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  • People who have never seen a netbook should not write op-eds about them

    I think it was Harlan Ellison who said: Everyone is entitlted to an INFORMED opinion. So, while I disagree with this TechRepublic article subject line, I figured it was worth taking a look at…

    Netbooks are dead. Long live the notebook

    That was the case until I read its first sentence: Netbooks — those underpowered mini laptops with 7-inch screens and unusable little keyboards — are a dying fad. Say what? A 7-inch screen? There hasn’t been a mainstream netbook with a 7-inch screen since the first generation Asus (the Eee PC 701) that introduced the netbook concept in 2007. Quite honestly, I stopped reading the article at that point. The standard netbook LCD screen is 10.1 inches these days with a smattering of models with 9-inch displays (like the touchscreen Asus Eee PC T91MT I recently bought).

  • HTC Droid Eris Initial Impressions from Friend/Co-worker (video)

    Daniel Inoshita, a friend and co-worker, bought an HTC Droid Eris from Verizon. I sat down a few minutes with him to get his initial impressions after having the phone for just a few hours.

    I apologize for the low sound volume during the initial minute of the conversation. I used a Touch Pro2 to record the video and forgot how unidirectional its microphone is (usually a very good thing). I used volume leveling to try to even out the volume post-hoc as well as possible. One important item that may be difficult to hear is Daniel’s explanation of the Droid Eris’ price. It is $199 – $100 rebate – another $50 for current Verizon Wireless customers past their previous two-year contract point.

  • First Test of Qik for Droid Beta with 720×480 Video Resolution

    Installed the Qik for Droid beta release that provides 720×480 video resolution. This is the first video I recorded using it. The video looks pretty good to me.

  • Testing Live Writer with this Blog

    Installed Microsoft Live Writer on my Asus Eee PC T91MT touchscreen netbook to make blogging a bit easier when using it.

  • Google Maps Street View on Motorola Droid (video demo)

    Google Maps for mobile Street View on the Motorola Droid (Android 2.0) is interesting (something not on the iPhone). But, in my first test (see above), the augmented reality aspect seemed a bit off. It seemed to track my vertical movements (pointing the Droid up and down) but not side-to-side.

    Still, it was interesting to finally try it in person since Street View only became available for my area yesterday.

  • 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.