September 2012 - Smartphone Buyers Guide Part 3 (over 22.5K)

This first part of this article, covering smartphones priced up to Php15,000, can be found here, while the second part of this article can be found here. This third part is the most difficult to write, and it looks like this is competition is focused.

7. Sony LT26i Xperia S - Unofficial Nexus (Php22,800 to Php24,990)

I really was not all that impressed with the Sony Xperia S every since it came out. It is a nice enough Android smartphone. The 4.3-inch HD (720 x 1280) display has the highest pixel resolution of any smartphone in the market. It comes with a good 12 MP camera. Internal storage is a good 32 GB, which should be enough for most, even if not user expandable. The battery is a decent size 1750 mAh unit.

But inside, it is more of a great 2011 smartphone, than a 2012 flagship. The HSDPA 14.4 Mbps is radio is a step down from the HSDPA+ found in all of this years top smartphones. The 1.5 GHz dual core processor is a Qualcomm S3, the same one found in last years HTC Sensation XE, and does not compare well with the new Qualcomm S4 and quad core smartphones. So, when compared  to the HTC One X and Samsun Galaxy S III, the Sony Xperia S does not fare too well.

But in the few months since its release, the price of the Sony Xperia S has dropped steadily to the point that it is on the border of being a mid-level phone. Next, Google's top Android guy, Jean Baptiste Queru, announced that this phone would be getting updates directly from Google, giving it de facto Nexus status. So instead of comparing it against the HTC One X and Samsun Galaxy S III, we are now comparing it against the Google Galaxy Nexus. Compared to the Google Galaxy Nexus, the Sony Xperia S is a very nice alternative indeed for those who want a better camera and more storage.    

Going up another 2-3K and it is a real hornets nest of competition. You have the incumbent, the HTC One X, challenged by several new comers, the LG Optimus 4X HD, Sony Xperia ion and Sony Xperia acro S. The Samsung Galaxy Note seems to be out of stock at the retailers I check, but we may update this article in a few days if the situation changes.

8. HTC One X - Second best (Php25,500 to Php27,900)

The higher end Sony offerings are hard to recommend for as they are powered by Qualcomm S3 systems. The LG Optimus 4X HD wins the hardware battle, matching the  HTC One X specifications wise, and offering in addition a MicroSD card slot and a larger user replaceable battery. But the battery life tests of the LG Optimus 4X HD are disappointing (Source: GSM Arena) and LG's record on software updates is deplorable. Right now, in terms of software support, I rate LG at the bottom.

Who supports their devices best?  

1. Google with Nexus devices
2. Sony
3. HTC
4. Samsung (good on flagship phones, deplorable at all other categories)
5. LG 

Overall, the HTC One X gets my recommendation by a hair. It is a very good phone for the asking price with a 4.7-inch HD (720 x 1280) display, a quad core Tegra 3 based processor, 32 GB of internal storage, fast HSDPA+ 21.1 Mbps connectivity and a good 8 MP camera.

9. Samsung Galaxy S III - The best smartphone ever built (Php30,500 to Php32,990)

This phone has no weak spots. It has a beautiful 4.8-inch HD (720 x 1280) SuperAMOLED display.  The 8 MP camera excellent in terms of quality as well as features. Connectivity is via a fast HSDPA+ 21.1 Mbps radio. The Samsung built Exynos Quad is substantially faster than the Tegra 3 found in the HTC One X. It comes with a large user replaceable 2000 mAh battery, which combined with the power efficient Exynos Quad gives it better battery than life the HTC's, LG's and Sony's offerings. It is the best smartphone in the market. The most you can complain about is that it comes with only 16 GB of internal storage, but it is expandable via a Micro SD card slot. 

Drawbacks... well will cost you a lot more than anything else.

So, there we are, nine recommendations for this month. We would add the Galaxy Note to the list, after confirming availability. While the Galaxy Note 2 is on the way, we expect that to cost 35K. If you can get a Galaxy Note for Php26-28K, it is still a great choice.

Minimalist Text - Turns Your Android into a Work of Art

Minimalistic Text is an Android app that allows you to create widgets that displays time, date, calendar information, weather, and battery and system information in text format. There are several preset widgets and the layout of the widget can customizable through the layout editor. It is really hard for me to explain. I just download it and gave it a try and figured it out easy enough. A bit daunting at first glance. 

Minimalist Text can be downloaded from Google Play for free. There is also a donate version of the app which will help support further development of this app.

September 2012 - Smartphone Buyers Guide Part 2 (Php15K to 22.5K)

Part on of this article, covering phones priced as Php15,000 or less is found at this link. 

5. Sony LT22i Xperia P - An almost perfect balance (P17,990 to Php19,990)

It is amazing what 18K will buy these days. A dual core smartphone with a 4-inch qHD (540 x 960) display, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB or storage (non expandable/13 GB user available) and a very decent 8 MP shooter upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich. Last year this phone would qualify as a companies flagship phone.

The Sony Xperia P sits in a very interesting place right now. I think this is the cheapest phone a buyer can buy these days, without fear of regretting not having spent more in the future. The form factor makes it terrible compelling, combining a 4-inch display with a frame just 59.5 mm wide and 10.5 mm thick it is a very handy package while offering excellent functionality. Beyond this, we enter the land of the giants.

The only chink in this phones armor is the small 1305 mAh battery which result in below average battery life. Still I have been living with an HTC Desire HD, with a smaller 1230 mAh battery for 19 months, so it is not a deal breaker.

6. Google Galaxy Nexus - The Nexus phone is always a good choice (Php17,400-Php17,990 in the Grey Market, Php30,000 from Smart Communications

Tired of waiting six to nine months for your phone manufacturer to bring the latest update? This is the phone for you. The Google Galaxy Nexus is a Android smartphone commissioned by Google and manufactured for Samsung.  Its main claim to fame is that it is directly supported by Google, and the latest updates come to thus phone first. Ice Cream Sandwich is history for this phone, with the Android 4.1, Jelly Bean update, rolling out for this phone now.

We really cannot recommend at Smart Communications 30K asking price. There are just too many better phones at 22.5-30K. Direct from Google, this phone is priced at just US$349. Grey market pricing reflects the US pricing and at Php17,400 is a reasonable price to pay for this. I normally do not recommend grey market phones. I do not find the 5-10% discount worth giving up an official warranty. But a 40% discount is another matter.

Now your 17.4K gets you one amazing phone. The phone comes with a curved 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display HD (720 x 1280) display. The beauty of the Nexus Galaxy is not only skin deep, with a 1.2 GHz dual core ARM Cortex A9 processor on a TI OMAP chipset backed by 1 GB of RAM.  It is also the cheapest HSDPA+ 21.1 Mbps phone on our list. It is not the fastest smartphone in the market, but it will outrun anything else at this price range in every respect.

Storage is 16 GB with is not user expandable. The battery is a good sized 1750 mAh. All this comes in a frame just 8.9 mm thin. Basically, this is not only the Nexus phone, it is also the least expensive Super phone in the market. It is what I would probably buy, if I were replacing my phone now.
 
This article is continued here.

September 2012 - Smartphone Buyers Guide - Part 1 (15K and below)

Before we start, I should note that you won't be finding the iPhone on this list. The new one will be unveiled in less than two weeks, and the iPhone 4S is selling at a pretty hefty price, being the most expensive smartphone in the country. So if you are looking to buy an iPhone or considering one I would suggest you wait another two months or so. 

Similarly, you won't find any Windows Phone 7.x devices on this list. By October a whole range of Windows Phone 8 devices will be coming out, rendering all existing Windows Phone 7.x devices obsolete, both in terms of hardware and software. If you are thinking BlackBerry, well I am not recommending any.'

For Androids, to make it to this list, it has to be running Android 4.x, meaning Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean. This ensures that it will be compatible with new apps like Google's Chrome browser and take advantage of a many improvements in apps that only are available if you are running Android 4.x.

For the past few months, I have imposed the same standard, but gave leeway to units with promised ICS upgrades. It is now September 2012. If it the upgrade is not out, I won't be putting the phone on this list.

This month we will start at the lowest. All prices quoted are with official manufacturers warranties.

1. Sony ST21i Xperia tipo - Best Budget Priced Android Phone (Php7,150 to Php7,690)

There are cheaper smartphones, but really none are worth your money. If you are looking to get into the world of smartphones or replace an old smartphone, this one is where you should start. For many users, there really is no need to buy anything more than this.

The Sony ST21i Xperia tipo runs Android 4.03, Ice Cream Sandwich ("ICS"), so you should have no problem with Android app compatibility. It comes with a small 3.2-inch display, but which runs at a sharp HVGA (320 x 480) resolution. It also comes with a 1500 mAh battery which when combined with the frugal power requirements of the small screen will result in excellent battery life. The 2.5 GB user available internal storage is expandable with MicroSD cards up to 32 GB being officially supported.

It is not a terrible fast device with a single core 800 MHz ARM Corter-A5 processor, and the 3.2 MP camera is just best used in emergencies. But many users really do not need more.

If your purpose in getting a smartphone is for the traditional smartphone uses: communication and organization, there really is no reason to spend more. This phone is great for calls, SMS, email, instant messaging and making calls over VoIP, with the only drawback being the absence of a front camera for video calls. It will also keep your calendar and tasks organized and even keep them in sync with other devices or other people.

2. Lenovo P700 - There are more reasons to buy this than it dual SIM capability (Php10,900 to Php10,999)

If we were to spend more than the Php7K price for the Sony ST21i Xperia tipo, we would really like a larger display. The Lenovo P700 gives you that at a bit over Php3K more. This Android ICS powered smartphone performs at about the same level as the typo both offers  you more in every other respect. 

The Lenovo P700 comes with a much larger 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display, has a larger 2500 mAh battery and it also comes with a front camera. In other respects, it is similar to the typo with the same 2.5 GB or user expadable storage and a mediocre camera.

The bigger screen is a good enough reason to get this one. By the way, it is a dual SIM phone too.

3. Sony Xperia go - Dual core power (Php12,990 to Php14,990) 

Sony has several excellent mid price dual core offerings, like the Sony Xperia U and Sola, which have planned upgrades to Android 4.x. We have been recommending this phones for the past few months, but with the ICS updates still not out we have removed them from the list. Fortunately, Sony has a good offering  to replace them with.

The Sony Xperia go has a decent sized 3.5-inch display, with a HVGA (320 x 480) resolution. The drop in resolution is not a big deal. HVGA looks fine on a 3.5-inch display. Inside you have a 1 GHz dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor which is the main reason to get this phone over the Sony Xperia Tipo and Lenovo P700. It also comes with a decent 5 MP autofocus camera with a flash, as well as a secondary camera. The Sony Xperia go also provides more internal user available storage, at 4 GB (expandable via a MicroSD card) and has USB-on-the-Go support allowing you to connect it with USB Flash drives.

The only part I am not to crazy about is the smaller than average 1305 mAh battery, which is the same issue we have with the Sony Xperia U and Sola. An this is where the Sony Xperia go is a better choice than the Sony Xperia U and Sola. These two phone comes with higher resolution WVGA (480 x 854) displays combined with small 1320 mAh batteries. Given the small battery I would prefer the Sony Xperia Go. The lower resolution display will use less power and result in better battery life.

As a bonus, the Xperia go, is IP67 certified to be dust and water resistant, making this a though phone. Despite its though status, this phone is 9.8 mm thick. 

4. HTC One V - An alternative to the Xperia go (Php13,200 to Php13,990)

If the HVGA display of the Sony Xperia go puts you off, there is a good alternative. The HTC One V. This phone has a larger 3.7-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display and decent sized 1500 mAh battery. You do give up the dual core processor, but the single core 1 GHz Snapdragon Qualcomm S2 inside the HTC One V is pretty fast, much faster than is makes it a lot faster than the Sony Xpeira tipo and Lenovo P700.

User available storage is 1.1 GB, expandable via Micro SD and there is no secondary camera which puts it behind the Xperia go in terms of those features. 

Part 2 of this article is at this link.

A Trojan that Steals Mac OS X and Linux Password Discovered

Russian anti-virus company Doctor Web discovered a cross-platform backdoor that runs under Mac OS X and Linux. That Mac OS X is not immune from malware may surprise some, but really that is old news. One attacking Linux too, well that is more surprising. 

This malicious program, BackDoor.Wirenet.1, is designed to steal passwords stored by a number of popular applications and also operates as a keylogger (it sends gathered keyboard input data to intruders). It's not clear how BackDoor.Wirenet.1, spreads. 

Looks like it might be time to get some anti-malware protection for your Linux box, or for you Mac, if you haven't already.