Some reviewers are reporting the HTC EVO’s battery only lasts a few hours, while others (myself included) find it lasts as long as any other phone. A few simple steps can tune Android 2.x to give good battery life on any Android phone. Read more »
Sprint is no doubt ecstatic over setting sales records with the Sprint EVO 4G late last week. The latest Android phone to hit the market, the EVO 4G is chock-full of features to appeal to any power user. Here’s my complete review. Read more »
Mobile video is getting more mainstream, with smartphones appearing that can record HD video. Tuxera has developed the exFAT file system which can handle large HD video files with ease. The company has released a version of the system that is compatible with Android and Linux. Read more »
The iPhone 4 has been officially outed, its specs shared. Having just purchased the Sprint EVO 4G, however, I am happier about my purchase than before the latest device from Apple was announced. Here’s how the two phones stack up against one another. Read more »
It was a fun weekend playing with the new Sprint EVO 4G I bought on Friday. Some users have reported excessive battery usage, and I ran into that at one point. Here’s what I though caused it and how I fixed it rather simply. Read more »
I snagged the Sprint EVO 4G yesterday, and have been testing free apps to make the Android experience even better. Here are the top five free apps I have settled on so far. Leave your own picks in the comments; the more apps the better. Read more »
The week flew by in a blur with all the activity at Mobile Tech Manor, and that means time to share the week with you. Mobile Tech Manor was a busy place, and I spent far too much time feeding my app addiction. Read more »
Ferrari brings one thing to mind — speed. Speed was the order of the day with the Acer Ferrari One notebook, and with different components that would have been the case with the Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition phone. It’s packing Android but not much else. Read more »
Laptop Magazine spied a first for Viliv, a 10-inch tablet running Android. The X10 is similar to the S10 Blade I reviewed if you removed the keyboard base. Laptop shows the X10 running Android 2.1, but point out that Viliv promises it will ship with Froyo. Read more »
Two of the most interesting gadgets we saw early this year at the CES in Las Vegas were both from Lenovo. These two products have been delayed by Lenovo according to Laptop Magazine, because the company is going to drop Linux to use Android. Read more »
I haven’t done a “typical day” post in a while and as I’ve been running all over the place today it seemed like a good idea. I’ve had the EVO for a day, and it’s become second nature to reach for it go get something done. Read more »
The end of another week is upon us and that means it is time to share my week in Mobile Tech Manor with you. This week saw gadgets littering every surface in the Manor and I spent hours playing with them, er, evaluating them. Read more »
The good folks at Sprint dropped off the EVO 4G for me to share with you. The EVO has the 4.3-inch display that is simply beautiful. It’s also packing 4G that can be shared with up to 8 devices at once over the Mobile Hotspot. Read more »
Sprint EVO 4G buyers may want to grab Fring in the Android Market when you get your phone. That front-facing camera is tailor-made for video chatting, and Fring is already out to take advantage of it. Fring brings full chat functionality to many phones currently. Read more »
An inteview with lead engineer Andy Rubin at Google answered some questions about patents, fragmentation and other hot topics in the Android world. His answers make sense but make it clear that Google may be playing with fire given the fast development rate with Android. Read more »
After using Android 2.1 — and some custom ROMs — for the past five months, I’m impressed overall with Android 2.2, aka: Froyo. The user interface provides nice enhancements and the system is slightly faster. Here are some hands on thoughts from the past day. Read more »
My favorite day of the week — Friday — is here so I get to share the past week at Mobile Tech Manor with you for the 89th time. My how time flies when you’re having fun. I hate buying the same e-book twice, don’t you? Read more »
Google has let Android 2.2, dubbed Froyo, out of the bag and today shared a lot of information about it. I watched the keynote while playing with a Google Nexus One phone running Froyo, and have captured the key points about Android 2.2 for your convenience. Read more »
Google, as expected, has unveiled Android 2.2 — aka Froyo — at its I/O developers conference. In conjunction with this announcement, Adobe formally introduced Flash 10.1 for Android. You can see both Froyo and the new Flash in action in this video. Verdict: sweet. Read more »
The first reviews of the Sprint EVO 4G are appearing on the web, and I haven’t seen any surprises to knock it off my want list. Sprint and HTC have joined to bring what is undoubtedly the most powerful Android phone, make that smartphone, ever produced. Read more »
Research firm Gartner has published the latest quarterly smartphone numbers, and it’s easy to see why the honchos at Google are all smiles at the I/O conference this week. Android grew an impressive 8% of smartphone market share this year, moving it into fourth place overall. Read more »
The company that kicked off the netbook craze is reportedly working on a netbook that uses a phone plugged into the device for connectivity. ASUS is using the modular phone system by Modu for connectivity on an as-needed basis by popping the phone into the netbook. Read more »
Nothing defines mobile tech like automobiles, and GM bringing Android to the Chevy Volt shows how technologies can be joined in a meaningful way. The Volt will appear later and will use Android to provide interaction with the owner that at times is downright spooky. Read more »
No matter if you consider Google’s shuttering the Nexus One online store a success or failure, the Android platform is growing at an astounding rate. Google’s tells us that 65,000 Android phones are shipping every day. Let’s compare it to two of its biggest rivals. Read more »
The talk about Verizon and Google teaming up to make an Android tablet is fun to watch. Kevin pointed out something that I had forgotten from the CES this past January. Verizon was showing a tablet at the CES that runs on its LTE 4G network. Read more »
While the word that Verizon and Google are collaborating on a tablet to compete with the iPad came out of left field, I can’t say I am surprised. This partnership can produce a killer tablet, but certain criteria must be met to be competitive. Read more »
First the Verizon Nexus One fell through, and now comes word that Sprint will not be offering Google’s flagship phone, either. There are better Android handsets out there anyway, so this is not a big loss. Strangely, an surely mistaken tip has Sprint getting the iPhone. Read more »
Android is the hot smartphone platform currently, and that means the competition has it squarely in its sites. HTC has been the target for Apple and Microsoft, but Android is the definite victim. The Microsoft agreement HTC signed may have a long-term affect on Android. Read more »
No, it’s not one of those Nigerian email scams. The 7-inch Encipher Tablet looks like it’s a real product under development that may be coming to market soon. Encipher Limited, based in Nigeria, has shared photos of the Android tablet on Facebook. Read more »
ZumoDrive for iPhone, Android and webOS all get an upgrade today. New features make it easier to share files and media with friends directly from a handset and the music streaming appears faster too. Read more »
Mint for Android officially lands today and I’ve been using it for a few days on my Google Nexus One. It was worth the wait, because it’s not a watered-down, first effort on a new platform. It’s just as functional and effective as its iPhone counterpart. Read more »
It is an exciting time for tablet enthusiasts, and I am firmly in that camp. There are tablets beginning to appear with screens from 7 – 10 inches. Unfortunately, screen resolution is more important than size. This is where most Android tablets now appearing fall short. Read more »
This week has been one spent fighting the flu while business in Mobile Tech Manor was conducted as usual. I had the unfortunate opportunity to find out what happens when a cloud service fails. Come on in and I’ll share my week with you. Read more »
The Droid Incredible by HTC is now available on the Verizon network in the U.S. and one just showed up at my door. These photos will have to tide you over for now. I can tell you one thing — this phone is FAST. Read more »
The Skyfire browser brings the desktop web experience to the phone, and until today Android phone owners were unable to share in that experience. Skyfire 2.0 has been released today for the Android platform, and the full Flash experience (sorry Jobs) is part of the package. Read more »
Microsoft wants to make it clear it is serious about protecting its intellectual property, and is duly concerned about infringements of it inherent in the Android platform. We received a statement from Horacio Guiterrez, the primary executive in charge of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft. Read more »
The Sprint EVO is looking like the Android phone to beat, at least it will be when it launches. The carrier has always stated availability in “summer 2010″, and as that is approaching it is no surprise to see Sprint hosting an event on May 12. Read more »
Microsoft has inked a licensing agreement with HTC for its mobile phone patents that gives HTC access to “broad coverage” under Redmond’s portfolio. It comes in the shadow of Apple suing HTC for patent infringement, a move widely believed to be aimed at Google and Android. Read more »
I finally took the plunge and flashed a Sense UI ROM on my Google Nexus One. My first impressions are overwhelmingly positive — if those don’t get you excited about running Sense, then the screenshots of HTC’s interface surely will. Read more »
Many Nexus One fans have been watching the Google Nexus One web site to see when the dreaded “coming soon” to Verizon message would go away and the phone would be available for order. That may not ever happen as the site has been changed. Read more »
