Android | Gear Diary

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”?

Reviews

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.

Reviews

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.

Reviews

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…

Reviews

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…

News & Features

HTC’s Tattoo: Cute? Yes. Unexpected? Not Entirely.

It’s great to see the new Android handsets trickling in, and as usual – HTC is leading the pack with a new cutie called the Tattoo. Of course, the minute a case is put on it, the cuteness factor will all but evaporate. So is there anything else that sets the Tattoo apart from every other matte black handset? According to HTC, “people [will be] able to design and purchase their own unique covers or search and select from popular cover designs, altering the look of the phone to reflect their mood or individual tastes.” It will be the second…

Gear Bits

Some Thoughts On the HTC Hero After a Few Days

I have become increasingly disenchanted due to the nonsense being pulled by Apple and AT&T with regard to the iPhone and applications for it. Time and again they have actively limited the device reaching its potential by intentionally crippling or rejecting apps that make it more useful. When the Google Voice apps were pulled from the App Store — and Google’s own app rejected — I started looking around to see what other device options might be available. Ultimately, the HTC Hero seemed to be the best option. Sure, it lacks the US 3G but then again, I spend the…

Reviews

Where GPS for Android OS Review

I reviewed Sherpa yesterday. While it was very good, it was slow as molasses. Where GPS, or what most of my friends just call Where, is an app that does a lot of what Sherpa does and more. It does it very fast. At the core, Where utilities your phone’s GPS in almost every aspect of its operation. You can manually change to any location by entering in a Zip code, so you can use this for trip planning as well. When you first launch Where, it asks if you are still where you were the last time you ran…

Reviews

Sherpa for Android OS Review

One of the most touted apps on the new T-Mobile myTouch 3G is Sherpa. Sherpa gives you a unique way to discover things near your current location. Geodelic, the company behind Sherpa has put a lot of work into its interface, and it’s a very beautiful app for Android based phones. It is also now available on the Android Marketplace, so I installed it on my G1 and gave it a spin.

Reviews

HTC Magic Review Part 2

It’s been a month now since I posted my first impressions, and it’s time to fess up my thoughts on the HTC Magic. Truth be told, it has truly surprised me! User Interface The Android user interface is simple yet elegant, and was definitely designed with finger actions in mind. Unlike Windows Mobile, Android never makes you wish for a stylus. Icons are nicely sized, menus are large and the flicking motions to advance lists, web pages and menus become second nature as soon as you start using the phone. For some reason Android feels a lot nicer on the…

Reviews

Review: Spb Geo Game for Windows Mobile

Spb is a name most users of Windows Mobile know well. From their Mobile Shell to Weather and Wallet and a host of other useful and entertaining utilities, these guys have done well by the Windows Mobile community over the years. Their latest release is a simple but challenging and fun game for Windows Mobile and Android – Spb Geo Game. This game is clearly in the ‘edutainment’ market, as it asks some challenging questions but makes it fun along the way. The game has two main modes – World Flags and World Capitals – and provides plenty of challenges…

Reviews

Motorola Rival A455 Review: Messaging Machine

The Motorola Rival A455 is one of the newest phones to be added to the Verizon Wireless handset lineup. This messaging workhorse gives you instant access to IM style texting, emoticons, a slide out keyboard, and an on screen touch pad right out of the box. I had the opportunity to use the A455 over the last two weeks, and here are my thoughts on this multimedia powerhouse.

Reviews

WeatherBug for Android Review

When outside or planning to go outside, checking the current weather conditions is usually the first thing I do. With WeatherBug for Android , it’s a simple swipe and a tap to find out what is going on outside. The WeatherBug app is a lot like the desktop counterpart. It has the current temperature in the notification area and it will optionally use the integrated GPS to change it’s location automatically. That is a fantastic idea and one I use a lot when traveling through the greater Columbus area.

Reviews

Handmark Express News Review

There are a lot of free apps in the Android Marketplace. One app that I came across recently is the Handmark Express News.

News & Features

ModelBaker Promises Fast iPhone & Android App Development

So you’ve got your iPhone all up and running on 3.0, eh? Maybe it’s now time to finally “mobilize” your website or application, but you are not a programmer. Widget Press has you covered with a rapid application development tool called ModelBaker, which provides a drag-and-drop interface that will create an application for iPhones or Android devices without coding.

Reviews

HTC Magic Review Part 1: First Impressions

A few months ago I had the opportunity to test out a HTC Dream (unlocked version of the T-Mobile G1), and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t like it at all. The software wasn’t that great, the battery life was poor and whoever thought of that design should be locked away forever. When I was offered an HTC Magic for a few weeks, I was eager to see if HTC’s latest Android attempt had address many of the issues I had with the original. Straight out of the box the Magic makes a much better impression than the Dream. With…

Reviews

Google rolls out goodness with Gmail Mobile for iPhone/iPod Touch and Android devices

Google has launched a brand new Gmail mobile web engine for the iPhone and Android devices. The change incorporates HTML5 and Google Gears for Mobile, which will allow you to access your Gmail and other gear-enabled applications offline (not that anyone ever loses their 3G data connection…right?…right? *cough*).

Reviews

Motorola Bag Phone 2900 Gold Series

Are you tired of using the heavy brick type phones? While useful to those who can afford them – such as executives on the go, Motorola has taken the promise of cell phone technology to consumers in rural localities. Ideal for ranchers, truckers and others outside of major cities, the promise of affordability and portability in the eighties has finally arrived in 1992. The Motorola Bag Phone 2900 Gold Series is targeting to a large consumer base – mainly sales persons – accustomed to office phones and pay phones.

Reviews

Review: USBFever 3-in-1 USB Adapter for HTC Phones

I was perusing USBFever.com for some G1 accessories, and I came across this dongle that can work with my G1 or any HTC phone. This adapter lets you use your regular or HTC headphones while charging your phone from the Mini-B USB charger.

Reviews

Openmoko Neo Freerunner from SDG Systems Review

It’s been over a year since I have looked at anything from SDG Systems, but it is time to do so again. SDG is now working with Koolu on the Openmoko Neo Freerunner. Not only are they working with the standard Openmoko firmware, but they are also working on getting Google’s Android Operating System working on the Freerunner. I will touch on both operating systems in this review, but first let’s look at the hardware.

eBooks, Editorials

GearChat: The Demise of Print Media and a Possible Reason for the Amazon Kindle

Once again, we invite you to eavesdrop on our email conversations… Wayne: R.I.P. … the Internet slays another print publication… Mitchell: I was a subscriber to PC World for about 5 years, and then I realised that I was paying for a magazine with content that I had read weeks earlier on the internet. It really is inevitable I suppose, tech magazines just can’t stay ahead of the game with online news sites getting information out hours after release. They have to wait a whole month… Clinton: This is the same problem that many tech magazines face. Granted, most have…