Today Toshiba announced an Android powered tablet with a 7” screen available in December. The Thrive 7 will have a similar look and feel as the 10” Thrive, although it will not have a full size USB, HDMI or SD port, only mini for HDMI and USB and micro SD.

We had a chance to play with one earlier today and I must admit, I think it would make a great eBook reader for those of us who are on the NY City subway system often. The NVIDIA Tegra chip makes it great for gaming as well.

Pricing not available yet but it will be sub $400. There will also be an optional dock available.

Here are some images of the Thrive 7.

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Today Michael Reyes and I from HardwareGeeks.com were able to check out the brand new Galaxy Tab 8.9 from Samsung. The device which features a dual core processor, gorilla glass, and 16 or 32 GB of storage is the thinnest tablet on the market.

Check out my unboxing video and check back soon for my full review!

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Today at 6 pm Samsung held a press conference introducing the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and two players, the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 is extremely thin – that is the first thing that you notice.  It has a nice metallic finish and while I’ve handled many tablets this one fit perfectly in my hands – like absolutely perfect, as if it were made for my hand.

It was funny hearing the product manager speak about it because they said ‘One size does not fit all’ and all I could think was – ‘You’re damn right!’.

The Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0 are entertainment focused devices – bringing you everything but a phone call (games, media, and services).  Taking a quick glance will make you think it’s an iPod Touch – I’m not going to lie – but its not, and its very nice.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be available on October 2nd for $469 (16GB) and $568 (32GB).

The Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0 will be available on October 16th for $229 and $269 respectively. 

Check out our pictures on twitter http://www.twitter.com/cutegeek

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There are times when I receive invites and I’m not sure if I should feel super cool, or if I’m just Mike’s +1. Yesterday, despite being Mike’s +1, I felt super duper cool because we had an evening of 3 tech events – back to back to back. Needless to say, we only made it to two – but probably the best two I’ve been to this year.

Lenovo – our first stop had a beautiful set up at the W in Union Square NYC. I love Lenovo – and for more reasons than just being ex-IBMers, like myself. I have been a ThinkPad fan since my college days – Carnegie Mellon encouraged its students to get IBM laptops, and in the graduate business school, it was mandated (if I remember correctly). The computers are great – they’re durable, last a long time, don’t crash, feel nice and they have the lovely reminder to ‘think’…it’s wonderful.

At yesterday’s Tablet event, I am embarrassed to admit but I found out, 8 months after taking a huge picture with the best advertisement at CES, what Corning was about. They really are tough, yet beautiful, and in more devices than we think.

(First of all, if you’re thinking about Corning products being in your kitchen – you’re right…they used to make kitchen tools, but switched out and went into the wonderful world of consumer electronics.)

Lenovo chose them as their screen provider because of how strong, sleek and unbreakable their glass is – unless you have a lot more muscles than me, and let me tell you, I’m also tough. I tried my hardest to break the various glass pieces they had us demo and even after putting my back into it, I couldn’t break it. The screen on Lenovo’s Tablet is only .07 inches and it’s the best .07 inches you’ll ever get in your life…I mean, it has to be right? This is Lenovo, aka IBM for the oldies but goodies…it has to be good.

I got my hands on the Tablet ThinkPad (IdeaPad for consumers) and felt a closeness that only a mother feels with her child…I’m not a mother, but hey, I can imagine. I felt like I was reunited with an old flame…I felt all warm inside, just by holding their latest product to hit the market. I swiped screens, looked at apps, picked a project managers brain and then came across the coolest app.

MyScript Notes Mobile (also available for iPad users –I’m just saying…)

This application turns your tablet into a notebook, allowing you to take notes in over 25 languages, recognizing what you write, or allowing you to write in a freestyle manner. Erasing, and navigating in the application is incredibly intuitive and after receiving a demo, I loved it a tad bit more.

Mike and I were fortunate enough to meet a Latino that worked at the company (we were very excited because he was able to give us a demo in his beautiful Colombian Spanish). Giovanni worked for this French company and lived there. Honestly, the highlight of the Lenovo event were all the Hispanic/Latino elements…from the Spanish demo, to the extraordinary combination of the finest cheeses with guava balls…Never, ever, have I ever…(remember that game)…had such yummy guava and cheese, outside of someone’s home.

Lenovo’s tablet starts at $479 (base config) but for a couple of more bucks you can add the handy dandy stylus, get the keyboard doc ($99) which kind of turns the tablet into a PC…you get true HD on it, and if you like Android, and aren’t worried about it crashing (and you shouldn’t be because Lenovo worked really hard to ensure that it won’t) then go for it. Buy a Tablet and let the thinking begin…and never stop…

Find out more about the ThinkPad and the IdeaPad (which comes in Red, White or Black).

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And how does a CuteGeek get into shape? With the help of her phone, of course! No matter if you are looking to download these from Apple’s App Store or Android’s Market, even Windows Marketplace, there is something for you.

SoftwareX Ltd. has five apps that will have you strutting your stuff poolside: Two Hundred Sit-Ups, Two Hundred Squats, One Fifty Dips, Hundred Push-Ups, and Fifty Pull-Ups. Even though they specialize in Apple development, their sit-up app also is available on the Android Market and their push up-app is available for the Android Market as well as the Windows Marketplace.

Rittr Labs has created three apps for the Android Market that will help you tone up for summer: Push Ups, Sit Ups, and Squats. The concept is the same as the apps from SoftwareX Ltd. but these are free, where SoftwareX Ltd. sells their for $0.99-$2.99, and Ritter Labs design their apps with more visual appeal the number of reps completed are “written” on notebook paper that is attached to a clip board, a very cute way to log your info. Another positive thing about Rittr Lab’s is that their apps are not set with a specific amount; you are able to choose from four different goals.

All of these apps follow the same theme. They start by giving you a number of reps you need to perform, once you have completed them you click the “Done” tab, and then you are given a certain amount of time to rest before the clock reaches zero and you do another set of reps. The idea is that you gradually work your way to your goal by shortening the amount of time between reps as you progress.

Download them today and tone-up this summer!

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Motorola’s Sanjay Jha and Sprint’s Dan Hesse got together with NYC techies to unveil the Photon 4G, one of several Motorola Android phones coming to Sprint. The Photon 4G is as fast as ‘smart’ gets at the moment with a dual core processor and 4G speeds, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB for storage. The Photon is sleekly designed with rounded corners, a textured back for comfortable hand grip,  a phenomenal display resolution and a kickstand around back so it stands on it’s own. It has everything you’d expect: Gingerbread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 8 megapixel HD video front-facing camera and a few things that you wouldn’t expect but will be thrilled with like International GSM capabilities and 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices. The talk was heavy on specs but sparse on availability and pricing so the best I can tell you is to watch for it this summer…and it is worth watching for….

While you wait, check out this video of the Photon in action…

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On Cinco de Mayo, I attended a Samsung/AT&T Event to launch the new Samsung Infuse with my colleague Mike Reyes of HardwareGeeks.com. It was all about fajita’s as-you-like-them, best Guacamole on the upper west side,  soft-pink margaritas with a kick AND the chance to touch and play with the new Samsung Infuse, the latest in Androids running on 4G….and they sent me home with one!

So why did I wait so long to tell you all about it? Well, I wasn’t sure how I felt about my new Android. I felt like I was cheating…on my iPhone 3GS. I needed time to get over the awe of the wow-me-better-than-my-tablet video graphics, the subtle thrill of the keyboard touchsense and convince myself that it was truly love; that Andy and I (Yes, it is nickname worthy!) could have a productive, fulfilling and fun relationship and that I, a committed iPhone user, could get with an Android and be as content with my ‘smart’ experience.

I gave it a chance, carried it around this month, setting up a Google Voice phone number so I could 50/50 respond to calls and text on my two phones. Both are on AT&T wireless service and it seems unfair to pit my 3G-powered-second-husband against a 4G-bad-boy that I just met over Margarita’s …but that is life, right? That is how we upgrade and change phones. No guilt, no qualms…it is all about me! What is that phone going to do for me and how much am I going to love doing it and being seen doing it…and talking about how and what I did and do with it… It is a relationship. My phone spends more time on my person than well…anything and/or anyone that demands my attention so I demand fuller sensory engagement and the Android Infuse delivers.

I made those boys fight for my multi-tasking attention and vie to serve my entertainment, distraction and multi-media needs. I took them both abroad on an impromptu-central American get away weekend to see how much of a companion they were without voices (I had on airplane mode to avoid hefty AT&T roaming charges).

So where do Andy and I stand?  I am mildly awestruck with vibrant colors and almost-3D video quality and am thrilled to have Quick Office (think MS Office) in my pocket on a display large enough to actually use it. Truthfully, the look is sleek, thin and sexy BUT (there it is..there is always a ‘but’) the Android Marketplace experience, which is a crux of being ‘SMART’ is not as easy, enticing and informative as the Apple App Store and I can’t get my Netflix on it yet (just edit my Queue…what a tease!). Part of being ‘all about me’ is being all about my Apps, so I think I will remain married to Apple for now because I know and trust the in-laws…and I feel safe in the Apple community in terms of add-ons, accessories and security… but I am going to keep my eye on what the Android gets up to in the next few years because it may well entice me away once the Android eco-system is as provocative as the Android Infuse itself.

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Today Samsung and Boost Mobile officially unveiled the Prevail, their first Android powered smartphone. The phone which will be available later this month at Boost Mobile stores for $179 (plus taxes) on the $50 a month, with shrinkage, plan. What is shrinkage? It  means that for every 6 months that you pay on time (does not have to be consecutive), your monthly charges will decrease by $5 until it hits  a monthly minimum of $35. Remember, Boost Mobile is UNLIMITED TEXT, UNLIMITED WEB AND UNLIMITED TALK over the Sprint network.  

The Prevail is the latest Galaxy phone from Samsung offering 3G service and features a3.2 inch touch screen, a 2MP camera, bluetooth capability, unlimited and free Telenav GPS .

It is powered by an 800 MHz processor and 128mb internal storage. It also supports up to a 32gb microSD card, but comes with a 2gb microSD.

Initial impressions of the device is that its suits the Boost Mobile demographic, teens to young adults. It’s a great device for a beginner cutegeek to have.  It is one of the smaller Galaxy phones. It is lighter than the Blackberry Torch but similar in size. It is definitely something to look into, especially if you are a beginner to the Android world. You can also install all of the applications available on the Android Market Place.

The phone will be available later this month, no specific date for more information visit: http://www.boostmobile.com

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A lot will be happening when January 1st finally arrives-the first two that come to mind are partying and writing down New Year’s resolutions. New Year’s resolutions are the mother of all To-Do-Lists. They are the most important, yet tend to be overlooked after a couple of weeks. Losing weight, saving money, doing-this, doing-that – the list goes on and on.

Iconosys, Inc. – a company committed to developing and bringing us first of kind technologies, created this app “New Year’s Buzzer™” to encourage good health via daily affirmations, a tool to help you see your progress to ensure you reach your resolutions and also the opportunity to connect to a positive social network.

Similar to New Year’s resolutions, “New Year’s Buzzer™” is commited to helping you become a better you. If you have an Android phone, download it, give it a try and let me know what you think (RadirisD@cutegeek.com) – With all of these apps in the market and me without an Android, I think I’ll finally commit to get one.

The App

As we all embark on this New Year, I hope it is better than your last, and better than you could’ve ever hoped and imagined, ultimately because you have become a better person, in whichever way you define that.

I also wish you health & love, because with those two things so many great things can happen.

Happy Holidays everyone.

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Ladies!  Black Friday is only hours away.  Some stores are opening at 3 am, can you believe it?  I woke up one year to go to Kohl’s at 5am, I’m not even sure why.  I didn’t have a list of things to get, I didn’t research what was on sale, I just flew by the seat of my pants and went.  I thought it would be fun?  You are an amateur if you go shopping on BlackFriday without a list, at least that is what I’ve been told.

Don’t be like me…here are some resources to get you prepared for all the hoopla:

If you haven’t gone to blackfridayonline.com yet, go there now.  You will find the sale fliers for almost any store your little heart can dream off.  Check out the stores with the best deals before you go, that way you don’t have to run around on black Friday.  If you are not one for long lines and crowds, the website also has a section listing online deals!

Best Shopping Applications for Android and iPhone (c/o Lifehacker):

For Android:
Shop Savvy: Scan a bar-code, see which local stores carry the product and allows you to create wish lists!  Best part is, when you choose the store you wish to purchase the item from the app gives you the store’s information and directions on how to get there.

Dealmap: Shows you the best deals (daily deals, top deals) for eating and shopping in your area.

Check out more top shopping apps for the Android here.

For iPhone:
Coupon Sherpa: Search for coupons! It’s as easy as that.  You can make a list of favorite’s for later use.  The app displays the coupon bar-code right on your phone to use at the check-out, GENIUS I tell you! (If you like this app as much as I do, go to one of my favorite websites retailmenot.com for online shopping coupons and codes.)

Shopper: This app offers a multitude of features, not only does it let you scan bar-codes, it forms comprehensive shopping lists and even tracks your budget (say it with me *ouch*).  It is useful for grocery shopping , warns consumers of recalls (awesome!) and tracks coupons.  An all-inclusive app and it will set you back $1 (wonder if it will track that in your budget just kidding)

Check out more shopping apps for the iPhone here.

What are your black Friday shopping secrets?  Please share them with us, every girl loves a sale…but I think we love shopping secrets more!

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Squishable.com is holding an eBay auction for a giant Fuzzy Squishable Android Doll, The proceeds of the auction are going to help support the Child’s Play Charity.

The Child’s Play Charity is dedicated to donating gaming software and toys to sick children. So check out the auction and bid on the cute Android doll! As of Saturday the 19th of June there have been 28 bids and the winning bid is $255.00.

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The Motorola DROID is a beautiful piece of hardware that generated a ton of buzz this past fall, mostly because of the much hyped and slightly controversial ad campaign that Verizon ran for the device, that whole “Droid DOES” business. Remember that?

Well, the Droid does, as far as I’m concerned. It does most if not all of the things the iPhone does, the screen resolution is mind blowingly awesome, and while perhaps a bit heavy and still a little on the complicated side (for me, an iPhone heavy user, trying to do many things on the Android OS is difficult and slow. It would take a little bit of time for me to truly become fluent, I believe. But that’s just me.)

This is not a review of the DROID, however, nor Android itself, believe it or not! Last week I got my hands on a review unit of the Droid Multimedia “Station”. What the little station is, is a small dock which holds the phone in a horizontal position and switches its mode to “Multimedia.” The display changes to a nifty alarm clock look, and there’s a couple of widgets like weather, music, and alarm that get forefront screen real estate. The dock functions as a holder, and a charger for the unit, which needs to be plugged in via USB to an outlet to charge. It does not come with speakers, so you would still need to plug the device into some external speakers to achieve that bass blasting party we all know and love.

It works by magnets– there are magnets inlaid in the DROID hardware, and magnets inside the multimedia station and (separate) car dock. When the DROID is placed in the stand, the placement of the magnets alerts the device to run the “Multimedia” app. The same thing happens when its clipped into its car dock– the placement of the magnets in the car dock alerts the phone that it needs to run the car version of the app. SO– some awesome dudes at Engadget rigged up their own super cool designed (right, watch the video) “docks” for the DROID using some cardboard, and 4 little magnets. And then, it worked.

Paul Miller from Engadget hacks the Multimedia function

Couple THAT knowledge with the fact that there’s actually a free app in the Android App Market called DockRunner that runs the Multimedia app on command– and then ask yourself if a $30 piece of plastic which serves then only to HOLD your phone in place, really, is worth it. I mean, sure, it charges it if the stand is plugged into your wall, but then really you’re only paying for another charger. Considering that for the DROID, an extra charger costs between $2 and $8, depending on where you look, the jury’s out. I’m a frugal gal myself, so I would say neigh. Call me crazy.

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1. Motorola DEVOUR- Verizon’s first phone with MOTOBLUR
2. Review: The Motorola Endeavor HX1

The HTC Hero is an attractive phone, with a large clear screen and a small panel for buttons. While it is an Android phone, it is interestingly not marketed as a Google phone, as the MyTouch is or the first TMobile G1 that came out. What this may mean in terms of how the phone operates is not completely clear to me, the operating system remains the operating system, its running Android Cupcake (yum!) just like the other Android phones (although 1.6,Donut is arriving soon…so. Hmm.)

I like how the screen transitions are super smooth– using your finger to flip between screens (which you will have to do, as the phone will tell you you’re out of wall real estate once you have a screen full of icons positioned– no scroll downs, just more walls) rivals the iPhone experience, which is something that can’t always be said for multi-touch screen phones that are not brainchildren of Infinite Loop street in Cupertino.

One place I noticed the transitions become to get slow and clunky was in the pictures app. After taking a few unflattering glamour shots (because it was 4 am, not because the camera was sub par) I was flipping through them and the response rate to my inputs decreased very  noticeably. The same thing happened with multi-touch adjustments– pinch to zoom in or out was almost painfully slow. Why, Hero? I wasn’t even running all the apps and widgets simultaneously!

I love certain little interface characteristics  of Android, like the process of creating an app shortcut as an icon on your screen– you hold down the app in the menu for a bit, until it pops itself off in a very intuitive animation and then guides you with little messages until you’ve successfully “dropped” it onto your wall, or one of your walls (as real estate goes fast, like I mentioned earlier.)

Boo- worthy aspects of the phone, for me. What the HELL is up with the unlock process? The phone is on, and you want to use it. There are two COMPLETELY unintuitive ways to go about this:

1) Press the “End” button once and then swipe the curve icon DOWN. (Why? What in the world?)
2) Press the flush “Menu” button TWICE. (Why twice? Why not once, or three times, or hold it down?)

Most notable point to be made about the (should-be simple) unlock process is that NONE of the other buttons will make the phone “awaken.” You could press them until your face turns  blue, but the phone will remain locked and the screen will remain off, until you press happen across Menu twice (which is how I figured that one out) or you press End once and then swipe across the screen in all directions until it tells you to swipe DOWN, not UP.

Its not disfunctional, to be sure, but its VERY unintuitive, and annoying, especially to an iPhone user (Swipe to Unlock, anyone?) where almost any function of the phone or the interface can be figured out instantaneously with no prior instruction, because it was designed just THAT well.

Call me a fangirl, why don’t you.

And there it is! I haven’t tested the call quality yet, but in my experience, that has a lot to do with the carrier and Sprint is a strong carrier, generally. (Definitely loads better than my network, AT&T, which is horrifyingly awful, especially when handling– and failing to handle– data interactions from the millions of 3G customers fiddling with their iPhones all day).

Verdict*?

Thumbs up!

The HTC Hero is a very pretty, highly functional Android phone on a solid network. The screen resolution, picture and video capabilities, and apps functionality will make it a very strong contender for the upper echelon category of smartphones currently occupied (and in my opinion dominated by) the iPhone, as well as other strong fighters, like certain Blackberries (properly pluralized?), the G1 and MyTouch, and the Pre.

Welcome, Hero!

*Thumbs up image courtesy of free clipart! Woopee!

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Sprint launched a new phone today, the latest iPhone competitor – the HTC Hero.

The HTC Hero (loaned to us by Sprint) is a great alternative for those that yearn for something iPhone-ish, but that do not want to switch from having Sprint as their cell phone service provider. Initially, I ooh-ed and ahhh-ed, but once I actually started using it those pleasant sounds turned into grunts, and sighs of exasperation.

The phone is very light weight, very thin, and the screen’s resolution is up to par (if not exceeds) the top phones on the market right now, but when I tried clicking on something on the screen I got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Thanks to the precedent set by the iPhone, the HTC Hero now has a capacitive touch screen which means by lovely stabs at its screen meant nothing. It only measures or registers electricity from fingertips, so I had to angle my fingers in such a way that it would actually get the phone to respond. Doesn’t sound that difficult right – yea – think again. Think about having a lovely French manicure, on hands that are not a mechanics, and that actually have lengthy nails. It’s a nightmare.

If you’re texting/typing skills were great before – they’re going to decrease a bit in its accuracy. Why? Because if you try to click on one thing, you’ll most likely end up pressing something around it. As a non-iPhone user, I was taken back by it all, but I’ll make sure someone with an iPhone gets their hands on this phone to provide their experience.

The camera on the phone is 5 megapixels, which to me, is great because my first camera ever was a Casio Exilim and the poor thing only had 2 megapixels and it still rocked and captured all of my best high school moments.

I tried capturing my initial thoughts of the camera, using the camera, so you can check out the camcorder’s skills. (I recorded with the phone vertical – assuming it was the right way, and on the phone it looked correct…until I loaded it…sorry)…

The phone is intuitive to use, and because I accidentally left the manual of the phone when it was given to me, I’ve been using it ‘commando’ – with no direction, but no worries, because Sprint has a bunch of user videos that provide some guidance with the phone’s feature.

I mention it’s a great alternative to the iPhone because it runs Google’s Android operation system which to some is a bit easier to understand than Microsoft’s or Blackberry’s system (Research in Motion).

I won’t give up just yet but I’m going to try to find all the cool aspects of the phone before telling everyone with nails to stay clear from it. It was definitely a stressor in my life yesterday when it took me over 5 minutes to log into my facebook account but that’s probably a good thing, I’m too addicted anyway.

Today I did try signing onto AIM though and only 34 of my buddies loaded, so it appeared as if I had 2 friends on, when in reality I have many more. That was annoying, but once I couldn’t figure out how to access my IMs easily, without having to go through tons of screens, I gave up, and let the phone hang out, online, leaving my IMs unanswered.

I’m not giving up, but I will say I’m a little bit disappointed. I thought this Hero would actually come into my life and save parts of it. It’s not (it looks way better than an iPhone though

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