HTC Thunderbolt LTE Review of News Thunderbolts of Specs with Android 2.3 Gingerbread?

The HTC Thunderbolt, the LTE successor to the Droid Incredible, is expected to be announced January 6 at CES.? Formerly rumored to be called the HTC Droid Incredible HD, we have rounded up the latest rumors and speculations of one of the first LTE Verizon smartphones, now referred to as HTC Thunderbolt.

Some believe that the HTC Thunderbolt has shown up in the Verizon inventory system as the ADR6400.? Other bloggers contend that the HTC Thunderbolt may have 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 16GB storage onboard, microSD expandable, Android 2.2, 4.3-inch touchscreen, 8MP rear-facing camera, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.? The specs are much closer to the HTC EVO 4G than the Droid Incredible.? Both smartphones were named in the Wireless and Mobile News' Top Ten Best Coolest Smartphones Review of Reviews.

The processor speed and type have not been confirmed.? The leaked detail of a dual-core processor is doubted because that particular processor is not supposed to be available yet.

A German website, HTCInside, leaked these HTC Thunderbolt specs:

• 4.3-inch touchscreen, 16.78 million colors.
• Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread.
• Qualcomm MSM8960 dual-core processor 1.2GHz.
• 8-megapixel camera (primary).
• 5-megapixel camera (secondary).
• Hotspot capable.
• GPS, aGPS.
• 1080p Full HD video recording and playback.
• GSM / Quad Band | GPRS / EDGE / 3G / HSPA / LTE.
• Wi-Fi 2.11 b / g / n.
• Kickstand.
• Bluetooth.
• 16GB Internal Memory | Expansion per 128GB microSDXC.
• Battery 1800mAh.

We will update this article and keep you posted regarding the official specs of the Droid Incredible HD, aka the HTC Thunderbolt.? We suspect that it will come with HTC Sense like the Droid Incredible.

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Droid Tablet Motorola Droid Xoom Xooming to Verizon @ CES Review of News

Verizon spies have found leaked information that the Android Honeycomb OS tablet that's coming to Verizon will be named the Motorola Droid Xoom, which many believe is the tablet Andy Rubin showed in a video at D: Dive into Mobile.Ballroom dancer and NFL star Chad Ochocinco, who has a beneficial promotional relationship with Motorola, tweeted that he will be getting the Motorola tablet to start off 2011.

For those of you who are wondering what Honeycomb is, it is a special Android Operating System made for tablet with an enhanced UI and media functionality.?

The Motorola Droid Xoom tablet is expected not to be an LTE tablet but will work with a separate LTE modem.

Suspected Specs of the Motorola Droid Xoom tablet include:

• Dual core Nvidia processor.
• Front-facing 2MP camera and rear-facing 5MP camera.
• 32MB of storage with a microSD slot for expansion.
• 7 or 10 inch touchscreen.

It has also been rumored that Verizon will be advertising the Motorola Droid Xoom tablet during the Super Bowl on February 6, and it should go on sale by February 14, just around the start of Mobile World Congress, where Google CEO Eric Schmidt is scheduled to give a keynote address.

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Review Samsung Galaxy S: Samsung Continuum Review of Reviews

Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Continuum Rated 3.6 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews

Reviewers of the Samsung Continuum liked the Super AMOLED touchscreen that is divided into a lower ticker section and full screen, small light size, and media player.? They questioned how useful the lower ticker screen is because it can become overwhelming and turns into a "sucking vacuum" for information junkies.? The ticker, however, may be useful for stock brokers, social media enthusiasts and news lovers.

The Samsung Continuum has two screens -? a 1.8-inch 96 x 480 Super AMOLED screen (Ticker Display) below the primary 3.4-inch (480 x 800) main Super AMOLED touchscreen.? The screens are divided by Android menu, back, search and home buttons.? The ticker can be programmed to show news, weather, emails, stock quotes, and social media updates.? The ticker can also be used for media player controls and multitasking.? The ticker is activated by a grip sensor.? The main screen is smaller than other Android screens and makes portrait screen typing more difficult.

Features of the Samsung Continuum include Android 2.1, running on a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 384MB of RAM/512 MB Flash, 2GB of internal storage, and an 8GB microSD.? Other specs include, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, DLNA, DivX video playback, 3.5mm headset jack, 3G mobile hotspots, and a 5-megapixel 720p video-capable camera with LED flash.

Like other Samsung Galaxy S phones, the Samsung Continuum comes with Media Hub and Social Hub.? The Social Hub can be setup for unified inboxes of email/social media and calendar (read Samsung Galaxy S tips).? One reviewer called the media player "among the best."? Voice quality ratings ranged from mediocre to good.? The battery life was rated from good to mediocre.? Photo quality was mostly well rated.

Reviewers thought that the ticker would determine who would buy it.? If you need constant contact and more than enough information, the Samsung Continuum may be your Samsung Galaxy S phone.? If you like a bigger screen, Verizon has other options, such as the Samsung Fascinate,?Motorola Droid X and DROID Incredible.

Like the Samsung Fascinate, the Samsung Continuum comes preloaded with Bing as the default search engine.? If you prefer Google, you can use voice search or use Google in the web browser.? Google Maps, a very popular free mapping program, can be installed.

Preinstalled apps include Scrabble word game, Skype mobile, Twidroyd, Tetris, MySpace, V CAST videos, Kindle, Bing search, Swype, Voice Search, ALLShare media sharing, Voice Commands, and Voice Recorder.? Preinstalled apps can not be uninstalled.

Verizon sells the Samsung Continuum for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement and data package.? Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

Along with free shipping, Verizon offers an added bonus for ordering online with the Wireless and Mobile News coupon-link so that you can get an Instant Phone Rebate Only Available with Online Purchases.

Verizon recently reduced the price of the-Samsung Continuum to $99.99 for Black Friday only.? In the meantime, online retailers like Amazon Wireless, offer it at a similar price point.? Note: prices can change, so check back often.

An update to Android 2.2 Froyo is expected by the end of this year.

Summaries of Reviews Reviewed

Bonnie Cha at CNET rated the Samsung Continuum 3.5 out of 5 for it's small ticker window(for fast information), 1GHZ processor 5-megapixel camera with HD video capture, and mobile hotspot mode. She didn't like that by cutting the Super AMOLED screen into two screens a 3.4-inch top screen and 1.8 inch ticker screen, it makes typing more cramped, it runs Android 2.1, Bing is the default search engine and preloaded apps can't be uninstalled. The secondary screen can be good for accessing information on the fly but drains processor power. Slimmer than other Galaxy S phones and fits nicely in hands. The touchscreen is responsive. The grip sensor automatically activates the ticker screen which is handy for getting the date/time (no one wears a watch any more), to control the music player while getting Twitter updates can be too much information.? To work around Bing search, you can use voice search which uses Google or go to Google in your web browser. Google maps can be installed and used. Email set up was easy and works well with an unified inbox and calendar. The media player is attractive and advanced with DivX and DLNA support. Photo quality was great, call quality was good, speaker phone quality was above average and battery life was good.?

Sascha Segan at PCmag rated the Samsung Continuum 3.5 out of 5 for the ticker screen, smallness,? lightness and well-built fee. He didn't like the mediocre voice quality, email/social media redundancy and that the ticker sometimes shows old data. He found that the ticker made him hungry for more data but didn't like the execution of the software "The punchy 3.4-inch, 800-by-480 main Super-AMOLED display looks really sharp and bright, but touch element sizes are reduced compared with other phones." Voice dialing worked with Bluetooth but not all the time.? Battery life was good.? The ticker was difficult to setup and showed old Facebook/Twitter updates. The Hummingbird processor is very good for graphics and games. Media Hub is called "among the best" Android music and video players. He likes the Droid Incredible and Droid X better from Verizon.

InfoSync rated the Samsung Continuum 85 out of 100. They found the shape peculiar - long and narrow. Because of the grip sensor the ticker was powered on by mistake. The external microSD slot enables users to swap out cards.? The screen froze sometimes. The call the ticker a "vortex sucking? into a tantalizing vacuum," while an excellent choice for stock brokers.? Voice quality is good. Battery life was mediocre. Photo quality was good like the Samsung Focus but not as good as iPhone. Video quality was above average and worked best in bright light. "Without the ticker panel, the Samsung Continuum is just as good as any other Galaxy S phone on the market, so let that be the deciding factor."

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Review: Droid Pro by Motorola (Verizon) Review of Reviews

Droid Pro Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews

Reviewers of the?Droid Pro by Motorola all liked the QWERTY keyboard, enhanced security, and mobile hotspot capabilities.? The reviewers did not agree on the quality of the HVGA (320 x480) touchscreen.? In order to make room for the keyboard, the screen was made smaller than other Android smartphones.? For messaging the screen should be fine, but one reviewer noted that during web surfing, the webpage fonts caused "squinting."

The Droid Pro by Motorola, which looks a lot like a BlackBerry, is optimized for business with security features, push corporate email unified calendars, QuickOffice Mobile Suite and a QWERTY keyboard.? For the most part, reviewers found the keyboard easy to use, and most of the business features worked well.? However, IT managers should beware that configuring the Droid Pro for some Microsoft Exchange services could be a problem.? One reviewer couldn't configure the Droid Pro to work with his corporate Microsoft Exchange server.

Droid Pro by Motorola has a 1GHz processor, 4GB of memory (2GB internal and 2GB removable), 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, Wi-Fi, 3.1-inch touchscreen, DLNA connectivity, mobile hotspot capabilities, and world roaming.? Ratings of photo quality ranged from fuzzy to decent.? Reviewers disliked the small amount of memory on board that can be expanded up to 32GB with a new microSD card.

Although you can play music and video, the media player is not state-of-the-art and doesn't show album art.

So is the Droid Pro by Motorola the right smartphone for you?? The keyboard warrants a test drive and can be used with one hand.? The Droid 2 (read review), which has a landscape keyboard, requires more work to type and doesn't have global world roaming.? For enterprise, however, BlackBerry smartphones, such as the BlackBerry Bold 9650,have greater security, data compression and encryption.? Reviewers noted that the Droid 2 is cheaper, has a bigger screen and a keyboard.? If you need to pack a lot of Android world power, the Droid 2 Global may be a better choice.

The DROID PRO costs $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, with a new two-year contract, from Verizon.? When you order online, you can get an Instant Phone Rebate Only Available with Online Purchases.

Online retailers have already started discounting the Droid Pro.? In their Pre-Black Friday Sale, Amazon Wireless Beta has a penny deal, until 11/22, for new customers who buy Droid Pro from Amazon with a new contract.? Wirefly is selling the Droid Pro for slightly more than Amazon for new customers but with free activation until 11/29.

Amazon also has a penny deal for the Droid 2.? Read DROID 2 review.? Buy Droid 2 from Amazon.? Wirefly is offering free Verizon Wireless activation until 11/ 29, with a lower-priced Droid 2 for new and renewing customers with a contract.

Summaries of Reviews Reviewed

Bonnie Cha at CNET rated the Droid Pro 3.5 out 5, and users rated it 3.5 out of 5.? She liked that it is compact, the touchscreen with QWERTY keyboard combo, enhanced security, Android 2.2 and hotspot capability.? She didn't liek the HVGA (320 x480) screen and the small amount of internal memory.? She called the Droid Pro the most business-friendly Android smartphone with world roaming.? For business, she prefers BlackBerry for messaging, battery life and enterprise support.? She thought the screen was on the smaller side.? The BlackBerry-like keyboard with ridged buttons was pleasant to use.? Enhanced security including remote wipe, preloaded VPN client and encryption is coming in 2011.? Microsoft Exchange and unified calendar worked well.? It comes with 2GB of internal storage with a 2GB microSD, which can be expanded to 32GB.? The camera took decent photos.? Call quality was mixed and speaker quality was decent.

Sascha Segan at PCMag rated the Droid Pro 3.5 out of 5.? He liked the nice design, terrific little keyboard and security features.? He didn't like that the Microsoft Exchange may not work with all servers, some bugs and out-of-date media players.? The Droid Pro is just not as enterprise-friendly as BlackBerry.? It is well-designed for one-handed use, and the screen looks sharp.? Phone voice quality is decent but sometimes distorted and scratchy.? Hotspot mode did not work well and had to be restarted several times.? The unified contact manager, which is similar to MotoBLUR, collects contacts from various sources.? Although the music app played unprotected music, it didn't show album art.? Video support is limited.? Photos were fuzzy.? He thinks a better choice for Android lovers is the Droid 2 Global and the better choice for enterprise is the BlackBerry Bold 9650.

Stewart Wolpin at Laptop rated the Droid Pro 3 out of 5 for it comfortable QWERTY keyboard, QuickOffice Mobile Suite, mobile hotspot, Microsoft Exchange support, and remote-wipe.? He didn't like the small screen, low storage installed and short battery life.? The screen is about half the size of other Android smartphones - in order to share space with the keyboard.? Small website print was hard to read.? He thought that the keyboard on the Droid 2 was easier to use but liked the keyboard better than the BlackBerry Torch keyboard.? The mobile hotspot app made it easy to use with a Wi-Fi iPad, but it drained battery life.? Speed tests showed that the Droid Pro processor was not as fast as the Droid 2 for webpage loading.? Photo quality was smudgy.? Call quality was just O.K.? He suggests that it is a niche smartphone for those who want Android on a slab with a keyboard.

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Review Samsung Galaxy S: Samsung Galaxy Tab Review of Reviews

Samsung Galaxy Tab Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews

Reviewers of the Samsung Galaxy Tab all liked its compact paperback-book size, two cameras (for video chat), ability to view Flash webpages and crisp, glossy touchscreen.? The Samsung Galaxy Tab is available from many carriers with different options.? Only T-Mobile, Sprint,Verizon, and U.S. Cellular enable mobile hotspots at different prices (see chart below).

Powered by the Android 2.2 platform, the Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 7-inch enhanced TFT touchscreen, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1, 3G connectivity, 802.11n, Wi-Fi, 3-megapixel camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, GPS and Bluetooth 3.0.

One reviewer noted that the GPS worked extremely well with Google Maps turning the
Samsung Galaxy Tab into an efficient GPS unit.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is more pocketable than the iPad and can be operated with one hand.? EBook reader options are plentiful.? Called an iPad contender that is more like a large Android phone, reviewers noted that the battery life was shorter and the processor speed was slower than the iPad.? The email, file-management system, calendar, contacts, music player, video player, and messaging apps were redesigned to work well on the Tab.? Touchscreen typing was rated from good to a little difficult.

Although it is not an iPad, the consensus of reviewers is that Samsung Galaxy Tab has some good features and can come in handy.? The pricing is confusing, and data plans vary according to carriers (click on chart to see details). You'll want to try one out to see how you like it and if it fits your needs.

Summaries of Reviews Reviewed

Donald Bell at CNET rated the Samsung Galaxy Tab for T-Mobile and Sprint 3.5 out of 5. He liked that it has two cameras, Flash compatibility and the convenient size.? He thinks it behaves more like a large Android phone than a netbook alternative, apps aren't optimized for the screen size, and depending on the carrier, it may require a contract.? He thinks that it is a serious contender to Apple's iPad.? The 7-inch LCD (1,024x600) touchscreen is a crisp, glossy beauty with multitouch responsiveness.? It feels like a solid paperback book.? It shines with Google Maps because it has GPS.? Audio, video, and photos all work beautifully.? With multiple eReader support, it works well as an eReader but has shorter battery life and weighs more than dedicated eReader products.

Christopher Null at Wired rated the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 out of 10.? He found the screen to not be as bright as the iPad.? He liked that the 16GB microSD card, accessible via a flap on the side, can be upgraded to 32GB.? He thought it performed well but was sluggish at times.? He found it light in the hand but slippery.? He sees the Galaxy Tab as a new class of tablet rather than an iPad competitor.

Walt Mossberg at All Things Digitall called the Samsung Galaxy Tab iPad's first real rival.? The actual screen real estate on the Samsung Galaxy Tab is less than half of the iPad's.? The Samsung Galaxy Tab includes the three most-requested features missing in the iPad: a camera (two in fact), the ability to run web videos and applications written in Adobe's Flash software; and multitasking.? The iPad had better battery life.? The Samsung Galaxy Tab lacks a Wi-Fi only model.? Photo quality was average but video was fuzzy.? He found the data plans from carriers confusing and warns buyers to calculate charges first.

Melissa J. Perenson at PCWorld rated the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.5 out 5 for its one-handed use, microSD card slot, and brilliant, bright screen.? She didn't like its proprietary connection port, non-support of HD video and its slowness to recharge.? It's a fine product with smooth Android implementation and design elegance. The screen looked gorgeous in dark and ambient light but was harder to read in daylight.? Camera quality was plausible.? Samsung has optimized some core Android apps, redesigning the memo functions, email, file-management system, calendar, contacts, music player, video player, and messaging apps.? She wished that it used a USB port.? An advantage of T-Mobile plans is that the use as a mobile hotspot is included in data plans.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is part of the Galaxy S phone series that is currently available as the Samsung Captivate (read review) at AT&T, the Samsung Epic 4G (read review) at Sprint, the Samsung Vibrant (read review) at T-Mobile, and Samsung Fascinate (read review) at Verizon.? The Samsung Galaxy S phone has various features.? You can see the differences in our Samsung Galaxy S comparison article.

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Community hospitals' review and IVF stopped

COMMUNITY hospitals in Surrey are under the microscope as the county's primary care trust tries to tackle its ￡125m budget deficit.

IVF treatment for new patients will also be stopped, while planned care for smokers will be deferred until they have completed a course to help them kick the habit.

The plans were announced at?a meeting of the?NHS Surrey?board?in Cobham on Friday, which?also heard about proposals to create an enhanced community hospital hub system but at the expense of some sites.

Early indications are that the expanded services will be offered at hospitals in Woking, Farnham, Haslemere and Caterham Dene.

However, with no money to invest in these services, board members admitted that some community hospitals in other areas of Surrey would have to be sold off.

Cliff Bush, chairman of the Surrey Local Involvement Network, said at the meeting: “We have to understand that we will lose the other community hospitals as we need to make sure that we get the best services and transport provision for patients. I’m being realistic.

“The whole process will be consulted on. No decision has been made yet, but we have to understand that there’s financial consequences here.”

Cosmetic treatments

According to NHS Surrey, the current number of community hospitals in Surrey means vital services are stretched thin, and the?future may mean expanded?operations but across fewer locations.

The aim is for the enhanced community hospitals?to provide 24/7 consultant-led inpatient care, and they would also be able to receive ambulances.

The board approved a list of procedures and treatments that will be streamed into a 'Fast, Steady, Stop' programme, depending on their nature and how serious a patient's condition was.

Cosmetic treatments like female facial hair and tattoo removals are in the ‘Stop’ stream and will no longer be funded by NHS Surrey.

Other services to see funding withdrawn include acupuncture, treatment for male baldness and spinal epidural injections for chronic back pain, apart from in exceptional circumstances.

Treatments labelled ‘Steady’ include routine hip surgery, where NHS Surrey said it intended to honour the 18-week waiting time, while all life-threatening cases would be undertaken as normal.

"Cost pressures"

Dr John Omany, medical director at NHS Surrey, said: “Over the past months we have seen a substantial rise in referrals for non-urgent or low priority procedures.

“In addition, there is increasing evidence that for some procedures, significant numbers of patients report no clinical benefit.

“By stopping doing things which aren’t clinically necessary, we can safeguard and continue to do what’s clinically essential or urgent, such as cancer referrals and life-threatening trauma cases in A&E.

“Going forward it is clear that the NHS cannot continue to offer treatments where there is no or very limited clinical evidence or which are predominantly cosmetic.”

Current courses of IVF will continue, but starting from next month any new referrals will not be funded.

Women who are nearing the age?of 39 might still be considered in certain circumstances?though, and the IVF policy will be reviewed next November.

Anne Walker,?chief executive of NHS Surrey, said they started 2010/11 needing to make savings of more than ￡125m.

“Whilst we have made steady progress and delivered significant savings through a range of schemes, additional cost pressures have been incurred during the year.

“As a result, our latest forecast is that unless urgent action is taken we will end the year with a deficit of over ￡35m, which is clearly unacceptable.”

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