Technomaly » phones

This is Clearly the Best Phone Charger Ever

J. Matthew Zoss — Wed, 19 May 2010 14:55:42 +0000

I’m really not sure how that headline can be argued. It’s a phone charger and a giant robot model! Actually, for those of you who aren’t genuine nerds, the robot is actually a Gundam – a mechanized character from a long-running Japanese toy line and anime series. Obviously, this phone charger is a Japanese-only type of deal, as it’s for the Softbank network and includes a Gunpla phone. Heard of them? I didn’t think so.

The kit includes a 1:100 scale Gundam model, the phone crandle, decals and a 12.1 OLED phone. Sometimes I wonder why I don’t live in Japan.

Via Gizmodo

Android 2.2 Boosts Speeds by 450 Percent

J. Matthew Zoss — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:10:11 +0000

I recently jumped aboard the Android phone market, so I’m a little obsessed with any new items that possibly affects my shiny new gadget. Fortunately, most of the news concerns upcoming improvements and enhancements. The latest version of the Android operating system is on the way, and according to tests by website Android Police, Android 2.2 boosts the speed of your device by a whopping 450 percent.

With that speed boost, several new features will be added to your phone, although few are confirmed at this point. One upgrade that’s almost certain to be included is Flash 10.1. Smartphone users will recognize Flash support as a weak spot pretty much across the board, but this should take care of that issue. Heck, with a 450 percent speed boost, I can’t imagine what issues Android 2.2 won’t solve.

Source: Android Police via Android Central

Droid Updating to Android 2.1 This Week

J. Matthew Zoss — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:00:06 +0000

If you bought a Motorola Droid only to get bummed out by the additional features of the Google Nexus One, we’ve got some good news for you. Droid is updating to the Android 2.1 software sometime this week. Droid users will probably receive the updated software in waves, but it will be worth the wait. The biggest addition is obviously multi-touch browsing, but other new perks include the Nexus One’s news and weather widgets. Also included is the Google Goggles visual search tool, which sounds like a fun toy that’s pretty much useless in reality.

So congrats, Droid users. Your phone is about to get cooler. My phone, on the other hand, still has a spiral cord and this big circle dial thingy in the middle.

Source: Engadget

Texting While Driving: The Most Melodramatic PSA Ever?

Geoffrey Golden — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:17:36 +0000

This bloody, gruesome PSA about texting while driving is as ridiculously violent as a Tarantino film. In the video, a young girl is chatting with her friends and text messaging on her phone, instead of watching the road. What results is :20 seconds of gory, slow motion car crashes, followed by 3:30 minutes of hysterical crying and a little girl asking why her parents aren’t waking up.

I understand that the filmmakers were striving for “realism,” but too much melodrama makes the video feel like an awkward exaggeration. I think you’ve got to decide between the teenager constantly crying, the newly orphaned little girl and the lifeless baby. Put in all three, and you might as well add a school bus crashing into a zoo, killing all the children and several sneezing panda cubs.

Google Android’s Super Sucky Tech Support

Geoffrey Golden — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:29:14 +0000

Google Android is the most buzzed about tech today, but not all the buzz is good. Reports say that customer service for the smart phone is abysmal. Slow response to consumer problems may be because the search engine giant doesn’t have adequate tech support in-house for dealing with hardware issues. Until this point, Google was never in the hardware business.

Google insists that the complaints about their service are coming from only a small number of customers. Still, reports of consumers having to email their technical support questions to Google, and getting a response 2 days later, does not speak well of Google’s support strategy. Hopefully, T-Mobile can pick up the slack while Google gets its groove back.

[Image via]

Nexus One vs. Droid. Fight!

J. Matthew Zoss — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:45:00 +0000

Just a few short days ago, Google announced the Nexus One, the first phone designed by the technology giant. But only a few months ago, Motorola released the Droid, their fancy smartphone that runs on Google’s Android software and was supposed to be the next hot thing in phones. Keeping up with cell phone technology can be daunting, especially if you’re not one of those folks who obsesses over every little bit of phone tech news (and believe me, those people are out there). To help you decide between the two latest high-profile guide, we offer up this features comparison that will walk you through the differences, but more importantly, what those differences mean.

PROCESSOR

The Droid runs on a 600MHz processor. The Nexus One runs on a 1GHz processor. Obviously, that means that the Nexus One is much faster. The big advantage of this is that it will be able to multi-task complex applications to a degree that no previous phone has been capable of.

KEYBOARD AND DISPLAY

One of the Droid’s main selling points is its slide-out keyboard. However, because of small keys, no one seems to like it much. The Nexus One has only a touch screen keyboard. Tthe Droid has a 3.7-inch screen that displays video at 854 x 480 pixels. In comparison, the Nexus One’s screen operates at 800 x 480 pixels. Most consumers probably won’t notice a difference.

OPERATING SYSTEM

The Droid runs the Google Android 2.0 operating system. The Nexus One runs Android 2.1. Despite the small numerical difference, 2.1 adds major features such as a 3D photo album and a voice command recognition. You’ll be able to operate Google Maps with your voice while you’re driving, for example.

SERVICE

I don’t want to get too deep into the particulars or plans and costs, because that stuff gets messy quickly. Here are the basics: the Droid is a Verison phone, The Nexus One is not exclusive to any carrier. Google has a deal with T-Mobile to provide service for the device (the $179 price point is with a two-year contract), but the Nexus One is available for use on any cell phone network, provided it uses the same cell phone protocol. One of the main concepts behind the Nexus One is that switching service providers shouldn’t force you to switch phones.

For more information on the Nexus One, the Droid and how they compare against each other and other leading smart phones, see the comparison chart here.