Archive for August, 2012

UPDATE:  I am sorry everyone, but I jumped on the Apple bandwagon and I am now the semi-proud/confused owner of an iPhone 5

Good morning.  I spent almost all yesterday figuring out how to work my new phone, the Impulse.  Its been a while since I’ve had a touch screen and a smart phone.  But after much time spent with it, I can finally write a review:
(If the alarm clock doesn’t wake you up, try these alternatives)

SPECS:
Modes:  GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 WCDMA 850 / 1900 / 2100
Weight: 4.41 oz   (125 g)
Dimensions: 4.72″ x 2.56″ x 0.46″   (120 x 65 x 11.6 mm)
Form: Factor Bar
Internal Antenna
Battery Talk: 4 hours max.   (240 minutes)
Standby: 240 hours max.   (10 days)
1500 mAh   LiIon Battery
Display Type: LCD (Color TFT/TFD)
Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels, 3.8″ diagonal
Colors: 262,144 (18-bit)
Platform / OS Android version 2.2
Processor 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7230
FCC ID QISU8800 » (Approved Oct 19, 2010)
QISU8800-51 » (Approved Jul 19, 2011)

FEATURES
Bluetooth Supported Profiles: HSP 1.1, HFP 1.5, OPP, PBA, A2DP, AVRC Version 2.1+EDR
Camera Resolution: 5+ megapixel, auto-focus, LED flash
Email Client Protocols Supported: POP, IMAP, GMail, Exchange
GPS / Location Type: A-GPS
Hearing Aid Compatible Rating: M3, T4 (very tele-coil compatible)
High-Speed Data Technology: HSPA 14.4
Memory Card Slot Card Type: microSD (TransFlash) 4 GB card included / supports up to 32 GB
Mobile Hotspot up to 5 devices
Real-Music Ringers Supported Formats: MP3
Text Messaging (SMS) View Style: Threaded
Touch Screen Type: Capacitive
Video Capture Resolution: 720p HD
Voice Dialing Type: Speaker-independent (automatic)
WAP / Web Browser Browser Software: Android browser (WebKit-based)

Other features: Alarm, Calculator, Calendar, Custom ringtones and graphics, digital TTY/TDD, Flight mode,
FM Radio, Games, 3.5 mm jack, Instant Messaging, MMS, Music player, Pic ID,
Predictive entry swype, Ringer ID, Streaming Video, Speaker phone, USB mode/storage,
Vibrate modes, and Wi-Fi

SUMMARY: By far one of the most interesting phones, and I’m in some position to make this call, since I went through about 11 phones while with Sprint (Only 1 survived intact)  The Android OS is definitely a new experience for me, a good one too.  The battery life is questionable, the background stuff uses a lot of juice, like the location services for example.  On that note, there is an app that displays each service that is consuming the most amount of battery, so you’ll know which ones to stop to save your battery.  Another cool feature is the Swype input feature, basically you “swipe” over the keys you want to enter, so if I wanted to type in “Skyline” I’d start at “S” and swipe my finger to “k” then to “y” then to “l”, etc etc and it’d come out as “skyline”

RECOMMENDED APPS:
What’s a phone without apps?  Well, after testing a good bunch of them, I personally recommend:
Flashlight by Nikolay Ananiev – A great app to turn your LED flash into a flashlight!  Or a strobe light, or whatever you feel!
Vlingo by Vlingo Corp. – Pretty much the Siri of the Andriod world.  Has an in-car mode, customizable spoken greeting, and is amazingly accurate voice detection!