Other Reviews - 12/15 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

Review + Giveaway: JBuds J4M Headphones By JLab - When Ruggedized Actually Works, And Works Well

Posted by David Ruddock in Contests / Giveaways, Other Reviews, Reviews

Ruggedized - doesn't the word just conjur up images of a tiger eating a Toughbook?

When I received the J4M headphones from JLab, I was unsure of how "rugged" an in-ear headphone could actually be. So, I decided to treat them less than, shall we say, "gently" over the last few weeks.

Now, it's not like I've gone dunking them in water or buried them in sand at the beach - that kind of behavior is at your own risk. But, I can say the J4M is a tough little piece of kit that won't disappoint in the durability department.

Aug

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Keyboard Dock Revisited - This Time With TouchWiz UX

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Other Reviews, Reviews

A little less than a week ago, Artem shared his thoughts on the keyboard dock for the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Since this was before the official TouchWiz UX (our review) came out, I figured it deserved another go, as the update fixed several issues.

I'm only going to take on the things that were software related issues this go around, as other aspects (like design) have already been covered. However, I would like to say that, despite its likeness to Apple products, I really like the overall design and feel of this keyboard. It's clean, sleek, and looks great with the white version of the Tab 10.1.

Aug

[Updated] Deep Review: Primo Power Core 8200 mAh Portable Battery Pack - Juice When You Need It, And A Whole Lot Of It

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: August 9th, 2011

If there is one thing I constantly have to think about on a pretty much daily basis, it's juice. Not the kind of juice you pour yourself in the morning at breakfast, but the kind that is needed to power by insatiable electronics on the go. Last August, Phonesuit sent me a review unit of their 1000 mAh Primo Cube, but this year they really stepped up their game and sent over a whopping 8200 mAh portable charger called the Primo Power Core, compared to which the Cube is a mere drop in the bucket.

The Primo Power Core originally caught my attention for 3 reasons:

First and foremost, its massive 8200mAh capacity, which should be able to recharge a 1500mAh battery over 5 times.

Aug

[Updated] Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Keyboard Dock Review [+Video]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Tab 10.1, Other Reviews, Reviews, Samsung, Videos

Last Updated: August 9th, 2011

Intro

Update 8/9/11: Cameron took the keyboard out for a spin after the TouchWiz UX update and posted his impressions here. In short, it fixes some bugs, but most of the shortcomings remain in my opinion, and my verdict doesn't change.

Some people may never end up updating to TouchWiz UX, so I'm leaving the review below intact.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is currently my favorite Android tablet, so I was excited to see how some of its accessories, like the keyboard dock in this review, pan out. If the tablet is so drool-inducing, how bad can a keyboard dock made specifically for it be?

Jun

[CyanogenMod 7 Theme Roundup Part 2] Five More Ways To Make It Yours

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Last week, we dropped our first CyanogenMod 7 Theme Roundup, and since then, we've gotten several great theme suggestions, as well as a bundle of requests to do another roundup - so here we are! This edition of the roundup brings some really nice offerings from the theming community. Everything from mellow colors with tones of blue and grey, to multiple colors that really stand out, there should be something for everyone. Without further ado, let's get started!

MattedBlues by Team MattedBlues

After last week's roundup went live, we immediately began receiving requests to feature this theme. After taking a look at it, I can see why - this theme is amazing.

Jun

[Review] Otterbox Defender Case For The Motorola XOOM: It's Like A Fat Suit For Chris Farley

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Other Reviews, Reviews, XOOM

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

The Motorola XOOM, the world's first Honeycomb tablet, costs a pretty penny - between $600 and $800, depending on the variant. If you picked up a XOOM in the last few months, you've probably asked yourself whether you should get some sort of protection, and, if so, which option you should go with.

Motorola has released a few official cases, such as the $40 PORTFOLIO, but most aftermarket case manufacturers, such as Otterbox, Amzer, Trident, and others, haven't put out many options. The PORTFOLIO case, while decently priced, has too many faults, and I simply can't recommend it unless it is reworked from the ground up: it appears to scratch the XOOM, has no charging port, USB, or HDMI cutouts (really, Motorola?

Jun

[CyanogenMod 7 Theme Roundup] Sexy Up Your Cyanogen With These Five Top-Notch Themes

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

As Android users, we have a certain amount of freedom with our devices - especially if you're running a rooted device with a custom ROM like CyanogenMod. One of those freedoms is the ability change the look of Android with themes. In the past, changing themes required booting into recovery, flashing a zip file, and rebooting. On occasion, the theme wouldn't work correctly, so if you didn't perform a backup before you flashed, you were basically out of luck. That all changed with the T-Mobile theming engine, though - and it wasn't long before it made its way into CyanogenMod. Thanks to this theming engine, themes can now be universal among devices and changed on-the-fly, so regardless of what device you're running, any of the themes built for Theme Chooser should work without a hitch.

Jun

[Accessory Review] Your Android Phone/Tablet + SuperTooth Disco = The Boombox, Evolved

Posted by David Ruddock in Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Did you used to have a boombox? Don't you miss the freedom it gave you to enjoy your music at high volumes, headphone-free and cordless any place, any time? Sure, earbuds and noise-cancelling headphones are a lot more portable (and polite to everyone around you), but when you weren't concerned with drowning out all ambient sound or disturbing others, the boombox really was just... better. And it had so many great uses: In the kitchen. Outside. During household chores. By the pool. At the beach. The boombox made ambient music an option everywhere you went.

Unfortunately, boomboxes (good ones, at least) were big, heavy, ate through expensive disposable batteries, and were limited to physical media playback.

Jun

[Boot Animation Roundup Part 5] Come See The Amazing Gingergut Man

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, Bootscreen Animation Series, News, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Welcome back to another lovely edition of our Boot Animation Roundup! We've been scouring the net for the past couple of weeks looking for the coolest boot animations that we could find, and here's what we came up with: a hungry Android, the guts of a Gingerbread man, a new take on a classic, some TRON-esque lovin', and a little somethin' somethin' for all the gamers out there.

Don’t know how to change your boot animation? Take a look at our primer on the matter.

Don’t forget to take a look at the last four editions of this roundup: Vol. 1, Vol.

Jun

[Review] Sonos Controller For Android And Sonos S5 Wireless Speaker System: So-So Performance In A Svelte Package

Posted by Brian O'Toole in App Reviews, Applications, Devices By Manufacturer, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

Sonos is a company well-known in the tech industry for their line of wireless speaker systems, designed to let you sling music around your house without the hassle of complex setup processes or routing wires through ceilings and walls. To mark the launch of their Sonos Controller for Android application, Sonos generously loaned me a full multi-room system consisting of two Sonos S5 speaker units and a wireless ZoneBridge router. Given the buzz surrounding Sonos's products, it seemed best to review the system as a whole, viewing the application and hardware as a complete set. Read on to see how it all stacked up.