2011: Year of the iPad 2!

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
irvinehomeowner said:
Sprint's S2 is bigger than the other US S2s at 4.5"... it's thin but the form factor is still pretty large.
Click to expand...
Turns out that T-Mobile's Galaxy S2 is also 4.5". The only one at 4.3" is the AT&T S2.

I'm having enough issues with my current phone that I can probably insurance replace to a different phone but I'm not sure I want a bigger phone.

@RC:

Yes... those iPhone 4S parodies are hilarious. There was this one I saw that kept saying:

"We added this new feature... it's exactly like Android but it's not."

BTW: You know that make a "Dummies" book for each specific Android phone? Fragmentation is one of the big problems with Android.
 
Oh... and I hate to break it to you RC, but even when people knew a new iPhone was coming out... they still bought the iPhone 4 in bunches:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/10/11/apple...lling-smartphone-at-att-verizon-in-september/

Apple?s iPhone 4 was still the best-selling smartphone at both AT&T and Verizon Wireless in September while the Samsung Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch topped Sprint?s smartphone lineup and the HTC Sensation was No. 1 at T-Mobile. Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley on Monday revealed the results of checks the firm performed recently, and the resulting estimates paint an all too familiar picture of the smartphone landscape in the U.S. last month.
Click to expand...

Haters gotta hate.
 
So CTIA when on as planned despite Google & Samsung not making the huge Nexus Prime/ICS announcement...

20111011_120116.jpg




We got a ton on Android news that started to pour in last yesterday...


Qualcomm's Snapdragon, sideshow...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CPwDkVnF-YQ[/youtube]



Hands on Verizon's Stratosphere...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Pms9CdH_XBA[/youtube]



T-Mobile's Huawei Springboard... 7", 3.2...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=unVsH-Id_Lo[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XIoOZG5LqLs[/youtube]




BlueStacks App Player for Windows... (why...?  I gots da Chrome)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nus9-Tu_J9k[/youtube]



Motrola Spyder & Xoom 2

spyder_xoom.jpg



motorola-spyder-xoom203.jpg



motorola-spyder-xoom202.jpg





AT&T's Impulse 4G another Huawei robot...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LsgLyV6LNYM[/youtube]



Galaxy Tab 7 Plus coming... (now I'm confused, this has to be the 7.7, unless they are making both?)
gtabplusfcc.jpg




Philips Go Gear - WiFi Media player...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRrGai6H7yw&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]



Galaxy Player 5...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttFFqaAJ-Ks&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]



The Phandroid guys... kicking back at the Sprint lounge...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Jo7MMMc6Lnc[/youtube]



Overall, we got a good sense of when went down at the show... no need to get in the car...



BONUS...!

?As far as the Nexus goes, you can let people know that they don?t have to worry about gaming speed/graphics. It?ll be plenty. Also, an announcement on the unveiling is imminent. So hang tight.?
nexus-prime-cleaned-up-550x238.jpg
 
Nexus Prime update:

This week's CTIA festivities aren't the same since Samsung and Google decided to postpone their new product announcement that was originally scheduled for today, but now we're hearing the Ice Cream Sandwich / Nexus party has already been rescheduled. An inside source tells us the two have moved their plans for the Unpacked event to October 19th in Hong Kong (interested US residents should clear out the evening of Tuesday the 18th, time zones), timed to coincide with the AsiaD: All Things Digital event there next week. Naturally, we'll be in the house, but with not long to go before the potential date, we'd expect to hear something concrete soon.
Click to expand...
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/11/samsung-and-googles-ice-cream-sandwich-nexus-prime-event-back/
 
Regarding the Galaxy Tab 7 Plus, it's not the 7.7.

It's an update to the original Galaxy Tab 7 with a thinner form factor (not as thin as the 7.7/8.9/10.1) running Honeycomb. I would be interested except it only runs 1024x600 whereas the 7.7 runs 1280x800.

I saw the Acer A100 the other day, and I do like the smaller tablet running Honeycomb. But... while I thought 7" was a good size... I actually think 8" is better which is why I'm more interested in the Tab 7.7 coming out in the US. I just wish Samsung realized they have to price these lower if they want to compete with the iPad and the Kindle Fire.

I'm surprised you didn't mention the quad core Kal-el Transformer 2. It's rumored to be hitting the streets in mid-November... the first quad core Android tablet... and will probably be running Ice Cream Sandwich.
 
Hmm... iPad Mini?
http://www.bgr.com/2011/10/12/apple-may-launch-ipad-mini-in-early-2012-to-fend-off-kindle-fire/
BGR said:
?Our research is pointing to the unveiling of a lower priced iPad in the first few months of 2012 that is aimed at expanding the company?s market potential by tapping into a more price sensitive consumer segment,? the analyst wrote. ?Essentially, this ?iPad mini? will also fend off the recently announced Amazon (AMZN, $235.48, NR) Kindle Fire that addresses the low-end tablet market with a $199 price tag but could lead to bigger tablet ambitions from the online retailer in the future.?
Click to expand...

Jobs had said previously that a smaller tablet is not something Apple would do... but there was no Kindle Fire back then. And "mini" could be referring to just the price (Apple has shown in the past that they can continue making an older model for less):

BGR said:
White continued, noting that the ?mini? moniker refers to the tablet?s lower price and not necessarily a smaller screen size. ?We believe this lower priced iPad could be priced in the mid-to-high-$200 range,? White said. ?We expect this will be followed by a much more powerful, feature rich standard-priced iPad 3 in 2Q12.?
Click to expand...

Ruh roh. Will 2012 also be the year of the iPad 3 and the iPad Mini?
 
New leader on my phone list:  Samsung Captivate Glide.  Slightly slower CPU, smaller screen and no NFC but PHYSICAL KEYBOARD!

The Samsung Captivate Glide is a 4G Android smartphone that keeps you moving with a thin, side-slide QWERTY keyboard and a powerful 1 GHz dual core processor.  Running Android 2.3, the Captivate Glide features access to 4G speeds, a 4? Super AMOLED screen, 8-megapixel flash camera with HD (1080p) video recording and a front-facing camera for video chat.

For the business professional, the Captivate Glide has enhanced Exchange ActiveSync support for IT policies, task synchronization and global address lookup.  Know your information and network are secured with virtual private network access and device encryption.

UMTS 850/1900/2100
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
4G HSPA+ 21 Mbps (Category 14)
1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 AP20H dual core processor
1GB RAM/1GB ROM/8GB Internal microSD? to 32GB (not included)
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
4-inch 480x800 WVGA Super AMOLED?
Dual camera - 8MP Autofocus w/LED + 1.3MP front
Full HD 1080p video camera + HDMI playback
Enhanced Exchange ActiveSync? (EAS) to sync email, contacts, calendar and tasks
Device and SD card encryption
Virtual private network support
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Click to expand...
 
I had slide-out keyboards on two of my phones... didn't really like them.

I prefer the portrait candybar format ala Blackberry and the old Palms.
 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3Rwo_tAC0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq-UTP9YU_Q&feature=topvideos_science[/youtube]

I knew it, a week after the announcement of Siri we already have people telling it that they Love It!
I have to be honest here, Siri looks to be pretty sweet, so feeling a bit of Siri-envy this week I decided to explore the Google voice feature that has been out for the past 15 months.

I don't really take advantage of Voice searches, and I admit this is one feature that was vastly neglected, like most Google Android native apps, this most certainly did not dissapoint.

Check out the videos in full...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGbYVvU0Z5s[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ll3IHATcWo[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z8FyudLVDM&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L_IhqGcRM8&feature=related[/youtube]

So we can do regular searches, but also ask the same questions posed to Siri... what is the square root of 6 & time in New York.

Voice search performed the questions beautifully. The quarry takes you to the usual Google search result page with the answer at the very top.

I also tested the Voice Search with setting an alarm for one minute and sending a note to self, in this case the VS simply sends a gmail message to myself with my words transcribed and the original sound file attached.

I also tried doing a navagation search and reminded me how to get to a lunch appointment I have for today.

As of yet, I have not sent a text message or listen to my mp3s or made a call... but I'm sure these will all come in handy as soon as today...!
 
Happy Friday everyone...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX4btquQzUE[/youtube]


apparently... one lady on the video is clearly seen using the Prime to take these pics...http://phandroid.com/2011/10/14/more-photos-from-the-nexus-prime-crop-up/

IMG_20111013_120355-550x412.jpg


As inspired by the video... I'm heading straight to Costco this morning to pick up a huge box of Ice Cream Sandwiches for the weekend...


Some other great videos on the Android Developers channel...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwzXvRpoPP4&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqFpq9WXbJo[/youtube]


Is it earnings again?  that was fast... here is the audio...http://www.androidcentral.com/google-q3-earnings-conference-call-audio


The Count Down is ON...!
samsung-nexus-prime-ics-announcement.png
http://phandroid.com/2011/10/13/samsung-and-google-confirm-october-19th-announcement-in-hong-kong/
 
I was at a Starbucks on Friday and bumped into my first non-iPad tablet user.  I was so excited, almost felt like I had to congratulate him or something.  He was sporting the Viewsonic 10 incher... we struck up a conversation right away, he is not a power-user but did port Honeycomb to his tab.  He got the thing used for just $300, and mentioned how there was a huge resale tablet market out there.  He showed me his movie collection and that thing looks sweet, he was even able to emulate dos and a few Windows only programs; and we both agree that MS is very quickly becoming obsolete in our day to day operations.

So we were talking about Siri and iPhone this and iPad that, when he showed me... Vlingo...

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.vlingo.client&feature=search_result


ss-320-0-8



ss-320-1-8



ss-320-2-7



ss-320-3-7



ss-320-4-7



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t1X34uNymhE#![/youtube]


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlZc9lN3vwA[/youtube]


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwZ2m3VRBww&feature=related[/youtube]


Check it out... it free and has better integration than Google Voice Commands... it can even read your email and txt messages...  I have yet to play with the bulk of it this past weekend... maybe I'll get a better review this week.


So the huge ICS announcement is this Tuesday evening @ 6:30pm.. the even will be a live broadcast on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/user/androiddevelopers

A lot of ICS leaks out there this morning... but we are sooo close... it's not even worth speculating... so sit tight everyone...
 
Finally made the decision:  will be getting my S2 today...Just could not wait for the Nexus Prime to come out on AT&T and the screen is just too large.

Wife went with the 4S...It's the iphone 4 and Siri takes a while to get going.
 
While I think voice-control is going to be difficult in public places, privately it's actually useful... especially because you don't have to type on the virtual keyboard that makes some tasks take longer.

We used it the other day, just said "Find a gas station nearby" and it popped up a list, selected it and it brought up Maps. That was easier than finding Maps, pressing Search, typing in "gas station" and then selecting one of the pins.

Of course, we also did silly things like ask it "What is the best phone?", the first response was:

"You're kidding right?"

Then I asked it again and the 2nd response was even funnier:

"There are other phones?"

Hehe.
 
Good luck with Turn by turn navigation with Siri, as fat as I know it doesn't have that... Google VC works great & just tested out on Vlingo... speaking fromthe 91 freeway... -R freckling C have a nice afternoon with your robots...

Oh.. btw... Siri can't read email too... vvlingo just did that for ME!
 
roundcorners said:
Good luck with Turn by turn navigation with Siri, as fat as I know it doesn't have that... Google VC works great & just tested out on Vlingo... speaking fromthe 91 freeway... -R freckling C have a nice afternoon with your robots...

Oh.. btw... Siri can't read email too... vvlingo just did that for ME!
Click to expand...

That's the part about Siri that really get me...it's great that it can pull up my e-mail when I'm driving but then I have to look at the screen in order to know the contents.
 
This is THE day people, every Android lover out there is besides themselves at this very moment!
Imagine your birthday, Christmas and New Years all rolled into one, and on top of that you just found a wad of cash in your old pair of jeans.

This is Androids big day and instead of trying incapsulate it into one post, I figure I let the Android grand masters feed us all the Android goodness. We certainly have a lot to digest today and there are news that is expected mainly ICS & Nexus 3 and some news that could be the whip-cream with a cherry on top of that!

I am going to try to simply Soak up as much yummy desert as I can today, I personally have a very hectic day, I have the kid for most of this mornings and tonight. And, I gotta work on top of that but I've been following Rob Jackson over at Phandroid and he will be covering the event live...

Alright folks lets jump right into it...

galaxy-nexus.jpg
http://www.androidcentral.com/latest-galaxy-nexus-leak-looks-be-best-yet

Behold feast you eyes... the most reliable Nexus Prime specifications as of right now...

--Model: GT-I9250, GT-I9250T, GT-I9250M, SC-04D, SCH-I515
--dimensions (length x width x thickness): 136.0 ? 68.0 ? 8.8 fine piece - 11.5 thickest part
--Weight: Approximately 135.0 (g)
--OS: Google Android version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
--Chipset: Texas Instruments Omap4460 CPU: ARM Cortex-A9 MP Core SMP (Dual-Core) CPU operating frequency: 1.2 GHz
--CPU: PowerVR SGX 540 Immage Technologies
--Communication Systems (GT-I9250/GT-I9250M/GT-I9250M/SC-04D): W-CDMA, GSM phone (SCH-I515): LTE, CDMA2000 Packet (GT-I9250/GT-I9250M / GT-I9250M/SC -04D): HSPA, EDGE, GPRS (SCH-I515): LTE, EV-DO Rev.
--Display: AMOLED HD: 4.65 inches Resolution 720 x1280) Maximum number of simultaneous colors
--Main Display: 16,777,216 color touch screen: capacitive (multi-touch),
--Main camera: 5 megapixel CMOS camera with LED flash Video recording 1080pHD (1920 * 1080)
--Front camera: 1.3 million pixels CMOS
--GPS
--NFC
--Micro USB 2.0
--Communications Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
--Wireless LAN Communication: IEEE 802.11 a / ??b / g / n (2.4 GHz Dual-Band 5.xGHz)
--Tethering
--Wi-Fi Direct
--RAM: 1GB
--ROM: 16/32GB:
--Battery Capacity: 1750mAh
--Notification LED




Meanwhile... Phil over & Anndrew Vacca at Android Central is LIVE covering the Moto RZR event...!
http://www.androidcentral.com/were-live-motorola-droid-razr-event
moto-event.jpg




You can watch both blogs events here also...
lb-lloyd.jpg
http://www.androidcentral.com/perpetual-liveblog



Lastly back to Rob... here are news that is expected and here are some surprises...
nexus-timeline.png
http://phandroid.com/2011/10/18/5-surprises-that-could-rock-todays-samsung-google-nexus-event/

#1 ? Galaxy Nexus announced as Verizon Exclusive
#3 ? Galaxy Nexus TV ? (aka Android Market on Google TV)
#2 ? Galaxy Nexus Tab ? (aka Android 4.0 on the Galaxy Tab)
#4 ? Enhanced Voice Commands in Android 4.0
#5 ? Google Competes with iTunes, (Google Music)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top