One of the great things about technology is that most high end features end up filtering down to more affordable price points. Sometimes it happens quicker than you think.

Just over 18 or so month ago the fastest processor you could find on most Android phones were 2nd gen Qualcomm Snapdragon chips with Scorpion cores running at 1Ghz. Their screen resolutions topped out at 800x480, came with around 512MB of RAM and most of them sported 5 megapixel cameras.

Things move pretty quickly in the Android space! All that technology has filtered down and now we have the HTC One V.
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Trevor M just finished up our Back to school guide written from his teacher's perspective:

Every parent’s dream, every student’s nightmare; it’s time to start thinking about going back to school. But let’s forget about pencils, notebooks and Kleenex boxes for a bit and focus on what’s truly important: cell phones! This is your back to school guide...HoFo style.

Phones

Can You Hear Me Now?

If your school is anything like mine, it’s a windowless, cement shrine whose sole purpose (other than to educate the future leaders of the world, duh) is to destroy any amount of cell phone reception attempting to enter the premises. Never before have I seen people go to such lengths in an attempt to send a text message. Students (and teachers) crowd around the few windows we do have, usually on the second floor to boost their already insignificant chance to get a signal, simply so they can do something that the Handbook specifically tells them not to do: use their phone during school hours.

I actually think the construction of our building is a conspiracy. Let me explain. You see, the places that have the most windows happen to be the entryways to the school. Those areas also just happen to be where we have surveillance cameras installed. Putting two and two together (I am a math teacher after all), the administrators now have a net of sorts to catch all the students attempting to use their phones in close proximity to the windows. Smile, you’re on camera! ...

Here’s the Huawei Ascend P1 (U9200). Hua-what you say? Look at the logo. No, WordIRC, it’s not an NBC phone. Cue the NBC chime “Hu-wa-wei”.



If you’ve never heard of Huawei they’re actually a huge player on the network infrastructure side. However, on the handset side they’re mostly known for making cheap entry level phones. Given Huawei’s size and ambition it’s only natural that they're ready to move up the ladder starting with the $400 Huawei Ascend P1.

Huawei is splitting their offerings into 4 different lines. Diamond, Platinum, Gold (let’s hope they don’t sponsor the Olympics) and Youth. The P1 represents their platinum line so it’s aimed at the upper end of the market but not the very top. I’m thinking phones like the HTC One S, Motorola RAZR and Sony Xperia S.
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With the exception of the Xperia x10, Sony hasn’t really released any phones in the past 2 years that were really aimed at the high end of the market. The Arc and Xperia S were both upper-midrange phones while the rest of Sony’s portfolio (Ray, Pro, Play) where aimed at the middle of the market.

The Sony Xperia ION marks Sony’s return to the higher end of the market. Probably the best thing about the ION is it’s metal unibody. It’s a huge step up from everything else Sony has released in the past 2 years. It’s very solid plus it looks and feels great. ...

Just got a tip that Bell's HSPA is launching in Manitoba August 1st.

The roll-out will happen in 2 phases: Phase 1 will include Winnipeg, Oakbank, Stonewall, Selkirk, Steinbach and cover 69% of the Manitoba market while phase 2 will include Brandon and Portage La Prairie and increase the coverage to 74%.



The coverage will be different from what you get on CDMA plus you can't fall back onto CDMA if you're on HSPA so you won't be able to get any calls/data/SMS when you leave the coverage area.

Thanks tipster!

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If you’re looking for an mid-range, entry level Android phone there is no shortage of choices. HTC has the aluminum bodied One V, Sony has the dual core Xperia U, Motorola has MOTOLUX and now we have the LG Optimus L7. What sets the L7 apart is its large 4.3” display and it’s larger-than-average 1700mAh battery.

When I first saw the L7 I was surprised because it doesn’t look like an entry level phone. Last year’s Optimus LTE was a very high-spec phone that didn’t look very special. The L7 has a very detailed power button plus there’s a nice metallic finish around the camera. The back has an interesting dimpled pattern while the sides has a stylish chromed look. ...

Now Windows Phone has been around for about 2 years now but in that time it hasn’t done very well. One of reasons why it hasn’t been successful is because Microsoft’s hardware specifications don’t allow for entry level phones.

Recently, Microsoft made some changes to Windows Phone code named Tango and relaxed their specifications. Now we have the Nokia 610.

The first thing that struck me about the 610 is that it’s kind of thick and heavy. In my hand it’s a pretty solid phone. ...

While Android tablets have been around for 2 years now, none has really been able to capture consumer’s interest. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 gets a lot of media coverage but it’s usually for the wrong reasons. The Asus Transformer Prime was an anticipated device but it was priced too high to generate much interest outside of early adopters. Really, while people are buying Android tablets, it often feels like the platform has no momentum. It feels like the only reason a regular person would buy an Android tablet is because it’s cheaper than an iPad.

It’s quite different from the phone side where Samsung’s Galaxy line has become a poster child for Android’s success.

What Android really needs is tablet to help it stand out. Android needs a hero device that’s cheap, and has wide appeal, to help give the Android tablet ecosystem a much needed, kick-in-the-pants.

The most interesting thing about the Nexus 7 is that the 8GB model is $199 (the 16GB model is $259 CAN) which includes a $25 credit to the Google Play store. While $199 tablets are nothing new (Blackberry Playbook, Kindle Fire, etc) what makes the Nexus 7 special is its hardware. It’s a substantial step-up. Not only does it ship with a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, but it also has a higher resolution 7” 1280x800 IPS display, 1GB of RAM, 4325mAh battery and either 8 or 16GB of storage. Aside from the lack of a rear facing camera, missing microSDHC slot, and maybe an IR blaster, on paper, the Nexus 7 doesn’t make any hardware compromises. ...

Just got word that a new LTE Playbook is launching on July 31st for $549.99 on Bell (no discount on a 3yr).

It has 1.5Ghz dual core processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB of storage and a 7" 1024x600 display.

Here are the specs:

• 1.5Ghz dual core processor
• 1GB RAM
• LTE, HSPA+
• 32GB storage
• 5MP rear camera, 3MP front
• 7" 1024x600 display
• Bluetooth 2.1
• WiFi 802.11abgn
• 130x193x9.7mm
• 425g
• 4800mAh
• micro HDMI

Size-wise the LTE Playbook has the same dimensions and weight as the original Playbook but the battery is slightly smaller (4800mAh vs 5400).

Anyone thinking of getting one? The specs look good but I'd like to see a 1280x800 display like the Nexus 7 has.

Thanks Tipster! ...