Rough Cuts Ltd Blog

This Machine is a heavy little unit. But that gives it a great feeling of quality. The battery compartment is something of an oddity however. On first inspection, there is no way to get into the back of the handset. The top and bottom are slightly rubberised, but they don't prevent the unit slipping in your hand. But where to put your sim in isn't immediately obvious. When you figure that you have to slide the bottom portion off, things get even more unusual. Two exposed metal contacts sit on the battery cover, initially I thought this was to connect the Mic, but they're not, the mic is built into the phone on the opposite side, it just pokes out of a small hole. These contacts must let the phone know that the cover is on. I would've assumed then that these trigger the phone to dismount the memory card, to avoid the potential of read/write errors corrupting it, but no, the card is still accessible with the battery cover removed. So I have no idea why they're there. ...

This question has been rattling round in my skull for a while now. A quick google search and I found this link. http://www.ehow.com/how_5945326_sync-android-mac.html I first checked the Apple Mac store and to my amazement, found it WAS available, for £8.99! However, thats too easy. I want to do it for free.  Ok, lets tackle these issues one by one....... firstly I have the details of my Gmail account.  Contacts and Address book .   All of the contacts I want are already stored in my gmail account. But what I really want is to add contacts in my Address book, and have them auto sync with my android phone. As they're already syncing, phone to gmail cloud. The issue becomes, how do I sync google with my mac? I boot up address book and click Address book>Preferences. I see a box; it says Sync with Google..... can it be this easy? I click it, and input my gmail details. Done. Well, no actually, that option is only there because I own an iphone. And well, to be blunt....

I still can't decide whether there is room for one of these in my life or not. The argument I get from so many people is that, if they just want to look on the internet for something quick. A tablet is always on, so they could pick it up and launch their browser straight away. Now without wanting to spark a Windows vs Mac debate. I can already do that on my Mac anyway, even when its off, and even if I have to put my password in. Not only that, but sadly, due to a major lack of a social life. It's usually keeping my knee's warm anyway. However, What is it like to use? Well, it's always on, for a start. The android OS is dreamy to use. It really is simple and it has so much 'desktop' space to customise, I really think that there is more than most users would ever be able to make use of. The two camera's are useful for things like skype video calls and er, photos. The Camera is ok, although for a 5mp, it isn't quite as sharp as I'd expected. But its mos...

The HTC desire was an exceptionally good class leading android handset, that catapulted HTC to the forefront of smart phone development and sales. The Wildfire was a good entry level Android phone. So how does the Incredible S stack up next to them? well, To start with, it feels like its got one of those 'extra battery' cases on it. Initially it feels odd. Although the matt black plastic feels high quality. If it weren't for the extra bulk, it would be as slim as an iphone4. But because of it, it isn't. All of the extra goodies in the box are wrapped in strange grey sealed body bags. Neat, but weird. I slip a sim in and boot up. What I'm hoping for here, is a Desire, with a better screen, sound and swype! Initial impressions are hopeful. The screen looks excellent. Clear and responsive too. It feels like a high quality device. Flicking from app to app, the handset copes brilliantly as I fumble my way through the menu's, changing my mind, the phone keeps up with ...

The initial worry with any borderline 'droid phone is whether the screen is resistive or capacitive. Capacitive screens tend to be pretty responsive, where as resistive, require resistance, IE, they need to be pushed. The good news with this one, is, it's capacitative. After opening the very funky box, a simple user guide falls out. Seriously easy instructions to follow, one may assume this is a smartphone for beginners. Appropriately ignoring the guide, I put my sim in and ran through the initial setup. Simple, within about 6 simple setup screens, I was connected to both my network and wifi. I followed the 'learn more about your phone route' and found myself looking at the same simple instructions that fell out of the box earlier! Gmail details entered and a short while later, my screen is full of facebook (I didn't ask for this, it just appeared!) I duly enter my facebook details and surprise, surprise I'm logged into Facebook. Then, I allow INQ mobile to acce...

I welcome comments and respect other people's difference of opinions. But if you're compelled to comment, do it with manners and/or respect. Otherwise, I'll simply ignore your ill-conceived diatribe. Apparently the V-Moda crossfades improve over time, to be specific, one reader suggested 22 hours or more!! Wow. I have left them plugged into a music source for 50 hours now, and well, to be honest they still sound poor by comparison to the beats phones. Although some clarity of the mid range does appear to have improved. However they still play second fiddle to the balanced results from the Beats. Yes, on paper, in terms of frequency response, the V-Moda's should produce better results. The headphones I replaced had a better frequency response than the Beats, but they didn't sound half as good. Numbers don't always give one the full picture. It would also appear that other reviewers (perhaps even with younger ears than mine) wouldn't rate the sonic ability...

Alcatel have surprised me in the past. Whilst this blog has focussed mainly on the high end smartphones. It's interesting from time to time to delve into the cheaper end of the spectrum. Like the used car forecourts, sometimes this end of the market can be more rewarding than the top end. Expectations are lower, therefore delights and surprises are more regular occurrences. Here I'll be giving the briefest of overviews of three current Alcatel offerings. The OT710, OT799 and the Android powered OT980. The 710 is a svelte touch screen device, small and thinner than a palm pre. The screen is noticeably blocky by comparison to top end models and the colours look dour and pale. Although the menu's are well laid out, the resistive screen needs a good push to activate the icons, even swiping the screen to unlock is an annoyance. The camera doesn't appear to auto rotate image's (this really annoys me, especially when people upload pics to facebook etc, and you have to ti...