So I Wrecked My Netbook… FML!

In a fit of clumsyness (?) I jammed my hand with the car door in the morning and in the evening I somehow managed to slip and do an elbow drop and shove move to wreck both hinges of my Wind and to put a dent in the chasis. With my weight I was also able to break the battery lock. 

It still turns on but now I cannot move it in use because the battery will drop out. Some of the keys are also tough to press. I still haven't brought it to the shop but I suspect it would be better to get a new system rather than having it repaired. Stupidity and butter fingers aren't covered with warranty.

This definitely craps on my tech roadmap and what little budget I have stashed for gadgets … Come to think of it this netbook is not even 6 months old! I could hunker down and add a usb keyboard (I am pretty sure I have one at home) to get over the keyboard issues but honestly once you know there is a dent, ding, scratch or issue with your device you never look at it the same way.

I am still undecided if I should go back to a full notebook or stick with the netbook. Lord knows I need more processing power as my Wind chokes up when playing large video files and every fraking time I try to sync my 3GS. I was hoping to get an MSI U200 12in notebook which will have a more robust processor (1.2Ghz CULV) or I could wait for Core i5 notebooks to become available and get one of those beasts.

Apple iPad

Apple has officially put it’s hat into the tablet wars (where no one has won yet). Think of it as a huge iPod Touch with an option for 3G data.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

It runs Apple’s A4 Processor (remember they bought PA Semi a chip company), WiFi and BT, 9.7in screen at 1024x768 resolution LED capacitive touch screen. Rated at 10 hrs battery life (we shall see if this holds true), It will be available with 16Gb, 32Gb, and 64Gb. A 3G modem (no voice calls) will aslo be available but will cost you a whopping 130USD more. It’s 1.5 ~ 1.6 pounds. It runs Apple iPhone OS 

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

What I like:

1. LED display, I don’t think e-ink is there yet and they don’t have color.
2. Options for capacity and additional 3G modem
3. Thin  and light form factor

What I don’t like:

1. 3G modem will cost and additional 130USD (way too overpriced)
2. no camera
3. no SD card slot
4. no USB port
5. only 4:3 aspect ratio

So as you can see this definitely falls short for me. I cannot find a place for it in my computing life. My netbook is 10in, the apps I can get from my iPhone plus I get  a camera and phone functionality. So I guess the only thing that it has going for it is the form factor. That’s not enough for me to get a device that cost this much.

Mobile Phone Acronyms

Anyone who looks at specs will be confronted with so many acronyms here’s a quick guide of common things you will see on a website or the side of a box (in relation to radios and bands). HTH.

GSM – Global System for Mobile Communication

GPRS – General Packet Radio Service commonly confused with GPS (G)

GPS – Global Positioning System

EDGE – Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (commonly known as 2.5G)

HSDPA -  High Speed Downlink Packet Access (down only 3.5G)

HSPA – High Speed Packet Access (up and down 3.5G)

WCDMA – Wideband Code Division Multiple Access aka UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) commonly known as 3G

BT – Bluetooth

WiFi or WLAN – Wireless Fidelity or Wireless LAN

Band-a-rito Band-a-roon

No this post is not about musical bands here nor there… It is actually a guide to understanding single dual tri quad band monicker that devices get. Here’s what you need to know:

A mobile phone operates using a radio communicating with a cell tower (hence cellular or cell phone)

Most of Asia (including the Philippines) and Europe uses GSM and our frequencies are as follows

GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 900/1800

UMTS: 900/2100

**China, Japan and Korea uses both GSM and CDMA

The Americas uses GSM and CDMA their GSM frequencies are:

GSM: 850/1900

UMTS: 1700 (T-Mobile) 850/1900 (AT&T)

Chances are if you are buying a phone locally, from Hong Kong or from Europe you’ll be fine. However if you buy a device from the Americas you have to be extra cautious. Their CDMA devices essentially don’t have SIM card slots and will not work with Globe, SMART or Sun. Their GSM devices may work provided they include the same bands we have locally. However keep in mind usually manufacturers swap out the 3G chip to match the region where the devices are intended to be sold.

Now let us look at 2 same devices released for 2 different regions

Nokia E71

Quadband GSM = 900/1800 (Asia) +850/1900 (US)

Dualband UMTS = 900/2100 (Asia)

===vs===

Nokia E71x = US DEVICE

Quadband GSM = 900/1800 (Asia) +850/1900 (US)

Dualband UMTS = 850/1900 (US)

So an E71x will work on our local networks but will be limited to GPRS/EDGE speeds only.

Here is an example of a Quadband GSM / Triband UMTS

The palm Treo Pro is a Quadband GSM and Triband UMTS devices.

Quadband GSM = 900/1800 (Asia) +850/1900 (US)

Triband UMTS = 2100 (Asia) + 850 / 1900 (US)

The treo can be used essentially everywhere on both high and low speed networks.

So the next time you are purchasing a device because you want to use it all over the world be sure to check which bands or frequencies they operate on. It is not enough to hear how many bands you have to find what bands those are. HTH

Touchscreens 101: Resistive vs Capacitive

[HTC Hero has a capacitive // palm Treo Pro has a resistive]

Hello readers it’s me once again and since there has been an on going trend of touch screen devices I have taken it as my geeky duty to explain the differences between the 2 dominant kinds.

Resistive – These work on resistance (i.e. pressure) when you use a stylus or your finger two thin films on the screen connect and finish a circuit this charge is then interpreted as an input.

Capacitve – These work on capacitance (i.e. charge) each person has a small charge and with this technology the screen has a field which when interrupted registers as an input.

Here are examples of devices with resistive screens:

Most Windows Mobile Professional devices (to date only the HTC Touch HD2 has WM & capacitive screen)

On the capacitive side:

We have the iPhone and Android devices

The plus side for resistive is that you can use them even with gloves on as they are based on pressure on the screen. You cannot do this with capacitive screens as I learned when I was trying to use my 3GS & Hero with gloves. The plus side for capacitive is an input will not register unless it is charged so if you poke the screen with a pen or keys inside your pocket it will not register because that doesn’t have a charge. Again both technologies have it’s plus and minus.

Most people say capacitive is better for touch interfaces and resistive is better for hand writing recognition but to be honest I do not think the regular consumer can spot the difference any more. Resistive screens are so good now (don’t believe me? look at the Omnia II from Samsung and any modern HTC device). I think the way input is registered is secondary to how it is interpreted. In the case of Apple they are touting multi-touch, the rest of the mobile OS can also support this except it is under Apple’s patent. Here we see how patents screw up the experience for everyone else.

Tips & Tricks|Google Sync & You

If you have multiple devices or switch devices frequently take a look at Google Sync. I use this to keep my contacts, calendar, mail synchronized across 4 mobile devices (on 4 different platforms).

http://www.google.com/sync/index.html

A few things to keep in mind (in order of importance IMO)…

USE COMMON FIELDS – different devices and platforms have different fields for example an iPhone will have an iPhone label but Google contacts, Windows Mobile, Android and Nokia will not. This field therefore will be dropped! Suggested fields are: Mobile, Work, Home, Email

REQUIRES DATA CONNECTION – your PIM data will be stored online under Contacts of your Google Mail so you will need an internet connection at least for 1st run & when you make changes to your databases and you want to reflect these on other devices.

BACKUP – Nothing is 100% full (or fool) proof be sure you have good backups and do regular backups of your devices and your databases. What I do is I export the google.csv every 15th of the month keep a file locally (on my 2nd partition) and keep a file on the cloud (zumo drive) and keep 1 more copy on my USB stick which I leave at home.

===

This how it looks across my devices.

Windows Mobile Professional 6.1

Google Android

Apple iPhone

Google

A Twitter discussion re: radio vs podcast

Radio is obsolete and 75% commercials anyway. I prefer to get my news, music, and other entertainment from podcasts.

==============

(2sw):
(Re: podcasts) @bnycastro: "I don't even listen to radio anymore" @2sw: "What's radio?" @bnycastro: "We should check with the archeologists"

http://twitter.com/2sw/status/7908874720

(Sent via Seesmic http://www.seesmic.com)

via HTC Hero