Happy New Year! Well so far this blog has been a struggle to maintain with life, school, etc. Well I’ve decided to change the concept of the site, but I am not quite done yet figuring what that change will be… but it will be something… thats for sure.
Anyways Happy New Years!!
Google+ launched earlier last week, Tue. June 28th and I was lucky enough to get an invite on Thur the 30th. When I had first heard about it, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. What is Google+ you ask? It’s a brand new social media platform created by of course Google. Think facebook and twitter and flickr even perhaps just in a nicer cleaner format. Google+ is a facebook similar layout looking social community in which you tie in all things Google. From within your Google+ account you can view your Picasa albums, your gmail (in the notices section), share video and pictures with friends, even friends not on Google+ by emailing them your posts. Google+ is like Facebook but more, and better.
Some screenshots regarding Google +:
In those images above you see some of the layouts in Google+ and features. Hangouts I think are one of the best features on Google+ (aside from the instant upload). I like how it seems you can share youtube videos with your friends and all watch the same video at the same time.
You will also notice on one of the screenshots a Invite people to Google+ icon, well that disappeared shortly after I took that screenshot the day I got the invite. It seemed as if Google turned them off, however some people have found a workaround for that.
Another awesome feature of Google+ is its “Circles” feature. Have you ever logged into facebook and seen a friend request that made you think “ugh.” But you had to allow them because well you felt obligated because it was a old friend or family member? Well with G+ (Google+) you can create these “circles” which in a sense work as categories. Now facebook has filters you can do but honestly they are so annoying to setup and would take forever if you had many friends to sort. Here with G+ you can drag and drop people in circles you create and then when posting choose which circles get to see that specific post.
Now my favorite feature that some people have complained or frowned on, is Instant Uploads via the official Android app (available on the market). Now there is a feature in the Android app that you can turn on (or off if you dont like it) that automatically uploads photos and videos unlimited to your G+ account. Now don’t fret, it uploads it to a PRIVATE folder in which you can then chose what to share or what to delete completely. If you delete a photo or video however from G+ it will delete it from your phone (not 100% sure on this but I believe this is what popped up at me the other day messing with this feature). There are some limits to what you can upload however:
As a Google+ user, you get the following:
Now other than that, no other limits on uploading.
I will continue to use G+ and hope to one day get away from Facebook all together. Facebook has become littered with spam, virus’, annoying 3rd party apps and games that it makes it sometimes annoying. Google+ I hope regulates this more and does not become Facebook but rather keeps growing and becomes what kills Facebook.
Now that you know what G+ is, how do you get an invite? Well you can pony up some money and buy a invite on ebay but I do not recommend that. I say go on twitter and search Google+ to try and get yourself an invite, or if you know someone who has one, ask them to create for example a circle called “invite” and to toss you into that circle. Then ask them to make a post on their page and choose to send it to the “invite” circle. When you get their email of their post you should see a Learn More button, click that and then you should be allowed to register. Goodluck!
Well one of the first Chromebooks (ntoebooks/netbooks) running and shipped with Google ChromeOS has surfaced. Created by Samsung and currently being sold on the Gilt Group. Select users were emailed about the notebook (or maybe everyone I don’t know lol) which offered a sale price for a limited time. Pricing for the Chromebooks was set at $499 (sold out already). Had I not already had a laptop and my bills I’d have gone for one… until I read about the 3G specs. Yes it comes with 3G not 4G AND the 3G is provided by Verison, however you only get 100mb data a month… 100mb is practically nothing now a days so that was a major downer. You can get passed that by using the WiFi option but then you still need the WiFi signal.
Official Specs:
• 12.1″ (1280×800) Display
• 3.26 lbs / 1.48 kg
• Up to 8.5 hours of continuous usage*
• Intel Dual-Core Processor
• Built in dual-band Wi-Fi and World-mode 3G**
• HD Webcam
• 2 USB 2.0 ports
• 4-in-1 memory card slot
• Mini-VGA port
• Fullsize Chrome keyboard
• Oversized, fully-clickable trackpad*Engineering specs can change without prior notice. Battery times are estimates, depend on lots of different factors, and may decline over time.**All Chromebook Series 5 3G models include up to 100MB per month of Mobile Broadband service included with device for 2 years, provided by Verizon. Also available are an unlimited day pass for just $9.99 and pay-as-you-go rates that don’t require any long-term contracts.
Brand: Samsung
Color: arctic white
Now you also get a nice little Limited Edition Google Chrome sleeve in order to protect your new toy with. I wish they’d sell that separately because I would def. get one of those. As well as that little Chrome Browser logo on the lid of the Chromebook.
Thoughts? Will you jump at this or wait until 4G enabled Chromebooks come out?
There are more Chromebooks on the way as well from Samsung and Acer. Check out Amazon’s Chromebooks page >here<.
While there has not been a new post since Feb. due to other obligations, personal family tragedys I have had to deal with, school and work, rest assured more posts are on their way. As many who are Android followers would know, there have been new tablets, phones, apps, etc. released that need to be covered and posted about! So keep an eye out soon for a update and new post here at Androidgal.com !
Have you looked at the iPad or Samsung Tablet and thought, hmm, I want one but think there was still something missing? Well take a look at the just released photo on T-Mobile’s website. The T-Mobil G-Slate with Google, a Android 3.0 Tablet. It looks real nice let me say.
>>Photo of the T-Mobile G-Slate with Google.<<
Also check out these demo videos for different aspects of the tablet.
Introducing the G-Slate
First look of the G-Slate with Google
Books on the G-Slate
Browser on the G-Slate
Gtalk on the G-Slate
Gmail on the G-Slate
Another First Look of the G-Slate
First Look of Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb
I recently have noticed an issue with my MyTouch 4Gs contacts… they are not syncing with my Gmail contacts. Gmail contacts created in Gmail are syncing but if created on the phone, they do not. In my searches on Google to find something to rectify this issue, I came across many people having this issue not only on the MyTouch but th Evo and other Android phones. It seems as if its an issue now with possibly the 2.1 Android software that seems to be the common thread in the phones having these issues. Now I’ve come across at least half a dozen different situations with people having this while searching but it does not seem to be a major outbreak type of thing, perhaps just some unlucky few.
Are you having this problem? Any tips on getting this fixed? If you are having this issue are you rooted or stock? Feel free to comment and give your experience with this issue or comment you don’t have this issue.
Well as I have had my MyTouch 4G a little over a month now I want to take a moment to talk about my experience with it.
Pros:
The dual cameras: (even though I’ve not had the chance to video chat) is a great plus. What’s even better is that the main camera, 5mp is actually decent. My main issue with my MyTouch 3G was the camera, it was horrible. Colors were off, pinks and reds looked orange, purples looked blue, etc. This is not the came with the MyTouch 4G, at least not so that I’ve noticed.
Design: A lot of people ragged on the design of the MyTouch stating it was ugly, but I don’t agree. I don’t know what part of the phone people think makes it look ugly, because I think it looks great.
Response Time: So far the response time with the MyTouch 4G has been great. No lags in between screens, or opening the application dock. With the MyTouch 3G I did have lag, however I did run another launcher that added to that. Will try out ADW once I get a chance. The only reason I would use ADW would be for skins. Although the MyTouch 4G comes with a skin-able system, there is only a few themes that come with the phone.
Cons: 4G speed… T-Mobile jumped the gun too soon on 4G. In my area where we should have great 4G speed according to all the reps and hoopla, I do not. Its terrible, sometimes there is no speed at all, instead I am met with Network Connection errors (when in the market), or Page Cannot be found (when web browsing). According to a phone rep, after 30 days of issues and a trouble ticket that supposedly fixed the issue (which was a lie, nothing is fixed) although my phone says H and we are in a great 4G area… 4G may actually really not be available, yes… we are being lied to according to a T-Mo rep I spoke with on the phone after being very unsatisfied with Tmo’s lack of support for this speed issue. They response as well was it could be bandwidth issues… if so they need to fix it. Why continue to sell when you can’t meet the demand? (though this is more a network issue than an issue with the phone)
Themes: As mentioned above, the MyTouch 4G comes with a few themes to change the look of you MyTouch but for a system that is all yours, and supposed to be really customizable, there is a major lacking in this area (without using a different home program, dock, etc).
Price: While the phone is great, the price is not. But this is with many smart phones on the market right now. It’s ridiculous that a phone would cost half a grand, its just not right, nor I’m sure necessary expect to make people richer.
Verdict? Well I do like the phone and I did decide to keep it (paying it off in payments cause I’m not rolling in cash like that to just pay it all in one go), but I am disappointed in T-Mo, and I feel every time I see a 4G commercial from T-Mo, is just sort of rubbing salt on the wound.
Well its been sometime since I added anything but RL (real life) has been getting in the way, but alas… to the point now…
Everyone has been wondering if the MyTouch 4G would be getting a dock of some sorts, well that questions has been answered today by T-Mobile here on their Facebook page.
The new swivel dock is priced at in my opinion way to expensive price tag, $49.99. Price of phone without contract is $450 + about $15 for a case, + now to round off the accessories $50 for the dock bringing the total to about $515 not counting taxes. Will you be getting a swivel dock? Sure it looks nice and pretty but does that justify the $50 price tag? I don’t think so. Would I accept one as a gift? Yes, yes I would… would I pay for one, no not in this economy, and not around the holidays when my main priority is to keep up with my bills, and be able to afford Christmas gifts for my nephews, niece, parents, and sisters… all this on a part time job pay check, while paying for school, its tough… so at least I got the phone, thats the main thing. Accessories and fun things to go with it, not in the picture, but speaking of pictures here is the swivel dock, you decide if its worth the $50 price tag.
As you probably know (if not read my post below) Android uploads video taken by your phone portrait mode by flipping it sideways. Well now (not sure how long it has been available) with YouTube’s video editor, you can now with one click rotate your video! No having to deal with complicated video editors to rotate your video, simply upload from your phone and then login to the full website and go to the video editor >here< and rotate your video! Here is a rotated version of the video below with a different track because for some reason the music on the video disappeared after rotating, not sure if its a bug with the video editor, I will do more testing, however it saves it as a new video so you will not lose your original recording… at least I did not.
Well as you read in my last post I have been having issues with the MyTouch 4G… I believe we have narrowed it down to a network issue in my area… in which I asked before purchase if I had good coverage… which I was told yes… I hope it is fixed or I will have to take the phone back come the 30th day…
However until then I will be testing out the camera, video camera, and other functions. Here is a video (sideways since I forgot to rotate the camera), of my nephew raking. Simple video, replaced the sound though.