App Review: The Daily (only on iPad)

Heralded by many as the next thing, The Daily is, well, a daily emagazine that is delivered over Wi-fi or 3G to your iPad. The app itself is free however, it is a subscription service which costs $.99 a week (7 issues) or $39.99 a year (365 issues) after the two week trial period. One note about the yearly subscription; in the end it amounts to about a reasonable 11 cents an issue. As you launch the app, the day's issue will be delivered. After a few seconds, a carousel of pages will appear to allow you to navigate through the issue. Tap a page to begin reading. Each issue is a decent length and can easily take the better part of an hour to read. Each issue is comprised of a news section followed by popular culture, celebrities, sports, miscellaneous and a crossword/sudoku section. Pages and graphs are also interactive and is actually quite intuitive. Videos are also embedded within pages. As for whether or not you should get the app, the answer is yes, if only for the trial period. However, the yearly subscription is also a great deal and we think that The Daily could very well replace your newspaper.

Verdict: 9 out of 10 OUTSTANDING

iPad 2

The iPad 2 is here and has reestablished Apple's dominant position in the tablet market. Thinner than the iPhone 4, and with thousands of apps that Honeycomb is lacking, the iPad 2 has also been equipped with a dual core processor and faster graphics. The iPad 2 ships with iOS 4.3 and a Photobooth app that takes advantage of the iPad 2's (admittedly crappy) dual cameras. Unfortunately, the screen remains the same gaining neither quality nor resolution. It has gained, however widespread bleeding issues. The iPad 2 also features a new Smart Cover which magnetically attaches to the iPad and protects the screen. It attaches with magnets and automatically wakes and turns off the device. The Smart Cover will run you between $39 and $69 for either polyurethane or leather. To most users however, the lighter iPad 2 is a clear choice for customers waiting to get a tablet. This is just ..... magical.

Since the iPad 2 ships with a different SoC, a jailbreak has not yet been released to the public with no ETA.

MWC 2011 : HTC

HTC has unleashed a myriad of phones (and a tablet) for the world's delight. And here they are.


Incredible S

The Incredible S features the same rugged, industrial, topographical back as the Droid Incredible but will be launched worldwide without any red highlights. It will run on a 1GHz processor and have a larger 4 inch screen. It also has 768 MB of RAM, and 8 and 1.3 megapixel cameras. The capacitive backlit buttons also rotate along with the screen and accelorometer making this device just that much cooler. The Incredible S will ship with Froyo in Q2.

Androidify

Wii style Mii avatars. Remember those? Google's official new Androidify app promises to do just that, albeit with exponentially cooler Android type bodies. Androidify your friends and family and save the avatars as your contact pictures or share them via Facebook and/or Twitter. This is sure to spice up your life.

MWC 2011 : Samsung

Samsung will have its presence felt here at MWC by way of two great devices, which also happen to be two great successors.
Galaxy S II

The successor to the wildly successful Galaxy S smartphones is a worthy one. Sporting a larger 4.3 inch screen (800x480) it also boasts Super AMOLED Plus technology. The Galaxy S II also has a 1GHz dual core processor that powers through Android 2.3 Gingerbread and runs TouchWiz 4.0. It will be available this month in Europe and Asia (unknown release date in North America) and will probably be (arguably) the thinnest smartphone on the market at just a smidge under 8.5mm.

MWC 2011 : Sony Ericsson

MWC 2011 in Barcelona has started with a bang. Sony Ericsson has just increased its Android portfolio by three.
Xperia Play

The highly anticipated devices that started leaking like a faucet half a year ago has finally been announced. This is an Android smartphone built for gaming. Other than the slick control pads, this is nothing special compared to the stars of CES. Games will run on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and will be presented on a 854x480 4-inch screen. This device is obviously targeted to a small group of customers and games have yet to be proven to have full compatibility and run smoothly.The Xperia Play will be available in March off-contract or subsidized courtesy of Verizon in "early spring".

HP WebOS Event

HP is in need of some high quality mobile devices to take advantage of its Palm acquisition. Today, it announced three.

HP Veer

The HP Veer is a petite phone with a 2.6 inch screen (320 x 400). However, unlike other small phones, this one has a fast 800 MHz processor as well as a 5 megapixel camera. It will sport the familiar Palm form factor with a portrait slide out keyboad and will run WebOS 2.2. The Veer will be availabe "this spring" at an undetermined price point.

Motorola Xoom Preview

According to multiple sources, the Motorola Xoom will become available the 17th of February for a rumored $799. That's a lot to ask for a tablet that is trying to topple the established iPad and soon the iPad 2. Without nearly as many good, quality, tablet specialized apps as the iPad, the Motorola Xoom may have a hard time winning over tablet customers. Especially at $799. (the Wi-Fi only version may be slightly cheaper).

UPDATE:

Wifi version now available for $599. iPad 2 still probably better choice as Honeycomb looks like a Beta build.