The iPhone 4 was launched in March 2010, by then CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs has since retired from Apple, leaving new CEO Tim Cook to follow in his footsteps. This would be the first product launch that Jobs has not presented to the assembled audience in the past 15 years. The pressure is on Cook to entice consumers to purchase a new Apple product, even if he has admitted that he isn’t the showman that Jobs is.

The announcement of the iPhone 5 will answer some questions that have lingered, such as will Sprint also be receiving the iPhone 5, or a different version of the iPhone 4, as Verizon did in February. It will also be the first look at the hardware of the new iPhone, which has had varying rumors about the hardware contained within. These clarifications, along with a release date for purchase, have iPhone fans excited about the new product already. The more details that are released, the more the Internet will buzz about the new iPhone 5.

At the same time, it has been almost a year since the iPad 2 was launched. Keeping with the current release trends for Apple, this may be the time that Apple announces they are working on the iPad 3. It is possible that a new prototype will be available for the launch, letting those in attendance get a look at the next generation of the popular tablet device from Apple. As with the iPhone 5, the question of whether Sprint will receive the iPad 3 linger in the minds of consumers.

Hopefully, Apple will answer these questions in October.

(Courtesy of Flickr User: Nick J Webb)

When it comes to gaming on the go, fans no longer have to choose between their handheld gaming device and a smartphone. These multitasking pieces of technology now offer the advantages of smooth graphics, large game environments, and even decent texting and calling plan. Here is a ‘mobile phone comparison’ for the true gamers that are tired of lugging around multiple devices everywhere they go.

HTC Magic

HTC has come a long way since their days of cheap prepaid phones. This company has become one of the most popular phone manufacturers in the world, and for good reason. Their HTC Magic is a respectable gaming machine that is running off of the Android operating system and Android app market. For those that have owned the HTC G1, the Magic is going to feel quite natural outside of the lack of a dedicated QWERTY keyboard.

The phone has been slimmed down while the screen size has been slightly increased. Between the over-sized screen, 512 MB of RAM, and the upgraded accelerometer, this smartphone handles most games quite well. Problems do arise with the home and navigational buttons at the bottom of the phone though. With the phone tilted horizontally, it is quite easy to accidentally press the Home button, instantly exiting the game. This can become a serious problem for games that require intense button-smashing.

 (Courtesy of Flickr User: animaster)

Xperia Play

When PlayStation announced that is was going to be releasing a gaming phone, many Sony fans looked on with horror. Previous incarnations of gaming phones have fizzled out into the land of rubbish handheld devices. When the first analysts got their hands on this phone, their tune immediately changed. Xperia Play is one of the most comfortable mobile gaming platforms that has ever been created. Taking a page out of Nokia’s book, the Xperia Play flips open to a fully-functional handheld gaming device. The control buttons are what set this phone apart as they are a near identical match to PlayStation’s traditional controls.

PlayStation opted to put their Xperia Play on the Android operating system as well as offering their downloadable games on the Android marketplace. The 1 Ghz Scorpion processor and Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system handles even the most complex and graphic-intensive games superbly. The base model comes with an 8 GB micro memory card that can be upgraded all the way up to 32 GB, enough to store quite a few games. It also comes with The Sims 3, Asphalt Adrenaline 6, Bruce Lee, Star Battalion, and Tetris pre-installed onto the smartphone. For any gamer that is looking to get the most out of their smartphone, the Xperia Play finds itself at the top of the pile.

(Courtesy of Flickr User: marc.flores)

Apple iPhone 4

No ‘mobile phone comparison’ can be made made without mentioning Apple’s iPhone. While the iPhone is one of the most popular mobile phones in the world, it simply was not made for serious gaming. This does not completely exclude it from the list as it does have a handful of redeeming qualities. One of the key features of the smartphone is its overwhelming app market. Coming in at nearly a half-million apps, there are plenty of games to choose, ranging from fantasy RPGs to simple math games. Due to the competition in the app market, many of these games are quite affordable, if not completely free. The community that has been built up around the app market also offers insight into which games are worth the download time and which games will not be opened up a second time. Players are encouraged to rate and review every game they play, and most are painfully honest.

The specs backing the iPhone 4 may not be at the top end of the spectrum, but they will run most games nicely. The base model comes with 16GB of memory, but much of this will be used up by background programs. The standout feature for this phone is the screen which runs at a brilliant 960-by-640-pixel resolution. It is also made of a smudge-resistant material that will save owners the trouble of wiping the screen after every few minutes of gaming. In the end, the iPhone 4 may be one of the most popular phones in the world, but it still was not directed at the dedicated gamer.

 This is a guest article by Ruben Corbo, a writer for the website Mobile Phone Expert, a mobile phone comparison site that will assist you in getting the best deals and plans on your mobile phones.

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Never a company to follow trends, Nintendo has developed a reputation as a trend-setter. The Japanese multi-national corporation continued that pattern this past Spring with the release of the Nintendo 3DS, the successor to the popular Nintendo DS.

Going a step further than its predecessor, the 3DS features a three-dimensional stereoscopic effect by utilizing the autostereoscopy process. The result is the world’s first handheld video game that features glasses-free 3-D. The experience, to no one’s surprise, is totally unique and once again proves that Nintendo, never content to be just “one of the pack,” has done it once more.

First impressions do matter, and the 3DS may not pass the “first look” test with many gamers. After the smooth curves of the DS, the 3DS, in comparison, looks almost “plain,” but once it’s in hand, users will immediately see that the improved functionality overshadows any doubts about the style. Another marked difference from the DS is the 3DS’ ultra glossy finish. It may take hardcore gamers awhile to adapt to the smoother “grip,” of the 3DS, but it’s a minor complaint.

The 3DS display features a top screen that measures 3 1/2 inches diagonally, while the bottom screen measures in at just over 3 inches. The 3DS screen resolution is much higher than the DS Lite screen, giving the user a wider playing area as well as incredible 3-D graphics.

The exterior features dual VGA cameras; one for taking 3-D pictures and one for scanning AR (Augmented Reality) cards. Left and right clickers are situated near the rear hinge, along with game cartridge slots, a charging port, an infrared beam port and a retractable stylus. The left side features a sliding volume control, SD card slot, a wireless toggle switch and on the bottom is an audio jack.

The 3DS comes with loads of software, including a unique Activity Log which tracks game play and has the additional feature of counting each step taken, which allows the user to accumulate Play Coins, which can be
redeemed for special games and applications. Also included is a fully functional Internet browser that is “game-friendly,” allowing gamers to pause a game without having to restart.

The Face Raiders built-in game is sure to give gamers a fun, new experience with its ability to take your own pictures which can then be inserted into an actual game.

The Nintendo 3DS initial color launch offers Blue and Cosmo Black, with Flame Red available in September.

Research In Motion has been producing smart phones for a number of years. The BlackBerry phone has long been the standard when it comes to a business mobile phone.

The higher level of security with these phones makes it perfect for many companies who view e-mail and Internet privacy to be important. Many businesses and government agencies choose Blackberry phones over iPhones for this main reason.

Traditionally, BlackBerry phones have always included a QWERTY keyboard. In the last few years, with other manufacturers offering touchscreens, RIM has added such a phone to their lineup. The first phone to feature a touchscreen was the Storm. The first generation screen was not up to par with other manufacturers. After the second generation model was rolled out, RIM had greatly improved the technology. Now there are additional models such as the Bold. The Torch phone is a slider that features a touchscreen and a small QWERTY keyboard.

In an effort to keep up with the competition, the BlackBerry devices come with a wide variety of features and apps that are geared toward the social user. These are no longer strictly for business use. The variety of apps is not like that which can be found on Apple’s App Store or Google’s Marketplace, but a lot of the popular and main titles are there. New versions of their popular phones are being released to compete with the Android models and the iPhone. Blackberry models have been revamped to include a faster internet browser. Bold and Torch models have been redesigned and released and are sure to compete well with other popular smart phones.

As long as RIM continues to release reliable an unique products, they should not go anywhere for a long time.

One of the most highly anticipated apps for the Apple iPad was briefly made available to a few lucky and tech-savvy users who took advantage of what appears to have been a mistake. The Facebook app for the iPad was hidden inside an update for Facebook’s update to its own app for the Apple iPhone.

Apple made version 3.4.4 of Facebook for the iPhone available for free on its App Store on Friday. The updated version was released to address several issues and bugs reported by Facebook users when using the app on the popular Apple smart phone. No one expected to find an iPad version of Facebook concealed within. It is widely believed that developers included the iPad version as part of a universal installer that automatically detects the device it is intended for.

An iPad must first be “jailbroken” before it can run the secret Facebook app. Then the user must load version 3.4.4 of the iPhone app and manually change the UIDeviceFamily setting. A few iPad owners who were successful on running the Facebook app were very impressed with the HTML5 coding and GUI navigation system. According to first-hand accounts and screenshots posted online by a few lucky iPad owners, the Facebook app is fully optimized to take advantage of the revolutionary Apple tablet.

Online reports mention the existence of an innovative and efficient sidebar that simplifies navigation. Unlike Facebook for the iPhone, the iPad’s interface allows chat windows to remain open and persistent while the user browses around what’s happening in the rest of his social network.

Several technology news media outlets reported on the accidental event after a computer engineering student in Canada shared his discovery on the Internet social messaging service Twitter. As this release was accidental rather than official, access to Facebook from iPads has already been disabled. Facebook has not commented on the matter, although the company had recently hinted that they were working on several new exciting products.

With Apple now looking at September 2011 for debuting the latest in the iPhone series, anticipation is seriously growing for just what might be coming next to thrill and delight the ever demanding smartphone market.

Other than the usual assurances that the cleverly titled Iphone 5 will be thinner, lighter and much more exciting than it’s previous incarnations, the handset itself will carry an 8 megapixel rear facing camera that should outdo the already excellent standard currently seen on the 5 megapixel version, boosting image resolution clearly into the ‘awesome’ category.

Having an upgraded processor is pretty much a given for any type of new hardware release, and the dual-core A5 that is currently used in the iPad 2 is also promised for the new iPhone, making it even more powerful than the iPhone 4.

Rumors are, however, still rife as to whether the 5 will have a curved glass display like the newer generation of iPods carry, and possibly even a rear flash separated from the camera lens on the other side of the case to cut back on that infamous photo red-eye found on iPhone 4 images.

With Apple releasing a new version of their operating system, iOS 5 at around the same time, it is anticipated that with features such as iMessage (which is set to rival the Blackberry Messenger) and the Notification Center (designed for keeping up to date with notifications from just about every imaginable social media and email system possible) as well as a host of others that have been asked for over the years, fingers and thumbs should keep tapping and sliding over the smoothly tactile and glossy screen for a long time to come, and this new iPhone should attract even most hardened users who have so far stuck by other systems.

The HTC Evo View 4G was recently released in June of 2011, and it is the first tablet from Sprint to feature 4G support. Sprint current has a great 4G network called WiMax, so the Evo View should running very smoothly on the network. The major announcement is that the Evo View will be the first tablet on the market to feature built-in Netflix support. This makes it only the 10th Android device to have support for Netflix, nine Android smart phones also support Netflix.

While many view the other devices as too slow to run Netflix, this is not true. According to Netflix, they have had trouble fragmenting their service for other devices. The extra cost and time have not been worth the trouble. Improving sales and popularity of tablets means that the HTC Evo View 4G will not be the only tablet with Netflix in the near future. While the tablet supports Netflix, it comes with a downgraded version of Android operating system 2.3 instead of the new 3.0 system.

The device features a 7 inch screen which is rather small compared to all of the 10 inch screen tablets on the market. The screen is high quality and very durable with a great high definition picture. The HTC Evo View 4G is price at $399 for a 32 GB model. While this is a reasonable price for the features, the Evo View will also require a $35 a month plan from Sprint for 4G support. The tablet plan comes with unlimited 4G data and 3GB of 3G data use. Using the GPS system on the Evo View will also cost another $10 a month. The HTC Evo View 4G is a quality tablet, but unless you really want Netflix on your tablet there are better tablets for the price.