Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (7-Inch, White)

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (7-Inch, White)

It's super light and easy to use. The front and back camera are great to take selfies and pictures and it's great for taking videos. The Skype is great as well. I am a teenager myself and I am using it for school and personal stuff. I use the Google Chrome for web browsing and it's really fast. Downloading apps is fast as well as opening and running them. I have downloaded the CM Security from the Google Play Store for free and I run it once a day and it always says it's safe. I also downloaded the CleanMaster app and clean it after I'm done using it and it helps deletes the junk files and makes the device run even faster.

A couple of my relatives have both the iPad and the iPad Mini, but when I tried both of them myself, nothing compares to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. The iPad Mini is a little bigger than this and a little lighter, but from what I experienced, the Samsung is better and it saved me $200-400.

The reading is great and I mostly download my books straight from Google Play Books and the Amazon Kindle Store. The Wattpad app (YouTube for E-books) is an awesome app for downloading free books written by teens and tranditional/self-published authors. The keyboard is great when it comes to commenting on the works and also typing my own stories.

The battery lasts much longer, too. I had mine at 100% charged and it lasted for about twelve hours of playing time (with the brightness turned to low). I have the Netflix app and I can watch the videos perfectly. It's crystal clear.

Listening to music is much more clear and easier when you put some ear buds on. The speaker is on the back of the device.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 is a perfection! You should buy it!

Samsung Gear 2 Smartwatch - Silver/Black (US Warranty)

Samsung Gear 2 Smartwatch - Silver/Black

I was an early adopter of the Gear 1 and surprisingly I fell in love with the product rather quickly. Mind you I was never a watch person - so I was skeptical whether or not I would like it. There's a few reasons I learned to enjoy the first version and upgraded to the Gear 2.
1) If my phone is in my pocket, bag, or another room, I can see who was calling or texting and answer, delay, or reply from my watch.
2) My favorite thing to do is to change the watch face color and design for the holiday, season or event. I can even change the watch face to match my shirt color for the day. Waiting for the full watch styler for the Gear 2...
3) Phone Locator. Yes, sometimes I misplace my phone. The gear had a phone finder feature which surprisingly came in handy on an occasion or two.
4) Style. In my opinion it looks sharp. I am a business professional and I think it looks great with a suit.
5) Safety. Going back to number 1. While driving, I don't have to fumble around for a phone. I can see who is calling and answer in a split second - eyes on the road. To me, that was worth the $300 price of admission by itself.
6) Watch of course! I will not wear a regular watch that simply tells time; that is not enough. However when my watch answers calls, makes calls, reads texts, changes face themes to match my shirt color, takes my heart rate, acts as a mini personal trainer, snaps pictures, records quick voice notes, has a television remote, includes a stand-alone Bluetooth music player, and has easily switchable bands, now we're talking about something I'll wear every day (and it just so happens to tell me the time and date).
Price note: This version of the watch is $300, if you must have the brushed aluminum and the camera. For me, I didn't mind spending the extra dough. For someone who feels (and reviews) $300 is a bit steep - there is the Neo version! Kudo's to Samsung for creating a less expensive version for those not comfortable at this price point.
Bottom line: I enjoyed the Gear 1 and with the additional new improvements, I'm very pleased to own a Gear 2. I find it very useful on a day to day basis!

Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet

Fire HD 6 or 7 Tablet, 8 GB or 16 GB, 1 Year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, 2-Year Worry-Free Guarantee, Kid-Proof Protective Case

This device has tons of books, apps and videos. I have spent time looking at the settings and how things works. This device is great! There are a lot of reviews about how it is hard to use and does not have enough books, apps, etc. That is just not true. Take some time to go through and learn how it works. There are settings that limit whether you can download content. It is important to test these features before saying things are not available. 

Each thing must be downloaded. You will see a pick with an "X", touch it, then be patient while it downloads. Once it does it will show a check mark. You can touch and hold your finger on it to either remove it from the device, this does not remove the icon, just the loaded info...and it can be downloaded again later. The sound and the picture are wonderful . I am so pleased with this purchase and encourage others to calm down, be patient and learn how to use the device. It is not designed to be a ipad...if you want it to work like one...go buy one of those. It is designed to be a kid friendly place to play and learn. It should be judged as such. Good luck and happy playing.

Ignore the bad reviews this is awesome. Don't let your kid play on it for 12 hours a day (battery) and regulate what they are downloading. I routinely go through the list. They are little kids so they tap on everything

Even more for my child. This is a tablet that I recommend for children. More than getting a cheap tablet that is not made for children that you will get a lack of customer service or an expensive tablet that out of warranty over charge as if you are buying a new one.

I'm not sure what the storage issues are about with over 5000 items pre loaded which only takes up little more than half the space my 3 year old grandson loves it and only puts it down with his mom makes him best money I ever spent endless hours of entertainment.

I love that we can download the videos and turn off WiFi. The free time app is easy for his to use. We had to use the warranty and the process was simple. Replacement recieved quickly and returning was a snap. The warranty is unmatched.

Amazon Fire Phone, 32GB (Unlocked GSM)

 

Amazon Fire Phone, 32GB (Unlocked GSM)

This unlocked Fire Phone (which is the same as the AT&T version with horrible reviews, only it's unlocked), is an all around excellent phone with some pretty cool technology not found on other phones. The big thing to remember here is who the manufacturer is: Amazon. That said, it's important to realize that the phone is going to be centered around the Amazon ecosystem. Many of the 1-star reviews on the AT&T version were written by people who didn't read the description or reviews before dropping a lot of money and committing themselves to a 2-year contract.

This all started with the Kindle, and has since evolved into the Kindle Fire Tablets, and now, the Fire Phone. As is the case with Microsoft and Apple, Amazon is in direct competition with Google and Apple in terms of their "App Stores" and their music sales, hence the reason you're not going to find Google Apps or iTunes on this phone.
 
In all honesty, I kind of miss my Android phone but like most things, you learn to adapt over time and while I'm mostly likely going back to my Galaxy Note 3, this Fire Phone is fun to play around with at the moment. Like switching from an iPad to a Kindle Fire Tablet, this is an all-in type thing... you have to commit to the Amazon ecosystem or you're not going to be satisfied. If you're already using a Kindle Fire, Fire TV, and so forth, the switch will be easy as you're just adding another device and essentially improving upon the use of your other Amazon devices in the process.

A simple flick of the finger on the Fire Phone sends the video you're watching to your Fire TV... your Kindle books from your Kindle Fire tablet are available on your phone, shopping on Amazon is even easier, as is downloading music, videos, and television shows. If you're heavily invested into the Android ecosystem and rely on Google services for your day to day activities, you're going to get frustrated with this phone... seriously... you have to be committed to this ecosystem or be a casual phone user where the ecosystem doesn't matter as long as you can make calls, text message, check your email, and browse the web.

What seals the deal right now is the price. At the time of this review, the phone is now available unlocked for $199 which includes a free year of Prime membership (which is normally $99 itself.) Essentially you're paying $100 for a smartphone with no contract, so even if you use this as a backup phone, it's worth it. It's kind of sad that Amazon has had to drop the price to this level just to sell the phone, but they probably expected this as they're essentially trying to pull customers away from the "Big 3" (Apple, Google, and Windows) and make them feel welcome in the new ecosystem.

Based on the specs of the phone, the quality of the display and internal components, the app availability, the 3D features, and the price, this phone really does earn a 5-star rating for what is IS. I would never buy this phone at $600 out of contract or even $199 in contract, but at $199 unlocked, without a contract, and a free year of Prime, you really can't pass this deal up.