GADGET Geek

IBOOK 2: Apple’s new offering!

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:33:00 -0800

First I thought talking about SOPA but it seems to be so stale with every site and newspaper talking about it, so I found why not talk about something creative and inventive; Why not talk about IBOOK 2.

Don’t get confused guys; it is not an Apple notebook but a very wonderful offering by Apple’s software market. IBOOK2 is a software program which can be accessed by the course makers to upload their courses into it in a very rich format. All these courses and various books will be accessible to the IPAD users who want to do much more with their tablets; who want to make their tablet a book! The authors of courses and books can create great multimedia contents which will have full touch response capabilities. The courses prepared in such fashion will definitely be very helpful for the users who want to learn through their pad.

IBOOK 2 has an authoring interface called IBOOKS Author to create the courses.

Wait for more to come in the IBOOK 2 domain.

5 Unique IPHONE 4 Cases: Get Amazed PART 2

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:34:00 -0800

Unique IPHONE cases; is a continuation to my previous post Top 10 IPHONE 4 cases. Hope this series will continue with many more spellbinding IPHONE cases. Apple keeps on improving its products and the accessory makers keep on aligning themselves with the genius of them. This post is just a summary of some amazing cases I came through in past few days.

ZEROCHROMA TEATRO

This wonderful piece comes at a cheap $39 and is designed with thin and hard plastic with a foldable and rotatable stand. The only reason why I said cheap was the great usability it provides to the IPHONE because of the stand which can be used to dock your phone on a table top or anywhere you want. And Of! Course it fully protects the IPHONE from any physical damage. It surely ranks one of the best among the unique IPHONE cases list.

Black Retro Cassette Tape Case

This is not something new to the IPHONE case market. The silicon case has been available for the previous models of phone too. The design makes your phone look like a cassette and also protects it against scratches and dust. Buy it for $10 and give your phone stylish attire.

IWOOD 4 Cobra

IWOOD 4 Cobra is designed specially to make your phone look trendy and protect it against any wear and tear. It is made up of two different type of woods which are interfaced together to give this unique iphone case a look above all and a protection beyond any other cases available in market. Though its price is on the higher side ($185), you can buy it once and forget about the safety of your IPHONE.

Waddler Case

It is all about decorating your precious device. This is the feel that we get when we hold an IPHONE wrapped in a waddler case. The beautiful color combination and the flexible body of it, gives it a feminine look but at the end what matters is that at $25, you can make your phone look much more beautiful than others.

Scosche KICKBACK Case

It ranks lowest in my list but don’t forget that it is still in the top 5 unique iphone cases. Made up of rubber, Scosche kick back case also has a stand with it. The stand can help you mount your phone on a table and this can make lots of work easier.

SIRI Review: IPHONE 4S’s Cruncher

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:34:00 -0800

In the IPHONE 4S review I talked about SIRI, the voice recognition system which not only provides an edge to IPHONE over other smart phones but also amazes us with its extremely intelligent protocols. SIRI’s ancestral form was made available for free to all IPHONE users as Dragon Natural Speaking; this is when something got into Apple’s mind, which caused them to buy out this product and now make it available to us as SIRI with all IPHONE 4S and guess what, this venture seems to be the most successful one.

SIRI has been built into iOS5 and leaves all the speech recognition software behind. It has the capability of noise reduction and catching the voice of user even if you are trying to test it in a very noisy surrounding. Just think about the perfection it will achieve if you are trying to use it in a silent environment. By the way, I think it will be insane to try to use your speech activated device in a crowd. Isn’t it?

It is easy to activate SIRI on an IPHONE 4S. Just press and hold the home key and here comes SIRI prompting you to order it what to do next! So, you have your own robot keeper to keep up with everything you want your iOS5 to do. In short it is more like a very loyal lover who takes good care of all your needs. That was a pathetic similarity but I can’t help talking good about this wonderful inclusion in Apple’s apps.

Once proclaimed, everything is stored! This can be the bottom line for SIRI. You don’t need to repeat things again and again. For the first time, probably it will ask you to specify your selections but the next try will be easier. For example, if you wish to call your wife who uses more than 4 numbers (I think you should keep a check on her if she does this!), out of which one has her default availability; you need to say, “Call Wife”. SIRI will display all the 4 numbers. Select the one on which you always make a call. SIRI will give her a call and store the number as default number whenever you ask it to call your wife. So, the next time SIRI hears the command, it automatically calls the same number. Now, isn’t that intelligent!

This happens for everything; whether you want to view map of your city or want to find the best place to shop in a city; one prompt and the next time, a smaller prompt.

SIRI does everything which you want your voice controlled app to do. It converts speech to text so you can easily text and email by just dictating everything. It helps you to track places on GPS by saying amidst traffic where you cannot stop your car to type and find the correct route. Of! Course it will make your calls too.

Apple calls SIRI in its beta phase. I suppose it is just because of some funny responses received by SIRI sometimes. When you ask SIRI if it loves you by saying, “Do you love me?” it responds by saying, “I respect you!” This according to me is great fun. A person like me can spend hours with it, asking and getting funny replies. But according to some other geeks, this should be improved. Let us see!

SIRI will rule the hearts of every IPHONE 4S user in coming months for sure!

GG’s Apple App rating: ***** (it is the most wonderful thing to happen).

IPHONE 4S: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:01:00 -0800

Guys, let us clear it out once and for all, IPHONE 4S is no second name for IPHONE 5. So, stop peeping into Google’s search pages to find one as it is not even near anyone’s approach till Apple decides to become approachable for everyone. IPHONE 4S is a redone daddy for the demanding children of it around. As always Apple impresses dressing up its old phone with new attire.

I am watching people around me flaunting their IPHONE 4 version and I am happy to break into laughter in front of them saying, “Brothers and sisters, this is something old now!” IPHONE 4S does that with its improved camera quality, memory storage and a better processor! So, if you are proud to own an IPHONE 4, get yourself a view of IPHONE 4S.

HARDWARE AND NETWORK RECEPTION UPGRADE

Apple’s new bar adds a few more ounces to its weight but provides us with obvious good results. The network reception, if tested with respect to the version 4 can be found superior without any doubt. The processor has been upgraded to Apple’s 1GHz A5 model and the media storage has been increased to double of what IPHONE4 has; IPHONE 4S has an internal storage of 64 GB. Has this left your mouths open? Wait for more to come!

SOFTWARE UPGRADE

IPHONE 4S is built upon the latest iOS5 which itself is a far superior smart phone platform than the previous versions. GG is yet to review iOS5 but be assured, it will be done soon!

Siri is a wonderful inclusion in iOS5 and is exclusive to IPHONE 4S. Siri is a virtual machine which helps you in doing lots of work by just asking it to do. Everything is just a voice away from you. Command and let Siri explore anything around you in maps, call anyone you want to talk to or text anything you feel like. This software is too intelligent to be described in a few words. It needs a complete review for itself. It talks, it remembers, it just does every single thing just by hearing you say. This is a winner in all the ways.

CAMERA UPGRADE

IPHONE 4S carries the same 8 MP camera but with better quality and enhanced functionalities. The camera is capable of recording at 1080 pixels and the auto focus works like it had never worked before for any other smart phone.

A few mishaps which can be ignored are: the battery life (I have been always saying that don’t buy a phone which is smart for its battery backup) and lack of 4G connectivity.

Other than these, IPHONE 4S is the most pleasing of all its previous versions and probably the best smartphone available in market.

With hope to see IPHONE 5 soon, GG rates 4S: ****1/2

IPAD 3, IPAD 4 & IPAD 5 Release Dates: Rumored

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:18:00 -0800

According to the previously followed trends, market analysts are of the view that Apple will release their IPAD 3 in March 2012 and IPAD 4 & 5 in October.

IPAD 3 Rumored Features

Apple never displays its products in tech fares and more than that, no press releases pre-follow the IPADs or IPHONEs. We are always left to experience them when they hit the market. But they are unable to stop the rumors from hitting the users and some of them suggest that IPAD 3 will have a very high screen resolution (somewhere around 2100 by 1600 pixels) , extended battery backup and will support LTE networks. One other news source suggests that the processor of IPAD 3 will be a quad core one.

Let us wait to see what else gets to us from the ISTORE.

Tablets that will receive Android 4.0 update

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:37:00 -0800

Ice Cream Sandwich is yet to hit the market in its full form but the news of tablets and smartphones which are going to get this delicious update have been making to the headlines since long.

Here GG will list the android tablet computers which have started receiving the android 4.0 update or will receive it in near future.

Motorola XOOM

First among the list is the same machine which was one among the few to use android 3.0 in its early stages. Motorola has even started updating android 4.0 to few of the selected XOOMs. It is basically for the testing purpose to see how stable is ice cream sandwich, on the XOOM tabs. The WiFi as well as the 4G models are entitled to this update by android.

Asus Transformer Prime

Asus has also started providing android 4.0 update for their recently launched Transformer Prime. This news is a little old now considering the fact that the update option in the settings of Prime has already been activated.

Asus Transformer TF101

TF101 is not far behind with the ice cream sandwich update getting optimized for this tablet pc by Asus by end of January. The update can be delayed by little but then it shouldn’t bother TF101 owners as 4.0 itself is yet to be matured tablet OS. Keep your patience and remember the fruits which have been left to ripen, taste the best.

Archos G9 Tablet

First week of February will bring good news for all the proud owners of G9 as the 4.0 update will be made available ton their Archos G9 tabs.

Sony’s Tablet S & P

GG has revealed this in the review of Tablet S and Tablet P that both the Sony tablets are entitled for the android 4.0 update.

Bad news for the 7” tablet owners is that all the 7 inched tabs like Samsung’s galaxy tab are not going to receive the android update. Talks are still in progress and maybe we will have some hope for Amazon, Nook and Samsung tabs owner.

Acer Iconia Tab A200 Specs: Yet to hit the market!

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:28:00 -0800

Finally Acer does what it was expected to with its new tablet pc Acer Iconia Tab A200. With A200, Acer has tried to overcome all the negativities that were created for its tablets due to the previous A100 and A500.

Iconia Tab A200 is not only a light tablet but also has improved on the display and battery backup areas where Acer lacked previously. The 10.1” screen is a full HD with 1280 by 900 pixels resolution and the processor is a dual core one by NVIDIA TEGRA 2 which also accompanied the previous versions.

It will come in two forms: 8GB and 16GB with a mere price difference of $20. There is no primary camera at the back of the tablet in order to reduce the price. But it has a 2MP front facing camera for video calls. This is not a bad decision at all as we don’t need a camera in a tablet to click pictures as such.

Look at the specs:

10.1” HD display
Android Honeycomb OS
Micro USB and a Full sized USB port
3G, WiFI and Bluetooth connectivity
Upgradable to Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich

Let us wait to have a hands on experience of Acer Iconia Tab A200 whose first look seems to be very appealing.

Acer Iconia Tab A500: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:07:00 -0800

Acer has been working hard but sometimes the work doesn’t get recognized to the level it should be. The same has happened with this tab maker. In the want to do things differently, you end up doing something which is not so adequate. Acer Iconia Tab A500 is an example of this. In a try to exceed, it exceeds in weight and size which is not at all the property of a tablet pc. Making this clear, I need to mention one more thing that though it lacks a specification, it also inhibits several others which makes it a forerunner among the greatest android honeycomb tablets in market.

Hardware Specs

It flaunts a 10.3” full HD display with a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels.
The processor which makes the usage of Tab A500 faster is an NVIDIA TEGRA 2, 1GHz one.
1 GB RAM is quiet optimum and is on the higher side for a tablet pc.
A micro USB, plus a full sized USB port is a fatal combination which makes A500 different from other android tablets which have a single micro USB port.
A 3.5 mm jack for audio output and mini HDMI port are the regulars.
A micro SD slot and SIM card slot to access 3G connectivity.
The 5MP primary camera and a 2MP secondary for video chats.

Pros of owning an Acer Iconia Tab A500

You can interface anything you want to due to the availability of lots of ports.
Connectivity made easier through WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth.

Cons of an Acer Iconia Tab A500

The size and weight keep it away from the users who want a portable and easy to carry tablet pc.
Phone calling is a constraint.
With so many interfacing ports, the overall look of the tablet gets spoilt.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 is a nice purchase for people who want to rig up everything with their handy tablets but that is not why the tablet is made for on the first hand. Hope A100and A200 increases the market’s hope while selecting Acer’s tablets to sell and promote.

GG’s gadget rating: **1/2 stars (because of the inclusion of a full USB port).

Acer Iconia Tab A100: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:48:00 -0800

Acer never rules but it also never quits trying to rule! That’s the best you can have to survive in an environment where you have newborns jumping in and out every single day. Tablet pc market is stiff and the android tablet market is stiffer. Every player wants to introduce something which can make a difference; some do create a dent and some lose the spot without leaving back any trace. Acer Iconica Tab A100 was here to create a dent but still remains unnoticed. Not to forget, every good thing takes some time to happen. Hope the same for Acer in the tablet market with its A500 and the latest A200 tabs.

Pros of owning an Acer Iconia Tab A100

It runs on Android Honeycomb which is the most stable form of OS for a tablet pc.
The processor which backs the device is an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core, 1GHz processor.
The 7” inch display is an HD with a 1024 by 600 pixel resolution.
The primary camera has a 5 MP resolution and the secondary which can be used for video calls is of 2 MP which is quiet decent.
Supports a 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Comes in 2 forms: 8GB and 16GB.

Cons of owning an Acer Iconia Tab A100

The price is the biggest drawback of the A100 tablet. Marked at $330 for an 8GB model, it exceeds the price of several 10” tablet PCs which are available at as less as $100.
The battery life is strictly a concern.
All the ports are in micro form; namely: micro USB and Micro HDMI ports.

The Regulars of an Android Tab

The memory is expandable up to 32GB.
User has access to multiple applications through android market.

Acer Iconia Tab A100 exhibits all the qualities of a decent tablet but nothing seems to be very attractive or very different. Hope A500 & A200 surpass the expectations all the users behold!

GG’s Gadget Rating: **1/2 stars.

ARCHOS 101 G9: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:43:00 -0800

With Archos 101 G9 android 3.2 tablet, Archos has raised its standards in tablet making. Archos 70 revealed the genius in the tablet makers and G9 makes them a compatible runner in the race of tablet pc making.

Android 3.2, honeycomb is the best suited OS for the tablets and G9 well equips it with all the functionalities android has to offer. Archos answered the simple question; what should be done to do something new! And they ended up making a gadget which concentrates more on its media capabilities.

Archos 101 G9 runs on a 1 GHz quad dual core processor and promises to get upgraded to a better 1.5 GHz model by early 2012. That’s something which you can always buy upon. Interfacing has been made easier and multiple with an HDMI and Micro USB port, plus a micro SD slot. The 10.1” screen with an HD display of 1280 by 800 pixels keeps you amazed throughout a movie experience on your portable tablet pc.

It comes in two forms, both based on the memory they carry; the first being the basic model having an internal storage of 8GB and the “yet to hit the market” turbo Archos 101 G9 with a memory of 16 GB. But, nothing to worry, there is an additional memory option of around 250 GB which is more than expected for a portable media device.

The worst part of Archos 101 G9 is absence of 3G connectivity, so you will have to depend upon a WiFi network or get connected by Bluetooth. It seems Archos is bent upon promoting its 3G dongle in market with the tablet.

In the past, Archos had a chief concern of not employing the access to full android market. Now you can have access to all the 3D games which run totally fine on G9 tab.

As I said before, Archos 101 G9 is more of a media player than a tablet. With its pre installed music and media players which are much better than the traditional android media players, G9 raises the level of watching movies on an HD tablet pc.

Get one for you if you love watching movies. Rig your circuits with an Archos 101 G9 tablet.

Best Archos 101 buy at $249.91!

GG's Gadget rating: *** ½ stars.

Tablets of 2011

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:57:00 -0800

2011 has been a year which saw an exponential growth in the business of tablet computers. It all started way back with Apple’s IPAD and kept on growing with various Android Tablets and later players like Blackberry jumped into the market with their playbook. The highlighted component among all the android tablets is still the NVIDIA TEGRA 2 dual core processor. Playbook’s blackberry OS caused a nice difference in market too. Let us list the best tablet PCS which ruled our senses whether we had them or whether we wanted to have them.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

The one device warring machine; yes, it didn’t only create a revolution but also a war amongst the gadget makers in market. I am talking about Samsung. With its first android tablet in market doing so well, there was nothing to stop the makers of Galaxy from growing on and on. When IPAD started the production of tablet computers, Apple seemed to be unstoppable but Samsung’s Galaxy not only started a new trend with android OS but also gave way to many others to rock and roll the market with their android tabs.

Version 10.1 of this magical device has a 7” HD display and runs on Android 2.2 Froyo. It has everything that a portable computer should have; a dual camera, 1GHz processor with 512 MB RAM and comes in three forms: 2GB, 16GB and 32GB. Like any other android tablet it has an expandable memory of 32GB.

Priced at around $600, it is something which cannot be deprived of all the visions it had.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire

Less said and more understood! GG believes that Kindle Fire is the future of tablet computers. Amazon took its e-book reader to the next level of making it a tablet and presented us the Kindle Fire at a cheap price of $199. Don’t go for high configuration demands as it is made for every user around and what it offers surpasses the price tag on it. Kindle Fire also runs on Android OS and has a dual core processor. Things are yet to come but what has come till now is not bad at all. Get one if you are tight with your finances and experience the new gen computing and don’t forget, what you will experience is not bad at all.

Shop Amazon's New Kindle Fire

Apple IPAD 2

Don’t go by the numbering as it is no where ranking the products because even in my wildest of dreams, I cannot rank IPAD 2 below the first amongst all the tablet computers in market. And how can I, more than how, who am I! And no one can. It is an upgrade of the system which started the race and don’t forget, creators do not participate in the races they have created. IPAD 2 is nowhere in the race of tablets as it is the founder and carrier. What we expect will always be in comparison to what IPAD 2 has offered. Needless to say that it runs on the IOS 4.3 which has no competition at all. The hardware configuration is also spellbinding with a 1GHz dual core Apple processor and 512MB RAM. You can run for cheaper tabs but cannot wipe IPAD off your desires.

Motorola XOOM

This tablet came with the newest version of android, android 3.0 but never linked with the users. Lots of reasons can make us understand the fall and fall of XOOM. One can be its price; why should we spend $600 on a MOTO device which doesn’t have a lot of reliability. As far as I am concerned, even though not a big fan, I would like to include XOOM in the top contenders because of its HD display and the 5MP primary cam which actually changed the trend of market. Now all tablets flaunt a HD screen and 5MP cam.

ASUS EEE Pad Transformer

What a machine! The only expression I was left with after first experiencing and reading about it. The best tablet computer based on android as far as I am concerned. Read full review here.

5 done, 5 more to come!

Keep yourself updated with what’s happening on GG.

The Amazing Kindle Accessories

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:50:00 -0800

Kindle has been around and slowly it is moving higher in terms of user expectations and delight. It started as an e-book reader and has grown into a complete tablet with its latest offerings in the form of the 7 inched Kindle Fire. As usual the devices come first and then later the market seems to be flooded with more of their accessories than them. Let us talk about the top amazon kindle accessories here and in a few articles to follow.

Kensington’s USB Car Charger

According to me this amazing 2 USB port charger is the most portable and useful of all the amazon kindle accessories. One of its USB ports can charge your kindle and the other can be used to charge the smartphone. It comes with a USB cable and is priced at a cheap $29.9. So no problems now if the battery of kindle or your smartphone fails your need! Quick charge them on the go!

Can be purchased at:

Verso Prologue Case for Kindle Fire

First you purchase it and then you die protecting it! The worst part in this whole scenario is that you end up

destroying it. Rather than trusting your senses a lot, why not trust the Prologue certified cover for Kindle Fire?

It is a light weight case specially built for kindle fire and has small pockets to keep the accessories like ear plugs etc. The interiors are specifically made in order to protect the screen. Spend $39.99 to save the kindle fire from fatal injuries or end up spending double to mend it or probably buy a new one.

Get the best price at:

Marware Red Case for Kindle Fire

If you buy something expensive, spend a little more to protect it. I said this before too. The Marware Kindle Fire is a kindle fire specific case with zip to protect your kindle fire against any harm and also has a little pocket which can be helpful to carry the cards along with you. It comes in different colors. Priced at $29.99 and can be purchased at:

The 3M Screen Protector

It is again one more Kindle Fire case and probably a very underrated of all the amazon kindle accessories. It provides the best protection for Kindle’s screen and gives it a unique and attractive look too. It can be bought
at a cheap price of $14.99 from:

Incipio’s Stand Case

There is a fight amongst all the case makers for kindle and Incipio’s stand case rises above them all. With the great design to offer and the provision of a stand to make your movie experience further enjoyable, the case comes at the best price of $29.9 and is available online at:

Wait for more to come at GG.

METRO PCS's Samsung & LG 4G Smartphones

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Mon, 9 Jan 2012 08:40:00 -0800

There is not only a rivalry amongst the new smartphones but also among the wireless service providers. Metro PCS seems to be a challenging competitor of AT&T.

With the announcement of LG Connect 4G and Samasung Galaxy Attain 4G going to flaunt an LTE speed, Metro is right on the track. LG Connect 4G is built upon a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and has a 4” HD display. The primary camera is of 5MP and is capable of recording HD videos at 720 pixels.

We are very much aware of Samsung Galaxy Attain’s capabilities. It is a 1GHz phone with a 3MP primary camera and a 1.3MP secondary cam. It has a 3.5” display.

These two were among the many new smartphones showcased by Metro PCS today.

SONY TABLET P: Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Sun, 8 Jan 2012 02:21:00 -0800

In all my reviews, I have been talking the same. If you want to exceed your product’s demand amongst the numerous android tablets in market, look for a change in design of the hardware. Sony did it with Tablet S and now it has done it yet again with Tablet P. Sony’s Tablet P is an Android 3.2 tab with the most interesting handling and make. How amazing can they think! Just wait and read on. It is not only impressive; it is more than anything you ever thought about.

Tablet P’s Fantastic Design

One tablet which is born to defy the generic Apple IPAD’s design. Tablet P comes with a foldable dual screen handy outlook. Each screen has a resolution of 1024 by 480 pixels and is 5.5” in size. So fold it and carry it wherever you want to. You might be thinking that why didn’t others care to do this. It is simple. I said this before too; Sony designers are the best and when it comes to be different, they are just unbeatable, as unbeatable as Tablet P.

I know people won’t stop complaining about the silver out casing of it but let me ask them one simple thing; does it really matter? Yeah, the body is not scratch resistant, so what? You will have lots of pouches which can protect it from getting damaged. Go and purchase one and stop complaining about every good thing or one day we will end up with the same pen and paper in our hands.

Hardware Configuration

Sony Tablet P is dynamite in the price range it comes. Supported by 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and 1GB RAM, it can work like a laser. It has an internal storage of 4GB and expandable like any other devices till 32 GB. Nothing stops Tablet P anywhere.

Camera

The primary camera that Tab P flaunts is an HD recording capability 5 MP one and the secondary is a 0.3 MP for video calling.

Connectivity

Go for 3G connectivity or Bluetooth or a WiFi or get connected through USB 2.0 port using micro USB cable.

The OS is old and attractive. Nothing can beat Android.

And Sony Tablet P as well as S will get official Android 4.0, ice cream sandwich update. What more do we need?

Go for Sony Tablet P anytime.

Highly recommended!

Specifications at a glance:

Display	5.5” dual screen with 1024 by 480 pixels resolution
Primary Camera	5 MP, full HD recording
Secondary Camera	0.3 MP for video calls
Processor	1GHz
RAM	1GB
Internal Memory	4Mb
Expandable Memory	32GB
Connectivity	3G, Bluetooth, WiFi, USB 2.0

Thanks Sony Guys!!

Watch this space for more…

For the time being, GG’s TABLET P’s rating: ***** stars (biased, isn’t it?)

The Must to have Samsung Android Apps: Set 1

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Tue, 3 Jan 2012 09:11:00 -0800

This is for all the Samsung phone users who are addicted to Samsung’s indigenous platform provided to the path breaking android mobile OS. If you are a Samsung android user, you must be aware of the apps which are available for free in the android market store. Let us discuss the top Samsung apps.

Advanced Task Killer

In the times when your smart phone works more like a computer than a phone, you need an application which can make it work faster. Apart from the anti-malware software, there is a great need of an application which can help to manage the applications which are running in the background. Advanced Task Killer performs this for you and it is free! What more can you demand; open the app and kill all the apps which are eating up your memory. A nice and big addition to your apps, and ranks the best amongst the top Samsung apps.

Kingsoft Office

Do you like to work on the go? Let me advice you one thing that though it makes you feel better about yourself as a hard worker; it is not advisable to carry your work home! Anyways, kingsoft office helps you to view and edit all the Microsoft office documents like word, excel and even power point. It even can help you create a M.S. Office document.

Adobe Reader

Adobe pdf reader is available in market for the android users. Now all the pdf files are readable on the android platform too. It is surely a big addition to the top Samsung apps.

Laputa Reader

Laputa Reader is an ebook reader which also manages the ebook collection and is a great platform to view and read all the saved ebooks.

Calendar Pad

Are you bored of the default calendar app on your Samsung android phone? Calendar Pad will be a better calendar app.

GG will recommend more android apps soon!

Samsung Galaxy Note: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:10:00 -0800

Samsung Galaxy Note is an addition to the Samsung Galaxy Phone’s family. Note is an android 2.3.5 (gingerbread) phone, which showcases the S Memo application. The S Memo has the capability to help a user draw notes as well as drawings and store them in the phone’s memory. You can also use it to add extra graphics to a picture with the digital pen that comes with the smart phone.

An extra feature which is contemporary with the IPHONE is the capability of the galaxy phone to take screen shots. This should have struck the android smart phone makers before. But it is better late than never.

Apart from this the hardware configuration of Samsung Galaxy Note is truly outstanding. It comes with a 1.4 GHz dual core processor and can be purchased in two variants; one with 16GB internal storage and the other with 32GB. The primary camera has a resolution of 8MP (becoming a common feature of all the late 2011 smart phones) and is capable of taking HD pictures and recording HD videos at 1080 pixels.

The Note has got a gigantic 5.3” screen which supports high definition video play back and is multi-touch screen. You can’t distrust Samsung phone’s display now after the value that Galaxy S II created. The digital pen or stylus is a re-inclusion and works fine. I just hope that the new galaxy phone doesn’t compete with

Samsung Android Tablets!

In all the Samsung Smartphone reviews, I have talked positive about the new gen mobile phones and Note is by far not away from the same streak.

It is by far the best 4G LTE 700 Samsung smart phone which endows the capabilities of both, a phone as well as a tablet. Indeed, it requires a big pocket to carry it on move.

Samsung Galaxy Note is not made for everyone but the lot which has a serious affection towards new technologies!

Samsung Galaxy Note Price: around $650.

Overview of Galaxy Note’s specifications:

OS	Android version 2.3.5 (gingerbread)
Network	2G, 3G, 4G (LTE 700)
Connectivity	WiFi, Bluetooth
Interface	USB, 3.5 mm music port
Internal Memory	16GB/32GB
Expandable Memory	32GB
RAM	1GB
Processor	1.4GHz dual core
Primary Camera	8 MP, supports HD video recording @ 1080 pixels
Secondary Camera	2 MP for video calls

GG’s Gadget Rating: ****1/2 stars

THRIVE: The Toshiba Tablet Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:50:00 -0800

Toshiba Thrive is yet another android 3.0 tablet. The Toshiba Tablet has no such feature which is going to enthrall you except the solid make (Toshiba’s x-factor). What the makers had in mind was providing Thrive’s users with a beautiful “HD theatre in hand” experience. Hence they came up with a 1280 by 800 pixels resolution 10.1” screen to enjoy beautiful video experience. What’s more? Nothing as such! The same honeycomb molded into a Toshiba Honeycomb tablet and all the regular features which you are now so conversant with.

As mentioned before, the uniqueness of this Toshiba android tablet is only its packaging. A high resolution screen and a superbly heavy body as compared to other tablets (why did they decide on this although the news of all the 7 inched tablets ruling the markets is out?) makes it a good gaming and movie watching device. But the founders (is it right to call them as founders?) forgot to equip the Toshiba thrive with good speakers? Forgot, or probably cursed it with a pair of speakers having ancient sound quality. What a waste!!

The HDMI port and wireless capability (‘mirroring’ is the common term they use nowadays) to rig the android tablet Toshiba with an HD television, can make you enjoy your videos on big screen televisions.

Thrive comes in three forms: 8GB, 16GB and 32GB with a 1GHz dual core processor and 1GB Ram. This is a nice configuration but nothing new!

It flaunts two cameras; the front 2MP for video chats/calls and the 5MP primary camera with decent quality.

The sources of getting connected with the outer world are merely WiFi and Bluetooth as this Toshiba tablet lacks support for 3G.

The android Toshiba tablet price is around $450 which does not suffice its quality. Why should anyone go for it if there is a huge availability of cheap and portable tablets in market like Nook and Kindle?

If you are a gamer, thrive won’t disappoint you but if you want a tablet which could help you in many other ways, think before you take the $450 leap.

Toshiba Thrive Specifications

OS	Android 3.0
Connectivity	WiFi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, mini USB 2.0
Screen	1280 by 800 pixels HD
RAM	1GB
Processor	1GHz Tegra 2 dual core
Internal Memory	8GB, 16GB, 32GB
External Memory	Up to 32GB
Primary Camera	5MP
Secondary Camera	2MP

GG’s Gadget Rating: **1/2 stars

PANTECH POCKET: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:50:00 -0800

Pantech has been around with its numerous easy to purchase devices. We haven’t heard a lot about a pantech phone though! So hoping that Pantech Pocket changes the trend and gives GG more opportunity to look forward and publish more of pantech phone reviews, let us start diagnosing the new offering from pantech mobile phone department.

Pantech Pocket has lots of specialties which come as a nice surprise for all the smart phone buyers. The best out of the many eye catching features that the phone has is its price. Priced at the cheapest $50 amongst all the smart phones available in the market, Pantech Pocket offers you with everything that you might have desired from a smart phone.

Probably it can be ranked as one of the smallest smart phones with its length being just about 4.4 inches but don’t get carried away because it offers a decent screen size of 4” because of the slight square like make.

Pros of owning a Pantech Pocket:

Don’t demean its capacity to connect you with the outer world just because it costs less. The pantech phone supports an HSPA+ and 4G, giving you high speed internet connectivity anytime you desire.
The 5 MP camera (common among all the smart phones nowadays) works pretty fine while taking pictures. It can also take pictures in HD resolution (720 pixels)
It glorifies the Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) OS. Gingerbread is a complete android version in its own specific way.
The screen resolution cannot be compared to a HD device but 600 by 800 pixel ratio is not a bad offering.
One thing which I personally recommend every user going for this pantech phone is the custom UI setting. It is brilliantly designed and makes the phone easier to use with the keyboard representation.
The internal memory is not flaunt-able during the era when phones are coming with huge amount of it. Pantech pocket has 600 Mb of internal storage, which seems to be less but don’t you forget the price at which you are purchasing the device. The expandable memory is up to 32 GB which is common for all the smart phones.
The processor speed is competitive, 1GHz, single core.
The battery life is decent and probably will seem to be better than others if you aren’t using 4G data connection.

Cons of owning a Pantech Pocket

Absence of front camera takes you away from making any video calls. Hope they added a $20 more to provide us with this functionality, we wouldn’t have been hurt!
The call quality is really poor. This should be improved otherwise the pantech phone would be knocked out from the market because of not having the minimum requirement of a phone!

Other than these, I found Pantech pocket to be a decent smart phone with little but major flaws.

An overview of Pantech Pocket’s Specs

OS	Android 2.3
Network	2G, 3G, 4G
Connectivity	GPRS, EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth
Display	Multi Touch Screen with 600 by 800 pixel aspect ratio
Interface	USB 2.0 Micro USB
Internal Memory	600 MB
Expandable Memory	32 GB (comes with a 2GB card)
Camera	Primary: 5MP (can record videos at HD) Secondary: NO

GG’s Gadget Rating: *** stars (because of its cheap price)

Samsung, Sony & HTC Phones that will receive Android 4.0 Update

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:21:00 -0800

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has been the biggest show stopper of all the technology trends around and also GG’s posts. We have been discussing about it several of other posts but now we will list down the most important detail. Which phones are going to receive an Ice Cream Sandwich update? The list of phones is made out of the official proclaim by those device makers and may be in coming months we are going to hear of many more phones eager to equip their users with the 4.0 capabilities.

The Samsung Android Phones which will receive this update:

Samsung Nexus S

The Nexus S, globally known as Nexus S 4G will be receiving an Android 4.0 update. This news was confirmed by Google! Wait to watch your phone display some wonderful ice cream sandwich features.

Samsung Galaxy S II

This shouldn’t be news at all for a Galaxy S II owner. The Android phone has ruled the users with its fantastic capabilities and will keep on ruling with the new 4.0 update for it. 2012 brings the update for all S II users.

Samsung Infuse 4G

Get upgraded from the problematic Android 2.3 to 4.0. Hopefully Infuse won’t face any problems with the Ice Cream Sandwich OS.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

A phone with default Ice Cream Sandwich!

Samsung Galaxy SCaptivate

The QWERTY endowed classy device will have its update in a few months to go.

Samsung Droid Charge

The Samsung’s Android version 2.3 based 4G LTE mobile will also get an update to rock and roll with the new 4.0.

Sony Ericsson phones to get an Android 4.0 update:

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

The 4G phone, fully equipped with all that what a gamer expects is ready to receive the new android update.

HTC phones to receive an Android 4.0 update:

HTC Amaze 4G

Android 4.0 is confirmed for the Amaze 4G and it shouldn’t be surprising at all as we expected this after all. A phone with such great caliber does deserve anything that can make it better and probably the best down the lane.

HTC EVO 4G

News for this is not confirmed but there are decent rumors that HTC will upgrade EVO from 2.3 to 4.0 android. Keep your fingers crossed. The same is from HTC’s Droid Incredible, Droid Incredible 2, ThunderBolt, Inspire 4G and G2.

HTC EVO 3D

The better version of EVO 4G will definitely feast on an ice cream sandwich update.

HTC Sensation 4G

Android 4.0 updates will surely be available for this Gingerbread based mobile.

There is a bad news for the HTC’s iconic Nexus One users. According to Google, there will be no update for it.

TOP ANDROID APPS TO MAKE THINGS EASY!!

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:43:00 -0800

Developing android apps has become the biggest source of enthusiasm for all the coders around. The android apps store has taken the users by surprise due to the huge availability of free android applications.

Considering the trend, let us try to list the most useful applications which can make life a little easier if not much!

Locale

Locale is an intelligent piece of software linked with Google Maps. It can automatically change your profile settings including the ringing options and call receiving options based on your geographic location. So, now there is no need of remembering your mobile phone’s ringer before entering a meeting. It is available for free in the android market.

Google Maps

It has been the most used app on my droid 2 at least. For people like me, who keep on forgetting directions and then too are great roamers, this GPS based map service is the best. You can update your geographical location and share it with your friends who are using Google Latitude. Get directions, spot your location and get traffic view of the streets which could be the best to achieve your destination. It is free and comes pre-installed with all the android phones and tablets.

Shazam

Are you crazy about music, to the extent that you need to know everything about a music piece which hits your ear drums? Shazam will be the best app to suppress the anxiety you feel when you don’t recognize a track. Switch it on your android device and place the device near the source of music and wait for Shazam to provide you with all the details on the music. It is priced at $2.29 which is not a big amount when compared to the task it can perform.

WikiDroid

This is something which has become a need of every single human around. How many times in a day do you trace the instance of something you read in Wikipedia? If you remember, you will understand what I am talking about here. Wikidroid gives you quick access to Wikipedia through your smart phone. So, all the information is there at your finger tips. And it is free!

Pandora Internet Radio

Are you bored of the music collection on your android? Then download this free internet radio app and transform your android into a streaming radio receiver. The best part is that Pandora streams well even in the presence of week signals.

Wait for more to come!!!!

Top 10 IPHONE 4 Cases: Get Amazed

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:16:00 -0800

“If you don’t have an IPHONE, you don’t have an IPHONE!” And, “If you don’t have an IPHONE case, you just have an IPHONE.”

This won’t sound as a biased statement, bent towards the IPHONE cases, once you go through the top 10 IPHONE 4 cases and realize that they are not the regular designer IPHONE cases. If you are an Apple fan, you won’t be able to keep yourself away from these.

Not wasting a single second let us discuss the IPHONE cases for IPHONE 4.

Pico Genie A 100

The case which gives your phone the capability of portable projection. It is a light weight case which can be used by iphone 4s to project the videos or pictures on a wall. Priced at around $400, it seems to be a nice buy.

Case Mate Barely There

The Case Mate Iphone 4 case named as case mate barely there provides a protective casing for iphone 4 with the help of its rubber body. Out of all the custom iphone cases, the case is the best save only casing. Priced at a cheap $20, it also gives the smart phone a beautiful look.

Incipio Feather

The lightest and slimmest case in market. It is more of a designer case than a protective one, though it can save the 4S from light damages. It is priced at around $75.

Michael Kors Wallet Clutch

The Michael Kors Wallet Clutch iphone 4 case is exclusively for the fashion struck population. It is nice to look at but I am not sure about how it will portray your personality! The wallet clutch for iphone is priced at around $110.

Incipio Destroyer Ultra

It is the iphone 4 hard case. The incipo destroyer is made up of plastic and rubber and good enough to hold the phone through various strains and shocks. Priced at a around $100, it can be a decent selection to protect the phone’s body.

Griffin Adidas MiCoach armband

It is the best designed iphone 4 arm band. The Adidas MiCoach Armband is a trendy, young generation iphone case. It has an upper slit which allows user to connect the headphones with 4S and a small packet in the arm band can be used to keep the keys. By far the best accessory priced at a decent $40.

Mophie Juice Pack Air

The Mophie Juice Pack Air has a portable battery which can act as an ad-hoc battery for iphone 4, increasing the battery life and your stay away from a charging bay! It is priced at around $175.

Boxwave Keyboard Buddy Case

The Boxwave keyboard buddy case includes a Bluetooth keyboard which can be charged using USB port. So, now you can have access to a QWERTY keypad with your iphone 4 at a meager $85.

Amphibian Iphone Case

It is a water proof casing for iphone 4 and hence the name. A little towards high range when pricing is considered; $60 seems to be expensive with the offerings.

Element Case Vapor Pro

The case is made up of solid aluminum at par with the one used for aircraft making. It can protect the iphone under any cases of mishandling. It is priced at around $120 and suffices its cost.

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich): The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:06:00 -0800

Advancement and technology have been a prototype of Google Android OS. The android tablets and android phones have kept on amazing us with their UI, android apps, new OS updates and many other features. More than the developers, the users are excited about the 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android. The GalaxyNexus has come up with what we have been waiting for: The Android 4.0 OS.

Ice Cream Sandwich is the most relevant update of android since its birth and it portrays substantial changes in the mobile platform. 4.0 is made for a better user experience and ease. Don’t confuse it with a regular update that we used to have as it will require some amount of R&D to get acquainted.

Look and Feel

When we talk about android, we can’t restrict ourselves from talking about the look. Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade comes with a fresh new look and probably the best amongst all the versions. Due to the use of the high resolution font, Roboto, it becomes easier to read the texts. Roboto is a font which is chiefly developed for high definition reading. The OS avoids any usage of hardware button combinations to achieve navigation from home and back to some other page. It has all these markups in the OS and all the buttons are placed in the OS itself. Hence the Galaxy Nexus doesn’t sport any buttons and has a complete button less panel. An issue which can trigger rage in some users is the existence of unnamed applications. If public demand prevails, it can be restructured in the next 4.0 versions.

Feature Specs

The Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade has lots of additional features apart from its looks to feast upon:

Recent Apps: The Recent Apps button helps you to maneuver over the last 15 applications used. Click on it to go through the 15 application pop up window.

Resizing widgets option: This is one nicer feature which helps users to resize the screen appearance of a widget by holding and dragging the corners of widgets to resize them.

Redesigning the major Applications: Gmail has a new look which is similar to the pc version. It is easier to upload photos and file attachments. The Calendar has a better look and it is possible to view the shared calendars too. GTALK has better UI and can help you sign in with multiple ids. The photo editing options have been increased. The new people application has number of extra features which can help you keep track of your friends through social networking clients.

Face Recognition: I have talked about this feature before too. But anyways, let me brief here. It helps your phone to automatically unlock after recognizing your face through the frontal camera.

Android Beam: Again a topic previously talked about. Android beam helps android phones to share multimedia and applications just by tapping each other.

Android 4.0 is still under the development phase with small glitches but these will not spoil your experience with it. Take my words; it will be the best android you have ever used.

GG’s OS Rating: **** stars.

SAMSUNG STRATOSPHERE: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:32:00 -0800

All the Verizon’s 4G LTE phones like Droid Bionic and HTC ThunderBolt had a special specification missing from it; a QWERTY keypad. Samsung brought that into existence, Samsung Stratosphere, the 4g LTE Samsung phone. We have discussed about the horizontal slide out keyboard offered by Samsung mobile in their Captive Glide. Stratosphere flaunts the same kind of keyboard slide out. This structure is specifically for the people who are really comfortable with keyboards than the touch pads.

Samsung’s mobile designs are unquestionable. Stratosphere appears the same as most of the previous releases by the mobile makers.

The 1.3 MP frontal camera facilitates a decent video chat and the touch sensitive buttons at the bottom can remind you of all the droids. Primary camera is of 5 MP and stratosphere holds upon a 1GHz single core processor. The Android 2.3 device has a 512 MB Ram.

Samsung Stratosphere Price: around $150.

A quick summary of all Samsung Stratosphere’s Specification:

Display	480 by 800 pixels
OS	Android 2.3
Processor	1 GHz single core Samsung Cortex
Internal Memory	2.2 GB
Expandable Memory	Up to 32 GB
Network Support	2G, 3G, 4G LTE
Connectivity	Bluetooth, WiFi, GPRS
Interfaces	Mini USB, 3.5 mm audio jack
Primary Camera	5 MP with LED flash
Secondary Camera	1.3 MP

Stratosphere is a nice offering by Samsung and Verizon.

Wait for Samsung,s Nexus to hit the market!

GG’s Rating: *** ½ stars

Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF 101: The Review

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:24:00 -0800

The Asus Tablet is the most understated among all the android tablets in the market. The Asus Eee Pad is here to make a statement around that “you can ignore us but can never stay away from us”. As 2011 comes to an end, I would like to state what all of us have been aware of throughout the year: Android has made every manufacturer and user crazy for it. So what should we as buyers and they as makers do to have something unique in whatever we buy or whatever they sell?

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF 101 comes with such noteworthy functionality. The first thing that catches the eyes is the detachable keyboard. So, have a pad while travelling and convert it into a notebook while at desk. Isn’t that amazing?

Built upon a dual core Nividia Tegra 2 processor and Android 3.0 honeycomb, the Asus EEE pad tablet fascinates us with its intrinsic design and that’s what we are looking for when we have so many honeycomb devices around.

We can always spend a few more dollars to get the hands on the keyboard dock for this beautiful baby.

All the specifications are quiet similar to every other android tablet but let us sum up the specifications of EEE pad in a jiffy.

Network Support	N/A
Display	1280 by 800 pixels touch screen
Internal Data	16/32 GB based on the model
Connectivity	WiFi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0
Primary Camera	5 MP
Secondary Camera	1.3 MP frontal camera for video chat
OS	Android 3.0
CPU	1 GHz Dual Core processor

The 10.1” screen is mesmerizing and can compete with your usual HD screens of laptops.

The drawbacks which I found were: unavailability of SIM Card slot (so not 2G or 3G connectivity). So you need to be wirelessly connected with data using a WiFi provider otherwise what you will have in your hand will be just a movie player or a psp.

The Asus EEE pad price details: around $500 for just a tablet and $750 for the tablet with keypad dock.

GG’s Tablet Rating: *** stars.

Other tablets reviewed by GG: Sony Tablet S, Archos 70 Tab

HTC Sensation: An Ice Cream Sandwich Upgrade

shoot.to.kill22@gmail.com (Avsar) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:18:00 -0800

All you, an HTC Sensation owner, your wait seems to be over now. A video is making rounds in the internet, demonstrating the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade on HTC Sensation. The video also shows the latest edition of Sense UI, version 3.5.

More than boasting on the android 4.0 update, the HTC video depicts more of Sense 3.5 upgrade. Ice Cream Sandwich seems to be eaten up by Sense 3.5.

The tech pundits feel that by the time the upgrade hits it users, Sense 4.0 will make its way through, hence making the HTC users experience a beautiful combo of UI design and Ice Cream Sandwich’s flavor!

HTC Sensation’s Specs

Network Support	2G, 3G, 4G (in making)
Screen Resolution	540 by 960 pixels, a 4.3 inch display
Touch	Supported by HTC Sense 3.0 UI
Internal Memory	1 GB
Expandable Memory	32 GB
Connectivity	Bluetooth, GPRS, Edge & WiFi
Primary Camera	8 MP, with LED Flash
Secondary Camera	VGA for video calling
CPU	1.2 GHz dual core
RAM	768 MB
Interfaces	3.5mm audio jack, micro USB
OS	Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

GG’s News Rating: *** stars

More gadget news @ GG

More Android 4.0 news @ 4.0 @ GG