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+
Are you in the San Francisco area and interested in winning some free Samsung gear? Then come and meet up with us and a bunch of other mobile geeks next Friday (June 3) in San Francisco! GottaBeMobile is co-hosting an event with Samsung and some great mobile tech sites to kick off the launch of [...]
Samsung is throwing a party to celebrate the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in San Francisco and you’re invited. GottaBeMobile editors and the guys behind BetaNews, IntoMobile and PhoneArena will be co-hosting the event on June 3rd in downtown San Francisco. This is your chance to go hands on with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 [...]
ThinkPads might be some of the best business notebooks in the business, but they have a reputation of being a bit boring. The introduction of the ThinkPad X1 marks what looks to be a new chapter for the ThinkPad brand. We awarded the ThinkPad X1 an Editor’s choice award at Notebooks.com, GBM’s sister site. You [...]
A paraplegic UC Berkeley graduate was able to walk during the university’s commencement ceremony thanks to an exoskeleton. Austin Whitney was seriously injured in an auto collision in 2007 and hadn’t walked since. The exoskeleton was built specifically for Austin by UC Berkeley researchers. As you can see in the above video, he was able to walk across [...]
The PlayStation Network is coming back online according to Sony, but Sony is deservedly catching a lot of flack over the outage and its security policies. I’m a big fan of online services, but nothing serves as a reminder of how fragile the Interwebs are like an extended outage. The PlayStation Network isn’t a service [...]
An Boston-area woman is using an iPad to see her kid’s faces for the first time in over 30 years. Evelyn O’Brien suffers from Macular degeneration and is legally blind. Mrs. Obrien hasn’t been able to see her five children’s faces because disease makes it difficult or impossible to see objects in the middle of [...]
The Motion CL900 Tablet PC is now on sale and as we mentioned earlier, the device is rugged. Motion released a video today demonstrating its durability. The tablet was dropped from a height of 48″ onto plywood over concrete 26 times to live up to MIL-STD-810G specifications. In the video you can see that the [...]
Facebook hired a PR firm to pitch anti-Google articles in publications. It’s no surprise that Facebook went and hired Burson-Marsteller to spin some news, but the agency’s tactics smell pretty bad. I have a love/hate relationship with PR folks. I’m married to a PR person, who used to work for Burson-Marsteller and who now works [...]
Motion Computing is now taking orders for the CL900 Tablet PC and expects to begin shipping units out to customers within four weeks. The 10.1″ slate runs Windows 7 and has some durability features, including Gorilla Glass. We first saw the Motion Computing CL900 back at CES 2011. The device looked pretty solid, but it [...]
The HP Slate 500 has had a pretty rough road so far. GBM co-founder Rob Bushway got his hands on the device and was not pleased with it at all. He summed up his feelings with a headline that simply reads “HP Slate 500 Tablet PC – Don’t Waste Your Money.” Rob didn’t like the [...]
Other World Computing (OWC) announced that its Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD is now available in sizes up to 480GB. That’s a hair under 500GB, the standard offering on Apple’s MacBook Pros. The MacBook Air is the best notebook I’ve ever owned, but I don’t consider it my primary computer. It’s quick enough for most of [...]
Nokia is running a national TV commercial promoting the Astound phone. It’s certainly one of the more creative smartphone ads I’ve seen recently and I think it’ll draw a lot of people in to learn more about the Nokia Astound, a device that’s available from T-Mobile. The Nokia ad is set to a modern rendition [...]
It’s well known that the U.S. military has an amazing catalog of technology at its disposal, but I had no idea that our nation’s K-9 defenders were mobile tech geeks. The SEAL team that raided Osama bin Laden brought along a four-legged friend that was likely equipped with some nice mobile gear. According to an [...]
Apple’s latest iPad 2 television commercial points to how different people love different aspects of the device. In the commercial, Apple lists how people with different backgrounds might view the device. If you ask a parent, they might call it intuitive. If you ask a musician, they might call it inspiring. To a doctor, it’s [...]
Gazelle bought truckloads of first generation iPads and is apparently having trouble selling them through its normal channels. The company is now selling used iPads at GazzelleiPads.com for as low as $329.99. The best value is probably the 64GB WiFi + 3G iPad, which is priced at $479.99, which is $20 less than the entry-level [...]
SquareTrade’s PR firm sent over a video of a BlackBerry PlayBook drop test. Not surprisingly, the PlayBook’s display shatters after being dropped onto a concrete surface repeatedly. I’m all for educational videos, but anyone stupid enough to let the above video influence their purchasing decision deserves a busted tablet.
The iPhone 5 must have 4G if Apple hopes to keep geeks from switching in the near term and consumers from following over the next year or so. While not everyone ‘needs’ 4G, geeks are early adopters and shine a light on what mainstream consumers will or won’t buy in the coming months. From what [...]
The revelation that Apple logs iPhone and iPad users’ movements has caused a fire storm. Privacy advocates, consumers and even politicians are crying foul, but this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. In fact, every iPhone and iPad 3G user has given Apple permission to track their movements. Most likely, Apple’s primary reason [...]
Here’s a quick video look at the BlackBerry PlayBook. The web browser baked into the PlayBook is pretty nice and responsive. The $499 BlackBerry tablet just went on sale and RIM sent one over for review. In this video you can see that the PlayBook does indeed display GottaBeMobile.com very well. If I scroll super [...]
Verizon released unit sales numbers as part of its first quarter financial report. The company sold 260,000 HTC Thunderbolts in just two weeks. Verizon’s sold 500,000 4G devices in total, with the remainder of that number being 4G USB modems and wireless hotspots. By comparison, Verizon sold 2.2 million iPhones during the first quarter of [...]
The BlackBerry PlayBook is finally here and I got a chance to unbox a review unit that RIM sent over yesterday afternoon. It’s clear that this is one high-quality piece of hardware, but it’s also clear that there’s a lot of room for improvement. We’ll put together a complete review in the coming days, but [...]
Diapers.com and Soap.com got new iPhone apps that will make it easier to order baby and household supplies. The new apps are a cut above other shopping apps because they allow users to shop while offline. As a father of a newborn, I’ve found it challenging to keep the baby supply drawers properly stocked and [...]
Google’s released Toolbar 7 for Internet Explorer that features Google Instant and other enhancements. While Google has its own web browser, Internet Explorer is the default browser for many, many Windows users. As you can see in the video above, Toolbar 7 can improve the Google search experience in Internet Explorer. Features, such as Google [...]
The HTC Thunderbolt is the hottest phone in Verizon’s stable and its blazing fast 4G LTE speeds are a big reason why many people are choosing it over the iPhone 4. In this speed test, you can clearly see that the Thunderbolt trounces the iPhone 4. Andru Edwards of Gearlive ran the test near [...]
Skype released a new version of its Android app to address security concerns. A pre-release version of Skype was leaked last week for the HTC Thunderbolt. Those who installed it risked exposing personal information including date of birth, account balance, address, phone number and more. Those who’ve installed Skype on the HTC Thunderbolt should upgrade [...]
We usually avoid discussing politics here at GBM, but this is just ridiculous. The son of a man who’s led change in America seems determined to keep America in the stone age. Jesse Jackson Jr is blaming the loss of thousands of jobs on the iPad. The congressman rattles off a list of things that [...]
Logitech announced an iPad app that allows Logitech Alert digital video security system owners to keep an eye on their properties while on the go. The Logitech Alert cameras start at $299.99. The iPad app can be used to watch live streaming video of your home or office. The iPad app is free, but you’ll need [...]
Wirefly is offering the HTC Thunderbolt for $149.99 through Sunday thanks to a $50 coupon. This is a full $100 cheaper than purchasing the HTC Thunderbolt directly from Verizon and $25 cheaper than purchasing it from Amazon Wireless. In order to get this deal, you’ll need to visit Wirefly.com and use coupon code THUNDER0418 by midnight [...]
Amazon is now selling the cheapest version of its wildly popular Kindle for just $114. The Kindle with Special Offers is nearly identical to the WiFi-only Kindle, which sells for $139. The $25 price difference is being covered by sponsors, who will serve ads on the device in the form of sponsored screensavers and small ads on [...]
Flying cars have been a symbol of the future for decades. The Maverick flying car will soon hit the market and it’s designed to be as easy to fly as it is to drive a car with an automatic transmission. It’s primarily designed for humanitarian missions, but the guys at I-TEC are going to be [...]
Amazon.com is selling the HTC Thunderbolt for just $174.99 with free two-day shipping. This price includes free two-day shipping and most buyers won’t have to pay tax up front.This is the best deal on the Thunderbolt at the moment. The HTC Thunderbolt has an MSRP of $599.99, but you’ll only need to pay that if [...]
I picked up my first Android phone a couple of weeks ago after using iPhones for almost four years. I still count my iPhone 4 as my primary mobile phone, but Android is definitely growing on me. Below are the top 10 things I love about my ThunderBolt and why I’m using my Android phone a [...]
The developers behind Camera+, my favorite iPhone camera app, are sharing some sales figures and they’re very impressive. Tap tap tap is reporting that it has sold two million copies of Camera+, bringing in over $1.8 million in net sales. Camera+ is a photo-taking app that is far better than the iPhone’s built-in camera and [...]
Amazon.com is giving away free apps every day to entice Android phone owners to install the retailer’s Appstore. Today’s the last day to get Angry Birds Rio for free, so if you’re looking for a game for your self kids, head on over to Amazon.com. You will need to install Amazon.com’s Appstore for Android app [...]
Apple’s released its first iPad 2 television commercial. We Believe keeps it simple, rather than dwelling on specs and technology. It focuses on the experience and the simplicity of the iPad’s user interface. This is what we believe. Technology alone is not enough. Faster, thinner, lighter. Those are all good things, but when technology gets out of [...]
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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 [...]
