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Looking at the Apple iPhone App Store, if I spend 30 seconds reading about each App to decide whether I wanted it or not, it would take me 150,000 minutes, or 2,500 hours or 104.17 days to go through them all.  

I wrote that in December 2010. At that time the Apple Store had 300,000 iPhone apps. Today the Apple App store has a total of 650,000 apps, if you combine both iPhone and iPad apps. That is really too many apps for anyone to actually browse through. The main Android App store, Google Play had 600,000 apps and there are also thousands of other Android apps available from other sources. 

Adeven has free analytic service Apptrace which collects iOS app data in the 155 countries that support the App Store. A study conducted by Adeven shows that 60% of the apps on the Apple App store, around 400,000, have never been downloaded. I would think the situation is similar on Google Play.

Anyone browsing the Apple App Store or Google Play knows that there are too many me-too apps. But the Adeven study reveals that in some cases there are just way to many me too apps. An iPhone user looking for a flashlight app has a staggering 1,899 choices for a really simple app where one really does not provide functionality different from the others.

App Store number are pretty much hype. It really is the number of useful apps which should be the metric.

Last year I read an article in Gizmodo entitled  "This Is Why the iPhone's Screen Will Always Be 3.5-Inches" which tries to explain why 3.5-inches is the perfect size. The statement was premised on how far your thumb can reach across the screen. The obviously flaw in the premise is that the article seems to assume the people all have the same sized of hands. 

There is no perfect screen size.

In my previous buyers guides, price was the basis for classifying phones. Phones today comes is a wider variety of sized than ever before. When I started this blog, a 3-inch touchscreen smartphone was small, and 4.3-inches was considered to be stretching the limits or ergonomics. Since than, size have grown even to a smaller 2.8-inches and grown to as big as 5.5-inches. Starting 2013, I will use size, compact (4-inches or less), mid-sized (over 4-inches but not over 4.5-inches), large (over 4.5-inches to 5 inches) and phone tablets (over 5 inches) as the bases for classifying phones. I think that size is becoming a more and more important consideration, as out favorite toys get super-sized. 

Two years ago, when I chose my current smartphone my two main considerations were screen size and power. After looking at a few 3.2 to 3.7-inch models, I decided I wanted something larger. The smaller screens where great for calls and SMS, but given that I planned to use the web browser and photo editing apps, a larger display is more comfortable to use. 

After trying several models, I found performance of many lower cost models to also be a bit sluggish. The HTC Desire's, Samsung Galaxy S and Apple iPhone 4 with their 1 GHz processors and 512 MB or more of RAM were the way to go. Two years later, the 1 GHz processor and 768 MB of RAM on my HTC Desire HD still runs every app I use adequately. What I did have to do was root the HTC Desire HD so that it could run Ice Cream Sandwich, later Jelly Bean. What made the device less relevant was not the 1 GHz processor but the end HTC deciding not to upgrade the phone past Gingerbread.

Today, even low cost smartphones powered by a dual core processor on a Qualcomm S4 play or Mediatek chipset will satisfy the needs of most users. It is really only the hard core gamer who will miss not having a quad core processor. 

I remember back in the late 90's when I would upgrade my processor of my desktop every year, and the performance benefits merited the expenditure. Today, I keep laptops for 3-5 years. Not being a gamer I do not feel the improvements of newer and faster processors. 

With smartphones, I really do not feel compelled to upgrade because of processor speed. With a HTC Desire HD, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5 on hand, used by different members of my family, the additional speed has not impressed me all that much. But than again, none of us game much on the phone. The additional processing power is most evident in photo editing apps. 

What has been more impressive are the gains in the battery life (Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5) and improved displays (Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5). When it comes time to upgrade, where I really want more speed is in terms of data. LTE for my next phone is a much have for me.

Newer smartphones do need more power, but that is really in terms of GPU power to run the higher resolution displays which we are seeing in upcoming handsets. 

Dual core and quad core processing are nice marketing tools. For most of 2012, manufacturers showed off benchmarks,  but did not highlight new productive apps which take advantage of the additional speed. Really all this power adds very little to in terms of actual productivity. Display quality, battery life, software support, the quality of the camera and connectivity features will be more relevant to the buyer in 2013.

With the year ending in a week, and the Consumer Electronics Show and the Mobile World Congress coming in the next two months, it is a good time to reflect on what is coming in the next few months. The main consideration is to reflect whether it is a good time to buy your next mobile device or whether you may want to hold on a bit longer and wait for the next generation of mobile devices. 

One of the biggest innovations you will see coming to smartphones in 2013 is sharper screen resolutions. Smartphones with 1080p resolutions already exist. HTC is already selling its Droid DNA in the US, Oppo is already selling its Find 5 in China and Sharp is selling its Aquous Phone SH920W in Russia. What all these three phones have in common is a 5-inch 1080p (1080 x 1920) display. Rumors abound about the ZTE Z573 and the Sony Xperia Z which, are all but confirmed, as having 5-inch 1080p displays. It wont be long before we will start seeing Full HD smartphones from Samsung and  LG. The only real question is when and what will be the first 1080p smartphone to hit Philippine shores. With Samsung lording over the Android smartphone market, the other players will likely release their offerings early to head of the Samsung Galaxy S IV.

This would also mean that you will see HD (720p - 720 x 1280) displays migrating to the mid-level smartphones. qHD (540 x 960) displays are already available in several entry level smartphones today. 

By the middle of 2013, you can expect to see 7-inch tablets migrate to 1080p displays, and 720p displays will migrate to lower cost tablets.

As for the 10-inch tablets, the Google Nexus 10 is already at 2560 x 1600, so I expect to see more of that in larger Android tablets. 

Microsoft is placing a lot of its hopes on Windows Phone 8, and the phone that they are expecting to take the Windows Phone platform to new heights is the HTC Windows Phone 8X.  With a suggested retail price of Php26,550, and a street price of Php24,150 it competes directly with the newly launched Google Nexus 4. On the Smart network, the HTC Windows Phone 8X also has to compete with the Apple iPhone 5 and the LTE enabled Sony Xperia V, both of which will actually cost a subscriber less on Data Plan 2000.

The HTC Windows Phone 8X specifications are the same as the the Sony Xperia V in two key aspects. Both of which have a 4.3-inch HD (720 x 1280), a dual core Qualcomm Krait processor and 1 GB of RAM. The other specifications are typical for the class with 16 GB of non-expandable storage, a 8 MP camera, 1800 mAh battery.

The specifications of the HTC Windows Phone 8X indicate that it has an LTE chip, however, the version carried by Smart is not marketed as an LTE phone. It would seem that he local versions of the HTC WIndows Phone 8X either does not have an LTE chip or does not have an LTE chip compatible  with the Smart network. This aspect is where it is overshadowed by the Sony Xperia V which is sold as a LTE enabled phone.

This also make it less desirable than the Apple iPhone 5, which while it does not come with LTE enabled, phones already in the market are likely to get LTE enabled once Apple accredits the local networks.

Compared to the Google Nexus 4, the Windows Phone 8X has a smaller display and a less powerful processor. The Google Nexus 4 comes with a 4.7-inch HD display and a quad core qualcomm krait processor.

Appearance wise, the bezel seems a bit larger than it should be, and it is actually a few millimeters wider and taller than other HTC Phones with a 4.3-inch display. and at 10.1 mm is not particularly thin. All-in all, in terms of hardware, the HTC Windows Phone 8X does not stand out from the Android phones in the market and the iPhone.


HTC Windows Phone 8X does not have the hardware to influence Android and iOS users to switch to the Windows Phone platform and is not priced low enough to make that a consideration for migration.  So what will have to sell the HTC Windows Phone 8X is Windows, and local marketing for Windows Phone 8 seems non-existant.

This is a bit of a shane since Filipino's are heavy Facebook users, and the Windows Phone 8 platform has the best Facebook integration of any mobile operating platform. HTC Philippines and smart should have marketed this as "the" Facebook phone. Instead, as it is right now, it looks like it is left to the Nokia Lumia 920 to generate some buzz around the Windows Phone platform.

I was asked a question today, which seemed to me to be rather odd. My advice was sought on whether it would be better to get a Apple iPhone 5 or a Samsung Galaxy Note II. My response was, well do you want a big phone or a small one. I mean, if you like one, you should positively dislike the other.

I have seen a lot of comparisons online between the Samsung Galaxy S III, Google Nexus 4, and even the Samsung Galaxy Note II, against the Apple iPhone 5. I find those comparisons rather odd. It like comparing a 11.6-inch laptop with a 15-inch laptop. When I buy a laptop, I first decide on the size I like best (in my case its between 13 to 14-inches), than I see what is available in the size I want. 

When I got my got my current Android two years ago, I chose an HTC Desire HD. Someone asked me why I did not get the iPhone 4. My answer, I liked the 4.3-inch screen. Shouldn't screen size be the determinative factor in what smartphone you want?

All of todays smartphones work, and the more you spend the better they work. Android, iOS and Windows Phone both have more apps available than I would even use. Roughly, I have 50 apps on my phone right now, plus a few games I uninstalled since I don't play them anymore.  I have one game installed on my phone at a time for when I get really bored. So basically, an app store with 100,000 apps is as useful as one with 650,000 apps.

Now, I liked a phone with a 4.3-inch display two years ago. Being all of 68 mm wide and 123 mm tall, it could still fit nicely into a belt pouch and hide discretely enough under my coat.  If I were to replace it now with say a HTC One X+, the question is am I happy with the larger wider 70 mm girth and the taller 134 mm height? Sure, I could keep in in the pockets of a loose fitting pair of jeans but not my finely tailored suit. The HTC One S would be almost perfect, but it means accepting a downgrade in screen resolution, and the local version has a circa 2011 tech Qualcomm S3 chipset. And next years top of the line HTC phone is something I do not find interesting at all. As tempting as a 1080p display and a quad core Qualcomm S4 is, I won't be buying a phone which is all of 140 mm tall, and over 70 mm wide.

Consider this a rant, but it would be nice if Android manufacturers would give us high end phones, in different sizes.  Luckily, with all the Android manufacturers around I can eventually find something I can live with like Sony's reasonable sized Xperia T and V, which are both a fair bit taller with my current phone. That is something we have to live with, with the move to HD aspect ratio displays. But I fear this might be a dying breed.

Apple has a one size fits all policy, and that is why I did not get an iPhone. Android manufactures are pretty much doing the same thing. The higher the specifications, the bigger the phone is. In a year, I might find myself with a deluge of giant Droids, smaller ones without features I want like LTE and a good camera, and Apple iPhone might look more and more tempting, even if I have to give up a swipe type keyboard.  

I have been pretty impressed with Cherry Mobile's current offerings. Something just wanting a functional smartphone has little reason to look beyond Cherry Mobile Terrible Trio: the Flare, the Flame and the Titan.

Price. What makes this three so "terrible" insofar as the competition is concerned is the price. The Flame will set you back just Php3,999, the Flame is priced substantially higher at Php6,299 which in turn gives you a larger higher resolution screen and the Titan, is priced just a bit higher, at Php6,499, gives users a low cost monster phone option.

Operating System. None of the three phones run the latest version of Android, which is Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Instead all three phones run Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. I have devices that run on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, and I really don't miss Jelly Bean when on a Ice Cream Sandwich. Jelly Bean's most innovative feature is Google Now, a voice assistant is not all that useful in the Philippines. Running on Ice Cream Sandwich does mean you can run all the apps on Google Play, which I think for most users is good enough. A note, Google Now can actually run on Ice Cream Sandwich, it is just that Google has restricted its use to Jelly Bean phones.

Performance. The Flare, Flame and Titan all run on lower cost dual core chipsets. The Flare and Flame run on Qualcomm chipsets. The Titan on a MediaTek chipset. Low cost, does not mean poor performance. The three phones can score upwards of 6,700 points on AnTuTu benchmarks. Basically, it means that they can blow away anything built in 2010 in terms of performance, and are faster than most 2011 models, except for the dual core flagship phones. With a one year warranty, they are a better deal than looking for a one year old or two year old phone on the second hand market. These three will wreck havoc on the second hand market, attracting all except for brand conscious buyers.

These phones are fast enough except for the hardcore gamer, who really wont be satisfied with any of the options under 20K. 

Size options. With three sizes with the Flare at 4-inches, the Flame at 4.5-inches and the Titan at 5-inches, you should find one that meets your needs.  Cherry Mobile has also equipped the units with batteries that should make up for the increased consumption with the larger displays. The Flare has a 1500 mAh battery, the Flame a larger 1800 mAh battery and the Titan comes with a 2350 mAh battery. 

What you don't get. What do you loose by getting a low cost smartphone these days. When I think about it, the biggest feature you loose is a good camera. Getting a smartphone with a good camera will cost you 15K, and getting one with a great camera, about 25K. You also won't get LTE connectivity, but really there are only three smartphones officially launched in the country which currently support LTE, and those start at 21K.

For me the biggest problem with these phones is trying to get my hands on a Titan. I have not even seen one despite numerous visits to Cherry Mobile stores. But that does mean they are selling pretty well.

Now this is not a paid post by Cherry Mobile. This is a small blog. I don't get demo phones from any manufacturer and I have no control over the advertisements you see on this blog, so that does not influence my writing. I have for been a fan of low cost technology. Basically, it means more Filipino's can have low cost access to communications and access to information. Having this brought to us by a Filipino company is a bonus, and evokes a certain sense of pride. 

The Google Nexus 4 is not designed to compete with the 2012 Android flagship phones like the HTC One X or Samsung Galaxy S III. Instead, the Nexus 4 is designed to be the best mid-level Android for 2013. I think I should explain.

The Google Nexus 4 has a 8 MP camera, which can best be described as adequate. It is not as good as the 8 MP camera on the HTC One X, both of which fall far behind the 8 MP shooters on the Samsung Galaxy S III and Note II. The Google Nexus 4 is has 16 GB of non-expandable internal storage. There are no 32 GB and 64 GB models, and no way to expand the internal memory via a MicroSD card. The Google Nexus 4 does not have LTE on board. The Nexus 4 also did not launch with the cutting edge in screen technology, 1080p displays, which you are now seeing in phones released by HTC, Oppo and Sharp.

So basically, if you are looking for a great camera phone, gobs of local storage and the fastest internet connectivity there are better options or the cutting edge in technology.

What Google has designed is what is pretty much mid-level phone specifications come May-June 2013, but packing top end power to make sure that it will be powerful enough for two years of updates. The quad core Krait Processor with 2 GB of RAM will be able to keep up with Samsung's latest Exynos and the next release of Nvidia's Tegra. 

Priced at Php24,990 suggested retail price (Php22,240 cash) is 8K lower than the price point of most new flagship phones. Google strategy with the Nexus line seems quite clear. The Nexus 4, like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S are targeted at the mid-level market. The last Nexus phone which embodied all the cutting edge technologies of the time was the Nexus One (though that one had limited internal storage). In Q1 and Q2 every year, its OEM partners will release their new phones. At the end of the year Google will release a phone that will be current for the year following its release. This keeps something fresh in the Android line-up all year round.  

With so many manufacturers of Android phones, they have competed on producing more and more advanced hardware to gain market share. But 2012 has seen the most amazing Droid on Droid battles. Back in May 2012, HTC launched the HTC One X and HTC One S, which were the best smartphone ever built --- for all of one month. In June, Samsung launched its Galaxy S III, and the HTC offerings soon found themselves in the Galaxy's shadow. By the time the LG Optimus 4X HD came out, with specifications similar to the HTC One X, it barely made a ripple. A quad core 4.7-inch Android with a 720p display, was well, getting boring. LG seems to have realized this too, and prepared a new flagship, the LG Optimus G which brought an even faster quad core processor, a Qualcomm Krait with much more powerful graphics chip. This phone became the basis of the Google Nexus 7. And this is starting to look old on release.

HTC scrambled to produce a world beater. While HTC upgraded its HTC One X, and released the HTC One X+, it prepared a even more formidable beast.  Rhe HTC One X+ won't hold flagship status, since HTC had already released it HTC Butterfly J/Droid DNA which threw in a 5-inch 1080p display into the fray, making the Galaxy S III look like last years model. 

It looks like by the first quarter of 2013 you will see a fair number of quad core phones with 5-inch 1080p, and I am guessing the Galaxy S IV will come out sooner rather than later. It looks like in short order 1080p displays and 5-inch screens will be common place on the Android landscape.