Techcraver.com | Craving tech, craving life!

Last night, my buddy Kevin and I attended Ignite Portland.  Ignite is a presentation event that has an innovative way of pitching an idea or message.  Presenters get 5 minutes and prepare 20 slides and get 15 seconds per slide.  The PowerPoint is set on a timer so if you don’t finish your slide, you lose out.

The topics range from how to pitch idea to a VC to unwilding (just look it up).   I have to say that the presenters were way more memorable than their messages.  Everyone did a fantastic job.

The event was held in downtown PDX at Weiden+Kennedy, just about the coolest facility we could have held this thing.  Great job to Josh, Raven, and Dawn - you guys were awesome.

It was great to meet some twitter peeps that I’ve met over the last few months including @verso and @ahockley.

According to what I’m reading, 3 UK is going to release the skype phone on Monday, October 29.  I wrote about this before and I’m very excited that this news broke today.  I think skype is poised to cause ripples in the cell phone market, first in Europe, and hopefully North American is next.

The handset will also feature a 2 MP camera and support for video playback.

Hat tip to The Register.

My blog buddy Jonathan posted a blog post of how to get your GSM phone to forward voicemail traffic over to GrandCentral.  I’ve been longing for this feature for quite some time so the topic grabbed my interest.

My trouble is, I can’t get the GSM code which is *61*yournumber# , to work on my N95 with T-mobile.  Has anyone been able to get GSM forwarding codes to work on t-mobile?

UPDATE: on the other blog post, some guy was able to do it with t-mobile.  So now I think I’m being blacklisted.  I have a FlexPay tmobile account, not sure if that has anything to do with it.

Techcraver N800 Review

Overview:

When I think of Nokia, I think cell phones. Which is why I was surprised when I heard about the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. The N800 is a beautifully designed 3 1/2 inch mobile tablet that allows you to surf the web, chat via Instant Message, and do VoIP calls among many other tasks. The N800 has a lot of onboard hardware including wi-fi (802.11B/G), bluetooth, and a video camera. You can interface with the device using the included stylus, onboard keys, or through its amazing touch screen. The N800 is a follow-up device to the Nokia N770 Internet tablet, which received poor reviews. The N800 has better hardware, fixing a key complaint about the N770 - sluggishness.

Another bonus is the N800 is running a Linux based operating system, meaning external developers can write software for the N800 Tablet. This fact alone makes the N800 a very attractive package. Unlike the new Apple iPod Touch, the Nokia N800 is an ‘open’ device that outsiders can develop software and hardware for. This is very powerful. For example, the N800 came with an FM receiver, but Nokia didn’t ship the N800 with the software to utilize this facility. Someone took it upon themselves to write the software and now you can use the N800 as an FM receiver, adding to its utility.

At First Glance:

The Nokia N800 is a beautiful device. The screen, which is simply stunning at 800×640 dominates the front side of the screen and is surrounded on the sides and bottom by the speakers. On the upper left of the screen are the directional navigation/operation buttons. There is a swing-out stand that allows you to view the N800 on a table when watching media. On the sides of the device you have the pop-out webcam, stylus, headphone jack, power jack, and power/volume buttons. Nokia really took their time to design a functional and eye catching portable computer.

Capabilities:

So you have a mini portable computer, but what can you do with it? The short answer is many, many things, most of which are focused on staying connected. Even though this device isn’t a cell phone, you can make phone calls via VoIP. Out of the box, Nokia has a client called Nokia Internet Call Invitation. In addition to this software, you can install a custom version of Skype and the Gizmo Project has just released a client allowing access to their network. The Skype software integration is of great interest to me and should be to anyone who is a traveler. Think about it. Anywhere you can hop on a wi-fi network, you can have voice calls and instant messaging conversations to anyone on your skype contact list. This ability to add portability to Skype makes the N800 of great interest to me. More on the Skype client below.

Another thing that was really fun to do was to have the N800 be portable with Gizmo Project as well. By pairing Grandcentral and Gizmo Project, I can get phone calls directly to the N800 to my ‘normal’ grandcentral number, allowing me to get regular phone calls at no additional cost. Pretty cool!

The web browser available on the N800 is Opera. This browser is fully functional and allows to display webpages as they are meant to be seen, not scaled down as normal on cell phones or other mobile devices. The N800’s Opera 8 client allows you to zoom in and out on webpages and supports Javascript and plug-ins. It’s pretty cool to be able to watch youtube videos right out of the box with no add-ons! Sure any smartphone can surf the web - but the N800 has Flash built in and a full browser so surfing the web is beautiful on this device.

Nokia also included a fully functional RSS reader and e-mail client which supports POP3 and IMAP4. In addition to email, the N800 supports Instant Messaging via Google Talk, Jabber, Yahoo!, MSN, and Gizmo Project. It should be noted that Yahoo! and MSN access are a feature of the Gizmo Project N800 software.

Aside from Internet connectivity, the N800 offers many multi-media features. It can take 2 SD cards (the same ones that go into your digital camera or PDA) so you can import and play media. The built-in kick stand allows you to put the N800 on a tabletop and comfortably watch a movie, video podcast, or other video without having to hold it in your hand. Also you can play mp3s or virtually any music file. I have read that some people were unhappy with the N800’s video playback, but I found the video to be smooth and high-quality. The speakers are a little tinny and not loud enough, but this would be expected of tiny portable speakers on any electronic device.

Skype on the Nokia N800

One of the main reasons I wanted to evaluate the N800 was it’s special Skype client. Shortly after the N800s release earlier this year, Skype was fast to develop a customized client specially designed for the Nokia N800. Downloading and installing the application is quick and easy. I fired up Skype and was happy to have my skype contact list with me as I walked around my home office. I fired up a chat window and used the N800’s touch screen to type out IM’s. I found this to be a little clunky, but I immediately became comfortable typing and was doing so pretty quickly.

Next up was testing voice quality. There are two ways to make voice calls on the Skype/N800 package - using the onboard mic and speakers and with a special pair of headphones with an onboard mic on the headsets. I called a skype contact using the onboard mic and speakers. The caller said I sounded great, however the tinny speakers on the N800 didn’t relay his voice very well. The caller, to my surprise, said there was no feedback on his end. When I make calls on my MacBook with onboard mic and speakers, people always complain that they can hear their voice and quickly become annoyed with the feedback. Also, skype calls with the included headphones/headset sounded great both for the caller and myself. So, overall the N800 is a fabulous platform for running Skype on the go.

I have two main complaints of Skype on the N800. First, you can’t currently make voice calls using a Bluetooth headset. Knowing the N800 had onboard Bluetooth, I tried to sync it to my Motorola Bluetooth headset to no avail. Through conversations with Nokia and Skype, I found that the Bluetooth onboard is currently only used to pair with a mobile phone for access to mobile data networks. So unfortunately if you want to make a skype call on the N800, you’re bound to being physically hooked up with a standard pair of headphones.

Secondly, even though there is an onboard webcam, Skype currently does not take advantage of this capability for skype video calls. You can do webcam calls with a proprietary Nokia software package, but I’d like to see Skype embrace the webcam on the N800 so make awesome video calls wherever you can get a wi-fi signal.

Conclusion:

I have throughouly enjoyed the N800 in the time I’ve had it. It’s great to be able to get access to the web or IM networks without having to lug around my laptop. Should you buy the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet? Well that depends on what you need in a portable device. If you mainly want a media player and you think it’d be cool to be able to routinely surf the web, then I’d recommend you buy the iPod touch. Especially considering you can use iTunes to keep the iPod Touch and your media in sync between your computer and the portable device.

However if you consider yourself a technophile, the N800 is the device for you. If you are in support of open standards and expandability, the N800 is for you. As of the time of this writing, the iPod Touch does not have the ability to have 3rd party applications added to it. The N800 is built on linux and new apps are being continually being released for it.

The N800 is currently aroud $350 so I think it’s main target audience is geeks who constantly want to be in touch and who are in environments where they are constantly around a Wi-Fi device or have a smartphone that they can get online with.

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment or call me and let me know!

-Jason

Random thought: I wish there was a synchronization utility for keeping this in sync with a PC, namely my MacBook.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Skype, the darling of VoIP, is taking a very proactive role in mobile communications and are about to release their own hybrid cell/wi-fi phone.  Up until this point, Skype has worked with other parties to bring Skype away from the desktop computer.  Examples of this include:

• partnering to make wi-fi phones with Belkin, Netgear and others
• releasing skype software for Nokia’s N800 and newly release N810.
• developing skype software for Windows Mobile

I recently received a Nokia N95 and have been playing with Fring, an app that allows you to sign into skype, gizmo project, any SIP service, and many more.  Fring works fine over wi-fi and 3G (with AT&T here in the USA), but it does not function well over T-Mobile’s edge connection.

But now, Skype is working with European telco 3 to create a skype phone that will easily transition from 3G to wi-fi, depending on which connection is available.  The skype phone, according to sources, will support HSDPA so theoretically it would work well here in the US where AT&T 3G is available.  Initially the skype phone will be available in Britain, Italy, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Lets keep our fingers crossed for a US release soon.

A 75-year old woman, who merely wanted to get some cable service from Comcast, was driven nuts by the company’s lack of customer service.  So nuts, in fact, she decided to take a hammer to a customer service agents keyboard and computer.  Mona Shaw, of Virginia, tried to get Comcast’s Triple Play installed at her home.  For those of you who don’t know, Comcast triple play is their combined cable/internet/phone service package.

After the installer didn’t show up, she tried to go down to her local comcast (I call ‘em Comcrap) office to complain and asked for a manager.  She was told she’d have to wait and she did. for two hours!  After being told that manager had gone home for the day she went home steaming.  The next day, she came back, with a hammer.

Ms. Shaw was given a $345 fine, three-month suspended sentence, and a year-long restraining order keeping her away from the Comcast office.

I’ve felt mad enough to do the same thing, I think it’s funny someone finally did it to Comcast.  They have *terrible* customer service, some of the worst in the tech industry.

Washington Post Article 

Apple’s newest version of their sweetly awesome OS, Leopard, is releasing in 10 days.  October 26th will mark the day I will be waiting in line for this new release.  I’m so excited!  Why?

• The dock is spring loaded and has awesome new funtionality.
• Time machine makes backups easy and painless
• Boot Camp - Built in
• Front Row will stream content from any Mac in the house.
• new iChat features, including the ability to add affects and make remote presentations.
• Stacking in the dock
• new Finder features

For a comprehensive list, check out Apple.com.  Leopard can be yours for only $129.

I’ve recently come across a Nokia N95 North American Edition. Up until this phone, I thought my next phone was going to be an Apple iPhone.

I have a full review coming in the coming weeks, but here are some initial thoughts:

Unlocked: This phone is unlocked, meaning I can use any GSM carrier I want. T-mobile pisses me off? Cya I’m going to AT&T. If I travel to Europe - I can pop in a local SIM and I’m off to the races.

Fully functional GPS: The iPhone has GPS built-in but it’s crippled. With the N95 I can map routes using the onboard navigation software, geocode my photos automatically with ShoZu, and track my workouts with Nokia Sports Tracker.

Video capture: I can take video at 640×480 at 30fps. The iPhone has this capability (with it’s 2.0 MP camera) but again, doesn’t.

VoIP calling: I can make VoIP calls over Wi-Fi or 3G. Gizmo Project, Skype, and Google Talk are now usable on my cell phone.

Yeah the iPhone may be purdy and easier to use. But for me, I want funtionality and the N95, just in the 2.5 days I’ve had it, has eroded my want for an iPhone considerably.

I’ve longed complained that mobile data phone plans are overpriced. That is, the price you pay to use your smartphone and it’s mobile data capabilities. I have owned a Treo 650 and a 700W, but I gave the device up because I’m unwilling to pay Verizon Wireless $40 a month for slow mobile data.

T-Mobile recently announced they’re dropping the price of their “Total Interenet” plan to $19.99 a month, down from $29.99. Also, you can do e-mail only Blackberry service for a mere $9.99 a month.

At this price, mobile data becomes realistic in my eyes and those of my friends and family. I pay roughly $40 a month for my broadband home internet access (which I can do *alot* more with then compared to a tiny screen on a cell phone). I believe the sweet spot for mobile data plans is an additional $10 to $20 month on top of your normal monthly calling plan.

Research in Motion announced today a CDMA BlackBerry Pearl, one year after launching the device on the T-Mobile network. This great device comes with EV-DO for ultra-fast data access, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, built in GPS, A2DP for stereo Bluethooth, and interface and browser improvements.

I definitely want one of these devices. I think it’s a great melding of candybar size phone with the features of a smartphone.