iPad closes in on the Kindle

A survey done by a research firm named Changewave shows that the iPad is quickly closing in on the Kindle in the e-reader market. The survey of more than 2,800 consumers showed the Kindle leading by 47 to 32 percent, which is markedly lower than its 62 to 16 percent lead in the last survey.

Additionally, the same survey showed that 75 percent of iPad users are very satisfied with their e-reader, while some 54 percent of Kindle users are very satisfied with their device. Almost all Kindle owners (93 percent) use their device to read books, while those with iPads are 5 times more likely to read digital newspapers, blogs and magazines.



Among those surveyed, 42 percent responded that they would likely buy an iPad in the next 90 days to use as e-reader. Only 33 percent responded that they would get a Kindle.

Read more about the survey here

Favorite Apps

In one of our discussions, one of my fellow Mac fans asked us what iPad or iPhone Apps are our favorites and can't live without. I told him I have a number of favorite apps but not necessarily I can't live without. I downloaded some apps from the Apps Store to my iPad and use some of them more often than the others.

One of these is Pulse, a news aggregator developed by two Stanford students. It combines the convenience of RSS feeds with the engaging interface of a web browser. What I like about this app is that I can choose which news provider to subscribe to and place them in a grid. I can access them anytime I want and get updated on current and tech news without leaving the app.

For making on the spot reports and other documents, I use Pages. It is almost the same as the desktop version except that when sent through email, you will have to convert your work into a document that Pages could read. Otherwise, it's the only app I need to make documents.

I use iBooks and Kindle for iPad alternately to read my e-books because I have books on both formats. My only issue about reading on an iPad is eyestrain. Yes, even with the adjustable brightness, I cannot read as much as I would with paper book. This is one reason why I am contemplating on buying a Kindle.

Another favorite is Magic Piano. I can actually make music with this app even if I don't know how to play the instrument. All I did was turn on one of it's auto modes and voila! I can play music from it's songbook by just following the falling dots on the screen.

If I have time to waste, which is very seldom, I play games on my iPad. The big screen on this baby could sometimes make me waste more time than I should.

There's Angry Birds, the insanely addicting game that involves slinging birds to beat the green pigs that stole their eggs. The game is so wicked because its levels become more and more challenging as you progress.

Also wicked is Zynga's Scramble. It looks easy because you only need to make words from random letters on a 4x4 board. Try playing the online mode and compete with other players around the globe. The next thing you knew, hours have passed and the deadline you're trying to meet has come closer.

These are the apps that I use most of the time. There are others on my iPad that are also worth mentioning and I would discuss on another post.

Smart Bro Pocket WiFi

Smart Bro recently launched its Pocket WiFi, a 3G+WiFi router that allows up to 5 persons to connect at one time.  This is  Smart's answer to Globe's MyFi which was released in July.

This new service is available on postpaid for now at PhP495  for 50 hours per month.  Add another PhP150 for the device for the next 24 months lock-in period.  So that means you should fork out a total of PhP645 for 24 months.  Should you exceed the 50 hour limit, you will be charged  Php10 for every 30 minutes.

Smart promises a connection speed of up to 2Mbps and a nationwide coverage, unlike the SmartBro Share-It which is area specific.  That means, you can create your own hotspot wherever you are in the country.

I'm a SmartBro user whenever I go out of town but I use the USB dongle.  I could easily connect wherever there is a Smart cellular coverage and the speed is good enough.  In fact I used it  during my trips to Pagudpud and Bohol and I couldn't complain with the connection I got on both occasions .  If the same is true with this service, then it's worth trying.  The only thing that's holding me back is the 50 hour limit per month.  Yes, it's handy when I am out of town on a short period of time but when I am on vacation or something, I could easily use that up within a week.  Why Smart did not offer an unlimited plan is a mystery.  A little birdie told me though that Smart may have placed the time limit because   this new service might compete directly with their other products, like Smart Share It which has a Plan999 unlimited connection.

Skype 5.0 for Mac Beta now available

Skype recently announced the release of a beta version of Skype 5.0 for Mac.  The new version features a single window for ease of use and integrated the Address Book so you can call, IM and SMS your contacts even when they are offline.

Another new feature of the beta version is group video calling which allows you to make video calls with more than two people at a time.  Just make sure that they are also on Skype 5.0 Beta for Mac or Skype 5.0 for Windows for group video calling to work.  It is free for now but the company would probably start charging fees after the Beta stage.

The new Control Bar allows you to manage calls from a mini Skype control bar that sits on top of any open web page, document or photo.

For more information and to download the beta version, click here.

A PlayStation Phone?

I am following a series of stories on engadget.com regarding an upcoming PlayStation Phone.  According to the site, it will be an Android based gadget with 8GB internal memory which can be upgraded through MicroSD.  Information about the device is still limited and incomplete but the Engadget people are certain that the data and pictures they have on hand are real.  Anyway,  if you want to follow this story too,  here's a good place to start.

Goodbye Sony Walkman Cassette Player

Sony Corporation announced last week that it has already stopped production of the iconic Sony Walkman Cassette Player and the lot that rolled out of their factory in Japan last April were the final batch.

The Walkman first came out in July 1979 and revolutionized the way we listen to our music.  I was still in high school then and we were still using vinyl records played in large bulky stereo systems to listen to our favorite tunes.  The first time I saw an actual unit was before I graduated from high school when a classmate brought one to school.  We were all excited to try the player and he gave all of us to try it.  The first song I heard on a Walkman was "Boat on the River" by Styx.

It wasn't until I was in college that I finally owned a Walkman. By then, it has become more common and smaller.  A housemate had one that was only slightly bigger than the case of the cassette tape.  It was also during that time that we started producing "mix tapes" that we share among ourselves.  A housemate who had a good system in their house would gather all our tapes and choose the best cuts.  He would give each of us a tape of the music he has selected and we would play them as we go about our usual activities.

When I started working, the Walkman proved to be indispensable during my trip to and from work.  I put on my headphone, pump up the volume and I am by myself.  We also used it in our work to record and transcribe meetings, lectures and seminars proceedings.  At about the same time, a new technology was also slowly encroaching in the market of the cassette tape.  The era of the compact disc has began.  I would say that this was the beginning of the end of the cassette tape and the Walkman.  In fact, a few years later I bought my own CD Walkman and never went back to the cassette tape.

Digital music also gave rise to the MP3 format and the cassette tape was almost completely pushed out of the shelves.  It was just a matter of time before someone would come up with an idea for a gadget to play MP3s and revolutionize the way we listen to our music yet another time.  In 2001, a company in Cupertino unleashed the iPod to the world and the final nail to the coffin of the cassette player was placed forever.

But that's how it is with technology.  It is always changing.  Someone always has something that will change our lifestyle and the way we do things.  

Sony said that their factories in China will continue to produce Walkman Cassette Players for their markets in Asia and the Middle East.  The name Walkman will also live on through their digital players, although these gadgets wasn't able to dominate the scene the way their older sibling did for decades.

Sony Walkman Cassette Player, dead at 31.  Thanks for all the musical fun and the memories.

Forbidden Tweet

"The wine sucks"

With those words, a member of the President's official family has catapulted herself to online infamy.  The words she posted on her Twitter account (which was deleted since) were for her boss, the Presidential Spokesperson, to tell him  what she thinks of the liquor being served during the state dinner hosted by their host, the President of Vietnam.

She also have other comments about the country which hosted her for two days. The same government official also posted for her Twitter  friends that the country has a severe lack of good looking men and that one can easily die there by just crossing the street.

I am not sure whether the official even knew that her posts can be read by not only by her boss but by other Twitter members.  Haven't she heard of the "direct message" feature of the site so her tweet would remain between her and her superior or her friends.

For many of us, the anonymity that sites like Twitter and Plurk bring is heaven sent.  Now we have a venue to express our thoughts and feelings that were not available before.  We couldn't care less whether we have an audience or not.

But with such freedom comes some form of responsibility.  So some people came up with a form of netiqutte.    One cannot post just about anything anymore.  For most people, work related and office affairs are off limit topics.

My friends say that what the official posted was her personal opinion and in the age of Internet and Twitter, it's her right to say what she thought of wine, men and death.  I would not mind if she was a tourist on vacation but she went there as part of our government's delegation.  I also assume that she used a diplomatic passport to enter the country and therefore accorded the courtesy reserved for state guests.

Her superior apologized for what Ms. Presidential Staff did and told the media that  the official must have been excited because this is her first time to join a state visit.  Maybe it would be better for every one to leave her behind in the coming trips of the President.

No Need to Take Out 11-inch MacBook Air at Security Check in US Airports

from apple.com

Here's another reason to get a Macbook Air: the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the US said that the 11-inch MacBook Air need not be removed from bags at airport security checkpoints.

The TSA told CNN that the device got the special exemption because it is "smaller than the average-sized laptop" just like a netbook.  OK, do I hear Steve Jobs screaming "The MacBook Air is NOT a netbook!".  Of course it isn't.  We all know that internally, I mean, the technical specifications of the MBA are far superior than any netbook out there.  However, the security people in the US are more concerned of the size of the gizmo than its power.  Anyway, the iPad gets similar privilege from the TSA so let's just say that the 11-inch MBA belongs to the same category as the iPad per TSA standards.

There's no word though whether the 13-inch model gets the same exemption.    TSA requires that bigger portables be screened separately because they are harder to see in a bag with other contents. Although it has the same internal components as its smaller sibling, it is about the same size as most notebooks computers. This could result to the 13-inch MBA not getting the same special entitlement.

Barnes & Noble introduces the NookColor

from barnesandnoble.com

Barnes and Noble has just introduced the second generation of Nook, its e-reader.  Now named NookColor, it is as you might have guessed a colored e-reader plus more!

According to a statement of Barnes & Noble chief executive William Lynch, the NookColor combines "the functionality and convenience of a seven-inch portable wireless tablet with the reader centricity of a dedicated e-reader."

The Nookcolor runs on Android OS and has built in support for social networking applications such as Facebook and Twitter.  It has a 7-inch colored LCD capacitive touch screen that can display video.  The tablet/e-reader also has 8GB of internal memory that can be expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card.  It can also connect through wifi.  

The device will be available on November 19 with a tag price of US$249.  That makes it cheaper than the low-end iPad by more than US$100 but almost twice as expensive than the Kindle.  

This led us to conclude that the NookColor will not go after the Amazon Kindle or even the Sony Reader.  Instead, it has trained its sight on the leader of the pack, iPad.

iPad Orientation Lock Switch to become Mute Switch with iOS 4.2

I just finished reading an article on 9to5Mac that says that when the iPad is upgraded to iOS 4.2, the orientation lock will become a mute switch.  As the article pointed out that since the change will be done through software, there will be a way to choose one or the other, or even both.

Well, think again.

The same article carried an email exchange between a 9to5Mac reader  and Steve Jobs where the latter confirmed the reconfiguration and that the switch will not do both functions; nor there is a way to choose which function to assign to the switch.  It will just be a mute switch. Period.

If you ask me, I would rather have the orientation lock function because I use my iPad a lot for reading books with iBooks or my PDF files with GoodReader.  I like reading on the bed and it would really be a challenge to do that when the screen would keep rotating.  Perhaps it's Jobs' way of telling me not to read on bed.

Why make it a mute switch when we could just adjust the volume to zero?

Smart Communications is official carrier of Windows Phone 7 in RP

Smart Communications is the official partner of Microsoft to bring the Windows Phone 7 to the Philippines in the last quarter of this year. 

The two companies have been working closely together since last year to provide a special combination of service platforms and bring the service locally.

"In the past year, we have seen a rise in the use of data—something that we have eagerly anticipated for quite some time now. We saw the surge in the use of mobile Internet—for e-mail, browsing and social networking—plus a host of other data-related transactions using Smart mobile phones. These developments are clear opportunities for Smart services to grow and move forward, to help us succeed in bringing our customers closer to the future of telecommunications."

Microsoft promises that Windows Phone 7 will bring a new experience to people and help them quickly fine and use data, information and services from the Internet and its applications.  The news phones are distinguished by unique design and integrated experience built from Microsoft's innovation such as, Microsoft Office Mobile, Windows Live, Bing and more.

By the way, unlike Apple which manufactured both hardware and software for its iPhone, Microsoft will not be making the devices for their platform. Instead it has partnered with handset makers Samsung, HTC, LG, among others, to produce the phones that will carry the new OS.  

Coming in Summer 2011: Mac OS X Lion

It wasn't only the MacBook Air that Steve Jobs announced in yesterday's Back to the Mac event.  The main subject, in fact, was the next iteration of the Mac OS X operating system, Lion.  If the pundits are to be believed, this will be the last of the big cats and they saved the last for the king of the jungle.

Steve Jobs said in his keynote address that "Lion brings many of the best ideas from iPad back to the Mac, plus some fresh new ones like Mission Control that Mac users will really like."

Some of the features of the upcoming operating system include:

• The Mac App Store works the same way as the App Store and you may purchase applications using your iTunes Account.  It promises to revolutionize the way we Mac users install our software and more.  Applications may be installed in every Mac a user owns and then updated regularly.  Jobs announced that the Mac App Store will be available within 90 days.

• The Launchpad gives instant access to all your apps with just a click on its icon on the dock.  Open windows fade away and apps are displayed in full screen just like in the iPad.  A swipe will show multiple pages of apps and these may be arranged according to the user's preference.

• The Mission Control gives us a bird's eye view of what is happening in our Mac.  It works almost like the Expose and Dashboard combined with Spaces thrown in.  With a swipe gesture, the user will see all open windows grouped by apps, other full screen apps as well as other Spaces.

Lion will also employ the multi-touch experience of the iPad.  Instead of the screen, however, we will be using the trackpad to pinch and swipe.  The applications will also open in full screen, just like in the iPad.  User could pinch to adjust the size of the display.

Indeed, Apple brings back to the Mac the technology it has developed for its iPod, iPhone and iPad through the Mac OS X Lion.  I'll surely upgrade once it is available.

The New Mac Book Air

photo from apple.com

 Steve Jobs revealed the much anticipated MacBook Air refresh at the Apple's Back to the Mac event this morning. The thinnest Mac ever now comes in two variants, 11-inch and 13-inch.

The new MacBook Air models come with flash storage so anyone who uses iPhone or iPad already should be familiar with this type of storage. Both models have Core 2 Duo processors, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics cards, and 2GB RAM that can be upgraded to 4GB from Apple's online store.

Apple claims that battery life is up to 7 hours for wireless web browsing on the 13.3-inch model while 5 hours on the 11.6-inch model, and up to 30 days for both sizes when in sleep mode.

The new MacBook Air also comes with Multi-Touch trackpad that lets the user pinch, swipe, or rotate to adjust an image, zoom in on text, or advance through a photo album. There is also a FaceTime camera that will allow the user to make video calls through the Internet. FaceTime for Mac is still in Beta though.

Since the new MacBook Air has no internal optical drive, it comes with a "Software Reinstall Drive" that will be used to restore Mac OS X and iLife.

We checked the Apple Store Philippines and found out that the new models are now available and ship within 2 business days. Prices are as follows: For the 11-inch models, PhP51,990 with 64GB storage and PhP61,9990 with 128GB storage; For 13-inch models, PhP67,9990 with 128GB storage and PhP83,990 with 256GB storage.

A Brief Introduction

This blog will be about technology in the Philippines. We're still putting our acts together and will soon start posting here. Please be patient. Thanks for taking a peep.