Phablet

Demand is growing for Phablets in Asia. I didn't even know what a Phablet was.

WOW HBO Go!

Some good news... I'm getting HBO Go later this year. Game of Thrones on the iPad Mini! Knology was always slower than Comcast at getting features. We switched to Knology years ago when they had just a few high def stations. Their offering lacked some features the other cable companies, but the internet connection has always been fast and the I've saved a ton of money using them. Now if they will upgrade the cable boxes, so that I can control them from my smartphone or tablet, we will be rocking.

"Dear WOW! Customer, 

We’ve heard from many of you, our HBO customers, that you want HBO GO. At WOW!, we’re HBO GO enthusiasts too, so we understand why you are asking. If you’re not familiar with HBO GO, it’s an online application available only to HBO subscribers that offers video streaming of HBO programs on your computer and other mobile devices.

To make HBO GO available, we need to do some technical work that takes a bit of time to complete. This involves integrating systems between WOW! and the former cable provider in your market, Knology. We are working hard to make this content available as quickly as possible and aim to have HBO GO ready this fall. We realize that it’s frustrating knowing that HBO GO is already available in other WOW! markets and we want you to know that we will make it happen for you, too. Once we’ve completed the technical integration, all WOW! customers will be able to enjoy the HBO GO experience, no matter where you are located.

Please hang in there and know that we are on our way with HBO GO.

Thank you for letting us serve you.

Cathy Kuo
Mom, Karaoke Fan, Optimist
Chief Marketing Officer
WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone"

New Mini Toy

My Android Nook Color experiment was not a failure (1) (2), but it never really turned into my "go to" device. I've really enjoyed my iPhone, so I decided to try the iPad Mini. So far, I love it. I've used it at home, work, and church. Mail, Calendar, Chrome, Gmail, Notes, Seven Little Words (game), YouVersion Bible, Kindle, Twitter, QST, and Dropbox are just a few of the apps I use on it. While a little awkward, it will fit in the front pocket of my slacks. Yet, it is big enough that I can type (in landscape mode) fairly well. I think the real test will be to see how much blogging I do from it.

On a side note, our neighbors got a new Mini for their daughter. Here my daughter is taking it for a test drive.

Noteslate

Back from the grave - at least to tweet. I'd like to know their future plans, but I'm not in Prague at the moment.

noteslate Join our talk tomorrow at Pioneers Unplugged at @techsquarecz in Prague. Our story, lessons, future plans,... unplugprague.eventbrite.com Wed, May 08 05:38:52 from web

Chromebooks

Two posts today about Google Chromebooks... more momentum for the cloud.

Mike really likes his and Martin is trying one, too.

Mixed Message

Oprah tweets about her love for the Microsoft Surface from her Apple iPad.

iPad Mini

Here is the best review of the iPad Mini I have seen so far:

"Still, by staying out of the $199-tablet fray, Apple avoided the sort of market-eradicating scenario that might have instantly rendered the Android contenders irrelevant. If you’ve got around $200 to spend on a tablet, they remain well worth considering. 

If your budget’s got more wiggle room, the iPad Mini is the best compact-size tablet on the market. Apple didn’t build yet another bargain-basement special; it squeezed all of the big iPad’s industrial-design panache, software polish and third-party apps, and most of its technology, into a smaller thinner, lighter, lower-priced model. The result may be a product in a category of one — but I have a hunch it’s going to be an awfully popular category."

Microsoft is Pivoting

Is Microsoft going to buy the market? From TNL.net:

"Let’s remem­ber here that Microsoft has over $50 bil­lion in cash. What if it com­mit­ted one fifth of that to the new plat­form ($10 bil­lion) and decided that its attack on the mar­ket would be on build quality and pric­ing. Doing so could push the tablet in the $100–200 range and the PC into the $400–500 range, mak­ing it sub­stan­tially more com­pet­i­tive (mes­sag­ing: you can get a tablet from Apple or you can get a PC AND a tablet from Microsoft)."

Via

andrewchen Microsoft is pivoting. bit.ly/MQKRdIThu, Jul 12 15:40:09 from Timely by Demandforce

Microsoft Tablet Names

harrymccracken Possible names for Microsoft tablet: Tablet PC 2013, WinSlate, iWindows, Metro One, UnPocketable PC, Bing to Go, ZuneTab, TabZuneFri, Jun 15 11:25:03 from Tweetbot for iOS

And my suggestion:

brickolore @harrymccracken The New uPad HD 3.Fri, Jun 15 12:27:53 from web in reply to harrymccracken

iPad Usage

Apparently iPad user purchase patterns are different from other mobile users thus making them more valuable:

"A lot of really good businesses build their business model around getting to 10% conversion rate to purchasers within 6 to 12 months. It’s simply amazing that we’re seeing 10% conversion to purchase within the first week for iPad users.

Second, the Custora model forecasts that iPad users are worth twice as much 2-year revenue vs. non-iPad customers."

And it seems we are learning new ways to use our iPads. With all the "cloud" services, I'm surprised that the demand for more disk space is going up. Perhaps the magic of syncing across devices actually drives the need for more space when all your pictures, videos, apps, and files start showing up on your tablet. I am seriously thinking about an e-ink Kindle to use as a pure e-reader, so the second graph makes sense to me.

New ARRL Membership Benefits in June

Pretty cool...

arrl Coming Soon: New ARRL Membership Benefits: The ARRL is excited to announce two new membership benefits that will... bit.ly/GCnwGiTue, Mar 20 10:34:50 from twitterfeed

"In addition to the print copy of QST, all members will have access to an online digital edition of QST -- at no extra cost. You will be able to access QST from anywhere -- on nearly any computer, laptop, mobile device, smartphone and tablet (including Apple iPad, iPhone, iTouch and devices using the Android operating system).

Members will also gain access to archived issues of QST from December 1915 to the present; previously, only issues through 2007 have been available to members. If you are familiar with the current periodicals archive, that platform will be expanded to include all of QST from December 1915 through December 2011. A second, new archive will be introduced for issues beginning January 2012, featuring enhanced functionality including full-text search."

The New iPad

andrewchen pro tip: want to order the ipad3? Skip the website and use the "Apple Store" app insteadWed, Mar 07 15:05:11 from web

NoteSlate

Since the new iPad was announced yesterday, I thought I would check on our old friend the "too good to be true" NoteSlate. The last update on their blog was more than a year ago (17 FEB 2011) and no new tweets in months, so still vaporware.

I know I declared it dead, but I can't help still hoping.

Touch Screen Primer

When I posted about the super cheap Android tablet, Paul was kind enough to note that the cheaper tablets have resistive screens, while the higher end devices use capacitive screens. Here is a quick comparison of the two technologies.

Form Factor and Integration

We want to do more and more with our personal computing devices - smart phones, GPS watches, tablets, etc. We've seen new smart phones get larger, so that we can have bigger screens. The GPS watches are not exactly tiny. Tablets come in a variety of sizes, too.

I think this really is the future - wearable computing. The key will be the integration of these devices in a personal area network (PAN). I'm sure the internal electronics will continue to get smaller, but if the devices can leverage each other, so there isn't so much redundancy, there is a real opportunity do more with less.

Send to Kindle for PC

I saw Amazon's Send to Kindle for PC and got very excited. It allows you to send files from your computer directly to your Kindle via a right-click or print option. I have all sorts of PDFs - books, manuals, diagrams, and other documentation that I like to put on my Android Nook. Sometimes I use Dropbox. Other times I plug it in and use it as a USB hard drive. I thought this might take some of the pain out of doing file transfers.

Unfortunately, the fine print bites me:

You can download archived personal documents from your Kindle Library on Kindle Keyboard, Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle for iPad, Kindle for iPhone and Kindle for iPod.

Apparently, there isn't support for the Kindle App on every device.

Vapor

Noteslate is still vapor, but I do like the dragon drawing.

Dell Netbooks go into the ether.

And what's up with Fusion Garage of former CrunchPad infamy, the JooJoo, and the GridOS? Lawsuits, tigers, and bears. Oh my.

Free Books

I really like the form factor of my Android Nook. I've been enjoying it even more recently for using Google Reader, Kindle/Nook/Aldiko/Google Books apps, and the YouVersion Bible. If surfing/the browser was better, it would get the full Brick Seal of Approval.

My buddy at work brought in his brand new Kindle Fire. I think I would like it, too.

I have been reading enough on the Android Nook that I think I might want a true e-ink reader like the Kindle Touch. A recent evening spent at the local ER (good times!) made me realize the value of a device that works for weeks on a single charge.

Which all brings me to this link to free books from Baen for your tablet or e-reader of choice. Here is their philosophy for offering free books.

Kindle Fire Phone

Harry McCraken says:

"I’m not saying that a Kindle Fire phone would be an antidote to Android fragmentation. Actually, if it’s like the Kindle Fire tablet, it would be one of the most fragmented Android phones of all, since Amazon would utterly rework the operating system to serve its purposes. But the Kindle Fire, with its simpler interface and deeply-integrated services, is fragmentation with a point, rather than the random, unsatisfying fragmentation that otherwise pervades Android.

I have no reason to believe that Amazon is planning to make a Kindle phone. Then again, I’d be startled if it hadn’t at least pondered the possibility. I’d consider buying one–would you?"

But why not see this as a way to start chipping away at Apple's strengths. Amazon has often said it is not just a book seller. As General Neyland would say... Carry the fight to our opponent and keep it there.

Tablets for the whole family!

joshuatopolsky So @futurepaul and I just realized you could buy two Kindle Fires AND a Kindle Touch for the price of an iPad 2.Mon, Nov 14 00:35:29 from Twitter for Mac