I'm "Joe the Android Guy". I do a weekly show for Pocketnow called the Android Guy Weekly. Needless to say, I like Android. I've been with the operating system since the T-Mobile G1 and Android 1.6. It might come as a surprise to many of you to hear me talk negatively about Android, so when I talk about my frustrations with Android, it's not blasphemy, it's reality. Lack of Accessories I look at all the Apple minions with their cute little phones in their cute little cases and their cute little keyboards -- and I'm jealous. In my world, a tablet needs a case and a phone needs a dock. I've ...

Android often takes quite a bit of criticism for its "fragmentation". It's got lots of versions currently on the market, it comes in different shapes and sizes, OEMs can customize it to their liking... the sky is the limit with Android. But have you ever looked beyond the chatter and stopped to ask: Why does Google allow Android to be so open? Why the need for ICS, Jelly Bean, and OEM UIs? That's what we'll talk about in today's episode of the Android Guy Weekly!

It hasn't been that long since we told you about the Samsung Galaxy S III. One of the cooler features of the phone, at least in my mind, is the multi-tasking, picture-in-picture, pop-off video player. This SGS3 feature will let you watch a video while you're reading a web page, or answering email, for example. It's really a cool idea. Unfortunately, we've got to wait for the SGS3 to be released to get it. Or do we? ☆ Stick it! (Pop-up Player) is a media player app, available for download from the Play Store that will cost you around two bucks. I mention in the video that I bought my copy ...

Back in the day, all the cool kids had a Nintendo Entertainment System -- or an Atari, but those guys were weird. As time passed, gaming consoles got more powerful, more popular, and more competitive. Sega, Sony, Nintendo, and even Microsoft were vying for the top position. Then something changed. Cell phones started getting "smarter". Soon they we were able to install "programs" on them, which eventually became known as "apps". App stores came into being. Developers started writing more complex programs. Instead of kids (and their dads) wanting the latest and greatest consoles, they ...

Last week on the Android Guy Weekly we talked about how batteries are holding our devices back. Our CPUs, GPUs, RAM, screens, and wireless radios are getting more power-hungry, but our batteries aren't making the same technological leaps as the other components. The comments on that episode we very informative and helpful, but a single thread began to stand out from the others: What can I do to make my battery last longer. What was more interesting that the comments were geared more to the lifespan of the battery, not the run-time per charge. We'll tackle that in today's episode of The ...

My phone's running at 800MHz. Oh yeah? My phone's running at 1GHz. Pshaw! I'm sporting a dual-core one-point-two! That's nothing, mine's a quad-core! Do you remember back when CPUs were only talked about in the context of computers? Ah... the good ol' days! Today, however, we have computers in our pockets! Sure, they're smaller, have lighter-weight apps and operating systems, but they're still computers. So why the push for quad core, especially on Android? Let's consider some possibilities. Buttery Smoothness Unfortunately, you can't put a benchmark score on "buttery smoothness" (yet?), ...

Before we dive too deep (after all, love is such a strong word) people like Android. About 51% of smartphone users are running Android on their device. By February 2012 there were over 300 million Android phones (not including tablets) in the hands of consumers, with an additional 850,000 phones and tablets being activated every day. Obviously Android is doing something right. But that's just people who like Android. Some of them may not even know they're running Android, but it gets the job done and they're not at all worried about the nuts and bolts of what make their gadgets tick. Why ...

The Galaxy Nexus and recently announced Samsung Galaxy S III both have 720p HD screens. That's not "full HD", but when packed into a smartphone, it's pretty amazing. "Full HD" means 1080p, or 1920*1080, is significantly higher resolution than 720p, or 1280*720. Higher resolution screens and faster processors are the target of every major manufacturer out there. But what comes next, and what are the consequences? Is 1080p worth it? If screens stay the same size, say 4.8", but increase from 720p to 1080p, images will be more detailed, text will be crisper -- and the GPU will have to work a ...