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It looks like it has almost identical specs with Galaxy Note 3 ($850), but $150 more expensive.

I hope it isn't a mildly revamped G2! The G@ has a below-average loudspeaker

There are a lot of decent criticisms of the G2. The SlideAside is pointless (and doesn't work with a ton of common Android apps), the screen is too big for some people, the buttons on the back are something you can adjust to but they're needlessly quirky and more prone to accidentally being pressed in your pocket than side-buttons are. I'm still not sold on having the headphone jack on the bottom instead of the top.

But the speakers? The G2 has virtually perfect frequency response and a very low distortion level according to:

GSMArena, for one, actually measure the volume. ...who also measure frequency response and other components of sound quality.

They note that the speaker on the G2 is better than average sound quality, though average volume-wise. There's absolutely nothing in their tests indicating a below-average speaker:

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g2-review-982p8.php

The LG G2 showed nicely clean output in both parts of our traditional audio quality test. The smartphone got pretty decent scores, but was led down by its volume levels, which were only average.
The scores stay close to perfect even when you plug in a pair of headphones. The stereo crosstalk worsens a bit but the rest of the readings are virtually unaffected (frequency response actually improves a bit). Unfortunately, the volume levels remained just as uninspiring.

Which seems like they're heavily over-weighting volume--unless you're hearing impaired enough that you normally max the volume on your handset, then maximum volume is far less important than the audio quality. But even by their weighting, it's still good audio quality with average volume level.

the single thing a new iPhone will do that an Android won't is the fingerprint thing

My 2011-era Motorola Atrix has a fingerprint reader...

Not correct. I've used tons of Nokia's with Edge, later combined with UMTS and HSPA. First with Edge was back in 2004, the 6620: http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_6620-723.php They did walk away from CDMA, like most of the world.

Beautiful. Simple. Brilliant. Out of place and hardly on time. Timeless. The Nokia N9 is a story with no happy ending but you want to enjoy every word. Sad story. Post-coital kind of sad.

And that’s not because the Nokia N9 let us down. On the contrary, we found it to be a revelation: gorgeous design and the divine simplicity of the all-screen experience.

If anyone is let down, it's the Nokia N9 itself. The platform is as good as doomed. Forsaken by its own creator. With Nokia giving up on MeeGo and a price tag that confines the N9 to a premium niche, it will be next to impossible for the OS to grow a substantial user base. Without users, developers won’t be too interested in MeeGo either. And the limited number of apps is the platform's biggest weakness.

Google a few other reviews and they will all be along those lines. I didn't buy it because it was dead on arrival, I bet a lot of others did the same. And it's a shame because it could have been a great platform, especially because it was a fairly standard Linux system below the hood.

Xiaomi Mi2s

Processor: 1.7GHz Quadcore Snapdragon 600
GPU : Adreno 320
Ram : 2GB DDR3 (think)
Storage : 16GB/32GB
Display : 4.3 inches @ 720x1280
OS : Android 4.1 with MIUI V5

The phone is apparently faster than anything except for the Samsung Galaxy S4 (octa-core version) :-)

The patent filing date shows Jan 5, 2007 as per the link below however Nokia N91 from Q2, 2005 did the exact same thing. http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/7912501 http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n91-1154.php

So the Xperia Z is not high end for you but the iPhone 5 is?. Pathetic. Perhaps you are waiting for a fancy new smartwatch from Apple? Yeah they are really innovative.

So the Xperia Z is not high end for you but the iPhone 5 is?. Pathetic. Perhaps you are waiting for a fancy new smartwatch from Apple? Yeah they are really innovative.

Sorry, but HTC hasn't been able to keep up with demand for the One

Sorry, but that's because they had manufacturing issues with the camera, not because demand is insanely high. In fact, sales were below expectations, causing them to lose a rank or two in the smartphone market, and the One's sales are actually expected to drop off sharply in the next quarter, which would lead to an even greater decline. The One had a lot of promise, but has failed to deliver on it.

It was a paid advert, but for a fictional, made for the film Ericsson JB988 (http://www.007museum.com/ericsson_jb988_james_bond.htm) loosely based on the real Ericsson R320 http://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_r320-194.php

The poster doesn't appear to be aware of the Sony Xperia Ultra that's been doing the rounds. It appears to be competing more with the 7" tablet part of the market than the mobile, especially as shown paired with the Bluetooth headset.
* http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z_ultra-review-944.php

One benchmark is not trustworthy, but a range of benchmarks from a number of different sources can be quite a reliable indicator, especially if the various benchmark providers are in competition.

For example this review uses multiple benchmarks:

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_tab_3_101-review-948p4.php

The results are reasonably consistent results across the CPU benchmarks with various devices typically appearing in the same part of the list. The obvious outlier is the old version of AnTuTu.

The article pretty much said the chips would be ARM.

When you look at the glacial pace of Apple development, you will notice that they do skin and paint very well, but technical changes very slowly. They did design some packaging modifications to ARM for their A4 and A5 processors (although industry sources say the work was actually done by the contract chip designer Intrinsity).

Apple probably aren't nimble enough to switch to Atom or Silvermont or anything not ARM. It would set them back an entire year, or maybe two.

As long as their checks cleared the bank, I'm sure Intel would take the money,

I have a 7.7 inch Samsung tablet who would like to point out that just because you chose to get an artificially limited tablet doesn't mean all tablets are artificially limited. They have GSM radios (or their full models have GSM radios), so there's no reason why they wouldn't be able to call.

no matter what they do with their money they will keep losing market share if they keep making stupid decisions.

Even if they make good decisions, they'll still lose market share. Their problem isn't that they're getting stupid, it's that everyone else is getting smart.

Phones like the HTC One are beautifully made and elegantly designed. Jelly Bean is slick, comfortable and easy to use. Other manufacturers are leapfrogging a long way past Apple's current standards, and doing it at a lower cost. Look at Lenovo's latest:

The [Lenovo K900] sports a 5.5-inch display with a 1080 x 1920p resolution with a pixel density of 400ppi. Lenovo K900 is powered by the latest Intel Atom Clover Trail+ processor clocked at 2 GHz, alongside 2 GB of RAM. Furthermore, the device comes with a 13 megapixel Sony Exmor BSI rear camera and a 2 megapixel front-facing shooter.

http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_k900_now_available_in_china_priced_at_536-news-6062.php

"Android is so buggy that it's useless."

Android activations reach 1.5 million per day.

http://www.gsmarena.com/android_activations_figure_reach_15_million_per_day-news-5865.php

I'm sensing a slight dissonance with reality here. No wonder W8 makes sense to you.

I recently spotted some unlocked Blu Quattro 4.5 phones for about $230, brand new. It's got some pretty damned nice specs for that price. The build quality looks good, but I'm not sure how well it functions over time.

A Samsung Galaxy Note released a year ago offered superior network optionis

Blu Quattro 4.5 is only $240 unlocked on Amazon right now. It has a Tegra 3 SoC, 1GB RAM and microSD slot.

I just replaced my old phone with one of these and it's been fine so far.

HTC Status released in 2011

Samsung has been making watch-phones since perhaps 2009:

Samsung S9110 Watch Phone : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_s9110-2885.php
This one was even earlier but cancelled: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_watch_phone-418.php
 

Samsung has been making watch-phones since perhaps 2009:

Samsung S9110 Watch Phone : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_s9110-2885.php
This one was even earlier but cancelled: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_watch_phone-418.php
 

I stand corrected, although please let me clarify as to the source of my own confusion earlier.

Apple released the iPhone 3g with A2DP bluetooth in June 2009.

The Nokia N95 (with A2DP bluetooth) was intially released in March 2007.

http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_3gs-2826.php

http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n95-1716.php

I stand corrected, although please let me clarify as to the source of my own confusion earlier.

Apple released the iPhone 3g with A2DP bluetooth in June 2009.

The Nokia N95 (with A2DP bluetooth) was intially released in March 2007.

http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_3gs-2826.php

http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n95-1716.php

how about this:
android floating apps

this is a samsung only thing, but someone could get it working on other android devices:
galaxy note split screen

Nah, you are not a minority, simply in the wrong market.

If you wish for (relatively)decent speced but smaller phones, check out the Androids made to cater for Asia-Africa etc.

Try the gsmarena phone finder, you can tweak the search quite narrowly: http://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3

Special Delivery!

The first one you link to comes with Android 2.2 FFS.

Sorry - I meant to link to the Galaxy SIII Mini, not that one. (While choice is good, the 10 zillion similarly-named models that Samsung produce show that you can have too much of a good thing).

However, smaller phones have less space for batteries, less pixels to wrangle and will typically be used for less demanding apps, and are less suitable for multitasking - so less powerful processors make sense.

Comparing a flagship Apple product to a mid-range Apple product. Good job. Here's 30 which are more comparable

3.5" screen max, 512MB RAM, 1GHz CPU minimum, Android OS, available now. You can choose other options to suit you.

If you're talking about features exclusive to the iPhone (Siri, Retina display, iTunes sync) then you're an idiot.

A flagship Android phone with a 4" screen? Doesn't exist anymore - all Androids that are good have bigger and bigger screens - from a Galaxy S III to a Nexus 4

Like this you mean?

So, $7 billion made from 40 billion downloads equals $1 for every 5.7 downloads. Ouch indeed.

That downloads figure includes all the free apps as well.

If we divide that 7 Billion over the 5 Million registered developer accounts they have made in the entire time that the store has been running (5 years) they've made $1400 each. That's not even enough to pay for the 5x$99 fees and $1500 for the Mac needed to do development.

That would be pretty disingenuous given developer registration is free and that the app store currently has around 775,000 apps, your numbers make no sense. Even if you made the obviously false assumption that every app was paid or supported by iAds it still works out to an average of around $9000 per app.

Not to mention the "$1500 Mac" "Requirement" is nearly 300% inflated. Mac minis are great for development, and start at $600. And that doesn't even count the developers that already had an Intel Mac for other development (like all those Linux devs. who have MacBooks, for example).

In other words, the GP needs to stop lying through his teeth.

Seven Beeeel-Yon dollars is a way significant figure, any way you slice it.

So, $7 billion made from 40 billion downloads equals $1 for every 5.7 downloads. Ouch indeed.

That downloads figure includes all the free apps as well.

If we divide that 7 Billion over the 5 Million registered developer accounts they have made in the entire time that the store has been running (5 years) they've made $1400 each. That's not even enough to pay for the 5x$99 fees and $1500 for the Mac needed to do development.

That would be pretty disingenuous given developer registration is free and that the app store currently has around 775,000 apps, your numbers make no sense. Even if you made the obviously false assumption that every app was paid or supported by iAds it still works out to an average of around $9000 per app.

Wrong, Windows Phone 8 mounts specific folders on the phone. I can trasnfer documents, music, videos, pictures, and ringtones via explorer without a special client. http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_8_to_get_mass_storage_and_screenshot_support-news-4530.php

I was wondering when we would get Microsoft's take on the matter... Unfortunately I can't verify if this was really implemented as I only have WP7.8, can you please post something that is not speculation and instead is a clear confirmation that WP8 has USB mass storage support?

Skydrive, the more or less standard way to get stuff in and out of Windows Phones

Wrong, Windows Phone 8 mounts specific folders on the phone. I can trasnfer documents, music, videos, pictures, and ringtones via explorer without a special client.

http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_8_to_get_mass_storage_and_screenshot_support-news-4530.php

There is still a big feature phone market out there.

Elop destroyed it by saying they were crap. In fact the OS set to replace symbian on these featurephones, the linux based "Meltemi" was cancelled make of that what you will. Samsung [featurephones]...and well "Value Android" are replacing these. I think you will be astonished at how powerful these value androids are...Check out the Huawei Ascend G330 look at the specs http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_g330-4966.php.

Care to find an Android phone that benches higher than an iPhone 5? But what if I want a mll screen ith a powerful processor?

I assume you meant small screen with a powerful processor... The HTC One S is a great option with a 4.3 inch screen. It also has a lot more style than an iPhone. I like the blue one personally, but TMo just shipped a black one with red trim if that's your thing. It's been available since April. If that doesn't float your boat, try the gsmarena phone finder. I see 53 android phones with 4.5in screen and a dual core 1.4ghz+ processor.

I'm sorry perhaps Its a pit complicated for you to understand why I would choose the 3 most popular phones on a list when looking at average. If its too complicated for you I will show you the maths.

The three Phones
=============
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_g330-4966.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_grand_x-4597.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9300_galaxy_s_iii-4238.php
As you can see these phones are neither old or under specced they are great value for money phones. Android will shine on these phones.

In fact the inclusion of the high priced Samsung galaxy III implies that price in not the only reason for the absolute failure of the iPhone.

Considering the iPhone is both available for Amazon though the link I gave you and unsurprisingly available through the Apple Chine website, pretending that the iPhone is has supply issues is farcical...its simply unwanted.

Again your statements do not represent any facts which is why you cannot link to any supporting information.

I'm sorry perhaps Its a pit complicated for you to understand why I would choose the 3 most popular phones on a list when looking at average. If its too complicated for you I will show you the maths.

The three Phones
=============
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_g330-4966.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_grand_x-4597.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9300_galaxy_s_iii-4238.php
As you can see these phones are neither old or under specced they are great value for money phones. Android will shine on these phones.

In fact the inclusion of the high priced Samsung galaxy III implies that price in not the only reason for the absolute failure of the iPhone.

Considering the iPhone is both available for Amazon though the link I gave you and unsurprisingly available through the Apple Chine website, pretending that the iPhone is has supply issues is farcical...its simply unwanted.

Again your statements do not represent any facts which is why you cannot link to any supporting information.

I'm sorry perhaps Its a pit complicated for you to understand why I would choose the 3 most popular phones on a list when looking at average. If its too complicated for you I will show you the maths.

The three Phones
=============
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_g330-4966.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_grand_x-4597.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9300_galaxy_s_iii-4238.php
As you can see these phones are neither old or under specced they are great value for money phones. Android will shine on these phones.

In fact the inclusion of the high priced Samsung galaxy III implies that price in not the only reason for the absolute failure of the iPhone.

Considering the iPhone is both available for Amazon though the link I gave you and unsurprisingly available through the Apple Chine website, pretending that the iPhone is has supply issues is farcical...its simply unwanted.

Again your statements do not represent any facts which is why you cannot link to any supporting information.

Dude, the hardware is getting better, and pretty soon, the bottom lowest piece of crap, will have 1024 or 1280 screens, will have min 1ghz dual core, will have at least 4gig flash. All for $50.

Todays $50 phones beat the $300 phones of 2010.

But I do agree LG make too many phones, just make 3-4 great ones, not 50, http://www.gsmarena.com/lg-phones-20.php

Samnsung, HTC, and LG are not exclusive to Android. They all have Windows Phone 8 devices, either announced or already shipping.

Check the specs on these:

http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativ_s.html#features

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_windows_phone_8x-4975.php

People desire iOS and Android phones because Microsoft has done a shit job of marketing Windows Phones. That is changing.

Apple has the advantage that they only sell one phone and call it the iPhone. Samsung on the other hand has many Samsung Galaxy devices. A similar phenomenon exists for LG Optimus phones. So almost all of Apple's sales are concentrated on a single device. I wonder who sells more phones overall.

I was waiting for it. The bad excuse that fanboys use to convince themselves this isn't happening. The different SGS 3 devices are akin to the fact Apple sells Iphones with Samsung, LG or Sharp screens, or the fact they have a 16, 32 or 64 GB SKU or do you honestly think there is no hardware difference between the Sprint/Verizon CDMA Iphones and the GSM Iphones? The SGS3 outsold the Iphone, you need to deal with it.

Or more important, who makes more profit overall. I think Apple is still king on that one.

You're right that this is important to a lot of people, but not for the reason you think. The fact that Apple is making more profit than Samsung per unit means that by buying a Samsung, I will likely get a much better deal.

The litany of predictions does not bode well for Apple. In the beginning Apple fanboys said "Android will never sell" and Android sold.

Next Apple fanboys said "Android would never outsell Iphones" and Android outsold Iphones.

Then they said, "No single Android device will outsell Iphones" and the SGS3 outsold the Iphone.

Please predict something epic next, I enjoy seeing them proven wrong.

Apple has the advantage that they only sell one phone and call it the iPhone. Samsung on the other hand has many Samsung Galaxy devices. A similar phenomenon exists for LG Optimus phones. So almost all of Apple's sales are concentrated on a single device. I wonder who sells more phones overall.

I was waiting for it. The bad excuse that fanboys use to convince themselves this isn't happening. The different SGS 3 devices are akin to the fact Apple sells Iphones with Samsung, LG or Sharp screens, or the fact they have a 16, 32 or 64 GB SKU or do you honestly think there is no hardware difference between the Sprint/Verizon CDMA Iphones and the GSM Iphones? The SGS3 outsold the Iphone, you need to deal with it.

Or more important, who makes more profit overall. I think Apple is still king on that one.

You're right that this is important to a lot of people, but not for the reason you think. The fact that Apple is making more profit than Samsung per unit means that by buying a Samsung, I will likely get a much better deal.

The litany of predictions does not bode well for Apple. In the beginning Apple fanboys said "Android will never sell" and Android sold.

Next Apple fanboys said "Android would never outsell Iphones" and Android outsold Iphones.

Then they said, "No single Android device will outsell Iphones" and the SGS3 outsold the Iphone.

Please predict something epic next, I enjoy seeing them proven wrong.

Apple has the advantage that they only sell one phone and call it the iPhone. Samsung on the other hand has many Samsung Galaxy devices. A similar phenomenon exists for LG Optimus phones. So almost all of Apple's sales are concentrated on a single device. I wonder who sells more phones overall. Or more important, who makes more profit overall. I think Apple is still king on that one.

Apple has the advantage that they only sell one phone and call it the iPhone. Samsung on the other hand has many Samsung Galaxy devices. A similar phenomenon exists for LG Optimus phones. So almost all of Apple's sales are concentrated on a single device. I wonder who sells more phones overall. Or more important, who makes more profit overall. I think Apple is still king on that one.

Galaxy S II: 28 Million
Galaxy S3: 18 million
iPhone 4GS: 16.2 million
iPhone 5: 6 million

Expanded TFY. Because, you know, we want to have fair comparisons, right?
Source.

That's really only true for the US CDMA carriers. They don't use SIM cards and getting them to activate a device they didn't sell is very difficult and would be unlikely to be fully functional anyway. The GSM carriers (mainly AT&T and T-Mobile) have very good compatibility with the exception of the 3G HSPA+ channels, but there are several pentaband 3G phones that fully support both networks.

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm (5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 in), checked against my phone
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9300_galaxy_s_iii-4238.php

If you buy an unlocked phone for T-Mobile, best make sure it uses both the 1700Mhz and 2100Mhz bands. Otherwise, you'll be limited to 2G speeds. GSMArena's phone finder tool can help you find handsets that meet this criteria.