First look at the Pebble Time smartwatch

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We still don’t have a solid release date, but we finally got a good look at the upcoming Pebble Time smartwatch. While Pebble has a serious uphill climb against the Apple Watch and the onslaught of Android Wear devices, it has one thing to really help it stand out — a color E-ink display rather than LCD.

While the refresh rate on E-ink can be slower, it helps tremendously with battery life (Pebble estimates 10 days of batter life with the Pebble Time, versus around one day with other smart watches) and it looks great in direct sunlight. Here is a photo of the watch in the sun, courtesy of Business Insider:

pebble-time-sunlight

To be honest, I’m very surprised that we haven’t seen any Android Wear devices that use E-ink yet. While there are indeed shortcomings, the upside seems like something that many people would want. Perhaps we’ll see one before the end of the year.

In the meantime, the Pebble Time is the only watch sporting it for now, and it should be out within the next few weeks.

Exploring the Sony SmartWatch 3

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sony-smartwatch-3With all of the hype around the LG Watch Urbane and the Apple Watch recently, the Sony SmartWatch 3 has largely flown under the radar.  Despite the relatively plain appearance of it, though, it’s a remarkably solid watch.

It’s one of the few watches with built-in GPS, and starts at just $250.  LiveScience has a great review of the watch to check out if you’re considering purchasing one.

Revisiting the Google Chromebooks

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Just over four years ago, I first shared my experience with a Google Chromebook. Now I have a new one to play with and I’m quite impressed!

For Christmas my wife picked me up an Acer C720, a very affordable and portable Chromebook. It sells for around $200, and was the top selling laptop on Amazon this holiday season. It’s worth noting that the second and third most popular laptops on Amazon were also Chromebooks.

The C720 is a solid little machine. It has an 11″ screen (just a smidge larger than an iPad) and a battery that lasts up to around 8 hours. Given the tiny size of it and the great battery life, I expect it will be my go-to laptop for meetings and Meetups.

Chromebooks are Google Chrome and nothing else

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The key to a Chromebook is the special operating system that Google has built for it; it runs the Google Chrome browser and literally nothing else. This means it can use less processing power and memory, which allows them to produce them very inexpensively and you still get solid performance. The catch, of course, is that if you need to run software that doesn’t work inside of Chrome you are out of luck. In my case, I can do roughly 95% of my work using my Chromebook (though I’m much more productive on my three screen Windows setup).

  • Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Analytics: All are just websites, so no problem.
  • Feedly, Slack, Wufoo, Freshbooks: More normal websites that work perfectly fine.
  • Evernote: The web version isn’t as fast as the native Windows version, but it’s suitable.
  • Dropbox: It doesn’t sync to your computer, but you can access it via the web to get what you need.
  • Google Drive: Same as Dropbox.
  • Tweetdeck: I use the Windows version on my main computer, but the web version is virtually identical.
  • CodeAnywhere: My main development software, and it runs perfect in Chrome.

The one issue is FileZilla, which I use for FTP. It only works on Windows or Mac, as do any of the alternatives. So far, I’ve not found a good way around it. CodeAnywhere will let me FTP in and edit files individually, but FileZilla is needed when I have a bunch of files to upload (such as the ~1000 files for a new WordPress installation).

A Chromebook won’t do the job for my main computer yet, but perhaps they’ll be able to in a few years.  For now, it’s an excellent second laptop to have around, and it’s ideal for our kids to use (simple, no chance of viruses, etc).  I’m excited about what Google has done with them to this point, and looking forward to where they take them in the future.

Trying out the Google Chromebox

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Nearly four years ago I first tried out a Google Chromebook, a laptop that essentially only runs the Google Chrome browser. You can’t load any other software on it at all, which is both good and bad.

The good is that it makes the machine very fast (considering their lower power and low price) and virtually 100% virus-proof; if you can’t load software on it, neither can the bad guys. The downside, of course, is that you literally can’t load anything extra on it — no Minecraft, no Google Earth, no FTP software, etc. It’s not a big deal, since 95% of what most people do is inside of a browser anyhow, but it can be a bit frustrating at times.

With that in mind, the Chromebooks have been great to have around the house, particularly for our girls to use for schoolwork. Quick booting, easy access to their schoolwork on Google Drive, easy user switching and virtually no chance of viruses or pop-ups. They’ve been awesome to have. Many school districts are even moving away from iPads and toward Chromebooks for students.  While they’ve served us well, four years of abuse on a laptop has taken its toll and it’s time for a refresh.

Along with the Chromebooks, we also have an old Windows desktop computer in our guest room that they use. The larger screen and full keyboard/mouse is nice, but the machine is really starting to die. The solution? A Chromebox!

Chromebox

So what is a Chromebox? It’s essentially a Chromebook in desktop computer form. The Chromebox is quite affordable (ours was only about $150) and should do a nice job of replacing that old computer. Not only will it work better for the girls, but it’ll save me from having to go in there every few weeks to run Windows Updates and make sure things are moving along smoothly.

When Chromebooks were first unveiled four years ago, I was excited but a bit skeptical. While I still don’t think Chromebooks and Chromeboxes will replace all laptops (there are obviously many reasons you’d want to load extra software on your laptop), I’m beginning to see more and more uses for them.

What do you think of the future of Chrome OS-based products?

Thoughts on the Google Chrome OS laptop

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As many of you know, Google has been giving away thousands of free laptops to help promote and troubleshoot their upcoming “Chrome OS” operating system.  In a nutshell, the entire operating system is just a browser.  No files, no “desktop”, no real programs — just a browser.  It’s an ambitious move to say the least.

I’ve been a big fan of Google Chrome since day one.  It’s amazingly fast and stable, I use it as my primary browser on every computer, and I’ve mentioned it in various posts a number of times.  If you don’t currently use it on your PC/Mac, I highly recommend that you download it

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and try it out. That being said, I wasn’t sure how well it would function as an operating system.

To confuse things further, Google already has an excellent operating system — Android.  While it’s mostly just on phones right now, it’s beginning to show up on various laptops and tablets.  With that in place, where does Chrome OS fit in?  After playing with the laptop for a few days, I’m beginning to see the light.

The laptop is pretty cool to look at — rough black, with not a single sticker or logo anywhere

on it.  The specs are very minimal, and virtually identical to my netbook; an Intel Atom processor, 2 GB of RAM, etc.  There is no hard drive in here either – just a 16GB solid state drive, similar to what you’d find in an iPad.  Since you can’t save anything to it, 16GB is more than enough.

Here’s a quick video that shows some of my thoughts on the device:

And here is a fun video from Google that takes a look at why saving your data in the cloud can be so useful, as Google destroys a handful of laptops:

It’s not too late to apply to get your own, which you can do at this site. They’ve probably given most of them away by now, but it can’t hurt to apply. Good luck!

The first retail laptops with Chrome OS loaded on them are expected next summer from Acer and Samsung.  I’ll certainly let you know as I hear more details about those.

Droid X + Ford SYNC = Awesome

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Over the past few months, I’ve been using my Droid X in the car a lot more.  It started with just the voice-activated bluetooth calling, which is quite handy.

Then I got the windshield mount and started using Google Navigation for a few trips, leaving my Garmin in the other car for my wife.  Google Navigation is quite awesome and it has a few things that I just love:

  • I can have it show satellite imagery instead of just beige maps, which is great for big parking lots and a little nicer to look at on the screen.
  • It automatically syncs with my “starred places” in Google Maps, so I can just look up a location in Google Maps on my PC, “star” it, and it’ll automatically be waiting for me on the phone.
  • It incorporates real-time traffic info into the time estimates, which make them much more accurate than most other GPS models.
  • It’s free!  Free to use, and all of the road/POI updates are free and seamless.

Next, I started using Pandora

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quite a bit at home, so I loaded the app on the phone and I’ve been using it in the car (again, via bluetooth).  I have a variety of stations for myself, but also a few for when the girls are in the car with me (Disney, etc).  I pay the few dollars a month for the “plus” version, which means I have stations that:

  • Have no commercials.  Most Sirius/XM stations don’t have commercials, but they still have hosts that interrupt after every song to promote themselves and/or other stations on Sirius.
  • Are tuned to my tastes.  As I rate each song, it gets better and better.
  • Keep a variety. With my iPod, I tend to be bad about listening to the same songs all the time.  Pandora does a nice job of mixing it up with new songs, based on which songs I’ve told it I like.

Even with all of that happening at the same time on the phone, it handles it remarkably well.  Here’s a quick video showing how I have things set up in the car and how easy it is to use:

Do you have a similar set-up in your car? Leave a comment and tell me about it.

From the iPhone 3GS to the Nexus One

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As many of you already know, I recently switched from my Apple iPhone 3GS to the Nexus One (running Google’s “Android” operating system).  The reviews I’d read essentially say that if your life is in Google (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Voice, etc), it’s a smart move to make.  I agree.

However, it’s certainly not better than the iPhone in every category.  I’ll try to break some of those down.  The main difference I noticed is that the iPhone is more polished (smoother scrolling, etc) while Android has more features.  The iPhone OS 4.0 update coming this summer will catch up to some of those, but Android will still have a solid lead.

Email

This one is easy; if you use Gmail, it is awesome

on the Nexus One.  The iPhone mail app is very nice, but doesn’t have any of the Gmail specific tools in it (conversations, starring, etc).  Having all of that on the Nexus is wonderful.  If you you any provider other than Gmail, then it’s essentially a tie.  Both phones have solid mail apps that do a nice job.

Customization

The new iPhone update will finally allow users to set wallpaper behind their icons, but Android can already do that.  In fact, you can even set “live wallpaper”, which is animated and reacts to your touch.  It’s neat, but it’s a battery drain and it’s pretty much useless.  However, Android also allows you to put widgets on your screen to show news, weather, tweets, etc.  They’re very slick, and iPhone has nothing that compares to it.

The other neat thing is that applications are given more flexibility to customize other parts of your system that the iPhone doesn’t allow.  For example, when I plugged my phone into my car (Ford’s SYNC system), I always had to tell the phone to “mount” to the system.  It was a single click, but got old.  So, I found an app that could do it automatically.  The way Apple controls their applications, it would be impossible to write an app that does something like that.

Applications

Apple certainly has a ton more, but Android covers 95% of what you’d need.  I miss a few applications (such as “Words With Friends”) and others are still pretty weak (like Evernote), but all in all the selection is pretty solid.

Speed

Technically, the Nexus is a faster phone but they feel about the same.  Once Android 2.2 “Froyo” arrives on the Nexus, it’ll certainly take the lead.  Of course, the new iPhone is due out soon and will likely leapfrog the Nexus.  These kinds of battles are great for consumers!

Battery Life

In general, battery life is roughly the same.  However, the Nexus gives you two nice advantages:

  1. It’s a removable battery. This means you could carry an extra around with you, or replace yours if it goes bad.  No such options with the iPhone.
  2. There are various “power control” widgets you can use on Android.  You can have a single tap to turn on/off things like wifi, bluetooth, gps, etc.  Making it so easy means that I can leave those items off when I don’t need them (and save precious battery life).  With the iPhone it’s a few more taps to toggle them, so I usually just left them all on.

Camera

The Nexus has a considerably better camera (5 megapixel vs 3.2 megapixel), but they really give similar quality shots.  I think phones are about to the point where they need bigger and better lenses to take advantage of the increased resolution, which is tough to do when it’s a fight for the skinniest phone.

Music

With the Nexus, you can just drag and drop music onto your phone.  You can even drop files into folders like “notifications” and “ringtones” to set those up.  Much easier than the cumbersome mess of iTunes.

However, iTunes makes it easier to purchase and load music, and it’s much easier to load podcasts.  Also, the iPhone music player blows away the one on the Nexus.  The Nexus music player is adequate, but no where near as nice as the iPhone player.

Conclusion

So, should you trade your iPhone for a Nexus One?  Probably not.  If money and availability were no factor, I’d suggest that around 75% of the country should have iPhones and the other 25% should have Android devices.  The Nexus is better for geekier users, but each release is bringing it more mainstream.  My guess is that those numbers will flip in a few years (75% should have Android), but the iPhone will always have a place due to it’s simplicity and ease of use. Time will tell…

Which do you prefer, and why?

Gowalla destroys FourSquare when traveling

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gowalla-va-foursquareBefore I left for Disney, I considered Gowalla and Foursquare to be about the same.  They both let you “check in” at various places (restaurants, stores, etc) and both have a bit of a game aspect to them.  Foursquare is based on cities and addresses, while Gowalla is based entirely on GPS.  While I’m in Atlanta, those work out about the same.  When I get away from the city, things change quickly.

Foursquare dies between cities: On our way to Orlando, we passed through a lot of smaller towns.  In some of those towns we stopped for meals, gas, etc.  On Foursquare, I couldn’t check in.  It’s based so heavily on specific cities that you’re simply out of luck when you’re between them.  With Gowalla, I simply added the new location and checked in.

Foursquare makes it too hard to add new items: If you happen to be near a big city, but your particular destination isn’t in their system, it’s a pain to load it.  You need to find the full street address to be able to add it.  In my case, I’d fire up Google Maps on the iPhone, search for the location, memorize the address, open up Foursquare, add the location.  With Gowalla, I simply type the name of the location, choose a category and I’m done!  It saves the location based on GPS, so there’s no need for the address.

Foursquare is useless inside of Disney World: I thought it’d be neat to “check in” when we visited various attractions inside Disney World.  With Foursquare, it was tough to find the one you were at because it listed everything based on street address.  Not good. With Gowalla, it showed the attractions nearest your current location, which was perfect!  I didn’t check in on all of them (too busy playing with the kids), but I got a lot of them.  It worked very well inside the park.

That’s pretty much it.  The comparison wasn’t even close

— Gowalla is better in almost every way.  The one drawback it has right now is momentum.  Foursquare is getting all of the press, and therefore is getting all of the users.  In the end, if Facebook or Twitter doesn’t steal it first, Gowalla has a decent shot of becoming the geo app of choice.

Either way, it’ll be a fun fight to watch.

Reorganizing my lifestream

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Lately I’ve had a hard time keeping up with what services cross-post to each other.  If I send a status update to Twitter, does it auto-post to Facebook?  If I send a picture to Posterous, does it go to Flickr? What about FriendFeed?  I had I set up so many different tools that I was losing track of things.  I spent some time today rearranging things and here’s what I’ve got:

:: Status Updates via Ping.fm

I’ve used Ping.fm for a while, and I love it.  I can send updates using their website or the Pingle app on iPhone, and those status updates go out to dozens of different services that I’ve configured.  I’ll still be using it for a lot of my status updates, but I’ve tweaked it a little bit.

I’ve set it to update my status on virtually every service it supports (and it’s a lot of them) except for Posterous.  I’ll explain why in the next item.

:: Media Updates via Posterous

I’ll be pushing all photo and video uploads through my Posterous account.  I used to use PixelPipe on my iPhone, but Posterous offers a bit better control.  I can easily send items to Posterous via email or by using their iPhone app, and they’ll automatically push them to various locations. Specifically:

Photos: To Facebook and Flickr
Videos: To Facebook and YouTube
Also, Twitter and LinkedIn will get notified of all new photos/videos

If I had set Ping.fm to send status updates to Posterous, it would then push them to Twitter and Facebook — which Ping.fm already does.  That would duplicate my updates on a few services, which is why it’s important to not have Ping.fm push to Posterous.

:: RSS Updates via TwitterFeed

I’ve been using TwitterFeed for a while to auto-tweet new blog entries from my various blogs to their respective Twitter accounts.  It works well, and I’ll continue doing that for now.

:: Google Reader –> Twitter via FriendFeed

When I’m in Google Reader, I can “share” an item and it automatically tweets it out.  It does this via FriendFeed; I have FriendFeed pull in all of my shared items, and then I have it tweet out those shared items to my Twitter account.  It’s very handy when I’m away from my computer on a cell (like at Disney).  A single click allows me to share an interesting story with all of my followers.

You could do a similar thing via TwitterFeed, and either method would work just fine.

So there you have it — my new system (for now).  I’m always looking to streamline things, so what do you do differently, and why?