Hasta La Gadget!

With the OPPO Find 5 seeing a surprising amount of interest in the forums and across-the-ocean mobile carriers of the world this month, it comes time to compare to one of the other most-searched smartphones on the planet: the iPhone 5. Both devices are the hero smartphone for their manufacturer, and both work with the newest (or ever-so-close to newest) mobile operating system available to them. Other than that, they’re quite a bit different from one another.

While the iPhone 5 has seen significant success since its launch last year, OPPO’s launch of the Find 5 has been limited. The OPPO Find 5 is only out in and around China, and if you’re planning on using it in the USA, you’ll need to make more than a little bit of effort to have it sent to you. Once you have the Find 5 in-hand, you’ll find it impressive as a non-major-brand device can be.

The OPPO Find 5 works with a 5-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, this bringing it up to 441 PPI. Meanwhile the iPhone 5 has a 4-inch display with 640 x 1136 pixel resolution, putting it at 326 PPI. Both devices have generous viewing angles, and the operating systems running on each device is optimized for the screen size they’re working with

Android and iOS can be compared, but because they’re working with completely different app ecosystems, it’d be a mistake to compare the iPhone 5 to the OPPO Find 5 in any more than a piece-by-piece fashion. It really comes down to user preference when you see these devices in action, and with both using Google or Apple’s newest operating system right out of the box, basic system abilities are more similar to one another than they’ve ever been before.

The iPhone 5 is significantly smaller than the OPPO Find 5, coming in at 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in) with a weight of 112 g (3.95 oz). The OPPO Find 5 is sized at 141.8 x 68.8 x 8.9 mm (5.58 x 2.71 x 0.35 in) with a weight of 165 g (5.82 oz). You’ll find the iPhone 5 fits the palm of your hand in a more natural way while the Find 5 brings a display size better suited to those looking to play high-powered games and high-definition videos.

The iPhone 5 and the OPPO Find 5 take fine photos and video, but the Apple product is perfected in a way that allows basically any user to take really nice looking shots. The Find 5 has the ability to capture media that looks nice, but it’s not quick to do so. A user not ready to hold their device steady against a solid surface for every photo and video should beware, for certain.

Have a peek at our iPhone 5 review as well as our OPPO Find 5 review and see for yourself which device is ready to command your hand. This selection will likely be based a bit more on your location on this planet than your preference for smartphone prowess and the release size is quite different between these two bits of technology – and let us know if either strikes your fancy.

OPPO Find 5 vs iPhone 5: brands’ top-tier mobile devices clash is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The race to offer a mobile device with the best display possible seems to have no end line, with companies pushing out ever higher-resolution, sharper, brighter screens on their highest-end handsets. Likewise, the battle between which flagship devices have the best displays have raged betwixt consumers, with fans of various devices touting reasons why their favorite device is best. Taking a perhaps more scientific approach, the folks over at Gadget Guy have put the most popular handsets’ displays under the microscope – literally.

The iPhone 5, LG Optimus G, Samsung GALAXY S 4, Sony Xperia Z, and HTC One all had their displays put under a digital microscope, with comparison images of text taken between different combinations of the aforementioned smartphones being assembled together into slider images, allowing users to slide back and forth over the close-up shots and see them in a way their naked eyes can’t.

According to the folks who did the test, they chose to image text specifically because they felt a close-up look at the letters is one of the best ways to compare the displays. What you’re looking for is the curvature of the letters: smooth, round curves on the letters are preferable over ones with rougher curves. So which display is best among them?

Not to be disappointing, but the answer is, “It depends.” As you can see in the images, which we have in the gallery below, you can see the individual differences in the technologies used in the displays, but aside from that the subtle differences between the text is still obvious, and largely open to interpretation. For example, the Xperia Z and the GALAXY S 4 both offer 441ppi, but when looked at up close, one would be tempted to proclaim Sony the best of the two, with its lettering coming in very clear and smooth.

You can check out the interactive version of the comparisons at the link below. Which display is best? Let us know what you think!

[via Gadget Guy]

Flagship smartphone displays put under the microscope – literally is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Last year we heard about the YotaPhone, a smartphone that has two screens – the usual full color touchscreen and an E-ink screen. A small company has come up with a case for the iPhone 5 that gives Apple’s smartphone a similar set up to the YotaPhone. Called the Popslate, the case has an E-ink display at the back.

The Popslate’s screen draws power from the iPhone 5′s battery via the Lightning connector, but because it’s an E-ink screen it shouldn’t make a large dent in the phone’s battery. As for its usefulness, many of the same things that can be said about the YotaPhone apply to the Popslate as well. You can leave a map or recipe on there, read books and do other things that require an always-on screen. The makers of Popslate also said that they’ll develop an open API so other people can make apps that work with the case.

It all sounds good, but even though the $119(USD) device was successfully crowdfunded on Indiegogo and is now available for pre-order, I don’t think you should reserve one just yet. The demo above is clearly a mock-up – as Vimeo users pointed out, E-ink screens don’t refresh as smoothly as the one shown in the video. I’d suggest that you wait for a review or at least a demo of the finished product before you even consider getting one.

[via Outgrow.me]

US Cellular will offer the iPhone later this year, the regional carrier has confirmed, finally jumping onboard Apple’s bandwagon as it hunts new smartphone subscribers. Announced alongside US Cellular’s latest financial results, there’s still no exact date for when would-be subscribers will be able to find the iOS handsets in-store; however, the carrier does leave the door open to offer Apple’s 3G/4G-enabled iPads, too.

In fact, the press release refers to the somewhat generic “Apple products” rather than iPhone or iPad specifically. The obvious assumption is the iPhone 5 and, given US Cellular’s appeal among cost-conscious users, the cheaper iPhone 4S and 4 versions too, though it could also be a pre-emptive grab for whatever new version – whether iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, or something else – Apple reveals later this year.

No matter which version, US Cellular is confident it will help them grow their numbers. “We have a number of strategies in progress to increase loyalty and attract more customers, including our announcement today that we will begin offering Apple products later this year” president and CEO Mary N. Dillon said in a statement today. “By further strengthening our device portfolio, we’ll give consumers another great reason to switch to U.S. Cellular, and enable our existing customers to choose from an even wider variety of iconic smartphones.”

However, the carrier would be wise to look to other, smaller networks to see the potential risks involved. Leap Wireless waded into the Apple smartphone game last year, but was forced to warn investors that it could be left with a sizable amount of unsold stock after demand proved to be less than the amounts it had negotiated with Apple.

iPhone spreads as US Cellular says it will offer Apple devices this year is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This weekend is one comic book fans have been waiting all year for as Iron Man 3 will soon be released in theaters across the U.S. We know you’re probably excited enough to wear something Iron Man related, maybe even taking your 7-foot tall Iron Man figure with you. But true Iron Man fans who happen to have an iPhone 5 will want to also deck out their device with an Iron Man-themed case, and we think this Mark VII Armor Case would be the best to carry around with you.

The iPhone 5 case was modeled after Iron Man’s Mark VII upgraded armor and feels like it’s entirely made of metal. The case features the suit’s power core, which flashes when you have an incoming call, and also has a cover on its left shoulder that can uncover the iPhone’s camera. As with the majority of cool things you see on the Internet, the Mark VII Armor Case is only available in Japan, which means if you order it now, you probably won’t get it in time for the big premier this weekend. On the other hand, you will have it in time for your third or fourth viewing of Iron Man 3.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iOS And Samsung Galaxy Devices Reportedly Being Approved For Use By DoD, iPhone 5 VS Samsung Galaxy S3 VS Galaxy S4 In “Torture” Test,