MobileViews Blog

Author: todd

  • Faulty iPhone 5 Lightning USB cable drawing too much power when not attached to anything?

  • Woo! Passed 4000 miles on my fitbit

    Noticed I passed the 4000 mile mark on my fitbit today. And, I’m closing in on 9 million steps and 7000 floors (stair flights).

    I’ve logged these numbers using the original fitbit and the fitbit ultra. I’m giving a lot of thought to buying a fitbit One which has the ability to sync with iOS devices.

  • Microsoft says you can use Surface RT for work. But, Office RT license disallows work use

    Microsoft promotes the soon-to-be-released Surface RT by saying it can let you:

    Work anywhere, anytime with Windows RT and Office 2013 RT

    And, yet, on the same page it states this, it also says:

    Office Home & Student 2013 RT Preview and the final version are not for use in commercial, nonprofit, or revenue generating activities. Commercial license options available (sold separately).

    AllAboutMicrosoft’s Mary Jo Foley explains the commercial license options:

    Microsoft Office for Windows RT: How to move to a commercial-use license

    However, you cannot use Office RT on a Surface RT for work related purposes out of the box without violating the Office RT license.

  • Just received a SRS Labs iWOW-U audio enhancer gadget

    The PR firm for SRS Labs (now part of DTS, Inc.) sent me small audio enhancing hardware to try out: The iWOW-U.

    The iWOW-U retails for $89.99 but is available from Amazon for $59.99. One of the two customer-reviewers on Amazon complains that this model does not have an Apple 30-pin connector as an older model did. Of course, if you just bought a shiny new iPhone 5, this is a good thing. The iWOW-U works with any headset and music producing device (like an iPhone 5) using ordinary mini-jacks. No special connector is required. This also means that it requires charging using a provided micro-USB cable (any micro-USB cable should work).

    I’m charging the iWOW-U up now and will give it a spin for a few days before providing my impressions of the device.

  • MobileViews Podcast 59: What’s with all the iPhone 5 rants?

    Todd Ogasawara, Emil Reyes, and Jay Stone try to make sense of the rants about the iPhone 5 after its announcement and pre-order availability in MobileViews Podcast 59 (just under one hour long).

    You can see a full-size model of the as-yet unavailable iPhone 5 that Emil created with a 3D printer in white in the photo to the left. An actual iPhone 4 is in front of it to provide a size comparison. You can learn more about Emil’s company’s 3D modeling and printing services on their website linked below.

    Rapid Technology

    You can find and subscribe to the MobileViews Podcast on iTunes or listen to it right now using the embedded player below.




    Podcast Powered By Podbean

  • Jelly Bean for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 in this century?

    Samsung does not have a great track for providing platform upgrades for Android or Windows Phone devices. However, I had a slim glimmer of hope that my Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet might get Jelly Bean when I saw this update screen appear a few days ago. Alas, it was only some kind of minor stability update from Samsung.

    So, I tweeted a question to @SamsungMobileUS asking them about an update. You can see their response to me in the screenshot below: @toddogasawara We don’t have any information on this update just yet, but stay tuned for news!