• Devices

    by Published on 10-31-2012 09:47 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Devices,
    3. Commentary and Analysis,
    4. Reviews and Hands-on
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    Our very own Sabesh just finished his review of the Motorola DEFY PRO:

    The Motorola Defy Pro brings an interesting set of features to the party: Moderately water, dust & shock-proof and good QWERTY keyboard. It runs Android 2.3 with Motorola's MotoBlur overlay.

    It's keyboard rivals that of the Blackberry Bold 9900 and is a pleasure to use. They keys are even shaped in a similar fashion. The keys don't "click" as much as the 9900, but do have a good feedback. The physical keyboard even supports Auto complete! One caveat though: The centre pad is a directional button, not a scroll pad like that of the Bold 9900. ...
    by Published on 10-29-2012 09:48 PM
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    2. Devices,
    3. News
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    Google just announced the Nexus 10 tablet with a retina stabbing 2560x1600 display. Another way of saying it is that it has a 4 megapixel display - the iPad with retina display has get by with a blurry 2048x1536 display.

    It's powered by a dual-core ARM Cortex A-15 processor which has a Mali T604 GPU. Don't let the dual cores fool you. Cortex A15 cores are more advanced than Qualcomm's Krait cores and ARM's own Cortex A9's.

    You also get 2GB of RAM, 5MP camera, WiFI that supports 40Mhz wide channels. Other goodies include a micro HDMI port, magnetic power connector, and a huge 9000mAh battery.

    It will be available in 16GB and 32GB versions. The 16GB one will be $399USD/$409CAN while the 32GB is $499USD/$509CAN.

    On paper it's a pretty insane tablet - the problem is that I'm not sure many people are going to fork out $399 or $409 CAN for an Android tablet. Don't get me wrong, you get a ridiculous amount of hardware for your money. The thing is, Android doesn't quite have the same rep that it does in the phone space. $399 is really pushing it.

    You can order it November 14 from Google Play. ...
    by Published on 10-29-2012 09:31 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Devices,
    3. News,
    4. Carriers

    The Sony Xperia T AKA "The James Bond phone" will be coming to Bell on November 14th. Bell has exclusive marketing rights to say that the Xperia T is the James Bond phone. Since the Xperia T will be exclusive on other carriers, it could be that Bell is the only one who is allowed to use Daniel Craig, I mean James Bond in their Xperia T marketing.

    The Xperia T is similar to the Xperia ION I reviewed a while back but the T has a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor whereas the ION's is an older and slower S3. My guess is the S3 wasn't fast enough for 007.

    Who's pumped to go see the new Bond film? Will the "James Bond" branding prompt you to throw your GS3's and One X's in the garbage for an Xperia T? ...
    by Published on 10-25-2012 11:32 PM
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    2. Devices,
    3. Commentary and Analysis,
    4. Reviews and Hands-on
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    Just got an LG Optimus G. Here are my quick thoughts on it.

    Both the front and back are covered with Gorilla Glass. Apparently the back is polarized so it has an interesting pattern on it. Some how in my hand the finish makes it feel like plastic - maybe the sides have too much laquer on them or something. Still, it's a very solid phone.

    The screen looks amazing. It's 4.7" 1280x720 display with amazing viewing angles. I just got it tonight so I haven't had a chance to use it outdoors in the sun yet.

    The speaker on the back isn't very loud.

    There are going to be 2 versions for the Canadian market. They differ in terms of LTE support. The Rogers one has 2600Mhz LTE only while the TELUS and Bell ones have AWS LTE (and probably other bands though I'm just speculating here). ...
    by Published on 10-23-2012 10:42 PM
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    2. Devices,
    3. Commentary and Analysis
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    Today Apple announced 2 new iPads. The iPad with Retina display and the iPad mini. Let’s check out the effect the mini will have on the Tablet market.

    Whether you love or hate Apple, you’ve got to admit that they’ve done a great job of managing their brand. In the 3 categories where Apple is strongest; that would be computers, phones and tablets, their devices are seen as premium products and generally command the highest prices. Take tablets for example. Until the announcement of the iPad mini, at $429, the iPad 2 was Apple’s cheapest tablet. Looking around, there aren’t a lot of 10” Android tablets that cost more than $429. Most of the 10” Android tablet action happens around $349.

    A year ago, I was having a conversation about Android tablets and said that Apple could destroy the market for Android tablets by lowering the the price of the iPad. In order to compete Android makers have to make tablets with similar hardware yet with lower price points. The problem is that each Android tablets maker can’t sell their tablets in the same numbers of iPads so they can’t get the same economies of scale. ...
    by Published on 10-22-2012 06:20 PM
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    2. Devices,
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    One of last year’s unexpected hits was the Samsung Galaxy Note. It was basically a Galaxy S II with a stylus, a bigger, higher resolution display and a bigger battery. I had a nice laugh when I first saw it. I wondered, who would want to use such a large phone?

    It screamed ‘my phone is better than your phone because it’s bigger’. I figured it would appeal to guys who wear huge watches, drive showy cars, that sort of thing. Nothing like a good stereotype right? Anyways, if you go out, you’ll notice a lot of girls with Notes. Turns out a Note fits just fine in a purse. Maybe size really doesn’t matter.

    Anyways, it’s been about a year now and a lot has changed. Samsung is now the de-facto power in the Android smartphone space, so there’s a lot of anticipation for the Galaxy Note’s successor. ...
    by Published on 10-16-2012 12:14 PM
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    2. Devices,
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    One of last year’s unexpected hits was the Samsung Galaxy Note. Boiled down it was basically a Galaxy S II with a stylus, a bigger higher resolution display and a bigger battery. It screamed ‘my phone is better than your phone because it’s bigger’. I figured it would appeal to guys who wear huge watches, drive showy cars, that sort of thing. However, if you go out you’ll notice actually notice a lot of girls with Notes. Turns out a Note fits just fine in a purse. I guess size really doesn’t matter.

    Anyways, it’s been about a year now and a lot has changed. Samsung is now the de facto power in the Android smartphone space so there’s a lot of anticipation on the Galaxy Note’s successor.
    ...
    by Published on 10-15-2012 07:15 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Devices,
    3. HowardForums,
    4. Contests and Giveaways



    We're giving away a Maximum Signal Sphere Wireless Amplifier! To enter leave a comment on this post, if you use Facebook like the link to this post that appears on our Facebook page, and if you are a Twitter user you can tweet about it using #HoFoMaxSig and posting a link to this blog entry. Any one will give you an entry. Doing all three will give you three chances to win.

    *Contest Rules: Contest is open only to Canada users who do not reside in Quebec. The winner must answer the skill testing question: What does LTE stand for? Note that this item will require installation.

    Contest ends on Monday October 22 at 9:00 PM PDT. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced after being selected. If the winner does not respond to us within 24 hours of being contacted, a new winner will be chosen. While you're waiting, read Howard's review!

    Good luck!

    P.S. U.S. users, we will have a giveaway just for you at another time! And we're giving something else away next week!
    by Published on 10-12-2012 01:05 PM
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    2. Devices,
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    Starting with the HTC One X back in April, Android flagships have a few common features: A 1.5Ghz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor, LTE, 4.7”+ screens, 8MP cameras, NFC and 16GB+ built-in storage. Now Motorola throws their hat in the ring with the RAZR HD LTE.

    While I appreciate how detailed the RAZR HD LTE’s name is it a bit of a mouthful. Then again I guess I should be happy it’s not called the Motorola 2012 RAZR HD LTE NFC 8MP KEVLAR 4.7 2500MAH.

    With it’s sharp edges and the exposed weave on its Kevlar back the RAZR has a very striking and memorable design.

    Now if you look at the RAZR’s specifications you’ll notice that they’re very similar to the ATRIX HD LTE I reviewed recently. Indeed, looking at the spec sheets the 3 main differences are the bigger screen (4.5” LCD vs 4.7” Super AMOLED), NFC and bigger battery (2530mAh vs 1780mAh). Bigger and more or better right? ...
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