Rough Cuts Ltd Blog

I've just had Sony's latest smartphone offering thrust my way, so it's only right that I should have a quick fiddle. Opening the now traditional Sony Folding box, I find wrapped in a 'greeheart' paper bag, a new phone. Looks like they're conveying some environmental message, although I'm not quite sure what? The unit itself seems smaller than the Experia Arc, the design is minimalist, but slightly cheap feeling, (at this point I have no idea of price). The back has a fab graduated blue black metallic appearance, and a simple HD in the middle.. (I guess it does 720 or 1080 video?). I hunt for the battery and prise the flimsy plastic back cover off, with difficulty. Fortunately nothing snaps. so I put the sim and battery in and fire the unit up. The  cover clips on well and I also notice a LED for the camera. On the top is a HDMi cover and usb conector cover, on the side  find the power button. The screen bursts to life and displays retina rivalling fonts and...

Just had a bit of a revelation. Using doublesync the other week, I inadvertently dumped 10% of my record collection onto my HTC desire. It's late. I'm not tired, kids and wife are in bed, so I decided to listen to some tunes on my Dr Dre Beats headphones. The HTC was the closest phone to hand, and seeing as it had alot of music on it, I thought, why not? Them something odd happened. It didn't sound right. Was it me? it just sounded, 'central' and well, lacking in depth. It wasn't making the involving sounds happen that I've come to expect from these headphones, so I flicked through a few more songs, it was the same, Beatles, Foo fighters, Gerry Rafferty, all sounded, muted. Tom Petty American girl came on, the live version,  a truly legendary track. No.... I wasn't feeling it. I pulled up the same track on the iPhone 4 and tried again...... This is more like it! I wouldn't have believed there would have been such a difference. The stereo separa...

Is this becoming a bit of a bore now.... Yup, it's yet ANOTHER android handset. It's like spot the difference. This one is magnificently thin. To accomplish this look, the back cover is made of sugar paper. Yet another back cover that should be removed only once. Seriously, there are about ten clips around the outer edge and they all need some force to clip in one by one. But once the back cover is comfortably in place, it feels, er, thin. Really thin. Next to the iphone 4, the camera and thicker base push its height so its fractionally larger, (or higher off the ground) than the iphone. But in reality the middle section, is actually narrower that the iphone. But.... to be frank, I couldn't care less. The iphone is thin enough, so its a hollow victory. Especially when you consider the fact that you can't take the back off the iphone4 and snap it by breathing too hard on it. Front on and the Galaxy S mk 2 is something of a monster. It is noticeably larger than an iphone ...

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 ...