Technology

The middle-of-the-road multimedia laptops that come out of HP have always been excellent examples of the style. They typically bring some upscale design buzz--but not too much in the way of extra features or components--while keeping prices down.
Our configuration of the HP Pavilion dm4 worked out to cost $979 (that is with a temporary price break from $1,079). For $1,050, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 offers similar specs, but includes an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650. A similar part (a 1GB ATI Radeon 5450) is available for the customizable dm4, but it'll add an extra $200 to the price. That said, the default hard-drive speed is 7,200rpm for the HP and only 5,400rpm for the Lenovo. A better all-around deal may be the 15-inch Samsung R580, which has both upgraded graphics and a Blu-ray drive for $829.

Of those three, however, the HP dm4 has the slickest look, taking design elements, including a large multitouch touch pad, from the more expensive HP Envy series.

Price as reviewed / Starting price	$979 / $729
Processor	2.4GHz Intel Core i5 M520
Memory	4GB, 800MHz DDR2
Hard drive	320GB 7,200rpm
Chipset	Intel HM55
Graphics	Intel Media Accelerator HD (integrated)
Operating System	Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD)	13.4 x 9.0 inches
Height	1.0-1.3 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	14.0 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	4.3 / 5.2 pounds
Category	Midsize

Price as reviewed / Starting price $979 / $729
Processor 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 M520
Memory 4GB, 800MHz DDR2
Hard drive 320GB 7,200rpm
Chipset Intel HM55
Graphics Intel Media Accelerator HD (integrated)
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD) 13.4 x 9.0 inches
Height 1.0-1.3 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 14.0 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 4.3 / 5.2 pounds
Category Midsize
As a close cousin of the 13-inch HP dm3, the new dm4 shares a similar metallic body. But, rather than the brushed-metal look of the dm3, this model has an etched pattern of angular lines--almost like Nazca lines--along the wrist rest and back of the lid. The gently rounded corners give the dm4 a soft, consumer-friendly look. The corners of the keyboard tray (and the four keys that sit closest to the corners) are similarly rounded, as is the oversized touch pad.The keyboard is similar to the flat-topped, widely spaced keys we've seen on recent HP systems such as the Pavilion dm3, although the larger 14-inch chassis allows for a better layout, including full-size arrow keys. Lacking any kind of dedicated media control buttons, all your media and alternate key functions are mapped to the row of Fn keys, although the assignments are reversed; using the traditional F4, F5, etc. functions requires holding down the Fn button.The touch pad is similar to what we've seen on HP's high-end Envy systems. It's larger than usual, and the matte black surface is infinitely superior to the sticky mirrored pads we've seen on the past several generations of Pavilions. The touch pad, like Apple's, eschews separate left and right mouse buttons, instead cordoning off two click zones in the lower left and right corners.It's a better touch pad than on the vast majority of non-MacBook laptops we've reviewed, but our main complaint is that some of the multitouch gestures are hard to use. Case in point, scrolling up and down pages using the two-finger method is hit or miss, unless your fingers are perfectly lined up on the horizontal plane. We noted that very same problem last year on the original HP Envy 13.Like Dell, Asus, and other PC makers, HP includes a software dock along the top edge of the screen, presenting handy links to software and services in one place. The dock is user customizable, but its default settings are heavy on advertising come-ons from Snapfish, Norton, the HP Download Store, and others. Rhapsody link, yes; Web browser link, no.The 14-inch wide-screen display offers a 1,366x768-pixel native resolution, which is standard for a screen this size. Though overly glossy, the display was clear and bright, with realistic color reproduction.

	HP Pavilion dm4	Average for category [mainstream]
Video	VGA, HDMI	VGA plus HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	3 USB 2.0 (one USB/eSATA), SD card reader	4 USB 2.0, SD card reader, eSATA
Expansion	None	ExpressCard/54
Networking	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
Optical drive	DVD burner	DVD burner

HP Pavilion dm4 Average for category [mainstream]
Video VGA, HDMI VGA plus HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data 3 USB 2.0 (one USB/eSATA), SD card reader 4 USB 2.0, SD card reader, eSATA
Expansion None ExpressCard/54 Networking Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
Optical drive DVD burner DVD burner Though the graphics card can be upgraded on the dm4 (for either $100 or $200), there's no Blu-ray option, which is something that's becoming increasingly common on 14- and 15-inch laptops. You can, however, add mobile broadband from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, or Sprint for $125.The processor options range from Intel's Core i5 to Core i7, and we had the middle-of-the-road 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 M520 in our review unit. That should be more than enough power for all but the most demanding users, and we were able to surf Web sites, play media files, and edit photos in Photoshop simultaneously with no stuttering or slowdown.
With only integrated Intel graphics capabilities, you're not going to be doing any gaming beyond FarmVille on this system, unless you add one of the optional discrete ATI graphics cards (which our system lacked).

Juice box
Mainstream (Avg watts/hour)
Off (60%)	0.6
Sleep (10%)	1.01
Idle (25%)	8.28
Load (05%)	45.02
Raw kWh Number	41.89
Annual Energy Cost	$4.75

Annual energy consumption cost

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

$4.75 

Samsung NP-R580-JSB1US

$6.45 

Sony Vaio VPC-Z116GX/S

$6.92 

Lenovo Ideapad Y460

$6.94 

The HP Pavilion dm4 ran for 4 hours and 21 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included 6-cell battery. That's excellent for a 14-inch laptop, especially as we've seen some disappointing battery performances from midsize laptops lately. As it's slim and light enough to be an occasional (but not everyday) road machine, the long battery life is especially appreciated.HP includes an industry-standard one-year mail-in parts-and-labor warranty with the system. Upgrading to a three-year plan will cost an extra $259, which includes on-site service, with additional upgrade levels available for "accidental damage." Support is accessible through a 24-7 toll-free phone line, an online knowledge base, and driver downloads.

Multimedia multitasking test
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Sony Vaio VPC-Z116GX/S

675 

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

680 

Lenovo Ideapad Y460

695 

Samsung NP-R580-JSB1US

733 

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Sony Vaio VPC-Z116GX/S

109 

Lenovo Ideapad Y460

110 

Samsung NP-R580-JSB1US

117 

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

126 

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Sony Vaio VPC-Z116GX/S

140 

Lenovo Ideapad Y460

140 

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

140 

Samsung NP-R580-JSB1US

155 

Video playback battery drain test (in minutes)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

261 

Sony Vaio VPC-Z116GX/S

210 

Samsung NP-R580-JSB1US

151 

Lenovo Ideapad Y460

132 

Positioned between the business-targeted Latitude and the mainstream consumer Inspiron lines, Dell's Vostro has always been the type of computer that's half-meant for personal use, half for business: it's casual professional. The Vostro 3300, part of a revamped line from Dell, is a 13-inch laptop with a somewhat thick frame and a standard-voltage Core i3, i5, or i7 processor. It's not as slick as the more expensive Vostro V13, which takes much of its design ideas from the high-end Dell Adamo (the original model, not the newer XPS version), but it still has a bit of the Adamo magic in its looks and metal outer casing. More importantly, the 3300's price--starting at $599 for a Core i3 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 250GB hard drive--makes it very affordable.The Vostro 3300 isn't going to turn heads, but it is one of the best, most affordable and lightweight small business 13-inchers we've seen, with its only significant drawback being battery life. It's so nice that we wonder why Dell hasn't offered this little guy up to mainstream consumers more eagerly.

Price as reviewed / starting price	$868 / 599
Processor	2.26 GHz Intel Core i5 M430
Memory	3GB, 1066MHz DDR3
Hard drive	320GB 7,200rpm
Chipset	Intel HM57
Graphics	Intel Media Accelerator HD
Operating System	Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)
Dimensions (WD)	12.8 x 9.0 inches
Height	0.8-1.1 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	13.3 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	4.3/5.0 pounds
Category	Mainstream

The Vostro is meant to glide somewhere between personal and business, and that's exactly what the design of the 3300 suggests: metal and black define the outside, with squared-off edges on the front and back, and slightly rounded sides. The Vostro 3300 comes standard in Aberdeen Silver (which is what we had) in Core i3 configurations, with the option of adding Lucerne Red or Brisbane Bronze color schemes in the Core i5 configuration for an extra $40. Overall, the design lies somewhere between the trendy Adamo and the more utilitarian Latitude.Plain, ThinkPad-esque matte-black defines the interior of this minimalist Dell, from the keyboard deck up to the material surrounding the above-screen Webcam. A few backlit media-control keys and a backlit power button above the keyboard are the only flashy touches. Because this Vostro has a slightly thick and squared bottom half, there's room to fit audio in/out jacks, an SD card slot, and a Wi-Fi toggle button on the front edge, although they're a little tightly packed together in the center below the track pad.The keyboard on the Dell Vostro 3300 is similar to ones we've seen on other recent Dell laptops: it could be best described as a flat keyboard with individually raised keys. Though there's no number pad, it's easy to type and feels comfortable during extended writing sessions, and the keyboard goes edge-to-edge, maximizing the laptop's compact dimensions. The keyboard on our model wasn't backlit and that isn't available as an upgrade option on this exact model, but there is a Dell Vostro 3300 that includes a backlit keyboard on Dell's Web site starting at $708.Above the keyboard, a small backlit touch-controlled media bar has basic play/pause and volume functions. It's useful, but not overly so for a business-focused machine. These might have been better spent on videoconferencing and other productivity-related toggles. To the right of these are a few LED indicators for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and battery status.The track pad is wider and responds better than that of some brands we've seen. The plain discrete buttons below are nothing remarkable and could be slightly larger, but at least they're not overdesigned. A 13.3-inch LED-backlit display on the Dell Vostro 3300 has a 16x9 aspect ratio and a native resolution of 1,366x768 pixels, which is standard for most laptops up to 15 inches. These screens also come standard with antiglare, which is far rarer. The experience we had was excellent--the screen has the glare-free quality of a matte display, with the crispness found in a glossy coating. Text and video were easy to watch in any lighting.The included 2-megapixel Webcam had better clarity, sound-recording and light sensitivity than most Webcams we've come across, making it perfect for video conferencing. A small LED light also indicates the camera's in record mode. Though the camera's professional, Dell's selection of cartoonish effect overlays in its included camera software can only be described as cheese-ball. There's only one speaker on the Vostro 3300. It's located on the front left edge of the laptop's bottom half, and though it sounds loud and clear, its off-center position makes it a weak choice for movie playback. Should you choose to take a break with a DVD, you might want to pack some good headphones.

	Dell Vostro 3300	Average for category [Mainstream]
Video	VGA	VGA plus HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio	Mono speaker, headphone/microphone jacks	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 2.0/eSATA combo, SD card reader	4 USB 2.0, SD card reader, eSATA
Expansion	None	ExpressCard/54
Networking	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, modem, Bluetooth	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
Optical drive	DVD burner	DVD burner

The Dell Vostro 3300 doesn't have a huge selection of ports, but it does have eSATA. It's lacking HDMI-out, however, which is a feature that's becoming nearly universal on all laptops (excluding Macs). Thankfully, at least there's Bluetooth. Configuration options abound on the Vostro 3300, as is often the case with Dell laptops. Customization on Dell's Web site offers either a Core i3 or i5 processor, along with RAM configurations from 2GB to 4GB and hard drives from 250GB to 500, all at 7,200rpm. RAM can be expanded up to 8GB. Despite Core i3 and i5 processors being 64-bit-ready, Dell chose to make 32-bit Windows Home Premium the default OS. Upgrading to 32-bit Professional or 64-bit Home Premium costs an extra $70; 64-bit Professional, an extra $120.Depending on the support software, memory and other options chosen, the Vostro 3300's price can climb above $1,000, where it no longer seems like a great bargain. We'd advise you keep software services to a minimum and focus on basic needs. Our configuration, at over $800, just straddles the border of what we'd consider paying before looking elsewhere.
Intel's Core i3 and i5 processors are both more than enough for any user's multimedia-viewing and multitasking needs. The i5 processor is notably faster, but we wouldn't be opposed to downgrading to a Core i3 based on our previous experience with the CPU, although our benchmarks on the Vostro 3300 are limited to the Core i5 configuration. It's excellent for most business needs, including PowerPoint, but our system did tend to run a bit noisily and warm after a few minutes of dedicated Hulu streaming.As far as graphics go, there aren't any to speak of except for Intel's integrated HD GPU. This machine is perfect at handling video playback, but it can't handle games beyond casual or browser-based ones. Dell does offer discrete graphics--an Nvidia GeForce 310M GPU--on its highest-end Vostro 3300 configuration.

Juice box
Mainstream (Avg watts/hour)
Off (60%)	0.67
Sleep (10%)	0.91
Idle (25%)	11.4
Load (05%)	50.54
Raw kWh Number	51.42
Annual Energy Cost	$5.84

Annual energy consumption cost

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge

$3.39 

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

$4.75 

HP ProBook 5310m

$4.88 

Dell Vostro 3300

$5.84 

The Dell Vostro 3300 ran for 2 hours and 5 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included 4-cell battery. Anything under 3 hours on a mainstream laptop is disappointing, and although the Vostro uses a lower-capacity 4-cell battery, it's a mar on an otherwise strong design. Yes, this is a budget laptop, but few business customers would want to risk such a brief amount of battery life when traveling. Upgrading to an 8-cell extended-life battery ($99) is a must.
Dell includes an industry-standard, one-year warranty with the Vostro 3300, including on-site service. Extended warranty options can be selected when purchasing the Vostro--an extra year for $50 or two years for $90--or a more expensive but comprehensive Business Class Service Plan for about $70 extra per year. Support is accessible via chat, e-mail, or toll-free phone. An online knowledge base and driver downloads are relatively easy to find.

Multimedia multitasking test (in seconds
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

HP ProBook 5310m

506 

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

680 

Dell Vostro 3300

743 

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge

1810 

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

126 

Dell Vostro 3300

148 

HP ProBook 5310m

171 

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge

276 

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

140 

Dell Vostro 3300

152 

HP ProBook 5310m

160 

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge

301 

Video playback battery drain test (in minutes)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge

320 

HP Pavilion dm4-1003

261 

HP ProBook 5310m

204 

Dell Vostro 3300

125 

Dell Vostro 3300
Windows 7 Professional (32-bit); 2.26GHz Intel Core i5 M430; 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz;
64MB (Dedicated)/1275MB (Total) Intel MHD; 320GB Seagate 7200rpm HP Pavilion dm4-1003
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 M520;
4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz;
64MB (Dedicated)/1695MB (Total) Intel MHD; 320GB Toshiba 7200rpm HP ProBook 5310m
Windows 7 Professional (64bit) 2.26Ghz; Intel Core 2 Duo,
2048MB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz, 64MB Intel GMA 4500MHD, 320GB Seagate 7200rpmLenovo Thinkpad Edge
Windows 7 Professional; 1.3Hz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 ULV;
4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD;
320GB Seagate 5400rpm

Samsung often makes a line of phones specific to smaller carriers such as U.S. Cellular and MetroPCS, and the Samsung Messager line is an example of that. Both the Messager and the Messager II are pretty basic and have a design similar to that of the Samsung Rant--with an external number keypad coupled with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. However, the Messager Touch changes that. As its name suggests, it now has touch screen along with Samsung's TouchWiz interface plus a full sliding keyboard, and looks much sleeker than its predecessors. While we're not thrilled with the odd spelling of the phone's name (There's no such word as "messager"), we admit that the phone is a decent multimedia-messaging phone for U.S. Cellular customers. It's available for $49.99 with a mail-in rebate, and a two-year service agreement.
Design
The Samsung Messager Touch looks similar to most other Samsung touch screen feature phones, such as the Samsung Seek for example. Measuring 4.13 inches long by 2.12 inches wide by 0.59 inch thick, the Messager Touch has simple and slender silhouette. The rounded corners and the curved contours on the back let the phone cradle comfortably in the hand. Both the side bumper and the back plate of the phone are clad in a soft touch plastic that adds to the overall comfort of holding the phone.

The Samsung Messager Touch has a 2.6-inch touch-screen display.

Its 2.6-inch QVGA touch-screen display on the front is certainly not the largest we've seen, but it serves well on a relatively simple phone such as this. It looks crisp and colorful, thanks its support of 262,000 colors and its 240x320-pixel resolution. You can adjust the backlight time, the dial font size, and the color of the lock screen font. You can also change the key that will unlock the screen, and toggle the transition effect between page changes.
As with most resistive touch-screen displays, you do need to apply a bit more pressure to finger taps. Still, we found it to usable and not quite as laggy as we expected. For additional accuracy, you can go through the calibration wizard on the phone, and if you want, you can add both vibration and sound effects to your finger taps to act as feedback.
The Messager Touch has three home screens along with Samsung's TouchWiz interface--you tap the gear icon on the upper left to reveal the TouchWiz tray on the bottom. You can then customize each home screen by adding a widget from the TouchWiz tray. The widgets consist of different tools like the alarm clock and the calculator, and you're limited to the ones Samsung provides.
Along the bottom row of the home screen are shortcuts to the phone dialer, the contacts list, the shortcuts list, and the main menu. The phone dialer houses a large virtual number keypad along with quick shortcuts to a new text message and to save the number to the address book. The aforementioned shortcuts list lets you add and remove your favorite application shortcuts along with a list of speed dial numbers. As for entering text, you don't get the option of a virtual keyboard, but we don't mind that since we would prefer to use the physical keyboard anyway.

The Samsung Messager Touch has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Speaking of that, you can reveal the QWERTY keyboard by sliding the display to the right. The sliding mechanism felt smooth and solid. The four-row keyboard is quite roomy, and we like that there are navigation arrow keys on the right side. The keys are raised enough for us to text and dial by feel, but we did wish they were just a bit bigger--we had to use our fingernails to type most of the time. The number keys are highlighted in blue.On the left side are the volume rocker and microSD card slot while the screen lock key, charger jack, and camera key are on the right. On top of the phone is a 3.5mm headset jack and the camera lens is on the back.Features
The Samsung Messager Touch has a 1,000-entry phone book, and each entry has room for five numbers, an e-mail address, a note, and a photo for caller ID. You can also customize each entry with a ring tone--the phone comes with 17 polyphonic ring tones, or you can use your own. Its basic features include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, a calculator, a tip calculator, a unit converter, a notepad, a calendar, an alarm clock, a stop watch, a sketchpad, a timer, and a world clock.
Supporting text and multimedia messaging is a given, and we like that the phone supports threaded conversations. You also get instant messaging, mobile e-mail, voice command, voice recording, stereo Bluetooth, GPS, and an HTML Web browser. You don't get quick access buttons to your e-mail or Web browser--you have to go through the EasyEdge application first. The HTML Web browser is easy enough to use, but you have to use the magnifying glass to zoom in and out, which can get rather cumbersome. Also, since the screen is so small, there's quite a bit of scrolling about.The music player on the Messager Touch is simple and not unlike other Samsung phones. You have to insert a microSD card in order for it to work. The songs are categorized into genre, artist, and album, and you can set the player to repeat or shuffle. The Messager Touch only has 100MB internal storage, but it supports up to 16GB microSD cards.

The Samsung Messager Touch has a 2.0-megapixel camera on the back.

The 2.0-megapixel camera on the Messager Touch can take pictures in four resolutions and three quality settings. Other camera settings include four shooting modes, a self-timer, brightness, white balance, color effects, metering, a night mode, and three shutter sounds plus a silent option. It's Photo quality was mediocre. Its images looked sharp enough, but image colors seem muted and a little overcast. Also, it has a built-in camcorder that can record in 176x144-pixel resolution.

The Samsung Messager Touch takes mediocre photos.

You are free to customize and personalize your phone with graphics for wallpaper and sounds for ring tones or alerts. You can download more options via the U.S. Cellular EasyEdge store. The phone comes with Namco's Pac-Man game, and you're free to download more via the EasyEdge store as well.
Performance

We tested the Samsung Messager Touch in San Francisco using U.S. Cellular's roaming network partners. Its call quality was pretty good overall. We heard our callers clearly for the most part, with natural sounding voices to boot.On their end, our callers said they encountered a bit more distortion. They said it sounded like distant crackling, but it was quite faint and didn't happen too often. Its speakerphone calls quality is rather mediocre. Voices came through loud enough, albeit sounding tinny. Callers said we sounded rather muffled and reported quite a strong echo effect as well.
Its audio quality for music playback was decent. However, its mono external speaker emitted rather hollow sound, so we would suggest the use of a headset for better performance.We weren't able to test the Messager Touch under ideal EV-DO Rev. 0 conditions, since San Francisco only supports the 1xRTT network for U.S. Cellular. However, we still enjoyed decent download speeds. We were able to load the full CNET front page in just 35 seconds, for example.
The Samsung Messager Touch has a rated battery life of 5 hours talk time and 12 days standby time. According to the FCC radiation tests, it has a digital SAR of 0.95 watt per kilogram.

The day the iPhone 3GS launched, I wrote a column entitled "364 days and counting to iPhone 4G."
Well, to keep the tradition rolling, I was all set to write "364 days and counting until the iPhone 5," but at the last minute I decided against it. Instead, I thought it would be more useful to put together a list of all the things I'd like to see in the fifth-generation iPhone, which should be unveiled a year from now.Some of you will undoubtedly say, "Wow, David, the iPhone 4 has barely been released and you're already talking about No. 5." My answer: Why not? For a guy like me, who already owns an iPhone 3GS and won't be buying the iPhone 4 (as great as it may be, it's missing some features I want), I've already moved on and I'm looking ahead.
The end result of my iPhone 5 fantasies is a list of 20 items ordered from least to most important in a reverse countdown. I've also included what we think are the odds of Apple actually implementing each request. As always, feel free to agree or disagree with me and make your own suggestions (and to post your own ordered wish list). I will update the list after the comments start rolling--so get your two cents in. Perhaps Apple's listening.

One of the clear winners to emerge from Steve Jobs' formal unveiling of the iPhone 4 Monday was the game development community. With major new features like a gyroscope, a better screen, a better antenna and a better camera, developers have a slew of new tools to use in making their games.
Yet at the same time, the release of the iPad has also opened up what amounts to a major new platform for games. Many people are using it more like a computer than an iPhone and that means that developers can take advantage of users' longer sessions with it. And that means more money.

One company seemingly very well poised to leverage these new dynamics is Ngmoco, one of the largest makers of iPhone and iPad games, and the developer of hit titles like Rolando, Word Fu, and Topple.
At Ngmoco's helm is Neil Young, the former head of Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio. Young left EA in 2008 to form Ngmoco and quickly hauled in $40 million in funding from A-list VCs including Kleiner Perkins Caufied & Byers.
On Tuesday, with the dust from Jobs' keynote still settling, Young sat down for a 45 Minutes on IM interview and talked about what Apple's hot new device means for the industry and for companies like his, and what he sees happening to the larger iOS platform over the next year or so.
Q: Welcome to 45 minutes on IM. Let's start with the obvious question: What's your take on the iPhone 4? I know it's a broad question, but I'm hopeful you have a strong opinion.
Neil Young: I do have a strong opinion. I think that Apple took a big leap forward with the iPhone 4 over the 3GS.
How so?
Young: If you think about the iPhone lineup, it's really been pretty incremental structurally. This feels like the third major revision (2G, 3G, and 4). It has a new chipset, a new screen. A new antenna. And a new camera. All are meaningful upgrades.
Do you see that as linear advancement, or as a more exponential change.
Young: I see it as being a foundational change that will look incremental on the surface but is a new platform that they can scale on top of.
If the platform scales like you're imagining, what would be some directions it might go?
Young: Well, that would be speculation on my part, but I think that a gyroscope-enabled, touch-sensitive device with a screen would make a wonderful interface for television and gaming on television. It wasn't called the iPhone 4G either. Just the iPhone 4.
What does that distinction say to you?
Young: Steve Jobs was at pains in his keynote to point out that the device is capable of downstream and upstream rates higher than the current network can deliver. I bet they tack the G on at some point. When the network is ready. Now imagine video calling over a 4G network. On the "all new" iPhone 4G.
I think that the antenna tech is also exceptionally cool and smart. They've radically changed the size of the antenna
Again, just your speculation, but are you also suggesting here that maybe this is Apple stealing the thunder a little bit from motion controllers Microsoft's Project Natal, Sony's Move, etc.?
Young: No, I think that's a ways off. But as a fan of Apple TV, I can't wait for them to do something that lets my company's apps run on the TV and gives me a control interface that's not just movement based, but is also touch based.
Clearly, bandwidth is going to be a bigger and bigger issue. What's your thought on AT&T's decision to stop offering unlimited data usage with new contracts? And how do you see that playing out for Ngmoco and your competitors?
Young: Ultimately, access becomes a commodity and should be able to fall to free with the subsidy coming from what people do on the network. In the short term, I don't think it really hurts the business, but it creates an opportunity for AT&T's competitors to differentiate themselves. I don't think it has a big impact in the short term. For us, 75 percent of our users play while connected to Wi-Fi.
Do you think that number will change much in the next year or so?
Young: I would expect Wi-Fi usage to grow as a percentage as more Wi-Fi hotspots and civic hotspots appear. There will always be a 3G component for sure.
What have you seen in terms of iPad adoption?
Young: It's growing fast. And the customers who play our games on iPad play for fewer, but longer sessions per day and tend to spend more.
Why do you think?
Young: I think that they spend more time, because people are using their iPad at home and the paradigm for interaction is much more like a computer than a phone. As for spending more, it's hard to tell how much of that is early adopter behavior vs. sustainable consumer change.
I really think the iPad opens up so many more dimensions to gaming that it's a totally different platform. What's your thought on that?
Young: I think it's a different platform, but because of the user behavior and the screen predominantly. Humans react to what they see, what they hear and what they touch. The iPad takes two of those things and radically changes it over the iPhone and iPod Touch: a bigger screen and more of it to interact with. It's almost like "Minority Report." And with multitasking in iOS4 for iPad, it'll be even more like that.
Again, I see a much more exponential change than the linear, incremental change than you might expect because of pure percentage growth in screen real estate with the iPad. Because it's so much bigger, it opens up whole new realms of behavior and design opportunity. Do you agree with that?
Young: I do. With the iPhone 4, I think that the gyroscope is going to really open up augmented reality gaming. Overlaying the real world with game data that is accurately rendered because the position and orientation of the phone is accurately understood will finally usher in that age of AR. For the iPad, I think it's going to be much more about touch.
That and time spent are the fundamental differentiators. So building games that can support longer play cycles that are more rewarding when tactile interaction is involved will be the imperative there.
Any examples you can give of ways that that will manifest in games?
Young: No specific examples that wouldn't hint too strongly at some things we're working on.
Talk a little bit about multitasking in iOS. How much of a game-changer is that for Ngmoco and for the platform itself.
Young: I think that multitasking done right is the last functional requirement of making interacting with the apps on the phone a flawless experience. Switching contexts on the device is important and the current loop is sub-optimal; 1) Find App; 2) Launch App; 3) Engage in App; 4) Hit Home button; 5) Find next App; 6) Launch next app; 7) Engage; 8) Hit Home button. Go to 1. I think for the types of games we make, it's going to work well. It'll allow users to drop in and out of play experiences and likely increase engagement, which is really a proxy for monetization: Engaged users tend to spend more time and spending more time=spending more money.
What's your thought on Apple re-branding the iPhone OS as iOS?
Young: That makes sense. It's an OS that's across multiple devices and would seem like a good set up for future devices running iOS. A TV or TV box running iPhone OS doesn't make as much sense as one running iOS.
I always end my 45 minutes on IM interviews with this: Instant message is a great medium for being thoughtful and articulate and also for getting a great transcript. But it's also good for multi-tasking. So, tell me: What else have you been doing while we've been doing this interview?
Young: Let's see. I signed some documents for our legal team. I spoke with my co-founder Alan Yu about two developers that he's talking with. I spoke to my co-founder Bob Stevenson and our executive producer Chris Plummer about two of our upcoming games. I did email. I looked at stats from the server infrastructure and I talked about an offer we're making to a new employee in our New York office. So, yes, it's good for multitasking.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs opened the 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference today by announcing the latest iPhone incarnation, the iPhone 4. As expected, the latest handset features a high-resolution display, a faster processor, and video calling, but it also sports unexpected additions like a new antenna and a gyroscope. It will be available exclusively with AT&T starting June 24. The price with service is fair--$199 for the 16GB phone or $299 for the 32GB device--and both models come in white and black versions. No, we did not hear a peep about the elusive Verizon iPhone, but we didn't anticipate any news on that front.
Even from the outside, you'll see that the iPhone 4 marks the biggest upgrade since the iPhone 3G (the 3GS didn't add much beyond a compass). The profile is thinner and you'll notice a new front-facing camera (more on that later). The iPhone 4 also serves as the debut device for the newly named iOS 4 operating system, which brings such much-needed features as multitasking, a unified e-mail in-box, and app folders for the home screen.
On the whole, this iPhone 4 has us more excited than we were last year when the the 3GS was born. The new features, particularly those in the new operating system, are long overdue and we welcome any efforts to improve call quality (remember that it is a phone, after all). There were a few things that we were hoping for that we didn't get--a 64GB model, among them--but we look forward to reviewing this model.
Design
The new iPhone's design is a sharp departure from the previous iPhone models. The front and back sides are glass, both surfaces are flat, and a stainless steel border circles the entire phone. Indeed, it looks very much like the photos that appeared on Gizmodo after an Apple engineer allegedly lost it in a Redwood City, Calif., bar back in April. Other new design elements include the aforementioned front-facing camera, split volume controls, two noise-cancellation microphones, and a new LED flash with the main camera lens. The iPhone 4 also switches to a Micro-SIM format, just like the iPad.
We welcome the new design elements on a couple of levels. The flat backside means that the iPhone will no longer wobble when it's resting on a table. Also, even though the overall effect is a tad boxy, the handset has a clean and unmistakeably Apple look. At 0.37 inch (9.3mm), the iPhone 4 also is 25 percent thinner than its predecessors. Jobs called it the thinnest smartphone around, but since that race changes daily, it may not hold the title for long.
We haven't had an opportunity to test noise-cancellation microphones, though we expect that they can only do good. The camera flash also is a win, and we're hoping that the front-facing camera can be used for self-portraits in addition to the new FaceTime feature. The split volume buttons are fine, even though we never had a problem with the previous control.
That said, we have a couple of concerns with the new design. It's clear that Apple is pushing the Micro-SIM format, though we're not exactly sure why. On a superficial level, it saves plastic, but a Micro-SIM doesn't offer any functional benefits over the standard SIM. Is Apple starting a new format war or is this merely a barrier (albeit, not a very high one) to iPhone jailbreakers? We'll have to wait and see the answer, but in the meantime we hope that you'll be able to use the same Micro-SIM between on an iPhone 4 and an iPad 3G.
We also have a small concern about all that glass. It is shiny and beautiful, but the glass attracts smudges by the ton and durability remains a concern. Jobs said that glass better resists scratches, but we hope that the iPhone 4 will take a few drops to the floor without cracking. On the upside, it feels solid in the hand.
Antenna
The stainless steel border is more than just decorative; it doubles as a new antenna that circles the entire phone. Though Jobs did not promise that it would improve call quality or Wi-Fi reception, its very mention is an indirect admission that data and voice reception is not perfect. Though current iPhone users largely blame AT&T for connectivity problems, remember that both a carrier's network and a phone's antenna play a part in reception.
Whatever the reason for its development, the redesigned antenna should be good news for iPhone users. And if it improves call quality while looking good at the same time, that's even better.
Display
Apple has a unique talent for making us want something we never knew we wanted. The iPhone 4 features a 940x640-pixel (or 300 pixels per square inch) "Retina Display," which is four times the resolution of previous iPhone models. What's more, it uses the same IPS display that's found on the iPad with an 800:1 contrast ratio. Though we've always thought highly of the current iPhone displays, perhaps Apple wanted to respond to the gorgeous screens we've seen on phones like the HTC Evo 4G.
In our brief hands-on, the display is clearer than crystal clear (Brian Tong's words). Since it renders all text the same, we had no problems reading screens from a variety of sources. Photos looked especially lovely, particularly when you compare the same image between an iPhone 4G and an iPhone 3GS.
Processor and battery life
Just as we thought, the iPhone 4 will feature the same A4 chip that's found in the iPad. The result is a faster processor (always nice), plus improved battery life (even better) given the A4's efficient power management. Add in a bigger battery and we get a promise of 7 hours of talk time now, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, and 300 hours of standby. Bravo on all counts.
Camera changes
The iPhone's camera has always been decent, but it's lacked features found on many basic phones. That's why we applaud the 5-megapixel resolution, the new LED flash, and the 5x digital zoom. The iPhone 4 also has a new back-side illuminated sensor, which requires a more-detailed explanation. Check out my colleague Stephen Shankland's blog for a detailed look at the technology.
Though the new handset isn't called the "iPhone HD" (one of its rumored names), it records 720p high-definition video at a constant 30 frames per second. The demo looks great, even if the iPhone isn't the first cell phone to offer this capability. We can't wait to try it.
iOS 4
As mentioned, the iPhone 4 has all the goodies that come with the latest iPhone operating system that Apple announced last April. Jobs said that the OS will now be called iOS 4 rather than iPhone OS 4. That's a nod to the fact that the OS runs on both the iPhone and the iPad.
Gyroscope
The iPhone 3Gs gave us a compass, but the iPhone 4 raises the bar by offering a three-axis gyroscope. Like on an airplane, you'll get pitch, roll, and yaw, and it's tied with the accelerometer to provide six-axis motion sensing. Though by all means it will be useful to app and game developers, it also just looks like a lot of fun.
FaceTime
Jobs' "One more thing" concerned FaceTime, a new video-calling feature that will be exclusive to the iPhone 4. You'll be able to use FaceTime in both portrait and landscape modes, and it uses both the front and rear cameras. We also like that it requires no setup, it's based on open standards, and that you won't have to download an additional app. As Jobs said, it uses software that you won't even notice. The demo looked great in all respects.
For 2010, FaceTime will work only on Wi-Fi, but we don't think that's a bad thing. Video chat uses a ton of data so we're sure the experience would be better on Wi-Fi than on AT&T's strained network. Jobs said Apple is working with iPhone carriers to carry the feature (cue speculation on possible new carriers), but he didn't offer other details. Jobs also promised that Apple would ship "tens of millions of FaceTime devices this year," which leads us to wonder whether we'll see the feature on non-iPhone devices in the future. But then again, maybe we're just reading into things too much.
Though it's not a feature that we were burning for, we're more than happy to see FaceTime get its day. Apple has another talent for repackaging existing technology and attracting wide consumer interest. Outside of other VoIP services like the Skype app, carriers have been unsuccessful at making video-calling services useful. For example, AT&T's Video Share application is only on a limited number of phones, it isn't available everywhere, and it won't blow you away.
iMovie and iBooks
iMovie brings movie-editing capabilities to the iPhone. You'll pay $4.99 for the app, but it's a nice touch. iBooks also adds some nifty new features. You can make notes on pages of books, view PDF files, and sync purchases between your iPhone and iPad.
That's it for the highlights. We'll have a full review of the iPhone on or around the June 24 release date. That's a Thursday, by the way, which is a break from Apple's usual Friday iPhone release day. Until then, tell us what you think of Apple's newest baby.

The LG EnV Touch was a surprise to us. We thought all of the EnV line of phones would be in the style of the LG EnV VX9900, the LG EnV2, and the more recent LG EnV3.Those phones had numeric keypads on the front, with QWERTY keyboards behind their flip designs. But it appears that the LG EnV Touch is actually a successor to the Voyager VX10000, due to its full touch screen-interface. Perhaps Verizon and LG are going back to the EnV name to reinforce its association with high-end messaging phones. We gave the LG Voyager VX10000 an Editors' Choice award when it first launched, but it has been almost two years since then, so it's about time for an upgrade. The LG enV Touch definitely offers better design and features. Both the touch-screen and internal displays are bigger, the keyboard has a better layout, the 3.2-megapixel camera has more advanced settings, the 3.5mm headset jack accommodates your own headphones, EV-DO Rev. A offers faster Web browsing, and more. The EnV Touch doesn't have V Cast Mobile TV like the Voyager did, but that's about the only thing missing with this upgrade. Perhaps our only complaints were that the touch-screen interface and Web browsing could use some refinements, and the lack of Wi-Fi was disappointing. The LG EnV Touch is available for $149.99 with a $70 mail-in rebate and a two-year service agreement, which isn't too expensive for what you're getting.
Design
When the LG Voyager came out two years ago, touch-screen phones were still relatively new. The market is now flooded with them, and the EnV Touch doesn't seem so unique now. However, that doesn't take away from the EnV Touch's design appeal. Measuring 4.52 inches long by 2.16 inches wide by 0.66 inch thick, the EnV Touch is slimmer than the Voyager, though at 4.92 ounces, it's a bit heavier. It has a sleek and stylish look similar to that of the LG Dare and the LG Versa, with a solid feel in the hand and a sturdy hinge construction.

The LG EnV Touch has a large, 3-inch touch screen on the front.

Like the Voyager, the EnV Touch has a large touch-screen display dominating its entire front surface, except for three physical keys at the bottom; the Send, Clear, and End/Power keys. The Clear key doubles as the voice command key (with a short press) and the voice recorder key (with a long press). The touch screen is really stunning, measuring 3 inches diagonally, which is a hair larger than the 2.81-inch display on the Voyager. The display supports a whopping 1.6 million colors and is bright, sharp, and vibrant. You can adjust the screen's backlight time, the charging screen, (what shows on the display when the phone is charging), the menu fonts, and the dial fonts. Along the bottom of the home screen are five shortcut icons that lead to the messaging menu, the virtual dial pad, the main menu, the phone book, and a Favorites page, where you can list your favorite contacts or group. You'll also find a small arrow to the far right of the display. Tap that, and you'll reveal a pull-out menu of application shortcuts and shortcuts to media files in the My Media library (Media files include photos, browser bookmarks, and videos). You can then drag and drop those shortcut icons directly to the home screen, which is similar to what you can do on the LG Dare. Some of the application shortcuts will just appear as simple icons, like the browser for example. For certain applications, like the calendar and the clock, they will appear as full-on widgets on the home screen. If you want to add a shortcut that's not listed on the pull-out menu, you can tap the Add button on the bottom right to select from your entire library of applications and media files. If you wish to remove the shortcut from your home screen, simple drag and drop the icon to the small arrow on the right. On the whole, we found the touch-screen interface to be quite responsive. There's a touch calibration wizard that you can go through to help with your precision and sensitivity, and the haptic feedback makes the phone vibrate whenever your touch registers. You can even adjust the length and intensity of the vibration. Also helpful is a sound effect whenever your touch registers on the screen. Aside from just tapping, you can also scroll through menus and long Web pages by dragging your finger across the screen. Despite all this, the touch-screen interface takes some acclimation. This is especially true with the Web browser, where you need to tap a particular icon just right for it to register. We had to tap links several times before it got through, for example. Also, when scrolling through menus, we would sometimes launch an application accidentally. We got used to it after awhile, but it was frustrating at first.

The LG enV Touch has a virtual dial pad on the touch-screen interface.

Instead of having to open up the phone to dial or text, you can do both via the touch-screen interface. We liked the virtual dial pad's large digits. Underneath the keypad are shortcuts to voice dialing, the recent calls list, and the contacts list. As for messaging, you can choose a few ways to enter text: handwriting recognition, multitap or T9 via an alphanumeric keypad, or via a landscape QWERTY keyboard. The EnV Touch has an internal accelerometer, so you can activate the QWERTY keyboard by rotating the phone horizontally. When using the QWERTY keyboard, each key magnifies as you touch it to show that you selected it, much like the keyboard on the iPhone. All of these text entry methods work fine as far as touch-screen interfaces go, but we would definitely choose to use the actual physical keyboard over the touch screen for faster typing. On the left spine of the EnV Touch are the dedicated camera key, the volume rocker, and the screen lock key. The charger jack is on the bottom, while the microSD card slot and 3.5 millimeter headset jack are on the right side. We're especially glad to see the 3.5 millimeter headset jack, as it's always good to have the option of using your existing headphones. On the back are the 3.2-megapixel camera lens and an LED flash. The 3-inch internal display is just as large as the external display and just as attractive, with the same color support and pixel resolution. You can adjust the backlight time separately from the external display. You can also change the menu style interface. Do note that you need to open the phone all the way to 180 degrees to access the controls on the left spine.

The LG EnV Touch has a full QWERTY keyboard.

There are stereo speakers on either side of the display, while two soft keys rest right underneath. Below that is the full QWERTY keyboard. Even though it looks similar to the one on the Voyager, there are a few important differences. There's now a Favorites button that leads to your favorite contacts page, a dedicated text-messaging button, plus the usual Shift and Symbol keys. The biggest change is that the space bar is now located in the middle of the keyboard instead of to the sides. This is a welcome change, as it is far more natural to have the space bar in the middle. Thankfully, the QWERTY keyboard on the EnV Touch is just as easy to use as on the Voyager. The keyboard is spacious, with keys that are raised above the surface and have a nice give when pressed. The 2, Q, W, E, and S keys are grayed out to indicate game pad controls. To the right of the QWERTY arrangement is the navigation array. It consists of the Send and End/Power keys, a square navigation toggle with middle OK key, the Clear key, and the Speakerphone key. The up, left, and down directions on the toggle can be mapped to three user-defined shortcuts, while the right leads to the My Shortcuts menu, which can also be customized with up to four shortcuts.
You can also customize the QWERTY keyboard shortcut, which lets you initiate a contacts search, a new text message, or a new note, simply by pressing any key on the QWERTY keyboard.
Features
If you thought the LG EnV Touch's design was impressive, wait until you hear about its features. Almost all of its offerings are updated from the Voyager, even the basics. The one thing missing from the EnV Touch is V Cast Mobile TV, which is Verizon's live-TV-streaming service. The EnV Touch holds a generous 1,500-entry phonebook, with room in each entry for five numbers, two e-mail addresses, and a street address. You can then organize the contacts into caller groups, pair them with a photo for caller ID, or any of 26 polyphonic ring tones. Other basics include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone (which you can activate prior to a call), text and multimedia messaging, voice messaging, a calendar, an alarm clock, a world clock, a stopwatch, a notepad, and even a drawing pad, which you can use with the touch-screen interface. After you finish doodling something, you can send it off to your friends via MMS if you want. More advanced users will appreciate USB mass storage and voice command dialing. Supported Bluetooth profiles include hands-free, dial-up networking, A2DP or stereo, phonebook access, basic printing, basic imaging, object push for vCard and vCalendar, and file transfer. You can also use the EnV Touch as a wireless modem for your laptop or computer, but you'll have to get the Mobile Broadband Connect plan for $60 a month for a 5GB data cap. The EnV Touch also comes with a document viewer, which will let you read Microsoft Office documents from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, plus Adobe Acrobat .pdf files. To read them, you need to load them onto a microSD card in the "my_document" folder. Other advanced features include mobile instant messenger (AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo), GPS with VZ Navigator support, e-mail, and visual voice mail. Do note that the Verizon visual voice mail service will cost you $3 a month. As for e-mail, there are three options; mobile e-mail, with which you can get e-mail from a variety of services (like Yahoo, AOL, and Windows Live) directly into your in-box; mobile corporate e-mail courtesy of RemoSync, which lets you sync your work e-mail and calendar; and mobile Web e-mail, which gives you shortcut access to a variety of Web e-mail services like Windows Live, AOL Mail, and Yahoo Mail--this latter option opens up the Web browser. Do note that the mobile e-mail application costs $5, and in order to get corporate e-mail you'll have to sign up for a $9.99 monthly subscription to RemoSync. The corporate e-mail option works with Microsoft ActiveSync, so you need to know your company's mail Exchange server address. The EnV Touch has a full HTML Web browser like its predecessor did, and, unfortunately, it seems to have the same clunky issues with the touch screen. Don't get us wrong; we love that you can surf and browse full Web pages. We also like that you can zoom in and out of pages, view a page in full-screen mode, add bookmarks, and search through a page. The EnV Touch also features tabbed browsing (with up to three tabs, or pages, open), which we liked. But using the Web browser via the touch-screen interface is an exercise in frustration. As we said earlier, it can take several taps in order for a link to register, especially on a crowded page. Also, whenever we bring up the browser navigation array, they only appear for a second before disappearing again. There doesn't seem to be a way to adjust this in the settings. Also, using the toggle to view full screen pages can be tedious, and is nowhere as smooth as the multitouch pinch-to-zoom interface on the iPhone. Still, at least now we can use the volume rocker to zoom in and out of Web pages, which makes things easier. The LG EnV Touch comes with EV-DO Rev. A, which is a touch faster than the EV-DO on the LG Voyager. It doesn't come with Wi-Fi, however, which is a bit of a letdown on such a full-featured phone. Along with EV-DO, the EnV Touch also has access to Verizon's array of broadband services like V Cast Video, where you can download or stream video clips from providers like CBS and CNN, and V Cast Music with Rhapsody, which lets you purchase and download songs over the air. Each song costs $1.99, and includes a download to your PC. As for the music player itself, the interface is pretty simple, with the album art displayed next to the artist and album name along with the track title. You can mute the player, create and edit playlists, set the songs on repeat or shuffle, or add one of six preset equalizer settings. There's also a Music Only mode that shuts off the phone's cellular signal so you can keep listening to tunes when you're on an airplane. Other than downloading a song from V Cast Music, you can also sync up songs from your PC with a USB cable using the V Cast Music with Rhapsody software. If you have a Rhapsody subscription, you can also sync up your subscribed tracks. Supported music files include MP3, WMA, unprotected AAC and AAC+ formats. The EnV Touch supports up to 16GB of removable memory via a microSD card in case you want additional storage.

The LG enV Touch has a 3.2-megapixel camera lens and an LED flash.

The EnV Touch has a 3.2-megapixel camera, which is an upgrade over the Voyager's 2-megapixel lens. You can take pictures in six different resolutions (2,048x1,536, 1,600x1,200, 1,280x960, 640x480, and 320x240 pixels), five white balance presets, and five color effects. It also has three focusing modes: autofocus, macro mode, or manual mode, the last of which lets you pick one of seven points on the screen to focus in on. You can toggle the flash on or off, adjust a self timer if you want, or select one of three shutter sounds (there's also a silent option). The camera also has a few special shot modes: Smile shot, which automatically takes a picture when a person smiles; Panorama, which stitches together three photos shot from left to right; Intelligent shot, which automatically adjusts the white balance and color saturation based on the surrounding environment; and Facial Makeover mode, which removes all blemishes and unsightly marks from a person's face. There's also a name card reader mode that is specially tuned to take pictures of business cards so that the words are legible. This way you don't have to carry a lot of business cards around with you; just store the images in your phone.

The LG EnV Touch takes good photos.

Photo quality is very good for the most part. Images look sharp, without a lot of blurriness, and colors looked bright, as well. Do note that you can't use the external touch screen as a self-portrait viewfinder. There's also a built-in camcorder, which can record in two resolutions (320x240 and 176x144) in two lengths--short 30-second clips for multimedia messages, or clips of up to an hour or so for saving. Video quality was pretty good for a camera phone, without a lot of blur. It won't replace a real video camera, but it's good enough for sharing short video clips with friends.You have plenty of personalization options with the EnV Touch. You can adjust the wallpaper, display themes, and alert tones. You can purchase more themes and tons via Verizon's online store. The EnV Touch also comes with a few games, like Need for Speed Undercover, Resident Evil: Degeneration, and Tetris. You can find more games at via the Verizon store, as well.
Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900; EV-DO) LG EnV Touch in San Francisco using Verizon Wireless. We were impressed with the call quality. Callers heard us without any static or interference, and we could hear them loud and clear. They said our voices sounded natural, almost as though we were speaking on a landline phone. Even when we activated the speakerphone, they couldn't tell the difference. On our end, the speakerphone had plenty of volume, though it sounded just a tad tinny, which is to be expected. The audio quality of songs from the LG EnV Touch's stereo speakers was average. It's loud enough, but the bass was lacking, and the vocals seemed weak. We would recommend using a wired or stereo Bluetooth headset for better music quality. The EnV Touch's EV-DO Rev. A is supposed to be faster than just regular EV-DO, and indeed it is. V Cast videos took around a second to load with little buffering time, and loading a full and complex Web page like CNET's front page took around 15 seconds. Downloading a 1.5MB song took around 30 seconds. We were also surprised that the video quality on V Cast videos was quite good. Usually we complain about the pixelation on the video, but not with the EnV Touch--perhaps because of the 1,600,000-color support and EV-DO Rev. A. It's definitely not HD quality or anything, but for streaming video, it was sharp and clear, without a lot of pixelation or blurriness. The LG EnV Touch has a rated battery life of 4.3 hours talk time and 17 days standby time. We only managed to get a talk time of 3 hours and 13 minutes in our tests. According to FCC radiation tests, the EnV Touch has a digital SAR rating of 0.932 watts per kilogram.