Posts by Michael Fisher
Michael Fisher has followed the world of mobile technology for over ten years as hobbyist, retailer, and reviewer. A lengthy stint as a Sprint Nextel employee and a long-time devotion to webOS have cemented his love for the underdog platforms of the world. In addition to serving as Pocketnow's Editorial Director, Michael is a stage, screen, and voice actor, as well as co-founder of a profitable YouTube-based business. He lives in Boston, MA.
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by Michael Fisher | May 6, 2013 12:58 PMThere is a zone, somewhere between the initial review frenzy surrounding a brand-new smartphone and our After The Buzz re-review, where a followup is called for. A check-in period. A built-in hold to allow the reviewers to catch their breath while they pass the mic to the buyers for their impressions on a brand-new device. Not just any buyers, either, but that special class of customer that tells a critical part of any device's story: the early-adopters. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 started shipping last month. It's been available on all four U.S. national carriers for about a week now, giving ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 3, 2013 7:01 AMThe Galaxy S 4 ships with more sensors than it knows what to do with. As we described in our full review, the new Samsung superphone boasts a thermometer, barometer, and even a hygrometer beneath its glazed polycarbonate shell, making the device almost as much tricorder as communicator. But sensors are only as good as the apps that can make use of their data. Realizing this, one talented developer has emerged to provide a software companion for Samsung's sensors, an app to give voice to these less-celebrated Galaxy S4 features. That app is called Weather Station. And while it won't win any ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 2, 2013 5:00 PMFor a while now, the mobile-tech review landscape has looked much the same. Reviewers like us craft lengthy written pieces packed with charts, photos, and videos, and readers like you ... read them. Sure, you have the opportunity to respond in the comments, and most good editors will answer questions there, but there's precious little real-time interaction between reader and reviewer. There's not much chance to ask questions, seek clarifications, or take a quick look at that one little detail. For a while, we've been trying to break down the wall between reviewer and reader - to allow you ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 2, 2013 7:36 AM"This barbecue grill has seventy bazillion BTUs; you better learn to work it." "This car engine has forty-two million horsepower. You better learn to park it." "Your smartphone camera has 13 megapixels and a hundred features and settings; you better learn to use it." Those first two examples may have some figures skewed, but the third sentence applies almost perfectly to the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S 4. It's not the first 13MP smartphone shooter we've come across, but it's definitely the one that offers the most features. Without knowing how to use it, though, it's just another hunk ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 1, 2013 3:35 PMFor a while now, the mobile-tech review landscape has looked much the same. Reviewers like us craft lengthy written pieces packed with charts, photos, and videos, and readers like you … read them. Sure, you have the opportunity to respond in the comments, and most good editors will answer questions there, but there’s precious little real-time interaction between reader and reviewer. There’s not much chance to ask questions, seek clarifications, or take a quick look at that one little detail. For a while, we’ve been trying to break down the wall between reviewer and reader – to ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 1, 2013 1:16 PMNot all of us have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so not all of us were exactly qualified to make the lame joke that kicks off this week's podcast. But we made it, and we stand behind it. Because as hundreds of fifth-rate "manufacturers" well know, sometimes you just have to fake it. But we're not talking about secondhand knockoff products in this episode of the Weekly. Rather, we get serious about octa-core comparisons, the till-recently-mythical HTC M4, the insanely cheap new Lumia out of Finland, and just how tired we are or aren't of the Samsung Galaxy S 4. In between, we ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 1, 2013 7:01 AMYou've been asking for it: a head-to-head matchup of the best of Windows Phone with (one of) the best of Android. We had to get the hotter comparisons out of the way first, but here for your viewing enjoyment is the latest piece of Nokia versus Samsung hotness to come out of Pocketnow. Why the delay? Funny you should ask. We've been churning out quad-vs-octa, Samsung-vs-HTC, and Galaxy-vs-Galaxy comparisons first because, at the moment, they're the more apt head-to-heads. Nokia's Lumia 920 is a half-year old at this point, and the truth is, putting it up against the newest Samsung ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 30, 2013 7:02 AMThe Galaxy S 4. It's a name that commands respect: one that strikes fear into the hearts of other smartphones, and incites envy in the eyes of would-be buyers. As our full review reinforces, it's a name that represents one of the best Android smartphones you can buy today. But the Galaxy S 4 isn't just one phone: it's a device family comprised of many globally-specific variants. The SPH-L720 we reviewed last week was built especially for the American carrier Sprint, and while it's functionally identical to the other American operator variants, it has significantly less in common with its ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 26, 2013 8:08 PMYes, yes: we know the official English-language prefix for "eight" is "octo," but you have to agree that octa just sounds -and looks- a whole lot better. And based on Samsung's choice of spelling on the box that just rolled into our office, the company agrees with us. Besides, admit it: after a week spent watching us dissect the quad-core American variant of the Galaxy S 4, you're hankering for a peek at its Exynos-powered eight-core sibling, no matter how we spell it. Behold: the phone we Yankees call the "international version" of Samsung's latest Android flagship, known to its friends ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 25, 2013 1:14 PM
There are devices that deserve a modicum of coverage, and then there are devices that call for a maelstrom of coverage. Samsung's Galaxy S 4, the most hotly anticipated Android smartphone of 2013 so far, easily falls into the latter category, and we have no qualms about devoting an entire podcast to discussing the latest Google-powered beast out of Seoul. Tune in as Master Chief Stephen Schenck, Figurine Boatswain Taylor Martin, and Captain 2 Phones take you for an auditory tour of the high and low points of the Galaxy S 4, calling on the kind of strung-out expertise that only nine days ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 25, 2013 7:06 AMWe've never been huge fans of Samsung's flip covers for the Note II and the Galaxy S III. Their lack of interaction with the phones' software, total obfuscation of the display when closed, and general lack of utility have kept us from using them extensively. So when we walked into a pre-launch Galaxy S 4 briefing a while back to find a bunch of flip covers sitting on the table, we weren't too excited. That is, until we took a closer look. There weren't regular flip covers: they were S View Covers. The difference: Samsung has punched a window in the front flap, exposing the display ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 25, 2013 7:04 AMThe Galaxy S 4 comes packing a wide array of features. Some, like its flip-to-mute functionality, are minor but useful. Others, like the Smart Pause function that promises to interrupt playback when you look away from a playing video, are great ideas sullied by lackluster execution. And between those two extremes lies a dense field of additional functions. We tried to squeeze as much feature coverage as we could into our full review of the Galaxy S 4, but there's only so much room in even the densest Pocketnow review articles. Here, then, is a video walkthrough of the Galaxy S 4's unique ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 24, 2013 8:11 AMThe Galaxy S 4 might be the talk of the town today, but it didn't get to its lofty position just by borrowing from older Samsung smartphones. The world's largest handset vendor borrowed heavily from its pioneering phablet line as well when crafting the Galaxy S 4, stealing gesture-based interactions from the Galaxy Note II, and even tweaking a few S Pen-powered features to serve the new pen-less king of the Samsung smartphone pile. How did all this feature-porting work out? Should someone in the market for a Note II pause for a second to consider going Galaxy S 4 instead? How much ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 24, 2013 8:03 AMLong before these smartphones ever emerged from their respective drafting rooms, the world knew that the showdown between them would be fierce. One device is a product of an Android juggernaut, a fourth-generation powerhouse from a take-no-prisoners Goliath that essentially owns the Google-powered smartphone space. The other is a last-ditch effort to save its creator from certain destruction, a product forged from that peculiar mixture of desperation and determination that sometimes begets pure art. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 and the HTC One are smartphones physically, historically, and ...
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by Michael Fisher | April 24, 2013 8:02 AMIt seems like ages ago that we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S III, first in its international garb, then in its various U.S. carrier variants. Back then, we said we'd "confidently recommend the Galaxy S III to someone looking for the best smartphone experience possible," and our sentiments were, for the most part, echoed across the internet's various tech news outlets. The public, it seemed, took the recommendation to heart: Samsung sold untold millions of Galaxy S III devices, furthering the legacy of what was already a legendary line of Android smartphones. Today's nostalgia for 2012 is ...