The Samsung Galaxy Note: 'Pocketability' video demonstration

If I mention the words "Galaxy Note", I know what you'll be thinking.

Seriously, I really do.

You'll be thinking "Can that thing really be pocketed?".

The reason I know this is because this was overwhelmingly the most frequently asked question I got when I canvassed various forums to see what real users wanted to know about the Note.

I know I spoke to this concern a little bit in the first part of the mammoth Note review I'm currently embroiled in, but I thought I could take it one step further for you, dear readers.

What follows below is my video demo of the Note's pocketability, with comparison the Galaxy S II [Public Service Announcement: the video contains extensive footage shot around my pocket area, and therefore the video may contain scenes that are disturbing to some viewers, please watch with caution if you are close to a meal time and plan accordingly].

[Announcement] HTC Rezound coming to Verizon

Image courtesy of GSMArena.com

Earlier today in New York, HTC announced the imminent release of the HTC Rezound handset. Previously known as the HTC Vigor; the HTC Rezound comes with Beats Audio, a promising 4.3" 720p display (that's 342ppi!) and LTE 4G support in the US.

Unfortunately HTC are still using the outdated Qualcomm MSM 8660 Snapdragon core processor (albeit at 1.5GHz) so I think it's pixel pushing powers may be a little lacking - especially without the hardware acceleration of Android 4.0 ICS. It is also very thick, weighing in at 13.65mm, more than 1.5 times the thickness of a Galaxy SII.

Despite any apparent shortcomings this may turn out to be quite a decent handset with such a high res display.Unfortunately it's going to have to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which is being released at around the same time.

If you're interested in getting one and live here in little ol' New Zealand you're out of luck; however if you live in the USA then check out Verizon and Best Buy stores from 14th November onwards.


Over at The Verge you can find full coverage including a hands-on and if you're interested in the technical specs, over at GSMArena they have the full list.

The Galaxy Note "Real-user" Review: Part 1 - Unboxing, Initial impressions, Design/build quality, Screen and Benchmarks

So here it is, the first part of the Galaxy Note review. You know what a ridonkulous handset like the Note needs? An equally epic review. A review that can match it's RSI-inducing proportions. This will be that review.

Make the jump to get stuck in, if the length of this first post is anything to go by you'll need to get reading now if you are to stand any chance of finishing before the next part is up...

Duke Nukem 3D comes to Android

We love retro gaming here at AndroidNZ (if that had
somehow managed to escape your notice before now)

The classic PC shooter Duke Nukem 3D is now available on Android Market for $0.99 USD or around $1.30 NZD. Bear in mind that this only buys you the first episode L.A. Meltdown and the other 2 episodes; Lunar Apocalypse and Shrapnel City are available as in app purchases costing ~$1.30 each.

Early market reviews criticized the use of ads in a paid app and an update has now come out removing them. You've got to commend the developer Machineworks Northwest for taking the feedback onboard and acting swiftly to remedy the situation.

I've only spent a few minutes playing, but so far it appears to be true to the original. The on screen controls are a little tough to get used to and the game would definitely benefit from using a gamepad. It was originally designed for mouse and keyboard so that should come as no surprise [When I get time I'll try this one out with BT keyboard/mouse and PS3 controller to see if it will work -Ed].

Now I'm just hanging out for Shadow Warrior which I always preferred over Duke back in the day.

HTC Takes Smartphone Top Spot in the US

Exceeding even Samsung's performance in the US market, HTC has achieved number one status for the third quarter of 2011. The company shipped 5.7 million devices under its own brand, nearly a quarter of the market, in addition to an estimated 70,000 units for T-Mobile's house brand.

As reported earlier, Samsung hasn't been standing still either, with 27.8 million smartphones taking it to more than 23% of the market worldwide. That is the second highest quarterly result ever, topped only by Nokia’s Q4 2010 performance. Around 500,000 of Samsung's smartphone units were sub-branded T.Mobile or Google.

Samsung took second in the US with 4.9 million units, significantly behind its Android competitor HTC, but ahead of Apple.

Apple's decision to delay the introduction of the iPhone 4S continues to haunt the Cupertino tech giant, its iPhone line managing third US spot with 4.6 million units.

However, the pent-up demand for the newest iPhone means that Apple will be guaranteed a spectacular fourth quarter, perhaps enough to temporarily restore its share to number one for Q4. Its growth, however, has not matched that of its competitors and any unit market leadership will doubtless be short-lived.

Meanwhile, the Chinese smartphone market is poised to become the world's largest any day now, having missed by just 200,000 or so in the last quarter.

Source: Canalys

[How To] fix push notifications in Facebook for Android

But it doesn't have to!

Hello friends, did you know that Facebook for Android includes push notifications for wall posts, comments, and event invites? Did you know they don’t work properly?
I’m willing to bet that most of you, dear readers, are familiar with the reasonably bare bones official Facebook application provided for Android devices and its fundamentally broken notification system, so today I’m going to tell you how to make it a whole lot better.

The solution is rather unorthodox, but it gets the job done. Turn to page 2 to find out what happens after the jump, because we’re going to get a little help from a Blackberry.

Samsung Galaxy Note: Unboxing video

I still need some time to get a better feeling for the hardware of the Galaxy Note before really getting into the nitty-gritty of the Galaxy Nexus review proper, but I know lots of you are champing at the bit for more information, so in order to whet your appetite (if a video demo and guide for how to Root the Galaxy Note wasn't enough already) here is my unboxing video with a size comparison to the Galaxy S II:

I don't spend a lot of time dwelling on the 'hardware tour' in this video - don't expect to see in a lot of my other unboxings either. There are already dozens of videos like that on YouTube, so get your search on if you aren't already familiar with the banal aspects of things like port-placements etc.