Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung Galaxy S4

It is April 2013, and Samsung has just unveiled the ‘Life Companion.’ The Galaxy S4 has arrived in the UK to a level of fanfare that feels more like a stadium concert than a product launch. After the astronomical success of the S III, Samsung hasn’t tried to reinvent the wheel; instead,

HTC One M7

HTC One M7

It is March 2013, and HTC has just released a phone that is being hailed as the most beautiful Android device ever made. The HTC One (retroactively known as the M7) has ditched the plastic-and-glass norms for a ‘Zero-Gap’ unibody aluminium chassis that takes 200 minutes of CNC machining to produce. In

Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920

It is late 2012, and Nokia has just released a handset that feels like it was milled from a solid block of the future. The Lumia 920 is the flagship for Windows Phone 8, and it is a technical heavyweight in every sense of the word. At 185g, it is noticeably ‘chunky,’

Samsung Note 2

Samsung Note 2

It is late 2012, and Samsung has just doubled down on the ‘Phablet’ experiment with the Galaxy Note II (N7100). If the original Note was a curious prototype, the Note II is a polished, high-performance workstation that has converted the UK tech press from skeptics to believers. It is a 183g behemoth

Google Nexus 4

Google Nexus 4

It is November 2012, and Google has just disrupted the UK mobile market with a technical masterclass in value. The Nexus 4, manufactured by LG, has arrived with a price tag that seems like a clerical error: £239 for a flagship-spec device. It is a stunning 139g slab of glass, featuring a

Apple iPhone 5

Apple iPhone 5

Welcome to September 2012, and Apple has finally done the unthinkable: they’ve changed the screen size. The iPhone 5 has arrived, and it is a tall, slender masterpiece of precision engineering that makes every other phone on the market look like a plastic toy. Gone is the ‘glass sandwich’ of the 4S,

Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung Galaxy S3

It is May 2012, and Samsung has just unveiled a phone that claims to be ‘designed for humans and inspired by nature.’ The Galaxy S III is a massive, curvaceous departure from the blocky aesthetics of the S II, finished in ‘Marble White’ or ‘Pebble Blue’ with a glossy, ‘hyperglaze’ polycarbonate finish.

Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia Lumia 800

Welcome to November 2011, and the ‘Shotgun Marriage’ between Nokia and Microsoft has finally produced its first offspring. The Nokia Lumia 800 is the most important phone in the Finnish giant’s history, a ‘do or die’ device designed to rescue them from the ‘burning platform’ of Symbian. In the UK, it has

Samsung Note

Samsung Note

It is late 2011, and Samsung has just performed a daring technical experiment that has the UK tech press alternating between awe and ridicule. They’ve released the Galaxy Note, a device with a 5.3-inch screen that is so massive it has necessitated the creation of a new word: the ‘Phablet.’ In the

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple iPhone 4S

Welcome to October 2011, and the atmosphere around the iPhone 4S is a strange mix of technical awe and somber reflection following the passing of Steve Jobs. While many in the UK were disappointed that the design remains identical to the iPhone 4, the internal overhaul is so significant that it has