Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Dagi Stylus P502... Working good




I received the Dagi Stylus P502 yesterday and gave it a test on the iPad and the Galaxy Tab. In the video you will see that the P502 works great on the iPad, since there is inking apps for iPad, I am able to get more use of the stylus on the iPad. I did try it on my Galaxy Tab as well, but will hope soon there will be some nice apps like on the iPad with some wrist rejection software. Well if your looking for a stylus for your new iPad, you might consider the Dagi P502 stylus. The design is well crafted, and the finish is very nice. The stylus is a bit thicker than a pen; which is comfortable to use when inking. I tested the the Dagi P502 last night, writing down some notes and writing some emails, just to see how well it would work and feel after long period of time using the stylus. Using the P502 performed very well at inking my notes and inking some email to friends and for work. I also did some PDF markups using the P502 stylus. I am going to be carrying the Dagi P502 in my gear bag and on my iPad to use, when I need to ink on the iPad. If your in the market for a stylus, you might want to take a look at the Dagi P502.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Samsung Future Firmware Could Block Rooting




Looks like Samsung wants to join Apple in blocking rooting your Galaxy Tab in a future firmware for the Tab. The new JM6 A, C and D builds that Samsung is planning on releasing, have bootloaders that are signed and prevent unauthorized firmware from running. Once the firmware is installed, any jailbreaks, roots and other custom firmware won't run. We had seen this earlier with the T-Mobile G2 phone, but now it has been by passed. So this can just make things a little harder for rooting and just not allow 3rd party ROMs to be installed on the Galaxy Tab, or maybe for all the Galaxy S series devices from Samsung. If the consumer buys the product, they should be allowed to configure to how they want that device, and if it involves rooting, let it be. I do agree that some custom ROMs could mess things up, but most of these users that are installing these custom ROMs know what they are getting into. Also rooting the device gives you at times some programs to run and do things that normally wasn't possible without rooting. To me, this makes a devices just that more better and more consumers will buy it knowing that they can customize the device and not really locked. Apple is always fighting the Jailbreaker's that are always finding ways to Jailbreak the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and the iTv. This method would make it more restrictive than the iPad jailbreaking. The only devices that will not have a signed bootloader will be the Nexus One and the Nexus S. With these devices you will be able to experiment with different firmwares, hacks, and custom ROMs.

Friday, December 24, 2010

SmartTouch Gloves... For Your Touch Screen




We happen to be out doing our final Christmas shopping and we ran into some smarTouch gloves they had at JC Penny store. The gloves were priced at $23.99 on sale from $40.00. I had my wife try them and see how well they would work.




As you can see the gloves came in different colors. They had red, black, gray, and blue so you have a good choice of colors so you can be styling, when using your touch screen phone. Well I have seen some posts of gloves for touch screens on the web, and actually Warner Crocker had done a review of some glove tips, a DIY not to long ago. Here is the link for that review. These gloves hardly show a silver like sewing on the tip of the glove and thumb, which lets you use the glove to touch the screen. If your not a DIY and don't want to put the glove tips on your own gloves then this is the way to go. Like I mentioned, I had my wife try them on and try to navigate her iPhone using the gloves. She opened several icons, and did some texting, and inputed a quick email. The gloves worked perfect. Everything she clicked on worked as if she had no gloves on. With all devices becoming touch screens, I think we are going to be seeing more gloves that are touch screen friendly at the stores. And yes, here in California we really don't have heavy duty gloves for the winter. :-) It's like summer year round.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

iPad 3G vs iPad WiFi Using Verizon MiFi




This is a quick compression of the 3G iPad, and a Verizon MiFi with a WiFi iPad. Everyones milage will vary, but so far I have been getting great speeds using AT&T throughout all areas I travel for work and on vacation. We have vacationed out in Mammoth and AT&T did connect out in the mountains, but Verizon was a bit faster out in the mountains. I will post a video showing the connections between both. One of the great advantages with 3G iPad is, that you can add the data at anytime you want and stop it at the end of the month. I usually use my iPhone 4 with MyWi to tether all my devices, but at times I will activate the 3G on the iPad if I will be working on the iPad for long periods during the week. Only because when tethering to the iPhone, I can only get around 3.5 hours before battery goes low on the iPhone. With the iPad 3G I can go with no problem around 7 hours using the 3G and doing work. Usually its all using Word, email, searching on the web to write information, and using excel with Pages as well. This is in no way saying the AT&T is better than Verizon, it has just worked better for me. Another feature I really like is the GPS that is included on the 3G iPad model. I have set that up with GPS software and works great for long trips.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

HTC EVO Shift 4G




As many have viewed the previous post of the HTC Knight which is close to the HTC EVO Shift but the Shift runs Android OS. This will be running on Sprint's 4G and 3G network when released and some already have posted that Best Buy has it in the system. This device will be running on 800MHz processor. I can see why HTC down graded from the previous 1 GHz on the HTC EVO. More likely to save battery life on the device, as we all well know that 4G consumes a lot of juice from your battery. Some of the leaks showing the phone to be very snappy, even though it is running on 800MHz. Need to test it out and really give it a try and see if it can really keep up in the real world use.

Gingerbread 2.3 and SIP

The new Gingerbread OS AKA as 2.3 will have SIP setup built in the OS. Check the video on how easy it will be to setup your SIP account to place calls on your Android phone using your SIP account. This will use your data on your mobile phone, so those that have limited data might want to stay away from this. As long as this will work without user thinking twice on how to place a call with a SIP account, it will be very nice to be able to use this when abroad, to make calls to other SIP users.


Acer Tablet Running Android




Acer has been showing off their tablet lately. I can say that every other OEM also leaking some type of device as CES2011 gets closer. These videos have showed up in YouTube and looks like this is a 10" tablet running Android Froyo. From several leaks Acer plans on releasing these tablets around April with Honeycomb OS installed. This is the same time frame Apple plans on releasing the new iPad as well. Will have to wait and see at the CES2011 show.

Samsung LTE Verizon Phone...





Verizon released LTE earlier this month, but didn’t have any phones that supported the new network. Now they have several phones and the up coming Motorola Tablet called Zoom that will be announced at CES2011. Right now the only two OEM’s that are really the biggest phone makers are HTC and Samsung. Also the new Incredible phone is going to be announced at CES2011. As you can see the 4G on the phone, showing it is the next generation LTE. This is where the money is going to be for the next phase of mobile communication. With phones having a front facing cameras and faster uploading and downloading, more users will be able to upload videos and consume more information on the go. This is why Verizon and others have followed with tier pricing for data. AT&T is in the processes of a $1.9 billion deal. This would get AT&T some prime wireless spectrum licenses from Qualcomm. This also is for the next generation of high-speed wireless service. We should see some great improvements by next year end. With tablets being released and this is going to be a flood of tablets everywhere. The faster wireless network will come into play. You will be able to use your tablet as a client machine and have all your data back at the office. You will be able to access as if you are right at the office or home. Playing your music remotely or watching your Sling Player on the road. Data will be used more than phone calls. Just my thoughts. :)






Motorola Tablet Video




Motorola has posted a video that is showing a upcoming tablet that they will be releasing. The funny thing is Motorola shows the Galaxy Tab and says that "Android OS, but Android OS... for a Phone" last I checked from the interview at 2010 D All Things Digital this new Motorola tablet had Honeycomb running on it. Yes the newer Android 3.0 OS will be more tablet target, but it still will have phone functions. So we will have to wait and see if Motorola will customize the UI on this tablet; which then is why they have this in the video. This will also more likely be the new tablet Verizon is claim to be available with LTE and will be announced at this years CES2011. We should be able to drop by the Motorola booth and see it in action, along with some more detail on specs, price, and when available.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Galaxy Tab Scosche Case

Just picked up the Scosche Galaxy Tab case at the local T-Mobile store, and it is nicer than I thought it would be from the online pictures. It doesn't provide much protection around the sides, but I like that it is very slim. It' a matter of fact that I can actually drop the Tab with the Scosche case on in my back pocket. Not that I will be carrying the Tab in my back pocket, but if I felt I needed to use both hands, I know I would be able to put the Tab in my back pocket. The design is very nice. I like how easy it is to remove the Tab from the case and also when you want to put the Tab in the stand mode on your desk or any counter top to view movies, music, or just browse the web. There isn't much to the Scosche case, as you can see that you have access to all the ports on the Galaxy Tab. With this case I wouldn't need to be removing the Tab out of the case since it is so slim with it. This is good for when you want to be using the Tab as a eReader or reading PDF's, or just reading some articles on the web. Sometimes something very plain design works great.



Samsung Galaxy Tab Leather Case

I have been testing out the Galaxy Tab for about 2 weeks now. I can say that the Android OS is works very nicely on the Tab, even though the OS isn't really geared towards a tablet. I really think Apple will miss out, if they don't release at a 7" tablet. If Apple did release one, I would more likely pick one up, as my iPad now that I use is great and everything, but at times when I just need something bigger than my iPhone 4 or Captivate screen to do some work, the 7" Tab is just great.

I picked up the Galaxy Tab leather case from Sprint to test and feel how the case works. The case has all opening accessible for the inputs on the Tab. You can connect the charge cable with no problem and have access to the power button and the volume control without too much hassle. As you can see in the video it has several ways to stand the Tab to view it on the desk, or to work on the Tab, or maybe catch a movie that you may want to see. The leather is soft and feels very nice and well made. It does help protect the Tab, only because it is a little bit big. This is like those Franklin Covey Daily Planners they sell. Someone might not even notice that you have a Galaxy Tab in the case, the will think its a paper daily planner. Sprint does carry this case at the stores and sell for $39.99. So if you have someone that owns a Tab and doesn't have a case for it, you might let them know that Sprint has this case and they can give a try and see if they like it.



Thursday, December 9, 2010

Android Phones using the most bandwidth?

 

 

Recently a study conducted by a firm called Arieso, shows that Android phone users use more data over cellular networks. This is all due to Android phones having video conferencing using your data, and not restricted to just WiFi like iPhone 4. Also with the activation of over 300,000 Android phones every day. It’s  not going to help slow down the increasing congestion on mobile networks. Just a few years ago must mobile phones really didn’t have the rich experience of what the current smartphones have. You had basic mobile web, small picture uploading and now you have 5 mega pixel cameras and higher, and using video to send to friends which use quite a bit of data on the networks. At one point iOS which the iPhone uses, was really selling a lot. Now with Android which does have some great features and I think what most users or power users like is that you can easy root the OS and get more use out of the phone. Not that you cant use it, but you can install some custom ROM”s or apps that aren’t available in the market place etc… and not really worry that when a update comes along it will change the rooted phone. With the iPhones you have to be careful and wait for the next jailbreak to be able to update or you’ll lose your jailbreak. Apple will have to finally watch the Android OS, but then we will have to wait when they release the iPhone on Verizon, which will have some impact on iPhone sales. Android is available on more OEM phone makers, so Android has better way of selling.