Return of the Groupie! and the Importance of smartphone philosophy

I’m back! And what a wonderful world of smartphone joy it is that I’ve returned to! In my absence we’ve seen an HTC device become (in this humble blogger’s opinion) the best Android, nay, the best smartphone on the market today with only the mighty Galaxy Nexus (a very personal favourite and my current daily driver) able to match it’s greatness. I can already hear the fanboy expletives being screamed at computer screens across the realm of Geekdom however I stand by the statement and you’ll see why later.

Since I’ve been gone we’ve also finally seen the reveal of the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy SIII, a smartphone which I must admit even had me a little wet around the gooch in anticipation….I’m sorry.  However the unveiling of Korean manufacturer’s flagship has left more than a few phone groupies (myself included) a little underwhelmed.

Sure it does everything it should do on paper and sure, it does it all really, really well but the antiquated design, Siri imitation and substandard build quality just fail to show the innovation and ambition that can put a device that one precious step ahead of it’s peers, something it seems HTC have taken heed of with it’s One series of smartphones. Sense 4.0 not withstanding, the One X is one of the most beautifully crafted and considered handsets I’ve ever had the pleasure of tinkering with. Yes I still feel Sense, even its Ice Cream Sandwich incarnation is annoying and convoluted however the device illustrates something that the Galaxy SIII failed to do, and that something is design philosophy.

Now this is something Samsung clearly knows how to pull of as they managed it splendidly with the Galaxy Nexus. As we all know a nexus device represents an Android clean slate, a device free from manufacturer meddling and running Google’s latest OS as envisioned and that’s exactly what the Galaxy Nexus was through and through. Even it’s beautifully monolithic design (a feat which in my eyes surpasses even the iPhone 4’s) with its lack of conventional buttons and its smooth, sleek chassis spoke volumes about the phone’s design philosophy. This is why I place the Galaxy Nexus above the SIII and on par with the One X.

In this day and age, simply making sure your device is outfitted with the best specs isn’t what matters *cough* LG! *cough cough.* A design philosophy, consistent within itself, is needed to strike a rapport between manufacturer and consumer. That rapport is invaluable. Love them or hate them it is something Apple mastered years ago and is something other manufactures are finally taking on board as seen in devices such as the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC One series.

It’s just a shame that Samsung, after showing such promise with the Galaxy Nexus (questionable build quality not withstanding) then decided to throw the baby out with the bathwater when they needed it most.

Barcelona Blues

Happy Monday my fellow freaks and geeks! Now before we get started, I would like to thank those kind few who people who actually emailed me (I know, right!) in regard to the blog.

It's the first whiff of correspondence I've had since I began writing this thing all those weeks ago, and although I'm certain that each of you is likely suffering from an incredibly intrusive malignant brain tumour bearing down upon the fragile layers of your cerebral cortex thus causing you to make so obvious an error in judgement and actually praise the "work" I've been doing I am nonetheless extremely grateful. Please people, continue to get in touch and I promise to answer each email personally…and leave comments damn it. Oh and to answer Jo from Montreal Canada's question; Sorry, I don't blog on weekends. Now down to business...

Mobile World Congress 2012 has at last come to an end, with everybody who's anybody in the smartphone world finally reaching under the bed for the crusty rolled up sock after having effectively blown their proverbial loads all over Barcelona.

What do I think of this year's hottest mobile trade show?..…..meh *shrugs shoulders.* 

It was alright I guess but despite the surplus of devices unveiled it simply failed to excite me to the same degree CES did earlier in the calendar. I don't actually know why this is. On paper we got some great devices. We saw a lot of quad core stuff (although if you've read my early post you'll know that my excitement is significantly tempered when it comes to that particular trend) and the Nokia 808 Pureview really is an interesting concept, despite its inexplicable use of the Symbian operating system. But even so, I simply feel disappointed with the overall fare. 

Perhaps it was due to the lack of established big name hitters such as the Galaxy SIII or maybe it is just my unrepentant vitriol to the notion that quad core processors are the solution to problems that run a hell of a lot deeper than speed and performance. Who knows? Maybe I just need to get my hands on one of these bad boys to have all my fears put to bed and shake the apathy from my bones. Actually thinking about it the HTC One X looks like it could be a huge leap in the right direction for the Taiwanese giants, providing they stick to their new manifesto and promise to release less than 18 bajillion phones every quarter. I know there’s also been a lot of love for Sony’s new Xperia range which many of you consider to be underrated (although I consider it quite suitably ‘rated’) and I think like seven of you are actually excited by yet another year of LG’s hollow chest pounding but aside from that I’ve found the feedback to be a very mixed bag indeed.

Am I being too cynical? What were your opinions on the show this year? Was the crusty sock joke too far? Feel free to let me have it in the comments.

Until next time.