it for you.

Less

I did not like this phone waste of money.

Less

Just don't, it's awful.
Good for your first phone and when you're waiting for another phone, bad for daily usage.

*Current Owner, saving up for a Z10*

Less

because it is soo SLOWW. you just want to throw it away. The first couple months are great, but as soon as you start to download apps, it is horrible. IT always shuts off randomly and will close all your applications when using them. Definitley do not reccommend this phone for whatever its worth. Save yourself.

Less

one standout aspect of this phone is its screen.. The screen real estate available is really generous and is incredible for casual browsing and video watching.. Really recommend this phone for anybody who wants to get initiated into android ecosystem.

Less

Over all a pretty decent phone... had some issues with battery life but after changing som some settings like sync off it is quite good... can last at least 2 or 3 days using it regularly. In comparison with other phones I like it quite a bit... very user friendly... I have had mine for over a year now and it still workd really good... 1 con is the dust gets in the keyboard and scratches the keys... I have dropped it a buncha times and it still hasn't broke!

Less

Just got this phone yesterday, luvin it alot, like the size, just needed for text and phone really, but I luv the other features, like checkin my email, a great little phone, cant wait til load all my music..

Less

This is a great product, it is clearly made to please both the business professional and the gamer. Great apps included, and Motorola exclusive Smart actions that streamline productivity. it's built like a tank and the battery life is excellent. Government level encryption of mail contacts and attachments. best of all genuine Motorola phone reliability. love this phone!

Less