Author: Kevin C. Tofel

I really don’t know if Google’s Nexus One is the “best Android phone yet,” but Om seems to think it is after 10 days of use. He points out some glaring challenges with the software keyboard and lack of seamless interaction after you leave the native apps, but I decided to take the plunge anyway.

Yesterday, I ordered an unsubsidized, unlocked Nexus One for $529 and it will arrive here in Vegas tomorrow. I’m heading to a local T-Mobile store later today for a SIM card. Here’s a couple of thoughts of why I went this route, based on some reader questions.

• Why unlocked? Although the term “unlocked” doesn’t have much value here in the U.S. thanks to two GSM carriers using different data frequencies, it should help with the resale value of the handset itself. Not everyone wants a contract, so I paid the full price, thinking that if I don’t keep the phone it will be easier to sell later, and for more money than a locked phone.
• Isn’t $529 a lot? Yes it is, but aside from the freedom of using any SIM card, there’s another benefit to pay the full price if I keep the phone for 18 months or more. Here’s the math: it’s a $350 difference between the subsidized phone and unsubsidized price. The T-Mobile plan for the subsidized, contract phone is $79.99 a month. That same plan with no hardware purchase is $59.99 a month. Both net you 500 minutes of voice and unlimited texting and web access. So my contract-free SIM will save me $20 a month over the same plan if I paid less for the phone up front. That means I’d be ahead of the game in the 18th month.
• What if Palm brings big news for webOS at CES? Great question since I’ll be dumping the Pre for the new Nexus One. Hey, it’s not like I didn’t give fair warning. Buying the unlocked phone gives me cheap insurance in case I decide to keep the Pre. I can still sell the Nexus One and only lose a little money. I don’t anticipate this happening, but I’m covered. In fact, I can even return the phone to Google for a minimal fee if hot webOS news breaks this week.
• Why now? Although I reviewed the T-Mobile G1 when it came out, I haven’t bought an Android device yet. I wanted to see how the platform evolved and I’m now comfortable with where it’s at and where it’s going. It didn’t hurt that T-Mobile is in the process of making their network faster either.
• Why not wait for the device on Verizon? That’s probably the best question since I’ve always found Verizon’s coverage to be top-notch. In fact, I’ve used their EVDO service since my first CES in 2005. But T-Mobile’s coverage in my area has expanded quite nicely and I don’t do too much traveling beyond the sticks I live in. And then there’s the SIM vs no-SIM argument. By going with T-Mobile, I have the flexibility to use one SIM card in any number of devices. I’d lose that flexibility with Verizon and I’m also anticipating that the device won’t be contract-free when it arrives.

Although I don’t have the device in hand yet, I already know it’s not perfect. But it is Android evolved and I think there’s enough software and other tools to make it part of my daily productivity kit, based on my needs. Plus, I’m inclined to agree with Om — on paper for now, anyway — that in my opinion, this might be the best Android phone yet.

Amongst the many tables at last night’s CES Unveiled mini-show, one device that caught my roving eye was the ZOMM. With an interesting name and very small product, I had to stop by to see what it was. Turns out that the ZOMM solves a potentially common problem — losing your phone. Although my phone is never more than an arm’s length away, I constantly see people walking away from their handset. That’s where ZOMM comes in.

The tiny device connects to your feature-phone or smartphone by Bluetooth and you keep it on your person. ZOMM fits on a key chain or can clip to a pocket, belt or anything else you’re wearing. When you walk away from your phone — or if your phone “walks” away from you — ZOMM lets you know. A cool solution, but then again, we’ve seen similar products in the past. Ah, but the ZOMM does more.

Built-in the small device is a microphone and speaker, so you can use ZOMM to actually take a call. It was way too noisy to test the speakerphone on last night’s crowded floor, but the ZOMM folks say that they all use the product as a speakerphone for work calls. If that function works well, the only downside I can see is that you don’t know who’s calling you — ZOMM doesn’t have a caller ID display, it only has a blue LED notification.

And in an homage to product pitch-man Billy Mays: “But, wait — there’s more!” ZOMM also acts like a personal alarm system. Press the center button for 10 seconds and an audible alarm sounds, alerting everyone around you that there’s an issue. Or it simply tells them that you wondered what would happen if you held the button for 10 seconds. Even better is if you hold the button longer. ZOMM will actually initiate an emergency call on your phone which, if your phone supports it, can provide authorities with your location. The ZOMM team expects the device to sell for $89 later this year and hopes you can walk into a local Best Buy to pick one up.

So I’m thinking that when we stop by the Research In Motion booth, we should take a closer look at its new Presenter device. The 3.4″ x 2.4″ x 0.9″ is light at 140 grams and connects to a video projector via S-Video or VGA. The idea is that the Presenter connects to your BlackBerry handheld wirelessly over Bluetooth and you control presentations using the handset.

And there-in lies the rub for me. The device will ship later this year for an MSRP of $199. Near as I can tell, it appears to be a single-purpose solution — control and display Microsoft PowerPoint presentations from a BlackBerry to a projector. I’ll have to ask if there are any other supported formats for output, because if there aren’t, this is a pretty hefty price for one bit of functionality. It’s definitely good and usable functionality, but I’d find it hard to justify when a Celio REDFLY could do a similar thing over wires for $50 more. And the REDFLY would offer the ability to work with the BlackBerry on a larger screen and keyboard all day as well.

Again, I could be wrong on this functionality limitation, so I’ll ask for sure. And for people who need this specific use, this could be a great solution.

The CES show floor doesn’t officially open until tomorrow, but I’m already e-booked out. While we were getting friendly with the eDGE and Alex Reader devices — both powered by Marvell — Amazon decided to offer its super-sized Kindle DX globally. The 9.7″ eInk display starts shipping in over 100 countries on Jan. 19 for the same $489 the U.S. version costs.

Obviously, the device has a GSM radio for wireless connectivity, since that’s the common network standard in many locations. For frequent travelers, this news is a boon because you’ll be able to add books on the fly all around the world. Have any of you been holding out on a Kindle DX just so you could get the global version you knew was inevitably coming?

Can’t wait to get the faster, theoretical 4.8 Gbps data transfer speeds in your laptop promised by USB 3.0? Seagate is happy to help get you there with the BlackArmor PS 110 Upgrade Kit. The $179.99 package includes a portable Seagate USB drive with 500 GB of storage with included data backup software for Windows computers. A certified USB 3.0 cable tags along as does a unique way to “upgrade” your laptop to USB 3.0. The company estimates the actual throughput to be three times faster than a USB 2.0 solution.

Since we can’t all just rip open our notebooks and swap out USB interfaces, Seagate’s upgrade kit provides a PC Card adapter with a USB 3.0 port. That means this solution is fairly limited since only laptops with PC Card slots can take advantage of it, but if you’ve got one, this upgrade kit will work as advertised. I’d call this one for the early adapter crowd, but ironically I’d estimate that most early adopters have moved beyond PC Card slots by now.

I haven’t bumped into the ZumoDrive folks just yet, but they did give me a heads-up on some big news. The cloud storage and synchronization company worked a deal with HP to power the CloudDrive service on the HP Mini netbook line starting this month. Essentially, owners of HP Mini netbooks have built-in web storage that virtually expands the local, physical storage. All content is stored centrally on Amazon S3 servers and pulled down as needed.

What I like best about ZumoDrive’s approach is how data in the cloud has a local look and feel. When I last looked at the service, I used iTunes to listen to music files stored online, but you really couldn’t tell where the data was. This seamless blurring of local vs cloud storage is a key strength for mobile users as is the cross-platform support and mobile client.

Some of the key CloudDrive features include:

• Seamless media integration – stream music, videos and photos to popular programs like, iTunes, iPhoto, Picasa and Windows Media Player.
• Offline access – enjoy frequently and recently used content.
• Folder linking – link any folder to HP CloudDrive for automatic future importing.
• Content auto–detection –content is detected on devices by type (music, photos, etc.) for easy bulk importing
• Improved iPhone app – move content seamlessly between an iPhone and one or more computers by storing it in HP CloudDrive.
• Playlist syncing – listen to playlists on netbooks or smartphones, even if they were created on another PC.
• File sharing – create a link to share a photo album, document, or entire folder for collaboration.

We’ll see if we can get a hands-on demo when meeting with either HP or ZumoDrive and report back on the experience. If it’s anything like what I’ve seen in the past, it ought to be good. The one outstanding question I have is the end-user cost — while CloudDrive will be bundled, the ZumoDrive service typically requires a monthly fee based on the amount of storage, although anyone can get 2 GB of storage for free.

Lawsuits aside, quite a few folks are interested in the Alex Reader from Spring Design. The device uses a 6″ eInk display for content, but also has a 3.5″ secondary color display that runs Google Android. (Yes, that sounds familiar.) Aside from the innovative hardware, the device is only as good as its content, right? Up to now I hadn’t heard of any specific content deals worked out, but CES is upon us and that changes things. Spring Design today announced a deal with Google that puts over 1 million titles in Google Books on the Alex.

“Our agreement and strategic alliance with Google opens the doors to more readers around the world,” said Dr. Priscilla Lu, CEO of Spring Design.  “We are excited to be part of Google’s initiative to digitize and deliver the world’s books and look forward to the markets and opportunities these efforts will open up for readers as well as independent authors.”

While this might not be the content provider some would hope for, it’s a definite start. And the device does support the EPUB format, so many more doors could open very soon for the Alex. How about it — does this news generate any more excitement for the Alex, or are you content to read Google Books on other devices?

T-Mobile may have been late to the nationwide wireless broadband game, but it didn’t forget the story about the tortoise and the hare. In fact, it rewrote the story — it started as a slow turtle, but right now, it’s the fastest 3G rabbit we have. The carrier today announced that its entire 3G footprint is now lit up for the faster 7.2 Mbps HSPA service. Devices that don’t support the faster speeds will back down to the standard 3.6 Mbps service, but a fair amount of recent phones and broadband modems can take advantage of the faster network. Even the 15-month-old T-Mobile G1 is able to use the faster wireless pipe. While it’s true that T-Mobile offers a smaller geographical coverage area than competitors, it has the fastest wireless 3G network for now. And even with a smaller coverage area, the company says that over 200 million Americans are within its 3G data network.

Looking ahead, T-Mobile is poised to zip ahead even further in this wireless race. Next up for this year is a move to 21 Mbps HSPA+, which is considered to be 3.5G, and of course, backwards-compatible to 3G and EDGE as needed. By the first half of this year, T-Mobile expects to upgrade its data network to these even faster throughputs. I was lucky to get a preview of the future HSPA+ speeds with some hands-on network testing last month — it was liberating to experience wireless downloads that were faster than my DSL from early 2009.

With faster speeds and more T-Mobile coverage in my area — which I only recently found out about — this just might push me over the edge for a Google Nexus One later today.

What would make the Eye-Fi wireless SD cards even better? Most folks would either say “more storage” or “more speed.” What would you say to both? Actually, you can bite your tongue because no matter what you say, Eye-Fi has an updated product announcement in time for CES. The Eye-Fi Pro X2 is just like the current Pro card, but the X2 means — wait for it — twice the storage capacity with 8 GB over the current 4G, and support for faster 802.11n W-Fi for greater transfer range and speed. The new Pro X2 is also rated as a Class 6 memory card, for speedier reads and writes.

All of this doubling down doesn’t cost a cent more than the current Pro card either — the MSRP of the new Pro X2 is still $149.99. And just like the current offering, you can upload JPEG, RAW or video files from your camera without wires. The new Endless Memory mode will even free up space on your card as photos are offloaded. My own testing of an Eye-Fi card showed it to be a usable solution, but not nearly as fast as using a USB cable or card reader. I’d probably see more benefit if I transferred pics to various online photo sites since the card can do that automatically, but I tend to edit photos before shooting them to the web. However, with these latest improvements in the hardware, I may have to take another look. There’s something very appealing about moving high-resolution photos or videos from a DSLR to a computer without wires.

Although this video from TEDIndia was previously shared on our main GigaOm site last year, I’m very appreciative that one of our readers put it on our radar again. (Thanks, Dave!) If you haven’t seen it, I consider it a must-watch. Why? Because Pranav Mistry shows ingenious ways to meld the physical world and digital world using very intuitive methods. I look at this demonstration as showing the true promise of augmented reality, a concept that really hasn’t wowed me just yet. There’s potential in AR, of course, but the practicality of it is limited in my view.

The timing on this video is rather perfect, though. I was just wading through an in-depth report on mobile augmented reality over at GigaOm Pro (subscription required) and it highlights many of the challenges I see — and even some I hadn’t thought of. In the 35 page PDF report, John du Pre Gauntt discusses how location based systems and mobile hardware are poised to blur the lines of reality in the future. Given the maturity of smartphone hardware, John expects the number of AR-capable handsets to quadruple by 2012, so clearly there’s a potentially large user base. But what types of augmented reality add value while others simply act as fun eye-candy? That’s what I’m interested in and when I saw the TEDIndia video, it’s what I envision to be the potential future of AR — interactive computing without the computer in the way.

With everyone in the e-book space zigging, it only makes sense for someone to zag. Skiff looks to be doing just that as details on the Skiff Reader begin to appear just in time for CES. Like the original Amazon Kindle, Skiff is partnering with Sprint for wireless broadband connectivity although the device also supports Wi-Fi. But unlike most all other eInk readers out there, the Skiff Reader is aimed at far more than books. The company says that Skiff is “optimized for newspaper and magazine content,” likely  due to the large 11.5″ touchscreen display showing 1200 x 1600 pixels of content. The tech specs show battery life to last roughly a week with a two to three hour re-charge time. Out of the 4 GB of internal memory, 3 GB is usable for content storage and there is an SDHC memory card slot.

Aside from providing the 3G connectivity for content downloads, Sprint will also be selling the Skiff Reader in their stores. Pricing and availability details are forthcoming but the device will be shown off at CES this week. One details is pretty likely though — that touchscreen will make it easy to click on the anticipated ads. Even the official product shot shows a little advertising interaction, no?

The device itself looks nice, but really appears geared to “save” print media. And I’m not sure it’s the best approach. I still receive a few magazines, mainly because they’re not available in a digital format, and part of the allure is the brilliant color on the pages. A grayscale eInk device simply can’t compete with that. So from a magazine perspective, I don’t see a huge draw — especially when digital magazines can be enjoyed in color on computers, netbooks and maybe even the smartbooks of tomorrow.

Newspapers might gain a shot in the arm, although I haven’t see much of a positive impact by newspaper offerings on existing devices similar to the Skiff. I think the problem is one of timeliness and interaction, not printed paper vs eInk. Blogs, websites and social networks are solving this problem quite well, so a hardware solution for newspapers isn’t vastly compelling from where I stand. Thoughts?

By this time tomorrow, I’ll be on a plane bound for the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. That means I have to use today to pick and choose the gear that will keep me productive. It’s easier to show what I’m taking on a video, so here’s a look at what’s going with me and why. I often get questions about which bag I use, both for CES and in general, so you’ll get the answer to that one as well. I ended up literally packing my gear bag on camera so you get a feel for what’s there and what the total package weighs. All of my essential gear goes with me on the plane because if doesn’t arrive in Vegas, I’m out of luck for the show! I will tuck extra USB cords and such in my checked bag, but my must-have stuff stays with me.

Keep a special eye and ear out for why you should be following the jkOnTheRun Twitter feed this week too, because I explain the reason on camera. Hopefully, this year will feel even more like you’re right there with us on the show floor! And if you are there and want to carry my gear bag for a while, I won’t say no!

The year has only just begun, but it’s starting to feel like the year of the tablet already. And I don’t mean mythical tablets, either. Viliv is already known for its UMPC devices, but the new S10 Blade is about to cut a swath through the Windows Tablet PC market. There’s no price yet, just the specs and some pics on Naver, courtesy of UMPCPortal.

We’re basically looking at a Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium convertible netbook with a high-resolution (1,366 x 768), 10.1″ multitouch display. There’s no mention of an active digitizer, so I’m unsure of the inking experience. However, the touch experience should be quite good if the right hardware and drivers are used. Storage comes in the form of SSD, and the standard connectivity options abound: 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR and optional integrated 3G. The 2.67-pound tablet PC only comes with 512 MB of memory, which raises an eyebrow. Hopefully, that can be changed before the product launch or can easily be expanded for performance reasons. Speaking of performance, the S10 Blade runs on one of two Intel Atom chipsets — the 1.6 GHz Z530 or the 2.0 GHz Z550. Viliv claims up to 10 hours of run-time or seven hours of video playback. If this device sees seven or eight hours of real-world usage, it could be a very compelling product — pending the price, of course.

Hold onto your hats, because here comes the surprise of the day — Samsung has new netbooks and they run on the Intel Atom N450 CPU! OK, perhaps that wasn’t much of a shocker after all, but I’ll humor Samsung since it’s CES week. No less than four new netbooks will appear on shelves shortly: the N210, N220, N150 and NB30. Samsung hasn’t mentioned official pricing nor a complete list of specifications — hey, something has to be held back for that Vegas trip — but does offer a glimpse of these device refreshes.

All models offer the standard 10.1″ LED backlit display which I’m assuming use a 1024 x 600 resolution. Included software can “increase” the res to 1024 x 768, but that’s either with some panning or loss in image quality, I suspect. The NB30 stands out with some rugged features like a watertight seal and a hard-drive sensor to protect against sudden drops. Both the N210 and N220 offer “instant on” via the included Phoenix HyperSpace solution, which is great to see bundled in. (Related: a video look of HyperSpace just prior to last year’s CES.) There are also two free software trials specific to mobile computing devices: AnyPC allows for remote access to primary computers and the Phoenix FailSafe solution tracks your netbook if it ever walks away. With so many similar netbooks on the market today, I expect 2010 to bring more included software solutions to help differentiate devices.

Image Credit: Nexus One Blog

Although tomorrow is the expected official launch of Google’s Nexus One handset, a few lucky folks already have the product. Both Engadget and the Nexus One Blog shared hands-on video and review impressions over the weekend, but initial thoughts actually seem varied. Engadget doesn’t seem to think that the experience is all that much faster than that of a Motorola Droid. I also noticed a few crashes with the new “Live Wallpaper” feature. On the other hand, you’re hard pressed to see any negative bits in the Nexus One Blog review, although that piece also mentions the same crashes.

At this point, given all that we know and have seen so far, I’m 90-percent sure that I’ll be adding a Nexus One to my gear bag this week. The growth, momentum and maturity of Android makes it appealing as a good tool for my tasks. I’m going to hedge my bets and buy it unlocked without a two-year commitment, however. I really don’t want yet another long term contract, for starters. I’m also giving my Palm Pre a bit of breathing room in case there are major developments coming from Palm at CES. Ideally, I’d like a no-commitment data-only plan with the Nexus One because I use data far more than voice these days. And that gets me into what I hope to hear from Google at tomorrow’s press event — something other than the cellular status quo.

The whole idea of the Nexus One working with just a single phone plan as many have reported just doesn’t seem… Google-ish to me, for lack of a better term. It could well turn out that way tomorrow, and if it does, it won’t change my mind. But Google has the potential to do so much more to change the carrier landscape. I’m really hoping they announce an upcoming firmware update that ties a Google Voice number to Gizmo for true VoIP calling without a voice plan.

Those are my plans and thoughts on the Nexus One — which are subject to change tomorrow, of course. What about you? Is this a must-have bit of hardware or are you put off by the anticipated $530 unlocked price and/or $180 cost with commitment?

I’m back from a week’s vacation and my return is not a moment too soon. Although CES doesn’t officially begin until Wednesday, the early press releases are already flying off the shelves, even if shipping products aren’t. Freescale kicks today off with news of their smartbook reference design that we’ll soon see. Don’t be too judgmental about the look of this tablet powered by smartphone guts — reference designs are meant to inspire original equipment manufacturers. I’ll admit however, that it reminds me of my first UMPC — only thinner, lighter and with more battery life, all things being equal.

This design offers a small 7″ touchscreen display with 1024 x 600 resolution and weighs a modest 376 grams, which is roughly double the weight of my iPhone. That’s definitely something I could carry all day. Freescale’s i.MX515 ARM processor – built on the Cortex-A8 core architecture — powers the tablet, which also offers OpenVG & OpenGL/ES graphics cores and HD video decoder hardware. Other internals include 512 MB of RAM, between 4 and 64 GB of internal storage, optional 3G modem, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, USB 2.0 and mini USB ports, a speaker, microphone, 3-axis acceleromter, light sensor and 3 megapixel camera capable of VGA recording at 30 fps. There’s also a slick-looking keyboard concept that docks to the tablet itself — looks like a nice solution while stationary, but offers a grab-and-go function when you want to travel lighter.

Freescale’s energy-efficient ARM processor is paired with a 1900 mAh battery, so this could be an all-day type of unit depending on usage patterns. The CPU also means you won’t see a traditional desktop operating system, so I’d expect some form of Linux to be on board. Freescale says that interested parties could out actual products based on this reference by the middle of 2010. Even better is the potential pricing — $200 or less, but that’s only likely in quantities of scale if and when the smartbook category takes off. We’ve got Freescale on our radar for CES, so stay tuned for some hands on impressions and pics of their offerings.

In the night before Christmas, you left your gadget wish-list. Now it’s time to see what tech toys you actually unwrapped! Who got a new RAZR? How about an Apple IIe or TRS-80? Maybe a 32 MB Compact Flash card?!?

I’m kidding… I’m sure that bunches of you got some nice tech that will keep you happy this holiday season. As for me, I’m just happy to spend a quiet day with the family… and play Wii or Xbox 360 while we stream holiday music through the AppleTV and live-stream our video gaming session on the web. OK, maybe I’m not totally unplugging this season after all. Happy holidays!

I’m a lucky guy. Doing what I do, it feels like every day is Christmas morning because gadgets are arriving all the time. OK, Santa doesn’t exactly deliver them — either that, or he sub-contracts to FedEx and UPS, but you get my point. Between evaluation devices and the best gadgets I purchased throughout the year, Christmas itself doesn’t usually bring me any new toys. Since I’m in the minority, I ask you: what gadgets are you hoping that Santa puts under your tree tonight? No, no… mythical products such as Apple Tablets don’t quite count.

Drop a comment with what you hope to see under the tree upon waking up tomorrow. Who knows — if you leave your wishlist early enough, you just might leave someone a little extra time to find what you’re looking for! We’ll check in tomorrow morning and see what gadget goodies everyone got. For now, I wish you all a happy holiday and hope you get every gadget on your list. Thanks too for all of the super community spirit and support that you all bring to the site. Peace!

With a slew of new netbooks powered by the Intel Atom N450 about to launch, I’d be hard pressed to recommend buying an older netbook right now. But if you’re feeling put off by lack of visual horsepower in an all Intel netbook, you might want to look into those with the Nvidia Ion platform. These devices pair a GeForce 9400M with the Atom CPU and simply blow away the Intel integrated graphics solution.

So although new devices are around the corner, Laptop Magazine placed four of today’s Ion-based netbook models into the ring to see which would be the last netbook standing. I won’t spoil the surprise, but if you’re still sold on today’s netbooks and want support for gaming and 1080p video playback, you’ll want to see which netbook won this prize fight. It’s noteworthy that when similarly spec’d out, these little laptops can run north of $550, although a bare-bones system with Ion can be had for $400. And don’t forget that next year’s netbooks will work with both the Nvidia Ion2 as well as Broadcom’s Crystal HD accelerator.

The folks at Mint are working on an Android version of their software, and I can’t wait. I’ve been using their service to help manage our home finances and investments for nearly two years, and the iPhone app is stellar. Since it’s all but certain that an Android device is in my future, Mint’s efforts (Intuit’s really) are timely. The company estimate for a software launch is by the end of the first quarter, says ZDNet, but the software won’t sacrifice quality for a schedule. That’s important when dealing with something as crucial as people’s financial information. Also in the works is a method for manual transaction entry at the point of purchase, making Mint more like a checkbook register.

The latest version of Mint for iPhone got a big boost when it hit a few months back. Alert notifications arrived, which give me a heads up when a bill is due or when I’m approaching my budget limit in a particular category. Clearly, I’m not doing too well from a budgetary standpoint this month — I’m over on three categories! And aside from basic tracking and reporting on all expense activities, the latest version allows for modification of transactions on the iPhone.

While that might not sound like much, it comes in handy for check transactions in particular. I often see transactions listed as “Check 123″ for example — that doesn’t tell me who the check was made out to, nor does it specify what expense category the amount is associated to. With support for manual modification, I can make the appropriate changes right on my phone and have them sync back up to my Mint account on the web. Not everyone wants to trust their data to Mint, but for me, it’s a must-have app on my handset.