Apple App Guy Review, Week 1!

We are starting a new segment here, with the Apple App Guy Review. This will be a weekly section reviewed and written by Derek Adams. Each week he will select a new Apple App to review, and then will rate them on a scale of 1-10! If you have any app suggestions you would like to see reviewed, feel free to leave a comment below, or email gadgetgamut@gmail.com

Robots haven’t taken over the world yet, but they are definitely making progress with the app “Bebot” for the iPhone/iPod/iPad. This addictive little app is cute and fun for the casual app user, and also offers great creativity/flexibility for the musically inclined.

At first glance, you’ll get the impression you are looking at a 1950′s variety show (i.e. The Milton Berle Show). As you press the screen, a delightful little robot straight out of The Jetsons belts out ear-catching notes. Double tap the button on the bottom right to bring up the options. From here, there are several presets that change the sound this little guy produces. My favorite was definitely “Syntharp”. After playing with the various presets, I decided to take this bot for a test run. I switched over to iTunes and put on my favorite techno jam: MSTRKRFT – Bodywork. Bebot allows you to play along with songs from your iTunes!

For the more advanced users, there are a ton of options to fine-tune the sound Bebot produces. You can select the autotune rate, display a note grid, and even adjust the echo/overdrive/chorus. The possiblities are endless.

I’m fully expecting to see professional musicians incorporate Bebot into their music, and evenually play this app live on stage. So for all the musicians out there, this could be the cheapest musical instrument you’ve ever purchased ($1.99 in the app store).

The Apple App Guy’s Rating: 9/10

Android devices set to get more power under the hood

The 1GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm has only been implemented in a few Android devices thus far, most notably the HTC Incredible on Verizon and the HTC Evo 4G, soon to be on Sprint. However, it sounds like Qualcomm is already upping the ante, by shipping dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processors that come in two flavors; the MSM8660 and the MSM8260. Both of these chipsets have integrated GPU and GPS, as well as supporting Open VG 1.1, Open GL ES 2.0, and 3D acceleration. They’re both also more than capable of encoding and decoding 1080p and will support a resolution as high as 1280 x800 pixels.  The only difference between the MSM8660 and the MSM8260 is that the former supports HSPA+ (AT&T, TMobile) and 1xEV-DO Rev. B (Verizon), while the latter supports only HSPA+. Even though the 1GHz Snapdragon is still pretty new to the scene, no worries on it already becoming outdated, as the 1.2GHz Snapdragon isnt slated for high-end cellphones til about 2011.

Yet ANOTHER Apple iPhone 4 leak.

iPhone 4's aluminum outer case (photo courtesy of Engadget.com)

It’s become no mystery as to what the new iPhone 4 will most certainly look like come its reveal at WWDC on Monday, June 7th at 10am Pacific, thanks to a handful of leaks both in the US and abroad. If WWDC were any further away, at the rate these leaks are coming, it would rival that of the BP Gulf Coast oil spill by the time the public laid their eyes on an iPhone 4 in Steve’s hands!

The picture above depicts what is rumored to be the aluminum outer shell of the next-gen iPhone. The shells in the photo certainly appear to hold true to the form factor of other leaked pictures floating around the interwebs. Even if you are not an Apple fan, you can’t deny the precision and apparent quality behind these shells. I’ll try to stay as on top of information as I can leading up to WWDC!

HTC Desire and Magic get a taste of Frozen Yogurt

Thanks to some enterprising and hard-working Android-lovin’ developers out there, the G1/Dream and the Magic are getting a taste of Android 2.2 Froyo! Even though the OS has been slated only for phones with more current specs, the older phones seem to be able to run the OS quite well, which is definitely a good thing for a community that holds “rooting” so close to its collective heart. There are a few gaping holes in its current form, such as the lack of GPS and the lack of WiFi, but I wouldnt put it past the Android community to release a more encompassing ROM for those with devices that wont be receiving an official 2.2 upgrade.

AT&T to get its first real Android device?

If the sources are to be believed, AT&T looks to be releasing it’s first true player in the Android world, in the form of the Samsung i897. Details are still scarce on the device, but it certainly sounds like it’s headed in the right direction on the spec sheet!

The leaked Samsung i897 for AT&T (photo courtesy of androidguys.com)

There’s really no telling when this phone is due out, so it’s difficult to say whether it will be running Android 2.1 or Android 2.2 when it’s released, but it is said to be the more bare-boned Google Experience, rather than a skinned up version such as HTC’s Sense UI. Some of the specs that have been gathered from the device are  Android 2.1 (in the current leaked form), a 4-inch AMOLED screen, and a 5 megapixel camera, all wrapped around a possible 1GHz Snapdragon processor. If this thing is any where as smooth as the HTC Incredible running Android 2.1 with its 1GHz Snapdragon, then this phone will be an absolute joy to use!

Bitbop for Blackberry

Often times I’m kind of weary about these apps that claim to beam your favorite TV shows straight to your phone. They rarely have much support or backing from major television providers, and often lack in quality, features, or ease of use. This is especially true when they come out for a platform such as Blackberry!

An application called Bitbop is set to hopefully start something new and seems to resemble a Hulu type application for your mobile device. From first look, it also seems to have the backing of quite a few major content providers such as NBC Universal, A&E, The Food Network, CBS, MTV, and 20 other partners.

However, this party isn’t going to be free. It is going to cost about $10 a month for access to all of that content. Here’s to hoping device support gets extended to other phones, if an app like this can make it past Apple’s draconian app approval process. As for Android users, you may not even need to bother with something like this, as a few enterprising folks have figured out how to get Hulu to work on Android 2.2!

Which new OS has you most excited?

Now that some of the big players in the game (Apple and Google) have released a pretty thorough list of key improvements and features in their new OS version, which one are you most excited about? Feel free to leave a comment if you feel a different OS deserves to be on the list!

Great visualization on Android’s history to date

I found this image while perusing Gizmodo, and I think it does a great job of showing the scope of Androids success in its fairly short life of 18 months. It makes me very interested to see what is in store from here on out for the operating system!

Android visualization of growth (photo courtesy of gizmodo via AndroidTapp)

Firefox syncing for iPhone?

Well it looks like the iPhone will be receiving an application that will allow for the syncing of Firefox browsing sessions straight to the phone.

You will be able to bring over your browsing history, your tabs, your bookmarks, and your Awesome bar straight to the iPhone. This is not the Firefox Fennec that people have patiently been waiting for. However, it is something that’s going to make things a bit easier for you if you’re not all that attached to Safari on your home computer.

Android 2.2 (Froyo) Set to Refresh ‘Hot and Bothered’ Following.

"Everyone move to the left. Gotta make some room!" (photo courtesy of digitaltrends.com)

To say that people are excited about Android 2.2 ( also known as Frozen Yogurt, FroYo) would be quite an understatement. Google’s affinity for confectionary treat-labeled Android OS versions is about to dish out a whole slew of cavities and brain freeze on Android users.

Some Nexus One users have already had the chance to give version 2.2 a test drive, but for those who are salivating at the sound of a new OS version should definitely read up on the improvements the new version brings. I’ll quickly list some of the main advantages, and go into more detail on each one later.

• Overall performance increase of 2-5x thanks to the Dalvik JIT (just-in-time) compiler.
• Browser speed increase of 2-3x due to new Javascript engine.
• New device APIs.
• Enhanced Exchange support.
• Full Flash!
• WiFi tethering and WiFi hotspot.

Each point is very exciting on its own, but to have them all batched into one OS version makes it an extra-special addition to the Android OS family. Sure, the media player, photo-viewer, entertainment aspect of the device is still begging for some love. But, this sets down a fantastic foundation for a beefy, robust media and entertainment overhaul that could possibly be coming as early as the next iteration of Android in Gingerbread. (We might have even had a glimpse of this new overhaul in Google’s I/O Android Keynote)

Overall Speed Increase – The new Dalvik JIT (Just-in-time) compiler really seems to be doing some heavy speed boosting under the proverbial hood of Android 2.2! Initial tests done by some lucky/brave Nexus One users have helped to confirm the seemingly sensational claims made by the Google Android staff. Using a benchmark test known as Linpack offers a demo to the increase, one example shown here. Even though it’s been said by those that have had their hands on a Froyo enabled device that it’s often difficult to tell much of a speed difference, it’s still said that it is more noticeable on processor-intensive actions/applications.

Browser Speed Increase – Google has made the bold claim that they have the fastest mobile browser out there. And from the looks of it, they weren’t kidding! Android already has a pretty quick browser. I have used the HTC Incredible, and was extremely satisfied at the speed the browser renders pages. From the Android Keynote demo of their new Javascript engine, those speeds will only be looking faster from here, which is very exciting in the mobile phone world.

New Device APIs – I could pretty easily write an entire article on this bullet-point alone. However, I will just cover one of the most interesting and  intriguing. Cloud-to-device! What’s this you ask? Well pull up a chair. Thanks to a new extension available on both Chrome and Firefox, Android 2.2 users will have the ability to push an “Intent” from their browser to their phone. Everyone has hit the point where they are deep into an article or a video and they have to leave the comfort of their computer without finishing what they’ve started. Now, you can click a little phone icon within the browser, and the browser will push the page you’re on directly to your phone. No, it’s not just a link to where you were. In a matter of seconds, your phone’s browser will pop up, open the article or video you were reading, without any work on your part. Simple as that!

Enhanced Exchange Support – Exchange support has arguably been one of the reasons Blackberry has reached the point in the market that it has. It’s great for corporate and business email servers and users, Not just for the end user, but also for the IT department that manages it. Android will finally be able to better compete in the corporate world with the new enhancements in their Exchange support

Full Flash Support – This is definitely one of the most hotly anticipated features of Android 2.2, especially in the current landscape of support for Adobe. Things have been heated as of late with Apple’s and Adobe’s back-and-fourth rhetoric, and the idea of having a browser/device that’s fully compatible with Adobe’s Flash seems to be a very popular prospect with both Android users and non-Android users. Even though the Flash player is still a little bit buggy and is still causing some possibly sluggish performance on the device, the player is still in Beta, so we’ll have to see how this shakes out.

WiFi Tethering and Hotspots – These two new features received cheers and applause by the attendees of the Google I/O Android Keynote. And why wouldn’t they?! Just as you would expect, they do exactly what you would want them to do. The tethering allows you to plug your phone into your laptop and use it as a wireless/3G data card. The Hotspot allows you to turn your phone into what’s essentially a wireless router using your 3G connection. Very exciting stuff, but it remains to be seen if these two abilities will be hindered or cut off completely by the carriers.

Whew, long first article and my fingers are tired. Time for some dinner! Hope to update again tomorrow, so please check back!