HTC One S

After procuring this phone a couple of weeks ago I figured it's probably about time to write up a review, so here goes!

The HTC One S is the Goldilocks of the three phones from HTC this year. Not as powerful or large as the One X but significantly better than the One V. A quick rundown of the spec gives:

• 4.3inch 720p screen
• 119.5 grams 
• 1.5ghz dual core processor
• Android ICS
• 1650 mAh battery

The phone comes with Sense 4.0 which is HTCs overlay on the stock Android experience. I think it adds a bit more with some nice screen animations, very fast response, ease-of-use and as one reviewer from CNET stated in a Jeremy Clarkson voice, 'it goes like stink'. 

Couple of features are being able to film a video and take pictures at the same time, a card-type effect view for recent apps, swiping to close any you don't need anymore and the ability to preview widgets before adding them to a homescreen. In tests it was actually found that the phone was faster than it's older brother (the One X) at day-to-day tasks, only when some heavy usage over and above the average user does the quad core behemoth kick in to improve performance. The size of the thing is sexy too, at only 7.8mm thick it slides into the skinniest of jeans.  

The battery is very impressive considering it's not the largest I've seen in a phone by a long shot. Using the phone on it's lowest brightness (although this is still easily legible) with push email and a couple of syncing widgets under moderate use for a day and I'm still left with circa 65-70% at the end of a day! Must be the latest version of Android along with a dual-core processor handling multiple tasks that keeps it chugging along nicely! Always a big factor when considering a phone. 

Although it may not be the biggest (suits me fine as it fits in my pocket!) or best screen (Sony seem to be trumping there along with the iPhone) this phone is certainly fighting it out with the big boys even though it's meant to be a mid-range phone, kudos. I'm certainly happy with it until my upgrade early next year.

Huzzah. 

Music

Music is, as clichéd as it sounds, one of the biggest parts of my life. Listen to it pretty much all day everyday and always have to find that perfect sound for every moment or mood.

With this in mind, finding a new band or artist that I really like is very rewarding. Something to keep you on your toes and makes you tap your foot straight away. Here's a quick breakdown of how I find new music. This may not be the best or most convenient way, but it works for me!

1. Pick an artist that you really like
2. Head on over to www.lastfm.com and do a search for the artist using the 'Music Search' function
3. Hopefully the artist will be there - I don't think I've ever had the issue of them not!
4. Click on the artist profile, and about 3/4 of the way down on the left there will be a 'Similar Artists' tab
5. This ranks similar artists ranging from 'Super Similarity' down to 'Lower Similarity'; pick one from the pile
6. Open up Spotify now, Lastfm's music player ain't great for trying to listen to a specific artist
7. Find the artist in Spotify and give them a listen - there is also the 'Similar Artists' in Spotfiy, although I don't find it anywhere near as extensive or accurate as Lastfm.
8. Once you've properly vetted them, download, simple as!

Once again there may be better/different ways to discover music, drop a comment how you do it!

Phil here, thought I'd put a little addition into Ally's post on how I discover music online. Two of my favourite ways are to listen to Rob Da Bank on Radio 1, get his set list and search the bands on youtube. I find his shows have such a great mix of music I love that there's always something new and interesting to discover.

My second way is to find a band I enjoy, use Wikipedia to define the genre and list similar artists on it's pages, then simply head to youtube or spotify to check them out. Like what I hear, straight to download - easy as. 

Samsung Galaxy SIII

As I'm sure you're aware, the latest instalment from Samsung is due out on Weds (May 30th). Here's a quick run-down of what all the hype is about:

• 4.8inch  HD Super AMOLED screen
• Quad core processor at 1.4ghz
• 2,100mAh battery
• Ice Cream Sandwich (of course)
• NFC connectivity
• 133g

In laments terms, this is one helluva phone, most likely the phone of the year! Great vivid screen, cracking processor for a phone, long(ish) battery life, latest android and all in a light frame. So, are there any negatives I hear you ask? 

It really depends on what you look for in a phone. The size of the thing, despite its slim form is still quite hefty to squeeze into a pocket. This screen size also leads to it needing two hands to operate, unless you have mammoth thumbs that can reach every corner! The case is plastic (which keeps the weight down) and has been quoted as being fairly strong, yet it won't give the aesthetics of the glass of the iphone or anodised material used in HTCs phones. 

These issues aside, if you can afford it, go for it. Guaranteed to win a host of awards this year and quite right too. 

Okay, so I realise it's been a little while since I last updated the blog and since then we've seen a whole heap of things happen in the world of technology: the Galaxy s3 came out, Dark Souls Prepare to Die edition was announced, I got my new phone (I did go for the Xperia S in the end and am so very happy), a lot of companies gearing up for E3 etc.

So, with all this going on, it's a little difficult to dissect all the news at once, and I'll instead focus on a couple of things that will affect me (and possibly you too).

I WANT so badly!

The first, as mentioned above, is the announcement of the PC exclusive dark Souls Perpare to Die edition. This is huge in two ways: Dark Souls is now on PC after a very effective online petition, and it also includes a host of new content. If you read my review of the game, you'll know it's one of my all time favourites and still blows my mind. Why is From Software releasing this new content for PC only, and not the consoles that generated the damn opportunity for it to be emulated? ARGH! I want to cry at such news (needless to say, my PC is not at all capable of handling this game).

Secondly, Sony has pushed the ICS update for the Xperia S back until the end of June. While now a huge issue, I really fancied getting it installed much earlier (especially as Sony updated their 2011 Xperia line over a month ago!). Once more, this is simply frustrating, but nothing more than that. But still...I'm sad.