[News] Mobile World Congress - All of the Things

Mobile World Congress is underway in Spain, and the news and announcements are in full swing.  We will be covering all the major events with both links the official highlights here, and we'll have a podcast that touches on the things we liked and thought were flops in a day or two.

For now, check out all the official stuff after the jump for new devices from the likes of Huawei, LG, and even Samsung!

[News] Verizon brings back unlimited data plans

Yes, you read the headline correctly and yes, you are seeing this logo correctly.  As most readers of our site will know, both Sean P. and I both have a well earned disdain for the largest mobile carrier in the U.S. and aren't afraid to let it show.  One of our biggest criticisms was their forced migration of customers off of old school unlimited data plans.  As of Monday, things done changed.

[News] New pod(s) coming soon!

Greetings fellow tech seekers!  Just a quick word that we may have as many as two new podcasts incoming, wherein we discuss our thoughts on the OnePlus 3 device, and then move to the startling news that Verizon has agreed to acquire Yahoo for a lot of money.

We'll explore whether you should consider buying the OnePlus 3 as well as what Verizon might be up to by spending billions with a "b" of dollars to make Yahoo a part of their organization.  Both should be up in the next few days, so keep an ear out for those.

As always, if you readers have a topic you'd like us to discuss, feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an email to silicontheory@gmail.com - thanks for checking us out!

[Podcast] The Silicon Theory podcast, episode 2

It's here!  Just in time for the weekend, we of Silicon Theory have a new podcast for you to listen to.  We tackle the direction of Apple, discuss if Steve Jobs and Elon Musk have anything in common in the popular mentality, and float some rumors about the next iPhone.  Check it out (and tell a friend!) - if you like our work, please feel free to leave us reviews on iTunes or Google Play Music or drop us a line at silicontheory@gmail.com and let us know if you have ideas for a future podcast.

Thanks for listening!

SoundCloud Link
Google Play Music Link
iTunes Link

[News] Podcast update

Greetings all - just a quick note that the first episode of the podcast is up and is now also available via Google Play Music (in the podcasts section) as well as iTunes (it should be updated in an hour or so)

You can search for the pod in either of those apps using the string "Silicon Theory" or via iTunes access it at this link once its available.

Thanks again to everyone for listening!  Hope you enjoyed it, and episode 2 is coming soon.

Everything changes - and so are we

I'll cut to the chase - while we've been a little spotty with talking tech these last few months (and with good reasons; one of us had twins and the other moved to a new home) its time for things to change around here.  There's loads going on in the world of tech, and we want to share all the things we love with you, the audience of the internets.

So, to that end, the Two Tech Geeks are becoming Silicon Theory.  All devices (mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and everything in between) run on silicon microchips - so Silicon for all the things we know, love, review, and give our opinions on.  Theory for the idea that most of what we do is predicated on us discussing "what if we got this phone?" or "what tablet is right for you?" or...literally, whatever.  So its more or less the theory of all things silicon related.  I hope that makes sense - if not, we've got you.  Our purpose, our very reason for being, is to take things that seem complicated - like what your next cell phone purchase should be - and make it a bit easier.  Hey, we were doing all these things IRL anyway, so why not make it official?  I'm hoping that we can have articles published on a variety of things 2-3x a week, and then have the Silicon Theory Podcast drop every 2 weeks.  Yes, a podcast.  Hopefully since you've enjoyed reading what we write, you'll also enjoy hearing what we have to say.  Look for the podcast to be coming soon...more details when I've got them.  You can email us questions or comments to silicontheory@gmail.com and you can also find Silicon Theory on both Twitter and Instagram now, with @silicontheory our names on both of them.  Feel free to tweet us or comment on 'the Gram when you see us.

For everyone that's been with us on this journey, thanks!  We appreciate you.  We hope you'll like what's next as well.

[News] Apple's latest iPhone probably announced on Sept 9

Not to be outdone by Samsung's Note 4 demo date, it appears that Apple has set some time aside in early September to announce the launch of (at least) one version of the next gen iPhone, dubbed "iPhone 6."  The new device (which probably doesn't look anything like the photo shown) is rumored to sport a larger 4.7" display and is likely to be only 6mm thick.  Check out the full link to the story on PhoneArena.com here.

[News] New Moto 360 smartwatch details leaked

For those to whom a smartwatch seems like your particular cup of brandy, the Moto 360 is probably the thing you've been digging on for a long, long time.  I say a long time since the good lord only knows when it will be released.  But now, thanks to a tipster known as "Mister Gadget" we have some more pics and details about this beast piece of tech "coming soon" from Motorola.

Coming soon...LG G3 review

Greetings fellow fun (and tech) seekers!

Just a quick note that I have laid my hands on the Verizon variant of LG's G3 superphone, and I'll have a few of my thoughts up in a detailed review soon.  I'm going to take the weekend to play around with it, but so far so good.  This is a big device, but those of you who like/love the G2 (and other 5"+ screen phones) will probably want to give the G3 a look.

Stay tuned for more news...

[News] LG's G2 named 2013 Consumer Reports top product

Well folks, by now you already have read about my love for LG's new flagship smartphone the G2 - and it looks like I'm not alone.  A recent article from Consumer Reports named the LG G2 a "brilliant smartphone" citing a "stunning 5.2-inch display and a battery that doesn't know when to quit."  I've raved about the G2 ever since I got one, and its nice to see that other folks are high on this device as well.  The Consumer Reports folks are no joke.  If you are in the market for a new phone, give the G2 a long look.  You won't regret it.

Source:  Android Authority

[News] Samsung debuts the Galaxy S4

Photo courtesy of Droid-Life

The waiting is over - Samsung's even on March 13th officially announced their newest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4.  While it isn't available on any carriers just yet, here are the official specs, direct from Sammy:

• Processor: 1.9GHz Quad-core processor or 1.6GHz Octa-core processor (depending on global region)
• Memory: 2GB of RAM and 16/ 32/ 64 GB User memory expandable through SDcard slot
• Display: 5″ full-HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) display, with 441 ppi
• Connections: Hexaband LTE, HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, IR controller
• Battery: 2,600mAh
• Ships with Android 4.2.2

The Galaxy S4 has a larger screen than its predecessor, while still managing to come in thinner and lighter.  From early reports, this true HD screen looks incredible with vivid rich colors and amazing sharpness and clarity.  This is sure to be a huge selling point with fans of Samsung.

[News] HTC One officially announced

The rumors have ended...HTC has launched their new flagship phone - the HTC One.  No longer the rumored "M7" device, this new smartphone really pushes the envelope when it comes to high end devices, from HTC or any other manufacturer.

This bad boy sports a 1.7GHz quad core Snapdragon 600 processor, 4.7" 1080p display, 2GB of RAM, and a generous 2300mAh non-removable battery.  Certainly nothing to sneeze at in terms of spec.  The edge to edge display and "zero gap" aluminum body are very cool, and in terms of design, HTC has a winner here.

[News] Blackberry 10 announcements and recap *UPDATED*

Well folks - its finally here.  Its January 30th, and the new generation of Blackberry devices have been announced.  There's a lot of news about everything, and I'm trying to bring as much as I can, as concise as I can, in a relatively short and easy to read article.  I'll give it a whirl, but if you have specific questions, or are looking for live coverage of the event, give the folks over at BGR a click, as they are live at the event.  But for those of you that want a pretty solid overview of what's happening with Blackberry, read on.

[News] Apple no longer world's most valuable company

In what has been a reversal of fortune for one of the largest tech companies, Apple has lost the title of "World's Most Valuable Company" after falling stock prices reduced its market cap to below $414 billion - slightly under Exxon's market cap of approximately $417 billion.  Shares of Apple were trading under $450/share at the time of this writing, a huge tumble from the over $700/share price it saw around the time of the launch of the iPhone 5 last year.  This represents a drop of about 36%, just since September.

The stock plummet comes as market researchers and analysts are wondering where Apple goes from here in terms of product innovation.  So much of Apple's edge has been built on staying ahead of their competition...but now that Android handsets and tablets are seen as viable (and in some instances more cost effective) alternatives to iPhones and iPads, the profit margins for the Cupertino tech giant are not what they once were, even a few short years ago.  With new device launches possibly coming as early as March, it remains to be seen if Apple can return to its status as "top dog" anytime soon.

*Source:  USA Today

[News] Samsung reports $8 billion profit in Q4 2012

Looks like Apple isn't the only one making it rain stacks of cash.  A day after Apple announced giant profits and revenues, Samsung is doing the same - showing a gigantic $8 billion profit in the 4th quarter of 2012.  The reason:  the incredible sales of the Galaxy S3 smartphone and the Galaxy Note 2 smartphablet.  The profit alone represents a 10% quarter over quarter growth for Samsung's mobile products division.  Include the fact that Sammy is now shipping more smartphones than Apple and Nokia combined, its no wonder the company is enjoying record success.

[News] New BB10 device shown and "reviewed"

As we approach the end of the year, we are also approaching the beginning of 2013.  Duh.  But what this means for fans of Research in Motion (RIM) is that the next generation of Blackberry devices are actually coming soon.  The all touch screen device (with the code name of London) is set to debut in January 2013.   An Asian group has managed to lay hands on the device and offer up a walk through of the phone itself, as well as some of the new Blackberry 10 operating systems features.  Sadly, I don't speak Vietnamese, so most of the info is lost on me...but its worth a watch nonetheless.  Check out the video below if you are interested in seeing what RIM has up its sleeve with its newest Blackberry smartphone.

*Source:  BGR

[News] Fortune interview with Google's Larry Page

Fortune sat down recently to talk with Google's somewhat reclusive CEO, Larry Page.  As Mr. Page is not often in the spotlight, it seems like this interview would be of significant interest to Google or Android enthusiasts.  A excerpt of the interview with a focus on Android is below:

There are some great products out of Motorola, but none of them are your signature Nexus line. Will you partner with Motorola for these sort of signature devices? How will you decide when to partner with them? And despite all your assurances to the other [Android] partners that you're going to be neutral, aren't they going to freak out [when you build a Motorola Nexus]?

First of all, I don't think there's any physical way we could have released a Nexus Motorola device in that sense. I mean, we haven't owned the company long enough.

How will you decide when to do a Motorola Nexus device, and what do you tell Samsung and LG? 

I think there's a lot of complexity in that question. Maybe I'll talk more generally about that area.
The right way to think about it is how do we get amazing products into users' hands in the most cost-effective, highest quality way possible and to the most people. That's what we do as a business, and that's what we've done with Android.  Part of the reason why we've done Nexus devices in the past is that we want to build an amazing device that kind of showcases what's possible on Android, gives a way for the programmers to get early builds, does a whole bunch of things that are important. Exactly what we do, which devices we do, what the timing is, how we release the software with them, all those things have been changing.

So...as you've probably read in our article on Fearless Predictions for next year, a proposed Motorola Nexus device would be of extreme interest to yours truly.  So hopefully Mr. Page has enough sway to make it happen.  Because I'm sure he's focused solely on my personal happiness.  Or something.  But enough from me...check out the whole article from Fortune here.

*Source:  Fortune Magazine

[News] Apple profits expected to fall for first time in 9 years

The last quarter of this year isn't expected to be kind to Apple.  According to a Forbes.com report, the company will likely post its first decline in profit since 2003.  This news comes as Apple stock continues to fall from record highs reached just before the release of the iPhone 5 earlier this year.  Now down over 21%, most analysts predict this tend to continue for the short term.

The fact that the world largest publicly traded company is experiencing a downturn in profits is also causing analysts to believe the entire tech sector's profits will shrink by 2.4% in the 4th quarter.  How this might impact other phone OEMs remissions to be seen, but this is surely a day that hasn't been on the mind of Apple in a long, long time.

*Source:  Forbes

[News] Samsung porting Galaxy Note features to S3

Based no doubt on the success of the Galaxy Note 2 and its many innovative (read: cool) features, Samsung has announced on their blog that some of these features will be coming to the Galaxy S3 phone as well.  These features will likely include Multi-Window and Page Buddy, two of the more useful of the Galaxy Note 2's software bundle.  Multi-Window is just that, allowing multiple windows open on the screen running different apps.  Page Buddy is more along the lines of "smart actions" by executing certain commands based on related actions (launching your music player if you were to plug in headphones for example).

The size of the Galaxy S3 makes this an almost no brainer, and makes a great phone even more versatile and functional.  Now...the bad news.  So its pretty much being released by Samsung as the "Premium Software Suite" and will be available in the international market first.  And then it would be up to the individual carriers at some point to make it available to those in the U.S. market.  Sounds like it won't be hitting anyone around here anytime soon.  But still...hope is a good thing.  And Samsung gets props from me for even offering this suite to begin with.  Good on you Sammy!

*Source: BGR

[News] Report indicates tablet demand greater than expected

Who knew?  Analysts with IDC are predicting that sales numbers for popular Android and Apple tablets will be greater than previously thought, with an estimated 122.3 million devices sold worldwide (up from the previously estimated 117.1 million).  These trends are expected to continue though the next few years, with forecast numbers published through 2016.  Market share is expected to be largely dominated by Apple products, with Android devices coming in 2nd place, and Windows devices a (very) distant 3rd.  A whopping 282.7 million devices will be in the hands of consumers by 2016 - a number that is mind boggling to me right now.  But if folks are getting as much enjoyment as I am out of my tablet, perhaps this isn't such a huge surprise after all.

Mobile computing and web content consumption is on the rise, especially in the global market, and tablets (as well as smartphones) are an alternative to get this content at a much more cost effective price point than a traditional home PC or laptop.  Google's $249 Chromebook notwithstanding, most people have to have a mobile phone for a host of other reasons, and when it comes to spending discretionary cash, a lot of folks are going to choose what they need first.  And that means that the mobile phone (or smartphone) comes before a laptop or PC.  And it looks like the tablet is quickly growing into the "need" category from the "want" category.

*Source:  BGR