The alaTest Blog

Barely more than a year ago, tablets were little more than overpriced Netbooks without keyboards, and there were plenty of arguments against buying a tablet, favoring laptops and Ultrabooks. Those tides are starting to change, and there are now quite a few compelling arguments in favor of tablets. So if you’re in the market for a new tablet, what are your best options? Read the rest of this entry »

So Christmas is drawing ever closer, and you still have some shopping to do. Not to worry, though, alaTest has a few last minute gift ideas that could easily save the holidays, and when we say “last minute,” we mean you can buy these gifts on Christmas day and still get them in time. 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 »

The internet has penetrated nearly every aspect of our lives, so it’s only fitting that televisions start featuring internet connectivity. Vizio got its start offering the latest HDTV features at a much more appealing price than its competitors, while still delivering a quality product. It’s no surprise that with Samsung introducing the Internet@TV models and Sony now shipping the first Google TV products, Vizio has been quick to create its VIA brand, standing for Vizio Internet Applications. Still, we have to wonder, does the VIA platform hold up against the competition?

Read the rest of this entry »

The Nexus S is Google’s latest flagship Smartphone to run the search giant’s Android operating system. Released on December 16^th in the US and shortly after in Europe, it received many mixed reviews, some denouncing the phone for being less than expected and others praising it as the best Android device yet. All the commotion makes it tough to know if the Nexus S is actually any good. Read the rest of this entry »