Unboxing: Duoni D22

In this video, you will witness me unboxing a phone that was passed down to me to use whilst my iPhone was being repaired. This phone can hold up to two SIM-cards and boasts a not-so-amazing 1.3MP camera!

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Facebook's Stupid Phone Idea

Nick Bilton reporting for the New York Times:

The company has already hired more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad, the employees and those briefed on the plans said.

And why it's a bad idea...

Henry Blodget for Business Insider:

Facebook knows absolutely nothing about making, selling, or supporting hardware. Really--nothing. Yes, Facebook could use its billions to buy RIM or Nokia, and then it would know something about hardware. But RIM and Nokia are deeply troubled companies that are already cratering. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to buy, integrate, and FIX RIM or Nokia? (Google's about to give us a case study in how difficult it is with Motorola).

Facebook, poaching Apple's employee will not make you the number 1 technology company, and neither will it make you the next Apple. As Henry highlighted, sure, everyone wants to be the next Apple - Amazon, Google and everyone else, but there's only one Apple right now and it is by far the best Apple. Facebook's dreams of becoming the next Apple are disillusioned and Facebook should,really, just stick to mobile apps. They make money and the users are happy. Think about it. If the majority of the Facebook users now are already unwillingly to use Facebook if Facebook starts charging money for it, what are the odds they're going to buy a Facebook phone?

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The Diminishing Feature Phones

It was around this time last year that I thought if feature phones will stay alive with the giant monster known as smart phones on their tale. Well it seems as though I was correct: the variety of feature phones have been declining ever since then.

January of 2010 was when I first received a phone. I was in 7th grade, I think I deserved one. So I got myself a Motorola Rival, a small, QWERTY, messaging feature phone that did the job until a few problems pushed me to my next phone. At that time of purchasing the Rival, I had a wide variety of feature phones for my choosing. Ranging from LG to Samsung, there were at least 15 feature phones I could have chosen from. 

August of 2010. After 2 replacements of the Rival, I was done. I purchased a Samsung Reality, which at the time was considered to be in Verizon's 3G Multimedia category. This category allowed some Internet access and more options than a feature phone, but less options than smart phones. At this time as well, I could have stuck to another feature phone as there were the same amount of feature phones, if not more. But I still had this feeling that there was a change on the way. 

It is May of 2011. Now I have been through 2 more devices and currently own a Verizon iPhone. A recent trip to the Verizon store showed me the decline in the feature phones and no sign at all of the 3G Multimedia category of phones either. The store was basically divided into two sections: the smart phones (which took up 95% of the store), and the feature phones. The feature phones just had 2 QWERTY style phones and the rest were the cheap flip-phones. The rest of the store was filled with Blackberry's, iPhones, and Androids. 

Why?

When Android and iPhone was released to the public was when the feature phones knew their downfall was coming soon. As more and more people began to buy these type of smart phones, more competitors joined in to develop these. The more smart phones that were released, the less space there was for the feature phones. It was a continuing cycle until finally, the amount of feature phones decreased into a small corner of the store. Based on these statistics, feature phones will be completely gone by early to mid 2012. 

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Mix-Style Headphones Review

My friend recently bought a pair of Mix-Style Headphones, these are huge in Japan. They took about 2-4 weeks to arrive, but came in a box that was a little crushed because of the not so great packaging that they shipped them in. These ended up being an imitation pair, the real ones retailing for much more than was paid for these. When everything was said and done, these ended up being a wonderful looking accessory that have average sound quality, that of a cheap brand you would find at the store. 

This Week in Phones #1 - iPhone Alternatives

With all the hype around the possible leaked 4th Generation iPhone, I think a lot of people are forgetting about other handsets recently released that kind of blow the iPhone out of the dust.

 HTC Evo 4G

The Evo 4G, on Sprint, is designed by HTC with power in mind. Sporting a gorgeous (and huge) 4.3 inch display, dual cameras including a front facing camera, and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the Evo is an absolute screamer! The Evo also has the ability to connect up to 8-wifi enabled devices, similar to what we’ve seen in other Palm devices. Being the first mobile phone to feature 4G technology, the phone is always fast! Most importantly, the Evo is on a better network than the iPhone, so you can really take advantage of 4G strengths, which AT&T does not offer. Pricing for this phone has not been announced, but is expected to be released sometime this Summer.

 HTC Droid Incredible

Phone manufacturers have to be pretty bold to name their phone “Incredible” but apparently HTC hit the mark. With a 3.7 inch AMOLED display and an 8-megapixel camera (which seems to be becoming the norm now a days), the Incredible really ones-up the iPhone. The Incredible is also on a much better network, that being Verizon Wireless, so you can really take advantage of faster data speeds.

 Nexus One

Google’s Nexus One, toted as “The Google Experience”, is a very powerful Android phone. The Nexus One is available on multiple carriers, T-Mobile and AT&T (AT&T unlocked only) makes it a very versatile phone available to customers on different networks. The Nexus One offers a 3.7 inch AMOLED display, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, so it has a very large feature set.

 In conclusion, those are just a few iPhone alternatives, all with much different feature sets than the iPhone and all on a better cellular networks. Even though the iPhone conveys a certain socioeconomic status to others, other manufacturers are developing phones with a better feature set, so next time you’re shopping for a mobile phones, look into some other iPhone alternatives.

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