With the end of the Mobile World Congress everyone has something to show, there is a lot software vendors there but its where all the big mobile players show off their new phones and the line up for Android looks very enticing. I don’t really need a new phone since my Galaxy Nexus is a fantastic phone but damn these phones have amazing specs and look hawt.

HTC One X

As usual HTC come out with powerful machines, they were the powerhouse of Android when it first came out and still come with some impressive hardware. The main issue I had with HTC is that they had too many phones, I didn’t know what was good or bad from them and it seems they learned that lesson so they came up with the HTC One line up, only three phones and the One X is the powerhouse of the bunch. Also I was a huge fan of the HTC Sense User Interface since initially it made things so much smoother with Android 1.6 but over the past two years it has gotten a bit bloated and not simple as it used to be and they are planning to fix it with the new line up which is excellent.

• CPU Speed 1.5 GHz, quad core
• Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4
• Total storage : 32 GB RAM:1 GB
• HSPA/WCDMA:Europe/Asia: 850/900/1900//2100 MHz
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE:850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Sensors: Gyro sensor,G-Sensor, Digital compass,Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
• NFC3
• Bluetooth with aptX® enabled (Bluetooth® 4.0)
• Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
• micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)
• Camera with ImageSense – 8 megapixel camera with auto focus, smart LED flash, and BSI sensor (for better low-light captures), F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens, 1080p HD video recording

Sony Xperia S

Sony do know how to design their phones and in this one it seems they got it right. The one part they always do an amazing job with is their cameras, they seem to be the best possible cameras out of all the phones but you never know what to expect. But the design of this phone looks very clean cut, and I had the last Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, it was a fantastic phone so I’m looking forward to their next line up, but I would wait until they ship with Android 4.0, I wouldn’t want it with Gingerbread since I have been using Ice Cream Sandwich and it is a fantastic operating system.

• Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread) (Upgrade to Android 4, Ice Cream Sandwich, planned in Quarter 2 2012)
• Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon
• Dual-core 1.5 GHz
• 4.3”, 1280×720 pixels 16 million colours TFTDisplay
• Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
• 12.1 megapixel camera with LED flash and Auto focus / Sony’s Exmorâ„¢ R for mobile CMOS sensor
• Front-facing camera (1.3 megapixel, 720p)
• HD video recording (1080p)
• Talk time (up to) 8 hours 30 minutes / Standby time (up to) 420 hours
• Internal phone storage: 1 to 1.5GB / RAM: 1GB / Flash memory: 32GB eMMC
• Networks: GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 / UMTS HSPA 850, 900, 1900, 2100Colors: Black / White

Samsung Galaxy S III

No specifications have been released by Samsung yet for this phone, but it seems it might have a Quadcore chip and all the bells and whistles to make it one very powerful phone. The S II surprised the market and Android became synonmous with the S II, even people who didn’t know what Android is they know its Samsung Galaxy SII, so now with the SIII I’m expecting it to be top of the line. At this point they are expecting some news in March and a release date set for July.

I got my hands on the Synology DS1511 about year back now and its been operating very solidly this whole time and I love it, and now they have come up with their next iteration which I would recommend since its based on the same machine but with upgraded features. Other then the 5-bays, this NAS device sports some very cool feature set:

• USB 3.0
• User-replaceable fans
• Passive CPU cooling
• 2.13 GHz, dual-core CPU
• Up to 3GB of RAM
• High speed network transfers with link aggregation
• Support for emerging 4TB hard drives

The DS1512+ is the successor to the DS1511+ and is available starting today at a MSRP of $799.99. As with the DS1511+, the DS1512+ is scalable via two 5-bay DX510 expansion boxes for up to 15 drives and 60TB.

Link: Synology

I try to take my DSLR with me whereever I can but sometimes I don’t have the space to carry all the Lenses then I want, so instead of that I take with me my Canon G12, it has alot of features and as much control as I need from a DSLR. Now the next iteration in the Powershot family is the G1X which is going to sell for $800. Its sporting a 1.5-inch, 14.3-megapixel CMOS sensor (the largest sensor to date for a PowerShot model), the G1 X should deliver amazing shots from a compact point-and-shoot body. The camera features an ISO range of up to 12800, a Canon lens with 4x optical zoom, an aperture of f/2.8 to f/16, and wide-angle capabilities starting at 28mm. The G1 X also has 14-bit RAW+JPEG support, HDR shooting, full HD 1080p video recording, a 3-inch vari-angle LCD, and a Mode Dial and Front Dial for precise control. So you have a lot of features packed into this camera, I can’t wait to see it in real life and maybe try it out.

DropSnap Instantaneously Syncs All Your Android Device’s Photos to Dropbox. I am the type of person who is constantly snapping pictures with his phone but then I have to choose which pictures go to Dropbox and manually select them all and upload them. It was a very tedious process, but luckily someone thought the same thing and did something about it. The only way I could think of uploading my pics to my PC without connecting my phone to it was through DropBox and someone had the same idea but created a software to do what I was doing manually.

The moment you snap a picture it is saved to a photodirectory directory in your Android phone which DropSnap syncs automatically to a folder inside of DropBox. You have several options about how many times a day you can sync, if you want it only over Wifi or also over 3G, but I stuck to wifi because I’m usually connected to wifi where ever I am. DropSnap is a free download, but requires a $3.99 in-app purchase for automatic uploading to work. If you stay with the free version, you’ll get a notification every time you take a picture, which will let you enter the app and manually sync your photos.

Link: DropSnap

CES comes around and all the good start showing up, the next thing you want to buy and this interesting camera is peaking my interest. This time around Fujifilm introduced a very interesting new camera, the X-Pro1. The new X-Pro1 will feature a 16megapixel X-Trans CMOS Sensor, with an APS-C format. This new type of sensor uses a Bayer color filter of 6×6 pixel (instead of the regular 2×2) to prevent the generation of moire and pseudo color. Basically it will shoot very cool shots and the camera looks retro which is function combined with looks, the best part is the interchangeable lenses . But its a bit on the pricey side going for $1700 and of the 3 lenses would cost $650 each, so by the time your done you would have spent $3650 on a camera which could have amazing shots. I will wait to see a few reviews, still I’m tempted.

There are probably 1001 phone mounts available from phone shops or online. This Kickstarter project called The Oona, seems more versatile than most. The designers set out to solve these use cases and more:

• A GPS on the windshield of your car
• A reference device on a white board or Refrigerator
• The ability to mount your smart phone to a tripod to take photos or video
• Hands free viewing of a movie, playing on your smart phone
• A simple stand to keep your phone in view on your desk at work

It is a well designed and versatile mount which you can use in a lot of ways. I got two when I pledged for the Kickstarter project, and honestly it feels good to help projects that have potential and genuine ingenuity. I tried it out in different situations, the one drastic point is that the back of the phone or pda or e-reader needs to be smooth for the suction to hold the item.

Overall I was impressed and kept using it on my desk, tried it in my car, and even stuck it to the fridge and left it for a few hours. Its flexible and very useful, and one of the best parts is able to use it with my tripod, the guys who made it really wanted to use it every way.

At the end of a crazy year I think I have done some decent damage to my Amazon cart. Year on year the selection of electronics just keeps getting better and larger, with a few big ones that made a big scene like the iPad 2, Kindle Fire, iPhone 4S, and Google Galaxy Nexus. Below are just the list that popped into my head by the end of the year that left a mark for being interesting products and must be added to cart. Any other gadgets or items that pop into mind?

• Amazon Kindle Fire – Small, relatively cheap, and relatively awesome, the Kindle Fire is a great econo-splurge if you have any interest in portable movies, books, and games.
• Samsung Google Nexus – If you don’t want an iPhone this is the best option, and in my opinion a better option for sure!
• Harry Potter Blu-Ray Box Set (All 8 of them) – How could you not want this?
• Roku 2 XS – Simplest and best media player for your home
• Mac Book Air – They revamped it and it packs a bunch and still very light
• Go Pro HD 2 – The coolest and smallest video camera out there
• Sonos Play 3 – I’m a huge Sonos fan and they have made the perfectly sized audio player/speaker for this size
• Nike MAG – The Special Edition Back To The Future Nike Sneakers, I still want a pair to display on my shelf
• Sharp 80″ LED AQOUS – 80 inches and only $5500 not bad at all, every man loves big screens

Its no surprise that Samsung has been very successful with their Galaxy line up. They built an excellent product with solid hardware and smooth software, and everyone loved it. They are taking this formula and expanding on it, to be exact they are expanding the Galaxy family.

The Samsung Galaxy Y Duos and the Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos are a new part of the Y Family. One is a touch screen and the other is a full keyboard, and I think that Android is in need of a full keyboard. They will be running Android 2.3, not ice cream which I think is a shame. But the one feature of these phones which stand far above the rest is the Duos part, simply meaning two sims in one phone. Both of these phones are all about the dual-SIM action, perfect for those who have two lines and don’t want to carry two phones.

The Samsung Galaxy Y Duos, like the original Y, features a 3-inch QVGA (320×240) TFT LCD screen and a 832MHz processor running Android 2.3. The Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos, as the name suggests (naming convention says Pro means keyboard, remember) comes with a QWERTY keyboard and a slightly smaller screen at 2.6 inches.

Both phones will launch in Russia to begin with and will hit the rest of Europe in early 2012. No word on a UK price as of yet.

Link: Pocket-Lint

Now this was shocking news for Seagate and Western Digital, they have taken a step I wasn’t expecting.

The floods that have taken place in Taiwan has caused a shortage of hard drives across the world, and customers have taken a hit with the price increase, a big one. Now the consumers are taking another hit, and this one is more permanent, these two hard drive manufacturers are cutting back on hard rive warranties, in some instances from five to one. If you buy your hard drive prior to Jan 2 2012 it will retain what ever warranty it has but after that then the hard drive will lose its warranty.

One of the things that I loved about Western Digital is that you could always warranty your hard drive without any issues but this is one bad decision and I really don’t like it. They said they are doing this in order to save money or redirect it to product development, I think its BS.

The guys from LunaTik are back at it again, the ones who made the crazy CNC machined custom watch mount for the iPod Nano, and luckily when Apple made their update they didn’t change their design. They grown from their days of Kickstarter into a full fledged product developer for Apple products and a few other things. I’m still using both of my LunaTik & TikTok when I go riding or outdoor activites, and with that line they are developing other accessories for the iPod Nano.

They have come up with two new products:

• Lynk
• Antik

Simply the Lynk is an all aluminum machine wrist band for the LunaTik which looks really cool. The AnTik is an analog watch which they developed to fit into the place of the iPod Nano in the LunaTik case which seems to be a smart idea. I like the clean look of both their new products and it seems they have a few new designs for the LunaTik that I might be checking out.

The original LunaTik premium conversion kit is now available for pre-order in an all aluminum version called Lynk. The Lynk is available in silver or black and features the same aerospace grade aluminum frame as the original LunaTik, but the silicone band has been upgraded to an anodized aluminum band with a silicone underbelly and full butterfly clasp. The Blackout version will feature PVD plated buckles and hardware as well as a black clasp. The Lynk band’s lightweight construction offers the comfort of silicone against the skin, combined with the look of precision-machined aluminum.

We thought our fans might appreciate the flexibility of wearing TikTok + LunaTik as an analog watch. Introducing AnTik, an analog watch module with 30 meter water resistance designed to fit all TikTok + LunaTik watch kits. The module is crafted from machined aluminum with a two-handed analog Japanese quartz movement. Now you have the option of swapping between your iPod nano or a contemporary timepiece, depending on your mood.