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Though I usually upgrade more often than every two years (thank you, family plan), when my line was up for an upgrade in July I held off. See, I heard that Android 4.0, code named Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), would be seeing the light of day in late 2011. So I waited. And it got pushed back. And I waited some more. And finally, at 8 a.m. on December 15th, I got the Galaxy Nexus: the first ICS phone.
I’ve had it for a few days now, using it almost non-stop. Here’s what I think.
When I first saw the EVO 3D hit the market, I honestly believed it was nothing more than a gimmick to grab the attentions of enthusiasts, geeks, and braggarts. I couldn’t begin to understand the use of a 3D phone/camera/camcorder. As someone who has worked in film, I looked at the technology as another fad that would be replaced by something newer and greater in a matter of months. Then I got my hands on this phone…
The 3D? Yeah, it’s cool, though I have to admit the best features in this phone have nothing to do with its namesake.
Samsung have always had a strong track record when it has come to mobile phones. They have always been cutting-edge and have seemed to bend the norm when it comes to mobile phone standards. Their phones have always been admired for their design, interface and practicality – and this admiration has been reflected in their sales figures; according to Mobile Burn, Samsung shipped 280 million units in 2010 (by contrast, Apple shipped a mere 47.4 million units).
In June 2010, Samsung released one of their most famous phones, the Galaxy S, which was seen as unbeatable at the time due to its claims of being the fastest smartphone on the market. Now there’s a new beast on the prowl: the Samsung Galaxy S II. It’s been around in Europe for a couple of months now (the phone was first released in the UK and South Korea in May 2011) and the U.S. launch is due very soon.
The Samsung Galaxy S II is, without a shadow of doubt, the best Android smartphone out there yet and is a strong contender for the best smartphone in the world period. Its sheer range of features, unbeatable specifications and damn good looks leave other smartphones quivering in the shadows of its almightiness. You’re itching to find out why, aren’t you? Well, read on for my full, in-depth review.
There are many different Android Tablets on the market today, and it may seem hard to decide which one suits your needs the best. Most of these tablets are very expensive, which makes shopping for one slightly difficult. ASUS wants to change all of that, with their new tablet, the Eee Pad Transformer. What’s special about this tablet, aside from the detachable keyboard dock, is the price. The Transformer is available for $399.99 for the 16GB WiFi model, and $499.99 for the 32GB WiFi model.
The detachable keyboard is what truly sets the Transformer apart from the other tablets. The dock will set you back an extra $150, but when you learn all of the features, it’s well worth it. Not only does the keyboard make typing a breeze, but it also houses a second battery, which can essentially double the battery life of the tablet. I picked one up a few weeks ago, read on to see my full review of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer.
The Android platform has seen manufacturers constantly try to one-up each other over the last year, regarding who can get the highest powered processor in their device, often at the expense of other necessities for a phone to really be considered great. Sure, a bigger processor will normally result in better performance over a lower end processor, but that’s only a tiny part of the real experience of a phone.
After Google released the Nexus One back in January 2010 the processors in smartphones began to be seen as the most important aspect that manufactures seemed to care about – with 1GHz processors being the bare minimum if you wanted to be considered a high-end smartphone, irrespective of how your phone performed. You can see why these firms like HTC, Samsung and Motorola went for that strategy: it was about marketing.
HTC were actually late comers to the Dual-Core game, which is unusual for the company that has a reputation for being first to everything (Android and 4G in USA to name a few), but will their entry, the HTC Sensation, be worth the wait, or have they too entered the market purely for publicity? Read on for the review.
It may surprise you to learn that I’m a big tech nerd. I love my devices and I like to upgrade when I can. Back in October, I picked up an iPad (first gen), admittedly knowing it was probably poor timing. While it was the best on the market at the time, I figured that in 4-6 months time some new ones would hit the market. I used it for a while but wasn’t really impressed with it. Aside from some nice apps, it was pretty heavy, and generic as far as UI goes. I couldn’t find a great use for it. When the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was announced in May I knew that it was my next tablet. I went out and bought it last week and was excited to see how it would measure up compared to my personal hype.
There is a lot to like about this device: two cameras, Honeycomb, some super sweet accessories that are coming out for it, and more. My favorite part about it is the size and weight.
