Mobile Phone Reviews

ZTE may not be a company that’s frequently in the spot light but if you’re looking for a decently specced Android powered tablet you may want to begin paying attention. Sprint has just announced today that they will be offering the ZTE Optik for just $99.99 with 2-year contract from now until February 5th. The Optik is ZTE’s [...]

Last month Apple came forth to make an announcement in regards to textbooks. The tech giant announced that they would be giving consumers the ability purchase textbooks that have been specifically designed for use with iPads. While this may be great news for students and teachers, the average consumer probably cares more about a new hardware [...]

Motorola is currently in the process of being bought by Google which will form quite the mega-company. In the mean time, Motorola is doing everything they prove their dominance. In the tablet market, for example, Motorola has release what has come to be known as a sort of side project dubbed the Xyboard. This tablet comes in [...]

Acer is yet another hardware manufacturer looking to secure their respective share of the buzz worthy market. Currently on the market they have the Iconia Tab A500 which is an Android Honeycomb powered tablet featuring a 10-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution, 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GPU, 1GB of RAM, 5 megapixel rear facing camera, front facing camera for video conference calls, 16GB of internal storage, microSD slot for additional storage, HDMI-out port with 1080p video support, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, mini USB port and regular USB port.

Judging from the specs the Acer Iconia Tab A500 isn’t very much different from tablets like the Motorola XOOM or ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. However, it was just noted today that the Acer Iconia Tab A500 has been updated to Android Honeycomb version 3.1. This update brings, among other things, resizable widgets, security updates and the always important bug fixes.

Again, the Acer Iconia Tab A500′s Android Honeycomb 3.1 update is rolling out now so sit tight.

There are many different wants to consume eBooks including dedicated eBook readers and more feature intensive tablets like the Apple iPad. However, Barnes & Noble also has a sort of hybrid device dubbed the Nook Color which is essentially a dedicated eBook reader that’s also a tablet. If you’re not familiar with this device it features a 7-inch display, 800MHz processor, runs Google’s Android and costs just $250 – need I say more?

As if you needed another reason to buy the device Barnes & Noble has just announced that they will be running quite the deal in an effort to grab some new customers. By quite the deal I mean they are giving away 30 (yes, 30) free eBooks with the purchase of the $250 Nook Color

Assuming books are priced at $9.99 a piece, this quite literally means Barnes & Noble will be giving new Nook Color owners a library of books worth more than the device itself. Pretty insane.

Many different companies have hopped on the daily deals wagon including Amazon, Groupon and even Google. However, there is one website that consumers have been going to for deals quite some time and that is none other than eBay. If you’re not familiar with eBay, you’re sure to be living under a rock, as the online auction house has been alive and well for over a decade.

Seeing how eBay is no stranger to deals, it’s really no surprise that they too have hopped on the daily deals bandwagon. Add this to the fact that many items found on eBay are already dirty cheap and you have yourself a recipe for success. In fact, for all of you gadget heads out there, today’s daily deal is the brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi edition.

If you’re not familiar with this tablet it’s the first tablet from Samsung to feature the brand new tablet-centric Google Android Honeycomb mobile platform. Usually, the device will run for $599.99 with no contract but for today only eBay has the device listed brand new for $529. Make note that this is the 32GB model and not the lesser 16GB model. What are you waiting for? Tablets are all the rage and now’s the time to hop on the bandwagon. Check out the listing here.

As you’re sure to know there are many different smartphone manufacturers in the game today with even more signing on all the time. However, there are even more companies producing laptops of all different shapes in sizes running platforms like Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X and Linux.

But there is a new contender coming to the market in the form of Google’s Chrome OS. If you’re not familiar with this platform, it’s essentially their Chrome browser in the form of an actual operating system. But there is a catch as to use just about any of Chrome OS’ features you need to be connected to the Internet. Luckily this is no problem as the retail ready Chromebooks from companies like Samsung feature enough connectivity to keep you online just about anywhere.

If you’re interested in these Chromebooks you should be interested to hear that Acer has a brand new model coming to market in the form of the AC700. This Chromebook features an Intel Atom N570 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 4-in-1 card reader and a 1.3 megapixel web cam. Unfortunately this model does not feature 3G connectivity but that’s made up for with its $349.99 price tag and the fact that it’s shipping before the end of the month.

Stay tuned for news regarding the 3G model.

While they have arguably yet to be given a purpose worthy of a purchase tablets have become quite popular following the release of the Apple iPad. Due to this success many companies have come forth with their own iPad competitors one being HP utilizing their newly acquired webOS platform as fire power. If you’ve been paying attention you’ll know very well that I’m talking about the HP TouchPad.

While the tablet has yet to hit store shelves people have already begun talking about what’s next. According to a recent set of rumors it seems that HP may come forth at some point this summer to announce a 7-inch variation of the TouchPad. Of course, there isn’t anything official to be said about this so we’re going to have to take it with a grain of salt. However, if we take a look at the tablet market we can see that there are many different 7-inch tablets on the market. We’ll keep you posted when more information is made known regarding a next generation of TouchPads.

The folks out at the Max Borges Agency have sent a lot of great stuff out our way over the last few months, and this time they’re going to send us a product so strange and so impressive that it started out as an April Fool’s joke.  We’re talking about the iCade, and it’s both bizarre and impressive.

The iCade, basically, is a painted structure of what I guess is plywood, which also holds not only an iPad (you’ll need to supply that, of course), but also the controls that you see pictured below. You’ll set the tablet in the cradle, which can then connect via Bluetooth to the iPad, and then can serve to control the games in front of you.

In fact, this is geared toward one specific game, or game package, that we’ve already covered: the Atari pack. And indeed, this was built for an Atari line of games. It looks like a cabinet that might well have hosted some of the greats: Burgertime, Centipede, any of those might well fit. And now, this cabinet lets you get all the greatest retro-style thrills. The controls work fairly well, and you get a full variety of buttons here. In fact, it feels just like a round of Street Fighter 2 back in the days of the old style arcade.

The question will be, of course, is if you will be willing to shell out the $99.99 that the folks out at ThinkGeek want to get for one of these. It’s an exciting piece of hardware, sure, but is it worth it to accomplish one purpose, and that one not very useful at that?

Still though, if you want a truly authentic gaming experience on the small and the comparatively cheap, then you’ve got it right here in the iCade.

The Good

Provides authenticity in the extreme

Controls work well

The Bad

Only serves one purpose

Score 8 / 10

One of the most highly anticipated products coming from HP is none other than the TouchPad. The biggest selling point of this device is the fact that it features the company’s webOS, but the hardware specs are very noteworthy as well. This device features a 9.7-inch display with 1024 x 768 resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, optional 3G/4G and Bluetooth 2.1.

While we’ve known all of this what we haven’t known is when exactly the HP TouchPad will be dropping down or at what price tag. Well, HP has finally come forth to announce that the device will be made available on July 1st. The 16GB model will feature a price tag of $499.99 while the 32GB version will features a price tag of $599.99. Both of these aforementioned models are WiFi-only with no word on what price the models with mobile broadband connectivity will clock in at.

Related posts:

1. OfficeMax Getting HP TouchPad on July 17?
2. Rumor: HP TouchPad Priced at $499 for 16GB Model, $599 for 32GB
3. Report: Walmart Prices HP TouchPad at $599