Today’s Gear Deal brings us the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Verizon via AmazonWireless. This is one impressive smartphone. It features a 4.65″ 720×1280 HD Super AMOLED display, has a speedy dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4460 processor, has 1GB RAM and comes with 32GB built-in storage. A 5MP rear camera (1080p video capable) and a 1.3MP front camera let you take images, grab video and make video calls. It also has NFC connectivity, 4G speeds when available, a microUSB slot and, of course, Bluetooth, GPS and WiFi. It is also the first phone running the new Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Off contract the phone is $749.99 and at Verizon it is $299.99 on contract. With… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

It has been over a year but Gear Chat is back and we’re talking tech. In this first episode Thomas and I talk about the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Series 7 Slate tablet and what configuration of Apple computing products is best. Future episodes will include Gaming and eBook segments and much more. We also want to hear from you! What content do you want covered? What questions do you have? Would you like us to do the podcast as a live, call-in conversation? We want to know.

Happy listening and, as always, thanks for sharing via Twitter and Facebook.

It was only a few weeks ago when I posted the news that Android and iOS were in a virtual tie for market share of the smartphone market based on recent data, I said that ‘everyone wins’. I still believe that – I think that having strong competition in any market makes everyone work harder … and the results are better products for us as consumers!

Last week Nielson put out estimates of smartphone market share for the fourth quarter of 2011, showing that iOS had significantly closed the gap with Android for recent months. Now, after the final tally from Apple we have a report at Reuters showing that Apple… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

If you were to ask a random group of smartphone users to name a feature that Android has that iOS is lacking, while you’d hear nonsense like ‘open’, you’d also hear one message loud and clear: turn-by-turn navigation with voice support.

For me, this is one of three reasons I am still using Android (the others being physical keyboards and something work-specific). I use my Google Maps navigation everywhere and for everything – and it is awesome. I tried using the navigation built into pre-Mango Windows Phone 7 and it twice tried to tack on 30 minutes with inept guidance … and I haven’t tried it since (maybe Dan or Judie can comment on… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Motorola stole the show last year at CES 2011. The Moto Xoom and the Atrix with its web top keyboard dock… oh my! They were pretty amazing to see. Francis and I even had a chance to remote log into my iMac in New Jersey using the Atrix smartphone as the “computer” powering the remote access. Sadly, the actual experience of using the Xoom and the Atrix left a good deal to be desired. Judie, Thomas and I all bought one; we all returned them.

Judie and I visited Motorola again this year at CES 2012, and while they didn’t blow us away, the two smartphones we did see were pretty impressive in their own right.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Corning Gorilla Glass. You know the name. You know it is strong. You know it is on dozens of smartphones and a growing number of notebooks. [600 different devices and 600 million total devices sport it!!]

And you likely know that Corning announced Gorilla Glass 2 during CES.

But until you see it in action you can’t really appreciate just what it is. Seriously, Judie and I were impressed, and we think you will be too!… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Image courtesy of 1SaleADayWhen Dan and Judie reviewed the HTC Flyer, they had mixed feelings on it. I also had one which we gave away to a lucky reader. For me, the main feature I wanted it for was the stylus, but that didn’t live up to my expectations. Otherwise, it is a very impressive Android tablet. So much so that Francis ended up getting one in the form of an HTC Evo View 4G when 1SaleADay offered them up in December. Well, they are back at it again, today only!

The HTC Evo View 4G is essentially an HTC Flyer but also includes Sprint 3G (EVDO) and 4G (WiMax), in addition to… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Every now and then you come across a product that, despite liking the company that produces it, you cannot help but wonder, “Why?” That’s certainly the case with the Wrapsol non-slip grip pad. The product is designed for large tablets and adheres to the back of a tablet. From there its sole purpose is to allow the tablet to stay in position more easily when rested on, for example, your thigh.

Don’t get us wrong…. the product actually works as promised but we cannot help but think it is an idea searching for an application. I don’t know of anyone who has ever been using their iPad and thought, “I wish I could have this stick to my thigh or arm without my having to hold it…” And then there is the biggest issue with it: even if it did fill a real need the product is not something you can remove and reuse. That means once you attach it to your tablet you cannot use a case.

Wrapsol Grip Pad Features:

• Non-slip tactilla™ material
• 100% Polyurethane
• Micro-textured finish
• 8.25 x 3.75-inch material size for Apple iPad 2 and similar size devices
• Installs in an instant
• Made in USA
• MSRP $14.95

We used it a bit and came away scratching our heads. That did not, however, prevent us from creating a video look and having a little fun so without further ado we present to you “Thomas and the Tablet”…… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Judie and I both got HTC Titans the other day and have jumped into using them. Our initial thoughts? We both like them… a lot! We’ve been discussing a great deal of this behind the scenes. One discussion began with my posting

So I really have to say that I am loving the hell out of the HTC Titan (even with its now slightly dented corners):-] I’m still learning how to get around but it is polished, tight, and a pleasure to use. Best onscreen keyboard ever! No matter how good the hardware o do t think I would like an Android phone long term. Not do here. It needs more apps but Microsoft killed it with the OS.

It sparked a lot of private discussion that we will share soon. In the meantime Mike wrote/asked…

Along the WP7 lines … here is my topic for debate: Android has almost no inherent loyalty base, and if WP7 and Nokia gets traction, we will see Android plummet almost as fast as RIM, while iOS hold happy at ~28%.

Thoughts and comments?

Here is one of the biggest finds of CES so far. We’ve seen a number of companies that are offering new technologies that will waterproof electronic devices but the technology HzO is bringing to market is different. And better…

 … Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

If you search around the internet based on the images in this post you will find loads of prognostication – Android fans calling it meaningless (despite foretelling the death of iOS with each percentage Android gains at the expense of RIM), iOS fans calling it the ‘Android plummet’ (in spite of arguing that short term shifts are meaningless), and so on.

What I see – particularly when I look at the next image – is a market that is moving more rapidly than ever before. Smartphones accounted for over TWO THIRDS of all mobile phone sales in October and November of 2011!

My first stop at CES Unveiled was QOOQ, a French company that is planning to release the “first tablet specifically designed for the kitchen”. Last year saw hundreds of tablets announced. Only a small percentage actually got released and even fewer had any success. So one might think companies would stop staking their future on new tablets with unique OSes right? WRONG.

The tablet is nice enough looking and has rubber feet, a build in stand and can be wiped clean if it becomes dirty. Does it run Android? Nope. It runs its own Linux OS. It has streamed cooks showing you how to make dishes step by step. It has audio… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I’m going to do this in a mono-syllabic, excitable-Android-lover kinda way:

9.7″ Android tablet!  Running Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0)!  Dual-core Broadcom A9 chip!  Okay, yeah, only 8GB of memory, but goes for under $250 bucks, so it’s a tradeoff, right?

The Nextbook Elite 10 features a 1024 x 768 high-resolution screen with 4:3 aspect ratio and over the air (OTA) update capabilities for quick and easy operating system upgrades. It includes a 2.0 Megapixel front-facing camera and 5.0 Megapixel back-facing camera for easy photo and video taking. Built-in Wi-Fi allows users to research the Internet, view and email files, video chat, watch YouTube videos, and much more. The Elite 10 also features HDMI support and a

According to Droid Life and the Android developers blog  the Holo theme included in Android 4.0  is a requirement on a devices that ship the Android Marketplace with 4.0.  This promises to fix is the amount of time it takes manufacturers to produce updates to the OS.  They do this by making Holo a requirement and allowing a DeviceDefault skin as well.

Adam Powell of Google says:

Formally separating these theme families will also make future merges easier for manufacturers updating to a new platform version, helping more devices update more quickly.

Also, developers can specify DeviceDefault or Holo.  Since every device going forward will have Holo, this can help provide a more… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...