Philips Fidelio Speakers For Android Devices Review

When it comes to Android accessories, I’ve always been all about the wireless speakers. I love ‘em. For me, they’re the greatest things since sliced bread. In my quest for finding the best wireless speakers money (on a tight budget) can buy, I came across the Philips Fidelio line of Bluetooth wireless speakers, tailored made specifically for Android devices.

Before I even opened the speakers, I thought I’d walk you guys through my first time — from start to finish –  taking you through the unboxing, software, initial impressions and at the end, some areas of improvement, in my review of the Fidelio wireless speakers from Philips.

I actually received 2 versions of the speakers; a smaller bedside clock/dock (AS111), and the medium sized AS351. Not reviewed was the larger sized AS851. Both the AS111 and AS351 feature an adjustable micro USB dock that can be moved and fined tuned to dock a variety of Android devices, be it a phone or tablet. The dock really acts as nothing more than a charger for when listening to tunes and the audio connection is all done via Bluetooth. Both speakers had solid construction with a high-quality feel to them — something important form any electronics device. Although, technically, all these speakers are compatible with any Bluetooth device and even non-Android devices with micro USB ports (BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, etc.), the speakers gain added functionality when used with the optional Fidelio Android app.

Software

Philips has an Android application in the Market that when installed to your device, brings hassle-free plug-and-play functionality that will auto-launch the application, activate Bluetooth and pair the device with the speaker simply by doing nothing more than docking it. This is great for older folks or girl-friends who don’t exactly know how to jump into their device’s settings configure their Bluetooth. The application also features a few custom alarm clock functions, internet radio stations, and (after downloading another application) music player all in one easy to find place. Firmware updates for the speakers will provided using the Fidelio application as well. While the Fidelio app sounds great in theory, in my experience with it, I found it a little too buggy to keep on my device, turning on Bluetooth (and not turning if off) even when I was away from the speakers and plugged my phone into a standard charger. While minor, it was a nuisance and hopefully something Philips will address in a future update.

AS111

The smaller AS111 bedside dock packed a surprising amount of features with it’s LED clock and mood lighting along the bottom. This made it seem like the better value of the two, especially when you factor in the surprising audio quality and volume output from this little guy. The video may not demonstrate this very well (thanks to my camera’s auto-volume leveling), but the AS111 was able to push out enough volume to where it could actually become uncomfortable for the listener and to me — that’s a very good thing. Definitely more than your standard squawk-box, the AS111 exceeding my expectations from a bedside clock/dock.

AS351

The AS351 has 2 goals in mind: to deliver more power than the bedside dock — which it fully accomplishes this thanks to 10W of output, and improve sound quality — which is vastly improved thanks to its “dynamic bass boost” for deeper “wub wubs on teh dubstepz.” The AS351 also offers a wider variety of connections in the back, in case you wanted to plug in a non-micro USB device using the included AUX cable (sound freaks will tell you this will drastically improve sound quality). If you’ve ever put your device near a speaker, I’m sure you’ve heard your phone’s data transmissions picking up on the speakers but that was never a problem with the AS351′s “special shielding technology” keeping the speaker interference free.

Conclusion

Overall, I’d give Philips high marks when it comes to their Fidelio line of wireless speakers. I’ll admit, when I went into this review, I really wasn’t expecting much (long time lover of the Jawbone Jambox) but was pleasantly (as you can see from the video) surprised. It’s not everyday you’ll find speaker docks suited specifically with the Android user in mind and even if you decided to forgo the dock altogether, just as a stand-alone Bluetooth speaker for any device, the Fidelio line shines with excellent sound quality and a compact design. As I mentioned in the video review, my only complaint was the lack of rechargeable battery for taking on-the-go, but I guess they had to leave room for improvement in future models. If you’ve got a family of Android devices, or need something for the work place, I’d say look no further. Both the AS111 and AS351 are an instant buys.

[Amazon: $66 Philips Fidelio AS111 Clock/Dock | $108 Philips Fidelio AS351 Medium Speaker Dock]

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Motorola Droid 4 Review

When the Motorola Droid hit the scene, the whole Android landscape changed. Since then the marquee device has fallen from the spotlight, but it’s back in a big way for the fourth installment. The Motorola Droid 4 continues to improve upon the design of the QWERTY-slider handset, upping the specs yet again and adding in a first for the line, 4G LTE. Motorola has again made strides to improve the keyboard and has added in a few new software twists to round out the latest edition of the Droid. Is it the best Droid yet? Read on to find out.

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HP TouchPad Receives Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich – Minds Will Be Blown [Video]

Holy gee-willikers, Batman! Remember the HP TouchPad fire sale that set the internets a blaze a few months ago? Well, I’m definitely kicking myself for missing out — especially after seeingthis. Like a doubting Thomas, I didn’t have much faith in our wonderful Android modding community (or that the TouchPad would have much support going for it) but the failed tablet has received a very early — yet satisfying — Android 4.0.3 port, otherwise known as CM9.

A nice little thread has been posted over on RootzWiki on the development of the ROM, with instructions on how to build your own — get this — from source (if you’re into that sorta thing). The OP also hopes more “devs” will help contribute and not just kang others’ work but that’s just the nature of the beast when it comes to the Android modding community.

A video was uploaded to YouTube showing off all the progress up until now and although still an alpha build, I must say, I was more than impressed. You will be too, I promise. Check it out.

[Via RootzWiki]

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Motorola’s Defy+ JCB Limited Edition is Really Just a Rugged Phone With a Rugged Case for the UK

The folks at Motorola have just announced a new limited edition of the Motorola DEFY+ , the rugged smartphone that’s built to take a beating or three. We’re looking at the JCB edition of the device but you’d be hard-pressed to find anything worth paying extra for here – it’s simply the same phone that’s been out in retail, except it comes with a rugged JCB case. It’ll be available in the UK. Yep, that’s it. Oh, here are the specs if you needed a reminder:

• Powered by Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and features more than 300,000 apps from Android Market^™
• 1 GHz processor that runs 25 percent faster for efficient Web browsing and multitasking
• Water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof to withstand all that life throws users way
• Features scratch resistant Corning^® Gorilla^® Glass
• 3.7-inch high-resolution touch screen display
• MOTOBLUR™ lets users stay in touch with friends, providing quick access to social media accounts and live widgets directly from the homescreen
• Motorola Media Link allows users to sync their media content from their desktops at home or work
• Loaded with the ability to create group emails and communication
• Adobe® Flash® Player 10 for uncompromised viewing of applications, content and videos
• 5MP camera with auto focus, flash and digital zoom
• 2GB internal; 2GB microSD card in box, expandable up to 32GB¹
• Access to Google Mobile^™ Services (Google Maps^™ with Navigation, Google Talk^™, browsing)
• 1700 mAH battery for 7.1 hours of talk time and 16 days in standby²

[Motorola]

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[CES 2012] The Future of Toddler Tablets: VINCI Tab Hands-On

Towards the end of 2011 we previewed a few toddler tablets including the VINCI Tab.  Here at CES 2012 VINCI stands out with their latest social learning.  Not only have they added new applications to their learning curriculum but have a new more affordable tablet in the works.

Our last review had some great details on the overall specs and concept of what the VINCI Tab provides but now we have actual hands on video that really shows the backbone of what this product has to offer.

CURRENT

As most of us know the VINCI Tab comes with 7-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen display, 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512MB of RAM and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.  One feature that is NOT included is WiFi but from the company standpoint, this is only to protect the children from what content they are viewing.  In this context of a tablet and being a parent myself, I 100% agree with their decision.

FUTURE

The future of VINCI is sure to stay ahead of the competition.  This year they have a new concept of helping children learn socially by adding their new line of social gaming for multiple children at once.

The simple idea is to connect multiple VINCI devices together on one network to allow each device to connect to the host device and provide access to the game which allows the game interaction.

One downfall at CES is poor WiFi and unfortunately we were hit with a clogged network and could not see the new social games (currently three offered by VINCI) working with multiple devices.  Their new smaller device they will be offering is still in early pre-production and the unit you see in the video is just to demonstrate the social applications.  We will be sure to get our hands on the actual devices and do a in-depth look at how the software works and interacts with children.

LOWER COST

As we stated in the video, the new VINCI device, right now known as the VINCI dBlock, is smaller but more affordable.  I think this will be a huge impact on how many units ship in the upcoming months.  The physical design will be almost exactly the same as in type of screen, number of ports, and processing power but will be half the size of the current.  One other physical feature that has been modified in the design is the red handle that surrounds the device: the smaller unit that will be offered later this year will include the same red rubber-like safety feature but will have a bumper that is directly connected to the edge of the device and not a handle like the design of the current VINCI tab.

EDIT

As the current VINCI Tab does not have WiFi (stated in past press releases and in the current product specs), the new VINCI dBlock will include WiFi to allow for the social gaming connectivity.  I stated I do like how they did not include this as a standard which is intended to protect what content is on the device but I do feel that VINCI will include a parental control option so parents can lock the device down.  Having WiFi doesn’t necessarily mean the device will be connected to the internet either but we will have to wait and see how their final implementation of connectivity is integrated to each device.

Dr. Dan Yang stated that the larger 7 inch VINCI Tab will be able to connect with the new VINCI dBlock devices so I would suspect this will be an addition that will be added to update the current product line.  We will keep a close eye on this as they release more information so please check back once we get our hands on actual production devices to test.

–

OVERVIEW

Most of the VINCI’s complaints are price related.  I feel the new smaller VINCI device with its under 200 dollar price range will not only increase the amount of units sold but will put a competitive edge on the toddler tablet market in general.  I personally am very excited to get hands on with multiple devices to test out this new social way of learning.

Stay tuned for our next hands-on video once we receive test units of actual production hardware as we will cover the new specs and software and look into what third-parties are jumping on creating new social learning content.

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Hands On Video: New ASUS Transformer Prime 700T – Full HD Screen and Ice Cream Sandwich

When we were invited to check out the all new and super high-def ASUS Transformer Prime 700T (previous version was TF201) for ourselves, we jumped at the opportunity. Ever since ASUS took the lid off their all new and improved Transformer Prime a few days ago, I was curious to see if performance would suffer because of the new HD display. Pushing 1920×1200 pixels (technically, a little higher than regular ‘ol 1080p) across the screen is no easy task and whether it was the Tegra 3 processor or Ice Cream Sandwich (most likely a combination of both), one thing is for certain — the new T-Prime flies. There was absolutely zero lag when navigating the homescreen and app drawers and while I didn’t get to run any benchmarks on the device (that will come at a later time), I was able to load up a few games like Sprinkle and Showdowgun for a quick test run. If you’re curious to see how it all went down, check out the hands-on video below.

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Hands On Video: ASUS Padfone – Phone in Tablet

We haven’t heard much from the ASUS Padfone since it was teased then eventually revealed last year. Arguably one of the greatest ideas ever to hit Android, I was hoping we’d see a lot more from the device. Well, on my trip to ASUS’s CES showing, I was not only able to snag some pics of the device behind its plexiglass enclosure — but after a little sweet talking (I’ve heard my voice could be rather soothing), ASUS was kind enough to enough to give Phandroid some hands-on time with the hybrid device.

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