Gadling gear review: Samsung Focus Windows phone

by Kraig Becker on

Remember when buying a cell phone was easy? You simply walked into a store, found a device that was the right size and price to fit your needs, bought it, and walked out the door. You usually didn’t have to buy another one until that phone died, and the thought of upgrading on an annual basis was nearly unheard of. The increase in demand for smartphones over the past few years, spurred on by the introduction of the iPhone and Android, has changed that landscape dramatically however, and now we seem more aware of new alternatives that can deliver the best mobile experience possible. One of those alternatives is the Samsung Focus, which runs Windows Phone 7 – Microsoft’s answer to Apple and Google’s mobile operating systems.

From a hardware standpoint, the Focus hits all the right notes. Powered by a 1Ghz processor, the interface is responsive and snappy, which is important considering that Windows Phone does some very different things from the competition. The phone comes with 8GB of on board storage and a microSD card slot allows for quick and easy expansion. A 5 megapixel camera, with LED flash, takes excellent photos and video, which are displayed on a very crisp and detailed 4 inch Super AMOLED screen

Of course, all of that hardware doesn’t mean much if the operating system that runs on it isn’t up to par. Fortunately, Windows Phone 7 is a powerful and interesting take on the mobile OS, which is designed to put the information that is important to us at our fingertips. Those familiar with the desktop version of Windows will recognize a “Start” menu that grants access to installed apps, but it is the new hub-based interface, code named Metro, that is truly unique and different. These hubs are highly customizable and display information on an interactive start screen that lets us know at a glance if we have unread e-mails, Facebook status updates, or Twitter messages that require attention. It is all very slick, well designed, and easy to use – so much so, that the next version of Windows for PC’s will integrate Metro in some fashion as well.These days, consumers rate the value of their smartphone based on the apps that are available and in this area, Windows Phone lags well behind the iPhone and Android. That said however, you’ll find options for most of the top apps from those devices are available here as well, including travel apps from Kayak, XE Currency, and most of the major airlines. The Marketplace, Microsoft’s version of the App Store, also has versions of Angry Birds, Netflix, Yelp, and many of the others apps you’ve come to know and love. Windows Phone may lack the large numbers of apps available on the competition, but there are still plenty of alternatives available to fit your needs.

Using the Samsung Focus around town, on the AT&T network, resulted in good performance, with no dropped calls and decent, if not outstanding, voice quality. Data was fed to the device via 3G network or WiFi quickly, allowing for web surfing, answering e-mails, and sharing photos on Facebook. Everything functioned as you would expect and in this arena, the phone held its own with the iPhone and Android devices.

So how would the Focus fare as a travel companion? In this area it is a bit of a mixed bag. The battery life is solid (6.5 hours of talk, 300 hours of standby) and Windows Phone uses the Bing search engine, also owned by Microsoft, to deliver good local search options and maps, complete with turn-by-turn navigation. The device is actually excellent at multimedia playback, allowing users to listen to music or watch movies on the go, and integration with XBox Live opens the door for the potential for some great games as well. Additionally, the great camera in the Focus is nice for photos and video as well, although I wouldn’t recommend it over a dedicated point-and-shoot.

But the Focus is also larger than the iPhone, which makes it a bit more challenging to stuff comfortably into a pocket while traveling. The large screen may look beautiful, but it expands the dimensions of the device as well. More importantly, the Focus isn’t a true world phone, which means it won’t roam on all mobile networks when traveling internationally. That could be a problem for some travelers, who don’t want to carry a second phone while abroad. The new iPhone 4S does offer that functionality, and the upcoming Windows phones from Nokia will also feature cellular chipsets for connecting globally as well.

Consumers looking for a true alternative to the iPhone or Android will definitely want to give the Focus and Windows Phone a look. Recent updates to the OS have brought even more features to the device and its unique, innovative interface presents important data in a completely different way from the competition. The Focus is also quite affordable, running just $49 with a new contract from AT&T.

Google’s Hotel Finder to help you find the perfect hotel

by Melanie Renzulli on

On Friday, Google introduced Hotel Finder, which promises to help users find the perfect hotel. Hotel Finder utilizes Google Maps as well as a Google Reader-type interface to display hotels according to photo, class, user rating, rate, and “compared to typical,” a useful metric that displays a percentage of how much more or less the rate is off the typical price from the past year.

Google calls Hotel Finder an “experimental” product, a disclaimer that excuses this tool from being perfect. For example, one feature of Hotel Finder is the “shortlist,” which allows users to bookmark hotels they find interesting. Unfortunately, the shortlist only works for the current search and can not be saved for future hotel searches. (I’d love for the shortlist to become more like Foursquare‘s “To Do” list, thereby allowing you to save your shortlist in your Google profile.)

While Google has yet to venture into the business of booking your travel, look for that to change given Google’s acquisition of ITA in July. In the meantime, should you wish to book a hotel via Hotel Finder, click on the blue “Book” button and you are given options to make your reservations via third-party sites like Travelocity and Expedia or on the hotel’s own website. Click on “book” and you’ll see the base price of the hotel as well as the price after taxes and fees for each third-party site.

Although it is a fun tool, Google’s Hotel Finder is not quite ready to be the web’s go-to site for hotel bookings. In fact, Hotel Finder is currently only available for U.S. hotel searches. But I look forward to seeing how Google will integrate Hotel Finder into its current suite of products, particularly as it rolls out ITA-integrated travel product and as Google + grows in popularity and usefulness.

Google launches flight schedule search

by Kraig Becker on

You knew it was only a matter of time before Google jumped into the travel game, especially after their acquisition of ITA Software was approved awhile back. But on Friday of last week, the Internet search giant launched its flight schedule search option, allowing travelers to get a list of flight options directly from the basic Google search box that we all know and love.

The new options was announced on Google’s Inside Search blog and in typical Google fashion, it couldn’t be any easier to use. Simply type in the search term “flights” followed by the city you’re flying from and the city you’re flying to. The search engine will go to work, and give you an option on the results page to view a schedule of flights. Clicking that link will display a drop down menu of the days and times for flights offered by the major carrier.

In their blog post, Google used the example of “Flights from San Francisco to Minneapolis,” and and you can see exactly how the results are presented by clicking here. As you would expect, the results are given in a neat, clean, no-frills fashion.

So, what do you think? Will this option replace your normal online flight search tool of choice? It is nice to have such a simple approach, but for now, I personally still prefer the options presented by Kayak.com or some of the other services. But who knows, Google may just be getting started, and they’re likely to refine this over time, giving us more features and search tools in the future.

[Photo credit: Google]

DayZipping launches Android app, brings fresh trips to fresh places

by Darren Murph on

It wasn’t quite a year ago that an Atlanta-based startup dubbed DayZipping set out to change the way people interacted with new places. But having a growing pool of day trips — journeys that can be completed within one to eight hours by foot, bike, car or train — only does a user so much good on the big screen. At last week’s Google I/O conference, the company launched their first foray into the mobile realm: the DayZipping Android app. All of the daytripping goodness found on the web, packaged into a free, intuitive mobile app. Simply load up the program on your Android phone or tablet, search for a location that you’re heading to, and see a whole host of possible day trip options added by fellow travelers who have already done the hard work for you.

We’re told that an iOS version should bring the same functionality to iPhone users in mid-to-late summer, but given the haste at which an Android build can be injected into the Market, the company’s using Google’s mobile OS as a proving ground. As for planned upgrades? They’re looking to integrate the mobile app with your web account so that you can save trips for offline viewing and get customized suggestions on the go. In other words, you could have rated trips in Atlanta, and the app will generate suggestions in San Francisco even if it’s your first visit to the area. Long-term, the outfit wants to provide in-app reviews, a direct way to receive a deal or purchase agreement (think local deals based on where you’re tripping), and group messaging functions if the code can be hammered out. Hit the Market here to give it a go — who knows what trips you may discover in your backyard?

Google to dominate online travel selling, we hope

by Chris Owen on

Late last week, Google won government clearance on its $700 million bid for ITA Software in a deal that opens the door for the innovative Internet search powerhouse to dominate online travel selling.

ITA Software, who’s latest innovations include include ITA PSS, a next-generation passenger services system, Needle, a smarter way to organize and publish data on the web, and OnTheFly, an airfare shopping mobile application will make a nice addition to Googles stable of brands. ITA already powers the reservation systems of most US airlines and several online fare-comparison brands like Kayak, TripAdvisor and Hotwire. It looks like a match made in heaven as tech-savvy Google gets an infusion of travel sense from a leader in that game.

But there is a catch. Make that possible bump in the road that we hope they get over smoothly.

While Google is buying and hiring to solidify the top position in all it does, it’s competitors and the government are looking very closely at what they are up to. They fear Google could use it’s substantial Internet search engine clout to monopolize the online travel business.

Would that be the same fear Yahoo might have had about Google’s search engine capability? Perhaps a natural order of things will play out here too.

To win approval, Google agreed to ongoing federal monitoring of its behavior. Google also agreed that ITA will continue to provide service to existing customers for five years in a “reasonable and nondiscriminatory way”. That should satisfy the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department for a while but they both have Google in their sights, ready to pull the trigger on a full-scale investigation, given the chance.

In his blog, Google’s Senior Vice President Jeff Huber writes:

“How cool would it be if you could type “flights to somewhere sunny for under $500 in May” into Google and get not just a set of links but also flight times, fares and a link to sites where you can actually buy tickets quickly and easily? Well that’s exactly why we announced our intention to buy ITA Software, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company that specializes in organizing airline data last July-and we’re excited that the U.S. Department of Justice today approved our acquisition.”


Last July, Gadling’s Darren Murph called the ITA buy “a huge win for consumers who are tired of crawling three different airline search engines to get a somewhat comprehensive look at their options.” adding “we personally can’t wait for this marriage to officially bear fruit.”

Now that the sale has been approved and Google has agreed play nice, we should start seeing something pretty quickly. Until then, there’s always Google maps:


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Flickr photo by brionv