Current Phone Lineup - Hardware Battle

(Click for larger image)

Phones have been coming out at a rapid rate lately. Motorola pushed the Bionic and RAZR our within a relatively small amount of time from each other, which might have actually pissed some people off. I would get in to a discussion on whether this is healthy or unhealthy for the mobile gaming world, but that's another topic for another time.

As far as the hardware comparison chart goes, sections that are bolded and in red are "best in class" in the mobile world right now.

A few things to keep in mind though when comparing hardware - bigger doesn't mean better, ALWAYS. For example, the Rezound has a 1.5gHz processor and the Bionic has a 1930mAh battery. I will tell you right now, you don't need 1.5gHz of dual-core power for anything right now. The only thing that is going to do is drain your battery even faster on an already tanked 4G LTE device. On the same hand, the Bionic's 1930mAh battery will not seem noticably bigger due to the fact that it is a 4G LTE device on Verizon, which has been notoriously bad on phone battery. Just some food for thought when looking over these devices.

MotoACTV rooted, now running Honeycomb

The MotoACTV has been rooted by Chris and is running Honeycomb. Above is his YouTube video of it. The concept behind an Android watch is amazing, and I would love to sport one of these bad boys at some point. Perhaps when they enhance the features a little more (or a stable Honeycomb or ICS root comes out for it) I would look in to getting one to mess around with. He shows off and explains that just because it has a small 1 1/2" screen, it doesn't take away from the value of Honeycomb at all.

Seems pretty cool. Here's an idea, if you could, would you purchase all Android electronics? A Kindle Fire, Transformer Prime, Galaxy Nexus, MotoACTV, a Samsung Android-powered Refrigerator, and an LG-powered Microwave?

Oh, the future...

HTC Fireball Rumors

Rumor has it, HTC is in the works of a new phone with a codename of the HTC Fireball. It's model number currently falls between the Rezound and the Thunderbolt, so it could possibly be an in-between model of them and sport a slide out keyboard? HTC hasn't done one of those in a while. We shall see.

Transformer Prime Preview

Specs:
Display - 10.1" Super IPS+ LCD

Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core @ 1.3gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 32GB or 64GB/32GB/64GB or 96GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, 1.2MP Front
Battery: 12 Hours Medium Usage
Connectivity: WiFi Only
Bonuses: Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) with a promise to receiving Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 shortly after its release, Micro-HDMI output, World's first quad-core mobile device.

The ASUS Transformer was one of the best selling Android tablets created. It had an amazing brand behind it with excellent build quality. The biggest differentiator was it's dockable keyboard that added battery life.

The ASUS Transformer Prime is no different. It is the world's first quad-core mobile device. Because of its importance in taking mobile computing further, it will likely be like the Motorola XOOM in the fact that it will be considered a 'developer unit'. All testing for Android modifications and updates will be done on this device. It will sport a new and improved keyboard dock which will make it look very similar to a Macbook Air. It won't be long until we start seeing cell phones with quad-core processors. Sporting 1GB of RAM and amazing cameras, the Transformer Prime will be the tablet of the season. While we're on the subject, there is no 'official' release date for the Transformer Prime. It was slated for late November, but is now looking like December/January. It will have an obnoxious amount of storage in it as well. 96GB? I'm not quite sure who would use that much storage, but what the hell.

ASUS has also shown us a video of Ice Cream Sandwich running on the Prime. It will receive the update within 'weeks' of ICS going live with the launch of the Galaxy Nexus in the USA. If you were to get some kind of mobile broadband with this thing, you can basically trash your old desktop unless you play intense games on it. Otherwise, you'd be fine rocking a laptop and this bad boy.

That's about it for the ASUS Transformer Prime. More will be leaked closer to the release of the device.

Tweaks to Increase Your Android's Battery Life and Increase Performance Part 2

Continuing on my older post on how to greatly increase the battery life and performance of your Android phone, I'm going to write a second edition to that article that goes in to a little more depth.


Tip #1: Remove Unused Widgets
1. Press and hold your finger on the widget you wish to remove from your screen.
2. After it unlocks itself from the page, you can swing it up or down (depending on your phone) to the trash can to remove it. NOTE: This does not delete the widget off of your phone, it simply does not show it anymore.

Widgets are a huge power sink for your phone, whether you use them or not. Any widgets that you don't commonly use, take off of your home screens to greatly save both battery and performance.

Tip #2: Take Extra Social Media Site's off of your Contact Sync List
1. Go to your contacts list.
2. Hit the Menu button on your phone.
3. Click 'Accounts', or on some phones you will have to click 'More' and then 'Accounts'.
4. Click on Twitter, GroupME, or whatever other social media apps you use.
5. Remove the option to 'Sync Contacts'. You only really need one social media website syncing your contacts (most people use Facebook or Google+).

This will save your battery a ton from not having to sync all your contacts every so often.

Tip #3: Change your background to something a little darker
1. Go to your home screen.
2.Hit the 'Menu' button on your phone.
3. Click 'Wallpaper'.
4. Select a wallpaper from your Gallery or from your phone. Make sure to select a darker one.

On most displays, the color black uses the least amount of light to draw on the display. So having a darker, blacker display wallpaper means that the screen is using less back light to create your background. This saves you power.

Tip #4: Clear Your App Cache Once In a While
1. Download the application App2SD from the marketplace.
2. Launch the application.
3. When it opens up and compiles your application list for the first time, hit the 'Menu' button.
4. Select 'Clear Cache'.
5. Confirm when the window pops up.

Applications use their cache to keep frequently used and accessed data. By wiping this every once in a while, you remove all of the data that those applications have stored. By doing this, you free up phone memory that can be used elsewhere for other things and keeps your phone in good health. The applications will continue to store things in their cache, so I suggest wiping it once a week at least.

Tip #5: Use Wi-Fi When at Home

1. Go to 'Settings'.
2. Click 'Wireless and Network'.
3. Click Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi Settings. If you did option 1, skip to number 5.
4. After Wi-Fi Settings, click on Wi-Fi to check the box and turn on Wi-Fi.

It is a fact that when your phone searches for a Wi-Fi signal and tries to keep you connected to that signal, it uses about 50% less battery than when it is trying to search and stay connected to a 3G signal, and about 150% less battery than when it is trying to search and stay connected to a 4G signal.

Tip #6: Update Your Applications

1. Launch the Market application.
2. Click the 'Menu' button on your phone.
3. Click 'My Apps'.
4. Apps that need to be updated will be moved to a category called 'Updates' or 'Manual Updates'.
5. Click on each app that needs to be updated individually, and then click on 'Update' and then click 'Accept and Download' if you accept the Market terms.


Applications release updates to themselves to improve their efficiency on battery and to work out any bugs there may have been in the application. Doing this not only makes your phone more efficient, but it also makes sure you are getting the most optimized version of the application.

GZR Top 5 Android Phones - November

Rank 1: Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch

Specs:
Display - 4.5" Super AMOLED Plus
Processor: Samsung Exynos dual-core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, 2MP Front
Battery: 1800 mAh
Connectivity: 4G WiMax
Bonuses: Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread).

The Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch was an excellent lineup to the Galaxy series. Exclusively for sprint, this device is technically an Galaxy S2 (has the branding on the back of the phone and everything), however was modified for Sprint. It has a bigger screen (4.5" vs 4.3") and different battery. This bad boy has amazing camera options. Taking very vivid photos, you can also switch it to a panoramic camera mode as well. Overall, this is the best device out there right now. Hats off to Samsung for this one.

Rank 2: Motorola DROID RAZR

Specs:
Display - 4.3" Super AMOLED

Processor: TI OMAP dual-core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 32GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, 2MP Front

Battery: 1780 mAh
Connectivity: 4G LTE
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), incredibly thin (7.7mm), 720p front-facing camera recording.

The DROID RAZR's selling point is its thin design. Somehow, Motorola has managed to fit a 4G modem into a device that is only 1/3 of an inch thick (7.7mm to be exact). How they have done it, I have no idea. This is also the first phone able to record 720p quality videos using its front-facing camera. It's got an industry standard amount of RAM, an excellent processor, and a very nice gorilla glass screen. Definitely for those who want a 'wow' factor from people. Holding this feels like you aren't even holding a phone.

Rank 3: HTC Rezound

Specs:
Display - 4.3" S-LCD

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core @ 1.5gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 32GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, 2MP Front

Battery: 1620 mAh
Connectivity: 4G LTE
Bonuses: Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread), 720p resoultion screen (incredibly crisp and clear), comes with a $100 pair of Beats Audio earbuds.

The HTC Rezound is an incredible piece of equipment. The screen looks incredibly detailed and crisp, given its 720p resolution on only a 4.3" display. It has excellent HTC cameras, which have decent software to handle its cameras power. It runs on Verizon's lightning fast 4G LTE network. The processor is clocked at 1.5gHz, which gives it a lot of raw power at its disposal. This also means, however, the Rezound's battery will take a small hit from having to power that monster for long periods of time. Given that the Rezound's battery is already rather small, AND it has a 4G modem, it ranks #3. Oh (and this has nothing to do with how it ranked, since I look at only the phone itself), but did I mention it comes with a free pair of $100 Beats by Dr. Dre ear buds? Sweet deal.

Rank 4: Motorola DROID Bionic

Specs:
Display - 4.3" qHD
Processor: OMAP Dual-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, VGA Front.
Battery: 1930 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread).

The DROID Bionic keeps on the list, however moves down to #4.

Rank 5: Samsung Galaxy S2

Specs:

Display - 4.3" Super AMOLED

Processor: ARM Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB

Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP dual-rear, 2MP rear-facing

Battery: 1650 mAh
Connectivity: 3G
Bonuses: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

The Samsung Galaxy S2 has dropped to #5. Given that this is a slightly (and when I say slightly, I mean very slightly) outdated piece of equipment, it has some competition that has came out with better hardware. This phone is still an amazing piece though, so it keeps its place on the list.

Droid RAZR Preorders Now Live

Specs:
Display - 4.3" Super AMOLED "Advanced" Display

Processor: TI OMAP Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/16GB/32GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, 1.3MP Front (capable of shooting 720p front video)

Battery: 1780 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), MotoCast.

The Droid RAZR was available for preorder Thursday and sold out online quickly after it was made available. Given the fact that it has an amazing 4G radio from Motorola and is incredibly thin, you can see why it did. It has the amazing RAZR name behind it as well as some serious hard ware under the hood of this device. For those who are interested, you can head over to your local Best Buy and grab one for a $50 down payment.

Galaxy Nexus vs. Galaxy S2 Touch vs. Droid RAZR

Let's take the three best Android phones that are up-and-coming and put them head to head in a hardware comparison and see which one comes out on top.

Display:
Galaxy Nexus: 4.65" Super AMOLED HD, ~324 pixel density
Galaxy S2 Touch: 4.52" Super AMOLED Plus, ~206 pixel density
Droid RAZR: 4.3" Super AMOLED, 256 pixel density

Out of all of these, the Galaxy Nexus comes out on top. It's got Samsung's beautiful Super AMOLED HD display, which tops its AMOLED Plus and obviously its regular AMOLED.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus


Processor:
Galaxy Nexus: A9 Cortex Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
Galaxy S2 Touch: Samsung Exynos Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
Droid RAZR: A9 Cortex Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz

All of these devices use relatively similar processors. They are all clocked at 1.2gHz. While the Galaxy S2 Touch's processor rocks a better graphics chip in it, we will leave that part to the actual graphics section. As far as processor speed is concerned, all three are a tie.

Winner: Tie


RAM:
Galaxy Nexus: 1GB
Galaxy S2 Touch: 1GB
Droid RAZR: 1GB

Obviously this is the industry standard at this point. Not much to say here. Tie all the way..

Winner: Tie


Graphics Processor:
Galaxy Nexus: Power VT SGX540 GPU
Galaxy S2 Touch: Mali-400MP
Droid RAZR: Power VT SGX540 GPU

The biggest difference here is Samsung's amazing hardware acceleration that comes with their Mali-400MP chip. It will blow the RAZR and Galaxy Nexus out of the water. Expect about 10% more performance out of the Touch in comparison to the other two devices. Because of this, the winner is the Galaxy S2 Touch.


Winner: Galaxy S2 Touch


Min/Max Storage:
Galaxy Nexus: 16GB/64GB
Galaxy S2 Touch: 16GB/48GB
Droid RAZR: 16GB/48GB

Given that the Galaxy Nexus will be coming in a 16GB model and a 32GB model, the Galaxy Nexus allows for its 32GB onboard storage combined with a 32GB microSD card, giving it the most storage power out of all three of the phones.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus


Thickness:
Galaxy Nexus: 9mm
Galaxy S2 Touch: 10mm
Droid RAZR: 7.1mm

Motrola takes the cake on this one. 7.1mm? How on earth did they fit a 4G modem in something that is 1/3 of an inch thick? It's crazy thin. Motorola wins hands down with the Droid RAZR.

Winner: Droid RAZR


Camera:
Galaxy Nexus: 5MP Rear, 1.2MP Front
Galaxy S2 Touch: 8MP Rear, 2MP Front
Droid RAZR: 8MP Rear, 2MP Front

Just from the raw numbers, it seems as if the Galaxy S2 and Droid RAZR would come out on top. However this is the one area where pure numbers don't matter. Megapixels is just a small fraction of the equation to figure out what a good camera picture looks like. The Galaxy Nexus rocks the software of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as allowing for panoramic pictures and zero shutter lag. This makes the Galaxy Nexus come out on top.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus


Battery:
Galaxy Nexus: 1750mAh
Galaxy S2 Touch: 1800mAh
Droid RAZR: 1780mAh

Now with battery, like the camera, there are many other factors that get bundled in with it. How efficient is the operating system in talking to the hardware? Is the processor running at the fastest speed it can handle? Is it overclocked, underclocked, or set at a normal stock recommended speed? The Galaxy Nexus has a TI OMAP 4460 compared to the RAZR's 4430. The difference being that the Nexus has a speed cap of 1.5gHz per core, while the RAZR has a limit of 1.2gHz per core. The S2 Touch's is clocked at 1.2gHz max, so in this case, the Galaxy Nexus wins on the terms of not being ran at its maximum potential.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus


Connectivity:
Galaxy Nexus: 4G Samsung modem
Galaxy S2 Touch: 4G Samsung modem
Droid RAZR: 4G Motorola modem

All of the devices run 4G networks. Motorola has always had considerably better 4G modems in their devices, and the RAZR is no different. For this, the RAZR takes the cake for faster download/upload speeds.

Winner: Droid RAZR




Overall:
Galaxy Nexus: 4
Galaxy S2 Touch: 1
Droid RAZR: 2


The Samsung Galaxy Nexus takes the cake on this one.

No Gorilla Glass on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Well, there you have it. No Gorilla Glass on the G-Nex. It's a sad report indeed, considering most of us tend to drop our phones when we try to pocket them. Don't do that with the G-Nex though, otherwise you're buying a whole new phone. Or just get the Best Buy protection plan. Runs you 9.99/month, but covers screen cracks and water damage on top of general wear and tear.

Can't Wait to Have Ice Cream Sandwich On Your Phone? Download This

For those who are interested, there is a skin on XDA that allows you to use the theme chooser built in to ROMs like Cyanogenmod that looks and feels exactly like Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0.

To view discussion and download this ROM, here is the link to it on the XDA forums. I personally have installed it and it works great, and is snappy even on smaller screen devices like my Droid Incredible. I couldn't get the extras .zip to unpack, but that's okay. Now we just need the real deal to get here.

ASUS Transformer Prime

Asus has announced the next generation of their widely-successful tablet, the Transformer. Dubbed the Transformer Prime, ir is going to be sporting NVIDIA's Tegra 3 chipset. This means that it's going to have a quad-core processor, and will likely be the first mobile device in existence with a Tegra 3 operating in it. It will be about 8.3mm thick. In comparison, the iPad2 is 8.8mm thick. It will sport the usual 10" screen, so it will be a monster for media, just like a tablet should be. It will be running Google's Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, and will have a keyboard dock just like the first Transformer did.

Stick around, as Asus will be announcing the Prime officially on November 9th.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is Now Official (Preview)

Specs:
Display - 4.65" Super AMOLED HD Display (1280x720)

Processor: TI OMAP 4460 Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB or 32GB/32GB/48GB or 64GB
Camera: 5MP Rear, 1.3MP Front

Battery: 1750 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, NFC chip, facial recognition, Android 4.0.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).


Imagine if everything good that has ever graced a cell phone was all rolled in to one super smartphone. Oh wait, that just happened.


Display:
The Galaxy Nexus utilizes the Honeycomb feature that banishes hard buttons like most Android devices have now in replace for software buttons. These are buttons that are displayed on the screen rather than built in to the device. That way, you can get rid of the buttons during something like video playback or an HD picture viewer and you can animate then when you click on the back., home, or app drawer buttons. It's displaying its picture in 1280x720 resolution (most commonly known as 720p). You know that 20" HD TV you bought? Yea, this thing has the same quality display as that when you're watching your blu-ray movies or streaming your HD videos from Netflix. This bad boy's screen has the best technology out there behind its native resolution too - Samsung's Super AMOLED display. Being an organic display, it makes it incredibly energy efficient as well. Seeing as how cell standby and display are the #1 and #2 battery suckers in Android devices, this means good things for battery life. They have a hidden notification LED at the bottom of the phone to notify you via different colored light flashes that you have a new e-mail, new voice mail, new text, etc. This keeps the nice sleek and simplistic design the way it's meant to be by not having any noticeable tarnishes on this monster screen.

Processor/RAM:
The processor in this thing is a beast. It's got a 1.2gHz dual-core TI OMAP 4460 behind it to power that big beautiful display. That means your videos are going to be played lag free, and your applications and screen transitions are going to be like ice cream melting down a stick (no pun intended). A 1.2gHz dual-core is the current standard in smart phones today, and the Galaxy Nexus delivers on that standard beautifully. On top of that, you've got a nice amount of memory in this thing to keep track of all the things you're going to be doing on it. 1GB of RAM is more than enough for constant every day use considering all of the features the OS will bring to minimize memory usage and give the user an easy way to free up used memory if need be. Maintaining phone speed will be easier than ever.

Graphics Processor:
This is the one area that the Galaxy Nexus is only up to par in. It doesn't have the newest and greatest processor, so the graphics processor is slightly out dated as well. When I say slightly out dated, we're talking about it still being more powerful than 90% of the Android devices in-use today. It's rocking a Power VT SGX540 GPU that is in that TI OMAP processor listed above. It's still one of the best graphics processors on the market and will still blow all the other phones away, while still being equal to all of the phones that are just being released now. It will still run all of the games that you currently play, and it will run them all damn good.

Storage:
The Galaxy Nexus was rumored for a long time to have forgotten to include a microSD slot. Today they announced that they had not forgotten the SD slot, and that it does in fact have one with a max storage capacity of 32GB. Seeing as how the Galaxy Nexus is available in a 16GB model and a 32GB model, you can have up to 64GB on this bad boy. That's a lot of memory. Most everyone will wind up going with the 16GB model for economic reasons, considering Google is trying to move most of their content on to the cloud this day in age. Either way, you're looking at a minimum of 48GB of storage if you max out the SD card slot. That's a lot of space to take a lot of pictures, and that's a lot of space to play all of your HD videos you have downloaded digital copies of.

Thickness:
The Galaxy Nexus is 8.94mm thick. This means that it is ridiculously thin, seeing as how that's only about 1/3 of an inch. How Samsung managed to make a device so thin and still include a 4G modem is outstanding craftsmanship on their part. This phone is going to be very, very thin.

Camera:
The camera in this thing is a beast. It's got a 5MP Rear capable of recording in 1080p while having a 3mm focal point, 2.75 max aperture, and a 1.2MP Front-facing camera. The camera has the ability to take panoramic shots by shooting a 'video' of the stretch of picture you wish to create, and then formatting the frames to create a beautiful panoramic shot. It also has the ability to have facial recognition through the front-facing camera, although the demo at the event showed us that if you cake too much makeup on, it can lock you out of your phone (sorry ladies and cross dressers). Don't be demoralized by the 5MP camera. When Samsung took funding away from the sheer MP of the camera, they focused that funding in to amazing sensors for it. Oh, did I mention it has the shutter-close speed of an SLR camera? That's right, it takes a picture literally instantly after you press the button to tell it to take it. Literally. It's instant. Considering that, it takes amazing pictures and video as well.

Battery/Connectivity:
 It rocks a 1750mAh battery, which is considered normal in most LTE phones today. Given that Samsung is using its newest modem technologies for its 4G radio in the Galaxy Nexus, you can expect to see better battery life than the dreaded HTC Thunderbolt. Overall, the battery should last only slightly less than your current 3G phone does. Considering you will be getting faster download speeds than your home internet connection, it's worth it. Seamless streaming with seamless content sharing. That's the goal of this device. Samsung boasts it as the fastest modem for any of the 4G phones on the market today, which I wouldn't doubt.


Overall:
This phone is what the market needs right now. Things are getting stale. 4G, 1gHz dual-core, 1GB RAM, 8MP camera, 1.2MP front camera, things are all the same. Things are stale. The Galaxy Nexus is going to spice up the phone market just like its predecessors have. Expect to see great things from this device. Hopefully soon we will see a release or preorder date.

Droid RAZR Announced

Motorola just made official the next addition to the Droid family, as well as a continuation of one of the best cellphone names in history. The Droid RAZR was just announced. You can preorder it starting October 27th for $299.99 with a contract renewal. Expect it to launch in November.

Specs:
Display - 4.3" Super AMOLED "Advanced" Display

Processor: TI OMAP Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/16GB/32GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, 1.3MP Front

Battery: 1780 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), MotoCast.

Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich Announced Today

Later tonight, Google and Samsung are holding an unpacked event that they plan on revealing the Galaxy Nexus at as well as Google's next itteration of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. Expect a lot of updates on Galaxy Nexus and Droid RAZR devices today.

Droid Bionic Source Now Available

Thanks, Motorola. Today they released the source code for the Droid Bionic today. Hopefully now we can see some better kerenels made for battery life and performance for people who bought this device. For those of you who have, expect some nice updates to your ROMs and kerensl in the next few days.

Google Announces 190M Android Devices Activated as of Q3

Google's Android operating system is nothing to mess around with (I'm talking to you, Apple). It's grown in to the most popular and most used mobile operating system in the world.

Because of that success, Google announced that they activated 190 million devices running some form of Android so far. That's quite a lot of devices. Google is also creeping up with Google+ users compared to Facebook, and the Google Chrome browser is catching up to Mozilla Firefox. Soon, Google will have complete web dominance.

This seems similar to the 90's when Microsoft was the dominating IT force. Google threatened them, and took them down. Now the real question is, who is going to take down Google?

Hardware War: iPhone 4S vs. Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Display:
Nexus - 4.65" Super AMOLED HD Display, ~324 pixel density
iP4S -  3.5" LED Backlit IPS TFT, ~330 pixel density

The displays are radically different in size, but relatively close in pixel density, making it a no-brainer that the Nexus will be favored in screen size. 3.5" this day in age is just way too small.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

Processor:

Nexus - A9 Cortex Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz

iP4S - A9 Cortex Dual-Core @ 1gHz

Based on processor speed, the Nexus has the iPhone beat hands down.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

RAM:

Nexus - 1GB

iP4S - 512MB

Yet another no brainer, the Nexus is in the lead in hardware. It's got double the memory of the iPhone 4S

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

Graphics Processor:

Nexus -Power VT SGX540 GPU

iP4S - PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU

Graphics processing is the one area where the iPhone4S is going to excel, there's no doubt about that. iPhone 4S takes this one easily.

Winner: iPhone 4S

Min/Max Storage:
Nexus - Min/Max Storage: 32GB/64GB

iP4S - Min/Max Storage: 16GB/64GB

With this one, it could either be a plus or a minus that the iPhone4S has less storage on its lower models. So for that, we're going to give this one a tie, seeing as how its a good thing that the Nexus comes with more storage, but its also a good thing that the iPhone 4S gives you options for a cheaper price.

Winner: Tie

Thickness:

Nexus - 9mm

iP4S - 9.3mm

The Nexus is .3mm thinner than the iPhone 4S, which is about a 4% difference. The Galaxy Nexus wins this one.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

Camera:
Nexus - 5MP Rear, 1.2MP Front, 1080P Video Recording, 3mm focal point, 2.75 max aperture

iP4S - 8MP Rear, VGA Front, 1080P Video Recording, 4.28mm focal point, 2.4 max aperture

This is the battle of the cameras, folks. We have two amazing devices here both rocking incredible cameras. The 1.2MP vs VGA and 5MP vs 8MP neutralize each other, and the ability to record in true 1080P HD is a god send. For that, it is a tie for war 1. On top of that, the Nexus is going to be a little better at taking your near to midrange pictures, seeing as how it has a smaller focal length. This is both a positive and a negative seeing as how that means the iP4S will be a natural at sniping long distance photographs and keeping their detail. No one wins war 2, it's a tie due to depending on picture circumstances. The Nexus prime is going to capture a higher maximum amount of light during its pictures due to its higher aperture, so it is going to make its pictures look more vibrant, realistic, and less washed-out. Because of that, the Nexus wins, 1-0.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

Battery:

Nexus - 1750 mAh

iP4S - 1450mAh

For this one, the Nexus clearly out ranks the iP4S.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

Connectivity:

Nexus - 4G LTE / 3G

iP4S - 3G

This one is a landslide again. Galaxy Nexus takes this one.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

Total

Galaxy Nexus: 7

iPhone 4S: 1

Grand Winner: Galaxy Nexus 

Conclusion

It's safe to say that Google and Samsung's new baby, the Galaxy Nexus aka Nexus Prime should have no competition with the iPhone 4S. Apple used to set the bar for what a smart phone should be like. Now it looks like they are taking the back seat. At least for now. All of this could change at any time, and seeing as how the iPhone 5 is going to now be more anticipated than ever, you should expect a few months from now that the rumor mill will start whirling with iPhone 5 news. What will the next generation of smartphones bring us? What will the iPhone 5 bring us? Quad-core processors? Will we leap finally to something more than 1GB of RAM? Perhaps a camera that has decked out sensors and sports 8MP Rear, 2MP Front? Only time will tell.

As of right now though, Apple, you've got some ground to cover. Android came at you hard, and you fell down.

Android vs. Apple Philosophy

Apple and Google are taking two entirely separate approaches with the new iterations of their OS's.

Apple is taking the user-friendly road, as it always has. Starting with the iTouch, they capitalized on the users ability to have an easy-to-use device. It syncs itself, and can be used across several major platforms in the fact that it can be synced to iTunes to transfer music, movies, or apps. You can then use that sync to play those songs on your computer. Then, if you have another iOS device, you can plug that in and sync that one too. It's easy. You just plug and go. When the bar stops loading, everything will work for you perfectly. This logic is being used in Apple's devotion to voice-activated programming in the form of Siri. Siri is going to give users the same ease-of-use that they once had when the iOS just came out and iTunes gave it its exclusivity as the most easy-to-use OS. Sure Siri is going to be far from perfect, and by no means am I an Apple fan. I hate Apple. A lot. But their marketing scheme is always their selling point. People are going to get used to Siri, and use it more often as they have integrated it so well with the OS.

This is where Android parts ways. They did not focus on integrating easier user-interface options with their voice recog. They instead focused on a cleaner, more appealing visual user-interface that the user can touch and interact with. If Apple were smart, they would continue to pour money in to Siri development to further themselves from Android and create a different genre of device. Leave the gadgety, pretty looking devices to Android, and leave the user-friendly devices to Apple. If Apple continues aggressive development on Siri, no doubt will it be the differentiating factor between the two. People aren't buying into Siri itself, they are buying in to the idea of Siri. The idea of not having to open applications or a messaging app to type a message or send a text. The idea that you can control things that were once only controllable with your hands, with your voice. And Apple will recognize this, and they will develop Siri further.

For the record, I own no Apple products besides a 2nd generation iTouch and am an avid Android fanatic. However if you're looking at Apple vs. Google, you need to look at it logically and understand why each company is developing the way that they are.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus

 

(Droid-life.com)

Samsung and Google have teamed up to bring us a truly revolutionary experience in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

With its release date scheduled for  October 27th, the Galaxy Nexus is going to be the next big flagship phone that the public gets its sweaty, hungry hands on.

Specs:
Display - 4.65" Super AMOLED HD

Processor: A9 Cortex Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16/32GB onboard only.
Camera: 5MP Rear, 1.2MP Front.
Battery: 1750 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, NFC Chip, Facial Recognition, Android 4.0.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

GZR Top 5 Android Phones - September

Rank 1: Motorola DROID Bionic

Specs:
Display - 4.3" qHD
Processor: OMAP Dual-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, VGA Front.
Battery: 1930 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread).

The DROID Bionic is Motorola's newest and greatest piece of equipment out. It's got the nice big 4.3" qHD screen for excellent media playback, and is rocking a 1gHz dual-core OMAP to back it up. The Bionic takes the rank 1 spot because of its hardware. It's got the industry standard dual-core, 1GB of RAM, and 48GB of max storage. But on top of that, It's running one of the newest itterations of Gingerbread (2.3.4), has 4G speeds, an amazing set of back and front-facing cameras, and an incredible 1930 mAh battery. If you need a phone this very minute, the DROID Bionic is the way to go.

Rank 2: HTC Evo 3D

Specs:

Display - 4.3" 3D qHD
Processor: Snapdragon Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 8GB/32GB/40GB
Camera: 5MP dual-rear, 1.3MP Front.
Battery: 1730 mAh
Connectivity: 3G
Bonuses: 3D video recording @ 720p, 3D pictures, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

The HTC Evo 3D moves up to rank 2 in my book this month. It's popularity and 3D features are really starting to shine with its hardware. Since last month it was one of the newer phones, one would think that most phones to come after would sport a 1.2 or better speed dual-core, but with the Bionic, you can see that isn't the case. So that being said, it's amazing hardware brings it up to the number two spot taking over the Motorola Atrix 4G.

Rank 3: Motorola Atrix

Specs:
Display - 4" qHD
Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 5MP Rear, VGA Front.
Battery: 1930 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: Fingerprint scanner, laptop dock, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

The Motorola Atrix is starting to lose its shine. It's hardware is slightly behind the times, however it does still have a great feature set so it still rocks rank 3. See Rank #2 for more details.

Rank #4: Samsung Galaxy S2

Specs:

Display - 4.3" Super AMOLED

Processor: ARM Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB

Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP dual-rear, 2MP rear-facing

Battery: 1650 mAh
Connectivity: 3G
Bonuses: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is an incredible piece of equipment. It's got a very nice display, a 1.2gHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a nice amount of storage to hold all of the awesome pictures and videos that it's going to take. The only downside is the slightly outdated form of Gingerbread it's running, as well as being a 3G device in a time where 4G seems to be the popular favorite.

Rank #5: HTC Droid Incredible 2

Specs:

Display - 4" S-LCD WVGA
Processor: Snapdragon Single-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 768MB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP dual-rear, 1.3MP Front.
Battery: 1450 mAh
Connectivity: 3G
Bonuses: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

The DROID Incredible 2 has dropped to rank 5, seeing as how its cameras are no longer its selling point and its hardware is becoming slightly outdated. Luckily it still carries the amazing HTC brand and the good reputation of the Incredible name, so it still holds its spot on the list this month.

DROID Bionic Preview

Specs:
Display - 4.3" qHD
Processor: OMAP Dual-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP Rear, VGA Front.
Battery: 1930 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: HDMI output, webtop capable, Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread).

The DROID Bionic looks like a nice addition to Verizon Wireless's DROID lineup.

It fulfills the industry standard of a dual-core processor, and 1GB of RAM. It has a few added bonuses like very nice cameras, good stock storage, 4G connectivity, Gingerbread, and a very good battery. It rocks a very nice 4.3" qHD display, so plan on getting a good amount of enjoyment out of media on this bad boy. Like all 4G phones right now, it's going to drop in battery life quickly. I still wouldn't recommend a 4G phone until more applications and uses come from the need of higher speeds, but if you're going to get one, the DROID Bionic is competing with all of the other 4G phones.

Android App of the Week: Skyfire Web Browser

Most Android devices come with some run-of-the-mills, terribly coded web browser. On most people's phones, it's called 'Internet' or 'Web'. The lovely people over at Skyfire have created a web browser that is in my opinion the most superior web browser out there.

Skyfire gives you the ability to favorite things, to 'like' things, has a downloads folder for easy viewing of downloads, allows the best display/changing between multiple window tabs and multiple windows, gives you quick access to social sites like Facebook and Twitter, and best of all makes use of the wonderful feature known as hardware acceleration.

Hardware acceleration is when a computer uses it's components to help increase load times. In the case of cell phones, this means that the phone isn't rendering most of the page via the web browser itself, rather it is sending some of the information to the processor in order to increase the time at which it loads the page. In essence, processors can read and show you information a lot faster than just relying on your internet connection.

And best of all, Skyfire is free!

Android App of the Week: shopKick

shopKick is an application that allows users to track where they go and receive 'points' for visiting local retailers which they can later redeem for rewards. It's no strings attached, free stuff. You create an account and you are on your way. How it works:

-When you walk in to a retailer such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, or Macy's, turn on your phone's GPS (if it isn't on already) and open the shopKick app. Most major stores have radio signals in the entrance, and your phone will pick it up and reward you with walk-in points. This is usually between 30 and 60 points.

-You can add a list of stores to your 'Faves' which gives you quick access to them. By clicking on that store every day, you can view their special walk-in kicks they offer and you get 1 point for opening their store.

-You get kicks, usually between 10 and 50, for scanning promotional product in the store. I personally don't do this, I just do walk-ins and click the ads, but for those of you who become enthusiastic about the app, it's a nice way to get extra kicks.

-You get badges (similar to PS3 trophies and Xbox achievements) for certain things, for people who have OCD about accomplishing everything.

The rewards:

25 kicks: 1 Facebook Credit

500 kicks: $2 Best Buy Certificate

625 kicks: $25 Hotel Cash card

875 kicks: $25 Restaurant.com Gift Card

1,250 kicks: $5 Macy's Gift Card

1,250 kicks: $5 Target Gift Card

1,250 kicks: $5 American Eagle Outfitters Gift Card

1,250 kicks: $5 Sports Authority Gift Card

1,250 kicks: $5 Arden B Gift Card

1,250 kicks: $5 Wet Seal Gift Card

2,750 kicks: E-Movie ticket

3,750 kicks: $15 iTunes Gift Card

10,000 kicks: Bluetooth Headset

35,000 kicks: Ray Ban Aviators

75,000 kicks: Coach Hand Bag

75,000 kicks: Xbox 360

92,5000 kicks: 55" Sony 3D TV

6,250,000 kicks: Princess Cruise Trip

For more details, see shopKick's Website.

Tweaks to Increase Your Android's Battery Life and Increase Performance Part 1

One of the biggest complaints about Android is its battery life. However the battery is only less than exemplary if you don't know how to properly control it. Here are some tips that have taken me months to find out and I'm going to share them with all of my readers.



Tip #1: Turn off Automatic Brightness, set static
1. Go in to Settings.
2. Click on Display.
3. Click Brightness
4. Un-check automatic brightness, and set it at a static amount (slightly less than half way).

This will make its o your phone's light sensor isn't constantly being ran and using your phones battery. Now your phone will by default have the same brightness no matter what environment you are in. Even if your screen is on average at a brighter setting now, you will still save battery since the scanner isn't always running.

Tip #2: Turn off Animations
1. Go in to Settings.
2. Click on Display.
3. Click on Animations
4. Select "No Animations".

This will make your phone seem snappier because rather than spending time to load animations and display them, your phone instantly goes to what you ask it to do. It will rely less on your phone to render new graphics, so it will actually be a performance enhance as well, not just a 'fake' performance enhancer.

Tip #3: Turn Screen Timeout to 30 seconds
1. Go in to Settings.
2. Click on Display.
3. Click on Screen Timout.
4. Select 30 seconds.

This will automatically lock your screen if you don't touch it within 30 seconds. You would be surprised how many times you lay your phone down on your lap while on the computer and forget to lock it.

Tip #4: Turn off Wi-Fi when you're not at home
1. Go in to Settings.
2. Click on Wireless & Network Settings.
3. Un-check Wifi.

This will disable your Wi-Fi connection and will use your phone's network settings (either 3G or 4G). This will save you battery life by not having your phone search for wireless signal all the time.

Tip #5: Turn Bluetooth off
1. Go in to Settings.
2. Click on Wireless & Network Settings.
3. Un-check Bluetooth.

This will disable your phone from searching for bluetooth devices, saving it battery life.

Tip #6: Clear your phone's browser cache
1. Go in to Settings.
2. Click Applications.
3. Click Manage Applications.
4. Click the All tab at the top.
5. Locate whatever browser you use (the default one, named Browser, or a downloaded one like Skyfire, Opera, Firefox, etc).
6. Click on your browser on the list.
7. Click Clear Cache.

This removes all the data you downloaded when you were surfing the web. Every picture, every word your browser loaded is saved in that cache. Now it's gone, and your phone is much happier and cleaner. This effects performance.

Tip #7: Change the frequency that Facebook tries to Sync your device to 4 hours
1. Open the Facebook application.
2. Go to the home Facebook page (the one where you can see icons for News Feed, Profile, Messages, Chat, etc).
3. Hit the Menu button on your Android Device at the bottom of the actual device.
4. At the top, click on Refresh Interval.
5. Select 4 hours.

This changes how often Facebook tries to talk to your phone. Outside of Facebook Chats, which are always pushed immediately to your phone, Facebook will try to sync your contacts once every 4 hours now rather than once every hour (the default). This saves you battery life and performance when it is trying to sync.

Some Nexus Prime Rumors Confirmed, Others Still Speculation

A Japanese website, Electronic Times, filed a few confirmations to settle the dust on the Nexus Prime rumors yesterday.

To start it off, the screen is confirmed to be a 4.5" Super AMOLED display rocking that amazing 1280x720 resolution. That means that Google's new Ice Cream Sandwich (99% confirmed to be version 4.0, not 2.4) will be shown off with amazing quality. On top of that, it is confirmed that the Nexus Prime will have a 1.5gHz dual-core processor. There is also a very good chance that it will be manufactured by Samsung, despite Google's recent acquisition of Motorola. We have yet to receive any news as to what kind of embedded GPU is in the NeP's processor. It's also believed that the unit will spot between 1GB and 1.5GB of RAM.

GZR Top 5 Android Phones - August

 GZR Top 5 Android Phones - August

Every month I'm going to give a ranking list of Android phones, starting with August.

Rank 1: Motorola Atrix

Specs:
Display - 4" qHD
Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 5MP Rear, VGA Front.
Battery: 1930 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: Fingerprint scanner, laptop dock, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

The Motorola Atrix is just a very nice piece of equipment right now. It has the standard in hardware right now (1gHz dual-core and 1GB of ram), but it also comes with an enhanced battery to accommodate for it's 4G and 3G radios using more battery life. It has a very nice amount of expandable memory, enough to do whatever you would need with it. It has a nice qHD display, and is 4", so movie watching is fairly decent (but not as good as a 4.3" display!). It still needs it's  Overall, a very good device and that is why it ranks #1.

Rank #2: HTC Evo 3D

Specs:

Display - 4.3" 3D qHD
Processor: Snapdragon Dual-Core @ 1.2gHz
RAM: 1GB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 8GB/32GB/40GB
Camera: 5MP dual-rear, 1.3MP Front.
Battery: 1730 mAh
Connectivity: 3G
Bonuses: 3D video recording @ 720p, 3D pictures, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

I'll admit, I'm not a huge 3D fan. But if we're talking about great phones, the Evo3D is undeniably number two. The hardware in it is superior to the Motorola Atrix for the most part. It has a larger display, faster processor, and can take 3D videos and pictures.Overall it was a very tough decision between the two, however the Evo3D did come out on bottom. While it's hardware is superior, the 3D effects and screen drain the battery life fast. At the same time, the Evo3D doesn't have the 4G-power-sucking hardware that the Atrix does. Also taking into account it's smaller battery, the Evo3D came out on bottom because of that. Smaller battery, no 4G (although it has better battery because of that), and smaller on-board storage (with this phone, you basically HAVE to get an SD card). It is great for media, however.

Rank #3: HTC Thunderbolt

Specs:

Display - 4.3" WVGA
Processor: Snapdragon Single-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 768MB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 8GB/32GB/40GB
Camera: 8MP dual-rear, 1.3MP Front.
Battery: 1400 mAh
Connectivity: 4G
Bonuses: Adreno 205 GPU built into its processor.

The HTC Thunderbolt, when released, was a revolutionary device with it's 4G LTE connection through Verizon. That being said, the hardware at a glance looks a little lacking. It's rocking a very clear 4.3" WVGA display, however the juice behind that display is only a 1gHz snapdragon. That being said, the RAM is a little below industry standard right now of 1GB (Thunderbolt has 768MB). The storage is lacking, so you will have to get an SD card. The cameras in it are the best in the industry right now for smartphones (8MP rear is above-average and 1.3MP front is excellent). You do have 4G connectivity with the Thunderbolt, but unless you KNOW you are going to get 4G coverage, I don't recommend having it enabled seeing as how it's only rocking a 1400 mAh battery. If you buy an aftermarket 1930 mAh battery for the Thunderbolt, you will be very happy with this device. It's got surprisingly good loads for only having a single core (probably because of the Adreno GPU in it). It's biggest downfall is that it has yet to receive Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Overall, if you're looking for a 4G device from HTC and don't want 3D (like me!), the Thunderbolt is your best bet.

Rank #4: HTC Droid Incredible 2

Specs:

Display - 4" S-LCD WVGA
Processor: Snapdragon Single-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 768MB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 16GB/32GB/48GB
Camera: 8MP dual-rear, 1.3MP Front.
Battery: 1450 mAh
Connectivity: 3G
Bonuses: Adreno 205 GPU built into its processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Following up on it's incredible (no pun intended) father, the Droid Incredible, the DInc2 is a beast of a phone. It sports a 4" Super LCD screen with the 1gHz Snapdragon processor with the built in Adreno 205 GPU. It's got a relatively average battery size, which is fine considering the screen is relatively small in today's terms and it isn't a 4G phone. It has the best cameras that smartphones have to offer right now, and comes with a nice heap of storage. Overall, the Droid Incredible 2 is a very close phone to #3.

Rank #5: Motorola Droid X2

Specs:

Display - 4.3" TFT
Processor:ARM A9 Dual-Core @ 1gHz
RAM: 512MB
Onboard Storage/SD Storage/Total Storage: 8GB/32GB/40GB
Camera: 8MP dual-rear
Battery: 1540 mAh
Connectivity: 3G
Bonuses: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

The DroidX2 was an amazing phone to place after it's original DroidX. The DroidX was the flagship phone of its time, but the DroidX2 isn't quite that. Rocking a nice 4.3" screen makes it great for media, and having that nice 1gHz dual-core makes it super snappy for that big screen. It comes with a moderate amount of storage, but is expandable. It's got a nice rear camera, but no front one. Being a 3G phone, its 1540 mAh battery will last you a reasonably long amount of time. Running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the DroidX2 is a very nice phone brought to us by the recently Google-acquired Motorola Mobility. The hardware in this phone keep it on the list, although its 512MB of RAM is the reason it is #5.

comScore Reports on Mobile Phone Market Share

For those interested, here are the numbers as far as most popular manufacturers and most popular operating systems on phones right now. This includes smart phones and dumb phones.

Manufacturers:

#1 Samsung: 25.3%

#2 LG: 21.3%

#3 Motorola: 14.5%

#4 Apple: 8.9%

#5 RIM: 7.9%

 The Winner?

Samsung

Mobile Phone Operating Systems:

#1 Google: 40.1%

#2 Apple: 26.6%

#3 RIM: 23.4%

#4 Microsoft: 5.8%

#5 Symbian: 2.0%

The Winner?

Google

Everything you need to know about Android's Ice Cream Sandwich

Everything you need to know about Android's Ice Cream Sandwich

With the iPhone5 expected to arrive in November, Google has got to beat Apple to the punch and put their attempt in at taking a chunk of the new contract-base before Apple has a chance to even get their product out the door. Ice Cream Sandwich is Google's attempt to unify their smartphone and tablet operating systems in to one linear product. This will allow for better communication between devices, and should allow more room for developers to create unified products rather than them having to create one for smartphones and then recode it for tablets.

When is Ice Cream Sandwich expected to be released?

ICS is expected to be released in early October, but this isn't official yet. In all previous versions, Android has released major updates in response to Apple releasing a product. We got Gingerbread around the time the iPad2 came out, and Froyo around the time the iPhone4 came out. They have been combating Apple their entire lifespan of Android. Since the iPhone5 is slated to come out in November, it only makes sense that they release ICS around then as well. November also marks the 2 year anniversary of the original Droid from Motorola. They have a lot of good reasons to release ICS during November.

When will we see devices with Android 4.0/2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich on them? When will my device receive Android 4.0/2.4?

Also during November, the next rumored pure Google phone is supposedly being released. Google's Nexus series phones are created by Google and run Android (Google's Mobile Phone OS). They are always the first phones to receive updates to Android, and the next Nexus device (codenamed the 'Nexus Prime') will be no different. The device is rumored to have a 4" super AMOLED display that is rocking an amazing 1280x720 resolution (that's right, a 720p HD screen on a phone). Considering the screen size, you should expect to see the debut of ICS in amazing quality. Other devices will probably get the update within a few months of it being released, as Google intends to make all devices compatible with ICS very short after its release (as opposed to in the past where some phones waited months to not receive updates, ever).

Why the buzz? What's the difference?

Google has planned for ICS to be the unifying OS for both tablets and smartphones that run Android. Now, rather than a developer having to create an app for a smartphone and having to recode it to scale up to a tablet, Google's ICS Operating System will take care of that for them. Another benefit? No more operating system fragmentation that Android is so infamous for. This means greatly increased boot up and shutdown times on phones, as well as increased speed when you are accessing anything within the operating system itself. Another benefit is facial recognition and the activation of NFC (near-field communication) chips. Facial recognition will be available for all phones that rock a front-facing camera and can be used to unlock your phone. Developers will also have tools to incorporate facial recognition into games. With NFC devices active, you can expect Google Wallet to to arrive very shortly after that, so you can say goodbye to credit cards. ICS will bring all of the great features of Honeycomb (Android's tablet OS) and bring them to the palm of your hand. You will also be able to use USB devices such as a keyboard and mouse. So for a recap:

-Improved user-interface.
-Improved boot up / shut down speeds.
-Facial recognition in devices with front-facing cameras.
-Activation of NFC chips in applicable devices.
-More stable applications.
-No more OS fragmentation.
-Ability to use keyboard and mouse via USB.