HGGadgets

Reviewing the Samsung Series 7 Slate PC

2011-12-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

Samsung has released the much awaited Series 7 Slate PC tablet that was given away at the Developers conference this past September. After getting my hands on the Samsung Series 7 slate, I can say, this is the tablet to beat as a full PC slate computer. The build quality is very good all around with smooth round edges, making it great to hold the slate. Despite the thinness of the slate, Samsung managed to really pack some serious power under the hood with the i5-2467M processor to make everything open up very quickly with hardly any waiting. It is light enough at 1.98 lbs. to hold it, and use it as a digital writing pad and browse the web. There is no replaceable battery on the back, but you easily can get a good 7 hours of battery life, which should get you through any meeting.

The Samsung Series 7 Slate PC comes with Windows 7 and a 11.6-inch screen that is very bright, vivid and very responsive to the touch as well with the stylus. I have installed the Windows 8 Developer Preview on the Samsung Series 7 Slate, and have been using it for about a week and have to say that the touch is great using it with the Samsung Series 7 Slate. There is still some work that Microsoft needs to make it more tablet friendly, like making scroll bars or buttons a bit bigger for touch. Everything runs smooth and boots up in less than 10 seconds from a complete shut down, making it perfect for saving battery if you want to do a complete shut down and not having to wait for the long boot up to start working. I can see taking this to this years CES 2012 to be able to edit videos and pictures as it is very fast and is able to handle the task. All this without the bulk of a complete laptop because I can carry it as tablet to take notes.

The back of the Samsung Series 7 Slate is made of some type of metal that is very sturdy and is very nice as it is round around to give you a better hold on the tablet. You can see there is not much on the back, the vent slot for the air circulating, rear 3MP camera and the "Samsung" logo. I really like how Samsung kept it simple. Looks very classy.

The rear 3MP camera won't be replacing any point and shoot camera, nor will it be replacing my phone camera. This was in low light but would have been nice, after all this is the top of the line tablet, Samsung should have included at least a 5MP camera with better optics.

On the right side you have the power button and below is the screen rotation lock button. You can see below the screen rotation lock button is the door for the 3G SIM card. When the slate is on you will see a blue LED light up above the power button. Again, very clean and simple on the sides.

On the top you will find the MicroSD card slot, would have been nice if this was a full size SD card. This could have given you the ability to use a 64GB SD card to increase the storage space for your documents or anything else. Also on the top is (2) two mics. This makes the noise cancellation much better to record notes in OneNote and other applications.

On the left side you will find the (1) one USB port, Headphone/mic combo, Volume buttons, Micro HDMI port and the PSU port. Again, very well placed and very clean.

On the bottom of the slate, you will find the docking port connection, along with right and left speakers. The sound is pretty loud in an average room with noise, but if you want to play some music, you will need to be looking for some external speakers to play the sound.

The dock for the Samsung Series 7 Slate PC is built solid and very nice that you can close a lid when not using the dock to keep the dock connection from been exposed.

Here you can see the dock with the top lid open, ready for you to place the slate in it. There is also a blue light that lights up when you have the slate in the dock and have the power charger connected to it.

On the rear of the dock, you have for the power adapter charger, RJ45, full size HDMI, USB port and an external headphone jack. The bottom of the dock has a rubber like bottom to keep the dock from sliding and also has a nice weight to it to keep the tablet from tipping over or sliding.

Holding the Samsung Series 7 Slate PC in portrait is very comfortable and not heavy to me at all. Swiping through all the Metro apps and through webpages is very fast. I will be doing a video to show some of the features running with Windows 8 Developer preview.

I have had at times, (15) tabs in the browser, Outlook, Word, OneNote, and Windows photo gallery open and I haven't had any slow performance on the Samsung Series 7 Slate. With the 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM, keeps this slate running smooth and fast through out.

Processor
• Intel Core i5 i5-2467M / 1.6 GHz
• Multi-Core Technology
Dual-Core
• 64-bit Computing
Cache Memory
• Type
L3 cache
RAM
• Installed Size
4 GB
• Technology
DDR3 SDRAM - 1333 MHz
Storage
• Hard Drive
64/128 GB Solid State Drive
Card Reader
• Card reader type
Card reader
• Supported flash memory cards
microSD
Display
• Display Type
11.6 in Yes TFT active matrix
• LCD Backlight Technology
LED backlight
• Max Resolution
1366 x 768 ( WXGA )
• Widescreen Display
Yes
• Features
SuperBright Plus
Video
• Graphics Processor / Vendor
Intel HD Graphics 3000 Dynamic Video Memory Technology
Audio
• Audio Output
Sound card
• Audio Input
Microphone
Notebook Camera
• Camera Type
Integrated
• Sensor Resolution
3 Megapixel (back), 2 Megapixel (front)
• Camera Features
Second camera
Input Device(s)
• Input device type
Touch-screen
Networking
• Networking
Network adapter
• Wireless LAN Supported
Yes
• Data Link Protocol
Bluetooth 3.0 HS, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g
• Compliant Standards
IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11b, Bluetooth 3.0
Expansion / Connectivity
• Interfaces
1 x Headphones, 1 x Microphone - Input - Mini-phone 3.5 mm, 1 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A
Miscellaneous
• Features
Hard drive password
Power
• Power Device
External
• Power Provided
40 Watt
Battery
• Technology
4-cell Lithium polymer
• Installed Qty
1
• Capacity
5400 mAh
Operating System / Software
• OS Provided
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition

Last chance to get a HP TouchPad at Best Buy

2011-10-30T16:06:00.001-07:00

Seems that HP has finally sold the last batch of HP TouchPad's. So if you were in the market to pick up a 32GB TouchPad, Best Buy will selling them at $149.99 but there is a catch.

Best Buy will only sell you 32GB TouchPad for $149.99 with the purchase of a HP or Compaq computer. This doesn't seem like a good deal, unless you were planning on getting a new computer or if you know of someone that might be purchasing a HP or Compaq computer starting November 1st.

2011-09-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

I have been testing out the ThinkPad Tablet for the last couple weeks and have to say that having the ability of using a stylus on a tablet, it is great! Of course it comes with its cons, but the cons are not really related to the stylus, it is more that Lenovo hasn't really polished out Honeycomb on the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet.

Using the stylus to mark up plans or any PDF file has been a time saver. This has eliminated the process of having to scan the actual PDF document and mark it up and then rescan and then email. With the ThinkPad tablet you can just email the PDF document as soon as your done. This is also possible with other tablets, but having the N-Trig digitizer makes it much better and also has some what pressure sensitive inking.

The stylus feels good in your hand. It is about the weight of a good pen, and is comfortable inking on the ThinkPad tablet. Hopefully Lenovo release a better note taking app, as the one it has is not the greatest app. Needs some work to have more features and would be nice if it would integrate with Evernote automatically like the HTC Flyer notes app. You can still send your notes to Evernote, but you have to do this manually. The best solution, especially if Lenovo is marketing this tablet as a business tool. I will be posting some more quick videos of the ThinkPad tablet, so keep a eye out for these quick post.

Sony Tablet S now shipping

2011-09-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you that want to get your hands on the New Sony Tablet S, and be one ofnthe first, then you can head over to TigerDirect and place your order. TigerDirect is showing the Sony Tablet S in -stock in both configurations, 16GB and 32GB. The starting price for the Sony Tablet S is $499. The specs for the tablet are as follows:

Weights and Measurements

Dimensions (Approx.) : 9.5” L x 6.8” W x 0.3”D

Weight (Approx.) : 1lb. 5oz.

Power

Battery Type : Li-Ion 5000mAh

Inputs and Outputs

Headphone Output : 1

MicroUSB : 1

Wireless/Networking

Bluetooth® Technology : Bluetooth version 2.1 + EDR

Wi-Fi : IEEE802.11b/g/n

Installed Memory : 16GB or 32GB

Camera : Front – 0.3 Megapixel Rear – 5.0

Remote Control Functions : IR remote control

Operating System : Android Honeycomb

Processor Type : NVIDIA Tegra2

External Memory : Full-size SD Card slot

Resolution : 1280 x 800

Screen Size : 9.4"

Installed Memory : 16GB

Internal Memory : 1GB ternal Memory : 1GB nstalled Memory : 16GB

Internal Memory : 1GB

Quick overview of the ThinkPad tablet folio case

2011-09-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here is quick overview of the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet case. I was hoping that it was a bit more stream line. The back should in my opinion been wrapped with the case so that it wasn't glued on top of the plastic insert as you will see in the quick review.

Quick look at the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet

2011-09-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

So far after a few days of giving the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet a run through, I can say that this might be the best tablet if you really need to be able to use a stylus. I am still testing out all the functions in the ThinkPad tablet, even though it has Honeycomb just like other tablets. But will see how well Lenovo made use of Honeycomb in their ThinkPad tablet.

Using Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet to markup PDF files

2011-09-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

So far as you can see in the video, the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet might be the best solution to using a stylus on a Honeycomb. Works well when you need to sign a PDF document as well.

Lenovo is now shipping Thinkpad Tablet

2011-08-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

Lenovo is now shipping the ThinkPad tablet running Android 3.1 starting at $499 for the 16GB model, and will be one of the first to offer 64GB Honeycomb tablet. You can add the stylus for a additional $30. Would be if the stylus would be included, after all Lenovo is advertising this tablet as a business device and also how you can use the ThinkPad tablet to take notes. If the stylus works just as good as my HTC Flyer with the stylus to take notes, this might be my next tablet. The Thinkpad tablet will have:

NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-Core 1.0-GHz processor
Android 3.1 Honeycomb
10.1-inch WXGA (1280×800) 16:10 IPS panel with Corning Gorilla Glass
Multitouch display with digitizer input (pen optional)
1 GB RAM
5-MP primary camera, 2-MP secondary camera
3250 mAh Li-polymer batter (up to 8 hours with WiFi enabled)
Up to 64 GB storage
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 3G connectivity
Native USB 2.0 and micro-USB ports, full-size SD card slot, and mini-HDMI output
keyboard folio case with optical TrackPoint
preloaded apps for productivity (e.g., Documents to Go, Citrix Receiver, Lenovo SocialTouch, PrinterShare) and security (e.g., Computrace, McAfee Mobile Security)
access to Lenovo’s curated App Shop (in addition to standard access to the Android Market)

We will have to see how the ThinkPad tablet will succeed, compared to the current Honeycomb tablets. It might have a better chance, because it has a digitizer for a much better inking experience. The only thing I can see it holding it back, will be the price.

Using Dolphin for Pad browser on your Honeycomb Tablet

2011-08-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

I have been testing out the Dolphin for Pad browser on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10, and really enjoying some of the nice features it has to offer. It still needs some work as I have gotten some occasional shut downs, but overall it is worth giving it a try. You can downloaded it at the market place from your tablet.

Hurry and get your Verizon Tablet Sleeve

2011-07-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

If you just picked up a iPad 2 and thinking of getting a sleeve, well now is your chance to get the Verizon Tablet Sleeve for just $4.97. This deal might not last long so if you are thinking about getting one, you might want to head out to the nearest store. Here is the link for online. Online it does say it is leather but it doesn't feel like leather.

Hands on Toshiba Thrive Tablet

2011-07-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

The Toshiba Thrive is now starting to show up in stores, except that you won't be able to purchase one yet. You can pre-order one, but for now. You at least have an option to give it a test drive. The Thrive feels good and light in your hands, but does feel a bit cheap due to the removable back plastic cover. I in addition not a fan of the chrome around the camera, again looks pretty cheap.

Like most all tablets, the Thrive comes with Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core 1 GHz processor. In the small amount of time, I tested the Thrive, it was quick and very responsive to touch. One of the best features is that it comes with full HDMI, USB, microUSB and full-sized SD card slots. However, this does come at a price. By having full size ports the Thrive is 15.8mm thick. In comparison to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" is only 8.6 mm thick. For most users this might not be an issue, as I personally use my bigger tablets at home or office and carry my HTC Flyer when I travel during the day.

One nice feature about the Toshiba Thrive is that the back cover is changeable with different color covers that are available for you to purchase. In addition, since the back cover is removable you can purchase an extra battery to carry along when you travel.

The Toshiba Thrive comes with Android 3.1 Honeycomb, a 10.1-inch touchscreen display, pre-installed Swype keyboard UI, equipped with a LED flash equipped 5 megapixel camera that can record video in HD, and an additional front-facing 2 megapixel camera. The Thrive comes 8GB/ 16GB/ 32GB variants, SD card slot for memory expansion, full sized USB 2.0 and HDMI ports, 802.11 Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity, Bluetooth, support for Adobe’s Flash Player 10.2, Android Market, and It also has a lock button for portrait or landscape mode.

Best Buy now selling cases for the Toshiba Thrive

2011-06-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

If you have pre-ordered your Toshiba Thrive and can't wait for its arrival. In the mean time you can head over to Best Buy and pick up your case or colored back cover for your new Thrive while you wait for its arrival. The Portfolio case allows you to stand your Thrive at multiple angles for typing out emails or just to view your favorite movie. It is made of synthetic leather and is a durable hard shell to protect your device. The Portfolio will add some thickness to your Thrive inside the case.

As you know, the Thrive will have replaceable back covers, so you can personalize your device to your style. The covers will have slip resistant surface so you can hold the Toshiba Thrive more comfortably. The covers will be available in a variety of colors so you have plenty to choose from.

Toshiba Thrive available July 10 at Office Depot

2011-06-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

If you have been waiting for the Toshiba Thrive, you will be happy to know that July 10th couldn't get here any sooner. Office Depot has it up for pre-order and showing "Not available until July 10". The Thrive will be loaded with Honeycomb 3.1, NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor at 1Ghz with 1GB RAM. Toshiba is using its own "resolution plus" software to improve image quality on the 10.1" display. Also you will find a front and rear camera for video chat, or use the rear 5 megapixel camera to take pictures or shoot some 1080 HD video.

The Thrive will come in a 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models with the 32GB priced at $579.99. This is priced in line with most current tablets, maybe a few dollars cheaper. The Thrive might not be as sleek as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" but does have a full size SD slot. This will allow you to get a 32GB SD card for storing files, pictures or videos you might take.

Another nice feature that you won't see in your current line up of tablets is, you can change the back cover with 5 different choices of covers that you can purchase. The covers cost $19 and if you think that you will want a extra battery; yes you can swap out the battery for some real portability. You can purchase a extra battery for $89, which isn't so bad considering that you won't have to worry about finding a A/C outlet to charge your battery.

*Update, Office Depot has removed the wording that shows "not available until July 10"

Toshiba Thrive coming July 10 at Office Depot

2011-06-18T01:10:00.001-07:00

If you have been waiting for the Toshiba Thrive, you will be happy to know that July 10th couldn't get here any sooner. The Thrive will be loaded with Honeycomb 3.1, NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor at 1Ghz with 1GB RAM. Toshiba is using its own "resolution plus" software to improve image quality on the 10.1" display. Also you will find a front and rear camera for video chat, or use the rear 5 megapixel camera to take pictures or shoot some 1080 HD video.

The Thrive will come in a 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models with the 32GB priced at $579.99. This is priced in line with most current tablets, maybe a few dollars cheaper. The Thrive might not be as sleek as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" but does have a full size SD slot. This will allow you to get a 32GB SD card for storing files, pictures or videos you might take.

Another nice feature that you won't see in your current line up of tablets is, you can change the back cover with 5 different choices of covers that you can purchase. The covers cost $19 and if you think that you will want a extra battery; yes you can swap out the battery for some real portability. You can purchase a extra battery for $89, which isn't so bad considering that you won't have to worry about finding a A/C outlet to charge your battery.

The Toshiba Thrive might not be as slim as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" but you do get full size HDMI, and a SDHC card slot. You be happy to know that Toshiba included 802.11 b/g/n and bluetooth 3.0

HP TouchPad coming soon to Best Buy

2011-05-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

The HP TouchPad is now showing as coming soon to Best Buy. The TouchPad will allow you to multitask seamless between your favorite applications, running webOS. Print wirelessly to compatible networked HP printers, along to use Google docs or Box.net. Browse the full web with the HP TouchPad and enjoy the blazing speed with support for Adobe Flash. You will be able to create emails, and get unobtrusive notifications to preview the subject of your incoming emails. All without taking over your screen, like the iOS. You can listen to your favorite music with Beats Audio. All this will be possible with Qualcomm snapdragon dual core 1.2GHz, with a 9.7" display and 1024 x 768 resolution. Bluetooth 2.1 will support AD2P stereo, 802.11 b/g/n, 1.3MP front facing camera, 1GB RAM, 16GB or 32GB, 6300 mAh battery that should give at least 10 hours of use, and XGA capacitive multi touch screen. No price set, but we should see the HP TouchPad soon.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 coming soon to Best Buy

2011-05-29T22:19:00.001-07:00

Now that Best Buy has the Galaxy Tab 10.1 coming soon on its website, we now know that it will have Android 3.1 Honeycomb. Along with Honeycomb, you will get a Dual Core 1GHz Tegra 2 processor that will deliver great videos, web browsing, and video chatting with the 2 MP front-facing camer. The 3MP rear camera will allow you to capture pictures, or video, not that I would be holding a 10" device to take pictures or video. With Flash, you will be able to enjoy your favorite sites with the 1280 x 800 display. The Galaxy Tab will come in 16GB or 32GB and choice of metallic grey or pure white. Also at .34" thin and 1.25 lbs., Samsung has redfined the Galaxy Tab once again. You will be able to connect to any Wi-Fi using the 802.11 b/g/n and with the 7000 mAh battery will be able to get you through the day. No price has been set at Best Buy yet.

iPad 2 Elan Folio Slim Case Review

2011-04-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

I was able to get a hold of the Griffin Elan Folio Slim Case for the iPad 2, and give it a test. This case reminds me of the original Apple case for the iPad first generation. As you can see in the video, the Elan Folio case is very slim, and doesn't add much weight to the iPad 2. The case feels a little on the cheaper side, and looks it as well. Unless you had to have something this slim, I prefer the Targus case that I compared to it and in this review. The Elan Folio will not add much protection as well, so you have be very careful if you use this case. When using the case as a stand I continued to have trouble making stand. So for now, I have choosing the Tarus case as my daily case. Until another case that might come along and change my mind.

BlackBerry PlayBook at Local Best Buy...

2011-04-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Was out at my local Best Buy yesterday Saturday, and right up front of the store, right in the mobile phone section, there I see a BlackBerry rep. He had the PlayBook hooked up to a LCD TV, and a Verizon MiFi for data. I was kind of shocked, to even see that BlackBerry is actually showing the PlayBook at the store. I talked to the rep and used the PlayBook; even though I had seen it at CES 2011. It has gone through some software updates from the last time I had seen it CES 2011. I asked the BB Rep, about the Calendar, and Email apps. Since they were not on the PlayBook, he confirmed that you need to bridge with a BB to have access to this. Rep said that you can always go online to view your email. For me, this is not the best solution. If the Android apps actually work on the PlayBook, and not have some restrictions of which apps will work. Then I guess you can always install a Android email app on the PlayBook.

The BlackBerry Rep mentioned that RIM was doing some final software touches with the Android OS on the PlayBook. He didn't want to go into too much info. I asked if the Android market would be available and didn't get a straight answer.

The PlayBook ran very smooth and very fast with multi-able apps running in the back ground, and displaying it on the PlayBook screen and to the LCD screen. I opened up the camera app and took some pictures and they came out very clear on the screen. Did some video while it displayed on the PlayBook and the LCD screen without any problems. You can actually record a video with the PlayBook and play a game at the same time. Very amazing that you can do this without any problem. I think RIM did a good thing to be able to run Android OS on the PlayBook. The release date for the PlayBook is April 19, so we going to have wait and see how well the consumer takes to this tablet. Who knows, with RIM actually doing the demos at Best Buy, the consumer might be interested in the PlayBook.

iPad 2 Case Review…

2011-04-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

So far after using the Targus case for the iPad 2, I am really liking it more and more. Yes doesn’t protect as much as the Earth case, but I mostly use the iPad 2 at the office and at home. I like that the Targus case adds very little weight and bulk to the already slim iPad 2, making the best case for me. I do have another case to review, which I will be doing later.

The power button is easy to access, and so is the volume control as well. The camera lines up perfect, as some cases I have seen or tried don’t line up. As you can see that Targus case is very well made.Targus sells this case for $39.99, but if you shop around, I am sure you can find it for a few bucks cheaper.

The bottom of the case has a opening for the speaker and for the dock connector. This makes it easy to connect the iPad to sync.

Here you can see the top view of the case with access to the headphone jack, and power button. The microphone is at the top also and is not covered by the case.

Here is a view of the case holding the iPad 2, without hardly anything blocking the bezel of the screen. Just one big mirror. The other side which looks like to be some kind of micro fiber, is soft and shouldn’t scratch your screen. After all it is Gorilla Glass.

So if your in the market, looking for a case for your iPad 2. You might want to look at the Targus case for the iPad 2. Some might like it, while it might not be for others. It all depends how much you want to protect your new iPad 2. For me, lighter is better, don’t really need that much protection, so this fits right in.

Google Launching Music Service Soon...

2011-03-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Some sources that spoke to CNET, said Google has been testing "Google music services" internally. Most likely it will be a cloud service, which should give the user the option to buy and or stream music. So far no pricing has leaked out, but should be comparable to iTunes, and Amazon pricing. This is going to be great for all Android users, as you will be able to buy, and download your music on the go. Now will have to keep a eye out for this.

HTC Thunderbolt 4G Speed Test vs DSL

2011-03-24T12:50:00.001-07:00

I have been testing out the HTC Thunderbolt from Verizon, and so far, it has been a good device. Connectivity has been great. I ran a test today with my HP TouchSmart Tm2. Wanted to see how fast it was compared to our office speed, well you can see in video that DSL is very slow compared to LTE speeds. I kept it tethered to my HP Tm2 and was able to open sites with no problems, and quickly. I also uploaded a video with DSL and then using the HTC Thunderbolt. The HTC TB was so quick in uploading and was still surfing sites to compare speed. As of now, Verizon is the top speed provider. LTE is great, but we will have to wait until more users start using 4G and see how much it impacts the speed. AT&T claims H+ well I wont go there. All I can say is my iPhone 4 is much faster than my Atrix that suppose to be H+. I know AT&T hasn’t rolled out so called 4G; which is not really 4G. Instead it is 3G in steroids. AT&T will have LTE late in the year, but we will have to wait and see how will AT&T provides 4G.

Verizon HTC Thunderbolt Unboxing and Setting 3G only

2011-03-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

I will be testing out the New HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon network and made a quick unboxing video as you will see below to address some saying that they would love to use the 3G instead of 4G to save some battery on the phone. So far in testing with 3G set to on only, as of last night charged it to 100%. After 12 hours of been unplug with light use of calls, around 22 minutes, Checking websites 5 minutes, downloading email, composed 5 emails, and used google maps for about 3 minutes. The battery is at 60%. This is in my opinion pretty good, and is pretty much inline with my Motorola Atrix. Will be testing with LTE 4G on all day tomorrow.

HTC Thunderbolt at Best Buy?

2011-03-14T09:23:00.001-07:00

When I attended CES 2011, I got to also test out the HTC Thunderbolt. The phone was pretty snappy and performed very well, and also was loading website fairly quick. Pretty much reminds me of the HTC EVO on Sprint’s network. The Thunderbolt will be Verizon’s first 4G phone, and unofficial will support calls and data at the same time.

Here is the Thunderbolt between two Samsung Fascinate, to give you a idea on the size compared to a 4” screen device. The Thunderbolt does have a 4.3” display to be able to view everything without a problem. The buy out price seems a bit pricey, you could almost get a 3G 64GB iPad 2 for that price. Two year contract will get you the Thunderbolt for $299.99.

Motorola Atrix Review

2011-03-12T22:54:00.001-08:00

I was able to test out the Motorola Atrix at CES 2011. The Atrix felt comfortable in my hands and felt well built. It is mostly all plastic, but not flimsy plastic. After this point, I knew that I would be getting the Atrix as my next mobile phone. I also have the White iPhone 4, but the Atrix is now my main phone. Ok here is my view of the Atrix after using it for about two weeks now.

First things first. I rooted the Atrix and made sure that I could install out of market apps. AT&T has this disabled on their phones. I like to be able to install other apps that I might run across, that are not in the market place. As of now just mostly have some 3rd party applications installed. One of the best features that I really like is the Biometric fingerprint reader to log into your phone. This feature work very well with one hand. I am able to push the Biometric and slide my index finger to log in with no trouble at all. I can hold it in either hand as you swipe your finger print. It also has active noise cancellation with dedicated microphone, which works pretty good in noisy areas. The camera in does a very good job in taking pictures, and has dual Led flash to help out in those dark areas. I have compared the pictures to my iPhone 4, and the iPhone 4 takes much better pictures. The back cover is plastic, but it snaps on very well and is not lose at all. The speaker is on the bottom and sounds pretty loud, when playing your music or using the phone with the speaker phone. Below is a sample of picture I took, using the Atrix and the iPhone 4. You can be the judge, whether you think the Atrix does good job, or not.

This was taken with the Motorola Atrix

This was taken with the iPhone 4 without HDR

Using the Atrix to make calls has been excellent, without the normal dropped calls I would normally get in the same area with the iPhone 4. Not that the iPhone is bad, I haven’t had any dropped calls with the Atrix so far. I have paired with my Bose BT headset and all calls work great. Also using the handset to make and holding a conversation is very clear on both ends. I haven’t made any video calls with the Atrix, but I will be trying that out later this week.

Update:

As I was doing the review. I have run across what seems to be that others can’t quite hear you when you call them from the Atrix phone. I verified this by calling my wife on her iPhone 4 to hear what others were complaining that I sounded muffled or far from speaker. A quick search indeed shows several Atrix phone owners are reporting the same problem. Some have exchanged their phone for a new one and issue is no longer there. I also have disabled the Noise suppression from settings>Call Settings and now seem that others hear me well. I can still say that it is much better after disabling the noise suppression, but still something needs fixed. I do believe it is software issue, as when using my Bose BT headset it is loud and clear on the other side, and also if I use the speaker phone on the Atrix callers also say, “Wow now you sound clear”. So I will either think about exchanging the Atrix for another one and hope the second one won’t have this issue or wait for a fix.

The qHD screen is very clear and very bright. All the text is readable, and is very clear as well. When viewing web pages on the 4” screen is much better than on smaller screens like my iPhone 4. One of the best features of Android OS, is that when you zoom in a article, the text renders perfect on the screen without having to scroll side to side like on the iOS. This display on the Atrix is viewable in the sun light. This makes it easy to read your emails or look up any information that you need to, without having to find some shade to do this on your phone.

Motorola has put its MotoBlur software, but from my use, I haven’t noticed any slowed down and actually some of the apps are well integrated with phone using MotoBlur. Example, when you create a email account from the MotoBlur accounts, you can go through your contacts or you make a call to one of your contacts that you have emailed, you are able to view any email, text messaging, etc… right from the contacts info, as you swipe left. If you swipe to the right and have created any accounts in your social network, this will also appear and you can respond from right there. This has me using the MotoBlur for this reason. I still might go back to using K-9 Email app, but for now I will continue to testing out MotoBlur. This almost makes it very handy as a one stop shop for all your needs. No need to go out to email, or text messages etc…

The Atrix has the basic software buttons down at the bottom like most all other Android OS phones.

Into the two weeks of using the Atrix I haven’t had any slow downs on the phone at all. Also haven’t had to reboot or anything like this and all programs so far are working perfectly. Like I have mentioned that I haven’t installed many 3^rd party programs. Reason is that I want to test the phone as much as stock as possible, before installing Launcher Pro, Beautiful Widgets, etc… on the Atrix and find out how battery life and how the performance if any is affected by these programs running daily.

The Motorola is pretty much all round in the corners and on the back. This is what makes it very nice, when your holding it in phone calls, or when holding to look up for information on your phone. The left side has the MiniUSB plug to sync or charge the phone, and right underneath that is the Mini HDMI plug. This is where your phone sits in the dock as well.

The right side of the phone is pretty much sleek with only the volume control button. This makes it, in my opinion, one of the sleekest phones. Even my White iPhone 4 has more buttons than the Atrix. Besides the volume buttons, the Biometric Finger Printer reader, is also the power button so it really doesn’t look like a button. Top and bottom no other buttons and on the back it has the second microphone to cancel out noise. Also has the 5MP camera with the two LED flash.

On the back you can see that, besides the AT&T and blur icons. It is pretty much smooth with the speaker grill at the bottom of the phone. Which again sounds loud enough for music and as a speaker phone for calls.

Despite that the Atrix having the newest dual-core Tegra 2 processor, the battery life has been great. Again this is with my testing and can vary with other users if you have a lot of programs running or syncing in the background. It has a 1880mAh battery that last me all day with pretty much heavy use of the phone. I have 3 email accounts that sync through out the day, along with my contacts, and calendar to sync. Also have a weather widget for weather that I installed. I check websites and also send text messages along with Twitter and watch some news videos during the day. The first week of using the phone, the battery ended up at around 25% – 30%. In the past week I have around 50% – 65% battery life from 7:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Then I just plug it in car on my way home so I have a full battery by the time I get home.

I wont go to much into the specs of the device. It is one of the only dual-core running at 1GHz with 1GB of RAM. Also has 540 x 960 pixels with a 4” screen. Capacitive, with multi-touch, GPS, front and rear cameras, HDMI port, microSD slot for up to 32GB, 16GB built in storage, WiFi, Bluetooth, dual LED flash, HTML, and Flash support for websites.

Some show that the Atrix has a Stereo FM radio with RDS, and is also capable of tethering up to 8 users with the mobile hotspot app that is included. This will require you add to your account, and is a additional monthly charge on top of your current data plan.

Since I am still using my white iPhone 4, I use the same micro SIM in my Motorola Atrix and works well. I do have the adapter that converts a micro SIM into a regular SIM, but it works fine without it. The metal strip on the back that holds the SIM card works to hold the micro SIM as well.

On the road I use the Atrix as my mobile hotspot to connect all my device to it. Which can be my Samsung Galaxy Tab, iPad 3G, iPhone 4, yes I connect my iPhone 4 to my Atrix and I can actually load up Talkatone and make calls with no problem. Also at times I use my Galaxy Tab as a Navigation, so this works out very nice tethered to my Atrix to provide the data to the Tab and keeping my phone clear to make calls and still be able to have the Navigation continue while I do my calls on the phone.

AT&T is advertising the Atrix as 4G data phone, and as you can see through out the internet, everyone is not seeing those speeds. In fact, the upload speeds are slower than most 3G phones. Same goes for the download speeds. I was, and I am expecting to have AT&T resolve this issue; which they have said that they will be releasing a update to get 4G working on the Atrix. My iPhone 4 gets around 2-3 Mbps download average, and .90 – 1.5 Mbps upload. Hoping that the update gets released soon to take advantage of the 4G that is advertised on the Atrix.

I was testing some LG Vortex phones from Verizon and wanted to test the speeds from Verizon 3G to compare the so called 4G speed of the Atrix. Well on average the LG Vortex was .80 –1.5 Mbps download. Upload averaged around the same .70 – 1.2 Mbps. Not bad for a 3G data phone.

Overall the Atrix is a very capable phone with the power and great design and has the best specs in the market, compared to other phones, but needs some fixing in the 4G department, and the muffled sound that other users are noticing with the Atrix. I will return the phone, if they don’t announce anything soon, before the 30 days. For now I have disabled the noise suppression, but that might not be a good thing in a noisy environment. I will have to test this out, and see how well the other person can hear me with a noisy background.

The other features that the Atrix has is you can buy a Standard Dock, HD Multimedia Dock, Laptop Dock, and a Vehicle Dock. You can also connect BT keyboard and BT mouse.

RIM Working on Video Conference App

2011-03-10T22:53:00.001-08:00

RIM didn't want to stay far behind Apple's Facetime app. So now that the iPad 2 will have cameras, RIM wanted to makesure they had some kind of app to show that the PlayBook can video chat. The question now is, will the PlayBook video app be able to video conference with other 3rd party software? Or will it be like Facetime... it would be nice, if Skype would release their app to all platforms to video chat. I don't know how many of you actually use video chat, but I have used it quite a bit of times. This comes in handy when your out of office. Also to video chat with family that is far, or just to stay in touch. Also feels more personally when your looking at them.

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iPad 2 Spotted at Walmart

2011-03-10T22:17:00.001-08:00

Well according to a shopper, their local Walmart store, has the iPad 2 already behind the glass case, and ready to be purchased. This is way ahead of the 5:00 P.M. release hour for Friday the 11th. So you might want to hit up your local Wal-Mart, and check to see if they already have put the iPad 2 out on the sales floor. I'm sure good old Cupertino isn't going to be to happy about this. But I know who ever is wanting to purchase the iPad 2, will be a very lucky person to get the iPad 2 before release hour.

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Sony Ericsson Prototype Running Windows Phone 7

2011-03-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

Clearly you can see that this is a Sony Ericsson prototype phone, running WM7. Might be that Sony also wants to produce a WP7 device, along with the Android OS mobile phones it has in line. Surely we will have to wait and see for any further news on this, as the phone is looking very nice. Hopefully Sony can send one over to give it a real world test.

HTC Flyer Tablet Inking...

2011-03-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

I have been using the Samsung Galaxy Tab, since last November and has been my go to mobile device for on the road use. Recently I have seen, some of the post of the HTC Flyer which has a stylus to do inking or write on the screen. I can always use some sort of inking during my daily work, and this is one draw back from my Galaxy Tab. With my iPad I have several apps that do a very good job of inking on the iPad. So after seeing the HTC Flyer with a 7" screen size, and possible inking, this could be my next tablet. Chippy over at Carrypad has posted a video of the HTC Flyer, along with Sascha Pallenberg from Netbooknews.

Update: Looks like Sprint might be announcing the HTC Flyer later this month. Sure would be nice if they did.

Motorola Atrix Quick Unboxing...

2011-03-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

I picked up the Motorola Atrix a couple weekends ago, but just have been a bit busy and hadn't had time to post the quick unboxing video of the Atrix. Since having some time with the Atrix at the CES 2011 show, I was really impressed with the Atrix. The phone feels really nice in your hand and comfortable as well. I won't go too much into detail now, as I will be posting a better overview of real world use. The display is awesome, and very clear as well. So far I haven't had any slow down with the phone and I have had several apps running at the same time. I have not installed Launcher Pro, ADW, or Beautiful Widgets, because I want to test out the Atrix as much with the MotoBlur.

Xoom... Is it Ready for Prime Time?

2011-02-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well the Xoom is finally available for consumers to purchase at your local Verizon store or Best Buy. I was lucky enough to be able to attend CES 2011, and got to view the Xoom in action. We didn't get hands on, but did get to see what the Xoom was capable of doing. Honeycomb OS looks great for the tablet, but after trying the instore demo at Best Buy for a few hours, I can see that Honeycomb was a bit rushed out. This could be that Motorola wanted the Xoom out the door, since you do have to send back your Xoom to get it upgraded to LTE when the upgrade is available at no cost. You do have to wait 6 days for you to get your Xoom back.

The build quality of the Xoom, is very good all around. It does have a really glossy screen, but as I used it and tried several apps, Internet, etc... it didn't bother me at all. Maybe I am use to my iPad glossy screen. The speed is very quick and response to clicks and taps quickly with the Tegra 2 processor. The specs on the Xoom are very similar as the Motorola Atrix that I am testing out. The camera was very quick to snap pictures and they were very clear, consider from a 5-megapixel camera with dual flash. The front facing camera was also good, not great, but good enough. I wouldn't be taking pictures with the front facing camera to save to print out. I opened up the book app and scrolled through pages, and went back to home screen leaving several apps running, didn't notice any slow down. Of course I can't really compare it unless I actually had the device with me for a day. I did open several web pages and everything opened up good and scrolled very smooth with no lag.

If you really want to get ahead of the game with the hardware, the Xoom is a good start. Honeycomb needs some work, but can be a contender very soon. I would have to test the Xoom for a longer period of time to really say whether I would really get one, to replace my Samsung Galaxy Tab. For now my Galaxy Tab is with me at all times for work.

Xoom Rooted...

2011-02-25T21:31:00.001-08:00

This didn't take long for the Zoom to get rooted. Now you can install ClockWorkMod recovery image and ROM manager on your new Zoom. This is beginning to be a trend, were devices get rooted either on day of release or before it is released. This was similar to when the Motorola Atrix was going to be released, it was rooted a day before release.

I'm still waiting for more 7" tablets to be released, as I prefer to use on the road. This makes easier to carry around. At office and around home I don't mind using a 10" tablet. I'm still using my 3G iPad, but not on the road anymore because my Galaxy Tab is much more easier to bring along on the road.

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Samsung Captivate Finally gets Froyo 2.2

2011-02-24T23:21:00.001-08:00

Looks like the Samsung Captivate finally gets updated to Froyo 2.2. I have been running Froyo on my Captivate since I almost purchased the phone. I just couldn't wait for AT&T to release Froyo 2.2. Just as Froyo gets released, more phones will be released with Gingerbread 2.3. So maybe they should have skipped 2.2 and went straight to 2.3.

Some of the new features in Froyo 2.2 that you can expect:

   Able to install Apps to SD card if program supports it

   Flash 10.1

   USB Tethering

   Speed improvement (All though I really haven't notice on my Captivate)

   Enhanced Microsoft Exchange Support, with address look-up. Increased security features and Exchange calendars

   Mobile Hotspot



So for those that have patiently been waiting for Froyo 2.2 on their Samsung Captivate, now it has finally been released. So hit up Samsung website and update your Captivate.

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Is 4.5" Screen size too Large as a Mobile Phone?

2011-02-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

At CES 2011 I wanted to see and hold the Samsung Infuse, but it was locked behind the glass box. I wanted to compare it with my white iPhone 4 and my Samsung Captivate. But since it was behind the glass box it wasn't possible to do that. The question is, is anything over 4.3" to big as a mobile phone? I personally think 4.3" is the max as a mobile phone. I'm not saying that anything above 4.3" can't be used as a mobile phone, but I wouldn't be holding a 4.5" device or larger up to my head and talking with it. I do see using a bluetooth headset or any headset and making calls with those larger screen devices. The Samsung Infuse is said to be released 2nd Quarter of this year on AT&T with 4G HSPA+ and with the Super AMOLED plus display.

Samsung Infuse 4G Spec:
1.2 GHz single core Hummingbird processor.
8 Mega Pixel camera on the rare side and 1.3 Mega Pixel camera on the front side which is generally used for video calling.
Handset runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Samsung’s TouchWiz.
4G capability and HSPA, HSDPA support
External memory up to 32GB,
GPRS, EDGE, 3G and Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP
GPS with A-GPS, Digital Compass
Social Media Integration
Proximity sensor, Light sensor, Auto focus, Smile detection, Digital zoom, Multi shot, Self timer, Panorama, ISO contro are some other features.

Motorola Atrix Rooted... Before Release...

2011-02-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

Good news for those that were wondering whether the new Motorola Atrix can be rooted? According to someone over at XDA-Developers site, a user has posted that the Atrix has indeed been rooted. So now time to hit up the pre-order site and order your Atrix. I am seriously thinking of picking up the Atrix and trade off between my White iPhone 4.

I had a chance to spend some time with the Atrix at this years CES 2011 and it is a very nice piece of hardware. I also got to see Samsungs Infuse at the show, but that one was not available for anyone to try out. After using the Captivate, and also from Samsung's bad UI, unless you really root it and setup to your likings, I won't be buying any Samsung phone in the future. Unless Samsung improves future phones with updates.

Motorola Xoom Tablet Over Priced or Not?

2011-02-19T10:42:00.001-08:00

Lately I have been seeing many posts on the web, saying that the Motorola Xoom is priced to high. That at "$600 for WiFi only and $800 WiFi and 3G" is priced to high compare to current iPad tablet. If you compared the specs of the Motorola Xoom to the current iPad, the Xoom is actually priced at a better price. A 32GB iPad WiFi only is $599 and a 32GB iPad WiFi & 3G is $729. Yes you can get a 64GB iPad for basically $29 more compare to the $800 Xoom, but you do get more with the Xoom. I still use my 64GB iPad, but after getting a Galaxy Tab, I don't really use the iPad except at work in the office. I still say, the best screen size for portability is a 7" screen size. This is just my opinion. Many would say its to small. I got to see the Motorola Xoom at the CES 2011 this past month in action. I really how fast the Xoom was in performing all actions and is smooth.

Motorola Xoom 32GB

Resolution:
1280 x 800 pixels
Physical Size:10.10 inches
Touch Screen:
Yes (Capacitive)
Multi-touch:Yes
Proximity Sensor:Yes
Light sensor:
Dimensions:
Dimensions - Phone's dimensions
9.80 x 6.61 x 0.51 (249 x 167.8 x 12.9 mm)
Weight:
Weight - Phone's weight
25.75 oz (730 g)
the average is 4.8 oz (136 g)
Android (3.0)
Processor:
Dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2
Processor speed:1000 MHz
Memory:1024 MB RAM
3D Graphics hardware accelerator:
Yes
Camera:
Camera - Camera specs

Yes
Resolution:
Resolution - Shows the particular phone's camera resolution. The major mobile phone camera resolutions available are QCIF; CIF; VGA (640x480); 1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.0 and 3.0 megapixels.
5 megapixels
Flash:Yes (Dual LED)
Features:Auto focus, Digital zoom
Video capture: Yes

Apple iPad 32GB

Display
9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Size and weight
Height:9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
Width:7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
Depth:0.5 inch (13.4 mm)
Weight:1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;
1.6 pounds (0.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model
Processor
1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Motorola XOOM, is the company's first tablet computer. And with a 10.1-inch capacitive screen, and with a resolution of 1280x800, a 5MP HD camcorder (front-facing cam included) and a dual-core ARM-based Tegra 2 chipset, to help pump out the 1080p playback. The Xoom will ship running Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. In addition, the tablet will feature a accelerometer, gyroscope and of course, Adobe Flash 10.1 Player support for those times that you really want to view a flash site and just don't want to wait till you get to a computer.

If your in the market for a 10" tablet, and want something that is powerful, then the Xoom can be in your list of items to purchase. Also you can wait for the iPad 2 and hope that the price starts at the same as the first iPad. So which one will you pick?

eLocity A10 Pre-Orders Feb 15 will it Arrive with Honeycomb?

2011-02-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

I was able to stop by the eLocity booth at CES2011 to see what devices they had. I was mostly interested in the eLocity A7, but while I was looking at the A7, I saw the eLocity A10. This has the Nvidia Tegra II processor and while I only got to try it out at CES2011, It was very snappy running apps. I opened several applications to see how well it would run. Tried a few videos and no pauses whats so ever on the A10. Now finally appears that pre-orders for the A10 will start Feb 15. If your looking for a Android OS tablet in the 10" screen size this will be a device to look at. So far the battery life on the current Dell Streak 7 and the A7 is not as good as the current Galaxy Tab, and the iPad. eLocity is claiming up to 5 hours of battery life. I think the first generation Tegra II devices will only have around 3 to 4 hours of battery life. For my use, I rather hold onto my Galaxy Tab and get up to 9 hours of use, without having any worries that I need to charge it. I actually used my Galaxy Tab during the CES2011 and got me through the whole day without having to charge it. I also used my iPhone 4 to upload with my Galaxy Tab and worked great.

While eLocity does claim that the A10 will have Honeycomb or least was in the posted specs, even though the show floor A10 was only running Android 2.2. The eLocity A10 pricing will be as follows. The 4GB (A10.004), 32GB (A10.032) and 64GB (A10.064) models will be available for online order, with the 4GB units starting at the discounted price of $399 for early orders, the 32GB model retailing at $599.99 and the 64GB at $699.99. So if your one of the ones waiting for this devices, set your calendar for Feb 15, and hit up either one of the following websites to pre-order your A10. http://Amazon.com, http://JR.com, http://TigerDirect.com, and http://BHPhoto.com.

Motorola Atrix at CES2011

2011-02-05T14:45:00.001-08:00

At this years CES2011 I got to take a look at the Motorola Atrix, which will and can give the iPhone 4 a run for it's money. The Atrix is very smooth piece of hardware, including the internal hardware. It is very fast with its dual-core processor running at 1GHz, using the Nvidia Tegra 2. Also has 1GB of RAM to keep all your apps ready to run when you need them, without any slow down. Also will have 16GB on board and you can expand it with a 32microSD card. One thing I do worry is, hopefully this little device can get you through the whole day without have to worry in carrying additional batteries. It will come with a 1980mAh battery. It does have a very clear and great 4" screen, which in my opinion, 4" is the perfect size for a mobile phone. With my Samsung Captivate at 4" screen it just works perfect. I do have the white iPhone 4, but the screen is much smaller and does make a difference when reading.

The Atrix has a VGA front facing camera for video chatting just like the iPhone 4 and no pretty much going to be standard on most mobile phones as faster networks are released later in the year. The back of the phone is like a carbon fibre and has decent grip level to it, nothing spectacular but nice. It felt good holding it the hand, so making calls with it will be good. The volume rocker felt easy to raise volume and lower, and also the power button was well positioned on the back of the phone near the top. Another great feature that the Atrix will have is the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. This will be a very secure way to unlock your phone and much easier to do the task vs the pin style passcode you normally do on your phone or the swipe passcode that you can also setup on a Android device. It also has a HDMI out next to the micro USB opening on the side of the phone. After seeing the Atrix in action on a dock that Motorola will be selling that lets you dock the Atrix and pump out 1080p to your screen and with no pauses from the Atrix. This was amazing to see, but with the Nvidia Tegra 2 chip, I wasn't surprised that it can handle this with no problem. If you have a BT keyboard and BT mouse you can control the Atrix in the dock, which in the dock it goes into a WebTop mode.

Motorola has also made a Laptop dock that basically turns your Atrix into a laptop and you can use all your phones functions in this mode. So this would be nice if your in the road and have a lot of documents to go over or email, this would make great use of the laptop dock, but as we hear the price for the laptop dock will be at $499, which that is really out of the question that not too many people would buy. I say it should be priced at around $99. Hopefully I can get my hands on the Atrix to test out in a few weeks and see how well it performs in the real world of use.

NoteSlate Tablet

2011-02-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

According to NoteSlate website, the NoteSlate will be coming to market in June 2011. They do advertise the NoteSlate starting at $99, which is a excellent price. If the NoteSlate works as good as a regular notepad paper to take notes, this could be a good seller. It claims 180 hours of battery life, which will be great to be able to take notes and not worry of running out of battery life out in the field or office meetings. The size of the NoteSlate is pretty much like a regular notepad that you use normally, so this will be a good thing as it will not be much bigger and bulkier. At 13" screen size, this should be able to give any user a good size space to make drawings, sketches, notes, etc... on this device. The NoteSlate will be available in 4 colors, so you can chose which one is right for you. One thing for sure, the NoteSlate must have some way of getting all these notes over to your computer or maybe upload and sync with... say Google Docs? Or have a way to email the notes. Will be keeping a eye on this as time gets closer. In the mean time here is some specs for the NoteSlate:

Basic Characteristics
- REAL PAPER look design
- ONE COLOR display
- ONE TOUCH ability just with pen / eraser
- 210x310x6mm thin body
- 13 inch matte monochrome eInk display
- 190x270mm active display, 750x1080pixels
- 180 hours battery life (almost 3 weeks of daily work !)
- 280 g weight !
- basic inputs: pen with eraser, USB mini, SD Card, Jack 3.5 mm, AC/DC 12V
- Wi-Fi module on request with order (no added charge (!)
- no web browsing !
- end price $99
- ONE POINT OF SALE - NoteSlate online e-store

Special patents
- simple three button physical interface ( SAVE CURRENT SCREEN / SHOW LAST SCREEN / DELETE CURRENT SCREEN )
- pen magnetic holder directly on the tablet surface (throw the pen away and go !)
- any ordinary pen or pencil usage (works just on NoteSlate NATURAL model )
- real paper look and feel when using

Accessories
- solar energy backside cover

Product range
BASIC MODEL / WHITE / BLACK / GREEN / BLUE / RED / COLOR MODEL / NATURAL

Apple Patents a Stylus...

2011-02-05T09:03:00.001-08:00

Steve Jobs has always said that if you see a stylus with a tablet, that is failure in the making. This isn't anything new, but Steve J has always made that clear. But now NYT has posted that apparently Apple has trademark a stylus that can be used to draw possible maybe on future iPad's. This will be interesting what really Apple has plans for the use of the stylus. If the stylus has a way that they can use a special digitizer that can detect the stylus so you can take notes, this will be great and I can see the iPad sell more for businesses.

Yes there is apps that you can use for note taking, but only those apps have some kind of "Palm Rejection" so that you lean your palm on the iPad and take notes as if it was a notepad. This is great, but this is not always perfect when taking notes. For one, if you don't pick the right stylus from the many stylus that are available, you will have trouble inking. Another is that not all apps that claim that you can take notes with a stylus work well. The writing on the iPad looks very bad. It is not smooth as you think it would be to take notes. There is a couple of apps that I have tested and does a great job for note taking, but again each had its pro's and con's.

The two I use daily at work is Penultimate and Noteshelf. These two apps do a great job for note taking and options to create folders, to label each. Noteshelf has the most options, as you can create books for your notes with several different paper styles that relate to business, personal, etc... And you get a good selection of paper styles that you can use. But overall Penultimate inking is much smoother as you write your notes. But the palm rejection is not as good as Noteshelf. So I use both and depending what notes I will be taking I use that app. So the right tool, for the right job comes into play here. Speaking of which, I wish that there was some kind of app like this on the Android OS so that I can just use my Galaxy Tab for note taking quick notes. I use my GT everywhere I go, much more portable and can get the job done on the field, where the iPad is ok, but the size is a bit big after a while.

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The Day the iPhone 4 Comes to Verizon...

2011-01-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

The day for the iPhone 4 on Verizon is coming soon. Even though the iPhone 4 will not be a new phone rather a 6 month old device on Verizon network. Apple will announce a new iPhone in June, as they have every year since 2008. Hopefully we will see leaks of the new iPhone like we did with the iPhone 4. But in any case, the way I see it is that it will most likely be pretty much the same as the iPhone 4, but with the new hardware which will be the Qualcomm dual core processor and hopefully with the new Nvidia video processor. This will be a very fast phone to catch up with the new Android dual core smartphones that will be on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and the rest of the networks. I’m sure those that attended CES2011 remember seeing and trying new Motorola Dual Core phones we got to see running LTE. Only thing I see is that Apple won’t have LTE on this next iPhone, until next years release of the iPhone 5 or iPhone 6. The June release could be iPhone 4GS? I don’t see Apple releasing two different iPhone’s from June and on. This is why Apple has Qualcomm Chip. The chip is a CDMA/GSM all in one, makes sense for Apple. You design one phone and use the same chip for either network. Could be possible that the Verizon iPhone would be a World Phone, like the BlackBerry Storm. The BlackBerry Storm that was released on Verizon, could be used on AT&T once you unlocked it. Many AT&T users that wanted the Storm, bought the Verizon phone to unlock it, or just purchased a unlocked Storm. So it will be interesting what will Verizon do for those that purchase the iPhone 4 on Feb 10, or 3rd for existing customers in June when the new iPhone is released. Also the next generation iPhone looks like it will be at least a 4” screen device. SDK shows that there is code for 4” and above for some of the apps in the coming future. Unless it is for the iPod Touch, but most likely it will also be that the iPod Touch will get the 4” screen, but at least later than the iPhone. So remember that it was Verizon that passed up on the iPhone in the first place, or it could have been the other way. AT&T would be getting its first iPhone on their network this February. There has been some post about Best Buy having in the system of a white iPhone, but at this stage, why would Apple release the white iPhone 4, unless like I mentioned that June release would be same design as the current iPhone 4, just all new hardware inside.

Here is the new Apple commercial that shows 2 is better than one.

Here is Verizon’s commercial.

Thinking of Painting... Use Your iPhone

2011-01-22T12:19:00.001-08:00

Behr Corporation has brought a app for those that want to do some painting around the house. It is a nice little app. You can take a picture of a color and have it try and match the color right on your iPhone or the latest iPod Touch. It will give a color name and some options of colors it finds. Very nice feature as it gets some what close with three closest matches. Not bad at all. You can preview the color you plan to use on several pre configure rooms and you tap on the walls and trim to change the color your looking at.

The app runs very smoothly on the iPhone. You can share your selections to Facebook or Twittering. You can also create a Behr Workbook, which you can save your selections.

You can browse Behr's 2,000 + colors either by color name, or number with also option to chose by type of paint name. Finally you can use the built in "Paint Calculator" to figure out how much paint you need for your painting project. You can chose pre defined settings of rooms, or use custom to input your own room size. Also gives you a option, if you want extra touch up paint so it can calculate the extra paint. Then when your ready to buy your paint and head over to Home Depot it has a store locator option that sets you on your way, with map view as well. It would have been nice if you could touch the address that shows up and be able to call directly if you wanted.

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eLocity at CES2011

2011-01-17T20:30:00.001-08:00

eLocity had some nice tablets at CES2011. They had display showing several Android tablets running nVida Tegra II-T250 1GHz with 1MB L2 Cache. These had Froyo; which is Android 2.2. They were claiming that these tablets would get you up to 5 hours of battery life. This usually means in real world around 3.5 hours. If they can improve battery life these devices will be a great tablet for the value, since most of these will have a price range around $349 starting point. These as well could be able to run HoneyComb, the next Android tablet OS.

Here is the specs for the eLocity A7 that was on display at the CES2011 show. These will be available later this year.

Angry Birds was running very smoothly on the eLocity A7.

This is the eLocity A10, which is the 10.1” tablet running the same nVidia Tegra II-T250 at 1GHz. This one claims that it will be running Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) with 512MB of DDR2 at 667MHz. Will have to wait and see if this really gets released with HoneyComb. This would be about the same size screen as the Motorola Xoom, but not as slim and well built as the Xoom. Again, if anyone wants to get a good priced tablet, eLocity seems to be a great deal if they get released.

Reviewing exolife Extend Battery for IPhone 4 at CES2011

2011-01-16T16:11:00.001-08:00

Since I was heading out to the Consumer Electronic Show at Las Vegas, I thought what better way to test out the exolife chargeable battery case for the IPhone 4. This combo adds some protection as well and some extra battery life. The exolife worked out great for me at CES2011. I charged it and made sure it was ready for the morning when I headed out to the show floor. Throughout the day I was using my IPhone 4 heavily to take pictures and to upload to dropbox. I also was using my Galaxy Tab tethered to the IPhone for internet access throughout the day.

I was using my IPhone with a clip holster; wish that they had a holster with the exolife so that I could carry it in a holster at the same time. I kept the rechargeable in my bag and by noon I slept the IPhone in the exolife to start charging my IPhone. I was around 40% battery on the IPhone and didnt want to have the battery go to low before starting to charge it. Then I had to carry the phone in my pocket and I continued to use it to take pictures and as a Mi-Fi. I wasn't keeping too much attention on how long it took the battery to charge the IPhone, but around couple of hours I was at 100%. So I just removed the battery case and put the IPhone back on my holster. Made it easier for me to get phone out. I used the exolife one more time around 6:00 to charge my IPhone, and by the second time it was able to charge my IPhone to around 93% and the battery on the exolife finally had drained.

This was really great that I didn't have to look for any outlets at CES as I saw a lot of attendees charging their phones. Overall I was really glad to be using the exolife at the Consumer Electronic Show and never had to worry about running out of battery. On the Galaxy Tab that went through the whole day as well, since I wasn't using it like the IPhone and my Panasonic camera.

The exolife times in a few different colors to match you IPhone. I was testing out the white one, since I have my white IPhone to match. The price for the battery case is around $59.99 and depends you might be able to get it for a few dollars less.

The IPhone fits perfect in the battery case and has like a grove where the IPhone actually sits down a little bit. This actually keeps the phone in place and doesn't slide out even if you don't put the ring around it. Then you put the outer clear plastic ring around, which can help those with antenna problems. The battery case is very light weight and hardly adds weight to the IPhone while using it and carrying it. It did feel better to hold, then the bare IPhone 4, just in my opinion.

If I had to be without power I sure would consider getting the exolife battery case. I'm going to see if I will be testing a few other battery cases or holster with built in battery to charge as it is in the holster.

Blackberry Playbook Appears hands on at CES2011

2011-01-08T18:35:00.001-08:00

Got to view and demo the new expected Blackberry PlayBook. It was very nice using and opening apps and multi-task very easy with no problem with 1Ghz. Dual Core Processor. It is able to browse full web pages with no problem.

Hanvon at CES2010

2011-01-08T18:22:00.001-08:00

Hanvon has done some great Tablets. They are solid build and running Windows 7. The device was very speedy and was actually good in your hands, but I see more tablets in the 5" - 7" as more usable. Anything above is still portable but its not as easy to take.

Sony

2011-01-07T11:14:00.001-08:00

Sony replace the X10 running with Android 2.3

- Posted using my iPhone 4

CES Test Posting With iPhone 4

2011-01-05T21:29:00.001-08:00

<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_GTra3I685zo/TTOKi3scRdI/AAAAAAAAATM/eoXzE8SoyRY/CES%20Test%20Posting%20With%20iPhone%204_img_1.jpg"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_GTra3I685zo/TTOKi3scRdI/AAAAAAAAATM/eoXzE8SoyRY/CES%20Test%20Posting%20With%20iPhone%204_img_1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center cursor: pointer;" height="240px" width="320px" /></a>

<img src="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/11/01/05/s_3763.jpg"><a href="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/11/01/05/3763.jpg"></a>

Here is a test using iPhone 4.

- Posted using my iPhone 4

Viewsonic ViewPad 7... at Your Local Fry's

2011-01-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

I was out at our local Fry's store and they had the Viewsonic ViewPad 7 instock and on display. I did what any mobile trooper would do. I picked it up and gave it a test drive to see how well this device is. The ViewPad 7 has the ARM11 CPU Processor, and runs on 600MHz, using Qualcomm MSM7227 Chipset. Has Flash 512MB NAND Flash and micro SD expandability up to 32GB and
Internal 512MB, with 7" multi-touch capacitive screen. For having a lower speed it does respond very snappy and there is very little pauses or lag if any. The price is $499, but at this price it's going to be a little hard to sell when the Galaxy Tab is now $499 with a month to start up, or Sprint $399 with 2-year contract. The quality is actually not to bad and It didn't seem to cheap.

Both the ViewPad 7 and the Tab are pretty much easy to hold, due to the small size. The ViewPad 7 screen display was not as clear as the Tab. It was more washed out, when looking at pictures or anything on the screen. I really got use to the Galaxy Tab 1024x600 resolution vs the 800x480 on the ViewPad 7. The camera resolution was not as clear as the Tab, even though both rear cameras are same resolution. The front facing camera is only 0.3MP, so don't expect HD video chatting. :) It is nice that Viewsonic made the market app available on the ViewPad 7. No need to hack to have the market place app, like some of the Android Tablets out. It also has Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11 B/G, and no N.

As you can see the camera is located in the center of the tablet which isn't bad. The Tab has the camera located in the corner of the Tablet. Also like all tablets, it is very finger print friendly. I did a quick video of the the ViewPad 7 opening apps and scrolling around the settings to get a feel of the speed of the device. Like I said, not bad, but needs a starting price of around $179.99. I really like the Galaxy Tab speed and battery life. Viewsonic claims 4-6 hours of hard use of the device. I have tested the Galaxy Tab battery life and have been able to get 10 hours of pretty much constant use with Wi-Fi on.

(Recorded video with iPhone 4)

One nice feature is that the ViewPad 7 can be used as a phone, so you can insert your SIM card. Not that many would like to use a 7" screen device as a phone, but if you happen to use your SIM card from your phone, you won't miss a call. You'll most likely be working with the ViewPad 7, so it wouldn't be bad to answer a call while using the ViewPad 7.

With CES2011 this week and new tablet announcements every 15 minutes, you might want to wait and see what will be available with the Tegra 2.

CES Testing

2011-01-03T23:38:00.001-08:00

Blog test with Galaxy Tab.

Dagi Stylus P502... Working good

2010-12-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

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.

Samsung Future Firmware Could Block Rooting

2010-12-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

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.

SmartTouch Gloves... For Your Touch Screen

2010-12-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

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.

iPad 3G vs iPad WiFi Using Verizon MiFi

2010-12-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

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.

HTC EVO Shift 4G

2010-12-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-22T18:52:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-12-22T18:36:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

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.

Galaxy Tab Scosche Case

2010-12-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

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.

Android Phones using the most bandwidth?

2010-12-09T12:56:00.001-08:00

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.

Hitachi Displaying a Capacitive and Resistive Screen

2010-11-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Hitachi demoed a dual screen that can end up working great for the future tablet, and smartphone screens. This will give the user the best for inking and touch. This can change the way we will ink on smaller devices, example your 4" or 4.3" smartphone. There is time that I could use some type of inking on my Captivate. But then you also have to have the OS support this as well. But if the hardware is there, we should see developers getting apps to support the inking. Just like the iPad. At first the inking was not good on a iPad, now there is several apps that do a great job to ink.

Will have to keep a look out on this.

White iPhone 4

2010-11-21T18:42:00.001-08:00

Here is just some pictures of my white iPhone 4, I managed to get. The finish on the white iPhone 4 is very nice. I have put a screen protector and also on the back. Sure don't want to damage my white iPhone 4, even though it feels just like my black iPhone 4. The white color is very nice if you like white of course, but it does stand out in the crowd when your making calls, or just browsing or replying to email. I did go to my local Apple store and had little crowd gather around my white iPhone 4 as they all wanted to take a look at it.

There isn't much to go over between the black and white iPhone 4. Both run the same and no difference in OS. The only thing is that, when out in the crowd, you might get people wanting to look at your white iPhone 4. Here is more pictures of the white iPhone 4.

Samsung Focus or Omnia 7 USB Tethering with Windows Phone 7 OS

2010-11-14T17:58:00.001-08:00

Seems that if you got your hands on a Samsung Focus or the Omnia 7 running on the new Windows Phone 7 OS, you can unofficially enable USB Tethering. You would need to dial ##634# to get into a diagnostics menu to switch on the USB tethering. It would be nice to be able to use the WiFi instead of USB, but at least it is a start.

Lenovo Tablet headed to US

2010-11-14T16:46:00.001-08:00

Looks like Lenovo is going to be releasing the LePad. Chances is this will be at CES2011. CEO Yang Yuanqing told the Wall Street Journal that they planned on releasing the Android tablet and headed to the US in 2011. Hopefully this will have all the Google Market Place as well or I’m sure that there will be some hack to install it. But this is not good for the general consumer, as they really don’t know how to install these apk files to do more and beyond the out of box experience.

Outlook 2007 Preview not Working?

2010-11-14T16:21:00.001-08:00

I was having a problem with Outlook 2007 these past few days, where it wouldn’t preview jpg files in the email. For the past years I never had this problem. At first I thought this could be a update, but after checking seemed not to be the case. I did a quick search and many had posted this same kind of problem. As many had mentioned that they had Google Desktop Search installed, and this was what was causing the problem. The only problem here, is that I didn’t have Google Desktop search installed. Many posted they fixed the problem by either reinstalling Google Desktop search, or disabling the add-in in Outlook. After searching more, I came across another way that can cause this problem. If the temp folder for Outlook gets to big, then you start to have the problem where you can’t view jpg in the email. A easy fix is to install CCleaner or just empty your OLK folder and reboot. This took care of the problem. I downloaded CCleaner here. This application works very well to repair some of your files as well clean up your temp files.

NOOKcolor eReader

2010-11-14T14:33:00.001-08:00

Now you can enjoy your ebooks in color with the Barnes & Noble NOOKcolor eReader. Best Buy has the NOOKcolor in stock at most of their stores. As everything gets digital, eReaders are getting more popular than ever. These new wave of eReaders are going to be in some way like a tablet. This is because, they will need to compete with your iPad, Galaxy Tab, etc… so these new wave of eReaders will be running Android OS in some way to give the user more than just been able to read eBooks on these devices. Also now that these color eBook readers coming out, they will have to continue to give the user that great battery life as well. Most users think eReaders as long battery life devices; which they should, so that you can pick up one and read for hours. Also must have a great standby battery life, so that you can pick up the eReader at anytime, and be able to read for hours. Again I personally think that the sweet spot for these eReaders and also tablets will be in the 5” – 7” for maximum portability. I love my iPad, but at times I sure can use a 7” and or can get by with a 5” tablet.

Here you see the new Sony Pocket Edition eReader next to the DX Kindle. I see why this was not a big seller. Not too many would like to carry around this giant eReader with them. The Pocket Edition is very portable, but yet is great to read with the new E-Ink technology that makes reading books even better than ever, yet it’s like carrying a paper book with you. Maybe the DX Kindle would be good in a classroom or where you don’t really need to be portable.

So what will be the future of eReader’s? I see eBook readers transit to a Tablet functions in the next coming year. You can already see some offering web, email. and more functions than just a eBook Reader. This is when it will cross over to be basically a tablet. Now you can get some of the new readers running Android OS. So we will have to keep a close eye on the following eRaders and see what’s in store. With CES2011 just around the corner, will most likely going to see quite a few new readers with more functions like the Samsung Tab, or iPad.

Sagem Wireless Binder eReader

2010-10-31T20:46:00.001-07:00

Here is another eReader to add to the list of several released eReaders. Sagem launched the Binder eReader, that will have a 6” screen with Sipix ePaper capacitive touchscreen, accelerometer, 3G and WiFi. 2GB of internal storage with microSD card slot. Sagem claims more than 8,000 page turns on a charge. It will support the more popular formats like, PDF, HTML, Epub, and TXT. Also will display JPEG, PNG, and BMP with MP3 music files. With all the tablets coming out, I think it might be better to get a $99 tablet and use it as a eBook reader. I can see that by having a eReader it will make it easier for someone to download and read books, but with the Kindle App, Nook App, and the rest of eReader apps it wouldn’t be that much more difficult to download books over WiFi on a Android Tablet. It is going to be a tough call wether the eBook readers are just a little to late to come to market with all these tablets, that are going to be showing up. Will have to wait and see, but in my view, the tablets will sell.

Sony PSP / Phone?

2010-10-31T17:12:00.001-07:00

I had the chance to try out the Xperia X10 for about 3 weeks and I can say the quality was very good. The only thing holding it back was the lack of Android 1.6 on it. If this new Sony phone / PSP gets released with the specs that we are hearing about. It will be a very nice device for those that want to be able to use as a portable gaming system.This would replace the current PSP go system, as this would be your all in one device. From the website Engadget it shows that it will have 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655, 512MB of RAM for better performance, for any future Android updates that might require more RAM or just to make apps run much better. More is better, and 1GB of ROM. The screen is not really confirmed, but I think if it was no smaller than 4” like the current Xperia X10 it will be perfect size. So hoperfully Sony can pull this one off, since the Xperia X10 is a great phone, but having the older OS is not a good thing, and only has 256 of RAM. This one seem to have multi-touch screen which will again be a good thing. Like I mentioned, I really liked the Xperia X10, but Android 1.6 was just a bit out dated for me. I wasn’t able to run some apps that required 2.1 or above. So lets hope to see this very soon, or at least a more solid release date.

Samsung Captivate with Froyo 2.2 & Tether

2010-10-31T01:10:00.001-07:00

This was just a quick video showing that using the WiFi Tether app works great on the Samsung Galaxy Captivate Froyo 2.2. I also use the iPhone 4 with MyWi as well to share the internet over WiFi to my Laptops or at times to my 3G iPad. This is very nice to be able to share the internet over the WiFi. This comes in very handy when your out and need to connect, but don’t have WiFi available. You can just fire up the Tether app for the Captivate and in a about 20 seconds later, you will be connected with what ever device needed internet connection over WiFi.

Used the iPhone 4 to video tape.

Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet at Best Buy

2010-10-31T00:08:00.001-07:00

If you really want to get your hands on a 7” Android Tablet. Well then head down to your nearest Best Buy store. This is providing that your local Best Buy has them in stock. I checked a few stores and they didn’t have any available. They did have a display model and decided to check it out, and see how well it compared to my Samsung Galaxy Captivate. For starters the touch screen was not that responsive, compared to my Captivate, iPad, tm2 TouchSmart, etc… At times I did have to click twice for it to launch the app. It was running Eclair, which seemed to do pretty good on the device. Didn’t seem to have a multi-touch screen.

Opening applications also had some very slight delay, but for the $299.99 price tag, you might want to try out Walgreens $99 tablet. It didn’t have the Android Market Place, but instead it has it’s own Cruz Market Place to download apps. The quality was good. It seem to have a nice sturdy housing and all plastic that was very solid. The screen appeared to be some type of plastic. They also had the Archos 7 Home Tablet next to it, so I also compared the size of the Cruz Tablet. It was not heavy at all, which would make a nice e-book reader as well. At this point you might be better to wait for the upcoming Huawei Ideos 7” tablet. From the rumors, the price will be $299.99 for the Ideos 7.

I myself, if I was thinking of getting a tablet. I would wait for the S7, but for now I really like my 3G iPad, which I use daily for work and for catching up on the latest news. I will have to check Best Buy November 7 and see if the S7 is available and give it a try if they have a display model. You never know, I might just bring one home. The 7” display makes it a perfect travel device. Not that my iPad isn’t a perfect travel device, but at times I sure could get by with a 7” device. These lower priced tablets, usually don’t have built-in GPS. I kind of got use to having a device with built-in GPS, but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me, since most my other devices already have GPS.

Here is the specs for the Cruz tablet:

Product Height 4.9"

Product Width 7.5"

Product Weight 1 lb.

Product Depth 0.7"

Platform Android

Total Built-In Memory 1GB; 4GB microSD card

Expandable Memory microSD

Modem Included Yes

PC Required No

Screen Size (Measured Diagonally) 7"

Supports Voice Transmission No

Number of Ports 1

Connection Port USB

Supports MP3 Yes

Display Type Color TFT

Keyboard Entry Yes, on display

Calculator Yes

Calendar Yes

Word Processor Yes

Adjustable Font Size Yes

Backlight Yes

Battery Type Lithium-ion

Connectivity Wi-Fi

HTC Knight Shows Sprint?

2010-10-23T21:39:00.001-07:00

The HTC Knight showed up sporting the Sprint logo. Could this be heading to Sprint very soon? Looks like it will be running Android with a capacitive touch screen. This looks like it will have the slide out speakers, like the HTC Surround phone. HTC is sure busy pumping out mobile phones of all kinds. Windows Phone 7 is really looking good. Check the review from Engadget.

Samsung Wave II vs Galaxy S Display

2010-10-23T20:46:00.001-07:00

The 3.7 display on the Wave II has the Super Clear LCD. As you can see on the left, the colors look more realistic vs the Galaxy S on the right. I have been using the Captivate and so far really enjoy the great color on the LCD with the AMOLED. So I can imagine how great the display is on the Wave II. I would like to see this in a 4” screen size; I think that’s a perfect mobile phone screen size. If I need anything bigger, I just use my Archos 5IT with iPhone 4 or Captivate as a WiFi.

HP Slate 500 Now Ready for Ordering

2010-10-23T16:58:00.001-07:00

Well looks like HP has finally let the Slate out of the bag. I have been reading in many post that say, the HP Slate 500 is the real first slate to run Windows 7 and be able to buy the slate. Well if you really look back, the Archos 9 was in theory one of the first slates available with Windows 7 and you could actually buy one. The specs on the Archos 9 was not great and got no recognition from the consumers. Hopefully the HP having a Atom Z540 running at 1.86GHz processor can do better.

The HP Slate 500 price will start at $799 and come with a portfolio case and a docking stand. What it does have for a first in a slate PC is, that it will come with a dual digitizer for both multi-touch with finger or pen input. This is great because it can be good for note taking on the small screen. This will be kind of like my HP TouchSmart tm2 that I have been using the past 3 weeks. Makes touch screen times very easy and when need to take notes, just use the pen and works great.

The 2GB of RAM and 64GB SSD, should get most users a pretty decent device for your daily work activities. Seems that HP might have basic model, that will have 1GB of RAM. With RAM prices not to expensive, HP should have just made all models with 2GB standard. It also has the Broadcom’s Crystal accelerator to handle those 1080p videos that you will want to watch on the road, or when you have a break from doing your work stuff. It also has dual VGA cam’s front and back to use with Skype or other video conference software.

Another thing is, many are going to compare the Slate 500 with the iPad. I don’t believe that you can compare both, because they are completely different devices. Yes they do basic things the same, but they are different in their own way. I use my iPad daily, but I also need my full PC at times or my Macbook Pro for those times I need some real power and be able to run both Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

Specifications:

Windows 7 Pro 32bits
Atom Z540 1.86Ghz
up to 2GB of RAM (533Mhz bus)
64GB SSD storage
8.9" multi-touch display (1024x600)
Broadcom video hardware accelerator
Front (VGA) and Back (3 Megapixel) cameras
5.91 x 9.21 x 0.58, 1.5lbs
2-Cell battery (30Whr)

Well we will have to wait for the verdict a time goes by and the HP Slate 500 reaches the consumer to use. Right now if you place a order, HP will ship the Slate 500 starting November 13.

Samsung Galaxy S Captivate

2010-10-17T01:15:00.003-07:00

Quick thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate for AT&T network. I won’t go into to much detail, since there is already plenty of reviews of the Captivate. I picked up the Captivate last week, which was on a Saturday to do a review of it. Wanted to see and feel the difference between the Captivate and the iPhone 4. I rooted and installed Froyo 2.2 on the 3rd day. I wanted to use the Captivate running 2.1 Eclair to see the difference once I would install 2.2. I also picked up the Sony Xperia X10 as well to review it and that is on another write up I am doing. Well the Captivate is a very nice mobile phone running Froyo 2.2 now. It is very light, but this to me has caused the phone to feel a little on the fragile side compare to other phones, example the BlackBerry Storm II, Xperia X10, iPhone 4, etc… This can be on the plus side as it will feel very light to use. With the AMOLED screen, everything looks so vibrant and text is readable outdoors. You will pretty much be able to use you the Captivate any place with that great AMOLED screen. Watching videos on it is very nice on the 4” screen and having the 1GHz processor makes it even better as now you can watch YouTube videos or other videos without any problems. Now that I have installed Froyo 2.2. You can watch Flash video in the browser, which works very well. The power of the Captivate lets you watch pretty much Flash without any problems in the browser. I have set it to only load flash when I click on the download flash video window in the browser so that it doesn’t slow down the load times in the browser. It does slow things down a bit when you have the browser load flash all the time. I believe it has glass screen, because it doesn’t flex at all when you push down on the screen, just like the iPhone 4. The battery door is metal and the rest is plastic. I think that a 4” size screen is perfect for a mobile phone. Not to big or too small, just the right size. Big enough to view web pages, text messages, read email, etc… That brings me to the email apps for the Android. One thing I think Android needs is some way to have push email using some 3rd party app. I know you can set it up with Gmail, but what I would like is something like the BlackBerry email or like on my iPhone 4, I have loaded a app that pushes my email instantly on my iPhone 4 which is just as good as my BlackBerry Storm II I was using. So far all the email apps that I have found for the Android, only let you chose when you want the email app to download the email, and not really a push email.

The touch screen on the Captivate works very well and your able to touch on your icons and responds quickly. I like how easy you can customize your home screen and there is so many apps that you can download to change or add widgets to your home screen. I still haven’t loaded to many at this point, but did have Launcher Pro on the Xperia X10 that I was testing out a couple of weeks ago. I have loaded Beautiful Widgets. It is a must app to install on your Android phone. Also James Kendrick over at JkonTheRun has a good video on how to customize your Android phone. Pictures and video quality is good, but I have compared to the iPhone 4, and the iPhone 4 is a lot better in quality. Pictures do look good but the detail is not very good. When you make the picture bigger, you can see that it is not a clear as the pictures taken with the iPhone 4. Also using the Xperia X10 camera that has a 8MP camera, pictures where not even close to both the iPhone 4 and the Captivate, but then again the X10 has Android 1.6 which doesn’t support the higher resolution for taking pictures. Also missing is the LED flash on the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S Captivate. The other Galaxy S series have a LED flash, not that it would help that much but would be nice to have for dark shots that are close ups.

Battery life is decent on the Captivate. I can get through the whole day and still have around 20% battery life left, after around 14 hours of the phone been on. I do use it for a good amount of phone calls through out the day and have FaceBook running in the background. I do have a weather widget, that runs also to update weather conditions. I use the web browser for about 15 minutes to 20 minutes through out the day on the Captivate. What I also do is plug in the phone in the car to charge it when going home or going to work, so that I can have as much battery life as possible, so that when I need to be on the phone I can get through the day without having to worry that I will run out of battery. I do leave my WiFi on all the time as well as the BlueTooth. On my iPhone 4, I also always leave the WiFi, and Bluetooth and do get better battery life compared to the Captivate. I do notice that I do get different battery life with the Captivate. Sometimes I end up with more battery life with about the same use, and other days its less. This is when I don’t charge it during the day. With the iPhone 4, it is pretty close all the time.

The Samsung virtual keyboard on the Captivate is not that good at all. I was using the Android keyboard, but when I upgraded to 2.2, all I got was the Samsung keyboard and the Swipe. So I installed the HTC keyboard, which I like very much and works much better than the Samsung keyboard. Again there is another keyboard called “Ultra-Keyboard” that you can use. James over at JKonTheRun did a video using “Ultra-Keyboard” looks like a nice keyboard but I haven’t tried it yet. Might buy it and give it a try, but I am really happy with the HTC one for now.

The call quality on the Captivate is really good and the signal is good as well. The GPS is working without a problem now that I have installed Froyo 2.2 on it. It does take a little longer to get the signal when you have a app that requires the GPS signal compared to the iPhone 4. If your in Google maps or Navigation, the GPS works very quickly. Finds you in a matter of 4 seconds or so.

What’s also really nice about the Android OS is that, you can use Voice Search and find places and have it navigate to it, with very little inputting on your part. Over all, not a bad smartphone and works much better than some other phones out there. It is very easy to root the phone to be able to install apps that are not in the Market Place, because AT&T has blocked you from being able to install apps outside of the Market Place. I think this is a bad idea, but I see that they want to have some kind of control, kind of like Apple with the iPhone’s.

Samsung Galaxy S Captivate Unboxing

2010-10-17T01:15:00.001-07:00

This is a quick unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate phone. Also you can see it compared to the iPhone 4 in size.

Acer Dual Screen i5

2010-09-11T20:42:00.001-07:00

Just recently Toshiba released the libretto W100 with Dual-Screen, with 7” LCD. Now looks like Acer has its own leaked dual screen laptop. According to Tech Review Source this has a 2.67GHz i5 processor, with massive dual 15” screens. This should give you enough power for all your favorite apps. This won’t be your everyday travel companion, as the weight of this device will be up there. It has multi-touch screens so it will very nice to use.

Revised iPhone 4 Antenna

2010-08-31T21:44:00.001-07:00

We all know that Steve Jobs said that Apple would be giving out free covers, or bumpers to iPhone 4 users to help out with the antenna issue. Even though that Steve Jobs said that the iPhone 4 didn’t have a antenna issue. I have tested the antenna issue and it does affect it a bit, but if you are in a good coverage area it really doesn’t affect you too much. I still would like to get the revised iPhone 4 if they do release it after September 30, just when the free case program expires. A executive from a Mexico carrier Telcel, has claimed that they will be caring the new revised iPhone 4 after September 30. This is a really bad deal for all existing iPhone 4 users. This would not be good part for Apple if they did up date the iPhone 4 after September 30, unless they are going to replace everyone that complains with existing iPhone. In the other hand it is hard to believe that such executive from Telcel to give out so much information and know so much before they have the iPhone 4. I will be keeping my eye out on this, if indeed a revised iPhone 4 gets released, so I can change out my iPhone 4.

iPad Targus Stylus

2010-08-11T19:58:00.001-07:00

Recently I happen to be at Best Buy store and ran into the Targus Stylus for the iPad, iPod Touch, and the iPhone. I had been using the Pogo Sketch Stylus, which has worked good. The only thing was that when inking with the Pogo, it wouldn’t be the best experience but that’s all I had to use and for me was better then the Dagi Stylus as well. I always said to myself, if someone would release a stylus with the tip sort of round, like your finger, but in a smaller version, and some how soft so that it can be like your finger pad. Well that’s what the Targus Stylus feels like. The tip is a soft rubber that feels very good when inking and works very well. Here is a quick video I did of the Targus Stylus, compared to the Pogo Stylus.

As you can see that the Targus stylus works well, and feels very nice and smooth on the iPad. Well at least in my opinion. I know that inking on the iPad is not for everyone, but for me it works for those notes that I need to take and then sync over, depending if I am using MobileNoter.

Here you can see that the Pogo Sketch tip is like a sponge like material and the Targus stylus is like a soft rubber material. Since the Pogo has the tip like a sponge, it makes it a little harder to do inking. Now my stylus choice is the Targus and have been using it over 4 days. The Targus stylus is little shorter than the Pogo, at first I thought that it would be a problem but it’s not. The other nice thing is that the Targus stylus is almost feels like a regular pen. I compared it to my Cross pen and they are almost the same in diameter. This makes it feel better in your hand when using it, to write down those notes. So for now the Targus will be my inking Stylus of choice.

iPhone 4G and BlackBerry Storm II

2010-06-26T11:54:00.001-07:00

I was able to get of hold of a iPhone 4G on Wednesday the 23rd and compared it with my Storm II. I have to say that the iPhone 4G is well built and very sleek. You can also see that the Storm II is very well built as well. Both are about the same size in thickness and the iPhone is just a little bit larger than the Storm II. The iPhone is more responsive compared to the Storm II, and what I mean about this is that. When you just tap on a icon on the iPhone it opens up the app very quickly. The Storm II OS is kind of outdated, but it is still a solid OS in terms of getting things done for work. RIM does need to start to getting the OS 6.0 for BlackBerry going or else, they will see a decline in sales with the new iPhone and the Android OS smartphones; which is catching up to RIM.

Another thing going for the iPhone is, that there is so many apps in the iTunes store that you can install and use on the iPhone. You can almost find a app for anything to use on the iPhone. The reason I see this is that the iPhone is so popular, so many developers are out there developing apps for it. The BlackBerry App store is pretty solid and has its share of apps, but not as many. When I use the BlackBerry app store, its not as fast in finding apps. It is very slow in a way that sometimes I just don’t continue to look for a app using the BlackBerry app store. What I do is when I get a chance I just look it up on the computer and find the name of the app and search it to install on the BlackBerry. This brings me to another point. The Safari browser on the iPhone is so much better than on the Storm II, that I hardly use the browser on the BlackBerry. I use to carry my iPod Touch to actually use it for browsing and for apps that I have installed to be productive for work that I can’t use on the Storm II.

The display on the iPhone 4G is so clear compared to the Storm II. I opened up a PDF file and web page on the iPhone and I couldn’t believe how smooth and clear the display is. I really like my Storm II, but now that iOS 4 for iPhone is out and the new iPhone 4G, I can live without the apps that I use for work on the Storm II. I can always use a work around for the meantime on the iPhone.

The back of the iPhone is glass which makes it look sleek all the way around, but you can also see that the Storm II metal cover for the back and the chrome around makes it look just as sleek as the iPhone.

Another nice thing is the dual cameras on the iPhone. Right now you can only use the front facing camera for video conference with another iPhone 4G and has to be while on Wi-Fi. Hopefully if Apple doesn’t change this which I can already see this in a Jailbreak app to make the video conference work over the regular 3G data from the phone and not while on Wi-Fi.

Here you see the iPhone 4G with my iPad Wi-Fi + 3G. The iPhone 4G pretty much looks like a small iPad in some ways.

Apple Submit Application for Solar Charging...

2010-06-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

Apple has submitted a application for solar powering devices. They might not use this at the moment, but Apple always to manage to think 5 years ahead and this could be for the future iPhone, iPads, and iPod's. The photocells are inside, "By integrating both the touch sensors and the solar cell layers into the same stack-up, surface area on the portable device may be conserved," from the filing writing.

Samsung Galaxy Tablet's

2010-06-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, there was some leaked pictures of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet. Seems that they will be releasing 3 different sizes. A 7, 8, and a 10" models. The only bad thing is that they will be out sometime in December when all other tablets will also flood the internet. I think the early tablets will have a better chance, since many consumers will pick those up. As long as the tablets do have some good specs and are very usable. Most consumers will be looking at been able to play Netflix, Hulu, etc... and will be comparing to the iPad. So from some early previews from other talbets that are playing 720p video very nicely, we might see some good stuff. From the pictures it looks like it will be running Android OS and hopefully have access to the Market Place, with the newest Android OS.

JooJoo Table Now Running Windows 7

2010-06-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

A JooJoo owner has managed to install Windows 7 on his JooJoo Tablet. From the video it seems to be running pretty nicely. Darkdavy mention that the JooJoo does run a little on the warm side, this is mostly due to the OS demand compare to the Linux built OS that it originally comes installed. The JooJoo Tablet that he is using has 4GB SSD and 1GB of RAM. It plays 720p video very smoothly and it is getting around 4 hours of battery life. Not bad for a Table that wasn't sold with Windows 7 on it, compare to other tablet that are only getting 2.5 hours of battery life running on the Atom 1.6GHz processor. Also the JooJoo Tablet is pretty close to the iPad in terms of thinness. I will have to keep a eye on this project and see how this turns out in the coming weeks. This might be what JooJoo needed to get the JooJoo noticed after it was released, not too many pre-ordered and some had canceled after the pre-order. The price for the JooJoo is $499.99 which is not bad but the iPad has more GB in comparison to the JooJoo. You do pay more for the iPad. Also a couple of things not working yet is the drivers for the accelerometer and 3G.

Viliv X10

2010-06-01T12:57:00.001-07:00

Looks like Viliv might have another winner in its hands. Laptop magazine got some shots of the X10 and some video of the X10 running some smooth game and video. This will be a 10” tablet with 1366x768 screen resolution. This is the same resolution on my Ferrari One F02 with 11.6” screen. So it will be nice to be able to have such a high resolution. Also they mention about the X10 having USB, SD Card, HDMI, and web cam. That alone will be better than my iPad. Also from reading it claims to have a battery life of 10 hours. Not bad again. The current X10 is running Android 2.1, but Viliv is saying that the final product will have Android 2.2 Froyo. There is also a Windows 7 version of the X10 and Laptop Magazine got some pictures. We will have to keep a eye out for this nice little tablet in the coming weeks or months. Hopefully it won’t be months. The X10 looks pretty well done as in it could be ready to mass produce if they keep the design as the demo unit. Check out the video out at Laptop Magazine.

mSpot Streaming Service

2010-05-30T10:49:00.001-07:00

For those that have a iPhone or iPod Touch with a MiFi or Overdrive, youo will be able to stream movies directly to your mobile device. As long as you have 3G or Wi-Fi coverage. mSpot has been around for about a year, but you had to do it in your browser and wasn’t available on many handsets. The price of the videos range from $1.99 to $4.99 depending on the movie. Some of the older movies are even listed as free which nice if you find a old movie to watch while waiting for a flight. Of course the library of movies is no where near Netflix’s movies but at least now if you find a movie you want to watch you can stream it. The quality is not to bad over 3G and you can pause the movie if you want to and come back to it later. You can even start watching a movie on your PC and continue it on your iPhone later if you want or vice versa. This is pretty nice feature . Looks like a promising app for now, until Netflix is available for the iPhone. The Netflix app works great on the iPad.

Vaja Case for ZuneHD

2010-05-21T23:48:00.001-07:00

My wife surprised me with the Vaja case for my Zune HD. I was not expecting the case at all, or any case for that matter. I was totally shocked to see how nice and well built the case is. It fits like a glove.

You can see how nice the fit is here with the edges align nice and straight.

You slide the Zune HD from the bottom as you see here in the above picture. It doesn’t add any bulk to the Zune HD at all. This makes it even a better case.

Just the side view of the Zune HD in the Vaja case.

Also the stitching on the Vaja case is well done. Every looks very well done. This is the back of the case. Overall I really like the case Vaja makes. This should protect my Zune HD from getting scratched up in my pocket, and add some class to my Zune HD as well.

Penultimate for the iPad update…

2010-05-21T23:16:00.001-07:00

I have been using the Penultimate app on my iPad for quite awhile. I like how well it inks, but had to make sure that I didn’t put or lean with my palm on the screen or I would get a lot of vectoring or scribbles. Well now Penultimate has updated to 1.1 and have added a feature called “Wrist Protection” and what that does is that you are able to rest your palm on the screen to ink. This is not 100% but it is working great for my needs and taking notes. This just makes this app, much better to use for me. Hopefully in the next update they can really perfect the Wrist Protection and this will be a great app for inkers. This might feel like if the iPad had a active digitizer. Now if they can also add where you can import pictures into the notebook to mark up or even PDF’s, this will be one great app. So for now I will continue to use Penultimate to write down notes. After I take notes, I email them back to myself so that I can have them to attach to either a ToDo or appointment in Outlook.

Could this be the new iPod Touch with 2MP Camera

2010-05-19T11:10:00.001-07:00

Tinhte from Vietnam have posted some pictures and a video showing what looks like the iPod Touch. It does show “DVT-1” which means this is a testing type unit. It also could mean that the new iPod Touch will be very close to this iPod Touch, or maybe this could be what the Touch will be when released. From the picture it looks to be a 65GB iPod Touch, with a pair of 32GB Samsung Flash modules.

Here you can see the current iPod Touch with no camera and the leaked picture of the iPod Touch with Camera. They look pretty close and if you remember back when the 3G iPod Touch was released, some posted pictures of the iPod Touch opened up, showing that there is room for a camera in the same place this one is showing. Also watching the video it does show something about a microphone, so hopefully it does have one built in. This will make a nice Skype phone using a MiFi or other to tether. From the past Apple tends to release iPods in September, but maybe this will be announced June 7. Lately there has been a lot of leaks from Apple products including the iPhone 4G, and the Video of the new MacBook that was released from Apple.

New Patriot Inferno…SSD

2010-05-18T11:06:00.001-07:00

Patriot memory is updating the Inferno line of SSD memory with capacities of 100GB and 200GB. They will come at a premium price, with starting price of $369 for the 100GB and $679 for the 200GB. They will be using the SandForce SF-1222 controller in order to reach an impressive data transfer speed of 285/275 Mbytes per second at max speeds. Not bad speeds if I say so myself. They will be available in the 2.5” format which will work for most laptops and Netbooks. The drives also use a Multi-level Cell Technology (MLC). SSD has been out for quite some time now but the higher end models still are pretty pricey. Hopefully prices for these high end SSD start to come down in price to what hard drives use to cost. In the meantime I will be using my WD 500GB hard drive in my Macbook and my MSI Wind.

ABC App Now Plays with 3G iPad's

2010-05-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

With the recent release of the 3G iPad, many users are saying that watching video streaming with apps on the 3G iPad is pretty choppy or not clear enough. ABC app would not load and said that you must be connected to Wi-Fi to use the app. Well ABC released a update to the app and now supports the use of the 3G streaming to play. The update now supports for watching videos in either portrait or landscape mode. The video quality is good over 3G and not much difference compared to when watching with Wi-Fi. So they were able to keep the quality good, while reducing the bandwidth streaming when on 3G. The ABC app is one of the top downloaded apps at the iTunes Store, and it is nice to be able to watch some shows while traveling or around town when you have some free time to catch up on the shows that are availble. The latest ABC app is free at the iTunes Store.

iPad GPS and Archos 5 GPS...

2010-04-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

I happen to be out and about today and brought along both the iPad and the Archos 5. I had upgraded my Archos 5 to the new firmware today so, good time to test it on the road and see how much more stable it was compare to the older firmware. So far it has made a big difference with this new firmware. It is much more stable and is working very nicely so far. Since I had both with me I thought that I about the GPS. I know that the iPad doesn't really have a hardware GPS and the A5 does. So I thought I would test both with Google maps. I reall thought that the A5 would be more accurate, since it does have a hardware GPS. Maybe the firmware has something to do with this, but I was really surprized that the iPad was so much closer in locating me.

As you can see the iPad and the Archos 5 location. I will still give the Archos 5 some more testing maybe just one of those things that didn't work correctly today. I plan on giving a test Monday on the way to work or maybe this weekend.

HP Buys Palm

2010-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

HP announced that it's acquiring Palm for the small price of $1.2 billion, which works out to $5.70 per share of Palm common stock. The deal is planned to close by July 31. Current Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein is "expected to remain with the company," though no mention of what duty's he would be doing at Palm. This can be intersting, now that HP has purchased Palm. This could be a sign for the new HP Compaq Airlife 100 to run Palm WebOS kit in it. This would give the Airlife 100 a good consumer product, and will be able to compete with Android, iPhone OS, and other mobile OS. Got to keep a eye on this and who knows there might already porting the Palm WebOS on the Airlife 100.

Shutter Snitch for the iPad

2010-04-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

There is a app called Shutter Snitch that shows coming soon to the iTunes store. This will let you transfer pictures from a Eye-Fi SD card to your iPad. This is great if you like to bring your iPad along to a picture shooting. You basically have the iPad setup in a section, and let your customers view the pictures right away. Also would be nice for those times you take pictures on vacation and just don't want to bring your cable or the iPad picture kit, you can just buy the Eye-Fi SD card and the app. You will receive warnings when shutter speed, aperture, and other doesn't fit your predefined rules. With the great screen on the iPad it will be a joy to see the pictures. Link to ShutterSnitch for the iPad.

Jorno Bluetooth Keyboard Coming Soon...

2010-04-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

I ran into this website that shows that it will be releasing a portable keyboard that looks like the Think Outside BT keyboard in late Spring 2010. Also the StoweAway BT keyboard is no longer made so now many iPad users are out looking for a portable solution and this might just be the ticket. I still have my Think Outside BT keyboard that I have been using for several years. Here is the link to the Jorno.

“Coming Late Spring 2010
A modern, fold-up, Bluetooth keyboard for your Android,
Windows Mobile, or HID-profile-compatible device”

Pocket size. Folds up to the size of a deck of cards*
Laptop power. Turns your mobile device into a pocketsized laptop
Full size keys. For long-form typing, word processing, blogging,
emails, note taking
Bluetooth connectivity. So you can place the keyboard anywhere
you like. Also functions with your desktop or tablet computer
Cradle. To hold your phone in either portrait or landscape
Rigid when unfolded. So you can place the keyboard in your lap.

Possible 4G iPhone... Or ?

2010-04-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Looks like over Endgadget got there hands on what might be the upcoming 4G iPhone. Seems that the phone was found on the floor at a San Jose bar in a 3G case. The pictures look real, but might be a prototype. Also from what it is mentioned it talks about having a front facing camera and 80GB? That sounds off if it is flash memory because it should be 64GB. Hopefully more info gets posted, as it does look like a nice design.

Here is some of the pictures

Engadget posted up.

How to Add ePub books to your iPad

2010-04-13T12:57:00.001-07:00

For those that want to add your DRM free ePub books to your iPad and take them on the road to read, well it is pretty easy to do. You just have to drag over your ePub book to your iTunes library and then drag it to your iPad and it will sync the book over to your iPad and ready for on the go reading. Here is a quick video as well.

CradlePoint CTR350 Quick OverView

2010-04-03T23:49:00.000-07:00

I happen to find the CradlePoint CTR350 at my local Fry's and picked it up to use with my BlackBerry Storm 2. So far I really like how I can just plug it in and can share with up to 16 computers. I won't be sharing up to 16 computers, because it will slow down everything. It also chargers the BlackBerry as well, so that way it won't drain the battery on my BB. There is a CradlePoint that has a battery for mobile use, just incase that you happen to be in a area that doesn't have power. I got this one because most of the time I am near a outlet so, the CTR350 works for me. I can still connect to my BB Storm 2 if I don't have the CTR350, either using my USB cable or BT DUN setup with all my devices. The only device that I wouldn't be able to do this is the iPad. The iPad doesn't support BT DUN setup.

One BIG iPhone or maybe not?

2010-04-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

I have loaded Skype on my iPad and it is working good. I was able to make calls to landlines, mobile phones, and regular Skype calls to desktop Skype users and all the calls came in clear. The Skype app is not yet made specific for iPad, but the regular iPhone one worked great. When you zoom in on the Skype app, it does get a little jaggy edged because its not made specific for the iPad. But never the less it does work and you can use the mic and speaker that is built-in on the iPad to make calls to your family, friends, and others.

iPad Cases

2010-04-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

Here is two cases I got for the iPad today. The Apple one and the Incase one. The Incase one is very nice case. It has 4 positions to put the iPad at different angles to view it. When you slide your iPad the back of the iPad is meet with the case soft padded. The openings all line up with Incase which is good, because sometimes these 3rd party cases will sometimes not align. The case is much thicker when closed compare to the Ap

ple case, so it will depend if you would like the case slim or don't mind the extra thickness. So far I like the Incase and will give it a try this week and decide whether I will keep it o

r c

hange it to the Apple one. The case

does a good job of protecting the iPad once you slide it in. The Apple one is very thin and keeps the look of the iPad pretty much thin. It hardly adds any weight to the iPad with this case. The case is like a rubber type that makes gripping the iPad very good, which can help that it will not slip off your hands.

iPad Is in the House...

2010-04-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

I had put 2 iPad's on reservation to pick up at my local Apple store for April 3. I got the 16GB for my wife and I got the 32GB for myself. So far this thing is "Magical". This is according to Steve Jobs. There was 2 lines at the Apple store. One was for the non reserved and the other for reserved. There must of been at least 200 people in the line waiting to get their iPad. So far I have set up my email, contacts, and calendar to sync with my BlackBerry Storm 2, so that I can have everything synced up. This works great for me, because no matter which device I pick up I can always check my email or check my calendar.

This makes it easy to update any calendar items when I am using either device.

Netflix runs excellent on the iPad. The Netflix app was added just this week so I was very happy to see that it would work on the iPad. Now I can watch movies when traveling or short outings that we plan with my family. I purchased the CradlePoint CTR350 to use with my BlackBerry Storm 2, so I can have broadband on my iPad for when traveling. Everything on the iPad is very responsive and smooth when scrolling. Multi-Touch is great on the bigger screen vs the iPod Touch and iPhone. Not that the smaller screen is bad, but you have so much more room to work with applications. The Web looks great and works great on the Safari browser. So far most of all the web pages that I go and check daily are working and displaying nicely on the iPad. The sound is very good, I was afraid that by having one speaker at the bottom that the sound would not be loud enough, but it is loud enough to listen in a average noisy area. I have been downloading apps from the app store and trying them out and of course these are the free one's. I will be purchasing Pages, and Numbers to use on the iPad to be able to work with Word and Excel files when I need to do small

changes or create short documents with the on screen keyboard. I can also create long Word d

ocuments by using a BlueTooth keyboard, which then I can type away and create any length of

document. I still have my Stowaway BT keyboard which I will be pairing up to use for on the road typing. I think Apple has a winner with the iPad, not that the up coming slates don't have a chance, but I think the iPad will be what everyone will be comparing too. HP needs to advertise their up coming slate so that the general public knows about it. It always helps if they can get it out to brick and mortar stores so everyone can see and try them.