Digital Bits Tech Column

Droid X review

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST

The Droid X is another of Motorola's entries into the extremely popular Android smartphone market. Like most of the Android phones, this is a stellar performer - The Droid X is a phone where there's very little to complain about and much to admire.

Listen to your messages over Bluetooth: Review of the DriveSafely MotoSpeak text-to-speech reader with the Motorola H17 headset

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST

Text-to-speech-over-Bluetooth is available right now, and it works great.

HTC Incredible review

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST

If you're looking for an Android-powered smartphone, the HTC Incredible is the one you want.

Stress-testing and review of the Casio G'One Brigade cellphone

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST

This is the Brigade, and right on the box is its selling point: "Rugged, dust shock and water resistant". You can get the feature list at the end of this article, but most of the time we're going to talk (and yes, TEST) the Brigade's impressive durability.

Review of the Motorola Devour with MOTOBLUR

Sat, 3 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST

The Motorola Devour is another phone in the steadily-increasing array of Android-powered smartphones, with a Google-designed operating system and application store. The Devour also comes with features essential to those who message often. In fact, the Motorola Devour comes with "MOTOBLUR" (yes, you apparently must spell it in all caps!) - MOTOBLUR isn't really a program or a feature as much as a redesign of the phone's interface. Put simply, it makes your life on the Internet easier to manage.

Review of Palm Pixi Plus, the Palm Pre, and Palm WebOS

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST

This review provides detail on the new generation of Palm phones, specifically the Palm Pixi Plus and Palm Pre Plus. It's important, because the Pixi and Pre will make or break Palm as a company, and the competition (from Apple and Google) is tough.

BlackBerry Storm2 review

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST

This article is all about the improvements between the Storm and the Storm2. Because there are improvements. Many. In my earlier article, you'll see that I liked the Storm, but many other reviewers did not. However, the Storm2 is so much better, it really makes the first generation Storm look bad.

HTC Droid Eris review

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

The HTC Droid Eris from Verizon is a solid offering in the Google Android product line that will, I believe, soon dominate the smartphone market.

The League of Scientists

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST

For the readers out there, for those who like a good mystery, for those interested in science, check out my latest project: The League of Scientists

Review of the Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

The Droid is an excellent phone. Google, Motorola and Verizon really knocked this one out of the park. (I don't even like baseball, and I'm using a baseball euphemism. That's how impressed I am.)

Verizion HTC Imagio review

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

There are three significant features making the Imagio a quality phone: Microsoft (Microsoft?! ...Yes, it's true, but keep reading), the HTC hardware and Verizon.

Verizon Song ID review and accuracy testing

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST

I decided to run a Verizon Song ID test process and see if Song ID can do what it claims. Does Verizon's Song ID work? Here's what I did to find out.

Dev Manny and the case of the constructed destruction

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

Detective Specialist Lee felt pretty good about his first real case. Good, that is, until he stepped into the room and saw the carnage.

BlackBerry Tour review

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST

The BlackBerry Tour is a "world phone" from Verizon Wireless, giving users the ability to make voice calls in over 220 countries and get email and Internet in 175 countries. That's a lot of places to visit.

HP Mini 1151NR review - the first netbook from VerizonWireless

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST

The HP Mini 1151NR is a new generation of laptop computers called a "netbook". You're going to be seeing a lot more of these! For those unfamiliar with what a netbook is, think of it as a small computer. Much bigger than a cellphone, but much smaller than your average laptop.

MiFi 2200 review - Verizon's multi-user mobile hotspot

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST

The MiFi 2200 gives you the ability to have your computer (or any WiFi-capable device) connect to the Internet using Verizon's cellular data network. Get online from anywhere there's a Verizon network. Yes, that includes the beach.

Dev Manny and the case of the suspended feet

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST

I sat in my office, staring at my laptop. If the office had been dark, the blue images from the laptop screen would've played over my face as I flashed through websites. If I smoked, there would've been a lazy trail of white spiraling above my head. And while I was imagining, I suppose if I was rich, I wouldn't have been so hungry. But it wasn't, I didn't, and I never would be.

Samsung Alias 2 review: The first E-ink cellphone

Sat, 30 May 2009 12:00:00 EST

The Alias 2 is a solid cellphone with one significant feature. That feature elevates the phone enough that I believe it's currently the best of its class. That feature is "E-Ink". Specifically, that's what the Alias 2 uses for its keyboard. Technically, the keyboard is "virtual" - the phone's buttons can change depending on what you're trying to do with the phone: if you're making a phone call, you get the usual numeric phone keypad. If you're writing a message, you get a full QWERTY keyboard.

Dev Manny and the case of the captured keys

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST

I'm an information technology private investigator. Since I solve their problems, my clients generally like me. Some even refer me. Only one client has ever kidnapped me.

LG Versa review

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

The LG Versa is a slick phone with common features implemented in a fairly unique way, and some unique features implemented very well. In some phones, this comes across as forced, or making the user tolerate certain features in order to use the device. With the Versa, I experienced no such problems. I didn't have to tolerate anything. The more advanced features are well-designed and are integrated so well that this phone is now among my current favorites.

Roku review: Watch streaming Netflix on your TV

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST

If you're a Netflix subscriber, you may have used the "Instant Queue": instead of waiting for a movie to be shipped to your house, you can instead watch it streaming on your PC. No waiting. You can get videos, television and movies on demand. Now enter the Roku, which puts Netflix's streaming media library on your TV. I don't have cable TV, and with the Roku I really don't have any desire for it. With some limitations that will lessen over time, I can still watch what I want, when I want.

Orgone chips review: New Age versus the scientific method

Thu, 5 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST

Orgone also has super-powers in regards to technology. Specifically, it can help save on energy costs. "Orgone chips" are a supposed miracle of modern New Age engineering. Luckily for those of us who want to experiment, there are very specific claims made about "orgone chips". We can test those claims.

Dev Manny and the case of the Lingering Labels

Thu, 5 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST

My office was quiet. Quiet, that is, in terms of new cases. Either everything was running perfectly, or my clients had all decided at the same time never to call me again. Both possibilities worried me. But that's the life of an information technology private investigator. It's "feast or famine", though this latest diet had run far too long.

DRM is failure in action

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST

The big problem is that DRM doesn't work. Every mass-distributed DRM scheme has been compromised - every single one. If you want to copy one of your "uncopyable" DVDs or other media, yes, there are plenty of tools to do so. DRM hurts the consumer: it penalizes people who have legitimately purchased their media. And since DRM is compromised so easily and quickly, those who want to break the law can still easily do so. If this is a deterrent, it's a remarkably ineffectual one.

BlackBerry Storm review

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

The BlackBerry Storm from Verizon Wireless (also called the BlackBerry 9530) is an excellent smartphone. Comparisons and contrasts to the iPhone are of course inevitable, but the Storm can hold its own. It's not an iPhone killer, but it does have some advantages over the iPhone. Depending on usage type and available networks, both the Storm and the iPhone are great in their own rights.

Review of Mobile TV by Verizon Wireless

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Mobile TV is a recent and impressive offering by Verizon Wireless. The name itself is the perfect description: Mobile TV is TV streamed to a mobile device. Yes, it's TV, including primetime as well as popular cable channels. Yes, the video and audio quality is very good. Yes, I like it.

Motorola Rapture review

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

The Motorola Rapture from Verizon Wireless is a slick-looking basic cellphone with one very handy (and not so basic) feature. When the clamshell phone is in closed position, the front display of the phone is touch sensitive! This allows you access to certain features that don't need an open phone for operation. It gives the user an easier and more convenient interface. While this change to the basic user experience works well and is easy to use, I hope that this is only the start of such improvements.

LG Dare review

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EST

The Dare is an impressive phone. When you hear about the device, some of its features may catch your ear. You may hear about the touchscreen-only interface including virtual keyboard, the auto-rotate feature based on the phone's orientation, the "scroll with your finger" navigation, and you'll think of the iPhone. I'll answer the Dare / iPhone comparison question later. Realize that this phone is not meant as "the iPhone killer", or even an "iPhone closest competitor". Or, at least, regardless of what the marketing people intended, that wasn't my impression. The designers have given the Dare many features similar to the iPhone, but the LG Dare is a phone in and of itself - there are reasons you'd get this instead of the iPhone. There are reasons you'd get the iPhone over the LG Dare.

BlackBerry Curve review

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EST

A review of the BlackBerry Curve.

LG Voyager review

Sun, 18 May 2008 12:00:00 EST

A review of the LG Voyager.

Samsung Juke review

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:00:00 EST

A review of the Samsung Juke.