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I’ve spent nearly a week using the latest 7-inch tablets (or are they e-readers?): the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire. In this video, I share an overview of both devices and I offer a purchase recommendation: The device choice depends on what you want to do. Read More »

Although I like the Kindle Fire, I purchased a 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab last year, and there’s just way too much overlap between the two devices. I decided to change that, by adding some of the Amazon Kindle Fire software and user experience to my Tab. Read More »

 
 

I doubt mobile computing will evolve to computers on a USB stick for most people, but this prototype is intriguing. Thanks to an HDMI port, the stick — which has the guts of a smartphone — connects to a monitor for standalone computer use. Read More »

After buying a Kindle Fire tablet and sharing first impressions, I received a Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet review unit, so I’m giving equal time to the new Nook. Here are my first 30 minutes’ worth of impressions to share on the hardware, software, and user … Read More »

You may not care who makes the processing chip in your smartphone or tablet yet, but if chip makers have their way, you will in the future. Qualcomm is expanding its lineup of games exclusive to devices running on its Snapdragon processor, similar to Nvidia’s TegraZone. Read More »

PogoPlug continues to pivot from simple hardware for remote file access to true web storage. The new PogoPlug Cloud blends locally stored files and online content for easy streaming, sharing and storage. Think Dropbox, but with added access to a home hard-drive with near-limitless capacity. Read More »

Smartphone adoption in the U.S. continues to rise as the average cost of devices is down. According to the NPD Group, the average up-front cost is $135. Of consumers planning to spend between $200 and $250, 64 percent spend less because of cheaper but capable devices. Read More »

Both the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet start shipping after mid-week as fairly similar, low-cost options. You can’t go wrong with either 7-inch slate, but one is a better choice for me. Here’s which one I chose and why. Which interests you … Read More »

Join Matt and Kevin for the weekly mobile tech podcast. On tap: An interview with Stephen Elop and hands-on impressions of Nokia’s Lumia 800 start the show, the new Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet, upcoming AT&T smartphones and new Android tabets; now with quad-core processors! Read More »

New Android devices launched this week, but I’m intrigued in a older one. Can Samsung’s Galaxy Note be both a take-everywhere phone and tablet? Asus debuted its Transformer Prime with Nvidia’s Tegra 3, while the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet show off as low-cost tablets. Read More »

T-Mobile USA reported a net gain of 126,000 subscribers in the most recent quarter, marginally increasing its total subscriber base to 33.7 million customers, while data revenue per customer grew as well. Without an iPhone, the carrier is focused on value plans and fast mobile broadband. Read More »

Nvidia is the first chip-maker to deliver a quad-core mobile chip, the Tegra 3, for use in Android devices. I’ve argued in the past that throwing hardware at Android tablets won’t sell more of them, but the timing of this new chip just might be right. Read More »

More Must Reads

Google’s Android platform already powers phones and tablets, and now it runs on a wrist too: WIMM Labs started shipping its WIMM One wearable computer to developers for $299 on Wednesday. The color display works smartphones but thanks to apps, can be a standalone device too. Read More »

Griffin and Dijit jointly announced Android software support for the Beacon remote on Tuesday, allowing any Android tablet or smartphone to become a universal remote control for home theater equipment via the Beacon Universal Remote Control System. The app is free, but the Beacon costs $69.99. Read More »

T-Mobile’s Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus launches with improvements and functions over the prior model, such as a faster dual-core processor and HSPA+ support. One other new feature: a monthly payment plan that lowers the up-front cost by adding $10 to the next 20 monthly bills. Read More »

The HTC Rezound comes with a large 720p display, LTE radio and Beats Audio, but the $299 price doesn’t include Android 4.0 until 2012. Amazon and Barnes & Noble have created a second tablet market that looks successful while Motorola’s Xoom 2 appears marginally improved. Read More »

Details of Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet have already leaked, and it looks like a winning follow up to the Nook Color. It’s a shame computer makers don’t see the winning strategy: Build a solid, but inexpensive tablet that does a few key things well. Read More »

With the high-end smartphone market filling up with a glut of choices from Apple, Motorola and Samsung, HTC introduced the Rezound on Thursday, a new media-focused LTE Android smartphone on Verizon that will be the first HTC phone to feature Beats Audio technology in the U.S. Read More »

Motorola introduced two new Xoom-branded slates for the U.K and Ireland markets. The Xoom 2 and Xoom 2 Media Edition both run on Google’s platform for tablets, but won’t ship with Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. Didn’t Motorola learn from the first Xoom? Read More »

Meshin, a Xerox-funded incubator project at PARC, updated its beta Android application that hopes to “bring order to communication chaos.” The free app unifies Gmail, phone calls, text messages and social network streams into a centralized application, helping to separate important information from noise. Read More »

Google released a native Gmail client for iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices, but quickly pulled the software from the iTunes App Store due to some app errors. As a long-time Android user, I like what I see in the client, but it needs work. Read More »

The market for smart watches and wearable displays is growing based on the number of companies trying to crack this space. The latest product to cross my desk is the inPulse smartwatch; here’s a video look at this $149 connected timepiece that pairs with a smartphone. Read More »

When visiting the U.K. and looking at the locals, odds are that every other one is using an Android device. BlackBerry is now the second most carried, followed by Apple’s iPhone; the old no. 2. How did this happen, and is it likely to continue? Read More »

Taiwan-based smartphone maker HTC again posted record sales, revenues and profits, but the company expressed a flat forecast for the rest of this year. HTC continues to build excellent handsets but is just another Android phone maker in a growing sea of other Android phone makers. Read More »

Smartphones are packing more sensors these days, and application developers continue to find new ways to gain additional value from the sensors. Popular exercise app RunKeeper is the latest. Its software for iPhone and Android handsets includes an auto-pause function and new heart rate zone targeting. Read More »

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth thinks Ubuntu Linux has a shot to be a contending operating system for future phones and tablets. It will be a tough go: Apple iOS and Google Android dominate the field now, with new Windows Phone 7 also making a play. Read More »

Nokia recently showed off a handful of new phones that are powered by the new Microsoft’s mobile operating system. These are good looking devices but that won’t be enough as the company is facing a challenge that is much more cerebral. Read More »

I knew this day would eventually be here, but it still saddens me: Google’s Hugo Barra has said that the Nexus One smartphone won’t officially gain the Android 4.0 upgrade. Sadly, I think it’s time for me to move on after 22 months with my Nexus. Read More »

Long-time GPS hardware maker, Garmin, released its first fitness app for $0.99 in the iTunes App Store and Android Market. Gone are the days when companies can focus on single-purpose hardware; thanks to smartphones, sensors and connectivity, software is where the real action is at. Read More »

Nokia Maps, arguably one of the company’s best software products, now supports offline maps in Google Android and Apple iOS browsers, thanks to HTML5. The “neighborhood maps” are fairly small in geographical size but can help save money for those on limited mobile broadband plans. Read More »

Join Matt and Kevin for this week’s mobile tech podcast featuring thoughts on Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0: is now the time to upgrade to a new Android phone? Matt’s also preparing for next week’s Nokia World. Here’s what you should expect from it. Read More »

Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus was finally introduced, but two hardware components have enthusiasts disappointed. Along with the new phone is Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich, Google’s new platform to unify smartphones and tablets; the latter of which may not be selling as well as some think. Read More »

More than one in four tablets last quarter ran on the Google Android platform says Strategy Analytics, dropping Apple’s iPad market share to two-thirds of all tablets. But the data is based on shipped tablets, not sold, and includes Android 2.x devices, plus an e-reader. Read More »

Asus is showing off the first Nvidia-powered quad-core tablet, which may intially run Google Android Honeycomb. I welcome advances in computer chips, but the time of “most powerful hardware” being best are long over. Today, top devices also require great apps and a solid user experience. Read More »

One of the most popular third-party web browsers for Android devices, Dolphin, gained support for cloud-based synchronization on Wednesday. The updated software syncs browsing preferences, bookmarks and even on-screen gestures over the web to other Android devices running Dolphin and the Webzine feature shows improved controls. Read More »

At the Samsung Galaxy Nexus product launch, Google finally shared details of Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), the next version of Android. The new software removes many of the inconsistencies found in the current versions while improving and simplifying the feature set of Google’s mobile platform. Read More »

Samsung introduced the newest flagship Android phone, the Galaxy Nexus, in conjunction with Ice Cream Sandwich, the next version of Google’s mobile platform. The Galaxy Nexus launches in the U.S., Asia and Europe next month, giving developers time to code apps for the updated operating system. Read More »

Motorola and Verizon revived the Razr brand with a new Droid Razr, an extremely thin LTE Android smartphone with a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and a super AMOLED display. And it’s got some nice software improvements as well that make it really competitive. Read More »

Samsung’s official press event in Hong Kong to debut the Nexus Prime smartphone isn’t until Wednesday morning, but NTT DoCoMo may have outed the details and a photo a bit early. The hardware components match earlier leaked lists and still show a 5 megapixel camera. Read More »

New hardware helped Apple sell 4 million iPhone 4S handsets over the weekend, but Siri, the personal assistant software, may be the most groundbreaking aspect. Here’s a closer look at the difference in voice command and intelligence between the two largest mobile platforms: iOS and Android. Read More »

T-Mobile announced another new mid-range Android handset on Monday: the LG DoublePlay has a slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard that’s split by a second, 2-inch capacitive touchscreen. Good luck with that: second screens use more battery power and so far, have added little extra value to consumers. Read More »

Google’s anticipated launch of Ice Cream Sandwich and the Samsung Nexus Prime phone is coming on Oct. 19. Meanwhile, Google announced that 190 million Android devices have been activated around the world. Those device owners can now speak to each other more easily with Google Translate. Read More »

Opera released updated versions of its Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers for Google Android devices on Tuesday. The new software includes a mobile broadband meter showing how much data has been used for browsing. Will device owners give up browsing preferences for less data usage? Read More »

T-Mobile expanded its Bobsled service on Tuesday, bringing free voice calls over the web to landlines and mobiles in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Bobsled is available through a browser, Facebook, Android and iOS. Here’s why the carrier is looking beyond its own network borders. Read More »

Facebook launched its native app for Apple’s iPad on Monday, but the bigger story is wider support for web technologies as Facebook tries to be everywhere on every device. The company shared news with developers explaining how social app discovery using HTML5 can reap greater engagement. Read More »

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