casa.de.geeks

Archive for the ‘gadgets’ Category

Don’t you ever just feel like the last few weeks in technology were full of bad news and let downs? All you’re looking for is the light at the end of the tunnel. I always ask myself why the general population seems to hold people in tech related professions to a higher standard when it comes to service. I’m not saying we’re not excellent… but we’re not perfect. We make mistakes and truth be told there is not a giant magic easy button tucked away at the back of our desk drawer collecting dust waiting for the day when your priority #1, mission critical, last-minute-I-need-this-done-now, project comes along. Sometimes users request the impossible… or just the plain ridiculous, like the lady who wanted to remove the Pac Man from her Google.

Seriously though, why do other people/companies/entities get to screw up so bad and still skate on like nothing happened?

BP is still taking a big dump in the Gulf of Mexico. Progress with cleanup efforts and fixing the spewing oil leak is dragging on as if they think time itself will solve the problem.

It seems that Apple and AT&T screwed people over big time with what looks like an obvious bait and switch to me. One of Apple’s major selling points for the iPad was the ability to get an unlimited data plan through AT&T for $30 a month without a contract! Now shortly after the 3G versions are released, AT&T says they’re no longer offering unlimited data plans for the iPad or the iPhone. Even those who already signed up and will be grandfathered into an unlimited plan are forced into never skipping a payment – kind of like being on a contract, because I’m sure if you missed a month AT&T would just make you sign up for their new plans.

One final frustration of mine: T-Mobile should be ashamed of themselves! Verizon and Sprint are offering up all the awesome Android phones like they’re the ones that started this whole thing! C’Mon TMo – you offered up the first Android phone to the masses with the G1 and now your best offering is the MyTouch Slide? Where are the top-end handsets to compete with the HTC EVO 4G and the HTC Incredible or the Motorola Droid? TMo isn’t even directly selling the Nexus One but they should! They need to!

But hey, a little bird has been chirping about a big event coming soon for T-Mobile: Free phones on June 19th. If this is true, TMo could win over a lot of new customers and maybe that’s just what they need for the phone makers to consider giving TMo better handsets. I took the time to check out plans for two Android phones on Verizon’s network with unlimited data and T-Mobile still has the best priced plans. Here’s to more waiting for my dream phone.

All four of us have now upgraded from the factory battery to an extended battery for our T-Mobile G1s. Fox claims he’s able to get about 3 days of battery life from his phone now even while running multiple apps and receiving regular notifications from each. Trust me, I don’t need to know about tweets at 3am, so I’m hoping to exceed his time without a charge. Here are some pictures of the phone with its original battery and then with the extended. My G1 is the bronze phone and there were no matching bronze back covers for the extended battery. To be honest, I don’t mind the 3-tone look. Enjoy.

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Hey there T-Mobile! As a TMO customer for a few years now, I was super proud when TMO was the first carrier in the US to launch an Android handset. We were early adopters! Casadegeeks bought three of them and now all four of us have a G1. I think we’ve all reached that point now where the G1 is no longer fast enough. Time to upgrade… wait – where is the next generation of TMO’s Andoid handsets? Verizon has two awesome Android offerings now: Motorola Droid and HTC Incredible… Sprint just got the HTC Evo and even AT&T – exclusive iPhone carrier has some Android offerings. What do you have TMO? The original Android phone – G1, Motorola Cliq, HTC MyTouch – is that all? Even the upcoming HTC MyTouch2 (codename Espresso) is still lacking the new Snapdragon processor. My only real option for a next-gen Android phone on T-Mobile’s network is going to be the Nexus One. Why the complaining then, you ask. Who doesn’t want more choices?

It’s gotten so bad that people are resorting to starting rumors about T-Mobile getting the HTC Incredible – why? C’Mon T-Mobile! Bring it! You took a big step in bringing Android to the market, you should be the leading provider for the best, newest Android handsets! I want to be proud of Magenta again!

That said, unless there are more options soon on T-Mobile, I guess I’ll fork over my arm and leg to buy a Nexus One. In the meantime, go watch some of these vids about the Nexus One:

Apple recently released the iPad – the most anticipated mobile device since the iPhone. However, most gadget lovers and tech heads alike will gripe about one flaw – a flaw that some believe will be fatal to the iPad. No multitasking! You can only run one application at a time on the iPad just like the iPhone and the iPod Touch. This seems to be a major part of the Apple mobile device formula and if you look at the numbers of these devices that have been sold along with other impressive stats like repeat customers and customer satisfaction, there is no denying that this is a formula that works. However, its a theory not shared by HTC which released phones such as the popular Droid and the Nexus One which run the Android OS, the product of search engine giant Google.

If you have ever used a phone with multitasking capabilities such as Windows Mobile or the Android OS, you have undoubtedly had issues with your phones system resources running out or just system lockups due to applications running in the background. Some consumers do not understand the idea of background processes and they don’t seem to be interested in learning about them or how to manage them. Can you honestly blame your average person who just wants a phone that works without the hassles of task managers and application startup options? With that said, I have to admit that my personal phone, a T-mobile G1 / HTC Dream, has had very little issues in the way of multitasking and background processes. Could it be that Google has found a way around the hurdles of multitasking and some day in the future it will be more streamlined for the average consumer? Or will Apple’s formula for mobile platform success be the victor in the end?

The Google Nexus One is by far the most appealing Android phone I’ve seen lately, however, it doesn’t have the most appealing price tag – $529 without a T-Mobile contract. And while I still enjoy my G1, its not going to last forever! I’ve dropped it more times than I can remember and what better excuse to get a new phone with the Snapdragon processor than a dead G1?

After finding out that two brand new Nexus One phones (because of course, Fox would need one too) would cost me over $1000, I’ve been on the lookout for other new Android phones coming on the market soon.

I keep coming across articles for the HTC Espresso (supposedly due to tentatively launch May 17) which all show off the awesome new UI. OK, I get it already! NEW UI. Whoop-de-da! I want to see the phone too! What are the specs? Might it have the new Snapdragon processor? If it doesn’t, I’d find it pretty difficult to still consider keeping it on my list of possible new phones.

The HTC Espresso, AKA the MyTouch Slide or MyTouch2 is also rumored to have a slide out QWERTY keyboard and also replace T-Mobile’s Sidekick. Finally, right? When I think Sidekick, I think of a brick-like phone that I’d give to my kid to play with as opposed to a real phone.

So until I see some pics or video of the actual phone, I’m putting this on on the back burner.

Replace Audio Jack on 5th Gen iPod Video from Rebecca Maza on Vimeo.

My first video. Did you know YouTube only allows for videos under 10 minutes in length. Don’t get me wrong, I wish I could have cut my video down to about 5 minutes – first video – if I ever do another, I’ll be more time efficient.

Soon before the G1 was released at the end of 2008, I had my eye on it – waiting for the day I could get my short stubby fingers on it. The day came and Shadowslayer, Fox, and I all bought one. I’ve given it plenty of thought now and after having it for more than 6 months, I have a fairly good idea of what I like and what I don’t like about the G1.

After the cupcake firmware update the first thing we all noticed was improved battery life – definite win. Features like video recording and the ability to view html in email were also added. I love the Google Maps and GPS features. Google’s Latitude seems like a great tool but I haven’t really been able to use it very much. A lot of the applications and features on the G1 are social and interactive, so your friends all have to join in to get the full experience. When you setup your gmail account, you can sync all your phone and email contacts. You can even choose to only view those contacts with phone numbers in your contact list or view them all. The touch screen is great. Its a good size for any tasks on the phone including watching videos. My favorite part about the screen is that unlike the new MyTouch, it isn’t your only option for typing – G1 has a full QWERTY keyboard under the screen – WIN. On top of all of that, the G1 has 1000′s of applications, many of which are free.

Overall there’s a lot of potential in the G1 and with so much good, its shortfalls are minor. Some people seem to think the slight angle at the bottom of the phone is awkward when typing on the keyboard – but to be honest, you won’t even notice it after a few days. At launch there was no support for editing Microsoft Documents. As of right now, you can download Documents to Go from the Market for $19.99 and gain the ability to view, edit, and save MS Word and Excel docs. I like the camera on the G1 but have found that picture quality indoors is poor unless you have near daylight conditions. There is no flash for the camera. The G1 also lacks a standard audio jack for headphones. The app market is full of free apps, but only a handful of them are nifty apps. I’ve been disappointed to see that most of the apps are purely for entertainment, like the seemingly endless list of soundboards. I’d like to see more apps like Documents to Go that are aimed at making this a true Smartphone – one that professionals can utilize as well instead of just casual users. I think given some more time, more useful apps will appear on the market.

Some apps I use:
10001 Cocktails
chompSMS
Digital Clock
Dream
FaceBook
Flashlight
Labyrinth Lite
MySpace
Phonalyzer
PureRSS
Ringdroid
SnapPhoto
Pac Man
The Weather Channel
Throttle Copter
Tip Calculator
Toggle Wifi
Twidroid
WoW Realm Status

You have to excuse my interest as of late in G1 apps. It is just so interesting to see what kinds of applications people will develop for an open platform. If you don’t know already, the G1 runs Android OS, the open platform for phones. Check out Spoof App. It allows you to place a call to any number you want and spoof the number that appears on the receiving phone’s caller ID. It even allows you to change the sound of your voice and allows for recording of the phone call.