android vs apple

Sprint is coming hard with super Android 4G handsets! Following the upcoming Evo 3D, Sprint will be dropping the Motorola Photon 4G that comes with a few more industry firsts! It is the first US global phone with 4G connectivity, the first Moto 4G phone for Sprint and the first Motorola phone with a kick stand! The Photon will have a 4.3" qHD display, 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA TEgra 2 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and Gingerbread (Android 2.3) as well as the newest version of Motorola's GUI skin MOTO Blur (Which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences). It also has a dedicated camera button, and USB and HDMI ports which should work with upcoming Moto docks and it has "enterprise-friendly security" features. The kick-stand is a "smart" kick-stand that automatically puts it into landscape mode, and it has a 8MP shooter on back with a VGA cam in the front for video chat. The Photon 4G is set to drop this summer!





The Photon will also be capable of HDMI mirroring allowing you to connect to your TV for gaming, videos and photo sharing. Check out the vid of gaming via HDMI mirroring below.



Looks like Sprint customers will have some great options this summer!

  













Sources:
Engadget
Android Community

This is why my Xoom was returned, well not exactly why but a big part of it. More Android 3.0 tablets are on the way and I'm going to wait until more manufacturers have shown their hands. Acer just officially announced their A500 Honeycomb tablet. The A500 have very similar specs to Motorola's Xoom but is $150 cheaper, thinner and has a standard USB port making it compatible with common USB mass storage drives (and in my opinion making it a more capable laptop replacement/sidekick). They also, very wisely, included a reset button; having no way to force reset my Xoom when it froze was very frustrating and I couldn't just pop out the battery like I do on my Evo. The tablet is available exclusively on pre-order from Best Buy for $450.

Product Features

• NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor
  Features a 1.0GHz processing speed.
• 1GB DDR2 memory
  For multitasking power.
• 10.1" WXGA high-definition touch-screen display
  With a wide viewing angle, 16:10 aspect ratio and 1280 x 800 resolution to showcase movies and games in stunning clarity.
• 16GB eMMC on-board memory
  Offers spacious storage.
• NVIDIA GeForce graphics
  For lush images. Micro-HDMI output for connection to an HDTV.
• Built-in 2.0MP webcam
  Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends. The rear-facing 5.0MP camera with autofocus and single LED flash allows you to capture and playback video.
• Digital media card reader
  Supports microSD up to 32GB and Secure Digital High Capacity formats for storing or transferring media.
• High-speed USB 2.0 port
  For fast digital video, audio and data transfer.
• Built-in 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN
  Connect to the Internet without wires.
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player.
• Weighs only 1.7 lbs. and measures just 0.5" thin
  For lightweight portability. Sensors include G-sensor, E-compass, L sensor and gyrometer.
• Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system
  Provides a stable platform.

Source: Best Buy

  

So after a long tablet-deprived wait I finally got my hands on a WiFi-Only Motorola Xoom.  In exchange for $600 bucks the Wifi Xoom is basically identical to its Verizon 3G/4G enabled counterpart. The Xoom has a  1Ghz dual core Tegra 2 processor, front and back cameras (5MP shooter on back with a front facing cam for video chat), Android 3.0 Honeycomb (Google's newest version of Android optimized for tablets) and a 10.1" Display.

I immediately fell in love with the Xoom, but after a few days that all changed because of glitches and bugs.  I really liked having an Android tablet and would strongly recommended checking out the Xoom, but I returned mine.  There are just too many other Android Tablets on the horizon.  HTC, LG, Samsung, Asus, and Acer all have some pretty competitive tablets coming in the next few months; not to mention tablets from HP (Palm) and Blackberry.  The Xoom's quirks and bugs will be resolved in the coming weeks undoubtedly, but the Xoom is only the tip of the Tablet-iceberg.  Many more options are coming and I will be holding out to explore them.  More competition means more variety in features and hopefully more competitive pricing. So the big question for those looking for and Android tablet is Xoom or Wait?

Check out my video review of the Xoom below. Let me know what you think

Motorola XOOM Tablet Specs
OS	Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
Differentiation	Larger and higher-resolution display in smaller form-factor, first tablet with Honeycomb software, dual-core 1GHz processor, and a wide range of docking options
Dimensions	249.1mm (h) x 167.8mm (w) x 12.9mm (d)
Display	10.1” 1280x800 resolution
Weight	~25 ounces
Processor	1GHz dual-core processor
Battery	Up to 10 hours video playback
Connectivity	3.5mm, micro USB 2.0 HS, Corporate Sync, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID
Network	802.11n b/g/n
Messaging/Web/Apps	Email (Corporate Sync, Google Mail, POP3/IMAP embedded) , WebKit w/ Flash
Audio	AAC, AAC+, AMR NB, AMR WB, MP3, XMF
Video	HD capture/playback/streaming, H.263, H.264, MPEG4
Camera	5 MP rear-facing camera with dual LED flash/2MP front-facing webcam
Memory	32GB on board user memory, microSD card support after future software update, 1GB DDR2 RAM

Some of the upcoming Tablets that I am waiting to see:

HTC Evo View 4G/HTC Flyer


Asus Eee Pad Transformer


Asus Eee Pad Slider

So if you've been paying attention to the many new features manufactures are bragging about recently you have likely heard Gorilla Glass mentioned, but what is it? Well it's the new super strong glass that for obvious reason is being incorporated into many of the glass covered gadgets we love to drop and scrape the crap out of with keys, ink pens and other pocket shrapnel.  This new glass is being introduced in new devices like the iPhone 4, Galaxy Tab, Dell Venue Pro and Motorola Droid and is able to take a very impressive beating.

Check out the videos to get a true idea of Gorilla Glass's strength. It's actually pretty amazing I would never try this at home though, but it definitely makes you think twice before wasting money on a "screen protector" for these devices.





Source: Gizmodo

  

iPad kicked things off in the true mobile OS tablet arena and the Galaxy Tab followed with and Android 2.2 based beauty, now Motorola and Verizon will be introducing the next killer Google powered tablet the Motorola Xoom!  It will be the first tablet running Android 3.0 Honeycomb Google's tablet specific OS, a Tegra dual-core processor,  10.1-inch Gorilla Glass display, 5MP rear camera, and front facing camera, HDMI output, DLNA support, 1GB, and 10 finger-multi touch!  To make it even better it will be on Verizon's LTE 4G network.  I'm really liking the way the 2011 tablet game is looking!





Source: Engadget

  

AT&T seemed to kind of sit back and watch the high-end Android train leave the station in 2010, but it looks like they were just bidding their time for an amazing 2011 lineup. Going from relatively no high-end options (except the recent  Samsung Captivate, AT&T is preparing to drop three new super-smartphones.

Samsung Infuse 4G

First up is the Samsung Infuse 4G running on AT&T's HSPA+ "4G" network (not compatible with their LTE 4G network going active 2012-2013-ish) with a 4.5" Super AMOLED Plus display. It's said to be super thin (thinnest on AT&T) and running on a 1.2 Ghz (single core Hummingbird) processor, 8MP rear camera, 1.3 MP front facing camera.



HTC Inspire 4G

This appears to basically be an AT&T flavored Thunderbolt/ Desire HD/ Evo 4G which will be a very welcome offering on AT&T! Standard Android 2.2, 8MP shooter with 1.2 (I believe) front facing camera, and 4.3 inch display.

The Droid 2 finally gets official and will go on sale Thursday August 12th for $199.99 on a new contract. Verizon's website will begin offering units tomorrow during an early pre-sale event. There is also a special edition R2D2 Star Wars Droid 2 that will be packaged with Star Wars goodies set for release in September.

The Droid 2 will surely be a success boosting the Droid into the arena with the latest Super-smartphones.  Maintaining the original Droid's general shape, design, camera and screen size (5MP camera, 3.7" screen), the Droid 2 has a redesigned keyboard, 1Ghz processor, 8GB of built in memory plus a 8GB microSD card and Swype pre-installed.  The Droid 2 will also come with Android 2.2 Froyo out of the box (flash support, plus hard keyboard equals lots of great FREE gaming)! For an additional $20/month Droid 2 owners will also be able to utilize Verizon's Wifi hotspot functionality on the Droid 2.

The best part of this whole ordeal for many current VZW customers is that Verizon will be allowing any customers whose contract ends by December 31, 2010 to upgrade to any smartphone, including the Droid 2, without penalty!!!! I'm sure many orginal droid owners (and Blackberry owners) will be jumping on this!

T-Mobile was the first to offer an Android phone (the G1) and is now the first to offer an Android handset with a portrait qwerty design. The new Motorola Charm has been officially announced as an addition to their Android line up. The design of this device may make it an easy transitional phone for you BlackBerry users who are accustomed to this form style.

The device has:

2.8" Touch screen
Full physical portrait qwerty
3MP Kodak camera
WiFi
2nd Mic for noise cancellation
Unique BackTrack navigation track pad on the back of the phone (similar to the MOTO Backflip)
Android 2.1

No pricing or release date yet.



Source: Engadget

Things just keep getting better for Android fans especially if you happen to be a Verizon customer. Verizon seems committed to providing the most extensive Android lineup with their Droids and this summer the Droid that started it all gets a sequel. The phone is said to launch August 23rd and will ship with Android 2.2 (Froyo) out of the box!!!!

The Droid 2 is very similar to its predecessor except for a few key areas; the processor will get a bump up to the industry leading 1Ghz Processor, and there have been some changes in the keyboard layout, mainly a new set of directional keys replacing the directional pad on the first Droid. There are also some aesthetic changes that kinda smooth out the front of the phone. Other than that its the same 3.7 inch screen and 5MP camera. Check out the video comparison below to see for yourself.

I've been causally mentioning the Droid X in other posts and tweets lately, well it just got all the way official. Verizon customers get your bread up, the new Droid X drops July 15th! Best Buy started taking Pre-orders TODAY!! The Devices will be $200 on a 2yr contract. I recommend getting at Best Buy too if you want to avoid those annoying mail in rebates. The Droid X WILL be Verizon's premier smart phone (at least for a few month's until the next Droid-whatever drops lol). iPhone 4 got another challenger ;) !

The Droid X has:

1Ghz processor = FAST!!!

4.3" Screen HD screen 854x480 resolution (Same size as the HTC Evo 4G!)

8MP Camera/Camcorder with 720p video recording with LED Flash

Preloaded with Swype Keyboard

Android 2.1 w/Motorola's custom Motoblur tweaks and apps (Upgrading to 2.2 Codenamed Froyo "soon" which includes full Flash support!)

8GB built-in storage plus an included 16GB SD card (expandable up to 32GB) for a total of 24GB of included storage

It can be used as a 3G hotspot modem for up to 5 devices for an extra $20/month (Sure to be hacked for free!)

Measures 2.6x 5.0 x .04 (a little bigger than the Evo 4G, HUGE I know!)



For more in-depth info check out Engadet's Droid X Hub



Skinomi TechSkin - Invisible Screen Protector Shield for Motorola Droid X + LIFETIME REPLACEMENTS
Motorola Droid / Droid X Micro USB Sync and Charging Cable