Google+: A Great Underrated Network

Social networks have quickly become the go to sites when you want to connect with people, share content, or even promote your own business; the veterans being Facebook and Twitter. One service that I feel is quite good, and quite underrated, is Google+. There are many features  that make Google+ awesome; some of which are mentioned in this video: 

                                    

     

These are the reasons why it is my favorite social networking website.

1 - The App:

Google+ has the most well designed app out of any social networking site that I've ever used. It is graphically pleasing, easy to use, and it just works. Like MKBHD stated in the video, there is no need to try and find the best third party app for Google+, like other social apps -*cough*Facebook*cough*- because the original works wonderfully.

2 - No Spam:

One of the biggest annoyances I have with Facebook are the millions of pictures floating around telling me to like in a certain amount of time or I'll go to hell. This is non-existent on Google+. The community as a whole is much more mature. 

3 - Google Services:

Since this is a Google service, all your other Google services are easily accessible. Anything from your Google Docs, to the places you like in Google Maps can be shared with a few clicks. This is great for people like me who essentially operate in the Google cloud.

4 - Hangouts:

I am not one to video chat often. I really don't use this form of communication unless it is with my girlfriend when she is away. That being said, when I want to video chat I use Google Hangouts. This was introduced with Google+ and it is just awesome. Not only can you have a face to face conversation with up to 10 people on your phone or computer, but just like Google+ itself, you can share things seamlessly. If you have a business meeting via Hangout, then you can share with everyone a spreadsheet or word document from your Google Docs. If your chatting with your friends you can pull a YouTube video and you can all watch it together. There are a number of other fun features mentioned in the video above as well. It's biggest competitor would have to be Skype, which Google Hangouts completely blows away in my opinion. But, then again, I hate Skype. I think it is very difficult to learn how to use and the interface is much too cluttered. Point being, try a Hangout.

5 - No Friends:

When you receive a friend request from someone you don't know, 9/10 times a "creeper alert" goes off in your head. This really isn't the case on Google+. When people you don't know comment on your posts it's much more friendly, and less creepy. For some reason -again, maybe the overall maturity of the site- I don't get as weirded out when a random person from another country comment on a Google+ post. It's very good at bringing people together who share common interests.

Well there you have it, 5 reasons why Google+ is awesome. Though it doesn't have the biggest following, it is growing and it does work really well. I was very skeptical in the beginning because none of my friends used it, but with Google+ it doesn't matter cause you can make new ones. So will you guys be giving this service a try?

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Fast Production: Hurting The Consumer

One of the things that bothers me the most about mobile manufacturers these days, is the fact that they are producing devices too quickly. Not that there are too many different device, which was covered in a this post, but that the devices we end up with are not tested to the fullest. 

There have been times where I've purchased a new product and noticed a bug, then after searching the internet I find that there are tons of other people with the same problem. At times like these, I just wonder Didn't they test for things like this? 

I hate feeling like I'm a beta tester for these products. I think if a company feels that their product is ready for consumers, then they should have a group of tester use that device in their personal lives for at least a week. That way, manufacturers would have an accurate report of real life use. Not everything can be discovered with a quick, in-lab test session.

If I'm going to spend my hard-earned cash on these revolutionary electronics, I want to know that everything works. But that's just me. How do you feel about this subject?

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The Wii U: A New Gaming Experience

Nintendo's Wii U is set to launch on November 18th starting at $299. At first glance, I was very skeptical about this system. Back in the days of the N64, Nintendo was THE gaming company, in my opinion. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was, and still is, one of the best games ever. When the Wii hit the market, however, it just didn't make as big of an impact. You didn't see too many people that just owned a Wii. Not that it was a bad system, it's just the Xbox 360 and the PS3 had more to offer. More titles, better graphics, and a better online multi-player experience. 

But now it seems that Nintendo is ready to get back in the game.(Pun intended)

Just from a visual standpoint the Wii U doesn't appear to be an en-genius console. But the real difference that the Wii U is bringing to the table is the way you play games. Whether you're playing alone, or with friends, the new gamepad brings added functionality. Such has inventories and other essentials right at your fingertips, without having to pause the game. 

For me, the most exciting thing that this tablet/controller can do is give you a different point of view for games. According to Nintendo, multiple players can be looking at the exact same game in a completely different way. This, to me, sounds awesome. It just might be what pushes me to buy a Wii U.

But what about you; are you getting a U?

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iOS Devices: The Conspiracy

Many people, myself included, have felt that Apple has been subtly forcing user to buy new devices. How? by pushing out software that older devices cannot handle. For example, if you follow me on twitter, you know that I've been experiencing many problems with my 4th Gen iPod touch since the iOS 6 update. I've had numerous apps, including system apps, freezing, crashing, and I've just felt like overall, the device has slowed down. I just don't think that iOS 6 was as polished as Apple wants you to believe. The maps alone have many customers outraged. 

But like the title says, I feel this is more of a conspiracy than a coincidence. Here's why: the latest generation iPod touch is set to launch very soon and they are already taking pre-orders for it. So what better way to force buyers to upgrade their iPod for the holiday season, than to release a software update that the current generation iTouch can't handle, right?

Maybe this is just me being over dramatic, but I'd like to think I'm right; that somewhere in Apple HQ they are just laughing it up over the fact that current iTouch owners will have to upgrade for better performance. Obviously with the improved specs of the newest generation iTouch, this will already be the case. But I for one think that iOS was meant to run perfectly on this new device, and run in such a way on the older generation, that people will be "encouraged" to buy it.

So what do you think? Is this all part of the big A's plan, or do you guys think this is just a coincidence? 

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Blackberry: Just Stop...

If you haven't seen this latest ad from RIM, well, I guess you should watch it...

RIM has been talking about releasing Blackberry 10 OS and their new handsets for what seems like  years. According to this video, it's just now an alpha 2 build. This surprises me. I mean, what do they actually do at RIM? Are they actually working on this? Because to me it's been too long. 

We're at a point now where everyone is over Blackberries. Android and iOS are the 2 big mobile contenders, while Windows Phone is slowly growing as well. Blackberry used to be very popular, especially in the business world. But with the slew of new Android phones every couple of months, that have all the features that Blackberries were missing plus their ever-growing app ecosystem, it's hard to recommend a Blackberry to anyone. The only person that I personally know that uses a Blackberry is my mother, and only because of the qwerty. If the Android qwerty options had the battery life to compete with Blackberries then maybe she would switch. But the don't and she is very content with her phone. Not to say that only older people use Blackberries, it's just that most(myself included) don't see the appeal when compared with other devices. 

In my opinion, RIM is done. They had their chance to wow us with their new OS and devices, but they just haven't done it in a timely fashion and that's what hurt them. By the time these things actually reach the market everyone will have forgotten what a Blackberry is. But that's just me. 

Now I want to hear from you; do you think that RIM can make a comeback? Or is Blackberry a dead platform? Let the comments roll!

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Cases: Are You Protected?

D30 Cases from T-mobile - I use the 2nd from the left

Ever last year when I owned the HTC Sensation, I've chosen to my devices in protective cases. Personally I feel the functionality of the phone is more important than the look. Even though I enjoy the incredible hardware HTC uses, especially when it comes to my One S, I would rather have my device be able to withstand some damage. 

The case pictured above is my case of choice. Why? because D30 cases use a layer of material which allows the molecules inside to move freely, but stiffen on impact. It does a fantastic job of protecting my phone. The one gripe I have with this case is that it makes the buttons a little difficult to press. But it's a small price to pay for the premium product you get. They support a variety of devices as well including most T-mobile smartphones and iPhones.

If you would like to learn more about D30, you can check them out here. 

So what about you guys, do you like to slap a case on as soon as you buy a new device, or do you prefer those devices naked?

Special thanks to Christian Schewanick for this blog post idea. You can follow his twitter here.

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My Next Phone: A Phablet?

As smartphones evolve, and by evolve I mean get bigger, these new devices continue to entice me. One of the devices that I am most looking forward to is the Galaxy Note 2. RIght now I own an HTC One S which has a 4.3" screen, but the more I see it the more this huge 5.5" screen seems to captivate me. 

The specs of the Note only further my desire for it; those would be a 5.5" HD display, a 1.6ghz quad-core Exynos processor which WILL support LTE, 2gb of ram, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean(with TouchWiz), a 3100mAh battery, and of course, the S-Pen, which is essentially a stylus. It also happens to be launching on all 4 major carriers.

The one thing that deters me from all Samsung devices is TouchWiz. 

While it has numerous additional features that aren't present in stock Android, I can't get past the very cartoon-ish style of this UI. If anything, I would opt for installing a stock Jelly Bean rom.

The more I think about owning this guy, the more I like it. I just feel that having such a large screen would be incredibly enjoyable. Watching videos, text messaging, browsing the web, and even calling sound like they would be more fun on a Phablet.

But there is another Phablet that I'm considering....

This is the(rumored) One X5 by HTC. This guy would have a 5" screen, which isn't as large as the Note or Note 2, but it is still quite larger than my current device. I won't go into the specs since this is just a rumor, but you can read them here. But what I want to see out of this most is a battery that can accommodate the large screen. I know I rant about battery life quite a bit, but what's the point of buying a super cool new phone, when you can't use it because it's dead? 

I would like to see at least a 2500mAh battery. 

Either way it goes, I think I'm going to take the Phablet route for my next device. But what about you guys? Do you enjoy the growing Phablet market as well? If so, would you go for the Note 2 or the One X5?

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Windows 8: I'm Not Excited

The next iteration of Windows is right around the corner and with it come a slew of new devices. But what about older Windows machines?

The most prominent feature, in my opinion, of Windows 8 is the new start menu. It seems quite intuitive, if you have a touch screen.

It seems like Microsoft has completely shifted it's focus to touch-based machines as they feel that the tablet market is going to replace computers. I don't think this is the case. I think a lot of people will agree with me when I say, I don't want a tablet. I don't want to have to, essentially, downgrade my system to a smaller, touch enabled, tablet/keyboard combo to be able to take advantage of this OS at it's fullest. I understand that you can get a touchpad for your current system, or simply use the built in touchpad on laptops, but I can't see it being as usable as a full on touch screen. This, in my opinion, is going to scare off a lot of older Windows users. 

The jump from XP to 7(Let's not even mention Vista) was a welcomed change me as it brought a much more fluid, and visually friendly experience. I just don't see Windows 8 making that kind of impact on today's market. When people think of tablets, think iPad, Nexus 7, etc...not Windows. 

Now I'll leave you with my final thoughts: Windows is great at being a PC operating system and should remain that way. If I want a tablet, I'll buy one. If I want a laptop, I want a laptop, not some kind of hybrid. But that's just me.

So what do you guys think? Am I just being picky, or do like Windows the way it is as well? Let me know!

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iOS 6: The Mapping Fiasco

Seems like buzz of Apple's recent iOS 6 update was quickly overshadowed. The hype turned to mockery in the first 24hrs. Why? Because, to put it bluntly, Apple's maps suck.

Not only do they sorely lack in the points of interest department, but a good majority of things that are actually present seem to look like they were drawn on a soaked piece of paper.

Now, I understand that Apple is trying to distance themselves from Google as much as much as possible, but this was a mistake. 

I know that Google maps has come a long way since their initial launch, but in my opinion Apple should've waiting to release their maps when it was ready. I've heard that the turn by turn navigation is decent, but the bad things I've heard far outweigh the good. I'm sure that Google will release their own app store available version of Google Maps, but until then it seems as though people are resorting to using Safari to access them. 

I don't use an iPhone as my personal device, so you guys will have to let me know; is it really as bad as everyone is saying? Are you eagerly awaiting Google's app store alternative?

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Custom UI's: Taking Away From Android

Sense 4 - Motorola UI - TouchWiz 5

The world of Android is constantly evolving. With every new version, Google is bringing more innovation to the palms of our hands. With their latest version, Jelly Bean(4.1), they've improved the speed and performance dramatically. Along with those improvements came Google Now and the new Google Voice Search, which in my opinion, is much nicer than Siri.

But what about when you don't buy a phone directly from Google? What if you don't have a Nexus?

This is where the view of Android can become very distorted...

These days, when you buy an Android phone, you're also buying the manufacturer's custom overlay. Weather it's Samsung's TouchWiz, HTC's Sense, or whatever Motorola is calling their's now, you're getting a skin on top of Android.

Love it or hate it, unless you get a Nexus, it's there.

In this video, Jon from Techno Buffalo makes a very good point: we should be able to choose weather or not we want to run a manufacturer's skin, just stick with stock Android.

I do see how these skins can be useful. TouchWiz has notification toggles for quick settings, Sense has a huge assortment of beautiful widgets, and Motorola's UI looks very close to stock while adding a few functionality improvements as well. LG's UI? No...just no. While their latest version of their overlay, debuted on the Optimus G, has a very nice lock screen as well as very graphically pleasing transitions, it makes Android look like a toy. But I digress.

LG's UI icons, it's all I could stand to look at...

But I think if we had the option to run stock Android, it wouldn't be as confusing for people to use, for example, a Samsung phone after coming from a Moto device. 

Not only that, but a lot of the core Android features are overlooked because they are masked behind these skins. While I'm a Sense fan, every now again I've tried AOSP roms, just to see what it's like on the other side. But not everyone wants to root their device, and flash a custom recovery just experience Android the way Google intended. But since Android is open-source, anyone expand upon it; improve it. So I think the core of what Google designed is often lost in the shuffle.

I agree with Mr. Rettinger, we should have options. But how do you feel? Do you love your preferred skin, or are you wishing for a purer experience? Let me know in the comments!

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The Lightning Connector: Another Way For Apple To Get Paid

With the release of the iPhone 5 came something many Apple fans dreaded: the Lightning connector.

For the most part, it really isn't a big deal. It allows for a thinner phone, and like I've stated in a previous post, thin is in. It's also reversible, making plugging it into the device simpler. 

The thing that's got people infuriated, is that there is not a 30pin - Lightning adapter included. Meaning you have to buy it separately for $29.99.

Wow Apple...

I understand the need to make the connector more ergonomic, but you should at least get an adapter in the box. 

If you are an Apple fan, I'm sure that over the years you've acquired some accessories that rely on the 30pin connector. Things like speaker and car mounts are going to be completely useless unless you shell out 30 bucks for this adapter. What's worse is that these things aren't even shipping until October. 

Bad move Apple...bad move.

So tell me, does this frustrate you as well? Is this a deal breaker? Comment away. 

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Leave The "Phablets" To Samsung

As some of you may have seen, LG launched their own "phablet" on Verizon. What you may have also seen, is that it's a very awkwardly designed brick. This thing rivals the specs of the original Galaxy Note with a 5" IPS-LCD 768 x 1024 resolution display, a 1.5ghz dual-core processor, and even a stylus called the Rubberdium. Although, for some reason there is no port for the stylus on the device, so you'll have to carry it separately. Not that many people will be buying this...

The real difference between this monster, and the Note is that this has a 4.3 aspect ratio. That means this thing is basically a big square in your hand. Couple that with the mediocre 2080mAh battery, and this becomes one of those Why did you make this? kind of devices. 
Since the Intuition is so wide, it means that 90% of the time you'll have to use both hands to do anything with it. If that is the, case I might as well jut buy a tablet. 

Don't even get me started on LG's remedial, childish UI. I would even prefer Touch-Wiz to this. 

This is an especially bad marketing move as well, since the Note 2 is on the way with a quad-core processor, LTE(dependent upon carrier), a 3100mAh battery, and it's coming to all 4 major US carriers. LG is already hurting in the US mobile phone market, and this isn't the phone to bring their sales up.

All this to say that their are much better phones, and even phablets that you can buy. 

Tell me how you guys feel. Would you buy a devices that you can barely hold? Or am I just being too knit-picky?

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HTC: Windows Phone Awesomeness

HTC held an event this morning, at said event they launched to brand new Windows Phone 8 devices: the 8X and the 8S. 

I've never been a Windows Phone kind of guy, but these guys look sweet. 

The 8X(pictured above) has a 4.3" Super LCD-2 720p display, a 1.5ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1gb of ram, an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with the same image sense technology as the One series, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and enhanced speakers with with Beats audio for music playback. It even comes in all these funky colors!

Sounds awesome, right? That's what I thought, until they announced that it would be powered by an 1800mAh battery. 

This might be where HTC and I part ways. They just don't seem to get it, which is really disappointing considering their track record for fantastic build quality.

The 8S is like the baby brother in this release. It has a 4" Super LCD display with a resolution of 480 x 800, a 1ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU, 512mbs of ram, a 5 megapixel shooter with image sense, and it has 4gb of on board storage with the option to expand with a micro-sd card slot. It comes in the colors above. Oddly enough, this guy doesn't seem to come with a front-facing camera. Either way, the downfall with this device would, again, be the battery; only 1700mAh. 

The best thing about these guys is that they are launching on Verizon, AT&T, and T-mobile!

This release was exciting and disappointing at the same time. I just can't get past this battery issue. But what do you think? Are you gonna grab one, or are you jumping the HTC ship?

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Form VS Function

There is a growing trend these days in the smart phone world, that trend is Thin is In. 

But what does that mean for the function of our devices? Well not much in terms of performance, but I think it's making a huge difference, for the worse, in terms of battery life. 

Companies seem to be pushing thinness more and more. So much so, that it is one of the first things mentioned when a new phone is launched. *cough* iPhone 5 *cough*

But I think this needs to change. 

At the moment, there is no talk of some sort of revolutionary battery technology. So that means generally speaking, the bigger the better. Obviously other factors come into play, like the processor and the size/resolution of the screen. Large screens suck up battery. That's just how it is. Amoled screens can help though, in that, every black pixel is not colored black, it is simply turned off; meaning you get deeper blacks and save a small amount of battery. But it's not a noticeable amount. Higher screen resolution also means that there are more pixels that need to be powered. That means with something like the Oppo Find 5, it would need a much bigger battery than the 2500mAh it supposed to come with. 

Some companies, like Samsung and Motorola, are starting to include bigger batteries with their devices. The Samsung Galaxy Note has a 2500mAh battery and the Note 2 has a 3100mAh battery. The battery life reported from the Galaxy Note was very good, but the screen was not HD. The Note has a 720p screen, so they also bumped up the battery. Motorola included a 3300mAh battery with their Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD. Yes, that name is real. But the one thing that I commend Motorola for doing is that they've resolved to include nothing less than a 2000mAh battery in every new phone. I think that is a great move.

The processor is another big part of battery consumption. The higher the clock speed, the more power it will use. Surprisingly, quad-core devices use less power. Here's why: when you are doing something power intensive on a dual core phone, it revs up both cores to compensate; if you were to do the same thing on a quad-core device, it would rev up all 4 cores, but to a lower clock speed for each. Also, most quad-core processors include a 5th core for handling less intensive things like web browsing. 

Another factor that you have to consider is you data connection. LTE is a huge power hog, and 3/4 major US carriers have LTE. I am on T-mobile which does not have LTE, so I am not really effected by this, but I know others are.

With all these battery hungry factors, I'm starting to wonder why manufacturers are sacrificing battery life for thinness. I for one, wouldn't mind have a device that is a millimeter thicker, if it meant it would last all day with ease. I happen to be a fan of HTC devices, but I have to admit, they are the worst about batteries. My One S has a 4.3" QHD amoled display, a 1.5ghz dual-core processor, and a 1650mAh battery...ridiculous. 

Well you've heard my opinion, now I want to hear yours. Would you rather have the thinnest phone eva, or bigger batteries? Let the comments role!

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Are You Rooted?

Let me first explain what it means to root your device.

Rooting gives you access to the system files of your phone or tablet. You can then do a number of different things, such as flashing a rom.

What is a rom, you ask? A rom is basically a whole new operating system. At the very least they usually increase performance and battery life. But there is so much more you can do. There are 3 basic categories for roms:

- Stock based roms: These are going to be very similar to what came on your phone since it's based on the same code. They may also offer a few customizations as well though. For instance, I am running Viper on my One S, which is mostly stock but extremely customize-able. As you can see from this photo, it retains a lot of the Sense feel, but it doesn't have to.

- AOSP(Andoroid Open Source Project): These roms are based on stock Android. So if you love the hardware of your device, but don't particularly care for the manufacturer's overlay, this is the answer. They are going to be as close to stock as you're going to get, while giving you a few developer dependent features and tweaks. 

- Random roms: Random roms, as I like to call them, are just out there. Things like miui for example, that just completely change the look and feel of your phone. I personally have never used anything like these, but I know they appeal to a lot of people.

Once you've flashed your rom of choice, you can begin exploring the world of customizing. 

From changing the status bar icons, to adding quick settings in the notification bar, with the right rom or the right theme, you can do it all.

Now that we've covered roms, I want to talk about some of the main reasons that I see people rooting for. Those would be to uninstall bloatware and for free wireless tethering. 

When you get a phone from a carrier, you'll no-doubt be greeted by the unholy amount of crap that is pre-installed. More often than not, you can't remove of these useless apps that do nothing more than waste space. But fear not, all it takes is a root. 

Since rooting gives you access to the system level of files in your device you can easily go through your system apps with something like ES File Manager, or just simply download Root Uninstaller from the Play Store.

The other most common reason that I've found for rooting is free wireless tethering. That's right, FREE! No one wants to pay an extra $15+ for wireless tethering when data plans already cost upwards of $30. The answer? Rooting! 

Not only can you download the app pictured above for free wifi tethering, but there are even free apps in the Play Store. All with a simple root. 

I've only scratched the surface on the amount of things that you can do when rooted. So tell me, are you rooted? Are you thinking about it? Let me know in the comments!

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Too Many Android Phones?(UPDATE)

I am an Android enthusiast and I'm not afraid to admit it. As much as I love Google, there are 2 things about Android that always frustrate me: the frequency of phone releases and fragmentation. 

I'll start with the first one. I, as I'm sure many of you as well, don't like buying the latest "flagship" device only to find out that a new one is on the way a month later. While I disagree with many of Apple's business choices, the fact that they only sell 1 phone a year is smart. I don't want to shell out $200+ for the top of line super phone, and then hear 2 months later that there is something better on the market; it's getting old. 

A classic example would be Samsung. The Galaxy S3 was released in the US around June, and already Samsung has stated that they will be launching the S4 in February. If I owned an S3, I would be upset; I'm sure a lot of people who do own it will be. It really isn't fair to the consumer to launch a phone that is "better" than theirs, when theirs is a mere few months old. 

Another problem with this marketing strategy is that the market is becoming quite diluted. The overwhelming amount of devices that manufacturers are cranking out makes it difficult for the average consumer to choose the best option. I think if OEMs would stick to launching 1 flagship device and 1 mid-range device every year, we'd have more than enough Android goodness to go around. With HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc... building 1 super phone each a year, instead of every few months, not only would the market be less cluttered, but it would leave room for much greater improvements between flagship devices rather than a few small ones. Then all these "flagship" devices wouldn't seem like they are just evolutionary upgrades. Maybe if there was a bigger gap between launches, we would actually get updated to the latest version of Android...

Finally, one of the biggest annoyances this causes is fragmentation. 

Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich, was released in November of 2011; Jelly Bean, or 4.1, was released June of this year, and a majority of devices are still running Gingerbread(2.3)...

With the exception of Nexus devices, there is no guarantee that you'll be updated to the latest software. With all the variables involved, like carriers and OEMs skinning the update, it could be months before you actually receive the next software update. By that time there will most likely already be another super phone from that manufacturer running the latest software. In most cases you will be stuck with whatever comes with the phone the day you buy it. So where does this leave consumers? Confused. 

These companies really need to think about their marketing strategy because it is becoming less appealing with each new version of Android. 

So now that you know how I feel, tell me how you feel! Do you think that manufacturers need to take a step back, or is more just merrier? Tell me in the comments.

UPDATE: Samsung has a come out and said that they are NOT releasing the Galaxy S4 in February. I think this is a good thing.

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A 1080p Display...On a Phone?!

Yesterday I read an article about a device that really got me excited. It's a phone with a 1080p display...yeah, 1080p. But rather than bore you with a list of specs, why not watch a video about it instead? Check out this rundown by MKBHD:

So are you guys as excited about this as I am, or are you gonna wait for something *cough* *cough* better? Comment away!

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HTC One S: My Personal Device

HTC has gone through a number of changes over the years. Some good and some bad. For the most part they've done well in the mobile industry. Especially with their current flagship line, the One series. I personally own the T-mobile One S and in my opinion, it's a great device. It has 1.5ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a gig of RAM, a 4.3" qhd amoled display with a pentile matrix,  and Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC's Sense 4 running on top of it. You can run custom roms with Android 4.0.4 and Sense 4.1, but I'll save the hacking for another post.

HTC has been known for their excellent build quality and the One S is no exception. It has aluminum uni-body design with beautiful gorilla glass 2 display, and is only 0.31" thin. It feels great in your hand, but with this incredibly clean design comes a few sacrifices. The One S does not have any option for expandable storage so you are stuck with the 16gbs of on board memory. It also does not have a removable battery. That, to me, would not be a problem if the battery was bigger. It only has a 1650mAh battery....yeah, that's not very big. The battery life is alright but I just don't see why they haven't increased the battery size. With higher resolutions displays that are getting bigger everyday, you'll need a bigger battery to compensate. I hate to compare companies, but the Galaxy S III has a 2100mAh battery that is also removable, just sayin...

One of the best things about this device, and the series as well, is the camera. It has a numerous amount of great features such a burst mode, HD 1080p video recording, the ability to capture still pictures while shooting video, and much more. The pictures are clear and crisp in most lighting conditions, with the except of very dim situations. It's the best camera on a phone that I've ever used. 

Like I said before, this phone is running HTC's latest version of Sense UI, of which I am a fan. Although it is much more memory hungry than stock Android, I think if they toned down the code a little it could be a much more viable option. A lot of people find it too obtrusive and in your face, but I happen to enjoy a lot of the little customizations and features they've added to ICS. 

Things such as the lock screen giving you direct access to the apps in your doc, music playback, and text messages, they've made it much easier to add widgets to your home screens, and the animations are very much toned down from previous versions of Sense.

One gripe I do have with the custom UI is the way they've changed the recent apps menu. 

Although it looks nice, the style of the menu makes closing recent apps unnecessarily complicated; and only being able to see one app at a time and having to swipe them upwards, makes it much time consuming and frustrating.

The newest version of HTC's keyboard is an improvement over previous versions as well. The buttons are large and it is easy to type on. But their implementation of Trace input, which is a Swype rip off, is just not up to the level of usability that Swype is. It's very difficult to input the word you're aiming for if you are not 100% with your 'trace'. It is also quite cumbersome to go back and change a word that you've already input. One of the most useless features about the keyboard are the small directional arrows at the bottom. If nothing else, for me, these are simply a guard rail so as not to accidentally press the home button while typing. 

Over all, this a great device; and one of the 2 best phones in T-mo's current line up. Does it have flaws? Yes. But that doesn't mean it should be over looked. If I could suggest one thing to HTC, I would tell them put in bigger batteries. Other than that, this phone is awesome. 

If you would like to know any other detail, hit me up in the comments or on twitter @tbc_lain.

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iOS 6: Playing Catch-up(UPDATED)

iOS 6 has been available for a while now. While it is a nice update, I never felt it deserved the title of iOS 6. For me, it just isn't a big enough update to make the leap from 5.1.1 to 6. At best I think it should've been deemed iOS 5.2, and I'm not the only one who feels this way. 

What Apple is doing with their current software, and hardware for that matter, are things that Android has implemented long ago. It is nice that they finally have turn by turn navigation, but Android has had Google Maps with built in navigation for a few years now. They now have tab syncing for Safari, something that Android has had for years with Chrome to Phone, and now Chrome itself syncs across devices. What I'm getting at is that while these are nice updates to have, they are not revolutionary like Apple claims.

The photo above states that iOS 6 is The world's most advanced mobile operating system and it just isn't. To me, this os has gotten stale. It has a had a few a aesthetic updates like the ability to change the wallpaper and the additions of folders, but again these are things that Android had in it's first version. I have yet to see any major changes to the iOS since its debut.

With Apple's business model of releasing one new phone a year, you would think they would be blowing us away with incredible innovations, right? On the contrary. The iPhone 5 introduced many new features that were called revolutionary, but we've seen these things before, just not  on an iPhone. They are only matching the Android phones on the market. There, I said it. In my opinion Android has been leading in innovation on the mobile software front while Apple is taking their implementations and saying they are brand new. Don't even get me started on the notification bar. 

This could just be the Android fan boy in me talking but, I for one am tired of the same old things from the big A. Aren't you? Let me know below!

UPDATE: After actually seeing some of the features in action, I like iOS 6. Do I think it's enough for the 6th edition of Apple's os? Maybe. Overall, most of the changes I've noticed are aesthetic. That said, they look nice. I like the new sharing menu, the way the app store looks, and the ability to post tweets and statuses from the notification bar. But my favorite feature is definitely the fact that you no longer leave the app store after every download. You also don't have to input your password for every download/update, unless you are buying a paid app for the first time. 

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The iPhone 5: We All Knew...

Let me start off this article by saying that I myself am not a big iOS fan. It has a few things going for it but it just doesn't capture my attention.

I prefer the look, feel and customization of Android.

Not let's get right into it!

The iPhone 5 was everything we expected. Literally almost everything was exactly like the leaks and rumors. 

There were very few actual surprises other than the camera and the name of the new connector, Lightning.

I think that's why I felt that this launch event was rather boring. When Phil Schiller took the stage to announce this "revolutionary" device, we all watched in amazement as the same features we've known about for months, were made official. 

The screen size, bigger battery, LTE, new connector, and so on were all correct. This had to be one of the most leaked devices to date. Since Apple only releases one phone per year people are constantly looking for information about it; as a result, I think some of the magic was lost. 

Part of me wanted Apple to come out with a phone that looked nothing like what we'd speculated. Something that would've really blown me away.

But they didn't and that doesn't matter. It's Apple, so people will still be lining up to buy it. 

Two things that did surprise me were the new iPod Nano and iPod Touch.

I'll start with the iPod touch. I really like the look of this device, and I was happy to hear about the improved specs. It finally has a dual core processor and a much better camera. I personally own the 64gb 4th gen iTouch and primarily use it for music(obviously) and gaming. One of the biggest gripes I have with it is the so-called fluidity of iOS. Apple's mobile operating system is always touted as being more 'fluid' than Android, but it just isn't the case on my iTouch. At least not on the older generations. It also has a bigger screen which makes for a nice game play improvement as well as making it better for over all media viewing. I even like the colors. I think it is a very nice array of choices. The only feature I find myself just wondering Why? about is the Loop. I just don't know how in a meeting discussing the new iTouch features, someone could stand up and say, You know what the new iPod Touch needs? A wrist strap! I can only imagine the room was filled with thunderous applause after that...

Now let's not forget the new iPod Nano! Well, quite frankly I wish I could. I do not like the new design of the Nano at all. In my opinion I think it just looks more like a toy than an Apple product. Don't get me wrong, the new features like the fm radio and the bigger 2.5" touch screen are nice, but that still means I would have to look at it. The one thing that really gets me are the icons. Apple has been known for it's square icons ever since the launch of the very first iPhone. So I just can't wrap my head around why they chose to use round bubbly looking circles that resemble some sort of candy, rather than apps. But I digress. I'm sure it will appeal to some, just not me. 

Last but not least we have the brand new Ear Pods. Apple says it took them 3 years to make these. To which I have to say, seriously? While design wise they look quite nice in a futuristic sci-fi kind of way, I still wonder how it took so long to come up with these.

All in all it seems like a successful, if a bit lack luster event for Apple. With 3 new devices just released, tell me, which one are you going for? Or are you going to hold off for latest in the world of Android? Comment away!

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