Aaron Gingrich
Aaron is a geek who has always had a passion for technology. When not working or writing, he can be found spending time with his family, playing a game, or watching a movie.

23
Aug
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Satechi Swift Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review: $30 Of Awesome

Posted by in Other Reviews

When it comes to speakers, cost can make a huge difference. Cheaper speakers tend to pack lower-grade materials, while more expensive ones tend to pack better. But every now and then, you'll find a true gem; a speaker that performs well above its price range. And luckily for me, the Satechi Swift is such a gem.

Portable Bluetooth speakers in particular are a dime a dozen, though the most well known is undoubtedly the Jawbone Jambox. It's a good speaker, but with a retail price of nearly $200, you're paying for panache as much as you are for sound. What makes the Swift so special?

21
Aug
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T-Mobile MyTouch Q Review: There Are Good Budget Phones, And Then There's The MyTouch Q

Posted by in myTouch Q, News, Phone Reviews, T-Mobile

With a 1.4GHz single-core CPU, a majorly outdated version of Android, and a $50 price tag, the MyTouch Q is a hard sell to enthusiasts. (In fact, I'd bargain that literally no enthusiasts would buy it.) But as I explained just a few days ago, there's a lot more to the smartphone picture than devices that cost a few hundred dollars and can do everything short of make breakfast. A very large percentage of consumers have no desire to use their phone as a media streaming device or a mobile gaming powerhouse. They instead prefer to buy something simple that won't overwhelm them with gizmos they don't need, and save some cash in the process.

21
Aug
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Acer Launches Two Low-End Liquid Phones - The Gallant And Gallant Duo

Posted by in Liquid Gallant, Liquid Gallant Duo, News

Between the Pantech Marauder, T-Mobile MyTouch Q, and now Acer's Liquid Gallant/Liquid Gallant Duo, it certainly seems like cheap Android devices are the new feature phones.

Acer's newest offering illustrates what I'm talking about. The company has launched two phones - the Liquid Gallant and the Liquid Gallant Duo - that are very low-end and amazingly low-price, checking in at just £149 (about $235). Take a look at the specs:

  • 1GHz MTK6575 (single-core) CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 4GB storage + microSD slot
  • 4.3" qHD display
  • Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
  • 5MP rear shooter
  • 1500mAh battery
  • 129 x 65.5 x 9.9mm, 145g
  • 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0

That may not be a lot of punch, but at that price, it will be enough to pull a lot of dumb- and feature-phone users into the smartphone world.

19
Aug

[Weekend Poll] Is Your Primary Android Device Rooted?

Posted by in Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see On Average, How Many Apps Do You Purchase Per Month?

Look around the web and it seems like whenever anyone has a "how can I make my <Android device> do ______," the answer is invariably "root it." And to anyone involved in the Android community, you get the impression that most Android users are rooted. Unfortunately, what people tend to forget is that while a few million Android users may be rooted, there are hundreds of millions of active Android devices out there - meaning rooted users represent a small minority of owners.

16
Aug
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Xiaomi Phone 2 Announced, Packs Quad-Core S4 CPU, 4.3" 720p Display, MIUI, And A $310 Price Tag

Posted by in News, Xiaomi / MIUI

Chinese company Xiaomi (known for their popular ROM MIUI) has just announced a new phone, and this one looks to be every bit as impressive today as the original was when it was announced a year ago. The specs on the cleverly named Xiaomi Phone 2 stand out even in the world of quad-core superphones, and the company has managed to do so while maintaining a price point of just $310 USD.

  • 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 CPU (Adreno 320 GPU, 28nm)
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16GB memory
  • Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
  • 4.3" 720p IPS display
  • 2,000mAh battery
  • 8MP rear camera, 2MP front
  • 10.2mm thick
  • MIUI ROM
  • $310 USD
  • Launching in China in October

2012-08-16_07h03_00 2012-08-16_07h03_25 2012-08-16_07h03_51

The company claims some ultra-impressive benchmark results (above left), and we're inclined to believe them.

15
Aug
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Pantech Marauder Review: "Budget" Isn't Such A Bad Place To Be

Posted by in Marauder, Phone Reviews, Verizon Wireless

While everyone loves to gush over flagship phones, the truth of the matter is that for many customers, cheaper phones - be they last-gen's flagships or this-gen's budget devices - are the route of choice. Traditionally, the former route tended to work out better, especially for enthusiasts; after all, generation-old flagships tend to still outperform and out-feature current-gen budget devices. Plus, high-end devices generally have a ton of developer support and are usually better supported by the manufacturer. But is buying a used flagship still the better option for a budget-conscious consumer? After spending some time with a brand new budget phone from Pantech and Verizon, I'm not so sure.

13
Aug
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Googorola, Phase 1: Trim Product Lines And 20% Of Workforce, Focus On Making Just A Few High-End Products

Posted by in Google, Motorola, News

Just three short months ago, China approved Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility, effectively finalizing the deal. Apparently, neither company is looking to waste any time, as Motorola's new Google-driven leadership has already revealed the basics of the big turnaround plan. The first step: lay off 20% of its employees (including about 1,330 in the US) and close 94 offices around the globe. Given that Moto's phone unit has only made a profit in 6 months of the last 4 years, that's not so surprising.

What is perhaps more interesting is that Googorola will cut the number of devices made to "just a few," including dropping low-end devices from the portfolio entirely.

12
Aug
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[Weekend Poll] On Average, How Many Apps Do You Purchase Per Month?

Posted by in Apps/Games, Polls
Last Updated: August 19th, 2012

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see If Your Device Had Google Wallet Support, Would You Use The Service?

We've heard developers gripe that paid apps are very rarely successful numerous times in the past, be it because of piracy or because Android owners simply aren't willing to pay. About a year ago, we asked how many apps readers had purchased in the last month; 71% had purchased 2 or less, and 45% hadn't purchased any at all. But that was a year ago, and Android is a much more mature OS now. Time for an updated poll.

11
Aug
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WebMD Releases Android App For Expecting And New Parents: WebMD Baby

Posted by in Applications, News

Having a baby is a huge task, and anyone who has been there can attest to the fact that there is a ton you have to do ahead of time to prepare - and many times more to keep up with after. Thankfully, there are many resources to help out, like books and magazines, but something a bit more interactive would certainly help things go even smoother. Enter WebMD's new(ish) Baby app, a comprehensive guide that compiles and organizes the relevant information from WebMD's absolute plethora.

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The first time you start up the app, you're prompted to login. Once you do so, it asks you to add information on your baby.

10
Aug

Cyanogen Mod 9.0 Stable Released For 21 Devices And Counting

Posted by in News

CyanogenMod is a pretty big deal in the Android modding world, and there's a good reason for that: it's fast, lean, well-featured, and supports a ton of devices that manufacturers have abandoned. When Android 4.0 was released, the CM team made it clear that CM9 (based on ICS) would be a long time in the making, as they were going to focus on doing everything properly and cleaning up the code. And now, as promised yesterday, CM9 stable is rolling out en masse.

So far, the supported devices:

  • LG Nitro HD/Optimus LTE
  • Samsung Galaxy Tabs
  • Samsung Galaxy Note (Intl)
  • Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GSM/CDMA)
  • Sony Ericson Xperia Mini Pro
  • Samsung Galaxy S II (Intl/AT&T/GSM)
  • Sony Ericson Xperia Neo
  • Samsung Galaxy S
  • Samsung Epic 4G
  • LG Optimus Sol
  • Samsung Nexus S (+/- 4G)
  • Sony Ericson Xperia Arc
  • Sony Ericson Live With Walkman

Clearly the list so far is dominated by Samsung and Sony Ericson, but builds are still going up every 20 minutes or so - the build bot is just churnin' them out.

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