Android

Beware: Some Images Aren’t Proof of Anything

I was reading a story on Phandroid about the supposed HTC Supersonic which may be a future HTC made Android device, or may not.   They had a image that was from the suspect device’s about screen e-mailed to them trying to catch them into posting about it.  However, Phandroid was on the ball and they had someone create a image reporting a device as the HTC Phandroid running Android 3.1.  It was created by editing a file in the /system directory on a rooted device, rebooting it and creating a regular screenshot.  The point is, this screen isn’t valid as…


PDAir’s New Motorola Droid Cases Reviewed

PDAir makes cases and accessories for a wide range of mobile devices.  Their products are typically well made and reasonably priced.  We’ve reviewed PDAir cases on Gear Diary before, recently reviewing a couple of their iPhone 3G/3GS cases.  So, when PDAir offered to provide Gear Diary with a couple of their new Motorola Droid cases to review, we said yes. As a still relatively new device, there is a fairly limited range of cases available for the Droid.  Sure, you can pick up snap-on covers for the Droid at the Verizon store, but they don’t offer much protection for the…


Having Problems Connecting to 3G on Your Nexus One? Here’s A Possible Fix!

So you’ve just gotten your shiny new Nexus One, but you’ve been plagued by some of the problems that quite a few other proud owners of the smartphone have run into over the past few weeks?  If you’re using T-Mobile’s network, maybe you’ve been frustrated by frequent 3G connectivity drops (if you’re able to get full 3G speeds  at all).   Kevin Tofel found a workaround that may get you surfing at full mobile broadband speeds.  The best part?  It’s not a complicated “hack” or OS update.  It’s merely a few simple changes to your Nexus One settings that could make…



Nexus One First Impressions

After having seen the Nexus One in the flesh prior to it being launched, I knew that I would have to order one as soon as it officially launched. As soon as the online store went live during the presentation, I placed an order for the unlocked version, as my T-Mobile family plan doesn’t qualify for the subsidized version. Read on for more thoughts on the ordering and delivery process, some unboxing photos, and some initial thoughts on the Nexus One hardware and Android 2.1. The Ordering Process The Google launch event was not quite a rock star event like…


Alex Dual Screen Android-Based eReader Gets More Real

Spring Design’s Alex Dual screen eReader is finally coming closer to a release.  This is probably the first eReader with a fully functional web browser with the exception of Flash since Android doesn’t have it yet. Alex™ features a 6″ E-Ink EPD display and 3.5″ color LCD display, earphones and speakers. A removable SD card will free up library space on the device while letting users archive content for future reference. The enhanced Android OS is optimized to support integration between the color and monochrome displays while preserving battery life. Users can capture and cache web content from their online…


Text Input On The Camangi WebStation

Dan: Judie and I are continuing to play with, tweak and become familiar with our Camangi Webstations. There is no question that it excels as an e-book reader. Thanks to The Android version of eReader both of us have downloaded our libraries and had a number of sessions reading from the device. There is no question that it works quite well in this regard. It allows you to read both in landscape and portrait mode, lets you change the font, is backlit (something that isn’t possible with a device that uses ePaper, and, thanks to the testing, navigation is as…


Skimming through 2009 eBooks

(image courtesy of petitinvention) Welcome to the final State of the eBook for 2009! It has been a big year for eBooks, and I am going to do my best to cover a timeline of the high points, as well as a few things to look forward to in 2010. Rather than do a traditional timeline of events, I thought I’d break it down by the year in highlights per company/platform, and then a few predictions and news items to look forward to in 2010!


First Full Day with the Camangi WebStation

Judie: As you may recall, I received my Camangi WebStation yesterday afternoon. Other than downloading some of my eReader library to it, I wasn’t able to spend as much time with the tablet as I might have liked before previously made plans drew me away. This morning I was greeted with tweets and links pointing to Michael Smith’s review, where he calls the Camangi a “total fail” because (among other reasons) it isn’t as fast as his first gen iPhone and because it doesn’t browse the internet as quickly as the Hackintosh he likes to couch surf from. Michael has…


Camangi Webstation Includes GPS… DHL Could Use One

I wasn’t going to write a post about my experience with shipper DHL yesterday. Yes, although they told me on the phone twice that my Camangi WebStation was on the way it never came. Yes, I had to look on while Judie unboxed hers. I had to listen to her “ooh and ahhh”, all the time thinking that mine was on the way any second when, in fact, it wasn’t. Yes, my exchanges with their customer reps left much to be desired. But still, I had no plans to write a post about my experience. Elana just got off the…


The Camangi Webstation Unboxed

It seems like it took forever, but my Camangi WebStation finally showed up today. Dan’s is out for delivery, so in the meantime, he is processing the raw video I’ve uploaded of my unboxing. While we wait for that, here are some pictures. I haven’t done anything other than unbox the Camangi, turn it on … and marvel at it before plugging it in So without further ado, here are some pictures. Video and more impressions from Dan and me will be up shortly. 🙂


The Barnes & Noble nook; or how I managed to completely waste my Saturday on a piece of over-hyped hardware

The Barnes & Noble nook eBook Reader has been touted by some as a Kindle-killer, and after what seemed like a ridiculously long wait, when mine finally showed up today I was ready to be wowed. It’s not that I don’t already enjoy reading eBooks on my Kindle DX (Kevin is using the Kindle2) and on my iPhone, it’s just that the nook was the “next new big thing”, and I allowed myself to be caught up in the excitement. I was perhaps a week later ordering mine than many were, because I found out that American Express Rewards offers…


The Motorola T215 Bluetooth Car Kit Speakerphone Review

Laws are continuously evolving to deal with technology and the potential hazards of using it while driving. As a consequence, it is now considered unsafe in many states – or it has been made illegal – to drive without some kind of hands-free solution when using a mobile phone. Many people are wearing headsets, but there is another option if you aren’t yet ready to embrace your inner Borg – a Bluetooth speaker system for your automobile. Say hello to the Motorola T215 Bluetooth Car Kit Speakerphone; let’s take a look at the hardware, and then I’ll tell you how…


Why A Google-Designed Phone Makes Sense

The rumor mill is buzzing about the possible launch of an Android handset that is actually designed BY Google. We heard this rumor before the launch of Android but now it makes much more sense. Here’s why…


Living With A Motorola Droid: My First Week

Actually, make that “Living With Motorola Droids.”  Yes, Droids, plural.  My initial intention was to post my first impressions of the Motorola Droid after just a few days with it.  However, the first Droid that I picked up started locking up and spontaneously resetting itself on the first day I had it, and it continued to do so two or three times per day.  A few times it wouldn’t power on at all, and I had to pull the battery in order to get it to restart.  The upside, if there is one, is that none of the resets seemed…


Toshl Expense Tracker for Android Review

Sometimes it’s the simple apps that really make a difference.  That is what Toshl for Android does.  Toshl is a simple expense tracker.  It doesn’t have a tone of options and it’s not really designed for putting a expense report together for a business.  However, what it is good for is tracking personal expenses. There are basically only two tabs.  First is the Timeline.  This shows your expenses you have already entered in descending order.  The most current expense is at the top.  At the bottom you have a add expense button.  Tapping that gets you into entry mode.


Archos 5 Internet Tablet: A Tale Of Woe In Two Parts…

I love tablets. I used a Windows Tablet PC for years and have been chomping at the bit for the Apple tablet. The iPhone and iPod touch have been and are awesome, but I have been longing for something a bit larger. When the Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android came along, I thought it just might be the ticket. Here was a slick slate tablet with a 4.8“ touchscreen with 800*480 resolution. The 32GB model is just thin and light and… it runs Android. I bit. It is an impressive device. But is it a “keeper”?


Review: Kanex High Capacity Battery for the T-Mobile G1

After using the G1 for about three months, I came to one conclusion.  The battery life just sucks.  You can’t get through a day with light use and if you are a heavy user, like myself, you will need to charge before you even get halfway through a day.  The Kanex High Capacity Battery for the G1 solves this and gives a heavy G1 user like myself all day battery life.


Boost Mobile i9 Review; Thin, Solid and Dependable

I stopped into my local Best Buy this afternoon and was amazed at the great selection of prepaid cellular phones. As recently as a year ago, the prepaid phone aisle was limited to cheap plastic throwaways. Fast forward to now, and the shelves are lined with current-model BlackBerry and Motorola phones available on no-contract prepaid plans.   Boost Mobile has been one of the leaders in selling affordable prepaid phones that don’t make you ashamed to use them in public.


HTC’s Sprint Hero Review

To watch the commercials for the Verizon Droid, being released tomorrow morning, one might get the impression that this is the very first android handset to be released. It certainly has garnered more attention and excitement and previous devices, but there are already a number of android handsets on the market that are actually quite good. I recently had a chance to spend a week with Sprint’s version of the HTC hero, and I found myself more than a bit impressed. So with that in mind, I thought we might take a good look at a fantastic Android device that’s…


Review: Dataviz Documents to Go Version 2.0 for Android

Since I got my G1, I have been interested in viewing documents on my G1.  However that was not possible, except for PDF files.  I was able to quickly find a good PDF viewer in IcViewer.  However, there have been times that I would like to create a Word document or Excel spreadsheet.  Since there is no Open Office port for Android, I had to make do with some note apps, bringing the text into a document once I got back to my desk.  Once that was done, I either had to print to a PDF file to view it…