The first Android tablets are soon to hit our stores in what can only be described as the tip of a very large iceberg, every major and not so major manufacturer has a device on the horizon it would seem. Text entry on these Android devices is going to be important as it will be done through a virtual on-screen keyboard and plays a big part in the overall experience of a device. Swype has a different approach to text entry which involves moving your finger over the letters in […]

I’ve just passed the 2.5 year mark with the N82 and I’m still looking for something that can replace it. As reported many times here, on Carrypad and on the XperiaX10 blog, my Xperia X10 isn’t up to the same standards. I’ve been looking at the Motorola  Droid XT720 and Nokia N8 as replacements but we’ll have to see about that soon. In the meantime, the N82 is doing a good job… Click for full version. ISO 100, F2.8, 1/333s

I’ve been quite surprised by how many of my non-tech friends have heard of the Motorola Droid X. Generally I’ve found that non-techies pretty much only recognize the iPhone, but Verizon must be doing a decent job of marketing upcoming devices here in the US. Tnkgrl, who always seems to have her hands on the latest smartphones, has graced us with a great Droid X unboxing. You can find one of her videos below (for the other, click through to her site for the first power-on video). One of the […]

Note: Article title is a tounge-in-cheek reference to a recent ARSTechnica article. See below for the real story. It’s actually all about the browser engine and platform, not the OS. As I begin a series of tests on the Aava prototype phone today, the first thing I wanted to get out of the way was a Sunspider javascript test. It’s CPU-intensive and forms an important part of the chain of events that take place to get a web application displayed on your browser. Yes, it’s one of many variables but […]

I was a bit surprised by the reaction to my post and tweets about the Aava Intel/Moorestown/MeeGo phone this afternoon. Engadget and Wired picked it up and did a sensible job of reporting that it’s a prototype but there are a lot of people out there that might not understand what this hardware and software really is. The issue is that the Aava phone is actually a reference design and development platform and it is unlikely to be a phone you’ll ever be able to buy. It’s likely to have […]

For those of you that don’t know who Mike Cane is, dont’ worry too much. This post is pretty-much aimed diredtly at him.  He’s a long-time customer, commenter and participant at UMPCPortal and Carrypad and runs a continuous chain of personal blogs (currently he’s at Mike Canes iPad Test) that  focus around the ebook theme. He’s also very opinionated, sometimes rude and one of the biggest procrastinators I know. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying that because he’s also happy to hear opinions. I like having him around. He’s […]

MeeGo Phone Browser (Aava Proto) Originally uploaded by umpcportal.com Just a quick post because I need to get away for an appointment this afternoon. For the next 48 hours i’ll have the Intel Moorestown-based Aava prototype phone. It’s a development platform running MeeGo core and an alpha-quality UI so don’t expect miracles here but I can see that at least Wifi and the browser are working so there’s at least something to demo. Stay tuned for a video look at the user interface, a few apps and maybe a look […]

I just discovered something that I’m guessing the world and his dog already knows about but despite possible embarrassment, I’m still going to write about it. I updated the firmware on my Xperia X10 yesterday (don’t get excited, it was just a maintenance release. I’m still waiting for the latest firmware to roll-out on unbranded X10s in Germany) and part of the procedure called for backing-up the applications using the free Astro File manager (good recommendation.) I had no idea that the file manager would simply create APKs on my […]