Alexis Philippides

Email: alexis@stuff-review.com

Profile: Alexis is the founder of Stuff-Review and the primary editor. He's a blogger, an engineer and a web entrepreneur. Alexis has been building and managing websites for over 12 years. An eternal sufferer from gadget lust, he tries to keep his passion in check by writing overly lengthy pieces on technology and consumer electronics. Soft spots include digital cameras, high-end audio separates and portable devices. At times, his electrical engineering background peers out in technically convoluted articles, but otherwise he provides down-to-earth reporting.

Latest posts by Alexis Philippides:

Samsung spills the beans on Sprint’s 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch

News

August 30, 2011 at 1:35 pm

Guess what happens when you wander around online training manuals just before an evening of new product announcements. Well, you stumble on one of these new and still announced products. A tipster has sent us screen shots and detailed product specs of a very juicy new handset heading over to Sprint, the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch.

Samsung is not toying around with Epic 4G Touch. The new smartphone has huge 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus Gorilla Glass screen while staying super-thin at 9.59mm and weighing 4.09 oz. The Epic 4G Touch runs a dual-core 1.2GHz Samsung Exnyos C210 processor — same as the original SGSII — and will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The phone will run on Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network and have an 8.0-megapixel rear-facing and 2.0-megapixel front-facing cameras. Samsung is loading the phone with its Media and Social Hubs.

More images and full details after the break.
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HP will continue to support the TouchPad with OTA updates to improve functionality

News

August 30, 2011 at 4:26 am

An HP spokesman has told CNET that, “HP is fully committed to the ongoing support and service of customers who purchased webOS devices”. HP added that it will provide over-the-air updates to the TouchPad which will improve its functionality: “We expect that HP TouchPad owners can look forward to an over-the-air update that will enhance the platform and add functionality and a growing applications catalog”.

HP also mentioned that it has experienced a spike in activations since the TouchPad’s price was reduced down to $99 after the manufacturer decided to exit the market. Well no wonder since these things have sold out everywhere since the price was slashed, though it seems there are still some lying around in retailers’ warehouses.
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HP TouchPad fire sale having another go at Newegg

News

August 30, 2011 at 3:23 am

We’ve received the below email notification from a tipster. It seems that Newegg has a few HP TouchPads lying around and has decided to finally part with them. Newegg is offering the opportunity to those who had sent a stock auto-notification request for the TouchPad to purchase one at the fire sale price. Kudos to Newegg for devising a gentlemanly way of going about this.

Our question is, how much more of these are there, out there, and where is the 64GB TouchPad with the faster 1.5Ghz processor that HP was supposed to have be producing?
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Sense 3.5 UI demoed on video running on HTC Bliss, or not, still

News

August 29, 2011 at 3:23 pm

Sense 3.5 UI running on HTC Bliss

We first caught glimpse of screenshots of HTC’s update to its Sense UI, version 3.5, claimed to be running on an HTC Bliss. Well what’s next; a video of course, displaying a set of well manicured hands showing you around the new user interface. We still remain very skeptical however whether this is indeed Sense 3.5, as this seems a step back from the more comprehensive, better polished and less cluttered 3.0 we know and love. If it was our guess we’d still say that this looks more like an HTC Bliss or Asia specific skin rather than the new UI.

In any case, you can judge for yourselves, video is just after the break after all.
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Sony Alpha A77 vs. A65 vs. NEX-7 vs. Fujifilm Finepix X100 comparison

The Lab

August 29, 2011 at 9:24 am

We’ve already shown you how Sony’s NEX-7 digital camera stacks up against other high-end compact shooters. However, Sony also announced a pair of incredibly specced single-lens translucent (SLT) cameras, the Alpha A65 and Alpha A77, poised to take conventional Nikon and Canon mid-range DSLRs head-on. We will soon have a look at how these compare to DSLR cameras at the same price range.

Now, we have compiled a comparison between these three higher-end Sony cameras, the Alpha A77, A65 and NEX-7. We are finding it just so damn hard to decide between them, we are sure you as well, and time has started ticking as all cameras are already available to pre-order, so hopefully this will help. We’ve also added our current favorite camera, the Fujifilm FinePix X100, to the mix. Head over after the link for a detailed spec comparison.
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Samsung announces Galaxy S II LTE 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus phone and Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE for IFA, Berlin

News

August 29, 2011 at 6:37 am

Samsung has just announced LTE versions of the Galaxy S II smartphone and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 ahead of its event at IFA, Berlin. LTE techonology allows devices, connected to a 4G network, theoretical download and upload speeds up to 100Mbps and 50Mbps respectively; much faster than HSPA+ connections.

However the two devices didn’t just gain a new radio with svelte connectivity, both have also received a much welcomed speed bump, with a new 1.5GHz dual-core processor. The Galaxy S II LTE will also receive one of those fancy 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screens, hopefully it won’t be too much strain for the 1850mAh capacity battery. Everything else remains pretty much the same, with the phone running Android Gingerbread and offering NFC, Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi a/b/g/n connectivity.

Besides the processor bump, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE maintains its 8.6mm thickness, weighing 455g (15.7 oz), with its 8.9-inch screen offering a 1280 x 800 resolution and will be running Android 3.2 Honeycomb. Gallery after the break.
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Sprint advises employees not to discuss the iPhone 5

News

August 29, 2011 at 5:53 am

The first rule of selling the iPhone 5, is not to discuss selling the iPhone 5. Sprint has advised its dealers not to discuss potential future availability of Apple’s next iPhone on Sprint. This has come following a WSJ publication stating that Sprint would be getting the iPhone 5 in mid-October. AT&T and Verizon will also begin offering the iPhone 5 in mid-October and Sprint is said to begin carrying the iPhone 4 as well, starting from that time.

Verizon began selling the iPhone in February this year and Apple loving Sprint customers have been getting mixed signals as to if and when Sprint will begin offering the iPhone. The recent internal memo to employees doesn’t give much information except that employees shouldn’t discuss any iPhone availability on Sprint but can acknowledge seeing the news reports. However the memo also doesn’t instruct employees to deny any of rumors; is non-denial a confirmation? Well October is not far off
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Zune 4.8 update paves the way for Windows Phone 7 Mango

News

August 28, 2011 at 4:30 pm

This one had slipped between the cracks, Microsoft has released an update of its Zune software which is used to sync and update Windows Phone devices and the Zune players. Update 4.8 includes a number of under-the-hood improvements and tweaks of the software, but most importantly, as Microsoft states on its official Windows Phone blog, the latest Zune software was released to pave the way for the WP7 Mango update. As we understand it, running Zune 4.8 is essential so that your Windows Phone can be updated to Mango from your PC when it is released.

To update, go to “Settings” > “Software” > “General” and click “Check Updates” in the Zune software, or hit the download link below. Mango is expected to bring Windows Phone to more languages and countries and Zune 4.8 has been updated accordingly with support for 22 display languages, including Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. No support for Mac OS yet however, Zune Software remains Windows only.
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Essential Mac OS X Lion keyboard shortcuts

Featured Guides

August 28, 2011 at 1:10 pm

Mac OS X Lion brought a number of enhancements in terms of usability and ease of access, the new Mission Control and Launchpad, a number of multitouch gestures and the ability to run applications in full screen mode. There are also a number of new keyboard shortcuts that hopefully will allow you to perform tasks and access information faster. Below we’ve compiled a list of these new shortcuts and how they work.
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Droid Bionic coming on September 8th

News

August 28, 2011 at 6:00 am

One of the most anticipated smartphones on Verizon this year, the Motorola Droid Bionic, has just been confirmed to be released on September 8th courtesy of an official tweet.

The Bionic will be released on Verizon’s 4G LTE network (that means fast 5-12 Mbps download speeds). The phone has a dual-core 1Ghz TI OMAP 4430 processor, a 4.3-inch qHD screen (960 x 540), 8MP back and VGA front facing cameras and 14GB of internal storage.

More pictures after the break.

UPDATE: Verizon has come out saying that the @DroidBionic twitter account is not theirs, though it doesn’t officially refute or confirm rumors on release timing. The Bionic saga continues.
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How to: Control your Android phone with your voice using Google Voice Search Actions: setting-up and list of commands

Featured Guides

August 28, 2011 at 5:27 am

You may or may not know that you can control your Android smart phone using just you voice. Have you tried speaking to your phone yet?

Well we’ve compiled below a handy list of commands you can use to control certain aspects of your phone. You’ll be surprised how accurate and convenient this can be. But before you start testing the commands out, first make sure you have the latest version of Google Search installed. Open the Market from your applications and search for Google Search. Either install or update if you haven’t yet.

Now launch Google Voice Search, if you have the Google Search widget on your homescreen touch the microphone icon or else press and hold the Android search key (the one that looks like a magnifying glass) until the “Speak now” dialogue appears. Now speak your commands. If you are dictating text, Voice Search will present you with a closest match and highlight in blue, words it’s not sure about, touch those words and you are presented with alternative matches.
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Razer Blade gaming laptop, is green the new black?

News

August 27, 2011 at 9:11 am

Or is it the color of envy? The envy your buddies will be feeling when you bring this laptop to your next LAN party. But we’d better take it from the top, Razer is best known for its performance computer peripherals such as gaming mice and keyboards. In fact Razer peripherals are good for any type of use and I happily own a Razer Mamba desktop mouse and an Orochi portable bluetooth mouse. Razer is also known for excessive use of neon-colored LEDs, but I guess that’s the conception of what gamers want.
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HTC Sense 3.5 gets previewed on the HTC Bliss, or not

News

August 26, 2011 at 4:40 pm

The story goes like this, XDA.cn got it’s hands on the new HTC Bliss which apparently runs an updated version of HTC’s UI, Sense 3.5 beta, and they have taken a number of screenshots showing it off. We love the usability of the unlock ring in Sense 3.0 — which gives you the option of quickly launching four apps of your choice — and it seems logical that Sense 3.5 would build on top of that. Some work has been done in refining and polishing icons and widgets, the weather widget seems to now cover the whole screen.
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Panasonic shrinks Micro Four Thirds lenses: meet the new X-series Power Zoom lenses

News

August 26, 2011 at 3:52 am

Compact camera lovers are having their best year yet. Panasonic has just announced a new series of high-end lenses, Lumix X, utilizing a Micro Four Thirds mount, which will lie between the current standard Lumix G and the premium Leica lenses. The big news however is that the first two X-lenses feature an electric-powered zoom — the world’s first digital interchangeable power zoom lenses; you zoom-in/out using a rocker level rather than rotating a mechanical barrel. Utilizing a power zoom, Panasonic has managed to shrink the lenses and cut down on their weight.
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