Update: 8.4

So Rohan has been busy lately. Not only has he managed to update his blog, he has managed to get the site looking quite snazzy. Its flash, but he is working on an Ipad compatible version as well! The new site re-design makes me think that the “Buy Now” button can’t be to far off.

Another development was the confirmation that the present hardware will be compatible with the next version of Android that comes after Froyo. Chocolate Frosty Surprise I think it is…

Lastly, wifi will be b/g/n not just b/g which basically means greater range and increased performance.

Update: 6.27

I have been looking around the Notionink.com website and just realized that I can only get to the blog portion of the site. There used to be a website portion where you could view pictures of the tablet and see the specifications. There was even a store icon that said “coming soon”. Now all of that is missing which has my interest highly peaked! Does this mean what I think it means??? Are they going to announce a release date or better yet, are they modifying the site for pre-orders and new specs??? I’ll keep you posted..

If you are like me, then you are probably holding out for a tablet that is a little more functional than the iPad. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater, I’m just not that much of an early adopter. I like to see what my options are before I make a purchase! We did a tablet article a while back, before the iPad launched, where we talked about some of the tablets that were coming down the pipe. One of our favorites was Notion Ink’s “Adam” Tablet. Not only were we impressed by its creator, Rohan Shravan, but we were also impressed by the overall design and hardware specs. You can find the iPad comparison here. The tech world was all a-buzz a few days ago because Rohan mentioned that there might be some launch delays pushing the launch all the way back to November. Needless to say, people were sorely disappointed. However, Rohan has just recently cleared the air on his blog and he says things are “on track” whatever that means. As longs as things are on the track rather than off the track I say.  Below are some reasons for why I definitely want to wait a bit till this bad boy comes out sometime in Q3:

• The Screen is one of the biggest factors. Made by Pixel Qi, it has the ability to basically turn black and white with the push of a button making viewing in direct sunlight much more do-able. This also boosts battery performance quite a bit. Will also come with an ambient light sensor which will automatically adjust the screen depending on lighting conditions.
• It has a camera. Not just any camera…a 180 degree swiveling camera at that! This is for taking pictures or video of you or your surroundings with the push of a finger.
• Track-pad on the back. Some people might think this is a small point, but I think the smallest points are sometimes the biggest. I predict this will be extremely useful because you wont have to hold the tablet with one hand just to select something on screen which will lessen hand fatigue and make the overall browsing experience that much more enjoyable.

Those are just a few key points, but you get the gist. Check out Notion Ink’s site here for more details.

If you have T-mobile and have been a loyal customer for years…than you can’t upgrade for a discount on this phone. Sorry – suck it up. Its available at 179.00 for people who are starting a new line and there is only one type of plan you can get if you are buying at discount. For ballers, you can get the phone unlocked at 529.00 and just add a simcard with whatever plan you want and be done with it all.

Here is the phone break down:

Hardware:

1Ghz Snapdragon processor with 3.7 inch capacitive display. It has 512 MB of Flash Memory and 512 MB of RAM. It comes with 4GB Micro SD card which you can upgrade to 32 GB when you get the urge. Camera is 5 Mega-pixels with LED Flash and 2x zoom. Its got Blue-tooth/Stereo Blue-tooth and Wifi as well. With all of that it only comes out to be about 11.5 mm thick!

Software: Runs Android 2.1 (Eclair). Google’s newest iteration. With such a fast processor, I’m guessing this phone will most likely see its fair share of upgrades.

Distinctions: What makes this phone different from say…the iPhone? It can multitask. Also, it doesn’t have multi-touch capabilities. It has voice recognition and dictation elements native only to this device. Not a whole lot else. What this means is that you can’t pinch to zoom in on web pages or photos, but you can say “Navigate to McDonald’s” and it will give you turn by turn directions to the nearest McDonald’s which I think is pretty sweet. You can also dictate a note or a text message which can come in handy for those who just can’t seem to stay away while driving.

Interface seems clean and snappy from what I can tell. Really like the moving wallpaper. They even respond to interactions! You can check the video below to see for yourself:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Summary:

So all in all a pretty solid phone. Good-looking, but not terribly sexy in my opinion. Great functionality, but not quite ground-breaking or game changing. Smart phone? Yes. Superphone? Nah, not quite.

Update:

Eligible users with data plans can now upgrade to the Nexus One on T-mobile for $279. Those who paid $379 will get 100 bucks in a rebate check from Google. Sounds good to me!

image from Gizmodo.com

Have you guys heard yet? Google is coming out with a “Google Phone” called the Nexus (as of right now). According to the rumors floating around, they will be selling the phone themselves much like Apple is doing their iPhone. Gizmodo.com seems to have uncovered the price for this puppy and its about what you would expect. According to the leaked documents, the phone can be had for about $530 unlocked and $180 with a two year contract on T-mobile’s network. The clincher is the fact that you only have one choice and its not even the best plan! No unlimited Data. I suspect Tmobile is trying to take it slow and not cripple their network and make it as sucky as ATT’s. Perhaps its a wise move. At any rate, the phone is a beast with its 1Ghz processor and snappy android 2.1 UI. Check Tmonews.com for more pics and vids.

Update:

Those bastards at Engadget have gotten their mitts on their very own Nexus phone! They also have a pretty nice video of it in action. It looks super fast, and full of interesting little UI tweeks that we havent seen before on an Android device like interactive wallpapers and a separate applications screen. A drawback in my opinion is the same old dusty keyboard (can’t they just use the one from HTC’s Sense UI???) Also saw a microphone on the keyboard…dictation abilities anyone? You can check it all out for yourself here

Hey Yall,

so I got my hands on the Behold II for T mobile and am presently testing it out. The review will come soon enough…sorry kinda got lazy over the weekend! But never fear, I have some shots below to wet the appetite (as if you haven’t already seen pics and vids already). I will leave you with this. It feels really nice, and for those who are hating on it…chances are, they either a) didn’t have the phone for very long, or b) didn’t really have the phone at all and are copying off of what others are saying. The phone really flies in some areas like picture taking and speaker phone quality, and are mediocre in other areas such as battery life (which can be assuaged by some tinkering). The full review coming up!

Update:

Check out the video Review right here:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Just realized that the google folks just made their free navigation application available to android 1.6 users. That means G1 owners can now get in on the action! This means Christmas just came a few weeks early for some folks who were thinking that they were going to need some xda action to get there navigation on. I did a video on it and it works great. Here are a few tidbits:

Its a little slow on the G1

Don’t get me wrong here. It works and quite well at that, but it could stand to be a little snappier. However, I’d have to say that beggers can be choosers on this one. Its a free navigation app, with street view and voice prompting.

Different Layers

I liked this part. They offer different layers such as satellite, transit lines, traffic, latitude. They may add more layers in the future, but I’d say they already have a pretty useful bunch to work with as is.

Street View With Compass Mode

Yup, you can see your next turn in google’s street view so that tricky slight left turn that you have to veer to the right for is suddenly not so tricky. You see it coming miles away and can prepare for it. Its also got compass mode, so you can see what your turns look like in real-time as you drive. However, I recommend you keep your eyes on the road, but thats just me.

All in all, I loved it, and can’t wait to test it out for real. Stay tuned for video.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

DRRROOOOOOOIIIIIIIIID!

I’m actually a T-mobile lover myself…Hey Mrs. Jones . However, I’ve got to say I am really pleasantly surprised at these Verizon Commercials. Very clever,  and funny appealing to the Tekki  in all of us. This commercial is probably my favorite so far…well besides the misfit toys that is. But take a look. If your a wuss, I’d be cautious here!

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Here is the video of what the official (not those sleasy non-official ones!) firmware update looks like.

Have fun!!

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Firmware 1.5 Official Screen!!! You saw it here first guys!

Its official!!! new android software push is live. I should know since that’s actually my device. Video coming soon

Horizontal Touch Keyboard

Google Talk separate from IM Icon now

Camcorder Function now!!!

Yesss!!!

Hey guys,

pretty sweet news for those who were waiting for a chance to try out the android interface, but were stuck with an ATT Contract. According to the folks over at Engadget.com, ATT has a nice line-up of phones coming through the pipe and one seems to be an Android Device from HTC called the HTC Lancaster. You can link to the full story here.

so sexy