Tag: Android

Samsung begins road to redemption with Galaxy S8, Bixby personal assistant and Internet of Things push

March 30, 2017

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Samsung knows that releasing a stunning smartphone isn’t enough. There needs to be a ripple effect, a stickiness that extends to services and functionalities. For the Galaxy S8, there are various of these ecosystem plays. The new Bixby personal assistant, which uses voice but also the camera and the user’s habits to generate helpful contextual information could be a real difference maker.

One month with the Google Home assistant

March 1, 2017

By Gadjo Sevilla

Google’s mission statement is to, ‘organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’ In the past, this was usually done through the Google search bar, Google Home is the next step. With voice being the main way to interact with the service, getting Google Home to do things or access information becomes more conversational.

How good is Freedom Mobile’s LTE network?

February 17, 2017

By Ted Kritsonis

The carrier formerly known as Wind Mobile rebranded as Freedom Mobile at the same time it launched its own LTE network in November 2016 in Toronto and Vancouver, so how good is it three months in?

Where your cell phone bills may be headed in 2017

January 28, 2017

By Ted Kritsonis

It doesn’t matter that one year has turned over to a new one, Canadians will still complain about their cell phone bills in 2017. The reasons aren’t likely to be any different than they have been before, and in looking at the bigger picture, the rest of the year could make things interesting.

Looking back at Pebble’s importance to the wearable segment

January 16, 2017

Pebble’s approach was not to mimic what was on the smartphone, nor did it rely heavily on apps. Instead, Pebble watches brought up alerts, reminders and functions as they were needed. Pebble’s OS was both elegant and quirky and had a personality that was reminiscent of PalmOS or MacOS 9.

Gift Guide: Smartphones and Tablets

December 13, 2016

Smartphones and tablets make the gifting season bright with bold new designs, technologies and a range of sizes to consider.

Reviewing the Alcatel Idol 4 and Pixi 4

November 29, 2016

By Ted Kritsonis

These two latest smartphones from Alcatel are targeted at consumers looking to save a few bucks without having to lose too much on features and functionality. There are plenty of trade-offs in making that work, and one of them delivers on that more than the other.