In reading the multiple blogs about why Apple is deciding to do this, according to TechCruch, they claim that streaming media will be a key part of the event, I myself think that with the new Apple TV or iTV, that will introduce some sort of iTunes in the cloud option, but there will probably be limitations, as I wish I could put my 1.72TB of iTunes media on the cloud, but it would take a year to get it uploaded somewhere.

This will also cut back on the illegal streams and hopefully Steve won’t have to tell people to shut off their wireless devices.

Anyway, it’s all rumor and speculation, so tune in at 10 AM PST and watch for yourself at Apple.com.

Read the full article at How-To Geek

It’s got a 4.3-inch 854×480 screen, 1GHz OMAP processor, 512MB RAM, 24GB storage, 8-mega-pixel stills, 720p HD video, DLNA w/HDMI Micro out, three mics for noise cancellation and wireless N with 3G hot spot capability. It’s powerful, and it’s got a good design, but there’s more to the story.

I don’t like the fact that Motorola has to push their blur bits out, and it’s running a fairly outdated Android 2.1. It does come packed with 7 home screens and they are mostly filled with stuff you don’t need and won’t use, so you waste time removing all of it and getting it the way you want it. It has it’s own built in contact system for Twitter, Facebook, Picasa, MySpace and more, and this is to help you update across all networks, but it kind of clashes with the apps for those services, and I’ve gotten to the point where all I want is Android and none of the other junk that the carriers and manufacturers put on the phone, let me decide how I want to customize it, don’t make me use your crap.

The phone itself is great, it’s display is nice, but again it was nearly impossible to see outside, and it’s a bigger phone than most. With the lack of a hardware keyboard, I was surprised how I could use the software one with no issues, and typing was virtually the same as on iOS and an iPhone 4.

The camera was less than impressive to me, and it seemed to produce a lot of blurry photos, and it took forever for the camera application to launch, and by the time it did, I lost the shot.

I also noticed that the touchscreen even though it was nice, it sometimes took two taps to open an app, and even then it was hit or miss, This phone should have shipped with Android 2.2 Froyo, but even if you try to install it yourself, your phone will no longer work until you downgrade back to the stock version thanks to a chip that Motorola added that makes sure you only use official versions of the software.

I was also excited to try the mobile hotspot app, but was instantly annoyed, it would constantly drop the connection, and was not very reliable at all, I would have to constantly turn it back on and reconnect.

The battery life on the phone was decent, but I sometimes struggled to get through a full day, and at times with normal usage, it would be dead by 3pm and I would have to charge it.

In my opinion, I think the people who make the Android phones need to keep it simple and just put Android on there and let the users decide how they want to customize it. Leave it alone, I don’t need your widgets or apps, if I want them I will install them, I don’t have a problem with you customizing the market with a page for the carrier or manufaturer which Verizon does, and that’s fine, it gives me the choice to install your apps if I want to.

Again for me, the biggest hiccup this phone had was being on Verizon, I had horrible service, and would drop 1 out of 3 calls, I would also have to constantly refresh internet enabled apps because the data service would drop, and the speeds of Verizon were horrendous.

In the end, this is a good phone but I would say if you like to root or keep your phone manually updated don’t buy it because of the chip that Motorola put in it because you have to use their approved software, if you like to customize and keep your phones updated, then go with the HTC Droid. If you are a regular person then I would say you would love this phone and you will be happy with it.

Here’s the cost comparison:

I would say if you are able to switch, get an iPhone 4, it’s display is better, the camera is better and it’s cheaper in the long run, but if you are staying with Verizon then the Droid X is a smart buy, but they really need to work on their pricing plans, as they are fairly expensive.

Illustration Nikki Cook

Apple held a special press conference on Friday, and in a way they admitted that yes if you hold the iPhone 4 a certain way there is a drop in signal, but does anyone other than the press who blew it up really care? I do notice the issue, but every iPhone I have had since the first generation I’ve never once dropped a call, and even with the bars dropping I still have a great signal and people have said that I sound better on this one.

So in the end, they are giving every iPhone 4 owner a free case, either a bumper or another one until September 30th. Also what I thought was interesting was when the question was asked if Steve and folks used a case they all pulled out their naked iPhones. I myself have a Griffin case that I like because they didn’t have the bumpers available in my area on launch day, so yes I will probably get the free one or see what the other options are, but again, if this was an issue to anyone besides the tech media, why does Apple continue to sell millions of them, and why are they still sold out in a lot of places. I really don’t think people care all that much.

Let me know what you all think in the comments.

I had time to look at the Kin One and Two over the past couple weeks, and I have to say, Microsoft really knows how to screw up a phone. It’s not quite a smartphone, but it’s also a little more than a regular phone, as it ties into the major social networks, has no app store, and they still charge you for a smartphone plan.

That being said, I got used to not being able to do anything but look at and update my status on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Windows Live, but that’s about all you can do, besides email.

Both phones feature hardware keyboards, and the One is small and squat, while the Two is a more standard size, both keyboards were difficult to type on, but were usable none the less.

The Kins also feature something that I can’t believe Microsoft has done is that it’s a new OS for them. Kin’s are labeled as a Windows Phone, but have nothing in common with Windows Phone 7, or Windows Mobile, it’s a totally new OS design. It’s got a bunch of panels that include all your updates and feeds and contacts, it’s kind of hard to explain, so I’ll show you in this short video.

The interface is nice, but all in all the phone is very flawed, it was very slow, again, I had no Verizon signal at my house, and I’m getting to the good part now, it’s an expensive phone to own (Now that Microsoft has killed it, I don’t know if you can buy one from Verizon) here is the breakdown of the Kin vs. the Palm Pre Plus a true smartphone.

Palm Pre Plus
Price: $30
Baseline voice with texting: $60
Unlimited Data: $30
Total cost of ownership: $2190

Kin One
Price $50
Baseline Voice with texting: $60
Unlimited Data: $30
Total Cost of Ownership: $2210 with a Zune Pass, $2570

I think calling this phone a smartphone is not the thing that worked for it, as it’s not a true smartphone, but since Microsoft decided to kill it off and have the Windows 7 phone team work on it, I think with the merger the interface and the new features could work for the new Windows phone 7. We’ll see how it all works out in the end, but my final word is to avoid these phones.

Google Voice Leaves Beta, Now Open to Everyone [News]: “

Until today, Google Voice was a neat service you needed an invite to get into. Now Googles thrown open the doors, letting anyone who wants One Number to Rule Them All—or just web-based voicemail on your current number.

Google’s long-term plans for Voice has been an interesting exercise in educated guesses. Google acquired the clever GrandCentral service, then did nothing for what seemed like a long time. Then Google Voice emerged, under limited beta, and started shutting down GrandCentral. After that, the Voice team acquired VoIP service Gizmo5, and shut down new sign-ups there, too. Just this morning, we updated our guide to updated our guide to making free Google Voice calls—with no idea what would come an hour later.

Head over to Google Voice and activate your free account with a Google log-in. You’ll get to choose between keeping your existing number and upgrading it with Google Voicemail, or taking on a new main Google Voice number, one that can ring your cell, home and office lines, desktop VoIP setup, and allow for web-based texting without any charges and pretty cheap international calls. Number portability, and no-setup web calls, are potentially on the way.

Here’s our best advice on eaing the transition to Google Voice. We also recently rounded up all our prime Google Voice coverage, and that’s worth a look for newcomers.

Tell us what you think of Voice, now that you’ve finally got a free crack at it, in the comments. What’s the coolest feature you hadn’t heard about? What still needs implementing?

(Via Lifehacker.)

The Droid Incredible has been out for less than a week now and it’s by far the best Android phone on the market. The hardware is fast and HTC has upped the internal storage to 8 gigs, but no included microSD card, which for most people will make them go and buy one because the Android OS doesn’t recognize the internal storage for some apps and an external card is needed.

Moving on, HTC has polished up the interface a little with Android and Sense UI, and running apps was fast, as well as doing things, the whole experience on this phone was good, but being a heavy smartphone user, I had to charge the battery twice a day, the battery life was ok for normal use, but heavy users would want an extra battery.

The display is an 800×400 AMOLED which is the same as the Nexus One, and it does have some color issues for all but the hardcore geeks, and using the phone outside in the sun was almost impossible because I could barely see the screen unless I went into some shade.

Also to note, this phone doesn’t have a hardware keyboard, but the software keyboard was easily usable, but I found that even though the keys were virtually the same size as the iPhone’s, it was hard to use two thumbs as it wasn’t as responsive as the iPhones, but it is what it is unless you shell out money for an app that offers a better one.

The camera is an 8 megapixel dual lcd flash camera and it’s decent enough although the photos weren’t the best, they were ok for use.

The sound quality was great, and the speakerphone and speaker could be heard in a moving car, it was also easy to hear people in the earpiece, except that again with this phone, Verizon was the worst thing about it, I was constantly dropping calls, people were cutting in and out, and the data service was itermittant at best, leaving google maps and other services like @foursquare and @gowalla impossible to use because I was unable to connect. I had at all times one or two bars of signal until I went on a little trip and was on the interstate in the middle of the state, then I finally had a full signal.

The OS itself is Android 2.1 and the sense UI which makes the usability a lot nicer and the touch was responsive and easy to use. I’ve written a lot about Android in the past so I won’t go into to much detail about it, but this phone does offer some interesting features. It gives you seven homescreens with the option to save them as a scene, so you can customize your homescreens for several different usage scenarios and change between them very easily.

I would definately recommend this phone over the Devour but if you want a hardware keyboard then the Droid would be for you, but this phone was a lot faster than the droid, and in my opinion a lot easier to navigate and use.

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1. ProBlogger Blog Tips
2. AppAdvice
3. The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
4. FreelanceFolder
5. Blogussion
6. Copyblogger
7. Lifehacker
8. MacOSXHints.com
9. The Apple Blog
10. Dumb Little Man – Tips for Life

What are the blogs or sites you can’t go a day without? I get most of my news and updates via RSS, which in my opinion is still valuable. Do you still use RSS or a feed reader? If you do, what’s your favorite feed reader?

I’ve had this phone now for a full day, and it’s fast and it’s the best android phone that will be on the market. I’ll write a full review soon, but this is by far the best android phone. If you are a Verizon customer go out and get this phone tomorrow when it is released.

I don’t know what Motorola was thinking when they decided to pit the Devour against their better option the Droid, they weren’t thinking clearly.

The DEVOUR is priced at $150 with a two-year Verizon contract.

What the Devour is

I thought the Devour was to be considered an alternative to the Droid, but that’s not the case, it’s got a smaller screen, but the phone itself is actually larger and heavier, but the form factor is a little better than the Droid and the slider feels a little springier than the Droid, and it’s keyboard has a nice little place to rest your thumbs when it’s open.

First Impressions

When I first turned on the phone the custom MotoBlur interface looked good and ran very fast, then you realize you are running an old version of Android, and it’s non updateable because of the custom Motorola build, plus there are quite a few apps some of them Google ones that don’t even work or show up in the Marketplace, and not having the choice to update the software version is not a very redeeming quality, even though it’s cheaper than the Droid, you should be able to upgrade to get the newest version of the Android software.

Verizon was actually the worst thing about this phone

I had network issues like crazy, I only had at the most one or two bars and dropped calls and had issues with internet apps not connecting on 3G, so I was mostly limited to wifi. It took 5 minutes over 3G to load a google map, and speed tests using the FCC speed test app on my iPhone 3Gs and the Devour in the same location pinging the same server confirmed that the 3G speed was awful. Calls were tinny and a lot of people couldn’t hear me very well, and places where other Verizon users had full signal and decent 3G I had none, this is definately a big problem for this phone and I did read other users had the same issues.

Final Thoughts

If I were looking to upgrade to a smartphone would I pick the Devour? Simple answer is no. The Droid is a better choice and if you want a crippled version of Android that is non upgradeable then the Devour is for you, the Motoblur is nice, but not necessary in Android, and newer versions of Android have that capability. The battery life was ok, but I couldn’t get through a whole day without having to recharge, but the hardware is very capable and fast and it’s got a nice design. If you can afford the extra $50 go with the Droid, this one needs some work, and it should be able to upgrade to the newest version of Android.