Pocket-Friendly, Cellular Data-Only...

APPLE: "Introducing the iPhone!"

CUSTOMERS: "Wow, amazing device! Too bad it requires a monthly service contract, and worse yet, with one of the most horrible carriers in the nation."

APPLE: "Introducing the iPod touch!"

CUSTOMERS: "Cool, but too bad it doesn't have cellular data for when you're out and about."

APPLE: "If you need cellular data, get the iPhone instead."

CUSTOMERS: "Yeah, but the whole AT&T thing. Look, we don't wanna cause trouble, we just want a pocket-friendly device with cellular data (preferably from a selection of carriers) - no voice, no text, just the data."

GOOGLE: "Introducing Android!"

CUSTOMERS: "Promising... but no. Again, pocket-friendly device. Cellular data. No phone service. No text service."

CARRIERS: "Introducing Mi-Fi portable hotspots!"

CUSTOMERS: "No! We don't want a third device to worry with. Listen closely: pocket-friendly, cellular dat...

APPLE/ANDROID: "Introducing smartphones with built-in hotspot sharing capability!"

CUSTOMERS: "No thank you. Once again, don't need a smartphone."

APPLE: "Introducing iPad and iCloud!"

CUSTOMERS: "Wait... What? Did you not hear us say 'pocket-friendly'?"

SAMSUNG: "Introducing the Galaxy Note!"

CUSTOMERS: "Hey, Dipshit! We said no voice or text plans! This thing requires a full blown smartphone plan! And a stylus? Really?"

APPLE: "Siri voice assistant!"

CUSTOMERS: "No."

APPLE: "Thinner, lighter and taller iPhone?"

CUSTOMERS: "Nada."

APPLE: "Smaller iPad?"

CUSTOMERS: "Wait! You're getting warmer..."

SAMSUNG: "Oh! We know! An 8-inch phone with a stylus!"

CUSTOMERS: [face-palm] "Did you guys eat a lot of paint chips as a kid?"

VERIZON: "Introducing the Verizon Messages app! Receive your phone's text messages on your tabl..."

APPLE: "Fingerprint sensors!"

CUSTOMERS: "FOR GOD'S SAKE! ARE YOU GUYS EVEN LISTENING?!?!?!" You know that thing you do for the 'iPad Wi-Fi+Cellular'? We buy the device, then you activate a SIM card that only provides (and bills us) for cellular data? Yeah! But look... Alright, stay with me now... Instead of doing that for a big ol' iPad, we want you to do it for something the size of an iPod touch! Got it? We've only been asking for this for the last SIX FREAKING YEARS!

That glazed-over look in your eyes means... what, exactly?

Spare Batteries

KISS singer Paul Stanley once said "the best thing about being rich is never having to worry about money". I think a similar theory applies to batteries and cellphones.

Earlier this week I was put into a situation where my phone's battery was almost dead (mostly due to being in areas with poor reception) and there was no convenient way to charge it. Long story short, I needed to get at least 17 hours out of a 12-hour battery. Had I still been using an iPhone or any other phone with a non-removable battery, I would've been up the creek without a paddle.

Thanks to the Samsung Galaxy Note's spare battery and standalone charger (an accessory which costs less than most quality iPhone cases), I was able to swap out my battery and go, without dragging a charger around in my pocket and searching high and low for an available receptacle.

It's for this reason I've concluded that if a phone lacks a removable battery (and doesn't at the very least, ship with one of those battery pack cases), it's not a phone at all - it's a toy. All the worse if the phone now uses a proprietary connector that's nearly impossible to find outside of giant electronics stores. It seems crazy to me that the same company that prides itself on building laptops with amazing battery life is willing to compromise their phones, all for the sake of shaving a couple of millimeters off the overall thickness.

Seems to me the market for an 18-hour phone would be bigger than the market for a 12-hour laptop.

Android Update Hell

A few weeks ago, Verizon gave the green light to push out Android OS update 4.1.2 to their version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. I can't remember the exact date Google made this update available or when Samsung approved the Note 2 to receive it, but it's pretty safe to assume that Note 2 owners on Verizon were among the last to receive the update (which is more the rule than the exception when it comes to Verizon and Android). If that's not bad enough, some of the new features included in this update have been withheld, changed or limited by Verizon. As a former iOS user, this is a characteristic of Android that annoys the piss out of me, and to tell the truth, I'm not sure what's more annoying about it: the act or the complete lack of any explanation for it.

Of my 4.5 years with iOS, over 3 years of that time was spent using a jailbroken device. The subject of how I got into jailbreaking is too long to go into here but suffice it to say that my hand was forced by AT&T's crappy service in my area. Point being, jailbreaking gave me the opportunity to see the difference between what a particular iPhone model could do and what Apple was willing to allow it to do. Not to mention some of the shady tactics Apple was willing to use to force updates on us.

Despite all of this tomfoolery, one thing that iOS users have been able to take solace in is the fact that when Apple makes an iOS update available, the whole update becomes available to everyone (using an approved device) at the same time. Carriers are given time to field-test Apple's new software and hardware but once Apple sets a release date, the carriers (for the most part) must step aside. If a new feature is to be excluded by a carrier, it's typically announced before people line up in droves to buy the new device.

Additionally, iPhone users don't have to worry about carriers substituting Apple-tested, approved and supported apps/features with their own non-removable (and often substandard or poorly supported) bloatware. The relationship between a carrier and an iPhone user is no different from the relationship between say, an electric utility and its customer: that of a dumb-pipe. Unlike with other smartphones, carriers are forced to provide iPhone users with nothing more or less than the cellular connectivity with which to operate their devices. In my opinion, that's the way it should be.

Another advantage to Apple's walled garden policy is easier troubleshooting. When an iOS user is having an issue or question, usually all they need to know is which model device and which version of iOS they are using, and a web search immediately brings solutions. Not so much with Android. In addition to the many different brands of Android devices, there appears to be a vast sub-category of different versions of the same make/model - many with their own exclusive features/capabilities. If all of that wasn't enough of a confusing mess, both the manufacturers and carriers have the authority to decide when or if your device will get the latest OS update, and in the case of Verizon, can choose to outright remove features from that update. It seems hypocritical to me that a company would cherry-pick OS features it's willing to allow, all while taking the position that it would rather lose all of my business than give me the option to pay for just voice/SMS service without data (or vice versa).

I guess my biggest problem with Android thus far has been coming to terms with the deception created and fostered by both manufacturers, carriers, tech blog writers and their fanboy supporters. Some would have you believe that every Android scenario is like picking up a Dell laptop from Best Buy that runs a full, bloatware-free version of Windows, and taking it home and plugging it straight into your Comcast cable modem. And it is indeed that simple in a limited number of scenarios that depend heavily on both the hardware and carrier chosen. But for most people, the options are more like this:

1. pick out the Dell laptop and tell the salesman you're a Comcast customer. Promise to stay with Comcast for the next two years in exchange for a 70% discount on the hardware. You turn on the laptop and it looks nothing like the same version of Windows running on your work PC. It's covered in apps, themes and branding from Dell, Best Buy and Comcast. Some of the apps and UI elements that come stock with Windows have been replaced by Comcast- or Dell-branded junk. Microsoft releases regular updates for it but you must wait for both Dell and Comcast to decide if/when to make them available, as well as whether or not to customize them when they do make them available. There are all kinds of tutorials on the web explaining how to revert it to a stock Windows PC, accompanied by disclaimers that it'll void your Dell hardware warranty, tip-off the Russian mafia to the secret coin collection in your attic, as well as result in Comcast murdering your first-born child, disconnecting your service and charging you an early termination fee. You also discover that some of the cool Dell-exclusive features of the laptop will no longer work if you do revert it to stock Windows; or,
2. buy a specific line of Windows Nexus laptops at full price and still be forced to wait for Comcast to issue the OS updates; or,
3. purchase said Nexus laptop and activate it with a more open-minded ISP then move to said ISP's service area; or,
4. buy a MacBook at full price, accept that it can't do everything that the Dell can do without a hack that gets overridden every six months when Apple releases an OS update, plug it into your cable modem and tell Comcast and Best Buy to kiss your ass.

I guess my gripe isn't so much with Android (it is a great OS) or even with the device makers, so much as it is Google's willingness to bow down to carriers who never seem to run out of new ways to shaft their customers. Yes, Apple makes me feel like the tween whose over-protective mother still insists on holding his hand every time they cross the street, but that momma bear sure has done a lot since entering the smartphone market to protect her cubs from those greedy carriers. All of the various Android manufacturers seem to be as weak-kneed as Google when it comes to standing up for the interests of their customers. I had assumed before switching that Samsung was big enough by now to have grown a pair, but I guess I was mistaken.

Data Plan Idea

I was thinking about the arguments between Internet providers like Comcast and content providers like Netflix. ISPs argue that content providers like Netflix and YouTube account for the lion's share of customer bandwidth, and that they should therefore pay up for the ISP's costs to supply that content to customers.

I suppose that to an extent, an ISP is akin to a trucking company that specializes in delivering 1s and 0s. If ISPs wish to be viewed in such a way, then it makes little sense why the end user is forced to pay a monthly service fee to these 'cyber trucking companies'.

Would it be better (particularly with regards to cellular data) if every time we used an app or downloaded a media file that we were required to purchase enough data to carry out the transfer (a sort of 'in-app-purchase' or cyber shipping charge) beforehand? Imagine a YouTube in which every video clip cost you so many credits and the ISP got a cut of that money directly from YouTube.

Imagine a setup in which basically nothing on the web is free anymore (every transfer would carry with it a cyber shipping charge) BUT you are no longer forced to pay a monthly fee to any ISP. Would you be better or worse off than with the current setup? Would it mean an end to the predominantly ad-supported websites we now have, with their annoying and privacy-invading tactics?

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review

About two weeks ago I got my first Android device: a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (hereafter referred to as the Note). Having been an iOS user for the past 4.5 years, I thought I'd share my impressions thus far for anyone interested in this phone or, for any iOS users who may be considering a switch to Android. I'll admit beforehand that most of this review focuses on the negative aspects of the phone and OS. There are plenty of "reviews" and videos documenting the perks of the Note, but few have honestly discussed any drawbacks aside from its physical size. I'm discovering all sorts of things about this phone so this is gonna be a quick and dirty list that may or may not get cleaned up.

S-PEN
It doesn't work on the Menu or Back buttons despite those buttons being touch-activated, but Samsung does include some gestures that you're supposed to write while holding the button on the side of the pen which mimic tapping of the Menu or Back buttons. I wish they had included a gesture to mimic the pressing of the Home button too. I also wish the S-pen's button wasn't so close to its tip. Side note, the cheapo stylus I bought last year for my iPhone 4 works a heck of a lot better on the Note - and in some ways, even better than the S-pen.

I spent part of this morning playing around with the S-pen, and overall, it feels a little gimmicky. When you bring up a text-entry field while the pen is out, the keyboard is replaced by a small writing area. While it seemed like I could write a little faster than I could type, using the pen resulted in far more errors. Whether I'm writing or drawing, the big problem is that I can't do either very well unless my forearm (or at least my wrist) is resting on a stationary surface. If you're comfortable using a small notepad, this shouldn't be a problem.

The other issue with the S-pen is that it's not as sensitive at scrolling or tapping objects as a finger or a cheap iOS stylus. Holding the pen near the edge of a window will make the screen scroll automatically - if the app supports it.

SIZE AND SHAPE
Compared to my iPhone, something (besides the size) has felt odd about the Note ever since I got it. It turns out, while the Note is bigger in every dimension, it actually offers less 'dead space' to grab between the bottom of the screen and the bottom of the phone itself. I think this is referred to as the lower bezel (assuming the bezel is the glass-covered area surrounding the screen where it's safe to touch without activating anything). The iPhone's lower bezel is actually twice as long. This by itself would take some getting used to, but to make matters worse, the Note's lower bezel contains a home button and two 'soft' buttons (Menu and Back). What I'm saying is, there's basically no way to grasp or hold the Note by pinching the lower bezel like I sometimes do with the iPhone. In my opinion, that alone would make this a two-handed device even if it was identical in size to the iPhone. I'm curious if this is the norm for most Android phones. One lifesaver is the $20 Verizon case I finally got for it. The case has a triangle-shaped kickstand that folds out, which coincidentally, serves as a sort of makeshift trigger guard. It's just something extra to help stabilize the phone in your hand but you'd be surprised just how much it helps.

I've been very critical of Apple's decision to make the iPhone 5 only a half-inch taller while maintaining the same width, but now I understand why they were afraid to go any bigger. That's not to excuse their refusal to offer the device in other sizes. Samsung makes a very good argument that peoples' hands are different sizes and that we all use our devices differently, therefore, it only makes sense to give people a variety. Having owned both at one point, I feel that the iPad (as well as the iPad Mini) is just a bigger version of the iPod Touch. So it seems hypocritical to me that Apple would offer that device in three different sizes while making the iPhone a one-size-fits-all deal.

Having gotten that out of the way, I must admit that if I needed no other evidence that the Note is a two-handed device, there's no better proof than the email app. No matter what kind of hackery you engage in or settings you change, there's no way to delete an email while using the Note with one hand (unless you have massive hands). The delete button is way up at the top of the screen, making it unreachable with one hand while holding it in a secure fashion. I searched the Menu for a delete option but no such luck.

While the two-handed requirement isn't a deal-breaker for me, I could possibly see this being a problem for others. To be fair though, most of the criticism leveled at the Note's size is related to making phone calls, which in my opinion, is just ridiculous. Consider for example, the size of your average landline or cordless phone. How many times have you heard someone complain about those things being too big to hold against the side of their head? The areas where size presents a challenge is stuffing it into/retrieving it from a pocket and generally navigating and typing with one hand.

APP STORE
Being a gadget geek, I've read more than a few articles regarding the open nature of Android and the differences between Google Play and Apple's App store. While there's certainly a lot of hyperbole on both sides, you can tell from the get-go that Google's app store isn't policed nearly as well as Apple's store. I guess that's the price you pay for free choice.

Overall, there seems to be a lot more duds and garbage in Google Play. Indeed, initial impressions will lead you to believe that 99% of Android users are interested only in free, crappy games. If you've been using iOS for any serious length of time, exercise caution and go in with the understanding that you're pretty much on your own. Just remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If an app costs $0, odds are, that's exactly what it's worth. BTW, I hope you don't mind ads in your apps.

Another item regarding apps is app stores. Apparently, both Amazon and Samsung have their own app stores in addition to Google Play. I haven't really had a chance to check them out though.

Finally, one thing I quickly discovered is that many of the iPhone apps on which I came to rely heavily upon are exclusive to iOS. One of the first things I did with the Note was search for Android versions of my most-used iOS apps. Aside from apps tied to services like Netflix, Rhapsody or Dropbox, not many of my favorites are available for Android. So much so that I'm still toting the deactivated iPhone around. Rule of thumb: if the developer of your favorite iOS app hasn't gotten around to creating a version for the laptop/desktop, they probably haven't bothered making one for Android either.

KEYBOARD
Between the number row and the predictive text row, the keyboard winds up taking up so much vertical space in landscape mode that it leaves little to no area onscreen to see what you're typing. This is a pretty significant issue, considering the size of the screen. Adjusting the global font size in Settings doesn't seem to have any effect on the size of the keyboard buttons and there's definitely no option to hide the number row on one of the keyboard's secondary pages. You do have the option to hide the predictive text row, but I've become too dependent on it to part with it. Additionally, the Note doesn't automatically add punctuation as you type - that's where the predictive text row proves most useful.

Some people have suggested trying a third-party keyboard, but the screenshots of all the ones I've looked at included a number row as well. Others have suggested rooting the phone as a possible solution. From what I've heard though, Verizon and Samsung don't take kindly to rooting and they attempt to erect roadblocks to the practice. That cat and mouse BS that Apple pulls on jailbreakers is the main reason I switched to Android in the first place, so I doubt I'll be heading down that road anytime soon.

Another issue I'm having with the keyboard is trying to get the hang of how to highlight text and insert the cursor at various points in existing text (it seems especially difficult to put the cursor at the beginning of a sentence). Also, the option to highlight and copy text (i.e. on a webpage or in an email) seems to be hit or miss.

EMAIL
I've had some issues in which Yahoo email quit syncing. I tried removing the account from the stock email app and instead use Yahoo's own Mail app from the Google Play store, but as was the case with the iOS version, Yahoo's app is garbage. Upon re-installing my Yahoo account within the stock mail app, I got a message from Verizon informing me that my Yahoo account has been successfully set up through vzw.com/sync. I'm not sure how or why Verizon interacts with my Yahoo mail account but it's a little worrisome from a privacy standpoint. With iOS, I was never given the impression that the carrier interacted in any way with the online services I used - short of providing the infrastructure necessary to move data back and forth - and that's the way it should be.

Another peeve, Gmail requires its own separate app. For the life of me, I can't understand why the stock email app (a Google product) can't handle Gmail (another Google product). Additionally, if you wish to make use of the feature to only be notified of new messages from priority senders, you must set it up on both the stock Mail app and the Gmail app.

WEB BROWSERS
One of the first things I did was look for a different browser. I figured Firefox would be great since it could sync my desktop's bookmarks, but it seemed to have trouble playing videos (even non-Flash videos). I tried, and was very content with Chrome, until they issued an update that left fonts looking blurry. At the moment I'm using Dolphin browser and I can see why it's had 10 million downloads.

SETUP
The only problem I experienced during setup and activation was related to Verizon's contacts backup service called Backup Assistant Plus. In 2011, I upgraded from a flip phone (whose address book was being synced with Backup Assistant) to an iPhone 4. Apparently, the iPhone's address book never got synced with Backup Assistant over the last two years and many of the entries were out of date. Once I decided to go with Android, I made sure to export my contacts from iCloud to Gmail and everything got transferred to the Note without issue. Then I made the mistake of syncing the Note with Verizon Backup Assistant - which added a bunch of outdated crap to the Note's address book. What a nightmare.

BATTERY
As I said before, I'm new to Android so there may be a few power-saving options and settings which need to be tweaked, but so far I'm not particularly impressed by the Note's battery life. It's right on par with what I got on the iPhone. Granted, the Note's screen is about 1.5 times the size of the iPhone's, but the battery is also about twice as big. One advantage though is that the included charger has a 2 amp output and gets the battery back up to 80% pretty quickly.

ACCESSORIES
The protective flip cover case from Samsung is overpriced. There's no cut-out for either the volume rocker or the notification LED and the cover makes the Note unwieldy when flipped back. Also, the cover makes it difficult to use the rear camera.

I was able to pair the Note with an Apple trackpad, though discovery took much longer than normal. My Samsung bluetooth earpiece paired and worked without issue.

There is one off-brand bluetooth accessory that I never could pair with the phone. It's a 30-pin dongle that plugs into any powered iPhone dock you have connected to a stereo. It allows you to play audio from any bluetooth 2.0 device through the iPhone dock and out to the stereo. Aside from it failing to automatically reconnect, the thing has worked pretty well with my iPhone, but the Note can't even detect it.

The clicker on the iPhone's earbuds can pause music on the Note but the volume buttons don't affect volume. I'm not sure if the earbuds' microphone works with the Note either. And on that subject, considering that this phone retails for $300 (WITH a two-year contract), the least Samsung could do is toss in a pair of cheap earbuds or maybe one of those crappy flip cover cases.

MULTIMEDIA
One thing that I really miss about the iPhone is the integration with iTunes. I've yet to find anything for either Mac or PC that works as well at syncing with the Note. Transferring music and videos to the Note is basically a drag and drop affair. There are options for syncing a pre-defined list of files (wirelessly, even) between a computer and the Note but I haven't found anything that will sync my iTunes playlists - particularly smart playlists and play counts. So far I can't even find an Android-equivalent of iTunes with the features that I need.

Although an optional 64 GB memory card would supply more than enough space on the Note for my entire music collection, my car's lack of bluetooth input, combined with the physical size of the phone, makes it more likely that my old iPod will come out of retirement rather than the Note becoming my primary music player.

SUMMARY
There are some things about the Note (and Android) that are pretty annoying, but overall, I can't think of any other phone currently available that I'd be willing to exchange it for if given the opportunity.

As far as things I would change:
I'd definitely shrink the landscape keyboard (as is, it's essentially useless).
I'd give the battery cover a hinge and include a standalone charger for use with a spare battery.
A MacBook-like magnetic charger plug would be nice (I absolutely hate micro-USB connectors).
Do something (I'm not sure what) about the Menu and Back touch keys. If they're to be kept touch-activated, then at the very least, the S-pen should be capable of interacting with them.
I'd try to make the overall experience feel less like a large-print smartphone designed for the visually-impaired and more like using a tablet.

One more side note. If you're a jailbroken iOS device user who is considering a move to Android, get familiar with the subject of rooting and flashing ROMs, etc. While stock Android is definitely more open and customizable than stock iOS, it's a far cry from the level of customization available to jailbroken iOS devices. As I alluded to earlier, if this is a road you're willing to travel, more power to you, just don't expect rooting an Android device to be any less of a headache than jailbreaking an iOS device. The claims of being able to easily root just about any device and use it on just about any network are BS. Unless you plan to use a true Nexus device on any other carrier but Verizon, you're almost guaranteed to encounter resistance of some sort. And if you've grown accustomed to receiving at least something on your device whenever Apple releases an iOS update, you may want to think twice about switching. Android updates are very dependent upon the whims of both your carrier and device manufacturer. The flip side of that coin is, if your older Android device does get the green light to receive an update, you're more likely to get the 'whole' update, rather than crippled versions like Apple releases to its barely one-year-old devices.

So there you go. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It's essentially a small tablet that can also make phone calls. If you value one-handed usability more than having extra screen real estate, then this phone is probably not for you. It's not for everyone, but neither is the iPhone.

iOS 6.1, iTunes Restore, Jailbreaking

Last week I restored my iPhone via iTunes to iOS 6.1. Push email in iOS 5 had stopped working and overall the phone seemed buggy. Aside from needing to manually transfer my apps back to the phone and re-running 'restore from backup', everything went well.

Earlier this week I got tired of waiting months for an untethered version of iOS 6 jailbreak so I rolled the dice and ran redsn0w tethered. Okay, the problem with a tethered jailbreak is that anytime your device reboots, you have to plug it into a computer and re-run redsn0w to get things back to normal. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way that the user experience of a tethered jailbreak isn't generally up to par with that of an untether. Just because the dev-team releases a tethered jailbreak for an OS version doesn't guarantee that developers have gotten around to updating their apps, tweaks and themes to be compatible with that OS version. That lack of compatibility damn near ensures that your device will be rebooting more often than normal - thereby requiring you to stay within close proximity of a redsn0w-running computer.

To add insult to injury, there seem to be some new bugs inherent in iOS 6.1. Whatever it was in iOS 5 that was responsible for my Push email not working seems to have been fixed but now iOS 6 appears to have a bug that affects screen brightness. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Another unfortunate error, I made the mistake of assuming this screen brightness issue was related to jailbreaking so, combined with the app/tweak/theme compatibility issues mentioned above, I decided to go back to stock iOS 6.1

Now this is gonna sound like rambling but it's worth mentioning, so hang in there. I've restored enough iOS devices and run enough jailbreaks to know that iTunes needs access to the internet during a restore operation. Even if you've already downloaded the new firmware file to the computer beforehand, iTunes still needs to contact Apple's servers to basically make sure there isn't a newer version of the firmware available. I won't go into detail as to why Apple requires this step but suffice it to say that it's not entirely for the benefit of the customer. And while I understand there's supposed to be a way to trick iTunes into doing a restore without internet access, I've never had any luck with it.

One thing that I was unaware of however, is that iTunes also needs internet access again near the end of a restore operation. It would be very useful to customers if Apple mentioned this beforehand, especially if they're gonna continue giving us the option to 'just download' the update. The 'just download' option implies that one has the option to install the update at a more convenient time, perhaps somewhere in which internet access is not available. But as I learned the hard way - even after taking steps to ensure that I at least had internet access at the start of the restore - that is not the case.

What began as a simple restore operation turned into a temporarily-bricked phone. The problem was resolved easily-enough once I regained internet access but seeing as how this is primarily a communication device, there should be fair warning of the requirements for success.

Surface Storage, 128GB iPad, iOS 6 Restore

MICROSOFT SURFACE STORAGE
One sticky issue that has recently come to light regarding the Microsoft Surface line of tablets is just how much of the devices' internal storage is consumed by the OS and pre-loaded apps. Pre-loaded content takes up 50% of the 32 GB RT model's storage while the 64 GB Surface Pro leaves less than 36% free. The silver lining in this cloud is that unlike most tablets, all models in the Surface line-up have both USB ports and microSD slots that can make use of external storage.

END OF THE MACBOOK AIR?
Cnet posits that the new 128 GB iPad offering will mean either the end of the 11" MacBook Air or a storage bump from 64 GB to 128 GB on the $999 base model Air.

What I think will happen:
Apple will double the storage on the Air, add a retina display to make OS X nearly usable (my personal opinion is that OS X is garbage on such a small screen), and raise the starting price to at least $1,200.

What I hope will happen:
Apple gives the 11" Air a retina display and replaces OS X with iOS.

Think about it for a second. Knowing that the first thing many of your tablet's buyers do is shell out another $100-$200 for third party cases, stands and bluetooth keyboards to make those tablets more laptop-like, it only makes sense to give them a version of iOS in the laptop form factor. Speaking from personal experience, trying to adapt an iPad to function somewhat like a laptop is similar to using a Leatherman or Gerber multi-tool: it works in a pinch but isn't ideal.

RESTORING TO iOS 6.1
iOS 6.1 was finally released the other day, and since my iPhone has been sluggish for months now (and hackers like MuscleNerd have promised an untethered jailbreak by Feb 3), I finally gave in and updated/restored my phone. Aside from the slow response of the brightness sensor and a perceived slight decrease in battery life, this new *crippled* version of iOS works as well as can be expected on a 2.5 year-old device.

I say *crippled* because technically, the iPhone 4 stopped receiving full OS updates in Oct 2011 when Apple chose to reserve Siri for iPhone 4S and newer devices. In my opinion, the iPhone 4 has never received a full OS update - at least none of any significance. The real 'fly in this ointment' is that Apple chose to screw iPhone 4 owners this way at about the same time it was publicly ragging on HTC, Motorola and Samsung for releasing brand new devices running older versions of Android and keeping customers waiting in limbo for an OS update. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

The update/restore to iOS 6.1 was interesting to say the least. iTunes automatically reinstalled all of my audio and video files but forced me to manually transfer all of my third party apps. One more final, desperate click of the 'restore from backup' button put most everything back the way it was, though the transfer of apps and data moved at a snail's pace.

I chose to take my chances on the 6.1 tethered jailbreak, following the instructions laid out at the RedmondPie blog. Unfortunately, they forgot to mention the critical step to re-select your 6.0 ipsw file before beginning the final 'just boot' step. Always watch a video tutorial of the process before relying on the written instructions. All told, this restore/jailbreak took four hours!

Android Walkie Talkie Phones, Ting ETF Reimbursement

RUNBO
A company called Runbo has introduced a pair of ugly but rugged Android smartphones that also double as walkie-talkie radios. Check out the demo at Engadget.

TING
MVNO wireless provider Ting (they use Sprint's network) is offering to reimburse new customers the cost of early termination fees when they switch from their old provider. Just make sure their coverage area fits your needs. One of the things I keep hearing about MVNOs who lease another carrier's network is that while you'll have access to the bigger carrier's own towers (in this case, Sprint's), you may or may not be able to access towers that the bigger carrier uses via roaming agreements with other companies. So again, make sure you're in the MVNO's coverage map before you switch.

GOOGLE READER
If you have a Google account and routinely visit news websites for updated content, there's an easier way than sifting through each website's home page for new articles. Set up a Google Reader account, then enter the URLs of the news websites you visit via the Add Subscription button. Reader will automatically search your list of websites for new content, where you can read all of the articles from one central location. It's also compatible with some great 3rd party smartphone apps.

CNET SCANDAL
Cnet reporter Greg Sandoval resigned recently due to a controversy involving parent company CBS. Following the recent 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Cnet staffers voted to give Dish Network's Hopper the 'Best Of Show' award. Apparently, CBS didn't like the idea of the award going to a company with which they're involved in a legal battle but forgot to mention this to Cnet management until after the awards had already been decided.

I have in the past relied on Cnet's reviews when shopping for tech gear. I suppose now I'll have to do some additional homework to determine whether Cnet editors' product ratings have been affected by litigation between the manufacturer and CBS.

iMD, Mpowerd, Private WiFi, AutoRip...

iMD has a feature-rich, high-tech filing cabinet which among other things, uses LEDs in lieu of labels to identify folders. Apparently the cabinet is controlled by a smartphone app. Many cool features if you don't mind paying $2,000 for a filing cabinet!

A company called Mpowerd is selling a $16 collapsible, solar lantern that charges in six hours and outputs up to 12 hours of light depending on the chosen brightness setting.

An app called Private WiFi is now available for smartphones and PCs that allows you to tunnel through their VPN service when using public Wi-Fi. Rates for the iOS app appear to be $1.99 for 1 GB and $7.99 for 10 GB. I can't speak to the quality of the service but be careful what you do over open Wi-Fi networks.

If you bought a CD from Amazon in the last 12 years, you may be entitled to a free copy of the album in MP3 format. Not sure that the AutoRip service applies to every CD ever sold by Amazon but apparently the selection is quite large. I guess there's demand for a service like this but what I'd really like to see is a way to trade in cassettes and LPs for the same album in MP3 or FLAC format. Maybe $1-$2 per album? Not holding my breath for that one.

Black and Decker has brought cordless screwdrivers into the 21st century with a model called Gyro. The more you twist the drill, the faster the bit turns. Just check it out.

Celluon has a gadget called the Magic Cube that somehow uses "friggin laser beams" to project a virtual keyboard and trackpad onto nearly any flat surface. The rechargeable battery is rated just shy of three hours and connects via USB or Bluetooth. I'm almost willing to pay the $150 asking price for the WOW factor alone, but if this thing could give you a mouse pointer on an iOS device, I'd order one in a heartbeat!

Tethercell and iUSBport

One interesting prototype from CES'13 is something called the Tethercell. Basically, it's a piece of plastic shaped like a AA battery that contains both a Bluetooth control chip and a place to insert a AAA battery. The idea is that after inserting a smaller AAA into into its belly, the Tethercell gets inserted into any gadget that accepts AAs, allowing you to use your smartphone to remotely supply or kill power to said gadget. The obvious concern here is the slightly lower battery life of substituting a AAA for a AA battery. Also, what percentage of the AAA's power gets used up by the embedded Bluetooth circuitry itself? The original report suggests it be used to remotely shut off an annoying toy such as a Furby but the possibilities are endless. Fortunately, it sounds like the Tethercell has a pretty good chance of hitting production lines, with price estimates of $10-$20 being thrown around.

A company called Hyper is updating its wireless storage accessory with additional options and name changes. Renamed iUSBport, you'll now be able to choose from three different models, depending on your needs. Think of it as a battery powered Wi-Fi router that allows you to connect to your external hard drive and stream the drive's contents to your smartphone, tablet or computer. It's essentially a Seagate Goflex Satellite but with more options and features.

Improving Display Quality

That last post regarding the Lenovo IdeaPad got me thinking about something that has been a burr under my saddle for close to a year now: PC/tablet display technology.

The problem I have is that both Apple and Microsoft have taken operating systems that were clearly designed to look best on 15"+ displays and shoe-horned them onto small laptops to the point that you're forced to strain your eyes to even see what you're doing. Sure, you can lower the screen resolution but that just makes everything blurry. You can also (in some cases) increase the DPI scale but then you run into issues with third party app compatibility.

I haven't had a chance to demo Windows RT or 8 so maybe this is a problem Microsoft has attempted to address, but I can honestly say that it's still a problem with Apple's hardware.

For example, if you measure the screen width and height of both the iPad and the 11" MacBook Air, the numbers are very close. For some reason though (most likely related to the touch-interface), Apple has decided that the Mac OS is not suited for use on a tablet. I would argue there's an even better reason why a tablet would need its own OS.

Case in point: I don't normally hold a laptop screen as close to my face as I would a tablet and I'm guessing most other people don't either. And while the iPad is designed to be held closer to your face, its OS consists of big buttons and fairly large text. The 11" Air on the other hand, runs exactly the same OS found on the 27" iMac. Beginning to see the problem?

As an experiment I cut cardboard templates to match roughly the height and width measurements of both the 11" Air and the 27" iMac.

I measured the distance that a laptop's screen would normally sit from my face - about 22".

I then jammed a yardstick through the Air's template, slid the template in to the 22" mark on the stick, then held the zero end of the yardstick up to my face.

While holding the contraption in this position, I began walking toward the iMac's template which was taped to the wall. As soon as the Air's template barely covered the iMac's from view, I stopped and guesstimated the distance between the iMac template and my face. The distance was at least 10" beyond the 36" yardstick!

So to my eyes, the MacBook Air's 11" screen (while sitting in my lap or on my desk) looks roughly the same size as a 27" iMac at 45-50" away!

But here's my point: aside from maybe watching a movie, who the heck sits 45-50" away from their monitor - even when it's a big 27-incher? So why do we tolerate small-screen laptops running desktop OSes, that provide the equivalent experience of trying to work on a desktop PC from four feet away?

Apple has proven with iOS that they are capable of building a very usable OS that works well on devices with small displays. The question is, why haven't they incorporated a more powerful version of iOS into their sub-15" MacBooks? It's clear that Apple, Microsoft and Google all feel that a desktop OS has no place on tablets and smartphones. I would simply add that for comfort and eye health, it has no place on a sub-15" laptop either.

Of course much of this is subjective but the fact that these guys are giving separate operating systems to tablets that have screens nearly identical in size to their smallest laptops opens the door for criticism in my opinion. And the march toward high pixel density displays seems in some ways like trying to slap a band-aid over a bullet wound. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that pricey, battery-draining high density displays like Apple's Retina technology might not be so essential if the design of the OS interface didn't require us to squint, strain and get so close to the monitor that individual pixels stuck out like sore thumbs.

Ion, Lenovo, Trackdot, HP

Ion now has a portable document scanner capable of saving scans to iOS and Android. They had me at 'portable scanner' but lost me at '$180'.

A company called GlobaTrac is showing off a device called Trakdot that you stick in your luggage to locate your bags. It uses cellular triangulation instead of GPS and is estimated to last two weeks on two AAs. The device itself will cost $50 + $9 activation fee and run $13/year for service. The devil's in the details but methinks this thing combined with a soldering iron, velcro and universal charger from Radio Shack might just make a decent poor man's LoJack.

The details on the HP Pocket Playlist are still fuzzy but it sounds as if when combined with PC software and a subscription to a service called PlayLater, it allows you to download Netflix and Hulu videos to this gadget and stream them to Wi-Fi capable devices for later viewing. It's a great idea in theory but you gotta wonder, if Netflix and Hulu didn't mind us downloading copies of their content for offline viewing, why wouldn't they just build the option into their own apps like Rhapsody does with its music service? $129 for a gadget and $5/month is a lot of money to invest in something that may or may not have the blessing of Netflix or Hulu, let alone the studios that own the content itself. Early adopters beware!

Lenovo is pulling out all the stops this CES. The IdeaPad Yoga 11S convertible touchscreen laptop will be available in June, starting at $799. It'll have a full blown laptop processor running Windows 8. 1600x900 screen resolution, 0.68" thick, 8 GB RAM, and 128 GB SSD.

Tips For Using A Windows Keyboard With A Mac

If you use a Windows-based USB keyboard with a Mac, here's some good tips for reassigning certain keys.

Cnet: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57561916-263/how-to-customize-modifier-keys-in-os-x/