From
the first time I held a touchscreen smartphone in my hand, I was hooked. I was
transitioning from a thin flip phone to a semi-bulky touchscreen phone with a
slide out qwerty keyboard. It may sound like a huge transition, but with
everything the phone offered, I soon forgot about the thin flip phone and could
hardly put the semi-bulky touchscreen phone down.
My first touchscreen smartphone was
the HTC 8125 Pocket PC (HTC WIZARD / Cingular (Now AT&T) Version).
It sported a 2.8” screen with a resolution of 240x320 pixels at 143 ppi, 16-bit screen colors, a touchscreen display, slide out qwerty keyboard, a removable 1250 mAh battery, a 1.3 megapixel camera with a fixed lens, led flash, and a self-portrait mirror on the back near the camera lens. The HTC 8125 also had built in wi-fi, a TI OMAP 850 195 MHz Arm 926EJ-S processor, 64 MB of DRAM and 128 MB of flash memory with the ability to add up to 4 GB more memory via it’s minSD card slot. The 8125 had Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system running the show and connected to the cellular network via quad ban GSM/GPRS/EDGE Class 10 technology. Other specs of this device also included bluetooth 2.0, mini usb (slave only, no host), a 2.5mm stereo headphone jack and infrared data transfer capability. This was also the first smartphone that I had that came with a stylus. At the time this was a very feature packed device and it came in handy while I was in college. Being that it had the ability to view and edit basic functions of Microsoft programs like, Excel, Word, Powerpoint and Outlook, it was a more portable option than a laptop when it came to creating and editing my homework on the fly using those programs. And the stylus, when it worked, was a plus when selecting or highlighting certain things on the screen. Another plus to this device was that there were many developers out that made free software that you could add to this device. Software included anything from games, to productivity software, to customizable software that you could use to clone other phones operating system layouts. Some of the software created compatibility issues and caused the phone to crash a lot, but all in all, it was a great smartphone. The limited size of the hard drive, glitches in software, and poor battery life left me wanting more in a smartphone.
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| HTC 8125/Wizard (Formerly Cingular, Now AT&T) |
It sported a 2.8” screen with a resolution of 240x320 pixels at 143 ppi, 16-bit screen colors, a touchscreen display, slide out qwerty keyboard, a removable 1250 mAh battery, a 1.3 megapixel camera with a fixed lens, led flash, and a self-portrait mirror on the back near the camera lens. The HTC 8125 also had built in wi-fi, a TI OMAP 850 195 MHz Arm 926EJ-S processor, 64 MB of DRAM and 128 MB of flash memory with the ability to add up to 4 GB more memory via it’s minSD card slot. The 8125 had Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system running the show and connected to the cellular network via quad ban GSM/GPRS/EDGE Class 10 technology. Other specs of this device also included bluetooth 2.0, mini usb (slave only, no host), a 2.5mm stereo headphone jack and infrared data transfer capability. This was also the first smartphone that I had that came with a stylus. At the time this was a very feature packed device and it came in handy while I was in college. Being that it had the ability to view and edit basic functions of Microsoft programs like, Excel, Word, Powerpoint and Outlook, it was a more portable option than a laptop when it came to creating and editing my homework on the fly using those programs. And the stylus, when it worked, was a plus when selecting or highlighting certain things on the screen. Another plus to this device was that there were many developers out that made free software that you could add to this device. Software included anything from games, to productivity software, to customizable software that you could use to clone other phones operating system layouts. Some of the software created compatibility issues and caused the phone to crash a lot, but all in all, it was a great smartphone. The limited size of the hard drive, glitches in software, and poor battery life left me wanting more in a smartphone.
Left wanting more hard drive space,
a larger touchscreen, and a smoother overall smartphone experience, including
the operating system, I was led to the Original Apple IPhone (seen below).
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| Apple IPhone 1st Generation (AT&T) |
It had a 3.5” screen with a resolution of 320x480 pixels at 163 ppi, 18-bit screen colors, a multi-touch touchscreen display, 3-axis accelerometer, proximity sensor, a Samsung 32-bit RISC ARM 412 MHz – 620 MHz processor, 128 MB eDRAM, and storage capabilities of 4, 8, or 16gb flash memory. Features also included a 2.0 megapixel rear camera, two speakers, IPhone operating system 3.1.3, quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE for cellular data connectivity, wi-fi, bluetooth 2.0, a USB 2.0/Dock connector, and a built in lithium-ion 1400 mAh battery. My particular device had the 8 GB hard drive. It was capable of storing apps, songs, and other media. It was a great phone for entertainment and media viewing. Where it lacked was in the ability to freely add media and customize the phone. In order to add media you had to purchase it from or upload your own media via ITunes (Apple’s proprietary media managing software). You also could not add third party software or share media purchased from ITunes. Basically to get full functionality of the phone you would have to jail break (unlock) it and install a third party app store that would allow you to customize the phone in some ways but it would void the Apple warranty. The Edge cellular network was also not the best for uploading and downloading media to and from this device. And the non-ability to add extra media storage was also a downside to this device. Somehow all of these minor short comings could be overlooked, because of the IPhones operating system ease of use and overall user friendliness. It was such a well put together phone that I held on to my Original IPhone for quite some time. Bypassing the next two models of the IPhone, the IPhone 3G and IPhone 3GS, I eventually bought the IPhone 4.
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| IPhone 4th Generation (AT&T) |
The IPhone 4 was a much needed upgrade from the Original IPhone, but it still lacked customization options and made me feel as if I was carrying the Original IPhone at times. I needed a change of pace.
My change of pace came in the form
of a smartphone that combined features from all of my previous smartphones and
added much more. My next smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy Note (seen below).
A feature packed smartphone with a large 5.3” HD Super Amoled WXGA screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800, a stylus (S PEN), 4G LTE, a 1.4GHZ Dual Core Processor, 1080p Full HD video recording, an 8 megapixel camera with LED Flash in the rear, a 2 megapixel camera in the front, bluetooth, v 3.0, usb 2.0, wi-fi, 16GB internal memory, and the ability to add more memory via a microSD card (up to 32gb). It also came with a 2,500 mAh removable battery and the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. The Android OS and the stylus (S Pen) were the highlights of this smartphone. Even though the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 OS had some glitches and the Google play app store offered less add on applications than the Apple app store did, it gave me the opportunity to customize and add third party add on applications that made this smartphone stand out. The size of the Notes touchscreen was unlike any smartphone out up to that point. Viewing media on a smartphone screen that large made it hard to go back to a smaller smartphone regardless of the specifications they had to offer. I later upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy Note II (seen below).
After owning the Samsung Galaxy Note and Note II, i have become accustomed to having a large touchscreen smarthphone with a stylus (S PEN). After having the Note 2 for over a year, i knew that when the Note 3 came out I would eventually upgrade. The upgrade became available and I now own a Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
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| Samsung Galaxy Note (AT&T) |
A feature packed smartphone with a large 5.3” HD Super Amoled WXGA screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800, a stylus (S PEN), 4G LTE, a 1.4GHZ Dual Core Processor, 1080p Full HD video recording, an 8 megapixel camera with LED Flash in the rear, a 2 megapixel camera in the front, bluetooth, v 3.0, usb 2.0, wi-fi, 16GB internal memory, and the ability to add more memory via a microSD card (up to 32gb). It also came with a 2,500 mAh removable battery and the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. The Android OS and the stylus (S Pen) were the highlights of this smartphone. Even though the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 OS had some glitches and the Google play app store offered less add on applications than the Apple app store did, it gave me the opportunity to customize and add third party add on applications that made this smartphone stand out. The size of the Notes touchscreen was unlike any smartphone out up to that point. Viewing media on a smartphone screen that large made it hard to go back to a smaller smartphone regardless of the specifications they had to offer. I later upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy Note II (seen below).
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| Samsung Galaxy Note II (AT&T) |
After owning the Samsung Galaxy Note and Note II, i have become accustomed to having a large touchscreen smarthphone with a stylus (S PEN). After having the Note 2 for over a year, i knew that when the Note 3 came out I would eventually upgrade. The upgrade became available and I now own a Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
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| Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (AT&T) |
It may seem like a minimal upgrade
to some from the Galaxy Note 2, but with 3 GB of ram, a 2.3 GHz Quad core
processor, a 5.7” FULL HD Super Amoled Screen, an intuitive stylus (S PEN), a 2
megapixel camera in the front, a 13 megapixel camera in the rear, 32gb internal
memory, USB 3.0, Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat, IR LED remote control, MHL 2.0,
bluetooth 4.0, the ability to add more memory via the microSD card slot, a
removable 3100 mAh battery, and NFC. Paired with a bluetooth keyboard, mouse,
mhl adapter, or micro usb to usb adapter, this device has very few limitations
and is by far the best smartphone I have owned to date. I am finding it hard to
find uses for my laptop when my smartphone is more portable and in some cases,
just as powerful. The Note 3 is not a laptop replacement, but it can hold it’s
own with some of the laptops and tablets that are out currently. If you like
big touchscreen smartphones, I suggest you put the Galaxy Note 3 on your short
list of devices to review before making a purchase. The large screen, S Pen
functionality, and updated android Kit Kat 4.4.2 OS, make this one of the best
touchscreen smartphones on the market. I’ve had it for a month now and it has
been great.
Have
you owned any of the touchscreen smartphones that I mentioned? If so, which did
you like the most? Please feel free to leave a comment letting me know your
thoughts, thanks.
Posted by Brandon from Brainy Toads
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