Tablets that will receive Android 4.0 update

Ice Cream Sandwich is yet to hit the market in its full form but the news of tablets and smartphones which are going to get this delicious update have been making to the headlines since long.

Here GG will list the android tablet computers which have started receiving the android 4.0 update or will receive it in near future.

Motorola XOOM

First among the list is the same machine which was one among the few to use android 3.0 in its early stages. Motorola has even started updating android 4.0 to few of the selected XOOMs. It is basically for the testing purpose to see how stable is ice cream sandwich, on the XOOM tabs. The WiFi as well as the 4G models are entitled to this update by android.

Asus Transformer Prime

Asus has also started providing android 4.0 update for their recently launched Transformer Prime. This news is a little old now considering the fact that the update option in the settings of Prime has already been activated.

Asus Transformer TF101

TF101 is not far behind with the ice cream sandwich update getting optimized for this tablet pc by Asus by end of January. The update can be delayed by little but then it shouldn’t bother TF101 owners as 4.0 itself is yet to be matured tablet OS. Keep your patience and remember the fruits which have been left to ripen, taste the best.

Archos G9 Tablet

First week of February will bring good news for all the proud owners of G9 as the 4.0 update will be made available ton their Archos G9 tabs.

Sony’s Tablet S & P

GG has revealed this in the review of Tablet S and Tablet P that both the Sony tablets are entitled for the android 4.0 update.

Bad news for the 7” tablet owners is that all the 7 inched tabs like Samsung’s galaxy tab are not going to receive the android update. Talks are still in progress and maybe we will have some hope for Amazon, Nook and Samsung tabs owner.

Posted on 7:37 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich): The Review

Advancement and technology have been a prototype of Google Android OS. The android tablets and android phones have kept on amazing us with their UI, android apps, new OS updates and many other features. More than the developers, the users are excited about the 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android. The GalaxyNexus has come up with what we have been waiting for: The Android 4.0 OS.

Ice Cream Sandwich is the most relevant update of android since its birth and it portrays substantial changes in the mobile platform. 4.0 is made for a better user experience and ease. Don’t confuse it with a regular update that we used to have as it will require some amount of R&D to get acquainted.

Look and Feel

When we talk about android, we can’t restrict ourselves from talking about the look. Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade comes with a fresh new look and probably the best amongst all the versions. Due to the use of the high resolution font, Roboto, it becomes easier to read the texts. Roboto is a font which is chiefly developed for high definition reading. The OS avoids any usage of hardware button combinations to achieve navigation from home and back to some other page. It has all these markups in the OS and all the buttons are placed in the OS itself. Hence the Galaxy Nexus doesn’t sport any buttons and has a complete button less panel. An issue which can trigger rage in some users is the existence of unnamed applications. If public demand prevails, it can be restructured in the next 4.0 versions.

Feature Specs

The Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade has lots of additional features apart from its looks to feast upon:

Recent Apps: The Recent Apps button helps you to maneuver over the last 15 applications used.  Click on it to go through the 15 application pop up window.

Resizing widgets option:  This is one nicer feature which helps users to resize the screen appearance of a widget by holding and dragging the corners of widgets to resize them.

Redesigning the major Applications: Gmail has a new look which is similar to the pc version. It is easier to upload photos and file attachments. The Calendar has a better look and it is possible to view the shared calendars too. GTALK has better UI and can help you sign in with multiple ids. The photo editing options have been increased. The new people application has number of extra features which can help you keep track of your friends through social networking clients.

Face Recognition: I have talked about this feature before too. But anyways, let me brief here. It helps your phone to automatically unlock after recognizing your face through the frontal camera.

Android Beam: Again a topic previously talked about. Android beam helps android phones to share multimedia and applications just by tapping each other.

Android 4.0 is still under the development phase with small glitches but these will not spoil your experience with it. Take my words; it will be the best android you have ever used.

GG’s OS Rating: **** stars.

Posted on 12:06 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Samsung Captivate Glide: The REVIEW

There is a cloud of touch screen phones all around. But we can’t forget there is still a lot which is fascinated with the QWERTY keypads. To suffice the demands of this lot, mobile phone producers have been continuously experimenting with a dual offering in a single pack; a QWERTY TOUCH SCREEN mobile device. Samsung Captivate Glide is an addition to the great combo of touch screen phones with horizontal slide out QWERTY keypads. It is the most awaited dual core 1 GHz processor device in the android mobile market.

Captivate Glide flaunts the same screen which gave Samsung Galaxy S the lift amongst others. The 4 inch Super Amoled unit along with the WVGA resolution was is and will remain irresistible.  The CPU is an NVIDIA Tegra 2 with 1 GB RAM. So speed is no longer any issue.

Let us have a complete view of Samsung Captivate Glide’s specs:

OS	Android 3.5
Camera	8 MP Primary Cam with LED Flash, 1.3 MP front CAM for video calls.
Network support	3G , 2G
GPS Support	Yes
Internal Memory	8 GB
External Memory	Expandable up to 32 GB
Connectivity	WiFi, Bluetooth
Interface	3.5 mm audio jack, micro USB port, TV-out
Office Support	Exchange Active Sync

As can be observed Captivate Glide doesn’t look to have any big disadvantages. But all is in the package. So a deliberate effort can lend us a few drawbacks of this beautiful device too. For me, one single thing was a little irritating and that was the absence of a camera button. But this can be ignored when we have so many other features which are incomparable.

So, GG proudly gives Samsung Captivate Glide a **** ½ star review.

Bring it on Samsung; bring more of such wonderful gadgets!

Previous Linked Reviews and News: Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted on 7:27 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Google has a special affection towards desserts! At least the Android versions suggest it.

Starting from Cupcake (Android 1.5) to Gingerbird (Android 2.3) and the latest globally available Honeycomb (Android 3), the legacy seems to continue with the Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0).

Right now only Samsung Nexus beholds the rights to provide you a delicious treat of Ice Cream Sandwich but in a few months, all of us can be free tasters of this fiesta.

The improvements in this upgrade:

Speech Recognition: Now this was something where Android was a big let down when compared with iPhone. In its 4.0 version, android offers a competitive support for speech to text making it easier for the users to dictate the phone what they want to be mailed or texted. Keep talking and be careful to mention the punctuations that you want to be present so that the phone puts them properly at the place. Wonderful, what more can I say!

Face Recognition: Ice Cream Sandwich turns your idle phone alive when the phone’s camera sees your face. Isn’t it something we really wanted to have? My laptop does this and now my phone can too.

Data Usage Tracker: There will be no need to keep on checking with your service provided about how much data have you used. This will be done by the 4.0 system. A big advantage for all of us who want to be connected throughout the day!

Tap to Share: Android Beam in your Ice Cream Sandwich device helps you to just tap with your friend’s android device and share what you want him to experience. The NFC chip support helps your devices to get connected without any Bluetooth or WiFi.

There are more of such improvisations in Android 4.0 but you will have to wait for it for some more months, till you can purchase a phone or tablet with it or can upgrade your current version if your device supports Ice Cream Sandwich.

Google never lacks in giving its users a flavorsome bite and this version of android is yummy than all its previous releases.   

Posted on 6:11 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: The Android 4.0 Phone

Google’s Android market has left not a single mobile shop unmarked by its presence. The same can be true for the mobile phone makers too. Android didn’t just happen; it was properly plotted and eventually revealed. It kept on amazing its users with its different versions. Android strikes back, hand in hand with its greatest support Samsung, with the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus built upon Android 4.0 Ice cream sandwich platform.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus can proclaim itself to be the real Google mobile. This is how it should have been done. This is what we expect from a smart phone. And probably this is why Google made an Android!

The amazing 4.6” display of Galaxy Nexus has an awesome resolution of 1280 * 720 pixels. Do I need to mention that this is what we call a high definition mobile?

The dual core processor has a speed of 1.2 GHz and the internal memory is 32 GB (imagine, 32 GB of internal memory). There is no memory card slot, so no expandable memory.  But do we really need more? Stop being greedy!

The dual cam support is a plus but I still have a question for Nexus makers, why only 5 megapixel resolution for the primary camera? The recent smart phones have shown that how much they are fond of the 8MP camera but I think, Samsung is least bothered about it. The primary camera supports HD recording and the secondary front camera which has a resolution of 1.3 MP is more than sufficient of video calls.

It is a 4G compliant phone, hence no issues of connectivity. With a proper service provider, your phone can easily claim a download speed of around 40 Mbps and an upload speed of 20 Mbps.

I do not want to talk about the silly things like batter life as they are least important for a person who wants to carry a PC monochrome in his hand. Smart phones are smart but their batteries aren’t. This is the truth, start living with it. 

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first Android 4.0 phone and it is pleasant indeed.

Summing up the key features of this beauty with hell lots of brains:

Network Support	2G, 3G, 4G
Display	720 * 1280 pixels, HD
Connectivity	WiFi, Bluetooth
Interface	USB
RAM	1 GB
Internal Memory	32 GB
External Memory	Not supported
Camera	Primary camera: 5 MP with LED Flash. Secondary Camera: 1.3 MP

GG’s Rating: **** stars

Posted on 2:00 AM / 0 comments / Read More