In a post on HTC’s official blog that described the new Sense 5 experience, the company made an interesting claim involving Android and widgets. According to their research, widgets aren’t actually widely used by most. In fact, their study shows that if they are used, that consumers typically place weather, clock and music widgets on a screen, but that’s basically it. After those three, fewer than 10% of Android users take advantage of any other widget.

So as is usual when we hear numbers involving Android, we like to put together our own data via poll. In today’s poll, which should take us through the weekend, we ask that you share with us the number of widgets you use on a regularly basis. Once you vote, feel free to jump into the comments and list them all out.

 Loading ...

With tomorrow being the last day of the 5 Days of Nexus giveaways, we figured it would be swell of us to let you, the readers, decide which device you want most. You can either go for LG’s Nexus 4, the ASUS Nexus 7, or Samsung Nexus 10.

So, what will it be?

 Loading ...

Earlier this week, Andy Rubin shot down rumors that Google was planning to open its own retail stores. This was sad news, no doubt, as many of us love the idea that we could enter into a Nexus wonderland and test all of the new toys that Google has released to our world. But Rubin brought up an interesting point through his comments, saying that consumers do not need to physically touch products anymore in order to make a buying decision.

I personally, haven’t entered into a brick and mortar electronics store or carrier shop to rub up on a device in some time before deciding to buy it. I’m the type that reads through dozens of reviews online and then finds the best deal the internet has to offer before pressing the “Checkout” button. Many of you may be different, though, so feel free to sound off in the poll and in the comments below.

Are you the type that needs to see a phone or tablet and feel it in person before buying or can you make a decision by reading about it online or hearing a recommendation from a friend?

 Loading ...

Time for our obligatory poll, asking which of you will be picking up the new HTC One. It’s a sharp looking device and with specs such as a quad-core Snapdragon 600, 2GB of RAM, and a ton of new proprietary software from HTC, it’s probably going to be a real killer of a device.

From what we know, it’s headed to AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile supposedly sometime in March. As for Verizon, it’s not looking so good. So, let’s hear it!

 Loading ...

A feature that we are seeing in all of the new top Android phones, is NFC. But we almost have to ask ourselves, why is that? If you ask Kellex or myself, we probably don’t use this feature anywhere near as much as we think we should. Even being the two Android Geek Guys™ that we are, when we’re hanging out together, I don’t think we have ever beamed anything to each other.

The system does have its own niche though in today’s marketplace. More businesses are implementing mobile payment stations, which allow users that are signed up for things like Google Wallet and ISIS to take advantage of these chips. But on top of that, is anyone actually using NFC to its full “potential?”

Once you answer the question below, feel free to drop down below in the comments and let us know how you implement NFC into your life, if so at all. Do you make mobile payments with it? Use it turn on system settings using well-placed stickers about your house and workplace?

 Loading ...

Smartwatches seem to be all the rage these days. From indie Kickstarter funded projects like Pebble to big dogs like Sony and Motorola, everyone is taking their stab at second displays that attach to your wrist. As if the giant 5.5″ screened-smartphones weren’t convenient enough, we need another screen that can be viewed with the lift of an arm to give us up-to-the-minute information. And it certainly makes sense, especially as technology has improved (read: shrunken in size) so that wearing a smartwatch doesn’t mean you’re the calculator watch guy from the 90s.

But are the majority of people, especially those in this community, all that interested? Over the last year, as we’ve featured almost all of them, including this random concept of a Google-powered watch, we’re definitely seeing mixed opinions. And what do we do with mixed opinions? Get them in a poll.

 Loading ...

In a time where new phones seem to populate our news feeds on a weekly basis, it would make sense that consumers in general are always looking for ways to upgrade. But the reality is, that most people can’t afford to buy a new phone every six months off-contract. Most have to wait until they have upgrades available through their carrier, which includes a subsidized discount.

So in today’s poll, we’re wondering which category you fit in. Do you typically wait out the entirety of your 2-year contract, steal upgrades from other lines on your account, or purchase phones at will as you please?

 Loading ...

Smartphone displays have grown at a ridiculous rate over the last couple of years. It seems like just yesterday that we were making the jump from the 3.7″ original DROID to the hummer-esque 4.3″ DROID X. At the time of the release of the first EVO and the DX, we thought we had reached a limit for super-sized phones. Boy, were we wrong. We’re now swimming in 5.5″ phone-tablet hybrids with 4″ devices coming off as “small.” Companies are even pushing towards 6+-inch phones – an absurd idea. But hey, if people keep buying ‘em, why not make ‘em?

But for the sake of a good poll, why don’t you tell us what your optimal display size would be?

 Loading ...