Latest Gear Live Videos
Unboxing Live 083: Samsung Focus S Windows Phone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Microsoft, Videocasts
In this episode we give you a look at the Samsung Focus S, the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango follow-up to last year's Samsung Focus (which was one of the launch Windows Phone 7 devices.) The Samsung Focus S features a 1.4 GHz processor, an 8 megapixel camera that can record in 720p, and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display. It also supports 802.11n Wi-Fi networks and has Bluetooth built-in as well. You can pick up the Samsung Focus S on Amazon for $119.
Big thank you to MozyPro and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! MozyPro provides simple, automatic, and secure data backup. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.
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Unboxing Live 078: Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Videocasts
In this edition of Unboxing Live, we open up the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first smartphone to be released that runs Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. This smartphone supports Verizon Wireless 4G LTE, allowing for super-fast mobile broadband, and has a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display. Get a look at it here in the unboxing, and then when you're ready, be sure to check out our full Galaxy Nexus review, as well as our Galaxy Nexus unboxing gallery.
Big thank you to MozyPro and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! MozyPro provides simple, automatic, and secure data backup. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.
Samsung Galaxy Note coming to AT&T’s 4G LTE network
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi
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Samsung has announced that its Galaxy Note mini-tablet/super-big phone will officially be coming to AT&T in the near future. The Galaxy Note sports a 5.3-inch 800x1280 Super AMOLED Plus display, runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and even includes a fancy stylus (though, they call it an S-pen.) The device will run on AT&T's newly-launched 4G LTE network. We're still waiting on a shipping date, but hey, at least it's confirmed now!
Top 10 Gear Live stories of 2011
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Editorial, Features, Google, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Software, Videos
We've come to the end of another year, and as we wave goodbye to 2011, we figured it was only fitting that we share the most popular stories published on Gear Live this year, as determined by our readers (we've also got the top ten most read stories regardless of publish date, as well as the ten most popular Gear Live videos of 2011!) These are the ten stories that were read the most, and when you consider that fact, it's pretty surprising to see what made the list. Let's kick it off with our most read story of the year:
Giveaway: Apple iPad 2 32 GB!:
The iPad 2 certainly got a lot of attention this year, and our iPad 2 giveaway served as our most popular post out of them all for 2011.
Click to continue reading Top 10 Gear Live stories of 2011
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Handhelds, Product Reviews
How much does Android 4.0 mean to you? How much do you need to have it right now? Because that's the dilemma with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone ($299-$649). Overall it's not quite as good a phone as the Motorola Droid RAZR ($299). But right now, it's the only phone running Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), and that's the future.
In many ways, this is the ultimate early adopter phone. The phone itself isn't perfect; typically, Nexus phones aren't the best hardware on the market. But the software takes a major leap forward, with everything from a better Gmail experience to a faster browser and the ability to put folders on your home screens. Do you need that right now? Then yes, you need the Nexus. Why else might you want to jump on board the latest flagship Google device? Hit the link and follow us through our full Galaxy Nexus review for the answers.
Click to continue reading Samsung Galaxy Nexus review
Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4S: Screen size
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Displays, Google
This picture of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus next to the iPhone 4S says so much to us. Seriously, what is up with that display size on the Galaxy Nexus? I mean, I'll be the first to admit that I'd like to see the iPhone screen size get bumped up from the 3.5-inches that it's been at since the original iPhone hit the scene, but the Galaxy Nexus display is a whopping 4.65-inches. Sure, some people would love a display that size, but for the flagship Nexus device that launches Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, it just feels impractical. The screen is so big that one-handed use of the phone get frustrating, and I'm someone with large hands!
What do you think? Are you good with a 4.65-inch smartphone, or is that a bit much for your tastes?
For more on the Nexus, check out our Galaxy Nexus unboxing gallery, and our full Galaxy Nexus review.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the newest and hottest Android smartphone in town, and we've got one in-house to review. We're still putting our finishing touches on our thoughts about the first phone to run Android 4.0 (otherwise known as Ice Cream Sandwich,) but what we do have ready is a Galaxy Nexus unboxing gallery where you can get up close and personal with the device in a series through our series of images. Go ahead and check it out, and we'll have our full review up shortly!
Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Nexus unboxing gallery
Senator Al Franken ‘Troubled’ by Carrier IQ investigation results
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News, Software
Sen. Al Franken this week said he is still "very troubled" by the technology deployed by Carrier IQ despite the fact that the company—as well as AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, and HTC—released details about how they use Carrier IQ software.
"People have a fundamental right to control their private information," Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement. "After reading the companies' responses, I'm still concerned that this right is not being respected."
Of particular concern was the fact that Carrier IQ was receiving the contents of users' text messages after say it did not, as well as the software's ability to collect online search data.
"There are still many questions to be answered here and things that need to be fixed," Franken said.
"We appreciate Subcommittee Chairman Franken's continued interest in protecting consumer privacy and look forward to our ongoing dialogue with the Senator to answer his additional questions," Carrier IQ said in a statement.
Click to continue reading Senator Al Franken ‘Troubled’ by Carrier IQ investigation results
Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Software
At the Google I/O conference in May, many Android phone vendors and U.S. wireless carriers made a long-awaited promise: From then on, any new Android phone would receive timely OS updates for at least 18 months following launch, as part of the then newly christened Google Update Alliance.
The back story: If you own an Android phone, you may have watched with frustration as a new version of the OS hit the market. It's almost never clear if your phone will ever get that upgrade—unlike with iOS or Windows Phones, which always get all upgrades (providing they meet the right hardware requirements). With Android, it seems to depend on the phone vendor, the specific model, the wireless carrier, the Android version itself, and whether Google sent the carrier an inflatable plastic food product as a token of its appreciation that week. Worse—and much to our chagrin—sometimes vendors make promises to customers before the sale that they don't keep once you own the phone.
Many factors contribute to this. But custom versions of Android are the key culprit, either thanks to vendor-specific enhancements (like HTC Sense, Motorola MotoBlur, and Samsung's TouchWiz, though LG, Pantech, Casio, and other vendors do it too), or carrier-specific enhancements of a more dubious nature (such as unnecessary preloaded bloatware and changes to default apps). These changes require many programming hours not just to make in the first place, but to also support and upgrade down the road—resources the carrier would rather throw at making new phones to sell you.
So the Google Update Alliance was a breath of fresh air. It sounded like everyone would finally come together, streamline their OS update timelines, and stop jerking around their customers. The thing is, while the Google Update Alliance ended up being one of the biggest stories to come out of Google I/O, we've heard almost nothing about it since then. You can bet we weren't just going to forget about it and pretend it never happened—especially after the release of Google Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is a huge leap in UI design and overall performance.
Click to continue reading Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations
Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds, Microsoft, Product Reviews
When we first reviewed the Samsung Focus Flash, we felt its smaller form factor and significantly lower price made it a better deal than the Focus S at first glance ($199.99 - $19.99 on Amazon). Now that we've tested the Focus S, we're singing a different tune. True, you're only getting a bigger screen, an improved camera, and a thinner profile, but the Focus S brings Windows Phone 7.5 Mango closer than it has ever been to the high-end. That alone makes this smartphone worth a close look, especially given its slick OS. Click on through to see why in our full Samsung Focus S review.
Click to continue reading Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US
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