This is a guest post by Joe Pawlikowski. He edits BBGeeks, a site dedicated to helping BlackBerry users get the most out of their devices. If you would like to write for TheDolt’s Blog, do read our page Be My Guest; Write A Guest Post.

When you announce a device in September for an anticipated first quarter release, you’re setting yourself up for abounding speculation. Research In Motion tried to get out ahead of the tablet market in 2010 when they announced the BlackBerry PlayBook. But even then they admitted that it would be a while until the official release. In the interim we heard rumors galore, some good and some bad. Yet one struck me at the time as a wonderful idea that had zero chance of happening.

At some point in early 2011, we learned that the PlayBook would support Android apps. The rumors were vague at the time, but sources pointed to two possibilities. The first was what actually happened: RIM would create an Android Player and allow developers to easily port their apps. That’s not a terrible solution, especially for a platform that lacks for apps. The only problem is that the number of apps available to RIM is necessarily limited:

Key features which will be unavailable to Android apps running under the compatibility layer on the PlayBook and future BlackBerry devices include Android’s famed battery-sucking Live Wallpaper, SIP and SIP VoIP, anything built using the Native Development Kit, apps containing only App Widgets, and apps containing more than one activity tied to the Launcher.

In addition, any packages which rely on Google Maps, in-app billing services, Android’s text-to-speech engine, or the cloud-to-device messaging system will all be rendered unusable under the company’s runtime system.

While these limitations don’t render the Android Player completely useless, it does mean that eager PlayBook users will be disappointed when they finally see what’s available. The pressure is back on RIM to attract developers that can fill out its library and replace many of these incompatible apps. That’s going to take some time, and RIM doesn’t exactly have a lot of time. The PlayBook is already six months old, and it doesn’t even have email, calendars, and contacts yet. By the time RIM gets all these updates out, it will probably be time to start thinking about the follow-up product.
The second rumors tantalized at the time, and in hindsight it absolutely should have been the path RIM took. The rumor: The PlayBook would be an Android tablet. This likely wouldn’t have been a pure Android tablet, as we saw in the spring with the Motorola Xoom. Instead it almost certainly would have been more along the lines of the Amazon Kindle Fire. That is, it would have run Android, but it would have been distinctly a BlackBerry tablet. That’s really the beauty of Android: anyone can build code on top of it and create something distinctly their own. RIM would have benefitted greatly from this, in a number of ways.

Read more: What BlackBerry Needs To Go High-End

First, it would have given them a viable product at launch. When RIM launched the PlayBook, seven months after announcement, it came with little fanfare. Some BlackBerry users enjoyed it because of its integration with a BlackBerry smartphone. That is, they could get email, contacts, and calendars by bridging their two devices. But even then, it took a while for the PlayBook app library to grow. If they had launched with Android they would have had a full app library, plus all of the email, contact, and calendar features of Android. Gmail users would have loved it, and even those who don’t use Google services would have a number of external email options. It would have been a complete tablet.

In the meantime, RIM could have continued to work on its own tablet offering. As we’re starting to see, they do have something going with the BBX platform. Heck, it was easy to see that they had something going with the PlayBook. Despite its incompleteness, the PlayBook clearly has the potential to compete in the tablet market. But if RIM had released an Android tablet in early 2011, they could have been far along on their own tablet platform by now. In early 2012 they could have released a BBX-based PlayBook, complete with email, contacts, calendar, and, with a little luck, a relatively large catalog of BBX apps.

It’s easy to understand why RIM wanted to release a tablet in 2011. They had fallen behind in the smartphone race, and the tablet market was just starting to develop. By getting out ahead of the pack they might have made an impact. Yet I can’t help but think that they would have been better off creating an Android-based tablet to start. They would have then had enough time to work more on their own model, making sure that it was a complete product at launch. Unfortunately, they’re still running out an incomplete product. Even when the native functions drop, I have to say that I’m more excited about the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It’s a shame that RIM couldn’t have jumped on that Android bandwagon, both for the present and for the future.

This is a guest post by Joe Pawlikowski. He edits BBGeeks, a site dedicated to helping BlackBerry users get the most out of their devices. If you would like to write for TheDolt’s Blog, do read our page Be My Guest; Write A Guest Post.

There was a time when the BlackBerry was not only the highest of high-end smartphones, but it was one of the only practical smartphones on the market. Competitors such as the T-Mobile Wing and the Motorola Q came and went, but none matched the relative completeness of the BlackBerry. Their dominance extended into 2007, when they released their 8800 line, which at the time was state of the art.

And then along came the iPhone, which made the BlackBerry seem primitive by comparison. Year after year Apple released a new model, each one creating more distance between the iPhone and the BlackBerry. In 2008 Android entered the game, and by 2009 Android, too, had surpassed the BlackBerry in terms of practical usability.

Both Android and Apple represent the high end of the smartphone market. As Simon described in a recent guest post, the BlackBerry has been relegated to mid-range. That’s a tough place for the former kind to reside. Yet the BlackBerry’s placement is indisputable. Even with their new devices, which contain high-end hardware, they remain behind both the iPhone and Android platforms. It raises a weighty question: what would make RIM high-end again? Here are a few things they need to do with their future phones to make it happen.

BlackBerry Needs To Go High-End By

Attract Developers

One place where both Android and iPhone pummel the BlackBerry is in software. If you browse through the Android Market, the App Store, and App World, you’ll see the first two filled with popular, useful apps, while App World lags far behind. So many of the apps in App World are local radio station apps and e-books. Those inflate the overall numbers, but detract from the quality.

Part of the problem with previous BlackBerry platforms is that they weren’t attractive to developers. It wasn’t just the declining market share. The platform itself didn’t really attract developers. If RIM wants its future phones to gain any clout, they’ll have to make it attractive for developers. That means, first and foremost, avoiding Android’s issues with multiple device sizes. But it also means making it easy for developers to get devices and APKs ahead of releases, so they can create new apps and update their existing ones.

The main point:

if a smartphone lacks the hottest apps, people are going to ignore it. BlackBerry, Palm, and Windows Mobile learned this the hard way. If RIM is going to succeed it needs to make apps and software a priority.

Installing The Best Hardware

Thankfully, RIM has already shown signs that they’re minding the hardware. Starting with the AT&T BlackBerry Torch 9810, RIM has released a series of device with processors that rival the best on the market. Their screens feature improved resolution, and the devices themselves feel full and durable.

This is quite a departure from previous BlackBerry models. Even in 2010 RIM was releasing underpowered devices  that  couldn’t take full advantage of the device software. But clearly that has changed.

The status quo — even the higher-end status quo — will not hold. RIM needs to keep up with the market and continue creating devices that contain the best hardware the market provides. They do seem on this track. Not only does their  latest line have improved hardware, but they’re talking about dual-core chips in their next line. That will keep them    on a level with Apple and Android.

There is more to a device than hardware, of course. But a modern smartphone line cannot succeed without high-end  hardware. As long as RIM evolves with the market, they should be fine on this front.

Changing The Game

Herein lies the biggest challenge for the BlackBerry, or really any smartphone brand that wants to compete. Why did the iPhone take the nation by storm? Because it redefined the smartphone. Why did Android eventually catch up? Because it provided features that the iPhone did not — and it evolved continuously while the iPhone remained static. If the BlackBerry wants to make a comeback, it has to redefine something we know about the smartphone. It’s not exactly an easy task.

Yet it’s something that BlackBerry will need if it’s going to again reach the highest end of the market. Filling App World with better and more popular apps is a necessary step along the way, as is stocking devices with high-end hardware. But there’s little chance that the BlackBerry will make a dent in the iPhone and Android dominance if it merely toes the line. Android and iPhone have already set the standard. Anyone who wants to compete with them has to raise the bar.

What can they do to change the game? That’s the beauty of all this: no one really knows until it happens. There are endless possibilities for RIM to ponder. But whatever it is, it has to be two things: 1) something that neither iPhone nor Android offers, and 2) something that people want, but don’t know that they want. If they knew they wanted it, we’d likely see it on smartphones already. But RIM’s challenge is to find something that’s missing and bring it to light. That’s what’s going to bring them back to the high end of the smartphone market.

No one said it would be easy. But the path is there for RIM to re-enter the high-end smartphone market. They’ll have to take pages from both Android and iPhone and then combine them with what has worked for the BlackBerry. But most importantly, they need to give us something new. Something that we didn’t even imagine possible. Otherwise they’ll be just another smartphone manufacturer that is constantly playing catchup with Android and iPhone.

This is a guest post by Simon. He writes on behalf of Best Mobile Contracts, the leading phone comparison website in the UK.  If you would like to write for TheDolt’s Blog, do read our page Be My Guest; Write A Guest Post.

The smartphone industry is developing at a faster pace than ever before. Dual core processors have not long been on the scene but are already about to be replaced by quad core. 3D screens have just made an appearance in recent months and so by the same logic we should be seeing 4D screens by the end of the year. No not really, but the technology is developing at such a rapid pace that today’s cutting edge smartphone can quickly turn into tomorrow’s mid-range piece of nostalgia. Here are 5 best top end phones.

So what are the current top of the range smartphones? The devices that are pushing the boundaries and setting benchmarks for all others to aspire to? Let’s take a look at 5 of the best smartphones that are offering excellent combinations of all the latest technological wizardry in the palm of your hand.

Galaxy S2 

Samsung’s current flagship Android phone is a real powerhouse of a smartphone, and currently the biggest selling Android phone on the planet. It has already become the first phone to knock the iPhone 4 from its position of dominance, and with little more than Siri being on offer to differentiate the iPhone 4S, it has the potential to cripple Apple’s latest efforts too.

The central highlight of the Galaxy S2 is its 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. Samsung have a lot of knowledge when it comes to producing screens, what with being one of the largest producers of television sets in the world and all that. Super AMOLED Plus is currently the best technology on offer for smartphone displays, and is only really challenged by the iPhone 4/4S’ Retina Display.

One thing the Galaxy S2 has over the iPhone though is its size. iPhone screens are still a pokey 3.5 inches, making some things like games, videos and web browsing a little less enjoyable than they should be. The Galaxy S2 does not suffer this problem, offering the perfect compromise between large screen and comfortable phone.

Along with being one of the slimmest phones around the Galaxy S2 also received a lot of attention upon release for its 1.2GHz dual core chip. This is slowly becoming less impressive though, with talks of the S3 having a quad core 1.8GHz chip*, and phones like HTC’s Sensation XE already possessing a 1.5GHz dual core.

*It is unlikely that the S3 will actually be quad core, although the technology is not far off

Sensation XE

The original Sensation was HTC’s answer to the S2, although in terms of sales it didn’t manage to do quite as well. This was surprising considering the almost cult like following that HTC have within the Android community, especially regarding HTC Sense. Many ‘Fandroids’ will drool over Sense while at the same time being quite disdainful for Samsung’s TouchWiz.

The XE is an updated version of the Sensation which comes with a few minor hardware upgrades, but most noticeably now comes with Beats Audio music features. Beats Audio is a company that was founded by US rapper Dr Dre and who produce a range of high quality, albeit highly priced, headphones.

HTC recently purchased a 51% stake in this company for $300 million. A whole $300 million just so that they could add better music support into their upcoming phones – the Sensation XE and Sensation XL being the first of these.

The XE comes with a better loudspeaker and some Dr Dre headphones thrown in. Although, these are in-ear plugs rather than top of the range DJ headphones. The Sensation XE also includes improved music software and improved bass for listening to music.

On the hardware side of things, the XE has had its processor ramped up to 1.5GHz dual core, as already mentioned. In truth, the original Sensation came with the same processor, but it was underclocked to just 1.2GHz. Despite the additional music features, garish red paint job and additional boost to processing and memory performance (768MB RAM), the Sensation XE will cost quite a bit more than the original Sensation.

For music loving Android fans though it may be the phone of choice. The best bit is you don’t even need to be a fan of Dr Dre.

Xperia Arc S

The Xperia Arc S is the next big thing in Sony Ericsson’s line-up, and promises to improve on the deficiencies of the original Arc. Unfortunately Sony Ericsson has still not joined its competitors Samsung and HTC in the dual core market, as the Ray still comes with just a single core 1.4GHz processor. Still, this extra boost removes the minor stuttering problems of the original with things like the Timescape social media widget that blemished an otherwise smooth and seamless phone.

Not much else has changed from the first Arc, but considering that the first Arc was one of the best Android phones going, this is no big deal. The Arc S has a 4.2 inch LED backlit LCD screen that offers some of the best visuals on a smartphone this side of the Galaxy S2′s Super AMOLED Plus.

Although it doesn’t have the control pad found on its Xperia Arc sibling, the Xperia Arc S does have some excellent entertainment features up its sleeves. This is not in the form of any gimmicky feature like PlayStation support or a 3D screen, but simply because Sony are a company with a long standing history when it comes to entertainment. This knowledge makes its way into their phones, and the Xperia Arc S is the best phone from Sony Ericsson at present.

Some of these little tweaks include the option to go to related YouTube videos from your phones music player. The ability to get the Arc S to load to music player automatically once you insert your headphones, and even just little Sony apps like TrackID that can help you identify new music. Although all these things might seem minor and trivial, they vastly improve the musical experience of on a smartphone for die hard audiophiles.

HTC EVO 3D

Is 3D the next big thing in the world of smartphones? Maybe, maybe not. But either way, at present there is only a very limited selection of 3D phones to choose from. In the UK, there are just two: the LG Optimus 3D and the HTC EVO 3D. While these are fairly evenly matched in terms of hardware and specifications the EVO 3D is a better smartphone. Partly because of a few technical aspects that make it perform better than the Optimus, and partly just because it is made by HTC and not LG.

So what can you do with the EVO 3D that is so great? Well for starters, it comes with a 3D screen that uses what is known as a parallax barrier. This doesn’t offer the sort of 3D experience you would expect at the cinema when watching a film like Avatar, as it essentially works via a little bit of brain trickery rather than 3D glasses. The screen can control the viewing angles of pixels so that each eye sees a slightly different image. This plays on the parts of your brain that deal with depth perception, causing the brain to make it appear 3 dimensional.

The EVO 3D also comes with dual 5 megapixel cameras allowing you to record your own 3 dimensional home movies and capture stereoscopic images. If all of the 3D features of the phone start to give you a headache after a while, then you can just switch them off and use the EVO as a normal smartphone. The technology has a long way to go yet before it becomes commonplace, but if you want to partake of the current 3D craze then the EVO 3D is currently your best option for doing so at present.

Google Galaxy Nexus

Google has to date only released two smartphones under their brand name, and while being impressive devices featuring the latest versions of Android they have not been all that successful in terms of sales. The first Nexus phone, the Nexus One, went on to be sold by its manufacturer HTC as the HTC Desire – which was one of the bestselling phones of 2010 and a phone that truly cemented HTC’s position at the forefront of the industry.

Google’s second phone, the Nexus S, drew a lot of inspiration from Samsung’s Galaxy S and Galaxy S2 smartphones, and curiously came with a curved glass panel on its touchscreen. The third Nexus phone, which will apparently be called the Google Galaxy Nexus (or maybe Nexus Prime), will also be manufactured by Samsung and will be the first Android phone to come with Ice Cream Sandwich.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich will be Google’s answer to iOS 5. Not that it needs to be, as most of the new additions to iOS were features taken from Android in the first place, such as the slide down notification menu. Even so, iOS may have pushed the bar slightly with the addition of Siri, the virtual voice assistant, and it will be interesting to see what big feature Google will add into ICS to compensate.

The Galaxy Nexus comes with a hefty 4.65 inch screen and a staggering 720p screen resolution. It will have LTE support (where available), a 5 megapixel camera with 1080p video and a very impressive 1.5GHz dual core processor making it only equalled in power by the Sensation XE. Impressive hardware indeed, and if Google can provide the software to back it up with via Ice Cream Sandwich then we could already have an iPhone 4S killer on our hands.

Google and Samsung plan to launch the phone in the coming week, with plans for Galaxy Nexus deals to go on sale by the end of the month. The phone was supposed to be launched earlier, but the event was postponed by Google and Samsung to honour of the death of Steve Jobs

Charles works for a company writing epic reviews, Epic Commissions where he shares Epic Commissions review. He occasionally shares tips on buying winter coats for women as well.  If you would like to write for TheDolt’s Blog, do read our page Be My Guest; Write A Guest Post.

205 inch – Technovision’s Luxio LED TV

This particular newbie company, Tecnovision, arrived on the scene to top the list from absolutely nowhere. Its monstrous 205 inch Luxio Brought TV first displayed at Cebit breaks all records! The Luxio measures an eye slitting 455×256cm, so you need to get your  television room renovated (or get a new room) simply to accommodate it.

No other information/rumours is/are yet known/have surfaced, but that does not matter since it is meant for a-la-crème of a-la-crème from the society. We’ll probably have to sell our houses twice to be able to afford this thing.

Panasonic’s 4K2K 3D – 152 inch Plasma

Panasonic has created the world’s biggest full-HD 3D plasma TV. It was revealed during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 4K2K has a 152-inch, 4000pixels by 2000pixels (8.84 zillion pixel) screen, along with the standard connectivity features available on other high-end TVs.

The TV actually, is just a larger version (understatement much?) of Panasonic’s current Full 3D PDP (Plasma Show Panel) line. PDP utilizes a brand new process called super-efficient quadruple luminance effectiveness technology. PDP allows  the TV to achieve the same brightness as that of a conventional full-HD panel in about one-quarter of the average response time, allowing and maintaining with  the rapid-moving three dimensional imagery.

3D 1080p LED TV – Samsung 75 inch

Samsung recently introduced LED String 9 TV. Crafted in Steel, its impossibly skinny profile defies all you could know about TV sets, while delivering an event so real that you will end up getting confused between the real and the virtual. It will also provide near to reality feel. Plan for a journey to a new dimension. For home elevators viewing in 3D mode check here. Samsung 3D images TVs combine LCD window screens with LED edge-lights. Due to various capabilities involving different Samsung solutions featuring the Samsung Internet@TV – Content Service and also limitations in your available content, selected advertised features, purposes, and services will not be available on most devices or to all territories.

Picture a TV which shows an image which looks real with colors that’s true-to-life or a TV that’s so big it feels like you have your own movie theater in your own home? Well, that is exactly what LG was thinking once they designed their new TV to become officially launched early this season at the Gadgets Show in Vegas.

Starting the 12 months right, LG, the actual electronic company huge from South Korea, is launching among the largest HDTV on the market today – the actual LG LZ9700 TELEVISION. The LG LZ9700 TV would be the largest Full LED-backlit 3D TV having a 72 inch keep track of to-date. With its screen measuring the whooping 72 inches diagonally, one can think how it would seem like to own one included in a home theater or the numerous viewing pleasures it may provide.  However, there tends to be some speculations regarding the clarity and imagery it’ll bring due to the huge screen.

This HDTV by LG is 59 inches wide and 40 inches tall. Combined with a 72-inch superior screen, one can just imagine what pleasure it may bring to any kind of entertainment system. The brand new LZ9700 TV is available in LG’s famous INFINIA design making to have an ultra-slim depth as well as narrow bezel. This sleek as well as ultra-chic design has created great hype with all of its features LG will certainly be propelled towards the forefront of HDTVs.

LG’s 72 inch LED- LZ9700

The LG LZ9700 provides a whole new meaning to High-Definition Televisions using its 72 inch display and 2D as well as 3D capabilities. This 72 inch LED-backlit TV functions TruMotion 400Hz which smooth edges in fast paced images making TV viewing much more fun.

With the mixture of its 3D abilities and TruMotion 400Hz program, you can anticipate ultra-fast processing with regard to smooth 3D pictures elevating 3D viewing to some whole new degree. Although there are several concerns and doubt concerning the speed and quality of image, the actual TruMotion 400Hz program may put all the doubts to an end.