Reviews - 26/69 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Galaxy Player 3.6 Review: Well, It Runs Android, So I Guess There's That

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Player 3.6, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: May 1st, 2012

The iPod may be dead, baby, dead, but that hasn't stopped Samsung from trying to enter the PMP market. The company's latest iterations of its Player line, the Galaxy Player 3.6 and 4.2, has landed and, not to put anything indelicately, but we're left to wonder why Samsung chose to enter this market, or what the company hopes to accomplish. After using the device for a few days, we're sure it's not going to shake up the media player market.

Before we take a look at this device, though, it seems like it would be appropriate to answer the question "Why?" The most direct corollary to this device is the iPod Touch.

Apr

MEElectronics S6 Sports Earbuds Review: $20 Worth Of Sound + $30 Worth Of Sportiness

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Reviews

Most earbuds are designed for use while mobile; after all, they're inherently more portable and discrete than headphones. But not all of them are made for heavy activity. Ever try running or hitting the gym with most off-the-shelf 'buds? I have, for years. It's usually not an enjoyable experience. They need to meet some pretty specific criteria:

The earbuds need to stay put at all times. Any regular fitness fan will tell you that getting in a sort of rhythm is pretty important, and it's nigh-impossible to do so if you're stopping every few minutes to fix your earbuds.
The cable needs to be just right.

Apr

Acer Iconia Tab A510 Review: 10.1 Inches Of Grade A Android Tablet

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Iconia Tab A510, Tablet Reviews

Last Updated: May 5th, 2012

Almost one year ago, Acer released its first Android-powered tablet: the Iconia Tab A500. It entered the market at an excellent price point, while still offering the same hardware specs as the then-current tablet top-dogs. As a result, the Android community embraced this budget powerhouse, making it one of the more popular Android tablets of 2011.

Fast-forward to the present, and the A500's successor, the A510, is now available. This is more of an incremental update to the A500, as it packs the NVIDIA's powerhouse quad-core Tegra 3 superchip, but the majority of the other specs are nearly identical to its predecessor.

Apr

[Game Review] 'The Dark Meadow: The Pact' Offers Touch Controls Done Right, Fistfuls Of Nightmares, And One Creepy Old Man

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Game Reviews, Games

Last Updated: April 29th, 2012

I want to put one thing on the table right away: I'm a huge fan of horror-actions games, so I have been insanely excited for the release of The Dark Meadow: The Pact for at least three months now. I've watched the trailer at least a few dozen times, read about the game for iOS (yes, this is a port), and done checked out any info I could find that wouldn't give away all the secrets of the game.

But, the more anticipation involved, the greater the chance for letdown, no? Fortunately, that's not the case with The Dark Meadow - this game is awesome.

Apr

HTC One X (Tegra 3) Review: It Does Everything But Make You A Sandwich (Coming In Android 5.0)

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, News, One X (Endeavor), Reviews

Last Updated: April 27th, 2012

In recent memory, there are only 2 phones I've been as excited to lay my hands on as the One X, and those are the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S II. There's a good reason for my excitement: this is the first phone to pack Nvidia's excellent Tegra 3 CPU. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, really; other touted features - such as the amazing unibody design, ultra high-quality camera, and beautiful screen - help build upon that excitement.

For those of you who have been waiting for the next wave of phones to drop, it's here. And it's amazing.

Apr

Asus Transformer Pad 300 Review: 85% Of The Premium Tablet Experience For 80% Of The Price

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Reviews, Transformer Pad 300

Last Updated: April 30th, 2012

Meet the TF300T, the newest addition to Asus's ever-expanding line of Android tablets. While the model number may suggest that it's the successor to the TF201 - the Transformer Prime - that's not exactly the case. Pick one up and it's immediately clear that this is really the successor to the TF101 (the original Transformer, or TF); it's wrapped in plastic like the 101 (the 201 is aluminum), and the dimensions are a bit more portly, as with the 101.

Perhaps more importantly, the price marks this as a successor to the 101 - and shows that the 300 slots below the 201.

Apr

[Review] Floating Widget Brings Widgets To The Foreground, But Comes With Trade-offs

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in App Reviews, Reviews

There has been a trend lately of apps being released that act more like traditional floating windows. LilyPad HD, OverSkeen, and AirTerm have all garnered a lot of interest, but they are single use apps. Floating Widget does just what its name suggests: it makes widgets float on top of your apps. The implementation is a little odd at first, but once you learn the rules, Floating Widget is useful in a number of situations.

Getting Started

The actual Floating Widget app isn't the most intuitive, and the instructions it offers at start-up are hard to follow until you actually dive in.

Apr

[Lightning Review] Capta: Thanks To Some Awesome Alien Goo, Tripod-ifying Your Phone Has Never Been Easier

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Other Reviews

How many times have you thought to yourself, "I really, really wish I could put my phone on a tripod!" Ten? Thirteen? Three-hundred-ninety-four? Regardless of whether or not you've ever actually said that to yourself, Kickstarter-lauched product Capta is an awesome little accessory that lets you do that (and more!).

So, what else can Capta do? Mostly, it can just hold your phone in various positions. This is actually incredibly helpful, though, for different functions. Watching videos? Put the phone in a more upright position. Need the phone n a more reclined position? No problem, Capta can handle that, too.

Apr

[Lightning Review] Samsung EHS-71 Earbuds: Great Materials Do Not Equal Great Sound

Posted by David Ruddock in Other Reviews, Reviews, Samsung

Last Updated: April 27th, 2012

There comes a time in every multinational electronics conglomerate's life when it tries to get into personal audio. Samsung isn't a particular stranger to the home theater side of sound, and some of its soundbar products actually review pretty decently. But a high-end headphone manufacturer, Samsung ain't. Search "samsung headphones" on Amazon, and you'll struggle to find anything costing more than $20.

The EHS71 is Samsung's first attempt to break into the premium earbud market. And, well, let's just cut to the chase: it's a wash. While marketing buzzwords like "lightweight aircraft aluminum," "high-performance balanced armature drivers," and "ultra micro design" may be able to sell the EHS71's on paper, the sad reality is that these premium buds are all show, no go in the audio department.

Apr

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 Review: The Best Cheap Android Tablet Around

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Reviews

Last Updated: April 30th, 2012

While we're all waiting around for the Galaxy Note 10.1 to arrive and blow us away with its S-Pen powers on a Photoshop-equipped tablet, Samsung has set a couple new tablets loose on the market. Headlining on price, the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 competes head-to-head with the Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire. This tablet's advantage: Android 4.0. At $250, it's the cheapest way to get the full Android experience.

When we first heard about a $250 7" Android tablet, it wasn't from Samsung, but ASUS. Since then, ASUS has grown suspiciously quiet on the subject of its cheap tablets (perhaps because of a change in plans?), but Samsung has taken up the mantle.