Welcome to Adam's Mobile Technology Blog!Posted by Adam Carolan
Like many of you, I'm eager to get my hands on new gadgets as soon as they hit the shelves. Most recently I went into a very large technology outlet, I'll not say the name as there are hundreds of other options available for all of your technology needs but let's just call it...Hurry's... Seems appropriate...
I was in purchasing a new Wireless router when I got a chance to play with the new Samsung Galaxy Note. I genuinely believe it's one of the best devices I've used in ages; incredible display and speed, its response time was excellent and you really get a sense of freedom with the device, dragging and cropping photos, writing messages, all then capable of being posted on to social networks and sent. It really is impressive. The downside of it being that it's far too big to be used as a day to day phone, but as a media device it's perfect.
I was so taken back I found myself walking over to a sales assistant who worked there and enquired more about it. When asking what the unlocked price was, she quoted me £549.95 for the 16GB model. I explained that seemed a bit steep when I would buy a 16GB 3G iPad 2 for £449.95 with a bigger screen and more versatile day to day practical use; she then looked at me and in a kind of confused way said "well yeah...but....this makes phone calls". Bright girl.
This got me thinking about the next big move in tablet technology, and for us here in the UK, that has to be the soon to be released (hopefully) Kindle Fire from Amazon. Already a huge success across the pond, the Fire boasts a 7.5" screen and the new Android Silk browser, allowing faster email and Amazon Market access, not available to users in Europe at present but plans are in place to have it made available by the end of the year. With only 8GB of internal memory (additional memory offered through Amazon Cloud access), this little piece of kit comes in at a remarkably reasonable $200 at present, when compared to the price of an iPad 2, and is expected to be under £200 when it hits the UK.
This got me thinking about other reasonable tablets out there at the moment. Another that isn't short of technology and packs a fast, safe browser experience is the BlackBerry Playbook. Since its release back in April, it has unfortunately failed to set the world on fire like Blackberry was expecting, mainly due to the lack of Apps available on Blackberry App World and the fact that connecting to the internet can only be done through a Blackberry mobile device. This was originally intended to save users money as any Blackberry user will tell you a Blackberry is always connected anyway and shrinks the data the device intakes in order to speed up downloads and lower usage when compared with other devices, whilst offering a safer, encrypted more secure surfing experience. Now I know Blackberry have had problems recently, we all remember the network trouble a few months back, but as a media device it's second to none, with a 16GB model setting you back a reasonable £202.58 on Amazon currently. It all really boils down to what you want your tablet to do and what you need your tablet to do.
When I was little I remember asking my Dad for a new bike. I distinctly told him I needed one. This was about 6 weeks after Christmas. He explained that if I wasn't planning on becoming Dave Mirra or joining the Tour de France thenI probably didn't need but wanted one and that my old bike was fine. I then explained that OK in that case I really, really (really) wanted one; he quickly slapped me on the back of the head.....nice guy my Dad. But he was right.
The new Kindle does seem to be the ideal bargain choice, but doesn't have the internal memory or camera most might find appealing from a media device. On the opposite side, the Playbook does have a 3MP front and 5MP back camera and comes with better sound quality, and Kobo, that turns the device into an excellent e-reader, similar to the Kindle, but is limited by the Apps currently available for it at present. There are rumours Blackberry will join Google this year and allow users to have access to the Android Market but as of yet these haven't been confirmed.
What I'm trying to say is that it all boils down to what you need your device to do, not what you want it to do. If you're looking at using it more as a day to day media player, go for the playbook. If Apps and games on your commute seem more your style, but don't want to spend a ton, then hang on for the Fire (by all accounts it's worth the wait). If all else fails, buy the iPad and pray to God you can still run faster than your Dad...
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