Sharp has announced that they are bringing 3D to phones, the good news is its the no glasses variety so you wont look extremely goofy walking down the street looking at your phone, the bad news? Well do we need 3D? I’d venture to say no. I am still a little put off by the 3D experience, I went to see Avatar in 3D last year and while it was “cool” it wasn’t mind blowing or anything like that and now every other TV sold seems to be a 3D TV. My question is this, Do we NEED 3D on our phones? I’m interested in your comments so please let me know. Honestly I don’t think its necessary and unless their design is some ultra slick 3D user interface for Android that really took advantage instead of just being 3D when you play a 3D movie I would start to lean towards it being something I would consider, in its current intended implementation I see no need for it, but then again once I actually see once of these phones in person the interface may be interesting… Unfortunately I think its just going to cause (here comes the F-word) Fragmentation. More after the break.
Continue reading “3D going to hit our phones? Seriously? Sharp says YES!” »
The LG Optimus T and Motorola Defy Android powered smartphones are available from the nation’s largest retailer for very reasonable amounts! Both phones are being billed as Entry level devices to bring customers from the Feature phones into the Smartphone fold. Being sold at a retailer like Walmart really helps T-Mobile get into the hands of more American’s with little up front cost to them. T-Mobile is gaining some 3800 retail locations, depending on how many actual Walmart locations will carry the phones. Continue after the breat. Continue reading “T-Mobile partners with Walmart to offer affordable options on Android smartphones” »
US Cellular and Samsung announced today that they will be delivering a Galaxy Tab to their customers, No official release date or pricing information was given however this is definitely another step in the right direction for this partnership between Samsung and US Cellular. Obviously for Samsung its another outlet for their hardware and will get it into more customers hands, with over 6 million potential customers through the carrier Samsung will be able to cut costs based on volume production, even though each carrier has specific variations they all start with almost identical hardware that vary rarely diverges (radios to talk to specific carriers cell networks) making this an easy choice. For US Cellular they are able to offer top of the line hardware and products that are cutting edge and depending on how they price it may even be able to cut into the sales of some of the big 4 carriers where US Cellular is popular. All in all I think its a great decision to carry the Galaxy Tab and its a winner for everyone involved. Check out the full press release after the break.
Continue reading “Samsung’s Galaxy Tab will land on US Cellular shores as well!” »
Livio Radio sent me a demo unit of their Carmen Car Audio unit. The Carmen is a Internet Radio/MP3 player with FM Tuner built-in, The Carmen also provides an Aux port for you to connect your other portable media players and even your phone. The Carmen connects to your car by plugging into a free 12V Cigarette/Power Outlet. It also sports 2GB of internal memory that can be filled like a USB Flash Drive or using Livio’s Internet Radio recording software on your PC using the supplied USB cable. The Carmen has an LCD screen, large buttons and a swiveling design to make it easier to use regardless of where your Power port is located. Surprisingly Livio also included a remote control, making changing things tracks stored on the device or the tuners station simple on the go! Priced @ $59.99 direct from Livio
I had the opportunity to use the Carmen during a recent road trip and was delightfully impressed by it, I used all the features of the Carmen while I was driving from Tampa, FL to Washington DC. Before I left for my trip I fired up the software on my netbook and couldn’t get it to open, I’m not sure if it was the screen size or what but I didn’t spend too much time with it I installed the software on my PC where it ran with no problems. First I want to point out the FM tuner’s range, It supports going down to 87.5 which is better than my current FM tuner’s ability, I’ve done my fair share of driving and only going to 88.1 like my current tuner causes alot of channel switching, I was very impressed with the Carmen in this respect. The entire trip I didn’t have to adjust the tuner’s channel at all which was a great surprise and very welcome!
The Carmen is a pretty nifty device, I was able to listen to the recorded internet radio, MP3s I copied to it, Music from my Android Phone and what I think is the best combination Carmen and Slacker Radio! I love being able to listen to Slacker Radio through the Carmen while traveling, I really think that the Carmen is a great solution for Roadwarriors out there. I was really impressed with the remote, Its very functional allowing you to adjust the frequency of the FM tuner as needed as well as your standard controls and even access to an equalizer. All in all I was very happy with the Carmen and could certainly see myself replacing my mediocre FM tuner with the Carmen simply for the FM tuner portion, throw in the 2GB of storage for internet radio and mp3s as well as the remote control and you’ve got me sold!
Today I was happy to find a box from SoundID in my mailbox! After meeting with the SoundID folks at the Pepcom Holiday Spectacular last month in New York I was really excited to get hands on with the latest in Bluetooth technology, SoundID no only provides a solid piece of hardware they also provide an application to tune the device to your hearing, your Ear Print. Lets see what you get in the box after the break! Continue reading “SoundID’s 510 Bluetooth Headset & its Android Ear Print app First Impressions” »
