Tag: Android Phone

We live in a world with big display phones and in Androidland, that is most certainly the case.  It is hard to find device under 5″ that have any sort of horsepower or performance.  The problem is, not everyone wants a 5.5″ device or even a 5.2″ device and that means you are meant making compromises in either screen size (going larger than you want) or performance.  I’ve been using the Sony Xperia X Compact over the course of the last few weeks and it is the one phone in the sub-5″ screen size market that doesn’t require that compromise.  It offers solid performance, good battery life and a camera that is truly impressive.  As I posted in my initial thoughts on the Xperia X Compact, it is a phone that should not be judged on it size when it comes to performance.  This phone has plenty of horsepower to do anything you need, including gaming and streaming, but does it in a small and comfortable package.  While the $499 price tag may put some off, if you are in the market for a smaller phone that doesn’t have a lot of compromises, the Xperia X Compact should be on your short list.

Here is my review.

In all of the chaos surrounding Samsung at the minute, it would have been easy to miss that the South Korean company would be making a limited edition Blue Coral version of the Galaxy S7 Edge.  That color option will only be available in limited markets and fortunately, the United States courtesy of AT&T, will be one of them.  The carrier has added the Blue Coral option to their S7 Edge website, allowing customers or new to AT&T customers select the frankly stunningly beautiful muted blue phone.  While orders are being taken now, it won’t actually ship for another few weeks.  AT&T indicates that it will be shipping between November 18-22 this month.

Price wise, it is what you would expect for the flagship device from Samsung.  To buy it outright is $794.99 while you do have payment options thanks to the AT&T Next program.  For $26.50 per month you can use the Next program which is a 30 month payment option.  You can upgrade after you have paid 80% of the phone (roughly $635).  The AT&T Next Year program offers a 24 month upgrade plan which is $33.13 per month and you can upgrade after you have paid 50% of the value of the phone (roughly $397).

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Today Huawei pulled back the covers on their latest flagship Android phone, the Mate 9.  The 5.9″ display device has some impressive specs that will meet most power user needs when it hits the market in December.   It is the first phone that will have Huawei’s new Kirin 960 octa-core process and it will have the new ARM Mali-G71 GPU coupled with it.  Add to that 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and a 20MP dual camera setup, you have all the makings of a solid device that will be priced at around $776.

Today’s Deal over at Amazon is on the fantastic Android phone, the Nextbit Robin.  Right now you can pick one up in their Midnight color for just $169.  That is a phenomenal price for such a power packed phone.

For those that don’t recall, the Nextbit Robin has some great features and offers a unique device-meets-cloud storage solution.  It has 32GB of onboard storage merged with 100 GB online storage, so you always have the space you need. Robin seamlessly backs up your apps and photos, intelligently archives the stuff you’re not using, and easily restores items when you need them.  The idea is that you never run out of space.  Those less used apps are backed up into the cloud but then are instantly available when you want them.  You’ll know an app has been backed up into the cloud as it will be grey on your Robin.

Asus has opened up pre-orders on the new ZenFone 3 Deluxe on their website.  The 5.5″ phone with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage is $399 and it is unlocked.  That means it will work with any GSM carrier here in the United States.  According to the website, the phone will start shipping on October 12, 2017.  The ZenFone 3 Deluxe is just one of a series of phone that Asus announced late this summer and is certainly one of the more affordable with a lot of bang for your buck.  It is powered by the Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor running at 2 GHz, it has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of Storage which can be expanded up to an additional 2TB thanks to the Micro SD slot.  The ZF3 is also a dual-SIM phone and it has a 5.5″ display that renders Full HD and is protected by Gorilla Glass 4.

If you equate the power and performance of an Android phone based on the screen size and device size, you need to stop.  Now.  The reason is that the recently announced Sony Xperia X Compact destroys your paradigm.  This 4.6″ device is a powerhouse with a phenomenal display and dare I say unbelievable camera.  Seriously, it rivals a digital SLR in image quality and color correctness.  I’ve been using the X Compact the last few days as my main phone and while getting use to the smaller size compared to my Nexus 6P was a bit tricky at first, the performance and design of this phone is exceptional.  I’ll be doing a full review of the phone over the course of the next few weeks but here are my initial thoughts on the Xperia X Compact.