Vincent Nguyen - SlashGear

Author Archive for Vincent Nguyen

NOOK Tablet hands-on unboxing

Vincent Nguyen, Nov 16th 2011 Discuss [3]

Cheap, branded Android tablets have come of age in time for the 2011 holidays, and Barnes & Noble is hoping the NOOK Tablet can lead the pack. With a $249 price tag that makes the 7-inch slate half the cost of an iPad 2, Apple’s tablet may not be the specific target but those looking for straightforward email, web browsing, multimedia and, not least, ebook reading could well decide the NOOK Tablet offers everything they need on a budget. Read on for our unboxing and some hands-on first impressions.

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Reviews

HTC Rezound Review

Vincent Nguyen, Nov 14th 2011 Discuss [20]

Verizon isn’t stinting on 4G LTE smartphones, and hot on the heels of the DROID RAZR comes the HTC Rezound. Where Motorola chased slimness, HTC has targeted all-round top-flight features of the sort we’ve not really seen from the company in some time. So, the Rezound packs a 720p HD resolution display, speedy dual-core processor and a slick unibody chassis in its quest to be the best LTE smartphone around. Does it all add up, or has HTC bitten off more than it can chew? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

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HTC Rezound Hands-on

Vincent Nguyen, Nov 11th 2011 Discuss [14]

HTC’s Rezound has hit the SlashGear test bench, the company’s first Beats Audio phone for the US market and one that packs LTE and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor for when bass just isn’t enough. Announced just last week, the 4.3-inch Rezound isn’t the first to deliver 720p resolution and 1080p HD video recording, but HTC’s straightforward Sense interface could make it a consumer favorite. Read on for our first impressions.

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Reviews

Motorola DROID RAZR Review

Vincent Nguyen, Nov 7th 2011 Discuss [75]

Motorola’s DROID RAZR has a lot to live up to – and a clear warning around how to drop the ball in mobile strategy. Named after the slimline clamshell handset that changed Motorola’s fortunes in 2004, this new dual-core Android promises to be the world’s thinnest smartphone with power and performance to match. Thing is, Motorola quickly milked the original RAZR to death, pushing out special edition variant after variant while the market left its underwhelming specifications behind. Is this new DROID worthy of the RAZR name? Read on for the full SlashGear review.

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Columns

Nokia World 2011: The US Perspective

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 28th 2011 Discuss [11]

This week was a big one in mobile, plus I lost my virginity. Nokia World 2011 took place in London, my first time at the show, with the company revealing the Windows Phone handsets its bet the farm on. We’ve covered the event in previous years here on SlashGear, but for the first time it felt like there was some relevance in what Nokia was doing to the US market. I’ve left the UK, and the show, with plenty of unanswered questions and mixed opinions about Nokia – and Windows Phone – moving forward.

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Featured

Nokia Lumia 800 vs iPhone 4S vs Galaxy SII Browser showdown

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 27th 2011 Discuss [54]

Day two of Nokia World 2011, and Nokia loaned us a new Lumia 800 to get to grips with at the show. We couldn’t help but pit the Lumia 800 against two of its key rivals – Apple’s iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S II – to see how the browser holds up. With many smartphone users spending a huge amount of their mobile time on the web, that’s a key element of the owner experience. Read on for our comparison videos and more.

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Featured

Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) Hands-on

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 19th 2011 Discuss [12]

Android is now three years old, and with v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Google has given it perhaps the biggest update yet. With elements pulled in from Gingerbread and Honeycomb, ICS also has plenty of new functionality debuting on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. We’ve spent some hands-on time with Android 4.0 on the new Nexus, so check out our first impressions after the cut.

The big takeaway is how consistent Android feels in this 4.0 release. Google has obviously worked hard to not only introduce new features but bring the older functionality up to speed so that everything fits together seamlessly, addressing a common criticism by iOS users that Android can feel piecemeal. The Roboto font looks great on the Galaxy Nexus’ high-res display, and the animations shown in page transitions and when you tap on-screen icons like the new virtual buttons for home, back and menu are eye-catching enough to be interesting but not so involved as to slow the overall experience down.

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Reviews

Galaxy Nexus Hands-on

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 18th 2011 Discuss [62]

Samsung and Google unveiled the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in Hong Kong today, and we grabbed some hands-on time with the new dual-core smartphone. Just 8.94mm thick, with a Contour Curve design, huge high-resolution display and choice of LTE or HSPA+ versions, the Galaxy Nexus is a fitting flagship to continue Google’s Nexus brand. Keep reading for our hands-on first impressions.

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Reviews

iOS 5 Review

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 11th 2011 Discuss [373]

Apple iOS 5 is, arguably, the version we’ve always been waiting for. New iOS builds have always introduced new features, but in iOS 5 Apple sets out its digital hub ecosystem, the culmination of a decade of product positioning and service development. It also brings very specific challenges to each of Apple’s key competitors – Siri as the answer to Android’s voice command system, iMessage to take on BlackBerry Messenger – in addition to addressing some of the longer standing complaints iOS users have had. Read on for the full SlashGear review. Be sure to also check out our iPhone 4S review!

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Reviews

iPhone 4S Review [Updated]

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 11th 2011 Discuss [410]

Familiar and yet new, the iPhone 4S may not look different from the outside, but inside it’s a very different beast. With its fifth generation smartphone, Apple is keen to show that the devil is truly in the details: the iPhone 4S is wickedly fast, fiendishly well equipped and ruthlessly threatening to its mobile rivals. Can this really be your intelligent personal assistant, your multimedia hub and your window onto the cloud, all in one 9.3mm thick package? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

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Featured

HTC Amaze 4G hands-on

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 9th 2011 Discuss [20]

T-Mobile may not be getting the iPhone 4S, but it isn’t letting that stop it bulk up its smartphone range. Instead its Android coming to the rescue, with the HTC Amaze 4G expected to play a significant part: taking the Sensation XE as its starting point, the Amaze 4G throws in 42Mbps HSPA+ support and a full 1GB of RAM. It’s fresh to the SlashGear testbench today, so check out our first impressions after the cut.

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Featured

Samsung Galaxy S II unboxing & hands-on [video]

Vincent Nguyen, Oct 7th 2011 Discuss [9]

The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II has hit the SlashGear test bench, and while we’re hardly unfamiliar with the dual-core smartphone it’s still a welcome addition. Offering a bigger, 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus WVGA display than on the original Galaxy S II, T-Mobile’s version is the device the carrier hopes will fill an iPhone 4S-shaped gap in its line-up. Check out our first-impressions after the cut.