MobileViews Blog

Author: todd

  • Nexus 7 charging problems using 3rd party chargers?

    The Nexus 7 has been my go-to tablet since receiving it less than two weeks ago. I have, however, run into a problem. It appears that the tablet may have issues when used with third party chargers. In my case, I found that the Energizer E1129701 10w USB Charger charger that I’ve used with an Apple iPad 2 and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 does now work with the Nexus 7. I tried using the USB cable that came with the Nexus 7 to eliminate the possibility of a cable problem. However, this 2.1A charger was still not able to charge the Nexus 7.

    A discussion over at XDA Developers indicates mixed results with a variety of third party chargers. Chargers for the Kindle Fire and HP TouchPad, interestingly, can charge the Nexus 7.

  • Nexus 7 tablet out of stock with no estimated ship date

    If you didn’t order the 16GB model of the Nexus 7 Android tablet from Google, prepare for a long wait (unless a local retail store has one). It appears to be out of stock with no estimated future shipping schedule.

  • Passed 7,777,777 steps on my Fitbit

    Noticed I recently (like in the past few minutes) passed the 7,777,777 lifetime step mark while wearing a Fitbit activity tracker.

  • Fragmentation: NBC Olympics Live Extra for Android app incompatible with ALL my devices

    How’s this for Android fragmentation? The official NBC Olympics Live Extra streaming video app for Android is incompatible with every Android device I have ranging from Eclair to Ice Cream Sandwich (2.0 – 4.0).

    You can read what it is supposed to do in this CNET article.

  • Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 update for Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0


    My Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet received a minor update to Android OS 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) last night. You can see photos of the process here. The AllShare Play and Next Issue noted in the update text (second photo) are two Samsung apps that provide a way to share media and subscribe to magazines, respectively. The update also appears to have added apps named S Suggest (suggest apps) and Screensaver.

    The most interesting aspect of this minor update is the change to how bookmarks are displayed in Android’s default web browser. Previously, the browser required a lot of taps to go into a bookmark folder, back out, and then to a different folder. Folders are now displayed on the left side. Tapping a folder displays its bookmarks. This makes for a better and much faster web browsing experience for me.
    (more…)

  • Three word response from Steve Ballmer to my recommendation to stop being nice to notebook/tablet partners

    I’m no Microsoft cheerleader or fanboi (though I am a former Microsoft MVP). But, after reading reports like this one in All Things D about Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer seemingly trying to placate notebook and tablet hardware partners, I had to vent. And, since Ballmer often gives out his email address and tells people he reads his own email, I figured, why not send it to the man himself.

    Ballmer: “Surface Is Just a Design Point”

    I’m not convinced that the Surface RT (Windows 8 ARM based hybrid tablet-notebook) will be a success. But, it does look interesting and generated more buzz than Microsoft has seen in a long time. We still don’t know key information like availability date, price, performance, and battery life. However, none of Microsoft hardware partners seem to be producing anything half as interesting. So, I told him that it was the wrong message to send partners who had designed failures in the Tablet PC, UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC – aka “Origami”), and netbook categories for the past decade. I suggested these four points should be the message sent to these underwhelming hardware partners.
    (more…)