Page 9 of Taylor Martin articles, videos, reviews

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Nokia-Microsoft Lumia event liveblog!

Live Today is the day. I'm currently sitting in a press room in New York with a handful of my colleagues waiting on the event to kick-off. We think we know what the Finnish firm has in store – the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 – but we can't be sure....

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 27 26 Reactions

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Will PureView on the Lumia 920 disappoint?

Rumors And Leaks In case you haven't heard already, Nokia and Microsoft are joining forces tomorrow morning in New York to make some announcements. At the press event, it is expected that Nokia will unveil at least two new devices, both of which slipped...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 13

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When can we expect a better Accent Color picker, Microsoft?

Rumors And Leaks Of all the mobile operating systems I have ever used, I openly admit that, in its current form, Windows Phone is among my least favorite. It's bland, dull, boring, inert, uninteresting and it lacks a great deal of the features I absolutely...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 13

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Where do you prefer your power button?

Android Nearly one month ago, I asked an offbeat question: "Are button and port placement at all important to you?" I imagine the placement of buttons and ports on a smartphone are the last thing that crosses most people's minds. And I can't...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 121 91 Reactions

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Do you want a smartphone with an edge-to-edge display?

Android I guess you could say there are many unicorns of the mobile tech world, devices that we know probably exist in some R&D lab somewhere that will never see the light of day. Or maybe they're just years from actual production. ...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 76 52 Reactions

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Does the Galaxy Camera tell a bleak story for the future of Android smartphone cameras?

Android Two days ago in Berlin, Germany, Samsung announced two show-stopping products, the successor to their strangely popular and gigantic phablet device, the Galaxy Note II, and a hybrid point and shoot camera powered by none other than Android...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 36

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The Lumia 920 finally has me excited for Windows Phone 8

Rumors And Leaks On Wednesday, I covered what we might see at the Nokia-Microsoft joint press event in New York City. Given the relationship between Nokia and Microsoft and the few leaks we've come across, it was pretty evident that the two are coming...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 69 36 Reactions

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Do you take your smartphone to bed?

Lifestyle About 18 months ago, my sleep patterns were sporadic, unpredictable and likely very unhealthy. I would wake up around 9:00 AM each day and would work away countless hours staring into the bright display of my laptop. When I finally decided...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 21

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The Samsung Galaxy Note II is a Galaxy S III on steroids

Android For months now, we've been hearing bits and pieces of information on the upcoming successor to one of Samsung's more surprising success stories of 2011 and 2012, the Galaxy Note. Being what was once considered such a niche device, it was...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 52

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What can we expect from the Nokia-Microsoft event next week?

Rumors And Leaks One week from today, I will be sitting in a room in New York preparing for a joint Microsoft-Nokia press conference with hundreds of my colleagues, still wondering what all the hubbub is about. Up to this point, the rumor mill has been...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 8

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Are you still a specmonger?

Android I remember a time not too long ago when I – and many of my compatriots – wouldn't dare use a phone that was anything but the greatest the market had to offer at the time. That meant I had to change phones every few weeks or so to keep up...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 26

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Charging all of my devices is increasingly problematic

Android Two weekends ago, I decided to finally put together the assortment of IKEA parts I had accumulated over multiple trips to the Swedish furniture store. I had researched a handful of different standing desks that were made out of mismatched...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 19

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Google should avoid making another carrier branded Nexus

Android Does anyone remember a time when I got flamed for calling Google out over their Nexus line? No? Back in late November, I claimed they had lost their initiative, gave in to the pressures of wireless carriers and device manufacturers. They...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 23

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Has your phone ever gone for a swim in a drink, pool?

Lifestyle We travel almost everywhere with our cell phones. Whether its a trip to the restroom (seriously, and people always seem surprised to learn there are traces of feces on their pocket computer) or on a vacation to the beach, chances are your...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 21

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Where do you send pictures taken with your phone for backup?

Android While smartphones have yet to encroach on the DSLR market, they have all but devoured point-and-shoot cameras. As more and more individuals adopt smartphones over less adequately equipped feature phones, fewer individuals need to tote...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 26

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How do you communicate best with your smartphone?

Android When it comes to modern smartphones, there is no shortage of ways to communicate. With wireless data speeds that match – and often surpass – your home internet speeds, it makes just about any form of communication via mobile viable and...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 14

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Don't spring for the discounted iPhone 4S just yet

Business And Money When Apple took the stage just over a year ago and announced the Apple iPhone 4S, it's safe to say many of us were disappointed. It's not that the 4S is a bad device, by any means. But we all were expecting so much more from Apple, the...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 76 52 Reactions

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Is LTE a must-have feature for you now?

4g 4G is a feature we all have become accustomed to over the span of the last year or so. The term has found itself embedded in the names of new devices, in carrier branding and as the subject of hot headed flame wars over what is and isn't...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 132 87 Reactions

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What are the outstanding problems with smartphone battery life?

Android I've touched on the topic of battery life a lot lately. The consensus is that, in general, smartphone batteries suck these days and, like many others, my phones rarely last an entire day without some form of supplementary charge after...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 24

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Have you ever shattered the display on your smartphone?

Android Being that the front of most of our smartphones are now covered with glass instead of a thin, flexible plastic, they tend to be a bit more fragile. Unsightly scratches still may occur. But there's nothing quite like how glass will react to...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 36

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Take charge of your phone's notifications with Pushover

Android If you're anything like me, your notifications are a mess. No, I meant it. A complete, total mess. Almost as bad as my address book. I have so many applications, networks and services that are constantly running, pulling and pushing data,...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 1

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Would you leave your phone at the door for a discount on your meal?

Android Cell phones and technology have seeped into virtually every part of our lives, leaving only a few nooks and crannies completely tech-free. I am hardly ever more than a few inches from both of my phones, and only on rare occasions am I more...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 14

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Which cell phone habits annoy you?

Lifestyle More than once now, we've been over how cell phones have negatively affected our lives, especially phones of the more intelligent type. On one hand, smartphones have enabled us to remain connected to the online world with minimal...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 35

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Is your mobile address book a complete mess?

Lifestyle When I got my first cell phone, around the time I turned 15, I started collecting other people's numbers. My address book started filling up quickly and all things were great. I took the time to organize everything and fill out as much...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 21

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Could a folding display be the next generation of phablets?

Android The smartphone and tablet markets are currently in an era of exploration and experimentation. Smartphones and tablets, in respect to other personal electronics such as PCs, are very much new. And because of that, manufacturers are open to...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 29 17 Reactions

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Inside the Dog Pound: Taylor Martin

Inside The Dog Pound You see the names pop up all the time on the site, but what really makes the PhoneDog crew tick when they're not hard at work writing about phones? Welcome to Inside the Dog Pound, where we profile the members of the PhoneDog editorial...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 16

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Which rumored smartphone are you looking forward to the most?

Android In case you hadn't noticed, we're over halfway through August, which means a couple things. First and foremost, temperatures here in North Carolina (and across the nation) are slowly trickling back down towards tolerable. It also means we...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 88

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Is rapid charging the answer to current battery life woes?

Android In general, smartphone battery life is miserable, especially in comparison to what it was just a few short years ago. While the pocket-sized, personal computers are immensely more capable and powerful, battery technology has remained...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 107 62 Reactions

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What are some of the best uses for mobile devices in the classroom?

Android Like it or not, it's that time again. Schools across the nation are back in session (or will be soon enough) and it's time for students to get back into the learning, studying and testing mindsets. For some, that may be easier said than...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 13

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Priced at $199, I would buy two Microsoft Surface tablets

Business And Money I have been loosely following Windows 8 tablet news ever since Microsoft unveiled its lineup of Surface tablets and their partners earlier announced Windows RT tablets. Being the tablet fiend that I am, Windows RT is easily the most...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 25