Let's Talk Tech
It’s finally here!
Always the ultimate tech irony, the best smartphone cameras in the world had no official native app to upload pics to the world’s most popular social photo service.
No longer. Instagram is finally officially on Windows Phone as an open BETA. Let’s see how it compares to the popular third party solution 6Tag, and what features the Android version might have that IG will have to catch up on!
I’m stoked to see more gadgets like this.
Getting files on and off our tablets and phones can be painful. As much as these devices claim autonomy, often we still need to resort to plugging them into proper computers. Wireless drives afford us more flexibility in handling our mobile data, allowing us to build portable clouds, and providing us easier solutions for sharing media with other people.
Let’s take a look at RAVPower’s entry into this gadget class with the RP-WD01.
More info on RAVPower devices.
The RAVPower Wireless Card reader on Amazon.
It’s a question of ergonomics.
How do we interact with pieces of data in a more organic way. Smartwatches look to aid in that interaction by taking some of the burden off of our phones.
While full face displays are currently all the rage, Martian has taken a more traditional clock-face approach to serving up notifications to our wrist.
Let’s take a look!
The unlocked phone market is going to get a little more exciting.
This is Moto’s first serious stab at the global market under Google’s ownership. The Moto G aims for the same developing markets targeted by Nokia with their Asha devices and the formidable $100 Lumia 520. Moto G is more expensive, but carries better specs and the Android app ecosystem certainly doesn’t hurt.
Getting into those better specs, a 4.5″ 720p LCD display is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. It’s lower power per individual core than phones like the HTC One, but it’s twice as many cores as a handset in this price range typically receives. 1GB of RAM should keep plenty of apps running simultaneously, and there are options for 8GB at $179 or 16GB of storage for $199.
A 1.3MP front facing camera should be plenty fine for video chat, and a 5MP shooter is bolted onto the back. Lastly a 2,070 mAh battery should give the G decent staying power. Provided the quad-core doesn’t run to hard, that’s a larger battery than most entry level phones receive. There wont be a removeable battery, there’s no LTE, nor the ability to add more storage as Moto G lacks MicroSD. Obvious concessions at this price point.
This is also the second phone from Motorola to carry this design aesthetic. Sculpted modeled polycarb, organic rounded lines, the G looks very similar to the Moto X, which is a good thing. It’s a compact and attractive handset. It’s unlikely that there will be the same customization options available for the Moto G as there are for Moto X (especially with the recent opening of MotoMaker for all carriers), but there is a removeable backplate. Moto G will launch with a handful of colors blue, teal, red, yellow, purple, white, and black. Expect to see additional full body covers and a rugged case option after launch.
Maybe most exciting, this phone is launching with Android 4.3 JellyBean, but will soon be updated to Android 4.4. KitKat’s focus is on low power hardware, improving the Android experience for devices in that sub $200 price range. Those phones usually end up getting single processors, 512MB of RAM, and they have to run Android 2.3. The Moto G could be one of the first phones to really showcase the benefits of KitKat’s optimizations while presenting it on more current and powerful hardware at an accessible price. This demonstrates a higher tier of software support than most expect at this tier.
Motorola has struggled to move Moto X as it had to compete against iPhones and Galaxies, but while in Google’s pocket (and with access to Google’s checkbook) disrupting the entry level market could be Motorola’s path to better mindshare.
Moto G is available in Brazil and a handful of European markets today. We should see it launch in Latin America and Canada in the coming weeks. We’re expecting USA availability in January of next year. Watch Motorola’s announcement for more info and demos after the jump!
Continue reading “Motorola unveils Moto G – A lot of phone for only $179 off contract.”
LG is getting proactive about curved screen durability concerns. Looking at that screen arc, I instantly worry about accidentally sitting on it when I’ve got it in a back pocket. It’s been known to happen.
In this video, LG shows off the new plastic back plate coating which can “heal” from light scratches and abrasions. Towards the end of the video they completely flatten the phone out with weights only to show it spring back to its scimitar like shape.
Is this enough to calm your worries? Does this make the Flex a more attractive option for you?
In Android land we care about specs. We care about them a lot. Before even handling a device, many will scrutinize things like processor, storage, and RAM to make purchasing decisions.
Here stateside, the LG G2 was one of the first phones to utilize Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 series processor. This is an architecture improvement over the very solid Snapdragon 600 used in phones like the HTC One and Galaxy S4. How much of an improvement? That’s what we’re going to take a look at in this video.
LG’s Optimus G Pro uses the 600 series chipset, so this obviously isn’t a competition. This is a comparison to see how improved the new processor is, so I don’t want cranky fanbois telling me how this isn’t a “fair test” or other such nonsense. We KNOW the G2 is going to win most of these. We wanna see by how much!
There are links after the jump if you want to skip to specific bench marks, or you can watch the whole battery of tests below. Let’s get to it!
Continue reading “The most powerful Android phone? Benchmarking the LG G2.”
There’s a new trend in home automation and monitoring that I kinda like.
For those of us who can’t install big server-style brain systems, there’s a new crop of individual sensors and monitors which connect to our home networks individually, and are controlled by the devices we already own. Netatmo is a one such device which promises a bevvy of weather and air quality reports for your viewing pleasure.
What’s interesting is watching these types of products become more mainstream. Not only can you find gadgets like this on Amazon, I managed to snag this on the AT&T store. Come to think of it, this might not be a bad sensor package to add to a service like AT&T Digital Life or other home monitoring solutions…
We’re sending off the last generation of consoles with a Youtube giveaway!
We’re giving away an XBox 360, and entering is easy!
You have to do all three, which means you also have to figure out the whole Google Plus comments thing. Sorry. Thems the breaks.
To sweeten the deal, we’re giving away a pair of Plantronics Backbeat Go 2 Bluetooth headphones to a runner up courtesy of AT&T in Southern California! They’ve been stocking some killer accessories lately, and are sharing some goodies to give to you! We’re all feeling generous. We’re cool like that.
We’ll accept entries until Thursday November 14 at 8pm Eastern, when we’ll go live on Youtube to announce a winner and a runner up, so get subscribing, and get commenting!