It’s true, this morning Verizon is getting a lot of calls, emails, and forum posts through their customer service. Apparently the whole Verizon network is having issues this morning. People are reporting their phone not connecting to any data at all or sometimes not even being able to place a phone call, or text.

And it’s not just happening in Southwest Missouri. Calls are coming in Nation wide, from New York to Southern California, everyone has lost connection. The folks at AndroidCentral posted a blog this morning, and several people are commenting with their location. One even posted “I just got off the phone with Verizon at 8:50am EST – they stated they just put in a ticket about 20 minutes ago. It’s down everywhere. No ETA as to when it’s going to be up and running again.”

At some points the  connection will just be reduced to 3G, but other times it goes to 1x or even no data at all.

Just another problem that we must be willing to face in order for us to have cell phones.

Old Nes Games on the Android

When it comes down to it, emulators are legal as long as the bios is not provided with the package. Roms on the other head, are illegal to download unless you have a legal copy and/or ripped the rom out yourself. Now, why would google start to remove those emulators? The main reason would probably be legal pressure from the gaming companies. Especially big ones like Nintendo. Since the Wii  came out, it has featured it’s own emulator, allowing people to buy and download old NES, SNES, and N64 games straight to the Wii.

Thanks to Android developer Yongzh for the amazing emulators offered for free to download. After his apps were removed from the Android Market, Yongzh provided them for free on this site. (Only N64 costs.)

https://slideme.org/user/yongzh

These emulaters are really good, but unfortunatelly the on-screen buttons do present a problem. It’s really hard to run, jump, and hold a turtle shell all at the same time on Mario. I personally use a bluetooth keyboard, and have the keys mapped out the way I like it.

If you have a USB controller, you can plug the controller into your android device, as long as you have the right sized USB port on your phone or tablet. One other option is a bluetooth controller, like the one that I blogged about here: http://splog.samuelpaasch.com/2012/02/wireless-bluetooth-controller-by-gamestop/

This controller allows you to play your games without the strain of using the on-screen controls, bulky keyboard, or the wires on your USB controller. You can program the controller keys how ever you like it for the app. Making the controller the best accessory for you Emulator apps.

Android Wireless Bluetooth Controller by GameStop

This is a really cool controller. It syncs to your android tablet (or smartphone) wirelessly via bluetooth. No worries about cords or whether you have a USB port on your device.

Have you recently downloaded a game app, but was disappointed with the on-screen controls that are hard to use to play the game? I have an app that is a NES emulator, allowing me to play a lot of the old Nintendo and Super Nintendo games. However the on screen controlls are very difficult to use, as you can’t use all the features at the same time. For instance I can’t get mario to hold a turtle shell, while running to the right, and jump all at the same time. It’s because that would require me to use 4 controller buttons simontaneously. Although a built-in keyboard does help, it still is difficult to get used to.

This new controller will fix all that. Just pull it out, turn it on, and play instantly on your favorite game app. This changes everything about gaming on your tablet. And for only $40/controller it’s great deal! Considering the price of PS3 and Xbox360 controllers.

http://www.gamestop.com/android/accessories/tablet-wireless-bluetooth-controller/97838?affid=9797&cid=ppc_60000001

Verizon Doesn’t Like Google Android’s +1

A while ago, I was having problems sending texts to my brother. Everytime I tried to send the text, it would fail to send it, giving me an error “message could not be sent” message. This troubled me for some time, but I was able to overcome the problem by using another texting app that used data instead of the regular text messages.

However, the problem still persisted with other random contacts. One in particular that I was texting a lot. I found that if I manually entered in her number she would get the text. But if I got out of the app, and then returned to reply, it would fail.

I started looking at the contact number and found that in each instance of the failed messages the number had a +1(area code)(phone number). It was the “+” symbol that was throwing it off. Any number with +1 in front of it dousn’t work for Verizon.

Apparently during the Android coding for Verizon, someone made a mistake, and symbols like “+” are not supported for texting. You can still call the contact, but texting always fails. This has been a problem for well over a year, and still persists on most (if not all) Verizon Android phones, as there hasn’t been a patch developed yet.

This is very annoying if you like to use the  +1-234-56789 format. Especially if you sync your facebook contacts, many numbers will have that +1 in front of them, and you can edit facebook numbers.

Maybe the new Android 4.0 will have it fixed. I’m not sure as I have not tested it out on a 4.0 device. But I do hope Google fixes it soon. People have been complaining about it for well over a year to Verizon tech support. You would think they would have listened by now.

Android Low Battery Screen

You may have heard of the Droid RAZR by Motorola. It’s Motorola’s flagship device that boasted the “Word’s Thinnest Smartphone” title during this past Christmas season.

Well there is great news buzzing around. Motorola just re-released their RAZR phone, but this time with a bigger battery. That’s right Motorola finally decidd to do something about the standard for batteries in smartphone.

If you own a touch screen smartphone (whether iPhone, Android, or Windows) you know that the biggest con is the low battery life. I own Motorola’s Droid 2 and it only lasts on average 18 hours. Every evening it has to be charged up, and sometimes during the day if it’s used a lot. When 4G came into our area, many 4g users noticed an extra drain on their batteries due to the phone maintaining a better connection all the time. So battery drainage has been a constant problem among the new mobile phones. Well Motorola decided that it was time to go back to the days where a phone would last a few days on a single charge. And their new RAZR MAXX is the one.

Motorola Droid Razr MAXX

Motorola’s Razr sports a 3,300 mAh pack that Motorola reckons is good for up to 21.5hrs of talk time. This should mean up to 16 days on standby, with users getting anywhere in between. Although it’s a tad bit thicker than the original Droid Razr,  This is a huge deal, especially since this phone still has all it’s other cool features: 4g, gorilla glass, Android OS, dual-core processor, front and back facing cameras, 1 GB ram, 32GB memory, and much more.

So maybe the days of phones only lasting one day on a charge is coming to a very anticipated close.

I will note that the new Droid Razr Maxx is noticibly larger, and is debatable on whether it should carry the Razr name.

Droid Razr (bottom) compared to Droid Razr Maxx (top)

 Best Mouse Ever! – A Bluetooth Mouse

Best Bluetooth Mouse Ever!

While browsing through Best Buy several months ago, I was shocked to find how they have lacked in getting bluetooth mice to sell in the store. I looked very hard, but could not find any mouse that offered bluetooth capability. I could not believe it. Here is a huge computer tech company that sold everything from iPads, to cameras, yet they didn’t have the latest technolocial advancement for a mouse.

Last month, I purchased the Connectland CL-MOU23014 Bluetooth Wireless Optical Mouse. This is by far the Best Mouse Ever. Even Bluetooth.com said so. (They’re the official website for Bluetooth devices).

http://bluetoothreview.info/bluetooth-mouse-keyboard/connectland-cl-mou23014-bluetooth-wireless-optical-mouse/

Very Affordable

And the best part, at less than $20 (shipping included) it was the cheapest mouse that I’ve ever bought. I really like the design and feel. In fact, I even like it better than the $50 Microsoft Wireless USB mouse that I had earlier. It has a very nice comfortable grip, fits easy in the palm of my hand, and it scrolls very smoothly. It’s the perfect size for my hand, yet it’s still compact enough to fit in my laptop bag.

The mouse has 5 buttons. Your left and right click buttons, a scroll button in the middle, and then two side buttons by the thumb that are used for going back and forward on your browser.

It has an on/off switch on the bottom so that you can easily turn it off, and not worry about it wasting battery. And speaking of batteries, it uses just two AAA batteries that last a long time. I’ve had my mouse since the first of January, and I still haven’t changed the batteries. It has a cool feature that makes the mouse go to sleep after so many minutes of not being used. And then it wakes right back up as soon as the mouse moves.

I would suggest this mouse for anyone looking to purchase a new mouse. I got mine from Buy.com, but Amazon has it as well. But make sure you have bluetooth enabled on your laptop. (Or buy a USB bluetooth adapter)

What is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth technology was originally intended to be a wireless replacement for cables and wires between things like phones and headsets or computers, keyboards and mice. It is a big deal for mobile phones, and used a lot of times to share ringtones and pictures. However, it can be put to many more uses as well. The best way I can relate it is that it’s wireless USB. Just about anything that could work with USB, could be designed to support Bluetooth. Keyboard, mouse, headphones, printers, speakers, controllers, and many more devices.

Bluetooth technology has continued to mature and now you can create new connections that weren’t possible using wires, like connecting your mobile phone to your car stereo, or printing a picture directly from your camera phone.

If you have a Bluetooth adapter (USB) on your laptop, (or have it pre-built inside) you can support many Bluetooth devices at the same time. It’s easier to use than USB, because you don’t have to plug anything in to make it work. I have a small Bluetooth adapter that plugs into 1 USBusb port on my laptop. I can sync my phone, tablet, headphones, mouse, and a keyboard all at the same time without using any more USBspots.

Here is a simple Bluetooth 101 Post written by the bluetooth officials that’s really easy to understand. http://www.bluetooth.com/Pages/Fast-Facts.aspx

This is a summary of what tablets are best…

In today’s world there are so many tablets going around that one can be easily be confused as the the many differences between them and whether they are truly getting what they want. So I’ve compiled a list of the top tablets of today (beginning of 2012) to help many who may be confused on which route to go. This is part 2 of a 2 part series with the first detailing all current top tablets. This is a summary, with the top of each category.

This is Part 2, Part 1 lists many more top current tablets. It can be found here. (http://splog.samuelpaasch.com/2012/01/which-android-tablet-part-1-android-review)

The following tablets are the ones that I suggest to buy in each price range.

$150-$200 Range (Settle for Good Enough)

Nook Color

The Nook Color ($199) is an excellent tablet for reading books with. You have access to read any book for free while at a Barnes and Noble location. You can make reading friends, meet new people, discover new book, borrow and lend books, and even get books from your local library. Unlike the android app, you can also read subscribe and read newspapers, and also access the kids read-along books that will play the book as you read along. There are many apps that can be ran on the nook color as well, including Netflix, email, and the all famous Angry Birds. The nook accesses it’s own store from Barnes and Noble to purchase the apps, books, magazines, and newspapers.
Some of the cons include, no access to the Android Market, costly apps, and limited accessibility. The whole problem stems off of the fact that you cannot access the android market nor manually install an app without hacking and rooting your nook color. This leaves Barnes and Noble with the ability to choose what apps are supported, and the price. For instance, the Angry Birds app is only $1 in the Android Market, yet it costs $5 on the Barnes and Noble store. However if you are willing to hack the nook color (which is really easy) then you can install Android Gingerbread, and have access to all the apps.
The “Hacked” Nook Color can do so much more. You have all of the android market apps at your disposal, including but not limited to: gmail, Netflix, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Messenger, Kindle, Google Books, Nook for Android, Google Reader, Maps, Dropbox, and soo much more! All the apps work great, and are very stable.
So to sum it up, if you are a heavy reader, and like to read your books on the go, subscribe to magazines and newspapers, and even borrow your friends books, then the Nook Color is for you! It proves to be a great inexpensive tablet that works great for the person that reads all the time. However if you are more interested in the apps and other features, then another tablet would suit you best, as the nook apps are limited and expensive.

Kindle Fire

The Kindle Fire ($199) is becoming very popular today. It still has access to all the kindle books, but instead of the Android Market you have the Amazon Appstore. The Appstore has a lot more apps than the Barnes and Noble store for the Nook. Also the prices are very reasonable and similar to the Android Market. You can read Kindle books, magazines, and newspapers similar to the Nook. You can also access books from your local library. The Appstore gives you access to apps like Netflix, Skype, Facebook, Dropbox, Angrybirds and more. You even have the Amazon MP3 app for your music. Amazon also will host any purchased music or books on their cloud, so that you can access them from anywhere.
So in summary, if you like to read, have your books ready to go, subscribe to magazines and newspapers, but are also interested in the apps, then the Kindle Fire is for you. It provides an inexpensive tablet to those you really want access to the apps and games, but also tailors to the reader as well. However if you are only really interested in the reading, then the Nook Color or Tablet would better suit you.

So in summary, I would get the nook color and hack it to install Android 2.4 (Gingerbread) on it. But if I wasn’t going to hack it, then the Kindle Fire would be for me. It can do so much more out-of-the-box than the “un-hacked” Nook Color.

$300-400 Range (Average Consumer)

Acer Iconia Tab

Acer Iconia Tab ($349) | Android 3 | 10.1 inch screen. This is an amazing tablet. It looks like the Motorola Xoom, but a but more bulkier. The bulkiness of the tablet is probably the only problem I had with it. It runs Android Honeycomb so it fits right in with most other tablets. One feature that in very interesting is that it comes with a full-sized usb port for plugging up thumb drives, joysticks & controllers, mouse & keyboard, and more. One of the coolest features is the ability to plug in a usb game controller up and play some of the games on the device. The tablet is really snappy, and very little lag in the graphics. A youtube video showing it’s gaming capability can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OezWF1BcpNM&feature=player_embedded. So this is definitely a must-have device for gamers. One interesting note is that there is no rear facing camera, just a front facing one. So no point and shoot pictures, which is alright with me, because I hardly every use the rear camera on my Xoom. The front facing camera is purposed for video conferencing, and is decent (not great, but decent). The tablet also has a micro-USB port as well as a headphone jack. Also on the side is a microSD card slot and a reset button. At the price, I think that the Acer Iconia Tab is the best deal. I would definitely suggest buying it over many other tablets. Front facing web camera, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, 8hr battery, USB, bluetooth, wifi, microSD card,

Motorola Xoom

Motorola Xoom ($379-wifi | $599 4G) | Android 3 | 10.1 inch screen. This tablet is one that I personally own. It is a very good tablet. Released summer of 2011. It was the flagship for Google’s Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). The features on it are rich and amazing. It matches the iPad 2 in just about every way, and even surpasses in some areas. For instance, while it keeps up the same battery life as the iPad, it charges within half the time. Xoom charges within 2 hours, while t can take the iPad2 four+ hours to charge. Also the Xoom features a higher-resolution rear-facing camera (5MP | 2592 x 1944) with dual-LED flash, which results in snapshots as good as many point-and-shoot cameras. The iPad2 rear camera is only 0.7 MP (960 x 720). Motorola announced that they are offering a free upgrade to the 3g tablets, to instal the 4g chip, and that all new Xoom being sold from Verizon will have the 4g capability already. This is awesome news for the Xoom owners. They can now surf the web at 4g speeds, and they don’t have to buy a new tablet to do so. Overall the Motorola Xoom is a fantastic tablet, especially since it was the first that had the Android 3 tablet software. Although it is already last year’s news, it still is holding its own among the many tablets in the market. The Motorola Xyboard is the replacement for the Xoom. The Xoom features front and back facing cameras, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, 10hr battery, Micro SD card, bluetooth, wifi, HDMI, 3g & 4g, HD 720p

These two are so much alike, that from what I can tell, the main difference is the incredible camera and battery on the Xoom as well as the HDMI out port. The Iconia has the full-size USB port. So it’s just a matter of what type of person you are, do you want to transfer pictures on you tablet via a thumb drive or maybe plug in a keyboard, or do you want a better battery life and rear camera.

$500 and up range (Tech Savvy)

Transformer Prime in Dock

Transformer Prime

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime ($499)- Android 4.0 – Very sleek, thin and stylish. The perfect tablet for the tech-savvy. It’s size is similar to the Galaxy tab, and the iPad 2. This is the hottest tablet that is currently on the market. The best yet! And you really get your $500 worth as well. This new tablet boasts the Tegra3 processor, making it the world’s first quad-core tablet. Also makes it up to 5 times faster than the tegra2, which is on most other tablets. And the best part, It’s all wrapped in a package that measures only 0.33 inches thick (even skinnier than the iPad 2 or Galaxy Tab 10.1)! And despite its metal construction, it’s still lighter than the Galaxy Tab. The metal case makes it feel that much more durable than many other tablets.

One of the coolest features of the Transformer Prime is its dock ($150), the accessory that turns this thing from being a merely very nice tablet into a potential laptop replacement. The keyboard dock station, purchased separately, fits right on the tablet, and turns the tablet to be styled like a laptop. Once plugged into the dock, you then have use of its full-sized USB 2.0 socket and SD card reader. The dock is even complete with a trackpad for a mouse, and scrolling gestures.

The tablet boasts a 10+ hour battery life, and 16+ hours when plugged into the dock. It has front and back facing cameras, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, bluetooth, wifi,

I only have one tablet listed in the $500 range because if you’re going to spend $5oo, then get the best. The Prime is it! The Galaxy Tab comes close, but has too many bad features like bad battery, camera, and no media slots. The XYBoard is nice, but incredibly overpriced. So if you’re going to spend $500, then get the Transformer Prime!

In today’s world there are so many tablets going around that one can be easily be confused as the the many differences between them and whether they are truly getting what they want. So I’ve compiled a list of most of the top tablets of today (beginning of 2012) to help many who may be confused on which route to go. This is a 2 part series with the other part showing my favorites list. I have separated them into certain categories to make it even easier to understand the difference.

Read Part 2 – Sam’s Favorites Here. It’s a quick summary of the ones I suggest to purchase. (http://splog.samuelpaasch.com/2012/01/which-android-tablet-part-2-sams-favorites)

The Following is a full list of current top Android tablets. All are available for purchase at Best Buy (except the XYBoard).

E-reader tablets (Kindle Fire, Nook Color, Nook Tablet). These tablets are all running a modified version of Android. They cannot access the same apps as a regular Android tablet would but are great inexpensive alternatives. ($150-250 range)

Nook Color

The Nook Color ($199) is an excellent tablet for reading books with. You have access to read any book for free while at a Barnes and Noble location. You can make reading friends, meet new people, discover new book, borrow and lend books, and even get books from your local library. Unlike the android app, you can also read subscribe and read newspapers, and also access the kids read-along books that will play the book as you read along. There are many apps that can be ran on the nook color as well, including Netflix, email, and the all famous Angry Birds. The nook accesses it’s own store from Barnes and Noble to purchase the apps, books, magazines, and newspapers.
Some of the cons include, no access to the Android Market, costly apps, and limited accessibility. The whole problem stems off of the fact that you cannot access the android market nor manually install an app without hacking and rooting your nook color. This leaves Barnes and Noble with the ability to choose what apps are supported, and the price. For instance, the Angry Birds app is only $1 in the Android Market, yet it costs $5 on the Barnes and Noble store. However if you are willing to hack the nook color (which is really easy) then you can install Android Gingerbread, and have access to all the apps.
The Hacked Nook Color can do so much more. You have all of the android market apps at your disposal, including but not limited to: Gmail, Netflix, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Messenger, Kindle, Google Books, Nook for Android, Google Reader, Maps, Dropbox, and soo much more! All the apps work great, and are very stable.
So to sum it up, if you are a heavy reader, and like to read your books on the go, subscribe to magazines and newspapers, and even borrow your friends books, then the Nook Color is for you! It proves to be a great inexpensive tablet that works great for the person that reads all the time. However if you are more interested in the apps and other features, then another tablet would suit you best, as the nook apps are limited and expensive.

Kindle Fire

The Kindle Fire ($199) is becoming very popular today. It still has access to all the kindle books, but instead of the Android Market you have the Amazon Appstore. The Appstore has a lot more apps than the Barnes and Noble store for the Nook. Also the prices are very reasonable and similar to the Android Market. You can read Kindle books, magazines, and newspapers similar to the Nook. You can also access books from your local library. The Appstore gives you access to apps like Netflix, Skype, Facebook, Dropbox, Angrybirds and more. You even have the Amazon MP3 app for your music. Amazon also will host any purchased music or books on their cloud, so that you can access them from anywhere.
So in summary, if you like to read, have your books ready to go, subscribe to magazines and newspapers, but are also interested in the apps, then the Kindle Fire is for you. It provides an inexpensive tablet to those you really want access to the apps and games, but also tailors to the reader as well. However if you are only really interested in the reading, then the Nook Color or Tablet would better suit you.

Nook Tablet

The Nook Tablet ($249)  is like a mixture of the Kindle Fire and the Nook Color. You access all the heavy reader features that the nook gives, but also gives more functionality for apps as well. Honestly I was very disappointed with the new Nook Tablet. It looks the same as the color, yet it really only upgrades the software instead of the hardware. There are some changes, like an 8 gig internal memory instead of the 5gig inside the Nook Color. It also comes preloaded with Hulu and Netflix apps. The user interface is more like that of other tablets.

So out of the three, the Kindle Fire is the best for the money. A good selection of apps at a decent price. Next is the $300-400 range.

Lenovo K1

Lenovo K1 ($319) | Android 3 | 10.1 inch screen. Although the body is made of matte aluminum, there’s a glossy panel on the back that sits off center, taking up about three quarters of the back side. Lenovo has said that it’s going after mainstream consumers by pre-installing tons of popular apps and adding a more user-friendly skin on top of Honeycomb. The software, I think, is a bit dumb down, as if they tried to make it easier for the low tech-savvy consumer. Engadget even said in their review that it seems to be targeted for those who may find a tablet a bit intimidating. They suggested it to be the tablet to buy our parents and such. One other downfall to the tablet is that there is no usb port on it. Front and back facing cameras, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, Micro SD, wifi, bluetooth,

Acer Iconia Tab

Acer Iconia Tab ($349) | Android 3 | 10.1 inch screen. This is an amazing tablet. It looks like the Motorola Xoom, but a but more bulkier. The bulkiness of the tablet is probably the only problem I had with it. It runs Android Honeycomb so it fits right in with most other tablets. One feature that in very interesting is that it comes with a full-sized usb port for plugging up thumb drives, joysticks & controllers, mouse & keyboard, and more. One of the coolest features is the ability to plug in a usb game controller up and play some of the games on the device. The tablet is really snappy, and very little lag in the graphics. A youtube video showing it’s gaming capability can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OezWF1BcpNM&feature=player_embedded. So this is definitely a must-have device for gamers. One interesting note is that there is no rear facing camera, just a front facing one. So no point and shoot pictures, which is alright with me, because I hardly every use the rear camera on my Xoom. The front facing camera is purposed for video conferencing, and is decent (not great, but decent). The tablet also has a micro-USB port as well as a headphone jack. Also on the side is a microSD card slot and a reset button. At the price, I think that the Acer Iconia Tab is the best deal. I would definitely suggest buying it over many other tablets. Front facing web camera, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, 8hr battery, USB, bluetooth, wifi, micro-USB, microSD card,

Motorola Xoom

Motorola Xoom ($379-wifi | $599 4G) | Android 3 | 10.1 inch screen. This tablet is one that I personally own. It is a very good tablet. Released summer of 2011. It was the flagship for Google’s Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). The features on it are rich and amazing. It matches the iPad 2 in just about every way, and even surpasses in some areas. For instance, while it keeps up the same battery life as the iPad, it charges within half the time. Xoom charges within 2 hours, while t can take the iPad2 four+ hours to charge. Also the Xoom features a higher-resolution rear-facing camera (5MP | 2592 x 1944) with dual-LED flash, which results in snapshots as good as many point-and-shoot cameras. The iPad2 rear camera is only 0.7 MP (960 x 720). Motorola announced that they are offering a free upgrade to the 3g tablets, to instal the 4g chip, and that all new Xoom being sold from Verizon will have the 4g capability already. This is awesome news for the Xoom owners. They can now surf the web at 4g speeds, and they don’t have to buy a new tablet to do so. Overall the Motorola Xoom is a fantastic tablet, especially since it was the first that had the Android 3 tablet software. Although it is already last year’s news, it still is holding its own among the many tablets in the market. The Motorola Xyboard is the replacement for the Xoom. The Xoom features front and back facing cameras, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, 10hr battery, Micro SD card, bluetooth, wifi, HDMI, 3g & 4g, HD 720p

Sony Tablet S

Sony Tablet S ($399) | Android 3 | 9.4 inch screen. I did not like the design of this tablet. It was not easy to hold, nor was it very stylish. It was as bulky as the old portable DVD players, not something that fits very well in a purse or backpack. It did feature a mini usb port and a SD card slot. It has great speakers and sound. Front and back facing cameras, 1GB Ram, 16GB storage, SD card, bluetooth, wifi, HDMI.

So out of all these tablets ranging from 3-4 hundred bucks, I’d say that the Iconia Tab wins with it’s low price, good battery, full-size usb, and nice feel. Although a little bulky, its a really good deal. Next is the $500 and up range.

Asus Eee Pad Slider ($475) | Android 4 | 10.1 inch screen. Very good idea, but pretty bulky. It features a built in keyboard that you slide from underneath it. It also has a full-size usb port for thumb drives and such. 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, bluetoooth, wifi, HDMI

Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1  ($499) | Android 3 | 10.1 inch screen. This tablet is so thin and sleek that it looks like an iPad2. One bad feature I’ve found is that the recharge time can take 5 hours or more before fully recharged (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/galaxy-tab-android-tablet,3014-11.html). So the battery is not as good as the iPad2. The camera (3MP) hardware on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 is significantly better than the iPad 2, but it falls short compared to other Honeycomb-based tablets (which surprises me since Samsung is also a camera company). The Xoom (5MP), for example, has a higher-resolution rear-facing camera with dual-LED flash, which results in snapshots as good as many point-and-shoot cameras. Samsung uses a single-LED flash for its rear camera. The thin, plastic case makes the tablet feel cheap. Samsung was the first to release a 2nd generation Android tablet which was a big enhancement from their Galaxy Tab 7. However they missed the mark on productivity, especially in the area of the camera and battery. Also on a side note, there is no media card slot at all found on the device, which makes no room for expanding memory, or transferring files. Front and back facing cameras, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, 8hr battery, bluetooth, wifi,

Motorola XYBoard

Motorola Xyboard  ($499-wifi | $529 4G) | Android 3 | 10.1 inch screen. This is sold at Verizon. This is the 2nd generation for the Xoom. It has a lot of nice enhancements and really gives the iPad2 a run for it’s money.  The design is like the Droid Razr’s big brother. The back is predominantly aluminum, with black rubberized sides to make it grippier (is that even a word?). There is even splash-resistant nano-coating, just in case your coffee cup tips over. It comes with InfraRed so that it can control your living room devices, and even has a universal remote app pre-installed. This tablet has very interesting edges that some may consider awkward, but several reviews report that the clipped edges make it much easier to hold. Although the enhancements compared to the Xoom are welcomed, the features really do not justify the cost. Even though I am a huge Motorola fan, I would probably go with the Transformer Prime and get an overall better tablet. Front and back facing cameras, 32GB storage, 10hr battery, Micro SD card, bluetooth, wifi, HDMI, 3g & 4g.

Transformer Prime

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime ($499)- Android 4.0 – Very sleek, thin and stylish. The perfect tablet for the tech-savvy. It’s size is similar to the Galaxy tab, and the iPad 2.  This is the hottest tablet that is currently on the market. The best yet! And you really get your $500 worth as well. This new tablet boasts the Tegra3 processor, making it the world’s first quad-core tablet. Also makes it up to 5 times faster than the tegra2, which is on most other tablets. And the best part, It’s all wrapped in a package that measures only 0.33 inches thick (even skinnier than the iPad 2 or Galaxy Tab 10.1)! And despite its metal construction, it’s still lighter than the Galaxy Tab. The metal case makes it feel that much more durable than many other tablets.

Transformer Prime with Keybard dock.

One of the coolest features of the Transformer Prime is its dock ($150), the accessory that turns this thing from being a merely very nice tablet into a potential laptop replacement. The keyboard dock station, purchased separately, fits right on the tablet, and turns the tablet to be styled like a laptop. Once plugged into the dock, you then have use of its full-sized USB 2.0 socket and SD card reader. The dock is even complete with a trackpad for a mouse, and scrolling gestures.

The tablet boasts a 10+ hour battery life, and 16+ hours when plugged into the dock. It has front and back facing cameras, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, bluetooth, wifi,

Transformer Prime in Dock

IN SUMMARY

I would suggest the Acer Iconia Tab ($349 at Bestbuy) for most potential buyers looking for a tablet. It is bulkier than the iPad2, but matches it in most hardware specs. It has the full-sized USB jack, hdmi, and such. View part 2 of this article to see my top choices for buyers.

Still confused? Read “Which Android Tablet Part 2 – Sam’s Favorites” here. It’s a quick summary of the ones I suggest to purchase. (http://splog.samuelpaasch.com/2012/01/which-android-tablet-part-2-sams-favorites)

This will probably be my last post on the top Android Tablets because there are getting to be so many of them. Within the next few years, tablet shopping will be just like laptop shopping. Give them the specifics you want, and they show you the tablet that matches it.

While browsing the forums over at xda-developers, I found a thread that talked about Android 4.0 (ICS) for the Nook Color. Yay, finally an update on the programming of the Nook Color. The thread had links to the software as it was being developed. You can participate in the development by downloading a “nightly” (more on this later) and testing all the features out, looking for bugs and such. So I decided to give it a try, I downloaded the 0114 nightly and 10 minutes later I had the newest version of android working on my nook color.

The developer works on the software every day. Each night an updated rom is released that includes the changes made during that day. These “nightly” updates are then available to anyone who wants to download, install, and test. So not a lot changes from day to day, but if you skip a few, and go maybe week to week, you will notice improvements that are taking place to get the software working on the device. I am very well pleased with how it looks so far on my nook. It brings out all the cool features of honeycomb making my nook color “feel new”.

Currently I have the ROM 0127 installed on my nook. I love the new features of the home screen, and especially the new widgets. I can’t wait until they fully develop a “stable” version of cyanogenmod9. Thanks again to the developers from xda. Your work will not go unnoticed!

Here is a quick glance of the new feature in Ice Cream Sandwich.

This is the Home Screen (Click for full size)

First big noticeable improvement is the home screen. This improved home screen has larger icons, and smoother transitions that make the user experience so much more! Personally I think the Tablet software is a killer, much better than my experience with the iPad’s home screen. If offers great combination of widgets and apps to enhance the users ability to retrieve information faster.

App Drawer

The next big improvement is the app drawer. This area contains all your apps in alphabetical order (by default). The design is very sleek and nice. And as a new feature in ICS, you now access all widets from inside the app drawer. You can click on the widgets tab on the top left of screen, or simply slide past your apps to go to the widget selection. This makes it easier to place your favorite widget on the screen.

Settings Menu

Now one of the coolest features of ICS running on a tablet is to view an app optimized for tablet view. If you were to run the settings app in Gingerbread (ie Android 2.3) then you would be shown the main menu of the app. Click on a menu item, and it then opens the window for that item. But now in ICS you have a dual screen tablet view for many apps. The menu is conveniently on the left, and when you click on an item, it then opens it on the right side. This works in most apps like settings, gmail, reader, google+, and many more. Just the fact that many apps are optimized for a tablet view makes the experience that much better.

Also the settings app now conveniently groups similar settings together, for quick reference and easy access to find the desired setting.

Recent Apps

The newest button on the bottom of the taskbar is the Recent Apps button. It displays all the recent apps on the left of the screen. They are easy to scroll through, and even provides a screenshot of the window. It makes it really easy to switch back and forth between apps. This feature was available in Honeycomb, but is now enhanced with a new way to close running apps. Simply swipe the screenshot to the left to close the app.

Notification bar, and volume bar shown

The last cool features with ICS is the notification bar, and the new style of the volume bar.

The notification bar is now located on the bottom right (just like Honeycomb ‘ie android 3.0′). You simply swipe up to view the time, battery, wifi, settings, and notifications. Clicking on a notification launches the corresponding app. To delete a single notification, you simply swipe to the right. Also clicking on the top section of the notification bar will load a quick access to common settings; wifi, airplane mode, auto-rotate toggle, screen brightness, notification toggle, and link to all other settings.

Lastly the new volume bar has been redesigned and now offers new features. When you click a volume key the volume bar will show. You can now touch the bar and move the volume settings up and down. Finally by clicking the settings button on the volume bar, it opens the volume mixer, giving you full control over all volume settings without the use of another app.

All these features are great, and provide a whole new experience to the Nook Color. However the Operating System is not stable yet and some apps still do not work. But it does show the advanced capabilities of a device that is now being sold for only a $150-200. Hopefully within a month, the development will be finished and many will be able to enjoy the new tablet optimized Nook Color with Ice Cream Sandwich.

I had a problem with my Seagate portable hard drive. For over 3 years now, I’ve owned a 320 GB portable hard drive that I always carry in my laptop case. I’ve used it for just about everything. At one time it held all my music because my old laptop could only fit 160GB on it. It stores my digital movies, and all my archived projects from work. I have school homework on it, as well as church documents.

While trying get some taekwondo clips of it, I was interrupted with loud beeping noises, followed by the drive losing power and shutting off. I looked it all over, and it looked okay, so I plugged it in again. It started right up, but then died again. I fiddled with it for about 10 minutes and found that the pins on the usb connecter had gone bad, and the only way to get it to connect was to slightly bend the usb cord and hold it against the drive. I got it running, and decided to back up all the files onto my new laptop… Only one problem… I had over 300 GB of files on the drive, and the transfer time was estimated to be 3 hours.

It was already 1am, but I really needed those files. So I sat there grasping a firm hold on the cable, careful not to move it too much. I watched a few Netflix TV shows on my tablet to pass the time. Finally at around 3-3:300am the files were all transferred to my laptop. I let go of the cable, trying to relieve my cramped hand, and immediately the drive died, giving up its final beeps of despair. I slowly crawled over to my bed and fell fast asleep, wishing I would somehow get more than 3 hours of sleep.