Last year, IDC forecasted that that year would be the end of the hey days for Android. IDC didn’t think that iOS would replace Android, but instead, it would be Windows Phone that will see tremendous growth in the coming years. In fact, they forecasted a 46.2% CAGR 2012 – 2016 for Windows Phone. 2012 has gone, and we’re now in 2013. Windows Phone has been, at best, interesting. I think it’s still far too premature to say that it…
The first time I heard about Arduino was when Google announced, at Google I/O 2011, the Android Open Accessory Development Kit based on Arduino. Arduino is a prototyping system for embedded projects, something a hobbyist would use to build all sorts of interesting electronic gadgets. I was quite excited about the announcement because, well, it’s an interesting development for Android, and also, I love the idea of building interesting electronic gadgets. I haven’t spent much time building electronic gadgets. There…
I feel a little strange reviewing a product without really knowing precisely what that product is. It is an Android tablet, that’s for sure. But I’ve yet to figure out exactly what sort of tablet it is. You know, as in its make and model. This Android tablet is a gift I received as compensation for tolerating a 90 min (or as it in fact almost 2 hrs?) timeshare presentation. I had been considering getting an Android tablet. I’m already…
In all the recent excitement over the ICS release for the Samsung Galaxy S II (SGS2), I forgot there was also news about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III (SGS3). Yes, the 3rd generation Galaxy S. You didn’t think Samsung would stop at the SGS2, did you? Samsung’s Galaxy S series of Android smartphones have been extremely successful. Everyone’s expecting the SGS3 to take over as Samsung’s Android smartphone flagship in 2012. So what do we know about the SGS3?…
The much anticipated Android 4.0.3 “Ice Cream Sandwich” (ICS) ROM for Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S II (SGS2) phone has just been officially released. This comes after over 3 months of “leaked” ROMs that has allowed many eager SGS2 users, like myself, to experience what ICS has to offer, and to preview what Samsung has been prepping for this final release. This is version “LPQ”, built on 8 March 2012, and became public five days later on 13 March 2012. The…
On the day everyone wants to talk about the new iPad, let me do something quite different. I’m going to talk about the Asus Transformer Prime instead. Asus launched its latest Android tablet last December with the most awesome hardware specifications the Android platform has seen. Perhaps even the best of all tablets out there. It’s the first tablet with a quad-core CPU. The new iPad announced today still sports a dual-core CPU (with quad-core graphics, whatever that means…). I…
ROMs of the latest Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) have been leaking for the Samsung Galaxy S II (SGS2) for some time. The leaks started coming back in December. I’ve been tempted to try the ROMs, but some usability problems were reported, so I held back. I wanted a ROM that was mostly workable for daily use. The leaks continued to come, and right now, the latest available is LP6, released 17th January. Going by reports on XDA, it…
In case you have not noticed, the Android Market is currently running a fabulous promotion. For 10 days, 10 applications will be released on each day, priced at just 10 cents each. This promotion is in celebration of the market’s 10 billionth download. It’s not only just 10 US cents in the US market, but it is also 10 Singapore cents in the Singapore market. Nice! So head over and fill up your Android device with these apps. Even if…
I watched the Samsung Galaxy Note launch event, the one that was held in London, the start of its world tour. No, I wasn’t there physically, but I watched it through webcast. The event was, overall, pretty impressive. I was particularly interested to find out how Samsung was trying to pitch the Galaxy Note, which in my opinion, was too large to be a phone, yet too small to be a tablet. Samsung thinks so too, so, what are they…
I was recently asked a simple question, but it turned out to be awfully difficult to answer: “What is the difference between iPhone and Android?” It was asked, quite obviously, by a lay person. First of all, the question is wrong. The iPhone is a specific type of phone, whereas Android refers to the software that runs on a variety of phones. The correct comparison would be between iOS and Android. It’s precisely because a lay person asked the question…
