Around the web: iPhone 4S

Don't expect the iPhone 4S in the Philippines till December at the earliest.  GSM Arena has a list of iPhone 4S launch dates, and we are not on it yet.

Less battery life? Phone Arena compares the new Apple iPhone 4S with the older iPhone 4. Two things struck me. While the two phones looks the same, the iPhone 4S is actually 1mm taller.

While Apple touted that it had longer talk-time during its launch, we noticed standy time dropped by 33%. Hhhmmm....

No 4G? PCMag asks if the iPhone 4S can survice without 4G? The new iPhone 4S has HSPDA+ 14.4 support which is twice as fast as data transfer on the the iPhone 4 which supported only HSDPA. 

HSDPA+ 14.4 means 1.5 to 2 Mbps download speeds in the real world. But this just means it catches up with 2010 Androids like the HTC Desire HD which already came with HSDPA+ 14.4. Android being released today come with true HSDPA+ 21 or even faster 4G or LTE connectivity.

The next iPhone will be coming in six months or less.  I think we will be seeing a iPhone 4G (or 4GS) or even a new iPhone 5 before before Q2 2012. I do not see how long Apple can hold off giving their phone faster wireless connectivity.

Better camera. Techcrunch looks in depth look at the improved 8MP f/2.4 with a back lit camera of the iPhone 4S. But is that really new?

Sony Ericssons XPeria Arc already came out with a camera with a back ;it sensor. The HTC Titan already came out with a 8MP f/2.2 camera last month, which also features a back lit sensor just like the unit in the iPhone 4S. We expect to see this camera appear on other HTC phones as well. The best phone camera in the business would still appear to be the Nokia N8 with its large 1/1.83" sensor.

Better camera yes, but we will have to wait for comparisons to find out if it is really groundbreaking.

Disappointed? The Apple faithful may still claim this is the perfect phone, but the Apple share price dropped a whole 5% with the new release. With the iPhone 4, Apple was playing catch up with phone like the Google Nexus One, which it did. With the iPhone 4S, has Apple caught up with phones like the Samsung Galaxy S II? Not completely. Even it did, a new round of Android will be out before the end of the month. 

Now the ball is in Google's court. 

Meet the new Apple iPhone - The iPhone 4S

Well, that actually an iPhone 4, but the new 4S looks uses the same body

The new for 2011 Apple iPhone is the iPhone 4S. It is an upgrade of the 2010 iPhone 4 with a the A5 chipsetwith a dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU and PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU, improved battery life and a larger 8MP with a F2.4 aperture and better low light performance camera. The dual core processor brings 1080p video recording to the iPhone 4S. 

A new storage option will be available, with 64GB option joining the 16GB and 32GB versions. The iPhone 4S will come in black and white color versions.

Okay, it is not the massive update people where hoping for but it is a solid upgrade. Remember, no one has a dual core processor in a phone this small. That is a pretty impressive technological achievement.

But we cannot deny that it is a bit disappointing. Many were hoping for a  larger inch screen, and 4G or LTE. With the absence of 4G or LTE I am pretty sure we will be seeing the next iPhone much sooner the 12 months from now.

But, don't forget the iPhone 4S (as well as the 3GS and 4) get iOS 5, which has many significant improvements. Oh, and Apple finally fixed the antenna.

There will be cheaper iPhone though. Apple is retaining the iPhone 3GS and adding a 8GB iPhone 4 in their line-up.

Smart Communications All-in plan v. Data plans for data use

Smart Communications new All-in Plan combines the features of their Consumable, Unlimited and Data Plans. Is there any reason to consider the Data plans even if you plan to get one for data use? After all, you can now bundle in Unlimited data with the All-in plan.

All-in Plans. With the All-in Plans you can select a monthly plan, from P500 to P3500 and use it as a consumable plan paying for each service that you utilize or subscribed to the unlimited voice or text, or data services.

Each month you can reconfigure the services you subscribe too. This is similar to Globe My Super Plans. The main difference is that with Globe you add-on to a plan, and the add-on are not considered in the free bundled phone. With Smart you use your existing plan to buy the add-ons. Basically, this means for the same amount of money every month, Smart Communications will provide you a better phone.

Is this plan better than Smart's Consumable and Data plans. No, there is a bit of a catch. It suffers the same "weakness" as Globe My Super Plans: Off network calls are more expensive.

All-in v. Data Plans. With a data plan you get unlimited data and a allocated amount of calls and texts to all networks.

For example, with Data Plan 2000 the following:

• 150 minutes of calls to all networks. Calls over 60 minutes at Php5.09 for Smart-to-Smart Calls and Php6.11 for calls to other networks.
• 200 SMS to all networks. SMS over 200 a Php0.51 per SMS.
• Unlimited Data.

As you move on the the higher plans you get more bundled minutes and SMS, and the rates for minutes above the "free" minutes goes down with the higher plans.

With the All-in plans, calls to other networks are charged at Php7.50 per minute regardless of the plan you get.

For example if you got an All-in Plan 1800, bundled it with unlimited data and used it as follows, this would be your monthly cost:

All-in scenario 1:

Unli Data = Php1,000

SMS Sent 200 = Php100

75 minutes calls to Smart = Php357

75 minutes calls to Globe or Sun = Php562.50

Total = Php2,019.50

All-in scenario 2:

Unli Data = Php1,000

SMS Sent 200 = Php100

30 minutes calls to Smart = Php150

120 minutes calls to Globe or Sun = Php900

Total = Php2,150

If you make a lot of calls outside the Smart network, to Globe or Sun users, you would probably be better off with a Data plan. Well, at least at a usage of about Php2,000 a month.

If most of your calls are within the Smart network, you are probably better off with an All-in plan, especially since you can bundle unlimited Smart-to-Smart calls for Php500 per month.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play is now available in the Philippines. The phone has specifications typical of a mid-level Android with a 4.0" FWVGA resolution (480 x 854 pixels) screen,  1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 graphics, 512MB of RAM, 5MP primary camera and a secondary front facing camera.The XPERIA Play comes with Android 2.3 out of the box.

In some respects it actually fall short of what you might expect. Out of the box, it does not come with 720p video recording. An update was released last month which brings this feature to the the XPERIA Play.

Internal memory is also a bit less than you would expect from a mid-level Android with just 400MB internal storage. A 8GB MicroSD card is included in the phone. 

What distinguishes the XPERIA play is the side-slider with dedicated gaming controls. To take advantage of this feature, Sony has a dedicated game store mainly for its PlayStation titles, but some third party developers, like GameLoft are releasing titles which take advantage of the dedicated gaming controls.

Topelectronics has the phone listed at a very reasonable Php17,800 with an official one year warranty.

October 2011 smarthpone buyers guide

If you are thinking of buying a smartphone this month and spending Php15,000 or more, we recommend you wait a few more week. A new Apple iPhone will be announced on October 4 (US Time) and a week later the new Google Nexus Phone with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will also be announced. At the end of the month, you will be seeing Nokia's Windows Phone 7 line-up. The newer BlackBerry O.S. phones are landing in the Philippine market as we write this. All-in-all, we do expect some downward price adjustment on the premium and mid-level products this month.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a entry level smartphone at below Php15,000, there probably has never been a better time than now. 

Our choice - Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini. Sony Ericsson gives us a new Xperia Mini. With a 1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 graphics and 512MB of RAM it has a much power as 2010 Android flagship phones. This means you get a fast phone with full Adobe Flash support and which can shoot and play 720p video. The phone packs a 5MP autofocus camera with a LED flash. This gives the Xperia Arc enough punch to match phones like the LG Optimus Black or HTC Desire S.

But being an entry level phone with a suggested retail price of Php10,500, cuts have to be made somewhere. The Xperia Mini has 320MB of internal memory which is expandable via MicroSD card, which is double the amount you usually find on entry level Androids, but only a fraction of what you find in higher end Androids.

The screen is a 3-inch 320 x 480 screen. While the screen resolution is sufficient to give the user a good Android experience, the screen size is a bit small.

There is also the new Xperia Mini Pro, which has the same specifications as as the Xperia Mini with a physical QWERTY keyboard and more internal storage (400MB). If you find typing on the small 3-inch screen's virtual keyboard difficult, this one might be the better solution.

Other good options:

1. Smart Communications Netphone - Best screen on at 10K. Probably the most important thing is a touchscreen phone is the screen. Smart Communications Netphone 701 is the best choice at this class with a 3.5-inch screen with a 480 x 800 resolution. It other specifications are just adequate for the Php9,900 asking price.

2. Nokia 500 - A Nokia we can recommend.  Nokia now also give you a 1GHz  Symbian OS budget phones 

The Nokia 500 phone well equipped for its Php9,000 with a a 3.2-inch nHD (360 x 640) capacitative display and 2GB or internal storage. Nokia has already committed to move the Windows Phone 7 platform and Symbian devices will be phased out over the next two years. This means you can expect third party app support to diminish over time. If you are an Android, Bada, BlackBerry, iOS or Windows phone user, it is hard to recommend this phone or any other Symbian Nokia phone for the matter. No point moving to a ecosystem which is about to be phased out soon. On the other hand, if you are a long time Nokia user, and rely on Nokia apps and services, this phone is priced low enough so as not to make you regret not investing in a different ecosystem earlier. It would be the perfect phone for one last dance with Symbian.

3. LG Optimus One - The old warrior is still a good choice. Nearly a year after its release the Android powered 3.2-inch LG Optimus One P500 is still a good choice, now priced at Php7,990. It's specifications are similar to the Smart Netphone but with a smaller, lower resolution, 3.2-inch 320 x 480 screen. 2K less for the smaller lower resolution screen.

4. HTC 7 Mozart - A Windows Phone 7 device at below 15k.

CMK Cellphones is offering the HTC Mozart 7 at Php14,750 with a one year warranty from HTC. This is a  really good price for a phone 1GHz processor, a 480 x 800 screen and 8GB of internal storage.

If you have been curious about Windows Phone 7, this is probably a good time to grab one. The HTC Mozart 7 will be getting an update to Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango".


5. BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 - BlackBerry Service. If you need a low cost phone to utilize BlackBerry services, you do have the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 which can be had as low as Php12,400. The 12K price tag is pretty steep for what the BlackBerry offers hardware wise, but it does come with a 2 year warranty. With Globe Telecom and Smart Communications now offering volume based data plans, the BlackBerry's advantage of limited but low cost connectivity (BlackBerry Social or BlackBerry messaging) is gone. But if you are heavily invested in BBM, this might tide you over till the new generation of BlackBerry QNX phones is released sometime next year.

You can still find the older BlackBerry Curve 8520 at a much lower Php9,650 if you don't need the 3G connectivity. Personally, if I needed a BlackBerry now, I would take the 8520, skip the newer OS 7.0 phones and wait for the next-gen QNX BlackBerry's before spending a lot on a new BlackBerry.

6. Globe Telecom's Cloudfone Ice - Cheapest option. Not much to say about this one, but it is an Android phone priced at Php4,990, with a 3.2 inch 320 x 480 screen and it works. Not our favorite choice, but if you do not want to spend much, this is the choice for you.