Windows Phone Staying is Staying Out of the Ring Next Week

Android is looking like it’s going to be the front running OS next week at mobile world congress. All the prime players (LG, Samsung, Sony and Acer) will be poised to unveil their latest and greatest devices. In a somewhat puzzling move, Nokia, who employs primarily windows os on its devices, is holding a separate press conference where it will reveal its brand spanking new Nokia X. Nokia X will be the first premium smartphone built by the company that uses android and not windows.

Nokia is the biggest partner for windows in the handset market, but they aren’t the only manufacturer.  Heavy hitters Samsung and HTC both make windows phones and neither of them have prepared anything for this event using a windows OS.

I guess I’m just surprised. Windows phone OS has made drastic improvements and I do enjoy the UI very much. It’s odd that for one of the biggest trade shows for handsets this year that they would have nothing in competition for best in show.

Thanks for reading and be prepared to be slammed with news and coverage from MWC next week! I’ll try to minimalize my excitement to just the important stuff! Any questions or comments you can leave them below. Thanks again!

Facebook Launches A New App with Some Some Serious Tweaks

Everyone’s favorite social media app launched another.

On February 3^rd, Facebook launched a new application with an interesting new look. Facebook Paper gives you a new less cluttered way to view the things you want too, from the top social media app in the world.

It’s obvious that this is a new media format, for Facebook that is meant to be in competition with FlipBoard and Pinterest. From the looks of it it’s very heavy in media content and somewhat reminiscent of a short-lived app called Facebook home on android devices.

Paper essentially takes your news feed and structures it in a side scrolling set of cards or pages, with more emphasis on pictures and other media. It does away with a lot of the buttons and things that you would find in your generic Facebook app and even allows you to preview your post before you post it.

At this point Paper is only an IOS application which is kind of sad though I understand wanting to take advantage of the beautiful displays of iPhones and iPads to build the hype.

I’m interested to see how this turns out and I would love to have a Facebook app that actually made me want to use it simple because the UI design is different than what we are used too from Facebook.

If anyone has downloaded the app I would like to get your opinion on it as I write a full review of it.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them below! Thanks for Reading!

Sony Tablet P…..Interesting I Guess?

Sony displayed a new tablet with an interesting design at CES. The Sony Tablet P isn’t like any tablet isn’t like any tablet we’ve seen and quite honestly I’ve never run into a problem trying to describe a device until now. It’s that unique. And yet I’m still not sure that this device will match up with anything currently on the market. I’m really interested to see what people think of this device when they finish reading, so here goes.
The Sony Tablet P puts a new spin on tablets by supposedly maximizing its mobility. It’s shaped similar to that of a women’s clutch (if you don’t know what that is ask the nearest female), and unfolds to reveal two 5.5 inch touchscreen displays. The displays also make use of Sony’s new TruBlack technology. TruBlack supposedly controls refraction of light between the two screens to delivery an incredibly detailed picture.
It’s obvious Sony had multitasking in mind when the designers came up with this device. The NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor makes use of both screens independently as well as together. Its operating system android 4.0.3, is a bit outdated but with a Tegra 2 I’m sure it flies through web browsing and other operations.
The Tablet P is unique I’ll give it that. But what I can’t say is that it’s practical or that consumers will give pause to even look at it. Having two separate displays that for the most part are supposed to act as one is interesting but I don’t think Sony executed it properly. There is a gap between sections you can see in pictures and your finger can probably feel a ridge. Also it has a rounded shape that rocks a bit when opened in what I’ll refer to as a laptop position. It may have more stability when opened all the way but then I looks as though it would be hard to hold even if it only weighs around 13.1oz.
This is an interesting idea, but Sony should have spent more time in the design room. Let me know what you think and you can check the device out for yourself an http://www.sony.co.uk/product/sony-tablet-p/tab/overview.
What’s your take? Please ask any questions or leave any comments! Thanks for reading!

My favorite tech purchases of all time!

Every year in technology, we see incredible new designs, new software and new form factors. The tech world progresses at a pace that can be hard to keep up with. There are so many devices that this would be the longest post ever if I went through all of my favorites. So I thought and thought for a long time about the devices I had owned. These are my five favorite tech purchases throughout my time on this earth.

#1 T-Mobile Sidekick (2008)

This T-Mobile product is probably the phone that I miss the most as weird as it sounds and was really a cutting edge device in its day. The seemingly endless and the more you used it the more you loved it. One of the things I loved most about this phone was the keyboard. A lot of my friends have remarked, on occasion that they wish they had a tactile keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard on the sidekick was on par with smartphone leaders like blackberry and Motorola and fit really well in the hands. I don’t remember a time when my fingers ever struggled to reach a key.

Another feature that I really enjoyed was the swivel screen. I was amazed at its stability and found that it never failed or broke. It was really a lot of fun and different from the typical sliders of the day. The OS was a little cartoonish but it had a graffiti type look to it so I was ok with it.

Probably the most surprising thing about this smartphone was the processing ability. It was unbelievable fast at web browsing and converting/sending MMS and emails all while operating on an edge network. The edge network was incredibly reliable but never really good and coupled with T-Mobile not being the juggernaut they are today, strength of signal was really hit or miss. Personally, I never had a problem with signal in the city. On the road you hit roaming a couple times but it was no big deal.

#2 First Generation Microsoft Zune (2006)

I know, “how on earth did this make the list” right? I loved the Zune Digital media player and was really sad when it was discontinued in 2011. The first gen was probably the best though there was that gigantic hiccup in 2008 where the internal clock in about 30 models (including mine) froze because the drivers didn’t quite know how to handle a leap year. A day later it fixed itself and was back to normal.

The Zune had some pretty big features and incredible selling points. 30 gigs of storage, built in FM radio, and a pretty impressive 3-inch screen. Upon its release to the masses it was available in your three colors. Your typical black and white, and in a surprise last minute move, brown. Zune also featured some unique features that helped it compete with the growing apple titan, the iPod. The Zune to Zune feature was pretty cool. It allowed you to share your music, pictures and movies with other Zune devices. The accessories for the device were amazing as well.

A good rival for the iPod was hard to find and I think initially Microsoft was on the right track but made some bad calls down the line that in the end, was the Zune’s undoing.

#3 Motorola Droid (2009)

In October of 2009, Motorola released the first smartphone in the line know as DROID. One of the things that I loved about this phone the use of the on screen keyboard as well as the tactile QWERTY keyboard. This phone also was instrumental in the growth of the android market. Today the Google Play Store, Formerly the android market is one of the biggest application distribution services in the world, with an app for just about anything you can think of.

One of the things I have to be most conscious of when blogging, especially about older devices, is that older devices didn’t have all the super dope processors, and intense HD displays that we have today. The original droid ran android 2.2 on a (get this) Texas Instruments QMAP 3430 processor. At this point in time it was also probably one of the fastest phones out. It was absolutely amazing though honestly it couldn’t hold a candle to the iPhone.

#4 Samsung Galaxy Nexus (2011)

Way back in the day (2011) me and Samsung had a pretty good relationship which is why I purchased the Samsung Galaxy nexus. It was a stellar phone that generated some real buzz. At its launch it was exclusive to Verizon. Coupled with what I had heard about Verizon’s service, and the selection of phones was the best at the time, I opted to switch my service from T-Mobile to Verizon so I could be one of the people with the newest in mobile tech.

It turned out to be one of those rare products that actually live up to its hype for the most part. It was fast, the picture was clear, web browsing was virtually seamless. In many press conferences prior to its release in America, many people asked about software updates. The nexus line was to have the shortest wait time for os updates, meaning that you would receive a new operating system before any other phones running android. It didn’t hold true to this. In fact the phone actually received the update after a lot of other android smartphones. Verizon as a company is notorious for making its customers wait for device updates and that business strategy didn’t help at all. Otherwise this phone was a work of art.

The Galaxy Nexus featured a new way of organizing contacts call circles and coupled this with the launch of the social network Google+. It was truly a cohesive environment to have all your google contacts link and sync’d with your Facebook and your regular contacts while simultaneously putting them into groups like “ex-girlfriends” or “football team.” Another new feature was using facial recognition to unlock your handset. It was probably one of the things that drew me to this phone the most. Its ability to use its 1.3 megapixel front camera to scan your face appealed to the sci-fi side of life. Though it had its kinks as well. It turned out the features of the face that it looked for were too broad and if someone had the same beard cut and around the same size head, it would unlock for them as well.

The quirks of this phone never took away from the experience and I will always respect this phone for that. Little problems are going to happen with any piece of technology that come about. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus was an amazing tool for new android users and veterans alike.

#5 The HP Split X2 (2013)

At the beginning of last semester I began having problems with my Acer Aspire V5. It got to the point where didn’t know if I could rely on it to not lock up on me and essentially lose whatever it had been working on. I was also stoked about the convertible pc/tablets that were emerging and my tech thirst engaged again. I did my research and settled on the windows surface pro. I went to my local electronics retailer and picked one up as soon as the funds were available. While I still believe that the surface is an incredible device it simply was not for me. The screen was too small and its rear kickstand refused to sit correctly on your legs if you didn’t have a flat surface to set it on. Long story short I ended up taking it back within a week. That left me back at square one.

I went home did some more research and made another trip to the store with my new choice. The Hp Split X2 screamed out to me, and thus far we have been an inseparable pair.  This convertible has a 13.3 inch screen that when removed from the keyboard dock is the most formidable windows tablets on the market. It’s fast its light and does everything I need a tablet to do as well as what I would need a laptop to do. The core i5 processor flies through executions and the 12 hour dual battery life is amazing. The only thing that I have been able to say negatively is that the lack of and optical drive is kind a letdown even though all of my music is now contained within my google play music cloud.

I would recommend that college students look heavily into convertibles. The sacrifice of the optical drive is truly made up by the mobility and other features that this computer has. I would recommend this computer to anyone who was looking for a new laptop.

Whelp, I know this is a long one but you made it! If you like any of these devices or think of a device that would beat any of these then shoot me a comment below. What’s your favorite tech?

Thanks for reading!!!!

 

Tablets Tablets Tablets!!!! My Black Friday Purchases

Black Friday is supposedly the time when you get the best deals on those items you’ve been pining for all year. Everything is on sale. From kitchen appliances and books to electronics and underwear everything is available. My favorite thing to watch is prices on my favorite tablets. This is also the time of year when people are getting there Christmas shopping done and out of the way. My mom and dad are a catching up (finally) to the mobile tech world and I’ve been hearing them talk lately about tablets and things, so naturally I decided I was going to “get their game up.” Here are my black Friday pickups.

For Dad

Lenovo S6000

When you think of tablets you typically don’t think of Lenovo. Most peoples first thought is of an iPad, but I think I’ve trained my parents well enough to not just follow apple blindly. So when making my dad’s purchase I had a lot of freedom to really look around and test some things out. I settled on the Lenovo for him because while he is kind of tech savvy he doesn’t know much about android operations. The S6000 runs android 4.2 which I think is the best O.S for android new comers. It’s a very simplistic design but is just as functional as any other android device. The 10.1 LCD display in screen is great because, let’s face it, he’s an old man with fat fingers. The bigger the display the better he can see. It also has expandable memory which is great because he doesn’t quite understand the concept of a cloud and all of his pictures are on microSD cards. Though I don’t know much about the MTK quad-core processor from the one I examined in store (Shout out Matt at Staples) it runs very smooth and is fast enough for him to essentially do whatever he wants to for professional reasons or personal reasons.

I can’t talk about technology without talking about my hiccups about the device, and I really have one about this one. The Lenovo UI is really heavy. The stock applications are really kind of boring and don’t really fit the look. Also some there are 2 different file managers for some reason and that just doesn’t make sense. I would’ve preferred that they would’ve gone with the standard android 4.2.2 layout. The flip side is if you know how you can customize the UI to make it look like stock android 4.2.2 just like it is on any other 4.2 device.

All in all it seems like a really solid device and the more important thing is that I think dad will really like it. He’s been itching to get a tablet again since he rid himself of from his IPad.

For Mom

Mom is a little pickier than dad. She we had a conversation about tablets not too long ago and she really wanted something simple that she could read on which narrowed down the search for her quite a bit. Some might even say I took the easy route.

For mom I grabbed the Amazon Kindle HDX 8.9. It’s a very simple device that does a lot of complex things. I chose the HDX over the HD for two reasons

1.)    It’s lighter than the last model, weighing at 13.2 ounces.

2.)    It’s exactly what she wanted

I’m also really happy that they have added a new system called mayday. This is a button that connects you instantly to amazon tech support to answer any questions that you might have and she is going to have a lot at some point. The UI, Amazon OS 3.0 “mojito” is laid over the top of android. This combo is really incredible makes great use of the 339 ppi. You get outstanding HD pictures and video.

One thing I’ve been super curious about is with this high yield processor, what’s the battery life going to be like. According to amazon the battery should last for 12 hours which great but it still remains to be seen.  All in all I think my mom is going to be super geeked about this device.

For One Lucky Friend

For one of my friends (she will remain unnamed because she might actually read my blog lol) I purchased and Acer Iconia A1. I’m not typically a fan of Acer products but the deal on this was too good to pass up and playing with the in store demo for about an hour, I really didn’t see any problems with it. Running stock android 4.2.2, this small 7.9 inch tablet can easily fit into a purse. I even tried fitting it in my pocket and ever though it was a bit cumbersome it still slid in with ease. The quad core processor zooms through web browsing and applications and though it’s an Acer product it’s really light on the UI. Acer really didn’t do much to this tablet other than add a couple of applications of their own. There are no gaudy widgets or anything of the sort.

One cool feature I did take notice of was the unlock screen. Very similar to LG “knock unlock,” when you device is sleeping simply lay you hand on the screen and it wakes and opens to the home screen.  Personally I’ve been wanting a small tablet and this one is exactly what I was looking for so I picked up one of these for myself as well. I promised myself I wouldn’t open it until Christmas

The Holiday season is here and I wanted to take a second and thank all of you who read my posts and deal with my rants from time to time. Technology is a part of everyday life and sometimes our lives don’t afford us the opportunity to do the proper research on the things that we want to. If you have any questions or want an opinion on something that you are thinking about getting someone for the holidays, please, don’t hesitate to ask!

Thanks for reading techies! Happy Holidays!

Let’s hangout

Google hangouts now has integrated SMS! I’ve been using it as my primary messaging service for a little over a week now and I’m pretty impressed with it. I enjoy the new layout, they have upgraded they emojis (which desperately needed to happen) and it works seamlessly with the dialer and email applications.
If you are currently using it tell me what you think. If not give it a shot you might be surprised.
Leave your comments or questions below. Thanks for reading techies!

Gimme A Break….Android 4.4 KitKat is here.

I recently got the update to android’s new operating system, deliciously named Kit Kat. At first glance it really doesn’t look as though much has changed much from 4.3. Upon further inspection you see that the changes are in the small details and there is quite an abundance of them, enough to warrant me saying that this is the best update yet.

Let’s take a look at the aesthetics first.

*Note: all of my observations are from the Motorola Moto X*

Initially when you look at your home screen the only thing you may notice is that your notification bar. The colored symbols at the top has now assumed a grey tone. This can be good or bad depending on the build of your phone. Also, you might notice that your home, back and menu button may have a more translucent appearance. This gives the feeling that your screen real estate is being maximized. Visually the transitions are still very smooth between finger swipes and picture quality is still incredible.

A couple of random things that I noticed that may be the same across all devices.

My battery life has actually improved since the download. One of the reasons that I bought the Moto X is because it boasted a 24 hour battery life. On a day of minimal usage I typically get 24-26 hours out of it and about 14-16 on the days when I don’t put my phone down. I’ve noticed now that I have the update that even when I don’t put my phone down and there is some heavy usage going on, I’m getting about 18-20 hours, so kudos on whatever they have done to the management systems. Also there is a an interesting feature that comes along with kitkat in the about phone tab in the settings menu, but I leave that as a surprise!

I’ve only had Kit Kat for about 2 days and I’ve been super busy. If anyone else has it I’d love to see what it looks like on other devices or if you’ve noticed something that looks interesting share it with me. I’ll do a more in depth review soon.

Any Comments questions leave them below. Thanks for reading!

ASUS New Beast Has A Triple-Helix

The Asus Transformer Book Trio, is a work of art. A convertible laptop with duel booting android and windows os. and the ability to use the keyboard dock as a stand along computer is an absolutely thrilling concept and something that techies worldwide are going to be enthralled about. I know I am.

The possibilities of this device are endless. Of course it functions as any normal notebook would with the exception that it duel-boots Windows 8 and seamlessly transitioning at the push of a button between Windows and Android 4.2. Duel booting means that when you start the computer up. It will boot up all of your windows applications, backgrounds, and preferences as well as your Android preferences and allows you to go between the two without having to shut down and start your computer up all over again.

So let’s talk about the dock. The dock essentially is a desktop pc also known as a pc station. Contained within the dock is its on battery, a separate hard drive and its own Intel core i7 processor to allow you to run Windows as flawlessly as you would on any other laptop or desktop. This can be a powerful luxury to have when working on a group project or when you need a bigger display to work on the detail of something you are working on.

Once separated from the pc station. The 11.6 inch display becomes an android 4.2.2 tablet. 4.2 is a simple build, and probably one of the most easy to use android UI’s out on the market. It has a beautiful full HD (1920×1080). Loaded with a 5 megapixel rear camera with 1080p video recording, and a front facing camera the shoots 720p, is a beast for those of us that do a lot of skyping and video chatting. The tablet also contains its own separate hard drive, battery to provide it with more autonomy than most convertible devices.

I’m kind of kicking myself in the foot right now but only because when I bought my HP split X2 I really needed a computer. I had seen a video courtesy of TechnoBuffalo’s Ashley Esqueda (I hope is spelled that right) that showed the device at a trade show and though it had not yet been released it was coming soon.  I would love to see how a computer like this would. I also think it would be pretty practical for someone like me who might try to write an app occasionally.

I also think this might serve a larger purpose for the average consumer. Hypothetically you may be able to use these devices separately for work and play, simply detach the tablet and let the kids play away, while you still have the pc station hooked to a monitor so you can get the things you need to do done.

You won’t be able to find this product in American retails just yet but you can go out on amazon and find it at varying prices. I’ll try and keep on top of it to see when it lands in your nearest retailer.

Thanks for reading!!!! Leave any questions or comments below!