Upcoming Devices and What I Want (Need...)

    This is the time of year when the tech world becomes a prism of ideas, rumors, speculation, wishes, & demands. The heavyweights of the world- your Apples, Googles, etc. - all converge numerous times in convention centers around the globe to launch or announce their newest, baddest, most glorious devices & innovations to the mass public. This is the season I enjoy most=)
    Google i|o was a great day for Android purists as Google announced the Nexus 7 & Nexus Q.  The 7 has taken off & doing really well. It could possibly be the best selling Android tablet on the market. I was reluctant about grabbing the N7 at first, because I've seen & used several other Android tablets over the last couple of years & figured this would be no different.  Why buck for another tablet that would be more of the same. As it turns out, I was very surprised & more than pleased with the performance so I got one. I've hardly put it down...  The Q hasn't done nearly as well, mainly due to Google's pulling it from the Google Play Store to "enhance" it.
    Motorola announced, today, that it was releasing 3 new RAZR models on Verizon. I'm sure they're gonna be really good but my question is why are they making all the new models look so similar?  Even the new Atrix HD looks like a RAZR?!  I'm not sure if this is to distance itself from Apple's trigger-happiness or they just really, really like the top-heavy design.  I'm on the fence...
    Apple should be having their lil get-together pretty soon, as well.  From what I gather, they're giving their faithful some things Android users have been enjoying for awhile, now.
    Personally, I'm holding out for a new Nexus phone.  This is going to be a bit interesting this time, as there will be 3 dropping this time, rather than only 1, as usual.  3 different manufacturers. I'm giddy=)

So what device(s) have caught your eye so far? 

Google Buys Motorola- THE GAME JUST CHANGED

This one was music to my ears & candy to my eyes:

Google just kicked Apple, threw them into the ropes, & speared'em by purchasing Motorola:)

As I noted a few weeks ago, if Google could/would buy a manufacturer then almost all their troubles as far as fragmentation would go bye-bye & Apple wouldn't be as much of a dominant force in the smartphone world any longer. I am extremely happy about this, especially since I myself own a Motorola device. Hopefully this will mean more & better updates & a better, wholesome Android experience from here on out.

I've read that Moto was seemingly hinting around to going after Samsung & other manufacturers to collect royalties: I didn't understand this until now. As part of Google, it makes sense to an extent.

Anyway, to learn more about this acquisition click the link below for more details...

Official Google Blog: Supercharging Android: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility

Why I Hate Apple (One Of Many Reasons...)

This whole patent violation thing has gotten out of hand. If the US courts keeps siding with Apple, nobody's going to be able to compete with them. It's abuse of a hole in the system on Apple's part. Since when can you patent "the internal wiring" of a device? It's horsecrap.
You see, Apple is & has been submitting patents on every minuscule piece of their devices, including the colors, wiring, etc.  Doesn't sound like a big deal at first, at least until you dive deeper & see that in order for Samsung, HTC, Moto, etc. to be able to compete with a device of their own, they can't use the color white. Or run/connect the internal wiring a certain way. Can't even have a similar form factor (which is almost impossible mind you, but will need to be done). And lately, as a company is set to launch a new device,  Apple has even had the audacity to try to get a court's ruling that they must first let Apple see it & disect it... BEFORE it can be launched?! Hmmm... That didn't fly with the courts (thank goodness) but you can see the abusive nature of this situation.
To put this in perspective, imagine if the company that invented the automobile or any car manufacturer throughout the last 100yrs had patented every minute detail of the machine including 4 wheels, a steering wheel, bucket seats, etc.? Then sued every other car manufacturer for patent infringement each time they installed a bucket seat or a seat that RESEMBLED a bucket seat, a muffler configuration (they're usually snaked over & around components under the vehicle to exit out the rear). Wouldn't you say it would be extremely difficult if not close to impossible to effectively compete in that environment? I would.
In order to foster competition, companies should be able to patent certain aspects of the device, however abusing the priviledge only destroys competition & eventually drives up prices for the consumer. The less competition around, the more I can charge you for this or that- where else are you gonna go?
Just another reason why I hate Apple, folks...

Why Google Buying RIM (Blackberry) Would Rock!

  Heard any new rumors lately?  If you follow tech news at all, then of course you have.  However, the rumor that has me most excited right now is about the possibility of Google purchasing Research In Motion (RIM).  RIM makes Blackberry devices.  RIM is having an increasingly tough time competing with Google Android & Apple iOS (iPhone).  Lately, the question is being asked more & more:  Should Google Buy RIM?
 I personally would love to see this happen.  Why?  Because unlike Apple, which owns iOS as well as their own hardware for it (the iPhone), Google only has an operating system- Android.  The problem with this scenario is that while Android is an awesome platform, it's used on many different devices, made by many different manufacturers, whom of which seem to love to tweak Android each time they release a new device, which in turn interferes with consistent updates & the overall uniformity of the operating system.  I've thought this over & I can't see any downside to the acquisition.  It would make Google a manufacturer.  Now, they would not only own their operating system (Android) but they would also have way more control of  how Android would be used on their devices.  It would put a stop to the bleeding called "fragmentation", which is what happens when Android is spread out across so many different devices & tainted, changed, & modified to death on each one.  For example: Your Android phone isn't the same as my Android phone.  Yours acts a bit different than mine because, say, yours was built by Samsung & mine was built by Motorola.  Google building their own devices would eliminate this, moving forward.
So what do you think?  Any other ideas why Google should or shouldn't take over RIM?  Share your thoughts.

Gingerbread Coming To Motorola Atrix 4G- JULY

Motorola Atrix 4G users may be excited to hear that they may be receiving the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update sometime next month. Test builds have been sent out, and users can expect the update to hit through an over the air update.

The Tegra 2-toting handset will be updated to version 2.3.3 of the Android OS, and will receive the latest version of the Motoblur UI, which attempts to smooth out some of the mess that it is. When you’re dealing with a heavily customized user interface like Motoblur, sometimes you may not even notice that you’re on the new version of the OS, as the skin itself hides it. Luckily, Motorola has implemented some of the nice touches found in Gingerbread, and you’ll find things like the overscroll glowing effect you’d find on stock Gingerbread. The updated version of Motoblur should bring a handful of enhancements as well, including a redone keyboard, tweaked applications and icons, enhanced camera software, and more.

While it’s still unknown, it may be a bit too soon to expect that the Gingerbread update will unlock the bootloader of the handset. Motorola has made promises that it will begin to unlock the bootloaders of its phones sometime in late 2011, and July is just barely past the mid-way point, so to expect an unlocked bootloader may be wishful thinking. Still, we certainly can’t say it’s not a possibility.

The first dual-core phone in the US is definitely a powerhouse, but we’re beginning to see devices that best it in specs, and come with Android Gingerbread out of the box. Hopefully the Gingerbread bump will help the Atrix maintain its allure once the hordes of dual-core competition make it to market.

Here’s to an Android phone getting an update in a (somewhat) timely fashion! Now if it was only the latest version, we’d be even more exited.

[Via: GSMArena]