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Speaking of computers and laptops, genus Acer already contains a big name. For any tablet realm, they\'ve started with the Iconia series, both mechanical man and Windows eight. One among the mechanical man tablet could be a ten.1 in. tablet Iconia Tab A701. On paper, the specs tablet equipped with 3G connectivity is indeed tempting. With dimensions of 260 (L) x one hundred seventy five (W) x ten.05 (H) millimeter and weighs around 695 grams, the tablet is provided with NVidia Tegra three quad core processor is clocked at one.3 GHz, 1GB RAM, five megapixel camera, HD webcam, 9800 mAh battery, 32 GB internal storage, 3G and local area network connectivity, Dolby Mobile audio technology three + and can record HD quality video. Its main feature is the flagship high-resolution screen than different ten.1-inch tablet. Achieving Full HD 1920x1200 component resolution, outperformed the typical ten.1-inch tablet is the solely different current 1280x800 pixels. OS default is ICS, but currently you\'ll update to mechanical man 4.1.1 OTA directly candy. What about the tablet performance for Rp. 5699.000 this?


article reference from here, with few editing

We've reviewed the Google Nexus 4, which is manufactured by LG. Pure humanoid smartphone that was prospering, tested in TeknoUp Store in exactly a few days out of stock. it's not stunning, LG Mobile Dutch East Indies confident Optimus free version of the Nexus 4, the LG Optimus G, which truly launched sooner than the Nexus 4 in South Korea. With a high specification, smartphone humanoid 4.1 jelly bean is ready to hit the Android-class competitors within the high-end. options decision it: the Qualcomm snapdragon S4 pro quad core 1.5 GHz, humanoid jelly bean, True HD IPS screen WXGA + 4.7-inch (1280x768 pixels), 32GB storage, 2GB RAM, 13MP camera, 1.3 MP front, Bluetooth connectivity 4.0, Wi-Fi, USB2.0, A-GPS, MHL, DLNA, NFC, 2100 mAh battery, the thinness of eight.45 millimeter and weighs a hundred forty five grams. What was the performance of the smartphone is priced at Rp normal. 6.499 million This?

Design and Body
If the Nexus 4 as representing breeds Nexus series of curves at the highest and bottom of the phone, the Optimus LG G includes a distinctive shape, just like the Optimus 4X, with rigid forms and phone box on the side, inflicting comfort once holding the phone somewhat diminished. within the body itself derived from a movable feel is sort of luxurious, although it's still shiny, however made just like the rear glass, just like the iPhone 4, however is additional engaging because there area unit patterns that modification reckoning on viewing angle and lighting, like the Nexus 4. LG referred to as Crystal Reflection finish.

The front of the phone is shiny black and may smartphones generally. All around there area unit two bezel area unit made of stainless steel like. Below the screen there area unit three touch sensitive buttons, a row: Back, Home and Menu. whereas at the highest of the screen, in addition to the headphone, the LG emblem and a front camera, no crystal rectifier notification lightweight. On the left side there area unit volume buttons and Sim card port with treatment system to open. the correct side is the lock / power, whereas at the highest there's a 3.5 millimeter audio jack. At the bottom, there's a small USB port. At the bottom there also are two bolts on either side of the lock body Optimus G. In other words, this phone battery is not removable.

Screen
Screen on the Nexus section 4 area unit often highlighted because they're less good than LCD screen smartphone / IPS upscale like HTC One X or the iPhone five. However, for the Optimus G, the screen equally 1280x768 element resolution additional eye-candy than the Nexus 4. Saturated high enough, although we have a tendency to feel the distinction to the iPhone five and HTC One X better. G Optimus screen still feels over-brightness, tho' not as severe because the Nexus 4. good point of read in any direction, compared with a spread of Sony Xperia. The white color on the Optimus G appearance natural white, not xanthous like most LCD or dark-blue as AMOLED type. the level of black gloom of the phone is additionally thought-about superb for the dimensions of the LCD, although it's still but the AMOLED type. Overall, with frills and True HD IPS + touch claimed Zerogap closer touch screen movable user and narrowed. Overall, you may say this can be the simplest LG cellular phone screens these days.

Interface
By victimisation the Optimus UI, lots of additional options that given LG for humanoid phones 4.1 jelly bean, both for cosmetic / appearance and productivity. From the lock screen it absolutely was already evident. There area unit many models to decide on from lockscreen, such as: Swipe (default), Face Unlock, Pattern, PIN and positive identification. Lockscreen is paired clock and shortcuts, owner info, also as your own wallpaper completely different from wallpaper homescreen. There area unit some effects once mengunlock screens to decide on from, like Basic, Ripple, Spreading ink and drop.

Homescreen consists of a maximum of 7 pages. For the default homescreen you'll select one among 7 pages, not essentially within the middle. Press the house button a bit longer and you may be brought to the task whipper. you'll set whether scrolling is either circular or not. Homescreen can add app shortcuts, widgets (resizeable) and wallpaper. There area unit many themes to decide on from, just like the optimus (default), Biz, Cozywall and candy. every theme includes a color accents and application cutoff icons vary. For the settings, there's a menu impact once doing a sweep on the homescreen, like breeze, dominoes, panorama and others. interestingly, you'll build the house screen modification orientation to landscape once tilting the phone. Settings you make on the homescreen can backup, restore and so at the moment you wish it.

On the most menu, by default the applying is composed of 4 columns and five rows, however the use of the screen size, you'll {choose to|prefer to|like better to|value additional highly to|favor to|opt to} display the icons more therefore to 5 columns and vi rows. the most menu is split into Apps, Downloads and Widgets. As in lockscreen and homescreen, you'll use your own wallpaper for the most menu. Applications is organized alphabetically or date of installation.

Regarding zoom transparent notification bar rather dark with legion options. There area unit many shortcuts as quick Toggle quick memorandum, Sound, Data, NFC, Eco Mode, WLAN and Bluetooth and plenty of additional, a complete of fourteen quick toggle, you'll edit the order and eliminate unnecessary quick toggle. in addition, there's additionally a notification within the bar screen brightness settings and applications Qslide.

For setting, Optimus G includes a heap of settings interface. as an example, models of letters, there area unit many to decide on from, you'll modification the default font to Roboto LG SmartGothic, HYSerif, HYTravel and 4 other fonts. Then there's setting the brightness, screen timeout, auto-rotate, also because the sensible Screen. The latter is analogous to the keep sensible options enable display lights up once the front camera detects your eyes look toward the screen. relating to performance, outstanding. LG Optimus G includes a very swish performance, helped by Project Butter on humanoid 4.2 and hardware combination used this phone.

Quick Memo
This is one wonderful feature on the LG smartphone, since Optimus 4X and Vu. not like the memorandum / note Galaxy Note (first screenshot, the new edit) here you'll directly edit the screen just by opening the notification bar, choose quick memorandum on quick toggle and therefore the screen is ready for the stripped-streak. There area unit many sorts of graffiti tools that is pen, markers and highlighters. Indeed, the options and quality run with a Galaxy Note, however the quick memorandum app is much additional sensible. as an example, this feature is employed in overlay (in the graffiti to disable however you continue to check up on the user interface), therefore as an example once you area unit told by your friends account variety, the quicker you'll type it 1st within the quick memorandum which may be directly crossed with fingers and so copied or transmitted.

Qslide
The trend for super smartphone is unimaginable multitasking capability. Of course, LG Optimus G has that ability. Qslide feature can display two completely different apps at the same time in one screen. the quantity of space for each application is modified, not like the Galaxy Note II which will be altered vertical solely. So, as diminimize in computer applications. Thus, 3-tasking can truly do, as an example, see SMS (apps within the background) whereas browsing the web whereas watching the video. interestingly, the overlay function is done here, there's a bar to regulate the transparency of every application Qslide. however unfortunately solely a few applications that support Qslide default, there area unit solely five that is Video, Internet, Memos, Calendar and Calculator. Phone performance once running Qslide functions tend to remain swish, not stunning given the use 2GB of RAM and a processor on the Optimus grade G.

Phonebook, electronic communication and Text Input

LG divides contact the phone into 3 categories, Groups, contacts and favorites. Contacts is synchronous  along with your Gmail account or social network accounts like Facebook, Twitter and others. In conducting the search, edit and add contacts area unit all easy to try and do. every contact is further to photos and a special ringtone. interestingly, there area unit options Screen Zooming on the contact list. you'll pinch the screen to the surface and within to extend or decrease font size.

Messaging on the Optimus G standards solely that is SMS, Email and Instant electronic communication. To SMS is simple to use also as other humanoid phones, there area unit rib format. what is unique is the skin feature, you'll select a background rib SMS with many choices. whereas you'll use a Gmail email which has many similar options because the desktop version. Of course, you may additionally use another email client. Screen zooming feature is present on the SMS and email, however not the Gmail app. As for instant electronic communication Google talk is offered, aside from that you can add as another to Google PlayStore Line, WhatsApp, YM, and so on.

buy LG Optimus G 4G Android Phone (AT&T) for $49.99

Input to jot down two strategies that is Google voice typewriting and LG Keyboard. Existing arrangements like auto-capitalize, auto-punctuation, word suggestions and feedback touch. There Keyboard Path feature, one thing like Swype. Despite using a wide screen 4.7 inches, for typewriting with one hand could be a bit difficult, however no big deal, the width is still affordable phone with one hand.

Camera and Video RecorderLG Optimus G is embedded camera with a resolution not kidding: 13MP. However, the resolution is just one factor that determines the quality of a photograph of a camera, in addition to sensors, lenses, image processing, and so on. on the far side these factors, LG promise many options to aid the camera of 1 of the super smartphone. Among others: sensible Shutter, Time Catch Shot and Voice Shutter. sensible Shutter adjust the shutter speed on the camera phone to urge the image sharp and not hazy. Catch-time shot if activated will take five photos before you press the Capture button, you'll then choose the simplest. Then the Voice Shutter to take an image with the mention of the word cheese, smile, LG, kimchi and strong drink. other features: HDR, Panorama, Continuous shoot, setting brightness, facetracking, resolution, Scene Mode, ISO, white balance, color effects, a timer, geotagging, shutter sound. the main target of the camera is primarily based cont.AF, however can also use the touch. the 2 volume buttons is accustomed splatter. quick menu which appears on the left is modified and altered composition.

Results cameras frankly disappointing for flagship smartphone size. Noise lighting indoors or less deeply felt, whereas the small print of his picture less sharp, however has 13MP resolution used. but there's a possibility that this can be because of our review unit was a paradigm, I hope there's AN improvement within the unit which will be free within the market. Please download at this link to envision the original size picture.

For video recording feature stapled certainly less. Among others: the resolution, Live impact (silly face and background) intrinsic  humanoid, brightness, white balance, color effects, geotagging and video recording. once recording, touch to focus does not apply. it's quite annoying if you move near distant objects or vice versa, even additional options continuous optical device slow.

Unlike the camera, the video recording is pretty good and reliable. Video made swish, sharp and includes a comparatively natural color. Video duration 1 minute spent storage of 126MB, with high-bitrate files 14000kbps and framerate of thirty frames per second.

Photo Gallery
Photo gallery additionally includes a video victimisation the quality album for a rather changed humanoid by LG. Photos shared by Album, location and date of capture. interestingly, Screen zooming feature is additionally present here, therefore you'll vary the dimensions of thumbnail pictures with pinch to zoom. you'll rename files, rotate photos, do cropping, straightforward written material and displaying image details area unit just about like camera model, distance, ISO settings, etc.. Photos can instantly be shared via Bluetooth, email, social networks and others.

Video Player
A dedicated video player present on the LG Optimus G. All videos area unit readable by mobile phones is collected here, although you'll see them by folder. in addition to folders, existing videos displayed in list format and grid (thumbnail). Video formats which will be contend with up to 1080p resolution swish quite varied: mkv, wmv, avi and mp4. Subtitle format. Srt is displayed, with some options and settings like synchronization, font size and color. because the application of Mx Video Player, you'll adjust the brightness of the screen whereas watching a video, with a sweep of movement vertically. The touch screen can also be barred once enjoying video. Another feature, dynamic  the aspect ratio of the video and after all minimize Qslide video with options therefore you'll watch the video whereas doing other activities, complete with feature overlay / transparency level setting.

Music Player
The music player is analogous to the Optimus G Optimus 4X. Divided into five categories, Songs, Albums, Artists, Genres, Playlists and Folders. listing obtainable and is updated mechanically Most contend, Recently contend and Recently further, and Favourites. in addition, of course, you'll produce your own playlists. can you build song ringtone, put into a listing that you produce yourself and shared via Bluetooth, Gmail, and MMS. you'll see the lyrics of the song whereas enjoying the song. Sound output from the speaker system is sort of tight, however nothing special, pretty shrill sound at the best volume. within the notification bar management the music being contend appears to allow you the time to minimize the music player. in addition there area unit advanced sleep timer and some audio effects like bass reducer, treble booster, bass booster, booster vocal, phone enhancers. No lag effects like electrical engineer Mobile video player. additionally made your own custom equalizer. required telephone receiver obstructed in order to be able to play your LG Optimus G FM radio.

Connectivity

    Quadband GSM / HSDPA up to 21Mbps, LTE
    Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot capability / tethering and MiraCast
    Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP
 small sd port
    MicroUSB port with MHL capability
    NFC
    GPS with A-GPS support

Miracast could be a tool that enables screen mirroring LG Optimus G (or any other phone that supports it, Android 4.2 by default supports Miracast) to your TV wirelessly via WLAN. The trick, tool Miracastnya plug into the tv via hdmi, then connect with the electrical ports victimisation small usb chargeran, of power unit you alter miracast, conn. however unfortunately the performance on TV rather ngelag and its response is rather long when put next to a traditional HDMI or MHL affiliation. particularly if you employ this technique Optimus G therefore cannot take advantage of free WLAN networks around it, because it's utilized by WLAN Miracast to perform mirroring.

Web BrowserDefault browser on Optimus G includes a user interface that is identical to the LG Optimus L7, however after all additional powerful thanks to specification way on the far side the movable. Seen from a number of tabs which will be unfolded to a maximum of 16 pieces. In open full site with legion content, like the house page belongs TeknoUp quick performance, nearly no wait time loading content (assuming the web is employed quickly) and swish, both once scrolling, pinch and zoom, and others. options and settings aren't essentially inferior to other phones, namely: concealed window, Find, share, Bookmark, choice to perpetually open the desktop site, save for offline reading and setting screen light. additionally after all there area unit the default settings for the cache, cookies, form data, javascript, zoom, page content, accessibility, and others.

Benchmarking
Quadrant Standard: 6896 points
AnTuTu: seventeen 376 points
NenaMark 2: 60.0 frames per second
Multitouch Tester: up to ten touch
SunSpider: 1406ms

Endurance Battery
Equipped with a 2100 mAh battery capability, sturdiness LG Optimus G is pretty good. accustomed do a series of screenshots that area unit employed in this review, which implies that nearly all the options of the interface, QSlide, camera, multimedia, web browser and benchmarking area unit reviewed, with net connected via WLAN, screen light of 50 percent, the battery indicator reduced by 18 percent in time of 56 minutes.

Conclusion
Until this review is completed, the simplest playing humanoid phones area unit sold in Dutch East Indies is formally this phone and LG Nexus 4. However, if you want a additional powerful, you might be alittle patient, like the Sony Xperia flagship Z and HTC One additionally very tempting, with a 1080p screen. relating to Optimus G vs Nexus 4 (normal price of Rp. 5499.000), with the distinction in price Rp. 1 million Optimus G certainly has the advantage on the options and interfaces area unit much more comprehensive than Google's movable. However, LG is expected to learn from it already and will be quicker in delivering the newest version of humanoid updates for this flagshipnya, wherever it's simply the reverse with 4 confirmed Nexus gets humanoid update as quick as most other humanoid devices. Against other current humanoid flagship just like the Samsung Galaxy SIII (IDR 6099.000) and HTC One X + (IDR 6699.000), frankly LG Optimus G (normal price of Rp. 6499.000) class is above both the movable.

Excess
Performance is extremely swish
Mode QSlide build upscale hardware used phone feels utility high quality display
Back cover design class
Storage 32GB
Quick Memo

Shortage
no small sd slot
Battery not replaceable
the camera is less satisfactory


review reference source with few editing
translated by Google Translate

REVIEW OtterBox Defender Series Shield for the HTC DROID Incredible - Black

The case is easy to put on & take off (same model ipod touch case from 1 yr ago is a challenge to remove).
It's a close fit. I read another review that said it wasn't. ??? I shook it pretty good & it barely moved.
The silicone cover gives a better grip than the phone alone, but it doesn't "grab" as I put it in & out of my jeans' pocket.
All buttons & ports are easily accessed.
Although I haven't dropped it (yet!) I have previous experience with Otter Defender cases (ipod touch for 2-4 yr old grandchildren-1 yr usage)& I expect the same high level of effectiveness for keeping my phone safe from damage.
The only possible drawback I have noticed is the touch screen isn't as responsive. (I must say that I've applied an additional screen protector before putting on this case & that might why it's less sensitive.) I'm not sure if that's good or bad, as the screen without the cover (& addtional screen protector) was a little TOO sensitive. I frequently have to touch it more than once to get a response, but it might be something I just need to get used to so I can get just the right amount of pressure. I haven't tried the case without the additional screen protector & not planning to.
Some have noted that the size is a drawback, but it isn't that much bigger. I figure the security is well worth a few millimeters of increased size!
The case comes with a holster. I've never used one before so I can't compare, but this one seems pretty easy to use. I just need to get used to it. I tried putting it on the outside of my front jean pocket, but didn't like the floppiness. I hooked it on the same pocket, but placed the phone INSIDE the pocket. Very secure, not much additional bulk, & very easy to get a hold of & remove from pocket. The phone is totally usable with the holster on. All buttons & ports accessible.

If you want to buy OtterBox Defender Series Shield for the HTC DROID Incredible, buy for
$19.99 at Amazon.com (with my Amazon Associates ID)
OtterBox Defender Series Shield for the HTC DROID Incredible - Black

Review by Beverly

REVIEW Motorola DROID RAZR HD 4G

Well last week I picked up a white one from my local Verizon store (the price they gave it to me was the same as Amazon's offer luckily) and immediately I loved the feel and design of the phone. The continued use of the kevlar backing is a nice unique touch, although I'm still unsure how much true durability it adds in the longer run, we will see!

The display is incredibly vibrant. Obviously with AMOLED technology you aren't going to have perfect clarity like some other displays, however, this is the best AMOLED display I have seen. I have read complaints that you can notice jagged edges and sometimes images aren't very sharp or clear, however, I have yet to find such issues or any real complaint in general.

I am incredibly happy with the size and feel of the phone. I have read some articles saying "why keep the RAZR name since it isn't RAZR-thin anymore" however, I am not sure where they got that idea from. Sure it still not as thin as the original RAZRs when opened, but it is still one of the thinest smartphones out there. Remember, the Droid RAZR HD is .2 MM thinner than the Galaxy S3. At the same time, the Galaxy S3's height and width are larger than this phone as well. Of course these numbers are quite miniscule, and for pratical comparisons, they are pretty much the same size. You will notice that the Galaxy S3 is a tad lighter, however. I personally like the "full" feeling while holding the RAZR HD.

Although the MAXX HD version is certainly the variant for the additional battery life, the 2530mAh battery that comes with the regular Droid RAZR HD is still quite good. I have gone almost a day and a half of moderate use without charging. However, with moderately high use, I can still start my work day at 7 AM and end up with around 50% battery at 5 PM. Of course as always, the battery life entirely depends on what you use, what you let running and then how much you use the phone. I have seen many reviews claiming that the battery life is utter trash, but look if you manage your phone properly as you should, the 2530mAh should prove to be strong enough.

The camera is pretty standard stuff. Seems like most other smartphones have an 8 megapixel back camera. The front one isn't technically as good as Galaxy S3's for example, however, the difference is quite minimal.

My biggest gripe and perhaps only real issue with the phone are the on-screen menu buttons. While people advocating this phone will claim that these buttons hide when you use many fullscreen apps, I have found this to be quite untrue so far. When watching Youtube videos in fullscreen it does indeed hide them, and the phone does it actually pretty conveniently. However, so far I haven't really had much success in getting them to hide with pretty much every game and app out there. I should note though, I would much rather have them on the screen than deal with Galaxy S3's on-phone two buttons. My wife owns the S3 and when I have used it sideways for fullscreen applications I have always managed to hit the return button each time with just a little piece of my skin and I don't have fat fingers! My wife and a couple of my friends have noted this annoyance as well for themselves. Regardless, even with the on-screen menu buttons, it is still a formidably large screen. Not as large as the S3 which is "natrually" 4.8 compared to 4.7, but still large enough to be enjoyable of course.

Oh, and it is a little annoying that it didn't come with Jelly Bean automatically. While this isn't a big issue now since everyone should be getting a Jelly Bean update soon, it would certainly be a bigger thumbs down the longer it takes.. However, I guess once Jelly Bean does become available, for new buyers won't be a problem either way.

So despite the on-screen menu buttons, I still give this phone a perfect 5/5. However, I've talked to many that refuse to touch this phone solely because of those buttons. However, if you can get past that, I would definitely recommend this over the Galaxy S3. Both are certainly great phones, but the Droid RAZR HD feels more refined and professional. At least go try it out at your local Verizon store!

And about color.. Well white and black are the only ones available (so far) and both looked fine. However, I'm sure there are more black ones out there, so I had to look different so naturally I chose the white one. I wouldn't necessarily say one looks better than the other so that shouldn't be an issue :0

If you want to buy Motorola DROID RAZR HD 4G, buy at Amazon.com (with my Amazon Associates ID) for $49.99 (until this post released) by click below link
Motorola DROID RAZR HD 4G Android Phone, White (Verizon Wireless)

Review

Okay, first off, I'm a real person! Not a paid fake to make good reviews, lol.

So, First off, if you have any questions or concerns, EMAIL THE SELLER, they will tell you everything you need to know and if you want a black or white phone, email them before 12 hours after your order has been placed.

Now, The Phone is BIG. It's the same size as the Samsung Galaxy 3, but it has square corners, not round.

If you do NOT have a sim card, you can NOT use this phone.

IF YOU DO have a sim card, check with your carrier if your sim card uses GSM CONNECTIVE TECHNOLOGY.

T-Mobile Sim cards are eligible for this phone. Most people have the same sim card size, which is the regular rectangle one, but if you have another size, call your carrier and see if you can exchange the size for a smaller one.

This phone is a 3G, NO contract, NO catch. It is GREAT for the price being under 200$

When I put my T-mobile sim card in, everything worked, but the internet. I called tmobile and they told me step by step what to do, and my internet worked. BUT it was SUPER slow. Then after awhile, the internet started speeding up, and now, it's working great. So If you have this problem, be patient, it will come through! Just takes time.

The camera quality is GREAT from the back, it's very clear, comes with edits as well.

The front camera is good, not crystal clear, but it's very good.

Instagram, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, apps, ALL work. YES this phone carries Google Play Store.

The phone works GREAT. Sometimes if I click an app, it won't retaliate to my touch, but once I click it again it does, so a tiny problem like that really is nothing to complain about.

Phone calls are good, though state to another state calls take a little longer, still works good.

Texting is great.

If you have any other questions, comment! I will help you as much as I can!

P.S. I will post pictures of this phone, and what it comes with! xoxo

P.s.s. Hey guys! This is a updated review, just to give some more helpful info.

Most of these phones get to the customer in about 1 week. If it takes longer, DONT worry. It might take 2-3 weeks.

The camera has GREAT quality with PROPER lighting, if it's kind of dark, the quality looks poor. But once you hit the lights, it looks great.

I recommend you install "Advance task killer" to continuously kill any apps. I highly recommend you install it.

Another thing, for some reason, my internet does not work when I'm on the phone. I have no idea why, but I tolerate it.

I'm happy with this phone so far. & I'm happy to help all of you.

I will try to post a video tour of this phone so I can explore the apps and phone itsself for you guys.

Any more questions, Please comment and I will help you asap. -Marie

BTW, this phone has a larger earphone jack!! They send you ear phones and the ear phones do work good but they're bulky. I was a little worried I wouldn't find good ear phones, here's what I did.

I went to wal mart, brought the earphones that came with my phone, asked the workers to find good earphones this size, and they did!

YES my phone came with a mini stylus.

Also, if you download a mp3 app, then download your fav song, you can make that song your ringtone!

THE INFORMATION I LISTED WITH THE SELLERS, Please note I purchased this phone from the sellers in hong kong, called "lolbuy"

XOXO!

Please remember, I am not a professional. Nor do I sell these phones. I'm just sharing with you my phone, and helping you with any problems or concerns I can possibly provide help with.

I don't appreciate the rude comments, I'm just here to help. Thank you.

Buy now at amazon.com by click this link (with my amazon associates ID)

REVIEW

First: I love it. It's almost too much fun. I go to read, but wind up watching a movie. There are so many choices, I get distracted. For the money, for its intended purposes, assuming you understand what it does and doesn't do, it's the best deal you can get. It's an entire entertainment system in one affordable compact package. As a reader, it's great, although adjusting it to the level of brightness that suits you is a bit of trial and error. It's easy to adjust, but my eyes are picky. For just plain reading, my older 2nd gen Kindle is easier. The sound is very good. Hard to believe you can get that much sound out of such tiny speakers. Impressive. The quality of the video is superb, much better than I expected. I find that I actually do watch movies in bed with my little 7" Fire HD. Because I was already a Prime member, they have so much available for free it will be a long time before I feel I need to buy anyhthing more. I have a huge library for Kindle which I can use either unit or any of my three computers. These migrate automatically. The new Kindle HD links to the older of my 2 Audible accounts. They cannot yet link an Audible account that isn't under the same email address as your Amazon account NOR have they the technology to link multiple Audible accounts, period. IF you have mulitple Audible account under the same email address as your Amazon account, they can consolidate the libraries, but it will be one single account. They said they are working on this ... and you have to call Audible for this help, though Audible is very good about tech help and always have been, even before Amazon bought them. Audibleis working on solving this, but don't hold your breath. The device is great for listening to audiobooks, far better for me than an MP3 player because I hate earphones. The Kindle is small enough to carry in a purse and not heavy. Issues: 16GB is plenty ... unless you want to download HD movies. Streaming them (what I have so far done) uses no memory, so no problem. Regular "print" books are small; you can carry a whole library with you if you want. It's when you get to music and audiobooks (or the aforementioned HD movies) that you realize there's a a bit of a problem. You cannot stream audiobooks: you have to download them to the device. Nor is there any way to add memory. Kindle has no slot for an SD chip or port for a flash drive. Why not? Wouldn't it have been a no-brainer to include a port or slot for a card or flash drive? That, in my opinion, was a bad mistake. You cannot expand beyond the device's embedded memory. Period. No options. Buying the 32 GB version moves the wall, but doesn't remove it. Amazon should add a port for memory, either flash or a card. They should address this issue soon. You need to understand the limits of the device, what the advertisements don't explain. Audiobooks can be large. A really long book takes up quite a bit a space. You can load a few books at a time if they are normal-length books, but not 57 hours of "Lord of the Rings," for example. After you listen to a book, delete it. Then download the next. Unlike when you download to your computer from Audible, you cannot download a multi part book in sections. It's all or nothing. A book that is in your Audible library in several parts, which these days is any book longer than 11 hours, will download in a single piece to the Kindle. If the book you want to load is LOTR or Winds of War, make sure you have enough room. You can store everything you aren't actively listening to, watching, or reading on Amazon's (free) cloud servers, so deleting content isn't losing it, just moving it off the device. This is well and good as long as you have WiFi. It gets stickier if you are on the road and WiFi connections are not available. If you travel a great deal, road warriors may want to wait and get the version that comes with 3G (available in late November I believe). If you are mainly looking to use it on the road, get the 3G. I have 3G on my older Kindle; it's great when you want a book, but don't have a WiFi connection. It will automatically switch to 3G in the absence of a WiFi network. But older Kindles don't do all the other cool stuff. They are strictly e-book readers. Very good ones, but dedicated to a single purpose. You can pretty much whatever you want to do on your new Kindle (not writing or editing beyond email length), but you can't store everything on the device. You can't download your whole Audible library to your Kindle or download lots of HD or other movies plus miscellaneous other content. One or two movies, max, a few audiobooks, plenty of regular books ... and other content as needed ... but not everything. It's not meant for that anymore than is an iPad, which has similar space limits. If you are in range of a WiFi connections, it's no problem. At home, it's a non-issue. When/if we are traveling, I will have to choose what I want to take with me. The manual is poorly written and incomplete. As a professional tech writer, I will say straight out that they need to hire a professional and do it right. There's no excuse for not having at least the basic information available in the online manual. If the device was more intuitive, if the menus (such as they are) were logically arranged, they might not need it, but as it stands, they definitely do need a manual. Most things are very easy to do, but finding the menu that does it or the information on how to do it is NOT easy. Yes, Amazon has great customer and tech support. Real life peoople who really know the device and will stay on the phone with you until your battery runs out ... but who wants to have to call customer service to figure out how to delete a book or movie? Or for that matter, turn the unit on? It's stupidly simple to do all this stuff, assuming you can find the manual at all (I had to call for that, too), you will not find any listing under the words "delete," "remove", "turn on," etcetera. It's the first rule of tech writing to explain the basic stuff up front without having to search for it, and certainly should not need to call a hotline for this information. Just hire a competent tech writer. We work cheap, really. Give employment to someone who needs it! I'm still figuring out where various functions are and how to make them work. They do work, but the figuring them out is anti-intuitive. I bought the $199 version that has advertising. I'm not finding them intrusive. You can get rid of them, even after you've bought it, for $15 if they annoy you, but they only show up as an offers menu or on the splash screen before you open to the contents. If you already are a member of the Amazon community, if you have Prime, already have a Kindle library, and/or an Audible account, it's the best deal in town. I have yet to want something that Amazon doesn't have, usually cheaper than anyone else, so for me, it was ideal. Absolutely no reason for me to look elsewhere, though I did actually look at everything else before I bought this. If you want everything, spend some much bigger money and get a tablet. Go for broke and get an iPad. They're cool. But remember: if your primary issue is READING, a tablet computer is not as good for reading as any reader is. Tablets are shinier and more reflective; they are useless in the sun. Any Kindle, is better for reading. Decide what you want to do. Many people have a tablet AND a Kindle (or other reader). One size may not "fit all" for you. The Fire is not a iPad, but it's pretty close and a heck of a lot less money. If you want to read, watch a movie or TV show, listen to audio, do email, see what's happening on Twitter or Facebook -- or any website, really -- it will do that and more. You can transfer content directly to the Kindle USB cable from your computer or store it in Amazon's cloud, then move it to your Kindle. I've got three computers: laptop, desktop, and mini, so I am not going to worry about storing documents and photographs on my Kindle, though I may take them up on using some of their storage space. Photographs are another thing that can overload a small device fast. Be sensible and reasonable in your expectations. It's a fine device, esecially for the price. It really does 95% of what Amazon promises, though not necessarily quite the way you expected. Plan on calling at least once or twice, if only because the menus and manual are inadequate. This problem is NOT unique to Kindle. I have some expensive cameras I still can't fully use because the manual is useless and they don't have friendly 24/7 service. Thumbs up for quality, sound, video, speed (download and delete speeds are breathtakingly fast). It's also a nice looking device, compact and the accessories, finally, are affordable, even cheap. You will NOT have to pay $50 for a case this time. You can find nice ones for as little as $4 or $5 dollars. Buy the Quick Charger ($9.99). Worth it. Whether or not you'll need a stylus? I bought some inexpensive ones, but I never use them. The touch screen is sensitive (sometimes too sensitive) and easier with fingers than a stylus. If you have big hands, the stylus might be easier for you. It's a personal thing. Try it before you make a big investment. A cheap stylus will work just as well as an expensive one. Fingerprints: not bad. I got lens wipes at Walmart. They are great for the Kindle, my camera, my computer AND my eyeglasses. Protective screen? There goes your HD and the sensitivity of the touchcreen. I can send you a bunch free; they came with other things and are pointless. Don't bother. Absolutely do get a case for protection if nothing else. I recommend one that turns into an easel so you can watch movies or TV hands free and prefereably, also turns it on when you open it, turns it off when you close it. The on-off button is small and hard to find. My $8 case turns the whole unit on and off and is a standing easel. Problem fixed. It cost $7.99. The Kindle wakes instantly; a zero second startup. The touchscreen is sensitive and I often find that I've started downloading when all I was trying to do was navigate. Amazon needs to address this. It's annoying. Getting information about a book or movie is tricky and to avoid the issue, I go to the Amazon store and look it up there. They need more and better menus. And it's still the best deal in town!

If you want to buy Amazon Kindle Fire HD for only $199, click link below
Kindle Fire HD 7", Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers

REVIEW

A not-so-serious review first:

Lumia 920 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> iPHone 5
32GB ---------------------------------------------32GB
$99------------------------------------------------$299

Master Maps-------------------------------------Mess-up Maps
Offline GPS---------------------------------------iLost
Public transit guide for global traveler ------iLonely and secretly flirt with Siri
PureView Camera-------------------------------PurpleView Camera
Clear lowlight photos---------------------------My party photos are drunker(fuzzier) than yours
Anti-scratch--------------------------------------Full-Scratch
Survives a fall-----------------------------------The poor pretty thing!
Gets the job done-------------------------------What job?
Good for normal people-----------------------Good for Apple worshipers
Nokia: "Sorry, we will update"-----------------Apple: "You're holding it wrong!"
Clear view under direct sunlight--------------Is my phone on?
4.5" viewing asset-------------------------------Squint retinally
Wireless charger--------------------------------Where is my this-year's-special cable?
Touchscreen wearing gloves-----------------Cut a hole on glove

A more serious review follows:

Having used the phone for a while now, I'd like to provide a more objective assessment. I give ratings below first, followed by detailed explanations. The rating numbers are on a scale of 10. A score of "10" means it is not only the best but also has no apparent need to improve, and a score less than "10" just means there is room to improve but does not necessarily mean another product is better. The numbers in the parentheses are for iPhone 5 as a reference.

RATINGS------------- Lumia 920 (vs. iPhone 5)

Call Quality --------------------10 (8) Uncompromising call quality from Nokia, a true phone company
Instant Messaging------------10 (10) Big improvement over WP7; group messaging and MMS
E-Mail-----------------------------9 (7) WP8 has the best enterprise-ready e-mail client
Skype and VoIP calls----------9 (7) International VoIP calls a reality with on WP8
Contact Management---------9 (6) WP8's multi-contact aggregator and integrator the best
Entertainment-----------------10 (10) Too much already, what more could you want
Social Networking--------------9 (8) Facebook integration is an edge
Web browsing------------------9 (8) IE10 is outstanding
Shopping------------------------7 (9) Comes from Apple's apps edge
Navigation-----------------------8 (5) Apple's first Maps is actually impressive, but see discussions
Productivity---------------------6 (3) Not there yet, but at least WP8 can do some work
Screen--------------------------10 (8) Lumia 920 has the best looking screen consumers have ever seen
Camera--------------------------9 (7) In its own league
Build quality-------------------10 (8) You might have trouble to say goodbye to Lumia 920 two years later
Thermal performance---------8 (8) Competitive
Battery life----------------------5 (5) All need improvement badly in this area
OS reliability--------------------9.9 (9.5) WP8 never even freezes, much less crashes
OS fluency----------------------9.5 (9) Ice-skating with WP8, and floor dancing with iOS, I much prefer the former
OS flexibility/customization---8 (8) Android is the king
OS refinement------------------7.5 (9.5) Microsoft is still no Apple on refined details
OS apps ecosystem-----------6 (9.5) iOS rules for now
Current Fashion Index--------0 (11)

To ease your reading, I'll put the conclusion first before the detailed sections.

CONCLUSION: Laying aside the nitpicking, I am in love with my Lumia. There are so many great phones today that it has become a problem to choose one. But the top WP8 phone is the choice by both my brain and my heart. If I were a bit geekier, I might have gone with Android; and if I didn't have to work I might have gone with iPhone. But this is my phone. It's for a practical man with a taste. I hesitated when Lumia 800 came out, knowing that it would be incompatible with WP8. Now Lumia 920 is such an attractive package. I don't think I'll change my phone anytime soon, although I do hope that there would be some nice updates from both Microsoft and Nokia to make this phone even better.

1. CALL QUALITY

It is a phone after all. The call quality of Lumia 920 is absolutely top-notch. The voice is so clear it puts my landline cordless phone to shame. Nokia knows how to make phones. They are the true phone company. The HAAC microphones (Rich Recording Mic) are not your ordinary microphones on cell phones. A different league. The speakerphone is pretty good too, quite loud and clear. In fact I once had a conference call using the speakerphone with several people on my side, and it worked out fine.

2. E-MAIL

Overall, WP8 has the best mobile e-mail. Windows Phone has an inherent advantage in e-mail, especially work e-mails. Apple does not own a popular e-mail service, and can only support third-party e-mails. Android enjoys the excellent Gmail, but Gmail does not have a strong foothold in the workplace.

WP8 has deep integration of Exchange, Office 365's Outlook e-mail, Hotmail and Live Mail on Windows Phone. WP8 further has excellent integration with the popular Gmail and Yahoo Mail. All this results in an e-mail client that is more capable and efficient than other platforms. To name a few, contact management, contact synchronization, message management, message synchronization, file management, attachment management, folder management, conversation thread management, and e-mail search, are significantly better on Windows Phone e-mail. The difference is far deeper than appearance. If you handle e-mails with some degree of sophistication, you will appreciate the difference.

I travel with both my iPad and Windows Phone. Unless I am using my computer, I usually reach out for the Windows Phone for e-mails instead of the iPad, despite the fact that the e-mails on iPad have so much better readability. This wasn't the case before when I used an iPhone. To just read a recent e-mail, the iPad is an obvious choice. But you don't just read a recent e-mail. Work e-mails have history and threads, and they need to be searchable, and fully synchronized with your computer, and that's where the Windows Phone shines.

For example, if you just read or deleted an e-mail on you phone, you want the status to synchronize with the server and other devices, otherwise you end up paying attention to the same e-mail too many times or having to delete the same e-mail multiple times. For another example, if you need to search to find an older e-mail which is not stored on your phone (due to memory conservation, mobile devices do not download and keep a copy of every e-mail in the past), you want your mobile e-mail to give you an opportunity to search e-mails on the server. WP8 does these perfectly.

I also like the fact that Windows Phone has a separate live tile with a customized icon for each e-mail account. I don't like the idea of mixing my work e-mail and personal e-mail in the same box, or even under the same icon. I need a clean definition of territories. Of course, if you intend to combine e-mails, you can do that as well on WP8. Flexibility.

3. SKYPE AND NON-CELLULAR SERVICE DEPENDENT PHONE CALLS

Skype, owned by Microsoft now, is an important function on WP. Microsoft also makes a Skype app for iOS, but the app is still not nearly as good as the integrated Skype on the Windows Phone.

If you use Skype Pro and/or Skype Out, you can actually make phone calls anywhere in the world as long as you have Wi-Fi or cellular data connection. I'm not talking about Skype-to-Skype calls. I'm talking about calling real phone numbers. (This works only with Skype Pro; the free Skype account can only make online Skype calls). No cellular phone connection is required with Skype Pro on Windows Phone.

Take an international trip you will understand what I'm saying. Being able to call home and work at international airports *without* a SIM card for the local service is a major convenience. Even if you already have got a local SIM card, using Skype Pro on Windows Phone to make calls on the 3G/4G data service is still a great convenience because it costs only two cents a minute, less than 1/20 of the cost for international calls made on a regular cell phone. It also works other way around. You can make international calls from the US using Skype Pro on your Windows Phone for two cents a minute.

Cheap international calls anywhere on your cell phone (and enjoying the integrated phone contacts) - I hope this concept registers with you.

4. CONTACT MANAGEMENT

The People Hub on the Windows Phone deserves a separate mentioning. This is by and large the best contact management on a cell phone (WebOS users might have an issue with the statement). It automatically integrates all the contacts from different sources (e-mails, Skype and Facebook) and provides the best accessibility and connectivity on a mobile device.

This significantly betters iOS, which has a pretty address book and good editing capabilities, but very little beyond that. When it comes to multi-source contacts integration, accessibility and connectivity, the People Hub on WP is much superior to iOS's contact management.

For example, iOS address book has links to internal phone numbers and e-mail addresses, but basically that's it. It does not have active links to external phone numbers (e.g.,contacts pulled from e-mail accounts), Skype contacts, and Facebook friends, etc.. In the People Hub, all these have active links, meaning that they provide a single click connection. In addition, People Hub pulls contacts from Skype, which iOS does not do at all. If you use Skype, especially Skype Pro, you'd suffer a disconnection on iOS.

Both address books link contact addresses to maps, but the Apple maps is essentially dysfunctional in this respect. Apple hasn't really spent time to make sure this function actually works (they have been focused on making the thing look pretty). It doesn't work most of the time. Unless you have entered the contact address in a particular manner, clicking the address will result in a "not found" on the maps. The People Hub works perfectly with maps. Under the hood, this is actually a search algorithm issue, not a user interface issue. Like Google, Microsoft knows search. It shows.

5. PRODUCTIVITY

Windows Phone 8 wins this important area hands down, not because it is so good, but because others are so bad. The major thing is the Office App and OneNote App, and their integration with the excellent and generous (but underrated) SkyDrive. This allows Windows Phone to do the most essential things for productivity. WP8 further integrates Office 365 and SkyDrive perfectly. If you or your company subscribe to Office 365 and use the cloud versions of the OneNote, Office, Outlook, TeamSite and SharePoint, the productivity is boosted to a whole new level. The iPhone and Android simply cannot provide that kind of productivity. Even if you don't use Office 365, getting the Windows Live and Skydrive would already be the best productive user experience because of the integration with the Web version of Office.

I hear people say that they can use an Office-emulating app to do some work on the iPhone (or Android). But no. For serious work, it simply doesn't work. You open a document (Word or PowerPoint, for example), do a slight editing, thinking that you have saved a bit time working on your smart phone, but only to later discover (or be told by an upset colleague) that you changed the subtle aspects of the formatting and styling of the document. That doesn't work for me, nor for anyone I work with. Work environment cannot allow this. The fundamental difference is that the Office App on WP8 and Office Web version have complete compatibility with the traditional Office, while other apps don't. They are built on different foundations. Microsoft's mobile renditions of Office may lack many features of the full Office, but they are completely compatible with it, and that's extremely important. When it comes to work documents, compatibility is more important than feature set.

Overall, if documents and e-mails are just different ways of casual "instant messaging" to you, the iPhone is fine. But if documents and e-mails are a work tool to you, Windows Phone is the way to go.

6. NAVIGATION

First of all, for those who miss Bing Maps, your Windows Phone still has it. It's only two taps away: tap the Bing search button (hardware button on the right side at the bottom), and then tap the "Local Scout" button (on the left side of the three on the search page).

In addition to Bing Maps, Nokia offers a set of navigation apps including Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Transit, and City Lens. They together offer excellent navigation, better than Bing Maps alone, and also better than what iOS has to offer.

Apple's first map is actually impressive with good features and of course great looks. But as Google has said, doing maps is hard. It's years of exercise versus a morning makeup. Currently, Apple Maps does have a problem. The reports of Apple's terrible map performance are related to map data inaccuracy and map search algorithms. Those Apple fans who refute such reports by claiming that they haven't experienced any problems are missing the point. Unlike other software in which a test is usually universal, your map test results only have to do with the location you tried, and only proves that the map is OK in that one location. When there is a problem at another location, there is a problem. And Apple has a lot of such problems reported. The company acknowledges it. They're not fools. I don't know how fast Apple can improve on that. Data and fundamental algorithms are far more than just doing some programming to add skins. They might need to shell out a billion dollars to buy up.

Compared to the excellent Google Maps, Nokia's navigation solution is mixed. It's worse in some ways, but better in other ways. Google shines on map data, especially in the North America segment, no question about it. Google's superiority in search is also reflected in its maps. The app overall feels more mature and advanced, further boosted by is far greater user base (which they earned).

But Nokia has several important things on its side. The segmented downloadable maps for off-line GPS is a unique and significant advantage for Nokia. The reliable integration with contact addresses (People Hub) is another. The multi-angle approach of Nokia's navigation app set suits user's particular need better. Nokia also has comparable map data (although arguably slightly inferior North America segment) and mature map algorithms.

Nokia's navigation solution comes with several separate apps. In comparison, Google puts everything under Google Maps. I like Nokia's way of tasking. The Nokia apps are meant to be connected (they need to work more on that). You start with one app, but may transit to another when you need it. If done right, Nokia's approach could directly put the user at the best leveraging angle depending on the actual situation, using a specific app with the most suited user interface to maximize the user experience. Some people complain about it either because of their unfamiliarity with this design or their dissatisfaction with the current execution. I hope Nokia doesn't change this good concept, but just keeps on perfecting the apps and improving the integration under this framework.

An often overlooked but significant feature Nokia offers is downloadable maps segmented according to regions. Once downloaded to your phone's local storage, the maps are fully functional off-line even when you don't have any cellular network or WiFi access. That could be a matter of getting or not getting to the destination. If you don't think this is important, I don't know what is. Even when cellular network is present, the off-line GPS map means big savings on your data usage.

With the downloaded maps, the navigation on Lumia 920 may replace standalone GPS units. It has vastly better user interface to start with. Address search, which is probably the most frustrating thing on standalone GPS units, is far better on Nokia Drive. The overall user experience is superior despite its lack of a few features. But if you need a dedicated GPS unit constantly mounted in the car, that's a different story.

If you happen to be at a place without a car (Americans, have you traveled to other places in the world? People don't always drive), try Nokia Transit, which provides detailed guide for public transportation of cities around the world.

Nokia takes navigation seriously. They have had an excellent maps tradition and accumulated expertise with Symbian-based cell phones. Considering that they jumped on the WP ship only recently, I'm confident that they will make this whole thing even better in a quite fast pace.

7. THE SCREEN

Both Lumia 920 and iPhone 5 have gorgeous screens, but the Lumia is still better. The viewability under direct sunlight is noticeably better on Lumia 920. Both are extremely clear for text and webpage rendering, but Lumia 920 works much better in the portrait mode because of its greater viewing dimension.

And Lumia 920 has touchscreen capability when you wear gloves. This may come handy in very cold winter outdoors. But for me, the usefulness is more than during the winter. To protect my hands from suffering painful skin and split fingernails, I often need to wear a glove on my right hand while I'm doing air traveling. Lumia 920 is the only phone that I can use wearing a glove. It is not a gimmick at all.

8. THE CAMERA

Lumia 920 has the best cell phone camera on the market, leading by a significant margin, except for Nokia's own PureView 808 which is a different type of device. I say this very objectively. Those who don't see the difference either didn't test it under right conditions, or simply can't tell the differences in photo quality. Lumia 920 is the only smartphone camera that can take decent concert (or party) photos and videos. Its lowlight performance is at least two ISO stops (that's 4 times) better than the iPhone 5. This is primarily due to Nokia's unique pixel binning technology further combined with image stabilization. Neither Nokia nor Apple makes the camera sensors (Sony does), but the photo quality is not only about the sensor itself. Nokia has a tremendous technological and patent advantage in this area.

By the way, stop comparing which camera has more megapixels. High MP is a trick used by camera makers to tax on consumer ignorance, and in most cases has very little correlation to picture quality. On cell phones in particular, there are several reasons why it's meaningless to pursue higher MP count. First, no tiny lens on a cell phone is capable of optically resolving pixel numbers beyond 5MP. I challenge you to find a scientific test to prove otherwise. Second, because of the very small sensor sizes, low light performance is a far bigger problem than the number of pixels. Third, you don't need more than 2MP on a cell phone. Generally, photos taken by smart phones are only used for screen viewing instead of making large prints. Even 2MP would be plenty. For web posting, a high-quality 1MP photo would look far better than a lousy 10MP photo.

I'm not saying that a smaller pixel number is a good thing in itself. On the contrary, I'm just saying that for a given sensor technology, pixel density is the best sacrifice to make if the goal is to take better pictures with a cell phone camera sensor. Most consumers don't realize that for any given sensor technology, an increase of pixel density comes at the expense of lowlight performance and dynamic range. (Many people intuitively reject this notion, reasoning that it does not make sense that lowlight performance and dynamic range would be affected by pixel density as you can always downsample. But to understand this, you must stop treating pixels as abstract geometrical concepts but actual engineered photosites with optically dead physical boundaries. That is a different topic though.)

Every time when the sensor chip technology is improved, they usually have two options: (1) increase the lowlight performance and dynamic range by keeping the same pixel density, or (2) increase the pixel density (to get a greater MP count for a given sensor size) by holding back the real performance. Unfortunately they usually choose the latter because the MP count is a much more marketable gimmick.

So instead of honest value, we now have the madness of smartphones reaching and going beyond 10MP with little meaningful result but unnecessarily bad lowlight performance, poor dynamic range, and a big waste of storage, data usage and processing time. Had they focused on real performances on 2-4MP sensors with a generous sensor size permissible on smartphones, we would have now had much more useful cameras on these gadgets.

In this regard, Nokia is doing great in spite of (not because of) joining the megapixel race, again thanks to its pixel binning technology and image stabilization.

9. BUILD QUALITY

Nokia 920 is a marvelous piece of engineering and manufacturing. Both Nokia 920 and iPhone 5 have a premium appearance, only very different flavors. But the Nokia is without question tougher. I say this not because Nokia is heavier. They use different materials. In choosing materials, these two companies have very different philosophies. Apple always goes after materials that enable extremely slim and light products, while Nokia has always been concerned of durability.

If you are already conditioned to update your phone every year, you are an ideal Apple-kind person already. But still, hold your iPhone dearly and don't drop it. I have an iPad 3 that was accidentally dropped from a sofa sidetable to a hard floor head-down. I was completely shocked by the amount of damage it caused. I was expecting a dent on the edge or at worst a crack on the screen, but the whole thing was smashed like glass. That's when I discovered that the iPod 3 uses a glasslike material even for the frame, which looks great, but, just don't drop it.

So you might actually need a case for your iPhone. Lumia 920 does not need one. In fact, I can't imagine a case for Lumia 920 without ruining its gorgeous appearance.

10. THE DESIGN

This is completely subjective. But I personally feel iPhone 5 is too youthful and delicate, and better in a hand of a teenager, while the Samsung Galaxy S3 too rounded and has no character. I love the overall masculine (but gentle and absolutely not rough) and squarely straight style of Lumia 920. Go to YouTube to hear Marko Ahtisaari of Nokia articulating the design philosophy.

11. THERMAL BEHAVIOR AND BATTERY LIFE

The Nokia 920 does not run hot, thankfully. This is one thing I was particularly worried after the bad experience with the Dell Venue Pro which had disgusting thermal performance and power management.

Battery life is good, although not excellent, comparable to other top performers such as iPhone 5. If there would be an improvement that could persuade me to change my phone again, it would be a new phone that could last at least a couple of busy days without recharging. I am not a heavy mobile user, but I'm out on a trip quite often. The battery life of my cell phone is among the biggest mental burdens while traveling. Unfortunately, it looks like battery life is not what these companies are focusing on at this time.

12. APPS

iPhone wins by a large margin in terms of app number. Although a vast majority of apps are junk on both systems, there are some great apps on both; iOS just has more due to its sheer larger base. So it seems that most people will need to sacrifice a few apps by choosing Windows Phone platform for now. I'm missing quite a few useful apps on the Windows Phone, and make up the deficiency by using the iPad. Windows Phone also has some very good apps that are missing on iOS (in addition to Nokia apps and Microsoft apps), although not as critical.

The most important app I miss on the Windows Phone is a decent PDF reader. Microsoft rushed out its own PDF reader, which works for basic reading but has some serious limitations. I hope Adobe or a third-party releases a better PDF reader on WP8 soon. This is a big pain point.

However, none of these missing apps has the kind of importance comparable to that of navigation and productivity. To me, the choice is clear. I think it's misleading to do "bean counting" the small things of each system. You've got to have priority. If you need one function that has a dominating priority, then one million less useful "apps" would no longer matter.

Despite the relative minor changes in appearance from WP7 to WP8, Windows Phone 8 has got a much better foundation in the program architecture than WP7. With the Windows NT kernel and 90% source code compatibility with Windows RT, the app future looks good.

13. FLUENCY AND EFFICIENCY OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM

Windows Phone 8 on Lumia 920 beats iOS on iPhone 5 in terms of fluency and efficiency. WP has a hardware "Back" button in addition to the Home button, while iPhone has just a Home button. This has a significant impact on the flow of operation. I know this is rather subjective, but one thing that particularly bothers me on the iOS is that it requires you to always go back to the home button. You can't directly go back to another place you have just visited. You always have to go back home and start from there again. I remember Steve Jobs proudly making a big point out of it. Theoretically, going back home and then to the last app takes only two steps, but problem is that when you have multiple pages of apps, it causes a bit of hesitation to locate an app.

Both iOS's "double-clicking Home" and WP's "long-pressing back button" give you a nice quick list of the opened apps to simplify the selection of apps, but still the additional "Back" button functionality WP is very much appreciated.

Another thing that impacts the efficiency is the management of installed apps. The iOS manages installed apps in a simplistic way with much emphasis on the appearance not the functionality. Windows Phone has a much more sophisticated way. The installed apps are directly and separately searchable, and are also automatically organized under alphabetical categories that can be quickly accessed through a single page grid (which itself is accessible by a single swipe). If you have less than 20 installed apps, you will see no difference. If you have about 20-50, the difference would start to show. With 50-100, it becomes apparent, and beyond 100, the difference would be huge. The more apps you install, the greater the difference would be. So power users will find this an advantage on Windows Phone.

When you come to think of it, the above may be the reasons why the iOS is so intuitive for beginners, but less efficient for more experienced users. On user interfaces, these two things often conflict. I can see why many like the flow design of iOS, but I prefer WP8's flow much better.

14. CUSTOMIZATION

It almost sounds silly that one of the biggest improvements WP8 has over WP7 is adding some smaller sized tiles. Hardly innovative, but it makes a big difference, largely speaking against the old design. I don't like those big tiles. I simply don't think any app deserves that much attention, especially in such a uniquely precious small room. I customized my start page to have all tiles in quarter size except for the phone button. Thank you, Microsoft, for allowing such basic freedom. My start space is now much more efficiently used and no longer a victim of the almost tyrant "less is more" so-called clean design philosophy.

The level of customization further down is mostly on par with the iOS. Android would still have an edge over both, but I think this is got to a very reasonable level already.

But I do have one big complaint against Windows Phone: With WP8, you still can't turn off that stupid screen auto-rotation. You simply can't so far. No user settings has that. No app that does that. Even unlocked phone can't do that. Forgive me to call auto-rotation feature stupid. But it is one of those tech-things that make no sense on a mobile phone, precisely because a mobile phone is just so, mobile. The problem is that these device designers fail to understand that the proper (or desired) orientation of the screen simply cannot be determined by an orientation sensor. The sensor determines the orientation using gravity and the earth as the reference, not your body. As a result, the sensor can only detect the phone's orientation itself, not its relative orientation to the user's body posture, which is what actually matters. So it works properly only when you are standing straight, not when you are inclined or lie down. In fact, it always turns to the wrong orientation when you are inclined or lie down, so you have to fight it.

In practice, the non-switchable autorotation causes much more annoyance than any utility. It is OK if they just use it as a gimmick to attract feature counters, but it is not OK to have it permanently implemented and cannot be turned off. It's simply stupid.

I think the best solution is iPad 3's combination of autorotation plus a hardware-based button for a mechanical lock. It combines the best of both worlds. The iPhone has autorotation plus user manual options in the settings and apps, which is not as good as the iPad, but still much better than Windows Phone's autorotation only, whenever and wherever.

The reason why I make this auto-rotation issue such a big deal is just to make a point, not because the thing itself is so life-threatening. I can live with the annoyance. But the failure or overlook of such issues after all these years is very telling of Microsoft.

15. REFINEMENT OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM

When it comes to very fine details, Apple wins. WP8 has improved over WP7, but still no match to the iOS in its refinement of details. Company wise, and culture wise, Microsoft has not fully learned this art yet. Let me name a few:

(1) The input mode is still a mess despite an excellent keyboard. Although typing new text is easy, accurately placing the cursor to edit text is virtually impossible. Also, you can't quickly do a "select all" to copy and paste a text. It requires a painful maneuver to do so, many times more difficult than doing the same on iOS which gives you a selection in an automatically pop-up menu. Oh please, they struggled with this copy and paste thing from the very beginning and received a disproportionately great amount of criticisms, so you would think that they would have jumped all over it to not only improve it, but in fact over-improve it. Not at all. It's still a half cooked solution.

(2) The network status indicators on the top of the screen don't stay. They disappear transiently. You have to touch the screen in a particular manner to bring them back. You can't change that in the settings. This is useless frivolous design. The indicators don't occupy extra space at all when they are displayed, and their disappearance does not result in any benefit. It just makes the system fussy and less certain. My basic assertion is that cell phone's network status is a constant user concern, and being able to glance at these essential indicators any time gives you peace of mind, and is a good part of the harmonious "handset environment". Having to always struggle for such a simple thing is nonsense especially when the sacrifice is made for no purpose.

I think what happened at Microsoft was like this: One day, someone from Microsoft management shouted in a meeting: "Less is more! Less is more! Look at Apple, we need to learn from them!" And shortly after that, a Microsoft engineer came up with this idea of hiding the network status indicators...

Microsoft has done the hard part of building a very promising mobile OS, it shouldn't be so difficult for them to do these very basic and simple things right. It is obviously not an engineering issue. It is a product management issue.

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b. Weiss