Motorola Atrix 4G

I thought this was pretty cool. This definitely seems like the future of true mobile computing, being able to carry your data and programs anywhere on a small device. Then being able to plug it into anything and the OS will instantly change to reflect whatever input and output devices it’s connected to. It’s almost as if bringing back “dumb terminals” lol!

The only downside to this, is that it’s on AT&T. Otherwise I might of considered getting this one.

Tegra 2 Gaming on Motorola Atrix 4G and LG Optimus 2X

Both these phones have some impressive specs – including dual cores. But the main point here is nVidia’s Tegra 2 graphics. As you can see, the frame rate is incredibly smooth. But that’s not the only impressive thing. With these phones, you can play multiplayer games cross platform! So if I’m on my Android phone, bored in the doctor’s waiting room, I can play against my friend on PS3! I’ve been waiting a while for cross platform multiplayer gaming, but I never knew it would start with mobile phones. I hope this develops further and we get to see many more games released.

Motorola Xoom

Nothing special about the tablet itself. What makes it great is that it’s the first tablet running Android 3.0, aka Honeycomb. The OS made just for tablets. I have to say, it’s a slick looking interface and I’m very tempted to buy one. But I know I don’t need one. Here’s a video that would make anyone drool:

Honorable mention: BlackBerry Playbook

I can’t find the video right now, but there was one on Engadget where they had the Playbook running Quake 3 (demo mode), a 1080p video, a picture slideshow and some music playing all at the same time with no slowdown! I found this impressive. They showed all four apps running side by side and all of them were running smoothly. It got a little choppy when they were trying to open each app, but hey, this would even be impressive on a desktop PC! Of course, it being a tablet I still won’t buy it. That, and BlackBerry is quite lacking in apps compared to other platforms. But still, a very competitive product RIM has here.

Phones I Might Get: Droid Bionic or HTC Thunderbolt

First of all, I’d like to mention that these aren’t the only two phones I would buy that were at CES. The other two that I’d consider are the Motorola Atrix 4G and the LG Optimus 2X. Both have Tegra 2, dual cores, 4G and great specs, but unfortunately both will be on AT&T. AT&T isn’t the best network here and with all the iPhones on the network slowing it down even more I doubt I’ll have a great experience. Which brings me to my next point, I might switch to Verizon.

I’ve heard good things from about Verizon from friends, co-workers and general opinions on the web. With the iPhone coming to Verizon, I’m a little worried about network bandwidth being eaten up, as I know a lot of iPhone users are only on AT&T simply because it was the only choice. But on to the actual phones. Both the Bionic and the Thunderbolt have 1GHz CPU’s… Which is plenty of speed now, but with 1.2Ghz CPU’s and dual cores coming out, I feel like by the end of the year I’d be behind. Having said that, the 1GHz in my Nexus one is incredibly quick and snappy and I don’t do a whole lot of gaming on it anyway. I still haven’t decided which of these two phones I’d like, so I guess I’ll have to wait until they are released and can get a hands on try.

One final note – the two carriers I was planning on switching to were Verizon and Sprint. I would have preferred Sprint, but the only new phone they introduced was basically a baby Evo 4G with a slide out keyboard. Not enough new stuff for me to really want to switch.

Anyway, here is some info and pictures on both the Droid Bionic and the HTC Thunderbolt. Both of which will be on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Can’t wait!

(1) Since it’s on T-Mobile, I can buy it for $180 and extend my contract for another 2 years. My problem with this is that I hate T-Mobile. Their 3G coverage in Georgia is rubbish. I have about another year left on my contract and I’m thinking I should just wait till it runs out before buying something else and just live with my G1.

(2) I could buy the phone unlocked for $529. I know it’s a lot, which is normal for smartphones, but the thing is, I should be able to use my existing SIM card, which means, I wouldn’t have to extend my contract. The thing is, the phone will be GSM compatible, but not CDMA compatible. They are working on making one that will work with Verizon. Ideally I’d like to switch to either Sprint or Verizon. I don’t know what Sprint’s coverage is like, but I know they are cheap. However, Verizon’s coverage is good, but would be the most expensive.

I reckon by the time I decide what I want there will be something else out. Meh.

P.S.: Working on writing a post about St. Lucia

UPDATE: I’ve decided not to buy the phone. I’d have to buy it unlocked to use my SIM card and current plan. Not only that, but I’m not hearing great things about it with T-Mobile’s 3G coverage. The battery life isn’t that great, yet it is to be expected but there are no extended batteries available for purchase yet. May as well wait for my contract to run out before buying something else.