1. Why does my bluetooth headset never connect the first time?
As you have probably noticed, smartphone technology moves even faster than it does on
desktop and laptop PCs. Things that were once dream features, like quad-core processors,
720p screens, and 8-megapixel cameras, are now commonplace. So it's becoming tougher
and tougher for each phone to stand above the rest. The HTC One X+ ($199.99) scores with
its quad-core processor and massive 64GB of internal storage, all for half the price of a
similarly-equipped Apple iPhone 5 . That, plus a slew of other improvements over last year's
version, help keep the HTC One X+ in the thick of the pack, if not quite on top of it. The HTC
One X+ measures 5.31 by 2.75 by 0.36 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.9 ounces. It feels like a
quality piece, with a soft touch black housing that's comfortable to hold. A standard-size
3.5mm headphone jack sits on top, while the micro USB port is on the side-an arrangement I
prefer, since it makes it easy to charge the handset on your desk while still using it. The 4.7-
inch, 720p (1,280-by-720) Super LCD 2 delivers a tight pixel density of 312ppi, which is
slightly less than you get with an iPhone 5, but in practice, you won't notice. Typing on the
oversized, HTC-modified onscreen keyboard was easy in both portrait and landscape modes.
The One X+ is a quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), tri-band HSPA+ 42
(850/1900/2100 MHz) device with 4G LTE and 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. Here in midtown
Manhattan, I saw LTE speeds averaging a steady 13Mbps down and 8-10Mbps up, both of
which are solid showings, if somewhat off the pace from when AT&T first turned on LTE in
New York City. I also had no problem connecting to the WPA2-encrypted 5GHz Wi-Fi
network in our lab. Voice quality was generally good across the board, with a clear, crisp tone
in the earpiece and no background hiss. Transmissions through the mic were a little weak
and choppy, but no one had trouble understanding me. Reception was fine. Calls sounded
clear through a Plantronics Voyager Legend Bluetooth headset, and Android's native voice
dialer worked fine over Bluetooth. The speaker was disappointing, with a tinny, distorted
timbre at full volume, which wasn't very loud. We're still testing the 2,100mAh battery and will
update this review as soon as we have a result.

2. There are four physical function keys below the display that work fine, though you can see
the phone's backlight through them, which is annoying. There's a Power button and a
standard 3.5mm headphone jack on top of the phone, a Volume rocker and power port on
the left, and a Camera shutter button on the right. GreatCall uses Verizon's network. The
Jitterbug Touch is a 3G device, but only hits EV-DO Rev. 0 speeds, which aren't as fast as
EV-DO Rev. A and nowhere near as fast as 4G LTE. I saw data speeds of just 0.1Mbps
down and 0.3Mbps up on the Jitterbug Touch, which is slow, even for EV-DO Rev. 0. But
GreatCall's data plans are small, so this guarantees you won't be able to fly through your
monthly allotment. The Jitterbug Touch also has 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.
An lowest price can imporve your sound experience, As for noise cancellation performance,
on a recent flight, I was impressed by how much the earpads quieted the roar of the
airplane's engines. Ironically, switching the noise cancellation circuitry on seemed to add
more hiss, which is a trademark of less-evolved, cheaper noise cancellation circuitry.
However, the noise cancellation did eliminate a wide swath of low-to-mid frequency jet
engine hum. Unfortunately, you cannot use the Beats Executive in passive mode—it will only
produce audio if the noise cancellation Power switch is in the on position. This is true of
some industry-leading noise canceling pairs, like the Bose QuietComfort series. But the
Beats Executive is a musical pair first, and the noise cancellation, which is not extraordinary,
is merely an added bonus. This makes the inability to use the headphones passively more
frustrating than it is on a more effective noise canceling pair.
The Modification pieces would focus on the primary stats like strength, aim, expertise, and
endurance, but there would be a number cap for each stats for this piece. I'll make up a
number to illustrate. Let's say the total point allotment is 30. Then expertise could be 15,
strength could be 10, and endurance could be 5. But if you wanted a more defensive set,
strength could be reduced to 5 and endurance increased to 10. However, from set to set, the
base number of 30 would never increase, even if there were progression in the Armoring
piece. The Enhancement pieces would work similarly to Modifications, the difference being
that Enhancements would focus on secondary stats like power, critical rating, absorption, and
so on. Again, there would be a base number that would not change between sets or
progression. Enhancements would also work similarly by focusing on one particular type of
stat -- for instance, the defensive stats absorption and defense rating. Lastly, Augments
would remain exactly as they are. They cap out at level 22 and can contain either primary or
secondary stats. They will also continue to be player-made, which I think is the greatest part
of the Augment system. OK, it's your turn. I have approached the argument from the other
side and even proposed a compromise. I would personally like to see everything become
completely horizontal because I'm not the type of player who particularly likes the grind, but I
am willing to look at the other side of the coin. Where do you stand? What would be the
compromises you'd make? Or do you think there isn't a good argument for the opposing
side? We have two weeks left in this year; I promise this will be the last time I talk about gear
progression until after the new year. But I still want to know what you think; let's talk about it
in the comments.