Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Android and Me

Android and Me

Nexus 7 a hit with consumers, selling out across the US

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 02:17 PM PDT

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All across the web, from the most popular tech blogs online, to even the most devout Apple fans, the Nexus 7 is being hailed as a huge success. And real world sales show it.

Google, GameStop, Staples, Office Depot and Sam’s Club have all run out of Nexus 7s, and have posted one to three week delays on availability for the tablet.

The Google Play store lists the Nexus 7 as shipping soon, which could mean up to couple weeks. Staples, Sam’s Club and Office Depot show it as temporarily out of stock. And GameStop, who is currently offering up 30% extra in in-store credit for anyone trading in used games or hardware towards a Nexus 7, has come forward saying they don’t expect another shipment of the tablets until August 5th, for which they are taking pre-orders for now.

The size, design, high quality display and ultra fast processor in the Nexus 7 make for an excellent hardware experience. Thanks to Jelly Bean, and the addition of Google Now and Project Butter, the software on the Nexus 7 is the best on any Android device ever released. At $300, the Nexus 7 would be a good deal. At just $199, it’s a steal.

If you’re on the hunt for a Nexus 7, good luck. Apparently, you’re going to need it.

MOTOACTV smartwatch gets a $100 price cut

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:59 PM PDT

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The MOTOACTV Android powered smartwatch may not be as successful as many had hoped, but that may be due to the high price point Motorola and others have been charging. We’re not sure if Motorola has seen the error of its ways or is simply trying to clear out some inventory, but you can now purchase the MOTOACTV Android smartwatch for $100 less.

The price of the 8GB model has been cut to $149.99 while the 16GB model will cost you a cool $199.99. At $299.99, the Multi-Sport Edition is still pretty pricey, but it’s a significantly better deal than the $399.99 Motorola was charging just yesterday.

Is $149.99 a compelling price for the MOTOACTV or are you waiting to see what the second generation of Android powered smartwatches are able to do?

Video: Compared to Google Now, Siri is embarrassingly bad

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:57 PM PDT

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I’m sure by now we’ve all seen our fair share of Google Now’s voice search functionality vs Apple’s Siri. Since the introduction of Jelly Bean, Android 4.1, and Google Now, comparison and demonstration videos have popped up all over online. But they’ve yet to be this hilarious.

In today’s Google Now vs Siri video, Annie Gaus of App Judgement has put the two services through a slightly different torture test to see which one reigns supreme. Instead of reading off a list of common commands and questions you might ask a personal assistant, she asked both an iPhone 4S and Nexus 7 things she’s asked her phone through web search in the week before making the video. The results speak for themselves. (Start watching at 3:15.)

The two most important things I took away from the video: For one, when asking Google Now for information, and there’s no card to show you directly, displaying the Google search results right away is incredibly powerful and useful. And secondly, Siri seriously loves stallions. Really.

Video: Nexus 7 unboxing montage

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 09:28 AM PDT

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As we all patiently await the delivery of our Nexus 7 tablets from Google and ASUS, what better way to kill the time than by watching a Nexus 7 unboxing montage. The following video is making its way around the internets at the moment, and it’s frankly hilarious to watch. We’re having a good old time watching folks struggle to get the Nexus 7 out of a tightly-packaged box, and we thought you might enjoy it as well.

Anyone out there gotten their hands on the Nexus 7 yet? Let us know how you’re enjoying it by leaving a comment below.

Is this the best damn video you’ll watch today? Probably.

Sprint LTE is alive in Georgia, Kansas, Missouri and Texas

Posted: 15 Jul 2012 07:42 PM PDT

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With Sprint’s first foray into 4G perhaps now suitably behind them, they have hit the switch on their LTE network and can begin to try in earnest to catch up with Verizon and AT&T before T-Mobile can get in on the party next year.

Sprint is easing it’s way into things with less than a dozen areas being brought into the warm embrace of their LTE.

Today’s lucky few include; Atlanta, Georgia; Newnan, Georgia; Rome; Georgia; Kansas City, Kansas; St. Joseph, Missouri; Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Forth Worth, Texas; Houston, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Waco, Texas.

There have been isolated reports of LTE activity flickering in other areas, but this is it for the official lineup at the moment.

If you are one of the chosen few that is both in a Sprint LTE area and has an LTE handset (Galaxy Nexus, Viper, EVO 4G LTE, or Galaxy S III) we would love to see what kind of speeds you are pulling at the moment as you are probably looking at the best case scenario right now before everyone else starts piling on.

You can of course look forward to a turbo boost again next year when Sprint plans to bring LTE-Advanced to the table, which will be the first true 4G technology to hit the U.S. They won’t be alone with at least AT&T and T-Mobile having their sights set on a 2013 launch for their own LTE-Advanced efforts.

Finally, if you prefer to get your carrier news in cheesy video format I have some excellent news for you, Sprint made the following with you in mind.
Posted by at 8:12 AM

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