The Gadgets Page

Ms. Jen was part of Nokia’s Urbanista Diaries Relay, which means they sent her to India to promote the Nokia N82 in all its glory. While on the trip, she realized how well the Sports Tracker (a typically exercise related feature) could be used to track the geo-locations of your photos:

• Nokia’s Sports Tracker could be ‘Photo Tracker’ – Black Phoebe :: Ms. Jen

Here are her directions:

1. Turn on Sports Tracker. Start a “workout”. Make sure the GPS signal is strong.
2. Start going around on the adventures and take photos. Go lots of new places, take photos, make sure the GPS signal remains strong.
3. Stop the Sports Tracker “workout”. Click on “upload to service”. Sports Tracker will find the photos associated with the “workout” route and send them to the ST server with the GPS data and athletic data.
4. The Urbanista Diaries flash app then pulls the photos, geo & route data feed to create a photo map and the slideshow that you can watch on the site.

I haven’t used the Nokia phones, but they seem to be the favorites of the technorati. With features like live streaming of video, Sport Tracker and other GPS related ideas, Nokia has some great ideas.

As always, the best stories from any convention always happen outside of the convention. Today, I met the entire Gear Live team (AWESOME nice folks, by the way). In particular, Andru Edwards was willing to let us see his iPhone. All of us had iPhones, but his is updated to Firmware Version 1.1.3.

He has a video showing the new update in action here:

• Bleeding Edge TV 195: iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware Feature Walkthrough | Bleeding Edge TV

Gear Live answers your version 1.1.3 questions here:

• iPhone 1.1.3 Q&A: Batch One | Gear Live

The real question is: is it real?

He could have just had a hacked iPhone that looks like it has a version update. He did, however, show me his version number on his About screen in the settings. One note: this IS a Photoshop edited picture. I removed his serial number so that it wasn’t shown (which is why his finger is over it). The only thing I’m wondering is why he also covered the number in the parenthesis to the right of the version number. He did that in both photos I took, which makes me wonder whether the number in the parenthesis would have given away his source somehow.

Speaking of his source, he was not willing to tell anyone HOW he got a copy of version 1.1.3 for his iPhone. He probably wanted to protect the person who leaked it to him, but it makes me worry that Steve Jobs’ Goons will show up at his door and whisk him away for attitude readjustment.

Let’s all say a little prayer for Andru, okay, folks?

For all the love and joy that people have been spreading on the iPhone, it has received some criticism because the Internet browsing uses the EDGE network instead of 3G. I’ve been happy with the speed of the Internet browsing (it is faster than my Treo on Sprint), but there are a lot of speed freaks wishing for a 3G iPhone.

Last week, Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, stated that Apple is going to release a 3G iPhone next year. To a lot of people, this seemed like an incredibly stupid move on AT&T’s part. It’s right before Christmas. Everyone who hasn’t gotten an iPhone yet was wishing Santa would bring one on Christmas day. Now, they are all just holding tight until the 3G version comes out.

Robert Cringely has a theory about WHY Randall Stephenson made such a move:

• I, Cringely . The Pulpit . When Networks Collide | PBS

It is no coincidence that Stephenson made his remarks in Silicon Valley, rather than in San Antonio or New York. He came to the turf of his “partner” and delivered a message that will hurt Apple as much as AT&T, a message that says AT&T doesn’t really need Apple despite the iPhone’s success.

What I believe is troubling the relationship between AT&T and Apple is the upcoming auction for 700-MHz wireless spectrum and AT&T’s discovery that — as I have predicted for weeks — Apple will be joining Google in bidding. AT&T thought its five-year “exclusive” iPhone agreement with Apple would have precluded such a bid, but that just shows how poorly Randall Stephenson understood Steve Jobs. Steve always hurts his friends to see how much they really love him, so AT&T probably should have expected this kind of corporate body blow.

The 700-MHz wireless spectrum that Cringely is talking about is a chunk of the airwaves that are going up for auction soon. This part of the spectrum used to be used for analog television (channels 52-69 on UHF). They will no longer be used because of the FCC ruling that forced all the television stations to start broadcasting in the digital spectrum. Companies are jumping all over themselves to get this piece of the crowded airspace.

Cringely has no inside information about Apple, AT&T or the bidding. None of us know whether Apple is going to join the bidding war for a piece of the wireless phone waves. Somehow, I doubt AT&T is trying to send Apple a “message,” especially since Steve Jobs himself announced a 3G phone for 2008 back in September:

• Apple promises 3G iPhone for 2008 – Pocket-lint.co.uk – gadget news and reviews

I think there has been too much analyzing and watching every word of every executive in the gadget industry. Sorry, AT&T didn’t “leak” a 3G phone right before Christmas to send Apple a message. They’re just spouting the party line put down by Steve Jobs two months earlier.

Via: Wireless: Cringely’s AT&T-iPhone theory — the 100-word version

Here is an old commercial for the Lisa computer from Apple, starring Kevin Costner.

Their prediction didn’t really pan out, however:

Soon, there will be just two kinds of people…

Those who use computers and those use Apples.

Apple has increased in popularity recently and the Windows Vista fiasco has convinced quite a few people to switch (including me), but I don’t think that the world has been polarized. People still consider Apples to be computers, mostly because Windows adopted the mouse and GUI interface quite quickly.

That prediction might have been right if Apple could have protected themselves better, but unfortunately they’re still trying to convince us to use a Mac:

Via: An Apple Lisa commercial featuring Kevin Costner. While you digest… (kottke.org)

This entry by Ms. Jen started with a conversation about the difference between her Nokia N95 and the iPhone. She suggested that the N95 was for creating content, whereas the iPhone was merely for consuming it.

Considering I write several blog entries a day on my iPhone when I’m out and about, I had to disagree. The iPhone camera is nothing compared the Nokia N95 camera, but I am able to write much easier with the iPhone than I would be with the keypad on the N95. It just depends on WHAT you want to create.

So Ms. Jen asked the question:

• Mobile Playflow – Black Phoebe :: Ms. Jen

Now what are you going to do with your delicious, lovely, new iPhone?

No, don’t show me how it maps directions to Google Maps, my Nokia N95 can do that with the onboard GPS. No, don’t show me the two handed keyboard technique you have developed, as we both know that a teenager can kick your two handed technique with one thumb.

Show me what are you going to create with your iPhone on your iPhone. Don’t look at me like a deer in headlights.

She brings up many beautiful points about using the cell phone as a creative tool. I write with my cell phone. I even wrote with my Treo, despite the clunky interface.

What do you create with your phone? How do you use it? Does it just hide in your pocket, waiting for someone to call or do you pull it out several times a day?

VOIP stands for “Voice Over IP.” It’s a way to make telephone calls using your Internet connection instead of the normal phone lines. It can be incredibly less expensive if you make long distance or international phone calls on a regular basis.

It’s also a pain in the butt to set up and use. Many times the signal will cut out and the quality can be much lower than even your cell phone, especially if you try to use the Internet when you are on a phone call.

The first VOIP company I ever heard of was Vonage. It used to be REALLY cheap to use them, but slowly over the years, they have raised their prices. Now, it looks like there are lots of companies ready to undercut them. One of them is Ooma.

On JetSet this week, Zadi and Steve show off Ooma, which is a VOIP phone system that works differently than the others.

It is a Linux box that connects between your Internet connection and your computer. When you are calling, it will give priority to the voice data packets and manage the data packets around the talking.

Instead of a monthly fee like Vonage, Ooma only has the initial setup fee for the Ooma box and accessories. When compared to Vonage (2 lines over 3 years), Ooma would cost $438 and Vonage would cost $2100.

Of course, in three years, the entire world could be completely different than it is now. If you currently use Vonage, Ooma might be for you.

If you don’t know what Vonage or VOIP is, then stick with your land line or cellphone. Dealing with VOIP right now can be time-consuming and unreliable, even if you have an easy to set up system like Ooma.

Centro is the first smart thing Palm has done for years. By pricing it at $99, they have cornered the market on entry-level smartphones. Instead of trying to compete with the iPhone, Palm is carving out a niche of their own, undercutting the iPhone and out-buttoning the Blackberry Pearl.

Here is a review of the Centro from Treonauts:

• Palm Centro Review | Treonauts

It’s just a shame that the cellphone providers do such a shoddy job of supporting them.

I have been watching the third party applications eagerly for anyone to create a Nike+ app for my iPhone. It has been the one thing that I have wanted on my iPhone since before it was available. There is hope that Apple might support Nike+, so I had given up the idea of unlocking my iPhone. I don’t actually CARE about ringtones and NES emulators.

Jason Kottke’s idea, however, is the one feature I would unlock my iPhone for:

• A feature I would like on my iPhone… (kottke.org)

A feature I would like on my iPhone: every single call gets recorded (at a low bitrate to conserve storage space) and stored on the phone for a short period of time. Playback works like the visual voicemail feature.

Any time I have ever had to record a phone call, I have realized it AFTER the call is over or during the call, when I can’t really grab a tape recorder easily. This feature would be great for resolving arguments, protecting ourselves and recording the voice of shy loved ones. God, if I had had this feature, I could have had a recording of my grandpa before he died. Why didn’t I think of that?

Yes, please, third party app creators: create this for me!

Engadget held a poll about the firmware update to the iPhone. Did you upgrade your iPhone? Was it injured (iBricked) in the process? What was the overwhelming answer?

A whopping 43% of the people answered, “I’m still sick of the iPhone.” Mike has had his iPhone for two months now and I just got mine last week. It works as well as everyone said it does. The new firmware added some benefits like the double click on the space bar which adds a period without going into the punctuation keyboard. Mostly, it’s my phone.

Last week, PostSecret posted this secret from someone who owns an iPhone:

It said:

I bought the coolest phone on the planet – but it still only rings as often as my old phone did.

In the end, it’s just a phone. It’s the best phone that I’ve ever owned, but it doesn’t solve the world’s problems. It just made it terrifically easy for me to answer email, surf the web, listen to music and watch videos when I’m out and about.

How did I answer the poll? I chose:

Upgraded, factory fresh phone (no SIM unlock or 3rd party apps): NOT bricked!

I was among 23% of the people who answered, but the majority of people just want us to stop talking about it.

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.

Those Palm Centro Photos from Engadget were pretty enticing. They said Sprint had just announced the Palm Centro for only 99 bucks. I was excited about it and was hoping that they might have a fake plastic one to look at at my local Sprint Store.

Mike said, “Don’t even go in there. You’ll regret it.”

“But Mike, that phone is only 99 dollars. I could get my laptop online. And the Palm isn’t THAT bad…”

“They’re not going to have one there.”

“I know, but maybe they can tell me when. They have red…”

It was the red phone that really enticed me, okay, that and the fact that I could get my laptop online using EV/DO. That’s something that the iPhone just CAN’T do. And it was only 99 bucks!

I walked into the yellow and white store. It was empty except for the one salesman behind the desk who was ignoring me for now. I scanned the phones on the wall, looking for something that might be a plasticy mockup of the Palm Centro, but didn’t see anything. The uninterested salesclerk asked, “Can I help you?”

“I was wondering if you knew anything about the Centro?”

“… The what?”

“The new Palm Centro?”

He reached for the mouse on the computer next to him and fumbled.

“Nevermind.”

I turned around and walked out of the store as he mumbled an apology. He never got out of his chair behind the desk.

I bought an iPhone two hours later.

Maybe if the sales experience at Sprint hadn’t been a colossal let down, I would have bought the Centro. Maybe if Palm hadn’t been so slow, I would have bought the Centro. Maybe if the Apple Store experience wasn’t so easy and enjoyable, I would have bought the Centro.

In the end, it’s the WHOLE experience of the purchase and owning, not just the features that makes me buy a gadget.