Archive for October, 2011
AT&T Keeps Bringing The Android Heat With Motorola Atrix 2 and Samsung Captivate Glide
Oct 12th
Looking for a new Android phone on AT&T but aren’t feeling the Galaxy S II? Don’t worry, as AT&T has announced a few new Android phones coming out over the next few weeks that should definitely give phones like the Galaxy S II and iPhone 4S a good run for your money. And while AT&T announced a whole bunch of Android phones today (5 in total), we’re gonna focus on the two we think you’ll be most interested in: the all new Motorola Atrix 2 (an upgrade to the Atrix 4G that was released just a few months back– yeah, technology moves insanely fast) and the Samsung Captivate Glide (think the Galaxy S II with a keyboard).
Samsung Announces It’s iPod Touch Challenger: Meet The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0
Oct 11th
If you don’t want a smartphone, but you want a high-end touchscreen device, your only real choice used to be the iPod Touch. For the most part, there was no place for an die-hard Android fan that didn’t want a smartphone or tablet. Finally, Samsung has reached out to you guys and is releasing the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0. These two devices are very similar to Samsung’s hit Galaxy S II phones– the only difference is that they aren’t phones, but touchscreen media players just like how the iPod Touch is the iPhone without the phone.
So what are you waiting for? Read on for all the details and a full comparison with the iPod Touch.
Samsung and Google Postpone Tomorrow’s Nexus Prime Unpacked Event
Oct 10th
Waiting for news on Samsung and Google’s all new Nexus phone with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich? Well we’re sorry to be the bearers of bad news but it looks you’re gonna need to wait a little bit longer. Samsung and Google have decided to postpone tomorrow’s big event out of respect for the recent death of Steve Jobs. No word on a new date for the event, but we can’t help but have respect Google and Samsung for doing this (and just to be clear, the latest word is that both the new Android 4.0 and the new Nexus are ready to go and this was completely out of respect for Steve Jobs and everything he’s done for the tech world).
Now for those looking for more info on the Nexus Prime/Droid Prime/Galaxy Nexus/whatever this will be called, check out the video below that shows off the first looks of the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich and the new Nexus device in action. The video is only a minute and a half long and doesn’t look to show off all that much, but it teases just enough that we can’t wait for more!
As always stay tuned– we’re sure more info will be out soon and you know we’ll have it all covered for you right here.
Deal of The Day: Get A New Verizon BlackBerry Curve 9330 With $10 A Month Data Plan
Oct 10th
It’s no Droid Bionic, iPhone 4S or Bold 9930, but if you’re on Verizon and want a smartphone mainly for things like Facebook and BBM this is the perfect phone and deal for you. Verizon is now offering an online only deal for the BlackBerry Curve 9330 where you can get the Curve 9330 for just $50 with new 2 year contract and data plan– but the data plan is only $10 a month.
Now this $10 a month only gets you 75 MB of data a month so you pretty much shouldn’t watch any YouTube over 3G (though you can watch over WiFi), but it is more than enough for things like BBM (even if you send several thousand a month), checking Facebook and email(but not download a ton of pictures), and browsing the web for scores. If you want to watch YouTube or do a lot of Facebook from your phone then you could always get Verizon’s larger 2 GB data plan, though that will cost you $30 a month (and if you’re already paying for that we’d recommend getting one of those above phones instead of this).
This deal looks to only be available for the Curve 9330, but if you’re looking for a new Verizon BlackBerry and really only need Facebook and BBM you should definitely check this out.
More info: Verizon
iPhone 4 and 4S Now Live On Sprint’s Site
Oct 7th
Sprint users, you’re wait for the iPhone finally begins its end. Sprint today has finally added both the new iPhone 4S and the 8 GB iPhone 4 to its website, with both being available for pre-order right now and available next Friday, October 14th. Like AT&T and Verizon, Sprint’s iPhones will cost $99 for the 8 GB iPhone 4 and either $199, $299 or $399 for the iPhone 4S (depending on if you get the 16, 32 or 64 GB version). Unlike the AT&T and Verizon iPhones though, Sprint will still be offering unlimited data for $40 a month (once you include their $10 “premium data fee,” though if you have a family unlimited plan you may be able to add unlimited data for just $20 a month. AT&T’s data plans on the other hand are either $15 a month for 200 MB, $25 a month for 2 GB, or $45 a month for 4 GB. Verizon’s data plans start at $30 a month for 2 GB and go up to $100 a month for 12 GB).
For those who don’t know, the iPhone 4S is Apple’s latest and greatest iPhone. While it looks exactly like the iPhone 4 and has many of the same features (including the same 3.5 inch Retina Display, Facetime camera and being 3G only), under the hood it’s a whole new animal with a much faster dual-core processor (which means faster app openings and even better gaming), 8 megapixel back camera and support for Siri, Apple’s incredible new virtual assistant. For everything new in the iPhone 4S, see our full breakdown here.
So, Sprint users– you ready to finally get the iPhone?
More info: Sprint
Samsung Begins Nexus Prime Teasing, Shows Off Super Thin Phone
Oct 6th
With the iPhone 4S now finally official we can now move on to the next big phone of October– Samsung and Google’s Nexus Prime (aka the Droid Prime). As we wrote earlier this week, next Tuesday Samsung and Google will finally unveil the next version of Android called Ice Cream Sandwich and with it, a new Nexus phone which is right now rumored to be called the Nexus Prime/Galaxy Nexus (or Droid Prime for Verizon). And just like they did with the Galaxy S II, Samsung has put out a teaser with a not so little hit that something big is coming next week.
In this latest teaser video (which you can see for yourself above), Samsung lists off a whole bunch of great combinations (cookies and milk, planner pen etc.), and mentions that another great one is coming next week. And if you pay close attention towards the end of the video you’ll see the side of a phone that is not only ridiculously thin, but also looks to have a pretty nice sized, curved screen (that looks to be much larger than the iPhone 4S’s 3.5 inch one).
We’ll of course keep you updated as more info comes out. And we don’t know about you, but we can’t wait to see what Samsung and Google have planned for Tuesday.
Pic of the side of the phone after the break.
Remembering Steve, In His Own Words
Oct 5th
Here’s the story of Steve Jobs in his own words from his 2005 Stanford commencement speech. It’s one of the greatest, most inspiring speeches you will ever hear and a most fitting way to remember the legend that is Steve Jobs.
Thank You, Steve
Oct 5th
If you haven’t heard the news, the world today lost one of its greatest innovators, Steve Jobs. Steve was not only the founder of Apple and the creator of the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and Mac, but he also created Pixar (yes, the same Pixar that made Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Monsters Inc. etc). Whether or not you have an Apple iDevice or have seen any of those movies, his visions, dreams, ideas and inventions changed our world forever and for the better.
If it wasn’t for Steve and his vision– and how he caused and inspired everyone else in the tech world to raise their game– our computers today may still have been the same big, ugly, impossible to use boxes that they were 25 years ago when the first computers came out. Our phones may have still been slow, ugly and pathetic. We may still have had to use CDs and DVDs for our music and videos (remember those?), and things like the internet would have never existed the way we know and use them today. He truly changed the world and all of our lives.
Rest in peace Steve, and thank you for all you have done to make our world a better place.
More info: Apple
Is This BBM On Android?
Oct 5th
We all know that Apple is bringing their own version of BBM to the iPhone next week with iOS 5 and iMessage, but from the looks of this, RIM (the makers of BlackBerry) is about to make a big move of their own: bringing an official BBM app to Android. That’s right: real, official BBM– on Android.
If you remember, we heard a rumor about this earlier this year (along with rumors of an official BBM app for iPhone) but these are the first pics we’ve seen of what BBM would look like on something other than a BlackBerry. And while these pics may very well be fake and Photoshopped (there have been a lot of fakes floating around online over the last couple of days), they look pretty real to us and make sense with everything else we’ve previously heard about RIM working on bringing BBM to Android (and the fact that it’s on a phone that actually looks like a RIM Android test phone– with its sticker Android buttons and BB_Dev folder on the homescreen– makes us further believe that this really could be legit).
Obviously details like exact features (rumors are this may be a “BBM-lite” with the full BBM experience being available only on real BlackBerrys) or when we can expect the app to be officially announced are still not known, though TechnoBuffalo– the site that leaked the pics– says it could be announced as soon as October 18th-20th at BlackBerry’s DevCon conference.
We’ll of course let you know more as we hear it, but assuming this is true– and BBM officially comes to Android– would you ditch your BlackBerry and go with a new ‘Droid instead (or better yet– would this make you want to get an Android over the iPhone for your next phone?)? Let us know in the comments.
More info: TechnoBuffalo
Apple Updates The iPod Touch…. With A White Version
Oct 4th
One of the big questions we’ve been getting asked today is “enough about a new iPhone, what about a new iPod Touch?” Well, Apple did give the iPod Touch a shout out today during its iPhone 4S event, but like the new iPhone, there really isn’t much new. Scratch that– there literally isn’t anything new, or at least anything really important. No better camera, no bigger screen, no new A5 processor for better graphics. All Apple did today is introduce a white version of the iPod Touch to go along with the existing black one it released last year. Yup, that’s it.
Now the iPod Touch is still a great device and a great upgrade if you don’t want a smartphone/iPhone or you have an older iPod/iPod Touch and need a new one (Apple also did lower the 8 GB iPod Touch’s price to just $199, making it an even better deal if you need a new iPod and don’t need a lot of storage or if you just want a cheap “mini-iPad”). And like the iPhone 4, it also will only get better next week with iOS 5. But for all those expecting, hoping, wishing, dreaming of a new iPod Touch to go along with a new, redesigned iPhone 5, well, you’re also just gonna have to wait for next year.
