Web OS No More? Maybe not...

With Hp announcing the discontinuation of development of Web OS devices an opportunity may be in the midst of the dust once everything is settled. The implementation of Web OS with Android or Even IOS would bring about an ultimate feature phone and hard to beat OS. Just think of the openness of Android and the true multitasking of Web OS or the Ease of use of IOS and Web OS's card viewing capabilities and notifications! If there were ever a time for Google or Apple to turn the tides drastically it's now! All I have to say on this for now is good things come to those who wait..

Hp Palm Pre 3, Droid Bionic, Samsung Galxy SII or Something Else?

With the newly announced availability, at least in Europe, Hp Palm Pre 3 and a slew of other powerful phones including the Droid Bionic, Samsung Galaxy SII, and Htc Ruby, and of course the rumored/fabled Iphone 4s, 5, or whatever it's going to be we are all given plenty of choices to pick from. First things first though, with all these phones what is the most important feature to have? It seems that in the past we relied mainly on call quality and the service provider strength but along the wayside people have become less interested in quality and more intrigued by features. So when do we finally get that perfect phone? When will it all start to just blend and every phone released is just like the next one that just came out the week before? Or will someone be innovative enough to finally make that fabled 3d projector phone where you simply lay it flat on the table and make calls and use the screen that's being projected in thin air? Anyway tangents aren't really what I am here for. I want to know what are the masses looking for in a phone. Is it hd displays, better cameras, faster processors, better battery life, or just ease of use and good old fashion functionality that works and works well.

It's been a while and a lot has happened

So, first I am going to start off by apologizing to anyone who is a reader of G&K for the entirely too long of an absence of posting. With that said it's time to get down to the good stuff. First I will start off with the Samsung Galaxy SII form factor for each carrier. Rumor has been that it may be a sliding form factor the AT&T, I am highly doubtful of this but if so does it make it less appealing even with all the under the hood goodies? Secondly apparently to phonearena.com the Sprint version will dub the name Epic Touch, go figure, which will be 4g capable and lastly the Verizon version should be close to the same form factor of the original. Moving on to the Droid Bionic for Verizon apparently some specs were released today on the Motorola website of the Droid Bionic which does confimr it will be a 4g LTE capable device and is using a TI OMAP4430 processor dual core of course but will still be using that darn pen tile qhd display. Any takers on this device or are there more appealing phones around the corner? Maybe the Iphone 5 which is rumored to be released in September or October or maybe you are more into simplicity and true multitasking. True multitasking you ask? The Hp/Palm Pre 3 running Web OS is about as good as it gets when it comes to multitasking the way it is meant to be. Let's think about it, Web OS offers multiple apps being open at once, notifications that don't require you to close out of whatever else you have open, and pretty seamless integration of contacts, social networks, calender events, and email. With that said does Web OS hold a candle to IOS? Well yes and no. IOS is almost perfectly seamless and buttery smooth, does it have hiccups yes but the responsiveness and ease of use make up for it. IOS 5 beta which I have been testing adds a much needed update on many of the simplistic options that most smart phones have had for years now. Is IOS 5 perfect, of course not but it's absolutely the closest OS to perfect I have tested. On the flip side IOS is not Web OS. It does not multitask like Web OS nor does it keep your other apps open while replying to an email drop down notification or text notification. Nor does it handle multiple tasks being open at the same time. The next gen Iphone also is supposed to have a dual core a5 processor in it but does it really need it to be considered the next best thing? Why do we need dual cores in our phones unless its to handle higher definition graphics, taking better photos, or recording in higher resolution or handling 3d. Apple & the Iphone has capitalized on one thing and one thing alone with its IOS.. Simplicity.. If we could come out with an OS that handled multitasking like Web OS, was responsive, smooth and had great battery life like IOS and had the options of Android we'd have a monopoly for an OS system. Back to Web OS and HP/Palm. The issue isn't entirely with the OS but also with the hardware. It seems that most of the manufacturers are upping the processing power to keep up with the times for multimedia and handheld phones re becoming more and more like an actual mini computer which is the purpose of the constant future proofing of phones. Is it a necessity? It depends on how you look at it. Hp/Palm has been putting their emphasis on the OS which is good, but not good enough to keep a stellar OS from truly shining through. If HP/Palm could jump on the band wagon of future proofing their hardware they would have a winner on their hands. So back to the original question what are you holding out for? Is it the Motorola Bionic with QHD display and 4g LTE, The Galaxy SII with its raw power and great, for Android, battery life, or maybe The Iphone 5 with its seamless IOS and ease of use, or maybe just maybe are you holding out for something more, something worth taking a chance on or taking a complete leap of faith on and hoping that it's worth it aka the HP/Palm Pre 3? Decisions decisions..

Motorola Photon and Triumph Available on Sprint and Virgin Mobile!

Sprint and Motorola today announced the release of the Photon available on Sprint, and the Triumph available on Virgin Mobile earlier today. The devices will be available sometime this Summer and look to b pretty formidable in their own rights. The Photon has a dual core Tegra 2 processor as well as a qhd display and 16gb of on boar memory and 1gb of ram and is running Gingerbread! Looks pretty slick. Follow the rest of the report on Bgr.com for more!

What would yours look like?

Okay so question of the day. If you were able to have the phone of your dreams what would it be able to do and what kind of hardware would it be running and what OS would be running it? Lets be reasonable here, no phone can print out money or grant wishes so lets keep it spec related. I'll start out with a phone that can run multiple OS systems, with a high resolution screen that is readable in direct sunlight and has quad core performance and battery life that exceeds more than a day of hard use and can replace my everyday camera. Let's see who has the most intriguing response!

Android Weekly Wrap Up

So with the release of the Motorola Droid X2, Xperia play, Lg Revolution and the Samsung Charge within the past week we have had our hands full with reviews and comparisons over here at G&K. Also a few other devices have been speculated to be released within the next month being the HTC Evo 3d on Sprint and the HTC Sensation on T-mob which both are highly anticipated and formidable devices. First lets go over the reviews in summary form. The Samsung Droid Charge with its Super Amoled display and snappy hummingbird processor still left me with a feeling of inadequacy. The phone was lacking in speed, thought the screen was amazing to look at, just felt slow and unresponsive at times. The build quality was decent and I dare say a step up in the right direction minus the weird triangular shape it has going on at the bottom but still not as sturdy feeling as some of the htc phones on the market. Camera quality was decent for outdoor photos but indoor photo quality was lacking, probably due to the lack of dual led flash. Video quality was not so great and seemed choppy at times and quality was pretty sub par in my opinion. So would I recommend it over the Thunderbolt? Even with the issues the Thunderbolt has been having I would have to say yes, I'd recommend over the Lg Revolution but thats another story and review. On to the next device the Droid X2, pretty much the Droid X with a boost in horsepower. Just imagine a Droid X on roids and theres your dual core processor, first for Verizon, and then you have your QHD display which is nice but thats about all you get out of the experience. Then we have Sony Xperia Play sporting a 1ghz snapdragon processor and a 4" lcd display with Android Gingerbread available at launch was yet another disappointment in my eyes. The phone, though it plays games and as innovating as that is, still is a lackluster and performs poorly overall. Honestly the Samsung Galaxy S2 is still the best out there in terms of performance and overall usability. So on to the biggest disappointment of the week launching on Verizon is the Lg Revolution, not much of a revolution here if you ask me, the phone has some pretty sub par specs and honestly aren't really worth writing about so I am just going to send you guys over here to out home boys to check out the specs, http://www.bgr.com/2011/05/25/lg-revolution-hands-on/. So if anyone out there is looking for a super phone for the Summer keep your eyes peeled for the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Evo 3d and Sensation because so far that's where its at.

Iphone 5 & Motorola Bionic Same Release Date On Verizon?

According to droi-life.com Verizon is having a June 9th release extravaganza for the Iphone 5 and the Motorola Droid Bionic. Seems a bit odd though since there has not been much talk of an Iphone 4 successor as of recent, but then again who knows. Let the showdown begin. http://geeksandknots.blogspot.com/

CTIA WRAP UP

So with things winding down this year at The CTIA in Orlando I can honestly walk away with anticipation for the Summer to come full swing. With new devices like the HTC Evo 3d, LG Optimus 3d, LG G2x, Samsung Galaxy S 2 lined up who wouldn't be excited. That's just for the cellular devices. Then we have tablets such as the Motorola Xoom which we already have known about but also a new line of formidable Ipad killers. Lg has the G Slate for T-mobile, Samsung announced there 8.9" galaxy tablet running honeycomb and packed with a slew of features and a beautiful screen, and the HTC EVO View for Sprint all look to be packing a punch. I personally enjoyed the LG Slate due to the crisp and bright screen and dual 5mp camera on the back for taking 3d pictures. The only drawback to the Slate was that there is no option to actually view 3d images in true 3d on the tablet which is slightly confusing. All in all the show had plenty of sites to see and phones and tablets to touch. I tried sneaking some information out of HTC's reps to see when the Incredible S was going to be released and they kept the mum on even the existence of such a phone, but fortunately a kind little bird told me its coming soon.. Also I had the chance to view a very peculiar phone with a great concept but slightly underpowered specs, the Echo by Kyocera which is a dual screen phone running Android 2.2.. I was told told however by a rep that they already have a new model in the works with richer hardware features and running dual core processors so I am excited to hear more about it when it is released. As of now its running what seems to be a snapdragon processor running at 1ghz. Overall I would have to say the phones that captivated my attention the most were the Samsung Galaxy S II and the HTC EVO 3d. The Galaxy S II was smooth and quick and had a stunning screen. Its running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, has a dual core Exynos processor in it which made the phone run incredibly fast. Also it packs a Super Amoled screen and is probably the lightest and thinnest phone I have ever laid my hands on. There is no release date as of yet but I am assuming it will be on AT&T or T-mobile due to the unit I was handling was a gsm model. Secondly and the phone that I was most anticipating was the HTC EVO 3d and the hype behind definitely lived up to my expectations. this thing flys, has a beautiful QHD screen which made Apples Iphone 4 display seem somewhat behind the times, and the 3d display was just amazingly real. there was a point where I actually thought I could touch the water drops on the video I was watching. The phone also is running Gingerbread and has a toggle switch to go between 2d or 3d display. Also I noticed that the phone has a dedicated physical camera button which is nice. In 3d mode the physical camera button will take 3d shots, but if you use the screens touch camera button it will take just a 2d photo which is nice. The phone is 4g capable as well and has dlna and hdmi capability. However there is no hdmi out it is hdmi capable through the mini usb port via an added accessory. So on an ending note I must say this years CTIA definitely lived up to the hype and I am looking forward to seeing whats in store for the summer and even this winter. Thanks for reading people!

Ipad 2 presented by Steve Jobs

It's happening as we speak..Steve Jobs is presenting the iPad 2.  Pricing remains the same as the iPad and should start shipping out March 11th.

Summary of iPad 2 (iOS4.3) features:

• dual core processors
• 2x faster cpu
• 9x faster graphics
• hdmi video out
• Significantly increased Safari performance. Took the Nitro JavaScript engine from Mac OS X and moved it on top of iOS. Now, iOS runs JavaScript 2x as fast as before.
• Tunes home sharing! Lets you get at all of your music, movies, TV shows that are store in iTunes on your computer, directly from your iOS device. Wirelessly stream over home Wi-Fi to device.
• When you tap on the AirPlay icon, it looks around and finds your Apple TV. It's that easy. We're making it even better in iOS 4.3. If you're sharing photos, you can use all of the built in slide show options. And now in 4.3, apps from the Store and even websites can do video or audio. (iOS4.3)

So with the release of the Motorola Xoom this week armed with an Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core Processor who is going to fork out the money or who is thinking maybe it's best to wait till oh say August? According to Phandroid.com, Nividia has already announced that the quad core processors will be available in Tablets by August of this year. If this is the case then why would anyone really be looking to spend the money on anything less and then in six months fork over another amount of money for the next best thing, which is clearly the next best thing. I'm not saying the Zoom isn't a clearly capable peace of craftsmanship but honestly why go for less when bigger and better is just around the corner? Hit the link to check out the video via youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr19foRfzx8

iPhone Telephoto Lens Available

Who knew this would be an option later on? It seems like Photojojo is now making available, and selling for $35, a zoom lens for the iPhone. With the $35, comes a tripod, cleaning cloth and phone case. I think it's pretty cool, but I have a DSLR that I use for more professional, crisp pictures when I need to take them. I would just leave the iPhone as it is and use the camera for a more random, on-the-go type pictures and videos. But it is a cool add-on though.

AT&T Pokes a little fun at Verizons Lack Of Data & Calling At The Same Time

So it looks like AT&T are having a little fun back with Verizon over the launch of Iphone going over to a cdma network. Reminding everyone of why it's better to have data and talk at the same time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8M5u6ES7BBo

Sexy Gamer Girl Breaks Guitar Hero Record

picture courtesy of blogs.ocweekly.com

With a mini-dress hugged ever so closely to her nicely curved assets and a pair of over the knee boots, Annie Leung broke the world record for the track "Through the Fire and Flames" by the band DragonForce in expert level on Guitar Hero. Racking up 789,349 points, Annie Leung sure knows how to work her fingers. You can catch this story in the Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition, which should be in stores.

Annie, aka Ecstacy, graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in environmental economics and policy. Like many people, she began playing video games when she was a kid but didn't get serious until she got hooked in 2004 with Unreal Tournament. And now, she broke the record for Guitar Hero (in her mini-dress and over the knee boots).

NVIDIA Processor Chart!

So it looks Like NVIDIA has been busy ramping up their newest dual and now quad core processors to compete with the Samung and Qualcom processors on the roadmap. Looks like the Tegra 2 3D will be using similar technology to the Nintendo 3DS through use of those Cortex-A9 chips. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to the plethora of new mobile devices and tablets coming out in the upcoming months. Right now we have confirmed the Motorola Xoom, The Samsung Galaxy S 2 tablet, amongst a few others in the works. Looks like Ctia and MWC are going to be interesting this year!

AT&T and Verizon iPhone Commercial On Air

Here's a nice preview of what's to come in the about a week or so. At&t and Verizon, long-time rivals, brought together side by side by one similarity...the Apple iPhone.

I stumbled onto the commercial and thought it wold be nice to share it out as one of the millions of other blogs is doing at this moment as well. Enjoy.

The Starbucks Mobile App Allows You To Pay With iPhone/iPod Touch

Starbucks technically lauched a test porgam for the system back in 2009, and now the app is available nationwide, allowing you to pay for your next cup of Starbucks via your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can go ahead and toss those gift cards away, the Starbucks Mobile App allows you to input the gift card number and credit card number and your current balance will appear on the screen when you launch the app.

The process is simple and quick. To make a purchase at your next Starbucks stop, simply launch the app and tap the "touch to pay" button and then the barcode will pop up for the cashier to scan. As result, the purchase will then deduct from your total balance, and you walk out with a caramel macchiato. Easy!

Attack of the Show! Geohot Speaks of the PS3 Lawsuit [Video]

A lot of people is saying Geohot is getting what he deserves...but if you look at it, he isn't really doing anything wrong and I say this because:

1. Shouldn't we be able to do what we want to do with the things that we've purchased with our hard earned money?
2. He isn't making any money off of jailbreaking the PS3.
3. Why not??

I don't know Geohot personally, but to the tech community, he's helped out a lot in many ways that I see is not even beneficial to him.

Good luck Geohot with your fight agaist the machine.

T-Mobile Mocks the iPhone on Both At&t and Verizon

You've seen the T-Mobile commercials attacking the iPhone on the At&t network, well now T-Mobile is taking jabs at both At&t and Verizon's iPhone usage.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you're on 4G, if you're hardware isn't as appealing then what's the point. When I say appealing, I'm not talking about the exterior, I'm talking about....well the iPhone. I'm not an "Apple fanboy" or anything, I'll give credit where credit is due, but T-Mobile now seems pathetic and desperate to me. Yes, you're on a 4G network that does not exist, and then what?

I'm on At&t's network and despite what the majority says about the dropped calls and 3G slowness, I haven't had any problems with my iPhone at all. I haven't had a dropped call and my service is perfect, even in my basement where I once had T-Mobile and I had no reception until I walked back up the steps from my basement. So, T-Mobile, you suck as well.

Hotspot On All iPhones iOS 4.3 Confirmed!

According to BGR (they have a good track record of these things), it's been confirmed that the new iOS 4.3 on all iPhones will have the Hotspot feature! It was told in the Verizon press conference yesterday that their iPhone 4 on the Verizon network will have the personal hotspot feature, but now it's been confirmed that all iPhones on iOS 4.3 will have that as well.

I'm pretty sure that the carrier will need to be able to support this feature, and amongst other things late with AT&T,  it's possible that we may not be able to see this feature right away (AT&T is always slow with the coolest features). Anyways, you'll be able to connect up to 5 devices over Wi-Fi to your iPhone's data connection.

Here's some screenshots courtesy of BGR.

AT&T iPhone vs Verizon iPhone

With all the articles out there on the unveiling of the Apple iPhone being provided by Verizon, I couldn't help but think, is CDMA better than GSM? I've been with AT&T for almost a year now (yes i switched from T-Mobile to AT&T because I didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for the iPhones on Ebay and craigslist) and I haven't had any major problems with dropped calls, or no network or internet connection. I'm pretty satisfied with AT&T's service (except for the bill of course).

I chuckle seeing how people is now happy that the iPhone is now available on Verizon and how they're going to drop AT&T like a bad habit, when we all know, bad habits is hard to let go of. Even though Verizon is known for having the better coveragel overall, AT&T still has one of the best coverage in specific areas. So if you're not the traveling type, it's best to just stick it with AT&T.

Luckily, with my opinions on GSM as oppose to CDMA, Mashable brought out an article comparing AT&T's iPhone GSM versus Verizon's iPhone on CDMA. Below is just a few comparisons, if you want more detail on this, visit Mashable.

• GSM and UMTS technology is widely used worldwide. UMTS phones can be easily moved from one UMTS network to another, making them ideal for international use.
• [CDMA] can't use a SIM card, making it far more difficult to switch handsets.
• Calls: In general, Verizon will drop less calls. It's unclear what impact the iPhone will have on its network, but we don't expect it to be as bad as AT&T was in its early years. Verizon's network has proven itself to be more robust.
• Speed: In general, AT&T has the faster 3G network, and in some cases it's a great deal faster than Verizon.
• Simultaneous voice and data: Only AT&T is capable of talking on the phone and surfing the web at the same time, but Verizon is working on a solution, saying the fix might be implemented by the end of this year.

Verizon iPhone Official Comes With Unlimited Data

It's official! As of today at 11am on 1/11/11, Verizon confirmed that the iPhone is going to be available for their customers early next month. With the iPhone, they're also offering unlimited data to show that their network is in no comparison with At&t's.

With that said, how reliable is CDMA? I know with GSM we are able to browse the Internet while we're on a phone call and word is, GSM is just much faster than CDMA? What do you think?

Here's what Wall Street Journal had to say about it.

Verizon will offer unlimited data plans when it launches the iPhone on its network later this month, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. As a sign of confidence in the reliability of its network - and to provide a point of comparison with AT&T - the carrier is expected to provide the same uncapped data plans for the iPhone it currently offers users of other smartphones. Meanwhile, AT&T wasted no time attacking its rival-to-be, with the company's PR chief saying that iPhones will be in the "slow lane" on Verizon's CDMA network.

The Verizon iPhone is expected to be the same device as the AT&T iPhone 4 (possibly with minor antenna modifications). So the carrier needs to offer some compelling reason why users should switch. While Verizon's superior coverage will be attractive to some, many users are in cities where both carriers offer similar service. An unlimited data plan will be a powerful inducement to AT&T customers, who will face a steep cancellation fee for switching.

After the report came out, the Silicon Valley-based Business Insider contacted AT&T's senior vice president of corporate communication, Larry Solomon, for a response. "The iPhone is built for speed," he said, "but that's not what you get with a CDMA phone." Perhaps unintentionally confirming the Verizon iPhone speculation, he mused that he's "not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane." CDMA differs substantially from the GSM technology used on current iPhones in that separate connections are required for voice and data, preventing users from accessing the Internet while on a call. The EV-DO Rev. A 3G data network maxes out at 3 Mb/s as compared to a theoretical top speed of 14 Mb/s on AT&T's HSDPA system. Verizon has been developing a workaround - called Voice over Rev. A or VoRA - allowing simultaneous voice and data, but it's not known if the Verizon iPhone will incorporate this technology.

The Wall Street Journal piece was written by Spencer Ante and Yukari Kane for the newspaper's print edition, in comparison with other recent reports which appeared on the Journal's AllThingsD site. The prestigious financial newspaper seldom prints mere rumors, relying on an extensive network of corporate contacts that are carefully vetted and verified. And as always, it's not real until Steve Jobs announces it from a stage somewhere, but this report is credible enough to be worth noticing.

Verizon's website confirms that the iPhone will be available for purchase February 10th. There's no preloaded Verizon iPhone app, seems to be just the normal pre-loaded apps, the only change is the carrier. I'm not sure what the outcome is going to be, but it'll be interesting to see these two providers go at it to show us who is going to come out on top.

Nike Lebron 8's v1 and v2

Knots - A knot is a method for fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. ( I've played it into this website because of my love for shoes)

I'm a Jordans man, I love all Jordans. Any shoes that is rare and catching and can express a mood or trend, I'm interested in. I love shoes, period. Unfortunately, I don't have the finance to gather all the shoes that I want. But in this post I'll blog about the shoe I currently want, but not eager to purchase as of yet.

The Lebron 8's v1 and v2, eye catching and "fly"-wired.

Verizon IPhone 1-11-11

It seems like the tease is finally over, and tomorrow, Verizon will finally confirm the speculated rumors that the Iphone is added to their lineup..we'll see tomorrow if this is the case or not, most likey it is!

It seems like a lot of people I know is jumping the gun and actually is dropping AT&T today and going to sign up with Verizon tomorrow. I say that move isn't necessary. Why not wait out the craziness and see what kind of complaints, issues and problems Verizon will face with the IPhone at the start? With any other carrier, Iphone will have some issues even with the Verizon network.

Should everybody jump now into Verizon's wagon or wait until the Iphone 5 comes out this summer around June? If so, what kind of features will the Iphone 5 grace us with? For me the IPhone 4 simply has everything already that is needed by the users (unless you're looking for more "development" features).

Facebook Profile Hack App

Ever since the new Facebook profile was implemented there has been a lot of mixed feelings about it. A lot of people try deactivate their account and wait a few minutes to reactivate in order to get the original profile back into place, that only worked for a while. Well, if you can't change something, why not embrace it and try to make it a fun thing to pass a little bit of time? I found a Facebook profile hack on the net that allows you to change your profile picture and top row tagged pictures as well to make it one big picture like in the picture you see in this blog post.

It's fast and easy! All you have to do is like the Schweppes' Facebook fanpage and it allows you to use their app to create a pretty cool profile pic. A lot of people got creative with it (posted examples below). I didn't really have any pictures that I thought was interesting but I was able to make it work as well. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

$49 Apple Iphone 3GS - MAC App Store

AT&T announced that they're Iphone 3GS (8gb) is going to be sellling for $49 (with 2 yr agreement and data plan of course). The move is logical since AT&T is going to lose its exclusivity with the Apple Iphone soon. The Iphone 3GS was $199 at first, then lowered to $99. I bought mine when it was $99, but the 3GS (IMO) is old news and probably won't sell that much.

My 3GS works great, no problems of locking up freezing or lag, however the only issue I have current is just the delay of FaceBook comments and what not, but that's important so I don't really care for it.

With this news, Apple launched its Mac App Store (ahead of schedule as well). If you don't see it anywhere on your Mac, then you probably haven't downloaded the latest Mac OS X update v10.6.6. You can do this by going to the "software update" by clicking on the Apple icon. The Mac App Store has more than 1,000 apps (paid and free). It's simple and easy to use, plus its basically the desktop version of the iOS. 

(BTW: I always dislike updating my Mac, just because I hate rebooting my computer, but the updates is always something worth the minute long trouble.)