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Latest Gear Live Videos
iPhone 4S review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Features, Handhelds, Product Reviews,
After over a year, Apple has released the follow-up to the iPhone 4, and its called the iPhone 4S. What do you do with your phone? If you're like most Americans, you make some calls, take some photos, and send some texts. Maybe you kill time with some games, check Facebook or Twitter, and look things up on the Web. If that's you, then the iPhone 4S ($199-$399 with contract on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T) is your phone: it's the best cameraphone in the US, the fastest Web-browsing phone, and one that has finally licked the iPhone's calling problems. It's so good, that it's our current Editors' Choice on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T.
Click to continue reading iPhone 4S review
Gallery: iPhone 4S review
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Edit: Be sure to check out our iPhone 4S review as well!
Back in June, I detailed the nine features that I wanted Apple to include in iOS 5—features that would fix obvious OS flaws and expand upon its already rock-solid foundation. Days later, at WWDC 2011, Apple revealed a handful of the "200 new features" that would comprise Cupertino's latest mobile operating system—many of which were what I and droves of other iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users had desired for some time. Fast forward to today: iOS 5 is now here, and it surpasses iOS 4 with its overhauled alerts and notification system, wireless syncing, the ability for users to activate iPads without first connecting them to a Mac or PC, and many other much-welcomed features. No operating system—be it mobile or desktop—is without flaws, but Apple iOS 5 manages to keep the dings to a minimum and retains its place as the best phone and tablet operating system. Note: iOS 5 is only compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch 3rd Generation, iPod touch 4th gen, iPad, and iPad 2.
Now, let's get to the review, shall we?
Click to continue reading iOS 5 review
Gallery: iOS 5 review
Why the TiVo Elite is so much faster than the TiVo Premiere
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment,
The TiVo Premiere Elite was released this week, and many have been wondering if the only changes are the addition of a couple of tuners, and more hard drive space. Well, as it turns out, one immediately noticeable difference is just how fast the Elite is when compared to the non-Elite TiVo Premiere. In fact, it boots up in half the time, and you can move through the menus virtually lag-free. A thread on the TiVo Community forum goes into detail on what we know about the Elite so far:
- Newer 14.9 software (instead of 14.8)
- Newer kernel revision 2.6.18 buildmaster93 (instead of buildmaster64)
- Newer GCC 4.2.0 compiler used (instead of 3.3.4)
- 1024 MB of RAM (instead of 512 MB)
- SMP support enabled during boot process (instead of ?)
- Quad Tuner support (instead of dual cable & dual OTA)
After the break, we've got the full breakdown of what each of those changes means, and how they make the Elite a powerful and worthwhile beast. If you're interested, you can pick up the TiVo Premiere Elite now on Amazon.
Click to continue reading Why the TiVo Elite is so much faster than the TiVo Premiere
Gallery: Why the TiVo Elite is so much faster than the TiVo Premiere
We've just got our hands on one of the new entry-level Amazon Kindle units that were part of the big Kindle announcements made by Jeff Bezos a couple of days ago, and we're definitely liking what we're seeing. The new Kindle is very noticably smaller and lighter than the previous generation (now known as the Kindle Keyboard,) and costs just $79 (with special offer screensavers.) We've put together a gallery showing off the device--take a look, and if you're interested, they're on sale now at Amazon.
Gallery: Amazon Kindle 4 (2011) hands-on gallery
How to enable Facebook Timeline on your profile, right now!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Internet,
So you saw the new Facebook Timeline feature that the company will be rolling out in the next few weeks, and don't feel like waiting? Well, you can make it happen right now just by following a few simple steps. Here's how to grab hold of that new hotness:
- First, head up to the search field of your Facebook page and search for "developer." Click on the first result, and allow the app to access your account. This is an official Facebook app.
- Go into the Developer app and create a new app. Call it anything you want, and agree to all the privacy agreements.
- Go into your app settings area, find the Open Graph area and click on "Get Started using open graph"
- Create any action for your app, again it can be anything you'd like. "Watch" a "movie" is nice and general.
- Submit and click through the confirmation pages at the bottom.
- After a minute, go back to the main Facebook.com page, and at the top you'll see an invite to try out Timeline
- Accept!
That's it - you'll now have access to the new profile page - make it pretty! You can also see the Timeline profiles of other users (here's mine - feel free to subscribe!)
Gallery: How to enable Facebook Timeline on your profile, right now!
iPhone 5: We’re giving one away!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Apple, Smartphones, Features, Handhelds,
Yep - we are giving away an iPhone 5 to one lucky Gear Live reader as soon as the device launches, and we've got all the details on how to enter below. Hot on the heels of us giving away five iPad 2 tablets, we are set to bring you the newest Apple smartphone. Now, of course, Apple has yet to even formally announce the iPhone 5, but we all know it's coming, and that it should be announced before the end of the month. That said, we do have a few strong rumors about the device:
- iPhone 5 will be thinner, lighter, with 8 megapixel camera
- iPhone 5 set for Sprint and T-Mobile
- Is this what the iPhone 5 will look like?
- The first public photo taken with an iPhone 5?
- Sprint to offer iPhone 5 with unlimited data
This giveaway is made possible by Decide.com, which has just launched its new mobile phone section, which helps you track the latest news around smartphones and provides advice on when you should buy or wait on a purchase. Use the widget below to enter--we've got a bunch of options available to allow you to rack up a bunch of bonus entries, and the widget will allow you to track them all. You can enter once per day until 11:59 PM PST on September 19th, and if the iPhone 5 isn't released and available by September 30 and you don't wanna wait, you can opt to select another gadget up to $500 in price.
Gallery: iPhone 5: We’re giving one away!
Amazon’s Kindle Tablet: Details revealed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Rumors,
MG over at TechCrunch got to spend some time playing with Amazon's upcoming Kindle Tablet, and has reported back with a bunch of impressions that have us excited for what's to come. There are no pictures of the device, as that was a condition of him being able to even experience the new Kindle to begin with, but MG paints a nice picture for us of what we are guessing will be the hottest tablet this holiday season that isn't named "iPad 2." For starters, it's an Android tablet, but Amazon has forked Android and has completely overtaken the UI, so it won't look or feel like the typical Android software. The book reader app is similar to what you'd find on iOS and Android, but this Kindle is more than just books--it brings Amazon's entire ecosystem to your hands. That means you get the books, Amazon Cloud Player for music, Amazon Video on Demand for television and movies, access to the Amazon storefront, etc. It even appears that Amazon will be giving purchasers of the tablet a free subscription to Amazon Prime, which itself costs $79 per year.
Click to continue reading Amazon’s Kindle Tablet: Details revealed
Gallery: Amazon’s Kindle Tablet: Details revealed
Samsung Series 7 Slate hands-on
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Microsoft, PC / Laptop,
Samsung isn't new to the tablet game, but the company's newest offering - the Samsung Series 7 Slate - may be exactly what buyers have been waiting for in Windows tablets. We went hands on with the new Series 7 Slate, and we were pleased with what we saw.
The Samsung Series 7 Slate has a spacious 11.6-inch display, with 1366-by-768 resolution and an eye-popping 16 million colors. It should even look good outdoors, with 400-nit brightness coming from Samsung's sharp-looking SuperBright LED backlit display. That extra inch of real estate for the screen also helps to alleviate one of the biggest problems we've seen with Windows tablets, namely the fact that Windows icons become miniscule on a smaller screen. The touch screen is capable of registering up to 10 fingers at a time, or it can be used with a digital stylus for more precise selection or handwriting recognition.
The Series 7 Slate is also light, weighing 1.96 pounds - lighter than many smaller 10-inch tablets we've seen, like the Acer Iconia W500-BZ467, which weighed in at 2.1 pounds. It's thin too, measuring less than a half inch thick. The back appears to be brushed aluminum, and the rich texture of the cool metal surface leaves you feeling that the slate, though thin and light, is still substantial.
Click to continue reading Samsung Series 7 Slate hands-on
Gallery: Samsung Series 7 Slate hands-on
Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile models
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Google, Handhelds,
The galaxy has landed. Samsung, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile today announced three Galaxy S II smartphones for the three carriers. We got some time with the AT&T and Sprint models (T-Mobile was playing coy) and even ran some benchmarks.
The Galaxy S II has been Samsung's fastest-selling smartphone so far, with more than five million sold in 85 days, according to Samsung's press release. This model is coming out on fewer carriers than last year's Galaxy S did, with Verizon Wireless the most notable missing piece (Verizon is going with the Nexus Prime.)
But remember, Samsung is the master customizer of phones for carriers; just because a "Galaxy S II" isn't coming out for Verizon (or for Boost, for that matter) doesn't mean another phone won't appear soon with very similar features and a slightly different name on those carriers. The company is just introducing the first three models today.
Just like with the Galaxy S, the three Galaxy S II models are all a little different. The AT&T model looks a lot like the international Galaxy S II to which we gave an Editor's Choice award back in May, although Samsung traded the single home button at the bottom of the phone for the four standard Android action buttons.
Click to continue reading Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile models
Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile models
iPad 2: We’re giving away five of ‘em!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Handhelds,
In case you missed it, we wanted to give you guys a quick update - we're giving away five iPad 2 tablets across our network of sites. These are the 32 GB models, and winners can choose to get a $700 Apple gift card instead. Then, you know, you're just $300 shy of a MacBook Air or something. Here are links to enter the five giveaways:
- Gear Live iPad 2 Giveaway
- Venturus iPad 2 Giveaway
- Bleeding Edge TV iPad 2 Giveaway
- AppTapper iPad 2 Giveaway
- VIP Breakdown iPad 2 Giveaway
