Leave Your Camera At Home – You Don’t Need It Anymore

by Lori Cunningham

I have reviewed a lot of Android phones but I have finally found the Android phone for me — the new HTC Amaze.  Each Android phone has a bit of it’s own personality, but when you boil it down, they are pretty similar to one another.  The same is true with the Amaze…with one exception…this phone takes the BEST pictures I have ever seen on a phone.  Truly, there is no comparison – the pictures come out sharper, clearer, and with more contrast than any other phone I’ve tested.

The video comes out great too.  We just recently moved.  We went back to the old house to give the new owner their keys and I decided to take the kids up to their old rooms to say “goodbye.”  I had no worries that I didn’t have my camera because I knew the pictures and video I captured of the kids that day would turn out great…and they did.  I also took many pictures whiles at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) using the Amaze. I took my camera with me, just in case, but found I didn’t need it, the Amaze did great.

Camera Scenes

I didn’t read this on T-Mobile’s site until I began writing this article, but T-mobile says that the Amaze “offers our latest most advanced camera of any smartphone.”  I believe it.  The Amaze is the first smartphone I’ve used that offers manual ISO and white balance adjustments.  The Amaze also has some great options to choose from when shooting a picture:

• SmartShot – capture an array of shots combined to create the best photo of everyone smiling – LOVE THIS!
• SweepShot – capture landscapes by holding camera steady and rotating to capture panoramic scenes
• ClearShot HDR – capture objects in bright settings so that your photos don’t result in high light contrast
• BurstShot – capture multiple shots in a quick burst so that you don’t miss the perfect photo – when I think back to how many pictures I missed because my camera didn’t have this feature!
• Night – capture photos at night so that your pictures appear crisp in low light
• Macro – capture objects up close so that you can capture each minute detail of the object
• Portrait – capture an individual so that the subject is sharp and in focus and the background is blurry
• Manual – enables you to change advanced settings

Here are some photos I took of my dog, Bear.  Bear is not one to sit still – he’s a mover.  The BurstShot feature worked great.  I just selected the BurstShot scene and took one shot of Bear.  The other shots (there are two more I didn’t post) were taken automatically.  The BurstShot is great for sports scenes, your child’s first bike ride, or even when your kids are posing for a pic but one of them never seems to smile at the right time…that’s my son!

Features

• 4G
• 4.3: HD touch screen
• 960 x 540 qHD resolution
• 1 GB RAM
• 8 MP rear facing camera
  

  Look at this great close-up of these wires - you can see the dust really well.

• 2 MP front facing camera
• Dual LED camera flash
• Backlit camera sensor – takes better pictures with low light
• 1080p HD camcorder
• Easily synch w/Microsoft Outlook
• MicroSD card slot
• Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 chipset processor – the best you can get in a smartphone for graphics, gaming, video, etc.
• Uses Gingerbread Android operating system
• USB Tethering – allows you to hook up to your netbook/laptop so share your Internet access (without additional costs)

Pros:

• Takes great pictures
• Pictures in low light come out surprisingly well
• Hard button on side of phone for camera and video
• Nice size screen
• Case is mostly metal – nice looking, not cheap
• Can run multiple programs at once with no issues
• Programs and menu items move fast thanks to the Snapdragon S3 chipset processor (learn more about Qualcomm processors at My Bountiful Days at BlogHer Days 3 & 4).

 

Cons:

• No tripod mount connector
• Battery doesn’t last long enough – though it could be due to the many pictures I take!
• Slightly heavy
• Charger cord is not a traditional mini USB, so it doesn’t work with all mini USB connectors for charging/data transfer

I just love green hills! This is what winter looks like in So. California!

A Mom’s Perspective

If you’re looking for a new phone, I cannot recommend the HTC Amaze enough.  Seriously, I love this phone due to it’s camera and video capabilities.  The Amaze is the model all future phones should be based on.  And I’m not alone.  I went through pages and pages of positive reviews on T-Mobile’s website for the HTC Amaze.

As moms, we treasure up moments in our hearts.  More than anyone else, we see moments we’d like to capture and remember.  Having a camera smartphone that can take great photos close at hand is a dream come true.  With these photos, you can feel comfortable enlarging them for portraits or scrapbook projects and know they will keep their resolution.

Do you think you’d feel comfortable enough leaving your camera behind with a phone like the Amaze?

 

 

*  I was loaned the HTC Amaze smartphone in exchange for my honest opinions and review.  As it has now become one of my favorite devices, my request to keep the phone was granted.