5 Best Big Screen Smartphones

So, you’re one of those people. You want a mobile device that has a nice, big screen for whatever reason but you have a dilemma.

You aren’t impressed with the tablet devices that are out right now, the two biggest ones being Apple’s iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Cheap plug: check out our first thoughts about the Galaxy Tab right here.

You also don’t want a small screen, so that takes a good majority of smartphones out of the equation and feature phones just don’t offer what you need.Well, let’s hopefully remedy that situation with a list of the 5 best smartphones on the market right now with enormous screens that should be able to suit your needs.

Listed in no particular order:

5. HTC HD7

Screen Size: 4.3-inch Super LCD with WVGA (800 x 480) resolution

Operating System: Windows Phone 7

Carriers: T-Mobile , O2

The HTC HD7 is one of the launch phones for Microsoft’s latest entry in the mobile software world and it’s the successor to HTC’s very popular HTC HD2. It has an absolutely massive screen and is perfect for those of you looking to get a big display on T-Mobile. Oh, and the other specs aren’t too shabby either. It has a 1GHz processor, a 5 mega pixel camera, 8GB of internal memory, 576MB of RAM, and 512MB ROM.

4. Samsung Galaxy S

Screen Size: 4-inch Super AMOLED with WVGA (800 x 480) resolution

Operating System: Android 2.1

Carriers: Many

If you think 4.3 inches is too big, you can always take a look at the Samsung Galaxy S series of devices that employ a gorgeous 4 inch Super AMOLED display. Better yet, this bad boy isn’t limited to just one carrier. In fact, it’s on AT&T as the Captivate, Sprint as the Epic 4G (with full-QWERTY keyboard), T-Mobile as the Vibrant, and Verizon as the Fascinate.

Once it gets Froyo, which has happened or is happening pretty much everywhere but the U.S., it will become even more attractive.

3. HTC Desire HD

Screen Size: 4.3-inch Super LCD with WVGA (800 x 480) resolution

Operating System: Android 2.2

Carriers: Vodafone, T-Mobile

Live in Europe or Australia? This is probably the device you’ll want to look at if you’re in the market for a big screened smartphone. It has the same type of display as the HTC HD7 only the HTC Desire HD is rocking Android 2.2 aka Froyo. It also has some pretty amazing specifications and it’s a little thinner than the EVO.

Specification highlights include 1GHz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor, 768 MB RAM and an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. It’s a force to be reckoned with and should command attention in your search.

2. HTC EVO 4G

Screen Size: 4.3-inch TFT LCD with 800×480 resolution

Operating System: Android 2.2

Carriers: Sprint

Of course, this brings us to the American version of the HTC Desire HD, the HTC EVO 4G. While it’s been out since June, it’s still a force to be reckoned with first because of its massive screen and two, because Sprint has been firing up 4G across the country. That 4G in its name doesn’t stand for nothing.

Hands down, this one of the most attractive phones in the United States market.

1. Samsung Focus

Screen Size: 4 inch Super AMOLED with WVGA (800 x 480) resolution

Operating System: Windows Phone 7

Carriers: AT&T

Trying to get a big screened phone on AT&T? Look no further than the recently released Samsung Focus which like the HTC HD7 on T-Mobile, is one of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 launch devices. Having spent some time with the device at a Microsoft event, it’s safe to say that this is the best, if not the best Windows Phone 7 experience out right now. The screen is big, it’s gorgeous and will suit your needs just fine.

Specs include a 5 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and LED flash and also has 8GB of ROM.

There you have it, 5 devices with enormous screens that should satisfy your needs. However, before you purchase any of these, make sure to check out our How To Buy A Smartphone guide first.

You might decide to go in a different direction, who knows.

TNW Mobile Reviews: The Nokia X6

The Nokia X6 is Nokia’s highly anticipated touchscreen music smartphone, offering a complete range of features, brand new interface and an unlimited music download subscription by way of  Nokia’s “Comes With Music”.

The unlimited music service isn’t too good to be true; when someone buys the phone they receive a free one year subscription to the service where they can download tracks to the phone or store them on a PC, keeping all downloaded songs after the subscription ends.

The phone enters a smartphone market dominated by manufacturers including HTC and Apple and is one of the first Nokia devices aimed at bringing music, social networking and touchscreen technology together.

The X6 looks like many other Nokia devices, measuring 13.8mm in thickness and features a capacitive 3.2 inch touchscreen offering 16:9 widescreen viewing and 16 million colours.

Billed as a music phone, the Nokia X6 comes in 16GB or 32Gb varieties and a built in FM radio, making it a tempting entertainment device. The X6 delivers music from both it’s stereo speakers or built-in 3.5mm headphone jack, playing nearly all the codecs you can throw at it. Looking at the specifications, it supports MP3, AAC+, eAAC+ and WMA formats, allowing it’s owners to transfer their PC music collections to the device if the “Comes With Music” service wasn’t delivering.

The camera isn’t lacking either, Nokia have managed to pack in a 5MP Carl Zeiss, flash enabled camera giving it a considerable advantage over phones like the Apple iPhone. The X6 can also handle video, recording at 30 frames per second.

With nearly all newer smartphones offering GPS, the X6 delivers both global positioning and a compass. X6 owners can take advantage of either Ovi Maps or Google Maps and enjoy turn-by-turn navigation.

The Nokia X6 is completely connected, supporting 3G and WIFI connections. It supports Yahoo! Mail, GMail, Windows Live Hotmail and external email accounts via IMAP and POP3. Users are able to download thousands of third party apps via the Ovi Store, increasing the functionality of the phone.

The Handset

The Nokia X6 is easy to grip and quite small in the hand. It’s hard edges and lack of soft corners make it somewhat uncomfortable after prolonged use. It fits nicely to your face and voices were very clear when making a call. Our callers didn’t notice any interference and the quality was very crisp.

Music Player

The music player is easy to use, we were able to transfer some of my music onto the device via the PC Suite software bundled with the phone and play it without a problem. Nokia has included a decent little application called Playlist DJ displays four sliders, representing happiness, love, anger and tranquillity. The user can then slide the controls to generate playlists that match certain moods.

Touchscreen

The touchscreen is responsive albeit a little confusing, the phone doesn’t indicate to the user when to single or double tap. It’s incredibly bright and detailed, it should be considering it has a 640 x 360 display, a resolution that surpasses the Apple iPhone.

Apple iPhone or HTC Android users will find the X6’s keyboard has a steep learning curve, it’s software keys mimic the same functionality as older external Nokia keyboards, requiring the users to continuously tap a number to select the correct letter. Gestures are laggy, scrolls laboured and there are no extra functions like pinch-to-zoom.

Camera

The camera on the X6 is high quality, snapping shots and presenting them almost instantly. Photos are good quality but colours are a little saturated.

The two flash LED’s are bright and help illuminate environments, even if they can be a little harsh, allowing you to take pictures in the dark when you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.

Ovi Store

The device allows you to connect to the Ovi Store and download third party apps. The store is lacking, compared to it’s iPhone and Android counterparts, but it does offer high quality apps like Skype, Ovi Maps and Facebook.

Battery

Battery life is very good, we managed around 45 hours on a full charge with limited use. The X6 boasts 5 hours of continuous talktime and no less than 35 hours of music playback.

The call quality is very crisp and clear, it’s a good phone to make calls from.

The “Comes With Music” subscription is fantastic for music lovers, 16GB or 32GB is enough storage for a huge amount of tracks.

The X6 has a great camera compared to other smartphones, stands apart from cameras on the Apple iPhone and HTC Hero.

A longer than average battery life.

Although it’s Nokia’s best touchscreen device; gestures are laboured, scrolling is laggy and the keyboard is frustrating to use.

The X6 isn’t too visually appealing.

The default home screen is too cluttered, doesn’t feel that intuitive.

Symbian operating system falls short of Android and the iPhone.

The Nokia X6 is a good phone; it has incredible call quality and can function as a satellite navigation device, point and click camera and  MP3 player. The battery will last longer than other smartphones but we feel that might be down to the fact it doesn’t offer as much in the way of functionality when compared to the Apple’s iPhone and the range of HTC devices.

It’s a device for those passionate about music, the huge storage and unlimited music download service would appeal to consumers who want to download a huge amount of music tracks.

We don’t feel it has any superior features that differentiate it any other smartphone and ultimately has come a little late to the smartphone party.

Little Caesars patents robot that assembles perfect pepperoni pizza

Little Caesars was today issued a patent for a robot designed to help assemble pizzas, meaning life’s about to get a lot easier (or a lot harder, depending on your perspective) for hapless human cheese spreaders.

The patent shows a device shaped like a stove top, with stations for different pizza-making tasks. The robot picks up a pan with pizza dough, squishes it, and then distributes sauce, cheese, and pepperoni in the proper proportions.

According to the company’s explanation in the patent, the robot would free Little Caesars from the tedium of repetitive tasks and allow them to “perform other value added tasks.” Presumably that’s the same thinking that gave us Flippy, the burger-flipping robot .

It doesn’t appear to actually cook the pizzas or slice them, and the only listed topping is pepperoni — though it probably wouldn’t be hard to adapt it to other toppings. I’m sure there are only so many ways one can “properly distribute” pineapple or olives. Still, there are other robots already doing the things this particular one can’t — Zume Pizza in Silicon Valley, for example, can shape the dough and bake the pizzas at a rate of 372 an hour.

If Little Caesars were to ever combine their robot with Pizza Hut’s self-driving pizza delivery truck , the only human force we’ll ever need will be a single human to load the pizzas into the car. At least it’ll make the experience less embarrassing when you accidentally order one with your vibrator .

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