MobileViews Blog

Author: todd

  • STM Bag for Microsoft Surface tablet: Close fit sleeve with handle & shoulder strap


    I’ve been hauling my Surface RT tablet to the office each day in backpack designed to hold a standard sized 15-inch notebook. This is not the ideal way to carry it during the day to, for example, meetings. After looking around a bit, I decided to buy this bag/sleeve from Amazon for $25.

    STM Bags dp-2140-1 Jacket Extra Small Sleeve, Fits Most 11-Inch Screens, Black/Green

    The Surface tablet slips in easily and the bag fits over it snugly but allows for easy zipping. This STM bag has both a shoulder strap (removable) and a handle. It also has a small front zippered pocket to carry a few odds and ends (including a phone).

    I’m quite pleased with it after using it for about a week. It has a 4.5-star (out of possible 5) average customer rating (24 reivews) on Amazon.

  • Microsoft Surface on Hawaii 5-0 “Ohuna”

    When Hawaii 5-0 rebooted in 2010, I noticed the Windows Phone product placement on the show. In fact, for a while it looked like the “good guys” used Windows Phone while the “bad guys” used Android.

    In 2012, Microsoft is at is again. This time it is the Microsoft Surface tablet running Windows RT that got some prime time product placement on the Nov. 19 episode titled Ohuna (full episode available for a limited time on CBS.com). Officer Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park) literally goes through the motions snapping the Surface’s kickstand before firing up the display.

    We’ll probably see a Nokia Lumix 920 or HTC 8X before the end of the holiday season.

  • Angry Birds Star Wars Edition for Windows RT 66% more expensive than iPad version

    Angry Birds Star Wars Edition for the iPad is as good or better than the original Angry Birds (I’m not a fan of the other versions). So, I was interested to see the game appear in the Windows RT app store. Unfortunately, the version for RT costs 66% more than the iPad version: $4.99 vs $2.99.

    While making more money per sale for developers is a good thing. I think Windows RT app prices need to be competitive with versions of the same app on other platforms.

    Note: Composed this app entirely using a Surface with Windows RT. The biggest problem was finding an image editor. None of the RT apps provided freehand cropping. Will discuss how I worked around this in a future blog item.

  • $15 Incipio Dual Pro iPhone 5 case looking good so far

    I just received a Incipio Dual Pro for iPhone 5 case. I’ve holding out hoping to find a decent affordable case with a belt clip for the iPhone 5. But, with no prospects available, I decided to spend $15 on this case which has a 4.5 star average customer rating on Amazon (80 reviews).

    The case comes in three parts:
    1. Film screen protector
    2. Rubbery inner case that covers buttons (on/off, volume) but not ports or the cameras.
    3. Outer hard shell to project the back and sides

    The film screen protector was reasonably easy to apply. You can see there there are cutouts to expose the front facing camera and select button. The soft inner case was easy to pull onto the iPhone 5. It does not stress the phone at all. The outer hard shell case holds everything in place and provides a bit of added protection.

    It looks and feels pretty good so far. And, at $15, it is very affordable.

  • 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.