App Review

Geez. Either I've been living under a rock or I don't know where to look for good Android apps. I've recently discovered a few great ones like Square. Recently, I've had a chance to check out one more that I like.

The first is Lookout Mobile Security. QR code here. With the advent of the recent superphones from Apple, HTC, and Motorola (amongst other) we are starting to do many of our daily activities on our phone. With all of the apps and recent mobile security issues (here and here), security solutions are looking like more of a requirement than a nice to have feature.

A thorough video from www.droid-life.com can be found below. With a clean interface, it allows you to scan for malicious software and uninstall if it finds anything. It also allows for backup of contacts, call history, and pictures. I have to say that my favorite feature is the "locate" feature. Provided that your location services (GPS) are enabled, you can log onto the Lookout portal and locate your phone. You can even cause it to "scream", although I wouldn't recommend it as it is quite loud and annoying (as it should be).

The one area that needs improvement is the remote lock/wipe. This feature has been teased for quite some time now on Android. Given the price of this app (free), I can't find too much fault with that. However, it will be interesting to see if this is added with the premium product that they have also been teasing. Depending on your needs, the free version may fit the bill. All in all a solid useful app.

Review from www.droid-life.com

IE9 - Review

I was suring around that darned interweb on my beloved Chrome browser, when I thought I might give IE9 a try. After all, this was the new IE9 that has been optimized for HTML5, CSS3, and hardware acceleration, right?

The basics that IE9 gets right:

• UI:
  
  • Finally. Microsoft is getting with the program. The IE9 UI is lean and mean - a la Chrome or Firefox. I know this isn't some revolutionary advance in UI design, but it's still nice to see.
  • One of several cues borrowed from other browsers is that that address bar now does double duty for search and address.
• Speed Demon:
  
  • IE9 still scores slower than Chrome, Opera, and Safari on the benchmarks, but not by much. We're talking about 100 milliseconds behind the #1, Chrome. The days of using sluggish performance as an excuse not to use IE are over. Firefox and Chrome are baking in hardware acceleration into the next versions, so that gap may widen again. But for now, 110 ms isn't enough to make me look past IE9 as a candidate for my everyday browser.
  • Add in Management - IE9 has an add-in manager that includes such information as the estimated time each add-in addsto the start time of the browser. And yes MS add-ins are listed.
• Tab Management:
  
  • When you have more than one active tab, if you select the top-right "X" button for the browser, IE9 actually asks if you would prefer to close the current active tab, or close all tabs. Nice, right?
  • Also, taking a page from Chrome IE9 has the ability to easily pull off a tab into it's own browser session. I found myself doing this a lot when I wanted to compare tabs side by side using the "snap" feature.
  • Another feature "borrowed" from Chrome - When opening a new tab, recently visited sites appear. Additionally, the frequency of visits to the sight are represented by a volume bar. The longer the bar, the more visits to that url.
• Pinning url's from a Tab to the Taskbar:
  
  • I've always been a fan of the taskbar in Windows 7. It may not look as cool as the dock on Mac's, but I find it to be every bit as functional and a bit less cluttered. This is a matter of taste though.
    
  • Another neat trick when pinning to the taskbar is that the icon on the taskbar is "branded" like the site. When opened, the browser gets "branded" with the sites colors, including the forward and back buttons. This is not something that changes the game, but in a day and age where more and more websites are becoming like applications, it is nice to know that Redmond appears to be paying to both the big and small details.
    
  • One other unique possibility is the fact that the pinned sited can take advantage of Windows 7 "Jumplist" feature. That holds promise for such features as baking in right-click navigation into a site pinned to the taskbar. Hopefully this won't go the way of "slices".
  
  
  

Overall, IE9 represents a huge leap forward for Microsoft. They have addressed many of the issues with IE that have prompted so many users to switch browsers. It will be interesting to see how (read:if) this integrates with Windows Phone 7. Will they integrate such features as "IE9 to phone" like Google with their Chrome to Phone? Hint hint: Both would be awesome. Microsoft has shown that they can listen to feedback and has created some great products recently (Kin debacle aside). Let's hope they continue this trend. In the meantime, I'm going to keep IE9 on my laptop.

The Wonders of Modern Technology

How great is this? I've managed to pull down an app from the Android market that allows you to post to your Blogger account from the comfort of your Swype enabled Android superphone.
All kidding aside, it is pretty amazing that you can now do just about anything that can be done on the traditional mobile platforms from your phone. Prior to purchasing my Android device, I had a Web OS device. It's easy to see why iphone users were such gadget snobs.
Now that I've gone droid, I'm not sure that I'll ever go back. Not only do I no longer have iphone envy, I can actually do everything an iphone can do. And all that without having to deal with being oppressed by "the man".
And with Google's Android eco-system growing at the rate of one new superphone per month, it's no wonder Mr.Jobs has not been himself lately. The only downside to all of this fantastic innovation is that my wonderful new toy will be obsolete within the next 6 months. That being said, we are all winners, since the competition and innovation trend to trickle down. Viva la revolution!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.5

nook

OK.

Maybe you saw how sad I was over the bike. I decided that a little bit of retail therapy was in order. So I decided to combine this retail therapy with my love for gadgets and being green.

I read.A lot.

I can read a paperback cover to cover over the course of a domestic flight. Yes, I have done this. So I figured that I would look into e-readers.

Why not?

The idea of 1500 books in a form factor that is similar to a book is appealing. But few current offerings have some of the things that I am looking for.

Browser?

Spring Design's Alex or the ipad would both have browsers. While the ipad is beautiful, and the e-reader animation is stunning, the glare and backlighting don't do it for me. If it could truly replace my laptop, I might reconsider. And I'm generally a Windows kind of guy, so for me to say that is a credit to the ipad. But it can't replace my laptop, so scratch getting an ipad for now (maybe in the 2nd or 3rd generation).

So that leaves me with an e-reader.

Kindle? Nah. I've seen them, and they seem good, but I'm looking for a little bit more.

Spring Design Alex? Sounds great on paper with a robust browser, a decent form factor, with a secondary color screen on the bottom half. It's a shame that there was such a tough time getting one. With delayed delivery dates and the ordering site pulling aHoudini move, I really felt that it narrowed my choices to two.

Sony and Nook.

I had a chance to play with the Sony. It's not bad, it's just not for me.

Enter the nook. Browser? Check (to be fair, it's a beta and needs some work). A secondary touch screen? Check (yes it's small - the Alex' screen is much bigger). Open source OS? Double check!

I like the fact that the nook runs Android. It leaves a lot of room for growth, whether it's games or an app store. Adding google's touch based search feature (when development is done) would be nice. Hint Hint. The nook also supported more formats, at least at the time I did my research. *Update* - all tied up on this front.

I find the form factor a little bit more elegant on the nook. I didn't like the keyboard on the Kindle. However, as a Pre owner, it was a form factor that I was comfortable with. And the touchscreen keyboard on the nook is easy for me to fat-finger with my sausage like hands. With a little bit of practice, I was able to enter my WPA passkey with no problems.
While we are talking about passkeys, I was unable to connect to the wi-fi hotspot on the train. I know that this requires some combination of using the browser and UI, but I just haven't mastered it yet. *Update* - I managed to connect on the train, however I am now unable to connect in the hotel lobby. B&N needs to work on that for the next release.

Speaking of the UI, it definitely takes some getting used to. I think that it makes sense, but then again, I think putting olive oil and sea salt on ice cream makes sense. The UI certainly isn't intuitive. Then again, I am by no means a UI design expert.

Once getting wi-fi up and initially connecting to my laptop, I was able to sync my adobe digital editions library with the nook straight away. I was also able to go to my public library website and pull down a few e-books and audio books to take for my trip this week. The audio books required the Overdrive Media console.

I've already ripped through the first book that I downloaded last night. reading on the e-ink display is eerily reminiscent of paperbacks. And swiping across the bottom screen turns the page. No, it's not like reading a real book. Nor is it as beautiful as the page turning animation of the ipad. A lot has been made of the sluggish performance of the nook. I installed the update for 1.3, and most issues seem to be resolved. Plus they added sodoku. Here's a link to all of the things included in release 1.3.

Given the wi-fi connectivity, free 3G, and performance improvements, I'll give the nook a B+/A-. Room for improvement, but a very solid offering.