T-Mobile Sidekick 4G Hands-On and Unboxing

Looks like we’ve got the brand new T-Mobile Sidekick 4G in today for our ultimate pleasure and handson-edness! Not only do we have this lovely handset here in full working order, activated, shiny, perfectly lovely, we got the pink edition! Hooray forever! Now let’s take a look at what it’ll be like for all the consumers of the earth to be unboxing this lovely little beast, piece by piece. Looks like quite the hipster machine to me.

We have had an opportunity to take a peek at this device when we were back at CTIA 2011, clicking about here and there and photographing our eyes out, but nothing beats the ability to carry it around in your pocket. That’s what we’ll be doing for the next few days and weeks so we can get a good idea on how this device is going to be faring out in the field. Watch out for the custom user interface – heavy scrutiny ahead!

See the video here and the close-up photos below, keep tuned to Android Community’s front news feed here and our Facebook page at http://facebook.com/androidcommunity.com/ for unique content on this device from each! Then head back to our T-Mobile Sidekick 4G portal for all the coverage your eyeballs can handle!
 







 

 

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Galaxy Tab 8.9 Preview

Samsung has achieved a happy medium with its Galaxy Tab 8.9, size-wise. It’s small enough to fit in the side pocket of a businessman’s suit jacket so it’s readily handy, but much larger than the original 7-in Galaxy Tab and nearly as large the iPad 2′s screen. It’s a brilliant “duh” tablet PC size compromise.


The 8.9 also is (slightly) lighter, (slightly) thinner and (slightly) cheaper than iPad 2 . It has higher resolution front and rear cameras than iPad 2, including the welcome repositioning of the front imager from the top of the bezel in portrait mode to landscape, it’s easier to grip than iPad 2 thanks to a ridged rear, and supports Adobe Flash 10.2. In most of its specifications, the 8.9 is more than or equal to iPad 2.

Galaxy Tab 8.9 (left) and iPad (right)

But in their short life as a next-big-thing, tablets have not been about specs – as defined and proved by Apple not once, but twice – it’s about the experience. I got a chance to play with the 8.9 at the CTIA show wrapping up today in Orlando, and found the experience of 8.9 is not nearly as impressive as its specs.

Design and features

Instead of iPad 2′s portrait-centric design, Galaxy Tab 8.9 is more landscape-centric. Like iPad 2, the volume control is on the left perimeter, but so is the on/off button and the 3.5mm headphone jack, which means they’re actually on the top when you hold the 8.9 horizontally. On the left (portrait)/bottom (landscape) is the SIM card tray and the multi-pin proprietary Galaxy Tab jack between the twin stereo speakers.

Galaxy Tab 8.9 has no buttons marring its bezel – all navigation and menu access buttons are located on the touch screen: Back, Home and the Samsung TouchWiz Task Manager touch icons in the lower left of the home screens, app and a customization view (a “+” sign) on the upper right. This means you don’t have to worry about which side the “Home” key is on as you turn it, as you do with the iPad.


As noted, the 8.9 rear is ridged to makes it easier to grip than iPad.


8.9′s best improvement vs. iPad is the repositioning of the camera to the landscape side, which HTC also has done on its new 7-inch View tablet: the HTC Flyer. Both companies have discovered the front camera most often is used for self-portraits, not video chatting, especially groups of people. In fact, while a tablet is usually ridiculously clunky to use as a regular camera, it’s big screen is perfect for catching yourself and your friends partying down. Which means you want a wide view, not a narrow portrait framing.

 

Sizing Problems

While 8.9′s size is nearly pocket perfect, it’s not so good for typing. With 8.9 in landscape you can touch or two-finger type, but you’ll need to boost it somehow with a case. Since few case makers will be rushing out with 8.9 cases, and Samsung didn’t show one of its own, Samsung missed an ergonomic bet by no installing a kickstand of some sort on the back to create both typing and video viewing angles.

But 8.9 is clearly designed to be whipped out of a pocket like the 7-inch model and typed on while being held – and that’s a problem. You can’t thumb-type (obviously) holding it horizontally unless you have a NBA player’s hand span. You can thumb type holding it vertically, but its badly balanced – 8.9 is so long, its top tends to tip back unless you consciously boost it with the inside of your index fingers while simultaneously concentrating on thumb tapping. But after a few minutes, holding it in this awkward position gets to be painful as well as awkward.

you can Read the full story and full previw from this site

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Android Community at CTIA Wireless 2011

Android Community is hard at work at CTIA Wireless 2011, the annual mobile confab which this year is in Orlando, Florida. We’re expecting a ton of wireless news including stories on Android phones and even more tablets. In fact, news has already been leaked that AT&T is bringing the Nexus S 4G, with it’s pure Google Android experience, to mobile customers this year along with the LG Thrill 4G and HTC HD7S.

Sprint has already teased that they plan to release a wide range of devices including the 4G HTC Flyer tablet. But they’re also going all in with Google Voice services in a move that will certain have ripples as the confab continues this week. T-Mobile, who recently got swallowed up by AT&T, is still here and are bringing the HTC Pyramid and Doubleshot along with them. And it’s even more important now that AT&T has decided that all T-Mobile customers will have to transition to 4G phones after the merger.

Samsung is going to be launching it’s mid-size 8.9 inch Galaxy Tab here in Orlando, as a part of the 78910 marketing campaign we teased here earlier this month. The campaign clearly means marketing of the entire 7, 8.9 and 10.1 inch line of Galaxy Tabs. And then there’s LG, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and it’s new Xperia Play, and we’re sure tons of tablet stories. So stay tuned for all our show coverage with the CTIA 2011 tag, and of course follow along on the Android Community homepage!

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