Droid Razr Maxx vs iPhone 4S Posted: 14 Feb 2012 01:40 AM PST No matter what newer smartphones come out, Apple still retains a dedicated group of fans who won’t budge for anything. At what seems to be the height of the smartphone wars, Motorola has just released the successor to its Droid Razr. Welcome the Droid Razr Maxx, which is bigger but is better than the Droid Razr and practically a baby with its release last January 26, 2012. Today, we’ll see how the iPhone 4S stands up to this new release. Design and Display Slightly thicker than its predecessor, the Droid Razr Maxx has a thickness of 8.99 mm. The Droid Razr Maxx’s predecessor, the Droid Razr, had the inconvenient camera bump at the top, but the Droid Razr Maxx has solved that problem. At the price of sacrificing the device’s reputation as the “thinnest phone on the market”, the back of the phone is now smoothed out and practically the same width. Considering how thin the Droid Razr was, this isn’t much of a problem. This means that the back of the phone has comfortable curves rather than the drastic angles of the Droid Razr. The Droid Razr Maxx still has that gorgeous Super AMOLED Advanced capacitive 4.3-inch touchscreen, with a resolution of 540×960 pixels. The Droid Razr Maxx is a big phone which is perfect for users with bigger hands. The Droid Razr Maxx has all of the great design perks as well. A chassis built of diamond-cut aluminum, the device’s back being coated in Kevlar and nanotechnology coating. All in all, this  makes the Droid Razr Maxx feel solid and durable. The iPhone 4S has a LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen. Measuring in at 3.5 inches, it has a resolution of 640×960 pixels. Though the iPhone 4S’s display is smaller, the iPhone 4S’s size may be handy for those of you with smaller hands. One of the things that makes the iPhone 4S and many of its predecessors unique to the market is its sleek design. A combination of metal and glass makes the iPhone 4S feel like well-crafted machinery in the palm of your hand. Unfortunately, this is also the device’s Achilles heel. Unless you’ve got an iPhone 4S case, one well-placed drop and the iPhone 4S may be damaged. Storage The Droid Razr Maxx is equipped with an internal memory of 16 GB. If that’s too small for you, the device has a microSD slot that allows you to pack it with an additional 32 GB. That means you’ll have up to 48 gigs of storage space on this device but is by no means impressive next to the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S has memory for everyone’s needs. With models packing 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB, you’ve got more than enough room to store music, videos, pictures, and other files that you might need. If you need more space than that, though, you’re out of luck. The iPhone 4S doesn’t have any microSD slots for extra storage. Camera Both of these phones pack an 8 megapixel camera, but the difference is all in the front-facing camera. The Droid Razr Maxx has a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, while the  iPhone 4S’s own front-facing camera is VGA. Processor and Operating System It’s quite disappointing that the Droid Razr Maxx comes out of the box with only Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, but with promise of Ice Cream Sandwich on the horizon, the Droid Razr Maxx’s specs won’t go to waste. It’s got a Texas Instruments OMAP 1.2 GHz dual-core processor with 1 GB RAM. It also has a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. The iPhone 4S runs on its own iOS 5, with a RAM of 512 MB. Its RAM may not be impressive by today’s smartphone standards but the device’s graphics are still something to behold. The iPhone 4S has a dual-core 1 GHz Cortex A9 CPU and a PowerVR SGX534MP2 GPU. Battery The Droid Razr Maxx basically has the same insides, firmware included, as its predecessor, but what really sets it apart is its battery.  The Droid Razr Maxx has been hailed as the first smartphone in the world to pack a high capacity 3300mAh. It can pack quite a punch, with 21.5 hours of talk time or even 2.5 days of listening to music. If that isn’t awe-inspiring enough, you can extend the battery life further using Motorola’ Smart Actions, which allows you to turn off e-mail syncing at night while you sleep. The iPhone 4S on the other hand packs only 14 hours talk time and a standby of 200 hours. If you’re a hardcore music fan, with the need to constantly be jamming to tunes everywhere you go, the iPhone 4S promises up to 40 hours of non-stop music. Not bad for the average user, but for those who are always expecting calls, you may need to pack your charger along with you. Verdict Though the iPhone 4S may not be as fresh as a newborn, it manages to hold up pretty well against the Droid Razr Maxx in the storage department. If you’re the type who needs a lot of files with you, the iPhone 4S with its 64 GB of storage space is definitely for you. Alternatively, if you’ve got small hands, you’ll find the iPhone 4S no doubt easier to hold on to than the much bigger Droid Razr Maxx. If you’re the type who constantly needs to be communicate with your contacts, then you should definitely consider the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx. Its battery life alone is awe-inspiring and definitely a must-have for the heavy user. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Droid RAZR MAXX will be available on January 26th Up Close and Personal with Verizon’s Droid Razr Maxx The Droid Razr 4G LTE Toggle works on the Droid Razr Maxx and the Droid Bionic This article, Droid Razr Maxx vs iPhone 4S , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Some of the Best Android Apps of 2012 – So Far Posted: 14 Feb 2012 01:40 AM PST Applications have come a long way, and now, a smartphone or tablet would be nothing without apps. As such, we’ve collected 25 of the best Android apps, both free and paid. From essentials to games, these apps will keep you glued to your smartphone and maybe even make your day a little better and easier. Be sure to tell us your favorite app via the comments at the bottom. Cut The Rope By: Zepto Lab Cut the Rope began as an iOS app in late 2010. Finally, after the Android community paciently waited in agony, Zepto Lab brought the game to Android. The main objective of the game is to catch at least one star per level before delivering the piece of candy to Om Nom (The hungry little green monster). To get around saws, spiders, and spikes, you have to cut ropes, pop bubbles, and fly through magical hats. According to the game’s Android Market description, over 60 million people have already played Cut The Rope, and it currently holds a 4.7 star average rating. After purchasing the game for 99 cents, you will be able to play 250 levels of Cut the Rope with “New Levels Coming Soon”. New boxes (groups of 25 levels) are released about every few months, and the game itself is highly addicting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JpdW-D6c14 Price: $0.99 Requires Android: 1.6+ Download: Here Voxer Walkie-Talkie By: Voxer Have you ever wanted to skip dialing phone numbers and waiting on hold? If your looking to turn your phone into a “push to talk” live walkie-talkie, then Voxer is the app for you. Voxer gives your Android 2.2+ device the ability to instantly talk with your friends and family over WiFi, 3G, 4G, EDGE, etc. In addition, if you can’t talk, the voice, text, photo and location options are all seamlessly integrated into one conversation. The app works like a real walkie-talkie. When the other person speaks, you hear it almost instantly. And if your not by your phone, every voice and chat message is saved for later playback. Voxer also boasts 0 advertisements and group chats. Everything is completely free and is cross-platform between iPhone and Android. Over 5 million people have downloaded the app already on Android alone. When you download Voxer, you can sync with your Facebook account to see if your friends use Voxer, and also to let them know that you now have the app. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDuyDajOSYI Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.2+ Download: Here Speedtest.net By: Ookla It seems like a new type of  ”G” comes out every year. To see how your internet connection stacks up, Speedtest.net has always been the #1 testing program. The app is available on all Android 1.6+ devices and is 100% free. Upon downloading Speedtest.net, you will be able to test your ping and download and upload speeds. In addition, the app automatically saves every test that you record on your device, along with the type of data connection (Wifi, 3G, etc.), the date the test took place, and all of the recorded information. Finally, if your all about your data speeds, Speedtest.net even allows you to export your results as a CSV right from your Android device.   Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.6+ Download: Here GifBoom By: Tapmojo LLC Do you know what GIF stands for? Niether do I. But thankfully, we have Wikipedia. The “Graphics Interchange Format” allows pictures to come to life through animation. Gifboom takes this technology mobile in a very simple and easy to use way. The app will “Wow your friends with high-res, cool Animated GIFs!” The app takes a bunch of pictures at a set shutter speed. Then, after you have chosen the pictures you would like to use (including access to your local photo gallery), Gifboom quickly turns those photos into an animated GIF. Finally, you can play that animation backwards and forwards in addition to “One Tap Instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Email and MMS”. Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.2+ Download: Here Shazam By: Shazam Entertainment Limited Have you ever heard a song on the radio that you just can’t remember the name of? Shazam for Android will be able to identify that song almost instantly. The app truly works like magic! After Shazam has identified your song, you can listen to a 30 second preview, share it, play it in Spotify, get tour info, and even see full screen lyrics of the song with LyricPlay. Shazam has become so popular that you can even tag TV shows and advertisements when you see the Shazam logo. Despite there being a paid version of the app (Shazam Encore), the free version offers unlimited tagging. However, if you want to free yourself of advertisements and also contribute to the Shazam creators, you can buy the paid version for $4.99. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJzCyaE6eKQ Price: Free/$4.99 Download Shazam Free: Here Download Shazam Encore: Here Light Flow By: Rage Consulting Limited One of the best yet underrated features of most Android devices is their LED notification light. Devices such as the Galaxy Nexus and original Motorola Droid feature LED notification lights. To fully unlock the potential of this notification system, you have to take control with Light Flow. Both versions of Light Flow work without root access and support a wide variety of notification types.While the Lite version will only allow you to control the color of basic notifications (SMS, E-Mail, Missed Calls, etc.), the full version of Light Flow allows for you to customize “about 140 different notifications”. Both versions also allow for custom notifications by contact. For an incredibly long list of the differences between the free and paid versions, follow this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDuyDajOSYI Price: Free/$1.99 Requires Android: 2.2+ Download Light Flow Lite: Here Download Lite Flow: Here SMS Popup By: Adam K Notifications are great. And now that you know how to customize the LED light with Light Flow^, SMS Popup along with Light Flow will create an incredible notification tag team. SMS Popup is a free application that displays your incoming SMS messages in a nice “popup” dialog. In addition, the app allows for custom notifications by contact and has convenient buttons located just below the message. After receiving a message, SMS Popup puts you one click away from sending a quick reply back. Furthermore, after you close the popup box, the message is automatically marked as “read”. An optional privacy mode is available to hide the sender’s name and message contents.   Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.5+ Download: Here Chrome Beta By: Google Inc. If your a true fan of Android’s daddy Google, you would be quite familiar with the Chrome series. Chrome has evolved from a web browser (#2 Most Used) to an operating system (For “Chromebooks”). And now, soon after the release of Ice Cream Sandwich, Chrome has become a mobile web browser. Chrome has become famous for its speed, simplicity, and syncing capabilities. Furthermore, Chrome Beta for Android will feature Google’s signature omnibox (The single search bar for web history, Googling stuff, bookmarks and more. Omnibox only takes up about a 1/4″ of the screen. Furthermore, if your familiar with Chrome, you know that above the omnibox is all of your open tabs. Google knows that you want to maximize your screen and has taken the standard tab system away. In place is a very cool swiping feature that is similar to a deck of cards. The gestures are subtle, fast, and work with an unlimited amount of tabs. Finally, you can sync up your Google account and see all of the tabs that you have open on any other one of your Chrome devices. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVjw7n_U37A Price: Free! Requires Android: 4.0+ Download: Here Chrome to Phone By: Google Inc. If your an avid Chrome user on your laptop or desktop computer, chances are that you want to be able to take your internet with you on your mobile device. Chrome Beta for Android offers the ability to see all of your open tabs on your computer. However, if you don’t have Ice Cream Sandwich, Chrome Beta is out of the picture. Therefore, Chrome to Phone allows for you to click one button on your computer in Chrome, and the website is instantly sent to your phone as a notification. When your ready, simply click the notification and Chrome to Phone will open the link in your default browser on your phone. Voila! It is instant and magical. If you are interested in sending websites in the opposite direction, from your phone to Chrome, download Phone 2 Chrome from the Android Market. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQb243niMlg Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.2+ Download: Here ColorNote By: Notes A lot of people claim to have “photographic memories”. But for the rest of us, even the most important things go in one ear and out the other. ColorNote is the best notepad experience for your Android device. ColorNote allows you to write text and checklist notes and also assign each note a different color. If your keeping secrets, you can also lock your notes from outsiders. Furthermore, if writing a note simply is not good enough to help you remember daily tasdks and other info, ColorNote allows you to set reminders and even pin a notification to your status bar. Finally, ColorNote even allows you to stick your notes to your homepage with the ColorNote widget. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQCKCSS9eAM Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.5+ Download: Here Movies By: Flixster Inc. When your out and about and away from your newspaper (the old-fashioned way to get movie times), Flixster is the #1 app to get instant movie times, movie trailers, reviews and more.. Flixster lets you search for movies by what’s coming out soon or by your favorite local movie theatre. On the way to the movie theatre, Flixster lets you play the trailer, view photos, and even rate the movie. After the movie, when your dying to find out when you can get the movie on DVD, Flixster has a section with a list of movies and their DVD release dates. Price: Free! Download: Here PdaNet By: June Fabrics Tech Internet tethering has been around since Android 2.2 (Froyo). However, after the idea of sharing your phone’s data with other devices became popular, wireless providers started to charge a fee on top of the regular monthly fee. The PdaNet software shares your phone’s Internet connection with your computer and does not require rooting your phone. To share with your computer, you can download the PdaNet desktop client. June Fabrics also released an application for tablets that makes it easier to share data to your Android tablet. PdaNet adds zero latency to your connection so your computer connects as fast as your phone’s Internet speed, such as 4G or even 100Mbps WiFi. Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.5+ Download: Here TV Listings By: TV24 Group TV Listings is simply the best application in the Android Market for finding out what is on tv. TV Listings supports over 13,000 channels and over 100 service providers. If your looking to see what is on tv later at night, this application makes it easy to check the full schedule for each channel. Once you have found your program, you can set a reminder so you don’t forget to tune in. Finally, TV Listings also displays lists that are specific to movies and sports. Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.6+ Download: Here Words With Friends By: Zynga Games have always been the cornerstone of the Android Market. And being able to play with your friends has made games even more addicting than ever. One of the most popular games in the Android Market is Words With Friends. The game has the same idea of that of Scrabble. After signing up for an account and registering with your Facebook, Word with Friends will be able to tell you which of your friends are playing. If you enjoy word games and being able to play with your friends, Zynga has also made Hanging with Friends for Android (Hangman) and will also be releasing Scramble with Friends very soon. Price: Free! Download: Here Google Music By: Google Inc. Android users have not had a definite platform for listening and buying music until now. Google Music is a music player and storage service that lets you keep your music collection online so you can save space on your Android device. Best of all, if you’re going to be without the internet, Google Music lets you save any or all of your songs and playlists locally for offline playback. Furthermore, Google Music offers the easiest connection between the Google Music Store and your Android devices. You can also upload up to 20,000 songs straight to Google Music from your computer and listen to all of your songs and music from any internet connected device. The Google Music interface also completely destroys its competition. Google Music is definitely the best Android music player out there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrNhKcxBbZo Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.2+ Download: Here The Weather Channel By: The Weather Channel The Weather is unpredictable. So when you’re out and about, you need instant access to the forecast around you. The Weather Channel is one of, if not the, best weather application on the Android Market. The app is easy to use and offers a wide variety of information. After inserting your location, The Weather Channel will instantly load the current weather. In addition to being able to add multiple cities to your home page for quick access, you can also click the “Maps” button to get a radar map with different layers and modes. Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.1+ Download: Here Flick Kick Field Goal By: Pik Pok It’s Good! Flick Kick Field Goal is bringing all of the pressure of being a field goal kicker to the Android Market. Flick Kick has quickly become one of the most popular games in the Android Marke. Furthermore, within several game modes, the objective of the game is to flick the football in between the uprights (the two poles on the field goal). While playing the game, wind and distance will constantly be trying to knock the ball away. But with the right amount of power and angle from your finger, you can beat all 3 game modes and your friends. Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.0+ Download: Here ESPN ScoreCenter By: ESPN Inc. Calling all sports fans! ESPN ScoreCenter will keep you up to the minute with your favorite sports teams and leagues no matter where you go. Whether it be checking live game stats and box scores, or discovering this years standings, ESPN ScoreCenter has it all for “over 100 sports leagues”. ScoreCenter also allows you to save your favorite teams in the myTeams section for instand access. In addition, ESPN’s 'round-the-clock editorial staff gives you breaking-news, analysis, and video clips. Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.1+ Download: Here Wikipedia By: Wikimedia Foundation Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, has become known as the internet’s #1 source of information. Wikipedia has been accessible from mobile devices since 2004. However, their true mobile website for smart phones did not come out until 2007. Now, with the Wikipedia app for Android, you can get all of the information Wikipedia has to offer in a very easy to use application. The Wikipedia app houses over 20 million articles in 280 languages. If you find an interesting article that you want to keep on your phone, the app allows for you to save it for offline reading. If you’re multilingual, Wikipedia for Android allows you to read any article in any other language. Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.2+ Download: Here Home Switcher By: ymst If you enjoy downloading and playing with multiple launchers, including your standard Android one, Home Switcher is an app that you must have. Home Switcher lets you see all of your installed launchers (homes) and pick which one to open. In addition, Home Switcher allows you to choose which launcher you want to set as your default one. For example, when you press the home button on your phone, this launcher will come up. If you’re still puzzled about what a launcher is, check out Go Launcher EX, SPB Shell 3D, or LauncherPro. Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.5+ Download: Here Battery Indicator By: Darshan Computing, LLC Have you ever noticed that the standard Android battery indicator does not include the percent battery remaining? Battery Indicator shows your battery charge level (percent) as a small icon in your notification bar, with battery temperature, health, voltage, and time since plugged / unplugged. Battery Indicator is the best way to find out exactly how much battery you have left without opening any settings or other applications. It is very simple, does not have any advertisements, and displays the battery precent in 1% increments for advanced accuracy. Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.5+ Download: Here Iris By: Dextera Surely, we have all heard of Siri, Apple’s personal assistant that is sweeping the nation. Although it is definitely not the first of its kind, (Google Voice Commands) it does offer the ability of deciphering your sentences rather than only accepting certain commands. Iris, Siri spelled backwards, was released soon after Siri and even the developers claim that it is a Siri clone. Iris allows you tell your phone to: Call or text someone. Search nearby locations. Play music. Find News. And much more. To show just how amazing their app is, the Iris team put Iris up against Siri. With the help of ChaCha and other information databases, Iris seems to be giving much better information without having to launch the browser. Take a look for yourself: httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=77B8DF0XMGc Note: You need to have “Voice Search” and “TTS library” installed in your phone for iris. to work. Most of the phones have these pre-installed, if not please install them from Android market before you try iris. Price: Free! Requires Android: 2.1+ Download: Here Lookout Mobile Security By: Lookout Mobile Security By now, most Android users are aware of malware, spyware, and trojans that exist. Lookout Mobile Security is like an anti-virus software for your Android device. Whenever a new app is downloaded and installed, Lookout will automatically search it to ensure that it is safe. However, Lookout is not bulky or annoying like most anti-virus softwares and runs mostly in the background. In addition, by going to myLookout.com, users can find their phone (even if GPS is off) and activate a loud alarm, even if your phone or tablet is on silent. If you’re looking to keep your Android device safe, Lookout is the way to go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh7anr-Df9E Price: Free! Requires Android: 1.5+ Download: Here Beautiful Widgets By: LevelUp Studio Widgets have always been the center piece of the Android platform. Beautiful Widgets is set of custom widgets that include clock, weather, date, and toggle widgets. Beautiful Widgets will completely enhance your home page in addition to giving you instant access to the most important information without having to open any apps. Each widget is customizable in size and can be combined with 300 skins to ensure that the widgets fit in with the rest of your phone. LevelUp Studio is so confident that you will love Beautiful Widgets that they are extending the refund policy from 15 minutes to 24 hours! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRkd9hAn_Z0 Price: $2.89 Requires Android: 1.6+ Download: Here SPB Shell 3D By: SPB Software One of the best features about Android is having total control of customization. More specifically, Launchers and Skins give Android users access to tons of new user interfaces and also features. Putting aside some of the more well known launchers, SPB Software recently release SPB Shell 3D. The app, which will cost you $14.95 in the Android Market, will bring a whole new look and feel to your Android 2.1+ device. Over 100,000 people, including us, have already downloaded the launcher. Don’t be scared off by the steep price tag, SPB Shell 3D packs dynamic folders, custom widgets and panels, sweet animations and a full 3D experience. Once you download this app, no additional skins or plugins are needed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVU84J1ShSQ Price: $14.95 Requires Android: 2.1+ Download: Here Conclusion And so, what say you, dear reader? Are there any apps that you’ve used recently that come to mind that are worthy of mentioning here? We’ll be updating this list constantly to showcase this years best apps, both paid and free, so let us know what you think in the comments! YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Paid Android Apps Download Up by 2% in May 2011 Top 5 Rooted Apps of 2012 [Video] Getjar Gold Feeds You With Free Premium Android Apps Daily This article, Some of the Best Android Apps of 2012 – So Far , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Asus Transformer Prime TF700T vs iPad 3: Battle of the Best Posted: 14 Feb 2012 12:24 AM PST You thought 2011 was going to be the year of the tablets, but ended up disappointed with the showing of tablets in 2011? I don’t blame you. Both Google and the initial tablet manufacturers screwed up with the launch of the “real tablets” with Android 3.0x Honeycomb. Google did it with the half-baked Honeycomb, and it was obvious it was rushed with Motorola scrambling to release it before the iPad 2, with features that weren’t even ready for launch. Little good did that do for them, when they released the Xoom with a starting price of $800, which brings me to the failure of the manufacturers to release a tablet at a competitive price with the iPad. Specs are almost irrelevant if you can’t compete on price. It’s even worse when you offer less value for a higher price. Even though I knew the botched Honeycomb and Xoom launch would set Android at least 6 months back in the rapidly growing tablet market, with such lost momentum, I was still rooting for the Xoom to be a failure. But why? I wanted manufacturers to learn a lesson – price matters. The reason for this is because I felt that the carriers were trying to standardize tablets as 3G devices that you can either buy for $800 unlocked, which would’ve been a standard price in the future if they succeeded, or $500 – with a 2 year contract. In other words, they wanted to transform tablets into just bigger smartphones, and to gain control of that market. Fortunately, if I can even say that, the initial Android tablets failed, so the standard price didn’t become $800 and 3G tablets didn’t become a standard either. This was better for the Android ecosystem in the long term, but it wasn’t much better off, because the Android tablets market still took a big hit because of lost momentum. It wasn’t until the launch of the first Asus Transformer and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that things started picking up a bit. Then, the Kindle Fire showed everyone that there can be a huge market for inexpensive tablets. Where is the market heading now?  I believe the momentum for Android tablets will really pick up in 2012 thanks to the much improved Android 4.0 OS, the more powerful quad core Cortex A9 chips, dual core and quad core Qualcomm Krait chips, and Samsung and TI’s Cortex A15 chips, plus all the Full HD and Ultra-HD displays. This seems to start once again with Asus and their latest Transformer tablet, this time dubbed the Asus Transformer Prime TF700T, which will be just one of the competitors for the iPad 3. Here’s how both tablets should complete on specs: Asus Transformer Prime TF700T Asus Transformer Prime TF700T specs Processor: quad core 1.3 Ghz Tegra 3 Display: 10.1″ SuperIPS+ Resolution: 1920×1200 (224 PPI – 50% higher PPI than original Prime) Storage: 32 GB RAM: 1 GB RAM Cameras: 8 MP rear camera, 2 MP front-camera Video:  1080p recording Body: aluminum Weight: 586g Battery: ~7000 mAh Connectivity: Wi-fi only OS: Android 4.0.3 (or slightly newer) Price: $600 iPad 3 Specs (speculation) iPad 3 speculated specs Processor: quad core 1.3-1.5 Ghz Apple A6/dual core 1.8 Ghz Apple A6 Display: 9.7″ IPS panel Resolution: 2048×1536 (264 PPI – 100% higher PPI than original iPad) Storage: 16 GB RAM: 1 GB RAM Cameras: 2-5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front-camera Video:  720p recording for both cameras Body: aluminum Weight: ~600 g Battery: ~7000 mAh Connectivity: Wi-fi only OS: iOS 5.1 (or slightly newer) Price: $500 Processors I’m going to say from the start that I don’t think the Asus Transformer Prime TF700T will be competitive with the Apple iPad 3 spec per spec or spec per price. The TF700T may get an upgraded processor by the launch time in Q2, whenever that will be (either way later than iPad 3), but the quad core Tegra 3 1.3 Ghz processor is most likely going to be slower than the Apple A6 (and other chips by then for that matter). Apple will most likely have either a quad core 1.5 Ghz Cortex A9 processor, or a dual core 1.8 Ghz one, with increased single-threaded performance because of the higher speed per core. There’s also a small possibility they will have a Cortex A15 processor manufactured (once again) by Samsung, but somehow I doubt Samsung is giving them their processor this time, and I doubt Apple will be ready with the Cortex A15 so early. Either way, I’m expecting their chip to be faster in benchmarks and in real world tests. Tegra 3 shouldn’t be as competitive by then, and Krait chips, OMAP 4470, and new Exynos chips, all should be better than Tegra 3 by then, and I’m also assuming the Tegra 3+ will launch sometime before summer or in early summer. Display Again, I’m expecting Apple to take this one from Asus, if only by having a higher resolution and PPI. The difference won’t be that big though (18% higher PPI), and it will also be mostly pointless for movies, because all that extra resolution will be part of the iPad’s huge letterboxes, because of its 4:3 aspect, as opposed to the Transformer Prime’s 16:10 aspect, which is much closer to a movie’s ratio. They will both be able to run 1080p movies at 1080p resolution, no more, no less. But again, if we’re talking display quality, Apple should beat Asus by a hair on this one. I think it’s also worth mentioning that these kind of resolutions will be overkill for many people, because the price difference will not be worth it, and they would rather get a cheaper tablet instead, than one with a resolution that is equal or higher than their 22″ PC monitor. Price It’s very possible that Apple may finally break the $500 price point for the entry level iPad, because the new high PPI displays will be very expensive for both manufacturers, and since it’s even higher PPI, the iPad 3′s display may be even more expensive. However, considering Apple’s aggressive negotiations with suppliers (which often forces them to pay very low wages, like they do with Foxconn), it’s also very possible that the iPad 3 will remain priced at $500. It also needs to remain at that level, in a year when I expect a lot of $100-$200 decent Android tablets to appear as well. They will do this by keeping the storage the same ( a pretty expensive component), so Asus will win with 32 GB vs 16 GB internal storage here, but again the iPad 3 should be $100 less as well. I think a lot of people don’t care about the difference in storage that much, and will just want the cheaper version, if they have that option. Other specs Battery life between the two devices should be fairly similar. This year, Android devices will start having very high battery life. Manufacturers are learning how to build very efficient devices, so now they will be just as efficient or even more so than an iPad. Cameras, as always, won’t be such a big issue, because not too many people use them on tablets. However, I do think that every single high-end smartphone or tablet needs to offer HD recording for the front-camera, and the same should be true with most laptops by now. I still can’t believe they are making them with VGA cameras like it’s 2005. Conclusion As always, the Asus Transformer will have something no other tablet has right now (unfortunately), and that’s the integrated keyboard dock, which I think is a huge plus. Personally, I can’t see myself buying a tablet without a keyboard dock like the Transformer. It makes it useful to take it with you and write on, and it makes it useful to watch movies on it, without having to keep it for 2 hours in your hands. I really believe it’s the future for both tablets and laptops. It’s the best of both worlds – with no compromise. As a competitor to the Apple iPad 3 however, the Asus Transformer TF700T is a little too expensive at $600, and they’ll have to make it $500 by the time it launches, which they might. I’m hoping that soon we’ll also start seeing 11.6″ Transformer devices, because although the tablet will be slightly bigger (maybe too big for some), it would make it more useful as a laptop replacement, better for movies, etc. I’m also hoping that Samsung starts making them like this, too. I think Asus is definitely a great manufacturer, but we need more choices, and Samsung, which is also a laptop manufacturer like Asus, should start making these as well. We had some hands on time with Lenovo’s K2010 Tegra 3 10 inch tablet, which had the added benefit of a keyboard dock as well, so perhaps we are seeing a coming trend here. Video:  In the end, you’re more likely to choose the ecosystem than the tablet per se, even if it happens to have slightly better or slightly worse specs. The choice is really about deciding whether to be in the Apple ecosystem, with the iPads and iPhones, with the iMacs, iTV’s and so on, or in Google’s ecosystem, with Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Navigation, and future Google/Motorola products like the rumored HUD glasses, and last but not least, the many choices between devices from manufacturers. With that in mind, dear reader, we have thrown together a nice infographic comparing the best Android tablets of 2012, here. We’ll be taking a look at other upcoming tablets that are likely to go head to head with the iPad 3 in the coming months. And what do you think? You are reading an Android website after all, but the iPad 3 is likely to a be blockbuster success. Is there enough there to draw you into Apple’s walled (and expensive) garden of vertically integrated freedom? Or do the the promises of Android 4.o Ice Cream Sandwich, the versatile battery-life extending keyboard dock appeal enough to you? Either way, as always, consumers will vote with their dollars. Judging from the fact that ASUS is not able to keep up with the demand for the current Transformer Prime, I think it’s safe to say that the Transformer Prime TF700T will be a huge success too, if they price it right. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Asus Transformer Prime Launching on January 12th in UK Asus Transformer Prime Runs Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0+ Smooth Like Butter [Video] Asus Transformer Prime Preview Pictures This article, Asus Transformer Prime TF700T vs iPad 3: Battle of the Best , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

One-click Root for Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime on ICS 9.4.2.11 Firmware Posted: 13 Feb 2012 07:49 PM PST Have you just grabbed the latest official OTA update by Asus for your Eee Pad Transformer Prime? This update, the ICS 9.4.2.11 firmware, disables root access on your Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime. If you’ve already got the ICS 9.4.2.11 firmware running on your device, however, there’s no need to panic. You can still regain root access on your tablet, and all in one click. Thanks to XDA-Developers member -viperboy-, viperMOD Prime Time has been updated to work on the ICS 9.2.4.11 firmware. viperMOD Prime Time is an automated rooting program that comes with extra features that other root tools don’t have and it is extremely simple to use. Even the most novice of users can figure their way around it. In fact, it’s as simple as hooking your device up to your computer, running a program, and pressing one key. You read that right. Requirements Eager to get your root access back? Before we begin with the rooting process, you’ll need a few things: The viperMOD Prime Time one-click root tool.  Download the tool for Windows or for Linux. Ensure that USB Debugging has been enabled on your tablet. You can do this through Settings > Developer Options. Ensure that your tablet has a charge of at least 70%, to prevent it from shutting off in the middle of the rooting process. Step-by-step Guide Once you have everything required, you may now proceed to the rooting process: Begin by downloading the viperMod Prime Time root tool onto your computer. Extract the contents of the viperMod Prime Time root tool ZIP file. Kill Asus Sync and Splashtop. Connect your tablet to the computer. Make sure you install the device drivers located inside of the ZIP file. (If you can already adb into your device, then you do not need to install the drivers.) If you are on Linux, you  may need to do “chmod a+x /path/to/primetime/primetime.sh” (without the quotes). Run PrimeTime.exe. You will see a command line prompt.  (On Linux, run the “primetime.sh” script.) Type 1 to start rooting your device. Once you’re done, install the OTA Root Keeper from the Android Market. Congratulations! You’ve now regained root access on your Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime after updating the tablet with the ICS 9.4.2.11 firmware OTA update. With the help of OTA Root Keeper, you’ll have a backup of your device’s root and will allow your root to survive OTAs, if several conditions are matched. You should only download the OTA Root Keeper after your Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime has been successfully rooted. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE How to Root Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime in One Click How to Root Your ASUS Transformer Prime w/ NachoRoot How To Root ASUS Transformer Prime On Android 3.2.1 Honeycomb Using NachoRoot [Tutorial] This article, One-click Root for Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime on ICS 9.4.2.11 Firmware , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Sniffer: A Lost and Found App for Android Posted: 13 Feb 2012 07:24 PM PST No matter how careful we are with our personal belongings we are really bound to sometimes lose or misplace things whether big or small, important or not. It really can be a big headache when something like this happens to anyone. Most of the time, you may not find your lost items anymore, but Android just got the most helpful solution for you. With the Sniffer app for Android, you’ll have access to a virtual bulletin board that reports lost and found items wherever you are in the world. Check it out now and who knows you may find your lost belongings through this app. Sniffer Let me introduce to you Sniffer. It is an Android app that functions like a handy virtual noticeboard where users could search or report their lost items.  If you found an item and you wish to return it to the owner, you can do it through this app. Sniffer allows you to report the lost item easily with the option of keeping your personal information such as your name, location, or contact details undisclosed. It is also worth mentioning that this app is a gem not only in terms of searching or reporting lost items but also because of its user-friendly interface. Many people find lost items but because of the hassle or the lack of time to do this, most people don't return these items anymore. Using Sniffer Let's now check out how to use Sniffer and evaluate its user-friendliness. How does this app really work in finding and reporting lost and found items? It is quite easy. As a user launches Sniffer, it displays items that are recently reported from a central database. However, if there are no items that were recently reported, you are then brought to the home screen where you have the options to Report Lost items, Report Found items or to View Noticeboard. When you choose View Noticeboard it will take  you to another screen where there are two tabs — Live Board and Category. The Live Board contains all the items that were recently reported by other users and they are listed from the most recently reported to the oldest.  To make searching more convenient, it is better to search for items in categories. Just hit the Categories tab or you may tap the icons arranged on the right side of the home screen. On the other hand, if you want to report lost items, it is also very simple to do so. What you do is just to input the details about the item that you found. The details include category, description, location and contact method. Of course, returning a valuable item to the owner also deserves some reward, so, along with the details, you also get to specify what reward you are expecting or the reward that you are willing to give. Just hit the Submit item button and you are good to go. If you lose an item, there is still some hope that you will still find it with the help of Sniffer. Or, if you find an item, you can get some rewards by returning it to the owner through this app. You can install Sniffer free from the Android Market. Feature image credit: Quinn Dombrowski (Flickr) YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Best Android Apps to Help You Find Your Lost Smartphone How to Find Your Long Lost Android Device With Plan B Supposed render of the T-Mobile G1 v2 “Bigfoot” found This article, Sniffer: A Lost and Found App for Android , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Mediatek MT6575 1 Ghz Cortex A9 Chip to Power Sub-$200 Android 4.0 Smartphones Posted: 13 Feb 2012 02:04 PM PST Mediatek is announcing a new 1 Ghz single core Cortex A9 chip called MT6575, that is optimized for Android 4.0, and should play a big role in the low-end smartphones in the next few years. I’m actually surprised we are not seeing more single core Cortex A9 chips around instead of the same old Cortex A8 that we still see in mid-end phones today. Cortex A9 has the advantage over Cortex A8 in every way, except perhaps being a little more expensive, but definitely worth it. It’s completely out out order, while Cortex A8 still has in-order execution of instructions, so it can be around 25% faster than Cortex A8 at the same clock frequency, and this is just one of the advantages. But perhaps even more importantly, it’s more energy efficient than Cortex A8. Many phones from the single-core generation couldn’t last too much on a charge because those single core chips were too inefficient, especially the ones manufactured at 65 nm. The Mediatek MT6575 is capable of providing 720p video playback, 3D support, support for qHD displays, and is able to provide 35% improvement in browser performance and 20% improvement in graphics performance compared to their competitors in the same segment, according to benchmarks done by Mediatek. Speaking of graphics performance, they say it uses a PowerVR 5xx GPU, but they aren’t specifying which one. Mediatek believes that their chip will power a lot of sub-$200 low-end phones in the near future, that will come directly with Android 4.0 on board. If they can provide adequate performance for ICS in a low-end phone, I think that will appeal to a lot of people who are switching from regular phones to smartphones, because they will be impressed with how polished Android 4.0 is. These sub-$200 phones should start appearing on the market in the first quarter of this year. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE No related posts. This article, Mediatek MT6575 1 Ghz Cortex A9 Chip to Power Sub-$200 Android 4.0 Smartphones , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 S6500 Bound for the Mobile World Congress 2012 Posted: 13 Feb 2012 01:38 PM PST Just before last year's Mobile World Congress, we were already treated to witness the Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570. With the MWC 2012 just a few days away, we are (once again) seeing a new leaked version of a different Galaxy S Mini; highly believed to be last year's successor. Apart from seeing the unit, information about the Galaxy Mini 2 S6500 has also been leaked to the public. Compared to last year's model, the Galaxy Mini 2 S6500 does not have HSPA+ or even a 3MP camera. It also has a larger screen, a 800MHz single core processor, and a 3.3" HVGA display. All in all, we feel that this is a disappointment from the previous model and it is a low-end smartphone that could give Android a bad reputation. Even though it is an upgrade from the 2011 model, the Galaxy Mini 2 S6500 is no match for the smartphones being announced this year. If this is the only device Samsung announces at the MWC this year, we'll definitely be disappointed! YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Samsung Galaxy S3 may not make its’ Debut at Mobile World Congress Samsung Confirms: No Galaxy S3 at Mobile World Congress this Month Samsung Galaxy S3 and Mobile World Congress, Our Take This article, Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 S6500 Bound for the Mobile World Congress 2012 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Is Sony Leaving Android for Vita OS? Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:35 PM PST If you're a fan of Sony Android smartphones and tablets, this may end pretty soon. Especially with the €247 million loss that the company incurred in 2011, Sony may start looking for a new place where they can be appreciated more—particularly by their main target audience: the hard core gamers. The company's upcoming President and CEO Kazuo Hirai has been hinting at future plans of expanding Vita OS and also to port it to smartphones and tablets. And since Vita OS is also a gaming monster arena, Sony may decide to stop its Android OS production and settle for Vita OS. "If you're asking if we've made it in a way that's expandable, so that it's possible to apply to smartphones and tablets on top of achieving the high responsiveness we need for gaming devices — it is possible. That doesn't mean that we're applying it to smartphones and tablets at this point in time, but it's been designed with expandability in mind," says Senior VP, Yoshio Matsumoto. As the Senior VP mentioned, plans for changing to Vita OS might not happen anytime soon. However, the company is not discarding its possibility. While we do believe it might be a healthy competition for Android, we can't help but wonder if it will be a smart move for Sony too. What do you think? YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE The European Commission Approves Sony’s Acquisition of Sony Ericsson Sony Tablet S Gets Video Unlimited Via Android 3.2 Honeycomb Update Android and iOS Dominate Portable Gaming. Your Move, Nintendo This article, Is Sony Leaving Android for Vita OS? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Samsung Files Trademark for Samsung Galaxy Camera Posted: 13 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST The trend of having an Android based camera was actually thought of by Polaroid with the SC1630 Smart Camera. So now, there is much reason to believe that Samsung is following suit. The first thing that Samsung did was to pay a visit to the USPTO and file a trademark for their 'Samsung Galaxy Camera.' Although no official reports have been given, we believe this will become a reality in the near future. The thought of having a good camera built with capable megapixels, running on Android, and with phone capabilities is very enticing! Just think of the number of people who will be rushing to get their hands on this product! Maybe soon after, there will also be an Android powered DSLR camera! But with a 50% chance that it won't happen, the idea is still very exciting! How about you? Are you as excited as us about this? YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE No related posts. This article, Samsung Files Trademark for Samsung Galaxy Camera , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Leaked RUU for HTC Endeavor Arrives Posted: 13 Feb 2012 10:27 AM PST For the past several years, custom ROMs like CyanogenMod, have acted as a big help for Android smartphone users. These custom ROMs have helped users get the latest OS version even if their phone manufacturer still has not made this available to them. Unfortunately, HTC users have been having trouble getting the latest ICS custom ROM on their phone because it has been having an issue with the installation. So when an RUU was leaked to XDA-Developers yesterday, we only knew things were looking up for the HTC Endeavor owners! Even though the leaked RUU will still need a lot of work, the fact that it's out for the public to use is more than thrilling already. Plus, it does not help that the HTC Endeavor made a recent shift to quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor + 720p resolution. You can get the RUU from this site. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Leaked Images of the Nexus 3, An Epic Fail Custom ROM With Android 3.1 Leaked For Acer Iconia Tab A500 Why You’d Want to Buy an HP TouchPad When the Next Batch Arrives This article, Leaked RUU for HTC Endeavor Arrives , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.