MobileViews Blog

Category: Mobile Devices

  • Maxi Mini-Podcast 16: Droid-Android Discussion with Frank McPherson

    Mini-Podcast 16 started out as a podcasting recording experiment. I used a LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen to record this by placing one of its two stereo headbud/microphones in the ear that I held my phone over. This is instead of using Skype to make the call. So, this podcast’s audio quality is definitely a step below my usual podcast. But, it gives me more flexibility in scheduling podcasts.

    My old friend Frank McPherson (Windows Mobile expert who has been using Android phones for the past 13 months) and I planned to speak for only 5 to 10 minutes to create basically a sound check podcast. But, it is impossible for the two of us to start talking about mobile tech for just a short while. So, this “mini” podcast turned into an 18 minute 38 second long one – longer than some of my regular guest podcasts. So, this really should have been Podcast 38. But, I’ll leave it with its current designation.

    In Maxi-Mini-Podcast 16, Frank and I talk about Android related topics. Originally, the plan was for me to live vicariously through Frank’s Android experiences. However, I bought a Motorola Droid this past weekend. So, this podcast and ones to follow may be more of a expert (Frank) – novice (me) type discussions.

    Frank and I briefly catch up on his T-Mobile G1 experience and his upgrade to the myTouch 3G in August. We also touch on the few days of experience I have with the Moto Droid. You can find Frank’s blog at…

    http://frankmcpherson.com

    So, how’s the audio quality? Bearable for a short (under 20 minutes) podcast?

    – You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
    – You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
    – You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

  • Test photo posted directly from the Droid

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    Using WpToGo on a Droid to post a photo to this blog directly from my Droid.

  • Test post from Motorola Droid

    Using WpToGo app on a Motorola Droid to create and post this blog entry. The Droid keyboard is, unfortunately, not a good one. The “chin” to the right of the keyboard digs in to my palm making typing physically painful.

  • Voice Dialing Using an HTC Touch Pro2 & Jabra SP700 Bluetooth Car Speakerphone

    Demonstration of using a Windows Mobile 6.1 HTC Touch Pro2 to voice dial with a Bluetooth car speakerphone.

  • HTC Daylight Savings Notification Message – Useless to Me

    20091101_daylightsavings

    The more I learn about the HTC Touch Pro2 I bought in August, the less I like it. I really dislike that HTC removed much needed hardware features like the navigation pad and various keyboard keys (OK, Start, Tab, etc.) it really reduces the usefulness of the TP2 compared to other Windows Mobile phones I’ve used that provided those features.

    But, I mostly dislike the TouchFlo 3D features (which I’ve turned off) and other HTC modifications (which I can’t) to Windows Mobile. I noted this morning, for example, HTC’s message about the changing the clock from Daylight Savings to Standard Time. I suppose this is useful to many people. But, I imagine that people in my part of the world where we don’t observe Daylight Savings or the switch back to Standard Time may have been confused by the message. In fact, I had to make sure it had not “fallen back” and set the TP2’s time to what would be the wrong time for me (it did not, fortunately).

  • Mini-Podcast 14: Recording a Telephone Conversation Using a LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen

    In Mini-Podcast 14, I tested a tip given to me by LiveScribe Marketing Manager Karen Lee during our conversation in Podcast 37 (recorded on October 23, 2009). The tip was that since the the microphone in the LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen’s headset is actually in the earbuds (stereo microphone), you can use it to record telephone conversations by simply placing the earbud in the ear and holding a conventional telephone handset (wired or wireless) up to that ear.

    I asked my co-worker, Daniel Tian, to call me from another room using his iPhone 3GS. I spoke to him over a conventional landline office telephone. The sound quality is not as good as podcasts recorded using Skype. However, I think it is good enough to use when people are unable to use Skype because of company policy (this has been an issue several times over the past year).

    Mini-Podcast 14 is 3 minutes and 39 seconds long. The LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen recorded segment is in the last 45 seconds or so of the podcast.

    – You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
    – You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
    – You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.