Even more Taylor Martin articles, videos, reviews

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Taylor's New Year's tech resolutions for 2013

Android Today is the last day of 2012, so there's no better time than now to reflect on how things have gone this year. And there's no better day than today to determine which areas need improving. There's something symbolic and significant about...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 12

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Do physical keyboards still have any appeal?

Blackberry Os I started my smartphone days with a keyboard. In fact, I wouldn't dare use a phone without a physical keyboard for the first three or four years I used a smartphone. Not long after I bought my second BlackBerry, the original iPhone...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 31

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Do Tweet Seats have a place in theaters?

Android It's almost deplorable how attached to our phones and the online world we are. I explained just before Christmas how afraid I am to stay disconnected for too long, that I'm afraid I will miss an important email or call. I'm afraid to make...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 8

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I don't see the appeal in Snapchat or Poke

Android In this day and age, everything leaves a figurative paper trail. Clearing your browsing history may save you and what you've been ogling from being discovered by your significant other (or your parents if you still live at home). And...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 7 4 Reactions

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Do you use your cell phone at work?

Business And Money There are few hours of the day when I don't pick up my phone for one reason or another. It's been that way for years now. I constantly check notifications, text someone, take a picture, upload a file or some other weird, niche task that...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 11

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How Blocking Mode and Do Not Disturb saved my sleep

Android I have hardly had a decent night's rest in the last four or five years. Part because I snore and have sleep apnea and part because I just have trouble laying down and dozing off. Unlike a few years ago, however, it's not insomnia. It's no...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 32 22 Reactions

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I can't live without LTE anymore

4g In case you have missed the handful of lists I've made, my weekly OSR rankings and dozen or so pieces I've written on it, I love the Galaxy Note II. It is a fine specimen of what many years of smartphone evolution has produced, an...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 111 89 Reactions

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Why six of my top 10 iOS apps were for Google services

Cell Phone Apps After countless requests, I composed two lists over the holidays, one for my top 10 Android apps and, likewise, a list of my top 10 iOS apps. These lists are always changing as I find new applications throughout the year, so I figured a...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 7

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What tech gifts did you receive this holiday season?

Android With the number of sold out gadgets left out of stock in the wake of the holidays, it's apparent how tech-crazed consumers are and how popular mobile devices have become as perfect holiday gifts. For example, five out of seven devices in...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 23

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Taylor's Top 5 tablets (December 2012)

Android I'm a tablet lover. I always have been and likely always will be. I love the extra display space, ultra portability and fantastic battery life. And when applications are optimized for the display size and resolution, nothing looks better....

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 77 48 Reactions

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Taylor's Top 10 iOS apps (December 2012)

Cell Phone Apps After detailing my favorite application for 2012, I was asked what my top 10 Android applications are. Inevitably, since I use both Android and iOS in smartphone and tablet form, I was also asked about my top 10 iOS applications. Just as...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 28 11 Reactions

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Taylor's Top 10 Android apps (December 2012)

Android Lately, I've explained several times that I'm a fiend when it comes to mobile applications. I'm an impulsive and compulsive buyer and, arguably worse, I'm a hoarder. Luckily, being any of these things when it comes to applications (or...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 21

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What is the absolute worst smartphone of 2012?

Android This year has been an incredible year for smartphone lovers. Dozens of high-profile smartphones have reached the market and, likewise, consumer hands. And manufacturers have pushed the boundaries for what's possible in a pocket-sized...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 274 207 Reactions

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Are you going to disconnect for the holidays?

Android Back before Thanksgiving, I wrote a piece detailing how I needed a break, just one single day of no Internet, no phone, no computer and as close to no technology as I could possibly get. The plan was to turn my phones off prior to midnight...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 7

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Do you have to immediately Google search everything from your smartphone?

Android There was once a time that I knew everything. Okay, I thought I knew everything. We all did at some point. But my hunger for knowledge, the absolute need for an answer, began when I was roughly six or seven. My mother will never let me...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 15

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How to take better pictures with your smartphone

Android Since I ordered my iced americano and snagged a table at this coffee shop, I have watched no less than four individuals snap a picture of their drinks or of the artwork on the walls. All I can do is assume what they did afterwards. Did...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 3

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What is your favorite app for 2012?

Android I've explained more than once that I love mobile applications and, when it comes to buying premium apps, I am probably a little too loose with my money. But it's all for a great cause and, most of the time, everyone wins. I can add another...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 13

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What was your very first smartphone?

Blackberry Os Over the years, I have lost official count of how many phones I have owned. I have used at least seven different mobile platforms, some clearly more than others, and have switched phones hundreds of times. I have carried as many as four...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 67

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How HTC can recover in 2013

Android This year has not been the greatest year in HTC history. Despite some great handsets in its lineup, the Taiwanese-based handset manufacturer faced more hurdles and tribulations than anything. And it has been outclassed by its competitors...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 19

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Have you added a tablet to your wireless plan?

Android From the time smartphone adoption started growing rapidly, shared data plans were inevitable. Quick and simple or ongoing text message conversations and always-on data connections began to replace the brunt of voice calls that were being...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 1

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I'm quitting Instagram, but not over the new terms of service

Android In just two years, the application and, likewise, the network have exploded in terms of users and adoption. The network has over 50 million users and over one billion photos have been uploaded. And the growth of those two numbers are...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 87 66 Reactions

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How far do you go to customize the look of your smartphone?

Android Over the course of several years, smartphone design has taken a turn for the more conservative. While some manufacturers still express their penchants for superior design, the overall end product is usually the same: a rectangular device...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 9

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I have serious reservations about leaving iOS

Iphone 5 When I published my review of the iPhone 5 in late September, I knew it wouldn't be long before I was tired of the phone, before the newness of the device would wear off and I would be interested in something else. My interests have...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 74

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What piece of smartphone technology do you want to see improve in 2013?

Android It's been said a million times. We have seen countless changes and improvements over the years in the mobile realm. For instance, 2011 was the year of the dual-core processor, and 2012 has been the year of large, high-resolution displays,...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 37

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I can honestly say I'm getting excited for BlackBerry 10

Blackberry Os In July, following a BlackBerry 10 slider concept render and months years of seemingly endless leaks, I wrote a piece titled I'm beginning to lose interest in everything Research In Motion does. That was the honest truth. After several...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 32

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What's on your Google Play wishlist?

Android I don't have an exact count, but I've purchased somewhere north of 150 applications for Android. There was a time I would go on buying sprees and buy anything and everything that looked interesting. Back then, it was easy to get away with....

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 7

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This year's smartphones are much more resilient to obsolescence

Android In 2010 and 2011, I had to constantly trade and sell phones to stay current. Over what seemed like weeks, smartphones would become outdated, old news. Hype and anticipation would surge, the phone would launch and, almost immediately,...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 25

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Taylor's Top 5 AT&T smartphones for the holidays

Android Over the last four months, there have been dozens of new product announcements. Most of them have launched by now. A handful of newly launched phones landed on AT&T just in time for the holidays. Taylor has composed a list of his top five...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 13

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Do you want a dual-screen smartphone?

Android Not long after I started here at PhoneDog, the mobile landscape started to change quite rapidly. Mobile chipset manufacturers cleared a huge hurdle and broke into multi-core architecture territory. Creators of mobile image sensors also...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 7

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Do you watch movies or television shows on your smartphone?

Android Over the last two years, the way I use my smartphones has flip-flopped, expanded, contracted and has done a complete 180 again and again. I've gone from using smartphones solely as communication tools to using them to write articles,...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 14