mobile

New Protection For Our Androids

nexus-7-nexus-4Not long ago Ed Tyson of Expert Shield contacted me with an offer of his companies screen protection for our Android devices. As our various phones (Nexus 4) & tablets (Nexus 7) are presently naked(!) I decided to take him up on his offer. We’re just awaiting arrival of the goods.

In the past I have used Skinomi Techskin and found them quite good. I once again reached for their products when I shattered the glass back on my Nexus 4 some weeks ago. The carbon wrap is still working great to hold the broken back together.

That said, I found that the clear protective layer for the front of the phone was a bit on the thick side. While it worked well enough as protection I found that it felt a little gummy to the touch. It subtly changed the feel of the phone in use, something that I’d like to avoid if possible.

Stella and I were initially using the Poetic Borderline Bumper case for Google Nexus 4 but we both stopped using them in recent weeks. Stella found that it made the power and volume buttons awkward to access. Mine simply tore near the power connection, then started to come apart.

Read More

My Nexus 4 Is Broken

Google-Nexus-4 & Dog LeashTuesday was a sad day indeed, for that was the day that my Nexus 4 was broken. I was out walking the dogs with the phone in  my pocket. I don’t think that there was anything else in my pocket. When I returned home I noticed that the back of the phone was literally shattered.

The phone was in a bumper but not otherwise protected. I suppose it’s possible that something struck my pocket, possibly the one of the dogs leashes. We use the fairly common retractable leashes that have a hard plastic handle.

The damage is only the glass back of the phone. Initially it was limited to the area just around the the slot where the speaker is located. Over time the cracks spread across most of the back of the phone.

I did a little Googling around to see if this was commonplace, and scope out possible solutions. I know that Karl Fife had to perform a repair on his Nexus 4.

Read More

T-Mobile Launches HDVoice Nationwide; Kinda, Sorta, Maybe, A Little Bit

T-Mobile-on-HDVoice.pngLast month at CES the nations #3 mobile carrier launched HDVoice nationally on its HSPA+ network. Here’s the entire press release. Actually, here’s the snippet that you need to track:

T-Mobile today announced that HD Voice is now available on its network nationwide, dramatically improving in-call voice quality for customers with capable smartphones. Customers will hear a more true-to-life voice quality that’s fuller and more natural-sounding with significantly reduced background noise from street traffic, wind and crowd noise. To experience HD Voice, both parties on the call must use capable T-Mobile 4G smartphones such as the HTC One™ S, Nokia Astound and Samsung Galaxy S® III on T-Mobile’s HD Voice-enabled nationwide network. T-Mobile is the first U.S. wireless provider to launch HD Voice nationwide.

It’s very exciting, yes? Well, it is for me as I am both a big fan of HDVoice and a long-time T-Mobile customer.

Read More
Back To Top