CrowdGadgets Episode 22
Download: CrowdGadgets Podcast Archive
This week we talk all about our impressions of CES 2012, including the plethora of new smartphones, tablets, and other exciting devices that we announced. We also welcome guest host Grahm Skee, founder of Anythingbutipod and Director of Branded Websites at CrowdGather. You definitely don’t want to miss this week’s episode of CrowdGadgets!
03:09 – Sharp’s 8K television
04:34 – Nokia Lumia 900
06:22 – Fujitsu to bring smartphone line to North America
06:38 – Gorilla Glass 2
08:16 – Microsoft keynote impressions
12:04 – Windows Phone discussion
16:28 – Ice Cream Sandwich vs. ChromeOS
18:00 – John’s Transformer Prime
20:43 – “New” Transformer Prime
22:27 – The tablet screens we dream of
23:07 – Lenovo Yoga convertible laptop
25:56 – Toshiba 5.1-inch 21:9 prototype tablet
27:27 – Samsung Galaxy Player hands-on
29:35 – Nokia 710 released
29:41 – HTC Titan 2 released
31:18 – Sony Xperia S announced
32:22 – Ugly Samsung televisions
33:22 – Huawei Ascend announced
35:36 – “Smoked by Windows Phone” competition
37:03 – Could William and Grahm cover CES with one Windows Phone?
38:36 – HTC Windows Phone docks
39:49 – Sprint’s LTE roadmap and rejection of Windows Phone
41:07 – Sprint to embed NFC chips into all high-end LTE phones
43:05 – HZO phone water-resistant stuff
44:05 – Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx and Droid 4
46:28 – Motorola hates stock Android devices, and so do the carriers
47:37 – Kia’s Uvo technology
51:25 – $250 Asus tablet with 7-inch display and Tegra 3
Hosts: Calob Horton, John Freml, Stuart Cope, and William Devereux
Guest: Grahm Skee
Podcast Editor: Calob Horton
Newsletter Editor: John Freml
Subscribe: iTunes | Zune | RSS
Follow: Facebook | Twitter | Website
CrowdGadgets is the official podcast of the CrowdGather Gadget Network, which includes Anythingbutiphone, Anythingbutipod, Good and EVO, Nothing But Tablets, Pocketables, StreakSmart, and Zune Boards. Read the latest news from the network below.
News from around the CrowdGather Gadget Network
Anythingbutiphone
A few new smartphones were announced at CES, including the thinnest Android smartphone, and the Droid 4, but the real gem was the Nokia Lumia 900. This AT&T-exclusive Windows Phone won multiple “best of show” awards and will be sold alongside the HTC Titan II, featuring a 16MP camera. And for those looking for HTC Windows Phone docks, they’re already available at the Microsoft Store.
Anythingbutipod
Sony announced last week that its Android Z Walkman will be coming to Europe and the US soon, but the device is a bit of a mixed bag: it doesn’t support some file formats and a few extra hardware features are nowhere to be found. On the other hand, the device does has a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, great network connectivity, and good sound enhancements. You can look for it in late February with a price tag ranging from $250 to $330.
Good and EVO
Last week was all about the HTC EVO View 4G tablet on G&E: we reviewed the Blurex Leather Slim Portfolio Case for the 7-inch tablet, and we also gave you some helpful hints about how to permanently disable the CDMA radio, how to fix WiFi connectivity problems after upgrading to Honeycomb, and how to “de-Sense” your tablet. In other news, the latest OTA update for the EVO 3D finally removes CIQ – something lots of EVO users had asked for.
Nothing But Tablets
Lately, we’ve been showing you how to get Android devices set up with game controllers, including other Android devices, Wii controllers, X360 controllers, and PS3 controllers. If you’re after more accessories, we give you tips for making them yourself. Also, Apple rejected Taposé, and we’re not happy about it. CES was this week, but don’t read too much into prototypes. As for tablets that are in consumer hands now, the Prime got ICS this week.
Pocketables
There were some truly amazing tablet and smartphone prototypes shown off last week at CES. While some were really thin, they had to compromise on battery life and specs to get there. However, we’d rather have better battery life than the thinnest phone. Toshiba also showed off a 5.1-inch, 21:9 tablet prototype this week, which is probably mainly for movies. Plus, we got an email confirming the impending release of ITG’s Windows 8-running xpPhone 2.
StreakSmart
CES may have been last week, where new tablets are shown off, but our good ol’ Streak tablet 7 still had a fairly eventful week: a version of the Ice Cream Sandwich ROM that we have been following for a while, brought to us by the amazing DJ_Steve and Giveen, was released and made available to download this week. It’s a beta build, but most ICS features are there now and functional. Take a look!
Zune Boards
Last week was another huge step forward for the Microsoft-Nokia partnership with the official announcement of the heavily rumored Nokia Lumia 900. The device brings with it a 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 4G LTE capabilities in the U.S., and the front-facing camera that was missing in the 800. We’ve also seen a steady increase of apps in the Marketplace, which is now over 55,000!
