Here’s our review of the Sony Xperia U written by HC - NO "i".

While the high end of the market gets all the attention Sony’s been doing a pretty good job of going after the entry level to mid range. Last year’s Xperia Ray, Xperia Pro and Pro Mini where all affordable yet solid yet offerings.

Now we have the Xperia U (ST-25a). An entry level phone with a new dual core processor.
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The Titan II is HTC’s top-of-the-line Windows Phone device. Its step-up features include a bigger screen, 16GB of storage and of course, LTE.

When Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7 2 years ago, there were certain hardware specifications that manufacturers had to adhere to which positioned it at the high end of the market. Since then, the specifications haven’t changed that much even though the market has moved far ahead.

While I was writing this review, Microsoft announced the next iteration of Windows Phone family. Windows Phone 8 addresses a lot of my issues with the Titan II’s specs except for the fact that it wasn’t available 6 months ago.
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Earlier this week Samsung was forced to stop selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US. Now they're not allowed to sell the Galaxy Nexus because it infringes on Apple's patent regarding universal search.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Samsung-...ews-15726.html

What's next? iBan? ...

The Supreme Court of Canadian is allowing a 12 billion suit to proceed. It's regarding carriers making customers believe that system access fee was required.

http://www.thestar.com/business/arti...em-access-fees

Anyone here never pay a system access fee? ...

Google just announced the $199 Nexus 7. It's got a 7" 1280x800 display, Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad-core processor, 1.2MP front-facing camera (no rear facing one), 1GB of RAM and either 8 ($199) or 16GB ($249) of storage. At 340g it's pretty light (the Blackberry Playbook weighs 425g while the original Galaxy Tab, 380g) plus at 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm it's pretty thin. Other specs include scratch-resistant glass from Corning, a 4325mAh battery (the original Galaxy Tab had a 4000mAh) and WiFi and NFC

It also sports the latest version of Android 4.1 AKA Jellybean.

While a $199 tablet is not news you're getting a lot of hardware for your money.

Another thing to point out is that while Android is doing extremely well on the Phone side it lags a bit on the Tablet side. While Samsung is able to sell a ton of Galaxy S II's at close-to-iPhone prices, for the most part Android tablets sell because they're cheap.

While the Nexus 7's $199 price is very affordable the real story is that it has the potential to really shake things up in the Tablet space. While the iPad is an expensive device it suddenly seems even more expensive when you compare it with the Nexus 7. Sure, they're different sizes but anyone who's going to spend $499 or more on an iPad is going to take a long hard look at the Nexus 7. Apple is still going to sell millions of iPads but the Nexus 7 will really give the Android tablet market some much needed momentum.

Looking elsewhere the Nexus 7 is another nail in RIM's coffin. No one's going to buy a Playbook now unless RIM cuts the price again. The Amazon Kindle Fire's main selling point - it's low price suddenly doesn't seem that low.

Finally things suddenly got a lot more difficult for Microsoft. While the Nexus and Surface occupy 2 different segments of the market they're both still tablets. If you're thinking of buying a Surface you're going to take a long hard look at the Nexus and wonder whether you need to spend the extra money.

All in all the Tablet market suddenly became a lot more interesting. ...

There’s a saying: past performance is no guarantee of future results. While it’s normally used to describe financial performance there are many other situations where it’s true: Weekend at Bernies II, Rocky 5, Dumb and Dumberer, Batman and Robin, etc.

Windows on PC’s has been a runaway success for many years now. As popular as it has been, its big problem is that its success has been largely limited to the desktop and laptop market. The idea that there should be a computer on every desk is suddenly a very limiting concept. (anyone remember how 640kb should be enough for everyone?).
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Sabesh just finished up his review of the Otterbox Defender for the HTC One X:



OtterBox Defenders are 3-piece extreme-protective cases designed to withstand moderate drops and spills. By general consensus, they are considered to be the best at what they do. There’s no mistaking that it’s a classic OtterBox Defender: 2 snap-on polycarbonate shells to enclose the HTC One X and a silicone outer layer enclosing the polycarbonate shells for secure protection. It comes in minimalist packaging with pictorial instructions printed inside the box. OtterBox packaging now has a holographic/3D sticker, perhaps to prevent copies/fakes.
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I just got an email from Samsung saying that the S III launched has been pushed back a week. The new launch day is June ...