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| Standard Sense Home Screen |
HTC Sense UI for Android
On June 24th 2009 HTC unveiled their 3rd Android powered handset, the Hero, along with the new, revolutionary UI named Sense. The Sense UI was welcomed by just about every Android fan because it brought a new, fresh feel to the Android OS. The UI has received many updates in it's time, the most recent being in September 10' with the introduction of the Desire Z and Desire HD. Sense has been praised for it's simplicity & customization options that really make the difference to a users experience. But there are a few downsides:
1. Device Speed - If a handset has a processor with a speed of 600Mhz or lower (Uncommon these days), then the device may experience lag when navigating menus and performing tasks (Games,Web Browsing etc).
2. Battery Life - Sometimes themes & custom UIs can decrease battery life because of the demands on the GPU, CPU or other hardware.
Conclusion
HTC have done a good job in engineering the Sense UI. It is a welcome addition to the Android OS that brings a host of new features to the operating system. Therefore I am awarding Sense UI a 9/10.
1. Device Speed - If a handset has a processor with a speed of 600Mhz or lower (Uncommon these days), then the device may experience lag when navigating menus and performing tasks (Games,Web Browsing etc).
2. Battery Life - Sometimes themes & custom UIs can decrease battery life because of the demands on the GPU, CPU or other hardware.
Conclusion
HTC have done a good job in engineering the Sense UI. It is a welcome addition to the Android OS that brings a host of new features to the operating system. Therefore I am awarding Sense UI a 9/10.
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 4G |
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4G - Verizon Wireless (Announced January 2011 @ CES)
At CES 2011 (Consumer Electronics Show) Samsung & Verizon unveiled an updated Galaxy Tab device built to run on Verizon's new LTE 4G network. Along with other tablets & handsets announced, the Galaxy Tab will have access to up to 12 MBPS download and 5 MBPS upload. This is a massive improvement over the network's 3G data rate (1 MBPS download) plus their LTE coverage spreads over 96% of America.
A few aspects of the device hardware have changed. The updated model still sports a 7" 600 x 1024 TFT LCD display (Sadly no Super LCD, Super AMOLED or Super AMOLED Plus technology is used), four touch sensitive Android hot keys (Menu, Home, Back & Search) & Android 2.2 Froyo with light Touchwiz UI customization. The first change you will notice is the addition of a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera to the top right-hand corner of the device. The resolution has been upped to take advantage of the 4G technology present inside the device. The rear camera has also been overhauled from 3.15 megapixels to 5 megapixels, the upgrade is very much welcomed as it is now on a par with some of the top Android devices available. The processor has also received an upgrade to the next generation 1.2 GHZ Hummingbird chip, sadly this chip is not dual core meaning that there isn't a significant speed boost; but it is nice to have an extra 200 MHZ to utilize. At just 12mm thin & weighing in at 380g the Galaxy Tab is no fat boy but still doesn't quite fit into any normal pockets. The upside is that it can fit into almost any bag making it super portable & fit for it's purpose.
All editions of the Galaxy Tab run Google's Android 2.2 Froyo operating system. Running Android gives the Tab plenty to boast about giving it the pride to rival others tablets such as Apple's iPad , Nokia MeeGo Slates & independent devices running Windows. Android sports a host of innovative features such as an app store (Android Market) to rival the likes of Apple's iOS App Store, being socially orientated (App Share, Facebook & Twitter integration into contacts & pre-installed social networking apps - Facebook and Twitter). Being developed by Google, Android makes use of the latest speech recognition technologies as well as having lots of features to do with the web & cloud based services. The latest release of Android is 2.3 Gingerbread mainly designed for mobile phones. An upcoming release 3.0 Honeycomb is specifically designed for tablet computers (Preview found here: Android 3.0 Honeycomb Preview). It is still unclear whether any versions of the Galaxy Tab will be receiving some Honeycomb treatment but sources say that it won't be. I guess only time will tell.
Conclusion
Samsung entered the tablet market with a bang, now they are back with an upgraded model of the tablet. Making use of Verizon's 4G LTE network, the refreshed Galaxy Tab can access super speed data rates spreading over 96% of America. Despite the lack of a dual core CPU, the Tab runs the very graphical UI without any lag. The sad thing is that the UK cannot benefit from the new Tab because we are still lacking any type of 4G network. I am rewarding the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4G a 9/10 *STAR BUY*
What Could Be Improved?
IObit Game Booster 2.3 is a fantastic Windows program that has been designed to speed up the performance of games that you play on your PC. Game Booster achieves this by ending unnecessary background processes & services to increase the amount of free RAM & CPU power available to the game. This becomes very useful when you try to play games on integrated graphics chips that lack the power & performance of dedicated graphics cards.
Game Booster features a very simple and easy to use interface that offers a lot of punch without bloating the experience. On the main tab one central button exists that when clicked initiates the boost process. The software also allows users to check & update game drivers, download & install useful software, defragment game directories, tweak the system and view game tools. Anybody will be able to use Game Booster, no skill is required to operate the utility.
Game Booster is a free download although a Premium paid version is available to purchase as well. The free edition offers basic boosting performance for the average user but for hardcore gamers who require more tweaking options then the premium offering is the one for them.
Game Booster is a must have for any PC gamer, great hardware or not. With this utility you can finally use integrated graphics processors to play modern games at low to medium settings without lag or glitches.
To download IObit Game Booster 2.3 please visit: http://go.alistairstechblog.co.cc/gamebooster
All editions of the Galaxy Tab run Google's Android 2.2 Froyo operating system. Running Android gives the Tab plenty to boast about giving it the pride to rival others tablets such as Apple's iPad , Nokia MeeGo Slates & independent devices running Windows. Android sports a host of innovative features such as an app store (Android Market) to rival the likes of Apple's iOS App Store, being socially orientated (App Share, Facebook & Twitter integration into contacts & pre-installed social networking apps - Facebook and Twitter). Being developed by Google, Android makes use of the latest speech recognition technologies as well as having lots of features to do with the web & cloud based services. The latest release of Android is 2.3 Gingerbread mainly designed for mobile phones. An upcoming release 3.0 Honeycomb is specifically designed for tablet computers (Preview found here: Android 3.0 Honeycomb Preview). It is still unclear whether any versions of the Galaxy Tab will be receiving some Honeycomb treatment but sources say that it won't be. I guess only time will tell.
Conclusion
Samsung entered the tablet market with a bang, now they are back with an upgraded model of the tablet. Making use of Verizon's 4G LTE network, the refreshed Galaxy Tab can access super speed data rates spreading over 96% of America. Despite the lack of a dual core CPU, the Tab runs the very graphical UI without any lag. The sad thing is that the UK cannot benefit from the new Tab because we are still lacking any type of 4G network. I am rewarding the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4G a 9/10 *STAR BUY*
What Could Be Improved?
- The use of more advanced screen technologies - Super LCD, Super AMOLED or Super AMOLED Plus
- Dual Core CPU -Samsung Orion Dual Core (Based on ARM Cortex A9) or NVIDIA TEGRA 2
- Higher resolution cameras - 8 megapixels rear & 3 megapixels front
- A bigger screen model - 10" Model as well as the 7" model
- Updated Android OS - 2.3 Gingerbread upgradeable to 3.0 Honeycomb when available
IObit Game Booster 2.3
Game Booster features a very simple and easy to use interface that offers a lot of punch without bloating the experience. On the main tab one central button exists that when clicked initiates the boost process. The software also allows users to check & update game drivers, download & install useful software, defragment game directories, tweak the system and view game tools. Anybody will be able to use Game Booster, no skill is required to operate the utility.
Game Booster is a free download although a Premium paid version is available to purchase as well. The free edition offers basic boosting performance for the average user but for hardcore gamers who require more tweaking options then the premium offering is the one for them.
Game Booster is a must have for any PC gamer, great hardware or not. With this utility you can finally use integrated graphics processors to play modern games at low to medium settings without lag or glitches.
To download IObit Game Booster 2.3 please visit: http://go.alistairstechblog.co.cc/gamebooster
