New Acer Tablet Costs $50 Less Than Ipad: But Is It Worth It?

Alright, so Acer came out with the all new Iconia Tab A500 priced at $449.99, which is 50 whole big ones less than the lowest priced iPad 2 at $500. 

The question is: 
 Is it worth the $50 dollar savings?

With all of the new wanna be iPad killers hitting the market, it's hard to tell if the tablet you're looking at really does stack up against the big daddy of them all. So far, most of the competitors have been...lackluster. 

However, the new Iconia, which is set to be released later this month, brings big promises. (but haven't we heard them all before?)

Lets do a quick comparison of specs between the two.

First up:
The Iconia Tab A500 by Acer

Well this sleek thing looks quite alright in my opinion. Do a quick Google Search and you'll find yourself looking at more stunning pictures. This one will do for now.

Display: 10 Inch LCD Capacitive Touch Screen
CPU:      NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core 1GHz processor, 1GB Ram

OS:         Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Storage:  16GB micro with expandable memory of 32GB
Camera:  Still at 5MP and a secondary at 2MP, video recording capabilities.
Data:       GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA
Battery:  Up to 8 hours

Weight:  1.6 lbs

Some other features include a HDMI port, 1080p video playback, and Dolby Mobile Surround Sound.

Second up:
Apple's 16GB iPad 2

 

Display:   9.7 Inch LED Display

CPU:       1GHz Dual-core A5, 512MB RAM

OS:          iOS 4.3

Storage:  16GB

Camera:  Back record 720p HD and has a front-facing VGA camera.
Data:       3G
Battery:  Up to 10 hours

Weight:  1.3 lbs

Other features: Can do backflips.

CONCLUSION:

Alright, so what stuck out to me the most was the fact that the Acer tablet only runs on 2G speeds. That probably won't fly with many, but I'm sure others will only use it where they can get wifi anyways.

Secondly, the Acer seems to have better RAM, more storage and better camera.

So from the looks of things, the Acer just might be worth the bargain despite its network speed. However, coming from my own experience with Android tablets, they just don't seem to perform correctly no matter the specs. But it's equipped with Honeycomb, which could be a gamechanger for me.

At any rate, I would wait until the reviews come pouring in after the release before planning to buy one. It looks promising and most definitely better than any Android tablet yet. 

You'll either see "Acer Flop" or "Acer iPad Killer" headlines after the release.

Man, that 2G speed thing is still killing me though.

Followers:
1. Do you own any sort of tablet? What kind? Do you like it?
2. Would you buy one of these new Acer tablets?
3. Do you prefer iOS to Android or vice versa?
4. Coke or Pepsi?

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Posted in: Android,News,Reviews,Technology

Smartphone Apps May Be Violoating Your Privacy

 Alright, lets face it. How many smartphone users actually read the user agreement when downloading a new app to their phone? I know I don't and Android usually spells it out for me in black and white right before I hit "allow".

As I said before, when using an Android device to download new apps, the phone alerts you of permissions that you are granting the app to have.(I'm not sure how the iPhone or other devices go about telling you this information, but I'm sure they do.) Many times these permissions include access to GPS, phone records, contacts list, etc. But why does an app need to access all of that? According to the app, it's essential to the performance of the application. However, most of the time it's not.

In the last couple of months, many apps have been undergoing investigations to clarify what their true intentions are.

So far, one major app has been thrown into the spotlight. That app is the ever so popular music streaming app, Pandora. Many of us have probably used Pandora online and were excited when it was turned into a smartphone app. I sure was, and I used it everyday.

What exactly is this app, and possibly many others, being charged with? Well if you guessed they may be selling your information to advertising companies, then you're right.

Pandora, and probably a ton of other apps, provide these agencies with your name, birthday, gender, IP address, GPS information, and postal code. This pretty much means that they can trace where you go, where you live, who you visit, what stores you like, where you work, etc. Which is pretty powerful information to advertisers.

Creeps.

Man, I was really into Pandora too. Looks like that apps getting deleted now.

Followers:
1. Do you ever read app user agreements?
2. Does this surprise you?
3. Do you even care?
4. Nutella and toast?

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Posted in: Android,News,Technology

Texting From Desktop via Wifi or USB: Multitasking Triumph

Imagine being a complete master of multitasking. You have your tabbed browsing, bluetooth headset(well maybe not), and anything else that allows you to do a millions things at once. You're in the zone; doing homework, playing COD, surfing the web, writing a book, riding a bear, and then...beep beep, you get a text message and everything comes to a screeching halt so you can look away from your desktop to answer the text.

Well fear that no longer!

Texdro is an app that allows you to connect your Android device and computer wirelessly.

On your phone you get a simple app that allows you to turn the feature on and off. On your desktop you get a contacts list and a whole list of settings allowing you to change notifications, etc.

Now, I'm sure many of you already have seen, have, use, or have used apps that allow you to text through your phone from your desktop. I'm also sure that many have not even thought of the idea. So this is to those of you who are looking to take your multitasking skills to a whole 'notha level.

App can be found at http://www.crackedsun.com/texdro/. The app is free but the developer also offers a paid version with more features.

Also, tried as I might I could not find a similar app that works for the iPhone. Sorry guys. :(

Followers:
1. Any of you use this heavenly app?
2. Do you know of any others like it?
3. Would you like to see more app reviews? (both Android and iPhone)
4. Have you ever met a leprechaun?

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Posted in: Android,Knowledge,Reviews,Technology

Blackberry Playbook Not Playing By The Rules?

Not many of us have been anticipating the release of the Playbook, Blackberry's new tablet. I guarantee it won't even make a dent in iPad sales. I'm sure most of you didn't even know it is set to be released in a couple of weeks. I'm not even going to post the specs and details of it, because I know most of you just aren't that interested.

WHAT IS INTERESTING though, is the fact that Blackberry is opening up their device to Android apps.

Developers will have to work with Research In Motion(RIM) in porting the apps to work on the Playbook. It seems that because RIM slowly lost its power to the iPhone and Android phones, they are trying to make up for lost ground instead of wasting time further developing the Blackberry App World.

That just sounds silly right? They're trying to get ahead of the game by blending into their competition. Sounds to me like RIM lacks a little confidence in their own devices.

However, on the other hand, this could be a GREAT marketing strategy. For those Android users who were on the edge (which probably aren't many) about buying a Playbook may now be more inclined to buy one. But I'm sure that all Android apps won't be available because ultimately, it is up to the developer to port it.

Follower Opinions:
1.What do you guys think about all of this cross app blending and such?
2. Do you think it's a good marketing strategy?
3. Are you interested in a Playbook?
4. Do you like chicken noodle soup?

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Posted in: Android,Knowledge,News,Technology