AP reviews new smartphones: Android, iOS and more

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130710/DA7ESHD03.html

Jul 10, 4:48 PM (ET)

By The Associated Press

New phones are continually coming out. Which should you buy? Here's a summary of The Associated Press' recent phone reviews, including a new Android phone from Sony.

- ANDROID DEVICES:

XPERIA Z, SONY CORP.

The Xperia Z mostly catches up with offerings from Samsung and HTC, but one feature stands out: Its water-resistant shell means you can submerge the phone at least 3 feet deep for up to 30 minutes. Making water resistance a standard feature is something more phone makers should adopt as phones become companions to our active lives. Sony also enhances Google's Android system, without overly cluttering the phone. Enhancements include battery-saving features. The Xperia also brings a lot of features from Sony's stand-alone Cyber-shot cameras, while letting you highlight only the ones you actually need. Sony's new phone offering is impressive for a company better known for TVs, cameras and game machines.

- Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer

GALAXY S4, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO.

The S4 is an excellent device from a hardware standpoint. Its 5-inch screen is larger than its predecessor, yet it's a tad lighter and smaller. The display is sharp, at 441 pixels per inch. Samsung packed the Android device with a slew of custom features, including new camera tools and the ability to perform tasks by waving a finger over a sensor. Many of the features, however, make the phone more complicated to use. In some cases, custom features work only some of the time. In other cases, you're confronted with too many ways to do similar things. The S4 might be for you if you don't mind spending time customizing it. Otherwise, you must bypass all the gimmicks to get to what otherwise is a good phone.

- Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer

HTC ONE, HTC CORP.

The One is a phone that can match Apple's standards of feel and finish. Plastic and metal are joined together so well that you can't tell by feel where one ends and the other starts. The 4.7-inch screen is also quite a sight, its 468 pixels per inch among the best. Two front-facing speakers give you real stereo sound when turned sideways to watch a movie. HTC's camera has a lower resolution than most. Promises of better low-light shots from its larger sensors only partly delivered. Like other Android phone makers, HTC adds confusion by customizing the interface. There are four different "home" screens from which to launch apps, for instance. The One is worth checking out as an alternative to the Galaxy S4 from Samsung, which also adds complication with its custom features.

- Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer

GOOGLE PLAY PHONES


This undated product image provided by Sony shows the Xperia Z, unveiled Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in the U.S. The Xperia Z, helps Sony catch up with offerings from Samsung and HTC, but one feature stands out; Its water-resistant shell means you can submerge the phone up to 3 feet deep for up to 30 minutes. (AP Photo/Sony)


FULL story at link.

[onehandle]

1. One of these phones is American. The rest are either Korean, Japanese, or Canadian. nt

[dkf]

2. Where the rating by security features and access by NSA?