Jawbone Prime Bluetooth Headset

October 12, 2009 By

Jawbone Prime
I’ve had very little luck with Bluetooth headsets for my iPhone. I’ve used just about every brand, including Apple’s now defunct headset, and all of them have worked poorly. The biggest complaint I’ve had from using each Bluetooth headset is that people can’t hear me clearly. So I’ve decided to give it on more try.

I just ordered a Jawbone Prime Bluetooth headset. The Jawbone seems to have very good reviews and it’s supposed to work off the vibrations of your jaw bone (hence its name.) There’s a small piece of plastic on the inside of the headset that rests on the side of your face, which is supposed to do the trick. It’s also supposed to have some of the most advanced noise cancellation features, which will be nice if it works.

I should get it sometime this week and will spend several days putting it through the ropes. I’ll let you know if I like it or not.

Filed Under: Communication Devices Tagged With: , , ,

First Impressions with Kindle DX

September 13, 2009 By

Kindle DX
I’ve had my Kindle DX for about a week now. So far my experience has been very positive. Here’s a list of the things I like and don’t like about the Kindle DX.

Things I like about the Kindle DX

  • The size of the screen is perfect. I couldn’t imagine using a smaller model.
  • I’m not as bothered by the page refresh as I thought I’d be.
  • Finding and buying books, magazines and newspapers is super easy.
  • The speed and ease of downloading new content is fantastic.
  • The clarity of the e-ink screen is impressive.

Things I don’t like about the Kindle DX

  • It’s heavier than I would like it to be.
  • The battery drains faster than I expected, but I’m trying to alleviate that by turning off the wireless mode.
  • The e-ink screen is a little darker than I would like. I would prefer it be lighter to give more contrast from the copy.
  • I don’t like the fact that I can’t cancel a subscription from the Kindle. Instead, I have to go to my computer, go to my Amazon.com account, and cancel there.

There are some things that don’t really matter, but are probably worth mentioning. I love the alternating screens that appear when you turn off the Kindle. They’re attractive and remind me of how cool e-ink is every time I turn it off. I also wish the color of the plastic was darker – kind of like how Mac makes the sides of their screens black – so it would create the illusion of making the screen brighter, and make the focus on the content sharper.

For the most part, I’m really happy with my purchase. It eliminates clutter and waste – which makes my wife very happy – and it’s easy to use. The controls take a little getting used to, but I think it has more to do with experience using the device, and less to do with usability.

Filed Under: eBook Readers Tagged With: ,

eReaders to Keep Your Eye On

September 11, 2009 By

While for now I’m committed to the Kindle, there are several eBook/eReader competitors that you should keep your eye on. All of these companies, except for Plastic Logic, already have a product in production. Like Amazon.com’s Kindle, they’re all trying to produce the next big thing in digital readers.

Plastic Logic

Plastic Logic’s eReader has my biggest interest, because it has the features I want most in an eBook reader.

  • The Largest Screen in the Industry
  • Incredibly Thin and Lightweight
  • Gesture-Based Interface & Markup
  • First-Ever High-Quality Plastic Display
  • Long-Lasting Battery
  • Wired and Wireless Capability

Plastic Logic eReader

iRex

iRex Technologies has developed different eBook readers to appeal to different audiences. While they have their iLiad reader, which seems to be targeted at business (and is a bit ugly), they also have the iLiad Book Edition. It has a large screen and is attractive, but the price very high. Regardless, I have no doubt they are using their experience to develop their own Kindle-killer.

Sony

The company competing to have the best eReader, and who also probably has the most resources, is Sony. Their reader is called the Sony Reader, which has been well received. They also have their own eBook store, but it doesn’t have anything close to the selection that Amazon.com does with their Kindle Store.

Asus

As I wrote about earlier, Asus is also getting into the game with a new foldable eBook reader. There’s much news about it yet, and I’m not sure how they’re going to pull off content distribution like Sony and Amazon.com, but they are a competent hardware company. Perhaps their device will be a hit and they’ll be able to partner with Sony to compete with Amazon.com.

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PowerCurl Keeps You Wound Up

September 11, 2009 By

As most MacBook (Pro) users know, the MagSafe power adapter that comes with their notebook computer has some long cords. This of course is great. It’s certainly better than having a short, stubby cord (that’s what she said.) But those long cords can get messy. That’s where the PowerCurl comes in.

The PowerCurl keeps your long, messy cords from getting, well, long and messy. But wait, there’s more! It’s designed to elevate the power adapter off the ground or desk, which is supposed to keep it cooler. It’s only $10, so I think I’ll be getting one. If I do, I’ll probably review it here.

PowerCurl

Wrapped PowerCurl

Cord Cut PowerCurl

PowerCurl AlonePowerCurl Clip

The PowerCurl is available at http://www.quirky.com/

Filed Under: Portable Computers Tagged With:

iPhone and iTunes Gets Updated

September 10, 2009 By

It was good to see Steve Jobs back on the scene again yesterday. There were several announcements about new iPod updates, most of which didn’t interest me. Funny enough, the two things that did interest me about the new products things that didn’t interest me, had to do with cameras.

The iPod Nano got a video camera and the iPod Touch didn’t. In an interview with Steve Jobs in the New York Times by David Pogue, Jobs explained it’s absence as being related to price and market interest.

…Apple is really pitching the iPod Touch as a game machine these days. And to do that, you have to make it as inexpensive as possible.

“Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine,” he said. “We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it’s the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that’s the big draw. So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff. We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.”

Another interesting thing about the video camera in the iPod Nano is that it can’t take still pictures. Jobs explained that it couldn’t, because of differences in the size of hardware that enable it to take still pictures versus capturing video.

iPhone 3.1

Apple updated the iPhone software from 3.0 to 3.1. The main new features included:

  • Genius is now supported for applications
  • Access to 30,000 ringtones (woop-de-doo!)
  • Voice control now works over Bluetooth
  • Keeps original copies of videos after editing

iTunes 9

iTunes experienced an upgrade. Overall, I like the new polished look and features. The main new featured included:

  • Manage your screens for iPhone
  • Support for new multimedia enhancements for albums
  • Tweaks galore!

Of course it also included one more new feature, breaking the Palm Pre syncing. Haha, suckers! Oh, and the other suckers are iPod Touch owners, who still have to pay for the iPhone 3.1 update.

Filed Under: Communication Devices Tagged With: ,

Asus to Debut Foldable Ebook Reader

September 8, 2009 By

The ebook reader war is starting to heat up. Right now there are only two main competitors, Sony and Amazon.com. However, there are rumors that Apple is developing a hybrid tablet and ebook reader, and now Asus has announced a new ebook reader that’s tentatively named the Eee Reader. The Times Online reports:

Unlike current ebook readers, which take the form of a single flat screen, the Asus device has a hinged spine, like a printed book. This, in theory, enables its owner to read an ebook much like a normal book, using the touchscreen to “turn” the pages from one screen to the next. It also gives the user the option of seeing the text on one screen while browsing a web page on the other. One of the screens could also act as a virtual keypad for the device to be used like a laptop. Whereas current ebook readers have monochrome screens, the Asus would be full colour. The maker says it may also feature “speakers, a webcam and a mic for Skype”, allowing cheap phone calls over the internet.

I’m very interested to see how this style and format does in the marketplace. Right now ebook readers are in their infancy. The folding form factor will certainly go after the idea that people still like to hold books or magazines. While I certainly like the idea of having more screen, and therefore more content to view at one time, I don’t think that’s what people will ultimately want.

For me, the ideal ebook reader will be some sort of computer/reader hybrid. Possibly a color touch screen layered on top of an e-ink screen. I’m not sure if that’s even possible, but I like the idea of a low power mode that’s just for reading, and then a full power mode for actual computing. One can dream!

Asus Ebook
(picture from Techtree.com)

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What Formats Does the Kindle Support?

September 8, 2009 By

I’m about to receive my new Kindle DX in the mail, and I stumbled across an ebook with the .lit format. I wanted to download it, but I first needed to verify that the Kindle DX supports it. It ends up that it doesn’t. After doing some research, I found out that it only supports the following ebook formats natively:

  • Amazon AZW (.azw)
  • Unprotected MOBI (.mobi)
  • Unprotected PRC (.prc)
  • Portable Document Format (.pdf)

While that list is short – and there are obviously many other eb00k formats – I found out that you can convert them to be compatible with the Kindle. For example, you can convert .lit files to PDF using a program called ABC Amber LIT.

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