tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-288111552024-03-14T00:18:20.839+11:00@limburger2001's world in 320x240I like tech...and this blog is my virtual soapbox for all tech things...when I remember.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-82735384146279133892013-12-07T17:49:00.000+11:002013-12-27T05:51:14.763+11:00Toshiba Encore review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGNvic9zbIBIMHqh7KMLYwL5gGYYpC8IrlcqLMK026vrXIaOc-0uckNv5ZSvEjXDozScp72VV6cQV03heQBJ25W85V5yypdYh6JOsLqhlRlovp2BV42R_WSM9lGWeTc3XL8Ke/s1600/IMG_0239_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGNvic9zbIBIMHqh7KMLYwL5gGYYpC8IrlcqLMK026vrXIaOc-0uckNv5ZSvEjXDozScp72VV6cQV03heQBJ25W85V5yypdYh6JOsLqhlRlovp2BV42R_WSM9lGWeTc3XL8Ke/s400/IMG_0239_2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The good<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Compact – it’s a little thicker than other 7-8 inch tablets,
but it is a good size for one handed use, with enough bezel surrounding the
screen to get a secure grip. And as far as full computers go, this is probably
as compact as you want to get and still have a useable experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Win 8.1 allows split screen multitasking on smaller devices
– prior to the point upgrade, win 8 required a minimum resolution for the dual
screen multitasking ability (1366x768), which would rule out this device.
Fortunately with 8.1 you can now get that feature is the smaller screen
resolutions such as 1280x800, and it is quite handy, with most if not all tile
interface apps I’ve tested working well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Battery life – I haven’t performed any testing, but in my
general use (youtube videos on one pane, twitter/browser on the other) battery
drain has not been alarming, and I haven’t had a low battery warning yet – once
I’ve drained the battery up to about 20%, I’ll be testing the recharge rate as
well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Micro HDMI port – as nice as having a computer that is
portable is, I appreciate the option to be able to connect it to a larger
screen if the need arose. Certainly if I was going to be doing lots of text
entry on the supplied (and full) copy of MS Office 2013, I would find the
experience a lot more pleasant on a larger screen, especially since the
on-screen keyboard effectively halves the viewable screen in landscape, and
takes up approx.. a third of the screen in portrait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">SD card – Although the Encore does come in 32Gb and 64Gb
sizes, only the former was available in stores at the time, and the only one to
come under the $400 mark. Out of the box 13Gb are available for use, so having
a microSD slot for storing media and larger files is a good feature to have,
leaving the built in storage for apps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Price – as alluded to above, the 32Gb model I bought came in
under the $400 mark, which brings it into the realm of the ARM based tablets.
Plus, with the promotion that Dick Smith was running at the time, it came with
a $50 gift card which clinched the deal for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Performance of new atom processor – Apart from this device,
I also have the Acer W510, a 10 inch tablet running the previous gen atom
(clover trail) processor, which was no number crunching powerhouse, but was
adequate for everything I threw at it. Running the Geekbench 3 benchmark
software, the performance of the Encore returned a score of ~2600, which was
over twice the score of the W510 (~1100)…so based on this, I shouldn’t have any
issues with getting things done on this device, which aligns with my current
experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8w3Pb0nBZQIzyVQzS92ULZFFXZyjYYpyiKQxoC2P0T-3AImVGX-NL0GmdpoRqO3JVEn4ZCCOthb-El4G3kH-yWUproiQwdTtOMNbJXI021gBkdYtrn0hPg7GcueVY0tnCRHuH/s1600/geekbench+3+result.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8w3Pb0nBZQIzyVQzS92ULZFFXZyjYYpyiKQxoC2P0T-3AImVGX-NL0GmdpoRqO3JVEn4ZCCOthb-El4G3kH-yWUproiQwdTtOMNbJXI021gBkdYtrn0hPg7GcueVY0tnCRHuH/s400/geekbench+3+result.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhKaw-z2B3eG6D_EtPr4BoENf98SDcNBu4PJf_5kq8m9N2i9m3dQNLkUEkIOHHTfJISZiosUFrLSk7chOCDu7oiBOlIXdCPXEz4f0EpObcj_4pBKUpVtNQde7zFzmYsfe9AYD/s1600/geekbench+3+result+w510.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhKaw-z2B3eG6D_EtPr4BoENf98SDcNBu4PJf_5kq8m9N2i9m3dQNLkUEkIOHHTfJISZiosUFrLSk7chOCDu7oiBOlIXdCPXEz4f0EpObcj_4pBKUpVtNQde7zFzmYsfe9AYD/s400/geekbench+3+result+w510.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">USB port – although it requires an OTG cable to convert the
microUSB port to a full size USB 2.0 port, it allows for accessing files in USB
flash drives, and even outputs enough power to be able to run external portable
drives (something which is not possible on its nearest rival, the Dell Venue
Pro 8)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The bad<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Build quality – maybe I’ve been spoilt by products such as
the iPad mini and the current Nexus 7 (which hovers around the same price
range), but the Toshiba just doesn’t look and feel as well put together, with
uneven gaps in the seams between the plastic silver plastic trim around the
screen and the plastic silver back, and noticeable creaking of the device when
I pick it up. If you want to compare like for like, the identically spec’d and
priced Dell Venue Pro 8 feels a lot more solid, using better feeling materials,
and more in line with the other competing tablets in its price range.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIk_yUURbzJjL9Jrf5w8gjeJbl2nbVi1ws_S9aGIksVrIa6WEPvPuVp4DgXYBPVYH3k7nwi3VC2znl9qrw9g1qiF5LmNS5xnfLWTiP96XwYHEMibSTHSKNXZYfyHQgQJoJZoQ/s1600/wt8+uneven+seam.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIk_yUURbzJjL9Jrf5w8gjeJbl2nbVi1ws_S9aGIksVrIa6WEPvPuVp4DgXYBPVYH3k7nwi3VC2znl9qrw9g1qiF5LmNS5xnfLWTiP96XwYHEMibSTHSKNXZYfyHQgQJoJZoQ/s400/wt8+uneven+seam.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above: Uneven seam between plastic frame around screen and rest of chassis (red arrow)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Windows Key only works in portrait – The location of the
capacitive Windows key on the bezel is on one of the shorter sides, and along
with the orientation of it and the Toshiba branding implies that the tablet is
intended to be used primarily in portrait mode. Indeed, if you did use the
tablet in landscape, your thumb inevitably rests near/on the Win key, so in
that way it makes sense that Toshiba would disable the key in that orientation.
Unfortunately, the tablet seems to be inconsistent in when it disables this
key, which makes it feel more like the key is broken. It’s almost as if the win
key uses a different accelerometer to the OS, or perhaps has a lower threshold
for determining when the tablet is in portrait/landscape. I’m hoping this can
be resolved by a software update, or at the very least, provide the option to
always have the win key permanently on or off. (Update - I don't think any disabling of the capacitive windows key when in landscape actually occurs, I think that there might be something wrong with my device)</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Charges via same microUSB port as for USB input – This is
probably not that much of an issue for the main use case for this device (ie as
a standalone tablet), but if one were to “dock” the device to a screen and an
external keyboard and mouse, then you wouldn’t be able to do that AND keep the
device powered. Again, the solid battery life promised by Toshiba and the power
efficient next gen atom processor possibly makes this issue moot, but it is
something to think about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Speaker is a bit weak – Two speaker holes are present on the
“bottom” (in portrait mode), and are adequate for watching YouTube videos in a
quiet room, but struggle with distortion at higher volumes when you want to be
able to watch videos while having the tablet on a stand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Key Win 8.1 feature doesn’t work in portrait – what I mean
by that is that the killer feature of Win 8 (multi-screen multitasking) is
disabled in portrait mode. Furthermore, if you switch to landscape mode, snap
two screens/apps together and switch to portrait mode, the screen simply
refuses to reorient – which caused me to check more than once that I haven’t
accidentally engaged the orientation lock. Now I’m no UI expert, but not having
a visual queue to tell me that the tablet has acknowledged but actively
ignoring the request to reorient the screen just makes me think that something
is wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, I’m actually quite happy with the Encore despite
the bad points I’ve mentioned. For the price, you certainly get a lot of bang
for your buck, since you are getting a full computer for $400, along with a
full copy of MS Office 2013 (home and student) and with performance and battery
life far superior to the netbooks of old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-72558476894301685422013-04-25T12:10:00.001+10:002013-04-25T12:10:53.351+10:00Acer Iconia W510 week post-mortem...kindaOk, so this is coming through a bit later than I had planned, but I finally had some time today (being a public holiday) to write up my experience with using the Acer Iconia W510 for a week as my main device. Unfortunately, I never really got the chance to use the Win 8 tablet as my sole device not because of lack of time, but more because one of my other devices (ie the iPad 3) was more useful to me. Basically, I can boil down the reasons why I would always end up picking the iPad 3 over the W510 to two things:<br />
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1) Apps - I play games a lot on my iPad (my current obsession is a great dungeon crawler called Dungeon Hunter 4), and for now, it's a game that's only available on iOS and Android app stores. This means that during my leisure time I'm staring at my iPad 3 slaying bad guys and collecting gold/loot, which doesn't leave much time for any of my other devices.<br />
Outside of playing games, the type of apps I like to use on my devices are: Twitter, Instagram, Buzzfeed, Youtube and the browser. Of those apps, twitter is still a little buggy, Instagram and Youtube are non-existent, Buzzfeed is crippled, and the browser (which is good, but a little glitchy at times) has to pick up the slack. The overall result is that my experience with the W510 is a significantly less polished (which makes since this is a 1st Gen Win8 device) than on the iPad 3.<br />
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2)Cellular data - The W510 model that I purchased was the WiFi only model, while my iPad 3 is the 3G model - there is a 3G model available on the Acer online store, but not on any of the brick and mortar shops that I've visited. This isn't really the fault of the tablet (though it would have been nice if it was easier to impulse buy), but it does mean that if I'm out and about, to really use the device how I'd like (ie access social media and web services) I'd have to use my phone as a hotspot. Though it works ok, the process involves enough steps and compromises that most of the time I just use the phone itself, and the W510 stays unused in the bag.<br />
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So as much as I love the W510 and Windows 8, my iPad 3 still wins the fight on which device is my daily driver. I do sincerely hope that Microsoft can somehow encourage more game developers to port their games into Windows 8, or at least stop scaring them away by forcing them to integrate with xbox (I don't know if that's a thing or not - just wild speculation) - because this would make the process of switching from one of the more established platforms (Android and iOS) easier.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-19480039537137404912013-04-13T22:35:00.000+10:002013-04-14T12:32:36.909+10:00Impressions of the Acer Iconia W510 after 2 weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFPIcyL9o7xYX8gUdielJ_bSiy62tDuUN8yZTRSuZfNwoef6h8ON4cvcNvKkcPiSgQh76zjOjENunr7D2Z0j5YhDVcdSDLuEa0mcv1kpP1_fXGAJndPobrZHqIfzW95URLA-Q/s1600/DSC02829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFPIcyL9o7xYX8gUdielJ_bSiy62tDuUN8yZTRSuZfNwoef6h8ON4cvcNvKkcPiSgQh76zjOjENunr7D2Z0j5YhDVcdSDLuEa0mcv1kpP1_fXGAJndPobrZHqIfzW95URLA-Q/s400/DSC02829.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Having owned the Acer W510 for over two weeks now, I thought I'd give an update of my experience with the tablet. Now, my intention was to use the W510 exclusively when I bought it, but I must confess that hasn't been the case. A combination of travelling overseas for a wedding (where the W510 mainly sat unused in my bag), and my unreasonable addiction to Sims 3 on the iPad, meant that I didn't give the Acer tablet the undivided attention that the other gadgets I've been testing did...so I might try a full week starting tomorrow. For now, I just thought I'd build on and amend the thoughts I had of the W510 from <a href="http://limburger2001.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/first-impressions-of-acer-iconia-w510.html" target="_blank">when I first got it.</a><br />
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Pretty much the things I liked about the W510 have not changed, and although I haven't used a timer to determine battery life, I find it has been enough to last me a night of watching Youtube videos on one panel, while keeping an eye on my twitter feed in the other. The battery life has been good enough that I haven't had to use while attached to charger, provided I charge it before I go to bed. Charging seems to be pretty swift - I'll be draining the battery overnight so I can actually time how long it takes to charge it from empty...will update when I have numbers. Update 14th April 2013 - it takes 3hrs 45mins to go completely from 0 to 100%, though it only took 2hrs 26mins to get it to 88%.</div>
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As for the negatives, the main one that worried me was the heat that I experienced coming from the top right of the tablet when charging - when I first got the W510 the heat was so intense that it was not comfortable to touch that part of the screen. Fortunately (perhaps by a BIOS update that I was prompted to install, or one of the many windows updates installed since then), I haven't experienced this issue again. When under load the section does get warm, but nowhere near the temperatures that made me worried. </div>
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As for the build quality and the location of the speakers, they still irk me, but I've made my peace with them; with the latter issue, I just make sure to remember to not to press my palms completely over the speaker grills if I'm watching youtube videos, or better yet, just place the tablet on a stand.</div>
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If I was to complain about something, it's that the Apps that tend to use in my other tablets are either absent (Marvel comics, Sims 3 Freeplay, Vevo, Youtube), or not quite to the same standard as in iOS or Android app stores (Twitter, Buzzfeed). Fortunately (with the exception of the first two apps) I've been able to make do by viewing the content directly from the web, but I find that websites aren't as tablet friendly as they could be on the app versions, so I hold out hope that these apps will eventually make it to the store.</div>
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Am I happy with the W510? Yes - it's a good little tablet that also happens to be a full PC when I need it to be, but I do hope that more of the tablet/touch optimised apps that I use in my other tablets make it to the Windows store. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-85680964179893389662013-04-02T22:25:00.000+11:002013-04-02T22:25:54.035+11:00Asus Transformer TF300 postmortem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXd-R0-y1LIWjj2DHwW6dtvxSVetf_YbgfFUvFGsTteKCfrdd1Eqpa6Vd1dG3I-9SheCwJkuCuraytI06X9GF5aIvkd2L98rXY6bDoJpzJoEIu9-8kYGZ2I58-3Wayjc85k4KW/s1600/IMG_20130402_000936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXd-R0-y1LIWjj2DHwW6dtvxSVetf_YbgfFUvFGsTteKCfrdd1Eqpa6Vd1dG3I-9SheCwJkuCuraytI06X9GF5aIvkd2L98rXY6bDoJpzJoEIu9-8kYGZ2I58-3Wayjc85k4KW/s400/IMG_20130402_000936.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Source: http://eee.asus.com/en/transformer-300/features</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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After dutifully carrying the Transformer TF300 to work and back all this week, I came to the realisation that as much as I love the keyboard dock and it's extra battery, I don't actually have a use for this tablet in my day to day life.<br />
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It's not to say that the device isn't bad - the battery life is excellent with or without the keyboard dock, and it's one of the few non-Nexus devices that has been keeping up with the latest updates to the Android operating system (with 4.2.2 rolling out to devices within the following months). It's just that as much as I love Asus and their innovative hardware, the tablet apps are either not there or still quite rough, resulting in a device which has so much untapped potential. <br />
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When I initially purchased the TF300, I was really excited about the whole duality of the device - undocked, it's an android tablet running the lauded Tegra 3 CPU and promises of great gaming performance; docked, the device transformed into a touchscreen netbook with a real keyboard, an SD card slot and USB port. It even had microHDMI, for outputting to an external display - I was convinced that this was the mobile, modular computer of my geek dreams.<br />
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Unfortunately, there were problems. For a start, until a recent update to the Android Jellybean OS (4.2.1 - the device shipped with 4.1), outputting to an external display only meant mirroring in the exact resolution of the native tablet ie 1280x800. It diminished the benefit of outputting to a larger screen because it would display at the same resolution, just bigger...and at such a low resolution, it's hard to find a modern LCD monitor where that resolution would look good in. <br />
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Second, the main differentiator of the transformer TF300 (and the line in general) over the other Tegra 3, 10.1 inch, 32Gb android tablets was the keyboard dock - and it works quite well, with the soft, but usable keys and the trackpad and mouse buttons. What I didn't realise until I actually used it for a little while, was that in docking the tablet to the keyboard, I had turned the transformer into a netbook...which isn't actually the experience that I wanted. Turns out, Android was an OS that really felt better on a Tablet (duh) not as a netbook. In the end, the keyboard kind of became this really overqualified clamshell case for the tablet that needed to be removed to use the Transformer for what I mainly used it for (games and reading comics), which also needed charging. And the SD slot and extra USB port provided by the dock seemed like really handy features at the time of purchase, but I've only used them a handful of times since having owned the device for 6 months.<br />
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Finally, my main gripe with this device wasn't with the hardware, but with the apps - I've already complained about this in a previous post, and as of this date, nothing had changed. Through no fault of Android and Asus (that I could see), it still seems like the Android app store is still considered by app developers as a tier below that of iOS, and overall the quality of the <em>same</em> apps in the iOS ecosystem seem to have had more resources dedicated to them than their Android counterparts - fortunately this seems to be less of a problem with regards to games, at least the ones I've played.<br />
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As an aside, it's kind of sad, but I'm seeing the trend in Android tablets flowing the same path that netbooks did - initial explosion of devices, with every manufacturer seemingly churning out waves of near-identical devices, then having the market die off...though in the case of Android tablets, it seems like the devices are evolving back to having smaller screens (7 to 8 inches), instead of the netbooks which went from 7 to 10 inches.<br />
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Another parallel between netbooks and tablets that have resulted in the netbook's downfall, and is what is causing Android tablet's to evolve is that these devices worked too much like a regular computer, so much so that people started expecting to use them like computers. Think about it - a netbook was essentially a small laptop - same operating system, same interface, same input methods. When I first started using mine, I thought "wow, this is awesome!", then I started using it to do a lot of what I wanted to do on a "regular" computer - first it was web-surfing with multiple tabs, then viewing and saving my photos, moving stuff from hard drives, sending emails, writing long form blog posts....in the end it could do all those things, but sloooowly, and it made we wonder why I wasn't doing these things on a "real" computer instead.<br />
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For the most part, Android escaped from that association for me, since it was sufficiently different: different operating system, different interface, different input methods...until I bought one with a keyboard dock. Unintentionally, I was navigating this touch-optimised UI using a keyboard and trackpad, and it worked ok - I could scroll websites using two finger scrolling, I could type respond to tweets and emails using the keyboard...but I had to prop up the device on my lap or table. When I wanted to move from one part of my flat to another, I found myself holding the device like I used to hold my netbook - ie. one hand underneath the keys, while typing on the keyboard with one hand (if I was trying to respond to someone at the time). You get where this is headed...<br />
<br />
The final straw came in the latter half of last week when I wanted to post pictures that I had taken of the full moon. That night, I took a whole bunch of pictures and transferred the SD card from the camera and inserted it into the slot in the keyboard dock. First, I could either view the files as a list with very tiny thumbnails in the file manager, or I could view them as larger thumbnails on the gallery app - ok, no big deal, I'll use the gallery app. I don't know about you, but I take multiple shots of the same subject with my camera, because no matter how great the LCD screen is on the back of your camera, you're never quite sure if that image that looks pin-sharp on the camera display is actually a touch blurry when viewed in a larger format. So I found the picture I wanted...fine. I select the "details" option in the gallery menu to find out the file name, so I know exactly which image I want to upload to Instagram. So I back out of gallery, go to the Instagram app - disregard the fact that Instagram is portrait only on android, and thus I've now got my transformer on it's side, holding the device like a book - it asks me to pick a source, and I choose "file manager" and select the image I want, because I know the file name - my keyboard dock is still attached (because that's how I'm accessing the SD card files), so the transformer is in landscape mode, and so is the file manager app...so let's re-orient the device (with the dock attached, at least this makes more sense). Pick the image I wanted and go back to Instagram...oh yeah, portrait only, right. Let's add a comment...ok, so I'm typing on the keyboard, with my head cocked to the side so I can read what I'm typing. Not the end of the world, but not exactly ideal is it? I thought to myself "maybe twitter would be better" so I abandoned posting the picture and started over.<br />
<br />
Click on the twitter app icon, click on the new post option of the twitter app (no silly orientation restrictions here, so I'm not forced to jump through that hoop), and I click the select an existing image icon. Unfortunately, the twitter app didn't give me a choice of source, it simply sent me to the gallery, and granted I could have chosen the image I wanted from the gallery, except that (1) The image I was wanting to post was an image of the moon, so there were quite a few thumbnails that looked the same (white disk with splotches on it, with a black background), (2) there was no image file name to tell the near-identical images apart, and I wasn't actually able to view a larger image, or select the "details" option to actually find out which one image I actually wanted. To give you an idea of what I was looking at, this is a screenshot of the moon pictures that to choose from:<br />
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<br />
In the end, I used my MacBook Air...at that point, it was very clear to me that the Transformer was NOT a computer. Suddenly, all the arguments that I had in my head for having an Android tablet, all the less-than-perfect things that I forgave because I had convinced myself that this was more than just a "media consumption device", went out the window and I was left wondering what possible use I could have this for this device. I really wanted to like this device - heck, I bought it didn't I? - but when you have to work so hard to get a device to do something you want, I can't help but feel a bit duped. I didn't buy this device because I wanted a challenge, I bought this device to allow me to do the things I want in a way that doesn't make me angry. <br />
<br />
Was it Google's fault that I had such a crappy experience, was it Asus'? I don't think so, not directly anyway - it was I who tried to make the Transformer work in a way that it wasn't intended, to expected this device to behave just like a Windows or Mac PC to behave. But I believe part of what made my brain think that way was because docked, the transformer looked like a 'real' computer, with keyboard and trackpad, and was so computer-like in some aspects, that my expectations changed accordingly. Analogous to having a small hatchback with a tow-bar, by attaching the keyboard dock to the transformer, my expectation for the device changed, and I was suddenly expecting the transformer to be more than what it is - like I had attached a caravan to the back of the hatchback, and was getting upset that I couldn't get the car to a reasonable speed. Take the dock away, and those expectations disappear as well.<br />
<br />
In sum, the Transformer TF300 is an interesting device for me - it's differentiating feature makes it stand out from the crowd of other Android tablets, but -for me at least - that same feature simultaneously highlights what it isn't. It straddles the fence between tablet and laptop, but doesn't do well enough as either to make it a compelling device for me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-84492744603732795462013-03-31T11:00:00.000+11:002013-04-13T21:27:25.629+10:00First impressions of the Acer Iconia w510<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
So after only owning this device for over 24 hours, here are my thoughts on the Acer Iconia W510 so far. <br />
Things I like:<br />
<ul>
<li>Device is nice and light. The main benefit of its all-plastic construction is that it doesn't weigh as much as an iPad 3. The device is still a bit awkward to hold in one hand in its intended orientation (landscape), but it's less tiring to hold for long periods.</li>
<li>Screen size to resolution - along with all of the other atom powered tablets and lower level win 8 laptops, the resolution of the Iconia is 1366x768. But on a smaller, 10.1' screen, the display is still quite crisp and clear. It's not retina by any means, but it's less noticeable on this screen vs the 11.6' displays. </li>
<li>Size - related to the previous point, I think 10.1' is the ideal size for a tablet...any larger and the device becomes more unwieldy, and you don't actually see any more stuff, since the tile interface scales for different resolutions anyway, while the touch targets would just end up being even smaller in desktop mode in the higher resolutions.</li>
<li>Claimed battery life - I've qualified that statement because I haven't spent a full day using this tablet as yet, but I'm not racing to the power cable after a couple of hours use, and the reviews I've read seem to support the claim of 7-9 hours of battery life. Another thing that I want to check is how long it takes to charge the device from empty - which you don't often see being tested in reviews, but are important when you're pressed for time and need to get as much juice in your device as possible.</li>
<li>Extras - I do appreciate the inclusion of a carry case (pungent as it is - see below), micro-HDMI to VGA adapter, and micro-USB to USB host cable. It's a nice touch, and means that the device is more flexible out of the box.</li>
<li>Position of ports - with the exception of the power port, which is on the bottom of the tablet, the micro-HDMI, micro-USB and micro-SD slot are all located on the side of the tablet, so they're readily accessible even if you place the device on a dock or stand.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
Things I don't like:</div>
<ul>
<li>Device gets really hot when charging - and I don't just mean warm, I'm talking hot. Specifically, it's only the top right-hand side that gets hot, and you definitely feel it on the display. It doesn't seem to have an effect on the screen at the moment, but it does make me worry about leaving the device to charge overnight, and of the long term impact of that side of the device getting baked with all that heat. When not plugged in that area is only slightly warm (suspect that is where the CPU resides) so at least it's not a constant issue.</li>
<li>Build quality - the device is solid overall, but there are issues with seams not being as tight as they could be, and components like the display not joining up evenly to the chassis (shall post pics in later post)...and for the RRP of $699 AU, I'd have expected more. Basically, with screen off, you'd be forgiven for mistaking this tablet for one of those budget no-name android tablets based on the materials, fit and finish of the device.</li>
<li>Stinky case - so this is nit-picking a bit, but the supplied pleather case supplied with the tablet gives off some strong solvent fumes. I've thrown it back into the box for the moment, but I'll eventually get around to airing it out and using it.</li>
<li>Position of speakers - they're basically where your hands would go if holding the device in landscape (lower left and right-hand sides of the tablet)</li>
</ul>
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</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-16859803853314644472013-03-30T14:33:00.004+11:002013-03-30T14:36:49.080+11:00Acer W510 unboxing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-75874759408450518472013-03-24T11:37:00.002+11:002013-03-24T11:51:54.145+11:005 way camera comparison - 3 tablets, 1 iPhone and 1 iPod touch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Even before I did this comparison, I've always found that the quality of images from iOS devices tend to be better than those of other manufacturers. This has been true since the original iPhone, and seems to still be the case today. Having said that, I don't have a Samsung Galaxy device at all to test, nor do I have access to the latest and greatest HTC One or Nokia Lumia 920.<br />
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Please excuse the first group of images exceeding the bounds of the blog post margins, but I think proper image comparisons really need the images to be big. My take away from this comparison are:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The iPod Touch 5Gen, iPad Mini and iPad 3 are equivalent in image quality;</li>
<li>iPhone 4S beats everything in this line up;</li>
<li>If Apple ever makes a Galaxy Camera type device with real camera optics and iOS as the UI, I would buy one in a heartbeat.</li>
<li>The poor transformer TF300 didn't stand a chance against this group.</li>
</ul>
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<span style="text-align: center;">iPhone 4S</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqF_GYVgtHntdeoC3oGYUvboZSZXuh5nYbUAWr86cP2-mKRaKCYyQqFt6yi5yIckgdtEpuYOWuEnogXBCUgTPTG_WpNEwJH4fB_L9ADKPtO0sfDHe0eE2kF6aqkCdWK7_siQz/s1600/photo+-+ipod+touch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqF_GYVgtHntdeoC3oGYUvboZSZXuh5nYbUAWr86cP2-mKRaKCYyQqFt6yi5yIckgdtEpuYOWuEnogXBCUgTPTG_WpNEwJH4fB_L9ADKPtO0sfDHe0eE2kF6aqkCdWK7_siQz/s640/photo+-+ipod+touch.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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iPod Touch </div>
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iPad Mini</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WJAVy9DFbmxJ3V3a8K6bYSOnashcqNA63ROtGoz0ZxPvHNR0fwgFZVFEKjQPjs7N0zkLN9BWCZu4W3prenJZLgzUH6Xsa3qKaT2UGZtJu0PDtM7JwRkKM3TxutVu7OHQga2Y/s1600/photo+-+ipad+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WJAVy9DFbmxJ3V3a8K6bYSOnashcqNA63ROtGoz0ZxPvHNR0fwgFZVFEKjQPjs7N0zkLN9BWCZu4W3prenJZLgzUH6Xsa3qKaT2UGZtJu0PDtM7JwRkKM3TxutVu7OHQga2Y/s640/photo+-+ipad+3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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iPad 3</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHFQq4GS2SRkLznAJ-nAllz5iNa4a4Jy2KN6vqBXhMCZw7PMJuaRCmcDPE6cM_ZdzgqAszUVE1n0huibJSj4NzlrIihEOWoJ7UFFTzRg-5IShPCAYhStGV-fL4Z7YnqoeVd_8/s1600/IMG_20130324_100016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHFQq4GS2SRkLznAJ-nAllz5iNa4a4Jy2KN6vqBXhMCZw7PMJuaRCmcDPE6cM_ZdzgqAszUVE1n0huibJSj4NzlrIihEOWoJ7UFFTzRg-5IShPCAYhStGV-fL4Z7YnqoeVd_8/s640/IMG_20130324_100016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Transformer TF300</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSD6MFSvrgpK7O8Z8zW8aTdubSzF7UTixA5CYpKpUcK-3HxNeBXwCAHXR54kdQ_VVoEtzMTsFbPqOwliO1N8JG1TOkKdE7XR76WauNYotZrZKz32qJEbmTEATzwYvUQXECio0/s1600/photo+1+-+iPhone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSD6MFSvrgpK7O8Z8zW8aTdubSzF7UTixA5CYpKpUcK-3HxNeBXwCAHXR54kdQ_VVoEtzMTsFbPqOwliO1N8JG1TOkKdE7XR76WauNYotZrZKz32qJEbmTEATzwYvUQXECio0/s640/photo+1+-+iPhone.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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iPhone 4S</div>
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iPod Touch</div>
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iPad Mini</div>
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iPad 3</div>
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Transformer TF300</div>
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iPhone 4S</div>
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iPod Touch</div>
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iPad Mini</div>
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iPad 3</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBbXe-e_1wCA3sjATZpqtQV-gYckmZxCl9t1Ri_b0WriJDjFKuvD_WE1TkCiFQBjEXQBQYnxkNXiXvLnArrli38JBO0350zvqL2MidbpN6I2tu2u2IfTOy8A1bbM0NKPpsLW7/s1600/IMG_20130324_090845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBbXe-e_1wCA3sjATZpqtQV-gYckmZxCl9t1Ri_b0WriJDjFKuvD_WE1TkCiFQBjEXQBQYnxkNXiXvLnArrli38JBO0350zvqL2MidbpN6I2tu2u2IfTOy8A1bbM0NKPpsLW7/s640/IMG_20130324_090845.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Transformer TF300</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-34576999323157664392013-03-23T20:10:00.000+11:002013-03-23T20:10:58.841+11:00Surface RT post mortem: Pleasantly surprised.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMwskhtzWc2bLjr9CAT_CKDba8tXtYUy2JkCu-qcLmq-2MGHDHeMVi9Mq2AlyVeMRRWP1mEfD95tqeUrIaVin4Q1B6lWCWtzoeHG4LUf6U4_pxdFAHntBTGP_upn221_xSM0s/s1600/surface.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMwskhtzWc2bLjr9CAT_CKDba8tXtYUy2JkCu-qcLmq-2MGHDHeMVi9Mq2AlyVeMRRWP1mEfD95tqeUrIaVin4Q1B6lWCWtzoeHG4LUf6U4_pxdFAHntBTGP_upn221_xSM0s/s320/surface.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Source: www.surface.com</div>
<br />
I think the title pretty much says it all. I mean, I've already said my piece regarding the Surface RT on the <a href="http://limburger2001.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/surface-rt-review.html">review</a> that I posted earlier, and for the most part my opinions haven't changed ie. I wish we didn't have to have desktop mode, since there aren't any apps outside of IE and Office that can run on desktop mode in RT, and the targets in desktop mode are are not very finger friendly.<br />
<br />
But an interesting thing happened on the week that I was testing the RT - the official twitter app became available on the Microsoft app store. No offence to the other twitter clients, but there was always something that I didn't like with Rowi or metrotwit (probably a combination of unfamiliarity, and UI elements that were counter to my expectations), so I was happy to finally have the official app with its familiar UI and swipe to refresh. With the official twitter app occupying the smaller pane of the two pane multi-tasking you can have in Windows 8, I find myself being able to do two things at once on a tablet - something that I was not able to do on any ARM based tablet I own. Having my feed scrolling by as I was watching youtube videos, or window shopping on my favourite website was a breeze; and when the occasion warranted it, I would just make the twitter feed occupy the larger pane by switching the middle border separating the two windows. No animation to switch the screens out, no leaving one screen to view another - it was seamless, and something which I didn't realise I missed when I switched to using an iPad and Android tablets for most of my home computing needs. I still didn't play much games on the RT as I normally do on my iPad (mainly due to lack games that I wanted to play), and I still miss the depth of the app selection that are available in the iOS and Android app stores, but I had finally found the ideal use for the two pane multi-tasking in Win8 that actually enhanced my experience on the RT.<br />
<br />
So just some final thoughts:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I really like the Surface RT build quality, and I really like the kickstand - having the one fixed angle might have been an issue in theory, but with the wide viewing angles of the IPS display it didn't actually matter.</li>
<li>Battery life is great - I only have to charge the RT when I no longer need it (when I go to sleep), so it's effectively untethered to power while in use. Furthermore, it doesn't seem to take very long to charge either, which is a definite plus.</li>
<li>I really like the Tile/Metro interface in Win 8 when you're navigating via a touchscreen - I thought the gestures were gimmicky at first, but I like them so much now that I find myself trying to do that with non Win 8 toushcreen devices.</li>
<li>I'm using the the base model with 32Gb of storage (~16Gb available) - I have yet to hit this limit, so it wasn't as much of an issue as I had originally thought...though this might change if the App store selection got better and I download more games.</li>
<li>The widescreen aspect ratio makes the surface hard to hold in one hand, and also means it's quite long in portrait mode. This is a problem that also affects android tablets, but seems more pronounced as a tablet screen gets bigger than 10 inches.</li>
<li>The win 8 onscreen keyboard occupies a lot of screen real estate in landscape mode (its native orientation), and this doesn't change when you use the split keyboard - it would be nice to be able to resize the keys (like on WebOS), or to be able to change the opacity of the keys.</li>
<li>If I had to choose between an Android tablet or the Surface RT, I think I would choose the RT. The two pane multi-tasking just isn't available on any other platform, and since Android Tablets and Win 8 RT are not so far apart in terms of available tablet optimised apps, it would be enough to sway me to getting the RT.</li>
</ul>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-63946200038086531622013-03-17T20:48:00.000+11:002013-03-17T21:25:04.974+11:00I found the MS Surface's killer appThis:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_fJovPXMcZ8RPvPlk0zp0et-PG00ZIp_im0T_3Kab_tpIVmFQXe3-qPbulJpKMIicE0yJIe_YljF715-ZMxyYJbLU1y1tXsT10cMsao6Prb0XMDM3MyzJOn7Xv4NR5UJszaE/s1600/dual+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_fJovPXMcZ8RPvPlk0zp0et-PG00ZIp_im0T_3Kab_tpIVmFQXe3-qPbulJpKMIicE0yJIe_YljF715-ZMxyYJbLU1y1tXsT10cMsao6Prb0XMDM3MyzJOn7Xv4NR5UJszaE/s400/dual+screen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Twitter on the left, <strike>ABC iView</strike> SBS On Demand app on the right. Boom. Do you know any other ARM based tablets that can do that? (Thanks to @skitterusty for making me realise my mistake)<br />
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Here is the same scenario, but with ABC iView streaming (via the ABC website's flash player) on the tile/metro IE:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuqGznM9U56qR3Azh8GpczZVxBMxCsFoztzD-30faniEzooBYNE6NqerjQaF-zdgXX6iLmCsN-v1zbpWjTIotCxtuo8bzYIPm8UMVs-3lKNGTv3FKjm96YyZi0Z-X6DIfjypH/s1600/iview+dual+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuqGznM9U56qR3Azh8GpczZVxBMxCsFoztzD-30faniEzooBYNE6NqerjQaF-zdgXX6iLmCsN-v1zbpWjTIotCxtuo8bzYIPm8UMVs-3lKNGTv3FKjm96YyZi0Z-X6DIfjypH/s400/iview+dual+screen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-4545485272835997272013-03-17T20:23:00.001+11:002013-03-17T20:23:10.849+11:00Surface RT Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6NH-5t0rC436mVRP4om0uZLA6-tltEvB4bEiS9WBPDp95xb2wuEy6om1oYMpN9I71Bs5KIln0Jxef7W5r8Kqj7MbM_w0C4-v2Ly4wLRobsYj1X6kFY6o5xMEGo8o54AXI5_g/s1600/surface.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6NH-5t0rC436mVRP4om0uZLA6-tltEvB4bEiS9WBPDp95xb2wuEy6om1oYMpN9I71Bs5KIln0Jxef7W5r8Kqj7MbM_w0C4-v2Ly4wLRobsYj1X6kFY6o5xMEGo8o54AXI5_g/s320/surface.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.surface.com/">www.surface.com</a></div>
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<em>Note: As I prepped @thepatr1ck's MS Surface RT tablet for my week of use, I found that I had actually written a review on it already (whoops!). My impressions below were after a few days of use; since then I have bought and used a "proper" Windows 8 laptop with touchscreen (F202E, which I think I kept calling the X202E...), and my feelings haven't changed for the most part. If you're expecting a Surface trashing, then you've come to the wrong place; despite my criticisms, I actually enjoy using the Surface RT and want it to succeed - in fact, I'm finishing off and posting this blog post on it right now :)</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Surface RT Review<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks to @thepatr1ck’s gadget lust, I was able to play
around with a Surface RT tablet for a few days. I was able to play with a
Surface tablet briefly at one of Microsoft’s Experience booths at Sydney
Westfield last week, and the experience was so good that I was convinced that
I’d wanted one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What I liked:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tiled Interface (the interface formerly known as Metro) – The active tiles are what caught my attention off the bat. Navigating through the colourful tiles was a very snappy experience, and I like how they would be updating by themselves. It was bordering on being too “busy” but as someone who likes to stare at a large mass of information at once, this suited me well.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hardware. Hands down the best constructed, non-iPad tablet I’ve ever had the chance to use. It had a premium feel and nice clean lines – this tablet wouldn’t look out of place at a high-power corporate meeting, and certainly looks way more than the asking price. The built-in kick-stand was also very solid, and well integrated into the rest of the device.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peripheral support – so I can’t really say much about the depth of peripheral support that the Surface provides, since I’ve only ever tried it with a wireless keyboard (via proprietary dongle attached to the USB port), but nice to see that it’s there.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Useful multi-tasking – I’ve added the qualifier because multi-tasking is already something that Android tablets/devices have been able to do since day one. However, unlike Android, multi-tasking on the Surface RT allows you to have both applications running side by side. I think this was the feature that tipped me over the edge. I am aware that Samsung now has a similar feature with their devices, but I must say that I really like how Microsoft has implemented it.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Onscreen keyboard – Very good. You tap on a key, and the letter appears on the screen – no lag or other issues. The experience is also far superior than the optional touchcover, since you can use a very light touch to type.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What I didn’t like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Desktop mode – I think that Microsoft has done so well with the Tile Interface, that it is disappointing that some functions (viewing folders, adjusting certain settings, using MS Office) involves being shunted back to the familiar but slightly outdated view that is Desktop mode. You can argue that the benefit of Desktop mode is that the Surface can be both your Tablet AND your desktop/laptop…except when it isn’t. At least for the Surface RT (running ARM), you cannot install any 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> party apps on the desktop that you can on a regular windows machine, and at least at this stage, the only apps that are installed on your “Desktop” are IE and MS Office. One could argue that the power of desktop mode is that you can multi-task, but you can already do that on the Tiled Interface (as I’ve mentioned before). <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Low resolution cameras – Ok, so I may look like a doofus taking pictures with a tablet (and I try not to outside of my house) – but it’s a shame that the rear camera is only 1MP. I would have thought that if MS had been positioning the Surface RT as a iPad and Android tablet competitor, that they should at least be able to match them in specs. I don’t really use the front-facing cameras much on my existing tablets, but the front wasn’t anything to get excited about on either of them.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Meagre app selection – ok, so the operating system has just come out, so I won’t hammer this point too much. But the app store will need to be improved before I can give up my iPad or Asus Transformer. Having said that, since Android Tablets themselves aren’t exactly bursting with Tablet apps either, maybe in a few months MS can gain and surpass android in that respect…that would be enough to make me switch from Android.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Total Storage vs Available Storage – I’m not that upset by finding out that half of the Surface RT’s 32GB of storage is actually taken up by the OS and built in apps, meaning that the “bargain” of getting a 32Gb Tablet for around the same price of a 16Gb iPad, wasn’t. I guessing if Microsoft had been much more transparent about this fact, then I wouldn’t feel like I had been misled. <em>Update: 17<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> March 2013 – I’ve made my peace with this fact, because in all honesty I don’t actually store that much on my devices. I guess this might eventually be an issue when/if I run out of space for installing apps.<o:p></o:p></em></span></li>
</ul>
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</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What I’m indifferent about:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Microsoft Office – I’m not upset that it’s there, and I am glad there is a word processing app built in, but it’s not enough of a draw for me since I don’t use MS Office much outside of work. It will be a value-add for some people, and I think this was good move overall on Microsoft’s part.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">IE (Desktop and Tile versions) – While I am still not getting why they can’t just be the one app, I’m not that fussed. Since I like to “live” in the Tile Interface (because that’s where all my apps are), I am content with the version of IE that lives there. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Touchcovers – My experience with the touchcover has that it was ok, but I would rather have the Typecover, with real keys. But I think the Surface RT’s onscreen keyboard is actually pretty good already, so I don’t see either of those accessories are necessary for getting a good experience on the tablet. The only complaint I have is that the on-screen keyboard doesn’t automatically appear when you click on an input field in desktop mode IE, nor does it move the input field so that the on-screen keyboard doesn’t block it. Works great on the tile interface (and on the MS Office apps on desktop mode), but even a setting to tell desktop mode that I want the on-screen keyboard to pop up would be nice.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So overall, I do like the Surface RT Tablet – it’s well
built, has nice features that are unique to it (useful multi-tasking,
innovative Tile Interface), but as a person who already owns an iPad (3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup>
Gen) and an Android Tablet(Asus Transformer TF300) – the Surface doesn’t quite
have what it takes to make me give up one or both of these devices. I honestly
believe that if Microsoft had come in earlier in the game, it would have been a
different story, but as it is, it’s trying to compete for space in a category
against two mature platforms, and it’s not quite to their level just yet. If it
were to topple one of the big two, I’d bet that Android would be more likely to
be superceded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All in all, for people who are just about to get a tablet
for the first time I think the Surface puts up a compelling and attractive
product against existing Android tablets, and possibly even iPads – you just
have to be a little patient for the apps to trickle in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-42721839091642758902013-03-17T10:08:00.002+11:002013-03-17T10:08:47.274+11:00Week 2 (iPad Mini) Post-mortem: What a difference an app store makes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gKFdDhzqIoydo6mYlcoqWz323B2HGMlx_Uur7uHmPAe5ip1hNOaPgrsGcpg5uABLSLdpygFFtISnNQySqTuMeuLijw6iYgRX8kNKV5-qKO1Swg7saj1TdJQYnt18K8sHkOwB/s1600/iPad+mini.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gKFdDhzqIoydo6mYlcoqWz323B2HGMlx_Uur7uHmPAe5ip1hNOaPgrsGcpg5uABLSLdpygFFtISnNQySqTuMeuLijw6iYgRX8kNKV5-qKO1Swg7saj1TdJQYnt18K8sHkOwB/s320/iPad+mini.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Source: http://www.apple.com/au/ipad-mini/overview/</div>
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I think the title says it all – where the experience with the Samsung Galaxy Tab last week was bit disappointing because of the apps, the iPad mini was quite the opposite. Having said that, I have invested quite a bit of cash on the iOS app store so I have a big selection of apps ready to use when I fired it up. But the reason why I'm more likely to buy things from the iOS app store is because I have more confidence that apps (when sold as tablet compatible) actually look right on said tablet, vs phone apps stretched out to fill the screen (not all apps, but enough of them for me to notice).</div>
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Ignoring the iPad mini's hardware for the moment, I believe that if android had the breadth and the quantity of tablet apps that are currently in the iOS app store, that the iPad wouldn't be so dominant. Speaking from personal experience, if my Asus Transformer TF300 had the apps I have on iOS AND those have been designed to work on the larger screen as they do on iOS, that I could easily ditch my iPad and go Android. Android tablets excite me because of the diversity of their form factors, but the software support for tablets just isn't to the standard of iOS.</div>
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So what things did I use my iPad mini for? Well since I only have the base model (16Gb WiFi), it got the most use when I was at home and had access to the internet. I did bring it to work each day, but since the only offline things I could do with the mini was play games, it pretty much just sat there. I have tethered it to my phone a couple of times, but when I just need to look up something quickly, like check my twitter and email notifications, it was just easier to do all that on the phone.</div>
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But once home, I was completely happy having it as my primary computer – paying bills, web surfing, reviewing/responding to emails, communicating on twitter, reading comics and playing games, the mini was flawless, fast and most importantly, wireless. The only time I would have to charge the mini was when I went to bed if I played games on it for too long; otherwise, it only gets charged once while at work.</div>
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Navigating the iPad mini was a pleasure – a benefit of new hardware optimised to run the OS – and I'd daresay it was even a touch faster than my iPad 3 with retina, especially when registering taps on the screen. And even though I use an iPhone 4s as my phone, switching between that and the iPad mini didn't make me aware that the latter didn't have a retina display, though that's partially helped by my deteriorating eyesight I'm sure. Finally, the benefit of the reduced width of the mini vs the regular sized iPad, is that thumb-typing doesn't require splitting the keyboard, which is great since I then won't have to merge it again when I want to type something out in landscape mode (which is faster because I can use more fingers).</div>
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In conclusion, I came off quite impressed by the iPad mini – it might be diminutive in size, but not in performance or longevity. Apps, comics and websites (99% of what I would use a computer for) all work great on it...the only thing I would do next time around is cough up the extra dough for the 4G/cellular version...and even though I didn't miss it, I would get a retina version if Apple came around to making one :) “Fanboi” you say? I am, yes. But how could I not be, when the experience I've had so far has been so good.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-68281877129533184112013-03-09T14:04:00.006+11:002013-03-17T10:17:49.139+11:00Another take on the week 1 post-mortem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1qvD_Of8OdzsWXTo3H5CPU3l-euHgVok6C1NxN2B4bA3opHtFckMZNQz-E6QrG3ZJuuChVx6_t6NXdLO1LsqX9rEy83WhucDpdpKx-5LeC5Eh0wkHfNWzUgpOr5IYhTGwLgh/s1600/Samsung+Galaxy+Tab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1qvD_Of8OdzsWXTo3H5CPU3l-euHgVok6C1NxN2B4bA3opHtFckMZNQz-E6QrG3ZJuuChVx6_t6NXdLO1LsqX9rEy83WhucDpdpKx-5LeC5Eh0wkHfNWzUgpOr5IYhTGwLgh/s320/Samsung+Galaxy+Tab.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Source: www.samsung.com/au</div>
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After having read over my first post re the Galaxy Tab, it seemed to give the impression that the experience was pretty terrible, when that wasn't necesaarily the case. Although it didn't really suit my daily needs, there are quite a few things that the Galaxy Tab did well, so I thought I'd share those to balance out the previous post.</div>
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Great for reading text</div>
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Although the buzzfeed app would sometimes get quite sluggish when it has to render posts with lots of images, it works very well when the posts are mostly text. Plus, the paperback book-sized Galaxy Tab makes it easy to hold while in bed, or having dinner :) With google reader, reading through my feeds was a pleasant experience. The lowish resolution on a bigger screen also means that the text is a bit bigger than on a smartphone, so it helps my crappy eyes :p</div>
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Youtube video viewer</div>
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I like to watch old 90's kids cartoons on youtube, which tend not to be in the highest of resolutions, so viewing them full-screen on the Galaxy Tab actually works quite well since the image is big enough to see comfortably, while the lower resolution is more forgiving to the older low resolution content.</div>
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Instagram viewer</div>
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Annoyingly, instagram insists on restricting its app to portrait mode (blah blah blah intended for phones, not tablets blah blah). Being basically an oversized phone (I believe you can actually take calls on the 3G Galaxy Tab!), it's perfect for viewing instagram pictures on a larger screen.</div>
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Phone apps look normal</div>
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One of the criticisms I have about android tablets is that hardly any apps are available in the apps store that take advantage, or at least adjust for, the tablet formfactor and screen real estate. This means that for apps like twitter and instagram, what you get is the phone app, which just look comical being stretched out on a large, landscape oriented device. At least on the Galaxy Tab (and other 7 inch android tablets), the apps look acceptable, and only just look a tad jitterbug-ish (ie. catering for older users which appreciate bigger fonts and larger targets to hit vs on a smartphone).</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-91854802332202771232013-03-09T12:09:00.001+11:002013-03-17T10:13:21.322+11:00Week 1 Post-mortem - Samsung Galaxy Tab<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKwNdpT1XksQu7d_jlF012UmyoRM_MSkfwWa2belMQW_GvsWilg3CjZLGVlEssb03-_UhZ2CKDrVOxEUNrpDR05AFs60hrWRxlFOo9ry8yoH6Yp_xx4teUYCmVmzaIwyMTHwZ/s1600/Samsung+Galaxy+Tab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKwNdpT1XksQu7d_jlF012UmyoRM_MSkfwWa2belMQW_GvsWilg3CjZLGVlEssb03-_UhZ2CKDrVOxEUNrpDR05AFs60hrWRxlFOo9ry8yoH6Yp_xx4teUYCmVmzaIwyMTHwZ/s320/Samsung+Galaxy+Tab.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Source: www.samsung.com/au</div>
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In a nutshell, I wasn't able to use the Galaxy Tab for the whole week as I wanted - although it's still quite capable despite its age, I just wasn't able to do all the stuff I wanted to do on it. Actually, it's not even that - all of the things I needed to do: connect remotely to my work computer, check work emails, catch up on buzzfeed, podcasts and twitter - were all possible using the Galaxy Tab. The annoying thing was that it didn't do it as well as my other devices. Therefore, when I needed to visit a customer site for work, I had to bring my daily driver (iPad 3), because I couldn't be confident of being able to do all the work critical stuff I might need on the Galaxy Tab. I couldn't even use the Galaxy Tab as my GPS for said trip to the customer, since the Galaxy Tab was just over the maximum width that could be handled by my adjustable GPS car mount; that job ultimately went to my iPhone 4s (using Google maps, not Apple maps).<br />
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Because it was running older hardware, things would be a noticeably slower on the Tab, and combined with the fact that the screen is a lowish resolution (1024x600) on a 7 inch screen, meant that websites required a lot more scrolling, and bogged the device down (if I forced it to view the full desktop version), or I was forced to use mobile versions with reduced options. This, combined with the tendency of android apps to look a bit less 'polished' than their iOS counterparts, just made the experience a bit 'meh' for me.<br />
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Even now, a day before my week with the Galaxy Tab is supposed to be over, I'm typing this post on my Asus Transformer, just because it has a physical keyboard that I can use and a nice big screen to view all my text in. So on that note, I'll start tomorrow with my next device (iPad mini) and report back next weekend.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-73120194252147400092013-03-02T12:41:00.002+11:002013-04-01T09:21:21.675+11:00The Hunger/Gadget Games<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; text-align: left;">
<em>Update 1st April 2013: Since having just bought the Acer Iconia W510 on Saturday (and thus wanting to use it all the time), I'll be using the Iconia for week 5, and pushing the X202E to the week after.</em><br />
<em>Update 17th March 2013: Seeing as (1) the HP Touchpad is discontinued and no one cares and (2) I can't find it at the moment, the MS Surface RT tablet will take its place for week 3.</em><br />
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I have too many computers - tablets, laptops and phones. In my defense, they are all very shiney, and I do usually use all of them at some time during the day. I think after years being a poor uni student, finally having a job with decent pay kinda made me go a bit overboard. I wish I could say that I've gotten better now, but my most recent purchase was only a month ago :/</div>
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Part of the reason why I have so many is that I upgrade, but I'm too much of a hoarder to sell/give away the old stuff, especially since they still work fine. If I was a sensible person, I would not buy anything until at least of few of my existing devices have died, but I'm not, but I am hoping to get better.</div>
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So as an experiment on downsizing, I thought I'd see how well each of my devices do at being my primary and only device - I've exempted my mobile phones from this for now, since I need to be reached, and also because I've pretty much committed to using my iPhone 4S as my smartphone. By identifying the one device I couldn't live without, I'm hoping to be able to slowly let go of the other stuff, and make smarter choices about future purchases.</div>
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In order to achieve this, I've chosen to dedicate a week for each device in my little stash and see how they fair at meeting my work and leisure requirements. Below are the list of gadgets I'll be testing:</div>
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1) iPad 3 (64Gb w/ cellular)</div>
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2) Asus Transformer TF300 with dock (32Gb, wifi)</div>
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3) iPad mini (16Gb, wifi)</div>
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4) HP Touchpad (Yes, the discontinued WebOS tablet, 16Gb, wifi)</div>
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5) Original Samsung Galaxy Tab (16Gb w/ Telstra NextG)</div>
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6) Asus X202E Touchscreen laptop (Celeron 847, 2Gb RAM, 320Gb HD, wifi)</div>
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Of all the devices that I'll be testing, the one device that I use the most is the iPad 3, mainly because it has 3G and that lovely retina display. I've also invested quite a bit of cash on the iOS store, and I find that all of the games I play (Sims Freeplay, Angry Birds Star Wars, Jetpack Joyride) whilst also being available for Android, look a bit better on the iPad. </div>
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Apart from the list above, I do have other computers, such as my iPad 1 and my 13 inch MB Air, but I won't get rid of them because (1) the iPad 1 is worth nothing now (and is a good kitchen computer) and (2) the MBA is how I access and maintain my iPhoto library.</div>
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I wasn't sure on how to decide the order in which I test these things, so I've asked twitter to call out some numbers @ me, so the order will be:</div>
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1) Samsung Galaxy Tab (5 - thanks @JulzM); </div>
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2) iPad Mini (3 - thanks @19bk69);</div>
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3) <strike>HP Touchpad (4 - thanks @northirid)</strike>; <strong>Update 17th March 2013: </strong>MS Surface RT (borrowed from @thepatr1ck);</div>
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4) Asus Transformer TF300 (2 - thanks @bendurbubble and @19bk69);<br />
5) Acer Iconia W510 (recently purchased on 30th March);</div>
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6) Asus X202E (6 - thanks @sylmobile and @manakatie);</div>
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7) iPad 3 (1 - which no one picked!)</div>
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So I shall start tomorrow with the Galaxy Tab (the oldest of the lot), and report back on Saturday :)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-56306355549908105302012-07-21T13:25:00.001+10:002012-07-21T13:33:35.273+10:00Thoughts on the TF300 so farLike:<br />
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<ul>
<li> Keyboard dock -turns a regular android tablet to a netbook form factor, plus extra battery life! The key and touchpad setup also works quite well on Android. </li>
<li>Styling - the concentric circles in the back make the surface fingerprint proof, and makes the tablet easier to grip. The colour of my particular model is a dark metallic blue, and it's quite nice. </li>
<li>Tegra 3, 1Gb - means the overall interface operates smoothly - transitions, scrolling, pinch and zoom. The only game I've played on it so far (Shadowgun, a first person shooter) has been stellar. </li>
<li>Screen - images are bright and colour is rich without being over-saturated.
Android OS 4.0 - Ice-cream sandwich is good looking, and (until the 4.1 Jellybean was announced about a week ago) is the most the current Android OS. Asus has also been good at keeping their customisations to a minimum, which hopefully means that updating the OS will not be difficult. </li>
<li>Bang 4 Buck - At the time of writing the Transformer Pad TF300 (tablet only) is $467, or between $576-$599 with the keyboard dock. In comparison, its aluminium bodied stablemate the TF201, with a 0.1 Ghz faster clocked Tegra 3, twice as bright screen (600nits vs 300nits) and aluminium chassis is $599 (tablet only), but jumps to $742-$799 with the keyboard dock. For someone wanting to dip their toes into the Android pool, the TF300 is pretty good value for the hardware and the innovative form factor(All prices in AU, and from JB-Hifi) </li>
<li>Ports galore! - Micro-HDMI, microSD, headphone jack on the tablet itself, plus USB 2.0 and SDHC on the keyboard dock :) The USB port plays nice with peripherals like keyboards(?) and mice, and the micro-HDMI can output to a monitor, so there is potential to set the Transformer as a "desktop" computing device :) Geeky? Yes. Practical? Probably not. </li>
</ul>
Things that could be better:<br />
<ul>
<li>Device balance in netbook mode - because all of the 'guts' of the device is behind the screen, when the TF300 is attached to the keyboard dock and the screen tilted back (to your typical laptop/netbook angle), the device has the tendency to want to topple backwards when on a lap, or otherwise uneven surface. </li>
<li>Keyboard - it would be nice if there was a touch more "clickyness" to the keys, and maybe a tiny bit more travel. I also wish the shift the key on the right was a little bigger (it's been reduced to make space for the direction keys). </li>
<li>Speaker location - there is a single slit on the rear right-hand side of the tablet for the sound, but it's so close to the edge that I tend to obstruct it with my hand when playing a game like Shadowgun, which requires both hands on the tablet. Having the speaker on one side also means that the sound is predominantly heard on that side, which I doesn't bother me so much beyond wanting things audio to be symmetrical (if that makes sense).</li>
</ul>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-69182712271101477082012-07-14T00:38:00.000+10:002012-07-14T01:06:13.931+10:00Android Tablets: Polished OS, but bad apps take away from it<br />
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So I've just just recently purchased an android tablet (The Asus Transformer Pad TF300), and after playing with it for a few weeks, I have to say that I'm quite impressed. With 4.0 Ice-cream sandwich, I can see the hard work that Google devs have put into giving android a distinctive and unified look. Unfortunately, despite the improvement in the UI of the operating system, I feel that some of the apps in the Google Play store are letting the team down by having dubious design choices, which takes the shine off the slick 4.0 (ice-cream sandwich) look and feel.</div>
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So rather than describe them, I thought I'd provide some screenshots of the apps that I've downloaded so far compared to their iOS counterparts, and hopefully you can see what I mean.<br />
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Example 1: Twitter<br />
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Android</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwPo7kud8qKYqCbhCvNP5p1yxYco4P-15v_WzWsYACmXzI7c-TMz6PuzQWOh1cv8_E4RYpC2UU2mrOnhKTuWZgVpqKL3wYJ0YmmI7NRoqHXHz5tg5LiamOer_MkMroIfjCtar/s1600/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-15-41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwPo7kud8qKYqCbhCvNP5p1yxYco4P-15v_WzWsYACmXzI7c-TMz6PuzQWOh1cv8_E4RYpC2UU2mrOnhKTuWZgVpqKL3wYJ0YmmI7NRoqHXHz5tg5LiamOer_MkMroIfjCtar/s400/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-15-41.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I don't know what the deal is with the twitter app on android, but it seems like they have made no effort at all to adapt it to the Tablet format. What this means is that each "tweet" is stretched over the scan of the screen, which is ok, but is a bit 'meh'.</div>
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iPad</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjc3bjRr1ZWLs28Li9eOLawEPwexu6eHGqOjL9nykM-87N90RYlt-xPWslh22Z_vZmZInSRt3lQ1iV-tgasXr01-eFY_2atcLLShmqAfZPpRKoxRrlGXAkqL34bRubywzy-s4/s1600/IMG_0226.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjc3bjRr1ZWLs28Li9eOLawEPwexu6eHGqOjL9nykM-87N90RYlt-xPWslh22Z_vZmZInSRt3lQ1iV-tgasXr01-eFY_2atcLLShmqAfZPpRKoxRrlGXAkqL34bRubywzy-s4/s400/IMG_0226.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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In comparison, the iOS app has two distinct interfaces for the iPhone/iPod Touch and another for the iPad. Having the current feed on a narrower column allows space for viewing any linked content simultaneously - whether or not this adds to the experience depends on the individual (I think it does), but it certainly gives the feeling that the iOS developers gave the app a bit more thought.</div>
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Example 2: Buzzfeed</div>
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Android</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXokjRqTsAIz7iG4PFKuvpKEcKJ1-DuOUrSpAVdplVLA4NJqndd_EhIYd_vUEoR3VFu4iganTWJPWnN4SpPn6dJ3RrgmBFRbfM2n9eOcxyqjZPYUAzvB7v6YF6P43Cmnysryb/s1600/Screenshot_2012-07-13-18-58-43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXokjRqTsAIz7iG4PFKuvpKEcKJ1-DuOUrSpAVdplVLA4NJqndd_EhIYd_vUEoR3VFu4iganTWJPWnN4SpPn6dJ3RrgmBFRbfM2n9eOcxyqjZPYUAzvB7v6YF6P43Cmnysryb/s400/Screenshot_2012-07-13-18-58-43.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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While it does show that the BuzzFeed Android devs thought about the interface in the context of a Tablet screen, the execution is a little rough around the edges. The vibe I got was a mix of Windows CE, iOS/webOS and not much android at all...The icons on the left are a bit low rez, and the overuse of stark white with the rigid rectangular cells for the feed contents, to the harsh dark blue 'highlighting' of the selected post is a bit of a mess.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5Gf_CYmaCf_3cjSMw4X-0HgGUkZ1P8592tSK3s-nyd-3WfM7epNSo8virmyWIsfBxuWxDIHqLPfcz9uBgEEUBXH0aDqYlvQfnau2H0YVstCKAdsKEJa2cUZvjukHB25Q9XRn/s1600/IMG_0223.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5Gf_CYmaCf_3cjSMw4X-0HgGUkZ1P8592tSK3s-nyd-3WfM7epNSo8virmyWIsfBxuWxDIHqLPfcz9uBgEEUBXH0aDqYlvQfnau2H0YVstCKAdsKEJa2cUZvjukHB25Q9XRn/s400/IMG_0223.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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In contrast, the iPad app is a bit more polished (though not perfect eg the icons are still a bit low rez, and there is no way to go back when you've accidentally clicked on an image), but it just seems to handle fitting the different elements (the subject icons, the feed list and the current content being viewed) much more elegantly. Note as well that when a specific post is highlighted, the font colour of the heading changes from Blue to white, therefore giving a better contrast when it gets highlighted in blue.</div>
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Ok, so two apps does not a convincing argument make, and I've found that there are at least two (so far, I haven't finished looking) non-game apps that are quite polished:</div>
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Example 3: IMDb</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsag7x3pKOWQaDOsI8ZKmmAB8FFcecrkxIHYW14Wxs2BaUkQEylWQJMaDOF_Y6KOWJ79hrtyDK5EfAL7wM4aWwvgZjJ-yk_fIZNdHU_kVQBlfE7u2Hu7FQLfPwZlfUZlzF9uS/s1600/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-13-44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsag7x3pKOWQaDOsI8ZKmmAB8FFcecrkxIHYW14Wxs2BaUkQEylWQJMaDOF_Y6KOWJ79hrtyDK5EfAL7wM4aWwvgZjJ-yk_fIZNdHU_kVQBlfE7u2Hu7FQLfPwZlfUZlzF9uS/s400/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-13-44.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The image speaks for itself: the background is a dark grey, which makes the cover art and other images pop; there is enough space between the different elements as to strike a good balance between use of the space without being cluttered. Really well done.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8IW1fINMmw8YovUocNHiI1UDSTpulEl0meChNrpsLftpcxUJZafivKfaxCJl3UHz5CbCmt4C7x-HLb2TrRKWAVmeZdXTYutv3d4arUTvxSKjkJESgsTqpgU2QK-OhiaI-FjF/s1600/IMG_0221.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8IW1fINMmw8YovUocNHiI1UDSTpulEl0meChNrpsLftpcxUJZafivKfaxCJl3UHz5CbCmt4C7x-HLb2TrRKWAVmeZdXTYutv3d4arUTvxSKjkJESgsTqpgU2QK-OhiaI-FjF/s400/IMG_0221.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The iPad app looks good too, but has a much lighter background which does take away some of the impact of the cover art, but not much. In this case I actually prefer the android version, because it seems less cluttered.</div>
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Example 4: Marvel</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEvvrZURlXNFvwvGMGdeUXWCaS3gMMC1YOW284Z2bVjNdViJ8NOpl_rjyNWfWEU__pAkP-UTBR6DgIwB3OZOI2eSjcgPmZIwq-9K94WQGcaPlZxyk5t58E8A-8xAfHcwhc65M/s1600/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-17-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEvvrZURlXNFvwvGMGdeUXWCaS3gMMC1YOW284Z2bVjNdViJ8NOpl_rjyNWfWEU__pAkP-UTBR6DgIwB3OZOI2eSjcgPmZIwq-9K94WQGcaPlZxyk5t58E8A-8xAfHcwhc65M/s400/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-17-30.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This app is a bit border-line for me, because at first glance, this looks like a good app. But once you take a closer look, especially having used the iPad version a bit more (bias, I know) you notice some issues, most notably that viewing the app in landscape mode cuts off the lower half of the titles on display on the bottom of the screen. You could make a case that it is a symptom of the 16:9 aspect ratio on the Android tablets, but knowing that limitation, you would have thought they could made a bit more space for those first row of covers. There also seems to be a lot of wasted space around the banners (I think they were arranged to fit the iPad). I also don't like how some of the options are hidden in a drop down menu.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikcJASvV97a7xg4PtUU8rteB-aerzYGHp35-4Mtu76b76gMt2sUWwJanoz-SQYph8AlKVV5vptbcabAB3slhad48lobxyhyphenhyphenkTnXKP08zP4MCFCEtUCFCv1dPtehdM4L-bKWqx9/s1600/IMG_0229.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a></div>
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Note how all the options are available on the top and bottom borders, and how all the banners and comic book covers make use of all the available space.</div>
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Once you're viewing a comic though, the experiences are pretty identical, except for the unused space on the left and right hand side of the android version:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7ZSMkkHFdAwtO4A4QGMvTqjDUKiWIe-KjnLyzI7bFtNNblEIK1N7R5tRaAyftip6b_3DGwt-b56lnePykgWBHn4BNaLEg3HeTCBXiucX2U1MCTQ_ZvNsT0KRJN2EGQR-dwOl/s1600/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-22-55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7ZSMkkHFdAwtO4A4QGMvTqjDUKiWIe-KjnLyzI7bFtNNblEIK1N7R5tRaAyftip6b_3DGwt-b56lnePykgWBHn4BNaLEg3HeTCBXiucX2U1MCTQ_ZvNsT0KRJN2EGQR-dwOl/s400/Screenshot_2012-07-13-19-22-55.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmkNxUUuzfvNCxkH-SY8VJS2W1-SuSmPI7aRCLeCZ0eKQ6JoRicE5fuRkkyi87dm8w4DJpaWqYfBomhkSByNvDp5seTy7ALrs5dMGWV70i4VVrCiWNL9mJQnH1Zn_zBixW9-1/s1600/IMG_0220.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmkNxUUuzfvNCxkH-SY8VJS2W1-SuSmPI7aRCLeCZ0eKQ6JoRicE5fuRkkyi87dm8w4DJpaWqYfBomhkSByNvDp5seTy7ALrs5dMGWV70i4VVrCiWNL9mJQnH1Zn_zBixW9-1/s400/IMG_0220.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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What do you think? Are there any other android apps that you can think of that showcase the potential of the platform, or have any insights on how easy/hard it is to make a good looking app on Android vs iOS?</div>
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I'll also build on this post as I gain more experience with my android tablet, as well as eventually posting a review of the tablet itself.</div>
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P.S. This entire blog post was almost completely written on the TF300 with the help of the optional keyboard dock! I did however use a 'proper' laptop for adding some of the pictures and final formatting (just because that is a task best performed on something with a bigger screen)</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-2610769437956412672011-09-27T23:09:00.003+10:002011-09-27T23:26:11.999+10:00Quick thoughts on the HP TouchpadSo its been a while since I've posted anything on here, but ever since I bought an HP Touchpad during the fire sale, I wanted a place to put my thoughts on this now discontinued device.<br />
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what I like:<br />
1)Price - I got mine from Target US via Amazon for $99...and with shipping this added up to around $140AU (yay strong aussie dollar!) - still within my impulse buy price range for tech, and definitely good value. I feel that all this attention and near-instant growth in user base could have really been utilized better by HP (ie. By reviving the touchpad, and/or continuing to develop the platform)...but I hope the WebOS dev's are seeing enough growth to stick with it during this uncertain period.<br />
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2)Interface - although not perfect (will get to that later), WebOS has a great user interface which incorporates the use of cards to switch between, and manage running apps. The look is consistent and appealing overall.<br />
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3)Micro USB connector and drive mode - This makes it a breeze to get content to the device by simply connecting to any computer, and dragging and dropping files. Of course, the ability to view these files is dependent on apps that are available on the device.<br />
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4)Touchstone dock (wireless charging) - the dock, sold separately, does take longer to charge the device vs via micro USB port, but the ease in which I can get the touchpad undocked is worth it. Also, it's cool :-)<br />
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I tried to find a 5th thing that I liked about the Touchpad, but I couldn't really think of one that wasn't already covered in the previous four, so I'll leave it at that for now.<br />
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I think I'll make a separate post on what I didn't like so much about the Touchpad (there might even be pictures!), but from what I've experienced so far with the Touchpad and WebOS, I can say that there is a lot of untapped potential in the WebOS tablet platform, and I hope HP (and/or other hardware manufacturers) won't let it die.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-69286619176551301212009-12-05T13:05:00.001+11:002009-12-05T13:12:53.779+11:00Early Impressions of the E72<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">As the successor of the E71 (duh) - the E72 retains the svelte dimensions and long list of features, but with a faster processor and a slightly redesigned chassis. So does the device live up to the expectations of this E71 owner? Unfortunately not.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Things I don't like:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Build quality. For something slated as a business phone, and with fairly high RRP the E72 feels cheap in the hand, especially when compared with the E71. The percentage of plastics used in the chassis has been increased, and moreover the plastics used seems to be of a lesser quality as well. The metal accents are also thinner than on the E71, from the rear battery panel, to the border that frames the front of the device. It could be argued that Nokia went this way to reduce the weight of the device, but according to the Nokia website, the E72 is supposedly 1gram heavier! </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">This is very disappointing indeed as many reviewers expressly stated that the quality of the E72 had not changed, or have been improved on. So the question is, are these people on the take, or are they getting a different phone that the production model? Either way, you just have to hold the two phones in your hand to realise that the quality is NOT the same standard.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Unfortunately this decrease in quality has extended to the most important part of the phone - the keys. Unlike the E71, which have springy keys with a very precise travel and weight, the keys on the E72 are the exact opposite. The keys in the middle of the qwerty are fine and springy, while the ones on the edges are spongy and have less travel. The shortcut keys to are fine, and so are the call accept and end, but the two softkeys are lack are spongy and lack the clickyness of the others - this is even more obvious since you have to click those two keys in order to lock/unlock the phone keyboard each time. So basically you have a mess of keys that all require different pressures to register a click, and also feel differently, which makes typing on the phone difficult and frustrating. Very poor indeed for an email/messaging phone, and even more so since they got it so right with the E71. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Just as test to see if the issue is an inherent fault with the different keyboard layout, I compared the keys to the E63, the cheaper brother of the E71, which have identical keyboard layout. I must say that even the E63, with its rubbery and more spongy keys, still offer a superior and consistent experience than the E72. If this hardware inconsistency is a result of Nokia's recent decision to manufacture their phones to China (they were previously made in Korea) - then this does not bode well for the future of Nokia, as it degrades the reputation they have for making solid phones.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Lastly, the E72 has the new optical navigation key which is a first for Nokia, and perhaps other phones - it relies on essentially a small touch sensitive square in the middle of the fairway navigation key, and allows you to scroll through the screen and through menus by swiping your finger over it. In theory at least, this interface was supposed to offer some of the touch-screen goodness that is lacking in this non-touchscreen phone, but alas, the optical navi key is a gimmick.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Swiping the key like a deranged person doesn't really get you much further - I find it was less effort and more accurate to just press and hold the navigation key. Scrolling websites was a little better, as the navikey allows you to scroll diagonally on pages, but with the way the Nokia browser was designed, the little cursor is always being pulled towards the nearest clickable link as you scroll, so it effectively stops scrolling whenever you hit one. Perhaps the only redeeming quality of the navikey is that it offers the option of haptic feedback, so you know when the phone has registered your swipe - but it only seems to highlight how finicky the whole system is, and how many false 'swipes' it can register. You can turn the navikey off, but this means that it disables the one use of the navikey which I actually like, which I'll discuss more in the positives section below.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Things I do like:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">But there are some redeeming features to the E72, though I'm still not sure it is enough to win me over. Firstly, the phone now runs on a 600Mhz processor with more RAM and ROM than the E71 - this doesn't really translate much to performance, except that the UI of the E72 has more eye-candy, with animations for every little thing. I'll resist the temptation to bag Nokia on the eye-candy, since some people might like it, but its a bit of a waste of CPU cycles to me.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The phone also comes with a 4Gb microSD card, which is handy for storing the photos and video you take with the 5MP camera. Ignoring the increase in pixel count, the camera on the E72 is noticeably superior to the E71's, rendering colours more accurately, and now employing the LED light as an autofocus lamp (a feature I first saw in the E75). The camera interface is also improved, which allows the user to engage the autofocus feature just by placing your thumb on the navikey, then pressing the button to take a photo. Having said that, the navikey's seemingly inherent sensitivity does mean that sometimes the autofocus is activating when you don't want it to, or more worryingly, not registering a touch when you do. If the navikey is turned off, the autofocus is engaged by pressing the navikey down, then releasing to take a picture. However, if the camera feels that it hasn't got the right focus (indicated by the red rectangle on the screen), it won't take the photo…which is annoying for the times when the focus is either good enough, or you don't care.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Ok, focussing again on the good (can you see where this is all going?) the E72 has more improvements on the E71, which I'll just list:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">- 3.5mm headphone jack</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">- USB charging (with supplied proprietary cable)</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">- HSUPA (theoretical 10.2Mbps)</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">- more battery life (more efficient processor + same big battery)</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">- access to the secondary camera</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Conclusion</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">If you haven't guessed already, I'm pretty disappointed with the E72 - having had such a stellar experience with the E71, I was really excited to have a phone which built on that foundation, with improved guts and features. Instead, what I have in my hand is a phone with a solid feature set, wrapped in a cheap, plastic case that I'm seriously worried would not last the two year contract I have it on. And frankly, for something with a RRP of $729 AUS, I expected more. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I'm not a Nokia fanboy as such, but I've always appreciated Nokia's solidly built handsets, great battery life, and their useful yet utilitarian UI - but if the E72 is indicative of the direction Nokia is going, I seriously question Nokia's longevity as a top tier handset manufacturer.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-63107097208633360262009-12-05T12:53:00.002+11:002009-12-05T13:00:12.565+11:00Quick early review of the MBP 13' with Mac OSX Snow Leopard<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">After having the MBP for just about 5 days, I thought I'd give my impressions of using the shiney apple laptop from the perspective of a long time windows user (this is my first Mac). To make it easier for me, I've broken my review down to three sections: Hardware, Software and Usability. Enjoy and be nice if you're commenting!</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>Hardware</b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Probably don't need to say too much here, since its obvious that this is a beautiful piece of design and engineering. The fit and finish is stellar, the backlit keyboard is glorious, and the screen is nice and sharp. The device is compact, but feels solid - I'm still in awe of how Apple could fit so much computer into a thin and attractive package, while many other laptop manufacturers fail so miserably. I used to scoff at Mac apologists/fanboi's attempts to justify the Mac's higher pricing - but having scrutinised the build quality of the MBP's hardware, I can see what those extra dollars are getting me.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I was a bit worried how I'd get on with the depressible touchpad, but my fears were unfounded - using the touchpad either by tapping or pressing was accurate and precise - and for the times when my brain forgot, I could still use the touchpad as per usual, by clicking on the bottom left or bottom right for a left and right click respectively. I'll talk more about the touchpad later, because the most impressive thing about the touchpad is the underlying programming that makes it work.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>Software</b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Despite working almost exclusively with Windows PCs, I have had some experience with MAC OSX Tiger before, so I knew there were subtle differences in the way Macs and PC interfaces worked, things like the screen close/min/max buttons being on the top left, and using the command key vs ctrl for keyboard shortcuts. I did get a bit put off by the absence of a "My Computer" equivalent on the Mac Desktop, but you can actually activate that option in the preferences anyway. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The dock is nice for accessing your most commonly used apps, but I keep it hidden just to reduce clutter, though it doesn't matter so much day to day, but for things like iMovie and iPhoto, you need all the screen real-estate you can get.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I've not really played with many of the supplied apps that came with the MBP, with the exception of iMovie which I used to edit and post the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3_3-fegTvs">unboxing video</a> (taken with the iPod Nano!), but trying to move the video from the Nano to iMovie was a little more complicated that I expected. In the end, I found out that you actually download the movies from the Nano using iPhoto, which was a little counter-intuitive. Regardless, iMovie was a quite useable editing tool, though I was a little frustrated that it didn't work the way I wanted it too, but I'll chalk that up to being too used to using Windows moviemaker and Corel VideoStudio on the PC.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I had a brief play with Garageband (I was thinking of using it to make a soundtrack for the unboxing video) but it was a little too difficult and too much work at 12am, so I left that alone. I suspect that its complicated nature means that its quite a powerful audio editing and creation tool, but I may need to see a few more video tutorials before I tackle it again.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Safari is usable as a browser. So far I've only encountered one website it doesn't play completely nice with (Nokia website), but there's Google's Chrome and Firefox if I need them.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">TextEdit works fine for my basic word processing needs (I'm typing this review on it) - and seeing as I'm expressly NOT going to use this computer for work, I'm not going to bother with getting Office or OpenOffice/NeoOffice on it right now.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">But far and away the killer app for me has been the touchpad gestures. OMGWTFSWEETJEEBUS! You've got one finger tap, two-finger tap, two-finger scroll, pinch and stretch, three finger swipes, FOUR finger swipes! Ok, so beyond the use of two fingers it get's a little crazy, but the way Apple has implemented all these gestures is very clever, and done in that classy Apple way. Another on these apple touches (was that a pun? I dunno) were the mini videos that demonstrated the gestures and what they did - these are found in the touchpad preferences screen, where you can choose to deactivate the different gestures individually. My favourite gesture so far is the four finger swipe: swipe up, and it clears all your windows to expose the desktop; swipe down, and it lays out your opened screens, and you mouse over and click on the one you wish to view. No lag, no stuttering. Now usually I don't go gaga over all this kind of fluff - I turned off all eye-candy on XP and VIsta - but when something can be pretty AND functional, I am the first to admit that I'm impressed (and maybe a little aroused).</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>Useability</b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Now by usability, I guess I'm really posing the question "Can I function with this as my primary/only computer?" - and my answer would be a definite "Yes". Now as far as PC users go, I'm probably one of the more flexible in terms of needs, since all my email is on the cloud, and there isn't one app that I am absolutely bound to. Sure, I could think of some peripherals that I won't be able to use on OSX such as my current HDTV dongle, Nokia and Windows Mobile phones (for syncing purposes), but if I need to, then I can either install XP via bootcamp, or virtualise it via VMWare Fusion. Either way, any hurdles to switching are easily solved.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>Final thoughts</b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Like them or loathe them, Apple knows how to make a good-looking device with a great user experience to boot. You may have to pay more for it, but you only have to use one to see exactly what your money is paying for.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-34150976248711266262009-07-25T22:46:00.009+10:002009-07-26T13:31:39.033+10:00A comparison of three Nokia E-series phones<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBMnt2KUg023fbiDb_iRVCjUn2GRD4_U_2PxgSUU83CH_9xirOjWSR-cux2upUNB9b2WLeLg-pDjYC0DYCyIkV-N4PEaRWO8w9pjSnZbs0YhlIugvOPO3x4FTNsmggqDVlFTE/s1600-h/trio+of+Eseries.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBMnt2KUg023fbiDb_iRVCjUn2GRD4_U_2PxgSUU83CH_9xirOjWSR-cux2upUNB9b2WLeLg-pDjYC0DYCyIkV-N4PEaRWO8w9pjSnZbs0YhlIugvOPO3x4FTNsmggqDVlFTE/s400/trio+of+Eseries.bmp" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362419898282819698" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The Nokia E-Series Smartphones: E63, E71 and E75.</div><div><br />I got inspired to do this comparison because my friend Erk was thinking of the Nokia E63 as an upgrade, a phone which my mum herself had recently purchased. I also still had the E75 for a few more days (on loan from @aussienick) , as well as the E71 to I own. Now being all Symbian S60 devices, the interfaces are all very similar between the three phones, so I've only concentrated mainly on the hardware. Here's how they stack up, noting that as their name suggests, the E63 is the cheapest, followed by the E71 in the middle, and the E75 being the priciest (and also the newest).<div><br /></div><div><b>Build Quality:</b></div><div>E63 - its plastic body and light weight does make it feel slightly toy-like, but the tight seams between the different layers of plastic, and the soft touch material they've used gives the impression of quality. The rubberised material they use for the keys are a nice touch too, making them easier to press with either the meat of the fingertip, or with a fingernail (a plus for the user with long fingernails)</div><div><br /></div><div>E71 - Its all metal construction gives the E71 a really sleek look and feel, and its probably the reason it was possible to make the phone so thin (its about 1cm at its thickest point) . The keyas are made of a textured plastic that feels like it last, but is a bit slippery. It looks expensive, but the use of shiney metal all over does make it a fingerprint magnet.</div><div><br /></div><div>E75 - This phone is a bit of a mixed bag, with the all plastic front face and number keypad bordered with chrome-painted plastic giving the impression of a cheap and cheerful Nokia candybar phone. But turn it around and the stainless steel etched back combined with understated matte silver plastics is more keeping with a phone that's at the top of the E-series family. The keys on the QWERTY keyboard are also made of nicer material than the keypad.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Connectivity:</b></div><div>E63 - standard fare for an entry-level smartphone: 3G (no HSDPA though), WiFi, Bluetooth.</div><div><br /></div><div>E71 - similar to the E63: 3G (but with HSDPA), WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.</div><div><br /></div><div>E75 - identical to the E71.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Screen:</b></div><div>E63 - it has a 2.34 inch landscape screen QVGA, which is smallish, but very usable. Its also quite bright.</div><div><br /></div><div>E71 - has very similar specs to the E63 (the two look almost identical), but the screen on my phone wasn't as bright as the E63.</div><div><br /></div><div>E75 - it has a slightly wider screen than the other two (2.4 inch) at the same resolution, but I didn't see that the extra 0.06 inches of screen is really made a difference. Screen is also nice and bright like the E63.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battery Capacity:</b></div><div>E63 - 1500mAH</div><div>E71 - 1500mAH</div><div>E75 - 1000mAH</div><div>Bottom-line: based on anecdotal testing, the E75 runs out of juice in a day and a bit, whilst the E63 and E71 can go for about two days before needing a recharge.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Keyboard and keys:</b></div><div>E63 - it has a lot of keys, and they're all at the front of the phone - there is no volume buttons on the side, or power buttons at the top. What I like with the QWERTY keyboard here is that Nokia has catered to the SMS'er and Twitter, with all the common symbols having their own button (instead of having to sift through the menu for them), just as the @, ( and ). It also has a 'ctrl' button, so you can use functions like ctrl+x to copy, etc. The keys are all squished together, they are raised in the middle so its easier to press the right one. </div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, the keys are nice and clicky, though slightly spongy compared to the E71.</div><div><br /></div><div>E71 - very similar to the E63, with the majority of the buttons present in the front of the phone. The E71 does have volume buttons to the side, and a dedicated power button at the top. The keys are even more squished together than on the E63 (since the latter is a tad wider), and the some of the symbol keys are missing on the E71. Again, the QWERTY keys are raised so that its easier to discern individual keys by touch.</div><div><br /></div><div>Keys are hard and 'clicky', and spring back immediately after you press them (versus the spongey E63 buttons) - but you do have to press them with a bit more force, which could lead to more tired thumbs in time.</div><div><br /></div><div>E75 - This phone has buttons <i>everywhere</i>: at the front, on the side, and in the middle! Starting at the front, the keypad consists of strips of plastic, so that none of the numbers or functions have a single piece of plastic dedicated to them. Nevertheless, the keys are nice and clicky, but since they're all flat and flush with the surface of the phone, its hard to discern the different buttons by feel, and the reference 'bumps' flanking the '5' button doesn't really help. The direction button is a tad spongey, and there is a lot of give with the direction button before it registers.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are chromed plastic keys on the side, as well as a dedicated camera button, with the latter having two stages like a camera ie pressing to the first stage pre-focuses the camera, and pressing to the second stage takes the picture. I like it, but the camera button is very easy to press to the first stage.</div><div><br /></div><div>Slide the phone sideways and you've got a QWERTY keyboard. Its made of a nice rubberised material, but the keys are all flat and flush, and there is very little travel in them. Another criticism from my point of view is that there is no secondary direction pad on the QWERTY, so you have to move your right hand from the QWERTY to the direction pad on the front of the screen - you also do the same for the left and right softkeys.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Camera:</b></div><div>E63 - your run-of-the-mill cameraphone. Fixed focus, 2.0MP sensor gives typical camera phone images, though its white balance processing is pretty good. LED light is there, but not really good for close-up or far away.</div><div><br /></div><div>E71 - close but just misses the mark - auto-focus, 3.2MP at least renders sharp images, but it suffers from a blue tinge in all of the images captured - typical of cameraphones, its crap in low-light situations, and the LED light is useless far away, and blows out the images close-up.</div><div><br /></div><div>E75 - The best of the three - auto-focus, 3.2MP has the sharpness of the E71, but it renders the colours more accurately, like the E63. A clever innovation by Nokia is that the LED flash is also used as an auto-focus assist lamp, so that the camera can focus in absolute darkness as long as the subject can be illuminated by the LED. The LED is useless for faraway subjects (no surprises there), but does a great job of compensating the exposure of the image when using the flash at close range. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Audio output:</b></div><div>E63 - it has a mono speaker that fires from the top of the phone, and also has a 3.5mm headset/headphone jack, so you can use normal headphones on it.</div><div><br /></div><div>E71 - it too has a mono speaker that fires from the top of the phone, but uses a 2.5mm headset/headphone jack. My attempt at using a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adaptor my own headphones didn't work, so its the proprietary nokia headset, or nothing.</div><div><br /></div><div>E75 - it has a mono speaker, but fires from the back of the phone, so its easily muffled if the phone is sitting on its back on a desk. It does have a 3.5mm headphone jack though.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Extras in the box:</b></div><div>E63 - as the 'budget' model, the only thing you get with the phone is the charger, headset and a 1Gb microSD card. The phone can plug into a PC via USB, but you'll need to buy a nokia data cable for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>E71 - you get quite a bit more here: charger, headset, 2Gb microSD card, leather slip case (form-fitting and very nice), data-cable, CD containing Nokia PC Suite</div><div><br /></div><div>E75 - almost exactly the same as the E71, but with a more capacious 4Gb microSD card (very nice indeed), and a suede slip case that was frankly too snug to get the phone out of!</div><div><br /></div><div>Conclusion</div><div>Overall I think Nokia have done a pretty good job with all three phones, though there isn't a clear winner between them, which is kinda scary with the case of the E75, which at the most expensive (double the price of the E63) should really be blowing the other two handsets out of the water.</div><div><br /></div><div>In terms of build quality, features and price, I'm glad that I bought the E71, though its hard to look past the E63 as a great entry level smartphone or texting phone (I've seen it available at$279 Aus prepaid with Three). As for the E75, I think Nokia kinda dropped the ball with that one, packing a lot of great features (and a great camera) into such a ergonomic mess of a handset. </div><div><br /></div><div>Bottom line: if you want a pure smartphone and won't use the camera except for emergencies, go with either the E63 or E71 - the latter if you can afford it. I can't really recommend the E75 for anything, unless you must have a big QWERTY keyboard in small handset that runs Symbian; for the price, there are really better phones out there.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-11799866107550427872009-07-16T22:08:00.015+10:002009-07-16T23:57:22.084+10:00E75 - makes a great camera phone<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As I mentioned in the last post, the E75 has a really good camera. Yes, the images still look like they've been taken by a phone, but there were several key hardware and software elements employed by Nokia which helped make the E75 in my mind, a very capable point and shoot.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For a start the camera has auto-focus, and you can pre-focus by simply pressing the camera half-way. Unfortunately, pressing the button all the way down without pre-focusing bypasses focusing altogehter, but it does mean that you can take a photo quickly if you need to. But to me, what separates the focusing mechanism of the E75 from other phones - and indeed, other point and shoot cameras - is the use of the LED flash as an auto-focus lamp at low light settings. This brilliant choice by Nokia means that even in complete darkness, the E75 can produce a shot like this:</span></span></span></div><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CWdAbX5vNtwaAms5RN6tmz62fMLN44Zb1PQCVSDKZIS4XzaDfr8XEx1TZ1_pJ4A6lfpOLz0G2I2tL03P-AjZpTKi_xahXdKfGn8HnG8mKRQcjVmVzXHaX6kyhOj2Jp_HYHwp/s400/16072009026.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359030393192384434" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seeing in the dark: Full marks to Nokia for employing the LED flash as an auto-focus lamp - this photo was taken at night in complete darkness, but the flowers are in focus, and despite being very close to the camera, the image is not washed out and the colours are close to life.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the correct render of the colours, and the absence of overexposure in the photo leads me to suspect that the white balance and exposure of the image is also calculated during the pre-focusing stage (see example below for more evidence). Honestly, I reckon Nokia should sell this technology to camera manufacturers if they thought of it, because I have stand-alone cameras that don't perform this well with a flash so close to a subject! It may be a hasty call after just using the cameraphone for a day and a half, but I think the E75 may be the best </span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">camera </span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I've ever used in low-light conditions with the flash on!</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As proof, I've added some macro shots taken of my laptop keyboard by my canon point and shot (A410, 3.2MP) compared to those of the E75 (3.2MP), another auto-focus cameraphone (E71, 3.2MP), as well as a fixed focus camerphone (Dopod 838, 2.0MP). To make things fair, all shots were taken one after the other, and with the flash activated and all settings set to automatic. The plan is to take more photos on the weekend (weather permitting) in a larger variety of situations (both indoors and outdoors), but for now, let us marvel as the prowess of the E75.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYLNKSlR3HvRX1yMOvEwabO2qLo8xE9xu6fe50wz67Sd4uk5VS3W23peQwEb2AEAgpntRMKEJtEsvIw6M5hbqgRHpUMKx-PsnYuWKqBmmUdF49eNwejj05vIW0OS_Mj7mELKK/s400/IMG_3032.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359048615999799602" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Umm, this is the standard?! : The Canon powershot A410 is a point and shoot camera with an auto-focus lamp, which definitely helped with the focusing. Unfortunately, the camera didn't/couldn't throttle down the exposure enough, and the "J" key has been completely obliterated, with some collateral brightening of the sorrounding keys. Colour is accurate where the image is not overexposed.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDoTdVrfEPiF1NrSVIO9eRt06E0EYSFC3pISjlenGpky0pJPmU55PiWrWJ4Ol7YDUNVSZTkgj2VYUSt9mnRMIyk2b1PxlVM-0BAkLAVzYoaDr_Rc9Oo6tN7X5-pqbHhPjxBpL/s1600-h/16072009027.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDoTdVrfEPiF1NrSVIO9eRt06E0EYSFC3pISjlenGpky0pJPmU55PiWrWJ4Ol7YDUNVSZTkgj2VYUSt9mnRMIyk2b1PxlVM-0BAkLAVzYoaDr_Rc9Oo6tN7X5-pqbHhPjxBpL/s400/16072009027.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359041910525001314" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">E75 : Subject is sharp, colours are accurate, and the LED flash has produced a bright section in the image, but nothing too severe. Auto white balance did its job well, with only a slight yellow cast compared to the Canon A410.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-MnZN1kHrTEehKNaq-wtuFcppEr7_500K1yUzy5NbmYOjUaNhG3xE16277erfuqDxhj7nELy4ZXOqJCfACyiX-Wpv_iVhnjU1XR_WDSMFhLELkBuox4B3z2j5bfXIElcxyhq/s1600-h/IMAGE_345.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-MnZN1kHrTEehKNaq-wtuFcppEr7_500K1yUzy5NbmYOjUaNhG3xE16277erfuqDxhj7nELy4ZXOqJCfACyiX-Wpv_iVhnjU1XR_WDSMFhLELkBuox4B3z2j5bfXIElcxyhq/s400/IMAGE_345.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359042249257542210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dopod838 : Subject is reasonably sharp (macro setting on), but the black is washed out, and the LED flash has completely washed out the "B" key. White balance is correctly applied by the camera.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wmrf0WYR3sJRU1bOuYUApPv4f1BR8BrB3qwIWR6jv_nwSCv_lYoi8laoi_N5s5KOhZLtQsIvwts5Hfa4TeuHdj5NE2xm35aWiImVOvjoAygM7SpiecWoRYYffMx0X0Lf3xm0/s1600-h/16072009510.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wmrf0WYR3sJRU1bOuYUApPv4f1BR8BrB3qwIWR6jv_nwSCv_lYoi8laoi_N5s5KOhZLtQsIvwts5Hfa4TeuHdj5NE2xm35aWiImVOvjoAygM7SpiecWoRYYffMx0X0Lf3xm0/s400/16072009510.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359042056047218866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">E71 macro shot: Where do I start? The image is more out of focus than the Dopod (auto-focus had trouble in low-light setting and dark subject), the image is the most overexposed of the three, and to add insult to injury, the white balance is completely wrong (my keys are </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">not</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> violet!)</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDoTdVrfEPiF1NrSVIO9eRt06E0EYSFC3pISjlenGpky0pJPmU55PiWrWJ4Ol7YDUNVSZTkgj2VYUSt9mnRMIyk2b1PxlVM-0BAkLAVzYoaDr_Rc9Oo6tN7X5-pqbHhPjxBpL/s1600-h/16072009027.jpg"></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-58437062476024513812009-07-15T21:13:00.012+10:002009-07-16T23:53:23.660+10:00Playing with the Nokia E75 - Preliminary thoughts<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks again to @aussienick, I have another shiney toy in my hands - the Nokia E75. Half candybar, half QWERTY slider, this phone straddles the boundary between feature and smartphone, and while having some a pretty capable multimedia features as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having just played with the phone for a few hours, here are a few things that I've noticed:</div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvZPsf8hv61EAYMaG-eHoFmsltwfKwVlGkVveffMnCV8kIYRJJ-Qf5T4SIxpSfspV5A5h3aMWlufRiBH5St4VUFd-ArqEqZ6SpjMSfdCJUazXBm8WeEFPapYeJeN1BSo8pkR/s1600-h/IMG_3028.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvZPsf8hv61EAYMaG-eHoFmsltwfKwVlGkVveffMnCV8kIYRJJ-Qf5T4SIxpSfspV5A5h3aMWlufRiBH5St4VUFd-ArqEqZ6SpjMSfdCJUazXBm8WeEFPapYeJeN1BSo8pkR/s320/IMG_3028.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358658746844766738" /></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Front on, you might mistake the E75 as another run-of-the-mill freebie Nokia phone</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;">The Good:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The E75 can be charged by USB (I think it may be one of the first Nokia phones to have that ability)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-It uses a standard 3.5mm headphone jack for sound output</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The camera is very good, with auto-focus, accurate colours, and proper compensation for when the flash is used (ie it throttles down so that the light from the flash doesn't wash out the image)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-It takes video in 640x480 at a high frame rate (30fps?) - the video is saved in .mp4 format.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The fit and finish of the device overall is very high - the back of the device looks a million dollars - and the sliding mechanism is nice and precise</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The screen is bright and crisp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The QWERTY keyboard is spacious, and the materials for the keys look and feel high-grade and durable</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpyZ4aPb1h6Qdl75WZqncX-peFTwC8g9kx1hH7KqBmtgKwOtbpcN7QexMcvQJ3COCgOMOpA28H5p4T-8yvcdI3-MhDW1dg87QxWC4fy6mrofKl4qMjmtky4YKTjG7U0EFZ2V8/s1600-h/IMG_3020.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpyZ4aPb1h6Qdl75WZqncX-peFTwC8g9kx1hH7KqBmtgKwOtbpcN7QexMcvQJ3COCgOMOpA28H5p4T-8yvcdI3-MhDW1dg87QxWC4fy6mrofKl4qMjmtky4YKTjG7U0EFZ2V8/s320/IMG_3020.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358659931633555298" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">From this side, the fit and finish of the E75 is closer to the standard of other E-Series phones</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The Bad:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Although charging is via usb, the port in the phone is proprietary, so you have to use Nokia cables (no microusb here unfortunately)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The battery capacity is quite small - only 2/3rds the capacity of the E71 - I will test this more tomorrow to see how the battery copes with heavy use.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The QWERTY keyboard lacks arrow keys (you're only method of navigating on the non-touchscreen phone) - so to enter text and navigate the screen, your right hand has to move back and forth from the QWERTY and the direction pad at the candybar face of the phone - you also do the same for the left and right shortcut keys.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The phone automatically locks the keypad when you close the slider, which makes it annoying if you want to quickly switch from QWERTY to keypad/direction pad use in portrait mode (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF00;"><i>amendment: You <b>can</b> turn this off</i></span>), as I often do when I want to switch from two-handed to one-handed use.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Whilst the two halves of the slider are pretty solid when closed, when the QWERTY keyboard is slide out, the screen half of the phone does have a bit of wobble, and its the time when the phone feels the most fragile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div>The Ugly:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-The front looks and feels like a cheap throw-away nokia - the thin bands of cheap feeling plastic that make up the number keys are ricketty, really close together, and the bottom left and right keys are very hard to press. They feel so fragile and such an afterthough, that Nokia maybe have done better without them, and just extended the length of the screen.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Qo5FTW7q8nSviN4GSkPcN6J3zVjMmn-AYXXiEozgGHRuNQ09Vdf_gCICZp7MRvfNHosZ1DUM8Sl8RH2UYawtepjIRCQusrZWCRYpTIg_qtgNzNQdLvpBwwTDevSSHNq15diE/s320/IMG_3022.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358659128474759058" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvZPsf8hv61EAYMaG-eHoFmsltwfKwVlGkVveffMnCV8kIYRJJ-Qf5T4SIxpSfspV5A5h3aMWlufRiBH5St4VUFd-ArqEqZ6SpjMSfdCJUazXBm8WeEFPapYeJeN1BSo8pkR/s1600-h/IMG_3028.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvZPsf8hv61EAYMaG-eHoFmsltwfKwVlGkVveffMnCV8kIYRJJ-Qf5T4SIxpSfspV5A5h3aMWlufRiBH5St4VUFd-ArqEqZ6SpjMSfdCJUazXBm8WeEFPapYeJeN1BSo8pkR/s1600-h/IMG_3028.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvZPsf8hv61EAYMaG-eHoFmsltwfKwVlGkVveffMnCV8kIYRJJ-Qf5T4SIxpSfspV5A5h3aMWlufRiBH5St4VUFd-ArqEqZ6SpjMSfdCJUazXBm8WeEFPapYeJeN1BSo8pkR/s1600-h/IMG_3028.JPG"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Keys made out of thin, flimsy plastic ruins the otherwise stylish E75</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think there is so much to love about this phone, but even just after a few hours of use, I can see there are a few hardware and functionality choices that may make it hard to live with this phone. Anyhoo, I'll keep an open mind, and report my findings while I have the phone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've posted some more images of the phone below, and I'll do a few phone camera tests later in the week.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhZxIGGGcxpbPqfYP_wSIcSO5pWLWL39zTAP5Giep3UkFgDL17YKpebak0m38feL-4sKJ6MCxrzUGD8RIZnnTm-8Pa8_P4yAv68OcjPUcqRW8h2kQSofJpi7aN74TNWEn5v-m/s320/IMG_3011.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358661116181569346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Note the brighter screen of the E75 (versus the Dopod 838), and the classier look and feel of the device with the slider open</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDbrVzt8goy8qgmgxs_Zem7n1P_xJGB7StC0GZlnz3HcErI7C9BsuC1AUxMeY6_DhTL317xGauPq6sldlz1GwqSCiv03QlTxkOJMrbVTDpjnJeZBpRltNYP0RYXUM2nvnTxX_/s320/IMG_3026.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358661930476874034" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The smaller capacity battery on the E75 (left, versus the E71) may be a limitation and potential dealbreaker for business users</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6WDfpfiW2_RJDD8eUkps1kVTlS9gDsLSU7aWTOSZmJNgrEjhwNnaM4x5TJnBmWO-UcweK9ktNgwsxYACVPBrLreSJofkLOjpErAMwSK6UVAth3l8mhyphenhyphenBI7TeJSYRS3f5u96r/s1600-h/phones+right+side.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6WDfpfiW2_RJDD8eUkps1kVTlS9gDsLSU7aWTOSZmJNgrEjhwNnaM4x5TJnBmWO-UcweK9ktNgwsxYACVPBrLreSJofkLOjpErAMwSK6UVAth3l8mhyphenhyphenBI7TeJSYRS3f5u96r/s320/phones+right+side.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358662946140560146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 81px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2G4Lu1AxFnoyjhrdHNAtKucx3V23g_9elkKeCyPe0VPXtYjRIoe-w3rXq4vk2WT6vO0G_9H42N9btGRBJ200mAR3Bb_NmGiJrpVIY2G1hxj1VL40jNAx1ZI57tFbIXYBP3zrM/s1600-h/phones+left+side.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2G4Lu1AxFnoyjhrdHNAtKucx3V23g_9elkKeCyPe0VPXtYjRIoe-w3rXq4vk2WT6vO0G_9H42N9btGRBJ200mAR3Bb_NmGiJrpVIY2G1hxj1VL40jNAx1ZI57tFbIXYBP3zrM/s320/phones+left+side.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358662854176062482" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 78px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The E75 (bottom) is shorter, but thicker than the E71</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-34956027339652147602009-07-12T23:27:00.003+10:002009-07-13T00:37:19.344+10:00Quick and Dirty Review of the Viliv S5Thanks to my generous friend (and fellow gadget geek) @aussienick, I got the chance to spend a few days playing with a really cool gadget, the Korean made Viliv S5. Since the S5 has been reviewed more comprehensively by more reputable people, I won't bother doing the product shots and long musings, and just distill my impressions of the device based on what I like and what I don't like.<div><br /></div><div>The Likes (ie. WANT!):</div><div><ul><li>Long battery life - at least 4 hours (haven't really tried to do a battery drain test yet)</li><li>Crisp 5' screen - 1024x600 in a 5' screen = high pixel density = awesome!</li><li>Stereo speakers - still a bit tinny, but loud enough for viewing videos without headphones</li><li>Build quality - feels good, looks good, and provided (?) case looks good.</li><li>Built-in 3G (as an option) - makes sense in a device you can actually use whilst walking</li><li>Touchscreen - because I love touchscreens :)</li><li>SSD - makes the device rugged, and provides faster boot-up and stand-by times.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Dislikes:</div><div><ul><li>Stubby telescopic stylus - the device is pretty wide, so it would have been nice if they could provide a stylus that was the same length as the width of the device, and had a silo on the hardware itself, instead of having it attached to the case</li><li>Touchscreen calibration issues - which I hope is only because the drivers for XP is not playing nice with Win 7 RC1 (installed in this unit), and not a hardware fault</li><li>Comes with plain XP - using Win7 on this emphasises how much more usable this device would be for me if it ran at least XP tablet edition</li><li>Small fonts - the trade-off of a high rez screen in a smaller screen - my eyes get quite tired when reading text</li><li>Onscreen keyboard - the buttons are nice and large, but the touchscreen can't really keep up with my thumbs unless I really slowed it down...and at that point, I'd rather use the tablet input panel for text entry (which I did)</li><li>Direction pad instead of a stick-type mouse - would have been so much better for the times when you want to keep both hands on the device, but still be able to navigate the whole screen</li></ul><div>So there you have it, my impressions of the Viliv S5 so far. Overall, I do like the concept of the device, but for me there were just too many factors that prevented me from falling love with this device. In the end I felt a little disappointed, not because the device was a failure (because it did a lot of things right), but because it was so very close being my ideal gadget, but not quite getting there.</div><div><br /></div><div>I do have a few more days to play with the Viliv S5 before I hand it back, so I'll update this post I find more things I like/don't like about it. Also, if you have any questions about it, or things you want me to test for you, just let me know and I'll post the answers up as soon as I'm able.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-81325497093084896452009-07-11T13:43:00.011+10:002009-07-11T23:53:30.785+10:00A good match: Twikini for Windows Mobile and my Dopod838<div style="text-align: left;">A lot has changed with my web habits in the last few years, and I've noticed more and more that Twitter is forming the majority of the web content I consume, especially on the mobile.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I upgraded my phone last year, I switched from my WM dopod 838 to a Nokia E71. For me the choice was both due to the experience and the hardware - basically, symbian S60 worked better as a phone, and WM worked better as a PDA, and unfortunately for the Dopod, the phone part was more important to me at the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, I'm considering moving back to the Dopod 838, at least as a mobile web device, after I've found a really good twitter client available for Windows Mobile called Twikini, which works well with how I like to use my WM device.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>Scroll wheel FTW!</b></div><div>Being the twitter addict that I am, I almost impulsively wake up and immediately check my twitter feed in bed (you've all done it - Don't you judge me!!!). Currently, I perform this task on my 1st Gen iPod Touch (using Twitterfon), which works really well, except for one exception (which shows off the depths of my laziness): I have to use two hands to scroll through my feed*!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Why does this matter? Well, because I surf/view my twitters while lying on my side in bed, which means that I usually have one arm under my pillow or under the covers (especially important in winter, where its good to limit the number of limbs exposed to the cold to the bare minimum). Also, if you've ever lost grip of your phone and have it smack you in the face, then you understand why body positioning is important when using a portable device in bed! Anyhoo, in the case of one-handed operation (oh grow up), this is where the Dopod 838/Twikini combo shines.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiRJVDW97tGcCge78JXYq1bMPBdtkKiNLrFo8nZSZW2GVLoxCg5gUjHUZAFGHziPHKjHk55Xg6bIYuqvbZ4YkW2hfamB9ek-SCDr0Q8gKR53jrJWRhbW7eWs7ybgyIcHLgjJ4z/s320/15052009390.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357060924908140930" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Twikini on my Dopod838 - Scrolling is easy with the little scroll wheel on the side. In portrait mode you can view 4 tweets at a time</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(conveniently positioned for my thumb)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>With Twikini (which offers my feed in a convenient running screen), all I have to do is use the scroll wheel on the side of the Dopod to scroll up and down my feed - the scroll wheel also works as a select button, so when I'm just passively surfing through my feeds, selecting links is a breeze and completely one handed. Unfortunately, if I do have to create a tweet or otherwise need to input some text, I will have to use two hands since the onscreen keyboard built-in to WM is not at all finger-friendly, and the Dopod's QWERTY keyboard is of the landscape variety. But again, Twinkini comes to the rescue by providing some intuitive and clever UI choices to make tweeting a breeze, and addresses one of my pet peeves with WM devices.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">*</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Okay, so that's not strictly true - I have mastered the "hold with 4 fingers and flick up and down with thumb" manouever, but after a while it does get uncomfortable, and my thumb isn't especially flexible, so having the thumb moving around in such an unnatural position does hurt after a bit.</span></span></i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Keeping a firm grip</b></div><div>With twikini, there are several options available for replying or DMing - you can either select the option on the menu screen, or simply scroll to the twitterer u wish to converse with, and tap on the left arrow key to @reply, or right to DM. This simple UI choice might not seem that exciting, but its a godsend for me, since I loathe having to switch between using my QWERTY keyboard and the touchscreen to interact with my devices.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCvwgvlV4jaG7JpVmZaLqYvdDL9fX0afatpsZsfrsewoMT5SIaSy_OGHVVwMsKziguthlQHu-BcFx9o8oMXUCV-OX5br0_S6KNCfYbXYvMORjmCPhQ5U5P42Evw2Lw6YUeMUL/s320/15052009393.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357061818495194610" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Twikini on Dopod in Landscape mode: In this position, keeping the device in your hands really requires two of them (but I needed one of my hands for taking the pic)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>This may not be an issue that people really care/think about, but it really matters to me since I'm one of those people that constantly has their phone out and surfing the web while walking. Because I'm on the move, I like my phone to be as secure as possible in my hand/hands. Now in the case of the E71 and the Dopod 838 (in portrait mode), keeping a firm grip with one hand is a cinch because both fit equally snug in one palm. However, in the case of the Dopod in landscape mode (QWERTY keyboard in use), a firm grip can only really be achieved with two hands, so in that usage scenario, I prefer that both of my hands are holding onto the Dopod (thumbs on the keyboard) as much as possible - and with Twikini and its left/right shortcuts for @reply and DM <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">(</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">correction: right arrow actually performs a RT, not a DM)</span></i>, I can interact and with my twitter friends whilst keeping my device stable in both hands.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhoo, if you want to try Twikini, they have a 14 day trial period available so you can see if you like it, at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-weight: bold; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.trinketsoftware.com/Twikini</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>A friend (@jodiem) did note some issues with scrolling, where use of the inertial scrolling sometimes selects a tweet instead, so its good to take advantage of this trial period to see if the device works well for your device and use case scenario. But I'll say that having used Twikini back when the app was still in beta, I've found the developers to be pretty receptive to suggestions, and are also good with updating the features on their program, so it pays to make your voice heard and provide constructive feedback.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, before you all "get up in my grill" (fo shizzle my nizzle - wow, did I really say that?) - I do know of (and will be reviewing in turn) alternative clients for other platforms, such as Gravity for Symbian s60, and of course, twitterfon and tweetdeck for the iPod/iPhone. I'll also get around to reviewing some web-based, mobile-optimised twitter clients like dabr and slandr, but do let me know if there are others floating around, and I'll check them out too. Cheers!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28811155.post-81777373740982648082009-07-04T13:04:00.002+10:002009-07-04T13:27:07.210+10:00Quick Battery Life PostSince battery life is such an important consideration for any portable device, I thought I'd stress test my various gadget to determine the minimum battery life I could get from my current smartphone (Nokia E71) and my netbook with its shiney new 9 cell battery (Acer Aspire One).<div><br /></div><div>Nokia E71:</div><div>With Wifi-on, 3G on, continuously downloading podcasts and web surfing whilst listening to said podcasts over its mono-speaker, I got just over 7hours of battery life before the phone shut itself down :) This is pretty impressive, and certainly explains why I usually get about 2 whole days with moderate use with this phone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Acer Aspire One (with 9-cell battery):</div><div>With wifi-on, screen at 40% brightness and on 'home/office desk" mode, tweetdeck constantly on and itunes downloading podcasts every so often, the battery would last 4 hours and 50 minutes before the netbook would forcibly go into hibernation mode (at 3% battery life). I think this is phenomenal, and infinitely better than the paltry 1hr 30minutes that I used to get when using the supplied (2-cell!!!) battery. Since having the battery, I've found that I'm using the AAO a lot more, and now I'm tempted to get a USB dongle so I can take the web with me :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhoo, that was all, except that I am interested to find out what the battery life is on the shiney new iPhone 3Gs under the same conditions - I'm interested in getting one, but I have to see whether it can come close to the numbers I'm getting on my current phone, otherwise I could potentially be disappointed.</div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439656008897460429noreply@blogger.com0