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At its iPhone 4S event on Tuesday, Apple boasted of its new phone’s specs by comparing it to a number of Android competitors. But as much as newly minted CEO Tim Cook raved about the 4S, the question remains: Does the 4S truly stack up to the rest?

For the sake of comparison, we’ve taken some of the latest and greatest handsets across today’s most prominent mobile operating systems and broke them down relative to the new iPhone. First, we have the Droid Bionic, Motorola’s latest and greatest 4G smartphone offering. There’s also the Samsung Galaxy S II, the much-anticipated sequel to the popular Galaxy line. And of course, we have to include the underdogs: Samsung’s Focus (which runs Windows Phone 7.5, a.k.a. Mango), and one of RIM’s most recent handsets, the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

So let’s get to it.

The Guts

First, let’s compare these guys on what matters most: Their insides.

The Samsung Focus packs the weakest punch sporting a 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, while the Blackberry Bold has a slightly faster 1.2-GHz Snapdragon model. The iPhone 4S and the Droid Bionic both house 1-GHz dual-core chips, the 4S an Apple-designed A5 processor, the Droid Bionic an A9 processor. The Samsung Galaxy S II also features a 1.2 GHz dual-core chip.

Honestly, single-core chips are yesterday’s news. iPhone or not, two cores are indeed better than one.

We weren’t given the specifics of the iPhone 4S’s battery, but it’s safe to say it’s either the same as the iPhone 4’s, a 1420 mAH battery, or better. The Blackberry Bold sports the smallest in the battery department, a 1240 mAH battery, while the Samsung Galaxy S II has the largest, a 1650 mAH one (the better to juice up that super large display with). Schiller promised us up to 14 hours of talk time with the iPhone 4S; we’ll see if that holds water.

Screen size

Only the BlackBerry measures in smaller than the iPhone when it comes to display size. The Bold has a practically teensy 2.8-inch LCD. The iPhone 4S has a 3.5-inch retina display, just like its predecessor. The Samsung Focus has a larger 4-inch Super AMOLED display.

The Android models embrace the “bigger is better” ethos: The Droid Bionic has a 4.3-inch qHD display, but the Galaxy S II trumps even that with a gargantuan 4.52-inch Super AMOLED screen.

Although the larger phones are great for media consumption, a smaller phone fits more easily into pockets and doesn’t look ridiculous when you actually talk on it. Display size, therefore, is largely a matter of personal preference and depends on how you plan to use the phone.

It should be noted that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the only one of the bunch to include a hardware QWERTY keyboard (and not a slide-out version), while the rest utilize onscreen touch-based keyboards.

Camera

The Samsung Focus and BlackBerry Bold both have 5 MP cameras on board. We thought that pictures taken with the Focus were sub-par, and somewhat on the blurry side. It does offer HD video recording capabilities, though. The Focus is an older phone, it came out in 2010, but the Bold 9900 debuted this year.

8 megapixels seems to be the standard in 2011. The Droid Bionic has an 8-megapixel camera. The Samsung Galaxy S II does as well. Both take bright, detailed photos. So finally, the iPhone 4S joins the 8-megapixel trend, also with photo editing functions. All three of these guys have 1080p video recording capabilities, so you can capture whatever it is like you like to capture with your smartphone camera with exquisite clarity and detail.

Network

The Samsung Focus and Droid Bionic are single carrier guys. The Focus runs on AT&T’s HSPA+ network, while the Bionic sails on Verizon’s CDMA and LTE networks.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the first 4G BlackBerry, and it’s available on T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon’s networks.

The Samsung Galaxy S II comes in different flavors that run on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint’s networks. We tested the Epic 4G Touch, which is available on Sprint’s 4G Wi-Max network.

The iPhone 4S will be available on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.

Conclusions

Hardware wise, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is really the only phone that’s behind the times (though saying RIM needs to catch up is hardly news). Android and iOS are still battling neck and neck for world smartphone domination. And we should have some new Windows Phone Mango handsets later this fall, which should bump up Windows Phone’s offerings to better match that of Android and iOS (hopefully, at least).

Media Hub is nothing new to those toting Galaxy Tabs or Galaxy S phones. However, bigger screens are always better whether you’re watching 30 Rock or MacGruber, right? Good thing Sammy’s launched a beta program for its video service that lets those who are selected see all their favorite shows and movies on their Smart TVs. Just register at the source link below, and Samsung will send those it selects an email invitation to download the Media Hub Beta application. The catch (there’s always a catch) — it’s only available to Galaxy S II owners, and your Smart TV must be a 2011 model. But, if you do hit the Media Hub Beta lotto, the company’s handing out $25 voucher to use with the service. As if you needed another reason to go get Samsung’s superphone.

Samsung’s Media Hub Beta program for Galaxy S II owners adds some points to your Smart TV’s IQ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• The top story this week revolves around the HTC Thunderbolt’s long-awaited Gingerbread OTA update. It was finally rolling out, which was exciting news for owners of the device — until it had to be pulled because of some rather significant bugs. The largest of them all was that voicemail notifications no longer worked properly; video chatting through Google Talk was also slightly messed up as well. No word on when we can expect to see it come back with those bugs fixed. [Droid-Life]
• Unfortunately, the Thunderbolt isn’t the only phone falling victim to pulled revamps; the LG Optimus S on Sprint had its Gingerbread update kiboshed, though users have had two weeks to get it — plenty of time for anyone to experience some of the bugs, which included the phone not charging, the SD card not being recognized when the phone’s connected to the computer, no access to data services, and predictive text on the virtual keyboard stopped working. It’s disappointing to see this happen so soon after the Kyocera Echo update went through a similar debacle. [SprintFeed]
• LG Optimus 3D: V10K firmware update, enables phone to convert OpenGL-capable 2D games into stereoscopic 3D. Note: this still runs Android 2.2.2, so we’re still waiting for Gingerbread. [AndroidCentral]
• Motorola Xoom WiFi: Android 3.2.1 is beginning to roll out. [AndroidCentral]
• Dell Streak 7: Honeycomb update rolling out now to unspecified regions [AndroidCentral]
• Asus Eee Pad Transformer: Revamped to Android 3.2.1, adds other bug fixes [AndroidCommunity]
• Casio G’Zone Commando: Gingerbread rolling out now [Droid-Life]
• Motorola Droid 3: Minor maintenance refresh; enhances Google Talk with video chat support, several other fixes. [PhoneDog]
• T-Mobile Samsung Nexus S: OTA install (with option to manually install) to Android 2.3.6; doesn’t appear to break tethering. [AndroidCentral]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• The Android 2.3.5 ROM for the global Samsung Galaxy S II leaked early this week. [Pocketnow, SamFirmware]
• You can now download the Android 2.3.4 SBF for the Motorola Droid X2, courtesy of XDA. [Droid-Life]
• If you have a Sony Ericsson Xperia-branded device from 2010 or 2011, CyanogenMod7 support will most likely come included as part of an upcoming update. Ten Xperia devices will be added, though a timeframe for release wasn’t announced. Check here to see if your device made the list. [XperiaBlog]

Other platforms

• Check here to see if your phone is ready to receive Windows Phone Mango.
• The ultra-rare AT&T HP Pre 3 just received an OTA update to 2.2.3.2207, right after a new webOS Doctor became available for the same refresh. [PreCentral]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update now rolling out
• How to force Mango to your phone right away
• Samsung Taylor receiving Mango?

Refresh Roundup: week of September 26, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here comes the second episode of a thrilling three-part saga. Not content with simply selling ten million units of the GT-I9100 — its flagship device — in the course of the last five months, Samsung’s ready to flood the good ol’ US of A with a healthy dose of the Galaxy S II, and it has three carriers — Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile — already signed up on the dotted line. The Epic 4G Touch has already made its way into stores (not to mention the hearts of customers), and Ma Bell’s next in line to appease the masses.

This time, things are a smidge different. Whereas Sprint opted to enlarge the screen and add in a few other select design tweaks, it appears that AT&T wanted to keep its variant — appropriately named the Galaxy S II — as close to the international smash hit as possible, opting for the same display size, squared corners and battery (albeit, with a twist). As it turns out, the tweaks are much more subtle than they were on last year’s Samsung Captivate, which arguably looked almost nothing like the original Galaxy S. So does AT&T’s model fit in with its two close compadres? Was its design choice the right decision for this go-round? Follow us below to get the full scoop.

Continue reading AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II review

AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While other carriers gear up for the upcoming iPhone 5, T-Mobile today introduced a trifecta of 4G products poised to take advantage of the carrier’s 20 Mbps-plus network speeds.

Two smartphones, the Android Gingerbread-running HTC Amaze 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S II, along with a hotspot, the Sonic 4G Mobile HotSpot, were introduced at the Mobilize 2011 conference.

The HTC Amaze 4G is all about the camera. It has 8 megapixels, 1080p HD video recording capabilities, a backside illuminated sensor and a dual LED flash. Touting zero shutter lag, it also comes with some proprietary digital camera features like SmartShot, which takes five photos and creates a composite for the “best” shot and PerfectPics, which creates a separate album of best photos based on qualities such as general picture sharpness and the presence of faces.

And we know all about the Samsung Galaxy S II, but the T-Mobile flavor is slightly different than Sprint’s Epic 4G Touch version. T-Mobile’s Galaxy S II will be NFC enabled, with a 1.5 GHz dual core Snapdragon processor. The 4.52-inch display, HDMI out and most other features remain largely unchanged.

T-Mobile’s Sonic 4G Mobile HotSpot, built by Huawei, can support up to five Wi-Fi devices and is small, weighing in at only 3.88 ounces. It has an SD card slot so you can share photo and video content with anyone who is also connected to the hotspot. An OLED screen on the device displays stats like network strength and battery level.

T-Mobile could soon be the only carrier not to offer Apple’s iPhone, so the company has instead decided to boost its 4G and Android offerings. It’s a smart move, as Android is iOS’s biggest competitor for now. In March, AT&T announced intentions to buy T-Mobile and merge their networks into one conglomerate. The move was recently blocked by the Justice Department, much to the joy of competing carriers (and many T-Mobile subscribers).

As the “anti-iPhone” carrier, it could also be smart of T-Mobile to embrace Windows Phone 7 and its upcoming Mango update. With Nokia’s hardware and software teams firmly behind Microsoft and a slew of new devices in the works, the critically acclaimed fledgling OS could take off come 2012. But so far it seems that AT&T has embraced that role a bit more, offering three Mango-specific smartphones that will debut this fall.

The HTC Amaze 4G will be available starting Oct. 10 and will cost $260 with a two-year contract. The Galaxy S II will run you $230 when it lands Oct. 12. The Sonic 4G Mobile HotSpot hasn’t been officially priced yet, but it will also be available in October.

Image: T-Mobile