A Request of my knowledge - The most powerful Android...

So a very friendly follower of mine, Geoffrey, asked me what is the most power android device is on the market on my last post about the new HTC's (sorry I didn't include the Evo 3D for those of you in the U.S. :P).

Now I'm sure he is definitely considering getting an Android and is just asking for my opinion and I started writing my opinion back in my comments on that last post, but I soon realized it needed its own post on my blog because it can be fairly in-depth.

As you can tell I am huge HTC fan boy and as I have stated here and there, thats because their devices have  a grand number of features that I believe holistically outshine other brands, be it the User Interface (UI), the general aesthetics and build quality, built in apps, enhancements and features. I try not to be as biased as possible :P but it may still look like that and I can give it to the other brands every now and then for out shining the others... yes even HTC haha.

Ok to go straight to the point lets look straight at the specs to determine the most powerful device. This usually takes into account performance from cpu, ram and graphics.
The contestants are my 3 favourite new flagships HTC Sensation, Samsung Galaxy S II and Motorola Atrix.
Of course to start of, the Sensation boasts a dual-core 1.2ghz processor, HTC chose to stick with Qualcomm's Snapdragon but threw in the Adreno 220 graphics processor and 768MB of Ram to make a great combination that packs a punch. 

Now both the Galaxy S2 and the Atrix pack a dual-core 1ghz Nvdidia Tegra 2 processor (which hear shows to be very promising) and the GPU (graphics processor),  Atrix features the brilliant GeForce component whereas the Galaxy S2 has the Adreno 205. Both have 1GB of ram

These devices go very much hand in hand and these may just look like a bunch of figures, but for in my opinion it is pretty much a dead heat between the Sensation and Atrix thanks to Ram and GPU components but the Sensation just sneaks in with the extra hint of CPU power. But don't get me wrong it is very close.

So too come out of the superficial with an answer its the HTC SENSATION.

Though I am not one to leave it down to the specs and benchmark scores because it really comes down to the users impressions as they get to see performance first hand.

Lets also not forget that powerful shouldn't just refer to performance specs wise, but is a holistic reference that metaphorically suggests whether it can pack a punch or not :P

All of these devices have unique features that all make them great and just goes to show the manufacturer is going to lengths to bring us something new. E.g Atrix's fingerprint scanner, Sensation's Mobile High-Definition Link port and 4.3" qHD screen, and Galaxy S2's 8MP camera. Then it always can come down to the UI.

To start the Galaxy S2's using the Touchwiz 4.0 UI which i believe is very iOS-esque layout which hurts me to see that, I have darted to and will stay with Android because it's uniquity from iOS. I feel the general UI is a little bit smoother and still simplistic, but hasn't made much of a transition from that featured in the original Galaxy S.

The Atrix features MotoBlur, all though its is revised it annoys me because it is cartoonish and bulky, although simplistic and I believe can be a bit of an eye sore when compared to the other 'contestants' and is probably the most likely to call for a 3rd party launcher such as ADW. I'm glad a leap feature on the home screen, similar to HTC Sense's, has been included which can help to navigate the home screen. Overall the least impressive.

The one thats the bar time and time again of course is HTC's UI. The Sensation features the new Sense 3.0 UI which is most notable for the 3D carousel effect for navigating the home screen, whilst still including the leap feature either by home capacitative button or by pinch on screen. I believe the UI is this most sophisticated and features very smooth animations and graphics.

From this quick summary of all the wonderful features each device packs, I still can deduce that The HTC Sensation has won this title.

Please read their reviews, critique me on my opinion and suggest some other devices to compare I would love to hear them :D oh and sorry for the essay :P

New HTC's

Just reading up on updates about HTC's newly released Android devices, the HTC Sensation (top) and Incredible S (bottom).

Sensation CNET Review                        Incredible S CNET Review

Straight out I  can tell you that I prefer the HTC Sensation, mainly because of Sense 3.0 and dual-core.

For a look at Sense 3.0 on the sensation check this out. Just easier to watch then explain :P

The reason I say this is because Incredible S has not made much of a transition from the original HTC Incredible except for removing the track ball, screen got a little bigger, not much difference on rubberized back casing and now features Gingerbread (Android 2.3).

I can even go as to far as to say the Incredible S is much different from my Desire HD. All thats added is the rubberized back case instead of aluminium (which I think I would actually prefer haha), a front facing camera, Gingerbread 2.3 comes stock and capacitative buttons that rotate when you turn the phone to the left. Oh and they removed Dolby Digital Mobile enhancements BUT NO SENSE 3.0.

Now HTC says there older devices even their flagship DHD could not support Sense 3.0 because they say the devices cant support it (even though XDA Dev Capychimp made a pretty neat port of sense 3.0 for DHD) It makes me also assume there is much difference between the DHD and the Incredible S, because the Incredible S doesn't have the required specs to run it either.

Another annoying thing as I stated in my Xoom post, HTC has started signing (locking) their bootloaders ensuring root is difficult meaning at the moment the Desire HD is pretty much on par with both of these new phones.

Except for maybe the Sensation which is HTC's first dual core phone. Even though my DHD can be overclocked to 1.8ghz it still wouldn't be as smooth as the Sensation in multi-tasking and general performance, and I could expect shorter phone life

Where to start...

First of all I have found the xda developers community in the past couple of months to be an absolute Godsend when it came to everything to do with my android device - HTC Desire HD... and more.
There comes a price to pay with this godsend though. Have to search through this endless supply of brilliant information to get you from a stock device to a device running so many customized features that provide endless fun, tailor your device to represent who you are and on the slight occasion give you a headache ;)

I started off doing some research on xda after a couple of Google searches, along the lines of 'what can I do with my Desire HD', and discovered the world of custom Roms or firmware.

I had the goal of a custom ROM, but didn't know how to get there and quite a few hours of searching and I was set.
The main thing that I had to do was give myself information to ensure that I either would ruin (A.K.A 'Bricking') my new DHD or that there would be a very minimal risk.
I then found a few guides on several different aspects of the processes required to get to my goal of 'flashing' my custom ROM.

More to the point the research was the annoying part because there were not really a guide that targeted the 'noobish' end user on the ways to accomplish this but know I have noticed a few popping up in the past and In my opinion I think I have found the best one thus far:

LINKSLOVESANDROIDS' Everything Desire HD Index


To be continued...