The KizON wearable also features a ‘One Step Direct Call’ button, which lets parents contact their children easily. If the kid fails to answer a call from any pre-set phone number within 10 seconds, KizON will automatically connect the call so the parent can listen through the built-in microphone. Kids can also dial a pre-configured phone number in case they need to speak to an adult.

Good idea, but the device is too big. I don’t think it will fit on my kids' arms. I don’t think I can convince them to wear this either.

The iPad 2 was announced last week. It appears to be another cool Apple device, a nice upgrade from the original iPad – which I currently own. Though I love my gadgets, I don’t think the iPad 2 is for me.

My current item of lust is an 11” MacBook Air (128GB with 4GB of RAM of course).  I have to stress that it has 4GB, because, unlike the MacBook Pro, aftermarket RAM cannot be added later on.  But why would I choose a MacBook Air over an iPad 2?

I agree with Vicky Beeching’s take on the two. It comes down to this:

• iPad=consumption device
• MacBook Air=creation device

Now, there are some people who find the current iPad an adequate creation device, but I am not one of them. My primary form of creating is writing, which I find difficult to accomplish on an iPad. I’ve tried using a Bluetooth keyboard with the iPad. I simply find it awkward to use it in conjunction with the iPad.

The iPad 2 appears to be amazingly fast. It also adds the ability to create more content, having added cameras and other software, which allows you to take photos and videos. You can also edit those photos and videos – a by-product of the amazing speed. But I don’t think I’d use the iPad 2 for such tasks. That’s what I would use the monster iMac to do.

To me, the appeal of the MacBook Air is size and weight. It would be easy to lug around with the heavy DSLR in tow. It would also be easy to simply take out, write a few thoughts, and plunk them back into the backpack.

Of course, this blog post is not stating I am getting a MacBook Air. I’m just saying if I had a choice, I’d prefer a MacBook Air over an iPad 2 (for like Christmas or my birthday).

I’m just saying…..

There’s been speculation that Verizon will announce the availability of the iPhone on their network this coming Tuesday. It’s great news since Verizon (supposedly) has a better network. I’ve had plenty of dropped calls on my iPhone, and plenty of bad connections to the 3G network. I’d love to go to Verizon, but I don’t think I will right away.

Why?

• iPhone 5: Verizon will likely be offering the iPhone 4. While I'm lusting after a new iPhone - I'm using a slightly crippled iPhone 3GS - the iPhone 5 should be coming out in June or July. I can wait a few more months and decide then.
• The Network: I'm not sure I can give up the ability to talk on the phone and surf the web at the same time, something you can do on a 3G network but not the CDMA network which Verzion has. Is CDMA better than EDGE, which was the network the first iPhone used? If it's the same limitations, then I'm not sure I'd want to be on it.
• Convincing Others: If I move carriers, so does the rest of the family. I think everyone would be cool getting new phones. But I don't look forward to telling our parents, "Yeah, you need to get a new phone. Why? Well, because, that's why."
• Costing More: I hear that Verizon phone plans are slightly more expensive on average than AT&T's plans. I'm not sure this is true. But I'm not willing to pay more just yet.

Come June or July a decision will need to be made whether to stick with AT&T or not. I’m sure I won’t be the only one weighing whether to go to Verizon, that is of course if Verizon does announce the iPhone this coming Tuesday.

Interesting idea. I’ve actually watched a whole movie and a few tv shows on the iPad. To me, it was just a step up from watching on a laptop.

I’ve been interested in geotagging photos, only on occasions, such as vacations and parties that happen in public places. But I would never consider geotag a photo showing the location of anyone’s home, let alone my own.

No apparent problem with the iPhone antenna outside the US. Is it time to start blaming AT&T yet? (via Daring Fireball)

I’m a bit glad that we are skipping this year’s iPhone upgrade. Though the retnia display, camera with flash, and even faster processor would be a welcome update, I’m still not sold on the other features. FaceTime is not a big selling point, yet. I’m sure as our iPhones get a year older - next year - the new iPhone will be more appealing. Hopefully, next year there won’t be a delay in getting a new iPhone.

I wanted to write down my thoughts about the iPad, after using it for a few days.

The Good

• It was fully charged when I unpacked it. This made it very easy to start playing with it.
• Feels solid and durable. It is not as heavy as I thought it would be.
• The screen is bright. It works like the iPhone screen, adjusting the brightness depending on the environment.
• Simple to sync with iTunes, just like an iPod or iPhone.
• It’s easy to find iPad apps via the App Store link on the iPad.
• Works like an iPhone/iPod Touch. If you know that system, then this is second nature.
• Sound from the speaker is good for both movies and music. I don’t know how it would do in a noisy room, but it works in a quiet room.
• Battery life has been 10+ hours so far.

The NOT So Bad

• The screen does get fingerprints on it after hours of use. I didn’t notice the fingerprints while looking at the screen directly. But looking at an angle you notice the prints. Easily cleaned with a lint-free cloth.
• Looking for iPad apps on iTunes - via the computer - is painful. This has since been corrected.
• The ABC iPad app kept crashing on me while trying to watch a program. This has been addressed by an app update. Though there is a new screen orientation issue.

The Ugly

• So far it’s good for writing short emails and tweets. But I don’t like doing long blog entries on the touch keyboard. I may need to get a bluetooth keyboard for it
• Some apps have a single download that work for both the iPhone and the iPad (e.g. Evernote) while others require separate apps to download (e.g. NYTimes ), and others can have three different versions (e.g. 1Password)! Confusing, isn’t?
• Re-buying addictive games that you have on your iPhone, such as Plants vs. Zombies, can be costly.
• Buying accessories - a new case, headphones, keyboard - can add to the expense as well.

So that’s my 2 cents for now. 

If you haven’t heard, Apple announced the iPad yesterday. It seems everyone who hasn’t seen or used it in person describes it as giant iPod Touch. It seems more than that, but having not seen it in person, I could be wrong in this assumption. The question is, “Will you get one?” I’m leaning towards yes. The price is high, but not as high as predicted.

I’m interested in what the iPad can do for me? 

I often use my laptop when watching television - browsing the web, checking email, playing Words with Friends, etc.  I use my iPhone before I go to bed, and when I first wake up. I can see using the iPad to replace both of these scenarios. It’s made for consuming content, whether it’s music, games, the web, or even books. It seems like a good size for a nightstand / coffee table device.

I’ve read plenty of the tech-blogs describing the cons of the iPad. Many focus on what the iPad doesn’t have, or that a netbook can do the same things. But the iPad shouldn’t be compared directly to a netbook or an iPhone. It’s supposed to be the product in the middle, a hybrid. I don’t think I’d be editing photos or doing long word processing documents on an iPad.  If I wanted to do either of those things, I’d use either the laptop or a desktop. I also don’t think I’d use the iPad as a mobile device.  But I can see bringing it to Starbucks, logging onto their WiFi to browse the net.  It’ll be easier to carry in my backpack. But if I need to do actual work at Starbucks, I’d bring my laptop.

Who knows, my mind may change when I actually see the iPad in person.  At the very least I’m excited to see what it can do.

My online reading habits lean toward technology. I read a lot of blogs and newsfeeds, keeping up with what I find interesting. One way to get me to read an article is to mention the iPhone. Lately, there seems to be a lot of hate for the iPhone. I’m not really sure why.

I Just Like It My day is often filled with music. The first music-media-capable phone I bought was the LG Chocolate. Big mistake. From what I recall of the Chocolate fiasco, syncing and playing music was awkward. The music UI was also clunky. But worst of all, the touch-sensitive controls of the phone quickly turned into a nightmare. I grew to hate this phone. It would often dial phone numbers on its own. At first, my wife thought I was crazy until her LG Chocolate started to do the same.

When the iPhone became available, I wanted one immediately, but the cost initial cost made it prohibitive. When the price dropped, I was able to get an iPhone. I haven’t looked back since. It does what I need it to do: (1) make calls, and (2) play my music. The immediately added bonuses were visual voicemail, email access, easy texting, and calendaring.

I didn’t find the initial web apps interesting or useful for that matter. I never thought about how much I would enjoy or need natively running apps until they came out. When I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, the phone even became more useful. (I upgraded from the first generation, so we never experienced 3G speeds before.) Apps are now something I think I cannot do without.

Rejection and Upgrades

Apple receives plenty of flack for rejecting apps. High-profile rejections include Google Voice, Someecards and Ninjawords. I admit I understand the appeal of Google Voice, and I did try the GV Mobile app when it was available in the App Store. But not having a native app for Google Voice isn’t a deal breaker for me. I’m of the opinion that any added functionality to my iPhone is icing on the cake. If Apple chooses to reject an app - according to their rules - then so be it. Hey, it’s their playground. they can do what they want. Sure, I own the iPhone, and I should decide what I can put on my iPhone or not. And I do. I put on my iPhone whatever is available in the App Store.

Another problem cropping up is upgrading apps you’ve purchased. This problem is starting with the ever popular Tweetie app. I paid happily paid for Tweetie, and if I feel the features of the 2.0 version coming out are things that I would like, I will happily pay $3 to upgrade. Should it be cheaper to upgrade like regular computer software? I don’t know. Three bucks don’t seem like a lot to part with, for an application you - theoretically - use often.

It’s the Network

I don’t dislike AT&T as much as most people. I’ve had a few phone connection issues, mostly when traveling up to San Francisco. When my wife commutes home, she experiences at least two dropped calls while traveling on 280 South.

I also think the month-to-month cost of an iPhone is too high. You pay for the phone plan, plus $30 for an Unlimited Data Plan, and at least another $5 to have 200 text messages. I feel nickel-and-dimed at times with AT&T. I’m sure other cell phone carriers would charge similarly, but since AT&T is the only carrier that has the iPhone, the extra charges feel more obvious.

In The End

The iPhone is the best cell phone I’ve had, with the exception of my first cell phone. I have very fond memories of that Nokia, seeing how it saved me from being stranded several times. Even after reading all these iPhone-bashing stories, I’m still not looking to change phones or carriers. I think I just need to stay away from reading those stories - and the comments that follow the story.

I’ve had the iPhone 3GS for over a week. Here are a few thoughts on how I feel about the phone.

Background

I bought the iPhone 2G back in September 2007, just after the price drop was announced. I was on Verizon, a carrier I much enjoyed being on. But the last phone I had Verizon was an LG Chocolate, a phone that didn’t live up to expectations. I was hoping it would turn out to be a good music playing phone because I was tired of lugging my iPod and phone around in my pocket. All it ended up being was a frustrating piece of equipment.

I figured a smartphone would be a good choice, but Blackberry phones seemed a bit too much.  The only other phone Verizon offered was the Motorola Q. A friend of mine had the Motorola Q. All she could say is it would crash often, even while on a call. Nice.

Now, I count myself as one of those people who are part of the halo effect. I received an iPod as a gift in 2005. Later that year I bought a 12” PowerBook. After few more iPod upgrades I bought an iMac.  Why not an iPhone?Initially I balked at the price.  It was way too much for a phone.  But when it dropped a couple of hundred dollars, well, I got the go ahead to get it.

My Thoughts on the iPhone 3GS

I was able to use the phone out of the box as it was fully charged.  Compared to the 2G, the phone feels smaller and lighter. The infamous oleophobic polymer screen adds to the experience.  Your finger seems to glide across the screen.

The recent OS upgrade to 3.0 has made the phone even better.  I don’t think I’ve ever owned a phone where the upgrades have made the phone more useful.  Sure, some of the features were available on other phones long ago (e.g. voice commands), but they are now on the iPhone and they are even more useful.  For example, the voice commands can control the music player.

It’s nice to have GPS, and coupled with the compass and Google Maps, for me it’s a killer combination.  I was able to use this in San Francisco this past weekend.  It helped me navigate around the city when I was unsure how to get to several places.  I can’t wait for easier turn-by-turn, such as that to be offered by TomTom.

Video on the iPhone 3GS is fair, better in bright light then in dim.  But it’s pretty neat when you can edit video on the phone and upload it right to YouTube.  They should add direct upload to other services, such as Flickr.

Battery life is good.  I average about a day-and-a-half.  The battery meter is now includes a percentage measurement.  I use the iPhone mostly like this:

• 40% iPod
• 30% web surfing (including accessing apps such as Facebook, Yelp, etc.)
• 20% checking and reading email
• 5% taking photos or video
• 5% GPS and maps

My only negatives about the iPhone is with AT&T.  Do I regret the move to AT&T? No, not really.  Coverage is decent where I am at.  Oh, yeah, a few calls are dropped in some areas, but for the most part it’s good.  The only complaint I have about AT&T is the apparent charge for everything under the sun (e.g. text messages, data plan). But it’s part of the package, so it’s part of the pain to put up with.  The data plan for 3G and 3GS is $30. If you want 200 text messages it’s another $5.

Overall, I am happy to still be using an iPhone.

(Considering an iPhone?  You may want to read the Techcrunch article The iPhone 3GS: Should You Get It? It’s a good read.)

I just reserved our iPhone 3G S for pickup at an Apple Store next Friday. Reserving and buying are two different things, but I’m thinking we’ll end up gettting it. We still have the original 2G version, so our upgrade pricing wasn’t bad. I’ll be happy with the hopefully improved camera and expected bump in overall speed.

I tried the beat. Simple, straight-forward setup. Not much needed to do afterward. The problem is I have a lot of data already on Mozy, so no compelling reason to switch.

I dealt with two different Windows viruses this week.  The solutions were radically different.

• With one, I spent 6+ hours backing up data, reformatting and reinstalling Windows XP Media Edition on a Dell machine.  Most of the time spent was with lousy Dell support.
• The second one was simpler: I ordered an iMac for a friend

Both problems solved.

This girl averages 484 text messages a day!

The Palm pré looks very interesting. Too bad it’s going to be on Sprint. I was with Sprint once. I had a problem with their billing / customer service, which made me move to Verizon (then later to AT&T). More info on the Palm pré here and here.

Wow. Now we can’t complain on Yelp?

If I update my “current” iTunes tracks, it’ll cost me about $15. I’m waiting until they update their whole catalog to DRM free. I’ll then decide whether I should upgrade them or not.

I’m saddened by the demise of Pownce - in its current form.  They were acquired by Six Apart earlier this week which means…I don’t know exactly what it means.  I wasn’t  a heavy user of Pownce, but I did use it to communicate with friends. I was able to privately share small files, photos, links, and messages with various friends.  I’m not sure if Pownce will be integrated with one of Six Apart’s services such as Vox or Typepad, but it won’t be the same.

And this brings up a problem that I fear on the Internet - the loss of content you created / posted on the Internet.

Luckily Pownce provided a way to export your data and time to complete the export.  But other services that have gone the way of the dodo, such as Digital Railroad, didn’t give their users this opportunity.  Imagine losing all the photos you posted online? What if you didn’t have a backup?

I have over 9000 photos posted on flickr, another 24GB of photos posted on Smugmug.  My blog has 473 entries,  and there are only about 100 entries on my tumblr account.  Most of this data - minus the tumblr posts - I have on hand a local backup.  But some data cannot be copied, such as my Facebook and MySpace account.  Plus any comments made on the photos above cannot be backed up - or at least I’m not aware of a way to do it at this point.

My greatest fear is that flickr or Smugmug goes under without notice.  It was a fear I had with Vox which is why I moved my blog back to my personal site.  (If Vox provided a means to export my blog posts it would make me feel more comfortable using it as my primary blog.)  I’m sure this reality is far from possible at this point, but with this economy you never know.  I have always hear that flickr is a losing proposition for Yahoo!  This unconfirmed fact makes me more confident that Smugmug is a stronger choice to share my photo data online.  But I enjoy flickr’s community so much.

And this is the other aspect that is lost with the demise of Pownce - the community. A solid community is difficult to build - let alone maintain. While Pownce may have not had a choice but to sell itself to Six Apart, it is a shame it wasn’t able to keep the community it had built together.

I wrote in a previous post about having to track my bandwidth usage since Comcast was implementing bandwidth limits. Well, my results for September are in. According to my Tomato router I used 195.11 GB total bandwidth. 57.51 GB was used for downloading content and 137.60 GB was for uploading.

What does this mean?

Well, my upload number is high because of the online backup service I use, Mozy. The data I am backing up - music, photos, and documents - is about 200 GB total. I had hoped I could have uploaded it all before October, but I ran into the end of the month before completing that goal. I hope this doesn’t screw up my October numbers.

From the looks of things I am well within the 250 GB limit imposed by Comcast. I hope my numbers are correct. I would hate to lose my Internet service.

Comcast made a lovely announcement last week that they were imposing bandwidth caps for their users. The limit is 250 GB a month. I have no idea how much bandwidth I use. Funny thing is Comcast is not giving users a way to determine how much bandwidth they actually use!

Comcast suggests using one of the “many online tools…to measure [your] consumption.” The problem I had was trying to find a tool that could measure all the devices in our household that access the Internet. You would think Internet access is limited to computers, but in this day and age there are many devices that access the Internet for information. We have two laptops, one desktop, two iPhones, an XBox 360 and a Nintendo Wii. I think that covers everything. So what tool would work for all these devices?

Luckily my searches stumbled upon a firmware alternative called Tomato. It did require me to purchase a Linksys WR54GL router, but I lucked out as it was on sale at Fry’s. The setup instructions were straightforward. I was up-and-running in less then twenty minutes. I am now set to track how much bandwidth I use.

I’ll let you know how it goes at the end of this month.

My iPhone Contacts Disappeared!: While I was out and about today, my iPhone contacts disappeared. I noticed this when I received a text message from someone on my contact list, which showed their phone number instead of their name. I’m guessing my over-the-air sync with Mobile Me was the cause since I have seen this sync problem before but only with my iMac and dot Mac. But when I got online, my Mobile Me account and my iMac contacts were fine. At this point I don’t know what happened. It sucks to lose your contacts for no apparent reason when you’re out on errands. I wonder if this has happened to anyone else?

Beginning in July, California went ‘handsfree'.  Now, I don’t talk on my cellphone often while driving but Farrah does. And so I did some research on a solution that would work for her.

The iPhone comes with a nice standard headset for listening to music and taking phone calls.  It can be used in the car as long as you only use one earbud while driving. I do this often, but it can be uncomfortable, and I think Farrah finds this so as well. Farrah also finds Bluetooth headsets uncomfortable. 

I heard Leo Laporte speak of the BlueAnt’s Supertooth Light Bluetooth Handsfree Speakerphone as a good solution, and so I ordered it from Amazon and let Farrah give it a try.

The unit charged quickly, with Farrah being able to try it the next day.  The main unit attaches by magnets to a metal clip you can fit into your car’s visor.  Having the clip allows you to easily move the unit from car to car, or simply detach it from the clip to hide the unit in your glovebox.  To activate the unit, you extend the mic boom.

The sound quality is very good.  I was able to hear Farrah very clearly while she was driving, and she was able to hear me without my yelling.  The unit also comes with a built-in ringer so you won’t have to hear your cellphone ringing unless you have the BlueAnt turned off.  The BlueAnt holds a very good charge.  We’ve only had to charge it twice since having it, but people who talk often may have a different experience. The only negative experience we’ve had with the unit is when pairing it with two different phones. The unit appears to forget the first phone it was paired with, but works fine with the ethe second. If you are the only one using the BlueAnt, then this will not be a problem. Overall, Farrah finds the BlueAnt solid and reliable, as do I.

There is a newer unit available, the BlueAnt Supertooth 3.  I think this unit has a voice-activated calling, but I have no personal experience with it.  You may want to read the reviews on that unit, but it does cost about $30 more.

It’s a fact that when it comes to hi-tech toys you will eventually be behind the curve. Sometimes it can take a year to fall behind. Other times it can be weeks.

I was reminded of this when I read Gizmodo this morning. I found out a new version of Drobo came out. I only bought mine three weeks ago. Should I send back the old one (if I can) and get the new improved one? Actually it would be too much of a pain to do so. I would need to offload the tons of data I already stored on the hard drives, then box up the unit, go to UPS and pay the shipping. I would then be without a unit for some time.

It’s like when I bought the iPhone, or the iMac, or the Powerbook - I knew something better was going to come along. But you can’t wait on your purchase. If you need that hi-tech device, buy it after doing the research. It just needs to do what you want it to do. Waiting isn’t going to stop a newer and better version from coming out after your purchase. Just do it.

Other notable behind the curve moments for me:

• iPhone - Purchased September 2007. New version July 2008
• 24" White iMac - Purchased late 2006. New aluminum version mid-2007
• 12"  PowerBook G4 - Purchased October 2005.  New Intel MacBook Pros release February 2006.

All I can say is keep up with the read the reviews and keep up with the news before buying.

The reasons haven’t changed why I bought the Drobo in the first place. I was tired of buying external hard drives and wanted a simple and secure solution that Drobo offers. So what if it’s only USB 2.0. I did my research and knew this fact going in.

If you haven’t seen this, it explains all there is to social networking.  So many online friends, so little time.