Best 'Unboxing Videos' Ever

It's the best, mainly because it's terrible. It's a montage of several unboxing videos of the Google Nexus phone/tablet thinghy. I guess I would have thrown the entire box + contents out of the window. Google can learn a lot from other companies like; Nikon, Canon, Leica, Apple... Hell, even the shrink wrap on Microsoft products are easier to remove. Unboxing is an integral part of the new gadget/thinghy experience nowadays.

(Theoretical) Apple iPad Thoughts

Apple iPadApple announced the iPad this week. Basically, it's an oversized iPhone/iPod Touch. It comes in several 'sizes'. Meaning different memory sizes (16, 32, and 64GB). The 3G option is an option on all versions (which sets you back an additional >$130).

The size is too big to put it in your pocket, but I think the device will find many owners in frequent flyers market. Smaller than a laptop, and bigger than the iPhone. Just the right size.

I do have my doubts about the device as a gaming platform. It's too big to cover the entire screen with your hands when you're holding it. The iPhone/iPod Touch can be held with both hands and you can access every part of the screen just with your thumbs (at least I can).

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Additional iPhone Thoughts

Before I go into the imperfections of the iPhone, I must mention that the iPhone is one of the best (smart)phones I've had so far.....My (smartphone) references are the Nokia Communicator, Nokia E61i, Nokia N95. While the PDA experience comes from Psion (to bad that they are gone), and a boatload of crappy/unstable Windows CE/Mobile platforms over the last 10 years.

Every device had its limitations, but the iPhone clearly has the upperhand (at the moment). But there's always room for improvement :-)

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Member of the iPhone Club

As of today, I'm the (proud) owner of an iPhone 3Gs 32GB (Black). Ever since the release a couple of years ago I really wanted an iPhone. The problem is that we can only get an iPhone in combination with a T-Mobile plan here in Holland, and alternatives to the T-Mobile plan are relatively expensive;

• You need to cough up the entire amount for a SIMLOCK free iPhone in once (several hundreds of euros) or
• Get the T-Mobile plan and let them remove the SIMLOCK (for a fee). Initially less expensive, but you're still hooked to their two year plan.

Either way, an iPhone cost around 800 euros, whether you pay it at once or spread the costs over two years. Since I didn't like to finance T-Mobile for a plan, since I already got a pretty good deal, I went out and bought an iPhone.

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New MacBooks

Apple announced (or released) three 'new' MacBooks;

• MacBook Pro
• MacBook
• MacBook Air

The biggest surprises (apart from the new housing) is that the MacBooks come in two flavours; the 'old' white MacBook (which is also a sub-thousand dollar/euro laptop), and an aluminum version.

Every MacBook (Pro/Air) has the possibility of having solid-state harddrives, and, as usual, there are several upgrades available (CPU, Memory, and tons of accessories). The thing that keeps bothering me is the price that Apple wants for its memory upgrades are most likely ridiculous (as usual). Problem this time is that Apple puts DDR3 DIMMS in the notebooks, and I can't seem to find these in the regular webshops.

Anyway, after getting the Popcorn Hour this week there's no reason for getting an Air or Pro version of the MacBook (if my MBP dies, or gets sold for a decent price). But first.... Wait to see wait the initial problems are with the new MacBooks, because there always is something.......

Popcorn Hour A-110

Popcorn Hour A-110'Networked Media Tank' a.k.a. 'Popcorn Hour' is another name for an awesome piece of hardware. It's a small device (the size of a 8-port desktop switch)) that enables you to view media on your TV. You name the format, and it plays it. No matter what the resolution is.

The Popcorn Hour (PCH) is a specialized piece of hardware just for decoding media. Even MKV (Matroska Containers) files are supported. I tried this by downloading a sample of Iron Man in 1080p with DTS audio, and it performed flawlessly. The picture quality was superb.

Besides watching video's you can also;

• listen to music
• watch your holiday pictures
• watch (pre-programmed) online media like YouTube
• use it as a torrent downloader
• use it as a usenet downloader (NZBGet)

I currently use mine solely with the HDMI connector hooked up to my Pioneer A/V Receiver. This way I get to enjoy all the benefits of HD content. There are numerous ways of connecting the PCH to your TV/Home Theater. Both analog and digital.

One little drawback; don't plan on doing a lot of pushing buttons on the remote when you are copying lot's of files over the network to the device. I had to reset my PCH twice in an hour. The CPU for the operating System (OS) on the device is for the interface and basic network connectivity (there's a CPU for displaying media, and a CPU for the OS). So if you're gonna stress the device it might hang.

So, if you're thinking about a Home Theater PC (HTPC) for the purpose of watching media this is the device for you. If you plan on recording TV you'll need another device for doing that.

Point & Shoot

Ever since a certain split-up, I'm in need of a decent point&shoot camera. A nice small camera to fit in my pocket for every day snapshot use, but with pro-like features. Why?, because they won't allow you to attend a concert with a Nikon D300 and a 80-400mm lens.. (or any lens for that matter). And the camera on my Nokia N95 is not satisfactory at all.... But then again, it's a phone.

At the moment I'm kinda interested in the Canon Powershot G9, or the Panasonic Limux DMC-LX3 (which is not available yet. The first is.. well... kinda a legend at this moment, but the second is throwing high hopes for that segment. The new Nikon P6000 lacks Mac support and uses a closed RAW format at this time, so that's a no go (even though the integrated GPS in kinda neat).

Guess I have to wait for the first reviews of the Panasonic Lumic DMC-LX3. I hope it's available soon.

PhotoTrackr Pro. Mac Compatible

The GiSTEQ Corporation has released a OSX compatible version of their software for managing the Phototrackr GPS unit.

I hope that more will follow, because there not that many OSX compatible devices out there. The good thing is that e.g. PhotoGPSEditor DOES support RAW photos (at least Nikon's RAW format).

Nokia N95

The Nokia E61i is old. Well, ever since I got a Nokia N95 from my boss. So no longer a privately owned phone (with a company SIM), but a new shiny N95 :).

First impression; plastic fantastic, but a fast plastic fantastic phone. A faster CPU, HSDPA instead of 'regular' UMTS, and a 'normal' keypad instead of a QWERTY keyboard (which is not an improvement!!)

The OS (Symbian S60) is the same as the OS on the E61i, so no real surprises on that part. Even the backup with Nokia Phone Manager restored on the N95. New features were also included;

• upload images to Flickr
• nokia maps
• built-in GPS

The only real bummer is the lame Nokia Phone Manager software. That application just won't work properly (it could also be that the crappy Windows OS is helping a hand).

Nokia E61i Firmware Update

Early this week, I found a new firmware for my Nokia E61i (out since October 2007). The version I had was v1.x, and this one was v2.0633.65.01 (press *#000# on your E61 to see the current firmaware version). Updating goes through a separate application, but it should also be possible through download over the mobile network (I haven't tried this). All you need to know is explained on the Nokia website, but there are some thing you don't want to forget;

• Use the Nokia Datasuite to create a FULL backup of the phone, because during the upgrade the phone goes back to factory defaults.
• Have lot's of patience (and some deodorant handy)
• Make sure the PC isn't doing anything else that might interfere with the update.

The first attempt failed for me. Even with all the warnings (DO NOT INTERRUPT THE UPDATING PROCESS OR DISCONNECT THE PHONE!!!) I rebooted the PC and disconnected the phone. Result, the phone didn't respond (this is where my deodorant came in). After this I restarted the upgrade process, and the phone got recognized (thankfully). After 10 minutes, the phone rebooted with the new firmware version. First action was to restore all data and settings on the phone. Since I had some issues with my network connectivity I decided to remove the Access Points and reconfigure them.... Well, don't. First of all, I wasn't able to receive the configuration parameters from the mobile operator (SMS 'ja' to 1300), so I had to reconfigure them manually. Their website has a step-by-step manual on configuring the E61i, but this didn't help either. MMS functionality remained absent, and none of the applications was able to connect to the Internet by itself. I had to initiate the connection manually before browsing the web. E-mail was even worse. Every time I had 'Packet Authentication' errors. So after a day I decided to restore the Access Points from my backup, and guess what... Everything worked again. And now for the thing that have changed (at least the ones that I've noticed);

• the e-mail application seems more stable
• camera and video are still crappy (the time between the snapshot sound and the actual capture is still multiple seconds)
• Idle connections are terminated. This is a bad thing (for me at least), because I had my UMTS connection open all the time, and this way I received mail throughout the day. Now I have to connect each time I want to check my e-mail.

I haven't tried VoIP yet, but will try to do so soon (that's what happens when you don't pay for your own bills :-) ) Conclusion is that the phone didn't get better. There are some improvements, and there are some new annoyances. But my e-mail is stable at this moment.

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