Recap

Phandroid Recap: Cortana vs Google Now, Galaxy S5 Review, and more! [April 13-19]

Is it Friday already? Yes, it is, which means it’s time for another Phandroid Recap! Once again we had a lot of great stuff go up on the site this week. Reviews, hands-on videos, comparisons, lists, and much more. With all of this content going up you probably missed a few things. Below you will find a “cheat sheet” for all the big stories and features. Read up so you can be informed about all the things your geeky friends will want to talk about this weekend. We won’t tell them you cheated.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Review

We reviewed Samsung’s latest flagship device this week. Most places rushed up reviews after just a few days of use, but we wanted to use the phone for a week before sharing our thoughts. Overall we liked the phone a lot, but it definitely has its flaws. Rob gave the Galaxys S5 a very good 4.5 out of 5 score. Here is an excerpt from the full review:

We’ve grown to expect an awful lot from Samsung, perhaps even holding them to a higher standard, which is why not being absolutely blown away by the S5′s awesomeness seems like a disappointment. The fact remains: the Samsung Galaxy S5 instantly becomes one of the best phones on the market, perhaps is the best all-around phone, and the vast majority of users will be pleased and impressed by its performance.

Google Now vs Cortana

There is a new kid on the block, and her name is Cortana. Earlier this week Microsoft released Windows Phone 8.1 for developers around the world. Included in the update is their new virtual assistant that they hope will compete with the likes of Google Now and Siri. We went hands-on with Cortana to see how she stacks up against Google Now. We asked them both a wide range of questions to see how they each handle things. The results may surprise you.

Galaxy S5 vs iPhone 5S

The vast majority of smartphone owners in the world have either an iPhone or “Galaxy.” These two devices are dominating the market right now. Naturally, we had to put the two up against each other and compare them. The Galaxy S5 easily wins the spec battle, but the iPhone wins in things like build quality and design. Things like the camera and software are much more even. If you’re interested to see how these two device stack up check out the full comparison.

We can spend all day giving you our opinions on the matter, and we hope they help making an informed decision easier, but ultimately the device you buy comes down to personal preference. Do you favor a big, beautiful display above all things? Go with the Galaxy S5. Is an intuitive interface and access to apps a priority? Then the iPhone 5s is a no brainer.

Official Google Camera app released to Play Store


The biggest  news story this week was Google releasing their camera app to the Play Store. This is the app that can be found on Nexus devices, but now it has been stripped out of the OS like so many other Google apps. Along with the release came a brand new user interface and some cool new features like Lens Blur. Google has made some big improvements in this version. If you have a KitKat device you can download Google Camera for free.

12 weirdest Android device names ever

There was a time when Android phones were coming out so often that companies were using anything and everything for names. Rocks, stones, metals, liquids, animals, weather conditions, an even emoticons were used as inspiration. Since those days the names of devices has gotten a lot better, but we can’t forget those horrible names of the past. We compiled a list of 12 devices that we consider to have the weirdest names. What other devices do you think should be on this list?

Honorable Mention

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