Should Anandtech start reviewing phones?

[dguy6789]

Should they review phones? I think they should.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Yep, phones are the new thing...

 

[rudeguy]

Yes and I will humble myself to handle the task.

 

[Spoooon]

We're running freaking benchmarks on them.

So yes, they should.

 

[Lumathix]

Absosmurfly.

 

[erwos]

Having objective review criteria is difficult for cell phones...

 

[corkyg]

Undecided. The problem with phone reviews is that other than features, etc., actual function is location dependent. IOW, a review of a phone in Seattle will not necessarioly be valid in Dallas, and especially not in El Paso or Albuquerque.

If the review is limited to features, construction, cost, warranty, etc., I would say "Yes."

 

[DivideBYZero]

Yeah, this is a tough one. There are MANY phone sites out there already that far outstrip AT's capacity to cover the market, let alone make a dent in it.

 

[vshah]

i would enjoy reading phone reviews here. speed etc. could be tested on a bandwidth limited wi-fi connection so as to eliminate network discrepancies.

voice quality would obviously be subjective as well as based on the specific network and location. Keep in mind though that AT reviewers are spread across the country (globe?) so perhaps a location could be chosen with strong networks for each carrier.


dbz, in my view it would be so that existing readers of AT don't have to go to those other sites. also there aren't THAT many sites with truly quality phone reviews, which AT would of course provide. I feel if the editors think they can bring something to the table review wise, which they have proven to be able to do for other markets/products, then they should consider it.

 

[Deeko]

Can I do it?? Save me money, seeing as I buy a new phone every 3 or 4 months....

Hey Anand, here's some sample work:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2UDSB0...cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3PRWJQ...cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2RRFZ5...cm_cr_rdp_perm

 

[Demo24]

I expect its to come. When he was putting out the article asking for writers one of them was a gadget/smart phone writer.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Nah. IMO Anand is too Apple biased. There are enough sites out there that are KNOWN for phone reviews and do a good job. I think Anand doesn't appreciate the world of unlocked phones enough. Sure you can review the phones from the US like the iPhone and Droid, but when you analyze the market using the Cortex A8 as being the game changer and you laugh at the HTC Hero and Nokia N97, I think it shows you don't know what you're talking about.

His perspective of it all is a hardware one. I appreciate the work he's done into looking at Palm and the iPhone and the CPU/GPU configuration, but that's all on paper. The bottom line is we need someone to review all the things that matter for phones, and GSM Arena does a damn good job by looking at image quality, audio response graphs, speakerphone loudness, etc etc. It's not just about the performance. It's not a PC just yet.

 

[Deeko]

I like that different perspective, though. Different review sites all have their own criteria they look for in a phone. While what CPU/GPU the phones have, and how they perform, isn't the end of the world...I still think its interesting to read, and I'd like to read more of it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I like that different perspective, though. Different review sites all have their own criteria they look for in a phone. While what CPU/GPU the phones have, and how they perform, isn't the end of the world...I still think its interesting to read, and I'd like to read more of it.

That's true. I agree. A different perspective is nice. It's like a more computer-esque perspective of phones, looking at architecture and stuff. Certainly thats good considering no other site really does that and you'd have to dig at forums to get that info. I just feel that it'd be better if AT can get itself on a lot more phones so they can broaden their perspective.

 

[judasmachine]

Hell yes.

 

[Pliablemoose]

That's true. I agree. A different perspective is nice. It's like a more computer-esque perspective of phones, looking at architecture and stuff. Certainly thats good considering no other site really does that and you'd have to dig at forums to get that info. I just feel that it'd be better if AT can get itself on a lot more phones so they can broaden their perspective.

Yep, the typical phone review is a YouTube video of the unboxing & the interface/apps, a pic of it with an iPhone for reference, with a manufacturer supplied list of specs.

It would be awesome if a site would actually benchmark the CPU/graphics, run a standard battery test, RF sensitivity, standard touchscreen review, sensitivity, etc..., review of the screen in varying environments, etc...

I dont see Anand owning & liking an iPhone/N900/piece of dogshit with an antenna as a problem at all, benchmarks and real specs are hard to spin...

 

[Fox5]

Nah. IMO Anand is too Apple biased. There are enough sites out there that are KNOWN for phone reviews and do a good job. I think Anand doesn't appreciate the world of unlocked phones enough. Sure you can review the phones from the US like the iPhone and Droid, but when you analyze the market using the Cortex A8 as being the game changer and you laugh at the HTC Hero and Nokia N97, I think it shows you don't know what you're talking about.

His perspective of it all is a hardware one. I appreciate the work he's done into looking at Palm and the iPhone and the CPU/GPU configuration, but that's all on paper. The bottom line is we need someone to review all the things that matter for phones, and GSM Arena does a damn good job by looking at image quality, audio response graphs, speakerphone loudness, etc etc. It's not just about the performance. It's not a PC just yet.

The nexus one has the most powerful specs of any phone (or at least tied for it). It's basically top end in almost every hardware respect.
Yet, reviews of build quality, audio reception, durability, and so forth make it sound vastly inferior to my slower nokia or my friend's droid.

BTW, Arstechnica does decent phone reviews, complete with benchmarks.

 

[dguy6789]

The nexus one has the most powerful specs of any phone (or at least tied for it). It's basically top end in almost every hardware respect.
Yet, reviews of build quality, audio reception, durability, and so forth make it sound vastly inferior to my slower nokia or my friend's droid.

BTW, Arstechnica does decent phone reviews, complete with benchmarks.

You can find reviews bashing anything. New, hyped up stuff is especially popular for unjustified bashing. There's plenty of reviews that say it's the best phone by far.

It's pretty ridiculous for people on here to think that Anand himself would be incapable of a good phone review. He's one of the best hardware journalists I have ever seen. He probably knows more about the devices than most people who already do reviews of them.

I believe Anandtech doing phone reviews would be excellent. Their reviews are very thorough, informative, and just enjoyable to read. You learn something from it. Most phone reviews I have seen are really biased and subjective.

 

[Fox5]

You can find reviews bashing anything. New, hyped up stuff is especially popular for unjustified bashing. There's plenty of reviews that say it's the best phone by far.

It's pretty ridiculous for people on here to think that Anand himself would be incapable of a good phone review. He's one of the best hardware journalists I have ever seen. He probably knows more about the devices than most people who already do reviews of them.

I believe Anandtech doing phone reviews would be excellent. Their reviews are very thorough, informative, and just enjoyable to read. You learn something from it. Most phone reviews I have seen are really biased and subjective.

I do appreciate Anandtech's reviews, and wish they would do more phone write ups.
I love the technical analysis features too, Anandtech has been my favorite website for years, but they've been slow lately with new content.

 

[dguy6789]

They could definitely post more articles, I agree completely. Phones would give them a new venue to find content to write about as well, so it would help them out in that aspect.

 

[shortylickens]

Having objective review criteria is difficult for cell phones...

No more difficult than most of the other hardware and gadgets they review. The writers here seem up to the task as far as skill is concerned.
My worry is it sometimes seems they cant get articles out fast enough right now. Remember when they promised buyers guides for all types of users on a regular basis? That ended real quick. They just dont have enough people on staff to keep up with all the gadgets out there these days. If they started with cell phones then they'd need to add all other kinds of doohickeys and thingamajigs.

BUT, I would like to see cell phone reviews, if possible. I know they'd probably do a more thorough job than CNET, and they actually do alright. I havent been to infosyncworld in a long time, mostly because their reviews are minimal and infrequent.

 

[Anand Lal Shimpi]

I appreciate the show of support!

We are dabbling in high end smartphone reviews now and are bringing folks on to flesh out the smartphone team. Brian Klug has already been doing a great job covering Windows Phone 7 Series:

http://anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3774

In the coming weeks we'll have an update on Palm as well as a review of the AT&T Google Nexus One. We're always looking for new talent so if you want to try your hands at reviewing smartphones or contributing to the section in any way just drop me a line!

If you'd like to look at our existing smartphone coverage, although limited, check out the Gadgets section on AT:

http://anandtech.com/gadgets/



Take care,
Anand

 

[Pliablemoose]

 

[dguy6789]

Very nice to hear that you guys are working on smartphone coverage.

 

[shortylickens]

OMG ANAND HAI 2 U!!!!!
I love you man. You rock, like AC/DC.