Benjamin Ringel

Dual SIM mobile phones – Android OS

Dual SIM mobile phones have existed since the early years of the GSM system, but only recently appeared in such a form that we could name them as being smartphones, says Benjamin Ringel. So, this week we will deal with Dual SIM smartphones which are all based on the Android operating system, simply because so [...]

Windows 8 has slowed down the sales of PCs; Microsoft is preparing a 7-inch Surface tablet

Tablets have in very short time become quite popular category in the IT world, and it was only a matter of time when they will begin to threaten the traditional PC market, says Benjamin Ringel. One part of the user in addition to the computer now have also a tablet, while other less demanding users, [...]

Benjamin Ringel - Windows 8 has slowed down the sales of PCs

Asus Padfone 2

Asus is the only manufacturer in the world that managed to successfully merge smartphones and tablet into one, says Benjamin Ringel. The previous generations of this symbiosis did not experience big popularity, and the primary reason for this probably lies in the fact that his availability was only limited to certain markets. For the second [...]

Some news regarding mobile phone platforms

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop today in an interview with Bloomberg commented on the state of the smartphone market, and said that Windows Phone is Nokia’s choice and that this differentiates them from the others. Hmm … this might have had logic if Nokia is the only manufacturer of Windows Phone devices ( Benjamin Ringel note [...]

Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo

We continue with reviews of Prestigio MultiPhone series of smartphones. Today we reviewed the Duo 4500 model which, in our opinion, should be a top seller from this manufacturer. Why? First, unlike the model PAP Duo 5000 we tested last week, Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo is primarily a device with smaller dimensions, which means a [...]

Dual SIM mobile phones – Android OS

April 23rd, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

Dual SIM mobile phones have existed since the early years of the GSM system, but only recently appeared in such a form that we could name them as being smartphones, says Benjamin Ringel. So, this week we will deal with Dual SIM smartphones which are all based on the Android operating system, simply because so far we didn’t have a chance to try out another OS.

In the past six months, we tested five such devices and in this article we will summarize the most important characteristics of some of them, those which we can recommend as being the best. It should be noted that the Dual SIM Androids premiered in China, where because of the specifics of the market they very likely represent the majority on it. For this reason, the first dual SIM devices come from Chinese manufacturers, although lately and other manufacturers started to increase their offer in this segment.

Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo

This is one of the devices that we are generally most impressed by and we have already several times voted it as a best buy generic device. It is a very powerful Android device with dual-core processor and 4.5 inch IPS display. Dual SIM menu is quite intuitively designed and offers a very easy operation with it, i.e., setting the desired parameters.

Prestigio MultiPhone 5000 Duo

This is a device for those who find screen size as a most important feature. Although made in TFT technology, this 5.0 inch screen will certainly satisfy the demands from an average user. In addition, this device is powered by a dual-core processor and offers solid performance, says Mr. Ringel.

Samsung Galaxy S Duos

This 4.0 inch device comes with a bit older processor, whose abilities may not be comparable with the latest dual core processors, but brings something more advanced Dual SIM capabilities. Specifically, the Galaxy S Duos offers the possibility of placing a call from the first operator on hold and retrieve another call from the second provider, meaning that both SIM cards are always active.

Evolve FX 420

This is another unit that is characterized by a fairly low cost, and in return offers a very good performance thanks to its dual-core processor. The 4.3 inch screen, which now belongs to the middle category, represents a compromise between the desire for maximum display size and compact dimensions. Unlike some others, this phone comes with the latest version of Android (Jelly Bean).

Gigabyte GSmart GS202

Another best buy device that comes with a dual-core processor and a 4.3 inch IPS display. The good side here is the camera whose images are quite good for the price range. This smartphone comes with a bit older versions of Android (ICS), concludes Benjamin Ringel.

Windows 8 has slowed down the sales of PCs; Microsoft is preparing a 7-inch Surface tablet

April 11th, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

Tablets have in very short time become quite popular category in the IT world, and it was only a matter of time when they will begin to threaten the traditional PC market, says Benjamin Ringel. One part of the user in addition to the computer now have also a tablet, while other less demanding users, for example that part of the population that uses a computer only to surf on the newt and for some easier multimedia action, now prefer to choose a tablet.

IDC has reported yesterday that in the first quarter of 2013 has been recorded a decline in PC sales when compared to the same period a year earlier and that by a substantial 13.9%. The report states that the Windows 8 operating system has also contributed to a slowdown in the PC market rather than enhancing it. This operating system with customized touch screens and without a start button on the desktop PC is made less attractive and therefore influenced many customers to choose a tablet, according to Ben Ringel, adding that Microsoft’s leadership is questionable in this area of long-term plans and will have to do something to maintain it.

As a complement to this, now appear some rumors saying that Microsoft is preparing a 7-inch Surface tablet to compete with Apple, Amazon and Android in this segment. It was recently reported that Windows 8 OS now supports a lower resolution screen, which will directly facilitate their incorporation in 7 inch tablets.

Asus Padfone 2

April 3rd, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

Asus is the only manufacturer in the world that managed to successfully merge smartphones and tablet into one, says Benjamin Ringel. The previous generations of this symbiosis did not experience big popularity, and the primary reason for this probably lies in the fact that his availability was only limited to certain markets. For the second generation the story is completely different because Asus has started a global campaign for his Padfone 2.

So Asus Padfone 2 consists of conventional smartphone with a 4.7 inch screen and tablet casing with 10.1 inch screen with which can be combined. The smartphone can function independently and as a tablet can be used only when smartphone is inserted in its cradle and in that moment all operations are transferred to the tablet.

Basic features:

Dimensions: Phone: 137.9 x 68.9 x 9 mm; Tablet: 263 x 180.8 x 10.4

Weight: Phone 135 g + Tablet 514 g = 649 g

Display: Phone: 4.7 inch IPS, 720p, 321 ppi; Tablet: 10.1 inch IPS, 1280 x 800, 150 ppi (Gorilla glass for both devices)

SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro

CPU: 4x 1.5 GHz Krait

GPU: Adreno 320

RAM: 2 GB

Internal memory: 16/32/64 GB

Connectivity: microUSB, Wi-Fi 802.11, Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, USB on-the-go

3G: HSDPA up to 42 mbps

4G: LTE up to 100 mbps

OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Camera: 13 MP/1080p

Front camera phone: 1.2 MP/720p

Front camera tablet: 1.2 MP/720p

Battery: Phone: 2140 mAh, Tablet5000 mAh

Advantages – A unique combination of two devices, ease of use, performance, good camera, strong external speaker on the tablet, 50 GB cloud storage (2 years)

Disadvantages – Replaceable battery and there is no memory card slot.

Asus Padfone 2 is one of those devices that will surely be long remembered. It’s actually surprising that no other manufacturer has produced anything like that because this concept is actually very practical. Of course, there are times when that practicality is not ideal, but overall, it deserves a pretty high score, says Mr. Ringel. 4.7 inch smartphone with top quad CPU and 2 GB of RAM, 13 MP camera, excellent IPS screen and support for LTE by itself give the impression of power and superiority. In combination with a 10 inch tablet it even has greater functionality, to which contributes and the way in which the whole concept is made.

Sony Xperia Z

March 28th, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

A few months ago, somewhere around the start of sales of Sony’s top model, Xperia T, the official of the company said that at the beginning of 2013 will launch on the market “a device that will compete with Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3”, remembers Benjamin Ringel.

At the time few took this statement seriously, especially since the company has admitted that its current flagship (Xperia T) is not able to cope with other manufacturer’s top models. Of course, few thought that Xperia T can achieve greater market success, but when the manufacturer admits the inferiority of their product, it gets a special significance.

An additional problem for Sony (and many other companies) is the fact that Samsung is currently the only manufacturer of Android devices that makes profit from their sale, while others are at a loss, or possibly it’s only a matter of time when they will get into debt.

Although in the past three years Sony affirmed and defined itself as a recognizable manufacturer of smartphones based on Android, they were lacking greater success that would move them away from a deadlock. So, this company needed a product that will make them recognizable and remove the stigma of mediocrity and of manufacturer of countless cheap models. By the end of 2012, when we started to think that Sony will soon introduce another average device, rumors began to circulate about a 5-inch model that will be introduced early this year. Soon all doubts were cleared and in January at CES was unveiled the latest trump card – Sony Xperia Z.

After the launch of this device only few remained impassive, adds Mr. Ringel. In addition to being able to catch the train on time, whose composition consists of a 5-inch display with FHD screens and ultimate hardware (Snapdragon S4 Pro and 2 GB RAM), Sony’s implementation of waterproof casing is now setting new standards in the premium class. True, up to now we have seen waterproof devices, but they were typically much more robust, ungainly or average specifications (Xperia go). Sony Xperia Z comes in a watertight enclosure that is just 7.9 mm thick, and without disrupting the design and elegance, which is allowing Sony to have a competitive edge over the competition.

Benjamin Ringel - The new Samsung tablet is coming with AMOLED display

The new Samsung tablet is coming with AMOLED displays

March 25th, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

Given the fact that nor at CES or at MWC Samsung didn’t present a successor to its 10-inch tablet, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Benjamin Ringel says that on the internet began to circulate some rumors saying that the Galaxy Tab 3 could be launched in this autumn, or more specifically at the Berlin IFA fair where, now even traditionally, Samsung presents its Galaxy Note. For now there is no precise information about the type of hardware which is going to be used for Tab 3, but the assumption is that it will definitely come with a higher resolution screen, modeled by the characteristics of new Apple iPad 4 (2048 x 1536 pixels) or even by their own Nexus 10 (2560 x 1600 pixels).

Today Sammobile is coming up with other new rumors about the future Samsung tablets, and the most interesting details that insiders have managed to unearth refer to the technologies of the actual display. If this source is to be trusted, the next Samsung tablet with 10.1 or even 11.6 inch screens will have displays made in Super AMOLED technology instead of previously used LCD screens. The biggest tablet with AMOLED screen we’ve seen so far is the Galaxy Tab 7.7, which was introduced two years ago, says Mr. Ringel.

The new Super AMOLED display on Samsung’s tablets should arrive in FullHD resolution (1920 x 1080) pixels in order to be competitive with Sony and its Xperia tablet Z, who because of its ratio of 16:10, has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels.

When a cell phone becomes too thin?

March 13th, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

Over the past years smartphones manufacturers are competing how to reduce the thickness of mobile phones to a minimum, says Benjamin Ringel. Some of them fully succeeded in their plans, like Vivo X1 and Oppo Finder that are whopping 6.65mm thin, Huawei’s Ascend P1 S which is slightly thicker with its 6.68 mm, 7.1 mm from Motorola RAZR and Apple’s iPhone with 7.6 mm. For comparison, the thickness of the original Razr, which began this trend back in 2004 was 13.9 mm thin.

Given that cell phone manufacturers have a very narrow room for maneuver, it is understandable they try to win over customers in all sorts of ways. However, the question remains whether we have crossed, or will soon cross the border when the phones become just too thin.

The first problem that we face with thin cell phones is their ergonomics.

If a cell phone is too thin, it’s just not comfortable to hold it in hand. This problem is further pronounced due to the continuous increase in diagonal screen, which leads to higher overall dimensions of the phone, and the result is a mobile phone which is cumbersome to hold.

But aside from the ergonomics, perhaps a larger problem is rigidity. When reducing the thickness of the phone also reduces and the amount of material from which the housing is made and thereby the device becomes a lot more brittle.

So, will the smartphones get as thin as a credit card? – In a distant future most likely they will. However, when the closer future is concerned, Benjamin Ringel thinks that it would still be useful to see mobile phones that are a little bit thicker as they are limited with the capacity of their batteries.

Some news regarding mobile phone platforms

March 1st, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop today in an interview with Bloomberg commented on the state of the smartphone market, and said that Windows Phone is Nokia’s choice and that this differentiates them from the others. Hmm … this might have had logic if Nokia is the only manufacturer of Windows Phone devices ( Benjamin Ringel note ).

Despite the fact that Windows Phone after two years and with all the pushing by Microsoft barely managed to take three per cent market share, and while the BlackBerry is fighting for third place, Elop still think that this operating system “could become the biggest operating system in the world”. He added that Nokia and Microsoft have a lot of work to do in order to reach this goal.

Elop reiterated that Lumia 920 has been a success, adding that the demand for it in many markets is greater than supplied quantity of this model and because of which Nokia will be increasing the production of this device.

Next news is about Canonical which recently introduced a mobile version of Ubuntu Linux, and was said that it is currently possible to be installed on four Nexus device (Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus Nexus 7 and 10). Today, Benjamin Ringel brings the information that Ubuntu Touch will soon be available for another two dozen of Android devices including: Motorola Xoom, Nexus S, Nexus One, HTC One, HTC One +, Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note, Note 2, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola Droid 3, 4, Bionic, Asus Transformer Infinity, LG Optimus 4X HD and some others.

Please note that installing Ubuntu Touch on Android device is not intended for average user, and if you have no desire to experiment, there is little reason to engage in this sport. On the other hand, many geeks and enthusiasts are eager to experiment with this OS and we hope that the range of supported devices will expand even further.

Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo

February 13th, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

We continue with reviews of Prestigio MultiPhone series of smartphones. Today we reviewed the Duo 4500 model which, in our opinion, should be a top seller from this manufacturer. Why? First, unlike the model PAP Duo 5000 we tested last week, Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo is primarily a device with smaller dimensions, which means a much wider range of customers. Second, the hardware is slightly superior to the 5000 model, and can be compared with the smartphones from upper middle class, while costing only $300.

For Prestigio MutiPhone 4500 Duo we could say that it is first model of the company having a design which is moving away from the strictly classical characteristic of previous models. OK, the model 5000 is also a bit more revolutionary designed, but 4500 still stands out. The device operates elegantly and at first glance resembles of certain Sony (Ericsson) models.

The display of Prestigio MutiPhone 4500 Duo deserves to be highlighted especially because this is the first mobile phone from MultiPhone series which has Gorilla Glass protection, which significantly expands the range of potential buyers. Another novelty is the resolution which is 960 x 540 pixels, and this provides the display with 244 ppi.

Like other models of Prestigio, MultiPhone 4500 Duo also comes with Android 4.0 ICS. According to the latest information that’s coming from the company’s Facebook fan page, it is possible that these two models receive an upgrade to Jelly Bean in the near future, but for now Benjamin Ringel can only speculate when it will happen.

Prestigio MultiPhone 5000 Duo

February 13th, 2013

Benjamin Ringel

Prestigio with its quality devices and affordable prices continues to conquer the market. Judging by the sales of model MultiPhone 4300 Duo and MultiPhone 4040 Duo we can conclude that they were extremely well accepted by the buyers. One of the most important characteristics of Prestigio smartphones is their ability to use two SIM cards from different network providers and that is what in the start distinguishes them from other manufacturers.

Prestigio MultiPhone 5000 Duo is, as its name suggests, a gadget with a 5-inch screen. Until recently, this type of device was considered to be tablet, but given the general display trend it is quite correct to refer to this device as smartphone or mobile phone.

Let’s make it immediately clear, Prestigio MultiPhone 5000 Duo is a great device and its size corresponds to that of Samsung Galaxy Note 2 from which is negligible shorter and a little bit thicker. On the other hand, it is ergonomically well designed. Due to its rather rounded edges one gets the impression that the device is slightly smaller than it actually is.

Prestigio MultiPhone 5000 Duo comes with 5 inch TFT-LCD screen with image resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, which gives density of approximately 186 ppi. Compared to other devices of this type it is not fabulous, but it’s enough for normal everyday use. Of course, the HD movie will not look as attractive as on 720p display, but will satisfy the average user.