iPad, rock or flop?

Well for everyone who may not know because you live under a rock or are a hard core (and likely depressed) windows fanboy who will not listen to anything by Apple, today was the big press event unveiling the long awaited Apple Tablet named iPad.

Having watched today's events and seeing some breakdowns on the device from a couple of very good sources (gizmodo, engadget, and more) i have come to an opinion on the device. I will reveal my feelings at the end but for now i will just bore you with the technical stuff so that you can form your own opinion before hearing mine. I will try to make this review as unbiased as possible.

Hardware:

• Height: 9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
• Width: 7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
• Depth:0.5 inch (13.4 mm)
• Weight: 1.5 pounds (.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;

   1.6 pounds (.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

Connection:

• Wi-Fi 802.11n
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Optional 3G with a plan

Price:

Size:

• 16GB
• 32GB
• 64GB

Features:

The iPad has a built in Accelerometer, 3.5-m stereo headphone jack, microphone, compass, and SIM card tray for microSIM on the WI-Fi + 3G model only.

Okay now for some things that you should know before going out to buy one when they an available.

The Good:

• 10 hours of battery and over a month of standby
• Huge Screen
• Blazing Fast
• Multi-touch display with very cool graphics
• eBooks, and the possibility of school text books being available in eBook form
• On Screen Keyboard
• Physical Volume and Mute Buttons on the side of the device

The Bad:

• No Flash, while this was manageable on the iPod Touch and iPhone, it is a major problem on the iPad since it limits watching videos online to YouTube, sorry Hulu :(
• No Multitasking, this means only one app at a time can be running which seems like a waste with all this power and speed to not be able to run things like Pandora in the background while working on something else.
• No Camera, i cannot get over this puzzling decision why would they not though in a front facing camera, but its missing which mean video conferencing will be too, this makes it more like a giant iPod Touch then a supercharged iPhone.

The Ugly:

• No ability to connect other devices to it without the use of extra adapters. There is only one port on this device and it is the proprietary 30-pin port used by Apple, meaning only Apple products would work with it.
• Only App Store apps will work on the iPad, meaning you will not be able to download programs from the internet like Google Chrome or other commonly used apps. Also anything not approved by the App Store cannot be used which includes the popular Google Voice App.
• Rigid Apple limitations on individuality and customization of the actual operating system, it appears to follow the strict rules of the iPhone using the 4 column snap to grid and non-movable dock.
• Naming the device iPad, thus beings the wave of Female Hygiene product jokes.

So here is my final opinion, i feel that while it is a very cool device and it is something that hardcore Apple fans will want, the iPad as it stands not may not do well. It is clear that they are trying to market this device towards business people and college students with the addition of the iBook Store and Brushes. The problem is that these are people who are going to want to be able to use their mobile devices for things other then what might be found in the app store. Also being unable to add a USB device to it, and lacking a camera, there is going to be some major drawbacks for people who use the internet to communicate with video. One of the most annoying things to plague the iPad though will be the large glossy blank boxes on web pages where a nice flash video would be, on a small screen it is easy to ignore, but if able want to make this device a standard in every house then they are going to need to add Flash.

I am not going to be getting one right now, but that is subject to change depending on later hardware upgrades.

For anyone interested in reading more about the iPad feel free to check out the hands on reviews and videos over at gizmodo, and engadget. Also the video of today’s conference is available online from Apple with Quicktime.

Cell Plans which is right?

For those thinking of getting a new phone for the new year, or just wondering what the sudden drop in Verizon and at&t prices means for getting a new plan have a look at a very easy to understand break down from Bill Shrink.

*Note: This does not include Metro PCS

Find the best cell phone plans and more graphics at BillShrink.com

Nexus One…Its here but is it worth it

Today Google has official announced the release of their own branded phone, known as the Nexus One. This is a wholly remarkable piece of technology with some rather interesting new options, though I do not feel like it is the fabled iPhone killer that some had hoped it to be.

Keep in mind when reading this that I have not yet gotten my hands on it to do a physical test so this is based only off of report from people who have used it and the technical information listed below, while I will be telling how I feel about it and whether I recommend getting one or not, but you should defiantly go out and research it your self before forming your own conclusion . As always in this blog you are and should form your own opinions I am just trying to provide a little bit  more information to help you do so. Okay enough with that lets talk geek.

Now down to the tech specs:

• Height - 119mm
• Width - 59.8mm
• Weight - 130 grams w/battery, 100g w/o battery
• 3.7-inch (diagonal) widescreen touchscreen
• 5 megapixels with: Autofocus from 6cm to infinity, 2X digital zoom, and LED flash
• Removable 1400 mAH battery
• Talk time
  • Up to 10 hours on 2G
    Up to 7 hours on 3G
• Standby time
  • Up to 290 hours on 2G Up to 250 hours on 3G
• Internet use
  • Up to 5 hours on 3G
    Up to 6.5 hours on Wi-Fi
• Video playback
  • Up to 7 hours
• Audio playback
  • Up to 20 hours
• Processor: Qualcomm QSD 8250 1 GHz
• OS: Android Mobile Technology Platform 2.1 (Eclair)
• Capacity
  • 512MB Flash
  • 512MB RAM
  • 4GB Micro SD Card (Expandable to 32 GB)

Having seen all of that I have to say that this phone looks spectacular and the concept of talk-to-text in any field would be very impressive, if it works as well as stated and is able to compensate for someone like me with a lisp. The Nexus One has an incredibly fast 1 GHz “snapdragon” processor, and even though it is made by HTC it is the phone that Google wanted and designed so they would not have to compromise with another company.

For those interested in purchasing on you currently have 2 options. You can purchase the Nexus One as an unsubsidized and unlocked phone for $529.00 or you can sign up for a two year contract with T-Mobile and receive your new phone for only $179.00 with a 2-year contract. While those are the only two ways to purchase one now, there will be a Nexus One coming to Verizon, and Vodafone for people in Europe in spring 2010. For purchasing info and alerts on when the phone will be available for other carriers go to Google's new Phone Purchase Page.

So after learning all of this I have one thing to say to people interested in getting a Nexus One, “Walk Don't Run”. If you are already a T-Mobile subscriber or really dislike your phone company then sure switch over now, or if you happen to have no problem with buying an unsubsidized phone and have the cash to throw around then go right ahead. Now if you like I happen to be on a service that you like and am slated to be getting the Nexus One (like Verizon) then wait it out a few months till it comes and then get it. This is an amazing phone but I do not feel this is the fabled iPhone killer and nothing to run crazy after. Now don't get me wrong I still think this phone is one of the greatest on the market for those looking for a non-iPhone or Blackberry device and probably better than the Droid but not worth switching networks for.

Nexus Rumor

Its Rumor Time!!!

For those of you who may not have heard of yet, Google is preparing to come out with their own phone. Now this is not to be confused with something like the MyTouch or the Droid which are powered by a Google based OS known as Android. This is going to be an entirely Google brand phone, they are controlling everything from the physical production to the operating system and release.

It is believed that Google is doing this because as a solution to the conflicts they have been having with Phone companies on their previous phones, by releasing it themselves Google will not be forced to compromise on content or product design, they can finally create the device they have always wanted too.

Gizmodo has recently gotten their hands on the phone which is currently being field tested by top executives at Google’s main office. They have an amazing write up about the phone and a comparison of its features to the iPhone 3GS and the Droid.

Engadget has also managed to release a technical break down of the specifications for the phone showing a 5 mega pixel camera.

The question still remains though, how will the phone be released and how will it work? Current rumors are trending towards it being a data based phone with VOIP, but if that is the case will it be on a network or will it be tied to some form of a Wi-Fi network. As it stands right now only time will tell.

Currently the phone is slated for an early 2010 lunch date. Move information will be posted as it is made available, so check back often.

-Fish

Mac Tablet? Jan 26 Maybe…now the 27th

*UPDATE*

New rumors are point towards the date of the press conference to moved to the 27th not the 26th of January. There has also been news of March being the suspected shipping date of the new tablet which at this point people are almost sure will be called an iSlate.

With a recent rising trend in smaller mobile computers like netbooks, and the huge success of Apples touch screen technology in the iPhone and iPod Touch; it has been only a matter of time until Apple attempted to get their feet wet in the tablet computer field. For a while now people have been looking forwards towards an Apple brand Tablet, and for the past year or so the only way to get one was to purchase one of the few custom made ones that were being sold online.

In the last month or two a cornucopia of rumors have been popping up about the fabled Apple Tablet being put into production. Current speculation is centered around the idea of either a 10in or 7in (or both) screen. These rumors have been made slightly stronger by news of Apple scheduling a Press Conference for January 26th with reports of there being a product announcement on that day. Also Apple has recently purchased a company owning the name iSlate, which could possible turn into the name of the hoped for Tablet device.

For more news and rumors on this and other Apple related products check back here and head over the Macrumors.com.

Macrumors also has a wonderful buyers guide for those interested in purchasing a new Apple device.

Astronomers Puzzled Really?!?

The notorious spiral lights in the sky image (above) has recently been making its way around the interwebs and blogosphere at a rather frightening pace. This photo at first glance appears to be a  rather elaborate and interesting Photoshop job. This is actually and image taken in the sky above Norway on December 9th, and according to Popsci Magazine

“The Norwegian Meteorological Institute remains unsure of the phenomenon's origins, but astronomers have said that it does not appear connected to the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights.”

It has now become known that this light show was caused by a failed Russian missile test, that was scheduled and announced ahead of time. Thankfully not all of the reports came out the same way, playing on the eye catching idea of scientists being baffled. The Daily Mail, a UK based paper is one of many to report the truth about this case. Even without confirmation they were able to dig deep enough and discover that the display was most likely from a failed Russian test launch of their Bulava missile.

Unfortunately the truth about this story was not researched enough and many popular news sources like The Huffington Post published stories with more emphases on the unknown lights and the idea of Aliens, and less on what (logically) might have caused them. This led to an otherwise harmless and rather interesting story being used by members of the UFO supporters community twisting it around as proof of the existence of extra-terrestrials.

Once again another fine example of how sloppy or lazy journalism, and a desire for quantity over quality  has resulted in a harmless story being taken advantage of to propagate a rather laughable idea like UFOs.

Fish in Hong Kong Part. 4

As the sun rose and my Facebook wall was once again flooded with requests for gifts and other stuff from Hong Kong so I decided to spend my day walking around the markets looking for stuff to waste my money on.

To start off my day I got directions from the wonderful concierge staff at the Conrad Hotel and headed down to the subway to take it into Kowloon. After riding the trains down a few stops and getting off at the Mongkok station I made my way over to Nathan street and decided to walk south till I reached the ferry. The subway trains in Hong Kong are wonderful, they are easy to figure out and use and are much cheaper then taking a taxi. The whole ride cost me HK$6 which is less then $1 US, while the taxi will start you off at HK$18 and build from there.

As I walked down the street passing shops and stalls selling all sorts of goods, everything from jade stones to Rolex watches. I stopped in a few to look at some goods, but mainly to avoid the troublesome street peddlers trying to get you to go with them to get a tailor made suit or designer watch.  These people were so annoying they would continue to walk with you and pester you till another one would come up and try and sell you something. I did manage to pick up a nice gift for my girlfriend. Many of the smaller shops and stalls were hidden down a dark and dank ally which would open up to a catacomb of stalls selling mainly cell phones and food with a few clothing stores sprinkled here and there.

Eventually I made my way all the way down to the Star Ferry finishing my 2.2 mile long walk.  After riding the ferry back I hailed a cab and headed back to the mall beneath the hotel to grab some lunch from the Metropolitan Cafe before heading out to the bus terminal to catch a ride over to Stanley Market and continue my shopping day.

After taking a lovely and inexpensive (HK$8) bus ride I walked around the large outside  market and enjoyed the nice day out before heading back to the Bus and ending my day with dinner in the mall at an American restaurant. I fly half way around the world to eat...a blue cheese burger.