One Day Review-ZTE Score

Hardware

Internally, the ZTE Score has a 1200 mAh Lithium Ion battery that promises 4 hours of talking time, though since this is a 1 day review, I didnt have time to confirm that. If you plan on downloading games through the official android market installed on this phone, one thing you'll want to do right away with the Score is buy a micro sd card, since you only get 110 MB of internal storage. Unfortunately, if you plan on downloading graphic-intensive games(Shadowgun for instance.), you might want to skip over this phone, as its paltry 600mhz Qualcomm MSM7627 processor may not be able to pull off playing the latest games.

Design

The ZTE Score.

The ZTE Score is a very low end basic/budget android phone. When looking at the device head on, you'll see the traditional four capacitive android buttons(back, menu, search, and home.), then the low resolution 320 x 480 3.5" HVGA capacitive screen(More on that below), and finally the phone's ear piece, with the mic to the right of it, the power/lock button and 3.5mm jack to the left of it are located at the top of the phone, while the right side hosts the volume rocker, micro sd slot(up to 32gb), and a nice dedicated camera button, with the left side having only the usb charging port, with the bottom being bare. The back of this phone outlines(literally) the 3.2 mp camera/camcorder, and speaker for media.

The Score suffers from terrible viewing angles.

Screen

Viewing angles used to not be to big a deal to me, as I'm mainly interested in tablets, and would always reason to myself: Im not  ever going to NOT be looking directly at my tablet, so why does it matter what it looks like from the side? the LCD panel on this phone made me understand that viewing angles are sometimes not big deals, and sometimes are big deals. In this case, its a big deal. Unless your looking directly at the screen, you and/or your friends will most likely notice the bad viewing angles on the reflective and glossy finger print magnet that is this phones screen. Looking at it from any side other than straight on results in immediate discoloration.

Speakers

Camera and Speakers on the back of the Score.

The speakers are located on the back of this phone, and surprisingly, sound pretty good to me. I was expecting a tinny, crumpled effect when I played my music, but was pleasantly surprised by this phones performance.

Camera

The Score's camera is unfortunately another flop. colors either look dark or too bright, and sometimes washed out when indoors. Outdoor pictures fared a little better, but dont make the mistake of expecting an iphone 4s quality camera on a budget android phone. There are a few test pics taken below.

 

Conclusion

Unfortunately ZTE hasnt really scored on anything with this phone. The horrid screen that plagues this phone will most likely steer customers away from it, in my opinion.

Final Words

ZTE Scores a C- minus with this phone.

Lg Quantum Review (Updated Pictures)

HARDWARE The LG quantum has some extra girth to it due to the landscape keyboard, but it still looks nice. The internals are 16GB storage(unfortunately there is no micro sd expansion option, but 16gb should be okay for the average user.), 256 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM,1 GHz Scorpion processor . On the outside however, the front of the handset sports a speaker, with a mic next to it. Below that is a 3.5” wvga capacitive touch screen, next is a tactile windows button That gives a nice audible click when pressed. Below that is the required two capacitive buttons for search and back. The back of the handset features the 5 mega pixel camera in the middle. On the right side of the device is a volume rocker, and a dedicated camera button. Atop the handset is the power/lock button, and the standard 3.5mm jack. One problem I have with this phone is that when the device is locked, pressing the central windows button on the phone does not unlock the phone or show the screen saver. Instead you have to tap the power button to take you to the unlock screen, its an inconvenience to the user.

The LG Quantum. In The Flesh.

Camera

The 5mp camera is located on the back of the handset. The camera takes surprisingly nice pictures in the dark thanks to the nice LED flash located underneath the lens, along with nice 720p footage. Since this is my first review, I'm not sure how to review the camera other than to post actual sample pictures, so I guess that's what I'll do! some of them are on my new blog for pictures taken with this device, ShadowPicture555

The LG Quantum has a 5mp Camera with an LED Flash

Keyboard

The LG Quantum features a fully fledged, qwerty landscape keyboard. The keyboard has a set of directional  keys, along with a emoticon, and symbol key. The keyboard shortcuts actually make the keyboard surprisingly easy to use. Each key has a alternate symbol on it, and all you do is hold down the key to add whichever symbol you wish, this method is fast and easy to use, as opposed to pressing the function button whenever you would want a single symbol.

The LG Quantum features a full QWERTY keyboard.

Where Has All My Game Time Gone?

When I was a kid, not sure how old I was, 3-7 years, there was always very little on my mind. In fact there was only 2 things on my mind. Arthur snacks, and Game time. The latter was from when I would watch the old PBS Kids show, Arthur, at 3:30. One time my mom gave me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at that time, and I designated it as my "Arthur Snack" and began looking forward to it everyday. Good times. Speaking of times, the former, Game Time, was how long I would get to play my video games. Vectorman and Sonic games on the Sega genesis, the pinball games on Computers,etc. I always wanted more Game Time, and would always ask my mom, "Mom can I have more g-a-m-e-t-i-m-e please?"she would always laugh and grant me 15 more minutes.

Before I continue, I want you to know i'm definitely not going to launch into some rambling speech about how games of yesteryear are better than games of this year,blah blah blah... (Although I do have to say every Bomberman game released for the super nintendo is much better than the newer ones of today. Dont believe me? go play one on a Zsnes emulator, than play one for the nintendo 64, than one on the gamecube or xbox. It will be clear which game is the victor.) Okay moving on.

Im 18 now, and am allowed to have all the Game Time I please, although some games have changed, for instance, the game i played most,Sonic 2, is now Call Of Duty:Modern Warfare 2. Earlier today, I started thinking about my games of today, and realized something. Although I do occasionally play Cod MW2, most of my games are played on portable devices.

I bought an iPod Touch when I was 17, and almost loved it. I say 'almost' because i loved all of the apps for it, but hated the small screen, when I saw the iPad, that was it. I wanted it primarily for gaming, and just recently treated myself to one, along with an Acer Iconia tablet.

Most of my gaming over the last few weeks has been done on both these tablets. I realized the primary reason is price. While im not a big fan of racing games, others like them, and I like a few of them. As great as racing games look on the Xbox 360, now they look great on the iPad too. Now there's no reason for me to buy a $19.99 or $29.99 game for my xbox, when I can get one for $1-$5.99 for the iPad. The same logic occurs with a personal favorite genre of mine, FPS games, or action games in general. I was able to buy the game N.O.V.A 2 for $.99 it has great graphics, and runs fine. Sure it uses touch controls, and while I do mind them slightly, i'm fine with them when the game is that much cheaper. Samurai 2:Vengeance is another high quality slasher type game, for only $2.99. Another great game I got for free is Contract Killer with high graphics, fluid gameplay, and a price tag of $0.00, its a great game.

This may sound like its all about the iPad, but the Acer tablet has been just as active on the gaming front. for $.99 I bought the game Caligo Chaser, a full fledged rpg, with great graphics,fluid gameplay, quests, skills, items to equip, everything. There were several full featured free games. Angry Birds, a nice time killer for adults and kids alike, all 3 versions for free. Another game is called Galaxy On Fire, it has extremely good graphics and fluid gameplay, and was also free. Third blade, another free game made by the same app developers who made Caligo Chaser, Another is Colosseum, a side scrolling beat 'em up type game. Although very repetitive, still alot of fun, with all kinds of weapons, and enemies to face, for only $.99

So when I tell my mom or sister, im gonna buy this or that app for up to $9.99(the maximum price I will pay for a game on the iPad.) and they say, "thats way to much for an app." from now on I'll respond, "its not an app, its a video game."

Sent from my iPad

Hp Touchpad Keyboard Review

The Hp Touchpad keyboard arrived at my house today, I unboxed it, and Voila! it worked right out of the box on my ipad and on my acer Iconia a100! all I did was turn on bluetooth, and then turn on the keyboard, and it was found right away.  

Design 

The Touchpad keyboard has a very nice feel and look to it. From the sub pound weight of it, to the thin and light frame, and to the spacious chiclet style keys and the volume/media buttons that work fine on both tablets. 

Function

This keyboard works great with both tablets, although there are a few buttons that dont work, as some are WebOs specific. Such as the brightness + and - keys, and next/previous keys, the play key is the only key(of the next/pause/previous buttons) that worked on my android tablet. 

Cost 

This keyboard is a nice cheaper alternative to the $50 bluetooth keyboard built by acer, or, the logitech android keyboard for $60. This ones on amazon for 31-39 dollars. Its a great bargain.

Conclusion 

The HP Touchpad Keyboard is a great deal for anyone who owns a ipad or android 3.0 tablet and is looking for a cheap, but good keyboard. At its current price, this Item is definitely a steal!

Side Note:This Review was written entirely on the Hp Touchpad Keyboard from my acer Iconia a100!

Acer A100 Review

I got the Acer Iconia A100 from Walmart for about $350 with tax on the 19th, and have rarely sat it down.

The Iconia a100 is touted as the first 7 inch tablet to run Android 3.2, this was the primary reason I decided on this tablet instead of my other choice, the Asus Transformer. The transformer had connectivity that the Iconia a100 doesn't have, such as a full sized USB port, and port for a keyboard dock. But the Acer tablet's size drew me in, as I wanted something a little more portable.

Hardware

The Iconia has a 7"  LCD screen and weighs 0.92 lbs, with a dual core tegra 2 processor. Although it feels sort of plasticky, the build quality of this device feels very solid. Slight flexing of this device produces a very low, faint creaking, one you can't hear unless you put your ear close to it. On the left side of the tablet you have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and the power/lock button. On the top is the screen orientation lock in the form a slider, and a volume rocker. The right side of this tablet has the charging port, speaker grill, mini USB, a docking port, mini HDMI, another speaker grill, and a pinhole sized reset button. The bottom of the device is bare. The back of the device sports a smooth design with Acer branding on it, with a helix-esque design.

Acer Iconia Compared To The iPad

Sound

The Iconia is equipped with Dolby sound,the speakers on this device deliver audio well.

Camera

The Iconia has a rear 5 MP camera, with an LED flash, and a front facing 2 MP camera. Based on reviews of other tablets, the iconia seems to be equipped with one of the better camera's.

Accessories

Accessories specifically designed for the a100 model seem to be sparse, but I have found a few things to purchase that will play nice with its form factor.

1.Universal Stand-This stand works fine with the acer tablet in addition to all other 10" tablets,and is surprisingly sturdy.

2.Logitech Keyboard-Although pricey, this keyboard will work with all android 3.0+ tablets.

3.Hp Touchpad Keyboard-Someone told me this keyboard also works with android tablets, I've ordered it and it works great, granted a few WebOs Specific keys dont work, but it makes a good keyboard for your tablet none the less. Read the Review Here

Apps

There are alot of apps in the android market, and apparently android 3.2 allows phone sized apps to scale up to the tablets size. I have gotten several games that work very well with it, and a few good apps that I'm going to reccomend you get.

1.Angry birds(Original,Rio,Seasons)-Free
Kids and Adults alike love this game! Its a great ice breaker, plus all of these are free.

2.Winamp-Free
If you use winamp as your desktop player, which I do, you can use this app to sync all of your music wirelessly.

3.Clear.fi-Free
This app came pre-installed on the tablet, it is a nice video/music/photo streaming app, it worked right out of the box.

4.Movie studio-Free
Another pre-installed favorite, this app is used as you would use windows movie maker.

5.Samurai 2-$2.99
If your more interested in gaming on tablets, this is a great way to see how well your tablet can perform. Samurai 2, although a little pricey, is excellent, it has quick,fluid game play, accurate touch controls and well done audio, this app is defenitley worth the money. Another app worth a look is Third blade,and Colisseum.

These are just a few apps that I think you should consider purchasing, there are hundreds more in the app market for to look at.

Software

This is the first android device I've ever owned, currently I'm still learning about the software side of android 3.2, and actually may be getting another tablet that runs 2.3, although right now its unclear. Anyway, after I have a more solid understanding of how Android works, I will then review  it.

Lg Fantasy Wp7 Leaked

According to WpCentral, Lg's fall 2011 roadmap of phones has been leaked, and down the roadmap,likely in the fourth quarter according to pocketnow.comthere will be a new wp7 handset known as the Lg Fantasy that is likely to be a Mango device. Check out the pic below, courtesy of pocketnow.com

Archos 35 Home Connect Revealed By FCC

The Archos 35 Home Connect was launched with the Archos G9 Series in June, and was portrayed as a web radio running android, well thanks to the fcc filingwe now know that it will run 2.2 froyo, and we also have a users manual to look at.

Source:ArcTablet