Review: Apple iPhone 4 July 12, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , add a comment
We know– this has taken a little longer than we anticipated to get out, but hey– when your checking out a major product like this you need every base to be covered right? And boy do we got it all covered. So is this new iPhone 4 still the best phone on the market? If you’re on a different carrier like Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint, is it worth switching over for? For all those answers and more, click on for our full review.
via TeensTalkTech
Microsoft KIN TWO– The Teen Review July 1, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews, Microsoft , 1 comment so far
A few months back Microsoft announced their next generation of Sidekick– the KIN ONE and KIN TWO, two new phones focused on the teenager and what we use our phones for. Did they do a good job? Honestly, yes and no. After using the KIN TWO as my main phone for the last few weeks, there are a lot of things going in the KIN’s favor– a great keyboard and great social networking in particular– but also a lot of bad, like a somewhat slow interface and that required $30 a month data plan.
So if your on Verizon is this the next phone for you? Read on for the full teen take on the KIN TWO.
Review: Slim Xbox 360 June 23, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : E3, Video Games , add a comment
Last week at E3, Microsoft announced the all new sleek, stylish and Kinect-friendly Xbox 360. Offering things like built in WiFi wireless N (the first Xbox to offer built-in WiFi and the first game console to offer support for the latest, fastest and greatest WiFi wireless N), a 250 GB hard drive and that oh so nice new black design it seemed like a great update to usher in the next generation of the Xbox 360.
For new Xbox 360 owners this of course seems like a great deal, but what about for those with the older, original Xbox 360?s from the launch days in 2005– is it worth it to spring for the new update? Read on because we’ve got all those answers and more at the more link.
GenUpload: Two weeks with KIN May 21, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Announcements, Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews, Microsoft, Music, Web , add a comment
KIN 2 is the not-square one (click to high-definitionize)
So, I’ve been using the KIN 2 as my only mobile device (no iPod Touch or regular cell) for the last two weeks. Check out my impression of how it held up to the theory of being a phone for teenagers in my guest column over at Slashgear.
KIN Review – a GenUpload Take May 5, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Announcements, Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews, Microsoft, Music, Web , add a comment
KIN – Teenagers dream phone?
I’ve had some time to be able to check out Microsoft’s latest phone offering designed for teens and the way we use phones – for a different take then most tech blogs, be sure to check out my guest column over at Slashgear for my take.
iPad – Review April 3, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Computers, First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods, Music, Tablets, Web , 4comments
Behold! The iPad Cometh!
So. It’s finally landed. The iPad. And I’ve actually managed to get my mitts on one for a few minutes. So – here’s the review: We’ll jump right in.
First off – the iPad is cool. It’s been hyped for what seems like forever, and excitement has built to a fever pitch since it was announced by Apple in January. And it does live up to that – the entire thing is very, very, very, well done.
Let’s face it though. Enlightening (I hope) my comments on the iPad may be – you’ll be able to get effectively the same thing anywhere: every tech site in the world will be writing nearly the same thing, and at this rate, has already written it. So here’s my contribution – that isn’t anywhere else:
What does the iPad mean to YOU – a teenager and student?
It’s not an easy question. As media consumption and entertainment goes, the iPad is incredible. The huge screen, plus the fact it’s an extension of the iTunes library you’ve most likely spent most of your life building, as well as ALL your iPhone/iTouch Apps, along with the 1,400-odd iPad only one already out there make that a moot point. More serious stuff – like note-taking or, say, productive work – is also fairly nice: I personally find the horizontal digital keyboard excellent, and the compatibility with Bluetooth keyboards is a huge plus. And yes, better comments on that is down below.
But back to my question – is the iPad for YOU? I have to say no. And I mean this in no way to knock the iPad, but despite the serious awesomeness of the device, I can’t recommend it for most teens. The iPad, in the most basic breakdown is Apple’s netbook. And here’s the thing.
Teenagers do not use netbooks correctly – at least, how the manufacturers want. The netbook concept is that you buy a full laptop or desktop, and use the netbook to supplement it – for travel or on-the-go. But teens don’t follow that logic at all – for many teens, the netbook is the ONLY computer – the primary one, that they use for media, for school, for gaming, for IM, for everything in their lives – after all, money is something we don’t have available for big purchases for the most part, and netbooks are light, cheap, easy to carry and give full computer functionality.
And unfortunately, the iPad cannot deliver as a primary computer for teens. Both the $500 minimum for the device (not including a case, stand, or external keyboard), as well as it’s existing limitations – no Flash, no physical keyboard, and the limitations of using a mobile operating system – at that price, make it extremely difficult for me to recommend it for a teenager – save the money, or use it to get a full powered laptop. But the iPad isn’t meant to be a primary device, nor can it be recommended as such for a student.
Again – I think the iPad is a fantastic device. And if you’re interested in a secondary device, and can afford the price, or are willing to go with the limitations of the iPad as a primary device, then by all means. It still is an incredible device for the in between space between iPod/Phone and computer – but my personal view is that that particular space doesn’t exist for teenagers in a real sense.
Onwards to the review!
rapportive – Review March 17, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : First Look/Reviews, Misc., Web , add a comment
Some math: Gmail – ads + contact social info = ?
Ok – so browser plugins aren’t really something I usually write about here – but this one here’s an exception. To jump right in, I love rapportive. Love it. It’s just cool.
Backing up just a bit. Gmail users – you guys all know the ads on the right side of emails you read, right? Well, rapportive is a Firefox and Chrome plugin, that simply replaces them. Now that’s nice, but not only does it get rid of the ads, it replaces them with something pretty useful: a contact profile of the person who sent the email you’re reading, based on public profiles. And for the most part, it installs and runs very smoothly – just go to the site, install, and a few painless seconds later, you’re ready to roll – just go to Gmail, read an email, and rapportive’ll do the rest – showing info pulled from their Google Profile, links to Facebook, Twitter, flickr etc, if they have that info publicly available, so it’s pretty neat for connecting with the people you talk to. Also, a nice feature exists of being able to jot down a private note about the person for yourself for the next time you talk with the person.
It’s not perfect – not everyone I talk to has a profile – but overall, its pretty nice. rapportive is available for my favorite price of “free” – as a plugin for Firefox and Google Chrome, with IE support on the way. Check it out here.
Meebo – Review February 26, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Cell Phones, First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
Meebo – it’s fun to say! Meebo. Meebo.
A while back, I wrote a review of Beejive IM, for the iPhone – an IM app that did nearly everything. It’s a great app, but somewhat pricey for IM, ($10) – although it was the best way to IM everyone on all your networks.
But, recently, after showing the app off at the original iPhone 3.0 announcement, Meebo has finally been released, and joined the IM fray. And for most of you – the presumably cheap especially – Meebo might be the solution you’ve been looking for for using AIM, Facebook Chat, Google Talk, Yahoo Chat, and Windows Live simultaneously. (Although you might want to look at consolidating some of those networks…). And unlike the still-fantastic Beejive, Meebo comes at that lovely, lovely price of free.
Also, Meebo has the usual features of a great iPhone IM app: push support for getting IMs outside of the app, speed, and full chat history. It also has the ability to connect to the Meebo website – which allows a pretty sweet seamless transition from iPod/iPhone to computer. One minor qualm I had was related to my use of an iPod Touch – it takes a few seconds to reconnect/load your accounts when returning to the app from a notification – something that is due to the use of WiFi over 3G or EDGE.
But, for delivering almost all functionality of Beejive for free makes Meebo at least worth checking out. Link’s right here.