Review » Skype for Android Gets Updated, Video Calls Now Possible

 

Skype for Android has been updated to the relief of long-time Skype users, who can now make one-on-one video calls with fellow Skypers on both WiFi and 3G connections. Users can even make video calls from their Android phone with their Skype contacts on iPhone, Mac, Windows PC, and even on select Internet TVs.

The update also enables users to navigate more easily through contacts, access their personal Skype profile and change personal details, share via the mood message box, send SMS messages, and check the balance of their Skype Credit.

The updated Skype app can be downloaded from the Android Market or type Skype.com/m on the phone’s browser. Note that the smartphone has to be running on Android 2.3 or above and have a front-facing camera for the app to work properly. Compatible handsets include the HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, and Google Nexus S.

Source: TechCrunch

Review » Brando’s Gadmei P83 3D PMP Player Does 3D without Glasses (video)

Still seeking that 3D experience but not ready to plunk down a few grand on a compatible LED TV?  Fear not my furry friends, Brando has you covered.  The electronic retailer is hocking the Gadmei P83 PMP Player, which claims to be a 3D PMP sporting an 8-inch 1280×768 that doesn’t require those pesky 3D glasses.  Course, finding compatible video and images will be entirely up to you since there clearly isn’t a store, at least that we’re aware of, that sells such movies.

However, it should be compatible with your favorite brand of 3D capable point and shoot camera, which are still fairly few and far between, but in existence nonetheless.  Storage is a scant 4GB, though it is compatible with USB sticks and SD cards.  If you’re willing to take the dive, you can grab one for $179.

Review » Movie Pass: Unlimited Movie Theater Tickets for $50 a Month

For as little as $9.99 a month you can rent an unlimited amount of DVDs from Netflix.  When the company launched it was met with skepticism and apprehension.  But after years of fighting the big boys, such as Blockbuster, they’ve emerged the winner.  Now a company called Movie Pass is looking to enter the space, but instead of offering an unlimited amount of DVD rentals, they want you to pay $50 a month to watch as many movies as you’d like in the movie theater.

Over 100 theaters are currently participating, but from what we understand the beta program has kicked off in San Francisco.  Users simply sign up on their website and then using an accompanying iPhone or Android app, present a reservation code to the movie clerk.  Seats and tickets can be reserved online, and Movie Pass is even promising discounts on the popcorn, access to advanced screenings in addition to restaurant vouchers, though we’re not sure how the latter works.


Since movie theaters often make their profits on concessions, it stands to reason that these movie goers could be more profitable than an average attendee.  Though if you attend the theater on a regular basis you’ll probably skip the popcorn and soda since it’s novelty factor will wear off quickly.

On average today’s movie theater tickets cost about $12.  So 4 visits a month to the theater could pay for Movie Pass.  However, that means attending the theater more than once a week, something most busy people don’t have time to do, hence why theaters are most busy on weekends.  We’ve heard that special movies, such as those presented in 3D and Imax, will include an additional surcharge per viewing, though that info isn’t on their website.

So will you sign up for Movie Pass if and when it comes to your state?

Review » Android vs Windows Mobile 6.5: a duel on equal devices

Which of the two operating systems for smart phones more functional, more comfortable, more promising? It is considered that the future - for Android, and Windows Mobile too old and has to be forgot. But let's not make hasty conclusions. Let's try to start to compare these operating systems, giving them an equal chance to prove themselves.

HTC is as if specially provided us with this opportunity, releasing two communicators with nearly identical hardware equipment, but different OS - HTC Tattoo with Android and HTC Touch 2 with Windows Mobile 6.5. There is no better ground for comparison than these two devices. Both smartphones are based on the same integrated platform, Qualcomm MSM7225 processor with a frequency of 528 MHz, equipped with identical amounts of memory, air interfaces, cameras, and even an FM-tuner.

Well, let's move on to the software capabilities.

Interface for both devices is actually the same - it's HTC Sense. However, the differences between versions for Android and Windows Mobile are really great. Common, in fact, is only the main screen. In Windows Mobile Sense it is a set of windows which can be browsed through the horizontal swipes or using icon (icon at the bottom of the screen - a kind of roots of bookmarks). The composition displayed applets can be customized; however it is limited to on / off individual tabs. Android is all about applets, including the objects of the main window - its widgets, they can be also placed on the seven pages of its interface. Some of them repeat the design of Sense applets; others are taken directly from Android. In sum, the shell came out slightly better in Tattoo: flexible configuration options, more modern graphics and animation.

As for specific to the OS interface elements themselves, Android is the leader by a wide margin. Notification bar that stretches on to entire screen is more convenient than it is in Windows Mobile; HTC even added a function for it to show in a separate window. Standard application interface elements are bigger and better placed in Android.

Performance. According to stereotype, Android is faster than Windows Mobile, especially than WM 6.5. It's not entirely true, as we saw both systems are working equally fast. In terms of pure speed experiment both OS's are running virtually at same speed, this also applies to interface renderer and applications. Programs' launching speeds depend on their specific implementation under each operating system, there is no systematic lag in any one of the smartphones. However, there are two "buts". Windows Mobile has the ability to collect "bugs" and "brake" during a session (without rebooting). This problem usually appears after some time, while Android keeps high performance even at very high and use of system and applications.

Working with files. The Windows Mobile users and applications have full freedom of handling files, virtually the same as in the desktop Windows. File management in Android is a huge problem. There is no file manager preinstalled. Finding and installing programs is not difficult, however applications use strict bindings to their work folders. Many applets can only work with documents in a folder with a specific name.

Working with e-mail. Until recently, Windows Mobile has been setting the bar for functionality, flexibility and compatibility, but Android is setting new standards in working with e-mail. It's not just a normal Gmail client, which allows the most convenient way for the mobile device display and manage correspondence, and work with related services, Google (Calendar, Contacts), but also in the implementation of other protocols. In HTC Tattoo supports POP3/SMTP, and Microsoft Exchange. Android works more stable and is better when different encodings in the body of letters. But it has problems with file attachments. If your mail client is set to save files to SD, it won't save files at all if there is no SD card. There appears the same problem with file management (if the mail client is configured to save them to SD. The second problem is that Tattoo did not have any preinstalled software to work with Microsoft Office documents.

Work on the Internet. Android is the leader here. The HTC Touch 2 has Opera Mobile 9.5, but it is fairly slower than Android browser. Android browser is faster in rendering pages, better in compatibility with web design technologies and user-view control. Android also works better with caching in your browser, which further enhances the ease of navigating through the pages.

Telephone communication. There are no dramatic differences in implementation of telephone applications in Android and Windows Mobile. At least, this applies to HTC products. Both have a simple call via interface or the hard button, large keys, direct access to your address book. In both cases, they used Windows Mobile users search method by applying a mask of all the letters on entire array of data. Android features slightly more modern graphics and slightly better virtual service keys. But here we should not forget that Windows Mobile is not used only on HTC. Typically, each manufacturer has its own smartphone, "dialer" and, as a rule, it is somewhat worse than that of HTC.

Multimedia. Capabilities of both systems for playback of graphics, audio and video files are roughly equal, players and viewers are comparable in terms of functionality and ease of management. The only problem on Android is again its file management system.



As a result, a comparison between two identical devices with different operating systems breaks the stereotype that Windows Mobile is worse than Android in all the aspects. In the hands of producers who have experience with Microsoft and striving to make their devices of high-quality and attractive for consumers, both OS's running approximately equal. Android has a much better interface, and it is more stable under prolonged heavy use, but it has some problems with the file management.

Our experience also shows that device manufacturers play a key role in the development of the operating system and its adaptation to the needs of the user. Consortia and software companies are more concerned about the functional expansion of the platform, supported by new technologies than on particular aspects of its capabilities and comfort of use. As a result, the general definition of Android as a "crude and unbalanced equipment", and Windows Mobile - as "unstable and slow". But the knowledgeable and skilled work of HTC equals them out.

Review » Microsoft and Intel to create Wintel platform for tablets in 2012

Intel and Microsoft are preparing a new platform for the tablets, influencing the producers of tablets in hopes of a successful competition with Apple iPad. It is expected that tablets which may appear in 2012 will be more successful than models featuring «ARM + Android» combination.

Most manufacturers are disappointed with the fact that sales of tablets on ARM + Android were lower than expected. And they are blaming errors in the Android OS on one hand and the attractive image of the brand Apple on the other hand, manufacturers are figuring out options for changing their strategy.
Focusing on the needs of tablets manufacturers Intel and Microsoft recently introduced their plan to create Wintel platform for tablets. The new version of the platform will include the Intel processor with a TDP of less than 5 watts and Microsoft Windows 8 operating system.

It is expected that Intel will set lower prices for the new processors to encourage manufacturers to switch to Microsoft Windows 8 which will leave in the past all the problems with unfinished Android 3.0 and 3.1 OS's.

REVIEW >> SE Walkman phones Sony Ericsson WT19 Latest

Smartphone smartphones Sony Ericsson has a new sneak the SE Walkman WT19a WT19i and Android. WT19 SE Walkman phones make their presence known through the existence of User Agent Profiles stored on the SE site. For WT19, we can learn that the phone will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Cortex-A8 processor.

Sony Ericsson Walkman WT19 features HVGA 320 x 480px screen, like we’re used to seeing on the Sony Ericsson Walkman Android. In addition, we have to wait for SE to add a little more information about the phone.

REVIEW >> Huawei announces 7-inch MediaPad Android Honeycomb tablet

On Monday, Huawei officially announced the MediaPad, a 7-inch tablet powered by Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). The MediaPad sports a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats, support for HSPA+ and 802.11n Wi-Fi networks, HDMI-out, and a microSD card slot for adding up to 32GB of storage. Huawei also says the MediaPad’s 4,100mAh battery should provide more than six hours of battery life. The MediaPad is expected to launch this fall, although Huawei did not provide a price.

Full REVIEW >> Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

 

The BGR team picked up the new and improved Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Google’s I/O conference earlier this week, and I have been using it non-stop for the past few days. There’s a lot to discuss here: the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the third Android Honeycomb-powered tablet launched by a major OEM in the United States, and Samsung went to great lengths to revise the design and slice off the extra bulk. The unit I have measures just 0.33-inches thick, which makes it the thinnest tablet available on the market today. It’s powered by a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, contains 32GB of storage, and Samsung promises that there will be an Android 3.1 update coming in the “next few weeks.” Is the Galaxy Tab 10.1 the best Honeycomb tablet yet? Check out our gallery below, and then read on to find out!


Hardware / Display

If you’re looking for a tablet that resembles the iPad 2 but with Android Honeycomb on board, Samsung has nearly nailed the aesthetics with the Galaxy Tab 10.1. My special edition unit has a glossy white back with an army of Android figures marching across it. Most Galaxy Tab 10.1 units will likely have a brushed metal finish, however, which I’ve found to be much more appealing. The border of the tablet is metal, as is the area surrounding the rear 3.2-megapixel camera and its single LED flash — a nicety that adds to the premium look and feel of the device.

There are volume buttons, a power button, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on top of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 — when it’s held in landscape view — and there’s a proprietary Samsung charging port on the bottom. I don’t typically use HDMI-out very often, but I love having the option and I was stunned to see that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t have a dedicated HDMI-out port. I’ll revisit this in the multimedia section.

The tablet’s display was nice and bright, but when I took it out on my terrace to relax and check email, I found it was a bit hard to see under direct sunlight. I really like the 7-inch display on the BlackBerry PlayBook — it makes the tablet much easier to tote around in a jacket pocket, but I quickly got adjusted to the 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 resolution screen on the Tab 10.1, and especially liked it while browsing websites and playing games.

The Tab 10.1’s hardware spec sheet is impressive, too. It packs a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 32GB of onboard storage, and a 7,000 mAh battery. Unfortunately there isn’t a microSD card slot to be found, so I wasn’t able to add any additional storage. Similarly, while Android Honeycomb 3.1 promises support for USB devices, there aren’t any USB ports on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. That means you’ll be left in the cold if you want to use USB devices with your tablet, unless Samsung can come up with a dongle solution of its own.


Software

I had used Android Honeycomb for a few minutes at times on various tablets, but I had not spent a great deal of time with the OS until the Galaxy Tab 10.1 landed in my lap. The current 3.0 version definitely needs work, so I’m glad 3.1 is promised in the coming weeks. You’ll call me crazy, but I prefer the BlackBerry QNX UI to what Honeycomb has to offer so far. Yes, I know there’s a lack of apps available for RIM’s tablet, but QNX feels so much more spry, especially when it comes to multitasking and flipping around the user interface.

Honeycomb’s UI is easy to use, but I hate that the navigation buttons are on the bottom left of the screen. I love the option to swipe up from the bottom panel in QNX to move back to the home screen. It feels much more intuitive than searching for a button to leave the current app. That reminds me — the app selection for Honeycomb tablets is still pretty slim.

I used the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab, and I wasn’t impressed with how it ran apps designed for smaller displays. Unfortunately, that hasn’t changed a whole lot with the Galaxy Tab 10.1. As it stands there are just a few dozen Honeycomb apps available, most of which cost between $0.99 and $4.99, and none of which were all that exciting. Apple’s iPad offers a totally different experience, but the app selection makes it more attractive and more versatile.

Despite the dual-core processor, Honeycomb was sluggish at times. Sometimes apps would randomly crash back to the home screen, and sometimes new ones wouldn’t install at all. I also had a number of lockups while browsing the web: the website would just freeze so that I couldn’t pan or zoom, and on multiple occasions the keyboard failed to pop-up when I was trying to type in text fields. The only solution for this problem was to reboot the device entirely. I don’t think I used the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for 45 minutes without seeing at least one of these bugs pop up. That’s bad.

The default Honeycomb keyboard was nice and large and I was able to type — slowly — with two hands at once. Most of the time, though, I found myself pecking at the keys, and I couldn’t type nearly as fast as I could with a smartphone. I still peck to type on the iPad, too, but I’ve heard of more than a few people who can cruise on that keyboard, and I’m not sure they’d have the same success with the Tab 10.1.

Honeycomb 3.0 allows you to customize five different home screens with widgets. Version 3.1 will allow you to resize the widgets on the fly, and that’s going to be a welcome addition. I enjoyed most of the widgets, particularly the email ones that allowed me to flip through my inbox, but they don’t branch too far away from what’s available on an Android smartphone. There’s also a useful, albeit ugly, notification system on the bottom right-hand of the screen. It works well, although I hate the look of the clock and buttons for Home, return, and the task manager. The icons are blue and retro-robotic, and I hope Google has plans to make them skinnable.

So what can we expect from the next version of Honeycomb? On May 10th, Google took the wraps off of Android 3.1, the next update for tablets. It will add support for aforementioned resizable home screen widgets and will also allow users to use input devices like keyboards, mice, trackpads, and gaming controllers — provided there’s a USB interface in place. Similarly, multitasking will be enhanced to reduce crashes and improve transitions. Hopefully this also addresses a number of the bugs I discussed earlier. What remains unclear, however, is if this will be available for the regular edition Galaxy Tab 10.1, which may sport Samsung’s custom TouchWiz user interface on top of Honeycomb.

During the Consumer Electronics Show in early January, Samsung gave me a close look at its custom “TouchWiz UX” skin for Honeycomb, the first such UI overlay. I really liked several of the enhanced widgets for social networks, email, and more. I have a feeling this will be used in the European versions of the tablet, but perhaps it’s being saved for a future update.


Camera / Video chat

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a 3-megapixel camera that took decent shots, but it wasn’t very impressive. There was noticeable grain in a lot of the images, and while night shots came out OK with the flash, the quality was on a par with a run-of-the-mill smartphone camera. I’m not so sure that it’s a huge deal to offer 5-megapixel cameras capable of recording HD or 3D video, as is the case on the T-Mobile G-Slate, because I’d rather use a more compact phone or dedicated camera for snapping photos instead of a 10-inch tablet. Still, I’m sure more than a few users would enjoy the option.

The 3-megapixel camera is capable of recording 1280 x 720 video (720p HD), and a few quick clips that I shot outside looked decent when I played them back on my computer. The frame rates were smooth and there was just a little distortion when I panned around with the camera. Again, most people will probably use a more compact smartphone for recording video, but the Galaxy Tab 10.1 does a fine job also.

There’s a forward-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats, and it worked well during a test call to a friend over Google Talk. My buddy said the quality was “typical” and that I looked more crisp when I sat still talking directly into the cam – as opposed to moving around. The audio was solid, the video coming through to my display was crisp, and I was pleased with the performance overall.


Multimedia

Google recently announced its new music locker and video rental services, both of which will be available on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the future. I haven’t had access to the music beta, but I did load up a few movies and tunes on the tablet to test out its speaker and screen. A quick viewing of the movie “Hackers” looked just fine on the screen, and the viewing angles were sufficient enough that two people could easily watch a movie together. The default movie player didn’t have an option to blow the video up to full screen, though, so I was limited to watching it with large borders above and below the clip.

Google’s new Music player application — not to be confused with the aforementioned music locker service — looked excellent on the Tab 10.1’s large display. Album art was displayed nice and large, which made it easy to find the artist I was looking for. The speakers were loud, but not as crisp and full sounding as those on the BlackBerry PlayBook. I also appreciated that Honeycomb places a small music icon in the bottom right-hand side of the screen for easily controlling music from the home screen.

As I noted earlier, I don’t think the lack of an HDMI-out port is a deal-breaker, but it is a bit of a shocker. I’ve seen the dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip used in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 output full HD video, pictures, and games to a big screen HDTV. It’s a nice option to have, especially if you want to share content on your tablet with a room full of people.


Battery

When I used the Galaxy Tab 10.1 regularly to surf the web, play a few games, chat, and check my email, I was able to get through about two full days. That’s about what I expect from a tablet with a 7,000 mAh battery, and you’ll no doubt see longer life out of its battery if you use it lightly and leave it idle more often than I did. Unlike a few of the other tablets, which offer more portability thanks to support for 3G connections, you’ll probably be using the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a Wi-Fi hotspot most of the time, and that means an outlet shouldn’t be too far either. You won’t need to look for one too often, though, as I found the battery to be more than sufficient for my needs.


Conclusion

This is one of the tougher conclusions I’ve had to write. Here’s why: the Galaxy Tab 10.1 itself is a beautiful and thin tablet with an industrial design to die for. But Honeycomb 3.0 definitely isn’t ready for primetime. It was slow and sluggish at times, apps crashed regularly, and the web browser froze often. Hopefully the forthcoming Honeycomb 3.1 fixes those issues, but we’ll have to wait and see.

If you’re in the market for a new tablet, you need to do yourself a favor and go hands-on with Honeycomb first. The hardcore Android enthusiast community will enjoy the tablet, and rightfully so, but I don’t think everyday consumers will appreciate the frequent crashes. The BlackBerry PlayBook’s QNX user interface is more fun, more polished, and more intuitive right now. Apple’s iOS is also dead easy to use and has a much more robust application catalog.

When it comes down to it, is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 worth buying? If you want the thinnest, sexiest Android tablet available today, then yes — but only if you can get around Honeycomb’s current faults in hopes that coming builds will smooth things out.

Full REVIEW >> Samsung Galaxy S II

 

The Samsung Galaxy S II is Samsung’s second version of its extremely popular Galaxy S line of handsets — one it has done a great job of launching across a variety of carriers. The Galaxy S II raises the bar in every way from the first Galaxy S, as it should. But it also takes things one step further and absolutely obliterates every other Android handset on the market in the specifications department. It’s not just fast, it’s the fastest. It’s not just thin, it’s the thinnest. But is it the best? Hit the break to find out.


Hardware / Display

Most people love or hate Samsung’s hardware, but I find myself uncharacteristically on the fence. On one hand, Samsung pumps out solid hardware that has always been widely adopted around the world. On the other, there appears to be a little separation, at least where the U.S. market is concerned, on what people really consider to be a quality product. There’s a fine line between making a device extremely light, and one that feels cheap and unworthy of a $200 price tag. The Samsung Galaxy S II is the thinnest smartphone I have ever tested, and it’s also one of the lightest. It’s even thinner than the iPhone 4, and it’s much lighter.

One of the reasons the device is lighter, however, is due to Samsung’s continued use of what feels like a low-cost glossy black plastic for the handset’s shell. The saving grace on the Samsung Galaxy S II, however, is that the rear battery cover isn’t a typical high-gloss Samsung extravaganza, but a textured matte-finished cover.

On top of the device you’ll find a 3.5mm headset jack with secondary mic for noise cancellation. On the right side is a power button and the volume rocker is on the left. Around front there’s a 2-megapixel camera for video chat, and three of the four typical Android navigation buttons. Samsung hasn’t included a dedicated search key, though in daily use, I rarely found myself hunting for it. The home button is a physical rectangular key, and the back and menu keys are capacitive and work quite well. A nice touch is that they light up for a short period of time when the screen goes on, and then they dim and blend back into the black facade of the Galaxy S II.

As far as specs go, the Samsung Galaxy S II is, for lack of better works, a beast. We’re talking about a 1.2GHz dual-core Orion processor, 1GB of RAM, Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread, an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and 1080p HD video recording, and 21Mbps HSPA+ support.

The Samsung Galaxy S II also features Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus display, and it’s one of the best screens I’ve ever seen, easily besting the display on the Google Nexus S. Black levels are incredible, colors are vibrant, bright, and the display is very sharp. Viewing any sort of content with a black background will melt into the black front case around the display and make it difficult to tell where the screen starts and the case ends — it’s that good.

The Galaxy S II is also the fastest Android phone I have ever used, hands down. It’s evident across the entire OS, with web pages loading at desktop-like speeds. There’s absolutely no lag while zipping around from app to app or screen to screen, and it makes the entire Android experience much more enjoyable.


TouchWiz

Let me just get it out of the way: I’m a stock Android guy. I don’t care for any custom UI from any manufacturer on my Android device at this point. With that said, TouchWiz has it’s ups and downs. I’m not a fan of Swype or Samsung’s keyboard so I replaced the keyboard with the stock Gingerbread keyboard. I’m also not a fan of the email app and the calendar app also looks like Times Square at 2:00 a.m. — I’m just not feeling all the use of black backgrounds here. I do, however, like how you can edit the number of home screens on your device — I like three, not seven, home screens — and while I don’t use any of Samsung’s widgets, I appreciate the creativity some of them showcase.

For the average user, it’s certainly possible TouchWiz could help more than it hurts. It’s definitely more lively than what stock Android is, and it could be more straight forward to the general consumer.


Battery

Battery life typically isn’t a strong point on Android handsets, but the Galaxy S II performs very well thanks to its large 1,640 mAh battery and no doubt thanks to its power sipping dual-core Orion processor as well. Standby time lasts days — up to around three days with corporate push email on and various background apps. The Galaxy S II should no doubt be able to power you through a normal day’s worth of usage as well.


Conclusion

Hands down, the Samsung Galaxy S II is the greatest Android smartphone available on the planet… if you can get past TouchWiz. It’s the fastest smartphone I’ve ever used, it features one of the best displays I have laid eyes on, it offers great signal reception and audio performance on AT&T, it has a great camera, it’s very thin and light, and even better, it’s free from any carrier’s wrath (restrictions) since it’s the unlocked global version. The downside is that it’s not subsidized so it’s going to run you around $800 — for reference, a 32GB iPhone 4 without a contract runs $699. Of course we expect the Galaxy S II to launch under various names on all four of the major U.S. carriers, so those who don’t mind branding and bloatware will have the option of picking up this phone from your carrier of choice soon enough.

While I would have preferred to see stock Android on the Galaxy S II, the phone is so good that TouchWiz doesn’t hold it down too much, at least for me. In fact, Samsung is going to have trouble getting this one back. And who knows? Maybe I’ll even switch to Android as my primary daily carrier just for this device. Well, probably not.

Full REVIEW >> HTC Flyer

 

HTC’s a company that normally is first in the industry. Not so with the HTC Flyer. It’s HTC’s first Android tablet, but plenty of others, including Asus, LG, Motorola, Samsung, beat it to the market. The HTC Flyer just landed exclusively in Best Buy stores on May 22nd for $499. Sure, it’s packed with HTC’s Sense UI, a 1.5GHz processor, and can be purchased with a stylus accessory that allows you to use the Flyer as a notebook, but can it hold its own against more powerful Android Honeycomb tablets? I spent the last few days with HTC’s 7-inch tablet, and the full review is after the break.


Hardware

The HTC Flyer looks like a giant EVO or Inspire. It has the same aluminum unibody design which means it can feel a bit heavy at almost 15 ounces, but it’s obviously very sturdy. The backside has a white plastic area surrounding the tablet’s 5-megapixel camera, and there’s another removable hatch at the bottom where you can insert a microSD card. I wish HTC carried over its solid build to these two areas, as both appear that they would crack or snap easily under pressure.

The 7-inch display has a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution and text, images, and videos, looked sharp for the most part. Similarly, the screen was bright enough for viewing under sunlight, although I mostly found myself using the Flyer indoors. I love that there’s a small chin above and below the screen — when the tablet is placed down on a table, you can clearly see from the sides that the display won’t make any contact with the surface. This should help prevent scratches and other damage to the screen, though my mind goes back to the build quality of those two plastic pieces I mentioned and how they’ll hold up.

If you’re holding the tablet in portrait mode, there’s a power button on the top right of the device — next to a 3.5mm headphone jack — the volume buttons are on the upper right side, a microUSB charging port is on the bottom, and two speakers are on the back left. I love that HTC chose to go with a microUSB charging port, instead of a proprietary one; that means you can pack just one charger whenever you leave home. The back of the Flyer is home to a 5-megapixel camera, sans flash.

You know those three Android buttons for menu, home, and search, that are on every Android phone and tablet? HTC did something amazing with them. When the tablet is in portrait mode, those three buttons — as well as the stylus key — are on the bottom of the display. Tilt the Flyer into landscape mode, and they suddenly reappear below the screen. Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?

Lastly, the Flyer packs support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks — the 4G version is known as the EVO View 4G on Sprint — and I didn’t have any issues using it on my home network for extended periods of time.


Software

The HTC Flyer runs Android 2.3 with a flavor of HTC’s Sense user interface that was specifically designed for use on tablets. There are a few unique touches here and there, some of which we’ll see carried over in the next generation of Sense for smartphones, too. There are eight different home screen panels to customize, and I love that HTC has included newer, larger widgets for the weather, viewing photos, seeing your eBook library, viewing your contacts, and more. It’s easier to rotate around home screen panels now, too — the carousel now completes a full loop, which means you can jump from your far right home screen panel to the left one with just a quick flick. The 1.5GHz processor under the hood handles all of Sense’s eye candy with nary a struggle, save for the unlock mechanism, which, oddly, lagged at times.

My biggest issue with Sense on a tablet is the home screen in landscape mode. HTC wasted a ton of space here. I understand that it may have been necessary in order to display icons or widgets appropriately, but it feels like over half of the screen is taken up just showing the panels to the left and right of the current home screen. That’s space that could have been used for more widgets. You know Android users just love widgets.

The Flyer is free of bloatware since it’s a sans-carrier device. In fact, most owners will find all of the pre-installed software useful for one reason or another. There’s a Kid Mode option that’s powered by Zoodles for playing games that take advantage of the touchscreen, drawing and painting, reading kids books, sending email to family, and more. A Press Reader application can be used to subscribe to a number of global newspapers. I checked out an issue of The Washington Post and, while it’s far too hard to read zoomed out, I appreciated getting to see the current day’s articles after clicking them from a view of the full newspaper. Press Reader includes 7 free issues, too, so you can get a feel for whether or not a subscription is worth it.

We’re all used to the photos that Mac users take of themselves in Photo Booth on OS X, and the Flyer has a similar option. Using the front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, you can take photos of yourself with silly effects such as bulge, mirror, pucker, and others. It’s a fun, but mostly useless feature.

The Reader application, powered by Kobo, is decent. After reading a few pages of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland I was convinced reading an eBook on the Flyer is as good as the Galaxy Tab and other Android tablets I’ve used. I prefer reading with Kindle, however, as it’s easier to adjust the brightness on the fly.


Stylus

The Flyer supports a a stylus input system, which HTC has dubbed “HTC Scribe.” The stylus itself is an insanely expensive $80 accessory, and that’s a lot to swallow for access to new features that are natively supported on an already-not-inexpensive $500 tablet. These days I’m more apt to taking notes on my phone than writing them down on a a piece of paper. Admittedly, I was no different in college when I opted for writing on my hand. So why should I write on a tablet? Sure, the stylus works well, and I like that there are options to draw anywhere on the screen — yes even the home screen — and that the tablet will automatically take a screen shot and sync with Evernote. Ultimately, my handwriting is still as messy as it ever was (the reason why I don’t write with a pen in the first place), and it’s not worth the extra $80.Worse yet, there’s nowhere to actually attach the stylus to the Flyer. I’ve probably misplaced it handful of times in the couple days I have spent with the Flyer.


Camera

The Flyer’s 5 megapixel camera took decent photos, though I prefer the shots taken with Samsung’s most of the time. It’s also capable of recording 720p video, although it doesn’t come with HDMI-out cables in the box, which is mildly shocking given that even many high-end phones offer that accessory. Recorded video looked decent when I played it back on my computer screen, however it lacked continuous auto-focus. I’m also unsure why HTC chose to eliminate a flash option — there’s plenty of room — so low light shots didn’t come out very well. There’s a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front of the Flyer for video chats, and the quality was solid during a quick test call with a friend.


Battery Life

The Flyer offered up decent battery life, but it wasn’t on a par with the larger 8.9-inch or 10.1-inch tablets that pack in huge batteries capable of idling for days. I’ve been using the Flyer for a while, but since tablets’ battery cycles are much lengthier than smartphones, the verdict is still out on the Flyer’s battery performance. It’s been able to endure my rigorous testing just fine, and with normal usage it’ll likely hit 2 days on a single charge without any problem. I was able to get through about 7 hours of hardcore use just fine, which means you should have no trouble with music and light video playback on a longer flight.


Wrap-up

I love the HTC Flyer’s sturdy build, but I’m not a fan of the extra heft it adds to the device. People are split on tablet sizes, but I like the Flyer because that size delivers an excellent web browsing experience, eBook reading, and much more without having to fumble with the tablet too much. The Flyer offers a superior experience to the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, but it’s also more expensive. I prefer the 8.9-inch LG G-Slate and 10.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab overall — both offer better battery life,  dual-core processors for extra speed, and support for Honeycomb. My fear is that the HTC Flyer won’t advance much in terms of software, while other competing tablets loaded with Honeycomb will continue to offer more robust features as they’re updated to Android 3.1 and beyond. Similarly, I’m worried that the Android Market will begin populating with more compelling Honeycomb applications, and anyone using the Flyer won’t ever have access to them. The Stylus worked well, and it’s fun and useful, but I wouldn’t pay $80 for it and think it should have been included in the box. I have to say that I’m actually a bit disappointed that a company like HTC released a product like the Flyer. HTC is an innovative company, but there unfortunately just isn’t anything innovative about this tablet.

Full REVIEW >> HTC DROID Incredible 2

 

The DROID Incredible 2 recently landed on Verizon Wireless, and it has some tough shoes to fill. When the original launched, it was BGR’s favorite Android phone to date despite stiff competition from the Motorola DROID, which launched at the same time. The DROID Incredible 2 packs some decent hardware, like a 1GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video, and more, but its specs — and data speeds — don’t match those of phones at the higher end of Verizon’s portfolio. Is the DROID Incredible 2 a worthy successor to the original or does it fall short? Read on to find out!


Hardware / Display

I remember reviewing the original Incredible and feeling a sense of loss the day I had to send it back. It had a unique race-car inspired design and HTC even had interchangeable red and white covers for the back panel that you could buy separately. The whole idea was that HTC was totally tweaking the industrial design of the phone to really get consumers turned on to the sexy designs possible with a mobile device. There’s less shock value with the Incredible 2. The red battery compartment is gone, the contours aren’t unique anymore, and the whole device feels too similar to the original to be exciting.

The phone feels excellent in the hand, though, and the soft-touch black finish provides good grip. The volume keys are in easy reach on the top left hand side, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top across from a power button, and the back is home to an 8-megapixel camera and a dual-LED flash. I love that the menu, home, search, and return buttons automatically rotate so that they’re displayed correctly in both landscape and portrait view. HTC should definitely carry that feature into other phones.

The most noticeable difference on the Incredible 2 is its larger 4-inch 800 x 480 resolution display. I like that it’s bigger than the original 3.7-inch screen on the first Incredible, which was a hair too small, but I’m disappointed that HTC ditched the AMOLED display panel. Text looks decent on the screen, but the colors don’t pop in the way they did on the original Incredible. The trade off is that the current display is much easier to view under direct sunlight, however.

I’ll discuss the rest of the hardware in various parts of this review, but here’s a quick rundown of the raw specs: the DROID Incredible is powered by a 1GHz processor — that’s the same clock speed as the original — and it has an 8-megapixel with a dual-LED flash, a 1,450 mAh battery, a 1.3-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chat, and a 16GB microSD card pre-installed.


Software

The Incredible 2 is powered by Android 2.2.1 (Froyo) with HTC’s custom Sense user interface running on top, and its 1GHz powered through it all just fine. Unfortunately, the phone is not loaded with HTC’s new revamped version of Sense, which will make its debut on the T-Mobile HTC Sensation 4G any week now. I’ve always been a big fan of Sense. It’s one of my favorite Android user interfaces, but it’s hard to recommend software that’s already being replaced. The DROID Incredible 2 also runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), too, instead of the newer Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS.

Thankfully, there’s relatively little bloatware installed, save for V Cast Apps, V CAST Media, V CAST Music, V CAST Tones, and V CAST Videos. Verizon has pre-installed some other software, including 3G Mobile Hotspot, Blockbuster, Amazon Kindle, Lets Golf 2, NFS Shift, Skype Mobile, NFL Mobile, Slacker, and more, but those applications are often very popular Android apps, too, and I’m a big fan of many of them. The 3G Hotpsot application will allow you to share your 3G connection with other Wi-Fi enabled devices, and I used the Incredible 2 hotspot during an entire workday without any connection drops.


Calling / Data

Calls on the DROID Incredible 2 were solid, as is typically the case on Verizon’s phones in New York City. During a test call, the other party said I sounded “clear” while walking on the streets of New York City, and she said she couldn’t make out the background traffic. The speakerphone was a bit watery but the volume was sufficient. As far as data, the Incredible 2′s data speeds were just OK. I averaged 1.2Mbps on the downlink and 1Mbps up, which is good enough for a 3G phone but a far cry from Verizon’s brand new 4G LTE network which offers download speeds that are nearly 20 times that.


Camera

The Incredible 2 packs an 8-megapixel camera, just like the original, and can shoot 720p HD video. I was satisfied with the images I snapped — they look great on the phone itself and just as solid blown up on a computer screen. Unlike some newer phones, the Incredible 2 isn’t capable of auto-focusing while shooting video, though, which was a bit of a disappointment. Similarly, it lacks an HDMI-out port, so you won’t be able to show videos or photos on your bigscreen TV, another feature that’s supported by many other high-end devices.


Battery Life

During my few days of testing I didn’t have any problem getting through a full day of moderate use before the 1,450mAh battery ran out on the Incredible 2. Verizon rates it for 6.5 hours of usage, though, so you’ll want to bring a charger along if you’re planning to watch movies during a long plane ride or car trip.


Wrap-up

The DROID Incredible 2 is a good phone — there’s nothing inherently wrong with it — but I don’t think it brings the Incredible brand forward at all. In fact, there really isn’t anything “incredible” about it. The phone is very similar to the original, save for a larger screen and some small tweaks like a forward-facing camera, but at $199.99 it costs just as much as dual-core smartphones like the DROID X2, and it’s $50 shy of Verizon’s 4G LTE smartphones that offer much, much, faster data speeds. Is it a solid follow-up to the original? No. In fact, I like the original better.

Full REVIEW >> Motorola DROID X2

 

The Motorola DROID X was one of the most powerful handsets to hit Verizon Wireless. It’s only fitting that the big boss of Android phones would get upgraded at some point, right? The Motorola DROID X2 ups the DROID X in almost every way possible. Instead of a single core 1GHz CPU, the DROID X2 features a dual-core 1GHz processor. The display has been upgraded from a baseline screen to a qHD display, and software customizations and enhancements have been made as well. Did one of my favorite Android handsets get even better? Hit the full review after the break to find out.


Hardware / Display

The Motorola DROID X2 is very competitive in the specs department. It’s powered by a dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU, Android 2.2, it has 512MB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera capable of shooting 720p HD video, 8GB of built-in storage, and the usual Android accouterments like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, digital compass, and an accelerometer.

If you’ve used the original Motorola DROID X, the X2′s hardware is practically the same as the original. Though the DROID X2 is a tad bit darker than the previous iteration, it uses the same metal casing with a soft touch finish. Unfortunately there was one thing removed from the first DROID X and that’s the camera button, which many people will miss. On the flip side though, the DROID X2 features an HDMI-out port positioned right next to the microUSB port, something that I think hints at accessories that the DROID X2 can dock into, possibly like the Motorola ATRIX’s laptop and multimedia docks.

The four Android buttons at the bottom of the display on the D2 bother me immensely. Aside from being narrow, if you don’t hit them perfectly right on, your key presses won’t register and it’s annoying. I would definitely have preferred touch-sensitive keys over the physical buttons.

The display is good, and it looks like the same exact display used in the Motorola ATRIX. The resolution is there, but unfortunately the screen looks pixelated to me despite bumping up the original model’s 480 x 854-pixel resolution to 540 x 960. Colors, however, are accurately displayed and the qHD screen on the Motorola DROID X2 is bright and vivid. The resolution is close to the Retina Display on the iPhone 4, and while that looks great on paper, once you’ve compared the two, well, there isn’t a comparison. Outdoor readability was very good on the DROID X2′s display, though, and the 4.3-inch screen is great for web browsing and multimedia.

There are four physical buttons below the display, as mentioned above: menu, home, back, and search. On top of the device are the 3.5mm headphone jack and power button. The left side houses the microUSB and HDMI ports, while the right side features a volume rocker. The camera is located on back next to a dual-LED flash, and though you can see a front-facing camera above the display on the right side, it’s not activated for video calls or self-portrait images just yet.


Software

Motorola’s BLUR UI has been ever so slightly updated on the DROID X2, and while there are some nice touches here and there, there’s one thing I just can’t move past: when you tap the application icon in the bottom app icon bar, the app drawer doesn’t immediately appear. It’s like Motorola’s design and UI team just forgot about one of the most important parts of your smartphone experience… accessing apps. While this isn’t a deal-breaker at all, it’s just another UI inconsistency that shows how little some Android manufacturers seem to value not just the user interface, but user enjoyment.

There are some enhancements that I do appreciate, however, like the ability to press the home button twice to show card views of all of your seven home screens (dear Android manufactures: seven home screens is excessive), and I like how the drop down notification window is now semi-transparent — it’s a nice touch, and it Smurfs up the phone pretty nicely.

Motorola’s BLUR UI on the DROID X2 actually seems to weigh pretty heavily on the dual-core processor, as it stutters occasionally which is something I haven’t seen on a Tegra 2 Android smartphone very much before. With the dual-core CPU comes support for HD video playback and recording, however, in addition to HDMI out. Much like the Motorola ATRIX, the DROID X2 can power full 1080p HD from a connected HDMI cable including mirroring which is impressive, and the playback on a 55-inch LED display was buttery smooth.


Phone / Battery

Using the DROID X2 as a phone, well, is just plain great. Reception is fantastic, callers on the other end of the phone sounded perfect, and even though speakerphone wasn’t as loud as I would have liked, it did the trick. Motorola’s noise cancellation works well, though it can make your voice sound a bit hollow in some settings, callers told me.

After spending more than a week with the Motorola DROID X2′s battery, it’s proved to be a solid handset that can go toe to toe with the latest Android handsets on the market. Motorola seems to have come close to perfecting battery optimization because the 1,540 mAh battery the device ships with performs extremely well. With moderately heavy sporadic usage, the DROID X2 can last up to three days under my reign of terror, and just in standby mode it should last nearly a week. With consistant heavy usage, I was also able to power through an entire day on the DROID X2, which a lot of other Android smartphones have trouble doing.



Conclusion

Here’s the thing… the Motorola DROID X was one of my favorite phones on Verizon Wireless when it was released. I usually don’t prefer larger displays on devices, but the DROID X made it work for me. It was fast, I actually liked a lot of Motorola’s customizations (especially the keyboard), the device was thin, and the phone was a keeper. On Motorola’s second go, though, the DROID X2 updates don’t do enough to push the new DROID into the limelight. Compared to other handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S II, the DROID X2 feels like it should be running a Weight Watchers app as it’s just too thick to be competitive in that department. And without 4G, there’s not much incentive to buy the new DROID. It’s a better phone than the first one and I really do like it a lot, but since the goal post has moved so much since last year, a simple refresh isn’t going to cut it. It’s not a bad phone by any means, but I would just hold off for at least a couple months and see what else Verizon offers in the same vein — I’m sure we’ll all be pleasantly surprised.