Staying Connected While on the Road

     It's a few days until I take a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'll be there about three days, and have been thinking about how to stay connected. For my work, all I really need is a web browser, but some need powerful desktop machines that can do HD video editing or 3D rendering. You can't really bring a 10 pound desktop computer with you on the trip, so how do you stay connected without lugging around a giant PC?  

     There are some great, free tools to help. I use a great free remote access program called TeamViewer. TeamViewer is free for noncommercial use only. I don't know exactly what the term "noncommercial" means, but buying a licence for commercial use costs a crazy $749. TeamViewer gives you amazing capabilities for free, such as file transfer, recordable sessions and more. You also get a free iPhone and Android app ,both which allow you to connect to other PCs remotely. The android app is still in beta, which does have some serious restrictions, but expect a non-beta version soon.

TeamViewer  on Windows

     TeamViewer is pretty simple to use, but each PC has to download the free application. When you download and open the application, the first thing you see is a home screen with an ID number and a password. Next to it is a text box labeled "create session". To have someone remotely connect to your PC, tell them your User ID and password, they enter that in, and the other user is on your PC. It's just as simple to start a session.

     Once you are connected, you see the other one's screen. You use the mouse and keyboard just like you  normally would on your PC. At the top of the screen is a small taskbar which lets you record the session and even do VOiP (voice over the internet). 

     To connect normally you have to have a person at both PCs to tell you the password. You can set up unattended access by making a free TeamViewer account. You then give the computer a name and password and you're ready to go. 

TeamViewer iPhone App

     The iPhone app is also really simple and easy to use. It works almost like the desktop client, but has less customization options. It gives you a list of recent remote access connections, and a cleaner looking interface. The controls for clicking and scrolling might take some getting used to, but overall, the entire system is easy to use.

     The days of not being connected because you aren't home are definitely over. With always connected smartphones, WiFi all over the place, and even data connections in some laptops, you really don't have the excuse of "I'm on vacation." With tools like TeamViewer, you now can work wherever you are, for little or no cost.

A Revolution in 3D gaming: The Nintendo 3DS

     In 2004, Nintendo brought us the first portable gaming device with a touchscreen with the Nintendo DS. The DS was a dual screen gaming device that opens like a clamshell laptop. The upper screen was an ordinary LCD. The bottom screen, on the other hand, had a resistive touchscreen, which brought a more personal gaming experience. throughout the years the DS evolved to include the DS Lite, DSi, DSi, and finally, the Nintendo 3DS.
    The 3DS is avalable for preorder at the nintendo website, and will be available on the 27th of March. At $249.99, the 3DS is about $100 more than any of it's predecessors. At that price, Nintendo had better be giving us something high quality.
    The 3DS had the regular resistive touchscreen of its predecessors, but the top screen uses a special stereoscopic display to deliver 3d quality images without any bulky glasses. The idea of 3D media is extremely popular currently, and Nintendo getting 3D mobile gaming out to the public as soon as possible is a very smart business move.
    The  device is 5.3 inches wide, and 2.9 inches in length, and with a weight of 8 ounces, the device is okay for bringing with you on the go.
     Besides for the ability to flay 3D games, the 3DS gives you two cameras on the back for 3D photos, and also introduces StreetPass, which connects you wirelessly to other 3DS owners and swaps information.
     Another cool feature of the 3DS is the newly added gyroscope and motion sensor, which adds a whole new way to play. Normally you would have to control the device solely with the physical buttons, now you can just move the device and, viola, the image on the screen changes. (Okay, it's not as cool as I make it sound. But still, that's awesome.)
     The hardware isn't the only thing that has changed. With it's 3DS, Nintendo introduces it's new preloaded system. The 3DS now comes with a web browser, an activity log that tracks what games you've been playing and for how long, as well as physical movements, and some games will even reward you for how much you walk. The device will also allow you to play music and even 3D video, but Nintendo has yet to announce the exact specifications of 3D video playback.
    Nintendo also brings it's Mii system from the Wii to the 3DS, allowing you to create an avatar for use in games, and will also be used with the StreetPass system mentioned above.
    The 3DS will also integrate some interesting augmented reality games, letting you smash monsters on your kitchen table.
    For $249.99, the 3DS is pretty pricey, but it introduces many more features, and is pretty much a completely different and improved device. With added 3D, a web browser, and a lot more, the 3DS might just be worth the almost $100 difference between earlier DS models. Is this device worth the $250? Maybe. Is it a very cool and compelling looking device? Definitely.

Specs and Speculations: Blackberry Bold

     The email phone. The business phone. The first successful smart phone. The Blackberry. Is it really all that good? The Blackberry Bold came into my house, and I jumped at the opportunity to review it (Although I'm not so sure the phone's owner really wanted me to use it).
     At first glance, the Bold looked nice. Unlike many phones, it's straighter angles make this a sleek looking business smartphone. You get a full physical QWERTY keyboard under the 2.45 inch LCD screen. Being used to the big touchscreen smartphones common today, the Bold's small, "regular" screen seemed strange. The Bold's Bluetooth capabilities are also important for the business user.
    On my Samsung Intensity, I made a call to the Bold. The voice quality was okay, but when the caller was not talking, there was a lot of background white noise, even though they were in a completely quiet office. The Bolds ear-piece seems to work well.
    Using the mini trackpad on the phone was a lot harder than using the touchscreen on say, the iPhone. Having a physical keyboard can sometimes be nice, especially for heavy email users. The Bold sounds good so far, but the user experience on the OS is a real drawback. For instance, in the maps app, you have to click the trackpad to change the mode from "Pan" mode to "Zoom" mode, and then move your finger on the trackpad.
     The picture quality on the 3.2 MP is better than one you'll find on a feature phone, but doesn't come close to the iPhone 4's almost point and shoot like quality. It's nice to have a flash on the phone, but with this camera I would definitely bring along a point and shoot camera on a trip, because the Bold's Camera  doesn't really do the trick.
     Our Verizon phone came preloaded with icons for Skype, NFL Mobile, along with some games, but clicking on most of them just brought up a webpage for downloading them. Verizon also adds it's VCast and a few other programs, along with (annoyingly) making Bing the default search provider. The calendar app works fine, and is actually more advanced than the one on Android and iPhone, but has a very plain and old fashioned looking interface.
     Email setup was easy, and I set up my Gmail account on the phone in seconds. Blackberry users are crazy about how the email system is better than anything else, but I don't see how it outshines the iPhone or Android. The one drawback with email is  that it takes twenty minutes fo rthe mail to start coming into your inbox.
     Gamers, stick with an iPhone or Android device, because gaming isn't really going to work that well on the Blackberry Bold. The Bold comes preloaded with five games, including a not so well designed Brick-Breaker, a pretty fun casual game called Word Mole (so that's where the enter button is), and Sudoku, which seems okay. Medal of Honor and Assassin's Creed II, for $6.99 and $1.99, respectively. Although these are popular titles in the gaming console world, I don't know how good Assassin's Creed II could look on a 2.45 inch screen.
     Once you start to understand how the operating system works, everything becomes easier to understand, until then the OS really is not as self explanatory as iPhone's iOS or even Android. The whole Blackberry system works, but is almost completely any missing any eye candy you'll find on other phones.
     The Blackberry Bold seems to be for the business user who definitely does NOT use this as their primary computing device. For those, I would definitely recommend the iPhone, or maybe for a more sophisticated user, an Android device. As usual, you definitely should play with all your options before you make the decision.

Blackberry PlayBook: Now Touchable

     Last year was the year of the 3D TV. This year is the year of the tablet PC. When looking through my various tech and gadget blogs on Google Reader, most of what I saw was either stupid, or tablet, or both. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, pretty much every PC manufacturer announced a tablet PC.
     For those slightly unfamiliar to the technology world, a tablet is a touchscreen computer that usually runs a mobile operating system. Some run the popular Android, others their own customized OS, some run Windows 7, and a few even run Linux.
     The tablet PC was started by Microsoft quite a few years ago, but the concept never caught on. Until now. Apple's iPad really popularized the idea of the tablet. Now Motorola, Samsung, and even Vizio, a TV manufacturer, have caught on.
     In September, RIM (The creators of Blackberry.) announced it's PlayBook, a 7 inch tablet running a new, personalized OS. The BlackBerry tablet was always a cool idea, but nobody was ever really able to touch it. Until now. (Second time I've used that this post.)

BlackBerry PlayBook

     At the Consumer Electronics Show, BlackBerry had a few working prototype models displayed. Viewers can see a tech demo, and the lucky few could actually play with the tablet. The reviews were overall good all around, and although it is not a final model, the device seemed to work fairly well.
     The PlayBook is 7.6 inches across, 5.1 inches in height, and only 0.4 inches thick. With a weight of 0.9 pounds, the PlayBook is lighter than the 1.5 pound iPad by about 0.6 pounds, and with it's small size and light weight, the PlayBook will be great for professionals on the go.
     The PlayBook does not run the BlackBerry software, but, simular to the BlackBerry smartphone lines, is optimized for business use. Unlike most tablet PCs, the PlayBook has true multitasking, meaning that, unlike other tablets, it does not pause apps when they are minimized. Rather, this BlackBerry tablet leaves apps running completely, and lets you see them running with it's unique user interface.

PlayBook's Photo App

      The PlayBook features a 7 inch capacitive touch screen, a 3 mega pixel front facing camera for video chat, along with a 5 mega pixel rear facing camera for (the strange few) who want to take photos with a 7.6 inch tablet, and  a microUSB and microHDMI port. The PlayBook also sports stereo speakers and 1080p video playback.
      The business user needs power, and BlackBerry promises power with the PlayBook with a 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM.
      The coolest parts of the BlackBerry PlayBook are the little things. The fact that there are no physical buttons on the front, and that the touchscreen extends beyond the visible screen, so you just swipe up from the bottom to access the home screen. Another neat feature is the actual home screen. The bottom half contains a grid of your apps, while the top half contains small previews of the currently running apps, as they are running. For example, a running YouTube video would be watchable (in a very small window) even when you are not currently in that app.
     The PlayBook  has 3G or 4G, along with 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR. The 4G will be available from Sprint, and with the 3G version, it is not clear which carriers will have it.
     The PlayBook seems like a very compelling device. Two things may stand in the way: The price is still unknown, and with all of the true multitasking going on, it will be hard for BlackBerry to achieve good battery life.

      The BlackBerry website states, "BlackBerry 4G PlayBook coming soon to Sprint." This seems to indicate  a near release date, so PlayBook awaiting individuals, the seven inch tablet of your dreams may be coming out sooner than you think. If you were planning on purchasing an iPad, but like the PlayBook, you might wan't to wait for it. The only reason I'm not saying "Buy it." is because it is not yet buy-able. But if it were, I would definitely recommend the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Razer Switchblade Previewed at CES

       CES (Consumer Electronics Show), is a trade show put on every January in Las Vegas. At CES, many companies show off their latest products, many which aren't out yet, and some which may never be available. Throughout CES, Gadgetator will try and bring you the best and most exciting products. The Razer Switchblade  (A name which took me about two minutes to get straight.) is one of those exciting products.
     Razer, a gaming peripherals company, designs and manufactures gaming mice, keyboards, and other gaming devices. The Switchblade, still officially a concept, is a Windows 7 mini netbook with a twist. It has a seven inch capacitive touchscreen, an Intel Atom processor, and a really cool keyboard.
     The keyboard, instead of having the regular, QWERTY layout, has keys which will automatically switch what they show based on the game that you are playing. For example, when playing World of Warcraft, instead of seeing the QWERTY  keyboard keys, you will see icons for the different actions you can do.

       The technology behind the customizable keyboard is just a crisp screen and transparent keys, but this keyboard really seems high tech and very cool.
       A few questions that, since this is a concept device, have not yet been answered. How will the Switchblade decide what the icons for each game are? How will it work without a mouse pad? Also, the pricing point is not specified yet, so we don't know whether or not it will be worth it.

     Ultimately, this seems really cool, and if you just happen to be in the market for a seven inch gaming netbook, you might want to wait for the Razer Switchblade to (eventually) come out. For now, we don't know when this will come out or how much it will cost, so I would recommended just purchasing a regular PC.

Samsung Galaxy Player

     For a while, there was no real alternative to the Apple iPod Touch. It was the only MP3 player with a touchscreen that could do everything a smart phone can do. Until now. Samsung recently introduced it's Samsung Galaxy Player 50.

     This media player runs Android 2.1, can access the real Android Market, has built in WiFi, a 3.2 mega-pixel rear facing camera, and integrated GPS. These specs seem great, even better than th iPod Touch, but how can we confirm them. Samsung does not have an official page for the player, unless, of course, you can read Russian. But translating that page with Google Translate really did the job well.
     The price range is reported to be about the price of the iPod Touch, and will come in 8, 16, and 32GB variations. It is available for pre-order from Amazon UK for £149.99, and is not expected in the US until summer.
     The Samsung site gives this device the following specs:


Features

Embedded OS	Android
Version	2.1 (Éclair)

Memory Type	Flash Memory
Built-in memory (GB)	8 / 16 GB
Diagonal screen size, inches	3.2 "
Display Resolution	WQVGA (400x240)
Display	TFT
Battery Type	Lithium-Ion (removable)
Battery Capacity	1000 mAh
Color	white
Wi-Fi support	yes (WiFi: 802.11b/g/n)
Camera	yes (2Mpiks.)
GPS	yes
Bluetooth	yes (3.0)
FM-tyuner/kolichestvo stations in memory	Yes (RDS in Europe and Russia)
USB	yes (2.0)
Built-in speaker	yes
Embedded MIC	yes
microSD Card	yes
Multi Touch	yes
Multi Tasking	yes
Dimmension (WxHxD)	54,20 x 105,50 x 11,08 (mm)
Weight (Including Battery)	84 (city)
Output Power	20 mW.
Etc	-

Audio Playback	30 hours
Video Playback	Up to 5 hours
Etc	-

MP3	MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer3 (8 ~ 48 kHz, up to 320 kbit / c)
WMA	WMA9 Std. (8 ~ 48 kHz, up to 320 kbit / c)
Ogg	Ogg (Q0 ~ Q10)
FLAC	FLAC (Level0 ~ Level8)
AAC	AAC / AAC + / eAAC + (8 ~ 48 kHz, up to 128 kbit / c)
WAV	WAV (8 ~ 48 kHz)
Etc	-

avi	Video Codec	MPEG4, DivX 4/5/6, XviD, H.264 (D1, 720 x 480)
	Audio Codec	MP3, AAC / AAC + / eAAC +
mp4	Video Codec	MPEG4, H.263, H.264 (D1, 720 x 480)
	Audio Codec	AAC / AAC + / eAAC +
3gp	Video Codec	MPEG4, H.263, H.264 (D1, 720 x 480)
	Audio Codec	AMR-NB/WB
wmv	Video Codec	VC1 (WMV9) (D1, 720 x 480)
	Audio Codec	WMV9 Std.
asf	Video Codec	VC1 (WMV9) (D1, 720 x 480)
	Audio Codec	WMV9 Std.
mkv	Video Codec	-
	Audio Codec	-
flv	Video Codec	-
	Audio Codec	-
Etc	-

JPEG	yes
GIF	yes
BMP	yes
PNG	yes
Etc	-

Word File	doc, docx, xml, txt, rtf, dot, dotx
Excel File	xls, xlsx, csv, xlt, xltx
Power Point	ppt, pptx, pot, potx, pps, ppsx
PDF	pdf
Etc	-

SoundAlive	Yes (Basic (Preset Sound Effect), Advanced (User Sound Effect), Auto)
AB Repeat	yes
Changing playback speed	yes
Alarm Music Setting	yes
Lyric	yes
Album	yes
Playlist	yes
Library (Artist, Album, Genre, Title DB sorting)	yes
Etc	-

SoundAlive	yes
Changing playback speed	yes
Bookmarks	yes
Etc	-

Wallpaper Image Setting	yes
Live Wallpaper	No
Font Setting	No
Auto Brightness Control	No
Etc	-

Appendix	※ without Kies, you can use the device
File Delete	yes
File Navigation	yes (in ThinkFree App.)
Etc	-

Security	yes (Screen Unlock Pattern)
Etc	-

Android Market	Search, Gmail (Germany: Google Mail), Contact, Talk, Maps, Youtube, Market and Etc
General Applications	Alarm / Clock, Calendar, Gallery, Email, ThinkFree Office, Memo, Voice Recorder, Calculator, Daily Briefing, Program Explorer, AllShare and Etc
Etc	Embedded applications can be changed

PC OS	WinXP SP2 or later (Vista and Win 7)
USB Connection (MTP / UMS)	yes
Samsung Kies	yes
Etc	-

Type	Transparent
Dimensions for Package W x H x D	148 x 87 x 48 (mm)
Dimensions for Master Carton W x H x D	255 x 188 x 170 (mm)
Shipping weight, was	278 (city)
Weight Master Carton, Mr.	3.02 (kg)

Device	yes
Earphones	yes
USB Cable	yes
Charger	No
Battery (Standard)	yes (1EA)
Quick Guide	yes
Etc	-

     This device overall looks very compelling, especially for the fluent Android user. And since UK will have it January 7th, 2011, we should expect some reviews soon. Also, popular tech writers such as Engadget already have the device, and are posting reviews on it.
     Although the US might not see it for a while, it might be worth waiting for it. Also, if you happen to have a friend in the UK, you could have it shipped to his house and get it from him. So if you are a avid Android user, and are in the market for an iPod Touch-like device, the Samsung Galaxy player 50 might just be the right choice.

For more info see the video below.