Android

RSS
  • Review

    Android remote access app shootout

    Posted May 21, 2012 - 2:00 pm

    There are times when accessing another computer remotely can be convenient -- to check on the status of a download or code that is being compiled, to start or stop an application, or to load a document to view it. It can be really helpful to be able to do this from a smartphone or tablet. We tested three services that let you use your Android device to connect to your computer remotely.
  • Review

    HTC Evo 4G LTE review: almost great

    Posted May 19, 2012 - 7:50 am

    HTC's Evo 4G LTE smartphone has a lot going for it, but other factors, including the lack of LTE service from Sprint, make it difficult to recommend.
  • Review

    5 great Android apps for cloud admins

    Posted May 16, 2012 - 9:55 am

    If you administer cloud servers or services, such as those from Amazon Web Services or Rackspace, you might be relieved to learn that you don't need access to a notebook or desktop PC to perform routine administrative tasks.
  • Review

    Tablet face-off: budget models from Acer and Asus vs. Apple’s iPad 2

    Posted May 5, 2012 - 7:55 am

    It appears that $400 or less marks the new sweet spot for 10-inch class tablets. First Apple reduced its iPad 2 to that price, and now we have a pair of Android tablets, the Acer Iconia Tab A200 and the Asus Transformer Pad 300, coming in at $350 and $380, respectively. If you have four bills and want a 10-inch tablet, which of these represents the better deal? The answer may surprise you.
  • Review

    HTC One X: beautiful, but not without its shortcomings

    Posted May 5, 2012 - 7:45 am

    It was love at first sight: From the moment I unboxed the HTC One X ($200 with a new two-year contract on AT&T; price as of as of 5/1/2012) I immediately fell for its slim profile and brilliant 4.7-inch display. But it was more than just the phone's good looks that snagged my heart, as the HTC One X came with a tasty serving of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4) and a long enough battery life to keep me satisfied for hours on end. But like all romances, this one was not without its sour spots, and even the One X's smoking-fast LTE connectivity was not enough for me to overlook the phone's poor call quality and its clunky HTC Sense overlay running over Android.
  • Review

    Review: Quickoffice Connect is a poor iCloud clone

    Posted May 5, 2012 - 7:30 am

    Stick with the original Quickoffice HD app and either Dropbox or Box instead for a more reliable, cheaper alternative
  • Review

    Review: DroidWall protects your rooted Android phone against unauthorized Internet access

    Posted April 28, 2012 - 7:04 am

    I review a lot of Android apps: Many of them are junk, some are so-so, and a small number are great, providing functionality that should be included in every Android device. DroidWall (for rooted devices only) is among the elite few. Why? Because DroidWall allows you to specify which apps can access the Internet--giving you more control over your phone and enabling you to protect yourself against unauthorized data connections.
  • Review

    Asus Transformer Pad TF300 review: Value tablet delivers a solid, but mixed, experience

    Posted April 22, 2012 - 8:54 pm

    The 10.1-inch Asus Transformer Pad TF300 aims to reshape the tablet market by delivering top-tier performance at a value price. It largely succeeds in this mission, delivering performance that's on a par with its pricier Transformer Prime sibling. However, the Transformer Pad had to make some compromises in components and display to achieve its goal. And more worrying than those compromises--which include a slightly heavier weight and different build materials than what's found on the premium Prime--were the frequent glitches I seemed to encounter, with no rhyme or reason, while using this Android 4.0 tablet.
  • Review

    Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) review: A nice price, but where's the 'wow'?

    Posted April 14, 2012 - 7:44 am

    The new Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) tablet is a good tablet at an excellent price, but how much better is it than Samsung's previous models?
  • Review

    Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G: Slick, speedy phone suffers from bloatware

    Posted March 24, 2012 - 7:58 am

    In a world where smartphone displays are getting more and more gargantuan, the 3.97-inch display on the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G is refreshingly compact. Not everybody needs a 5.3-inch display on their phone (Galaxy Note, I'm looking at you!), and it's nice to see a more pocketable phone for those consumers. In addition, the Galaxy S Blaze 4G ($150 with a two-year contract on T-Mobile; price as of March 20, 2012) has fast data speeds (thanks to T-Mobile's HSPA+ 42 network) and smooth performance powered by a dual-core processor. But regrettably, the phone is riddled with carrier and manufacturer bloatware that you can't easily remove.
  • Review

    Review: Motorola Droid 4 has snappy performance and a great keyboard

    Posted February 18, 2012 - 8:25 am

    With its slide-out QWERTY keyboard and latest version of Android, the original Motorola Droid stood for everything the iPhone wasn't. However, Motorola's interest in QWERTY Android phones has been downplayed with each new model. The Motorola Droid 4 ($200 with a new 2-year contract on Verizon; price as of 2/13/2012) is the latest in the keyboard toting Android phones. Unfortunately, the Droid 4 lacks the same excitement the original Droid sparked-- the excellent keyboard and zippy processor is overshadowed by a blurry screen and poor camera.
  • Review

    Review: Samsung Galaxy Note is unique and impressive, but not for everyone

    Posted February 18, 2012 - 8:17 am

    The Galaxy Note ($300 with a two-year contract; price as of 2/14/12) has been out for a while internationally, but starting on 2/19/12, the 5.3-inch phone with a stylus-like pen will be arriving on U.S. shores exclusively on AT&T's 4G LTE network. After the Galaxy Note commercials appeared during the Super Bowl, Twitter users joked that it looked like a Palm Pilot. The Galaxy Note might have a pen, but it is far from the capacitive PDAs of yore. The Note's "S Pen" works quite well with the user interface, but I wished there were more apps to use it with.
  • Review

    Review: Galaxy Nexus smartphone a worthy upgrade

    Posted January 21, 2012 - 8:05 am

    If you have been considering making the switch from the iPhone to Android, the Galaxy Nexus is a great phone to consider.
  • Review

    Hands on: The Wikipad tablet does 3D, runs Ice Cream Sandwich

    Posted January 15, 2012 - 9:41 am

    Aimed at gamers, the Wikipad is an Android tablet that is capable of glasses-free 3D. The Wikipad has an 8-inch 1280-by-720 resolution parallax autostereoscopic display, and it'll ship running Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
  • Review

    Review: HTC Rezound is a high performance Android phone

    Posted January 7, 2012 - 8:27 am

    The HTC Rezound ($300 with a new two-year contract as of 1/3/12) is one of the more capable devices released this year. With beefy specs, including a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and Verizon LTE 4G connectivity, the Rezound stands its own against other Verizon smartphones.
  • Review

    A user's guide to Android Ice Cream Sandwich

    Posted December 26, 2011 - 9:26 pm

    After months of waiting, the Galaxy Nexus (and by extension, Android 4.0, aka "Ice Cream Sandwich") is finally here. We've already done an extensive review of the hardware, so here we will be looking much more closely at Ice Cream Sandwich. Whether you are an Android veteran or a smartphone first-timer, this new version of Google's mobile operating system has a few things you should know about before getting started.
  • Review

    Cool gifts for geeks, 2011: Smartphones and accessories

    Posted November 26, 2011 - 9:07 am

    Remember when cell phones were as big as a brick and required a separate shoulder pack to keep the battery up and running? Yeah, so do we. But we also remember the birth of the smartphone, and since then, they’ve gotten smarter and smarter. With dozens of choices out there now (several iPhone models and carriers, along with multitudes of Android devices), we figure that your gift recipient already has a smartphone. So we’re focusing on some products that can enhance their smartphone, whether it’s a nice case, charging device, Bluetooth headset or other cool accessory. Here’s what we liked this year:
  • Review

    Samsung Galaxy Nexus: Pure Google, pure delight

    Posted November 25, 2011 - 8:15 am

    In the world of Android, we see a lot of new phones -- and inevitably, some of them are destined to be forgotten. Samsung's new Galaxy Nexus is not one of those devices.
  • Review

    Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet: Which should you buy?

    Posted November 20, 2011 - 12:45 pm

    Some people want a tablet but don't want to shell out big bucks for it. For those frugal shoppers, this week was special, as it marked the release of the $200 Amazon Kindle Fire and the $250 Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet.
  • Review

    3 Bluetooth keyboards for Android tablets

    Posted October 31, 2011 - 11:38 am

    Tablets give us new possibilities when it comes to mobile computing. Unfortunately, they also give us new things to pack when it comes to carry-on luggage.
  • Review

    Manage music on Android without iTunes

    Posted October 28, 2011 - 8:00 am

    Music lovers will appreciate any of the options presented here. While there are vast differences in how they work, these tools enable your Android device to have access to the same music as any iOS device especially if it's DRM-free.
  • Review

    Nokia Lumia 800 vs. iPhone 4S vs. Nexus Galaxy

    Posted October 26, 2011 - 11:30 am

    Nokia is betting its future on Microsoft’s mobile OS, and on Wednesday introduced its first Windows Phone 7 device, the Lumia 800. If the Lumia 800 looks familiar, that’s because it’s similar to the Nokia N9, which runs OS (MeeGo) soon to be ditched. The Lumia 800 brings a few improvements over its relegated sibling, including a faster processor, but compared to the big boys, the iPhone 4S and the latest Android Galaxy Nexus and Droid RAZR,
  • Review

    Phone camera shootout: 13 Android phones put to the test

    Posted September 1, 2011 - 11:16 am

    Over the past month, how many photos have you taken with your smartphone versus your stand-alone camera? Sure, for special events or portraits, you’ll probably want to use an advanced point-and-shoot, an interchangeable-lens camera, or a DSLR--but when you’re on the go, a phone with a good camera is more than sufficient. At the very least, you’ll want a phone capable of taking photos that are decent enough to share, whether it’s with your Facebook friends or via email to your relatives.
  • Review

    Share files wirelessly between Android and any computer

    Posted August 27, 2011 - 8:11 am

    Between my Android tablet and my Android phone, I've been creating a lot more content on the go than I may ever have expected to. Between pictures and notes captured on my Thunderbolt, and the occasional article hammered out on my Iconia, There's pretty much always something on my mobile devices that I'd like to grab from my PC. Dooblou WiFi File Explorer handles this task beautifully.
  • Review

    Review: Spotify for Android

    Posted August 27, 2011 - 8:08 am

    Spotify for Android is a simple music player that ties in with Spotify's free and premium streaming music services. Sure, you can use it to manage your phone's locally stored tunes, but as a music manager it's inferior to, say, Winamp. Spotify as a package deal--with the all-you-can-stream online and offline premium account--is quite good.
Ask a Question