Gorilla Glass

With the emergence of all these new electronic devices, there is one thing that I have been hearing on a consistent basis which is Gorilla Glass. Naturally by it's name I assumed that it was some kind of durable glass being used on phones, but I looked into it more in detail. From what I have read, this is the new age in more strong, durable glass. It is a really thin glass used on most laptops, smartphones, and even tv's. I think that if it can withstand major scratches and nicks, and last longer than standard glass, I am all for it. And since I am know for dropping my phone and cracking my glass, this gorilla glass is right on time!

To check if your device has Gorilla Glass, click here:

http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/products-with-gorilla/full-products-list

The Best Galaxy For Me

Ok so since I have seen and used this Samsung Galaxy Note, I can't seem to stop thinking about it. And all I keep thinking is "This thing is just SSOO BIG"! I have been seeing all the commercials about how this is supposed to be a hybrid between a phone and a tablet, but I just can't wrap my brain around that. I see a huge phone that makes it more difficult for me to do things with because of the size.

With all that being said, I think that the next best thing FOR ME (because I know anybody reading this would think I'm crazy not to go with the newest phone) would be the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. It pretty much has 98% of the features the Note has (less the obvious screen size and S-Pen), and I still get the perks of having a large size screen without compromising the fact that I still am using a phone.

So now my next mission is to get one, play with it for about a month and see how it stacks up to my iPhone 4S. I got an idea on which one will come out on top for me!

Galaxy Note vs Galaxy S II Skyrocket

"BE NOTEWORTHY"

Today I got to see a demonstration going on in the King of Prussia Mall for the Samsung Galaxy Note. It allowed the public to ask questions and play with the phone more in detail. Naturally when I saw it I almost couldn't contain myself because I had SSOO many questions. In addition to playing with the phone more in detail, I got to ask important questions about the battery life, sound quality, and of course how the phone holds up to everyday use. I played around with the very basic features of the phone (i.e making calls, taking pictures, surfing the web, and downloading), and I must say I was impressed. The phone just did everything very well. I don't know that there was anything about the phone that I didn't like. 

Oh the one thing I can think of that I just couldn't stand is the SIZE! The thing is GINORMOUS! I know it is supposed to bridge the gap between a smartphone and a tablet, but my goodness! It was very awkward just holding the thing. And something as simple as trying to dial a telephone number on it was just uncomfortable. I would guess that if I were to use this phone I would just get adjusted to the size and deal with it. I have not quite gotten there yet. 

The one thing that completely sold me on this phone was the camera. I like taking pictures of myself (don't judge me...lol) and the 2-megapixel front facing camera was simply AMAZING! So naturally the 8-megapixel back camera is wonderful. I know it is very vein of me to have something like the camera be the deciding factor on whether or not I would use a phone, but it's the truth. Of course all the other features just make it that more appealing.

Now I do feel there are some things that I probably would never use like the S-Pen. It's really cool in the sense that you can pretty much write anything on the screen of the phone no matter what it is. That would be something cute for when a child needs to be preoccupied, or if you are drawing a self portrait, but other than that I doubt I would have a use for it! 

All in all this thing is great and if you have the opportunity to play around with it or even purchase it, go for it! You have my seal of approval! ;-)

The "Be Noteworthy" Demonstration in King of Prussia Mall

Smart Studio Recording Studio iPhone App

So I don't know what I was looking at, but I think I was on twitter or facebook when this app caught my eye. I don't know why but I clicked on this link and it was for an app in the App Store called Smart Studio Recording Studio. I think I have mixed views on this app. From what I have read, you can make beats and even create lyrics and everything for $9.99. From my experience, people who actually make beats use really intricate programs (i.e Pro Tools, or Logic). Since my boyfriend is a producer, I think I will have him test it out and see how it stacks up to the real thing. If it really does allow you to create studio quality music, this will be a really good app especially for the artist/producers who like to create on the fly and can use their iPhone or iPad. And you can't beat the price! I'm just a little leery as to making a song on something as small as an iPhone. Then again, I don't make music...lol! The jury is still out, but I will keep you guys posted. 

Cricket Wireless Experience

I just wanted to share with you guys my not so fortunate experience I had with Cricket Wireless. One of my friends has service with them and recently broke her phone. Obviously this was a good time to get a brand new one. She decided she wanted to go with the Huawei Mercury. She goes into one of her local stores and they tell her they are sold out pretty much everywhere. If she wanted to get one, she should try going online to order one. She goes online, but it only allows her to order a new phone with new service or add a line. Of course she doesn't want to do that! She just wants to replace her phone. I told her I would call Cricket's customer service number for her since she had a lot of things going on. I call, and their automated system tells you that if you are looking to start new service they can help. If looking to upgrade, visit your local store. Well that of course wasn't going to work. I hit "0" to speak with a representative where I got a surprisingly nice lady who pretty much told me that the only time you can buy a new phone if you already have service is through the stores and pay full price. If you want discounted pricing, you have to add a line or start new service and pay for the first month of service along with the price of the phone.

After getting off the line, I just thought that was the dumbest thing I had ever heard! It just doesn't make sense to limit the availability of products to customers. But I guess they can do that since the customers have no contract, termination fees, or accountability. You TRULY get what you pay for!

Introducing Evi

So I was perusing through my normal techy based websites, and I come across this twitter post about this Siri competitor called Evi. It is pretty much the an app which is the same concept as Siri, but for android and non 4S iphones. Now I am thinking to myself can this really be like Siri? How do they differ? Which one is better? The company that makes Evi is called True Knowledge, and they have a ton of information in their data bank. Evi is like Siri in the sense that it is an interactive tool that pulls information from this data bank and when asking Evi a question, it is supposed to be more interactive than Siri. What I mean by that, is Evi is supposed to be a true "Artificial Intelligence" which produces pure information, whereas Siri is more proned to provide a web based search engine to produce the information asked. One point for Evi! Now though Evi is more information based, Siri is supposed to be more efficient at the personal assistance of it all such as reminders, calendar appointments, etc. Evi does not have the capability to perform those sorts of tasks AS OF YET! One point for Siri!

With all this being said, I think for all the non 4S people out there who do not wanna give up their androids, or won't buy another phone because they are waiting for the iPhone 5, Evi will MORE than suffice. I'm sure for the people who have ran out and purchased their 4S already and refuse to use anything but, I'm sure Siri is the end all be all.

For those of you who would like to try Evi, here you go:

Android Users:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.trueknowledge.android.evi&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS50cnVla25vd2xlZGdlLmFuZHJvaWQuZXZpIl0.

iOS users:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evi/id463296609?mt=8

QR Barcode Scanner

For anybody out there who owns a smartphone, a really cool app to download is a QR Barcode scanner. A QR Barcode scanner app will allow you to scan (by using your smartphone's camera) any 1D and 2D barcode. These codes could be anywhere and can contain various information including coupons on the internet, contact information that can be stored on your phone, or a link to an important text, or event. And of course you can scan barcodes when shopping (which is how I use mine most of the time). Something like this comes in handy for the person who is tech savvy and is always on the go. This is a way to keep pertinent information and share it with multiple people quickly, or for the person who never has time to manually input things into their phone (because lets face it we store EVERYTHING on our phones nowadays). This feature even came in handy in my previous post when I went to the movies. The movie theater attendant was able to scan the barcode on my phone for my movie tickets, and I was ready to go. When you get a chance, go to your phones App Store or Market and type "barcode" in the search. There are many different apps that will allow you to scan either type of barcode. By the way, the barcode displayed in this post is my personal barcode. Try scanning this code to have access to me and more of my views. Try scanning all kinds of codes and see what comes up!

Enjoy