Xavier Lanier is the publisher of Gotta Be Moible and Notebooks.com. He's a mobile technology geek that uses an iPhone 4S, New iPad and Galaxy Nexus and MacBook Air on a daily basis. He's an expert photographer that shoots primarily with Nikon DSLRs.
You can follow Xavier on Twitter @xavierlanier and Google+
The New Yorker released its tribute cover of Steve Jobs, which will grace the October 17 edition of the magazine. In a blog post, The New Yorker shows that the cover will depict Steve Jobs meeting Saint Peter at the pearly gates. Saint Peter is using an iPad, apparently using it to do a little research before deciding [...]
The iPhone 4S looks a lot like the iPhone 4 in your pocket, but looks can be deceiving. Many iPhone 4 users will benefit by making the move to an iPhone 4S, but there’s a lot to consider before you wait in line or pre-order an iPhone 4S. iPhone 4S — Should I Upgrade? The [...]
The iPhone 4S has more power under the hood, but it looks exactly like last year’s model. That’s a bad thing since it’ll be too easy for consumers to confuse the iPhone 4S with the iPhone 4 that’s already sitting in their pocket. What’s worse for Apple is that iPhone 4S owners won’t be able [...]
The iPhone 4S features a better camera than the one found in the iPhone 4. Apple’s released several sample photos shot with the iPhone 4S and they look fantastic compared to those shot with the iPhone 4. Smartphone cameras are typically mediocre, with even budget point and shoot cameras besting them in terms of image [...]
Siri was one of the highlights from the iPhone 4S event today. Siri is a key feature that allows iPhone users to quickly access information and dictate text by simply speaking into the microphone. It’s baked into iOS 5, but apparently you’ll only be able to run Siri on the new iPhone 4S. iPhone 4 [...]
Apple prides itself on doing things differently, but that’s not always a good thing. The iPhone 4S maker is conforming with European Union standards by offering up Micro USB charging in the iPhone 4S…sort of. Instead of moving away from the 30-pin iPod adapter that’s a charging and syncing port on the bottom of the [...]
Apple’s new iPhone 4S is already getting the hands-on treatment. The first hands-on video we’ve found is from BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones. As he points out, there’s no cosmetic differences between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Cellan-Jones runs through a quick demonstration of Siri, Apple’s new voice control and assistance feature called Siri. He tasks it [...]
Apple announced iCloud storage upgrade pricing at its iPhone event at its Cupertino headquarters today. We’ve known for a while that the first 5GB will be complimentary, but now we know that iCloud upgrades will start at just $20 per year. iCloud is Apple’s new mobile service that makes it easier to backup data and [...]
Apple will kick off its iPhone event and announce the next best selling phone (or phones) in just a few minutes. With a ton of pent up demand and bored iPhone 4 users out there, Apple doesn’t have to do a whole lot to sell tens of millions of these things, but there’s a good chance [...]
Apple is almost certainly announcing its next incarnation of the iPhone today and it’s sure to grab more headlines than any other technology product launch this year. Nobody’s sure exactly what the next iPhone will look like or what kind of specifications it will have, but it” shine thanks to iOS 5. The urge to rush out and [...]
T-Mobile may become the only major network in the United States to not sell the iPhone starting next month and the carrier’s chief marketing officer doesn’t seem too pleased. He spoke about the issue at a conference yesterday and published an open letter on T-Mobile’s corporate blog. T-Mobile CMO Cole Brodman began his presentation at Mobilize [...]
The Samsung Galaxy S II is a gorgeous device that’s available from several carriers. Yesterday, Samsung and T-Mobile announced a version that runs on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network and boasts download speeds of up to 42 Mbps. (READ: Samsung Galaxy S II Sprint Epic 4G Touch Review) We got a very brief look at the device during [...]
Apple is building a lot of Twitter into iOS 5, but what about Facebook? The larger social network may be getting some iOS 5 love if the screenshots sent into Mac Rumors prove to be legit. While these screenshots could just be a Facebook fan’s doodling, a Facebook integration would make a lot of iPhone [...]
Apple will be holding its iPhone 5 press conference at its headquarters in Cupertino if the latest iPhone 5 rumor proves true. According to an All Things D source, Apple will be showing off the iPhone 5 for the first time in the company’s small on-campus auditorium rather than the larger venues in downtown San [...]
Apple is apparently denying vacation requests for employees trying to take days off the second week of October, pointing to an iPhone 5 release date of either October 14th or 15th. There are two blocks of days the second week of October that point to both an iOS 5 and iPhone 5 release. According to Apple [...]
Verizon is offering select customers the iPhone 4 for $120 through September 30, suggesting the device will soon be supplanted by the iPhone 5. All rumors point to the iPhone 5 being announced on October 4th and going on sale later the same month. Verizon is probably looking to clear out inventory before their stuck with [...]
EA Games is slashing the prices of its iPad games through Sunday. These games are of very good quality and many are franchises you’ll recognize from board games and other gaming platforms. Most of the games are $2.99 after an up-to $7 discount. You can reconnect with your childhood with games like Scrabble, Life, Monopoly, [...]
SCOTTEVEST is offering 40% off eight of its items, including vests and jackets designed to carry iPads and smartphones. SCOTTEVEST’s Last Sale of 2011 promotion is a thank you for customers and features current travel clothing, not closeouts. SCOTTEVEST (SeV) clothing has more than enough pockets to carry all of your mobile gear and accessories. [...]
Evoz will begin shipping an audio baby monitor on October 4 that will allow parents to monitor their babies from just about anywhere. The Evoz Monitor and accompanying Evoz baby monitoring service turns any iPhone into a cry-receiver and alert system. The Evoz Monitor is the company’s first physical device. Previously, the Evoz app had [...]
A new season of The X Factor is kicking off tonight, but Simon Cowell’s already correctly picked a winner. No, he hasn’t chosen the best singer yet, but he has picked out the best phone. Verizon is The X Factor’s official wireless partner. Normally I don’t pay much attention to talent shows like the ones [...]
Apple’s getting ready to announce the iPhone 5 on October 4th, if the latest rumors are true, and will likely put it up for sale within the month. But paying for an iPhone 5 can put a dent in your wallet. You can soften the blow by selling your iPhone 4 before the iPhone 5 [...]
As a loyal Netflix subscriber I’m baffled by today’s rebranding of its DVD delivery service. I understand the need to adapt a business as the times change, but the name Qwikster doesn’t do anything for me except remind me of commercials from the 1980s. Back in the 1980s, kids my age were bombarded with commercials [...]
Lenovo showed off the IdeaPad U300s at IDF 2011 this week. A follow up to the IdeaPad U260, the U300s sports an all-metal enclosure and some respectable specs. More importantly, it looks and feels great and will surely appeal to those who are able to lay their hands on it. The U300s is an Ultrabook, [...]
Samsung’s Series 7 Slate PC is being handed out at Microsoft’s Build conference today, but I had a chance to play with the hardware a couple of weeks ago at IFA 2011 and it isn’t anywhere close to being ready to compete with the iPad and its Android counterparts. All the chatter around Microsoft’s next [...]
Ford and Spotify demonstrated exactly how what I’d like to have in my car at the TechCrunch Hackathon. Using Ford’s SYNC API, Spotify was able to integrate its iOS app into a Ford’s SYNC demo unit. Spotify is a music service that streams music on demand. Like competitors Pandora and Slacker, you can search by [...]
The Droid Bionic is going on sale today and the line at the Verizon Kiosk is… Well there is no line. After months of anticipation, rumors and rants, where’s the crowd of Android geeks? This is the same mall where I buy my iPhones, iPads and much of my other mobile gear. It’s also where [...]
The Droid Bionic might be the best 4G LTE phone you can buy, but Verizon’s limits will prevent the device from living up to its full potential. Both Motorola’s Droid Bionic and Verizon’s 4G network are speed demons, but what’s the use if you have to worry about burning through your data allocation before the [...]
The Boogie Board Rip doesn’t have apps, a media player, a color display, Wi-Fi or even a web browser, but you can ink on it. The only issue is you can’t do anything else with it. It’s really just a flat black gadget that can replace a pad of paper in your kitchen. The Boogie Board [...]
Tablets are only usually viewed as devices for games and reading, but in the enterprise, tablets can be used for real work. When I spoke to Oliver Bussman, CIO of SAP, earlier this year about the iPad and the future of competing Android tablets in the enterprise he told GottaBeMobile that “Android is playing an important [...]
The number of HDTVs at IFA 2011 in Berlin is daunting. Most manufacturers are of course pushing connected 3D HDTVs, but the Sharp’s 8K4K television is turning the most heads. The 8K4K is an incredible glimpse into the future of couch potatoes. The Sharp 8K4K is picture is incredibly realistic thanks to its 85″ diagonal stature and exceedingly high [...]
A Lenovo director is claiming that only 20,000 of the 1,000,000 Galaxy Tabs shipped actually sold. If that’s the case, Samsung is likely beyond disappointed with how its original 7″ Android tablet fared against the iPad and other alternatives. The Guardian is quoting Lenovo’s Andrew Borrow as saying that any manufacturer trying to undercut the iPad, which [...]
Tucked away in a small booth, far away from the big brands that dominate IFA 2011 in Berlin is the Autonomous Wheelchair of Freie Universtat Berlin. I’m all for smarter phones, bigger TVs and cooler tablets, but wheelchair is one of the highlights of the show since it is one of the few products here that [...]
The Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Galaxy Note are two devices that are generating quite a bit of buzz here at IFA 2011 in Berlin. There’s a lot to like about these devices, but unfortunately you might not be able to buy one stateside. According to Samsung, there are currently no plans to ship either of [...]
The AMOLED displays on Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Galaxy Note are simply amazing. The viewing angles are fantastic and the colors are rich. Videos look great, photos pop and static content is so clear that it almost looks too good to even be a display. It’s easy to imagine that some people will [...]
We found the perfect mobile phone accessory if you miss untangling phone cords and holding a giant receiver between your cheek and shoulder. The POP Phone plugs into an iPhone, or any other device with a similar connector, and operates just like most other headsets… minus the whole hands-free thing. Besides acting as a conversation [...]
Enter your email address to subscribe to GottaBeMobile updates
Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE Review: A Worthy Successor to the Original (Video)
When Sprint had debuted the original WiMax-capable HTC EVO 4G nearly two years ago, it was an instant hit on the Now network. Not only was the HTC EVO 4G the first 4G smartphone in the world taking advantage of Sprint’s then speedy WiMax network, but it brought some new features and pizzazz to the [...]
Last year Toshiba waded into the Android tablet market with the Thrive, a 10.1-inch slate that served as the company’s response to what they deemed missing in the then current crop. Thus, it had several full-size ports, a rugged-ish exterior, and a thick chassis to accommodate both. Though a decent tablet, the Thrive didn’t generate [...]
Samsung Shows That It Is a Software Company
As exciting as it has been to talk, postulate, and speculate about the Galaxy S III’s hardware and specs before the third-generation Galaxy flagship smartphone was announced on May 3rd in London, once the device was announced one thing became apparent: Samsung is now a software company. That doesn’t mean that Samsung is shying away [...]
Autumn Dynasty Review: A Great RTS for the iPad
With its large touchscreen, the iPad seems like the perfect platform for Real Time Strategy games, and Autumn Dynasty proves it, mostly. Autumn Dynasty is an RTS iPad game with art that looks like tradition Chinese painting. The story involves quelling a rebellion while solving a mystery of shady noblemen. The story though, just serves [...]
Griffin GuitarConnect Pro Review: Record Your Jams with Ease
The Griffin GuitarConnect Pro interfaces with your Guitar and your iPad or iPhone so you can record your music easily using apps like Apple’s GarageBand. My son Daniel, who’s learning to play guitar, helped me test it out and he loved it. When he gets as good as Jimi Hendrix, I’m sure he’ll steal my [...]
Google Search App iPhone and iPad Update Looks Beautiful (Video)
Google just delivered a beautiful update to the company’s Google Search app for the iPhone and iPad The Google Search app for iPhone and iPad replaced Safari as my browser of choice, earning a spot in the iPhone and iPad dock. It’s faster and offers a beautiful new full screen image search which looks awesome on the [...]
