Krakow's Corner

Budget, ultralight laptop is a winner

Michael Wann — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:58:00 GMT

Asus

The new Eee PC is E-E-Easy to master and fun to use.

When you mention small, cheap laptops, the One Laptop Per Child device immediately comes to mind.

Designed for third-world school children, the OLPC was supposed to cost just $100, although that price has increased to $200.

That’s why this week’s announcement from Asus is so exciting.

Their Eee PC also is a small, simple laptop which runs on the Linux operating system and is made to sell for just $300 to $400. Since it went on sale, last month in Taiwan, the Eee has been selling like hotcakes.

Asus has just announced their feature-rich, top-of-the line model, the Eee PC 4G, which is now available for sale here in the United States.

Eee stand for “easy to lean, easy to work and easy to play.” It’s a small, ultralight laptop with a 7-inch color screen, an Intel processor (the OLPC has an AMD chip) and a battery which provides up to 3 hours of use before needing recharging. Eee weighs less than two pounds.

There is no hard drive inside. The U.S. version comes with 4GB of built-in flash memory to both run the computer (as RAM) and provide approximately 1.4GB of storage space for files, music and pictures. There is also a memory card slot so you can add as much as 32GB of extra storage, which currently costs more than $400.

Connection to the Internet is via the Ethernet port or the built-in Wi-Fi circuitry. There’s a hole for a modem connection but no modem built inside.

Eee runs on the Linux operating system with an easy-to-understand interface created especially for this device.

The desktop has six tabs on the top of the screen for the different categories of software icons and Internet destinations including the Open Office 2.0 office suite, Mozilla, Skype, Wikipedia, language learning tools, games, a media player (sounds great playing MP3 and WAV files through the Eee’s built-in stereo speakers), a still and Web camera plus instant messaging, anti-virus software and a whole lot more.

The only real fault I could find with the Eee is a small one: the keyboard. It’s literally very small – made for little fingers. It’s better than the keyboard you get on a smartphone but not as comfortable to use as keyboards you find on larger laptops. It wouldn’t be my first choice for touch-typing but will do in a pinch.

I’ve been quite impressed with the Eee – the way it looks, feels and operates in the short time I’ve had to test it. It’s small but never gives the impression of being toy-like in any way.

Out-of-the-box, the Eee is both simple to master and a delight to use. It can make a terrific computer for first-time users – or a great second or third portable for the computer warrior.

Highly recommended.

PCs break the $200 barrier

Michael Wann — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 20:21:00 GMT

Everex

The new Green ePC runs on a form of Linux called the gOS.

Beginning today, Wal-Mart is selling a brand new computer for $199.

Everex calls their new Green gPC an alternative personal computer which runs on Linux – a free operating system. Its name implies it’s an alternative to more expensive devices which run on Microsoft Windows or Apple’s operating system.

(MSNBC.com is a Microsoft-NBC Universal joint venture.)

The gPC uses Ubuntu Linux, which is a free, open-source operating system. I’ve been testing Ubuntu on a number of different computers – old and new – for the past few months and I highly recommend it.

Everex added a green, graphical desktop and calls the result the gOS. The screen features oversized icons and a large, horizontal navigation bar with easy-to-understand icons for Web sites and free, installed software including the Mozilla Web browser, Skype and the OpenOffice suite plus links to YouTube and Wikipedia.

There also are a large number of Google-labeled links such as Google Search, Google Documents, Google Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Maps, Google Products Search and Gmail. One might guess that gPC actually stand for Google instead of Green PC based on the number of Google links bundled on the desktop, but Everex says that’s isn’t the case.

As for the hardware, the gPC runs on a 1.5 GHz Via processor as opposed to the more prevalent Intel or AMD chips and 512MB of memory. The combination is quite speedy.

There’s an 80 GB hard drive for storage and a DVD drive (reads and writes CDs but DVDs are read-only.) A keyboard, mouse and stereo speakers come with the computer, too. It’s up to you to provide a monitor.

The gPC connects to the Internet via Ethernet or the built-in modem. Any kind of wireless connections (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, for instance) are not included. Since nearly all of my computers use Wi-Fi, I had to dig out an Ethernet cable for testing. The gPC comes only with a modem cable.

The instruction poster (not a book) is easy to understand and makes set-up a breeze. Actual ease of use, though, is a different story.

While the gPC comes packed with software – and does most simple tasks well – not everything is user-friendly right out of the box. Once the gPC was up and running, I tried viewing a YouTube video to test the Internet connection, Web browsing abilities and the computer’s ability to handle audio and video all at the same time.

Instead of a video, I was greeted with an error message. The gPC warned me that I needed to download and install a software “plug-in” before I could watch the video. I was given three different file choices to choose from.

Even if I figured out which file to download, the installation process is complicated and overly technical even for experienced computer users. If there’s an icon provided on the desktop, an end user shouldn’t be forced to download and install anything else.

As it stands now, I believe the gPC needs some re-tooling to make it more people-friendly.

Surprise 'hits' at the cell phone show

Michael Wann — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:34:00 GMT

Cellufun

In this round it's Hillary vs. Rudy

There aren’t many scintillating new items being displayed on the show floor at the 2007 CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment expo in San Francisco.

But one new game being displayed there did catch my eye.

From the “picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words” department, there’ll be a new game available soon for your cell phone called The Mobile Ring.

As you can see, this game from Cellufun lets you pit any U.S. presidential candidates of your choice in a knock-down battle—in a boxing ring.

The company suggests you can let candidates throw punches like never before – or just let them beat each other up.

This new game is sure to be a big hit with users (pun intended).

Mobile Ring will be available next week. It’s free and will work on a huge number of cellular phones. The long list is available on Cellufun’s Website.

I knew that if I looked hard enough that I would find a terrific new phone to tell you about.

So, I was happy when I spotted the soon-to-be-released Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone. It’s a tri-band GSM world phone with a 2-megapixel camera on the back.

Nokia

Nokia's handsome, new 5310 music phone.

The XpressMusic phone a very small, very thin sliver of a metallic black handset with either red or blue controls for its music functions. The skinny battery inside is reportedly good for up to five hours of talk time or 20 hours of music playback.

Music files are stored on microSD memory cards. Think in terms of being able to store as many as 3,000 songs on a 4GB card. The new 8GB cards now coming to market should hold twice as much.

You can synch and play MP3, AAC and WMA music files by using Windows Media Player 10 or 11 or with Nokia’s new PC Client software available later this year.

The phone also has a built-in FM radio that you can listen to via wired headphones, stereo Bluetooth headphones or plug-in speakers.

What impressed me most is the size and overall feel of the handset. It looks like a terrific phone. Expect to hear more about the 5310, and any possible U.S. cellular carriers, early next year.

I’ve also been very impressed with the quality of a new Bluetooth wireless headset from the West Coast firm Aliph. Their Jawbone device is the first wireless headset I’ve tried that keeps extraneous noise out of my cell phone conversations.

Jawbone uses what they say is advanced, military-grade noise-cancelling technology to enable clear conversations even in extreme environments. The device also continuously adjusts microphone and earpiece volume levels throughout your call.

In early tests, I can report that it does quite well here in San Francisco. It will also have to pass my midtown Manhattan test when I get home.

Jawbone is available in attractive metallic black, red or silver colors and retails for $120.

Mobile entertainment is king at cell phone show

Michael Wann — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:41:00 GMT

For the first time, a trade show for the cell phone industry is light on new phones. In the recent past there had been a slew of shiny new handset designs to admire. Not so this year.

The 2007 CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment expo, here in San Francisco, is focused on everything you can do on your smartphone aside from making a phone call.

Wireless data use over cell phones is exploding. According to a new CTIA survey, non-voice service revenues in the first half of 2007 rose 63 percent over the same period last year.

That means more and more people are using their cell phones to send and receive IMs, e-mails, text messages, download maps, Web pages, music and video files, photos and nearly everything else you can think of - other than voice calls.

The survey revealed that so far this year, text messaging set new records, with nearly 29 billion messages sent in the month of June, 2007.

Overall, there are now a record 243 million wireless users in the United States. And, they made more than 1.1 trillion minutes worth of cell phone calls in the first half of this calendar year. Glad I don’t have to pay that phone bill.

As for interesting stuff introduced at the show, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer announced new server software to make it easier for big businesses to roll-out, control and maintain Windows-based smartphones. Think of Microsoft System Center - Mobile Device Manager 2008 as a way get companies interested in using Windows Mobile devices instead of the other enterprise favorite the Blackberry.

(MSNBC.con is a Microsoft – NBC Universal joint venture.)

Mobile video is a big part of what’s next for your cell phone of the future. Among the big players in the field, MobiTV is reporting that they’ve passed 3 million subscribers – up from 2 million less than six months ago. Not only that, but they say that subscribers are spending more time viewing their video content. They and the rest of the industry are hoping that’s a glimpse of what’s to come in the future.

SlingMedia is here too – telling the world that if you install one of their video-over-the-Internet Slingboxes at home, you can watch videos from your cable or satellite provider – or even a DVD – on your cell phone. It looks very cool on the new, high-end phones with higher resolution screens, such as Nokia’s N95.

So far at the show, the sole new handset announcement is from AT&T and Samsung: the new Blackjack II smartphone. The Windows Mobile 6 device will be available in the next few weeks.

And, just like the iPhone was the big, underground talk of the CTIA’s spring show, rumors of a Google phone are making the rounds at this event. Google maps are becoming standard on many new smartphones – but so far, no sightings of a cell phone-based Google software. Lots of whispering in the convention hall, though.

Centro: Just what the doctor ordered

Michael Wann — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:48:00 GMT

Palm

The new, smaller, red Palm Centro.

Palm desperately needs some good news.

It was love at first sight.

Not because it is compact and nicely shaped   – or because it 3G wireless connection is fast - or because it handles Microsoft Exchange mail, calendar and phonebook with aplomb.

I love it because it’s that and more. It’s an all-around great device.

The Centro is really a smaller Treo. Palm says it’s 20 percent smaller. I didn’t spend time measuring. Let’s just say it’s slightly smaller.   What they’ve done they’ve made it easier to hold.

The screen is smaller than the Treo’s – but readable. The keyboard is smaller, too. When you first see it you might think it’s too small to type on, but even with my big fingers, I found the Centro’s keyboard made it easy for my typing to be quite accurate. I like it better than the iPhone to type on.

There’s a 1.3 megapixel camera on the back, which seems skimpy for a modern-day smartphone. It does produce fine looking photos and videos, though.

Palm’s operating system seems well suited to Sprint’s 3G data network. I found Web browsing to be surprisingly speedy – especially when accessing the built-in Google Maps feature.

The Centro comes with Sprint TV, MobiTV, pTunes, On Demand and four different IM titles.

I like how well Centro’s e-mail program handles my Microsoft mail and appointments.   The first time I synched it took less than a minute to download all the information into the phone.

(MSNBC.com is a Microsoft-NBC Universal joint venture.)

VersaMail and Palm’s own Calendar and Phone Book software continue to sync perfectly with my Outlook account data. I have this Centro wireless synching with my mail server every 5 minutes for 15 hours each day. Battery life, with heavy data and medium voice use, is more than 24 hours per charge.

I found the Centro easy to use either with or without the stylus. I rarely, if ever, felt the need to rely on the external pointing device.

The Centro is very attractive. I love Palm’s red metal finish on the test model.   It’s nice to see that Palm can still produce this level of excellence.

Sprint has an exclusive deal with Palm until the end of the year.  They are selling the Centro for only $99, after all the rebates, and with a two-year contract. I believe that makes the Centro one of the biggest bargain smartphones of the year.

Wi-Fi radios coming down in price

Michael Wann — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:08:00 GMT

Com One

A reasonably priced table/portable Wi-Fi radio.

Imagine listening to more than 5,000 radio stations from all over the world in a radio in your home.

You can if you have a high-speed connection and a Wi-Fi connection to the Web and Com One’s Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio. It's both a battery-operated portable as well as a table radio.

Wi-Fi radios aren’t real radios in the sense that they receive over-the-air signals from near (AM and FM) and far (shortwave) broadcasters. Wi-Fi radios receive Internet radio station streams where their signals come via a WI-Fi connection.

These devices are small, radio-shaped wireless computers that play music streams available on the Web. They’re also able to stream music you have stored on any computer hard drive wirelessly connected in your home.

The Phoenix weighs less than two pounds and uses self-charging AA batteries (provided), so you can comfortably move it from room to room.

You can listen to music through the built-in stereo speakers or via headphones. You can also add a Bluetooth adapter (available separately) to send the radio’s audio to your Hi-Fi entertainment system.

Sound quality from its speakers is OK – not fantastic, but good enough to let you hear the difference between a low quality stream and a high bitrate, high fidelity stream from the same station. Plugging a set of small, powered speakers into the headphone jack provided terrific sounding audio.

I just turned it on – let it find my WI-Fi router – added my password and it installed itself with little fuss. It also found all the available computer music files on all the computers on my network. Within a minute I had thousands of radio streams – and my music files – available for playback on the Phoenix.

Programming my favorite stations was a lot easier than with last year’s Acoustic Energy Internet radio. You had to navigate through a confusing menu system to program the AE. Phoenix provides you with a Web browser interface page, which allows you to drag and drop stations into eight pre-set buttons. You can also program stations using the radio’s LCD screen and joystick controller.

The total number of stations listed on Phoenix start-up screen is small – but you can add any station you like if you know its Web address. For instance, the Phoenix offered only the 56K stream of WFUV, Fordham University (New York) radio but I was able to add FUV’s much better sounding 128K stream. This was especially important to me because although I live a short distance from the transmitter – I can only “receive” WFUV” via Internet radio.

The Phoenix proved to be a great performer in my tests. It allowed me to enjoy music from around the world without having to worry about receiving those distant stations.

Currently, it carries the lowest retails price of any Wi-Fi radio on the market: $249.95.

AT&T Tilt: Built for speed

Michael Wann — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:11:00 GMT

AT&T

The screen tilts forward slightly so you can see it better while typing. Hence the name.

AT&T’s new Tilt is fast. Really fast. I know that because I’m familiar with the phone in other forms.

The Tilt is nearly identical to AT&T’s previous 8525 device and to T-Mobile’s current Wing smartphone.

They’re all manufactured by HTC, they’re all GSM-based world phones which run on Windows Mobile OS, and they all have similar controls and buttons. They’re also all very good cellular phones.

But there's a huge difference. While according to AT&T's Website, the 8525 runs on the older, slower Windows Mobile 5 and the Wing runs on the older, slower EDGE wireless data network, the Tilt has the most recent OS and runs on AT&T’s super-fast, 3G system.

The Tilt has a large 2.8-inch screen and a spacious QWERTY keyboard. In addition to taking full advantage of broadband-speed features, such as mobile Music, Video, TV and games, there’s also Wi-Fi, GPS and even push-to-talk communication. The 3.0 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and microSD card memory expansion slot are included.

Being a Windows Mobile 6 Professional device it means it has the whole Microsoft cell phone software suite including versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. If you have to deal with Microsoft Exchange mail, Windows Mobile devices are your best bet.

On the other hand, I’m not a fan of the mobile version of Internet Explorer. It never lets you see the full, graphical version of a Web site like Safari on Apple’s iPhone does. That’s something I hope gets fixed in the next operating system release.

But the browser seems like just a small speed bump once you start using your Tilt. Unlike the slower iPhone and the Wing, the 3G Tilt is noticeably faster handling any and every task. Wireless synching with your e-mail server takes two to three seconds compared to a minute or so for similar phones hampered by their slower EDGE networking.

Same for sending photos, downloading music and videos or any other thing you might throw its way. The difference is anything but subtle. I actually found myself using my phone less to handle all my tasks. That saved me a lot of time.

For the person who needs their wireless voice and test communications to be super fast and precise the Tilt is an elegant solution.

The phone is being a marketed as a business device. On the AT&T site, I was offered the Tilt for a whopping $999.99, minus a business discount of $499.99, minus a Web discount of $100 for a total of $399.99 (with a new 2-year with a new contract and phone number). That’s in line with other premium smartphones on the market today.

Look out for flying mice

Michael Wann — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:16:00 GMT

Logitech

Part wireless mouse, part laser pointer and part remote control.

Logitech has created a computer mouse called the MX Air that’s actually half mouse and half remote control.

The MX Air is made to be used “on the desk” or “in the air.” It works like a regular, wireless mouse when you push it on a flat surface.

But, it also works like a combination laser pointer and video remote controller when you wave it in the air and point it towards your TV.

It is made to let you control – from near or far - the latest breed of multimedia Windows PCs. Especially new media computer units which require placement close to those shiny, flat-screens, high-definition televisions.

The MX Air looks like many other modern wireless laser mice. It’s black and steel colored with stealth backlighting that quietly appears when you move the mouse. There are also a lot of extra control buttons that you normally don’t find on a mouse.

On top is a very large, touch-sensitive scrolling bar that runs down the middle. On either side are the left and right “click” buttons. And below the scroll there are buttons for ‘Back’. ‘Select’, ‘Play/Pause’ and ‘Volume so you can take charge of your computer’s digital audio and video media.

The secret weapon inside is called Freespace Motion Control technology. It translates raw sensor data into precise on-screen interactions by using a combination of micro-electromechanical sensors (tiny motors), digital signal processing and radio-frequency technologies. That means it can accurately interpret the mouse’s movements regardless of its orientation.

The MX Air wirelessly connects to your computer via a USB dongle, which looks like a very small memory stick. The wireless radio controller has a range of 30 feet. It’s powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery which should be good for up to five days use per charge.

Of course, good looks and promises don’t always translate into a better user experience. In this instance I’ve had mixed results.

When used as a wireless mouse on a flat surface, the MX Air is a great performer – once you adjust it properly. Right out of the box I found the controls to be very twitchy until all the motions were slowed down almost to their minimum settings. The scroll bar seems to move way too quickly whatever settings I choose. It took a few tries to get most everything set to my liking.

I found the mouse to be somewhat less endearing when used “in the air”. The cursor is larger and easier to see in this mode, but its motions are somewhat more difficult to control. I found that it takes a little time to get used to using the MX Air across the room – but really like the idea of having only one device control everything that a Windows Media Center mouse and remote control needs to do.

Logitech’s MX Air has a suggested retail price of $149.99.

Honey, they shrunk the Treo

Michael Wann — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 20:38:00 GMT

Palm

The new, smaller Palm Centro.

Palm desperately needs some good news.

No one is really buying PDAs anymore. Their Treo smartphone design has been aging ungracefully. And their Palm Foleo (small laptop which connects to a smartphone) was stillborn when it was cancelled days before its release.

Palm is hoping to turn that all around with its new smartphone, which looks a lot like their old Treo smartphone – only smaller. Overall, it’s 30-percent smaller in every direction. Except for some new chrome trim in places the family resemblance is easy to spot.

Centro has a full QWERTY keyboard but it’s a whole lot smaller than the Treo’s.

Centro runs on the tried and true Palm operating system. It does photos (1.3 megapixel camera), plays music, surfs the Web via its Blazer browser, handles your e-mail (even Microsoft Outlook mail) and can deal with many different flavors of instant messaging.

There’s built-in Bluetooth, Google Maps, Sprint TV, news services and picture mail plus a voice and memo recorder. E-mail attachment viewing is done thru Documents-to-Go software.

The new Centro comes in two colors: a distinguished Onyx Black and the very hot Ruby Red.

The first Centros will be marketed by Sprint and will run on their CDMA (voice) and high-speed EV-DO (data) networks. Memory expansion is handled through micro-SD cards (4GB cards will be available soon).

But, the biggest surprise in today’s announcement is the asking price. With rebates and enticements thrown in – Sprint is selling the Centro for $99.99 along with a two-year service contract. That’s a full $300 less than Apple’s iPhone.

The Centro is aimed at younger users who would love to upgrade to a more sophisticated smart device but can’t afford the iPhone.

It might just be a very winning strategy – a boost that Palm can use right about now.
Sprint has an exclusive on the Centro for the next 90-days. Expect additional carriers to announce other Centros (hopefully some GSM world phone models) around the time of the Consumer Electronics Show early next year.

Palm’s Centro is due in Sprint stores, nationwide, in the next two weeks. Can’t wait to play with one for an extended period of time to see how well it handles my torture tests.

High-definition TV on the cheap

Michael Wann — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:19:00 GMT

Pinnacle Systems

Everything you need to watch over-the-air HDTV programs on your laptop.

You don’t need to spend big bucks to watch high definition television on an expensive flat-screen TV.

Pinnacle Systems has created a much cheaper way. All you need is their $129.99 PCTV – HD Pro Stick and a laptop computer.

The Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick lets you watch high quality, over-the-air digital, high-definition and standard definition TV shows. No monthly fees or subscriptions are necessary.

The HD Pro stick package contains an HDTV video and audio card built inside a small USB 2.0 device.

You attach a portable, telescoping, magnet-mounted antenna to a metal surface and it works with a little remote control and all the software you need to work the device.   It takes less time to attach all the parts, run the software and watch TV on your computer than to describe the process.

The HD Pro Stick worked flawlessly on a number of different notebook computers that I tried. The HTDV picture looked great on everything from small, 12-inch screens to a somewhat larger 20-inch model.

From my New York City test lab the PCTV HDTV Pro Stick was able to find and receive more than 20 over-the-air HDTV stations. That’s a lot better than the tuner in my two-year old Samsung direct-view TV can find at any given time.

Quality of the received HDTV signal was pretty amazing. Tuning an over-the-air digital TV signal is easy. There’s no snow, ghosts, shadows or static. With a digital station you either get perfect picture and stereo sound or nothing at all.

The supplied Pinnacle MediaCenter software does more than only control the tuner – it turns your laptop into personal digital video recorder. You can schedule recordings easily by accessing the PCTV’s electronic program guide, record your favorite shows directly to DVD, or save recorded shows in your favorite video file format for your iPod, PSP or other portable device.

Pinnacle also provides you with an S-video A/V adapter cable to attach any analog video device (like a VCR, DVD or camcorder) to the HD Pro Stick allowing you to record and edit those videos on your computer.

The PCTV HD Pro Stick works with Windows XP and Windows Vista computers – both regular and Media Center models. There is also a PC TV Stick model ($99.99) with fewer features and a brand new Pinnacle TV for Mac HD stick ($129.99).

I found the HD Pro Stick to be one very clever device, which delivers on its claims. Highly recommended.