Category: Small Biz Go Mobile

Windows Phone 8X by HTC Launches Today Starting at $99 on AT&T

by Katherine Elsasser
HTC Windows Phone 8X
HTC Windows Phone 8X in California Blue, Starting at $99

If you’re still not sure about Windows 8 mobile devices, it may be time to change your mind. Ever since we first got a chance to see it, we’ve loved the design of  the HTC’s Windows Phone 8X. Now that the phone is available from AT&T we’re loving the price, too: the 8GB model is only $99 with a 2-year contract, and the 16GB is only $199. The HTC Windows Phone 8X is a great deal for customers who want top-quality design and performance, but don’t want to spend a ton to get it.

We love that this device isn’t one of the giant screen “mega-phones,” but instead has the right form and factor and size to be truly practical and comfortable. It’s light and sleek, but the 4.3″ display is big enough to make using the device a fun experience. But it’s not like the device sacrifices specs to be light and thin, either. Both model will boast impressive specs, including a Qualcomm dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, an 8MP camera, BeatsAudio technology for superior sound and a 341ppi “Super LCD” screen.

The 8GB model will be available in either California Blue or Limelight Yellow, while the 16GB model comes exclusively in California Blue. Want to see it in action? Watch our video below.

Click to here to order now from AT&T.

$99 Nokia Lumia 920, $49 Lumia 820 Pre-Order Begins Today

by Katherine Elsasser
Nokia Lumia 920
Nokia Lumia 920 in yellow & red

Pre-orders for both the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Lumia 820 begin today at AT&T. Amazingly, the insanely fast and feature-rich Lumia 920 is available for only $99 (contract price), while the 820 will go for $49.99 (also contract price).

Available exclusively on AT&T, the Lumia 920 is without a doubt the Nokia new flagship device for the holiday season. In the past few years the company has lost ground to manufacturers like Apple and Samsung, and the Lumia 920 is Nokia’s comeback effort. And it’s a strong one. Ton win back users, they’re offering a great deal: a premium phone at a budget-conscious price.

The Lumia 920 is all about offering lots of features. First of all, it’s got 32 GB of space, which is unheard of in a top of the line smartphone under $200. There are turn-by-turn directions. You can use the touchscreen with gloves on. And it can be charged wirelessly with a charging plate, without any additional software or bulky cases.

The build is serious too, with 4G LTE, a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and a 4.5″ inch display. And like previous Nokia offerings, they’ve put a lot of work into the 8.7 MP camera. There’s a Carl Zeiss lens, and proprietary camera technology called PureView that allows for better image stabilization for low-light photos. Read more on the specs and features of the Lumia 920 here.

And colors. Let’s not forget about the colors here. Cyan, red, yellow, black, and white. The design factor of the Lumia 920 is definitely bold, and is interesting after several years of mostly black and glass phones.

Click here for complete specs and pre-order information.

For the more budget-conscious, Nokia is also offering the Lumia 820, a more mid-range version of the 920. It will run off the same Snapdragon Processor, but feature a slightly smaller screen at 4.3 inches, and only comes with 8GB of internal memory. Still, it’s a very powerful smartphone for only $49.99. Click here for more information and to pre-order the Nokia Lumia 820.

Win 2 Ways to Stay Charged On the Go from AT&T

by admin

win a charge sync cable for iPhone Android and MoreTrying to keep your devices charged is basically the bane of modern mobile existence. We’re here to help, so we’re offering a way to win two mobile charging aids from AT&T: a combo sync/charge cable, and a dual USB car charger.

First up the is a combo sync and charge cable. One side is a Micro USB, and the other is an old-school 30-pin dock connector for iDevices. That means this device can charge AND sync just about any smartphone or digital camera that takes a MicroUSB, plus iPhones and iPods, other than those brand-new iDevices with lighting connectors. And it can charge your tablets.

win a dual usb car chargerAs if that weren’t enough, we’ve got one more: the dual USB car charger. It’s like those regular car chargers that are almost a necessity these days, except it’s designed to accomodate two USB cables. That means two people can charge their phones at the same time, or if you’re flying solo you can charge two devices at once.

So how do you enter? Just tweet about our big giveaway! Because in addition to these two cool products we’re giving away a bunch more, all thanks to AT&T. Go here to see all our giveaways, and follow the directions in the widget below to enter to win your charging devices!

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UPDATED: Tablet Buying Guide: Comparing Major Brands, Specs & Prices

by Katherine Elsasser

UPDATED 11/6: We’ve added Barnes & Noble’s Nook tablets. For more on the Nook, go here.

UPDATED 10/31: We’ve added Google’s new Nexus 10 tablet to the chart. For more on the Nexus 10, go here.

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It may be impossible for us to pick a tablet for you. After all, personal preferences and needs account for a lot when it comes to gadgets. But we can at least help you know what’s out there! There’s a ton of different choices, so we’ve broken out the specs on some of leading tablets (including Kindle, iPad, Surface and Nexus)  to help you compare and contrast.  Plus we’ll be updating this chart as more devices are released.

A few things to consider as you look at the chart below:

– What size tablet would be the most useful for you? When and where will you use the device most often?
– Is cellular connectivity important to you? There’s a significant price hike on devices with 3G and 4G LTE capabilities (they all include WiFi).
– We’ve listed the base prices below. Upgrades for additional storage or in the case of Kindle, devices without ads, will cost more.
– Pixels per Inch is a good guide to display quality, but quality is also affected by things like contrast and illumination. If this is a big concern, we recommend trying a device in person.

Are we missing a tablet you’re considering purchasing? Have more questions? Let us know in the comments!

tablet comparison chart buying guide
Questions? Let us know in the comments!

 

Samsung Galaxy Note II Now Available for Pre-Order from AT&T

by Shy Mukerjee

The latest Superphone is almost here—starting today, AT&T is taking pre-orders for the Galaxy Note II, the latest high-end superphone from Samsung. A step up in every conceivable way from the Galaxy S3, the Note II is a powerhouse. 1.6GHz Quad core processors. 5.5″ Super AMOLED HD display. Next-gen S-Pen stylus technology.

Pre-order the Galaxy Note II at AT&T today by visiting: att.com/galaxy-note-ii.

We’ve talked about the previous generation Galaxy Note on our site quite a bit, and if you’re new to the Giant-Smartphone-Meets-Tablet hybrid that is the Galaxy Note, I’d encourage you to check out some of our earlier coverage:

– Is bigger better? Samsung’s betting on it with the Galaxy Note 5.3″ Phone
– iPad Still King: Why Artists Can’t Take Samsung’s S-Pen and the Galaxy Note Seriously
– Samsung Galaxy Note & Intuit GoPayment Bring Mobile Payments Everywhere

Later this week, we’ll be bringing you videos of the new device, showing off the features and figuring out if the improved S-Pen is good enough to risk embarrassing yourself using a Stylus on your smartphone in 2012. But if you already know you want it, why not pre-order today?

New Nook HD Tablets from Barnes & Noble; Price Cuts On Older Tablets

by Katherine Elsasser
Barnes and Noble 7" tablet Nook HD
the new Nook HD

In all the tablet talk in the last couple of weeks, we had kind of forgotten about the Nook from Barnes and Noble. Woops. They’re back with brand-new devices to go head to head with Apple and Amazon. Starting Thursday November 8th, customers will be able to choose from a 7″ Nook HD or the 9″ Nook HD+.

Like all the other tablet makers on the market, it seems Barnes and Noble wants us to focus on screen resolution. To be fair, the Nook HD does have the best screen resolution of any 7″ tablet out there. With a screen resolution of 243 pixels per inch, or 1440 x 900, the Nook HD is way ahead of the iPad Mini, which clocks in at 163 ppi. And while the 9″ HD+ doesn’t have its counterpart’s best screen in the business, it does have a very respectable 1920 x 1280 screen.

The other major selling feature of the Nook is supposed to be simplicity; Barnes and Noble is marketing the device as a tablet for “families,” meaning that they want to push universal ease of use, rather than promote hardcore tech specs. If you’re curious though, the Nook HD runs a modified version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, which is not the latest Android operating system (that would be Jelly Bean). However, B&N is guessing it won’t matter to their audience, instead using the custom OS to provide up to 6 separate profiles for family members.

The 7″ Nook HD with 8GB of storage will run you $200, while the 16GB model costs $230. The Nook HD+ starts at $269.00 for the 16GB version, and 32GB will cost you $299.00. Plus both Nooks also offer expandable microSD storage if you’d like to really increase your tablet’s space. There’s no expandable storage on the Nexus 7, iPad Mini or Kindle Fire, so if you’re into storage, definitely check out the Nook. Ironically though, the Nook is also the only one of those tablets without a camera, meaning users can’t take photos or videos, generally the biggest hogs of built-in storage.

For budget-minded consumers, the original Nooks will see a steep discount this season, with the Nook Color now only $139 and the Nook tablet only $159 for 8 GB or $179 for 16GB. Both are still solid tablet options for the right user, and the price can’t be beat.

What do you think about the Nook?  Would you consider a purchase? Let us know in the comments!

 

 

iPad 4: Is the New iPad Really That New? Is It Worth It?

by Katherine Elsasser
iPad 4 with retina display
iPad 4 with Retina Display. Worth your money?

Is it worth upgrading the new iPad 4? Well, that answer depends a lot on whether you have an iPad now, which one you have, and whether you have to have an Apple device — or a tablet at all.

Let’s back up for a second, and talk about why the iPad 4 release is sort of weird. First of all, it’s off-cycle. In the past Apple has updated its iPad (and iPhone) offerings once a year. But the previous iPad (let’s go ahead and call that iPad 3) was just released in March.

And that really highlights my irritation with Apple: rather than calling March’s release the iPad 3 (like the rest of us) they wanted us to call it “the new iPad.” Same deal with the most recent release. It’s almost as if they wanted customers who bought v3 not to notice that the product got upgraded within just a few months of purchase. Apple knew that they’d be releasing an updated iPad sooner than most consumers anticipated, but let folks buy those iPad 3s anyway. More proof: you can’t buy an iPad 3 on Apple.com. Your choices are either iPad 2 (now the budget model) or iPad 4. Apple’s calling it “iPad with Retina Display,” but when you look at the specs, it’s clear the only choice is this new, 4th generation model.

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Win a ZAGGsparq Portable Battery for Your Smartphone

by Katherine Elsasser

zaggsparq portable battery for smartphones and tabletsWhen your cell phone runs out of power, the result can be anything from just annoying to incredibly dangerous. And try as we might, it’s hard to stay charged all the time, especially when you really need to make calls. It makes sense to have a backup battery for those times, which is why we’re giving away a ZAGGsparq Portable Backup Battery for your phone.

The ZAGGsparq works as both a backup battery and a wall charger, so you only need to carry one device to stay charged. The wall charging feature recharges your phone up to 4 times faster than a standard USB charger, while the backup battery will get you 2 charges on your device. The ZAGGsparq is compatible with just about all of the major iOS and Android devices (including tablets), so odds are it will work with your device.

If you think you could use a portable battery (and we think you could!) it’s easy to enter. Use the widget below and go to our main giveaway page to leave us a comment!

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Win a ZAGGfolio Keyboard Case for iPad from AT&T

by admin

Win a free Zaggfolio for iPadSometimes you just need to type fast. Not iPad fast, but keyboard fast. It’s not a problem, if you’ve got a ZAGGfolio keyboard case to help make it work. It’s a keyboard, but it’s also a carrying case that protects your iPad. And it also doubles (triples?) as a stand for the iPad. AND the keyboard will slide out of the case, if you’d like to sit back and get some space between you and the tablet. In short, the ZAGGfolio is an incredibly handy gadget to have if you own an iPad2 or iPad3. So you want to know how to get one, right?

Entering is easy – follow the directions in the widget below! It will tell you how to visit one of Mario’s blog posts, and leave a comment to enter to win. Simple!

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Google’s New Nexus 4 Phone, Nexus 10 Tablet Announced Today

by Katherine Elsasser

Turns out, Google isn’t going to let a little thing like the worst meteorological event of the last 80 years keep them down. Nope, even though they were forced to cancel their big event in NYC today, we still get find out all about their new devices, the Nexus 4 and the Nexus 10.

Google Nexus 10
The new Google Nexus 10, a 10″ tablet designed to compete with the full-size iPad

It’s a little confusing how many devices are named the Nexus, so let’s recap for a second. The Nexus is a product line of hardware designed by Google for Android. It comes it 3 sizes: smartphone, 7″ tablet & 10″ tablet. The Nexus 7 is the 7″ tablet that’s been out for a few months (you can watch our hands-on review of the device here). The Nexus 4 is Google’s newest smartphone, and the Nexus 10 is the 10″ tablet (see what they did there?). So in other words the numbers indicate how big the device is, more or less, and not a sequential progression of newer devices.

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