Month: March 2009 (Page 4 of 7)

      SLAPPA Ballistix PTAC Matrix Laptop Shoulder Bag: There is no spoon…but that’s the ONLY thing it’s missing

      March 17, 2009 /

      I don’t even know if kids today will get the “Matrix” joke in the subject line, but, seriously, the Ballistix PTAC Matrix Laptop Shoulder Bag has got just about everything you’d possibly need in a bag. Let’s run through the bullet points, shall we?

      It’s made of water and tear-resistant nylon, so your computer’s safe if you get stuck in the rain again; it has a quilted inner lining with what’s described as “super-cush laptop padding,” so it can handle some bumps and bruises without doing any damage to the machinery inside; it fits both 15.4″ and 17″ notebooks (which is a little unfortunate in my case, since my lowly little 14″ baby doesn’t need nearly as much space as has been provided for it); most importantly, though, it’s loaded with compartments, though the nicest is clearly the one for your electrical cord, which is located at the top of the bag rather than on the sides. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been poked by the cord…but no more, my friend! The mirror-plated alloy clasps may feel like a bit much for those of us who don’t need their bag to look all shiny, but the adjustable shoulder strap is certainly more than comfortable enough.

      As a writer who finds himself traveling around the country for business on occasion, the best bit about this particular model is the amount of space that’s available for you to carry items other than your laptop. I’m a TV critic, and I can’t begin to tell you how many press kits and DVD screeners will fit in this thing, but, y’know, whatever your line of work, if you you travel often and regularly find yourself picking up new materials along the way, this model may well keep you from having to carry a second bag on your next trip.

      Computers

      SLAPPA Ballistix Aura and Stealth laptop sleeves: the on-the-go solutions

      March 16, 2009 /

      Throughout the week, we’ll be posting reviews of several different full-size SLAPPA laptop bags, which work well when you’re loaded down with your laptop and a bunch of other gear. But what if you’re just heading down to the coffee shop and only need your laptop? SLAPPA’s laptop sleeves will do nicely. First and foremost, sleeves like the Ballistix Aura and Stealth offer additional protection when you’ve got your laptop stored in a bigger bag. Just slip your computer into the sleeve and slip the sleeve into your bag. When you attach an optional shoulder strap to the sleeve, though, it becomes its own small laptop bag. The downside here is that there is precious little extra room in the sleeve once you put the laptop in. The zipper pocket on the back works well for papers, notebooks, magazines, mouse pads and other small items, but that’s about it. And while I was able fit my laptop’s power chord in the pocket after some finagling, it was a very snug fit, so much so that I wasn’t comfortable zipping the pocket shut. The bag itself is high quality, though the padding doesn’t seem sufficient enough to protect a laptop from a substantial blow. All of which is to say that the Aura and Stealth sleeves aren’t everyday solutions for your laptop portability needs, but they definitely serve a very convenient purpose for those traveling extremely light or looking for extra protection on longer trips.

      Computers

      Product Recommendations – iPod Shuffle (3rd Generation)

      March 15, 2009 /

      Apple has been dominating the news lately. They just released a new iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro. iTunes recently got an update to version 8.1. The new iPhone OS 3.0 is going to be unveiled on March 17. Apple’s core OS called Leopard is rumored to be replaced by Snow Leopard in June. And there are rumors of Apple purchasing large quantities of 10” touch-screen displays for what might be there first try at a netbook.

      Amidst all this, Apple just released their 3rd Generation iPod Shuffle. And the changes from the previous version are quite large for an extremely small device.
      Shuffle
      As seen from the picture on the right, the 3rd Generation Shuffle is quite small. Half that of the previous version. And you may notice from the picture that all the buttons have been removed from the device. Now you only have a port for your headphones, an off-straight-shuffle slider for turning the device on, and a clip to attach it to your clothes. That’s it. No really, that is it. Where did the rest of it go? To the headphones.

      Apple moved the volume and next-last buttons to the headphones. They also added a feature called VoiceOver. The basic premise is that you can adjust the volume or change songs with a click on the headphone wire. Should you want to switch playlists (yes, the Shuffle finally has playlists) you can press and hold until the VoiceOver takes control. It will read to you the current playlist then read to you other playlists. When you hear the playlist you want to listen to, click again and it will start playing it. It does this same thing to tell you the current song you’re listening to. Also, the Shuffle now differentiates between audio books and music, so when you shuffle your songs it won’t play you a chapter of War and Peace.

      My recommendation: Thanks, but no thanks. The new features are neat, but sound completely impractical. The best use of the Shuffle is when you’re active. I can’t imagine trying to navigate through songs and playlists while going for a jog. Also, if you misplace the headphones, you get no controls whatsoever. Sure it will play music, but you can’t change the volume or skip songs. What good is that?

      I think Apple got a little too fancy on this one. They could have easily put some controls on the device itself. I would recommend purchasing or keeping the 2nd Generation Shuffle and treat the 3rd Generation as a novelty.

      Apple, iPhone, Music, News

      A Must Read – What We Pay for Mobile Service

      March 14, 2009 /

      BillShrink.com has a very interesting graph explaining how much we are paying for each part of our mobile phone service. It take a few minutes to read through and digest, but the results are shocking:

      BillShrink

      Mobile phone companies provide the basic service of transferring information, whether that be in the form of phone calls, text messaging or internet data plans. However, the method in which they charge for these services is not so basic. By coupling various services into packages and failing to disclose specific details, these companies make it difficult to understand exactly what you are paying for, and exactly how much you are paying for it. With messaging and phone calls, both the sender and the recipient are being billed, doubling the charge on the transfer of the same data. When we took a look into exactly how much data is being transferred, and how much it is costing the customer, we found that each service is each being charged at relatively high and largely different rates.

      Take a step back and read the bottom line.

      This makes data transfer via
      Data plan 225X
      Voice 3,372X
      Messaging 412,500X
      More expensive than your standard ISP

      Wow. I mean wow, wow, wow. No one, myself included, seems to take a step back and look at these things. We simply sign up for our cell service and pay as little as we can and still get the service we need. Meanwhile, we’re getting taken to the cleaners.

      Hmmm, yes, I send more than 200 texts per month so I better get unlimited texting for $30. What’s that Mr. Consumer? The 300 texts you sent last month equals about 5% of 1MB of data. That’s basically the equivalent of talking on the phone for one minute. And well, good thing you paid $30 for that service or else we would have had to charge you overage fees. You really saved yourself some money there!

      Is it me or does something need to change here? The cell phone service providers have an oligopoly. Until consumers refuse to pay what they are asking, nothing is going to change. And it may be selfish to say, but I can’t go without texting and data. They are staples in my life.

      When we come back down to earth though, it is more about perceived value than it is about actual price per megabyte. Until I read that article, I didn’t think $30 for unlimited texting for the 2 lines of service I currently have was actually that bad. Do I wish it was less? Of course I do. But my perception was that hey, we both can send as many texts as we want and it still is only $30.

      Whether you’re looking at perceived value or actual cost, it would be nice for the phone companies to start charging us at a more reasonable amount, especially for texts, and get all of our plans to more affordable levels.

      Mobile, News

      Just Released – XROAD G-Map

      March 13, 2009 /

      The first turn-by-turn GPS app for the iPhone was released this week from a company called XROAD. And to pretty glowing reviews:

      xroads g-map

      The iPhone has unquestionably dominated the mobile phone industry for the past two years. One of its biggest advantages over other devices is the long list of applications of every variety that can be downloaded to it. There are “apps” for everything from keeping track of your Twitter feed to following your favorite baseball team. Finally, after nearly two years, a developer has released the first real-time, turn-by-turn navigation application for the iPhone. XROADS G-Map ($19) is clearly the best real-time navigation option for an iPhone right now, but we ran it through the same tests we would a stand-alone TomTom, Garmin or Mio system to see how it fared with the big boys of navigation.

      …

      While there is room for improvement in this product, this is also the first attempt at a real-time turn-by-turn navigation application for the iPhone. As long as XROADS is willing to follow what other developers have done by offering free updates, this app is sure to take a chunk out of the GPS navigation market.

      Wow, that’s not what I expected for the iPhone’s first crack at a turn-by-turn GPS app. Kudos to XROAD. And at $20, this app is a great deal. But there are some obvious improvements to be had.

      First, and foremost in my mind is voice routing. When I drive I am usually paying attention to the road and listening to the radio. I don’t mind getting interrupted to let me know a turn is coming. In fact, I expect it. I can’t be expected to be watching the road and a map at the same time. It’s not safe or fun.

      Also, the lack of street names is tough. Especially when driving on crowded city streets. When there are many streets coming up, it is nice to be able to be able to check the street you’re turning onto before you get there. And even better, the street before that.

      Knocks aside, this looks to be a winner which is hopefully a good sign of things to come. XROAD did the best they could do for now without using all the hard drive space on the iPhone. Some small improvements here and there would blow away the competition. Especially when the competition costs about 10 time more.

      Apple, Apps, GPS, iPhone, Mobile

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