The alaTest Blog

It’s tempting to think that Apple launched the very first tablet with its creation of the original iPad, but the truth is that tablets had been around for year prior. Before the first iPad, though, tablets had a very specific purpose, generally intended for industrial environments. Apple changed this by removing many features while enhancing those that would appeal to the general public – features like video playback and casual gaming. Since then, many have been going in Apple’s direction, and today, we’ve put together a list of the best tablets on the market. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re in the market for your first smartphone, or even upgrading from an old one, you’ll notice that there are a lot of choices on the market these days. Rather than blindly choosing your next smartphone based on a 3 minute test run at your carrier’s store, let alaTest help you decide which platform best suits your needs – Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7, or BlackBerry. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows Mobile was always a very popular smartphone operating system, from its beginnings as Pocket PC 2000, back in the year 2000, up until version 6.5 running late into 2009. When it was created, smartphone users were a very select crowd, comprised almost entirely of enterprise users, so it was no surprise that Windows Mobile focused almost entirely on enterprise solutions. It wasn’t until smartphones started becoming popular amongst general users (coinciding with the success of the Apple iPhone) that Windows Mobile started losing ground. Over the last few years of its life, Windows Mobile lost a hefty portion of its market share, leading to a complete system overhaul and introduction of Windows Phone 7. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to smartphones, Android is by far and away the leader of the pack, with 38 percent of the world’s market share (Apple’s iOS is in second place at just 26 percent). Yet despite its popularity, there is still a lot of confusion around the Android name. Is Android a phone? Is it a lot of phones? Is it the “Google Phone?” Read the rest of this entry »

Battery life is one of the most important factors of a smartphone. A phone could be the most elegant device ever created, five times faster than anything on the market, and none of it would matter if you couldn’t rely on it to last throughout the day. It’s important to find a smartphone that offers a balance of performance and battery life, and even more important to find one that suits your style of use. Read the rest of this entry »

Mark your calendar for the 11^th of March and set your alarm for way-to-early o’clock; the iPad 2 is here! But wait, does this new fandangle iPad 2 really take the cake, or is it all hype, and can it compete those new Android tablets coming out?
We decided to take a closer look to figure out exactly what this new generation of iPad has to offer, and what it doesn’t.

Read more on the Apple iPad 2

There is a huge convenience in condensing two devices down into one. Still, you can’t help but wonder whether or not your Smartphone really does make a better MP3 player than a dedicated device. Smartphones offer one significant advantage over MP3 players: a mobile data connection. You can download and stream music, so you’re not limited to the songs you can fit on your device. The iPhone and Android phones also have the advantage of well stocked App stores for all sorts of multimedia, productivity, and gaming applications (something only a few MP3 players offer).

Read more on Smartphones vs. MP3 players