The Procrastinator's Guide to Smartphones

Trying to pick out a smartphone for someone for Christmas is a difficult task. There are now dozens of potential contenders, priced from free to hundreds of dollars. How can you pick out one that will delight your recipient and serve him or her so then for years to come? OFB Labs has absolutely tested ten of the most recent smartphone offerings from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon to help you sort out which are best for your gift giving this year – or for picking up as a gift to yourself with some Christmas money.

Good deal in the last few years

Smartphones have progressed a good deal in the last few years, which makes for an interesting situation as we analyze the current set of contenders. Any of them would be quite good in comparison to what was offered even a couple of years ago, which means our criticisms focus on areas of weakness in a very strong field of contenders.

One of the key points to understanding the phones available this Christmas season is to make sense of specifically what is meant by the term “4G.” All three of the carriers who are featured in this guide are moving to 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology) networks and all three claim the 4G label for most of the models we reviewed. However, the only LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology) phone included in our guide is Verizon’s Droid Bionic. This is no accident: Verizon is farthest along on rolling out LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology), having launched its 4G network late last autumn. During no 4G network covers anywhere nearly the area of a 3G network but, Verizon undoubtedly comes closest.

Sprint has not but started to turn on its newly announced LTE network; instead, its current 4G models run on another 4G standard called WiMax. AT&T in its turn, is currently rolling out two 4G networks, an improved version of its 3G network, known as HSPA+, that yields 4G-like download speeds along with moderately improved uploads, and a pure 4G LTE network that has just been activated in a few markets however will not be widely available until then year.

This year, in essence the decision of which smart phone platform to pick is down to a two, perhaps three, way race. The two main players remain Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, even though the Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 continues to offer an excellent, otherwise overly successful, “third option.” Sadly, HP-Palm’s WebOS is now sidelined, perhaps therefore, and RIM continues to struggle to put out a modern BlackBerry OS.

The iPhone family has served as arguably the most iconic line of cell phones of the last decade. As wildly successful as these phones have become – typically nabbing the first few slots in any list of best selling phones – the iPhone line has avoided commoditization, and understandably so: the phones continue to set the bar for overall functionality and usefulness.

Unlike Android devices, which typically live a relatively short life on the store shelf previously being shoved to the side by an army of newer devices, Apple’s one model per year policy has ensured that anyone picking up an iPhone can count on their phone remaining a current offering for some time. The iPhone 3GS has been on the market longer than any other iPhone so far and with good reason: when it first appeared in 2009, it took the basic form factor of the first two iPhone models and combined it with a much faster processor that cut down on lag within the system significantly.

Two and a half years later, it is on the whole relatively easy to find new Android phones that feel much slower than the iPhone 3GS. The achievement of the 3GS is made all the more remarkable by a simple thought exercise: try to think of another phone launched as far back as June 2009 – previously the original Motorola Droid even was announced – that people to tell the truth want to own.

So far, the iPhone 3GS continues to support the latest iOS updates, a point in other words a key advantage for Apple’s devices: most Android devices fail to receive significant operating system updates, even if newer Android versions appeared within months of a device’s release. On the contrary, Apple has settled into a pattern of giving anyway 3 years of updates to its iPhone users.

Speaking of iOS itself, in spite of a much slower pace of evolution than that of its Google-built rival, Apple’s offering remains the most mature, easy-to-use mobile operating system available hands down. Most iOS functions are all however self-explanatory and Apple has done a very good job of keeping configuration options simple, even as iOS has gained increasingly broad functionality.

Free iCloud account

Tied to a free iCloud account and iTunes synchronization, Apple’s phones remain the easiest to keep synchronized with one’s computer. Out of the box, and with no fuss, the iPhone will keep itself in sync with all of the most common e-mail, calendar and contact programs. In addition, iOS 5, with its addition of more robust e-mail formatting tools, significantly faster web browser and Android-like pull down notification menu, has proven an excellent upgrade that addresses many of the areas where iOS appeared to be falling behind Android.

While the newer iPhone 4 and 4S are easier to grip, the iPhone 3GS’s softly curved polycarbonate back remains in the extreme comfortable for holding on to. In spite of the trend toward larger screens, we as well appreciate its 3.5” display, both for yielding a more compact, easy to carry form factor and for keeping the phone much easier to manipulate using a single hand.

The 3GS’s strong suit

Battery life has never been the 3GS’s strong suit, nevertheless even with background e-mail checking and push messaging enable, the phone will last for several days, besting some of the current Android phones we’ve tested in this review series. And, AT&T’s evolutionary approach to 4G ensures that even this two and a half year old phone can download at speeds above 6 Mbps, so then within the range we have grown accustom to seeing on 4G devices.

To be sure, the iPhone 3GS is showing its age, with an increasingly dated 3-megapixel camera, no flash and no front facing camera, combined with a relatively low-resolution screen. But, the now free-with-two-year-contract 3GS holds its own so then against many current sub-$100 phones. All that makes iOS devices in general worthy of recommendation continue to encourage us to suggest the iPhone 3GS as a great entry iOS device.

Because of Apple’s minimalistic approach and solid policies for keeping older models upgraded, the similarities between the old-styled 3GS and newer 4 and 4S are significant, as we noted above. All three have the same basic button layouts, the same sized 3.5” display and the same iOS 5 operating system.

The iPhone 4 did introduce the first significant change to the iPhone form factor, thanks to its unequalled, and now infamous, external antenna that frames two pieces of glass. In spite of overblown reports to the contrary, the original iPhone 4 offered some significant improvements in cellular reception, and the Verizon variant, along with the 4S offer even better reception, along with immunity to the iPhone 4 “grip of death” that at times caused users to lose connectivity.

The change in the casing of the iPhone

While the change in the casing of the iPhone was notable, the real advance between the 3GS and 4 was the screen. The now-$99 iPhone 4 offers the highest density screen we have seen – Apple calls it a Retina Display. The pixels that form the picture are so small that they are indiscernible. The screen appears like a printed document in other words somehow illuminated with text in other words beautifully crisp and photos that pop with vivid colors and great dynamic range.

Speaking of photos, the iPhone 4 and 4S both offer impressive quality backlit camera sensors at 5MP and 8MP, respectively. Although neither phone premiered with the highest megapixel sensor on the market, as any photographer will tell you, light sensitivity matters more than the raw number of pixels captured and the iPhone excels on this count: the pictures generated by the iPhone are better than those captured by many point-and-shoot cameras, much less other phones. The iPhone 4S offers the best phone camera of any device we have tested so far, although the HTC Titan does come close in color accuracy, otherwise clarity.

The 4S as well has a few other tricks up its sleeve that help to justify its higher $199 starting price. During both the 4 and 4S offer significantly faster processors than the 3GS, the 4S is exceptionally fast, offering the most fluid experience of any phone we have tested so far. In addition, now that the iPhone 4 is only offered in a 8GB configuration, those wishing to put significant amounts of music or apps on their phone will want the 4S for its added capacity.

However, the feature most people are most intrigued with is Siri. During voice control has existed in the realm of novelty on phones for some time, Siri seems poised to be the first such tool in other words consistently useful. In spite of some early bumps in offering the service, Apple’s Siri as a rule works then not just for telling the phone to call people from one’s address book, however also for checking the weather, stocks, sending text messages and various other tasks. Paired with a Bluetooth headset, it is possible to accomplish quite a bit with the iPhone 4S and Siri hands free. This may not quite be the Star Trek computer experience, yet it comes close enough to be pretty amazing.

The iPhone line has been a continual favorite of ours for voice call quality, even though the iPhone achieves a more natural sound at the cost of a somewhat more muffled output. The Galaxy S II on AT&T produced clearer calls, and in doing so tops our list, although it did so at the cost of sounding more mechanical than the iPhone 4S.

Unlike the 3GS, both the iPhone 4 and 4S are as well available at three different carriers in the United States: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. We have tested the AT&T and Verizon variants and they are remarkably similar. Apple has used its significant weight to prevent its phones from being loaded with all the sorts of questionably useful carrier-specific software the other phones we reviewed sported. The result is not only a cleaner less confusing home screen, however also an in every respect consistent appearance between iPhones from different carriers.

The phones act the same

While the phones act the same, the network does influence what the phone is capable of doing. The AT&T iPhone 4, capable of sustaining 3G connections at up to 7.2 Mbps, and the AT&T iPhone 4S, which ups the ante to a “4G” 14 Mbps connection, can easily hold their own in most respects to the other 4G offerings on the market. Unfortunately, the CDMA iPhone 4 and 4S offered by Verizon and Sprint, remain tied to 3G Ev-DO Rev. A.

Those latter two models are significantly slower than the other devices we tested, nevertheless the rationale for Apple’s omission of 4G support for Sprint and Verizon is relatively easy to understand. As noted above, AT&T’s largest “4G” network is in substance an improved 3G network, which means it offers relatively competitive speeds during using more mature, lower-power 3G chipsets. Offering 4G HSPA+ support comes at little expense to battery life. In exchange, the 4G WiMax and LTE devices we tested have in the extreme short battery life, a point of compromise Apple seems unwilling to make.

The pay off

The pay off, however it be, seems worth it for anyone who wants to use a phone for e-mail, web browsing and other normal smartphone tasks: the 4S clocked in about the same place as the Windows Phone-based Titan, see below, for the best battery life on standby. With light usage, the iPhone 4S can go the better part of a week, even during synchronizing with multiple push e-mail services.

Limitations in speed aside, the Sprint model, which we did not test, has a nifty trick of its own: unlimited data. Like the other Sprint devices we tested, the Sprint iPhones after all have unlimited data, unlike the phones from Sprint’s major rivals, all of which have moved to set, limited data plans.

The last year has not been particularly kind to the Windows Phone platform: it remains an as well-ran with little market share and a relatively small app store. In spite of the struggling giant Nokia’s plan to throw its weight behind the system, 2012 does not look much more hopeful. That’s a shame.

Windows 7 Phone first crossed our labs last year

When a Windows 7 Phone first crossed our labs last year, we praised its interface for offering an innovative, sensible design. In many ways, Microsoft has managed to craft a platform that rivals Apple’s iOS for ease-of-use, nevertheless without ever coming across as a mere imitator – unlike Android. When paired with HTC’s excellent craftsmanship, which is willingly apparent with the Titan, Windows Phone is the sort of product that deserves to succeed.

As we noted in our review last December, Microsoft has designed an interface that appears on the face of it very simplisitic even so deceptively so. The company sweated over the details, giving little visual cues of the sort we have only seen on iOS, with lists squishing when one reaches the end and screen transitions making using the phone feel as natural and smooth as flipping pages in a book. A year later, the user interface has changed little, nevertheless still feels fresh and unequalled.

Thoughtful features just as automatic muffling of the phone’s ringtone when one picks the device up or a speakerphone that activates when you flip the phone face down make using Windows Phone 7 a pleasure. In the same fashion, the phone offers an interesting twist to its camera app’s touch-to-focus feature, automatically snapping a shot once focus has been achieved. A feature absent from our previous interaction with Windows Phone – cut and paste – is happily pleasant in the current iteration, and is implemented in the same sort of easy to use manner featured in Apple’s iOS.

The lead on social network integration

Microsoft continues to have the lead on social network integration, too. During Android and iOS can synchronize certain functions with major social networks and cloud services to greater or lesser degrees, Windows Phone manages to blend Facebook support directly into the home screen, creating a level of seamlessness we have not seen earlier. During Android does a good job of displaying Facebook contacts within its address book, viewing most social networking events for all that requires a trip to a distinct Facebook application. On Windows Phone, even one’s newsfeed is integrated into the core OS.

To be sure, the Titan, exactly, is an acquired taste. With a 4.7” display, the Titan’s name is a perfect descriptor for this phone – it is hard to say whether the device feels more like a giant phone or a small tablet. But, in spite of the huge display, the Titan is neither overly heavy nor particularly bulky. The beautiful display provides plenty of room to get things done and Windows Phone makes good use of the space.

Battery life was very respectable on the Titan, discharging about 18% per day on standby, putting it in the company of the iPhone 4S as a phone with superior battery life.

All in all, the phone may not be the best choice for those who want to be able to download lots of applications, however for someone primarily interested in web, e-mail and social networking, the HTC Titan does a great job of pairing a superb mobile operating system with excellent hardware.