I started out using TomTom to get me on the main highway. After I was there I knew i wasn't turning for 500 miles so I turned TomTom off and continued to pump music through the stereo system. A few hours later my wife and I grew tired of the tunes and I popped in my Jawbone Icon to listen to my audible book through it's A2DP feature. My wife started streaming comedy through PocketTunes on her iPhone and headphones. While stopping for gas and eats, I used Foursquare to check in and found a neat coupon for a nearby Chili's. This reminded me to make to use Foursquare and check for local deals once we get to our hotel in New Orleans. When we stopped at a rest area later on, we took several funny photos and made fools of ourselves. Oh, well, that's what vacations are for; having fun! We switched drivers after that stop and I fired up MyWi and attached my FastMac iV to my iPhone and started checking Twitter, Facebook, and RSS feeds on my iPad (Wifi only). The iV features a 3000mAh battery and will charge an iPhone 4 twice. In one hour, it charged my iPhone 4 25% and died. It was also very hot. Here's why: my iPhone 4 was charging it's battery, pulling in a cellular signal and broadcasting a wifi signal; both signals were in constant use. The MyWi app will quickly bring any iPhone's battery to its knees. So I am thoroughly impressed that the iV was able to pump out a 25% charge while putting that much stress on my iphone's battery. 100 miles later we pull in to a Starbucks for coffee and stronger wifi. While on the phone home checking on kids and grandma we remember that our Uverse service allows us to upload photos to Flickr and they can see them on the tv at home. So my wife and I download the free Flickr iPhone app and behind uploading. Minutes later I get text message from grandma expressing how happy the kids are to see pics of us. One thing that my wife did was to use the places function in the photos app to remember where she took e photos so she could categorize them properly in flickr. Back on the road, my wife uses the TomTom iPhone dock with her 3GS (Im still really miffed that it doesn't work with the i4; that was $100!) and MoodAgent to create playlists on the fly based on emotional factors. I settle back to play (read lose at) the new Madden game for the iPad. After that and a few games of Angry Birds, I popped open Pages and decided to start writing this post. We're only 7 hours into our vacation and Apple has made things very entertaining and easy to say the least. Once we were within a few mile of our exit off the highway, my wife makes a wrong turn and I pull her iPhone out of the dock and place my i4 in the dock with TomTom running on full volume to get us back on course and safely through the winding one-way streets.
Antibacterial iPhone Case
For about six months now, I had a favorite case for my iPhone. The Speck Candyshell case in white/grey was my favorite. Everyday when I came home from work, I would put that case on my phone and it would stay there until I had to leave for work the next morning. It has now been replaced. One of the great things about being a writer for PalmAddicts is that we occasionally get the opportunity to review products from companies like Proporta. I happen to be one of the few to get to review the silicon case with antibacterial coating. Now I'm no scientist, so I don't know I would test the antibacterial coating, but all I can say is that my coworkers are sick and I'm not. What I can say is that I no longer use my Speck case that much. I love using the silicone case from Proporta, it's very simple and easy to install it provides great grip for my phone and gives me complete access to all ports and features. It even comes with a free screen protector! I have a tendency to start autoscroll in ereader and set my iphone on my leg and read. With the Speck case my iPhone might slide depending on what pants I was wearing. As far as looks go, the silicone case is black with grey highlights which looks very nice. In addition, there's a place at the bottom on the back of it for lanyard hole. Now I haven't had chance to put a lanyard in there but it looks like a very handy little feature for when I go to the space center. Because it is a silicone case, it adds virtually no weight or bulk to your iPhone; which I like!
iPhone vs Cliq (Part 2)
For the last two days, my iPhone has been turned off and riding around in my slingbag as a back up. I went to check on it today and I hadn't turned it off, so the battery was dead.
I have gotten more used to the menus of the Cliq, but the difference in speed is really getting to me. It's like going from a MediaCenter PC to a Netbook in terms of speed. You would think that all that sacrifice in speed would be great in terms of battery life. Not so...If you want to use this phone as it was intended to keep you fully connected with your world, you can forget about it lasting more than 9-10 hours (if you're going to run Meebo in the background, make that about 6 hours); at that point it shuts off. My iPhone can rock on all day without shutting off, but then again it's not polling as much in the way of social media.
The slide-out keyboard is ok...I still would like to see a MotoBlur device in a myTouch form factor...and weigh it down a little with a proper battery.
Compared to the iPhone the GPS is frequently off track, takes much longer to update, and of course runs slower. I had to take the crystal case off as the top part kept interfering with me using the keyboard.
All-in-all, I think this is a great device for high school students or early college students. If you want to be connected, this phone is your nirvana. I need my power, speed, and games back...I think the iPhone is going to win this one.
iPhone in a Snap
Palm Anxiety
Over the past few weeks, there have been several occassions I have had to stop myself from purchasing a Palm on eBay. At first it was a LifeDrive (I was going to customize it with a CF card and a bigger battery. Along with an update to allow larger SD cards.), then it was a TX, then maybe just a Z22 to keep in the drawer as a backup. What I have realized is that I am having a lot if anxiety letting go of the Palm OS Platform. It has been good and faithful to me for the last 5 years. I have been an iPod touch and then an iPhone user for the last year and a half - I keep reminding myself that this is a young platform...no where near the maturity Palm was at when I joined the Clie Legion. I rationalized that the reason I wanted a standalone PDA was so that I had a PDA without the phone intrusion like a Treo. I also realized that the simple thing that I wanted, I already had. I loved the functionality of the iPod touch and view it as a great Palm TX replacement and now with the iPhone, it's simply an iPod Touch with "anywhere" access. All I have to do is turn the phone part off and I have a robust PDA with speakers and camera built in.
My iPhone This Morning...
Like most of us, I really don't really realize how much my mobile device aides me in my day-to-day life; we tend to just take it for granted. Today, it actually struck me...
I had a followup dentist appointment, which my iPhone woke me for. While I was there, the dentist changed his mind about when he wanted to see me next, so the appointment got changed in Pocket Informant. I dropped off a prescription at the pharmacy and went home. While at home, I had an alert remind me that I had a meeting in the conference room at work. I was already on the phone with my car loan company (via bluetooth, thank goodness), so I hopped in the car and off I went.
(A little about the phone call before proceeding. I had called them ealier requesting a due date change and they gave me a list of information they needed from me, that I recorded in Notes. I got back on the phone with them, gave them the info from Notes that I had recorded and other info from my contact listing that they requested. Lastly, they needed a fax number, also in my contacts info. I was using my bluetooth headset so I could dig through the digital info while on the phone.)
Once I got to work, I put the headset away and began taking notes from the meeting. Occassionally, I needed to add a task or move a meeting and I did so via Pocket Informant then synced PI once the meeting was over. I was also able to solicit and make schedule changes via texting with my managers without disturbing the proceedings.
I walk in the door at home and it's time to take the wife to work. I grab my iPhone off the charger I had just put it on and away we go. After dropping her off, I headed to the library, which is only open till 5 today (so I'm not going to get as much work done as I would have liked), and receive a text message from her that she is about to receive feedback on whether or not she got into the management program.
So, I'm currently sitting at the library with my iPhone on life support (connected to my computer), waiting to her from hear with her results. And to think...a few days ago, I was ready to give up smartphones for simplicity...
By the way, I watched Lie to Me last night on Hulu (please let there be an iPhone app soon) and the iPhone got mad love on the show. They even used the real ringers and everything (unlike certain Treo cameos)...love it!
Day 1 with the Mophie JPA
When I first received my Mophie Juice Pack Air (JPA), it was in a brown cardboard box with a large recycle sign on it reminding me that this packaging was environmentally friendly. At first glance, I was unimpressed with new charging pack as I already had the PowerSlide from InCase. The JPA is definently smaller in thickness and height compared to the PowerSlide. The JPA has a glossy sheen to like the iPhone 3g does, thus making it very easy to lose grip of...I think I will remedy this shortly. The PowerSlide has speaker holes at the bottom for sound to pass through, while the JPA has a small gap at the bottonm where the charging dock is. I feared that this would affect the sound level when laying the device face down, but so far, I cannot really discren a noticeable decrease. The holes for access to the power, volume, and ringer switch are smaller on the JPA. You have to put a little more effore into finding and pushing the buttons. (This could also be because it is my first day with it. One thing that I like with the JPA is that the fit of the case does not mess with my screen protector. (On the PowerSlide the upper case's bezel cover slightly skews my screen protector casing an air bubble or two to appear.) The last thing that suprised me was when I plugged in the included micro-USB plug into my computer. (On the PowerSlide you had the hold the button down on the back for so long and do this and that inorder to get it to sync with it on.) Now I liked the mini-USB of the PowerSlide, the micro-USB is a little harder for to line up and get plugged in with a little effort. Unlike the PowerSlide, the JPA immediately passes through the connection to the iPhone and syncing begins. BIG THUMBS UP!!! In the end, I have decided that I do love my new white JPA from Mophie and gave the PowerSilde to my "always forgets to charger her phone" wife.
iPhones saves frustration
So I'm perusing the local Best Buy looking for a bluetooth mouse that fits my needs and I come across the Isignia 720p HD SD Camera. It's normally $150, but they have an open box unit for $73!! Since upgrading the SD card in my netbook from 4GB to 32GB, I have a spare SD to use with it. Trying to be sensible I walk away and start looking up reviews and info on my iPhone. I find out that the battery life is bad, sound quality suffers, and no charging via USB. Okay, so this device is a no-go, then I remember, my jailbroken iPhone has Cycorder on there. So it looks like I will not need to carry an additional device in my trip to San Antonio this weekend. Let's see...iPhone, check, PowerSlide case, check, charging cable, check, change of underwear, check, "Honey, grab the kids let's go!" Wait. It's only Monday?????
Incase PowerSlider
In the two weeks since our return from Houston, I have not plugged in my 3G iPhone once, and no its not dead. Ever since picking up my Incase Powerslider I have used it exclusively as my charger. I use my iPhone so much that I would have to charge it at least once during the day and then again at night. With the PS, I either carry the iPhone in the charger and enjoy a much longer battery life, or when my iPhone gives me the 10% warning, I slide it into a fully charged PS and I am still free to roam around cord free while my iPhone is recharging. I haven't tried the sync-through option because with MobileMe I don't really need to sync my iPhone except about once a month. The PS case has a nice non-slip grip to it and the battery indicator on the back is perfect. When recharging the iPhone, the base of the PS gets warm but not too warm. It is not so warm that you cannot cannot hold it in your hand. (For those of you that remember how hot a LifeDrive can get, this is no where near that hot.) My only gripe is that at the very bottom of where the two pieces slide together, there is a very minute wiggle room that creaks ever so slightly when squezzed. If this issue weren't there, I'd give this accessory a full five stars, as it stands, I give it a 4.8 out of 5.