(this brand new image for Spinning Gears columns is courtesy of Narilka, who graciously gave permission to use it!)

Well, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. Verizon Wireless finally has the iPhone 4. But I’m not getting one, and I’m a very happy Verizon Wireless customer and have been for years: since my first cellular phone, in fact.

My decision has nothing to do with Verizon Wireless, or some misguided love for AT&T (I actually rather dislike them, but not because of the company, just because for my professional gigs I can’t get their PR folks to reply to my e-mail to save my life) or any disaffection I have for Apple (in fact, I’ve been frequently accused of being too much of an Apple fan, even though I pride myself on liking their products but being willing to call them out when appropriate) but instead my decision based on a couple of things: timing, technology, and trends.

As I said in the title – this is just me. If you’re eager and chomping at the bit to get an iPhone 4 next month as soon as they’re out, by all means more power to you – drop AT&T like a hot rock, especially if you live in an area with horrible service (service that AT&T knows about and yet refuses to improve, but is perfectly comfortable charging you massive Early Termination Fees to leave) and want to switch to a carrier that, you know, actually works. Me though, I’ll hang on to my Motorola Droid just a little longer.

Hit the jump, let me explain what I’m on about here.

Continue reading Spinning Gears :: Why I’m Not Getting a Verizon iPhone, but That’s Just Me…

Probably the most promising tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show last week in Vegas was the Motorola Xoom – the first and right now only tablet that will run Google’s Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” at launch, and will come to you courtesy of the Verizon Wireless network. Verizon Wireless really made a play at CES for some of the best and strongest devices this year (and after the fact, but we’ll get to that later) and their effort really shows.

The video above is from Mashable, where they got a chance to go hands-on with the device which, sadly, was only really showing a demo video of the Xoom’s features and of Honeycomb at CES – Motorola wasn’t about to let anyone see the workings of the device, likely because it’s ready for show, but probably not ready to completely show off just yet.

Still, the video above (along with the demo video we’ve posted already) will give you an idea of what to expect when the Xoom is available, and kind of tantalize you as to why everyone is looking forward to it so much.

For some more detail on the device and a rundown of the specs, this hands-on at PC Mag should help.

[ Mashable :: HANDS-ON: Motorola Xoom and Android Honeycomb [VIDEO] ]

Some of the most promising mobile phones at CES were the Droid Bionic and the Cliq 2, both from Verizon Wireless. The Droid Bionic will be a 4G LTE phone, making use of Verizon Wireless’ new high-speed network, and frankly? It’ll likely be my next phone (I know, I know, I’ll get to the iPhone announcement shortly.)

PC Mag went hands-on with the Bionic and the Cliq 2, and they both look promising, with the Cliq remedying a number of issues with the handset that had caused people to shy away from it in the first place. I’m intrigued by the keyboard design, but if it works well, then it could be a good thing. The Bionic will not only be 4G LTE, but it’ll be a dual-core phone with Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chipset under the hood and feature a whopping 4.3-inch screen for all the glorious video your battery can stand.

See the slideshow and find out more about both new devices over at PCMag via the link below.

[ PC Mag :: Motorola Droid Bionic and Cliq 2: Hands On ]

This video, snagged by Engadget and posted at Mashable gives us a sneak peek at what Android 3.0 “Honeycomb,” the version of Android that’ll be designed with tablet computing in mind, will look like when it comes out. It’s like looking at the future.

And the future is awesome.

Granted it’s just a promo video, but Google is expecting Honeycomb capable tablets to be able to do everything from video chat with front-facing cameras to feature always-on Internet connectivity for e-mail and the Web, and support GPS navigation and mapping thanks to Google Maps.

It’s clear that – even if you weren’t thinking this was the case – that Honeycomb won’t just be a pretty skin or mod to Android to make it blow up nicely to larger screens; it looks like a real overhaul that can make use of the extra horsepower, real-estate, and features we’ll see in all the tablets that are popping up on the show floor right now at CES.

I will say this though: Apple is going to have to step up its game with iOS to compete – having tons of apps and some built-in features won’t cut it for much longer. Also, if Honeycomb looks this good, what is Google doing with Chrome OS?

The LG Optimus 2X – the world’s first dual-core smartphone, and the LG Optimus Black – a stunning new, bright, and incredibly thin phone – were both on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, and Sascha Segan over at PC Mag had the opportunity to spend a little time with them.

Here’s the skinny on the Optimus Black:

The Optimus Black is today’s genuinely new phone, as the Optimus 2X was announced a few weeks ago. The Black’s “Nova” display uses the same IPS LCD technology as the Apple iPhone 4, albeit at a lower 800×480 resolution on its 4-inch screen. According to LG, the display pumps out 700 nits of brightness. That comapres to 500 nits on the iPhone 4 and 300 nits on the Super AMOLED screen on the Samsung Galaxy S.

…

The Black is also the first phone I’ve seen to support Wi-Fi Direct. That’s a new ad-hoc networking protocol which will allow Wi-Fi-powered devices to find each other easily. LG is heavily interested in DLNA, the media-streaming technology, and Wi-Fi Direct here looks like a way to help phones, TVs and other devices find each other so they can share and stream media.

Other specs are standard for a high-end smartphone. The Black has a 1Ghz TI OMAP 3630 processor, a 5-megapixel camera on the back, 2GB of internal storage, and a 1500 mAh battery.

The other major phone on the scene from LG was the Optimus 2X, which had been announced a few weeks ago, but this was the first chance anyone had to get their hands on one:

I also got a few minutes with the LG Optimus 2X, the first dual-core, ARM Cortex-A9 phone. It’s a big slab smartphone that seems made for high-end gaming, but the software on the prototype I played with felt incomplete. The phone looks and feels a lot like an HTC EVO 4G or HD7, because of its 4.3-inch size and sharp bezel along the bottom.

Although it has an 8-megapixel camera and a moderately interesting, slightly hacked user interface with wallpaper previews and new widgets, the Optimus 2X’s real selling points are around what its nVidia processor can do. That means awesome video and gaming: the phone has an HDMI port that can mirror the phone’s screen on an HDTV or play 1080p HD videos, and it’s supposed to play immersive, high-def games better than any other handheld.

If you think this is all to the story, you’re mistaken – there are lots of interesting tidbits I didn’t lift, and most importantly, a slideshow of both devices are over at PCMag.com from which the photo above was taken. Head over and see what the world’s first dual-core smartphone looks like up close!

[ PC Mag :: LG Optimus 2X and Optimus Black: Hands-On ]

I haven’t been lucky enough to get my hands on a Google Cr-48 Chrome laptop just yet, but I’m definitely in the pool of willing testers. The laptop may be a bit ahead of its time, judging from most people’s first impressions of essentially using a wireless terminal to access data, resources, and applications that all reside “in the cloud,” or essentially, on the Web.

Bluntly, the Cr-48 features a beautiful matte black finish that everyone who gets their hands on it seems to love, but it doesn’t feature wired Ethernet, there’s no optical drive, there’s virtually no data store that gives you a method to really work or be productive when you’re offline. There’s a pretty fast SSD inside, but it’s not large and it’s designed to host the Chrome OS and any downloadable files. Essentially, the thing is fast, light, sleek, but absolutely requires an Internet connection to really work.

Granted, if you’re like me and you’re always somewhere there’s wireless or some kind of Internet connection, that’s not really an issue for you – you very well may be able to be as productive with the Cr-48 as anyone with an fully-featured laptop, but we’ll have to see as Google’s test program widens and manufacturers willing to produce Chrome OS laptops come to the fore.

[ PC Mag :: Google Chrome Cr-48, Paragon of Minimalist Design ]

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, everyone – where we’re all feverishly looking for the perfect gifts for the people in our lives. If you haven’t started your holiday shopping (like me, sad to admit) it’s about time! Oh, but what do you get for the geek in your life that’s looking for a techy present under the tree or in their stockinig this holiday season? Well, I have a few suggestions.

Granted, just like every year, everyone is doing holiday gift guides, but this one is a little different, and a little more fun. Ready? Head behind the jump to see five gift ideas that’ll make any technophile happy this holiday season!

Continue reading Gears and Widgets 2010 Holiday Gift Guide!…

Google announced its long teased Chrome OS this week, complete with an “app store” that will serve up Web apps that will run inside the operating system and a pilot program for people who want to try the new OS on the first notebook computer that will run it, the Google Cr-48.

You can sign up to be a part of the Cr-48 pilot program now, and the new Chrome App Store is on the way with a number of feature apps including Springpad, the New York Times, and more.

Google also noted that Acer and Samsung would also be releasing Chrome OS notebooks in 2011, did a demo of the OS, and explained to the crowd of onlookers that the operating system is for people who “live on the Web,” and as initially predicted, the OS and almost all of the notebook’s data lives on the Web, hosted by the app owners or by Google.

Whether or not the new OS is primarily for netbooks or if we’re witnessing a revolution in the operating system market remains to be seen. We’ll see when Chrome OS notebooks are available whether people are willing to drop Windows or Mac OS to flock to them.

[ Chrome OS Notebooks from Acer, Samsung Coming Mid-2011 ]

This hilarious comic crossed my desk last night and again this morning, and it’s a hilarious lampoon of the way that users of various smartphones look at themselves and one another – and it’s spot on, absolutely.

I’m a happy Android user, and while I don’t think I’m a genius, I definitely see these same assertions and assumptions about users of just about every mobile platform in the communities that surround them; even Blackberry fanatics. I’m curious, though, how Symbian and Palm users fit into the picture. You know, all 10 of them. The layout will naturally have to be updated to include Windows Phone 7, too!

There’s a special treat for people who go straight to the comic to see it in its full-sized glory, so make sure to click the link below for the bonus comic at the bottom!

[ iPhone vs. Android vs. Blackberry ]

Oh Google, say it isn’t so! Google announced on their official blog that the they would be shutting down the 1-800-GOOG-411 service as of November 12, 2010. I know I’m not the only one who’s disappointed, but Google points out that the rise of smartphones has also been the rise of Google Voice Search (shown above on an iPhone – it’s built-in to Android) on mobile devices that don’t require you actually place a call to someone to get things like business listings or to be connected to a business whose name you know but number you don’t.

The service will still operate their SMS service, which you can text by sending a query to 466453 (“GOOGLE”) and they’ll respond with the same information, but those of us with smartphones – according to Google – should be using their Google Mobile apps, which offer way more features without forcing you to use voice minutes. I have to agree with that part, but it’s still a shame to see the service going by the wayside.

Granted, if you really liked being able to call someone and give it your location and what you’re looking for, Microsoft hasn’t announced plans to close BING-411 just yet, but its time may be coming as well.

[ The Official Google Blog :: Goodbye to an Old Friend: 1-800-GOOG-411 ]