Smartphones & Gear

The Waiting (for Android Updates) is the Hardest Part

I have a Motorola Droid 4 – and I really love it. That said, it is lousy being not just one but TWO VERSIONS of Android behind … I mean, this is the sort of thing Google said they were eliminating. Anyway … that is about to end! Yesterday I read that the ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ update was finally approved and a ‘soak test’ commenced, meaning that the full update would be released soon (unless something bad happened). Then later last night I heard that it was starting to ‘roll out in phases’. Motorola Mobility tweeted about it: 4G LTE…

News & Features

CROON Audio’s Original Sound System Looks Great, Promises to Sound Just as Good

I went into the office today after a few weeks of vacation. While returning email I decided to listen to some tunes. My set up at work looks like this- I have an excellent Altec Lansing Speaker that Judie gave me for Hanukkah a few years ago connected to an Airport Express which, in turn, is plugged into the wireless ethernet post that comes into my study. It was that Airport Express that provided WiFi in that part of the building. More than that, however, it also takes the standard, docking stereo and turns it into an Airplay-enabled speaker. I…

Reviews

How Nokia Wants to Create the Perfect Smartphone for Women (and Everyone Else!)

Several years ago, I owned the worst phone in the world, the Samsung Epix. Seriously, it was an evil, possessed phone. After sending one Epix after another back to AT&T because of all the issues, they finally relented and let me exchange it for a different phone. I ended up with a Nokia E71x, and while the AT&T “adjustments” to the software were less than welcome, I adored the hardware. Nokia may have had their ups and downs, but they know how to make an amazing phone. Nokia has now thrown their support behind Windows Phone, and I had an…

News & Features

USBFever Releases Universal USB Hub and Card Reader for iPad & Galaxy Tabs!

You know, I wonder what they put in their coffee or beverage of choice over at USBFever, because it never ceases to amaze me the constellation of gizmos that pop up in their online offerings. Take for example USBFever’s latest item, the Universal USB Hub and Card Reader for Apple iPad / Galaxy Tabs. USBFever claims that this USB hub will support 90% of the tablets out there, but what exactly does this Universal USB hub do? Does it slice and dice or even julienne? No, but this hub is getting darned close with its three primary functions: – With…

News & Features

Harman Kardon Bluetooth Wireless Over-Ear Headphones Review

Harman Kardon recently released their first line of headphones. The company has a long history of offering quality audio components and has now taken their experience and applied it to the burgeoning headphone market. As we recently brought word, their headphone line runs from in-ear to on-ear to over-ear styles. They were kind enough to send a pair of their BT Bluetooth over-ear headphones for review. Let’s take a look. As we note in the video review, the packaging is impressive. The company clearly gave a great deal of thought to the entire experience when someone purchases the headphones and…

Reviews

Noreve Saint-Tropez Leather Case for Lumia 900 Review

What is it about fine leather that so many people just love? Is it the look? The smell of a well-made leather product? The tactile quality? All of the above? I don’t know, but I do know that Noreve Saint-Tropez satisfies all of the above as evidenced by the Nokia Lumia 900 case I received from them. For those unfamiliar, Noreve Saint-Tropeze of Saint-Tropez, France, nestled in the south of France on the coast between Marseille and Cannes, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. (For the culinary inclined, this is loosely referred to as part of Provence.) For the history buff,…

Reviews

Seidio Desktop Charging Cradle/Dock for EVO 4G LTE, HTC One S and X Review

If you have a HTC EVO 4G LTE, HTC One S or HTC One X this sync/charge dock and cradle is for you. Seidio’s newest dock, the Desktop Charging Cradle/Dock lets you easily dock your smartphone in landscape and, for example, become a bedside alarm clock. Here’s a quick look and then your chance to win the review sample. From Seidio: Our newest Desktop Cradle combines familiar elements from our classic Innodock Jr. and convenient Desktop Cradle. The matte finish on this Desktop Cradle provides elegance to your desk or nightstand, while the sleek LED light indicates that the cradle…

Editorials

In an Apple and Everything Else Funk

Lately I’ve been in a funk. I thought, at first, it was an Apple funk. I thought it might be about the fact that Apple today doesn’t seem to have the same excitement and vision as it did under Steve Jobs. I thought it might be about a sequence of products that is becoming very evolutionary instead of revolutionary. I thought it was about Apple and where it might be heading. But it’s more than that. It’s about where the mobile industry as a whole is heading. It’s about what kinds of things we think are important (and it’s not…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Instant Business Card to Contacts Conversion with INTSIG’s CamCard App

If you’re a member of the professional world, you’re probably used to pocketing business cards like a pro. You slide them right into your pocket, only to fumble them out later for the information you need. It’s not a terrible system. If you’re a smart phone owner, however, you’ll know how time-consuming it is to manually enter business card information into your contacts. INTSIG’s CamCard app makes that process a lot faster and easier. Using your smartphone’s camera as a rudimentary scanner, the app targets the necessary information from the photo and converts it into your address book. The app,…

News & Features

U.S. Cellular Adding Two Hot New Motorola Phones This Week!

Have you seen the recent U.S. Cellular campaign on Twitter? It is called #HelloBetter and it focuses on recent data showing how dissatisfied most people are with their carriers, and highlights how U.S. Cellular has the highest satisfaction ratings of any carrier. Unfortunately as a regional carrier, only certain folks have access to their service – but if you do, check this out! Recently it seems that smartphone makers are keen to get phones quickly into the hands of U.S. Cellular, as evidenced by the recent Samsung Galaxy SIII release, and now by two hot new phones coming from Motorola…

News & Features

Have a Nexus 7? Waterfield Design Has You Covered

If you got one of Google’s already-popular Nexus 7 tablets no doubt you want a way to keep it protected. Waterfield has options… lots of options. In fact, WaterField offers so many different options that they are calling it a “line of Nexus 7 cases“. What’s in the line? There the Nexus 7 Smart Case, the Nexus 7 Ultimate SleeveCase, the Nexus 7 Slip Case, the Nexus 7 Suede Jacket, and the Nexus 7 Travel Express. As WaterField Designs owner, Gary Waterfield put it, With the Google Nexus 7 flying off shelves and the 16GB version delayed, many eager early adopters…

Gear Bits

US Cellular HTC Flyer Honeycomb Update – Do It the Same … But Slower!

Just as it seemed we might be seeing some critical mass in the move towards updating Android devices to ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ almost nine months after release, ‘Jelly Bean’ arrived and threw things back into a fragmented turmoil where the overwhelming majority of devices are TWO VERSIONS BEHIND. Oh well, at least we continue to see updates rolling out on pretty much a weekly basis. The HTC Flyer was an intriguing 7″ tablet that combined excellent performance from a single core chip with a full HTC Sense-ified Android 2.3 Gingerbread interface. Late in 2011 OS updates were initiated by HTC…

News & Features

AT&T Joins the Shared Data Game

So I’m working though my latest summer sinus headache and I see the news – AT&T has finally announced (as expected) that they are going to follow Verizon in offering shared data plans. And, like Verizon’s offering, the plans all include unlimited voice and texting plus a fixed amount of data. The primary difference you notice between the AT&T and Verizon offerings is that Verizon charges a fixed $40 per smartphone and AT&T lowers the per smartphone cost as you increase the amount of data you purchase. But Verizon’s “base” charges tend to be lower (per GB) as you get…

News & Features

Total ArKade Software Conjures Up Major Update for AbraWordabrA for iOS and Android

Back in the dim, dark past of the latter portion of the last century, learning math was a laborious, tedious job for me. It likely wasn’t all that exciting to my friends and classmates back in the day either. Improving our math skills consisted largely of poring over printed material and flash cards, with an occasional rare foray into a few educational programs on TV. For the most part, learning math was often BORING. The upshot is that we got to inhale the sweet odor of the blue mimeographed quiz/test papers, part of the educational rites of a bygone era….

Crowdfunding

POP – The Intersection of Charging and Design, Kickstart This!

Project Title: POP – The Intersection of Charging and Design Status: Raised $5261 of $50,000 goal Closing Date for Funding: September 1, 2012 URL of the Project: Find it here. From the Creatives: The batteries in our mobile devices have not been able to keep up with the increased usage. As a result, we often find ourselves looking for places to charge. But many times, convenience and charging do not go hand in hand. At the Edison Junior Design Laboratory, we developed the perfect solution to this problem. POP, aka “Portable Power”, is a rechargeable portable battery with retractable cord…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Google Nexus 7 Unbox – Not As Bad As You’ve Heard, and Setup is Pretty Good as Well!

I have heard a bunch of negative reports of people struggling to get the tablet out of the box … so I was really intrigued at the possibility of capturing my frustration on video! Perhaps it is the years of wrestling with so many over-packaged toys for my kids, but it was no big deal. In the video I compare the unboxing experience to that of the Griffin MIDIConnect. But as I say the unbox wasn’t a problem, so then I got it started up and linked to Google services. While we will go into more details for our full…

Editorials, Gear Bits

Nokia of America Exec Says ‘Plenty of Life Left’ for Lumia 900, Do You Agree?

One thing we discussed at GearFest was the state of Windows Phone. There was quite a bit of enthusiasm when the Mango update arrived and breathed new life into the OS. Then came the partnership with Nokia, and it started to feel like Microsoft would see reasonable success – and the release of the Lumia 710 and 900 phones in particular just added to the feelings of excitement for the future of the platform. Then came the announcement that Windows Phone 8 wouldn’t support ANY device currently available – including the brand new flagship Lumia 900. For many who recommended…

Reviews

Gear-vs-Gear, the Phiaton PS 20 BT vs the Jabra Clipper, Bluetooth Headset Head-to-Head

It is time for another Gear Diary “Gear vs Gear”. Today’s competitors are the Phiaton PS 20 BT Bluetooth Stereo Headset and the Jabra Clipper Bluetooth Stereo Headset. Both let you cut the cord. Both let you listen to music and make/take calls. Both let you clip the battery, microphone and controls to your shirt so you don’t have a heavy portion hanging off your ears. And both… quite honestly, are good options. Yes, in this head-to-head both decisions are good but, in the end, you’ll want to purchase just one so the question remains… which one? Here’s our video look…

Reviews

iLuv iMM377 MobiAir Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Dock for Smartphones review

I would be hard-pressed to recommend purchasing a dock that includes an iPhone or iPod adapter right now. The reason is quite simple. The next generation of the iPhone is only four months away and all indications point toward it having a new dock connector to replace the ubiquitous 30 pin connection. With such a significant change on the way it makes no sense for someone to purchase a dock that will, at a minimum, require the purchase and use of an adapter come the fall. Instead, I would encourage anyone looking for speakers to use with their mobile device…

Reviews

SMS Audio Street by 50 Wired Headphones review

Last week we posted a review of the a-JAYs ONE+ headphones. (Read it.) They sport a flat, tangle free cable, a selection of different ear cups, an in-line microphone and audio controller and, the most unusual package I have seen in a pair of headphones. At under $70 they were definitely a step up from something like Apple’s standard earbuds but they were far from my favorites as they included as many negatives as they did positives. One of those issues was the complete lack of a carrying case. That, however, was nothing compared to the static introduced when the…

Reviews, Travel

Braven 600 Takes on the JawBone JamBox, and…

Back in December we did a post and video comparing the Spar Zephyr 300 and the JawBone JamBox. (Read the post.) The Spar speaker promised excellent audio and the ability to double as an external charger. Unfortunately it didn’t deliver on the audio front. I returned it and let the company know why. They were gracious about it, refunded my purchase immediately and then shared their own disappointment with how the speaker turned out. I went bcd to using my JamBox. They stopped shipping. Fast forward and a few weeks ago Spar rebranded as BRAVEN and released not one but…

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