Acer Iconia Tab A500 Personal Review and Un-Boxing

Acer Iconia Tab A500 is an Android Honeycomb based tablet, powered by a dual code Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. In this post I will the un-boxing video with you.

There's no doubt that Apple iPad is the device which originally bought tablet PCs to general public whereas other giants like Microsoft were only showing us dreams of table like computing devices.

But Android based tablets have got their own place in the market, for example iOS based devices like Apple iPad, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod Touch don't have a file system at all. If you want to copy a file into them, you must go through iTunes. But Android liberates us from any such iBallAndChain.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 also features an HDMI out, a feature not present in even iPhone 4S whereas even contemporary Android smart phones have got it; Motorola Atrix for example which was recently released by AT&T as the juggernaut of their fall smart phones line up.

USB 3.0 is another strong point of Acer Iconia Tab A500, we tried and successfully attached a USB keyboard to our Acer Iconia Tab A500 just like one two three, no strings attached.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 comes loaded with good deal of productivity software like DocumentsToGo, a book reader, Acer Sync, Cler.fi, SMTP mail client, Gmail mail client, Google Talk and many more. Plus there are several games in built, provided by Acer for free. But you could have good deal of play time with Need For Speed, and Let's Golf.

The display quality of Acer Iconia Tab A500 hundred is superb, the rare 5.0 Mega Pixel camera has got an LED flash attached with it improving the already nice picture quality. The front side 2.0 MP camera makes video conferencing a treat with applications like Skype.

Overall it's a nice device, aimed towards the tech savvy segment of couch computing folks out there. We tried out Skype on our Acer Iconia Tab A500. We also tried popular browsers like Opera, Dolphin, Firefox on Acer Iconia Tab A500, other than the default Android webkit based browser.

One more thing, if we don't talk about the beautiful aluminum back of Acer Iconia Tab A500, it would be unfair, really beautiful. Acer Iconia Tab A500 feels awesome in one's hand, and I didn't find it difficult to use or handle at any time during the two days it stayed with me for the demo. I wish I could find a docking station as well, but it was delayed due to some excise department problems.

Steve Jobs Quotes and Wallpaper

Steven Paul Jobs, may his soul rest in peace.

Steve Jobs Quotes

1. “If Apple becomes a place where computers are a commodity item, where the romance is gone, and where people forget that computers are the most incredible invention that man has ever invented, I’ll feel I have lost Apple. But if I’m a million miles away, and all those people still feel those things … then I will feel that my genes are still there.” Steve Jobs
2. “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.” Steve Jobs
3. “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
4. “My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” Steve Jobs
5. “When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.” Steve Jobs
6. “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”


7. “My position coming back to Apple was that our industry was in a coma. It reminded me of Detroit in the ’70s, when American cars were boats on wheels.” Steve Jobs
8. “Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn’t what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about.” Steve Jobs
9. “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs
10. “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.” Steve Jobs
11. “Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” Steve Jobs
12. “Innovation … comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.” Steve Jobs
13. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” Steve Jobs
14. “When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.’ It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” Steve Jobs
15. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs
16. “I get asked a lot why Apple’s customers are so loyal. It’s not because they belong to the Church of Mac! That’s ridiculous. It’s because when you buy our products, and three months later you get stuck on something, you quickly figure out [how to get past it]. And you think, ‘Wow, someone over there at Apple actually thought of this!’” Steve Jobs
17. “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Steve Jobs
18. "You gotta be a really good talent scout, cause no matter how good you are you need a team o great people." Steven P. Jobs.

Co-founder of Apple, inventor of Macintosh, iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Steve jobs just died, and left us all sad.

Review and Specs of Nokia C2-01

Nokia C2-01 is a simple phone with 3G access, its the continuation of Nokia's strategy to flood market with low price average functionality cellular devices. Nokia C2 mobile phone contains a 3G internet access, which will make staying connected to your favorite social networks on the go easier.

Its a small newsroom inside your pocket, and a small email inbox as well. 3G internet definitely makes it fast, leaving traditional GPRS/EDGE far behind.

Upside:
Battery life is definitely a plus, no full blown smart phone out their gives you the battery life of these tiny phones.

Form factor of Nokia C2-01 is very small, that means very little burden inside your pocket. I sometimes hate the Samsung Galaxy S inside my pocket, its not as big as Nokia N9 but still when I'm not watching the videos the extra size of display kinda bothers me.
Camera in Nokia C2-01 gives you a pretty nice result with its 3.2 megapixel camera. Although a flash ain't there, but still you could take snaps in bright sunlight at least (I wonder where most of the Europe stands in this case).
Nokia is still giving out free Ovi mail accounts which can be used to keep in sync with all of your email accounts all at once.
Built in messenger is also present and provides connectivity with popular chat services like msn, yahoo, and google talk. Attaching photos to email, and sharing photos on facebook is also made simpler. Nokia Ovi store has got a whole slew of productivity apps and games which can be conveniently downloaded using high speed 3G internet connection.
2 Inch display area of this phone makes it even more interesting and easy to use.
Specifications of Nokia C2-01

Display and user interface
Screen size: 2"

Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
Available colours
Black
Warm Silver
Memory
Internal memory: 46 MB (plus 15 MB for phonebook)
MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 16 GB
Dimensions
Size: 109,8 x 46,9 x 15,3 mm
Weight (with battery): 89 g
Volume: 65 cc
Power Management
BL-5C 1020 mAh Li-Ion battery
Talk time
GSM 8 h 45 mins
WCDMA 4 h 30 mins
Standby time
GSM 430 h
WCDMA 450 h
Data network
GPRS MSC32, max. 100 kbit/s DL / max. 60kbit/s UL
EDGE MSC32, max. 296 kbit/s DL / max. 177.6 kbit/s UL
DTM MSC11
WCDMA max. 384 kbit/s DL / max. 384 kbit/s UL
Connectivity
2 mm charger connector
Stereo Bluetooth version 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate
USB charging
3.5 mm AV connector
Camera
3.2 megapixel camera
Extended depth of focus (EDOF)
Zoom up to 4x (digital)
Full focus
Fullscreen viewfinder
Others
Stereo Bluetooth 2.1 support
Series 40 software platform

Specifications and Review of Samsung Galaxy S Wifi 4 and Samsung Galaxy S Wifi 4

Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4 and Samsung Galaxy S Wifi 5 are Samsung's respond to Apple iPod Touch, or we could say its the Android "family" responding to Apple "family".

Go Big, Be Mighty

It's build on Google's Android operating system, that mean you'll have access to loads of apps available on Android Market. Although we lack anything comparable to iTunes software for syncing stuff with your machine.

Samsung Galaxy S smart phone(known as T-Mobile Vibrant) has established a repute based on its wonder Super AMOLED display, Galaxy S Wi-fi builds on top of that repute. We know that Galaxy S has got a display far superior than iPhone 4, iPod touch, and iPhone 3Gs.

Its a truly stylish device, no doubt.

Immersive 5” display. Blazingly fast processor. Fortified with Android. With the Galaxy S Wifi 5.0 at the ready, mightily go wherever life takes you.

Whether you’re at home, at the office or at the place, with GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 you’re always
one step ahead of the pack.

Galaxy S Wifi 5 has got a 3.2 MP camera with LED flash. Samsung Galaxy S has got a wonderful 5 MP camera, but it lacked flash. They've put a dual LED flash on Galaxy S II although, but its nice that we got one fixed on back of Wifi 5. Wifi 5 also contains a front facing camera for video conferencing.

World known google maps are there to take you through unknown cities.

Calendar app in google Android means you can sync your stuff with online Google calendar by default.

Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 Specifications

Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 Specifications

Display 4.0” WVGA Super Clear LCD Dimensions 123.7 x 64.2 x 9.9 (mm) Playing time Audio 36Hrs / Video 5Hrs (Battery Capacity : 1,200mAh) OS Android 2.2 Froyo Memory 8/16GB+ MicroSD (Up to 32GB) Video MPEG4, H.264, WMV, DivX/XviD (Up to HD) Speaker Stereo (1.3W) Music Music Player with SoundAliveTM/ MP3/ WMA/ WAV/ OGG/ AAC/FLAC Camera Front : VGA Back : 3.2M AF (With Flash) Connectivity Wifi(802.11 b/g/n), All Share Support, Bluetooth 3.0

Display 5.0” WVGA TFT LCD (Multi-touch zoom) Dimensions 141.3 x 78.2 x 11.9 (mm) Playing time Audio 60Hrs / Video 8Hrs (Battery Capacity : 2,500mAh) OS Android 2.2 Froyo Memory 8/16GB+ MicroSD (Up to 32GB) Video MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV (VC-1), DivX/XviD (Up to HD) Speaker Stereo (1.3W) Music Music Player with SoundAliveTM/ MP3/ WMA/ WAV/ OGG/ AAC/FLAC Camera Front : VGA Back : 3.2M AF (With Flash) Connectivity Wifi(802.11 b/g/n), All Share Support, Bluetooth 3.0

Nokia N9 Meego OS based Smart Phone

The Rise Of Meego: Nokia N9 Goes Public

Nokia N9, Meego OS based smart phone everyone was waiting for is finally a reality. Meego is Nokia's Linux based last resort, which may save the sinking Titanic of Nokia (perhaps we should call it "NokiaTanic").  There are no hardware buttons on this device except power & volume control, looks like Nokia has realized the bitter truth finally thanks to iPhone.

There is no doubt that Finland based Nokia was a huge success before the arrival of iPhone. It stayed relevant in "post-iPhone" and "pre-Android" era as well. But now we clearly see it desperately struggling to survive the one and only almighty iPhone and  a barrage of Android smart phones. Anybody remember WP 7 tag line? Well it was something related to things people do commonly, and hubs and home screens etc etc. Nokia is trying to sale the same slogan once again, although in a different packaging. We got 3 home screens here, I wonder if it will make life easy or maybe complicate it for dumb iPhone users(as Android fans say), hence scaring away anyone who's thinking to join in from that club.

Nokia N9 Pre-loaded Application Software:

Be glad!!! your N9 sports a whole lot of application software out of the box!!! For example Vimeo, Twitter, and Skype. Vimeo is an increasingly popular video sharing service, although it lacks the financial support Youtube is enjoying. But still it's doing a good job, its inclusion in Nokia N9 can be considered Nokia's battle cry against Google. Although Nokia has already joined anti-google camp by joining hands with Microsoft Windows Phone 7.

Nokia N9 contains 3G for internet connectivity, and it lets other friendly devices to use its capabilities. It can become a Wi-Fi hotspot whenever you want. Many other smart phones can do the same by installing 3rd party software, but Nokia N9 is built with wi-fi Hoptspoting in mind. Nokia is giving us a free game as well, i.e. your's truly "Angry Birds".

We see google Latitude bundled with every Android device out there, Nokia is packaging Foursquare as a response. You could let your friends know your location anytime with your brand new Nokia N9 Meego OS based smart phone. Associated Press is always in your reach, as soon as you turn on your Nokia N9. Because it is pre-installed in this beautiful smart phone. Nokia N9 also brings daily weather reports to your pocket with AccuWeather application.

Nokia N9 is a device with killer looks, as you can see in the image above. It's available in blue, pink, and black colors.

They say the maps application on Nokia N9 will turn your smart phone into "the only guide you'll ever need". Most probably it will remain true until unless you got an iPhone or Android in your pocket.

 Nokia N9 heavily relies on Qt SK for application development. Applications can be easily downloaded from Nokia Ovi store. 
There are many more applications already available for Nokia N9 on Ovi store. But still we can't see many developers going mad writing Nokia N9 Qt based apps. Maybe TrollTech(the company which originally created Qt) should have never sold itself to Nokia. After all Nokia has got a bad repute for half baked love affairs with so many technologies (Sun Java, Adobe Flash). I don't think there will be any improvement in situation, because maybe Apple will launch its much rumored iPhone 5 shortly. Which will short circuit all the plans Nokia has got for sure.

At first they've made Angry Birds available with Nokia N9 but you know Angry Birds is out there for almost any platform, they even got a Google Chrome Application. And I'm damn sure we'll get a port for Nokia 3310 very soon :p ha ha ha just kidding friends.

Nokia N9 Upside:
Battery life is no doubt the best feature of Nokia N9, 50 hours of music playback is truly impressive. Nokia N9 video playback time is also wonderful, I can't believe N9 can keep on playing 720p video for 4.5 hours. Androids seriously need to improve on that.
Here's a nice Nokia N9 youtube video, it's got a point to make.



Nokia N9 Specifications:
Nokia N9 Memory:

1. 16 GB or 64 GB
2. RAM 1GB

Nokia N9 Talk Time and Battery Life:

1. GSM Talk Time 11 Hours
2. WCDMA (3g) Talk Time 7 Hours
3. GSM Standby Time 380 hours
4. WCDMA (3G) Standby Time 450 hours
5. Video playback time 4.5 hours (720 p)
6. Music playback time 50 hours

Nokia N9 Display:

1. Screen size: 3.9"
2. Resolution: 16:9 FWVGA (854 x 480 pixels)
3. AMOLED display
4. 16.7 million colours
5. Capacitive touch screen
6. 2.5D curved glass
7. Anti-glare polariser
8. Scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® glass
9. Orientation sensor (Accelerometer)
10. Compass (Magnetometer)
11. Proximity sensor
12. Ambient light detector

Nokia N9 Data Networks:

1. GPRS/EDGE class B, multislot class 33
2. HSDPA cat 10 maximum speed up to 14.4 Mbit/s, HSUPA cat 6 up to 5.7 Mbit/s
3. WLAN IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n

Nokia N9 Camera:

1. 8 megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics
2. Wide-angle lens
3. True 16:9 imaging
4. Large lens aperture F2.2 for better and faster photos in low light conditions
5. Dual LED flash
6. Digital shutter
7. Continuous autofocus
8. Touch-to-focus and exposure lock
9. Focal length: 3.77mm / 28mm
10. F number/Aperture: F2.2
11. Still images file format: JPEG/EXIF/XMP
12. Digital zoom up to 4x for still images and video

Games:
Preloaded

1. Angry Birds Magic with NFC support
2. Galaxy on Fire 2
3. Real Golf 2011

Graphics Features

1. Support for OpenGL ES 2.0 enables 3D graphics
2. Use the accelerometer to play games

Package Contents

1. Nokia N9 all-screen smartphone
2. Nokia Fast USB Charger AC-16
3. Nokia Charging and Data Cable CA-185CD
4. Nokia Stereo Headset WH-901
5. Get started guide
6. Product information leaflet

Nokia N9 price in Pakistan?
We'll give you a price pretty soon, its not available as for yet.

Nokia C7 Astound Review and Specifications

T-Mobile brings Nokia C7 Astound to US, a Symbian smart phone offering by Finnish Cellular giant Nokia. Nokia C 7 Astound is an interesting move, and it is apparently one of the few last Symbian gadgets by Nokia Corporation. Nokia has established a good reputation with their Nokia N8 camera phone which Nokia claims is the best camera phone of the world right now, Nokia has definitely injected some of their N8 expertise into C7.

Apparently Nokia fused  Nokia C6-00 and Nokia N8, added a dual LED flash on the back and boom!!! came out Nokia C7 Astound. C7 is fully capable of shooting 720p HD video, and it's also got On Demand Web TV plus GPS.Nokia has been in love with Qt development platform for quite a while now, we know the "relationship" became more fiery after Nokia's acquisition of Troll Tech, the software company that gave birth to QT.Nokia C7 Astound is powered by Symbian^3 Operating System, everybody's well aware Symbian's future is a huge question mark now. The fog seems to be dissolved(and unleash a not so favorable result for Symbian) after Nokia shaking hands with Microsoft and agreeing that Nokia will create hardware for Microsoft Windows Phone 7.
Wi-Fi quality is expected to be good, but I don't have real user stories related to it yet. I hope we'll get a good deal of reviews soon. Maybe this phone will be a choice for people annoyed poor battery life of high end smart phones.

C7 contains a 680 MHz processor, and dedicated hardware for graphics with OpenVG1.1 and OpenGL ES 2.0 support. C-7 Astound also contains Accelerometer Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Compass (Magnetometer Sensor).Looking at standard 3.5 mm jack I sometimes think why, why in the world were mobile hardware vendors inventing their own audio out connectivity standards? This nice touch phone won't be complete without a stereo bluetooth, in an age of wireless everything :) therefore Nokia has wisely included stereo bluetooth to the package.
The capacitive touch is pretty good than previous Nokia offerings, but still AMOLED display is not comparable to many Samsung Super AMOLED based devices.

OVI store is definitely present in this device, and maps are there as well. But the raw processing power inside this small stainless steel box is insufficient in my opinion. You know dual core smart phones like LG Optimus 2x, and Samsung Galaxy S2, Motorola Atrix are making the competition tough.

Specifications of Nokia C7 Astound

Screen Resolution	360 x 640
Screen Color Depth	24 bit
Screen Size	3.5
Display Technology	AMOLED
Device Size	117.3 x 56.8 x 10.5[2] mm
Weight	130 g
Display Touch Technology	Capacitive Touch
Maximum User Storage	350 MB
Mass Storage Memory	8 GB
NAND Memory	1 GB
SDRAM Memory	256 MB
WLAN	Wifi 802.11b/g/n
GBPower Management	2.0mm Charger Connector
USB ChargingBattery model	BL-5K 3.7V 1200mAh
GSM Talk Time	up to 9.6 hours
WCDMA Talk Time	up to 5.3 hours
Handsfree, audio out	3.5 mm

Price of Nokia C7 on T-Mobile USA is yet to be decided, its not listed on T-Mobile web site on time of this writing. But Amazon is selling unlocked Nokia C7 in $209.
What is the Price of Nokia C7 in Pakistan?
Price of Nokia C7 in Pakistan is 29000 rupees at the moment. This price of Nokia C 7 was quoted on a phone call, maybe if we go to market by ourselves we could get a deal around 27000/27500/28000. This was the price of brand new Nokia C-7 with one year warranty.


Concluding Suggestion:
Price of unlocked Nokia C7 Astound was $389 on time of this writing, which makes me think if you're spending $389 on a Symbian phone then why not get a better HTC Windows Phone 7 or Motorola Android phone by adding just $100 and spending a total sum of $499? Its nothing that would create thrill in market, its just another smart phone. So just wait for couple of months, and let the prices come down.
Apparently Nokia's somehow pulling itself together with models like Nokia E5, Nokia C3-00, Nokia X2-01, Nokia C6 which is pretty interesting though.


More blog posts you may find interesting:

• Review and Specs of Nokia C6-00
• Nokia C3-00, and Samsung Corby Line Up The Mid Range Hot Shots
• Personal Review of Samsung Vibrant T959 And Specifications