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mobile
October 12, 2011
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Hands on with the HTC Titan

By on October 12, 2011 at 4:40 PM.

Hands on with the HTC Titan

We already ran a quick hands-on when HTC unveiled the Titan back in September, but now we’ve spent some time with a review unit and it’s time to revisit this beastly Windows Phone. If ever there was a handset that deserved its given name, it is this phone — the HTC Titan is nothing short of titanic. It’s large, it’s powerful and it’s about as solid as they come. The build materials include metal, hardened plastic that is anything but cheap-feeling, and of course a huge sheet of glass that covers the face of the phone. Windows Phone Mango is a smooth operator on first-generation Windows Phones, so you can imagine how quick it is with the Titan’s 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset running the show. The massive 4.7-inch display spreads the Titan’s 480 x 800-pixel resolution a bit wide, but the screen is nice and bright just like the HTC Arrive. Is this the Windows Phone we’ve been hoping for? You’ll have to wait for our full review to find out but in the meantime, be sure to check out our photo gallery below.

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mobile
October 12, 2011
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iPod touch (white) hands-on

By on October 12, 2011 at 3:35 PM.

iPod touch (white) hands-on

While Apple’s white iPod touch is the same iPod touch that millions and millions of people own and are familiar with — just in another color — it’s the first device from Apple to ship with iOS 5 pre-installed. The experience right out of the box with iOS 5 is now perfect, requiring no computer whatsoever to get going. And while this doesn’t yet apply to the general public since the only people with iOS 5 back-ups are developers, you can also effortlessly restore all of your backed-up information right to the device from iCloud — no syncing, no cables. Apple’s iPod touch is insanely popular for many reasons, but with a new lower price point starting at only $199, a white color option to freshen things up for the holiday season, and iOS 5, Apple has another hit on its hands. Be sure to check out our hands-on photos of the new white iPod touch in the gallery!

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mobile
October 11, 2011
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Motorola ATRIX 2 hands-on

By on October 11, 2011 at 7:55 PM.

Motorola ATRIX 2 hands-on

We just met with Motorola in San Diego during the CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011 trade show to get a first-hand look at the newly announced Motorola ATRIX 2, and we love what we see so far. The phone is made of plastic, and while we generally prefer more high-end materials such as aluminum, it feels weighty and solid in the hand. We also appreciate that Motorola added a dedicated camera button this time around, which makes it easy to launch the camera app for quick photo taking. The ATRIX 2 is also equipped with a beautiful 4.3-inch qHD display that was very sharp, a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of storage, 1GB of RAM and support for AT&T’s HSPA+ 21 network. Additionally, it runs the latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. The ATRIX 2 will be available on Sunday, October 16th for $99.99 with a new two-year contract. We’ll reserve final judgements until we write our full review, but we’re definitely respecting the high-spec build-out at an affordable price point. Be sure to check out our gallery below.

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mobile
October 10, 2011
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T-Mobile Galaxy S II hands-on

By on October 10, 2011 at 1:55 PM.

T-Mobile Galaxy S II hands-on

We already reviewed the Sprint version, we’re working on reviewing the AT&T version, and now we’ve gotten our hands on the T-Mobile version. Samsung’s Galaxy S II is the fastest-selling smartphone the South Korea-based electronics giant has ever made, and for a good reason: this is a beast of a handset. The dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor screams, the HSPA+ 4G flies, and it goes without saying that Samsung’s giant 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display is nothing short of amazing. No display even approaches Samsung’s latest panels when it comes to combining unbelievably rich colors, brightness and remarkable clarity. But with new phones on the horizon for the holidays and Google’s next Nexus set to be unveiled in the near future, is T-Mobile’s Galaxy S II worthy of a 2-year commitment? You’ll have to wait for our full review to find out, but in the meantime be sure to check out our hands-on photo gallery below.

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eBooks
September 28, 2011
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Amazon Kindle and Kindle touch hands-on!

By on September 28, 2011 at 11:41 AM.

Amazon Kindle and Kindle touch hands-on!

We just spent a few minutes checking out the brand new Amazon Kindle Touch and all new Amazon Kindle, and we’re impressed. Both tablets were extremely light, though with the touch sensitivity being incredible on the Kindle touch, we could see ourselves opting for that with 3G over the regular Kindle. The backs of both are metal, like the previous Kindle, and the readability is fantastic on the E Ink displays, even with the touch capability on the Kindle touch. While the prices of both are insanely attractive, Amazon revealed to us that these prices are for the special offers versions of the Kindle devices, and that the non-special offer Kindles will be $109 and $139, respectively. Even still, the prices that Amazon is delivering these products for is incredible, and the new Nook just got a whole lot less attractive. Hit the gallery for all of our photos.

P.S. Which way are you leaning? Touch or no touch?

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Tablets
September 28, 2011
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Amazon Kindle Fire hands-on! [video]

By on September 28, 2011 at 11:26 AM.

Amazon Kindle Fire hands-on! [video]

We just saw the Amazon Kindle Fire in person, and it really is about as close as it comes to a BlackBerry PlayBook as far as the exterior goes. It’s nearly identical save for the Amazon branding, and the lack of a camera and microphone. The touch panel and screen are the same, and the exterior casing is almost an exact replica. As far as the software, Amazon’s heavily-customized Android OS looks to be just perfect for what Amazon intend for users to do with this tablet — watch movies, read books, play music, browse the web and spend money on Amazon services. We saw games being played, movies being watched, and the web browser in use, and while it was mostly smooth, there were notable hiccups and stutters when switching between apps and tasks. All in all, at $199, it’s an incredibly compelling offer, though the new Kindle or Kindle touch for $79 and $99, respectively, seem more attractive to us in addition to an iPad or Android tablet. Check the gallery below for our hands-on images and check out the video after the break!

More →

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Tablets
September 27, 2011
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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 hands-on

By on September 27, 2011 at 3:25 PM.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 hands-on

We received our Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 review unit on Tuesday, and we’ve spent the better part of this afternoon tooling around and getting a feel for the smaller cousin of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The tablet has an 8.9-inch screen with 1280 x 800-pixel resolution, and it is also equipped with a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1GHz, 16GB of storage (a 32GB model will also be available), a 6,100 mAh battery and a 3-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video. We definitely appreciate the smaller screen size of the Galaxy Tab 8.9; it feels much more portable and yet does not sacrifice any of the power that was offered by the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) runs smoothly and Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface adds plenty of useful widgets without slowing the system down. We think Honeycomb still needs a lot of work before we really get excited for Android on a tablet, however, but the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is shaping up to be our favorite Android tablet yet. Of course, we’ll have to wait to see what Amazon has in store on Wednesday before before we jump to any conclusions. We’ll get started on our full review shortly but in the meantime, be sure to check out our photo gallery below.

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mobile
September 23, 2011
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Samsung GALAXY S II (AT&T) hands-on

By on September 23, 2011 at 2:30 PM.

Samsung GALAXY S II (AT&T) hands-on

We just parted ways with the FedEx delivery man and ripped open the box to find Samsung’s latest flagship device, the GALAXY S II. This time around, however, we have AT&T’s version of the phone as opposed to the European model, and there are actually some pretty big differences between the two. For starters, the European GALAXY S II was one of the best Android handset’s we’ve ever used, but there were some big annoyances, mostly on the software-side with TouchWiz. In the AT&T version, a lot of these issues have been fixed. The device uses the standard Android Gingerbread keyboard as opposed to a Samsung keyboard, which is a welcome change. The email app is infinitely more usable and enjoyable, especially with a Microsoft Exchange account, and the software on the device feels more cohesive. The default notification sounds are terrible, but if that’s the biggest annoyance with AT&T’s GALAXY S II so far, it’s looking pretty good. Stay tuned for our full review coming up soon, but in the meantime, you know where to find the pretty pictures.

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mobile
September 22, 2011
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‘iPhone 4S’ cases already arriving at AT&T stores [updated]

By on September 22, 2011 at 12:43 PM.

‘iPhone 4S’ cases already arriving at AT&T stores [updated]

BGR has obtained images of refreshed iPhone 4 cases that have started to show up at AT&T corporate stores around the country, and there’s one noticeable difference: the size of the opening for the rear camera. If Apple is introducing a so-called “iPhone 4S” — an iPhone 4 in practically the same case with upgraded internals and a better camera mobile — then the camera sensor will be larger than the existing one on the current iPhone 4 model. In the images from our source, which depict cases from popular case manufacturers Otterbox and Speck, you can see the previous model cases next to the new ones to get an idea of just how much bigger the new camera opening is. The only reason to update an existing case that’s been on the market for more than a year with only one physical difference would obviously be to prepare for the arrival of an iPhone 4S-type handset, most likely in addition to the iPhone 5 next month. Check out more images in the gallery below.

UPDATE: Multiple people have reached out to let us know that the larger camera opening has to do with the LED flash on the current iPhone 4 and not a potential larger camera sensor. As such, the cases pictured above are likely not indicative of a new iPhone model.

UPDATE 2:  Here’s a photo of an Otterbox iPhone 4S thanks to @Chronic

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mobile
September 20, 2011
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HTC Rhyme hands-on

By on September 20, 2011 at 10:39 AM.

HTC Rhyme hands-on

We just spent some quick time with the HTC Rhyme here at HTC’s event in New York City. The device is sleek, reasonably thin, and feels good in your hand. It’s soft-touch coated and obviously is geared towards more of the female audience with the fashion-focus and color, though the phone itself doesn’t alienate anyone. Specifications are on-point with a mid-range smartphone, and the docking station and other accessories round out a decent package. We’ll have to see how interested consumers are at a $199.99 with a two-year agreement, however, especially with much more capable handsets available and coming soon. Check out the hands-on photos in our HTC Rhyme gallery, alright?

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Computers
September 13, 2011
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Microsoft shows off new Windows 8 tablets, notebooks and more

By on September 13, 2011 at 1:25 PM.

Microsoft shows off new Windows 8 tablets, notebooks and more

During Microsoft’s BUILD conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft execs took the stage and showed off a number of new tablets, notebooks and desktop computers running its latest Windows 8 operating system with the new Metro-style user interface. Steve Sinofsky demoed the operating system running on ARM-powered devices, Qualcomm powered devices and even one tablet running NVIDIA’s upcoming quad-core Tegra 3 chipset. One desktop computer, the HP Phoenix, is expected to be unveiled later this week, although full specs on the system have still not been announced. We’re impressed at the versatility of the new operating system and love that it can run anything from a small netbook with 1GB of RAM to a gaming rig running multiple graphics cards in SLI. Microsoft will also be giving out a “Samsung Windows Developer Preview PC” to 5,000 developers at the BUILD conference. It’s equipped with 4GB of RAM, a 64GB SD card, a microSD card slot, HDMI-out, NFC support, Ethernet and more. AT&T will also provide owners of the tablet with one year of free data service with 2GB of data per month. Be sure to check out the gallery below for shots of all the great hardware Microsoft showed off at BUILD.

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mobile
September 7, 2011
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Motorola DROID BIONIC hands-on

By on September 7, 2011 at 8:33 AM.

Motorola DROID BIONIC hands-on

We’ve spent just about a day with the Motorola DROID BIONIC for Verizon Wireless, and while that’s not long enough to put together a thorough review, we can certainly report back on our first impressions. In short, the Motorola DROID BIONIC could be the best smartphone to ever grace Verizon Wireless’ airwaves, and that includes 3G and 4G devices. The DROID BIONIC feels completely different compared to other Motorola devices — especially the Motorola DROID 3. For the first time, it feels like a cohesive handset. Our experience following a day of light usage has this phone almost rivaling stock Android devices, again, for the time ever in our view. Read on for more and don’t forget to check out our photo gallery below.

More →

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Exclusive
September 6, 2011
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HTC Holiday running on AT&T’s 4G LTE network photographed

By on September 6, 2011 at 9:55 AM.

HTC Holiday running on AT&T’s 4G LTE network photographed

BGR has obtained photographs of the still-unannounced HTC Holiday Android phone, which may be AT&T’s first 4G LTE-enabled smartphone. We were also shown the results of LTE speed tests taken on the HTC Holiday in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, and from what we saw, they topped out at an incomprehensible 29Mbps — far faster than the fastest speeds we have seen on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Of course AT&T’s 4G LTE network is basically empty right now since it hasn’t yet officially launched, but we definitely like what we’re seeing so far. As far as the HTC Holiday hardware goes, previously reported spec highlights include Android 2.3.4, a 4.5-inch qHD display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8-megapixel camera and the HTC Sense 3.0 UI. The HTC Holiday is slated to launch in the next few months on AT&T. Check out our photo gallery below, which includes images of the device and a shot of a pretty remarkable speed test.

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