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top android devices

Top 5 Android Devices

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If you’re a fan of open source technology, you’re likely spurning Apple’s phones and tablets in favour of Android. However, the difficulty when investing in an Android model is the variety out there, which can make choosing a phone or tablet quite a challenge. Ironically, this array of technology is also one of the OS’s major draws.

Other reasons to choose Android over Apple include the use of widgets over installing apps, the wider variety of app marketplaces and the compatibility with Flash. However, there are drawbacks too – Android is less widely regulated so it may pose increased security risks to your phone or tablet.

If you do choose to go Android, there is a plethora of innovative technology out there, each one offering something a little different. So to help you in the decision making process, here are five of the best Android technologies to suit a variety of needs.

  1. Google Nexus 7 Android Tablet

One of the major selling points for the Nexus 7 is the price tag. Available at just $199, this beats all branded major competition and is a superb option for households or individuals on a budget. Smaller than the iPad, experts claim this might be more easily comparable to a Kindle – especially with its heavy focus on book and film apps. It has been described as a way for users to access and consume web content, and buy in particular from Google’s app stores. It is the ideal hybrid model – larger than a smart-phone but smaller than the average tablet – which makes web browsing highly portable, yet more easily visible.

  1. Samsung Galaxy S3 smart-phone

The Samsung Galaxy S3 makes the Top 5 Android technologies list due to its impressive quad-core processor, HD display and 4.8 inch screen – great features for a smart-phone. In terms of operation, it also boasts a surprisingly powerful battery, which allows it to keep its charge for longer; ideal for busy people on the go.

3.  Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

If there is one thing that puts people off purchasing a tablet it’s the touch screen typing capabilities. Sometimes you just want a regular QWERTY keyboard. While other tablets offer plug-in typing facilities, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is an Android tablet with the physical benefits of a Netbook – it has a foldable and removable keyboard dock. Plus, it’s slimmer and lighter than the iPad, it has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and it can process full HD movies too.

  1. Arnova ChildPad

The Arnova ChildPad has made it onto the list due to its innovative use. It is a tablet aimed at children and one of the few that runs an Android OS. This give kids the ability to use child-friendly Android apps without annoying mum and dad (by stealing their tablets). At 7 inches it’s smaller than the average 10 inch tablet which suits smaller fingers down to the ground and it comes fully loaded with 30 apps tailored for kids.

  1. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

At number five, is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 – the Android tablet most comparable to the iPad. It is both lighter and thinner than Apple’s model, offering a dual-core CPU which offers users a good speed and an 8 mega pixel camera to boot.

So there you have it – five Android technologies suitable for five different uses – and one thing’s for sure, you don’t get this level of choice when you buy from Apple.

This article was submitted through TechGeec’s article submission form.

Amy Boff writes for Appliances Online. When she isn’t checking Facebook she enjoys walking her dog. Follow her on Twitter @AmyBoff

motorola ces 2011

New Motorola Products (ATRIX, CLIQ 2, XOOM)

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Motorola has unveiled three new amazing products at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, two of which are a phone, the other a tablet.

The new Motorola ATRIX features a dual-core processor each at 1GHz, 1GB of RAM, 960×540 resolution, 24-bit color, 16GB internal, 32GB microSD expansion, 802.11n WiFi connectivity, 11m thickness, and a front-facing camera. What makes the ATRIX truly unique, however, is it’s ability to be docked in the new Motorola HD dock which is almost identical to a laptop but without any components (CPU, RAM, motherboard, etc.). The phone powers the entire dock and it gives the user the ability to control the phone using a laptop-like accessory. This dock is also capable of running the full version of FireFox as well as a virtual Windows 7 environment.

The Motorola CLIQ 2 retains a similar design to the original CLIQ, including the physical keyboard and the MOTOBLUR UI. Also featuring Android 2.2, a 3.7″ display and a 5MP camera with dual LED flash.

Lastly, Motorola’s new tablet, the XOOM, features a healthy-sized 10.1-inch capacitive screen with a very high resolution of 1280×800, a 5MP HD front-facing camera, and the mandatory dual-core ARM-based Tegra 2 chipset, which will allow for full 1080p HD video playback. What is attracting all the buzz about the XOOM, however, is that it is the first tablet to run Google’s tablet-optimized Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. This will bring a lot more functionality to the device, as all the core apps will be redesigned so as to allow the user to take full advantage of the much greater screen size, compared to what you get on a smartphone running, for example, Android 2.2. In addition, the tablet will feature all the known goodies that we love like an accelerometer, gyroscope and of course, Adobe Flash 10.1 Player support.

htc thunderbolt verizon ces 2011

Verizon LTE Device Event Round-up

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Verizon Wireless had a press conference earlier today where they announced a plethora of new technologies capable of running on their new 4G LTE network and they hope to have 2/3 of the U.S. covered by LTE by mid-2012 with 10 new LTE devices launching by mid-year (4 phones, 2 tablets, 2 mobile hotspots, and 2 netbooks).

One of the major devices announced at the event was the HTC Thunderbolt. It can act as a 4G mobile hotspot capable of connecting to 8 devices. Rockband Mobile was also announced giving users the ability to play with up to 4 friends.

Samsung debuted 3 new devices – 4G Galaxy Tab, 4G mobile hotspot, and a new phone. The phone has a 4.3 Super AMOLED Plus display which features improved sharpness and outdoor visibility (which the iPhone definitely lacks unless one is willing to pay for an anti-glare screen shield). It also has an 8MP camera, HD video recording, 1.3 MP front-facing camera.

The new Galaxy Tab will feature a 1.2 Ghz Hummingbird processor (faster than the Snapdragon processor found in most smartphones) and will be launching in the first half of 2011.

It also turns out that some of these new LTE phones will support simultaneous voice and data at launch while others will not. Unfortunately no word was mentioned regarding the purported Verizon iPhone.

CaseCrown Mod Stripe iPad Case (Review)

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The Mod Stripe iPad Case by CaseCrown is a fantastic low-profile case. It’s faux leather and contrasting nylon stripe add great aesthetic features and all of your ports and buttons are fully accessible, including the SIM card slot (iPad 3G). It’s extremely thin but will still do a great job at protecting the back of the iPad.

The Mod Stripe iPad case by CaseCrown is my favorite low-profile case by far. To start off, they one and only downfall that this case has, is that it will only protect the back of the iPad and a little bit of the sides, but absolutely none of the front. With that said, the Mod Stripe adds only 0.2 cm of thickness to the device and barely any weight. It also allows complete access to all of the buttons (from any angle) and ports as well as the SIM card slot on the 3G iPads (which many cases don’t offer).

The case comes in four different color combinations – Brown/Yellow, Black/White, Black/Silver, and Black/Red. All of the cases are made of faux (false) leather, which seems very durable, along with a nylon stripe that runs down the center of the case which adds a fantastic contrast. To install the case, you simply snap the iPad in and surprisingly, it actually stay on very well, much better than expected.

One feature that I love about the case, is that it allows you to use headphones with it that have larger than normal jacks (the size most headphones – not earbuds – have). This is a very important feature to me because I use my headphones very often and most of the time if I have a case on my iPad, I can use my headphones because the hole for the headphone jack isn’t large enough. This case doesn’t, unfortunately, work with Apple’s iPad dock.

Selling for $36.99, this is a great buy and well worth the money.

A Note From the Editors of TechGeec: Though all products and services reviewed by TechGeec are “final,” many companies now make changes to their offerings after publication of our reviews, which may or may not be reflected above.

Apple Releases the iPad Finally

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Apple Inc. began selling its much-anticipated iPadon Saturday, drawing eager customers intent on being among the first owners of a tablet-style device that the company is hoping to convince more people they actually need.

Some of these initial iPad buyers were drawn by the ability to read electronic books, watch video and run a myriad of useful or fun applications, including Scrabble.

Ray Majewski came to an Apple Store in Freehold with his 10-year-old daughter, Julia, partly as a reward for getting straight A’s in school. He decided on an iPad over Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle electronic-book reader.

“I like the electronic books, and my daughter is really getting into them as well,” Majewski said. “I was thinking of getting a Kindle but then said to myself, `Why not get an iPad because I can get so much more from that than just reading books.’”

The iPad is essentially a much larger version of Apple’s popular iPhone, without the calling capabilities. The new device is a half-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds and has a touch screen that measures 9.7 inches on the diagonal — nearly three times the iPhone’s. Also like the iPhone, it has no physical keyboard, but sports an accelerometer, which lets gamers tilt the device to control what’s happening on the screen.

For now, Apple is selling versions of the iPad that can only connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi. Those models start at $499. Versions that also have a cellular data connection will be available by the end of the month. They will cost $130 more, with the most expensive at $829.

Scores of people lined up outside many Apple Stores and Best Buy outlets well before the iPads went on sale. Apple’s store on New York’s Fifth Avenue had a party-like atmosphere, with employees cheering and clapping as customers entered and left.

Although Apple is adept at generating frenetic buzz for not-yet-released products, it may have to work extra hard once the initial iPad excitement settles. Many companies have tried to sell tablet computers before, but none have caught on with mainstream consumers.

Apple will need to persuade people who may already have smart phones, laptops, set-top boxes and home broadband connections to buy yet another Internet-capable device with many of the same functions.

And while early adopters who pre-ordered an iPad in recent weeks gush about all the ways they hope to use the iPad — casual Web searches on the couch, sharing photo albums with friends, reading books — skeptics point to all the ways the iPad comes up short.

They argue the on-screen keyboard is hard to use and complain that it lacks a camera and ports for media storage cards and USB devices such as printers. They also bemoan the fact that the iPad can’t play Flash video, which means many Web sites with embedded video clips will look broken to Web surfers using Apple’s Safari browser. And the iPad can’t run more than one program at a time, which even fans hope will change one day soon.

Apple’s New iPad

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It’s hard to believe we could fit so many great ideas into something so thin.

A large, high-resolution LED-backlit, IPS display. An incredibly responsive Multi-Touch screen. And an amazingly powerful, Apple-designed chip. All in a design that’s thin and light enough to take anywhere. iPad isn’t just the best device of its kind. It’s a whole new kind of device. Watch the iPad video

LED-backlit, IPS Display

The high-resolution, 9.7 inch LED-backlit, IPS display on iPad is remarkably crisp and vivid. Which makes it perfect for web browsing, watching movies, or showing off photos. It’s also been designed to work in any orientation — portrait or landscape. And because it uses a display technology called IPS (in-plane switching), it has a wide, 178° viewing angle. So you can hold it almost any way you want, and still get a brilliant picture, with excellent color and contrast.

Multi-Touch

The Multi-Touch screen on the iPad uses the same revolutionary technology that’s in an iPhone. But for iPad, the technology has been completely reengineered for the larger surface, to make it extremely precise and responsive. So when you’re zooming in on a map, flicking through your photos, or deleting an email, iPad responds with incredible accuracy. And it does just what you want it to.

Thin and light

One of the first things you’ll notice about the iPad is how thin and light it is. The screen is 9.7 inches, measured diagonally. So overall, it’s slightly smaller than a magazine. And at just 1.5 lbs and 0.5 inches thin,1 it’s easy to carry and use anywhere. There’s also a slight curve to the back. Which makes it easy to pick up and comfortable to hold.

10 hours.

Up to 10 hours
battery life

To maximize battery life, Apple engineers took the same lithium polymer battery technology they developed for our notebook computers and applied it to the iPad. As a result, you can use iPad for up to 10 hours while surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching videos, or listening to music.2

Wireless

With built-in 802.11n, iPad can take advantage of the fastest Wi-Fi networks. And it’ll automatically locate available Wi-Fi networks, which you can easily join with a few simple taps. iPad also comes with Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, which lets you connect to devices like wireless headphones or the Apple Wireless Keyboard.

3G

iPad will also be available in a 3G model, with super-fast data speeds up to 7.2 Mbps.3 So if you’re traveling, or you happen to be somewhere that doesn’t have a Wi-Fi network, you can still get a fast connection for surfing the web, downloading email, or getting directions.

Performance

Apple A4 chip.The A4 chip inside iPad was custom-designed by Apple engineers to be extremely powerful, and yet extremely power efficient. So the performance is unlike anything you’ve ever seen on a touch-based device. Which makes iPad fantastic for everything from productivity apps to games. But at the same time, the A4 chip is so power efficient that it helps iPad get up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. And iPad is available with a choice of 16, 32 or 64GB flash storage.4 Which gives you lots of room for your photos, movies, music, apps, and more.

Connectivity

The 30-pin dock connector on the bottom of the iPad allows you to dock and charge it. It also lets you connect to iPad accessories like the Camera Connection Kit or the Keyboard Dock.

Audio

The powerful, built-in speaker produces a full, rich sound. Which makes watching a movie or listening to music even more enjoyable. It also comes with a headphone jack and a built-in microphone.

30-pin connector. Built-in speaker.

Accessories

There are lots of great accessories that have been specifically designed for iPad. The Keyboard Dock, for instance, is a dock with a full-size keyboard. There’s also a standalone Dock. And because iPad has built-in Bluetooth 2.1, it’ll work with an Apple Wireless Keyboard, too. There’s also a Camera Connection Kit that lets you import photos from a camera or SD card. There’s even an iPad Case that not only protects it, it also allows you to use iPad in various positions, to make it easy to type, look at photos, or watch movies. And through a range of accessories, iPad can output to TVs, projectors and displays. Learn more about iPad accessories in Tech Specs

Technical Specifications

Size and weight1

Height:
9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
Width:
7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
Depth:
0.5 inch (13.4 mm)
Weight:
1.5 pounds (.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;
1.6 pounds (.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

Display

  • 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
  • 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
  • Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
  • Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Wireless and Cellular

Wi-Fi model
  • Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
Wi-Fi + 3G model
  • UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • GSM/EDGE (850, 900,1800, 1900 MHz)
  • Data only2
  • Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Location

  • Wi-Fi
  • Digital compass
  • Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
  • Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

In the Box

  • iPad
  • Dock connector to USB cable
  • 10W Power Adapter
  • Documentation

Environmental Status Report

iPad embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress. It is designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact:

  • Arsenic-free display glass
  • BFR-free
  • Mercury-free LCD display
  • PVC-free
  • Recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure

Capacity3

  • 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Processor

  • 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Sensors

  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light sensor

Audio Playback

  • Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
  • Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
  • User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and Video

  • Support for 1024 x 768 with Dock Connector to VGA adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Composite A/V Cable, 576i and 480i with Apple Composite A/V Cable
  • H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Mail attachment support

  • Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Languages

  • Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian
  • Keyboard support for English (US) English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
  • Dictionary support for English (US), English (UK), French, French (Canadian), French (Swiss), German, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting, Pinyin), Russian

Accessibility

  • Support for playback of closed-captioned content
  • VoiceOver screen reader
  • Full-screen zoom magnification
  • White on black
  • Mono audio

Battery and Power4

  • Built-in 25Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
  • Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
  • Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input and Output

  • Dock connector
  • 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
  • Built-in speakers
  • Microphone
  • SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

External buttons and controls

  • On/Off, Sleep/wake
  • Mute
  • Volume up/down
  • Home

Mac system requirements

  • Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
  • Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
  • iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
  • iTunes Store account
  • Internet access

Windows system requirements

  • PC with USB 2.0 port
  • Windows 7, Windows Vista; Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
  • iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
  • iTunes Store account
  • Internet access

Yet another unbelievable feature: The price.

With iPad, you get all our latest innovations. And all our most advanced technologies. In one of the most revolutionary products we’ve ever created. All at a price that’s well within reach.

16 GB 32 GB 64 GB
Wi-Fi $499 $599 $699
Wi-Fi + 3G $629 $729 $829
  • Prices in US Dollars. International pricing will be announced at a later date.
  • 3G data plan sold separately.

Leave a comment below to tell us what you think of the new iPad.

Apple’s Jan. 27, 2010 Event Info Leaked?

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Apparently, Ryan from UniqueApps has released information (from an unknown source) stating the releases that will be announced tomorrow at Apple’s January 2010 event. Here are the supposed announcements:

  1. New iLife and iWork ‘10
  2. New MacBook Air
  3. iPod Touch with video camera
  4. iPhone open to other carriers
  5. Apple Tablet

Let’s hope Ryan’s sources are correct (I’m hoping on the iPhone being open to new carriers)… Here’s his video that he posted on YouTube:


Full Specs for Apple’s New “iSlate”

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I recently found this image of the supposed “iSlate” that lists all of the known specs as of now and whether they’re likely or unlikely to happen. I figured looking at an image would be better than reading a full post plainly listing the specs of the new tablet. Here’s the image (click on it for a larger view):

Image via The Green Blog