Cranking out news for the geeks, music buffs and gossip junkies, my way. -Greg

The Samsung Galaxy S2 has actually been around for a while, but hadn’t quite made its way to the US until more recently. I have upgraded from my Captivate, the Galaxy S, recently and I’m very happy with my decision. I’ll be the first to admit that the first generation had 2 major flaws. The first being poor if any GPS performance and the second was the ridiculous delay in receiving the official Froyo ( Android 2.2) update. Both of those issues have since been resolved and the phone is still in my opinion a fantastic device. That being said choosing to replace it with the newest Galaxy S2 was fairly easy, with the exception of the choosing between the 2 versions, Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy S2 LTE or “Skyrocket“. Both these phones have 4G and are very similar with the main differences being the obvious LTE, as well as the Skyrocket has a larger screen (4.5″ vs 4.3″) and faster processor (1.5GHz vs 1.2GHz). Key factor to note is LTE is still unavailable in the Saint Louis, MO area and I am not a fan of anything larger that 4″ screens. So, you can see why my choice wasn’t the LTE version of the Galaxy S2.

Enough about my decision, the phone itself is outstanding. I see NO lag at all when opening apps, swiping pages, taking pictures, or anything that doesn’t require Internet. The 4G HSPA+ is no slouch either as I flip through web pages with ease. I have seen pretty good speed tests around a consistent 3Mb down and 1.5 up. This is comical in comparison to the LTE network, but I’m also not downloading uncompressed 1080P movies onto my phone either. The phone comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and is very good looking in itself. The phone included “AllShare“, as in the previous Galaxy S, which I was happy to see. Samsung’s AllShare makes its a cake walk to share media across DLNA supported networks and devices. The physical attributes of the phone leave it one of the thinnest and lightest phones made to date. It has a 4.3″ Super AMOLED screen made with none other than Gorilla Glass. The upgraded 8MP camera includes an LED flash this time around and supports 1080P video. They also included a 2MP front facing camera which has worked well video chatting using the included video app Qik. Some other features new to the GS2 worth mentioning are Samsung’s Kies Air and Voice Talk by Vlingo.

Kies Air lets you manage your phones content and more when it’s connected to a WiFi network by using a web browser.

Voice Talk from Vlingo takes voice control a step forward and using your phone using voice commands only pretty easy.

Overall I think they have really made a great phone even better. It’s going to be interesting to see what they will have in store for the GS3. I’m sure it will have a faster processor, but as you can see they add a lot more than voice apps and faster CPU’s when they create their next gen phones. When designing their phones Samsung takes it Siri-ously. -Greg

I made a New Years resolution not to hate on Taylor Swift, Ford, Apple and pretty much anything in general that I’ve grown to dislike. I think I’ve done well to stick to it and feel good about that. So I’m not about to break that resolution here. That doesn’t mean I can’t review something right? Today Apple announced the iPad 2 and by nature I’m a geek so I sat in the front row (on engadget) and watched Steve Jobs and a few others tell us all about it. I have to say I was impressed for several reasons. Light, thinner, faster, cameras, and the battery life and price stayed the same. Good show Apple, good show! However I can’t simply applaud them without pointing out a few things against them. First up the obvious still no Flash support. Steve, you may think the future is html 5 and Flash is dying, but you’d still be the only one. Again no USB, I think Steve is just being stubborn. How about no 4G? If you’re trying to be a leader then why wouldn’t you use the latest in mobile network technologies? No, you won’t find support for LTE or HSPA+ on the iPad 2; however it will be sold on AT&T and Verizon’s 3G networks.

Now, let’s take another look at the price, yes it’s true that it stayed the same, however if you want HDMI, then you’ll have to fork out another $40. If you want their nifty cover that seems to be actually part of the design then you’re looking at another $40 for the poly and $80 for the leather. Adding these seemingly necessities could cost you $40-$120 more just for HDMI and the case, I’m sorry “cover”. Well that puts you up a few notches in price. Since there is no 4G support, USB, and Flash then you’re loosing a more than a few “how much is it really worth” dollars in my mind. So yeah the iPad 2’s out the door price is a little cheaper than the other major tab players, but your getting a lower end tab. -Greg

Here is a nice comparison chart provided by phandroid.com:

 You’ve heard “go big or go home”, well Motorola could use that as their new slogan. I had planned on waiting out my next 2 years on AT&T with my Captivate. I love it, don’t really have the problems (except that notoriously slow GPS problem) or complaints of some owners and have had it running Froyo for a while. I am more than satisfied and had planned on only looking to grab a tab after the frenzy that is about to be unleashed in 2011. I planned to let every major player get their tab out and fully tested and in the hands of the public before making my decision. However, Motorola has decided to tempt my patience with not only a tab, but also a phone.Motorola is looking to top Samsung in the Android Phone and Tab market, and help leave Apple’s iPhone and iPad in the dust.

I’ll start with their tab, Motorola’s XOOM:

• Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
• 10.1″ screen
• 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 CPU
• 1280×800 resolution
• 1GB RAM
• 32GB internal
• front and rear facing camera
• records 720p video
• plays 1080p
• 32GB microSD
• HDMI & USB 2.0
• Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyroscope
• 3G/4G
• and of course Flash.

Safe to say it’s pretty well the top of its class. This out of all the tabs I read about from CES is the one that caught everyone’s eye and are sure to be purchasing. The Galaxy S and iPad (maybe even iPad 2) just can’t compete with this. Of course it’s only to be expected that the devices will continue to get better. So, I thought that once it had been out for a month or so, I’d grab one. Now somehow either in concentration for only Captivate and tab related posts or my laziness of scanning Android related blogs all together, I missed Motorola’s game killer of a phone the Atrix. Thanks to John for pointing out this mammoth of a phone and creating a stir in my head on what the heck do I do now? If you haven’t read much on this phone (as I hadn’t) then you might not understand the dilemma that I have now found myself in. So, let me enlighten you..

Motorola’s Atrix:

• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• 4″ qHD display – 24-bit
• 2GHz NVIDIA Tegra dual core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB internal
• microSDHC 32GB
• 5MP Camera w/ Flash
• VGA front facing camera
• Dual microphone
• 1930mAh battery for 9hrs of talk time
• Full version of Firefox
• 3G/4G
• and of course Flash

As if that’s not enough, this thing docks and I mean it docks. First, how about a multimedia dock that connects to your TV and lets you use a remote to playback everything you could think of. Next up, how about docking your phone into a laptop shell whichturns it into a full fledge laptop. You beginning to see where my problem is, do I buy the tab or upgrade my phone to the Atrix. I’m thinking the cost will be similar, XOOM I’m looking at around $600. For the Atrix I’m looking at $150-$200 for the phone and then another $150 for the laptop dock and maybe another $100 for the media dock. Really either way you go it’s going to be about $600, then the additional data plan. If it wasn’t for my new truck and upcoming honeymoon, I’d probably get both <insert huge grin>. Maybe your in the same dilemma, maybe you have an easy answer, maybe you just don’t care (loser). Well I leave you with the latest video from Motorola for the Atrix, enjoy. -Greg

Google is not only complaining that ISP’s have dropped the ball on get high-speed Internet out to homes, but they are willing to prove it. Google has announced plans to launch 1Gbps fiber out to 500,000 households. I hope a the very least this will light some fires out there and get the US on the move towards higher speeds and to reach more rural areas. Google’s bitpipe might be an innovative pipe, how about:

• Integrated shared 802.11n WiFi. Imagine being able to roam authenticated(!) with your laptop or iPad through town hopping on and off people’s WiFi access points. This can be done in a way that is completely secure for the network you’re roaming on
• Integrated picocells: imagine Google integrating picocells and then leasing them out to Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T or allowing people to configure them to their network of choice. Better 2G, 3G, and 4G coverage for all would be the result

Services like these could make Google stand tall and make the current providers anxious to jump aboard. Imagine AT&T leasing bandwidth from Google, there’s something to ponder. I would love to see AT&T become “just another carrier”, rather than the giant they still are today. Google you will have a lot of work ahead of you to make this reality nationwide, but I think you have every household behind you. -Greg

Want to read more, ars technica has some info to soak up..