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Meet Matt, a senior technician here at Laptop Broker. Like all our technicians, Matt knows his way around a laptop and has upgraded and rebuilt thousands of computers over the years.
We asked Matt to review a few laptops he is familiar with and have posted them for our customers to review. We hope you find this information helpful and welcome your feedback.
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Google Phone Review
Google is developing an open-source operating system for mobile phones. Google’s announcement of November 05, 2007 indicates that the company has formed the Open Handset Alliance with mobile phone operators, handset manufacturers and other technological partners. This will lead to development of Android, an open platform for mobile phones.
Google is joining hands with more than thirty mobile and technological companies to develop a complete and free mobile platform. This mobile platform is Android. Everybody refers to this Google project as Google Phone or GPhone. This platform would consist of a user interface, an operating system, and a set of various software modules for different phone functions.
As such, there is no Google phone. Google is not coming out with any phone. Andy Rubin, Director of Google, has made it very clear that Google is not coming out with any GPhone as has been the speculation among many in recent times. Andy stressed that the Android software would offer more than a single phone. It would build the foundation of many phones and create a completely new experience for all mobile phone users.
Google is to build software with an open-source operating system. Other companies like Samsung, Motorola, and LG would be building phones based on this software. This development by Google has brought in many great mobile giants of the corporate world closer and has set competitive target limits. Intense competition has improved quality standards and the outcome is superb devices and improved services for the users.
Features
Google posted a few demos of Android software and its applications on November 12, 2007. These are just demos and you will have to wait for around eight months to have a look or get phones based on Android software. Google has announced that it would be launching Android phone or Google phone after mid-2008.
The demos of Android phone resemble an iPhone. It has a touch-sensitive interface. You can scroll various web pages by sliding your finger across the screen. Android offers a Linux operating system, few default applications like browser, and other middleware. Google operates with the help of Java and through an open framework with its own virtual machine, Dalvik.
Rating: 5/5
Benefits
Google projects the most important benefit of Android-based software and phones as increasing mobility. Your cell phones would transform into mobile computers. It would be like carrying your computers in your pockets.
You would be able to access the Internet while you are on the move. The software in use in such phones would be available at cheap rates to companies making such phones. You would be able to avail additional benefits like video sharing and social networking.
Rather, the Internet would be turning mobile with this new type of software and phones based on such software. Google hopes to customize the needs and requirements of phone users through this software. Hardware of this mobile phone device would consist of all the usual components as in a mobile radio. It would also have in-built GPS services to extend all location-based services to the users.
Android would prove to be a huge complement to the existing mobile strategy of mobile phones. Handset manufacturers would no longer have to pay huge licensing costs to major mobile operating systems like Microsoft and Symbian. Handset costs would fall drastically. This would help consumers to purchase mobile handsets easily, install, and use various available features. Developers can develop any possible and user-friendly features and applications. This software would also benefit telephone operators. Increased data traffic would bring in increased revenue.
Further, Google would be able to increase and widen the reach of advertisements. Advertisements can bring down call expenses extensively. You may not incur any costs for making calls through such phones. However, speculations remain strife. As the final product is yet to come into the product, it is difficult to predict how it would fare or cause any boom in the wireless and telecom industry.
Rating: 4/5
Google’s Partners
The Open Handset Alliance of Google has thirty-four members. It includes many bigwigs like Italia of Italy, KDDI of Japan, NTT DoCoMo, chip makers like Broadcom and Texas Instruments, phone makers HTC and LG, Nuance Communications, and EBay, which owns the Internet calling service Skype. However, AT&T one of the largest cellular carriers in the United States, is not a part of this alliance. Recent information is that US-based Verizon Wireless would be the carrier for launching Android software supported device by Google.
HTC is planning on a brand-new design of Google Phone. This device would have the Touch Flow interface on top of Google's Android operating system. This would give the phone a unique and exclusive look. However, no one has yet seen the final shape of this superb phone from Google. Only a handful of people would be aware of the looks, likes, features, and working of this unique software-based mobile phone.
Google is planning to offer extensive freedom to device manufacturers and mobile operators to come out with flexible design products. Manufacturers can customize all possible and necessary options without having to follow any rigid guidelines from Google. They can build as user-friendly devices as possible. This would bring Internet services much closer to the user.
Rating: 5/5
Software
Google though its Android software is proving to be a major competitor to Microsoft and other companies engaged in mobile software designing. At the demonstration, Google’s director of mobile platforms, Andy Rubin displayed a handheld touch screen device. This device offered a view of the company’s three-dimensional mapping program, Google Earth.
Software used for this phone would be Sun Microsystems’ Java language and Linux. Programmers can develop features that offer quick connection to Web services easily. One of the features would be Street View. This would show the present location of your friends. Another program on this phone would be about photo attachments. You can attach photo to an e-mail message irrespective of whether the photo was on a Web site or in the phone’s memory.
Various innovations could better enhance the available software with more beneficial changes. This software would develop many new devices with functions as available in wireless Internet and cell phones. Only that these devices would be in different shapes and sizes from their present forms.
Rating: 4/5
Audio and Video
The Android phones would come with Audio decoders like MP3, iTunes, non-free binary, and Windows Media codec pack. The video formats would be common to ordinary cell phones and the iPod/iPhone.
It would be able to record high-quality audio and video. The open-source platform would allow both closed-source and open-source components. It will support different hardware like nVidia graphics accelerators.
Rating: 5/5
Overall Conclusions
Google is all set to launch a highly innovative product. This interface would bring in various marked changes in the telecom and wireless industries. Mobility and communications would increase undoubtedly. The phone prototype is a simpler version and not as complicated as Apple’s iPhone. You can scroll through all icons horizontally. This feature would make it possible to access various features easily despite the limited screen space.
Android software from Google would make it possible for Internet facilities to be available on moderately priced phones. There is a high possibility for further innovations on the available software from Google. It could thereby revolutionalize the way mobile phones would be devised and used in future. However, establishing a product in the market is not an easy job. It takes many long years to become a major market force.
Google has issued clear indications that Google phone is not a competitor to iPhone. The company is only coming out with a new type of software that would change the use of mobile phones. It would bring in a different meaning to mobile phones. The various partner companies would bring out a mobile device using Google’s Android software.
Pros:
• Extreme mobility
• Extensive reach of interface
• Negating distances to the point of being nil
• Superb connectivity
• Innovative
Cons:
• High and intense competition
• Financial implications could be very heavy
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Dell D810
You Save: $750.00 (58%)
Sale Price: $549.99 |
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Dell Latitude D800
Expert Review Summary: The Dell Latitude D800 perfectly fits the bill of a laptop with almost desktop-like features but with increased portability than a desktop. There is no compromise on performance and the huge 15.4 inch wide-screen display is amazing. Want more? Read full review. |
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