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My Top Tech Toys Of 2011

// January 30th, 2012 // 3 Comments » // technology, toys

I firmly believe that technology should enrich and enable our lives, so it’s no surprise that I use a lot of technology in my life. Some of these gadgets are for personal use. Some are for work, and others are just for fun, but here’s a list of the top tech toys that I discovered or started using in 2011.

1. T-Mobile G2 – I got this phone in November of 2010, and it’s been an awesome device. After I rooted it, overclocked it, and put HTC’s Sense user interface on it, it’s been a killer phone. The slide-out keyboard is really what makes it for me, plus having a real camera button.

2. Apple iPad 2 – I tried desperately to use a few different Android-powered tablets, but I just couldn’t. Honeycomb might’ve been built for tablets, but it sucks to use full time. The iPad can’t do half the things I did with my Android tablets, but what it does do is miles better.

3. Apple iPod Classic – I tried for literally years to duplicate two simple functions with various software solutions on various smartphones, and I just couldn’t. Given the size of my music library, I needed a portable solution that can sync playcounts/times and star ratings from desktop to mobile and back again. I finally broke down and bought an iPod Classic and couldn’t love it more. It doesn’t have apps or all that nonsense, but it does precisely what I need it to, and it does that well.

4. Xbox 360 w/ Kinect – after a few years of not even having a TV in the house (no kidding), I finally got one, along with an Xbox 360 w/ Kinect. The media experience with this thing is awesome, especially with the dashboard update that came late in 2011 and brought speech recognition throughout most of the software. I can literally tell my TV that I want to watch Modern Family without ever touching a remote control. Awesome.

5. Nokia BH-905i – these headphones are just plain awesome. Most of the time I use them wired to my iPod or iPad, but they also have stereo Bluetooth, which connects easily to my laptop. They also have active noise-cancellation technology, so I can watch a movie while Reese screams her brains out (or plays noisily with her toys….) and not miss a thing. Even when the house is empty, I’ll put these bad boys on and just disappear into the music.

6. Bose In-Ear Headphones – I got my first pair of these at the Nokia: Go Play event and bought a replacement pair two years later. These are my everyday earbuds, and I love them because I can have my music as loud as I want and no one around me can hear it. They’re brilliant for listening to music in public, as well as at my desk at work. They’re pricey, but I haven’t found any other headphones that fit as good.

7. Angelcare monitor – I lost a cousin to SIDS when I was a kid, so having a good nighttime monitor with the heartbeat pad is priceless. This unit also has video, which is cool. I have a full review coming soon.

8. Enercell Portable Power – this is similar to the Proporta units that I’ve loved for years, but it’s available at any RadioShack, and it’s a bit smaller. Other than that, it’s the same – huge battery cased in plastic with USB-out. I don’t travel with less than two in my bag.

9. Chumby One – I don’t remember how long I’ve had this, but I know I got it off Woot. I didn’t really use it until I talked with the Chumby guy at the NY Maker Faire, who told me I could get it to automatically change ‘channels’ if I used alarms. So brilliant, it now automatically loads Pandora in the morning and Groove Salad when I get home from work. Excellent.

That’s it – I originally started this with the idea to do ten, but I could only come up with nine, so it’s your turn. Let me know your top tech toy in the comments below.

What Worked At SXSW 2011

// March 17th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Mobile, toys

I just got back from SXSW 2011, the annual nerdfest that takes place in Austin, Texas each spring. It’s a pretty harsh environment for someone to remain constantly connected. SXSW is spread out over several venues and covers most of the downtown area of Austin, so you’re constantly walking between hotels and meeting rooms. Despite the efforts of companies like Samsung to setup charging stations, there’s a pretty severe lack of power outlets available. Also, because you’re constantly on the move, you don’t really have time to sit there charging your gadgets, anyways.

The situation is quite similar to any other concert or festival that you would go to – wanting to stay online and connected to your friends pretty much constantly, and sharing things like photos, videos, and location with your friends, as well. What with summer coming soon, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you the things that kept me connected while at SXSW 2011.

HARDWARE

1. T-Mobile G2 – this is by far one of my favorite smartphones ever. It’s small, powerful, has a great battery, solid keyboard, and mine’s running Android v2.3 Gingerbread via CyanogenMod7. With the throngs of iPhone users at SXSW, it was rather nice to be using T-Mobile’s wacky 3G network – in fact, I was on HSPA+ (what they call 4G) pretty much the whole weekend, which was awesome. The G2 is so versatile that while I brought my Asus EeePC 1000HE netbook, the only time I used it was to charge up my phone via USB.

2. Samsung Galaxy Tab – another Android-powered device, this was a loaner through my new job at RadioShack. While similar to the G2, the Galaxy Tab’s bigger 7-inch display made browsing the panels on the SXSW GO! app much easier, and Sprint’s network was decent, as well. The Galaxy Tab’s front-facing camera works with the built-in QIK video application, too, so I could easily make talking-head videos to share with you guys.

3. Portable Power – this is the real trick, honestly. Portable power packs like this Enercell one from RadioShack are basically a big fat battery, cased in plastic, with USB output. My phone’s battery capacity is 1300mAh, so the 2300mAh Portable Power from Enercell can refill my phone fully once, and still have plenty left to get me through the rest of the day. Even better, it’s super compact, so I can stuff it in my pocket without having to bring my whole backpack (or toss a few of them into my backpack, for longer trips).

4. Belkin Portable Power Strip – I bought this a few years ago, and it’s definitely great to travel with. You can easily convert a single power outlet into three 3-prong outlets and 2 USB charging ports, all with surge protection. It’s a bit bulky, but completely worth it when travelling.

Software

1. Beluga – I set this up the other day, just after it was bought by Facebook, and was pleased to see how good it worked. I was able to setup multiple ‘Pods’ to keep track of different groups of people, and we were all able to keep in touch easily. This is much better than sending SMS to everyone in a group, and the added multimedia capabilities are awesome, as well.

2. Twitter - I’m a Twitter nut (you can find me at @Rcadden) and used it extensively at SXSW for several reasons. Primarily, it’s a great way to keep track of all my friends who are at the event. Twitter is also great for keeping up with the various panels and sessions at SXSW. Some of the speakers setup a specific hashtag for their session, so you could chat about what they were talking about, or pose a question.

3. Foursquare – I know, I gave up Foursquare a few months ago, but the service really shines at events such as SXSW with multiple venues. In addition to the cool badges, I was able to see where the crowds were and where my friends were. The new version of Foursquare for Android gives you notifications of your friends’ checkins, too, so I could know if I was nearby someone. I’ll probably continue to use Foursquare at home now, but in a much more limited capacity.

4. SMS – plain-jane text messages also proved useful, especially when the data networks got overloaded. It’s also great for friends with different phones that may not support Beluga.

5. SXSW GO app – when I went to SXSW back in 2009, we didn’t get an app, just an iPhone-only website, leaving me and my Symbian-powered smartphone holding a hard copy of the session schedules. This year, SXSW had an app for most platforms, and it worked really well. Despite some long load times, I was able to star the sessions that I wanted to attend on my computer and then sync that back to my phone. I could also search for various keywords, to make wading through the options so much easier. My only complaint was the interface – panel titles were only given one line and only showed 3-4 words, so I had to click through every one just to see if it was interesting.

Next year for SXSW, I’ll probably leave the netbook at home and just bring my phone, a tablet, and a few portable power units. This will make my backpack even lighter, which is also a huge plus. If you made it out to SXSW this year, did you find anything else, hardware or software, that was simply indispensable?

LauncherPro Makes Android More Awesome

// December 3rd, 2010 // 2 Comments » // android

One of my all-time favorite Android applications is LauncherPro. It’s available for free on the market, or you can pony up $3 through Paypal for the Plus version, which gives you a few extra features, including some widgets that mimic the popular Sense ones. LauncherPro replaces your phone’s homescreen and main menu, and lets you customize nearly every aspect as you see fit. It runs right alongside your default launcher, which means you can install it, check it out, and if you don’t like it, just uninstall it – no harm done. You don’t need root access or anything fancy, either.

So, why do I love it so much? For starters, LauncherPro lets you customize the dock that sits at the bottom of your screen. Typically, the default docks on most Android phones – including ones with Stock Android, HTC Sense, or even Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface – have crappy selections for the dock – probably a phone link, a main menu button, and a browser button or settings one. Worthless. With LauncherPro, I can get five slots – I can use them all, or leave a few empty, if I wanted. What’s even better, though, is that I can also assign swipe gestures to each of those. With swipe gestures, LauncherPro turns 5 shortcuts into 10 – freakin awesome.

To help show you how this all works, I put together a quick video walkthrough of my current LauncherPro setup:

You can get more ideas on how to setup your LauncherPro on this thread at XDA, or you can head over to the LauncherPro forums.

T-Mobile G2: Like An N97 With Android

// November 15th, 2010 // 23 Comments » // android, Mobile

Back in July, I was desperately shopping for a replacement for my Nokia N97. I knew I wanted an Android-powered smartphone, but I also wanted a hardware keyboard and a dedicated camera button, and the phone had to support SIM cards. At the time, my only real option was to import a Motorola Milestone from Canada for use on AT&T’s network, or switch to T-Mobile for the MyTouch Slide. Neither of these offered me the speed of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon processor.

At the time, I chose to go with an HTC Nexus One, and that’s been an awesome choice – I’ve had a ton of fun with the Nexus, and learned plenty about Android in general. Unfortunately, AT&T’s network hasn’t been as much fun. I’ve been an AT&T customer since 2000, when it was still SouthwesternBellWireless. Since then, I’ve seen my data speeds become disturbingly unreliable and voice calls drop like rain. So, when T-Mobile announced the HTC G2, along with their 4G network (yes I realize it’s not really 4G), I was definitely interested.

The HTC G2 has everything I originally wanted – a hardware QWERTY keyboard, dedicated camera button, and the power of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors. While I wasn’t totally convinced of T-Mobile’s network, I figured it couldn’t be worse than AT&T’s, so this weekend I took the plunge and switched Christina and me over. Christina took the MyTouch 4G, but I was focused on the G2.

After only a few days, it’s a mixed bag. The G2 is everything I expected it to be. Even underclocked to 800MHz, it’s lightning quick, and the keyboard and camera button already have me feeling at home again. Since HTC also offers the Desire Z – basically a G2 with Sense UI – it should be super easy to put HTC’s Sense UI on the G2, for the superior camera application.

The G2 is built well, with solid materials that feel high quality, rather than cheap plastic. The screen is awesome and easily read in sunlight, and the underclocked processor means I get a few extra hours out of the battery. The keyboard is a bit stiff, but totally awesome to have, with everything laid out nicely and plenty of extra shortcuts. In fact, I typed this entire post on the G2′s keyboard in about 30 minutes with no desktop editing afterwards.

T-Mobile’s network, thus far, is….different. On the one hand, I have worse 3G coverage than I did with AT&T. While at my parents’ house in Woodway, TX this weekend, I actually saw a G on my phone – signifying that I wasn’t even on EDGE, but GPRS. However, I’ve seen that T-Mobile’s network is more truthful and reliable than AT&T. When T-Mobile shows 3G, I actually get 3G speeds, whereas AT&T might show full 3G but only deliver GPRS speeds. Given the choice, I’d rather have an accurate representation of my signal.

Overall, though I had to dump ten years of loyalty to AT&T, I’m happy with the decision. AT&T has continued to release crappy lackluster Android phones, leaving me with no other option, since I don’t want to buy into their fruity ‘Jesus Phone’. With several phones on the US market and an increased focus on the camera experience of their smartphones, HTC is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the mobile industry. If they keep building phones like the G2, they’ll keep me on board.

Disclaimer: I currently work at RadioShack, Inc., on their mobility team. However, I purchased my G2 with my own funds on my own personally-liable account.

Photo from Engadget

Google’s Nexus One ETF Isn’t A Big Deal

// January 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // technology

Lots of folks are up in arms recently over the secondary ETF (Early Termination Fee) imposed by Google on those who purchased the Nexus One with a T-Mobile contract and then cancel the contract early. It has been ‘discovered’ that if you do so, you’ll pay T-Mobile’s termination fee of $200, as well as a $350 termination fee to Google, if you cancel your contract within 120 days.

You know my thoughts on ETFs to begin with. If you don’t want to pay it, don’t sign the contract, or just keep your commitment. I’m really surprised that people are so up-in-arms about this, too, honestly. In case you didn’t know, here’s two reasons for the Google ETF:

1. To prevent you from screwing them. You can buy the Google Nexus One for $530 without contract, or for $179 with a T-Mobile contract. If you cancel that T-Mobile contract, you’re in for $200, which is still $379 vs $530. Thus, Google’s additional $350 makes it so that it’s cheaper for you to just buy it unlocked in the first place, $729 vs $530.

2. Believe it or not, Google gets a commission when you sign up with T-Mobile. If you cancel or modify that contract within 6 months of activating it, T-Mobile has the ability to charge the commission back to Google. This is why online cell phone retailers such as WireFly and LetsTalk don’t let you mail in their rebates for 181 days (6 months + 1 day), and require you to keep your plan the same until then – to secure the commissions that made it possible for them to sell you the phone so much cheaper.

Thus, if you sign up for a new T-Mobile contract on your Nexus One, and then break it, Google is not only out the difference in cost from the unlocked model to the locked model, but they’re out the commission that made the price difference possible. Hence the additional ETF.

Last, I hate to sound like a broken record, but if you don’t like it, don’t sign the contract. T-Mobile is one of the few carriers in the country that allow you to easily sign up for service without a contract, provided you bring your own equipment. If you’re so against contracts and ETFs, then don’t agree to them. Of course, you won’t get the handset so cheap, but then again, you’re unwilling to commit.

A similar instance is apartment complexes. They typically offer you a specified monthly rate, provided you agree to a multiple-month contract. The month-to-month rate, where you haven’t committed, is higher.