RPad.TV

While the HTC Evo 4G is all set for a June release in America, Samsung has been mum about the arrival of its super sexy Google Android-powered Galaxy S. A Samsung marketing rep would only confirm that it is coming to America in 2010; no specific date or carrier partner has been confirmed. Like the Evo 4G, the thing that stands out most about this phone is its screen. It’s not as big as the Evo 4G’s, but it uses “super” AMOLED technology. And yes, it’s super…thanks for asking. The picture is noticeably crisper and it supposedly doesn’t suffer from the poor outdoor viewing problems of OLED screens.

The form factor is straight out of Apple’s playbook. It’s smooth and curvy in all the right places (sorry, I just wanted to throw that line in). It looks like a slightly longer and thinner version of the iPhone 3GS. However, it’s feels lighter, despite having a beefy 1,500 mAh battery. I love the way the phone looks and greatly prefer its style to the Evo 4G’s.

The interface has some interesting features. There’s a social network hub, similar to the one featured on Motorola’s Blur interface, that collects your Facebook and Twitter messages. There’s a “daily briefing” app that collects local news and weather reports. In general, the interface isn’t as smooth as HTC Sense or Motorola Blur. I am not a fan of Samsung’s TouchWhiz interface, but the Galaxy S’ implementation of Android seems better than prior efforts. It’s just not as good as what HTC and Motorola are doing.

Although the Galaxy S’ 5MP camera is a lower resolution than the Evo 4G’s, I think it offers better images (at least from a totally scientific three-minute test). Samsung has a strong record with camera phones while HTC has been mediocre in this department.

If I had to choose between the Evo 4G and the Galaxy S, I’d lean towards the Galaxy S. The big “if” is the carrier it ends up on. I’ve been burned by Sprint in the past, as has RPadholic thejedirevan. I really don’t like AT&T. There’s a rumor that T-Mobile will be getting this phone, which would make me incredibly happy. Verizon, which has the HTC Incredible, doesn’t seem to need it. Where will it end up? I have no idea, but I wanna know now!!!

I spent a little time with HTC’s Android-powered Evo 4G, which is coming to Sprint next month. The first thing that jumped out at me was the screen — it’s frickin’ huge! I enjoyed the 3.7-inch screen on the HTC Nexus One when I spent a few days with it, but the 4.3-incher on the Evo 4G makes it look ordinary.

The shape isn’t as unusual as the HTC Incredible’s, but it’s still on the boxy side. If you dig the curves of the Apple iPhone of Palm Pre then you might not like the aesthetics of the Evo 4G. Looking past the surface, the phone uses HTC Sense, which is much friendlier than stock Android. I really like what the company has done with Sense; the downside is that you’ll have to wait a little longer for Android updates due to the customizations.

The camera took decent videos and pictures. I wasn’t expecting too much in this department. HTC hasn’t been the best when it comes to image quality and there doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement (keep in mind that I only played with the device for a few minutes).

Compared to Samsung Galaxy S — which I’ll be writing about in a few minutes — I preferred the Evo 4G’s screen size and interface. The company also has a strong track record with Android, whereas Samsung does not. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the photos!

Hey guys! I’m at the Google I/O keynote armed with my BlackBerry. A lot of the keynote content will be geared towards developers, but there should be some cool stuff that interests you. Keep refreshing this blog post for updates and I’ll try to check up on your comments. After the keynote is done I’ll add some pics. Stay tuned!

– Hrm. WiFi and mobile signal is overloaded. This is what happens when too many nerds are in one place. Most of the people around me are checking their smartphones (superphones?), iPads, or laptops as they’re watching the keynote. It’s kind of rude actually, but I’m absolved since I’m press. Ha!

– Clicker.tv shows off how HTML5 can be used for entertainment. It’s pretty cool. Check it out on Chrome if you have a chance.

– Crap. My web server appears to be borked. What the hell am I paying those guys for?!? *sigh* Great timing guys! I’ll be sure to switch next year.

– Peeps from Mozilla and Opera are showing how cool HTML5 is on their respective browsers. The video capabilities are pretty awesome.

– Adobe dude is showing how HTML5 can be used with Dreamweaver, Illustrator, etc. You can tell Adobe is loving Google right now. He teases a lot of Google devices running Flash…that will be seen tomorrow. Tease.

– An HTML5 version of Tweetdeck — my favorite Twitter application — is being shown. It works pretty well and looks almost as nice as the Adobe Air version.

– Google will launch the Chrome Web store to sell web apps and games. Plants vs. Zombies and Lego: Star Wars are shown. The former is expected, but it’s cool seeing a “reak” 3D game running on HTML5 through a browser. The framerate looked a little choppy, so I’m assuming it’s early.

– Old guy from Sports Illustrated (EIC) is showing how HTML5 will help reinvent his magazine. He’s showing a live prototype using HTML5. He describes it as a “highly edited, curated, searchable, open, and social take on sports.” Video is embedded into individual articles. A radial wheel is available in each artcile; it allows you to hit up related content. Articles can be promoted with tools like Google Buzz. Advertisements are slick…and a little evil — a camera ad is shown and can be viewed with different lenses, eventually using Google Maps to show where consumers can buy it. That’s awesomely clever.

– Hmmmmm. Now I’m wondering if there’s a bigger Internet problem going on. I can’t access numerous sites now. Perhaps Google broke the Internet.

– Google Wave is being integrated into Google Apps. That makes much more sense if it’s going to be used as a collaborative business tool. If you’re a sysadmin that uses Google Apps, you can grant users Wave access now.

– Okay, the site is working again. Google didn’t break the Internet.