Google just updated the sold out I/O 2013 conference website with the full schedule developers have been dying to see for months, ever since the initial announcement back in February. During the three days in mid-May (May 15-17), the company's engineers will host over 120 talks on such topics as:
Android
Chrome & Apps
Google+
Google Cloud Platform
Maps
YouTube
Glass
Ads
Wallet
Knowledge & Structured Data
and other tech subjects
On day 3, developers will also be able to participate in Code Labs on the topics of Android, Google+, Chrome & Apps, Google Cloud Platform, and YouTube.
The full agenda of everything (not just code labs and tech talks) that's going to be happening is live as well. What's interesting to note here is that unlike last year, there will only be one keynote, on day 1. It will last three hours, though that time will include a break. This is likely going to be the most exciting time period of the whole year for me. And you. And you.
Users in Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands will no longer be able to use the service after May 31
HTC Watch, the Taiwanese companies streaming movie service introduced last year with the HTC Sensation, is getting a bit of restructuring. According to an official response from HTC, the service will be discontinued inItaly, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands after May 31.
As we continue to deliver new content for HTC Watch, we've made the decision to focus our efforts on markets with the highest engagement. After May 31, we'll discontinue support for HTC Watch in countries with less application traffic.
While users is Spain can fall back on Google Play Movies for their movie streaming and purchasing, Google's service isn't available in the other five affected countries so users will have to use a service offered by their local operator or one of the other web based services available. If you're in one of the affected countries and have a favorite alternative, sing out in the comments.
Find out when your favorite Google products will be talked about at this year's conference
It's hard to believe Google I/O 2013 is just a couple weeks away, but we were all reminded of that when Google posted its session schedule for the conference just a few moments ago. Spanning over three days, I/O is a place where Google gets to talk about much more than Android, and developers of all kinds need a good way to manage their time best. The session schedule gives you a great overview of the times and locations of each session, along with detailed information on the topic and speakers for them. There are six main "tracks" you can follow, or you can see all of the sessions on one all-encompassing calendar.
For those of you (well, most of us) watching anxiously from home, knowing the session schedule can certainly help know when the news on your favorite products may be coming out as well. And you of course won't want to miss the main keynote (there's only one this year), which should be live streamed on Youtube. Head to the source link below and start planning your Google I/O experience.
Changing ecosystems is hard. You have to download your apps all over again and if you're going to a platform that's not made by Google or Apple, you have to wonder whether or not you'll even have your apps available to you. Well, thankfully, Microsoft has stepped in to provide a tool for users to find out whether or not you'll be covered if you switch. I tried it out and guess what it found? 92% of the applications I use are available on Windows Phone! Except...
Yes, Microsoft insists that a full 92% of my apps are available on Windows Phone. Except, out of the rotating slideshow that I get of "these favorite" applications, a sizeable portion of them are completely foreign to me. I definitely don't have anything related to Xbox Live on my phone. And...is that Elmo? What the heck is Elmo doing on the Google logo? What are these apps?!
I tried this on two different devices and got different results in the icon rotation, so I think that this list is based on what you have installed, not a random assortment of Windows Phone apps. I couldn't confirm this, though, because there's no way to pull up the actual list without a phone running WP8. So, this is really more of a migration tool for the committed than it is a way for the curious to come to a decision. Which, you know, wouldn't be so much of a problem if this app didn't specifically pitch itself as a way for the curious to come to a decision.
As if that wasn't bad enough, for the most arbitrary of reasons, the app simply will not conduct its search if you have less than 50% battery. As you will notice in my screenshots above, I was at 51%, just barely scraping by. A little bit later at 47%, I got the following notification:
Geez, Microsoft. I mean, yes, I have a Galaxy Nexus, and yes the battery life is abysmal, but it's not that bad. I can see your point, though. I wouldn't want to interrupt the delicate process of a snake oil pitch in the middle. That could cause serious problems on the Android phone that I'm definitely not going to be leaving any time soon.
In seriousness, though, Microsoft, come on. I actually own a Windows Phone and despite it being old, completely incapable of running WP8, and lacking a large number of necessary apps, it's not bad. This weird, childish Android trolling isn't making you look better. You're capable of genuinely good marketing and developer outreach. I want to see Windows Phone mature into a solid OS. Please stop doing stuff like this. Or at least do it well.
The April 30 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Qmadix Snap-On Cover w/ Holster for HTC One X. The durable Snap-On Cover protects your One X while allowing full access to all functions. The case features a textured rubberized exterior that provides a secure grip to your device while the included holster has a durable ratcheting swivel clip that allows use in both vertical and horizontal positions.
The Qmadix Snap-On Cover w/ Holster is available for just $18.00, 49% off today only. Grab yours while supplies last!
HTCdev just finalized a fairly timely release of kernel sources for several carrier-specific and unbranded variants of the HTC One. The list of newly covered models includes:
U.S.: Sprint and T-Mobile
Asia: Taiwan and Hong Kong (CHT)
Europe: unbranded European version, Italy (TIM), France (Bouygues), and Germany (O2).
Of course, the Canadian and Developer Edition had their own releases earlier this month.
Among US carriers, only AT&T and Cincinnati Bell are still unaccounted for, but likely to make their own appearances shortly. You can pick up your copy of the source code at HTC's developer portal.
When I saw that Fruityloops Studio had been released for Android, I dont mind admitting I was pretty excited. I love my phone and I love my tablet, but I often find myself wishing I could do something more productive with them. The tablet I use is the Acer Iconia A700 and, judging by the specs, this slate should be more than capable of empowering me to actually create some kind of content instead of simply facilitating content consumption. Ive spent more than my fair share of hours working with Reason, Cubase, and Cakewalk on my PC, so the idea of high quality music production on a tablet was instantly attractive.
For those unfamiliar with Fruityloops, or digital audio creation at all, FL Studio is a Digital Audio Workstation which allows you to create music using a combination of different instruments and drum machines. You can play directly onto a virtual piano keyboard or enter your composition step by step in a sequencer, where a colored bar of your chosen length will play a note depending on where you place it. You can alter the volume of each instrument and each note, and apply reverb, delay, EQ, overdrive and filter effects. The finished masterpiece can be exported as a wav or m4a file, or even a midi file, ready to be imported to your computer.
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
FL Studio is beautifully presented. From the first time you fire it up, its obvious that the developers have spent a lot of time making sure that this app really looks the part. Theres a mild iOS flavor to the design, but to be honest I think this is largely to do with the fact that, like it or not, iOS development informs a lot of what we see on other platforms.
FL Studio uses a semi-real style where appropriate the effects area is all modeled on real-world analogue counterparts and a straightforward, icon-driven approach to the actual music creation areas. The layout is clean and the use of popup dialogs allows access to all the settings and options you could want without ever looking cluttered.
We Can Work It Out
I found the UI somewhat idiosyncratic to begin with, and I suspect that first time composers might need to set aside a good hour of use before becoming comfortable with it.
As an example, there is a Swing control, which allows the budding musician to add a slight lilt to drum tracks. At one point, I changed this to see what effect it would have. I should have paid more attention to what I was doing, as it took me about ten minutes to find that control again squirreled away on a screen which appears when you change the sound of one of the drum tracks. I had to edit a drum part, click on one of the instrument names and there it sat. Easy enough when you know where its hiding, but damned elusive while youre looking on the main screen, the instruments screen, the effects panels and anywhere else it might logically be.
This was not the only time I found myself somewhat at odds with the workflow and certain parts really seemed counter-intuitive. Pressing the edit button in step sequencer mode will give you a new note to play with, but it doesnt actually remain on your score until you hit the Draw button which not only sticks that note but also provides you with a new one. If you hit Done before Draw your note is lost forever. However, having played with the sequencer for a weekend, I realized that I was very quickly doing exactly what I wanted, without having to think about it anymore. So, a learning curve is present, and you should expect it, but you should also trust that the developers have actually created a very useable canvas for music creation.
There is one specific choice that the devs made which I wish could be made mandatory in all similar cases. Many values can be adjusted using a button on either side of a counter, showing the number you are changing. If you keep the button pressed down, the value continues to change in that direction, ramping up in speed the longer you press it. Weve all seen this behavior on our computer software, but for some reason it is often missing in the mobile world. I was genuinely delighted to see this touch included, and it shows that the Fruityloops programmers are in tune with their audience (pun intended!).
Bring Tha Noize
FL Studio presents the user with what seems like a great range of sounds to play with. There are eleven drum collections and six sound effects packs, which are designed to be used via the drum machine. A total of fifty synthesizer voices are at your disposal, separated into lead, bass, pad and keys categories. On top of that, you have twenty four instruments (orchestra, guitar, bass, percussion and keyboard) and a bevy of Reflex-like loops. The quality of each sound is just as you would wish clean, well defined and totally free of digital noise.
The downside is that, as it stands, FL Studio will not let you tinker with the existing sounds nor import new ones. As a comparison, Caustic 2 not only allows you to tweak the synths to your hearts content, it will also support importing of new soundsets to its sampler. So what? you may say, FL Studio gives you plenty to play with. The problem is that no matter which kind of music you are interested in making, you will very quickly reach the limit of the included sounds. Ok, if you only want to create piano concertos, youll be fine. Beyond that, the limited palette is..well, limiting. I ran into this problem extremely quickly.
Over the two days I spent with FL, I made two tracks a version of the electro pop classic Cars and a David Arnold-esque bit of loungey score.
For Cars, FL provided most of what I wanted. Once the main parts were in place, however, I felt the need for a nice atmospheric pad or two, just to give a little background. Digging through the list of sounds, I could find nothing by way of usable, semi-ambient pads. The closest I could get were some electronic bloops of the kind found on the old DX7 very 80s (and not in a good way) and not at all what I was looking for.
The Oceans 11 pastiche was where FL really hit the rocks. Only two sounds form the horn section, neither of which were what I was aiming for, both of which standing out as the wrong sound. If only I were able to load up more sounds, I could easily forgive this in the hope that something will come along to fill the gap or, even better, I could create my own instrument and share it with others. Currently though, this is not possible.
Its also not possible to record audio as any part of your piece, or even to import pre-recorded tracks. You can paint with the colors that FL Studio provides, but nothing more.
Gettin Jiggy With It
Ok, so thats a fairly serious limitation (and theres another one, albeit less serious, to follow) but I would be remiss if I did not point out the areas where FL Studio excels and these really do lift this app above the other options out there.
First of all: the lag and stutter which so many other DAW apps suffer from. There was almost none. Bear in mind, this is on an Acer A700 which, despite the quad core processor, can often falter with more heavyweight apps. FL was able to play the current song, switch between different screens, and even save the track without interrupting the playback. Very occasionally it would glitch, such as when loading a new sound into an existing sequencer track, but on the whole this app impressed me as capable and robust.
Similarly, when entering music via the keyboard interface, it proved very accurate and placed the notes pretty much exactly where I had intended them without using the available quantize feature. Bear in mind that this can be a problem with a hardware keyboard and a midi-capable PC and you realize that the devs really have produced a very polished product. Suddenly, using a touch screen to create music is not just a fanciful idea you can actually do it.
As stated before, the interface took a little getting used to but once I had become accustomed, editing tracks was an absolute breeze. Quickly shifting between moving notes, placing new ones, copying patterns and altering the length of the tones became second nature and I would have to admit that this may well be the fastest way from your brain to the speakers. Even the final mix is relatively easy, given that you can quickly access the volume and pan control of each instrument from the first of the whole-score views.
Working on the final mix is when you are likely to encounter the last shortcoming of FL Studio. While the effects themselves are actually well implemented, the scope with which you can apply them is not quite on the same level. Short version: you cannot apply a given effect to specific tracks in your piece. You can apply the effect to the whole mix, or apply it only to those tracks which have been flagged for processing. This means that if you want delay on the drums, but reverb on the piano, you are simply out of luck. You can have both effects on both tracks, or one effect on one of them. Again, for the first time user, this may not be such an issue but over a little time you will quickly come to wish for a greater flexibility.
Didnt We Almost Have It All
I really wanted Fruityloops Studio to be amazing, and its so close, its almost painful. If youre mainly interested in creating synth-based tracks on your slate, youll be playing with this app for a good while. If you tend towards more organic sounds, you may well find that FL Studio falls too far short. You can, however, rely on it for quickly putting down ideas as they come to you, and there is a lot to be said for that. A touch under twenty dollars is quite a considerable investment, but this is a high quality app in every respect, and if you are determined to use your device to make music, this is arguably your best option.
What it does, it does incredibly well, and its certainly the most professional DAW app available at the moment. Its possible that future releases will allow you to import new sounds (even if you have to buy them) or even add some recorded audio, though I dont know if this is actually planned. Sadly, I suspect that the effects utilization will remain as it is, which is a great shame. Although it may lack the high quality polish of FL Studio, Caustic 2 overcomes both of these shortcomings so it is clearly possible. If I had to choose between the two though, it would be a hard call to make. Despite my initial encounters, I think the ease of editing really sets Fruityloops apart and this would be the reason Id stick with it.
FL Studio does have limitations but this is still a remarkably polished product and currently the smoothest method for creating music on Android. First time music makers will have a blast with it, while old hands will accept the drawbacks, and make the most of everything else. If youre in the market for a digital musical notepad, FL Studio may be just what youre looking for.
Tucked in down here are the two tracks I made over the weekend, to give you an idea of the sound quality available from FL Studio:
Very simple Oceans 11 style riff
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Version of Cars by Gary Numan
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Some phones preordered from Best Buy will be delayed until May 9 through May 20
If you put in a preorder for the Sprint Galaxy S4 through Best Buy, you'll want to check your email. It seems that at least some of the phones aren't going to make their original shipping date.
We're sorry, but the fulfillment of your recent pre-order is taking longerthan expected. We expect it to arrive between May 9 and May 20. To keep youinformed of its delivery, we'll send tracking information once the item hasshipped.
If you prefer, you can cancel this order at any time. To do so, please call us at 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289). If possible, please have your order number handy.
If we don't hear from you before the order is shipped, we'll assume you stillwant this item and accept this delay.
Once again, we're sorry for this inconvenience, and well do our best to make things right.
We know that there are some supply issues for the Sprint version, so canceling your preorder may not be something you'll want to do. But the option is there if you'd rather.
Folks have reported success picking them up directly from Sprint over the weekend in the forums, so that's worth checking out as well. Worst case scenario? You'll be waiting until the second week of May for your new shiny from Best Buy.
$149.99 up-front, then $20 per month on 24-month not-a-contract
Following AT&T and Sprint's launch last week, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is now available from T-Mobile USA. Right now the device is only available online -- brick-and-mortar stores won't begin stocking the T-Mobile Galaxy S4 until May 8.
T-Mo's GS4, which comes with 16GB of storage in "white frost" and "black mist" color options, will run you $149.99 up-front, followed by installments of $20 for the next two years. That's a total of $629.99, and under the carrier's new pricing arrangements, you'll need to add a service plan on top of that.
Naturally, the Galaxy S4 also includes support for T-Mo's burgeoning 4G LTE network in addition to its more widespread42MbpsDC-HSDPA.
For more on the Galaxy S4, be sure to read our full review. And if you're ordering a T-Mobile Galaxy S4 today, shout out and make yourself known in the comments.
Blogging is a cruel mix of trying to come up with interesting content and struggling with the software to make a good site. For people who don't want to partake in epic battles against WordPress but need a little more control than Tumblr has to offer, Weebly provides a simple drag-and-drop interface and professional templates to quickly build a great looking platform on which to share your thoughts. While not as popular as the aforementioned WordPress (Alexa 21) and Tumblr (Alexa 32), Weebly (Alexa 301 and Google PageRank of 8) claims to have over 12 million users and is a force to be reckoned with.
Unfortunately, users have had to sign into the website through a web browser to do everything, until now. A few days ago, Weebly launched its official Android app, which brings basic site management, posting capabilities, visitor statistics, and push notifications for comments and form entries.
Weebly for Android lets you:
- Start a new blog with our powerful drag & drop creator and modern themes - Create new blog posts while on the go - Easily add text and photos to your blog posts - Receive push notifications for blog comments and form entries - Instantly respond to blog comments & form entries - Share new blog posts to Facebook & Twitter with one click - Check your site stats from anywhere
Reviews for Weebly in the Play Store are not all positive, owing mostly to the app's predilection toward blogging. Many current users are leveraging the site for small businesses and web stores, but the necessary features to manage those types of operations are still missing from the mobile app. Unfortunately, a tablet interface also appears to be on the back burner. Considering the year-old iOS version is still missing custom support for the iPad, you shouldn't hold your breath for large-screen layouts on Android.
Weak points aside, it looks like a pretty good way to get set up quickly with a casual blog. The basic service and app are free, but there are pro features available for subscription pricing.
Preorder a 32GB version in white by May 24 to qualify for a free cradle
Sony has officially started taking preorders for its newest 10.1-inch Jelly Bean tablet, theXperiaTablet Z. This incredibly thin,IR-sporting device was announced in late January, and shown off during the Mobile World Congress. It comes with a 'Full HD Reality Display' (1920x1200p WUXGA),1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB RAM, a 2MP camera up front, and an 8MP camera in the rear.
To help up-sellthose considering the $499.99 16GB black model, Sony is throwing in a free cradle accessory to customers that preorder a $599.9932GBmodel in white. The 32GB version comes in black as well, but for whatever reason the free accessory offer only applies to the white version. Preorders must be in by May 24 to be eligible for a free cradle.
Head over to the Sony Tablet preorder page to reserve yours. If you're still on the fence, check out our initial hands-on, as well as the subsequent hands-on of this gorgeous tablet.
We all know that Samsung's working on a new version of the Galaxy Note smartphone. And we can probably assume it's going to debut later this summer, as it has the last two years. Unlike the last two years, though, it doesn't seem like it will be released to a market free of any real competitors. In any practical sense, the Galaxy Note and Note II went basically unchallenged in the jumbo-phone segment. Sure, there were oddities like the Optimus Vu (aka LG Intuition in the US), but Samsung was so plainly far ahead of everyone else in this part of the market that its Note devices became synonymous with the term 'phablet.' When you see someone with a giant phone, it's a pretty automatic assumption that's a Note or Note II.
But other companies are starting to get serious about handsets with touchscreens of titanic proportions. The Optimus G Pro (which we reviewed last week) came out of left field and, I think, is an outstanding alternative to the Note II. There have been rumblings Sony is working on a device with a 6.44" (!) display. Lesser manufacturers like Pantech are getting in on the action, too, and Huawei has begun targeting giant screens to the mid-end of the market. ZTE's getting in on the fun, too. Samsung isn't taking this new competition lying down, though, and announced its mid-range Mega phones, at 5.8 and 6.3 inches, respectively.
With Samsung expanding its line of large devices, I'm guessing we can only expect more competing devices from other OEMs. Who knows, maybe HTC will get in on the fun, or even Motorola (I kind of doubt that one, though).
So, who do you think could actually interest you with a giant phone? Or are you in the Note For Life camp? Vote in the poll below.
I'd say this behind-the-scenes picture just about sums up our week in New York City. Take a bunch of characters from Mobile Nations, toss them into a room with John P and Cali Lewis of GeekBeat.TV, and good things will happen. OK, a lot of craziness will happen, too. But also good things.
While we haven't explicitly said what we were up to at tm13 -- and don't worry, we'll take care of that fairly soon -- it also shouldn't be all that hard to figure out. It's been a few years since the last Smartphone Experts Round Robin (in fact, that was my first week on the job here in late 2009 after fleeing the newspaper business), and a follow-up was long overdue.
But a lot has changed since I first met the likes of Dieter Bohn, Kevin Michaluk, Rene Ritchie, Casey Chan, Matt Miller and Mickey Papillon and others for a week of smartphone nerdery in Orlando. (Lord, we looked so young.) Some of us have moved on to do other things. (I'm still proud to call each one of them a friend, though.) There's more parity among the platforms. Palm and webOS are no more. Nokia has ceded and switched (nearly exclusively) to Windows Phone. Microsoft's mobile OS has grown from awkward and clunky to attractive and graceful, if still underappreciated. Same could be same for Android, maybe. And BlackBerry is just beginning its second life.
I can't spill the beans on everything we did in New York just yet. But it's safe to say that just as the mobile space has evolved a great deal in the past several years, so has our outlook of it as a whole. It's as much about getting the platforms to work together as it is any one of them "winning." I think that's what we all took into tm13. And that's certainly what we got out of it.
We'll have an official announcement in the coming weeks, and you'll (hopefully) enjoy the fruits of our labor for a number of months the rest of the year. Those of us in this picture are just the front end. So many people have worked countless hours behind the scenes, and there's still a lot of work to be done. David Lundblad and Marcus Adolfsson and Rob Kao and the film crew and production folks. Our tech folks, whose work you see every day with little fanfare. And our husbands and wives and girlfriends and anyone else who support this ridiculously crazy and fun business and help us do what we do.
And to you folks reading this, too, for putting up with all the teasing. We really are excited about this. You'll be as much a part of it -- more, really -- than anyone else.
So thanks, everybody. Stay tuned. This is going to be fun.
No rest for the wicked ...
May is going to be a ridiculously busy month, too. We've got the Google I/O developer conference May 15-17 in San Francisco, and the spring CTIA event (the last one in this part of the year, actually) is the week after that.
One more round of applause ...
By the way, hats off to Alex Dobie for spearheading our Galaxy S4 review coverage. When we realized we'd have to review, write and edit all that the same week I'd be in New York for tm13, there was only one real option -- have our man in the UK hang out for a week in NYC. (And a nice assist from Anndrew Vacca on seeing which phone a few New Yorkers preferred.)
I think I even caught Alex enjoying himself once or twice.
And same goes for the guys back home, keeping up with the news while the rest of us were away.
Other odds and ends
We've always been pretty lax in our moderating of comments on the blog. Probably too lax. Not that it was ever acceptable before, but we're not going to allow comments like this to stand anymore. If we see them, they're gone. And the commenter likely will be, too. We're working on a new commenting system, and once that's up and rolling we'll have some more formal policies in place. But I'll make it easy: If your comment disappears and your account is suddenly inactive, ask yourself this simple question: "Was I a dick?"
I've been back on LTE full-time for the first time in what feels like forever. Battery life has come so far from when we first used LTEin early 2010.
Super LCD outdoors pretty much trumps everything.
There's so much awesome interaction going on in our forums right now. If every there's been a time to join in the discussion, it's now.
We're in the process of revamping our YouTube channel. If you've yet to subscribe, I'd recommend doing so.
Lover Boy once told us that "everybody's workin' for the weekend" and that "everybody wants a new romance." If you're glad that your two-days-off are well underway and happen to be looking a new app or game to spend an intimate evening with, we just happen to stumble across a few sales that may hit the spot. Have a looksee.
Flashout 3D $0.99 (50% off)
Doodle God $0.99 (66% off)
International Snooker $1.91 (35% off)
Just me and My Mom Free (100% off)
Dropsync Pro $3.49 (30% off)
Dextr $0.99 (50% off)
SkyDroid Golf GPS $0.99 (50% off)
ABBYY Textrabber + Translator $2.99 (50% off)
Most Tin Man Gamebook Adventures are 50% off
Here's to finding love in a good app (or game) this weekend.
France the first European country to have the device; South and Central America to follow
The LGOptimus F5, which is the first of the new F Series devices to be unveiled, is ready for a global debut following its unveiling at MWC in Barcelona. The device, which is targeted at a mid-range price point but still packing some high-end design and LTE, is set to be available in France starting April 29th with a whole host of countries in Central and South America as well as Asia to follow. The F5runs a Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core processor, has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, a 540x960 (qHD) 4.3-inch display, 5MP/1.3MP cameras and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. LG is also working hard to bring some of the interesting elements of the Optimus G down to these lower devices, with similar hardware design languages and UX improvements like QSlide and QTranslator.
Pricing and availability will of course vary depending on the market, but LG has high hopes for its new device lineups which cover several different price points and feature offerings. Between the G Series, LII Series and F Series, LG is hoping to cover more ground in every different kind of market. That being said, we still wouldn't expect these to hit the U.S. in their current form.
LG F5 MAKES ITS GLOBAL DEBUT
LGs Newest Smartphone Delivers Fast 4G LTE Performance with Advanced User Experience
SEOUL, April 28, 2013 Following its successful unveiling at the 2013 Mobile World Congress, the Optimus F5 the first device from LGs newest Optimus F Series will make its world debut starting in Europe on April 29. Launching initially in France, LG will roll out the Optimus F5 in South and Central America, Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) over the next several weeks.
The Optimus F Series is a new family of Android smartphones for consumers who are ready to experience the blazing speeds of 4G LTE without the high costs that normally go with such a device. As a key component of LGs strategy to make 4G smartphones as ubiquitous as they are fast, the Optimus F5 features LGs advanced LTE technology and enhanced user experience (UX) features.
As display size and battery life become increasingly important among smartphone consumers, the 1.2GHz Qualcomm Dual-Core Optimus F5 addresses user demands by featuring a 4.3-inch IPS display and a largest-in-class 2,150mAh battery. LG engineers designed the Optimus F5 to deliver longer battery life without creating a larger battery. And the 4.3-inch IPS display offers clear, lifelike images for a superior viewing experience.
The Optimus F5 includes the latest Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 operating system and the best of LGs innovative and exclusive UX features:
QSlide allows users to open multiple apps at the same time in full screen mode with the ability to change the size, position and transparency of the windows. Live Zooming lets users zoom in on videos so they can get a closer, detailed look at any specific area. Video Wiz lets users play movie director by giving them the power to edit videos and enhance them with sound and music right on the phone itself. QTranslator function instantly translates not only words, but also entire sentences and phrases by simply using the camera to scan the text. QTranslator accepts 44 different languages and can translate them into any one of 64 languages.
LG has consistently set the standard in the mobile industry with technology that com-plements, not complicates, users lives, said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. The Optimus F5 is a natural exten-sion of LGs lineup of strong LTE devices, offering the lightning-speed of 4G LTE and UX features of a premium phone. With the Optimus F5, were confident we can capture an untapped market of new and upgrading smartphone users who crave a feature-rich, LTE device.
Key Specifications: OS: Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 Processor: Qualcomm 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Display: 4.3-inch IPS (256 ppi) Battery: 2,150mAh Size: 126.04 x 64.46 x 9.30mm Memory: 8 GB / 1 GB RAM / microSD (up to 32GB) Camera: 5.0 MP AF Front / 1.3 MP Rear
ASUS is on a roll with the 4.2 updates lately it started with the TF300 (Wi-Fi) back in early March, and followed with the Infinity (TF700) and MeMO Pad Smart shortly after. And of course, it released full ROM downloads along the way for those who prefer to manually flash their devices.
The 3G version of the TF300 the TF300TG is next in line for the 4.2.1 update, which appears to have started rolling out sometime over the past couple of days. If you haven't gotten it, however, don't fret ASUS has your back, as it has already released the full ROM to its download site. Lucky you.
Is it just reference hardware for Facebook Home, or a true candidate for your next smartphone purchase?
There are few things in the mobile industry that have been constant over the last few years, but one that has is the rumor of a mythical "Facebook Phone." The idea of a phone that could only interact with people and services around Facebook didn't make a whole lot of sense to most people -- and apparently it didn't make much sense to Facebook itself either. Because rather than a proper Facebook Phone, at a press conference on April 4th we were given this, the HTC First.
In many ways the First itself isn't supposed to be the big story. You wouldn't be alone for thinking it is simply a hardware platform to show off what seems to be Facebook's true end-game -- the Facebook Home software. There are far more users in the world that own one of the recent flagships from HTCor Samsung that will install Home from the Play Store than there are who will buy (or even be aware of) the First. This realization certainly calls into question why Facebook even bothered to have its own phone made in the first place.
So does Facebook actually care about the success of the First, or did it ask HTC to throw together a cheap device from the parts bin to show off Home at the press conference? After spending some time with the device, we think it may be a bit more substantial than that. There are a whole lot of intriguing aspects of the First that may just have you considering it as your next device.
You just can't beat the quality of HTC's recent screens, especially at such a high pixel density. The First is a refreshing step down to a form factor you can actually operate in one hand, and the understated industrial design looks great toour eyes. Even with less than bleeding edge specs, the First performs extremely well in daily use. If you don't like Facebook Home, a relatively clean version of Android 4.1 awaits you underneath.
Facebook Home just isn't going to work long-term for a vast majority of users, and it's a relief that it can be turned off. The speaker and vibration motor quality remind you that some corners were cut to save costs on the hardware. We can live with capacitive keys, but there is no reason in 2013 to have a hardware Menu key on your Android device. Camera quality is better than average, but isn't going to blow your socks off.
Considering that Facebook Home can be completely disabled, the HTC First may be the decently -spec'd 4.3-inch device that many users have been clamoring for. But ifthe improved ergonomics of a smaller device aren't a driving factor in your smart phone buying decision, there are likely better ways to spend your $100 on-contract at AT&T. If you're indifferent on screen size and simply want a well-designed andsolid performing phone, the First may be just what you're looking for.
Inside this review
More info
Hardware
Software
Cameras
Bottom line
HTC First Forum
HTC First hardware
Under that smooth and uniform exterior, there's some pretty respectable specs to make note of. Powering the First is a Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.4GHz, which is of course lower on the totem pole than the 600 and 800 but shouldn't be written off so easily. It is accompanied by 1GB of RAM, a non-removable 2000 mAh battery and 16GB of internal storage. We're looking at a 720x1280 SuperLCD 3 display at 4.3-inches, and for cameras we have a 5MP shooter out back and 1.6MP looking forward. We'll break down those last two specs a bit later.
Build Quality
The industrial design of the First absolutelyscreams HTC.
The entire device is a solid piece of standard polycarbonate, very reminiscent of other HTC devices from 2012. We were lucky enough to have our hands on a snappy red model (there are also white, blue and black options), which adds a bit of flair to the otherwise basic design. The entire phone is the same thickness, with an evenly rounded edge around the entire perimeter. As you would expect, the fit-and-finish of the materials is top-notch.
The solid piece of polycarbonate is only broken in a few places -- starting on the left side with a rather clicky volume rocker. The right side houses a microUSBport next to a micro SIM card slot. Up top you'll find a secondary microphone, along with the equally clickypower button and 3.5mm headphone jack. The bottom has another HTC staple of design, the precision-drilled speaker grille. All of the buttons fall in just the right places, although we can't say we're the biggest fans of side-positioned USB ports. Considering the smaller size of the First, a top-mounted power button is completely acceptable as well.
The entire back of the device is a perfectly flat surface, broken only by the 5MP camera and accompanying flash in the top left corner. A few logos for HTC, Facebook and AT&T are stenciled on the bottom in a deeper shade of red, and can easily be missed if you're not looking for them. Much like the overall size of the First, the back plate design is a refreshing exercise in minimalism. There's no weird texture, pattern, camera pod or design features to get in your way here.
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Flipping over to the front of the First reveals a 1.6MP front-facing camera to the top left of the screen, along with a hidden set of sensors and LED notification light on the top right. There's an extremely small speaker grille at the top of the phone where the polycarbonate meets the screen glass. Down at the bottom you'll find capacitive Back, Home and Menu keys. While this isn't the smallest bezel in the world, we think it's an appropriate size because the phone is so small overall. The only two shortcomings we could find in terms of hardware on the First are the speaker and vibration motor. While the speaker was loud, it seemed to be tinny and distort quickly at higher volumes. The vibration motor also didn't give a solid "full phone" feedback that we like, and just sounds cheap when it spins.
We have to say that the First is an oddly appealing device -- both in the hand and on the table. We're not sure if its the build materials or nostalgia for a time when phones could actually be used in one hand, but from a hardware standpoint the First is just downright nice to use. We seem to say it time and time again, but you feel like HTC is just miles ahead of every other manufacturer when it comes to build quality.
Display
What else is there to say? This screen is gorgeous.
HTC has been knocking it out of the park with its displays for the last couple of years now, and theSuperLCD3 panel on the First is no exception. As we've come to expect with displays from HTC, color reproduction is nearly spot-on. Viewing angles are also great, with very little distortion of colors or clarity even at the most extreme angles. The720x1280 resolution at 4.3-inches creates an acceptably high 341 ppi, and translates into images and text that are crisp and don't have any noticeable grain or jagged edges. If you're seeing individual pixels on a display this dense, you're probably using a microscope.
You won't be disappointed by any aspect of this screen.
Radios
The HTC First has all of the radios and sensors you would expect. Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, accelerometer, NFC and several more are all on-board. The First runs on AT&T's LTE network, with a fall-back to the slower but plenty acceptable HSPA network when you're outside of LTE coverage.
Battery life
Battery life is extremely subjective depending on your usage, but in our own time with the device we came away more than impressed with how it performed. The 2000mAhnon-removable battery held up well to my daily usage, in which I usually spend about 90-percent of my time in a strong Wifisignal, in the middle of the city with a strong cellular signal as well. So while this isn't exactly torture testing, I had no issues going an entire day (and thensome) on the First.
Keeping that SuperLCD 3 screen cranked up in brightness (like at maximum when outdoors) will certainly hurt battery a bit, but we don't think you'll have to be worried about battery life on this device otherwise.As you can see in the picture above, if you let the device idle on your desk with little "screen on" time, it will literally last for days.
HTC First software
Much digital ink has been spilled talking about Facebook Home over the past few weeks since its announcement. Instead of re-hashing everything that's been said, we're happy to point you towards our greatly in-depth coverage that has spilled across Android Central as of late:
How to install Facebook Home on your current Android smartphone
Which Android smartphones can get Facebook Home?
Your guide to Facebook Home
How to uninstall Facebook Home from your current phone
Launcher and interface
The Facebook Home experience on the First is nearly identical to that of the experience when you install it from the Play Store on any other supported device. If you've spent any considerable amount of time with Home then you may have come to the same conclusion as we have -- this just isn't a long-term viable launcher option for most people. While the interface and overall design are snappy and well done, usability of basic functions on your phone are seriously hindered when Home is your default launcher.
Cover Feed is beautiful and a nice way to make your phone feel more "alive", but what you'll quickly find is that the thing its best at is keeping you from getting to your apps and services. Instead of being able to unlock your phone and jump into apps, you're now at least one or more steps away from getting to your browser, email, music, calendar and maps. The apps that you use most are now harder to access, and something about that just rubs us the wrong way after a while.
Home on the First luckily does a nice job of integrating your notifications on top of Cover Feed, which is a great feature if you choose to keep the status bar turned off (which it is by default). In typical Jelly Bean fashion you can swipe them away, or tap to enter the apps. They aren't expandable or actionable, however. And if youdochoose to have the status bar displayed, the notifications appear in both places.
But again, when you get back to a daily routine -- which for most people involves using a handful of apps regularly -- Facebook Home just feels like it is getting in the way. The First unfortunately lacks a multitasking navigation button, which just adds to the frustration. The only way to switch between apps in this current version of Home is to hit the home button, swipe up to go back to your app drawer, then select your next app. It feels slow once you've gotten used to a one-touch (or even long-press) multitasking key on another device.
We think that even for the most diehard Facebook users out there, the limitations of Home when it comes to getting anything except browsing Cover Feed done are going to outweigh the simplified user interface. In its initial release, Home feels best suited as a lock screenreplacement, not as your default launcher.
Turning off Facebook Home
We're reluctant to let issues with Facebook Home get in the way of our general liking of the First itself, however. Because with just a few taps through the Home settings you can actually turn it completely off, revealing a standardAndroid 4.1.2 launcher and interface. Now we're not going to call this "stock Android" or a "Nexus", because well... it isn't. There are still things when you step into the settings menu and start messing around that have certainly seen changes from AT&T.
But it's darn close, and we tend to think that the standard Android interface provides a great user experience, no matter what hardware it's on. On top of the interface working better from a usability standpoint, it actually performs well also. Everything is just as fast and fluid as you would expect on a modern device with little manufacturer or carrier customization. The software doesn't bug you to turn Home back on, or re-enable it on a reboot -- you have complete control over it just like any other launcher. If you choose to turn off Facebook Home, this is basically a whole new device.
Using the First with Facebook Home turned off is actually a real joy, and we think it deserves more than just a couple of paragraphs within the review. Keep an eye on the site in the coming days for a more in-depth look at using the First without Facebook Home.
Bundled apps
For an AT&T phone, Facebook has kept things extremely clean. It pre-loads the Facebook and Instagram apps, naturally, along with just a couple of AT&T apps for managing your account and viewing visual voicemail. AT&T has also pre-loaded its WIfi hotspot software, which seemed to continually bug us about joining Wifi hotspots, even when we had turned it off through the advanced Wifi settings menu.
Performance and usability
It's certainly not giving enough credit to the internals of the First to call it "mid-range". With a Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM, you're not going to see any slowdown using this phone even in the most demanding of apps and games. While benchmarks may tell a different story (different doesn't mean accurate), don't be worried about the performance on the First just because it has a Snapdragon 400 instead of a 600 or 800 on board. In daily use of switching between apps, keeping up on texts, calls and email while listening to podcastsand browsing the web, the First performed fantastically.
HTC First cameras
The First has HTC'sstaple middle-tier camera sensor. We're looking at its usual 5MPshooter with BSI (Backside Illumination), an f/2.0 aperture, auto focus and ability to record 1080p video.
Daytime pictures
Much has been made about how the First has a less than stellar camera, but we can't say that it's been the case in our time with the device. Considering that you're using a standard 5MP camera with no additional software support (just a stock Android 4.1 camera interface), photos are actually quite good. In the daytime, where most cameras perform just fine, the First does above average in terms of clarity and color reproduction. The dynamic range isn't as high as you'd hope, and while some macro shots looked a bit washed out, we never had issues getting the shot we wanted out of the First.
One thing that will improve your shots dramatically is using tap-to-focus, which will help the camera meter properly and set the exposure for where you've tapped. Because there's no HDR option on the First, you may have to use tap-to-focus and manual exposure options more often than on other devices.
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Low-light pictures
At night, the First again performed better than most of the rumblings would lead you to believe. Pictures certainly weren't stellar, but take any modern smart phone off the shelf and you'll experience the same issues as we found here when shooting at night. We found the white balance to look a bit warmer than we'd like, but it's not out of the range of what we'd consider "normal" for night shots. For the 99% of pictures from the First that will end up on Instagram or Facebook, the camera performed just fine at night. Keep a steady hand and choose your shots wisely and you won't be disappointed.
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Video
As we noted above, the First records 1080p video, although it is set to 720p by default to save on storage. Because we're dealing with the stock Jelly Bean camera app, you get the usual set of effects and simple tweaks for your video. Video quality seems plenty good at 1080p, but we wouldn't be surprised if people just kept it set to720p to save on data when uploading to their social networks.
Front camera
The front-facing camera on the First is a 1.6MP sensor with 720p video capability, and looks pretty good for your quick still shots and video calls. The rear camera is clearly going to do your mug better justice, though. With the camera being so far off to the left side of the phone, it really reminds us that we would prefer if more manufacturers considered center-mounted front-facing cameras. Considering that on the First the front speaker grille is so small and that the camera assembly on the back is pushed off to one side, we have to think there would have been some possibility to center-mount the front-facer. It's little things like this that can win over consumers when they first play with a device.
The bottom line
The HTC First certainly has a lot more going for it than is apparent at first glance. The internal specs pack more of a punch than you would assume given its price category, and the shell wrapped around those components feels great in the hand. The screen size of 4.3-inches is a refreshing sight, and one that is extremely crisp thanks to HTC's great screen technology.Because Facebook Home can be completely disabled, revealing a clean version of Android 4.1, it's hard to recommend against the First on any single point.
Those looking for the absolute latest, greatest, biggest and fastest device (while it may be a fool's errand in today's smart phone market) will have to look elsewhere, but don't do so before picking up the First and using it for a few minutes.If instead you have been longing for a powerful, affordable and one-hand usable device, the First may have just ticked all of the boxes for you.
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The front-facing camera on the First is a 1.6MP sensor with 720p video capability, and looks pretty good for your quick still shots and video calls. The rear camera is clearly going to do your mug better justice, though. With the camera being so far off to the left side of the phone, it really reminds us that we would prefer if more manufacturers considered center-mounted front-facing cameras. Considering that on the First the front speaker grille is so small and that the camera assembly on the back is pushed off to one side, we have to think there would have been some possibility to center-mount the front-facer. It's little things like this that can win over consumers when they first play with a device.
