10 Ways Android Beats The iPhone 5 Hands Down

Apple may have mollified the masses by adding significantly better specs to its smartphone offering, but when it comes to innovation, the iPhone 5 just can't compete with the latest Android handsets. Sure a larger screen, 4G LTE support and a faster

Apple may have mollified the masses by adding significantly better specs to its smartphone offering, but when it comes to innovation, the iPhone 5 just can’t compete with the latest Android handsets. Sure a larger screen, 4G LTE support and a faster CPU are welcome additions to the world’s number one phone, but Apple is a year late and $199 short, because Android has provided all these features and more for some time now.

In fact, even after Apple’s johnny-come-lately improvements, Android phones have a number of key advantages over the iPhone 5.

Screens larger than 4 inches

Apple may be patting itself on the back over its move from a 3.5-inch to a 4-inch display, but in the smartphone size race, the iPhone 5 trails the field by a wide margin. In the Android world, the 4.3-inch Droid RAZR M is considered a "compact" phone, the 4.8-inch Galaxy S III is mainstream and the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II is large.

Why would you want a phone with a larger screen? A larger display makes videos more exciting, text easier to read, and keys on the keyboard easier to target with your finger. And if for some reason that doesn't appeal to you, the Android ecosystem also has smaller phones.

NFC support

If you own an iPhone 5, you can just forget about using mobile payment systems that let you touch your device to a reader in order to conduct a transaction. Instead of MasterCard's Tap and Pay, you'll be using tap and pray as you rap your fingers on a table and hope that Apple provides NFC support on the iPhone 6 in 2013.

With NFC support, the latest Android phones can not only send out payments, but also share photos, contacts, videos and more, just by tapping their backs together. Since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the OS has built-in NFC sharing software called Android Beam that any third party application can use for seamless sharing. Task management app Any.Do even lets you beam assignments to friends and family. I'm sure Apple will add this functionality just in time for iOS 8.
custom widgets

Custom widgets on your home screen

Congratulations iPhone 5 users! You now get an extra row of icons that you didn't have with the iPhone 4 and 4S. That means you can see your TweetDeck icon and tap on it without scrolling over. The Times Square billboard writes itself: "iPhone 5: Now with More Icons!"

However, if you use any Android phone, you get more than just a static set of application icons on your 5 to 7 home screens. You have a working desktop you can fill with interactive widgets that show everything from the weather to your latest social media updates. I particularly dig the circles widget that Motorola includes on its Android phones, which shows you battery life, time, text alerts and local weather.

A micro USB port rather than a proprietary connector

If you're like me, you have a drawer full of USB cables and, if you can't find one, you can always buy another on any street corner. When you upgrade from an old phone to a new one, you can still use the same old wires and charging plugs, because micro USB is a standard. In fact, the European Union requires phone manufacturers to use micro USB for charging, because it reduces waste as users hold on to their old cables rather than tossing them in a landfill.

Unfortunately, the iPhone 5 uses a proprietary connector it calls "Lightning" instead of standard micro USB, but gets around the EU regulation by offering an adapter.Why not just use micro USB like every other company? Then you couldn't make a mint selling proprietary wires and making every iPhone 4S owner that upgrades buy new accessories, because older iPhones had an even larger proprietary dock connector.
third-party keyboard.

Third-party software keyboards

With the iPhone 5, you can have any keyboard you want as long as its the stock iOS 6 keyboard. If you're using Android and you don't love Google's default layout, you're free to install a third-party keyboard that suits your needs.

Some of the best Android keyboards include Swype, which lets you create words by tracing between letters on the keyboard, and SwiftKey, which predicts the next word in your sentence to save you keystrokes. Heck, you can even buy an Android slider like the Motorola Droid 4, which has a real physical keyboard.

Attach any files you want to your email

Apple doesn't gamble on immature technologies so perhaps its understandable that the company has yet to include this new-fangled thing called "email attachments" on its iPhone 5. While previous versions of iOS Mail didn't even present you with any attachment options in its message composer, the new iOS 6 mail on the iPhone 5 gives you the option to attach images or video only.

What if you need to send your boss a PowerPoint presentation, a Word doc or some other type of file? You will need to have an app that opens that kind of file, go to that app and send the file from there. In other words, there's no way to simply attach the file(s) of your choice when composing email in iOS mail. There are workarounds and third-party apps that address this problem, but Apple's approach here could not be lamer.

Just like Windows or Mac OS, Android allows you to attach any files you want to any email message. Whether you're using the Gmail app, its stock email app or any of a dozen third party email clients, there's always a prominent attachment option on the composition screen and, when you hit it , you're able to browse your gallery, your file system or any other apps you've installed that organize files (Dropbox, Quickoffice, etc).
sharing Android iOS

Share using any service you want

With Android, every relevant app from the browser to the photo gallery includes a share button. When you tap share, you're given an extensive and universal list of apps you can share with. And that list grows, depending on what software and services you have installed, from Facebook to your SMS messenger to Bluetooth transfers. So if, for example, you join Pinterest and install its app, you can share directly to that from any app with a search button.

Rather than providing you with one share list to rule them all, the iPhone 5 lets each app developer create his or her own share menu, which has a finite list of services that developer feels like supporting. The default Safari browser and iOS photo gallery apps can only share to Facebook, Twitter, email and messaging. Google, Flickr, Pinterest, Google Talk and any of 100 other services need not apply.
Android file system

Visible file system

Try plugging an Android phone into your PC and mounting it as a storage device. You'll have access to all the files and folders, just as you do when you browse through your WIndows computer's C drive. So, if you want to copy a raft of MP3s or PowerPoint presentations to your Android handset, you can just drag and drop them.

Say you record a memo with Droid Record and want to grab its output files. You can navigate down to its folder and move, copy or share them directly from there. If you run a file browser on the phone itself, you can also dive into the file system from there.

So what happens when you plug the iPhone 5 into your PC? You get access the digital camera (DCIM) folder only so all you can do is drag and drop pictures. Yes, you can iTunes to transfer media files back and forth, but you still can't go directly into file system because Apple just doesn't trust you enough to let you see the folders on the iPhone 5 that you bought from them. Whose phone is it anyway?

Haptic feedback

Most Android phones offer optional haptic feedback, which allows you to get a nice tactile vibration when you type, long press on the screen or tap the navigation buttons. While some people dislike haptics, the vibrations give you a strong acknowledgement that your touch has registered so you don't have to tap twice. Unfortunately, with the iPhone 5, you don't have a choice; just a flat screen that provides no feedback.

Laptop Pen support

"If you see a stylus, they blew it," Steve jobs famously said of pen-enabled computing and, like its predecessors, the iPhone 5 does not support pen input. Yes, you can get third-party capacitive styluses that will work on the iPhone 5, but these little sticks do nothing more than give you a thinner finger.

Want to scribble down some notes like you do on paper? On Android, you can. Samsung's Galaxy Note and LG's Intuition both offer large screens, active styluses and deep pen integration into the operating system.

On the upcoming Galaxy Note II, you can hand write notes on your calendar, on the backs of JPGs and in half a dozen other places throughout the OS. You can even get previews of emails, photos and videos by hovering the Galaxy Note II's stylus slightly above the screen.

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Nokia's $39 Phone Wins More Time for Comeback Bid - Businessweek

Zee News

Nokia Oyj (NOK1V), burning cash as it struggles to revive its smartphone business, is winning time for the recovery effort by gaining more customers for another product: basic mobile phones it sells for $39. By adding features such as quicker Web and online games to its Asha handsets popular in faster-growing economies including India and China, Nokia boosted its share of the basic-phone market to 35 percent last quarter -- the highest in two years. Unlike the smartphone division, the basic-phone business is profitable and unit sales are increasing. The more than 70 million cheaper handsets Nokia sells each quarter is providing relief for Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop as he tries to stem revenue declines and recover from five quarters of losses. The basic-phone division is also winning over first-time users who may stick with Nokia when upgrading to a more expensive device. “Nokia’s Asha models are selling quite well and that is good news for them since it gives the company a bit more time to get its smartphone business on track,” said Teemu Peraelae, who helps manage $1.5 billion including Nokia shares at Alfred Berg Asset Management in Helsinki. Nokia’s cheaper phones outsold its smartphones 7-to-1 last quarter and, at 2.29 billion euros ($2.86 billion), brought in 49 percent more revenue for the Espoo, Finland-based company. If Nokia’s smartphone strategy fails, the basic-phone unit may become the company’s most attractive asset for an acquirer because it remains profitable and has a dominant market position in many emerging markets, said Sami Sarkamies, a Nordea Bank AB (NDA) analyst in Helsinki. A buyer would also benefit from Nokia’s strong relationship with carriers in growth economies, he said. Asha Demand Nokia’s Asha phones are gaining users in the developing markets because they resemble smartphones, yet cost a fraction of the price, Anshul Gupta, an analyst at research firm Gartner Inc. in Mumbai, said in an interview. Some Ashas have full- length touch screens similar to Nokia’s higher-end models and Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone. The underlying operating system is less sophisticated, making them cheaper to build. “They have almost all the features a smartphone should have like an application portal to download apps, a touch interface, social-networking integration -- so these devices are completely like a smartphone,” he said. Nokia added touch-screen handsets to the Asha line in June to meet the surging demand for smartphone features. The Asha 305, retailing at 65 euros, is Nokia’s cheapest full-length touch-screen phone. The Asha 311, featuring a faster touch screen and a 1-gigahertz processor, costs 95 euros. The company on average sells basic phones for 31 euros each, compared with 151 euros per smartphone. India Shoppers The 305 and 311 are seeing “fantastic traction” among customers, said Sathish Babu, who owns handset retailer Univercell with about 500 outlets across southern India. “The new Nokia phones are doing very well,” Babu said in an interview, adding today’s younger shoppers demand slimmer phones with vibrant colors and full touch screens. “The more stock that comes in the more my sales go up and it’s even cannibalizing into other brands. With the touch screen, the balance is tilting toward Nokia now.” Nokia CEO Elop, commenting in an e-mail, attributed rising sales to its devices’ “bold design” and new colors. Nokia’s basic-phone sales climbed 2 percent to 73.5 million units in the second quarter from a year earlier, even as the global market for such devices fell 15 percent to 211 million units, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Shares of Nokia have risen 66 percent since it reported the second-quarter numbers on July 19. The stock is still down about 90 percent since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, a debut that started Nokia’s decline in smartphones. ‘Myopic Focus’ Nokia’s share of the basic-phone market rose to 35 percent last quarter from 29 percent a year earlier. In smartphones, the fastest-growing and most valuable market segment, Nokia, the former leader, has slumped to less than 10 percent. “People forget how significant it is that we’re selling a million phones a day,” Peter Skillman, head of mobile-phone design at Nokia, said in an interview. “There’s almost a myopic focus on smartphones.” Features helping Nokia’s basic-phone sales include browser data-compression technology, which lowers the cost of Web surfing, Skillman said. Nokia is also benefiting from demand for phones that let users insert two SIM cards, a feature many consumers in developing countries need to make it easier to switch service between carriers as they travel, he said. This month, Nokia said Asha users get Zynga Inc. (ZNGA)’s “Draw Something” and “Zynga Poker” games for free. Such features are important for a company whose biggest markets last year were China, which made up almost 16 percent of revenue, and India with 7.6 percent. Samsung Competition Nokia’s success in basic phones isn’t guaranteed, as ZTE Corp. (000063), Huawei Technologies Co. and other manufacturers are entering the cheaper market segments with phones using Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system. Samsung Electronics Co., which passed Nokia as the biggest handset maker overall this year helped by smartphone sales, also pushes basic touch-screen phones under the Star and Champ names. The intensifying competition caused Nokia to reduce the average selling price of its basic phones 14 percent last quarter, dragging down revenue even as unit sales rose. Profit margins on Nokia’s cheaper phones also narrowed. “It’s been a slippery slope for Nokia’s feature phones, but they did see an improvement in volumes in the second quarter unlike their smartphone business,” said Janardan Menon, a Liberum Capital Ltd. analyst in London. “Competing more effectively with low-end smartphones will be key to any recovery.”

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Motorola Droid Razr Maxx 4G LTE 32GB Android Phone Unlocked Specs Black Review

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With a retail price much lower than those higher-priced recent Android phones which offer inferior battery life and data storage, the Motorola Droid Razr MAXX Android smartphone is arguably one of the best bargains on the entire Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network. No current 4G smartphone delivers more out-of-the-box, user accessible data storage space than the Droid Razr MAXX. And no one comes close to the 21.5 hours of talk time or 15 hours of video playback offered from a single charge of the handset’s battery.

The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx is on sale now starting at $99.99.

With a sub-$100 price tag on contract currently, the handset also benefits from optional Motorola accessories which transform the Android smartphone into a 10.1 inch laptop, desktop PC or multimedia center, and hands-free, in-car GPS device. The Droid Razr MAXX 4G also delivers interior hardware which is protected by a splash resistant layer of nano coating, a display protected by a scratch and chip resistant layer of Corning Gorilla Glass, and a rugged Kevlar and aluminum coated body.

With 32 GB of user accessible data storage available out-of-the-box, in the form of a 16 GB microSD card and an additional 16 GB built into the handset, the Motorola Droid Razr MAXX 4G owner has plenty of room for data and applications. The handset also offer simultaneous voice and data access on Verizon’s 4G LTE system in the United States, which was deemed the fastest and most reliable 4G network among all four US major wireless carriers by independent reviewer RootMetrics.

The handset debuted on January 26 of this year, delivering speeds up to 10 times faster than the Verizon Wireless 3G system. Borrowing the skinny motif of its slimmer twin, the Motorola Droid Razr 4G, the handset measures only 0.35 inches (8.99 mm) in thickness. The Super AMOLED Advanced screen runs 4.30 inches and delivers above average pixel density, at 256 pixels per inch. That results in an overall display resolution of 540 x 960 pixels, and standard capacitive, multitouch gestures are used to navigate the handset.

In the hardware package on board, the extreme battery life comes from a 3,300 mA cell, and a Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 microchip package is used to handle your requests and operations. That chip set is centered around a dual core 1.2 GHz Cortex A9 processor, and a separate PowerVR SGX540 GPU handles all graphics processing. 1.0 GB of RAM system memory is on board, and the rear facing 8.0 megapixel camcorder provides video capture at 1,080P HD resolution.

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Google blocked Acer's rival phone to prevent Android "fragmentation" -Ars Technica

Google blocked Acer's rival phone to prevent Android "fragmentation" Ars Technica Reports surfaced yesterday that Google prevented Acer from launching a phone using a rival operating system, by threatening to terminate its Android-related partnership with the hardware company. We've been wondering why ever since, and now Google ...

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Apple Patent Win Could Mean Android Trouble in Germany: Report - eWeek

The Guardian

Apple Patent Win Could Mean Android Trouble in Germany: Report eWeek 13 in a patent-infringement case with Google's Motorola unit, throwing the possibility of a sales ban there or a German recall on Android smartphones and tablets into the realm of possibility. "The dispute focused on the iOS system's bounce-back list ... Motorola Mobility ordered to recall Android tablets and smartphonesThe Guardian Motorola Mobility faces Android phones, tablets recall in GermanyZDNet Motorola faces product recall in Apple patents rowtheEword (blog) ElectronicsWeekly.com (blog) -Datamation -Fast Company all 149 news articles »

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Android this week: Google kills Android rival; Jelly Bean for Intel;500M ... - GigaOM

GigaOM

Android this week: Google kills Android rival; Jelly Bean for Intel; 500M ... GigaOM Open Handset Alliance partners have to follow the rules, else face the wrath of Google: The company effectively shut down a press event for a new Acer phone for China. Meanwhile, it looks like Intel is about to redouble its Android smartphone efforts.

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POLL: What's Your Favorite Thing To Do on your Smartphone? - Patch.com

POLL: What's Your Favorite Thing To Do on your Smartphone? Patch.com Huffington Post recently cited a report from Online Publishing Associates that 47 percent of smartphone owners they surveyed said they use their phones mostly to check the weather. So that led us to wonder—what do you use your smartphone for the most?

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Android leads in Japan with 64% smartphone share as market climbs 43%in the ... - The Next Web

Japan may be a little late to the smartphone revolution, but it’s continuing to pick up steam. According to new data from comScore, smartphone ownership increased 43 percent in the first half of this year, rising to account for nearly one quarter of the country’s mobile population.

Citizens expressed a clear preference for homegrown handsets, as all of the top five makers are Japanese. The firm’s MobiLens survey found Sharp to be the top phone maker, followed by Panasonic, Fujitsu, NEC and Sony.

The survey, which polled 4,000 mobile owners, estimates that the country has some 24 million smartphone owners. That’s up from 19.3 million in February, when roughly one out of every five Japanese handset owners had a smartphone.

Among smartphone platforms, Android was the clear leader, growing to 64.1 percent in the June quarter, up from 62.2 percent in March. Apple’s iPhone actually dropped 1.4 percent in market share over the quarter, settling in at 32.3 percent. Microsoft came in at a distant third with 3.2 percent.

Taking photos was the most popular use for phones, both smart and non-smart, with 61.1 percent of respondents using their handsets for the task. 56 percent said they used email, and 54.7 percent used applications.

As smartphone ownership is ramping up, fourth-generation data services are picking up pace in Japan. DoCoMo recently reported crossing the 5 million user mark, just four weeks after attaining 4 million subscribers. Japanese messaging app Line is alsoseeing steady adoption, with more than 55 million users worldwide.

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New Smartphone App: Split-it! Lets Users Share Cabs and Split Faresin ... - Virtual-Strategy Magazine

Kind Capital Pte Ltd is pleased to announce Split-it!, a new location-based Smartphone app which gives commuters in Singapore a platform to share taxis and split fares on the go. The app will be released for free on the iOS platform start September, with the Android and Blackberry OS versions following in October 2012.

Singapore (PRWEB) August 22, 2012

With the launch of a new Smartphone application by Singapore company, Kind Capital Pte Ltd, commuters may no longer face the frustration of not being able to get a taxi during peak hours, or paying astronomical fares for a short ride.

Split-it!, a new Smartphone app, aims to give commuters a platform to book and share taxis and split the fare, all while on the go.

“Taxis are getting more expensive, and the queues are getting longer in cosmopolitan Singapore,” says Winnie Tang, 29, founder of Kind Capital Pte Ltd. “With Split-it!, commuters can now use this mobile platform to share their taxis and ease the taxi shortage, with the added benefit of a much reduced fare price.”

Winnie first came up with the idea of Split-it! when she was working as a banker in the Central Business District. “I personally find it a challenge to get a taxi especially during peak hours. Oftentimes I see taxis with single passengers and I think, ‘If only we could share that cab’ – that was when the idea for a taxi-sharing application took root in my mind,” she adds.

The result is the new social venture Split-it! (http://www.split-it.sg), a user-friendly mobile platform that matches commuters traveling from the same neighbourhood and in the same direction. When a user needs a taxi, all he has to do is log in to the app with his Facebook account and enter details of his ride. The app will then consolidate all search requests and suggest suitable users looking to travel via the same route. Users can use the app chat function to confirm their meeting details and book a taxi, upon which a credit will be deducted from each user's account.

Split-it! is linked to Facebook and all users need to have a Facebook account for basic security purposes. “Split-it! groups strangers together to share a taxi, and we wanted users to have a sense of security. As many people in Singapore have a Facebook account which lists their friends, jobs, and personal information, we thought that using the Facebook platform would provide an additional level of assurance to our members,” Winnie comments.

The Land Transport Authority is in support of Split-it!, stating that "(the) company's proposed taxi sharing application to facilitate taxi commuters to meet and share a taxi will serve a social purpose."

With the large number of taxis in Singapore adding to the traffic congestion in central areas, Split-it! aims to make travel more efficient, environmentally friendly, and social.

Winnie intends to attract an initial mass of 10,000 regular users. The app can be downloaded for free on the iOS platform (for use on the iPhone/iPad/iTouch) start September, with the Android and Blackberry OS versions following in October 2012. Free credits will be given till the end of year 2012 for all users, after which they can choose between a pay-per- use basis to book a shared taxi or a monthly membership fee payable through the iTunes store or PayPal.

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Karbonn to expand in Africa, South Asia - Daily News & Analysis

Within three years of its existence, Karbonn Mobiles has bagged a spot among the top five domestic handset brands and has lined up major plans to expand overseas. Pradeep Jain, managing director, Karbonn Mobiles, spoke to Beryl Menezesabout the company’s products and its strategy to stay ahead of competition. Excerpts:

How are your smartphones doing as compared to your feature phones?India is set to emerge as one of the largest smartphone markets in the world. Realising this, we launched our first smartphone Karbonn A1 on the Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ version in 2011. Seeing a positive response, we have launched three more smartphones — Karbonn A9, A7 and A5 — which run on the latest Android 2.3.6 ‘Gingerbread’ platform. For Karbonn, the feature phone segment caters to Tier II and III markets, whereas the smartphone segment caters to Tier-I and II markets.

Some handset vendors plan to phase out their feature phones on account of greater demand for smartphones. Do you have any such plans?We cater to a varied consumer base and believe in massifying technology. With this intent Karbonn has invested variably across product categories of the likes of budget phones, feature, feature-rich, entertainment, smartphones and budget tablets, which cater to the varied population of the country. We intend to provide a communication device to every citizen of the country and thus we have no plans to phase out any of the existing range of mobile phones.

Do you expect your tablets to sell better than your smartphone range?Earlier this month, we introduced India’s first budget Android 4.1 Jellybean tablet in India, priced at Rs6,990. Launched at a time when the market is deluged by budget tablet options, the Smart Tab 1 has still been able to achieve good response. Since both our smartphones and tablets cater to a different consumer base, it is difficult to say which would do better.

What differentiates your offering from other low-cost products?Since 2009 Karbonn has emerged as one of the largest and fastest growing mobile phone brands in South Asia. This is due to our strategic product offering and cutting-edge marketing initiatives. We have decided to create a niche rather than follow the competitors.

What has been the key to your revenue growth?In the last fiscal, our revenues rose 6% to Rs2,500 crore. We expect it to grow by 10% to Rs3,300-3,500 crore this fiscal. Starting with a modest investment of Rs100 crore, Karbonn has been able to achieve this success because of the tenet of massifying technology. We expect to grow by 15% in the next fiscal.

What is Karbonn’s growth strategy?We intend to introduce more products in smartphones and tablets based on the latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS. Plans are also on for expansion in new markets like Africa and South Asia, which contribute to 20% to the global sales revenue in the smartphones and tablets segment. This is in line with our aim of becoming a leading global handset brand by 2013.

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Best Selling Smartphone Isn't iPhone - Tapscape

Apple reported results for its third quarter on July 24 and much has been made of the “disappointing” 26 million iPhones sold, a mere 28 percent growth over the same period last year. Here is another data point sure to encourage the ihaters — in July, the iPhone wasn’t the best selling smartphone. And likely won’t be in August, either.

Quoting a Krusell market report, Taiwan Economic News Service claims that Samsung’s Galaxy S3 is the world’s best selling smartphone with Apple’s dynamic iPhone 4/4S duo following in second. Moreover, Krusell expects Samsung’s hot-selling handset to keep the top spot through August, as well.

For what it’s worth, Krusell doesn’t offer unit volume figures to back up its claim. More tellingly, however, is the fact that the case maker lists the Sony Experia S as the world’s number three seller and their top 10 also includes three other Xperia smartphones.

Though Sony sells more than a few devices, perhaps nobody other than Krusell thinks the Xperia anything deserves four spots in the top 10.

What’s that all about then? Obviously, it’s all about Krusell, which prominently advertises its “Made for Xperia” product line online — i.e. the data is, at best, skewed.

Though Samsung handily sells more phones than anyone on the planet, whatever iPhone is newest has always held onto the top-selling individual device spot. If you choose to believe Krusell, which isn’t an impartial observer, then Apple has been pushed out of the cat bird seat.

Even though it’s unlikely that this data can be trusted, it’s clear that currently Samsung produce the world’s best selling smartphone, but with the impending release of Apple’s iPhone 5 in under a month, that could change very quickly.

Do you believe Krussel’s numbers? What do you think the world’s best selling smartphone is? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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How to add functionality to your smartphone camera - Economic Times

Your smartphone camera may have a limited resolution but there's no reason why you can't add functionality like high-speed capture, panorama and various other filters.

Panoramas

Sometimes, just a wide-angle photograph isn't enough. To fully capture a stunning landscape, you need to go extra wide - that's where panorama apps come in. If you have an Android or iOS device, one of the best apps is 360 Panorama ($0.99). It creates a panorama in real-time with very little effort and lets you share it instantly. It can also handle complete spherical panoramas. Some other great options are Photosynth by Microsoft (free, for iOS and Windows Phone 7) and Ztitch (free, for Windows Phone 7.5 or higher).

High-speed Burst

A 'burst' mode allows you to take multiple consecutive photographs in quick succession. Since many cameraphones have shutter lag — a delay between you pressing the shutter release button and the photo being recorded — a burst mode gives you many options of the same scene. You simply select the best one and delete the rest. If your Android phone does not have this feature, install the free app CameraX.

This ad-supported app adds burst mode with the option to choose the number of images you want to take (and you don't need to keep the shutter button pressed.) For iOS, the free Camera Awesome offers burst mode with direct sharing of images. Windows Phone users can check out the free version of Turbo Camera. It offers burst mode and allows you to choose the delay between each shot too.

Time Lapse

You may have seen professionally-created time lapse videos - a technique that creates a video out of a sequence of photographs . A time lapse depicts an accelerated view of slowly changing events and they are created by joining together a collection of images - the camera needs to remain perfectly still during the entire process for a high-quality time lapse.

Thanks to an app called Lapse It (free for iOS and Android), you can use your phone to create a time lapse of an event (keep it mounted on a tripod with the charger connected for best results). A paid 'Pro' version of the app adds more features (like HD resolution time lapse videos).

Stop Motion Animation

Stop motion animation is an interesting way to add movement to an otherwise stationary object. It involves taking multiple images of the object at slightly different positions and then combining them to offer the illusion of movement. StoMo (free, for iOS) offers this functionality with a simple user interface that automatically aligns the frame and even lets you adjust the playback speed in frames per second.

Another free app Cinemagram lets you create an animated image (animated GIF) from a previously recorded video — record a short video, choose a specific area and the app will animate only that area. Android users can try Clayframes and Stop-Motion — both let you choose the video size, playback speed in frames per second and let you export the movie for sharing.

Additional Modes

Many standalone digital cameras offer more features as compared to a smartphone camera. For instance, smile detection (a mode that automatically captures a photo when the subject smiles), self timer as well as multiple scene modes to get the best results under different circumstances. Most features like these can be added to your smartphone camera with the help of apps.

On iOS, iBooth lets you set a self timer if you want in on the action. On Android, the free Pixlr-o-Matic app offers a smile shot mode, beauty shot mode (it automatically improves skin tones) as well as multiple scene modes. Another app uCam adds settings for white balance, focus, exposure, timestamp and self timer along with various picture modes (portrait, landscape, sunset, sports). Similarly for Windows Phone users, the free app Fhotoroom adds a self timer, red eye reduction mode and multiple camera mode presets.

Real-time Photo Filters

A fun photo filter app can help compensate for the lower quality photograph that a mobile device captures. One of the best free apps is Powercam (Android and iOS). With Powercam, you can apply an effect and see what it looks like before you capture a photo or video (because it is applied in real-time to the camera feed). Apart from some of the usual effects that many apps offer (tiltshift , single colour and various colour tones) it also offers several unique extras in a 'Magic Shot' mode.

POST PHOTO EFFECTS

If you prefer to add effects to your photographs once you've captured them (and hence keep two versions of the same photo), there are several apps that you can use for different kinds of effects. Tilt-Shift is a popular effect that uses selective focus to simulate a miniature effect. It usually keeps a rectangular section of the photograph sharp while blurring out the rest.

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ZTE to Sell First 4G Smartphone With China Mobile in Hong Kong -Businessweek

ZTE Corp. (762), China’s second-largest maker of phone equipment, will sell its first fourth-generation handset through China Mobile Ltd. (941)’s Hong Kong unit as it works toward a goal of doubling smartphone sales this year.

ZTE will announce plans to sell the Grand X LTE (T82) through the carrier as early as next week, Cynthia Chan, a spokeswoman for China Mobile Hong Kong, said by phone yesterday. Kevin Liu, ZTE’s regional brand director for Asia, didn’t immediately reply to an e-mailed request for comment.

ZTE, based in Shenzhen, wants to “transform” itself from a supplier of wireless network gear by focusing more on mobile devices, Executive Director He Shiyou said in April. It became the world’s fourth-largest mobile-device seller in the fourth quarter behind Nokia Oyj, Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc., and the company’s smartphone sales may double this year as it gains market share in Europe, North America, Brazil and Japan, it said in January.

“The launch of this phone is another step in ZTE’s expanding smartphone range,” said Lisa Soh, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. The high end device may help boost ZTE’s profit margins, depending on sales volume, she said.

By 2015, mobile devices will account for 50 percent of ZTE’s sales, up from 40 percent this year, He said in April.

The Grand series of devices is intended to be ZTE’s “high- end flagship offering,” the company said in a June statement.

China Market

ZTE fell 0.2 percent to HK$11.32 at the close in Hong Kong, paring an earlier decline of as much as 1.6 percent. China Mobile declined 0.3 percent to close at HK$82.60.

The 4G service lets users download games and videos on their phones at the fastest speeds available as operators compete for users in Hong Kong, where the number of mobile customers is twice the population.

It’s important for ZTE to build a relationship with China Mobile as the world’s largest phone company by subscribers prepares to expand its 4G service across China, said Alen Lin, an analyst at BNP Paribas Securities Asia in Hong Kong.

“I view China Mobile’s Hong Kong market as a test bed for its own 4G service in China, in terms of network operations, devices and marketing strategy,” Lin said. “It does pave the way for when China Mobile launches 4G.”

Trial Stage

China Mobile’s state-owned parent company this year will expand its 4G trial to nine cities, from six last year, and add 20,000 base stations to the 900 it tested last year, the company said in March. The number of 4G base stations will exceed 200,000 next year, the telecommunications carrier said.

ZTE’s Grand X LTE (T82) phone uses the MSM8960 chip from Qualcomm Inc. and runs Google Inc.’s Android 4.0 operating system, according to ZTE (763)’s June 19 statement. It has a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel main camera, the company said at the time.

ZTE’s device will compete with China Mobile Hong Kong’s current 4G handsets, which include the Samsung Galaxy SII; HTC Corp.’s One XL; and LG Electronics Inc.’s Optimus True, according to the carrier’s website.

“The first launch in Hong Kong will be good for ZTE,” said Cynthia Meng, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Jefferies Group Inc. “It shows ZTE can do it, and that a meaningful telco has chosen to cooperate with them, so this is a very good reference.”

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