HowWouldYouChange
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How would you change the Droid RAZR Maxx?
A common topic of discussion at Engadget towers is our editors love-hate relationship with Motorola's Droid RAZR Maxx. The 8.9mm smartphone is beautifully slender, but it's seriously hampered by a lackluster display, weak camera and the company's gaudy skinning of Android. However, it has one saving grace that means it's the go-to phone for more than one of the team here: its battery. That 3,300mAh juice pack outlasts nearly every other smartphone in the pantheon, which makes it essential for long journeys or trade shows. But how about you out there? Can you overlook its flaws, or is there a complaint about this handset that you just have to get off your chest? Grab the candle and bang on... in the comments below, of course.
How would you change the Mad Catz MLG Pro for PS3?
Mad Catz' MLG Pro Circuit controller is aimed squarely at those who play games professionally -- or would like to. We put the PS3 version of the handset through its paces and found that while it's highly customizable, a lack of Sixaxis, force feedback and pressure-sensitive buttons made the gaming experience feel lightweight. Are you a gamer and did you buy one? You've had six months hard labor on this thing, so why not tell us what you thought of it and if you were asked, what would you change?
How would you change the Nokia Lumia 710?
While Nokia's Lumia 710 may have been imagined as the Jan Brady of the Lumia line, this supposedly awkward middle child does plenty of things right. In fact, for everyone outside of the smartphone hardcore, it'll serve you very well at a far lower price than the better-looking (yet similarly specced) 800. That said, does it really need to exist? Would you pick this over the cheaper 610, the better designed 800 or the LTE-packing 900? That's the question we're asking you today -- if you were bending Stephen Elop's ear off about his trials and triumphs, what would you say about the 710, and more importantly, what would you change?
How would you change the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1?
We've got a big, no, massive soft-spot for the GX1 around these parts. It was being reviewed during this year's CES and our man behind the lens rapidly became the object of our envy. In fact the only thing that really made us wince when testing it was the $950 price for the kit model -- otherwise we could feel our wallets opening obligingly. But how about those of you who did opt for one of these beauties? Does your experience match our own, or were there some unexpected bumps along the way? Now's your chance to share them with us.
How would you change Sony's Tablet P?
Sony's Tablet P was an enormous gamble with its clamshell form factor that meant it could easily slide into a jacket pocket. Unfortunately, it suffered from terrible execution: flimsy build quality, lack of software support and the gaming options were bested by the older Xperia Play. But of course, that's just our review -- so what has it been like out there as your daily driver? If you've bought and used one, why not tell Sony what you'd have done differently in the comments below?
How would you change the Orbotix Sphero?
Orbotix's novelty smartphone-controlled robotic cue ball is so fun, even The President has been snapped playing with one. It's a toy, and as such doesn't really serve a function beyond chasing your pets around the kitchen. When we reviewed it, we found that the steering was sluggish and frankly, the novelty wore off pretty quickly. But how about you out there? What have you spent your time doing with the thing, or has it sat untouched on a shelf for the past few months? We wanna know, and the moment for you to tell us is in the comments below.
How would you change the PlayStation Vita (Japanese Edition)?
How would you change: a regular feature where we ask people about their experiences with gadget's we've reviewed, when they reach the real world. This week we're looking at the Japanese edition* of the PlayStation Vita, which instantly made us feel old when we realized the OG model was seven years old. Times have changed, and the Vita's biggest competitor is smartphone gaming: leading to our dismay when we found its battery conks out after just three hours, not to mention the high cost and that measly VGA camera. We know there's a market for hardcore gamers who want blockbuster games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, but is that hefty price-tag worth it? Let us know in the comments below. *We'll be looking at the US edition in a few months time, for those of you who didn't import the device when it was released.
How would you change Samsung's NX200?
It's that time of the week when we look back at a recently-released device and find out if your experiences matched our own. This week, it's Samsung's NX200 ILC, which was aiming to knock the Sony NEX-C3 from its perch (and a spot in our staff kit bag). Broadly, the shooter delivered great battery life, good image quality and a novice-friendly user interface that brought it oh so close to besting the C3. However, a $900 price tag and iffy focusing meant that it won't be on our list when it comes time for an upgrade. But plenty of you went out and bought one of these (or the NX210), so what have your experiences been with it? Let's get a good old discussion going.
How would you change Samsung's Galaxy Player 4.0?
Samsung's sub-$200 Galaxy Player offers up PMP-stylings inside a smartphone shell. When our reviewer put it through its paces, we couldn't find much to commend it -- with poor sound quality and battery life that wouldn't manage a long-haul flight. The expandable storage and removable battery made it more desirable than the equivalent iPod touch, but given that it was retailing for $20 more (at the time), we'd have said go for a GoGear or D3 instead. But we suspect that despite our advice, some of you bought one, so tell us how you've found it on a daily basis and what should the company do when it comes time for a refresh?
How would you change Native Instruments' Maschine Mikro?
Native Instruments' gear is a must-have for those in the beat making world. We put the cheaper, dinkier Maschine Mikro through its paces and found that while we loved the portability, we weren't so hot on the lack of MIDI ports and absence of knobs for twiddlin'. That said, we weren't able to hate on the compromises that were made to bring it in under $600 and small enough to stow in a backpack, but how about you guys out there? When you've used this gear day in, day out, can you forgive its flaws in exchange for that extra cash in your hand, or do you wish you'd saved up a little more? If you were in NI's position, what would you have done differently?
How would you change the Kobo Vox?
Kobo is the underdog trying to scrape points while the e-reader heavy hitters of Amazon and B&N duke it out. The Vox was the Canadian outfits response to the Nook and Kindle Fire, but despite a similar price tag, our e-reader expert found that its last-generation hardware was no match for the big boys. That said, plenty of people must have bought them so tell us; how has it been? Do you regret shunning the other two for it, or does it have hidden charms that we didn't see first time around? Let us know in the comments below.
How would you change the LG DoublePlay?
It's almost baffling to see a modern Android smartphone with such an archaic design in a world more accustomed to the Galaxy Nexus. Still, LG's late-2011 DoublePlay has a slide-out physical keyboard and that dinky second screen which reminds us of a phone that's years out of date. However, when we reviewed it, we found it to be very useful, even if it lacked a front-facing camera and weighed a metric ton okay, 190 grams. But how about you? Some of you bought this phone, some of you love it, so how has it been? Tell us in the space below.
How would you change the LG Nitro HD?
AT&T's LG Nitro HD is one of those rare devices your writer has actually used. We carried it as our daily driver during this year's CES and were won over by that gorgeous screen, speedy LTE and its thin and light design. Unfortunately our experience matched those in the review: herky-jerky performance and battery life that meant we were always on the lookout for a power point. Of course, you can't have amazing battery life without doubling its thickness, but would you have taken that compromise? We're asking you: how would you change it?
How would you change the Jawbone Up?
Ordinarily, we'd be dismissive if you answered that question with "Doy, make it work!" but in the special case of the Jawbone Up, it's entirely apt. The wristband promised plenty of technological advances that would track your sleep, calories burned and diarize your food intake, all within the confines of a slender cord wrapped around your wrist. The downside? A significant proportion of the units conked out days after being opened, forcing the company to offer no-questions-asked refunds and halt production. So, what we want to know is: do you have a working Up? Does it still work? Do you like it? If Hosain Rahman was reading the comments below, how would you suggest he goes about fixing things?
How would you change Motorola's Xoom 2?
Motorola's Xoom 2 is, undeniably a strong tablet. It was able to beat a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a Transformer Prime in some of our performance tests, battery life is around nine hours and it's nearly running a pure version of Honeycomb. We're a big fan of that display, but less so its unnatural attraction to fingerprints. As we sit anxiously waiting for Ice Cream Sandwich to make its belated way onto the slate, we want to know: what do you think works, what did Motorola scrimp on and what would you change to make it a better device?
How would you change ASUS' Transformer Prime?
"All hail the new king," was how we capped off our review of the Transformer Prime, which simply blew us away. Gaming performance was astonishing and it only improved when Ice Cream Sandwich appeared in the middle of this year's CES. In fact, the only issues we could find involved a less-than-ideal speaker placement, slightly flat color reproduction and the fact that the keyboard dock and battery is an additional $150. The company's even getting around fixing the GPS issue with the soon-to-be-released dongle attachment. But then we wanna hear your opinions about how this thing behaves in the real world: what are your feelings using this thing on a daily basis? Can you use it instead of a laptop or Ultrabook? What do you love, what do you hate and, if Asus' was watching, how would you change it?
How would you change Samsung's Galaxy Nexus?
"Definitely the best Android phone available today -- it's possibly even the best phone available today, period." That's the oft-repeated conclusion to our Galaxy Nexus review and the question is, were we right? Four months have elapsed since the handset arrived and it's still the daily driver for a number of staffers here. But what about you out there? What are your feelings about the camera, was your model perfect from the off or did you have the same trouble as Alex Ioannou and, if Andy Rubin's gearing up to put the finishing touches on the Galaxy Nexus 2, what improvements (if any) would you ask him to make?
How would you change the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus?
We're big fans of Samsung's work and the prevailing feeling is that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is the pinnacle of the family. The original 7-incher was too expensive and ran Android 2.2, so we were delighted to see the revamped edition running Honeycomb and costing a very reasonable $400 (it's even cheaper now). In our review, we couldn't find too much wrong with the device, in fact it's on a par with the 8.9, just a little bit smaller. But you, our friends out there, have had three or four months of constant use with this slate now, so how do you feel about it over the long-term? Does the slightly weaker screen resolution get you down? Do you wish you could make calls from it? Do you long for an S-Pen enabled edition? In a world chock-full of Samsung slates, what would you do to make this one the most desirable?
How would you change the Nook Tablet?
It's hard not to make a series of reductive comparisons between the Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire. After all, it's the conflict between Barnes & Noble and Amazon that frames these two 7-inch tablet / e-reader hybrids. When released, this one was $50 more expensive, but is technically more impressive: you get more expandability, it's faster and the screen is better for images and video. Statistically, at least three out of every ten e-book readers purchased were Nooks, so plenty of you out there use 'em. What we want to know, is what are they like to use on a daily basis? What little gripes did we not pick up during our week-long review and, if William Lynch was reading what you had to say, what would you change?
How would you change the Samsung Focus S?
Samsung's 4.3-inch Mango phone looked and felt very much like a Galaxy S II, even down to that lovely Super AMOLED Plus display and its plastic housing. It packed the same internals as the Focus Flash, excepting that it came with 16GB rather than 8GB on-board. It was perfectly likable as a handset, which was our reviewers biggest problem with it: we just couldn't find a strong and compelling reason to part with $200 for one. Still, thousands of you got one of these, so we'd like to know what compelled you all to go for it and, after several months of using it day in, day out, if you had the choice, what would you change?
