With over 10 million pre-orders for this phone, it is clearly one of the top in the world. It may even beat the Apple iPhone 5. Samsung clearly design the Galaxy S3 to beat the iPhone 5. The screen is 4.8 inches of AMOLED HD surface. It is less expensive than the iPhone 5. The design rocks and the phone feels great to hold. It is lighter, due to the polycarbonate shell and the oversized screen can feel cumbersome to some. The camera is arguably the fastest on any mobile. The Galaxy S3 is a pleasure to use and view.

HTC One X+

HTC pulls off an Apple trick by making the One X+ with an air of distinction. This is a phone for the firm, especially since they have improved storage and browser efficiency. Everything about the One X+ will impress you, except the battery life. Otherwise, it is a close contender with the Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5.

iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 has top notch technology, useability, and design. While the maps they are leaning on as a replacement for Google Maps is a bit of a joke, the phone trumps this small diversion. The iPhone 5 is not the game changer the iPhone 4 was for Apple. This is because Apple has been overly conservative with releasing new features. In this case, the design was a little disappointing. However, the phone itself is a world class unit. There is no doubt that Apple phones deserve to be among the top mobile phones in the world.

Google Nexus 4

Teaming up with LG, Google has released a fine phone. The stripped down Android 4.2 can be a breath of fresh air to those who are annoyed with the way manufacturers interfere with operations through tweaking the OS. It is a well designed phone, though a bit conservative on the memory.

HTC One S

Here is a phone that has the look and feel of a winner. Once you have picked it up you will want to take it home with you. HTC could have just let the One X slide, while releasing the One S only. The HTC Sensation is a bit more evolved and the finish is more elegant.

LG Optimus 4X HD

This phone was about 6 months too late to make a big splash. It excels in media and the battery out performs the One X, using the same chipset. The Google Nexus 4 stole the wind from Optimus 4X HD.

Nokia Lumia 920

There must be a Windows phone in the top mobile phones, so here it is. The Lumia 920 is a Windows 8 phone and it keeps it simple, but it is not stupid. As you can usually expect from Nokia, the camera is perhaps the best on the market, at 8MP and crisp. A 4.5-inch display makes watching video comfortale and you can use the phone while wearing gloves. This could be Nokia’s edge back into the game. Time will tell.

Sony Xperia T

The Bravia TV technology from Sony is integrated into the 4.6-inch screen and the rear camera is a whopping 13MP. The entire desing is slick.

Motorola Razr I

Solid signal and fast Internet service are two reasons to buy the Razr I. The display is beautiful and the size is small in the pocket. The price is right for someone who is not a great fan of mobile phones.

The Final Word

Everyone has their favorite phone manufacturer and the ones they are biased against. Giving them all a fair shake, though, the list of the 10 best mobile phones includes a little from many different mobile phone manufacturers. There are so many to choose from, you just have to try them yourself.

HTC One X+

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and HTC Sense 4+ are squeezed into a black matte case, with red highlights. The phone is powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3, 1.7 GHz quad core CPU. The battery is a solid 2100mAh. This is a true improvement over the HTC One X. The One X+ is one of the best HTC phones.

HTC One X

Although the design of the One X put it at the front of mobile phones, it become clear quickly that it needed some revision, especially because of the poor battery life and inconsistent UI problems. It yielded to the One X+, though it still is a fine piece of technology. The camera is good and it has the large screen for comfort, along with a quad core CPU.

HTC One S

The One S is a trimmed down version of the One X. The screen is more manageable, at 4.3 inches, than the monster size of the One X. The case is a nice micro-arc oxidized material. The UI is inconsistent, like the One X. If you think the One X or X+ has too large of a screen, then you definitely shoud try out the HTC One S.

HTC 8X

This is a Windows 8 phone with a 342ppi screen that comes as close as possible to the iPhone. There is no microSD, but it has Beats Audio with an internal amplifier that is dedicated to the Beats. This is a brave try by HTC at a Windows 8 phone, but they have made more of a dent in the Android market and should stick with it.

HTC 8S

Here is the less expensive version of the Windows 8 phone, the HTC 8X. This is an extremely thin phone. The 8S does have a microSD slot, unlike the 8X. It is a better choice than other Windows phones, like the Lumia 820.

HTC Desire X

The Desire X was released nearly 2 years following the unveiling of the first Desire. The dual core CPU at 1GHz fits it more in with the One phones. The Desire X cost less, though. So if you want the taste of a One-class phone, but cannot find the cash, the Desire X will fit your pocket book.

HTC Desire C

The only reason you might buy this phone is that it is the cheapest HTC phone alive. The Desire series was once the pride and joy of HTC, so this is a strange twist. If you have always wanted an HTC phone, but just do not have enough money, this is a good entry unit.

The Final Word

These six phones represent a good spectrum of HTC phones to match anyone’s tastes. If you want the latest greatest then the One X+ is the one, but if you are on a tight budget, you will have to stick with the Desire X or the Desire C. The One S is a good alternative to the huge screen of the One X+. Then again, if Windows is your thing, the 8X is the phone for you. If the 8X does not fit your budget, the 8S will and you can still have Windows 8. So take your pick and enjoy HTC’s world class phones.

Saved By the Bell!

Schedule your own interruption so you can slip out of a meeting or escape from a date. Popularity Dialer is a service you can have call you at a scheduled time and play half of a conversation from your “boss” or your “cousin” who needs your help. The only problem right now is that they have been temporarily shut down by the FCC because one of the FCC agents received an unsolicited “interruption” call. It was probably a disgruntled worker who wanted to irritate his boss.

Unlock Your Car Door

You’ve locked your keys in your car and it is a keyless entry car. Call your friend, hold your phone up to the door, while she hits the unlock on a spare that you left in her care. She has to hold it up to the phone when she does it, of course. This does not always work, so you will want to try it out before you get in this kind of situation where you depend on it. Some claim it cannot work due to different frequencies utilized by the two devices.

Extended Battery Time on Nokia

There is a rumor going round that if you dial *3370# on your Nokia phone, you will get 50% more battery time. The phone is supposed to restart and then you have extra space for your battery charge. You will have to charge it first though. This is not accurate, but not too far off.

#3370# turns off Enhanced Full Rate Codec (EFR), which degrades the sound, but you gain a whopping 5% of talk time. *#4720# sets Half Rate Codec, lowering sound quality further, but giving you an amazing 30% extended talk time. That’s it, 35% more talk time, but crappy sound.

Join Law Enforcement in Locating Missing Children

This is a dangerous one, because predators can sign up as well and keep a watch for kids who are lost and grab them. Hopefully this tip will be used for good, not evil. Amber Alerts are issued whenever a child goes missing. The most important time to locate the child is within the first 3 hours. You can have Amber Alerts texted to your phone. Enter your phone number and zip code and whenever there is an Amber Alert in your area you will receive the child’s description, where the child was last spotted, and information about any vehicles involved. This is supported by the Wireless Foundation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and nearly every existing wireless carrier. I just hope they check the list of predators before allowing a phone number to sign up for this information.

Check for Leaks in your Microwave Oven

You’ll need two cell phones for this trick. Place one in the microwave oven and close the door. Don’t worry. We aren’t going to ask you to bake your phone. DO NOT TURN ON THE MICROWAVE OVEN! Instead, call the first phone, which is in the microwave, using the second phone. If the phone inside rings, there is a leak in your microwave oven. If not, it is properly sealed. The microwave oven is designed to keep in microwave radiation, so phone signals cannot enter.

The Final Word

Some tricks given out on the Internet are hoaxes, while a few are simply too cool not to be tried out. There are too many to mention here.

One of the bones of contention, regarding mobile casinos specifically but many other apps besides, is whether they should use HTML5 as their go-to graphics and multimedia player or whether they should stick with that trusted stalwart Flash.

As things stand it seems likely that the Flash heyday has passed and that casino gaming will more and more employ HTML5 instead. There are many reasons for this both do with the waning power of Flash and the growing power of HTML5. It appears that Flash is failing to keep up with the increasingly sophisticated nature of dynamic mobile content, such as in a mobile casino, showing itself to be unstable and prone to jarring or even crashing when trying to produce complex streams of data.

HTML5, on the other hand, manages for the most part to avoid this primarily because of its nature as it is direct code as oppose to being a plug-in like Flash. Without getting too technical essentially what this means is that Flash requires an extra step of processes to bring dynamic content to life, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the more steps required the more fragile something becomes.

With the less-sophisticated content of the nineties and early noughties this was ok, but it seems like now with the new generation of smartphones the ball has landed squarely in HTML5′s court – both for use in mobile casino apps and many other things besides.

Square (Free)

Potentially the most innovative mobile payments application currently on the market, Square combines an intuitive app with a small hardware accessory for payment collection and processing. Using the appropriate square card reader, users of the app simply plug the square into their iPhone’s headphone jack, open the application, and begin accepting credit card payments on the spot. The company charges a small percentage-based fee on each transaction, but the business will be able to greatly increase its revenues and mobility with just a few touches of the screen.

Dropbox (Free)

Cloud storage comes at a premium these days, but Dropbox still manages to offer a single gigabyte free to each of its users. Beyond that, storage is pretty cheap to purchase. Best of all, the company offers an iPhone application, as well as Windows, Mac, and Android options, allowing entrepreneurs to access their important files anywhere they have an internet connection. It supplements the iCloud syncing service perfectly, and does so without a fee for the first gig.

WebEx (Free)

Entrepreneurs often need to attend meetings with friends, employees, or partners, but they’re often so busy that it’s impossible to make every meeting. To solve this problem, Cisco has created its WebEx application. Meetings can be scheduled, attended, noted, and even recorded, using this innovative application. Video conferences between as many as four people can take place using the app, and its PC counterparts, making it an effective videoconferencing solution as well. It’s a great way to be present at a meeting, even if one of the business’ key figures can be in the room at the time the meeting is taking place. And, of course, it’s free — making it the perfect price for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Invoice2Go Lite (Free)

In addition to collecting payments on the go with an application like Square, entrepreneurs need to be able to manage money coming in, money going out, and any collections that they might need to pursue. The best way — and easily the most affordable — is to use the Invoice2Go Lite application for iPhone. This free application comes with 20 unique invoice templates, and has the ability to instantly turn each invoice into a PDF file and email it to the proper client, vendor, or customer. A PayPal button can be added to every email or invoice, making it possible for recipients to instantly make payment and benefit the fledgling business’ bottom line.

ScanBizCards ($3.99)

Entrepreneurs will likely spend a good deal of time promoting their new business or idea to interested clients, customers, and even investors. That will inevitably involve collecting a large number of business cards. Rather than developing an extensive system to categorize and alphabetize these small and informative cards, entrepreneurs should let their iPhone do the work for them. Using the phone’s built-in camera, each business card can be photographed, scanned, and automatically imported to this helpful application. Information can then be seen on the phone’s screen, and all cards will be stored on the phone’s internal storage, eliminating the need for bulky rolodexes and other ways of storing this information.

Great Tools for Startup Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

The iPhone is changing the way new business get started, offering them exceedingly affordable ways to invoice their customers, collect payments on the fly, and manage traditional documents in innovative new ways. These applications are easily the most essential tools that most entrepreneurs will need when guiding their new venture toward success and, because most of them are free to acquire, they won’t damage an already-tight startup business budget. With careful planning and expert utilization of the iPhone, a 21st century business can take off in record time.

Flash back 13 years and the Nokia 3210 was the most popular phone in the world. It could send SMS messages, make calls and play ‘Snake’, all without any wires! It was very impressive. Also, the battery seemed to last forever. Weeks could go by without you charging your phone and it would continue to work.

Now however, you’ll be lucky if you phone stays powered through the day with fairly constant use. It’s not that phone manufacturers are in anyway slacking when it comes to the battery though; the batteries are many times more powerful than those found on early mobile phones. The issue is that mobile phones are now so powerful and use so many features at all times, even if you’re not using the phone at the time.

Preserving Battery Life + Signal Strength

The battery-life of smart phones is poor enough, without us making it worse by putting covers on our phones, which whilst protecting our phones physically, they hinder battery life by covering antennae’s which receive phone signal, meaning your phone has a weaker signal and has to work harder to get it anyway! Definitely not ideal.

One product that has provider a solution to this is the Pong Case. Which not only preserves your mobile phone signal, but can actually boost it by maintaining Total Radiated Power (TRP) – meaning that not only will your signal improve, but your battery life will do the same as a result.

The Pong Case has proved to be one of the most technologically advanced products in today’s market, with its attractive casing protecting the phone, the functionality of the phone as well as the user from radiation. Pong iPhone cases are available to purchase from Pong UK.

The latest creation by Apple to change the way people operate is the iPad: a stunning device that, like all Apple products, looks great and works brilliantly. For many people, it is perfect just the way it is. However, the iPad lacks one key aspect – particularly if your iPad is your primary ‘computer’ – a physical keyboard. Whilst the on-screen keyboard is fine for a quick status update or message to friends, typing anything of any real length is not easy. It’s possible yes, but for the current generation of people at least, a flat glass panel isn’t made for typing.

Some people won’t be bothered by this, however if you do tend to write and type a lot, the iPad may come to frustrate you in its basic format. Writers, bloggers, students and journalists will struggle to produce the work they need to using the iPad.

So what is the solution to this?

Well it may seem a fairly obvious one, but people still need a physical keyboard. One on which they can spout out x-thousand words with relative ease. Many manufacturers have attempted to create this special iPad keyboard, however most have failed gloriously with over-complicated fitting systems, poor functionality or ugly designs. I have only seen one keyboard that has provided a quality solution to the problem – the Adonit Writer Plus, an attractive keyboard that doubles up as a case, with high-responsiveness, incredible battery-life and a real quality feel to it.

But won’t this just mean we’re recreating the laptop?

To some degree, yes. But a laptop where the screen can be removed in an instant when the keyboard isn’t needed, a laptop that is protected as soon as it is folded over and looks delicious. The Adonit Writer Plus is available to buy from Adonit UK, the official distributor of Adonit products across Europe.

1.Facebook

Facebook is an excellent tool for long distance relationships. Through Facebook, couples can exchange photographs and talk to each other via chat. It is a great application for the couple to keep in touch and to communicate with supporters who can offer advice.

If the relationship is moving towards marriage, it is important to know who your supporters will be long term. These are the people who will keep the relationship together. Facebook keeps everyone informed of the developments in the relationship.

Facebook clearly displays a person’s relationship status. So, there is no ambiguity when other inquiring people develop an interest. Facebook is an excellent forum for long distance relationships.

2. Skype

Skype will allow people to talk for a nominal fee. The flat rate monthly fees for domestic and international calling are manageable and allows long distance relationships to flourish despite distance. On those late nights when you miss your significant other’s voice, you can talk for as long as you would like with Skype. Even video chat calling is available with Skype. This allows you to see your significant other’s face while speaking with him or her.

3. Pair

Pair is a new application that was originally designed for iPhone and is now being adapted for Android platforms also. This application allows long distance couples to exchange photographs, SMS messages and share locations with one another. Couples can create drawings together and send thank you messages to each other. A shared “To Do” list can even be maintained.

The application also features Thumb Kiss. The phone will vibrate when the couple’s thumb prints meet the same spot on the screen. This helps couples feel closer to one another when they cannot physically touch. To participate, partners must request to be a pair. If you want to talk, tap a single button and begin the conversation.

4. Postagram

Facebook recently purchased Instagram for $1 billion. Postagram is a free application, developed by Sincerely, Inc., that allows couples to select photographs from Instagram or Facebook and share photographs by printing them on a physical postcard. The photograph or postcard will be sent in the mail to your partner.

A 180 character message can be included on the card. The message can express heartfelt longings for your long distance love. For $0.99 domestically, your significant other will know how you feel with a pictorial representation. The cost of the service is $1.99 world-wide. The delivery time is approximately one week in the United States and Canada. Internationally, delivery may take several weeks.

Make Your Long Distance Relationship More Secure with Android Apps

Couples in long distance relationships no longer have to worry about being able to communicate and keep the spark alive. There are so many applications available to help couples keep their relationships fresh. Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but when you miss the person you love, applications are helpful to bridge the gap. Try these applications and others to make your relationship stronger.

Install Apps That Aren’t Available on Your Device

Some apps aren’t made available for all devices. There are a couple of ways to pull this one off. By searching Google for the installer (.apk) file for an app, and then transferring it to your phone, you can manually install an app. Another way to get apps on your phone that aren’t built for it is to visit market.android.com and search for the app you want to install. Click through to the install screen, choosing to launch the browser every time, then click the back key and click install again. This time when it prompts you, click the option to launch the Android Market and you’ll be able to install the app!

Turn Your Phone Into a Wi-Fi Hotspot for Free

This will work for almost any Android device, but make sure that you have enough data left if you’re on a contract, or that you’re on an unlimited data plan if you have a prepaid cell phone. By installing an app from the Android Market called Wireless Tether, you can share your phone’s data connection with a laptop computer or tablet, giving you internet access anywhere you have coverage.

Change the Software Completely

This will require that your phone is rooted. Suppose you get bored with the look of your phone, or you want to add more features. By installing a piece of software called a ROM, you can overhaul the look of Android. One of the most popular ROMs is called CyanogenMod, and it adds a ton of cool features to your phone at no cost.

Make Your Phone Faster

Again, you’ll need root access to this. Once your phone is rooted, though, you can search the Android Market for an overclock app. What these apps do is change the clock speed of your processor, effectively upgrading your hardware. You’ll be able to give your phone that extra bit of speed to run all the apps you want. Be careful not to speed it up too much, though, as this can damage the device.

The possibilities beyond this are endless. A lot of doors are opened just by rooting your Android phone. Play around with the device and don’t be afraid to dream – the sky’s the limit with Android.

1. Grab a Stylus for Quick Handwritten Notes
   Tablets are an excellent way to consume media in the form of images, video and written documents, but they unfortunately have a long way to go before they are the preferred form of producing the same materials. Trying to annotate a document using one’s finger is a difficult chore at best and many times will result in markup and comments that are barely legible. For those odd occasions when handwritten notes are necessary, pick up an inexpensive stylus that works with your tablet.

2. Sync Up with Dropbox or iCloud
   Anyone who works with computers on a regular basis has experienced frustration or panic at not being able to access critical files that are needed for a project, presentation or some other reason. Applications like Dropbox and iCloud allow for files to be synchronized across all platforms including computers, tablets and smartphones, ensuring that whenever you need access to your files from your tablet, they are handy.

3. Access your Work Machine Anytime with Remote Desktop
   Road warriors and others that do a fair bit of traveling love the versatility of a tablet in such a light and easy to carry package, but many still mention the need to use a regular computer from time to time. One way to overcome this is to make use of a VNC or Remote Desktop application which can create a tunnel from your tablet to the computer at your home or office. You can use the remote computer just like you would if it was sitting in front of you, but without the inconvenience of having to drag a heavy laptop around.

4. Video Conferencing with Skype and Facetime
   Tablets with front-facing cameras are perfect for the occasional video conference with remote office workers or clients that can’t make it to a face-to-face meeting. Skype is available on all of the popular tablet platforms, and those with the Apple iPad can make use of Facetime for their video conferencing needs.

These are just a few of the many ways that tablets can be integrated into the workplace. Check around with co-workers and the IT department for suggestions of applications that can help make your job easier!

John is a contributing writer for N2A Cards. Learn how to turn your Nook Color into an Android. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to write for us?