• 30Nov

    So many of you have asked us, "How can I get a job like yours?" over the past few years that we thought it was time we finally tried to answer the question. Unlike becoming a doctor, lawyer, or teacher, there is no clear-cut "Go to school, pass your exams, hunt for a job" path to becoming a tech/gadget/phone reviewer. Instead, there are many ways to wind up spending your days behind a monitor and surrounded in FedEx Paks and press releases. And while the paths we took to get here likely can't be replicated (and believe me, you wouldn't want to recreate our journeys for yourselves), we can offer up some advice on how to go about making your own reviews better and how to grow a following or even make a little money from them.

    For starters, we've hooked up with our friends at YouTube for a cool little contest: Over the holidays and New Year's you'll have the chance to post your own video review of a gadget. Together with YouTube we'll pick our three favorite submissions and they'll be featured on the YouTube home page to coincide with our coverage of CES 2010 the week of January 4th. 

    Before the contest starts, we want you to ask questions about the parts of the job that keep you up late at night wondering, "How'd they do that?" So check out this video I posted today and respond with your questions about tech reviewing. I'll be following up with a video that answers some of your questions and gives you a bit of a behind the scenes look at the glamorous (or not) life of a tech reviewer.

    And then it'll be your turn: Think you can do it better than me? I'm sure you can ... But you gotta prove it!


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  • 30Nov

    Verizon microUSB data cable

    As usual, the rumor mill in this industry can be started by the smallest thing possible, and the USB cable found on Verizon's website is no exception.  Marked as a $19.99 microUSB cable for the Motorola A555 Calgary, it fuels the rumor of the device launching before the end of the year.  The Motorola Calgary is expected to be Motorola's second Android-based handset on Verizon, and it is slated to launch with MOTOBLUR.  Additional specifications are few and far between, but the device is rumored to pack a QWERTY keyboard and a 3-megapixel camera.

    If accessories are showing up on the carrier's website, we can't be too far away from a product rollout.  For more Android-themed coverage, check out our sister site, DroidDog!

    Via: PhoneArena


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  • 30Nov

    Here’s something for all you tech fiends (or holiday shoppers): Popular Science has a new Tech Buyer's Guide iPhone app available in the App Store.

    With product recommendations and consumer tips for 17 different categories of technology, the app is basically the same as the website’s version of the guide, but with one big difference: It's mobile. That means you can take this with you to the store, look up reviews on that digital camera or netbook and do a price check/comparison on that dollar figure right on the spot. (And if you want to drop a subtle hint to your parent or significant other, about this being the best price for this droolworthy gadget, even better.)

    Seriously, if you have an iPhone and you’re into tech (which I’m assuming you are, if you’re here and reading this), then it’s a no-brainer. Hit up the App Store here to download it for free. 

    Popular Science's iPhone app: Tech Buyer's Guide

    Via: PopSci.com


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  • 30Nov

    LG eXpo

    Have you ever been bored at home and thought to yourself "man, I want a projector on my phone so I can throw all of my cool pictures up on the wall?"  Granted, probably a rare thought, but if it has crossed your mind, the eXpo is the device for you.  Announced today by AT&T and LG, the eXpo sports a 1GHz processor, 3G connectivity via AT&T's 7.2Mbps HSDPA network (where available), a full QWERTY keyboard, 3.2-inch touch display, Windows Mobile 6.5, and a 5.0-megapixel camera with flash. It has a microSD card slot with support for up to a 16GB card.  For those concerned with security, the eXpo offers a fingerprint sensor (which doubles as a navigational control) for securing the device against unauthorized use.  The Pico Projector (which snaps onto the back of the device) weighs 1.8 ounces and can project pictures, videos or other content up to eight feet.

    It will be available starting December 7 to AT&T's enterprise customers for $200 after mail-in rebate with new contract.  AT&T's 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network will be available in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami by the end of the year.

    Via: Phone Scoop (Image via TGDaily)


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  • 30Nov

    The rumor about a Google-branded handset has gotten some new life, thanks to Gizmodo. According to the site, one of its trusted sources states that the Google Phone “is a certainty” and claims they have actually laid eyes on it.

    Looks like a batch of early prototypes will be landing at the Google campus throughout the holiday season, complete with really large screens and a brand new version of Android that no one’s seen yet. (The source also noticed the OS powering a laptop, in addition to the Google handset. And before you ask, they say it definitely wasn’t Chrome.)

    Perhaps the most interesting part of this story is that, in passing, someone casually mentioned to the tipster that the current incarnation of Android that’s on the market — which is in wide release and whose latest version is 2.0 — is not the “real” Android. Well now, what does that mean? Gizmo’s guess is that it’s a new type of Android operating system that features Google Voice at its core. That would jibe with previous rumors that the GPhone will not use cellular networks for voice, but data networks instead.

    It’s hard to know how to take this leak. Info from unnamed sources tends to be sketchy, but this one’s pretty juicy, from all three hardware, network AND OS standpoints. If there actually is a different version of Android out there, one that none of us has seen yet, what else could it possibly be packing? The possibilities are just mind-boggling. Hopefully, it won’t be long until we find out what it is — and whether it will also be destined for other Android handsets or not.

    Via: Gizmodo


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  • 30Nov
    Sydney checks out the Samsung DoubleTake, a side-slider messaging phone for Alltel.


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  • 30Nov
    Get your tech review video on the YouTube home page! PhoneDog and YouTube are teaming up to help you make better gadget reviews, and we'll pick three great ones to be featured during CES in January 2010. Submit your "How do I do this?" questions now!


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  • 30Nov

    There’s some buzz this Thanksgiving weekend, mostly due to a new Apple job posting for an iPhone Software Engineer to help “take Maps to the next level”:

    The iPhone has revolutionized the mobile industry and has changed people’s lives and we want to continue to do so. We want to take Maps to the next level, rethink how users use Maps and change the way people find things. We want to do this in a seamless, highly interactive and enjoyable way. We’ve only just started.


    Maps has been a mainstay on the iPhone since its inception. Just when scores of us (myself included) were bemoaning the lack of Google Maps Navigation — the one Android users get to play with — this comes at us like a zinger. Forget not having a full-featured Google Maps app accompanied with a powerhouse navigation program — now we’re looking at having GMaps stripped completely from us? At the risk of sounding un-ladylike, but what the h…?

    Okay, my personal outburst aside, the facts are these: Relations between Apple and Google have been strained for quite a while. Tech journos and geeks knew something big was about to happen when Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, stepped down from Apple’s Board. That something big turned out to be an onslaught of Androids marching into the stadium, and a direct offensive aimed at Apple/iPhone via Verizon/Droid commercials. (There’s also been some craziness with the FCC and the “approved, then yanked, then rejected, then recanted rejection-come-lengthy review” process for apps like Google Voice in the App Store.)

    Android devices, including the Droid, Cliq, Hero, Behold II, etc… may not yet have the marketshare the iPhone does in the US, but its “mindshare” is gaining, due in part to those infamous (and effective) Verizon/AT&T map commercials. AT&T tried to respond, not just with litigation, but also with commercials featuring the cute, but hapless Luke Wilson defending Big Blue’s coverage. (Actually, the recent round of iPhone commercials underscoring the handset’s ability to use voice and data simultaneously seems way more effective — and classy. No one wants to see a company like AT&T get defensive.)

    Is Apple’s desire to strip GMaps from the iPhone a retaliatory strike? Could be. But the business dealings behind the scenes might factor into this as well. As if it needed to rub salt in the wounds, Google acquired mobile ad company Admob, despite Apple’s bidding on the same company. Apple then bought a mapping company called PlaceBase, and its CEO and CTO joined the GEO Team at Cupertino.

    So that brings us pretty much up to date, and offers context for this recent development. If there is a new Maps app in store for us, developing it will be quite the challenge, even for Apple. And as just one user among many, I’m praying that the change serves us — and not just the collective, corporate ego.

    Via: FoneArena, MacRumors


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  • 30Nov

    When it comes to Apple, something is always in the works. And the next-gen iPhone (or iPhone OS device) is no exception. This little nugget seems to confirm previous reports that something is coming. References to "iPhone3,1" have surfaced in the usage records for iBART, a San Francisco transportation app created by Pandav.

    Here’s what happened: Basically, developers can get analytics for their apps that show customer usage by device. After parsing what had to be miles of spreadsheets, someone at Pandav got a shocker when iPhone 3,1 popped up in the records recently. To date, there is no iPhone 3,1 in the market. (The iPhone 2,1 is the most current model, the iPhone 3GS.) This is the second appearance of this mystery ID tag since August, when it was discovered wedged inside the iPhone firmware’s code. This, however, is the first time it’s been peeped out in the wild.

    Now, on its own, it may seem like just another crumb, but it’s important to note a couple of things: As mentioned, when iPhone 2,1 was outted, it heralded the upcoming iPhone 3GS. Second, when Apple started testing the 3GS around San Francisco prior to its summer launch, it was during a similar timeframe (fall 08).

    Could this next-gen device likewise take eight months to launch? It could, but experts think it would be sheer foolishness for Cupertino to wait until June, with Android running so fierce in the market. And they’re not expecting it will. Most pundits believe that some sort of mobile product will come from Apple a lot sooner than that. But what that device will be is anyone’s guess.

    Early on, there was some buzz about a multi-core processor that would boost performance. More recently, iPhone gossip has been swirling around the arrival of new hardware compatible with Verizon’s CDMA network, with a supposed launch by mid 2010. And let’s not forget rumors of a multimedia tablet possibly running the iPhone OS.

    Whatever iPhone 3,1 is, it looks like testing may have already begun for it. Fingers crossed that we don’t have to wait eight months to find out what it is.

    Via: Engadget, Gizmodo, MacRumors


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  • 29Nov

    Tide iPhone app

    It happened to me this weekend.  Having not eaten all day, I was quite hungry when we sat down to our Thanksgiving feast.  As I was quickly throwing food into my mouth, a piece of gravy-soaked turkey slipped off of the fork and hit my shirt.  Though I quickly retrieved the rogue piece of meat, my shirt never recovered, despite a valiant attempt to clean it off on my part.

    Given the food-centric nature of this holiday weekend, the "Tide Stain Brain" app for iPhone couldn't come at a better time.  Featuring instructions to remove stains while at home or out and about, the app also offers the ability to collaborate with other users.  Many minds are better than one, right?  The app is free, and can be found in the App Store.

    Via: IntoMobile


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