Tag Archives: google

In the Tech World…Who to Pledge Alliegience to

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June has turned out to be one of the most exciting months for technology consumers with huge announcements from Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Personally I’m excited about all of the announcements and consider them all good news. When you have Tech Titans like these behemoths fighting for my attention – I win no matter which way I turn. I’ll briefly touch on some of the highlights here.

 

Apple:

  • Macbook Pro with Retina Display
  • iOS 6

To be honest, a lot of people were waiting for the iPhone 5 announcement – but Apple did the right thing in my opinion. I love tuning in to Apple events because if nothing else is true, every time they are ready to make an announcement about a new product or feature, it will be ready for the consumer almost immediately. Not the next year, and most times, not even the coming months. It’s a sure bet that you will be able to get your hands on at least one of the items announced almost immediately. If the next iPhone wasn’t ready, then I’d rather they didn’t announce it. I’ve had a chance to compare strategies and I don’t really like Microsoft’s. They are constantly telling you more and more about the coolest new feature or hardware that you can’t buy yet because it’s due to drop at some unknown time. By the time it’s ready, the excitement has died out and you aren’t as excited about it anymore.

What Apple did announce was what I consider to be yet another game-changer. I am by no means an Apple fan-boy, but they continue to crush the competition in-terms of desirability. The Macbook pro line was already arguably the most coveted power laptop, but they went ahead and went bananas on the display. Even if they didn’t do anything under the hood, it would be tough to hold in check the desire to at least see what 2880×1800 looks like. The other iOs 6 announcements were sort of exciting, but necessities if they were going to continue to stay competitive with Android. Turn by turn navigation was a must in light of Google’s magnificent Maps App. Deeper Siri integration was to be expected, and passbook was a welcome addition to iOS’s functionality.

Microsoft:

  • Microsoft Surface
  • Windows 8 / Windows Mobile 8

As I mentioned above – the excitement around Windows 8, in my opinion, was waning a bit due to the fact that it has literally been talked about for around a year or so now. You can download a preview, but I’m not interested in previews. I’m interested in a new product…And Microsoft delivered. Enter stage left: The Microsoft Surface. This product announcement totally took me by surprise. We all know that Microsoft is fully capable of serious hardware, but they’ve been leaving it up to their hardware partners to deliver the goods, and lets just say – some of the products have much to be desired. I suppose Mr. Ballmer had to show’em how it’s done. The Surface is elegant, yet clever, and if it performs, I believe this tablet will be the answer to many people’s desires. It will be for those who want a little higher level of functionality than they can get from the iPad.

Windows Mobile 8 was the next logical step, but it is mildly exciting in the mobile space. What would be more exciting is if they pulled a “Surface” and debuted more hardware, but I doubt Microsoft will ruffle their hardware partner’s feathers too much.

Google:

  • Nexus 7
  • Project Glass
  • Nexus Q

Google’s most recent I|O Conference has to have been one of the best keynotes in recent memory. Though I wasn’t there, I was totally wrapped up in the parachuting moment, and the scaling the building moment, and the biking moment! You can see the video here. I think the perspective the images and video gleaned from that vantage point, though not new, will be quite fascinating to look at once Project Glass is released. What’s new is the form factor and ease of use. Google has managed to make that kind of imaging equipment almost apart of you. I’m quite excited to get my hands on that technology. What’s also of note is not just the “look at what I did” but the “look at what I’m doing right now” effect this eye-ware will bring about.

Google also debuted the Nexus 7 which I believe will do quite well. When compared to the Kindle Fire, it’s really no competition. Also Amazon doesn’t seem to have much else, tablet-wise, under it’s sleeve. I’m sure a next generation Kindle Fire is under way set to drop sometime soon, but I doubt it will have as much fire-power as the Nexus 7. Google understood that the real desire of many people who found the Kindle Fire intriguing but not enough to purchase, and that was the desire to have a “sleeper”. You know, an all purpose ride that’s affordable and simple enough, but a beast under the hood. The Kindle Fire was all of that, without the “Beast” part. So I bought one for my mom while I patiently waited. The Nexus 7 will probably be my next gadget purchase simply because of just how powerful and inexpensive this little bad boy is.

The Nexus Q is interesting in that it allows you to control and stream content from the cloud through a Nexus device. But I have to say – at $300 bucks, I’ll probably only get one if it’s a birthday gift or something.

Best Announcement:

I have to say the best announcement was Project Glass. This device really has opened doors to wearable computing. Though computers on the body is not a new concept, it has yet to be done in a sexy and practical way. That is until now. This has literally brought the future to the present in a way many people dreamed of. Remember Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator? How far away is that now…really? I can imagine tech like that in my lifetime now, and that’s great.

Nokia E7 Review

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I got a chance to take a look at Nokia’s E7 and I had a blast doing so. It was cool getting stares and having people ask what type of phone it was. I have the lowdown on what it was like to actually use the phone. Though my relationship was short-lived, about two weeks, I had some ups and downs. Read on to find out what they were.

Likes:

Form

So did I mention this phone is sexy? I got the Austin Martin Grey (ok I made that up). The phone just looks and feels nice in the hand. It has gentle angular curves on both ends of the device much like the N8 which no other device really has. It’s not the thinnest device, but it doesn’t feel flimsy at all like the Nexus S or the Galaxy S. In fact, it’s sturdy enough to hang out in the pocket all day and come out unscathed without the aid of conventional phone armor. I’m still not a fan of the slidy-nob to unlock but at least the center button serves that function as well. There is also another slidy-nob on the top right of the device that serves as a zoom in/out or volume control which I found clever. I also loved the slide-out sim-card trey. It keeps you from having to open the phone for switching sims if your into that kinda thing.

 

The Extras

Again, I love the fact that it comes with a mini HDMI slot and adapter for Hi Definition output. Dual LED lights for a nice bright flash instead of the commoner’s one LED light source. Really spacious and well thought out keyboard that slides into a provocative pose. Though it takes a little getting used to at first, the sliding mechanism is quite sturdy and unique. Most people I showed the phone to were pleasantly surprised with the hidden keyboard. These are the little things that make the phone pleasant to use. The 4″ AMOLED screen certainly doesn’t hurt either. The display is quite bright and is makes video playback look great.

Staying Connected

You can stay connected through your OVI password. I liked being able to stay logged into my facebook and twitter and get updates via the widget on one of my homescreens. You also get updates from your different email accounts as well as messages from contacts.

Dislikes:

Audio

On more than one occasion, I did notice the phone quality seriously depreciate. The audio would sort of pop, almost like an old vinyl record would. Not sure what that was about, but it wasn’t often. However, I did notice it and thought it worth a mention. Other than that the audio quality was on par with my other phone experiences.

Browser

I’m not clear on what the vision is for the Symbian browser, but I wasn’t too impressed with the browsing experience. It was fairly fast on my T-mobile “3.5g” connection, however, I found it cumbersome to navigate. It would give me a list of sites to navigate, but it always felt like I was doing too much work to get from one place to another. The phone never really supplied me with possible sites I was trying to type out, nor was it visually engaging. Of course you can bookmark, the surfing with more than one window open wasn’t very elegant and was definitely difficult to do while on the go. You had to stop what you were doing in order to navigate and that can be a little annoying in a city like NY where I need my info ASAP while I’m on the street.

Data Input

The keyboard definitely helped with text input but I am still unsure of why Nokia doesn’t just break down and add a full digital keyboard for both portrait and landscape modes. Why do I have a number pad in portrait mode? It’s useful when talking with the drone on the other end of the phone when trying to pay a bill or turn the cable back on, but that’s about it. Wish there was at least an option to switch between keyboards. I also didn’t like being taken to a text area when typing up an email or response to a text. I think it would look better if I would see the text right there next to the original received message without first going into that text box. It feels like an extra step which ads to the time it takes to get simple things like that done.

Camera

Why oh why did you skinch on the camera for the E7? Give it the bulgy eye like you did with the N8. I don’t care if you guys were concerned about the slimness. I like my phones with curves in all the right places! I thought 8 Megapixels was good, but no true focus killed it for me. All of the pieces for a great shooting experience and no control over focus ruins the fun. It’s like going to the mall on a shopping spree and only having a dollar to spend. Ok I’m being a bit dramatic, but it did feel funky. I ended up wanting to wait till I got my true camera for picture taking.

 

Overall:

Overall I enjoyed the device and I can’t sing enough praises about how well made and beautiful the device looked and felt in hand. Other than a few funky sounding calls, and camera disappointments, I enjoyed using the phone and wouldn’t mind owning the device. However, I must say that Symbian is beginning to feel a bit aged, especially when I compare it to iOS or Android. It’s a shame because the phone itself is a true beauty.

You can find the specs here

 

Nexus S Review

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We happened to get our hands on Google’s new phone made by Samsung called the Nexus S. It’s running the company’s latest version of Android…Android 2.3. Check below to see what we thought!

Likes:

We loved the overall sleekness of the design. I’m a simple man and I was totally impressed with the form factor. It’s all black and unassuming, yet when you look at it, you know there is something special about it. The buttons capacitive buttons light up only when the device is on so when it’s asleep it’s just a dark black device in your hand. When you turn it off, it kinda flickers off in the same way your old CRT TV used to which we thought was a nice touch. There is also a really cool burst of orange (wish you could change the color) that happens when you get to the top or bottom of a long list…i.e the bottom of your contact list. It’s those little things that let us know that the folks over there at Google are doing good work.

The phone is really thin and light weight. This can go either way, but I don’t mind light devices if they work though the phone did almost slip a few times with simple gesturing.  The call quality is nothing special, but the speaker phone was a little better than I was expecting. It’s by no means the best speaker phone we’ve ever heard but it held it’s own which was surprising. These light-weight devices usually have terrible speakerphones.

The camera was ok – I really liked the HD2’s camera to be honest, but this one will do. Still 5 MPs with single LED flash. Some devices have dual LEDs which is nice, but I didn’t find myself missing the second LED.I found the shutter a little slow but I can’t really complain too much because its a phone however, some mobile devices are getting better at this. I also liked the front facing camera, though it may not be of much use if you don’t know anyone with compatible software.

The Operating System is great. It was quite zippy and I had no problems scrolling through long lists. As you may know, Android offers near seamless integration with your Google life. It picks up all of your Google Contacts, Calendar Appointments etc… This pure Android experience also offers wireless tethering to other devices via wifi or a hard connection. I wish there was a quick shortcut to the tethering functionality like the palm devices on Verizon, but a hotspot is a hotspot and I’m not complaining. We didn’t get to try out its NFC powers, but we knew it was there. We think this will be big in the near future, though it’s not very prevalent in other devices just yet. However, it may be something you wish to think about when making your next phone purchase.

Dislikes:

Data speed. I have a G2 and though it’s only coming in at 800 MHz  while the Nexus S has a 1 GHz processor yet many times the G2 felt faster because I spend a lot of time downloading information on the web. Because the G2 takes advantage of Tmobile’s 3G+ network, I was bringing up pages and downloading apps much faster on my G2. This is the one jinx in the armor so-to-speak for the Nexus S. I also didn’t like the plastic feel of the back cover. It makes the device quite light in comparison with other smart phones in the same size range, but it makes the phone feel a little cheaper than it should. Also, Samsung – please stop putting the lock button on the right side! I ended up going into the Android boot-up sequence by pushing the power button and the down volume button at the same time!  I also kept changing my sound settings accidentally because of this.

Lastly, my 3G conked out towards the end of use. Not sure if this was because the phone was a trial phone or what, but after a while, I was unable to reach 3G speeds at all on the device.

Overall:

Overall, the device is solid and would love to have it for the front-facing camera, sleek look and feel, along with the pure Google experience. Other than a few hang-ups like network speed, I found this phone to be quite useful and a pleasure to use. Not sure about that 3G issue though. That may be a major issue if it is widespread. However, if it’s isolated – then I’d just replace the phone for a new one as I found very little to be disappointed with.

 

 

Notion Ink’s Adam Finally Gets a Demo Video

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If you have been following this tablet at all, then you will know the events of the past week or so. The Adam, running Android 2.2 with custom UI, just went up for pre-order. It was a disaster, and many blogs including androidpolice.com were calling NI out for what looked like scammish behavior. However, Rohan reached out to them, and they have an interview which can be found here. Strangely enough, because of their bad-mouthing, they also got exclusivity to a video of the device working in all its naked glory. I think it’s a great start, however, the lack of a marketing team, or a strong one, is pretty evident but to be truthful – I’m not getting this device because of how well it was advertised that’s for sure! The video shows off the custom UI, it’s multiple ports, web-browser, and custom email app to name a few.

Check the video here:

Update:  New Video!!!



Samsung Fascinate Review

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I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the Samsung Fascinate and had a few weeks to play around with this beautiful phone. Does the phone live up to the hype, or does it falter? Check out my thoughts below.

Hardware:

The first thing I noticed about the phone was how stunning it was visually. Make no mistake about it, this phone has a beautiful form factor. It’s large and sleek with chrome trim around its borders. I like the touch buttons rather than physical buttons which i feel are a follow-through with the slick design. The phone is quite light in the hand. I definitely expected the phone to be a bit heavier, but was pleasantly surprised with its heaviness – or lack thereof. It weighs around 4.5 ounces compared to the iPhone’s 4.8 ounces.  I had to take a double-take at the specs because the Fascinate seems to be a lot lighter than the iPhone. Seriously, a few times I felt like the Fascinate would fly out of my hand if I made too many sudden movements! I think the weight might have been spread out over the wider surface area of the Fascinate. The micro USB port and 3.5 mm headphone jack are located at the top of the phone, while the power button/lock button is located on the right side of the phone. The volume rocker is on the left side. Sadly, no dedicated camera button in site. The display is a 4.0 inch WVGA capacitive touch screen display. It has a 5.0 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom. It also has a 1Ghz processor which makes things nice and speedy.

Software:

It’s running android 2.1 which is not the latest iteration of android,which would be android 2.2, but I suspect an ota update isn’t too far away. Its a lot more mature than android 1.6 of course with a slew of new functions, but with Google’s break-neck pace of providing updates, 2.1 is definitely getting old fast if only in name. Also, Samsung has obviously added their flavoring to the OS which also slows down the updates because it takes time to re-skin once they come out.

Likes:

I love the form factor. Its slim so it doesn’t quite put the bulge in your pocket that other 4.0 inch and larger phones would have. Its also so light which for some people may be a problem, but for me I find to be a plus. I also like the text to speech functionality, even though, I think it still has some improvements that could be made. Its still not as accurate as I would like, but i still love it. I also love the interactive backgrounds. You can also download a bunch from the application store. Also, the processor speed really makes you feel like your using a quality product. You rarely have to wait for anything. Swype movement is always smooth and snappy. I also like the Buddies Now Widget from Samsung. It’s a quick way to flick through your most used buddies, and it takes their images from your Google contacts. I also love the 3G Mobile Hotspot app, but that’s because Verizon supports that. Many carriers would cut that functionality out  all together, but I’m glad its here on the Fascinate. Call Quality is quite good as well with both myself and the caller on the other end surprised at the call clarity. Lastly, the lock-screen has lots of great information like time and date. You have to drag a puzzle piece to the open spot in order to unlock the phone, but what’s clever is that if you have when you have a missed call or new email, that new piece of information gets its own puzzle section. You can then drag that puzzle section to the open spot and go directly to the intended application.

Dislikes:

Earlier I was talking about how light the phone was, part of the reason may be because of the plastic back cover. I didn’t like the feel of the back cover as I would rather the back cover be metal. It’s definitely a small thing, and quite subjective, however, the plastic feel takes away from the mature feel of the phone. I also didn’t like the lack of a physical camera button. The camera controls are pretty extensive and the shutter speed is decent for a phone so a two stage button I feel is in order.

When it comes to contacts – Android automatically syncs with your contacts and if your like me, you may have a ton of contacts that you don’t necessarily use. So your contact list will be huge – so you will have to do a lot of fine tuning to do. That’s where the buddies now app comes in, but it can still be annoying to have so many contacts in your contact list.

Wrap up:

Overall, I loved the phone. It has such a visually stunning presence which can totally be a conversation piece in a social atmosphere. Its light in the hand, and the 1Ghz processor is not for show. Camera, is OK but nothing to write home about. Call quality is great and a great sign of a well put together phone. Android 2.1 is great, but 2.2 it is not. Definitely not a deal-breaker, but if I bought the phone, I would definitely be looking out for the updates. All-in-all , totally worth it for looks and functionality in my opinion. It’s shortcomings are easily overshadowed by the areas it excels in. Do you have the phone? Let us know your thoughts below!

check www.samsung.com for more info and gadgets

More Android Love from T-Mobile

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If your anything like me then you can’t wait to get your hands on the latest and greatest gadgets. The next lust-worthy piece of electronics is coming to T-mobile it seems and this phone is the successor of the G1. Three guess for what the name will be…that’s right…in a surprise move – they will be calling it the (wait for it….) G2! I actually still have my G1 and if it weren’t so slow, I would probably still be using it. Those of you who have had the G1 will attest to Google’s diligence in keeping it up to date as best they could despite the phone’s lack of horsepower and the phone’s sturdiness. It wasn’t the sexiest phone, but it definitely surprised you with it’s subtle elegance once you had it in your hand. Keyboard was killer and the snappy slide mechanics were cool.

Now its elder brother, the G2, comes in to take its place as the #1 Android phone in the T-mobile Stable. I say number one because it will be the only one carrying stock Android at launch. Personally I much prefer it that way instead of having to do with the phone company’s vision of what they think is cool. Stock Android has a simplistic beauty about it that I find to be both charming and refreshing unlike the business of Motorola’s “Motoblur” or Samsung’s iPhone-reminiscent “Touchwiz.” Sadly, I doubt it will come with Android’s ability to tether since T-mobile has traditionally killed that option on all its smart phones – but the rest is still there. The specs are as follows according to HTC’s G2 info page found here.

It has a Qualcom Processor humming along at 800 MHz, Android 2.2, 4GB ROM, 512 MB RAM, 3.7 inch WVGA display, GPS,5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash,wifi and bluetooth compatible, 1300 mAh.

It takes HD video, runs at 4G speeds on T-Mobile’s new network, and takes advantage of Android’s Voice Action Technology.

All-in-all I’d say its a pretty nice phone to give a try, but to be honest – I’m kinda wanting to see another phone besides the iPhone4 that has video-telephony. The rumored “MyTouch HD” should be just what the doctor ordered.

Nexusone Google “Superphone”

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If you have T-mobile and have been a loyal customer for years…than you can’t upgrade for a discount on this phone. Sorry – suck it up. Its available at 179.00 for people who are starting a new line and there is only one type of plan you can get if you are buying at discount. For ballers, you can get the phone unlocked at 529.00 and just add a simcard with whatever plan you want and be done with it all.

Here is the phone break down:

Hardware:

1Ghz Snapdragon processor with 3.7 inch capacitive display. It has 512 MB of Flash Memory and 512 MB of RAM. It comes with 4GB Micro SD card which you can upgrade to 32 GB when you get the urge. Camera is 5 Mega-pixels with LED Flash and 2x zoom. Its got Blue-tooth/Stereo Blue-tooth and Wifi as well. With all of that it only comes out to be about 11.5 mm thick!

Software: Runs Android 2.1 (Eclair). Google’s newest iteration. With such a fast processor, I’m guessing this phone will most likely see its fair share of upgrades.

Distinctions: What makes this phone different from say…the iPhone? It can multitask. Also, it doesn’t have multi-touch capabilities. It has voice recognition and dictation elements native only to this device. Not a whole lot else. What this means is that you can’t pinch to zoom in on web pages or photos, but you can say “Navigate to McDonald’s” and it will give you turn by turn directions to the nearest McDonald’s which I think is pretty sweet. You can also dictate a note or a text message which can come in handy for those who just can’t seem to stay away while driving.

Interface seems clean and snappy from what I can tell. Really like the moving wallpaper. They even respond to interactions! You can check the video below to see for yourself:

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YouTube Direkt

Summary:

So all in all a pretty solid phone. Good-looking, but not terribly sexy in my opinion. Great functionality, but not quite ground-breaking or game changing. Smart phone? Yes. Superphone? Nah, not quite.

Update:

Eligible users with data plans can now upgrade to the Nexus One on T-mobile for $279. Those who paid $379 will get 100 bucks in a rebate check from Google. Sounds good to me!

Google Phone Craze!!!!

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image from Gizmodo.com

Have you guys heard yet? Google is coming out with a “Google Phone” called the Nexus (as of right now). According to the rumors floating around, they will be selling the phone themselves much like Apple is doing their iPhone. Gizmodo.com seems to have uncovered the price for this puppy and its about what you would expect. According to the leaked documents, the phone can be had for about $530 unlocked and $180 with a two year contract on T-mobile’s network. The clincher is the fact that you only have one choice and its not even the best plan! No unlimited Data. I suspect Tmobile is trying to take it slow and not cripple their network and make it as sucky as ATT’s. Perhaps its a wise move. At any rate, the phone is a beast with its 1Ghz processor and snappy android 2.1 UI. Check Tmonews.com for more pics and vids.

Update:

Those bastards at Engadget have gotten their mitts on their very own Nexus phone! They also have a pretty nice video of it in action. It looks super fast, and full of interesting little UI tweeks that we havent seen before on an Android device like interactive wallpapers and a separate applications screen. A drawback in my opinion is the same old dusty keyboard (can’t they just use the one from HTC’s Sense UI???) Also saw a microphone on the keyboard…dictation abilities anyone? You can check it all out for yourself here

Google’s Nav App for G1! Awesomely Awesome!!!

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Just realized that the google folks just made their free navigation application available to android 1.6 users. That means G1 owners can now get in on the action! This means Christmas just came a few weeks early for some folks who were thinking that they were going to need some xda action to get there navigation on. I did a video on it and it works great. Here are a few tidbits:

Its a little slow on the G1

Don’t get me wrong here. It works and quite well at that, but it could stand to be a little snappier. However, I’d have to say that beggers can be choosers on this one. Its a free navigation app, with street view and voice prompting.

Different Layers

I liked this part. They offer different layers such as satellite, transit lines, traffic, latitude. They may add more layers in the future, but I’d say they already have a pretty useful bunch to work with as is.

Street View With Compass Mode

Yup, you can see your next turn in google’s street view so that tricky slight left turn that you have to veer to the right for is suddenly not so tricky. You see it coming miles away and can prepare for it. Its also got compass mode, so you can see what your turns look like in real-time as you drive. However, I recommend you keep your eyes on the road, but thats just me.

All in all, I loved it, and can’t wait to test it out for real. Stay tuned for video.

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

50 Bucks from TMobile! How should I Spend it???

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I'M RICH!!!!

So I went to the mail and got 50 bucks from T-Mobile. Their line-up has gotten quite nice with the Samsung family of phones with the crazy megapixel cameras, as well as their sidekicks and, of course, Google Phone. With the rumored “Mytouch” or “G2” coming up as well as the Touch Pro 2 potentially hitting stores in the next few months, I’m actually kinda glad I stuck with them.

Now, Im having trouble trying to figure out what to do with my money! write your comments and suggestions below and if I like…Ill buy and post for all to see. I will make my purchase on the 10th so you better hurry!!!