A New Flexible Phone Prototype by Nokia

Written by Doug Puccetti(Me) on www.techhog.com:

At the Nokia World Event, Nokia not only showed their new line of Windows Phones but they also showed off a prototype of a flexible phone. Kind of like an accelerometer used inside phones to correctly orientate the device, shuffle a song or drive a car in a game; this flexible phone has points where pressure can be added.

Adding pressure to specific sides of the device will do different things. Twisting/bending the phone left or right edges will either change the song, photo or switch applications depending on what application/setting you are in. Bending the phone in and out will make it zoom in or zoom out and bending it in the middle of the left or the right side will either open/play an application or go back to the previous application/screen.

The screen is obviously a type of plastic. So that means its not scratch resistant. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than a bunch of scratches on my screen. But, the screen is a nice WVGA OLED display with wide viewing angles.

Will this UI ever catch on? or will it just stay a prototype? Bending your phone takes more effort and one more hand than just taping on the screen to open an application or scroll through a list. We will have to see where Nokia goes with this prototype.

Source: GSMarena

Samsung Galaxy S III Rumor! (As I wrote on www.techhog.com)

Ahhhh what a wonderful day for a cup of soup, music and yes, that's right, the Samsung Galaxy S III. Even though the second Samsung Galaxy S was just released not to long ago, Samsung Already has some pretty adamant specs for their new device being released sometime early 2012. I have a pretty good feeling this phone will blow everything out of the water.

If these rumors are true than this might be the best phone ever! But as we all know rumors are just rumors so they are subject to change or might not even be correct (Frownie face). So far the processor is jaw dropping with the Exynos 4212, 1.8GHz Dual core processor. My rooted phone cant even over clock to 1.8GHz... Since it will be released some time next year its safe to confirm the rumor that this phone will be running the latest version of Android 4.0(Ice Cream Sandwich). Snowballing that will be the large 4.6 inch SuperAMOLED Plus display, 720×1280 resolution screen. Just to put that in to perspective for everyone. 720p is the resolution of most modern televisions. This screen will look stunning and sharp. 

Memory doesn't sound like much of an issue for this device. With 2GB of ram and standard 16GB-32GB of storage space. Google/Android have been working to make all their devices come standard with either 16GB/32GB of storage. They don't want their costumers/users to have to rely on microSD cards for storage space. 

Cameras are something no one is sure about with this phone. Rumors state rear facing camera between 8MP-12MP. So no matter what they choose, its still a very nice camera. And assuming the standard 2MP front facing camera. Another cool thing is, since this phone comes standard with Android ICS, There will be a new face detection unlocking mechanism so you can just look at your phone and if it detects it is you than it will unlock the phone. This is just another high-end safety measure. Heres a leaked rumor picture, Not the most reliable but its what most have worked off of from www.phandroid.com:

I cant wait to hear more about this phone. If these specs are true, than future smartphones have huge expectations. And if Apple and Windows want to compete, they will have to step up their game.

Droid Bionic(Review)

The New Droid Bionic is claimed to be the best smartphone to hit Verizon Wireless' LTE Service. Lets find out why. 

Released on September 8th, the Droid Bionic has created a lot of hype for such a new device(its like, if everyone were to know the new kid in school). Under all the hardware the phone comes equipped with Android 2.3.4 powered by a 1GHz dual core processor, paired with 1GB or DDR2 RAM(phew, let me catch my breath). That is pretty amazing for a smartphone. I still know people who have computers with 1GB of RAM or less... This 4.3in display is starting to become an average size among all the newer smartphones on the market(I am also pretty sure that this is Verizon's first LTE phone to have a dual core processor).

The camera takes wonderful 1080P video and amazing photos with a 8MP camera with LED flash. There is also a front facing camera for video chats. The Droid Bionic is loaded with 16GB of internal memory and comes pre-loaded with a 16GB MicroSD card(Maximum is 32GB). Next to the micro USB charging port is HDMI out(yay for tv/monitor hookup!)

The 1735mAh battery is above average allowing almost 11 hours of talk time. However people say that the phone only lasts them about 8-10 hours on heavy use. That isn't too bad for the newer phones out on the market. You have to take in to consideration all the crazy things it can do compared to the older phones(or even the phones that were released last year).

The overall design of this device is very sleek and above average in my opinion. The scratch resistant screen is a great touch to the Droid Bionic(say good by to screen protectors, unless you're paranoid that you'll drop your phone or playing with a handful of diamonds). The volume rocker feels responsive and is nice to the touch. Not to inset or sticking to far out. The back to the phone has a nice, light rubbery feeling to it(kinda like the Motorola Droid 2). It looks good and fits well in your hands, what more could you ask for.

This phone is not a global phone, so its not simcard supportive(lame). However, this phone comes loaded with Motorola's WebTop dock which allows the user to connect the phone to the LapDock cradle. This can essentially turn your phone in to a laptop/netbook(sorta like the Motorola Atrix on AT&T).

Other than the phone being slightly large and heaver than average(5.6oz, average is 4.4oz), The Droid Bionic is the best phone offered by Verizon Wireless.

HTC Inspire 4G; Wasted Potential...(Review)

And when I say wasted potential, I mean it. The HTC Inspire 4G could be such a great smart phone, but why didn't they make it as good as it could be? Who knows, I don't... Running Android 2.2, The Inspire's massive 4.3 touch screen is a wonderful addition for the AT&T family. With a 1GHZ processor, there is barley any lag when switching from screen to screen on HTC's Sense UI. However, I feel that HTC missed an opportunity on making this phone better.

If you are an Inspire owner than I've felt your pain. This has been my personal phone for about 5 months now and one of the major complaints I have is battery life sucks... I'll be happy if I get through 6 hours on heavy use or even 8 hours on light use. The large screen is nice but its a killer on the very small 1250mAh battery. A phone this size needs at least 1500mAh to last most of the day.

The inspire comes standard with an 8MP dual LED flash on the back, and man, that thing can get bright. Picture quality is great. Here's a picture I took when I first got the phone.

However the Inspire 4G is lacking a front facing camera. Not a big deal for me but when there are other phones out there that have one, why get one that doesn't?

The exterior of the phone is a very nice brushed aluminum with plastic battery/sim card doors. However, because of the design of the battery door its impossible for a larger size battery to be inserted. You'll have to spend a lot of money on a "Higher Capacity" battery which have the same dimensions(I bought 2 and neither helped). Lastly, the external speaker for notification and video sounds isn't that loud. Even on max volume.

Other than that the call quality is amazing, the phone is very responsive, camera takes excellent shots, video is great, and at a low price of $49.99 (in some places), I cant complain.

The New-ish LG Phoenix (Review)

So the LG phoenix and I go way back, probably about a week. But I've been there for it the first time it was taken out of the small cardboard box it was shipped in. Ahhh good times, but I digress... Any who, I like to think of this phone as a baby android. Its only running Froyo (android 2.2) out of the box, however I'm a sucker for ice cream (frozen yogurt in this case). The device itself feels great in my hands and even though I'm used to a larger screen (4.1 in), this smaller 3.2 in screen is actually better than expected, my fat thumbs can type flawlessly. Now when I use my normal phone it feels so weird having a large screen, thanks LG...

The phone itself sizes in at 4.47 x 2.32 x 0.53 in (LxWxH). I know it doesn't sound like much since everyone's a 'size queen' now adays but its a great change. Since the LG Phoenix is an android device it comes standard with email, music, web, Blue tooth, WiFi and yes even sms/mms. The battery capacity is 1500 mAh and using it heavily, It lasts me a day and a half.

Let me explain a few things I wish LG would have done to make this a phone i would replace my current one with. First things first, the screen material(for lack of a better term). Its not the awesome glass that everyone's used to on a high end smartphone, its more like a cheap plastic feeling. However using it for a week I haven't accumulated any scratches... knock on wood. Second, I wish it had a faster processor. It come standard with a 600MHz processor which is fine and has very little lag when doing things, but when you try to multitask you can feel it slow down. Lastly I wish it had a larger MP camera. Its only 3.2MP with no flash which is standard for a basic phone but if it's gonna be a replacer, it has to be at least 5MP+ with flash in my book.

So all-in-all I like this phone and if you want a nice, compact, reliable android phone without either breaking the bank or too large of a screen, The LG Phoenix is the way to go.

Other Information worth knowing...
If you planing on rooting this phone, the processor cant get overclocked higher than 600(Lame I know. Drop F-bombs, break things, listen to metal, whatever you have to do to get your frustration out). This phone would be on a top list of mine if i could over clock it to 1gHz.

Also, custom roms are hard to find for this device, might have to check out xda for custom roms (Try searching for LG Optimus T or V roms).

Any other questions feel free to ask!

-Doug