Susan Walker from the Cleveland Home Technology Examiner spells out some similarities and differences between the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Droid Xyboard 8.2. Note: The story ran prior to March 1, so the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is now available. 

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, the thinnest tablet on the market, is available in Cleveland area Verizon stores beginning March 1 — here’s how it compares to the Droid XY Board, which is also available in Verizon stores now.  Both are convenient sizes —  the XYBoard, with 8.2 inch diagonal screen is slightly larger and thicker than the Galxy Tab 7.7.  Both offer 4G LTE telecommunications capability.

Screen resolution:  Tab 7.7 and Droid XYBoard both offer excellent resolution with 1280 x 800 pixels — superior to many tablets available today — more than iPad 2, for example which offers 024 x 768 pixels in its larger, 9.7 inch screen.

Price: Droid XYBoard 8.2 costs $329.99 now with a current Verizon promotion, with 16GB of storage; the brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 costs $499.99. Both require 2-year data connection costing $30 / month.

Read the rest on the Cleveland Home Technology Examiner’s site.

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Susan Walker from the Cleveland Home Technology Examiner shares how the Samsung Galaxy Nexus stacks up against the iPhone.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a hot new device featured at CES 2012 (the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas) and it’s here now in Cleveland area stores; here’s how Galaxy Nexus, with its Android 4.0.2 operating system, stacks up to iPhone.  

Samsung Galaxy Nexus looks similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S though it’s noticeably larger and has a slightly curved display.  The biggest differences are inside.  

Operating systems: Galaxy Nexus is the first smartphone to use the new Android 4.0.2 operating system (nicknamed “Ice Cream Sandwich”) while iPhone 4S uses Apple’s iOS 5.0.2 operating system. Both operating systems are good; they’re different and either one will take some getting used to for a first-time user. Our observations regarding differences:

- Android kept track immediately of all the books we’d set up on the Android reader including freebie classics; Apple iBooks was not as quick and smooth to do the same, but did ultimately get there.

Read the rest of the review on the Cleveland Home Technology Examiner site.

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Susan Walker from the Cleveland Home Technology Examiner compares Apple’s iPad 2 with Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Comparing Apple’s iPad 2 to its closest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Verizon, has been enjoyable as both tablets are fun to use; most buyers will be happy with either device; both are widely available for sale in the Cleveland area now. During our hands-on trial we noticed a number of differentiators between these tablets which we’ll outline in this series of articles. 

The iPad has the superior user interface of the two though Tab is not far behind.  

Android keeps getting better.  The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcases recent improvements as well as some app advantages — to the point that it no longer makes sense to say iPad is better solely because the online Apple store offers more apps.

Read the rest of the article on Cleveland Home Technology Examiner’s site.

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Susan Walker from the Cleveland Home Technology Examiner puts the Samsung Droid Charge’s Google Maps Navigation app to the test.

The Verizon Droid Charge by Samsung comes loaded with Google Maps “Navigation,” an excellent built-in GPS application; this writer used the Navigation app extensively over the past several days including several hours of single-handed travel around Ohio (Cleveland – Port Clinton – Columbus) and was grateful for the Droid Charge’s ability to provide vocal instructions at the right times. 

Navigation, The GPS app, is integrated with Google Maps, but provides information differently.  Google Maps, which has been available on Blackberry, iPhone, Android and other handhelds for the past few years presents a detailed map and written instructions on the cell phone’s screen.  Google Maps is useful and fun – great for getting around a city on public transportation, for example. 

And with all that said, Google Maps is not the right tool for any driver to use while driving alone.  The Maps app requires that the driver pull over and stop before checking the directions. 

The Navigation GPS app is something completely different – it’s a real GPS system similar to those provided on Garmin and Tom Tom devices.  The graphic is big enough that the driver can glance at it from time to time but it contains almost no detail — no fine print — and it’s the audio that tells the driver what to do.

Read the rest of the article here.

Cleveland Home Technology Examiner writer Susan Walker gives her first impressions of the Samsung Droid Charge.

The Verizon Droid Charge by Samsung has a large screen and it’s light weight — Charge is available now in local Verizon stores and this writer has been demoing it over the past few days.

Size and weight- Droid Charge extremely light for a phone with this size screen — it weighs less than iPhone 4 and has a 4.3 inch screen, compared to iPhone’s 3.5 inch screen.

Screen resolution- Bright with excellent resolution —  800 x 480 Amoled screen.  

Speed - Droid Charge takes advantage of the 4G coverage in Cleveland, Columbus, and now Cedar Point— see article.  

Response time —Satisfactory; not the super fast response of the HTC devices — see article about Thunderbolt and Droid Incredible. 

Battery life – So far it seems fine — charged it up at night and it worked all day.

Calling - works fine for calls; speaker option is effective. 

Read the rest of the review here.