Catching the Moment

It's amazing how much technology has changed the way that we capture memories, document events, and share those special once in a lifetime moments.  Ever since I got my new phone, it has been with me nearly every moment of the day.  It's a powerful computer/camera/movie studio in the palm of my hand!  The events that I have captured have been just completely amazing and not possible in the not too distant past.

Compact digital cameras were an amazing product to come along.  You could shoot hundreds of pictures and then save them to your computer and start all over again.  You weren't limited by the 24 or 36 exposure film anymore.  And developing pictures was a thing of the past.

Camcorders were a great way to document events on "film" so that you could show other friends and family that weren't able to be there.  Although sometimes getting the footage into a usable form was sometimes an issue depending on the format of the recording.  Editing sometimes became a challenge as well.

In comes the modern smart phone.  I have all of the above things handy on my phone plus the internet to share or store things almost instantly!  For example, this past week my oldest daughter learned how to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels.  It was a fantastic moment for me and an accomplishment that she is very, very proud of.  Instead of carrying around a camera, and camcorder and then hooking it up to the computer, I was able to film the event and take a few pictures.  Then I immediately sent off one of the pictures to share the great news!  After she was done riding, I could share with the rest of my friends and family on Facebook!

Another recent first happened that I caught on film because I had my phone along.  My family and I were visiting some friends for dinner.  After dinner their one year old daughter was crawling around and even standing on her own.  She hasn't really walked yet but, she grabbed one of her walking toys and started wandering around the house!  They said it was the first time that their daughter has ever done that!  Everyone was very excited and I captured the moment on my phone!  After that I was able to give them a copy so that they can enjoy that moment over whenever they want.

These are just a couple of examples of how awesome it is to have a smartphone handy.  My phone has an 8 Megapixel camera and shoots video in 720P resolution.  It's incredible to have that much good equipment within reach at all times whenever the moment may need to be documented.

Now that's The Power of Android!

Have fun and capture those precious moments!
Brian

Rss Readers - Google Reader and Pulse

RSS readers are a great way to get the news or stay up to date on your favorite blog (like The Power of Android! for example) in a quick and efficient way.  You don't need to go to each site and sift through all of their posts to see if there is something that interests you.  Just open your reader and skim the headlines that you want to see and only read the articles that you want.  All in a quick one stop shop!  Below is my review of two popular RSS readers: Google Reader and Pulse.

If you have a favorite reader other than these I would like to hear about it.  Please leave any comments below so that I can see what you use.


Have fun and stay up-to-date!
Brian

SwiftKey X - review

SwiftKey X is an alternate keyboard available for Android phones.  Here's my review.

Have fun and keep on typing!
Brian

Go Launcher

Loading a new launcher on your phone is a great way to change the look, feel, and functionality of your handset.   This video hits some of the high points and gives you a taste for what is out there.  Check out my brief walk through of Go Launcher.

Have fun and customize!
Brian

Gingerbread demo - Droid Incredible 2

Here is a brief demo of a couple of new features on my Droid Incredible 2 that came with the Gingerbread update.  Please leave some feedback if there is anything that you would like covered in more detail.

Thanks and enjoy.

Gingerbread!

I live in an area where my phone is always "roaming".  This is not a Verizon home area.  Normally that isn't a big deal.  I can make calls, my data works (3G is available), and I don't incur any extra charges on my bill for any of this.  That's all good.  To my knowledge that only leaves two things that I can't do where I live.

1. I can't activate a new phone unless I drive to a Verizon area.
2. I can't receive software updates until I'm in a Verizon area.

This brings me to today.  I happened to drive to a Verizon home area and I checked my phone to see if any software updates were available.  There was!  Gingerbread, Android's newest update to their operating system was available for me to download.  So I started the download immediately.  The download file is rather large coming in at a shade over 116 MB.  Make sure you have enough signal and battery power if you are going to update your handset.  Overall the download and install took roughly 20 minutes.  Everything went very smooth and the phone took the update well.  I am just starting to play around with the new OS and so far everything seems to be working just fine.  I would expect nothing less since Gingerbread was first being released all the way back in December 2010.

I am not ready to share any details yet since I have only had it installed for a few hours now.  I plan on having a video review posted here very soon.  So keep checking back.  In the mean time, check your phone to see if you have any available updates.  See what happens!  If you already have updated your phone to Gingerbread please let me know how your experience has been.

Have fun and update your OS!
Brian

Tiered data plans - Not terrible YET!

Now Verizon Wireless has jumped onto the tiered data plan bandwagon.  Up until now you could get unlimited data for $30 a month.  To me that seems a little expensive until I saw the new setup.  Now $30 will only get you 2GB of data, $50 for 5 GB and $80 for 10 GB!  That just seems outrageous!  Luckily, I took advantage of an early upgrade and now am grandfathered in to the unlimited plan.

The data part of the plan is what makes smartphones so powerful and useful.  Without that...an ipod touch and a Moto RAZR would take care of business just fine.  The wireless providers say that more than 90% of users consume less than 2 GB per month.  Well, that may be true now but, with all of the new and more powerful apps that are coming out data consumption is poised to go through the roof!  2 GB isn't going to cut it much longer.  They say that people can now find a price point that meets their needs.  And the "band width hogs" will have to pay their fair share.  With the advent of cloud computing everything is going to need a data connection to access it.

Let's take a look at a couple of items that come to mind right now.  Amazon and Google both have cloud based storage for your music.  My whole music collection is "stored" with Google and their music service.  I also have some music stored with Amazon.  These services are amazingly convenient to have.  Anytime that I have a data connection I can access ANY song that I have stored digitally.  Without taking up any room on my phone!  These convenient services really start to eat up your monthly data allowance.  Now with Netflix starting to be available on select handsets data consumption is going to explode!

And that's why the tiered data services are here.  To protect the carriers inferior network from crashing down around them.  Have you ever tried using data services on your phone at a professional sporting event?  Usually you will find that data rates are painfully slow.  Everyone in that stadium is hitting that same tower and they don't have enough bandwidth to support it all at once.  That is just a small scale illustration of what would happen everywhere if too many people are streaming music and video all the time.  Everyone would suffer until the carriers can drastically increase the bandwidth capacity of each and every cell tower out there.  Obviously, this isn't cheap.

I am not in favor of tiered data plans at all.  I'm not sure what the final solution is but there has to be a better way.  I think that I would prefer throttling instead.  If I use more than 2 GB of data then I could just keep consuming data but just at a slower speed.  Hmmm...but, would that affect my streaming music or video?  If it does why would I want to keep paying for something that doesn't do what I want?  Man, this is not easy.  As a consumer, I feel that I am being taken advantage of.  I do see the provider's point of view on the matter as well.

I don't have the answer.  Do you?  Does anyone out there have a better plan?  What are your opinions on tiered data vs. unlimited?  I would like to hear from you.

Have fun and use that data!

Travel Wisconsin - App review

Travel Wisconsin is an app with a very limited audience.  Basically you have to either live in Wisconsin, plan on traveling there or be doing some research to see if you want to go there.  In any case, I thought it would be neat to highlight an app that can really do a lot for an individual or a family on vacation.  We only get a limited amount of time off of work so you better make every second count!  I hope you enjoy the review.  Let me know if you have used other similar apps out there.  If other states don't have this kind of offering for vacationers...it might be something that they could do to help boost tourism.

Have fun and Travel Wisconsin!

Brian

App-tastic!

Everyone knows about apps.  Get this app and you gotta have that app.  Where do you get them?  With Android there are many places!   First of all you can go to the Android Market.  There will be a shortcut already installed on your phone.  You can just tap and launch it and start browsing the thousands of apps available to you.  Searching, browsing, and installing are all very easy to do!

There are also options available right from you computer!  That's right!  Instead of browsing around on your phone you can check out everything through your browser.  You can browse to the market here https://market.android.com/.  Once you find something that you like and purchase it, the app will be sent to your phone where you can install it at your convience.

Some alternative sites are AppBrain found at www.appbrain.com.  This is a nice way to not only find and get the apps that you want but it has a lot of suggestions broken down by category.  It's a good way of discovering some apps that you might overlook or never thought of searching for in the past.

Another source for apps that I found is Appolicious found at http://www.androidapps.com/.  This is very similar to AppBrain with a little different layout.  Both of these sites make use of QR codes too.  A QR code is basically like a bar code that you would find on any normal item that you would purchase in the store except it is more like a squiggly square.  To use this you just need to install a bar code reader app on your phone from any of the markets and scan the code that comes up on your screen that is next to the app that you want.  Once scanned, your phone will pop up a link for you to tap on to download the app!  Easy!

Have you ever heard of Amazon.com?  I bet you have.  Did you know that they have a fully stocked app store too?  One really nice thing that they have is a free paid app every day!  And these aren't just junk apps either.  An Amazon.com account is necessary to get apps from them and you need to install the Amazon App Store app on your phone.  Then purchasing apps if similar to using any of the other services.  Even if you decide not to use Amazon as your primary store, the free app a day should be checked out anyway.

There are many, many other ways to get apps on your phone as well.  Most are legal and some....not so much.  It is great to have the choice on where you can go shop!

These are some of the app markets that I have used.  Where do you go to get your apps?  Are there better places than the ones I brought up here?  Did I miss any big features that everyone should know about?  Help me out.  I enjoy any feed back that I can get.

Have fun and enjoy those apps!
Brian

Does size matter?

If you have an iPhone...screen size is kind of irrelevant.  You have one choice and that is 3.5".  That's it.  A 3.5" screen is very nice but as you can do more and more things on a phone, wouldn't it be nice to have a little more real estate?  Enter Android and a whole bunch of choice.  Screen sizes run from around 2.55" all the way up to 4.3" and I have heard some rumors about a phone that may come out rockin' a monster 4.5" display!  In my opinion it is nice to have that kind of choice.  Then the problem is making the right decision and finding the display that is right for you.

Do you carry your phone in a pocket or in some other bag or belt clip?  These should be you first questions when deciding on the size of phone that you want.  A 4.3" screen is beautiful when you are sitting down and using the phone but it may make carrying that thing in your front pocket a little uncomfortable.  Especially if the phone is a little on the thick side.  A skinny 4.3" may not be too bad.  You just have to go to the store and throw one in your pocket and see how it feels.  Now on the other end of the spectrum you could look at a phone with a 3.0" display.  It will fit really nice in any pocket, purse or bag.  But, if it only has a virtual keyboard you may be a little cramped when typing.  You would probably want to have a slide out physical keyboard which will make the phone a little thicker and heavier.

What are you going to do most on your phone?  If you are going to primarily use your phone for texting and maybe some email...a smaller screen may be the right choice for you.  If you are watching videos, playing games, web surfing, or writing long emails you may want to consider a larger screen.

You also have to consider how it feels in your hand.  Can you reach the other side of the screen with your thumb?  Maybe a 4.3" is too big.  Move to a 4" screen and see how that feels.  You can also consider moving all of your commonly used "one handed" apps and widgets to the right side (if you are right handed) of the screen for easy access with one hand.  Then any "two handed" apps can be moved to the other side of the phone.

There is a lot to consider when deciding on the right screen for yourself.  Generally I would say to get the biggest screen that you are comfortable with and you will be very happy.  Choice can be a frustrating thing sometimes but I would rather be a little frazzeled by having too many choices than to have someone else choose for me.

What do you think the best screen size is?  Are there other considerations that I didn't even bring up here?  What made you choose your current phone?  I would like to get some of your feedback to spark a lively conversation.

Have fun and don't stare at your phone's display too long!
Brian

Skype! Syke.

The newest version of the Skype app for Android supports two way video calls over wi-fi and 3G!  That's awesome!  I think that a lot of people were really waiting for that to come out.  Especially if you have recently upgraded your phone and it has a front facing camera.  So, you can go ahead and download and install the app. I did.  When I went to the Android market there was even the notification on the left side of the screen telling me that it was compatible with my phone, the Droid Incredible 2.  BUT WAIT!!!  Everything works except the video chat portion of the app.  I can't even find it in the menus!

So, I turned to Google to find some answers.  This new version of Skype only supports four phones.  So, if you own a HTC Desire, Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, or the Googel Nexus S you are in luck!  As long as you are running Android 2.3 Gingerbread or newer.  Gingerbread (Android's code name for the 2.3 version of their operating system) isn't available for all of the phones out there yet.

This brings me to one of my "Pain Points" about Android.  The Android developers come out with new versions of their operating system a couple times a year.  Each version better than the last.  You can usually expect to see better performance, new features, and more support for advanced apps...like Skype.  Unfortunately, there are layers of software laid over the top of the stock Android OS by the handset manufacturer and the carrier that you have your phone through.  Each of these entities need to make modifications to make sure that your phone will still work well after you install any updates.  This can take a very long time.  Sometimes it doesn't happen at all!  I believe Gingerbread was released around December of 2010.  I have a brand new phone with Android 2.2 Froyo on it.  Although I think that Froyo was and is a very good version of the OS, I want to have the latest and greatest and I can't have it right now.  Even though Gingerbread has been out for eight months!  If you think about it, there really is very little incentive for the manufacturers or carriers to work on the update.  They have your money already and probably locked you into a 2 year contract.  If they want repeat customers, it would be wise to update as quick as possible.

So, I got way off track there.  The bottom line is that I can't wait to get an update for my phone (hopefully it's coming soon) so that I can use this new version of Skype.  Right now I am using Tango, which works pretty well...but, everyone that I video chat with is on Skype.  I will wait this one out I guess.

What are your thoughts on the new Skype?  Can you use it?  Have you used it?  How well does it work?  Or, are you impatiently waiting like me?  Let me know.  I can't wait to hear from you.

Have fun and talk with video!
Brian