Mobile Tech

Freetalk Wireless

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Last week I ordered a Skype Freetalk Wireless headset. It arrived today. Pairing was really easy, and the headset fit well. I am worried that after using it a lot it will feel a bit tight. I like (and don’t like) that the charging is done from the dongle to the headset. I will see if that becomes an issue. I used it for one call today but wont really give it a true test until I am at work on Tuesday.

I have been looking for a good headset to use with my laptop when not at my desk at home. I hope this one works out, since my desk drawers at home are becoming a graveyard for wired and bluetooth headsets alike that haven’t cut it. Seriously I think I have at least 2 wired skype headsets that suck and I don’t use, and about 4 bluetooth headsets. I use 2 of those but not as much as I like and never with the computers since I have quirky issues.

A New Netbook

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I bought a new netbook to replace my sold HP Mini 1000. I got an Acer 11.9″ model. It is in a nice blue color. It is “technically” not even a netbook since it is runing a real Core Solo processor. This new one comes pre-installed with Windows 7. I am still not a huge fan of the screen size but it is better than the HP. I like this netbook, but the more i use any netbook makes me think I really wont be happy with any screen under 13″. Does that mean I will be getting a Macbook Air in my future? Maybe, I have been thinking about it for over a year. The price is all that is stopping me. I really want a tablet though, so I shall see what comes out next year.

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Canceled Order

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I canceled my order for an Archos 9 this week. The tablet is shipping much later than originally promised and I wasn’t happy about that. I also read not so stellar reviews about it so I didn’t want to spend $500+ on it. I am hopefully someone (Apple or anyone) will do the tablet right. Instead I am eyeing a larger netbook like laptop than I had. I want an 11″ screen computer. Still searching for the right one.

The Android Experiment

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A few weeks ago I purchased a used T-Mobile G1 on eBay. It was party to see check out the Android OS, as well as check out T-Mobile service near where I live and work.

Firstly the G1 I got was a bit more beat up than I would have liked, but for the price I paid I kinda knew what I was getting into. I found it harder than I originally expected to separate my experience with the Android OS with my feelings about the G1 hardware. I was not a fan of the G1 at all. It was big, heavy, and I could not stand the curved bottom of the phone, nor could I really use the keyboard because of that uncomfortable bulge at the bottom of the phone.

The Android OS on the other hand was OK. I looked for equivalent applications to what I typically use on my iPhone. I didn’t do a complete search but looked for the top 5-10 apps that I use every day. I was able to find apps that performed the same functions. That was the good news. The bad news was that several of them were just not as polished as the iPhone equivalent. Maybe I am biased, but the iPhone apps just seem more polished than the Andriod counterparts. There were a few exceptions, but in general I wasn’t too impressed with the Andriod apps. On the up side I was happy with some of the types of applications that I couldn’t get on my iPhone. I loved the call blocking app especially since the T-Mobile number I got seemed to have a lot of people calling it. I also loved the Google Voice integration. For me as a Google Voice user it was perfect. I didn’t even tell anyone I got a new #. I just routed calls to the G1 and then used Google Voice to make outbound calls. For me that was the best part of the Android OS. I really miss that functionality on the iPhone.

The second part of my experiment was how is the T-Mobile service. The short answer is it is just as poor as AT&T is where I use it most. I don’t get any reliable signal inside my apartment with T-Mobile. By my window I get 3-4 bars but inside I only get 1-2 if any. Without a signal booster the service is useless in my apartment. If the Android phones supported T-Mobile’s Wifi calling like some of the Blackberry’s do that wouldn’t be an issue, but right now it is a major show stopper. At work in mid town I got slightly better results. I sometimes got decent signal at my desk, but other times it was spotty. Not consistent enough for me.

The bottom line is as tempting as T-Mobile’s no contract plans are, the service where I spend 75% of my work week (home and work) I had spotty service. That means if I want to stick with a GSM carrier I am stuck with AT&T. As much as I refuse to use Verizion I might need to consider. I may end up getting a Verizon Mifi anyway so that might be the trade off that keeps me with my iPhone an AT&T but more on that later.

I will keep my T-Mobile SIM until after my vacation but I don’t see myself keeping it long term. As for the G1, I am going away at the end of the week so I wont have time to sell it before I go, but it will go up on eBay before Christmas. If a AT&T compatible 3G (85mhz & 1800mhz) Android phone comes out I may give it a try again but until then I am sticking with the iPhone. Like I tell anyone when they ask if i like it, the iPhone is the best phone I ever had, but I would love to be able to get rid of it!

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T-Mobile Again

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My frustration with AT&T has finally come to a head. I had another week of not really being able to use my iPhone at the office, so I finally broke down and went to the T-Mobile store. I signed up for an Even More Plus plan. I figured with no contract I had nothing to lose from trying it out. I am testing the service at home and work with an old Motorola Razr I have had since 2005. So far I am having signal issues in my apt, but I already knew that non-3g service would be spotty in my apt. Friends with T-Mobile have had problems there before.

To really test the system out I just bought a used G1 Android phone from Ebay. I will see if T-Mobile 3G is as good as their map says it is in my neighborhood. I also need to be happy with the G1’s Android OS. I am skeptical about that, but hopeful I will like it enough to give up my iphone. There is a lot of “if’s” but I am willing to give it a try since the iPhone may be nice and slick and a great all around device, but if it doesn’t work half the time I try to use it I don’t care how nice it is.

I really hope this works out. I really like the no contract concept even if the phones are more money (thanks ebay). I also like the fact that I can get unlimited voice for $50. I currently pay $59 for 900 minutes that I can’t use since the phone doesn’t work most of the places I need it to. I always liked T-Mobile. I only got rid of them when I gave up my own mobile to use the Partsearch issued one. After that I got AT&T because of phone selection and the iPhone.

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A New Netbook

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When my parents signed up for Fios they were eligible for a new Netbook. I didn’t realize this but my dad called and told me what he was getting. I told him thanks for my new toy. He wanted to know why he couldn’t use it. I told him get it, open it up and see if he likes it. I said this knowing what my parents can and can’t do electronically. I also think by now I know what they like and don’t like getting. He got his netbook and called me like 20 minutes after asking when I would come and take it. He didn’t know what he could do with it. I told him and his only comment was could he watch movies on it. I said sure and explained his options and he was like to heck with that. He wanted a nice easy DVD movie player like he has.

The netbook is a great idea, but it is defiantly not for everyone. I will probably sell this one or my existing HP Mini 1000 but I am not sure what one is better. i am going to see if my sister has any need for this thing either, but I am thinking she will have the same thoughts about it like my dad did.

Apple Are You Kidding Me?

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I have been a huge fan of Apple and the iPhone. I have always had my criticisms of the company. I have also said that I love my iPhone but would love to find another phone to replace it due to the restrictions Apple puts on the iPhone. This latest stunt by Apple may just get me to drop the iPhone and get something (anything) else. GV Mobile is an app I have used since it came out. It is an app that works with Google Voice. Before GV Mobile I used Grand Dialer that did similar things with the old Grand Central before Google turned it into Google Voice. Why then did Apple just decide to pull all apps that work with Google Voice? I paid for this app, now basically it is killed off? Yeah it will still work for a while but if anything in the OS breaks the app it wont work. This is crazy. How is this not big brother that Apple (or AT&T through Apple) just come in and turn off an app? And why, because it mimic’s iPhone features? So what, I choose to use those mimicked features. Thoughts are it is more likely that AT&T doesn’t want to lose revenue by free SMS via these apps. So can someone explain to me how App Stores are better for the consumer if the handset maker and the provider say what can and cannot be put on my phone? I prefer the day when i can find an app, download it and run it on my smart phone. Worked for years with Palm, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. Now everyone has their own app stores. How is this progress for the consumer?

I was tempted to pre-order an Android powered My Touch with T-Mobile today. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that the My Touch doesn’t offer Wifi Calling (no android phone does yet). Apple / AT&T get your act together or you will lose a good customer, and I bet I am not the only one.

On a related note I was kind of pissed about what I consider similar crazy tactics by Amazon regarding the Kindle. At least Amazon apologized about what they did, and it doesn’t look like they will do it again. Apple you should learn something from Amazon!

UPDATE 7-31-2009: Finally the FCC is doing something. Questioning Apple, AT&T & Google about what is going on.

iPhone 3GS First Thoughts

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I got my iPhone 3GS on Friday. I was eager to get it when they announced it, but when it arrived I didn’t even want to rush home to take a look. I usually can’t wait to play with new electronic gizmo’s. Either I now have luke warm feeligns about it or I am getting older. I hope I just have low expectations of the new device. In any event I have had the device for a few days and I have early impressions since I can be opinionated about my gadgets.

One major reason to upgrade for me was the doubled capacity that I get with the 32gig unit. I would have gotten a 64gig one if they offered it. I wanted 32gigs last year when I bought my 3G. Ironically since I purged many videos from my 3G before upgrading I don’t even need the entire 16gigs I had. I know that in a few weeks I will use up the new space I have but right now it is weird seeing all that free space in the bar graph when I sync the phone.

I haven’t done that much to notice the speed improvements. Every once in a while I think it might be a bit zippier, but nothing major just yet. The camera is a great improvement, but still didn’t do so hot for me in low light when I was out on Friday. Video was nice, and I used it a few times with Zachary on Sunday but to be honest I am not going to praise that since a phone of iPhone’s class should have had that function already.

I have to say I am not a fan of the cut and paste function. I know I want it when I need it, and it is another one of those things that should have been around for some time, but I have problems with Apple’s actual implementation of cut and past. I have selected text to cut and paste while scrolling through items i was reading. It is actually very annoying. The amount of times that has happened vs actually using the cut and paste function is making that feature more of a detriment to me than a bonus.

The compass function was neat, but i haven’t really had a chance to use it. One downside I did notice was when I brought up google maps when I got out of the Lincoln tunnel on Sunday the Google Map app started spinning around and I had a semi-transparent warning box telling me that the compass couldn’t work and i needed to get away from interference. This wasn’t good since i couldn’t see where i was (approximately) on the map, where the old version on the 3G would at least just give me a blue circle that showed my margin of error. With the map spinning around and the warning box I couldn’t really estimate my location. Hopefully this was a fluke but I am not so sure I saw the last of that message especially in Manhattan.

So far you might conclude I don’t like the new phone. That is not true. It is a great piece of equipment. In my opinion it has unfortunately it has yet to live up to the cost I paid for it. What will improve my opinion is seeing all the new software that utilizes the push technology in the 3.0 software. I know I could have gotten that with my old 3G, but this new functionality on top of the new hardware was the reason for me to upgrade. For now I have to wait since it seems the hardware is a bit ahead of the software written to utilize it. Once a true push IM client comes out, and other nifty new apps such as the Zip Car app and the Tom Tom GPS app then the new phone will start paying for itself. I am also waiting for a push version of Facebook, and a twitter client (Tweetie I hope since I like it and paid for a copy). It is still a great media device that I take with me everywhere. That hasn’t changed, but for an incremental upgrade it has a bit to go before it becomes worth the upgrade.

For now the new iPhone 3GS is just like my iPhone 3G. I love it, it is probably the best phone I ever had, but I would love to get rid of it if I could. What I mean by that is it is a fantastic device but Apple is still too restrictive on the OS, and I would love for someone to come out with something that truly rivals it (Android, and S60 are nice but not there yet by far and I have tried both). Till then I await updated software for my 3GS!