Unlike most, trying to be smart – or dumb – about predicting next year’s trends, I wanted to reflect back on the most useful high-tech hardware in my life this year.
First and foremost is my laptop. In this case, it’s an old Apple Macbook (2 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB Ram) that I upgraded with a 500 GB hard disk drive from Western Digital. It still works fine for editing videos, photos and stories. There was a crack on the Mac’s case (next to the screen) and the Mac repair shop changed it (it was a known defect) and installed a brand new keyboard… all for free (I think it’s still under warranty)!
A Logitech Performance MX mouse that works virtually everywhere, even on glass, thanks to its Darkfield technology. The only downside with this mouse was that they is no trap inside it to store the tiny wireless receiver when I need to free up one of the USB port. I’m always afraid to loose it as it’s so minuscule. Also I must always remember to bring the USB cable that ships with the mouse as it’s needed to recharge it;
Livescribe‘s Pulse Smartpen was a lifesaver for me. It records everything I write and synch it with the audio recording. I never miss a word, during an interview or even a long-form presentation. Even more critical for me, I’m able to go back to a particular speech/interview by just tapping on my notes associated to it. It makes my reporting so much more accurate and faster. I couldn’t do without it anymore.
iPod nano, 5th generation with the audio and video recording. I use it to record short interviews, instead of using the bigger video camcorder; as well as audio conversations/presentations when I don’t have my Smartpen handy. I wish the nano had an external microphone jack like the Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video camera which might replace in 2010, both the iPod nano and my hard disk based camcorder. I would have to check the battery life though;
Google G1 smartphone. If you heard me complaining about my phone, you might be surprised to see it mentioned here. But despite its dismal keyboard, which I somehow got used to!, the G1 got even more useful when Google released its Navigation app. With Google Map Navigation I don’t need a seperate GPS system anymore. The G1 is now my one stop shop for voice, watch/alarm, email, Web browsing, calendar, twitter, occasional photo/video recording and lately, navigation. I’m not using much of the Facebook app yet but that might change next year;
Last but not least, the RokuNetflix player was the most important device in my home entertainment centre, just after the plasma TV but way more than the DVD/VHS player or the intermittently connected Mac mini. Hopefully, Roku will open its media player up (as well as the USB port) so it can play content off a USB key/drive and from more Internet video sources like Hulu. One can dream!
Voila, that’s it for me. Have a wonderful holiday and see you next year!
Over the weekend, I finally made the switch from my “old” Blackberry Curve to the Google G1. And what a disappointment it was.
Just a few minutes into it, after setting my Gmail account, synching my contacts and calendar (cool!) and even downloading some applications, I realized I made a mistake.
Some applications even started crashing like the Dialer (what’s up with this name?) or the Photo application. The good thing is that it didn’t crash the phone!
Here’s a rundown on some of the reasons why I think the G1 is just a bad phone:
The keyboard is terrible, at least if you’re used like me to the comfort of a Blackberry or Palm keyboard. The keys are too low, the touch imprecise. And I don’t have large fingers! And when the G1 is plugged-in, typing on the keyboard gets really hard.
The Android software does not support multi-touch (although the hardware can!), making it hard to navigate the Web: you can’t zoom on a page for example;
Applications randomly crashes;
Cryptic system messages like the “Force Close” error message when applications crashes. Would you say that to a human? The G1 is a phone designed by geeks for geeks. Not for humans!
Low battery life. With Twitter, Facebook, NewsRob (Google Reader) installed the battery lasts about half a day before I need to charge the phone. That’s a showstopper don’t you think?
SMS messages and emails are in different applications. I was used to receiving both in the Blackberry’s mail application. How nice it was!
The phone plastic feels cheap, fragile and the camera button is nearly inaccessible when the keyboard is open.
Finally, the back of the phone gets really hot when use for 10 minutes or more;
And T-Mobile, where’s my Android 1.5 update? I’m still at 1.0!
So what’s the alternative for me?
Of course I could go back to the Blackberry Curve, but my goal with the G1 was to access the potentially thousands of applications and do more with my phone, and the Blackberry AppWorld store just don’t look that appealing.
Why not the iPhone? Because I need a keyboard.
So? I’m considering a Palm Pre (nice keyboard), even though it means moving to Sprint, or perhaps one of the Motorola’s Android phones, that are not expected before Fall!
Magic is HTC's second Google Android smartphone, without a hardware keyboard but much sleekier than T-Mobile's G1; however still no multi-touch a-la iPhone
HTC’s second Android smartphone is an iPhone look-alike.
The HTC Magic was unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain and will be sold exclusively in most of Western Europe by Vodafone, starting next month.
HTC Magic has no multi-touch capabilities
Aside from the lack of a hardware keyboard and an audio jack (what’s up with that?), the HTC Magic has much of the same specifications than T-Mobile’s G1: the same Qualcomm system on a chip processor (MSM7201a), 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, Bluetooth, a microSD slot and Android apps.
However, Vodafone’s Magic has only 192MB of onboard memory versus 256MB for T-Mobile’s G1.
According to mobile carrier SFR – which will sell the HTC Magic in France – the Android smartphone will be available next month, accompanied by monthly phone plans varying from 99 to 129 euros.
Aside from the iPhone 3G, the LG Prada 2 is the only other smartphone with multi-touch capabilities
In advance of next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, French mobile carrier SFR – owned by Vivendi and Vodafone – confirmed that it will ship Google’s next generation smartphone next month.
The white and thinner G2 – also built by Taiwanese-maker HTC – will also be sold in the U.K. by Vodafone; and unlike Google’s G1 that includes a sliding keyboard, the G2 will only have a virtual keyboard.
However, the latest Android phone will still not support multi-touch, although the hardware can absolutely handle it, probably in fear of infringing on Apple’s multi-touch technology patent; a technology it acquired when it bought the assets of FingerWorks.
Aside from the iPhone 3G, the LG KF900 Prada 2 smartphone is the only other touchscreen phone with multi-touch capabilities; at least until the Palm Pre launches next month.
Leaked photos of HTC’s successor to the G1 cell phone sold by T-Mobile and running Google Android software turned up on the Internet Wednesday.
The phone is said to rely on a touch-screen
The G2, also referred to as the Sapphire 2.0, is expected to use a touch-screen instead of the slide out keyboard of its predecessor, making it more similar to Apple’s iPhone.
It also is rumored to include a 3.2 megapixel camera.
The phone has been panned for having an unattractive appearance.
Palm's Pre smartphone is shorter than its competitors but not thinner
Looks like Palm is back innovating after a 4-years hiatus.
Today the Sunnyvale, Calif.-company announced at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas its new Pre smartphone, along with a cool magnetic recharging dock, Touchstone.
Palm's CEO Ed Colligan is showing off the "Pre"
The Palm Pre has a nice round design that looks a bit like the HTC Touch HD but with a user interface that makes it easy to switch between applications.
I also liked how it groups the phone, email, IM and social network information making it seamless to communicate with somebody using one of the communication tools.
The smartphone has a sliding keyboard, a touchscreen, EVDO/Wi-Fi/GPS, an ARM processor (like the iPhone)… A direct competitor to Google’s G1 than the iPhone or RIM’s Blackberry Storm.
A GSM version should be unveiled next month
It will first be available in the U.S. on Sprint’s network. While a GSM version is expected later this year. Probably as soon as next month, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
Not much details on webOS – is it compatible with existing PalmOS applications? – or no word on the price which I think will not be higher than the $199 8 GB iPhone 3G
The Opera Mini Internet browser supports all Java enabled phones
In spite fierce competition from Google, Firefox and Microsoft, Opera software is not giving up on the Internet browser market.
The Norwegian company is releasing tomorrow the final version of its Opera Mini 4.2 browser for all Java-enabled phones, including Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices.
However, the version for Google’s G1 Android phone is still in beta and no versions – native or Java – are yet planned for Apple’s iPhone.
“Special porting to Android was required as it uses a proprietary implementation of Java,” explains Opera spokesperson, Falguni Bhuta.
The beta of the Opera Mini 4.2 browser was announced two weeks ago in conjunction of a new datacenter improving browsing speeds for U.S. users. The new mobile browser adds colourful “skins”, improved support for YouTube and other mobile video services and better synchronisation between mobile phones and Mac/Windows PCs.
The new version can be downloaded here directly from your phone, starting tomorrow morning at 10 AM (EDT).
Wall Street Journal tech columnist, Walt Mossberg, believes that the iPhone, Google G1 and the Blackberry Storm are currently the only mobile Internet devices around.
In a question and answer session here at the Dow Jones Technology Showcase, Wall Street Journal gadget guru, Walt Mossberg, shared his thoughts on Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), Netbooks, E-book readers/Amazon Kindle and Net neutrality.
Here are a summary of Mossberg comments on these various topics.
The iPhone, Google G1 and Blackberry Storms are the real Mobile Internet Device
Mobile Internet Device (MID) is a made up term that Intel made up to support the sale of some of its chipsets. The only one that matters are these things [Mossberg holds the iPhone and RIM's Blackberry Storm] which I just call handheld computers or super smartphones. These are mobile Internet devices. The people that are buying these devices are not spending most of their time making voice phone call. If they were they’ll buy something smaller and cheaper. They are mostly doing Internet things.
But if you’re referring to something with a different form factor than this, that’s a little bigger like the Nokia 810 kind of small tablet device, I don’t think they have emerged. I think they are a few of them that have shipped and that didn’t sold very well. And the one that I reviewed haven’t been very good.
Netbooks is a serious category
There are some netbooks which of course are clamshell devices. The original idea of a netbook was to connect to the Internet. It didn’t have very much performance or storage in it. And that’s been a better more serious category
The Ebook readers category is a home run since the Amazon Kindle
The perspective for the Ebook category is definitely brighter since the Kindle shipped. I don’t think the Kindle is yet a true mass market product… It’s my impression that they will not be like iPods, iPhones or RAZRs or some huge millions and millions. But compare to before the Kindle, one every single one of the Ebook readers have failed miserably and have lot of trouble allowing you to download books and the catalogs were tiny… It’s a home run compare to those.
Can anyone @IBM fix the WiFi network at #IOD11 ? It's been terrible for the past 2 days and everybody I talked just can't stand it anymore 4 months ago
Posted by TechPulse 360 
Over the weekend, I finally made the switch from my “old” Blackberry Curve to the Google G1. And what a disappointment it was.
