Here’s our review of Apple’s new iPad. The first thing I noticed is that the new iPad feels noticeably heavier and thicker than the iPad 2. However, when I compare them side-by-side, they’re both essentially the same thickness (the new iPad is 0.6mm thicker). On the other hand, the weight of the new iPad is 10% heavier than the iPad 2.



Apple calls the new iPad ‘the iPad’, while the older version is the iPad 2. Yes, the new iPad shares the same name as the original iPad. Think of it like Batman Begins, they’re rebooting the franchise. Just to make things less confusing I’ll call the new iPad the “iPad 3”.

There are 5 new key features in the new iPad: LTE radio support, a higher resolution display, a new A5x dual core processor with quad core graphics, 1GB RAM (up from 512MB) and finally; a decent camera.
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Here’s our review of the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Initially I was surprised at how massive the Galaxy Note is. After all, its 5.3” display doesn’t sound that much bigger than the Galaxy Nexus’ 4.65” but in the flesh, the difference is huge. While I can kind of use the Galaxy Nexus with one hand, I can’t do this with the Note without holding it in a less secure manner. After that I’m blown away at how nice the display is, more on that later.

Design-wise, it sort of looks like cross between my original Galaxy S and a Galaxy S II. It has the bezel of the original S and pebbled plastic back of the II.
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I'm sure most of us share a similar opinion when it comes to the astronomical gas prices we have been experiencing for many years now: it's out of control! Although I don't have a magic wand to be able to lower the prices, I would like to share my thoughts on a helpful little tool called GasBuddy. GasBuddy is an application that among other things, tracks the price of gas at local stations. The application is available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone. And if you'd prefer not to use an app, there is a mobile website as well. I used the BlackBerry app for the purpose of this review, although for the most part it should be applicable to all platforms. ...

In the past, Nokia ruled the market with their S60 smartphone OS. Of course that was then and now S60’s market share is shrinking faster than a snowball in summer (or this year, Feburary). Anyways, Nokia saw the writing on the wall and last year switched from S60 to Windows Phone. While Nokia has the Lumia 800 and 900 in the upper to high-end the 710 is their mid range device.

Probably the most interesting thing about the 710 is how similar it is to the 800. There are basically 5 differences: The 800 shell is a single piece of plastic while the 710’s isn’t. The 710 has a 3.7” LCD display while the 800’s has what appears to be a 3.7” Super AMOLED. The 800 has a slightly larger non-removable battery (1450mAh non-removable vs 1300mAh removable) a higher resolution camera (8mp vs 5mp) and more built-in storage (16GB vs 8GB).

What’s interesting is that the 710 and 800 both share the same 1.4Ghz Qualcomm processor. So speed-wise, there shouldn’t be any difference between the 710 and 800.
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Our resident case guru Sabesh just finished his review of the Casemate Pop for the Galaxy Nexus:



My friend and Howard Forums member DerekToronto gifted me this case recently and I decided to review it, as I like very much! Like Derek, I like to accessorize my phones and I can never have enough cases for them. The Casemate Pop case looks quite good, but is deceivingly tough!

The first thing I noticed about the case, brought a smile to my face: The interior soft-plastic has a funky design and the words "Happiness by design". How cool is that! ...

Sabesh's been busy! His beloved Galaxy Nexus has never been so safe - here's his OtterBox Commuters are 2-piece protective cases designed to withstand casual drops and spills. This case is designed to provide protection, yet be stylish. Hence, I was happy when Howard got me this to review. There’s no mistaking that it’s a classic OtterBox Commuter: A silicone inner core encompassed by a tough, polycarbonate shell. It comes in minimalistic packaging with pictorial instructions printed inside the box.
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Here's our OtterBox Defender for the Galaxy Nexus review written by our very own Sabesh.

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. Hence, I was happy to come into possession of this venerable case. There’s no mistaking that it’s a classic OtterBox Defender: 2 snap-on polycarbonate shells to enclose the Galaxy Nexus and a silicone outer layer enclosing the polycarbonate shells for secure protection. It comes in minimalistic packaging with pictorial instructions printed inside the box. ...

I got to play with the LTE version of the Galaxy Note today.

While the HSPA version of the Note has been around elsewhere for a few months now the one that's launching here has LTE support. There were some demos of the speedtest app which showed speed test results over LTE of around 50mbps which is inline with the HTC Raider and Samsung Galaxy S II LTE.

With a 5.3" display you're probably wondering about the size. You will receive funny looks so you'll probably want to skip the Note if you're self conscious. It's definitely a device that requires 2 hands - if you wear tight skinny jeans you may have problems with it.
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It used to be that Nokia ruled the Smartphone market. While I played with and was fluent with Palm OS, UIQ, Blackberry OS, Pocket PC phone and MS Smartphone, for years S60 was my smartphone os of choice. Of course, a lot has changed since then; Palm OS died and was transmogrified into WebOS, which is now on life support. Blackberry OS has hit rough waters and is due for a replacement. Microsoft’s Smartphone OSes became Windows Phone. Nokia transition of S60 to a touch-screen interface was a disaster. They intended to replace S60 with Maemo, which was later renamed Meego. The transition to Meego was delayed and eventually Nokia decided to place their bets on Windows Phone.

It’s kind of ironic that Nokia and Microsoft are now in bed together since S60 and Windows Mobile competed against each other for years. It would be like if Apple started putting Android on their phones. ...