Last week was an exciting week for us as we took a trip from Boston to Tampa. Instead of taking a plane down, we decided to do it the old fashion way with four wheels and eventually moved to the Amtrak auto-train. The two in party, including me, wondered what we would do to occupy ourselves over the three day trip. We figured what better way would there be to review a mobile hotspot than a long trip down the east coast. So we decided to get a Clear Spot 4G+ Mobile Hotspot and test it extensively over the period of a trip, with the majority of use during the three day trip.

Now you may be wondering, what is a Clear Spot 4G+ Mobile Hotspot? It is a small device that makes a Wi-Fi hotspot allowing up to five different devices to connect to it at one time. Using a mobile broadband connection, the Clear Spot 4G+ Mobile Hotspot allows users to access the internet anywhere there is 3G or 4G coverage. The default setting is 4G Preferred, meaning it will use 4G if there is coverage and 3G if there is no 4G. The switch between 4G and 3G is pretty seamless making it painless for the user.

A 4G connection allows for mobile internet speeds 4x as fast as 3G speeds. However, 4G coverage is still lacking for most markets. Clear uses WiMAX technology for its 4G network that has average speeds of 3 to 6 Mbps and can go as high a 10 Mbps. Power users will be happy to hear that Clear allows for unlimited data over the 4G network, while it still has a 5GB cap on its 3G network.

The Clear 4G coverage is definitely spotty, but this early into the start of the 4G boom we wouldn’t expect it to be rolled out in rural areas just yet. Clear claims to have 49 markets covered with 4G speeds, but we think that it may be more as we got 4G coverage in Natick, MA when it said there was absolutely no 4G coverage in MA. The company says that it plans to expand 4G coverage into Tampa, Orlando, and Daytona, FL by the end of this summer (which is rapidly coming to an end). By the end of 2010, Clear says it will have New York City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh covered.

When we first got the device, made by Sierra Wireless, we were super excited to get it up and running. The first day we were able to catch 4G in Natick, MA. When connected to 4G the speeds were so fast that we were able to stream Netflix using Xbox Live in HD. We did not have the same luck with 3G. We experienced an activation error when trying to get the 3G working. We first used the online tech support chat. After one hour of talking to a “L1 Tech”, they told us that they have “very small training” and have higher tech agents that I can speak with if I called tech support via phone. So we called up tech support with using the support number and got the problem solved fast. Otherwise, setting up the device was as simple as turning it on and connecting your devices to it using the Wi-Fi network.

Our plan for the trip was to begin in Boston driving down to Virginia and catching the Amtrak auto-train from Virginia to Tampa, FL. Driving from Boston to Virginia took about 9 hours with traffic, so you could imagine how convenient the Clear Spot 4G+ Mobile Hotspot for whoever was in the passenger seat. During the car ride we used a Wi-Fi only iPad for entertainment and connected it to the Mobile Hotspot. The majority of our ride down we were using the 3G network which loaded web pages decently fast. There were a few instances, like in the Philadelphia and the Baltimore area, where we were able to catch 4G. However, we were greeted with a Sprint web page that asked us to test drive 4G for a charge of $9.99 for a 24 hour pass; we did not purchase a pass.

In Virginia we made the switch to the Amtrak auto-train that would bring us (and our car) to Florida. We knew from previous trips that the path used by the auto-train often has spotty coverage, so we knew that we wouldn’t have coverage the entire way down. We found that we got 3G coverage a lot of the time, but occasionally would pass by areas where there was absolutely no signal. When comparing the 3G coverage on Clear to the 3G coverage on our AT&T iPhone, we found that Clear was connected much more frequently than the iPhone.

The device itself is 3.15″ x 3.15″ so it isn’t too small like some of the broadband cards, but it still can fit in your pocket if you have the right jeans. Weighing in at 4.5 oz, the Clear Spot 4G+ Mobile Hotspot isn’t too heavy to bring around to different places of your choice. The device is black and glossy the whole way around. On the front of the device there is the power button and a screen that will display information like your battery status, network  name and password, and signal strength. The top bumped has a volume toggle that allows you to turn sound on or off. The bottom side has the microUSB charging port and a microSD card slot. We did notice that the device seemed to get very hot when there was a device connected to it. We aren’t talking like a little warm, we wouldn’t want this thing sitting on our lap because it gets so hot.

Clear lists the battery life to be about three hours on the Clear Spot 4G+. During our extensive testing, we found that the battery did realistically last about three hours. We found a car charger useful during long trips in the car.

Controlling the Clear Spot 4G+ is simple using the in-browser control panel. When connected to the mobile hotspot, you can get to the control panel by typing “clearspot” into the URL bar. The control panel will allow you to make changes and view information such as changing the network  name, password, 3G/4G preferences, battery options, and data transfer stats. We really like the control panel and how simple it is to use.

All in all, we really do love this device. The seemless switching over between 4G and 3G make the Clear Spot 4G+ Mobile Hotspot useful in the majority of the United States. Setting up the device is very simple with the control panel and the screen right on the device. When connected to 4G, we were impressed with the speeds we were getting. Clear is rapidly expanding the 4G coverage so most densely populated areas should have it in the next few years. The device itself costs $224.99 or it can be leased for $5.99 a month (two-year contract only). The monthly service charge on this device will run you $55 a month, which is still less than most of the major carriers in the States.

Check out the Clear Spot 4G+ Mobile Hotspot

RIM has finally updated all their lineup to trackpads which include the Curve, Bold and finally, the Pearl. As you may have heard, the BlackBerry Pearl name has been revived and renewed with the new 9100 model which includes incredible features from both the Pearl 81xx and the Bold 9700. In this review, we’ll explain to you why it’s one of the best candy-bar phones out as well as one of the most attractive and sleek smartphones out. Don’t like the BlackBerry name? We can change that. Read on…

Pricing & Features

Parents and teens can benefit with Rogers cheap pricing when it comes to signing a contract. You’ll only pay a price of $49.99 on a 3 year contract with a data plan which can be costly depending on how much you use, or you can always buy out the phone for $424.99 which is quite expensive.

For those who have handled and understood the old BlackBerry Pearl phones, you might have remembered the candy-bar style and the SureType keyboard. Well both are still available and very popular. New to the Pearl is the trackpad which is now available for every BlackBerry model. If you’ve owned the 81xx you might have noticed the dirty and stuck trackball. Well this isn’t a problem anymore. Also new is the upgraded 3.2 megapixel camera with a bright LED flash and 3G connection. Yes, we said 3G. Finally RIM has integrated 3G to the Pearl and boy we were glad they did. You’ll also get the standards WiFI, GPS, and Bluetooth technology all integrated to the 9100.

Design

What can we say about the new design? Well it’s a love or hate thing. I personally love the two-tone black and red color effect. I find it very sexy and a Rogers original signature design. I also enjoy the dark chrome color bezel that wraps the phone. On the left of the phone, you’ll find the MicroUSB vs the old MiniUSB in the 81xx along with a left convenience key and the 3.5mm headphone jack. On the right is the dedicated volume keys and the camera key and on the top of the phone is dedicated multimedia keys which can pause/play music as well as back forward button. The pause/play button also acts as a keyboard lock button. On the rear is the 3.2 megapixel camera and a bright LED flash.

Call Quality & Signal Strength

When it comes to BlackBerry. Call Quality is beyond superb. Nothing beats the clarity of what BlackBerry has to offer and the ability to enhance the audio quality by boosting the bass or treble when making calls is a great feature. I also found the speakerphone quality to be decent. You can’t really avoid echoing sometimes but that being said, it’s still better then most smartphones out.

With 3G available on the Pearl. Signal has been boosted much higher compared to the previous 81xx pearl’s. Not only do you get great signal but you also get great speeds when surfing the net and sending files through email or BlackBerry Messenger and other social clients. 3G should be a standard now a days and RIM has made the right choice and come through with that decision. While they might have been a tad late, they always come out good.

Messaging

The Pearl 9100 keyboard is what expected from a Pearl. The people who’ve had it before and love it will still love it, but those who hate it will absolutely hate it. SureType keyboard is what RIM calls it and what they do is instead of sorting the keys T9 style, they sort them like the QWERTY way but have 2 letters per keys. If you’ve used a QWERTY keyboard before, it’s not too hard getting use to. If not, it might confuse you for a while. This SureType keyboard comes to good use in the social clients that BlackBerry provides with the phone and there are a lot more social clients available on the App World.

Camera & Battery

When I first played with the BlackBerry 9100. I assumed it was just a 2.0 megapixel camera like the Curve. Why? Because there is absolutely no labeling of how many pixels the camera is. After using the camera, you realize that RIM has tricked you and that the camera is in fact an amazing 3.2 megapixel camera with a bright LED flash, even brighter then the Bold 9700. Pictures are the exact same quality though. It has auto focus and takes brilliant and vibrant pictures. It’s whats expected from RIM.

Battery life on the BlackBerry 9100 is also quite good. While it isn’t as good as the old 8100 mainly because there is 3G now, it still performs very well and lasts longer then the BlackBerry Bold 9700, about 15 hours of surfing the web, taking pictures and doing some calling and texting.

Conclusion

With all the new phones being released this summer by Rogers it’s no surprise that this one attracts many teens, especially with the low price tag, it’s a steal for parents. While it may not be the hottest BlackBerry out, It does what it’s suppose to do. Messaging on a BlackBerry is a breeze, camera is superb, and the 3G speed helps out a lot. If you don’t got money for the Bold 9700 or Curve 9300 or just don’t like the size. You can be sure that you’ll enjoy this phone. I’d highly recommend this for those who don’t enjoy the wide BlackBerry’s or just don’t want a touchscreen smartphone.

AT&T has begun expanding its phone assortment to include Android phone. The HTC Aria is the carrier’s second Android device and the only one that has the HTC Sense UI on it. The Aria runs version 2.1 of Android so it doesn’t have all of the features of the 2.2, like Adobe Flash support. However, the phone will be getting the 2.2 update later this summer. While many phones are expanding their size to maximize screen space, the Aria took a different approach and made a relatively small device.

Hardware:

When comparing the HTC Aria to other popular smartphones, like the DROID X or HTC EVO 3G, it is immediately evident that the Aria is much smaller in size. This is not necessarily a bad thing for certain consumers. However, with smaller size comes a smaller screen to play around with; the Aria has a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen display. The phone is also lighter than many of the other smartphones on the market, weighing in at 115 grams.

The hardware itself is very sleek and industrial. HTC keeps the phone real simple by making the entire phone black with silver spots for text, the camera, and screws. Wait, screws? There is a screw in each corner on the back of the phone. These screws look as if they can be taken out to get inside the actual phone (mind your warranty). We are assuming that HTC chose to expose these screws through the back case to give the phone a sort of industrial look. And to be honest, we think the screws add a cool look to the phone. On the front of the phone there is a round trackpad and four touch sensitive buttons that help navigate around the phone. The front of the phone looks simple, yet clean.

The 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen display is  very responsive to different movements and touches. We found that even when moving up and down the menu, the screen seemed to follow our finger’s movements immediately.

So how is the build quality? We aren’t sure if it is just our unit, but the back cover seems to creak pretty easily when playing around with the phone. We think it might be how the case snaps onto the back of the phone, but either way it is annoying.

Software:

The HTC Aria runs Google’s Android operating system with HTC’s Sense UI over it. With Android version 2.1, the Aria is missing some interesting features that Android version 2.2 bring along. The big one people are talking about is Adobe Flash. We haven’t heard a release date on AT&T releasing 2.2 for the Aria yet.

Android as an operating system works great and has a pretty big following. The Aria has a 600MHz processor that works allows applications to open up quickly without much lag. While it may not be as fast as some of the new Android phones like the DROID X or EVO, it does have the power to support this phone. Android has great features like the Android Market with over 70,000 applications in it, Google Maps integration, and FriendSteam that comes with HTC Sense. HTC Sense is a great UI on Android phones and really makes the operating system shine. HTC Sense runs on many other popular phones like the HTC EVO 4G and the DROID Incredible. The graphics on Sense make the phone enjoyable to use and not seem as bland. There are give different customizable home screens that users can place shortcuts on or place a widget that will allow for easy access to different features of the phone.

Since the Aria is an AT&T-branded phone, the company has loaded some of its own software into the phone. We found that a lot of software just cluttered the phone menu and we never seemed to use a lot of it. For example, AT&T Hot Spots will locate your nearest AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot. Other AT&T applications incliude AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Navigator, MoviTV, AT&T Radio, Mobile Video, Mobile Banking, and YellowPages.

With no physical keyboard, the Aria utilizes the Android on-screen keyboard. The on-screen keyboard on the Aria is accurate and guesses what work you might be trying to type. We found it easy to use and type on in both landscape and portrait mode.

Camera

The HTC Aria has a 5 megapixel camera packed inside its small body. It works nicely and takes good pictures in well-lit areas; however, not so much in dark areas because the Aria lacks a flash. Check out our sample shots:

Battery Life

The Aria packs a 1300 mAh battery that HTC says can give you 6 hours of talk time. We found that the battery will last the full day for moderate users. On heavy use days we had to plug in for a recharge when we got the low battery warnings.

Conclusion

The HTC Aria is a great choice if looking for an Android phone on AT&T. Its small size will be a plus for many customers in a time when big phones are taking over the market. Those looking for a huge screen may want to avoid this one, but its small size is great for carrying around in the pocket.

The wait for the iPhone 4 has been excruciating. I’ve have been drooling over this phone since it was first found in a bar and sold to Gizmodo. On June 15, I was able to reserve the 32GB iPhone 4 at our local Apple store. My excitement for June 24 cannot be explained in words.

Jump to June 24th. Nick and I arrived at the Apple store at 6am to get in the reservation line one hour before the store opened. It was obvious that we was not the only one excited by eavesdropping in other line-stander’s conversations. At 7am Apple opened up the doors and by 7:30am we walked out as proud owners of a new iPhone 4. Apple had offered to help set up email and other features, I politely declined as that is the fun part about getting a brand new phone.

Apple Bumper

Upon walking out of the Apple store with my iPhone 4 in hand, the first thing I thought was “I am going to need a case for this”. The phone has a stunning look with its silver bezel and glass front and back; however, it feels that it will get easily damaged if dropped. With a glass front and back, one drop seems like enough to shatter the device and ruin all of the fun to be had. So I purchased the only case available at the Apple store, a Bumper. The iPhone 4 Bumper, a piece of plastic costing you $29, covers the bezel of the phone and leaves the front and back glass open. The Bumper gives the iPhone a good grip as to not drop it out of your hand while playing with it. However, it takes away from the industrial look that Apple is going for. I carry my iPhone in my jeans pocket and the Bumper does not do much to protect the glass from pocket damage. We are actively looking for another third-party iPhone 4 case that we like, but until we find one, the Bumper will do.

Design

On the second day of using the iPhone, I decided that I wanted to show off the beauty of the phone and remove the Bumper. Risking potential damage, I removed the Bumper and used my iPhone 4 in its naked state the entire day. Comparing  it to the iPhone 3GS, there are some major design changes. Apple ditched the plastic back and the shiny metal look. The iPhone 4 has a beautiful glass back that complements the front of the device. The Apple logo is under the glass, so no need to worry about getting it scratched like on the 3GS.  The downside to the glass is that it attracts finger prints like crazy. The sides of the phone are a matte metal that does not look as if it will easily attract scratches, like on the iPhone 3GS. Only time will tell how scratch resistant the matte bezel will be to scratches.

The phone itself is made well and is really sturdy. When holding the phone, there aren’t any spots that feel cheap or can be pressed in like plastic. The glass feels really strong as well. I think the iPhone 4 design looks really slick and clean. The design does leave the phone more vulnerable to damage when dropped, but we think in general it looks much cleaner than previous iPhones.

Display

I instantly noticed how crisp the retina display is on the iPhone 4. Just by looking at the text on the home screen under the icons you will see a major difference from the iPhone 3GS. This retina display is the best screen on any smartphone on the market right now. As expected, photos and videos look superb on this display. All text on the phone just looks so clean and crisp that it actually looks like text on a paper. Even when holding the phone right up to your eye, it is nearly impossible to see any pixels. This is because Apple has included more pixels in the display than are visible to the human eye. I hadn’t really understood how big of a change the retina display was compared to the iPhone 3GS display. If you haven’t yet seen a iPhone 4 and are considering it, I would suggest hitting your local Apple store to see the display in person.

Software

The most important part of our daily use with the iPhone 4 is the software. The device is running iOS 4, the latest software released by Apple for the iPhone. iOS 4 adds a bunch of features that I’ve have been dying for including multitasking, folders, iBooks, home screen wallpaper customization, and a unified inbox. iOS 4 is available for both the iPhone 3G and 3GS as well, however all of the features are not available on the iPhone 3G. After using iOS 4 on the iPhone 4 for about a week, I can say that Apple has really implemented some nice changes the right way. Category folders are fantastic and make it very easy to organize your apps into folders that correspond to the nature of the app. The unified mailbox saves time that would normally be wasted switching between different email accounts. And multitasking is fantastic to use when the app has the API that allows it to run in the background. There has been some debate whether iOS 4 has “real multitasking”, but the way Apple has implemented it saves battery life. Coming from an iPhone 3G, I am thoroughly enjoying all of the features of iOS 4 and how fast it runs on the iPhone 4.

With double the RAM of the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4 is a joy to use. Switching between apps is very fast and has almost no lag. Every transition is smooth and fast and every keystroke is instantaneous. For those of us coming from the iPhone 3G, the difference in speed will be very noticeable.

Camera

The iPhone 4 has a 5 megapixel camera. Steve Jobs says that the megapixels aren’t everything, much more goes into the camera than that. I’m going to have to agree after using the iPhone 4 camera and comparing it to other phones with higher megapixel cameras. The test images I took on this device are so clear and crisp that we think it could replace our regular point and shoot. There is a 5x digital zoom that lets you zoom in close on what you are trying to take a photo of. For low light environments, there is a LED flash. Check out a few sample images I took with our iPhone and didn’t retouch at all.

[View with PicLens]

HD Video

Apple boasts about its new HD video recording on the iPhone 4. Gone are the days of carrying around your Flip camera and phone, now you can just carry the iPhone 4. The quality of the video recording is superb and crisp. Even in low light situations, the video camera takes some nice shots for the little device it is. Once you shoot a bunch of video, it is easy to edit it right from the phone with iMovie for iPhone, available in the app store for $4.99. With iMovie you can take different clips, edit them, piece them together, add titles, add music, and much more to make a professional looking video right from your iPhone. Edited videos can be exported to YouTube, Mobile Me, or MMS in medium (640x360), large (960x540), or HD (1280x720) format.

I shot and edited together a quick (took about 10 minutes total) video to showcase how the HD video works:

Battery Life

One of the biggest complaints I had with the iPhone 3G is the battery life. I would have to recharge my phone at least twice a day to keep it working all day long. When I switched over to the iPhone 4, I was surprised at the battery life I was getting out of this device. With pretty heavy use, I would have about 30-40% of battery left. One day of testing yielded 30% of battery remaining after 4 hours, 35 minutes of usage and 13 hours, 31 minutes of standby. Another day of testing yielded 42% of battery remaining after 3 hours, 32 minutes of usage and 12 hours, 57 minutes of standby.

FaceTime

One of the most talked about new features on the iPhone 4 is FaceTime. FaceTime is essentially video calling between two iPhone 4 devices using the front facing camera on the device. Right now FaceTime is only available over Wi-Fi, which is a bit of a downer, but Apple is working with the carriers to get it working over 3G sometime in the future. I’ve done numerous FaceTime calls with friends who purchased the iPhone 4 and I have to say that I’m pleased with the quality of the call. The voice quality improves when switching to FaceTime because the call is transferred from 3G to the Wi-Fi network making it a voIP call.

Conclusion

After one full week of using the iPhone 4, I have to say that I am very happy with the device. I’ve tested a lot of phones for Smartphone Nation and the iPhone 4 really sticks out as one I am going to be happy to use for a long time down the road. With all of the improvements made to the device and the new software update, I believe that this phone is going to be popular among all different types of users, from business users to teenagers. The device is still locked down to AT&T which is the one major thing holding a lot of consumers away from the device, however I personally think this phone warrants a carrier switch if you are aching for the phone.

Earlier, we reported that Rogers had confirmed that they would be partnering with Acer to release the Liquid E. After about 4 months of long waiting, Rogers has finally released the Acer Liquid E in black. The Liquid E is the first Rogers Android phone to have the new firmware version 2.1 also known as “Eclair”, a long thin pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with icing. We don’t know why Android names all their OS’s as desserts, but its tasty and it works well.

Pricing & Features

The Liquid E will run you for only $49.99 on a 3 year voice and data plan which is quite cheap. If you don’t feel like sticking with Rogers. You can buy the phone outright at $424.99. The phone will include a battery, charger, headset, data cable, 2gb microSD card. Specifications include:

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Design

The sexy and sleek design of this phone attracts attention when being held up, but it also attracts many finger prints. I’d have to say it’s even worse then the iPhone, but the glossy all black design is a real head-turner. The curves of the phone makes it unique, but very slippery and quite hard to hold consider how wide and thick the Liquid E actually is.

On the front of the phone is a full glass touchscreen with dedicated home, search, back, and menu touch sensitive buttons on the lower bottom. At the back is the impressive 5.0 megapixel camera lens along with the speaker holes. On the top of the phone, you’ll find  a simple 3.5mm headphone jack. On the left is the dedicated sleep button which also acts as an on/off button when held. On the right you’ll find a volume rocker and camera key. On the bottom is where the miniUSB port is hidden by a rubber flap. I was curious to why Acer chose miniUSB instead of the microUSB where most cellphone companies have started making it standard.

Software

The Acer Liquid E is running on the new “Eclair” Android 2.1 firmware. What you’ll find new to this firmware is the homepage which now has a total of 5 screens instead of the previous 3. The menu is very different and is like a cube which allows you to scroll up and down while it slides. Acer has also thrown in a bunch of widgets and random crap that we really don’t need. I mean Android is open source. You should just sell the phone as is and let us customize it… That being said, it still is an improvement over the previous firmware’s that Android has released and everything seems to be much more snappier and smoother.

What we really liked about the new 2.1 firmware was mainly the pinch to zoom feature in the browser. It’s a small little feature that should have been available from the start of Android. We also noticed that live backgrounds pulse in different ways when you touch it. Android has also allowed multiple Gmail clients which is a huge step up for business users who have multiple accounts.

Processor & Battery

So with the Android 2.1 update, we’d expect everything to be much snappier and smoother, and we’ll agree it is… over the HTC Magic and Dream. Besides that, it’s really slow and lags even when scrolling in the main menu. The reason? We’re going to take a wild guess and say it’s because of the Snapdragon processor. The Qualcomm Snapdragon is in fact suppose to be one of the best cellular processors but Acer has done one of the dumbest moves and under-clocked the processor from 1GHz to 768MHz. Over 200MHz just gone.

As for the battery, it’s quite well compared to many other Android devices. It lasts about 12 hours on normal usage and requires daily charging as any smartphone does. It uses a 1350mAh Li-ion Polymer rechargeable battery. What I found annoying was that the MicroSD was being blocked by the battery. Now I know this wasn’t a big deal before but now it’s standard that the MicroSD card should be accessible without removing the battery. Just a small flaw that I found annoying.

Call Quality & Signal Strength

Acer is quite new to the mobile phone industry, and although this is an Android smartphone that does web browsing and the whole shazam. Some people might forget that it also does voice calls, something we often forget in a smartphone. So what can we say about the call quality? It’s quite good. Calls were absolutely clear with no drop calls. On the other hand, speakerphone was horrible. Not only was I not able to hear the other person because of the insanely crap speaker that had high treble and no mid, but there was echoing and lots of background noise.

Thanks to Rogers decent wireless 3G service, we were able to get signal almost everywhere with this phone. 3G stuck on 95% of the time while having the upgraded HSPA+ 7.2mbps speeds hitting on over 70% of the time. Signal never dropped randomly and in my basement alone, I was able to get at least 3 bars which is average.

Camera

The Acer Liquid E features a 5.0 megapixel camera with auto focus and a very decent one but lacks flash. I mean Acer… common. Couldn’t you have put a simple LED flash? Picture quality decrease drastically in low lights due to the missing flash. In outdoor and bright lights, pictures are crystal clear and come out with strong vibrant colors.

There are multiple features in camera mode including ISO100 to ISO800 configuration. Not many cellphone’s have this option but what it lacked was macro mode. Something a 5 megapixel camera should have. You also have multiple color effects, white balance, anti flicker, picture size and picture quality options. All that are tunable to your liking. You’ll also now have the ability to record videos but only in VGA resolutions.

Conclusion

Although I found this phone to be quite feature packed. I just don’t think it’s really worth it. The phone in general is an under-clocked fatter version of the Sony Xperia X10. Acer has thrown in a bunch of useless applications and widgets that slowed down the phone tremendously. What I did like about the phone was the amazing LCD screen. It’s very clear and bright and probably one of the best quality LCD screen’s I’ve seen, but not the largest. In conclusion, if you can save the money and invest it in something better like the Sony Xperia X10 or even the iPhone 4 when it becomes available in Canada, you might just be more satisfied with your purchase.

[View with PicLens]

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We got our hands on a popular database software Bento that was developed for the iPad. You may be asking yourself why you would ever need a personal database software. To be honest, we were asking the same thing when we decided to review this application. However, upon playing with the app we actually found it pretty useful for everyday use. Bento lists some of its common uses on its website:

• Organize contacts, clubs and mailing lists
• Track projects, tasks, and deadlines
• Plan special events, parties and weddings
• Link photos to contacts, projects, and events
• Manage students, classes, and lecture notes
• Search wine and movie collections
• Catalog inventory, assets, and equipment
• Record billable hours and payments due
• Keep a daily log of diet and exercise
• Store recipes and shopping lists

Bento for iPad is one of those applications that really utilizes the iPad’s big screen. There are numerous drop down menus that make it easy to navigate around the application while still seeing content in the background. On the left side of the screen when in landscreen mode there is a list (in alphabetical order) that tells you the name or description of the database entry. Upon clicking the entry, the right side has all the information you have inputted into the database. The entry looks like a notebook in which you would keep the paper version of the information. In portrait mode all you see if the entry which really makes it feel like you are holding a notebook (seen in image above).

Creating different libraries is extremely easy with the pre-designed database templates that let you record anything from inventory to a classroom student list. These pre-designed templates really let you organize your life’s information into the application. We used a bunch of these pre-designed templates to organize our life. Some of the tools we used were: To Do List, Contacts, Files, Expenses, Classes, and Notes. Upon creating the Library. It is simple to input data and create different entries that can easily be accessed later.

Syncing the information to your Mac is very easy and doesn’t even require you to plug it into the computer. If the Mac and the iPad are both on the same Wi-Fi network, you can link them up to sync your information so that it will be the same on both devices. This could be very important when used in a small business to keep track of inventory and other business processes. Syncing to the Mac requires Bento for Mac which will run you $49 for a single license.

Bento for iPad is available from the App Store for $5. The price is definitely fair for what you get out of the application if you are looking for a database program. The application can be purchased here.

First there was the Motorola DROID that started the Android revolution on the Verizon Wireless network. But now there is the Droid Incredible and there are some major differences from the original Droid. The specifications on the Droid Incredible really make the phone incredibly fast and responsive. You may have seen this phone on the new Verizon “Droid Does” commercials, and now we are bringing you the review after a month of real use with the phone.

Hardware:

The Droid Incredible has an interesting body to it. From first glance it just looks like a thin phone with a really high quality display. However once picked up, the Incredible reveals a shapely back panel and a interesting color scheme. On the left side of the phone there is the volume toggle and the charging port, which takes a microUSB connection. One of our complaints about the design is that the charging port is placed on the bottom half of the left side of the phone which makes it difficult to charge and talk on at the same time. On the front of the phone there is a optical joystick that allows you to navigate around the phone without using the touchscreen display.

The HTC Droid Incredible has some powerful internal specs that make the phone fast and usable. With a 3.7″ 480×800 WVGA OLED touch screen display, this phone’s display really shines and looks fantastic. With a 1 Ghz Snapdragon processor, you will rarely find lag and slow response on the Incredible. 8GB of internal memory (and the opportunity to add 16GB more with a microSD card) gives users the opportunity to take advantage of all the media capabilities of the Incredible and put the 8 megapixel camera to good use.

The HTC Droid Incredible weighs in at 4.59 ounces which makes it just a tad bit lighter than the iPhone.  The phone is pretty thin and easy to hold in the hand. On the front of the phone, under the display, there are four touch buttons that allow you to go home, bring up the menu, go back, or search for something. We had no problem working with these and never seemed to hit them by accident.

Software:

The HTC Incredible runs Android 2.1 and has the HTC Sense interface. With its Snapdragon possessor and 512MB of RAM, the Incredible runs really smoothly and can have a decent amount of apps open at the same time. There were times we would have 7 or 8 apps open at a time and didn’t notice any difference in performance.

HTC Sense is the user interface that runs on top of the Android operating system. It really makes the operating system shinen with its graphics and functionality. Sense has a widget called FriendStream that allows you to connect it to your social networks and see what your friends are doing. We found that really useful and set as one of our homescreens. There are multiple other widgets that can be added to homepages. We have used Android phones without Sense and we can honestly say that we just don’t enjoy them as much. This user interface really adds what we believe is needed for a great smartphone.

The HTC Droid Incredible does not have a physical keyboard. Therefore, there is a on-screen keyboard that pops up when needed. The keyboard turns as you turn the phone making it easy to type when holding the phone sideways. After extensive email, web, and text messaging use, we found the keyboard to work fine. We had some trouble getting words right when the phone was upright. However, we loved the keyboard when using the phone turned sideways. If you spell a word incorrectly, it will give you options to fix it or add it to the dictionary.

Camera:

The Droid Incredible has an impressive 8 megapixel camera with a flash. This camera can be used to take some pretty nice photos and videos, but it probably will not replace your real camera. The quality is good, but it just isn’t up to par with a real camera. Check out some pictures below.

Conclusion:

The HTC Droid Incredible really shines when it comes to Verizon smartphones. At this point, I can honestly say that the Incredible may be the best smartphone currently available on Verizon. If you are a hardcore BlackBerry user, you may think otherwise. However, for the standard user looking to get a smartphone, the Incredible is a great choice at this time. The camera quality is ahead of most phones, the Sense UI and speed of the phone really make it usable.

Earlier this year SanDisk and Verizon released slotRadio for the BlackBerry. The slotRadio package makes it easy to listen to the Billboard top charts in genre-themed playlists. The slotRadio+ music card comes with 1,000 preloaded songs and 4GB of memory to upload your own music, videos, and more. SanDisk sent us a review unit that we tested for a bit, check out our impressions after the jump.

SanDisk aimed to make slotRadio easy to use and setup. There are three easy steps to get the slotRadio+ experience ready to use. It is as easy as inserting the microSD card into your BlackBerry, installing the slotRadio application via the browser, and running the app to enjoy the music.

Once the slotRadio app is installed on your Verizon BlackBerry, it is very easy to start listening to different preloaded playlists. We tested the Billboard Decades music card that had music from different decades and a few other playlists. There are 1,000 preloaded songs on the card that allows for a real diverse collection of music ranging from Michael Jackson to Mariah Carey.

The slotRadio interface is intuitive and easy to use. With the preloaded music on the slotRadio microSD card, it is possible to listen to different radio playlists even when not connected to the internet. The app itself gives the artist, album, album cover, and the next artist coming up.

All in all, we were impressed with the slotRadio+ for Verizon BlackBerry phones. It gives users the opportunity to create their own radio station by decade and listen to the best songs from top artists. With a very easy to use interface, slotRadio+ is a great option for all users, from new BlackBerry owners to the BlackBerry addicts like ourselves. slotRadio+ goes for a very affordable $49.99 and can be purchased here.

The Sony Ericsson Aino was released late 2009 and we were lucky enough to receive one of these devices to play around with. I’ll start off by saying that the Aino is a touchscreen, but only to be used when using the multi-media menu which I found to be quite weird as well as annoying. Hit the jump for more on the Aino. Read the full story

Verizon and Motorola dropped the DEVOUR on customers on February 25th. Running Android 1.6, the DEVOUR is Verizon’s first ever phone that has MOTOBLUR. The DEVOUR might looks similar to its cousin, the DROID, from far away, but it is quite different up close. With a nice silver color, the DEVOUR really looks impressive. Verizon hooked us up with a review unit and we have been doing all sorts of tests to bring you our review.

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