Unboxing the Motorola Droid, part 2

Sure, the Motorola CLIQ and HTC Hero are very nice, and the HTC Magic and T-Mobile G1 are pretty good, but this phone takes Android to a whole new level!

You’re looking at HAL 9000 the Motorola Droid, the first Android device with 2.0 (Eclair) and a 848×480 pixel screen – possibly the slimmest (and hottest) QWERTY slider ever designed…

Feast your eyes on my unboxing pictures, and if you’re still hungry for more, check out my unboxing video :)

Pictures taken with the HTC Magic

déjà vu \ˌdā-ˌzhä-ˈvü, -ˈvue\ noun: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before

The HTC Magic camera is identical to the T-Mobile G1 camera, and similar to the HTC Touch Pro camera – if you’ve read my review of the G1 camera, you’ve read my review of the Magic camera :)

Apple iPhone 3GS vs. Palm Pre camera

iPhone 3GS sample pictures (slide show):

Pre sample pictures (slide show):

OK, you’re probably thinking this is a bit of an unfair comparison – although the Apple iPhone 3GS camera lacks an (arguably useless) LED flash, the Palm Pre camera lacks the (absolutely essential) auto-focus, as well as video recording…

But, other than the difference in camera and storage specs, the missing GSM/UMTS radios, and the limited selection of apps, the Pre provides 95-105% the iPhone 3GS user experience and features a QWERTY keyboard – that is pretty impressive!

People currently looking for a subsidized über-phone in the US are going to compare the iPhone 3GS and the Pre (and perhaps even the T-Mobile G1 and the Blackberry Storm). So what about the 3 megapixel camera on each device?

The HTC Magic is here

A few days ago I scored an HTC Magic… Mind you, it’s not just any HTC Magic – it’s the limited-edition, unlocked device that was handed out to developers at Google I/O!

This phone is noticeably more compact and attractive than the T-Mobile G1. Check out the specs:

- Android 1.5 “Cupcake”
- 3.2″ 480×320 TFT capacitive touchscreen
- 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, macro, geo-tagging, and QVGA video recording at 30 fps
- 3G (2100/1700 HSDPA), 2G (quad-band EDGE), WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, GPS, compass
- Micro-SDHC card slot, standard mini-USB compatible (ExtUSB) connector, no standard 3.5 mm audio connector
- Thin, no hardware keyboard

I’m a couple weeks late to the party, but here are some pictures and a video. Enjoy :)

Life with the Sharp/T-Mobile Sidekick LX

So the friendly people at T-Mobile recently provided me with a Sharp/T-Mobile Sidekick LX to review. After unboxing it, I played with it for a couple weeks. The result? My first time using a Sidekick. The verdict? A mixed bag.

- Hardware:
The Sidekick LX is a deceptively large device. But it’s relatively light, and it’s well proportioned – its extra size is only noticeable when placed side-by-side with other phones. It looks thin, but it actually matches the T-Mobile G1 in the X dimension.

Build quality is fine – it looks and feels a lot better than other Sidekick devices I’ve sampled, with tasteful chrome accents and a lovely purple-ish color on this “orchid” model. I wouldn’t call this phone attractive, but it’s not offensive either.

Nokia E75 camera

There’s no doubt the Nokia E75 is a great device. But the camera really surprised me…

With 3.2 a megapixel sensor, auto-focus, macro, a single LED flash, and VGA video recording at 30 fps, the E75 camera specs fall somewhere in between the “meh” Nokia 5800 camera (which features dual LED flash and Zeiss optics) and the mediocre E66/E71 camera (which only features QVGA video recording at 15 fps).

But in reality, the E75 leaves the 5800 in the dust, beats the decent T-Mobile G1 and teases the excellent BlackBerry Storm to the finish line – check out the pictures and judge for yourself!

HTC Touch Pro/Fuze review

Soon after reaching out to the HTC folks at CTIA, I received an HTC Fuze to review. The HTC Fuze is AT&T’s locked and branded version of the HTC Touch Pro. This is my first review unit from HTC, and hopefully the first of many. Within about an hour of getting the phone, I unlocked and unbranded it into an HTC Touch Pro (sans front-facing camera).

CTIA: Palm Pre walkthrough

During CTIA I visited the Sprint VIP lounge and I recorded this exclusive 45-minute video walkthrough of the Palm Pre! I also snapped a bunch of pictures…

Noise – a case study

Note: Other pictures taken with the Samsung T929 (Memoir) are available on my Flickr account.

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So I decided to do a little experiment: take 3 pictures with 3 devices (one each) at night in the same location around the same time! The goal? Evaluate how megapixels affect low-light performance.

The megapixel myth tells us that more megapixels is not necessarily better. It generally means smaller pixels, which means more heat, which results in more noise, which impacts low-light performance…

Of course there are many variables here: differences in optics, sensor type/size, image-processing/noise-reduction software, and more. Because this is meant to be a real-life test with real-life devices, I can’t control these variables – I can only pick suitable devices.

Life with the BlackBerry Storm

I only have 2 words to describe my 3 weeks with the BlackBerry 9530 (Storm): epic fail! From the day the Storm was announced it was clear to me that some nasty weather was heading this way from Canada. Hold this thought as a segue for moment.