April 2012

Something Tells Me Microsoft and Nokia are Smiling as Lumia 900 Sells Out

News

Something Tells Me Microsoft and Nokia are Smiling as Lumia 900 Sells Out

When Apple ran into issues with the iPhone 4 and “Antennagate”, even Consumer Reports refusal to recommend the phone didn’t slow down the adoption rate of the device. It sold, and it sold well. Now it looks like Nokia and Microsoft may be having the same bit of luck. Sure there were some initial issues with the Lumia 900 and connectivity. Issues like… For some, it just would not connect*. However that doesn’t seem to have slowed the popularity of the phone. A quick look at AT&T Wireless’ smartphone offerings shows the device out of stock. I can only imagine…

Hell Has Frozen Over; Elana Is Getting an iPhone

Gear Bits

Hell Has Frozen Over; Elana Is Getting an iPhone

Hell has frozen over and here’s a little video to go along with it. 🙂 This video has a great deal of meaning today because, in the last 72 hours, my wife Elana went from having neither an iPad nor an iPhone to having both. Yes, “another one bites the dust” as Elana is pulled further into Apple’s reality distortion field of awesomeness. To be fair, this didn’t come out of nowhere, and a bit of history is important. When I first met Elana she was a student at the School of Visual Arts. It will come as no surprise…

Order Up! for PlayStation 3 Review

Game Diary, Reviews

Order Up! for PlayStation 3 Review

This virtual kitchen simulation PlayStation 3 game features a chef (male or female) working up the professional ladder in the island setting of Port Abello complete with multiplayer options, 3D viewing options, and PlayStation Move compatibility.

Akinator the Genie, It's Not Magic but It Sure Feels Like It, Review

Reviews

Akinator the Genie, It’s Not Magic but It Sure Feels Like It, Review

  When ever I see my friend Meni I always come away with one or two new app recommendations. This time it out it’s the application Akinator and it is really quite amusing. The application looks and acts like a mind reading app and the accuracy is amazing. Of course there is no such thing as mind reading and that’s not what is really going on here. No, the application uses the power of technology to ask a series of quests that, in amazingly short order, narrow down the possibilities. The result is a series of initial questions that are rather…

Nokia Impresses Yet Again... Makes Good on Update Promise

News

Nokia Impresses Yet Again… Makes Good on Update Promise

Nokia undoubtably regretted having used the “Beta Test” theme for its initial rollout of the Lumia 900. After all, while the Lumia 900 IS a terrific phone it has had its initial bumps in the road. The biggest issue? Some new Lumia 900 purchasers found that the phone would lose, or never acquire, a data connection. That is a big issue for a smartphone that is all about connectivity. No doubt the executives at Nokia, and Microsoft, executives who have doubled down on this partnership, took a deep breath and did their best to not panic. Then Nokia did something…

Saddleback Leather MacBook Air Sleeve Review

Reviews, Travel

Saddleback Leather MacBook Air Sleeve Review

Over a year and a half ago, Judie reviewed the Saddleback Leather Company’s iPad sleeve. This is what she had to say: There aren’t many materials that are more long-lasting, beautiful or more protective than thick, full grain leather; Saddleback Leather Company is one of the few companies who takes advantage of that fact. And this was her conclusion: The Saddleback iPad Sleeve is absolutely beautiful in its simplicity; it’s not pretentious, but it screams “quality”. The sleeve can be used to hold you iPad, but it can also be used to hold “receipts, cameras, papers, power supply and miscellaneous…

Hilariously Effective Nike 'I Would Run to You' Commercial

News

Hilariously Effective Nike ‘I Would Run to You’ Commercial

How often do you see a full 2.5-minute commercial that even as it is obviously selling a brand, makes you stop and fully engage in the story? Well, this new commercial for Nike featuring two lovers who find themselves across the country and missing one another is cute, endearing, and hilarious. It is a great story … and well worth watching and sharing! Here is the description: Nike and W+K Portland put a romantic twist on running, with this 2:30 video about two lovers running across to country to see each other, directed by Rattling Stick’s Ringan Ledwidge. Promoting the…

Just Mobile Xtand Go Car Mount Review

Reviews

Just Mobile Xtand Go Car Mount Review

When I got a new car last fall, I made sure I chose one that would eliminate the need for a lot of the “after market” accessories I had been using. The built-in navigation system meant I didn’t need to have a GPS or use my iPhone as a navigation system any longer. The built-in Bluetooth speakerphone meant I didn’t have to use an after market Bluetooth speaker attached to my advisor. Not only did I get added convenience, but I also got a far better sounding system in the process. Built-in Bluetooth audio streaming meant I no longer needed…

What's Next for eBooks after the DoJ Settlement?

eBooks, Editorials

What’s Next for eBooks after the DoJ Settlement?

Today was a big, big day for eBook fans! The Department of Justice agreed with everyone who has been screaming for three years that the “agency model” was unfair, anti-competitive and anti-consumer. They settled with several publishers, though Apple and Macmillan are still fighting the DoJ in court. So, what did the settlement today do? And how will it impact the future of ebooks? Read on for my thoughts! The Settlement: I am going to defer to Wired here, as they quickly had an excellent breakdown of what the settlement states: Terminate its current contracts with Apple within seven days…

iPhone 4S vs Galaxy Nexus: Which Will I Pick?

Editorials

iPhone 4S vs Galaxy Nexus: Which Will I Pick?

Those who have been following me on Gear Diary know that I was an early Android lover.  I had the very first Android phone, the G1.  While it was not without its foibles, I loved the phone even with it’s Jay Leno chin and chunkiness.  About 18 months ago, I replaced my beloved G1 with a Droid 2 and switched from T-Mobile to Verizon.  Early on, I was extremely satisfied with my Droid 2.  It was easily faster than my G1 ever was.  I was able to run applications my G1 would choke on and I never had an issue…

Department of Justice Sues Apple and Several Publishers over eBook Prices

eBooks

Department of Justice Sues Apple and Several Publishers over eBook Prices

Huge ebook news this morning! The US Department of Justice has officially filed anti-trust lawsuits against Apple and Hachette Books, as well as some sort of legal action against MacMillan, Harper Collins, and Penguin. All of these charges are related to the Agency Model, where prices are set by the publisher and discounts at the retail level are disallowed. I am not surprised that it has come to this. All the publishers were very insistent they did not do anything wrong, and that it was purely coincidence that all of them developed the same exact pricing plan at the same…

Bracketron Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex Now Available

News

Bracketron Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex Now Available

Where to set my phone when I drive? That seems to be a problem I often have. Lately, I tend to just lay it in my lap which usually sends it crashing to the floor board after each stop. If I am not connected to the auxiliary cord, it often goes forgotten and crashes to the pavement when I hop out of the vehicle. I have tried setting my phone in the cup holder and in other places but just cannot seem to find anywhere that works well. A flexible dock that keeps my phone in a convenient position to…

Nokia Lumia 900 Free for AT&T Customers After $100 Rebate

News

Nokia Lumia 900 Free for AT&T Customers After $100 Rebate

When I first picked up my Nokia Lumia 900 Monday morning, both the AT&T store reps and I were perplexed why my phone could initially make phone calls but data functionality was, well, nonfunctional for a few hours. We eventually swapped out a SIM card and later the phone was able to function normally, so we initially thought it might just be a registration issue with the new device on AT&T’s network. However, news began to circulate that many users were experiencing a similar problem. Now, just two days after the semi-official (well, it was  supposed to launch on Easter…

Frank Warren's TED Talk on Half a Million Secrets

Gear Bits

Frank Warren’s TED Talk on Half a Million Secrets

There is not a Sunday morning that goes by where I don’t check out the latest offerings from PostSecret, a project started after its creator, Frank Warren, had a dream while visiting Paris in 2003. The idea behind the site is that people send in their secrets anonymously, on 4×6 postcards that they have created themselves. Senders are told to “Reveal anything – as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.” The beauty of Frank’s project is that sometimes the secrets shared are secrets that could be yours, or they are secrets that will relate…

Turn Your Mobile Device into an Awesome Desk-Phone with Native Union's Curve Twin

Reviews

Turn Your Mobile Device into an Awesome Desk-Phone with Native Union’s Curve Twin

Thanks to services like Line2, my iPad makes for a great phone. Seriously, so long as I have a good data connection, the tablet offers a huge screen for dialing and an excellent noise-canceling microphone for making speakerphone calls. But what if I want to use my iPad, or my iPhone, or my iPod touch or, shockingly, a device running an OS other than iOS as a VoIP phone AND have the calls be private? That’s where Native Union’s amusingly functional line of handsets come in. Many of the designs simply connect to the 3.5mm headphone jack on my handsets…

Casellet iPhone Case Is Both a Case and a Wallet

News

Casellet iPhone Case Is Both a Case and a Wallet

I absolutely hate carrying items in my pockets. This probably stems from the fact that I spend most of my time on sports fields and courts, but keys and wallets are usually not with me while I work. Unfortunately, I am connected to my iPhone like a vital organ, so I have become used to always carrying it with me. This habit finds me in situations where I forget to grab some cash or my debit card, and I get stuck borrowing a few bucks or waiting until I get back to my wallet. There are solutions that turn an…

Developers, Please Finish Your Apps Prior to Release!

Editorials

Developers, Please Finish Your Apps Prior to Release!

Last week, Nokia ran an ad campaign that welcomed people to the end of smartphone Beta-testing thanks to the release of the Nokia Lumia 900. I criticized them for the initial ad, which tried to focus solely on the iPhone and some of its limitations and bumps encountered along the way, pointing out that there are better ways to make your case than to attack other products. This is especially so when the product you are attacking continues to gain momentum, adoption and favorable user-reviews. The final ad was more general and focused on the whole smartphone experience, labeling the…

Nokia Lumia 900 Has Botched Retail Launch, Yet Still Hits #1 on Amazon!

Editorials, News

Nokia Lumia 900 Has Botched Retail Launch, Yet Still Hits #1 on Amazon!

This past Sunday, my brother was visiting; he and my wife and I went for a long bike ride, taking a path around the local mall along the way … and noting that everything was closed. Because it was Easter. It just also happened to be the launch day of the Nokia Lumia 900, the de facto flagship phone of the entire Windows Phone line-up. There have been articles questioning the wisdom of an Easter launch, but none more pointed than the one from the New York Times: AT&T said last month that when Nokia’s new Lumia 900 phone went…

Got a Weird Icon in Your Android Notification Area? Here's How to Remove It

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself!

Got a Weird Icon in Your Android Notification Area? Here’s How to Remove It

I have only had this happen twice, and it has annoyed me to no end until I figured out what was causing it.  What I am talking about are two different issues caused by the same piece of adware; one issue is a weird icon appearing in your Android notification area.  Another is an icon just showing up out of the blue on your main Android home screen.  What causes this is an app called Airpush. Airpush is an evil adware app that does this to help fund application developers.  Airpush is not an app in and of itself, but can…