APPLE VS HTC, ANDROID, AND MORE HOT TOPICS TO GET YOU GOING!
Three months ago I promised to get the yapper going and start the weekly CZ Podcast again. So I’ve been busy! But today, I am so proud to bring you a fresh and exciting (more like raging) CZ Podcast to discuss some of our recent topics that we have been pecking on our keyboards about.
You’ll have to stay with me, because I quickly got off the main topic. I suffer from an extreme case of ADD/HD (actually tested and verified to be “significantly deviant from the norm”) and this is not conducive to staying on point. But all of the rambling you will here is very relevant.
I recorded the podcast an hour ago, and then I got busy. Now I can’t quite remember everything that I was talking about. But one topic that sort of got a little out of control was my rant about Apple products and the corporation itself. I’m not really an “Apple hater” by any means, because I am sitting here using an iPhone 3GS right alongside of my Samsung Galaxy S2 (cue heavenly choir sound). At any rate, this one is unplugged and unedited.
I made a special request for podcast topics, so feel free to post your ideas right here in the comments section after you listen to this edition. It is only 11 minutes in length. I like to stay around the 10-minute mark, that way I possibly have more stuff to yap about on the next podcast and don’t have to scrounge for topics.
Have fun listening to the blog, and I’ll have another fresh one for you soon!
BREAKTHROUGH FIRST GENERATION MOTOROLA ATRIX 4G SMARTPHONE IS NOW A STEAL
Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve got to check this out… the first ever dual core smartphone, the Motorola Atrix 4G, is now being sold at the bargain price of one penny on Amazon.com. If you are looking for a whale of a deal, look no further.
People are snatching up this phone in droves now, and this is actually the rush we should have seen on this smartphone when it was first released in the spring of 2011 for $199. It was the first ever dual core CPU smartphone to hit the market, and I have no earthly idea why it didn’t sell like hotcakes right off the bat.
If you are bargain hunting and you want a capable smartphone but you don’t want to shell out the big bucks, this is the deal you’ve been waiting for. I have just recommended this phone for several friends, and I’m about to purchase two of them for my own family. There are many reasons why I give it such a strong recommendation…
First of all, it’s a durable phone, and it is the perfect size. It sports a 4″ 960×540 screen with super durable Corning Gorilla Glass that will stand up to a good amount of abuse. The 4″ display is great for watching video content with its robust 24-bit color.
The operating system is Android 2.2 FroYo, so you will be able to download and run most any application from the Android Marketplace. I would assume that future Android updates will be available for this phone since it is so powerful on the inside.
Speaking of, the inside of this gadget features the first ever dual core processor for a smartphone. The NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core 1GHz CPU combined with a robust 1Gb of RAM gives you the power of a home computer. Storage space is still on the cutting edge with 16Gb of internal memory, and you can add another 16Gb with an SD memory card.
If you want to turn this smartphone into a fully functioning computer, you have the option of purchasing a special dock that has a large LCD display that will turn this smartphone into a complete laptop.
One of the biggest things I love about the Atrix 4G is the fact that it has both rear and front-facing cameras. That means you’ll be able to enjoy video chatting through services like Skype. The rear camera gives you a meaty 5 megapixels for picture taking and HD 720p video shooting clarity, and the front-facing camera comes with VGA (640×480) resolution. That is plenty of power for the average user.
For text entry, you get Swype, which I am an absolute advocate of. I can’t imagine inputting text any other way. Right now, Swype is still in the beta stage, so it has to be loaded on the the original build of your phone. You can’t get it otherwise. That’s just another checkbox on the awesome features list for the Atrix 4G.
Something else that I really like is that you can remove the battery. Unlike Apple iPhones, you could purchase an extra battery if you wanted to, or replace the battery if it gets old and doesn’t hold a charge. I haven’t heard any bad reports about the battery life, however. I think it works great because the screen is just the right size that it won’t put an enormous drain on the battery.
One high tech addition that gives this phone a real “coolness” factor is the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone. You can set your screen lock to Fingerprints, and then you unlock the phone by swiping your finger over the sensor. If that isn’t “Star Trek” like I don’t know what is.
You have everything else that you would need for a full smartphone experience like voice recognition, a fully functioning internet browser with Adobe Flash support, an HDMI audio/video out port, stereo headphone jack, and full access to all of the social networks. I’ve never seen such a well-rounded phone for one little cent.
That’s why I give the Motorola Atrix 4G my absolute highest recommendation. You have the technical performance of the most cutting edge smartphones on the market, excellent functionality and utility, plus the dirt-cheap price of a big fat penny when signing a 2-year contract for service with AT&T.
If you are the type of person who just can’t decide on what to buy with all of the gadgets that have flooded the market, this smartphone is head and shoulders above everything else in the same price range. There are even phones being sold for $9.99 to $29.99 that don’t have all of the features of the Motorola Atrix 4G. That’s why I can confidently tell you to go get it right now, before the jig is up.
If you appreciate this review and you’re ready to buy, head on over to the Amazon Wireless Store right now and get it, and you’ll be helping to support the Carlton Zone Blog at the same time. I would thank you if you did, and I’m certain that you will be very satisfied with this device.
Carlton Flowers
Your Trusty Smartphone Geek Assistant
I have not written much about the Motorola Droid Bionic 4G, but with the recent price drop and the myriad of questions I am getting from friends about this device, I figured this would be as good of a time as any to talk about this smartphone.
The price of the Droid Bionic started at $299 on Verizon with a 2-year contract. That price immediately began to fall right after the release. Last week, it was $249 on Amazon.com. Today, I just noticed the new price of $179.
Let’s talk about this device… Overall, it’s a great new rendition of the Motorola Droid line, coming out after the Droid X and Droid X2. It has a nice form factor, and feels good in the palm of your hand. I was really jealous of the Droid X when I had my iPhone 3GS, and the Droid Bionic gives me the same feeling (I have an iPhone 4 for the moment).
The Droid Bionic seems to be a tough, durable phone that will be able to take a little manly punishment. This is a phone that would have served me well, unlike my fragile iPhone 4 that I have practically destroyed in the last 12 months.
The 1785mAH battery has evidently gotten bigger in the Droid Bionic as compared to the previous versions, and also in comparison to other 4G smartphones. Running your phone on 4G is the quickest way to drain your battery, so the Bionic takes a huge lead over all other 4G models thanks to its large battery capacity.
Taking a look at what powers the Droid Bionic, we have a fairly respectable interior. At the root is a 1GHz dual core processor.
Being that the Bionic is the first of the new wave of smartphones to hit the market this fall, the speed is going to be just a little bit less than that of the Samsung Galaxy S2 (running at 1.2GHz) or the iPhone 5 (possible 1.2 to 1.4GHz).
However, the average user will not be able to tell the difference in performance, so it is definitely going to get a passing mark for processor speed.
There’s a whopping 1Gb of RAM, which is now the standard for top of the line smartphones. That’s plenty of memory to multitask your applications without any problems at all.
The display is a nice 4.3″ diagonal with 960×540 qHD resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio, perfect for watching movies and great for HD video out. That means no black bars on the edges of the screen, because it is optimized for movie size.
Something very unique about the Bionic is the “Mirror Mode“, which allows you to view your phone display on your television to watch video, view pictures, or play games. There’s an HDMI video port to connect your Droid Bionic to your choice of output devices.
You’ve got a robust 8 megapixel rear camera that will give you video in 1080p HD, plus digital zoom, auto focus, and an LED flash. You get a VGA front-facing camera for video chat also.
For storage, the Bionic comes with 32Gb of on-board memory, and you can add 32Gb additionally by purchasing an SD memory card.
The Droid Bionic runs on the Android Gingerbread 2.3 operating system, and it features the “WebTop” application that practically turns it into a laptop computer when you dock it and connect it to your television. It’s very similar to the Motorola Atrix 4G. I can really see this as the future of smartphones.
Overall, I would have to give this smartphone a strong “buy” recommendation for those that like the Droid X line. I don’t think you can go wrong here, and I really love the expansion capabilities of this device. This is a sturdy phone, and it brings the typical Motorola value that we have come to expect.
Click the link below to jump to Amazon and purchase this smartphone with a 2-year contract for $179 while the deal is good. Buying your Motorola Droid Bionic through The Carlton Zone will help us cover the expenses of running the blog site and bringing you valuable insight and information. Amazon.com is our trusted partner, and we’re glad to bring you the best deals when they are available.
I’m still sitting and waiting patiently for my Samsung Galaxy S2 from AT&T, and we haven’t had much news as of recent. But here are a few other hot topics that will help us pass the time. Jump in and expand on any one of these topics in the comments section below!
Samsung Galaxy Note – NOT!
I was very excited about the European release of the Samsung Galaxy Note, the whopper of a smartphone/tablet with the 5.3″ display.
I decided that this would be my perfect device of the future, should it ever come to the US. Well, that is, before I saw the price.
Apparently, it’s gonna cost well over $1,000. That means a subsidized cost of over $400. My Samsung Note just became a “not”.
Droid Bionic Is Out, Price Drops On Amazon
I’m still not that excited about the Droid Bionic. If any CZ-Blog crew members have a good handle on this device, please fill me in on whether or not you think it is a value.
The initial price of the Bionic was $299. Way too much to compete and dominate the market, in my opinion.
But Amazon is now selling it for $180. I think this is indicative of the fact that the Droid Bionic is going to be a bionic flop.
Nexus Prime Might Be A Ginormous Device
For all you jumbo phone lovers like myself, you might want to put the Samsung Nexus Prime on your wish list.
Rumor has it that it might have a 4.5″ to 4.65″ HD display.
This jumbo monstrosity will also have a curved glass (way cool). It will be super thin, and will sport a dual core 1.5GHz CPU.
Why it only has a 720P display and not 1080 is beyond me.
It’s still supposed to be the first Android Ice Cream Sandwich device, set to be released as early as October.
Last but not least, it might be getting a new name. I might have to watch out for this one!
4G LTE Causes Problems For New Users
You think having 4G LTE is all gravy? Think again.
There are blog posts popping up everywhere teaching Droid Bionic users how to turn it off.
From what people are reporting, surfing at 4G speeds causes major battery drain, and it will also help you exceed your data limit (if you have one) at the blink of an eye.
That’s just one more reason I’ll be happy with Fake 4G HSPA+ on my Samsung Galaxy S2 when I get my grubby hands on it.
Consumers Still Buying iPhone 4’s In Wake of iPhone 5
This is one that I just don’t understand. People are still buying iPhone 4’s. Why?
The iPhone 5 is just around the corner, yet people are so anxious to own an Apple smartphone that they don’t mind locking in to a 2-year contract with an outdated device.
The crazy thing is, it is so bad that the demand is actually causing delays in shipment of iPhone 4’s. What are these people thinking?
iOS5 will have some nice (overdue) features coming to us.
Look out for integrated voice input, FaceTime over 3G, and iCloud features built right in to the system.
Is this enough to keep me on the Apple wagon? No. Talk to me when iOS5 has Flash, SWYPE, and text reflow (it aint gonna happen).
Verizon’s Samsung Stratosphere Was A Dud
All that yip yap and talk about the rumored Verizon Stratosphere has just fizzled.
The Samsung Stratosphere will be similar to the Samsung Galaxy Q selling in Canada. It’s a small-sized basic slider. Absolutely nothing of what we expected.
This smartphone could sell well, though, because it is geared towards the budget crowd. Just goes to show how much we can (or can’t) trust the tech rumors these days.
iPhone 5 Is In Full Production
Reports state that Foxconn is building 150,000 iPhone 5’s every day for Apple corporation.
You would think that somebody, somewhere, somehow, would have lifted at least one of these by now.
Rumors are still flying on whether or not the iPhone 5 will be a design breakthrough, or a warmed-over iPhone 4. I lean towards the 2nd theory.
Well that’s about all I have at the moment. I’ll get a good “serious” blog post done tonight to talk about a couple of other hot newsworthy issues.
But this should at least give us something to talk about today to help us pass the time.
Jump on in and give me your opinion on the hot topics of the day!
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There has been quite a bit of decent smartphone news in the past few days. I’m gonna hit ‘em up briefly, and you chop it up in the comments!
VERIZON STRATOSPHERE NOT A GALAXY S2?
Droid Life blog is reporting that the Verizon Stratosphere 4G LTE smartphone isn’t a Galaxy S2 variant. They think it will be like the Epic 4G with a slide-out keyboard. Could this mean that the Verizon Function (oh, what a horrible name!) is actually the Galaxy S2 variant to be? Supposedly, T-Mobile will still have the Samsung Hercules, and Sprint will unleash the Epic 4G as their versions of the GS2. Still no confirmation on whether or not AT&T will unveil the Attain as their GS2 flavor of the day.
GOOGLE BUYS MOTOROLA MOBILITY
This morning Google made an official announcement that they are gonna bust the bank and blow a cool $12.5 billion on a Motorola buyout. There are 39 manufacturers making Android based devices. Now Google has their own. There was talk of buying RIM, but the price tag would have been enormous. Plus it would have been too messy converting Blackberry to Android. Oh, and the side benefit? Google’s patent portfolio just got fatter. Now they can sue people like a rabid rotten Apple.
4G SAMSUNG CELOX… WHAT THE FLIP???
Samsung, pumping out more smartphones than Willy Wonka produces his varieties of chocolate bars, has come up with a new one. Is it a Galaxy S2 variant with LTE capability? This one has a physical home button, unlike the other rumored Samsung Galaxy S2 variants coming to the US. It’s supposedly called the Celox, and it’s Coming to America (thank you, Eddie Murphy). There’s talk of a massive 4.5″ display, a 1.5 GHz dual core CPU, 8 and 2 megapixel cameras, and 16 gigabytes of internal storage. Hey Samsung, how bout actually releasing one smartphone instead of having us pipe dreaming about all of these crazy flavors that never materialize?
HTC VIGOR – FIRST “BEATS” PHONE?
Rap artist Dr. Dre’s businesss “Beats by Dre” just got a $300 million infusion of cashflow by HTC, who just purchased 51% controlling interest in the company. Rumor is that the next HTC smartphone “Vigor” will be the first device to integrate Dre’s fabulous sound technology. It’s going to be a workhorse of a smartphone with a 1.5GHz dual core CPU, dual cameras with 8 and 2 megapixels each, and a massive 1280×720 pixel 4.3″ display. I might ditch my Samsung Galaxy S II dreams for this!
APPLE IPHONE SHIPMENTS COULD REACH 100 MILLION
There could be 26 million orders for new iPhones in manufacturing for the 2nd half of 2011. Plus, we’ve got the 3GS, and iPhone 4 still hot on the assembly lines from Apple. Second half shipments including all models could hit 56 million. Add it all up for the entire year and Apple could hit 100 million. Who’s buying all these iPhones anyway? I never thought we’d see this much fruit fall from the trees in the Apple orchard.
APPLE IPHONE 4S AND IPAD 3 BACK IN THE RUMOR NEWS
We now have a wheelbarrow load of rumors swirling around the net that Apple will launch a new iPhone in September, and now it will be an iPhone 4S. This marks the 47,281st time that the prognosticators have waffled and switched their story from iPhone 5 to iPhone 4S. Add to this a fresh rumor of an iPad 3 with a Retina display, and you have even more material for the experts to flip-flop on.
LAST WEEK’S APPLE IPHONE 5 PREDICTION
Sorry for going backwards, but I just remembered that it was only last week that the experts said that Apple would be launching the iPhone 5 on October 7th after making the official announcement on September 7th. I wonder if Apple, Samsung, and whomever else will ever just release something and stop blowing all this hot air through the press. Er uhm, rather, through the hot waffle iron. Anyway, it tires me.
FACEBOOK STEALS ALL OF YOUR CONTACT INFO
In somewhat of a non-direct smartphone news story, the evil empire of Facebook strikes again. Got a smartphone with a Facebook app? FaceSnatch might very well have stolen all of your contacts and phone numbers. They’re probably sitting on the FaceSnatch servers by now. But FaceSnatch execs say it’s all lies. They only copied the numbers so you can see them and nobody else. They are offering the Brooklyn Bridge for $10 to anyone who has been inconvenienced by this.
FUSION GARAGE PLANS TEXAS-SIZED SMARTPHONE
The Grid4 smartphone is coming in the 4th quarter. It will have its own operating environment, GridOS. It measures 4.8″ x 2.5″ x 0.38″ and comes with its own area code. It has mediocre features, like a 4″ display that is dwarfed in the massive handset, 16 gigabytes of storage, and a half a gig of RAM. This breakthrough device is supposed to run on the amazing super fast 3G network. Line up now so you don’t miss this Texas-sized monstrosity that blazes it up on the net at super fast 3G speeds. These folks are on the bleeding edge of technology.
And there you have it. The latest hits. I left out the Motorola Droid Bionic on purpose. Would you be interested in discussing and hearing my opinion of the Bionic? Honestly, it just hasn’t grabbed my attention, but I’m willing to talk about it if you are.
Pop off some thoughts below. Tell me which of the above quick topics I need to go off on a full-page rant on. And also, give me your opinion on which of the up-and-coming smartphone gadgets you would consider as potential King of the smartphones. Holler!
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FROM RIPE TO ROTTEN TROLL… APPLE’S STRATEGY CHANGES AS THE GAP NARROWS
Phase 1, 2007 – Apple sweetens the world with a technological breakthrough in smartphones, expanding beyond computers. They make everyone’s life better with a device so advanced, we only dreamed about such a thing just years before.
Phase 2, 2009 – Apple has competitors in the smartphone market, but no serious threat exists as the third iteration of the iPhone is still leaps and bounds ahead of the closest Android follower.
Phase 3, 2011 – The dominant lead is over, and the technology gap has closed. In response, Apple rots the technology sector in an attempt to squelch their rising competitors through lawsuits and patent trolling. Has Apple Corporation turned from delicious fruit to poisonous pesticide?
That’s the way I see it. Apple’s leadership role has changed from innovator to troll. With the speed of technological advance, you can’t expect the gap that Apple once enjoyed over its competitors to last forever.
Apple’s outright dominance is vanishing as competitors like HTC, Samsung, and Google make considerable technological gains in the market. But their company has never been stronger financially. That’s why I don’t understand the sudden “evil” turn in Apple’s strategy for continuing as “King of the Hill” in the tech sector.
Recently, the rivalry has gone nasty as the “dark” strategy starts to manifest. Apple successfully launched an injunction towards Samsung throughout all of Europe last week, blocking the sale of their 10.1″ Galaxy Tab as of August 9th, 2011 over patent infringement accusations.
Also caught in the perilous grips of the dark side of the Apple “Force” would be the Motorola Xoom, as it was mentioned within the lawsuit that is currently blocking the Galaxy Tab. Where this stops, nobody knows. And it troubles me.
Sure, this is just a preliminary injunction. It could be appealed by Samsung. But the damage is already done, thanks to a judge giving this credence in the first place.
If Apple is successful, cold this create a precedent? Could It could cause a fast downward slide and an ugly future for all of the tech giants trying to pry their way into the market?
I will boldly say this while I stand steadfastly on my soapbox. The courts need to wake up and see this for what it truly is: the start of the ugly and outrageous trend of patent trolling, and the beginnings of a potential tech sector monopoly.
Does Apple have a right to stamp out any and all competitors that manufacture thin rectangular devices with screens that responds to the touch of a human finger? Apparently so, according to the broad sweeping patents that they hold. Maybe they are rightly defending what they own.
But what really shocks me is the fact that Apple, over the course of history, has stolen plenty of ideas from their competitors themselves. It is like the pot calling the kettle black. You could call this hypocrisy, in my opinion.
For example, check out these 10 things they “borrowed” from Windows 7 that got magically integrated into Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
Or how about the 5 things Apple “borrowed” from Android for iOS5?
Was Steve Job’s iPad an original idea, or did he “borrow” it and perfect it from the old Dynapad?
One could drone on for pages and pages showing examples of how Apple may have copied various ideas and devices over the years. The point can be made. But all the wile, Apple claims to be the primary victim of this very normal (but sharky) business practice that they benefit from. Oh, the irony!
Apple’s spokesperson in London, Adam Howorth, recently stated “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” and “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
Nice statement of accusation, Pot, but you are as black as the kettle after all.
If that wasn’t entertaining enough for you, how about former Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak telling former Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen “stop patent trolling, and start innovating!” back in May of 2011? Sure, Microsoft was doing exactly what he accused them of, but again… “hello Pot”.
It’s a well-known fact that Apple is just as guilty as those they accuse when it comes to stealing ideas for devices and software. But what takes the “suing-competitors-to-hold-them-back” mentality to the next level of trifling is the the addition of patent trolling.
Patent trolls aren’t in the business of protecting their own original inventions. Neither are they in the business of following through and taking the patents they buy to manufacture and then making them a reality. Their strategy is to grab up as many patents on the market as possible and use them for the sole purpose of suing competitors to hold them back.
To be fair, Apple isn’t the only patent troll in the tech sector. I just believe that they are the most dangerous. If Apple didn’t start the trend of patent trolling, they certainly made it popular. And now it is out of control.
I for one am thinking about contacting my congressman to voice my opinion that this activity has to stop. It not only feeds into anti-competition, but it’s also anti-consumer. Want to learn more about what lawmakers think of this? There’s a great article on The Hill blog site about patent trolling. Check it out, it’s a great read.
Well that wraps up my thoughts on Apple concerning the recent developments in the lawsuits. And I’m sure you could say any or all of this about each of the big boys. They are all acting out in similar fashion to some degree.
But which tech giant do you think is the most obnoxious patent troll? Is it Microsoft? Samsung? Google? Apple, or all of the above? Lastly, do you see all of the tech giants following the same life cycle as Apple, from golden child to evil troll?
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BREAKING NEWS FROM THE BIG BOYS, & NEW DEVICES ABOUND
Hey gang, I’ve got a quick hodgepodge of news to share with you today that I think is worth mentioning in one consolidated post. This is something new I would like to test out. Your feedback would be appreciated on this format!
Apple, Samsung, HTC and Motorola have some noteworthy developments that I’ve skimmed over for a brief discussion. We’ll hit them all while you drink your morning coffee!
APPLE SOON TO ADD “TEXT-TO-SPEECH” TO IOS5
You’re evidently going to get voice-enabled text entry for the next iPhone operating system update. Nuance has developed the technology behind this, and it is supposed to be very similar to Android.
You speak into the device, it sends your voice message to the servers on Nuance, and returns it to your device in text form.
This would be highly welcomed by iPhone owners, especially me. I’ve been wanting this on my iPhone 4 since I bought it in 2010.
I can’t stand “fat-fingering” my phone when I’m busy and trying to tap out a message. This would definitely be handy while you are traveling, but I’m not so sure that it would be safe to use this while driving.
My main use of this feature would be to quickly send text messages to people while I am working on the blog, or walking around the grocery store.
Up until now, I’ve had to use Dragon Naturally Speaking to get voice input converted to text. But you have to copy and paste the text that Dragon generates to get it to the location that you want to use it.
If this were built right in to the device as a native app, you’d be able to stay within your text message screen and not have to jump back-and-forth between a voice-to-text application. Bout time, Apple! (thanks to 9-To-5 Mac for the pic)
SAMSUNG CONQUER 4G HITS SPRINT
Samsung has been quite busy lately, pumping out new handsets every 15 days or so. This new entry is looking pretty decent (thanks to GottaBeMobile for the pic).
You’ll be able to get your hands on the new Samsung Conquer 4G for Sprint at the incredible price of only $99 (after a $50 rebate) on August 21st of 2011.
This to me is a great deal for a lower-cost smartphone that has front and rear-facing cameras for video chat capability. Here are a few more of the details for this dual-mode 3G/4G device that Sprint will be serving up:
MicroSD card slot that takes up to 32GB
Mobile hotspot capable
Stereo bluetooth wireless capable
3.2MP rear camera
1.3MP front camera
1GHz processor
Android 2.3
3.5″ display
HTC BREAKING OUT WITH 7 NEW SMARTPHONES
We’ve got to give props to HTC for trying to keep up with Samsung in blitzing the market with a wave of new phones.
They’ve already released the Thunderbolt, Sensation 4G, EVO 3D, EVO View 4G, and Flyer, but rumor has it that they’ve got 7 more handsets ready to send to market in the near future.
Supposedly they will include Windows Phone 7.5 Mango handsets along with the ever so popular Android operating system. I’m excited to see what they have in store, and I might even own one of their devices in the future.
MOTOROLA DROID BIONIC PICS LEAKED
We can finally confirm the screen size of the up-and-coming Motorola Droid Bionic (thanks to GottaBeMobile for the leaked picture).
Rumors had it sized at a whopping 4.5″, but it has been confirmed that they will stick with the Android standard of 4.3″.
A few of the other details that we know about the Bionic are that it will have a micro HDMI slot (way cool!), and that it will possibly be a “world phone” that gives us CMDA, GSM, and real LTE compatibility.
I haven’t talked much about the Motorola Droid Bionic, but I may have to include it in future discussions. It doesn’t seem to be drumming up quite the buzz that its future competitor the Samsung Galaxy S II is getting, but we’ll see how it all shakes out.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S II UNLOCKED FOR SALE AT NEWEGG
Last but not least, we’ve got a bit of Galaxy S II news to report.
Apparently, Newegg.com is selling an unlocked Galaxy S 2 for $650 on their website. They claim compatibility to AT&T, Wi-Fi T-Mobile, Rogers, Fido (Canadian) carriers.
The ad states that it is AT&T 3G compatible, and that it will run on GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, & Wi-Fi.
This is the current European version of the smartphone that has the single home button on the bottom of the handset, unlike the 4 touch buttons that will appear on the US versions coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon.
If you are a fan of going contract-free, this could certainly be an option, but I don’t trust it.
With the US release of the Galaxy S II so close, I don’t see why anyone would drop $650 bucks on this and take the chance on the phone being truly compatible with the US networks.
So that’s about all you need to know today that’s in the news that we haven’t discussed as of yet.
Which of these devices or product features get you most excited? Are you considering one or many of these devices for your next upgrade?
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TEXT REFLOW SEEMS STANDARD FOR ANDROID OS… WHY NOT iOS4?
“Text Reflow”, or the function of word wrapping text when you zoom in on an article using your smart phone browser, seems to be a normal feature on Android smart phones these days. But this is lacking on the iPhone iOS4 platform. I am a heavy article reader, and I rely on my iPhone 4 to keep up-to-date with trends within the fields that I do business.
A major annoyance to me is the need to scroll horizontally to read articles when zooming in using the Apple’s Safari browser. When I pick up an Evo 4G or a Droid X, the text automatically re-wraps itself beautifully when you zoom in on an article or document. This is especially handy for those that like to speed read. In fact, you can download several programs on the net that basically provide the function of flashing text in groups of 2 or 3 words at a time to facilitate rapid reading. When you zoom in using an Android device, you can increase the text size as much as you want and it will reformat the text to allow vertical reading. You can easily flick down the page and rapidly read any article much faster than you could be scrolling sideways.
The folks over at Apple seem to think that text reflow is not necessary because the Retina display is so clear that you don’t need to zoom in on text to ease reading. I don’t understand this argument, and I think it’s an excuse to get around the fact that the Android platform has outdone iOS4 in this one single area. It doesn’t matter how clear the screen might be. If you can’t read tiny text on a printed document because of poor eyesight, you’re not going to be able to read it on a Retina display either. So you are left to zooming in to a decent size, and having to scroll back and forth horizontally to get through an article. It is very cumbersome to say the least.
Text reflow is almost a deal-breaker for me. I absolutely love my iPhone 4, but I would consider trying to get out of my contract and sell my device just to be able to have a device that I could use to speed read information in the manner that text reflow allows. I’m not a programming expert or software developer, but I would have to assume that this is an easy fix (or addition) for the Apple developers. In order to stay ahead of the competitors (who seem to be catching up rapidly), why not put the Apple ego aside and get this done?
I have started a blog page dedicated to drumming up support for text reflow on iOS4. If you are an iPhone user and you see the benefit of having text reflow for reading purposes, please click on the link and post a response on my blog page. I want my iPhone 4 to be my primary reading device, and I’ll do just about anything to have this feature!
Three months ago I promised to get the yapper going and start the weekly CZ Podcast again. So I’ve been busy! But today, I am so proud to bring you a fresh and exciting (more like raging) CZ Podcast to discuss some of our recent topics that we have been pecking on our keyboards about.
I’m still sitting and waiting patiently for my
Phase 1, 2007
I will boldly say this while I stand steadfastly on my soapbox. The courts need to wake up and see this for what it truly is: the start of the ugly and outrageous trend of 
You’re evidently going to get voice-enabled text entry for the next 
Samsung 
We’ve got to give props to 
We can finally confirm the screen size of the up-and-coming 
Last but not least, we’ve got a bit of Galaxy S II news to report.