T-Mobile G1 gets naked

Yes, if you want to see the other pictures, just click in this link.

My opinion: No comments at this time.

White pages in your caller ID

Here is another application I found today for my Android Phone that I find a must have. It’s called Caller ID from White Page and here is a video that shows how it works.

The application can be downloaded free at Android Market Place.

At the end, both are the same…

Let’s put a little bit of humor into the Mac vs PC controversy.

Walmart will sell the T-Mobile G1

According to news published a few minutes ago at Engadget, Walmart will start selling the T-Mobile G1, the first Android phone, tomorrow and that’s not all, the price will be $148.88, that’s 31 dollars cheaper than what is selling it for!

F….! I should have waited 3 days!

My Android Fav Applications

Do you remember what I said a few days ago about needing to get use to the Android G1, well, I have been playing for around 3 days already with this phone and part of the problems that I had at the beginning have disappeared thanks -like I predicted- to applications developed for this new platform.

One of my first problems was that I was used to just to hold a key in my old phone to dial a number. In a T-Mobile G1, without installing anything to do this was virtually impossible.  But… installing an application from the Android Market Place called AnyCut you can create shortcuts to virtually anything, including a phone number. In this way all you have to do to dial a number is unlock the screen and click in the shortcut for that number.

Another of my favorite applications is ShopSavy. I went this weekend to an Outlet store where supposedly price are lower than in other stores. Found a portable speakers for iPod and decided to test ShopSavy. Scanned the barcode using the camera phone and guess what? The price in the store was $12.99 and ShopSavy found a few pages online selling it for $6.99! I tested it also on a PSP game and the program found the best price online and also using the GPS integrated in the phone it looked for best prices in local stores around my current location! So definitely ShopSavy is my new best friend.

Living in South Florida weather is something really important for me and more now that we still are in hurricane season. iMap has all I need, current weather conditions, detailed and extended weather forecasts and radar views . The radar animation feature is just amazing. It takes a few minutes to get it working when I’m on 3G but when I’m connected via WiFi it takes just a few seconds.

In a note apart, I got 3G connectivity at work, that’s 10 miles away from my house. At home I have 3G if I’m not inside of the house. When I went “hunting for 3G” like I said in my previous post, I was actually shopping around and every time I checked the 3G connectivity I was inside of a store and I was not getting any 3G signal. So it seems to me that in an area of 2 miles (probably less) around my house there is 3G connectivity but not strong enough when you are inside of a building. Using a program called iNetwork Test (Web Test in here) I tested the download speed and it was around 874 kbps, which is not bad according to what others with this phone are getting.

Oprah loves the Kindle

I have been reading about it everywhere in the web but just to day I found a picture of it.

Oprah has a Kindle! And she is helping to all that want one by offering a 50 dollars off coupon OPRAHWINFREY if you buy it before October 31st.

T-Mobile 3G Coverage

Something that you should be aware when your buy your T-Mobile G1 is that even when they said that they have 3G in your area what they really mean is that you are probably have it soon. To prove it I have prepared 3 pictures.

 

And the above picture is what you get.

Pictures say more than 1000 words. I have to add that I drove Yesterday around 2 miles in all directions from my house in a 3G hunting expedition and no 3G in anywhere.

I got the G1, First Impressions

Definitely, the ugliest thing I have seen in my whole life. You need sometime to get use to it, specially if you are going to use if just as a phone. To place a call you need to tap the screen at least 3 times and you have to look into the screen to do it so definitely this is not something that you want to do while you are driving. I'm probably too use to just hold pressed a key to dial a predefined number.  Making a call using your voice is a "fantasy" included in that phone. At least for me. My Windows Mobile Phone was a lot better in this point.

Using the phone as a GPS navigation system in your car is far away... yet. You can get directions but nothing that you can use while driving. Again, my Windows Mobile Device performs better thanks to 3rd party software. But having a GPS I doubt that we are not going to see this applications ported to Android.

I could not find anyway to install applications unless they are included in the Market Place. And there are applications out there like Opera for Android that I wanted to test. I stayed away from the iPhone because I did not like the whole concept of a close market but so far I have not seen anything different on this T-Mobile phone.

A lot of potential so I'll keep it but I would say that this product was put prematurely into the market.

Update: I was able to install some applications out of the Android Market. Seems to me that to install the Apk has to be created using the latest Android SDK. I still investigating the issue.

Another one, come on Apple move on!

Come on! Move On! Tell me what is good about you!

MIU UMPC

Here is a new UMPC that will be released I hope soon. Made by an unknown to me company called MIU, this machine is categorized by Engadget like a Hybrid Dual Portable Computer or HDPC. The reason why is because it uses two operating systems, XP and a none specified Mobile OS. Windows Mobile? Android?

A 500 dollars machine is a piece of Junk

Recently Steve Job was asked about Netbooks and here is what he says:

"We don't know how to make a $500 machine that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA won't let us do it."  …and totally shot down a question about touch / tablet computing.

I was talking a few minutes ago with a friend of mine about this comment and he made a point. The first part of this comment is not news. We all know that Apple does not know what the word cheap means. The second part of the news is really something completely new. Apparently those who prefer Macs is because they have it recorded in their genes, it’s part of their DNA. That explains everything, including the huge amount of posts that we receive every time that we post a comment about Apple.

The war of the giants continues

In a typical Apple’s move this company has released two new tv adds good enough for a laugh.

Again, no too much about what I should switch to Apple but what Microsoft “is doing wrong”. I wonder who has wasted more money in TV Adds because for years I have seen on TV are these Apple’s Adds.

T-Mobile G1 review - Engadget

Engadget has published the most complete review about the T-Mobile G1 that I have read.

The G1 isn't going to blow anyone's mind right out of the gate. Looking only at the hardware, there's nothing here that's particularly impressive, yet nothing that's particularly bad (though the GPS needs some work). It's a fine, solidly designed device that has enough style to please most users -- but it won't win a ton of beauty pageants. Think of it this way: if it were running Windows Mobile, it'd be a footnote in HTC's history.

Well, after reading this review I have to rethink a little bit the whole idea of buying one. There is not any doubt in my mind that Android will be a tough competition for Windows Mobile and for the iPhone. Android has the energy of a teenager while Windows Mobile has not been changed a lot in the last 2 years. At least I do not see there the adventure that I see in the Android any more. If you think about, Windows Mobile still alive because programmers of many other companies are creating amazing applications that compete well again iPhone. But the OS by itself still almost the same since WM5. The problem is that Google/T-Mobile did a huge mistake by picking this HTC design to start the battle against Microsoft and Apple. That together with the few things that I read in this review has made me to reevaluate my plans about buying one. Let’s see what happens in the next few weeks.

 

T-Mobile G1 review - Engadget

Switching to digital is easy

This video could seem funny but it really made a point. Check it.

Typewriter vs Eee 901

No everybody thinks that a PC is the best option when you are writing a book.

iPhone with Windows Mobile

Today seems to me that is going to be a day all relative about phones. Here is an amazing news, a Norwegian teenager has created a program to have dual-boot into Windows Mobile in his iPhone.

Check the video.

To be or not to be

I’m sitting here looking to a friend of mine writing an article about why he is not getting the T-Mobile G1. I have not read what he is writing but probably I can guess part of what he is going to say in this article. One thing is for sure, that beast is ugly. And this is not something that only we, end users have noticed. Here is an ex employee from Google that also said the same:

The reason many people see the G1 as ugly and old-fashioned is simply… because it IS! It’s a design unchanged for a while (it’s now available in Zune-brown along with white and black).

I still looking for a reason of why they made such marketing mistake putting a complete new Operating System, I should add long waited, in such ugly phone and I can’t find a logical explanation.

But anyway… I still tempted to buy one (the white one to make it more appealing). Why? Because even when the phone is what we already know the software in that phone is very promising. And the company behind that software is also a company which always has been a synonym of simplicity combined with elegancy.

There are many applications that are going to be released in the next few months for Android that will let everybody breathless. Do not believe me? Check this videos.

Sony new PRS700 goes online

Amazon Kindle is not longer the only eReader with the capability of buying books online and download them to the reader without needing a PC. According to this video, the new Sony PRS700 can do the same though is not clear what kind of wireless connectivity they are using to achieve that. My guess is that they use WiFi.

Driver update for P1610

If you have Vista SP1 installed in your P1610 then you may have this problem. 

Windows Vista® SP1 will prevent the shock sensor program from running if the shock sensor is detected during SP1 installation.

And here is the funny thing, the latest shock sensor driver version listed at any of the Fujitsu support sites is the 2.0L20 but looking into Fujitsu Singapore LifeBook FAQ you will find the above issue reported and a new driver version 2.0L20D link. I love Fujitsu’s devices but it’s one of the worse companies supporting their devices with latest drivers.

Support & Downloads - FUJITSU Singapore

How to Draw a Profile of a Horse in your Tablet PC

If you have a Tablet PC I’m sure that you have tried already your drawing capabilities on it. Some of us do not pass from that point but others take this task to the next level. And that’s the case of this video.

Acer Aspire One (AA1) Fan Control

Living  South Florida has few advantages. One of them is the high temperature. Yes, having a high temperature means that we have our AC running more time and on top of that ceiling fans in each room. All that causes noise, and that’s the advantage: we can not hear the cpu fan noise in our devices. Those living in a cooler climate do not have all this extra noise so the cpu fan noise sounds to them like a mosquito flying around your head. Well, if you own a Acer Aspire One here is a freeware that you may want to have in  your device to control that noise coming from the CPU fan.

Fujitsu and AT&T

AT&T has decided to use mini Tablet PC in its stores to increase productivity.

Tablet PC Use at Vassar College

I love videos that show how useful TabletPC are. Tablet PC are a more advanced kind of laptop. To put it into simple words. The following video is good complement to what I just said.

Best Software Awards 2008 Winners Announced

One more time, this year, Tweask2k2 has won the SmartPhone & Pocket PC Magazine Best Software Awards 2008.

October 2, 2008

For Immediate Release

Best Software Awards 2008 Winners Announced

The Winners in Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine’s Eighth Annual Best Software Awards for Windows Mobile software have been announced at www.Smartphonemag.com/Awards.  Eighty members of the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Board of Experts judged 936 Windows Mobile products in 194 Pocket PC and Smartphone categories. Winners are also listed in the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine 2009 Resource Guide first seen late November.

From the Publisher of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine, Hal Goldstein "The annual Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Best Software Awards helps users select software that best suits their Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone needs by honoring companies that produce outstanding software. The awards process is a huge 6-month undertaking involving the experts of the Windows Mobile community starting with over 15,000 Pocket PC and Smartphone products."

The Awards Process
Nominations Manager, Werner Ruotsalainen, and the Board of Expert judges spent two months selecting 936 award nominees, about 20% of the software in the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Encyclopedia of Software and Accessories.

The Board of Experts
The Board of Experts voted for the finalists and winners are from all over the world. They run prominent Web Sites, serve as Microsoft MVPs, and write for Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine and other organizations. These experts all are volunteers and none are employed by Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine.

Winners & Finalists listed in last issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine -- available in new Knowledge Bundle
The Knowledge Bundle contains 2009 Resource Guide (last issue) with Awards Winners & Finalists, GPS, How-tos and Accessories sections, 100-page How-to Guide, Back-Issues of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine and a 15% discount on all Windows Mobile software. www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/bundle.

Contacts:

Noah Ouellette,

New Products Editor, noah@smartphonemag.com 
Hal Goldstein, Publisher, hal@thaddeus.com
Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine
Thaddeus Computing
Phone: 800 373-6114
FAX:  641-472-8409
www.Smartphonemag.com/awards

Home made UMPC

There are customers that are very hard to please, and there are some of them that are willing to do what ever it takes to get what they want.  And this is the case of one of todoUMPC forum members who did not find the ideal UMPC in the market so he decided to make his own one. To do that he used parts from a Aspire One Netbook and a touch screen kit.

I’m sure that from the above picture nobody could have guessed that it’s a home made device. Am I wrong?

TodoUMPC foro: Home Made UMPC

Chippy emptied his pockets

It’s hard to see Chippy from UMPC Portal really excited with any device. And this is because he has been lucky enough to play with most of them and when you do that you get like vaccinated against those buying impulses that you get when you see something you that you really like. Well, apparently, the vaccine failed and Chippy has bought a Gigabyte M912M sent to him for a review. Why? Lets him tell you about it in this video.