Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung Galaxy S5 2014 is turning out to be a stellar year for the prospective smartphone user, as the HTC One (M8) was joined by the Samsung Galaxy S5 in our 'best smartphone' list, and now the Xperia Z2 enters the fray too. There was a lot of hype around the new Galaxy, and rightly so: it's by far the best phone Samsung has ever produced, with a blazing fast core, a strong result in the benchmarks and a larger 5.1-inch screen. Then there's the fact that with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU the Galaxy S5 is one of the best phones on the market when it comes to battery life, besting the already impressive One M8 in the power stakes. Samsung has also dropped the 'innovation' of the air gestures from last year (well, they are in there but not the main focus) and improved the hardware with a better camera, fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor too. The last addition is pretty pointless... but hey, it's fun for down the pub. Quick verdict The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a good phone, apart from the design. It's something that needs to be updated sorely, and while it doesn't have to be an all-metal shell, it needs to evolve.

News Source :  www.techradar.com

Sony Xperia Z2

Sony Xperia Z2

Sony Xperia Z2 has something of a slump last year, following up the impressive Xperia Z with the lacklustre Xperia Z1 just a few months later. The camera, which was supposed to be the headline feature, didn't impress as much as we'd hoped, and the screen was still lacking the IPS clout that the Xperia Z Ultra managed - meaning muted colours and poor viewing angles. Anyway, enough about last year - Sony's back in 2014 and comes with an excellent phone in the shape of the Xperia Z2. Tipped to be the third of the stellar smartphone triumverate, alongside the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8) we were intrigued to see how it shaped up. And the good news is it's impressive. Really impressive. The industrial design is a little chunky but oozes premium quality in a way that Samsung's plastic shell doesn't, and it's a little more robust than its Galactical and Primary rivals thanks to being IP58 rated. Great battery life, strong power and a good camera all are present and correct with our new top three phones, but Sony steals second simply by being a great all-rounder. It doesn't have the polish of the HTC One M8, nor the more functional UI, but it does what's asked with top-end specs. That's what we like. Quick verdict What did Sony need to do to impress? Not a lot, but that screen and camera needed a fix as well as adding in some other features.

News Source :  www.techradar.com