ATLChris.com » Software Reviews http://atlchris.com Sat, 03 Mar 2012 19:30:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 HTC Incredible Reviewed http://atlchris.com/1598/htc-incredible-reviewed/ http://atlchris.com/1598/htc-incredible-reviewed/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:07:06 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1598 HTC Incredible - Android - Verizon WirelessThe HTC Incredible on the Verizon Wireless network is one of the newest and most fully featured handsets on the market. The Incredible features a Qualcomm® QSD8650, 1 GHz Snapdragon™ CPU, Android 2.1, 8 GB of internal flash memory, a 3.7″ AMOLED screen (480 x 800), and a 8 megapixel camera w/autofocus and flash. The device measures around 4.63 x 2.30 x 0.47 inches and features three physical buttons and five touch buttons. The physical buttons consist of a wake/sleep/off button on the top of the device, a volume rocker button on the left, and a general-use physical button on the front of the device (used for taking pictures and video). The touch buttons include the common Android buttons (home, menu, back, and search) plus one additional general-use button on the front. The general-use button on the front of the device is both a physical button and a touch sensitive button that allows you to scroll with out having to touch the screen. The touch part of the general-use buttons reminds me a lot of the Blackberry Pearl button, but touch sensitive, not rolling.

HTC Incredible - Android - Verizon WirelessIn general, I am very impressed with the hardware the HTC Incredible features. The front is almost completely flat, which makes for a very comfortable feeling when I hold the device to my ear. The back of the device has specially designed ridges that prevent the device from sitting flat on a table. This allows you to still hear the speaker at a reasonable volume even when the device is sitting flat on a table. One issue I have with the design of the phone, is the camera; it sticks out the furthest of everything on the back, which leaves it at a greater risk of being scratched, but I did not experience any scratching issues in the two weeks I had the device. The only other issue I had with this device is the call quality. I found the quality to be just OK. Voices sounded somewhat scratchy and I would occasionally hear minor popping noises.

One last thing I want to point out is the physical back button found on all Android devices, including the HTC Incredible. One of my biggest gripes with the iPhone OS is that every app has to take up valuable screen resolution for a back button, and it is never in the same place. I find it so incredibly useful to have a physical back button, plus it opens up the screen to the actual guts of the applications.

Android 2.1 and HTC’s Sense UI

The HTC Incredible comes loaded with Android 2.1 and HTC’s Sense UI. While this is not my first time using Android, it is my first time using HTC’s Sense UI, and I must say I am very impressed. The Sense UI has a very clean, simple, and polished user interface. It is just as easy to navigate as the iPhone OS, plus it offers some added goodies that take it beyond the now outdated iPhone UI. The Sense UI comes with some wonderful built-in widgets that really give the phone added functionality in a fresh and very polished manner. As for Android 2.1 they have really made some decent improvements over Android 2.0. Some of the new features found in Android 2.1 include live wallpaper, voice typing in all fields, updated home navigation, and a 3D view in the photo gallery, just to name a few.

The Applications

Applications have always been the low point of the Android OS. Well, I can say that this is not so much the case anymore. I was able to find Android versions of almost all of my favorite iPhone apps. The apps found in the Android Marketplace are really starting to take form and become very polished functionally. Some of the apps I tested include The Weather Channel, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Barcode Scanner, Mint.com, Google Voice, and Waze, just to name a few. The Google Voice app — in fact, all the Google apps — are amazing, offering high levels of integration that really allow you to take advantage of the Google Web Apps locally on your phone. I even found both The Weather Cannel and the Foursquare apps to triumph over their iPhone counterparts. Overall, I like how the Android Marketplace and the applications in it are starting to come of age. I believe the openness of the Android Marketplace is really going to allow it to outgrow the iTunes App Store, and soon.

Final Thoughts

The HTC Incredible, is a great phone. In fact, it is Incredible (Ha, ha. Sorry, I had to do that!). A lot of thought and advanced engineering went into the physical design of the device, and it shows. The only minor design flaw I could find, was the camera lens sticks out, leaving it open to possible scratching. Other areas I think HTC could improve on are the lack of a HD video camera and a possible front-facing camera. The Sense UI, which is found on all HTC devices, is incredibly beautiful. It adds a needed level of beauty and polish to the Android OS. The Android OS is improving greatly with every new release, and I see it as the definite winner when you compare Android to iPhone OS. Google might be a search company, but they sure do know what users want, and they deliver it. Last but not least, are the applications. Android applications have really come a long way in the last few months, and I found a decent number of the applications in the Android Marketplace to be as polished and functional as the same apps found in the iTunes App Store.

Will I be making the switch to Android from iPhone? Well, as of right now, the answer is yes no (see why: WWDC Keynote Wrap-Up), but that might change soon. For those of you that don’t know, on Minday, June 7, 2010, Steve Jobs is set introduce the new iPhone 4/HD at WWDC. There has been a bunch of information leaked about this new iPhone, most of which I am not very impressed by. If Steve announces only what has been leaked so far with no new surprises, than yes, I will switch to Android in June when my AT&T contract expires. If Steve comes out with a big new surprise about the new iPhone, then I might have to reconsider switching, but as it stands now, I do plan to go Android very soon.

One additional thing I want to add concerns Verizon Wireless service. Tons and tons of people complain about the horrible AT&T service, but I can honestly say that I experience far more low-signal areas on the HTC Incredible (Verizon) than I did on the iPhone (AT&T). While I do plan to switch to Android, I will be sticking with AT&T, as it seems to be a much better service provider.

Demo Video

Below are 2 demo video’s showing the quality to the HTC Incredible video camera. I would recommend you watch them on YouTube and bump the quality to 480p to see it in its true quality.

Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ljSLdmdOx8

Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrMs-DLXhO8

What are your thoughts on the HTC handsets and the Android vs. iPhone showdown? Who do you side with?

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1598/htc-incredible-reviewed/feed/ 5 Improve Your Writing With Wordy.com http://atlchris.com/1543/improve-your-writing-with-wordy-com/ http://atlchris.com/1543/improve-your-writing-with-wordy-com/#comments Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:55:25 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1543 A few weeks ago, I discovered a site called Wordy.com. Wordy is a service based out of the UK that allows its users to connect with professional copy-editors to check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and structure in the users writing. The service is super simple to use, offers very competitive pricing, and has a large group of highly trained and professional copy-editors. Just a note on how friendly the people are, with in 24 hours of reporting a bug I found on the site, I had an email from the founder of the site offering me a free submission for assisting with the bug.

How it Works

How it works, is the user signs up for the site, and either attaches a common format document, or does a copy/paste right into to the site itself. Once they add text to the site, they are presented with 3 options: the option to choose either UK-English or US-English as the language; a type of text category; Notes to Editor. After filling in these sections of submission, they will confirm the order, and will be presented with a screen that keeps them up-to-date on the status of the submission, as well as a projected time till the review is complete. Once the review is complete, the user will be able to view the revisions, and either accept them or reject them. If they are rejected, you can add notes on why, and the editor will take another look at them. Here is a quick video that shows you how easy it is to submit content and review the revisions:

Review

At the time I am writing this post, I will have used Wordy a total of 7 times, ranging from a quick paragraph of website copy to a long winded 1000+ word blog post. Right up front, I will say, that I am loving this service for a few of reasons. First, is how easy it is to submit new content for review. You literally submit your text, answer a few basic questions, and click “confirm.” With in a few minutes, you have a professionally edited version of your submission, with details on the revisions. Second, is the review times, as I said in the last sentence, most submission are returned fully edited with in a few minutes. As of right now, a 400 word submission will be returned in approximately 33 minutes. It is hard to find a service these days that doesn’t require at least a 24 hour period for something to be reviewed.

The third reasons I am loving Wordy, is the pricing. Pricing is based on the total word count of the submission, but is very competitively priced. Prices are given in British pounds, but even with the conversion rate, things seem to be very competitively priced. My large blog post on the HP Mini 311 Netbook was run though Wordy, and it only cost me € 15.09 (just about $20.00 USD.) The final reason I am loving Wordy, is the quality of the editors. I have submitted profession text that I found on some major websites to Wordy to test the quality of the reviewers, and I was very pleased. One editor found some ways to improve a Wall Street Journal news article. I also find the copy-editors to be very friendly and they will work with you through multiple revisions.

The WordPress Plugin

Just recently, Wordy announced the new Wordy WordPress plugin, that will allow you to get instant quotes and submit blog posts to Wordy.com from directly inside your WordPress Blogs wp-admin panel. You can even require all the people who post on your blog to use Wordy via the plugin. Below is a video about the Wordy WordPress Plugin:

Final Thoughts

Why do I like Wordy? Well, as you can probably tell from reading this blog, I am not a professional writer. I blog because I enjoy it. With that being said, I would still like my posts to be free of grammar, punctuation, and structure errors. From emails, to website copy, to blog posts, and company newsletters, everyone who writes content that will be read by others should use Wordy. It will help you gain respect from yours readers, and will allow you to project professionalism through your writing. My final verdict, USE IT!

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1543/improve-your-writing-with-wordy-com/feed/ 7 HP Mini 311 Netbook Reviewed http://atlchris.com/1514/hp-mini-311-netbook-reviewed/ http://atlchris.com/1514/hp-mini-311-netbook-reviewed/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:00:04 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1514 Recently, I was able to get my hands on an HP Mini 311 netbook. This is the first time I have ever had a chance to work with a netbook, and I will say right up front, it was not the best experience I have had. The HP Mini 311 was loaned to me by Verizon Wireless for review purposes. During my review, I ran into multiple problems and concerns, which I will describe in detail below.

The Hardware

The HP Mini 311 features an 11.6″ LED HD BrightView widescreen display, Nvidia’s ION gfx chip, a 160GB HHD, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, an HP Broadband Wireless (3G) modem, and 802.11a-n WLAN. The specs on this little machine are impressive, for such a small package. The device, which measures in around 11.5″ x 8″ x 1.25″, features a stylish design with a wide range of ports on both sides. For me, the best thing about the HP Mini 311, is the beautiful high-definition screen, which is paired with the Nvidia ION. The screen on this device is great for watching movies through iTunes, via DVD, or through many of the HD video (non-Flash; more info in the Software section) sites that are on the net today.

The ports on this device are another strong point. On the right side of the device, you have an Ethernet port, VGA, audio out, two USB 2.0 ports and a media card reader. On the left side, you have the security lock, power connector, one USB 2.0 port, and one HDMI out. Yes, you read it right: This netbook features HDMI out, which is an impressive feature for a device in this genre. I tested the HDMI output and was very impressed with the quality.

The Nvidia ION gfx chip and the 11.6″ HD screen are impressive, but there are a few hardware aspects that affected my review in a negative way. First, the touchpad on this device is made of the same material as the rest of the body with no texture difference. I found this very annoying, and I much prefer the textured style touchpad that comes on the unibody MacBook Pro. The second negative I came across with the HP Mini 311 was the keyboard. I found the keys to be to be very cheap feeling, and they wiggle a bit when you touch them.

The Software

The HP Mini 311 comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and all kinds of HP software pre-installed. The software that comes pre-installed on the device is what turned me off from this device completely. First is the HP software products. I don’t know why hardware developers feel the need to fill their machines with horrible clunky software that ruins the usability of the device. When you start up the device, you are prompted with five — yes, five — popups asking you to activate and pay for something, register something, or run something in the background. The HP assistant software that tells you if your computer is “healthy” or not pops up and scans for a few minutes every time you wake the device.

The Verizon Wireless VZAccess Manager, which is the software you use to connect to the Verizon Wireless 3G network, is very bulky and slow-moving. When you open the software, it takes 45 seconds to a minute before you can do anything; then there is another 15 to 30 second wait while it “detects devices”??? While the software does what it is supposed to, it also takes over control of your WiFi connection. My contact described this as a convenient feature, but I found it more annoying and somewhat inconvenient. I would much rather just use Windows 7′s built-in WiFi controller.

Flash performance on the device was not great either. I found Flash video playback from sites like Hulu and HBO GO to be very choppy and unwatchable. I did some research and found that this occurs partly because Flash did a hack job at integrating with the NVIDIA ION chipset. I also think the bulky, memory-hogging HP software played a part in the poor Flash performance.

The Verizon Network

This section is where I have to cut my review short. Halfway through my review of the device, the Verizon 3G network started giving me authentication errors, which hindered my ability to fully review the 3G performance and run speed tests. I reached out to my contact at Verizon, who was unable to assist me with this issue.

Final Thoughts

The HP Mini 311 features a very impressive set of hardware specs for a netbook device. The HD BrightView screen is one of the best I have seen on a laptop computer, and the addition of HDMI is a very welcome component. The software is where this device takes a turn for the worse. The HP pre-installed software is annoying and bogs down the performance of the computer. The VZAccess Manager from Verizon Wireless, is very slow-moving and not the most user-friendly mobile connect software package I have worked with. My final verdict for the HP Mini 311, is SKIP IT!

Have you ever used a Netbook? Which one did you use, and was it a favorable experience?

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1514/hp-mini-311-netbook-reviewed/feed/ 7 Pogoplug (2nd Generation) Reviewed http://atlchris.com/1473/pogoplug-2nd-generation-reviewed/ http://atlchris.com/1473/pogoplug-2nd-generation-reviewed/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:56:38 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1473 Essentially, the Pogoplug is a device that allows you to attach any external USB hard drive to the cloud with out any fancy router configurations. The first time I heard about the Pogoplug, I was really excited to get my hands on one and see if it was as great at it sounded. Well, the first generation came and went, and to tell you the truth, I had forgot all about it. In November 2009, Pogoplug announced they would drop a new version of the Pogoplug with a new optimized web interface. When I heard about the new generation of the device, I decided I was not going to let it slip my mind again. Now that I have one, and have been using it for a few weeks, I wanted to do a full write up on the device and share my thoughts and experience.

Unboxing

The Hardware

The Pogoplug in all its pink glory is a pretty slick looking device. One of the complaints people had with the first generation was that it was pretty ugly, and only offered 1 USB port. Well, both of these worries are no more in the second generation of the device. The Pogoplug features 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 gigabit ethernet port, and a 100-240v power port on the rear of the device. On the front of the device, you will find 1 additional USB 2.0 port and a status light that will let you know if your Pogoplug is online. It is hard to explain how the device looks just in words, so be sure to checkout the pictures throughout this article. Essentially, the device itself floats on a pink plastic stand, that doubles as a cable management system. While this device looks odd hovering like it does, you will find, that this hover design allows for 360 degree airflow, which keeps the device nice and cool.

my.Pogoplug.com

Maintaining your Pogoplug is easy and is all done from a web interface at http://my.pogoplug.com. When you first login, the website will detect a Pogoplug on your network, and will automatically sync it to your account. If it doesn’t automatically detect it, it will ask you for the unique ID located on the bottom of the device. Once the device is setup, you will see it appear on the website and its contents will appear in a very typical folder thumbnail style. You can browse your files, view them right there on the web, and share them.

My.Pogoplug.com also analyzes your content and organizes it into a series of media folders: i.e. Movies, Photos, Music, Slideshows. As it analyzes your content for the media folders, it also zero’s out any video files and transcodes them for over the website viewing. I found this to be an awesome feature. When I host my entire home media server on my Pogoplug, this functionality will allow me to view all my movies and TV shows from my home media server via the internet when I am away from my home network. The video that is seen through my.Pogoplug.com is the degraded transcoded video, but when you watch video via the Desktop software, you will see the original quality. The transcoded video just makes it website friendly and is show in a typical flash player. I would love to see my.Pogoplug.com take advantage of HTML 5 instead of Flash, but that is just a minor concern.

Desktop Software

The Pogoplug also offers desktop software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. Essentially what this software does, is allow you to display your Pogoplug drive as a typical attached USB hard drive. You just load the application, login with your my.Pogoplug.com credentials, and up pops your Pogoplug wireless drive in Finder and/or My Computer. The application features a few options: Remember me on this computer, Automatically start Pogoplug drive on login, and enable multi-drive support. Along with those few setup options, you have the option to setup Active Copy which is essentially, a way for you to sync directories on your computer to a directory on your Pogoplug. I found this really handy by sharing my pictures directory, so when I add new pictures, they are automatically available on my Pogoplug for sharing.

One problem I had with the desktop software (Mac Version), is there is no running in the background. You have to have the Pogoplug application fully running and in your dock. I don’t want something that has to be open up all the time sitting on my dock. That is what the status bar is for, and yes there is a status bar icon, but there is no way to close the application and keep it running in the background with just a status bar icon.

Content Sharing

Another great feature of the Pogoplug is the ability to share hosted content. You can select to share any folder on your Pogoplug connect hard drive. Sharing is done through my.Pogoplug.com. They offer a ton of ways to share your content, ranging from emailing a private link, to opening it to the public all together. They also allow you to share content via all the major social networks and via an RSS feed. This is great, because now I can share my entire pictures directory with all my relatives. I can even set it up to notify people when I add new images to the folder.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I am very happy with the Pogoplug and the my.Pogoplug.com website. The ability to connect multiple USB 2.0 hard drives to the device at one time, the transcoding of videos for easy online viewing, and the ability to share content really makes this device a winner in my eye. My only issue with the device is the desktop application. They need to address the running in the background issue and I would like a few more options to control the desktop software and the Pogoplug attached drives, but those are just minor issues compared to all the positives the device offers.

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1473/pogoplug-2nd-generation-reviewed/feed/ 8 Motorola Droid Review: Summary http://atlchris.com/1285/motorola-droid-review-summary/ http://atlchris.com/1285/motorola-droid-review-summary/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:16:35 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1285 The 4th and final post in my series of the Motorola Droid, I wanted to write up a short and quick summary of the phone’s hardware and software. If you would like more details, please look back at the other posts in my series: Android Market vs. iTunes App Store | The Droid Hardware | The Droid Software

The Motorola Droid, is a beautiful phone, it has some great features that I love, but it also has a handful of negatives. The first great feature I love, is the integration of first-party apps with the phone itself, and the ability to run apps in the background. Ones of the worst parts of the iPhone is the limitations on applications. I wish I could accept a phone call while my GPS application keeps running in the background. Another great feature to the Motorola Droid, is the Google Navigation application. This GPS app works great, it lacks some of the common features found in other GPS applications, but the positives defiantly outweigh the negatives. If this app is released on the iPhone, it will instantly become my main GPS navigation application. I also very much enjoyed the ability to mount the device as a mass storage device on my Mac. This allows me to drag over all kinds of content on to the phone. The combination of third party players and the ability to mount the device allows me to view tons of different types of video content, and not be limited to what Google or Motorola says is ok. The final positive to the device, is the screen, this screen on the Motorola Droid is beautiful, it put all other mobile screens to shame (Yes, even the iPhone!) The combination of brightness and high resolution, really makes for a pleasant experience when using the phone.

The negatives of the device are both hardware and software related. First, is the quality of the Android Market and the third-party apps that are available. Yes, I know it is newer than the iPhone and the iTunes app store, I am just saying, developers don’t need to port apps over to Android, they need to focus on developing for Android. I ultimately think the limitations of the iTunes App Store are what will eventually lead to the end of the iPhones reign over the entire mobile phone industry. The second major negative is the physical keyboard. The physical keyboard on this device was not designed well at all, the keys are to flat and are not comfortable on your fingers. I found my typing to be more accurate on the virtual keyboard than the physical keyboard. The final negative I want to touch on, is the Verizon Network. Yes, Verizon has a ton of 3G coverage, but did you also know, that you can’t use the data connection if you are on a phone call, or vice-vers-a. That is a horrible limitation. CDMA (Verizons Network) is an older technology than GSM (AT&T,) and it has a bunch of nasty limitations. Did you also know, that a Verizon (CDMA) phone will not work internationally? With GSM networks, all you have to do is change out your SIM card and you can be up and running on another network internationally.

Overall, the Motorola Droid is a nice phone, it has some great positives but also has a bunch of negatives. For now, I will be staying with the iPhone. If the Droid fixed the keyboard and the third-party-apps became a bit more advanced, I would highly consider switching, but for now I am happy. If you need to be on the Verizon Network, the Droid is defiantly the phone to go with, but if you have network freedom, I still recommend the iPhone 3GS as the phone to get.

This article is Part 4 of my full series of reviews of the Motorola Droid. Below are links to the other parts of the Motorola Droid Review:

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1285/motorola-droid-review-summary/feed/ 9 Motorola Droid Review: The Software (Android 2.0) http://atlchris.com/1269/motorola-droid-review-the-software-android-2-0/ http://atlchris.com/1269/motorola-droid-review-the-software-android-2-0/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:03:34 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1269 Google Android on Motorola Droid

In part 3 of my review of the Motorola Droid, I would like to take an in depth look at the software featured on the device. The Droid is the first phone available in the US with Google’s Android 2.0 operating system. I have never worked with Android 1.x so I wont be able to make any comparisons between version 1.x and 2.0. On top of the Android 2.0 OS, I will also explore some of the fabulious 1st-party-applications that come preinstalled on the device.

Android 2.0

Google’s Android 2.0 is a very impressive operating system, it offers a lot of the same features you can find on other touch screen phones, but it also features some new and original functionality. To start out, I would like to visit the security of the phone. Now days, everyone has a smart phone, and on these smart phones, people are putting a lot of personal data and content. This content ranges from tons of personal family photos, banking information, credit card information, personal and business emails, and website login credentials. With all this data on a device that can be easily stolen and/or lost, it is very important for the phone to feature high levels of security and password protection. Most phones now days have a 4 to 6 digit lock code that keeps people out, but is this really enough? One thing Android 2.0 features that I really like is the addition of a pattern lock which allows you to secure your data beyond the 4 digit lock code. What this entails, is sliding your finger around on the touch screen in a certain pattern in order to unlock the device. I tested this and found it to be a very welcomed security feature.

Being, that Android is a product of Google, you can expect to see heavy integration with Google Accounts, and you defiantly do see this. When you first boot up the phone, it walks you through a very easy Google Account setup. Once you have linked your Google Account to the Droid, all of your contacts, calendar data, Gmail emails, and YouTube subscriptions information is downloaded and automatically pumped into their respective 1st-party-applications. I found the overall setup from booting up the phone to downloading all your data to be a very easy 5 minutes and your phone is ready to go.

One of the problems I had with Google’s Android, was the on screen keyboard. It is a great keyboard and is designed very well, but when you press a key, the pop up of what key you are pressing is very awkwardly placed. I am very use to the iPhones keyboard and how the key your are pressing is displayed on screen. Android does this, but I found the placement of the pop up key to be some what scattered. Which I found affected my typing accuracy and speed slightly. One of the other problems I had with the Droid was that they have disabled the multi touch gestures in the US version of the phone. I am sure if this is a legal thing, or if the US version of the Droid just had to leave that out. I do know that the international/GSM version of the Droid, the Motorola MileStone, does support multi touch gestures.

Connecting the Droid with the computer is super easy, but I found the process to be a little awkward. When you plug the Droid into your computer, you will see nothing happen except it begins charging. To get it to mount to the computer, you have to slide down the notification bar, then click the mounting icon, then click the button to mount. This just seemed like an overly tedious process. If I am plugging the Droid into my computer, I would like for it to either auto mount to the computer or to just pop up a box that says mount or not. The current method has some extra clicks and steps that I found to be annoying. Once mounted, the Droid appears purely as a mass storage device allowing you to drag and drop content onto the device. If you would rather integrate it into iTunes for playlists and music, there are third party applications like, Salling Media Sync, that will help you do this.

Overall, Android is a very nice operating system. I found it easy to navigate, the settings are layed out in a very organized and accessable manor. The built-in security features were better than I have seen in any other phone and the integration with Google Accounts and Google search are very handy and make for an excellent user experience. I found myself using the Google search and voice search very often to not only search the web, but also load content on the phone. For example, you can say “ATLChris” and get search results in Google, but you can also say “Call ATLChris,” or “Navigate to ATLChris” and it will load the information from your contacts and either make the call or bring up Google Navigator.

The First-Party Apps

One of the best things about the Motorola Droid, is how Android 2.0 allows tons of integration between its 1st-party apps. By 1st-party, I mean applications that come preinstalled on the device. Some of these apps include Facebook, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Navigator.

Lets start with Facebook. In the past year, Facebook has grown at an alarming rate. How alarming? Well, my mom is on it, my dad is on it, my uncles are on it, oh and my feaking grandmother is on it. With all these new people coming to Facebook, it is very important they are available across all platforms. The Facebook App that comes on the Droid, is very similar to the other mobile Facebook apps found on other devices, but what I really liked about this version verse the others is that it integrates into your phone. If I have John Doe in my Droid contacts list and my Facebook friends list, when I login to the facebook app for the first time, it will ask me if I would like to integrate my Facebook friends with my Contacts. If I say yes, it will bring in John Doe’s contact information that I don’t already have and will display it right in my contacts list. It will also offer a Facebook profile shortcut from the individuals contact list entry. This is awesome, because now if I want to check out a friends Facebook profile, I just search on the phone for the person using voice or type, click the Facebook Profile icon, and up pops their profile. No more logging into Facebook, browsing over to my friends list, having to choose J then find John Doe and finally click to load his profile. The integration is defiantly a welcomes addition

Next is Gmail. Being a Google device, you would expect deep integration with Google’s most popular application, Gmail. Well, just as you expect, they offer it. Gmail is integrated wonderfully with the Motorola Droid and Android 2.0. Gmail on Android 2.0 is the first time I have ever seen full integration with Gmail specifics like labels. I was very pleased to see that labels and colors all synced with my Gmail web account. It makes emailing on a mobile device a lot nicer. I hope the iPhone will take note on this because their mobile mail app is horrible.

The final first-party app I want to touch on is Google Navigator. Google Navigator made its debut on the Motorola Droid, and I made sure to test this application throughly. The Google Navigator application is an amazing first attempt from Google at a turn-by-turn GPS application. It incorporates most of the common features like 3D view, voice guidance, and traffic, what it didn’t feature was any routing options. By routing options, I mean no customization of the route they choose for you, like no toll roads, no dirt roads, fastest, shortest, … You are kind of stuck with the route they choose for you. I was also surprised to find that there was no night view on the maps. While it is missing some features, I found it to be the best as far as routing and correctly identifying locations. I have a series of test destinations I run though all the GPS applications I test, and Google Navigator is the first applications to find all 5 of my test locations. One thing that I really loved about the Google Navigator application, is that when you reach your destination, you get a Google Street View picture of your destination. If you would like to read more about Google Navigator, check out this great review from Gizmodo.

Final Thoughts

Google Android 2.0 is a solid mobile OS, I could see it really develop into a iPhone OS killer. The combination of openness and and integration with the OS and its apps, really makes for a great user experience. Anyone who gets this phone will not be disappointed. I have not reviewed to many mobile phones, but from what I can tell the Motorola Droid will blow any other phone on the market out of the water with the exception of the iPhone that is. Google is really working hard to develop a stellar OS. The software on the Motorola Droid, is what makes this devices, great. There are some minor problems, but overall, I was very pleased with Android 2.0.

This article is Part 3 of my full series of reviews of the Motorola Droid. Below are links to the other parts of the Motorola Droid Review:

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1269/motorola-droid-review-the-software-android-2-0/feed/ 3 iTunes App Store vs. Android Market http://atlchris.com/1167/itunes-app-store-vs-android-market/ http://atlchris.com/1167/itunes-app-store-vs-android-market/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:44:58 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1167 iTunes-App-Store-vs-Android-Market

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I have recently had the chance to review the Motorola Droid mobile phone running Google’s Android OS. In part one of my Motorola Droid review, I would like to compare Google’s Android Market to the iTunes App Store. This day in age applications are what can make or break a mobile phones success, so it is important that a wide range of well developed apps be available for the various mobile phones.

The Basics

Both the iTunes App Store and the Android Market boast the same basic features. Both offer featured lists, top paid list, top free list, general categories, ratings, reviews, and screenshots. One feature that the iTunes App Store offers that Android Market doesn’t is genius lists. This feature analyzes your current library of applications and makes recommendations based on what you use, how often you use it, and how you rate apps. This feature is relatively new, but I find it works surprisingly well and makes great recommendations.

While the 2 application stores function similarly, they are visually very different. The iTunes App Store features a very rich visual design that was inspired by the iTunes Mobile store and the iPhone OS. For many years, Apple has been known for visually stunning designs while keeping users experience and functionality in mind. While the Android Market functions well, it is visually very unappealing. I really felt that the unappealing design really effected my overall user experience with the Market.

One other major difference between the iTunes App Store and the Android Market is the addition of a desktop application. I find browsing for apps with the iTunes desktop application is easier and quicker, and makes for a better experience. The Android Market features a very dull website allowing you to browse the applications, but it in no way compares to the feature rich iTunes desktop application. I would love to see Google integrate the Android Market more into the web.

iTunes-App-Store Android-Market

The Apps

Since its creation in July of 2008, the iTunes App Store has been verbally attacked over and over again, for its super strict application inclusion policies. Apple, requires that all applications submitted to the App Store follow a very strict set of rules. Some of these rules make since, like no adult content, and some of them don’t, like the no Apple or iPhone imagery or verbiage rule. I understand that these rules keep the App Store apps to the highest quality standards, but at the same time, they really limit the accessibility to some specific types of apps. Android allows all types of apps in to their Market.

The iTunes App Store has been around for over a year, and a large majority of the apps have been on there for a year or more, which has resulted in multiple revisions and upgrades. As the apps age, they become more feature rich and visually refined. The apps available in the iTunes App store are very well developed and very visually stunning. The Android Market is behind in this area, but is catching up quickly. I found that the number of apps available in the Android Market is impressive, but the quality of the apps and the features they have are not on par yet with the iTunes App Store offerings. I am sure the Android Market will catch up as more and more developers expand to that platform, but for now, it is tailing slightly.

Final Thoughts

While both the iTunes App Store and the Android Market function almost identically, I feel the iTunes App Store slightly wins over the Android Market for 3 mains reasons. First, the iTunes App Store is more user friendly. They accomplish this by providing a very rich visual style, and lots of little user experience extras, like full screen screenshots, that really makes for a better user experience. Second, is the quality of apps. I contribute this to the fact that the iTunes App Store came first, allowing developers more time to refine their apps both visually and functionally. Lastly, is the combination of the iTunes desktop application and the iPhone. Apple has really done a beautiful job integrating the App Store with the computer. I do most of my App Store browsing and purchasing on my computer, and when you add the great organizing functionality built into iTunes, you have a definate winner in the iTunes App Store and Android Market comparison.

I will say though, that the Android Market might be trailing behind the iTunes App Store, but it is not behind by much. The Android Market is a perfectly acceptable app store. If they can just improve upon the 3 things I pointed out above, they will defiantly give the iTunes App Store a run for their money.

This article is Part 1 of my full series of reviews of the Motorola Droid. Below are links to the other parts of the Motorola Droid Review:

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1167/itunes-app-store-vs-android-market/feed/ 11 Parallels Desktop 5 vs. VMware Fusion 3 http://atlchris.com/1136/parallels-desktop-5-vs-vmware-fusion-3/ http://atlchris.com/1136/parallels-desktop-5-vs-vmware-fusion-3/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:14:48 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1136 In the last couple weeks, we have seen Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Windows 7 launch. With major OS updates, comes updates to virtualization software. Both, Parallels Desktop for Mac and VMware Fusion have been updated with Snow Leopard support and Windows 7 integration. For the past year, I have been a VMware Fusion 2 user and have been very happy. Instead of just paying the upgrade fee and moving up the the newest version, I decided to download the free fully functional trials of both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion to compare them. The results were pretty surprising.

I ran my test with Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion on my Macbook Pro 15″ with Windows 7 Ultimate as the OS of choice inside both virtual machines. All Windows 7 settings were the same for both test. I used 2GB of RAM and 1 core of a dual core Intel processor.

Windows 7 Integration

Both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion claim to have full Windows 7 support. Both claim to support Windows 7′s advanced visual features known as “Aero”. I can confirm that both systems support them, but I have found that enabling Aero in Windows 7 signifficantly hurts the performance of both Parallels and VMware. In VMware, I had to disable it because I couldn’t do anything with Aero enabled, it was just very laggy and slow. Parallels was a little bit better, but performance was still effected heavily when Aero was enabled. I found it was best to just disable these advanced visual features on both Parallels and VMware. Other than that, Windows 7 support seems to be great, I have not discovered any other bugs or concerns in regards to Windows 7.

Speed and Performance

While both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion have improved upon performance and speed from previous versions, I find Parallels to be significantly faster than VMware. One of the best new features on Windows 7 is the short start up and shut down times, which I can confirm first hand are much faster than any other version of  Windows. I ran 5 different start up and shut down test on both Parallels and VMware, and the results were surprisingly different. VMware Fusion 3.0 had an average start up time of 1 minute and 27 seconds and an average shut down time of 27 seconds. Parallels Desktop had an average start up time of 1 minute and 4 seconds and a average shut down time of 17 seconds. I was very surprised to find that Parallels won both test (20+ seconds on start up and 10 seconds on shut down.) While a few seconds to some might not seems like much, I found the additional time with VMware to be noticeable.

Views

Both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion offer a wide range of views which allow you to view Windows 7 as a whole in full screen mode or integrate it heavily with Snow Leopard and the dock. I personally prefer to run Windows 7 full screen in my #2 space on my 4 space setup, but I did explore all the different views for the purpose of this write up. VMware offers a windowed, unity, and full screen view. All of which work well. Parallels offers quite a few more options. Parallels full screen and windowed views are the same as VMware Fusion, but they offer a couple of other options allowing you to choose how much of the windows experience you wish to have. The new Crystal mode allows you to work in Windows, but have the look and feel of a Mac. Coherence view allows you to run Windows and Mac applications side by side as if both OS’ are one. Modality takes all your Windows 7 windows and runs them as transparent windows in Mac OS X.

The pictures below are all of Parallels new Crystal View. The last one has an added option to make the windows look like mac windows. This option if known as “Mac Look” in the config panel.

Parallels-Crystal-View Parallels-Crystal-View-2 Parallels-Crystal-View-3 Parallels-Crystal-View-4-With-Mac-Look-Option

Configuration Options

For me, the configuration options are were Parallels Desktop puts the final nail in the coffin for VMware Fusion. Parallels offers a ton of options and configurations that are not found in VMware. I found that simple tasks like setting up a printer or network are much easier to do with the Parallels config panel. After being with the VMware Fusion option panel for a year, I found the parallels options panel to be a change for the better. Parallels allows you to customize views and integration settings in ways VMware doesn’t even come close to. One other thing I very much liked was how Parallels offers recommended settings based on which OS you have running inside the virtual machine. One option I liked in particular, is the expandable drive offered by Parallels. With VMware, you choose the size of your drive, say 40 gigs, and that is it, you have 40 gigs taken up for your virtual machine regardless of if you are using it in the virtual machine. Parallels on the other hand allows you to set the virtual machine drive size, but it doesn’t automatically occupy the full 40 gigs, it only fills what it uses and will expand as you go up to 40 gigs if it needs to. ( I was mistaken, both VMware and Parallels do this, VMware just hides it a bit.)

Parallels-Option-General Parallels-Option-Hardware Parallels-Option-Options Parallels-Option-Options-3 Parallels-Option-Options-2

Final Thought

Parallels Desktop for Mac is defiantly the winner over VMware Fusion. For me, it is 2 major things that made me switch from VMware Fusion to Parallels Desktop. First, is overall performance and speed, increases. As discussed earlier, I found Parallels to be much quicker with starting up and shutting down. I also noticed better performance on the Mac side with Parallels. VMware for me just seemed to cause applications for freeze up on the Mac side. The second thing, is the options menu as I discussed earlier. The more advanced settings and options that Parallels Desktop offers really allows me to get my Virtual PC setup so both my OS X and Windows 7 applications run smoothly and perform as they should. More control with an application is always a big plus in my eyes.

Parallels Desktop for Mac is available in many brick and mortar and online retailers. You can purchase it online from Parallels.com for $79.99. If you are a pervious Parallels or VMware Fusion owner, you can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 5 for $49.99. Yes, you heard it right, even VMware Fusion people can receive upgrade pricing from Parallels.com. The details on the offer can be found here at the bottom right side of the page.

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Windows 7 was released earlier this week, and I am very pleased with it. This is a pretty big milestone for Microsoft, because it might be the best OS currently available on the market. Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been from the get go. I am currently running Windows 7 on my Mac through Bootcamp & VMware Fusion 3.0 and I am very pleased with Microsoft’s latest attempt at the Windows OS. Below I am going to cover 10 things that I am loving about Windows 7. Some of these are Vista features, but since Vista never caught on, I am going to discuss them as Window 7 features.

Taskbar

Windows 7 Taskbar

Windows 7 has revamped the taskbar or the start bar as some might know it. First, you can pin programs to it for easy quick launching. I find this very useful especially with programs you use daily. Second, on a crowded desktop covered with windows, using the new “Aero Peek” feature, you can preview individual windows from taskbar application icon, and even close documents from the thumbnails themselves.

Windows Media Center

Windows 7 Media Center

Windows 7 is now bundling Windows Media Center with it. Not only is it free with every copy of Windows 7, but it has also been revamped a bit. Windows Media Center has really turned into something amazing. You can now get Netflix Watch Instantly, and all kinds of other Internet based content right from inside Windows Media Center 7. It also will take all your local media and will organize it and download cover art and meta data. It also has some Tivo like DVR functionality built right in, but I have not had a chance to explore this yet.

I am actually working on building a Media Center PC right now, and Windows 7 with Windows Media Center 7 is going to be my software of choice. Here is a great review of Windows Media Center 7.

Jump List

Windows 7 Jump Lists

Jump Lists are secondary menus that are built into the taskbar. You can access the application specific menu by right clicking on an application on the taskbar. The Jump List consist of options, recently accessed files, bookmarks, top visited sites, tasks, emails, and more! The different Jump List content depends on the application. The developer of an application can choose what type of content they want to put in the Jump List, along side a few Window default items.

Libraries

Windows 7 Libraries

Being a big fan of Apple’s OS X, I have grown to love how they offer areas for Pictures, Sites, Music, Movies, Documents, and Downloads. New in Windows 7, we have seen Microsoft adopt this concept with Libraries. Libraries group similar content together, even if they live in different folders. Not only can you organize folders and other content inside the different Library types, but you can also create libraries from other remote sources with Homegroup sharing. So I can view my music collection from my home media center PC and view them and search them right from my music library.

Aero

Windows 7 Aero

Aero was introduced in Windows Vista but has been revamped a bit in Windows 7. Aero is what allows you to see the outline of windows on your desktop with out actually viewing the window. If you mouse over a taskbar tumbnail popup, you can see the outline of the window with out actually exposing the window. This is a very minor feature, but I find it very useful when moving and organizing content.

Window Resizing & Snapping

This might be my favorite feature of Windows 7 and it is so simple. Say you want to view your browser window along side your text document when you are researching content for that mid term paper. In the past you would have to resize the windows and drag them to either side of the desktop. With windows 7, you just grab the window, and drag it all the way to the left or right, and it will resize it to 50% of the desktop and snap it to the side you dragged it to. I use this all the time when I am writing blog post.

Better Overall Performance

Windows 7 Performance

Windows 7 boot up and shut down times have improved greatly over previous versions of Windows. Memory usage, searching, wake up and sleep, USB device detection, and battery consumption have all improved greatly. I find Windows 7 to be overall much quicker in all aspects.

Enhanced Security

Microsoft has finally gotten the overly obtrusive “User Account Control” features in check with Windows 7. One of my biggest complaints with Windows Vista was the consistent pop up security checks. Everything your did almost anything that could result in a security issues, you had to confirm, that you still wanted to do it. It was very annoying. With Windows 7, you have better control over this, and by default it is not as obtrusive as before. It mainly only pops up when you are installing a new application. They have also improved BitLocker, Windows built in encription technology which will allow you to encrypt files, folders, or entire disks. You can also encrypt USB keys which is a good idea considering how often the average person loses their USB key.

Overall Design Enhancements

Windows 7 Desktop

Windows 7 is beautiful. The total redesign of the taskbar, the alt+tab application switching, the new icons, the new control panel design, the transparent windows, the kick butt backgrounds, the fancy new desktop widgets, … Overall, Windows 7 is just one sexy OS. I find the design very easy on the eyes and most of the visual features aren’t obtrusive. I hate it when something is beautiful but the beautiful features make it almost unusable, well, this is not a problem with Windows 7, everything is beautiful and functional. Overall, I find it to be a very productive friendly OS.

I can't take credit for these images. All images were gathered from public sources:

http://net.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/10-reasons-why-you-should-upgrade-to-windows-7/

http://lifehacker.com/5254211/windows-7s-best-underhyped-features

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]]> http://atlchris.com/1094/10-things-i-am-loving-about-windows-7/feed/ 4 Tweetie 2 Reviewed http://atlchris.com/1048/tweetie-2-reviewed/ http://atlchris.com/1048/tweetie-2-reviewed/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:55:39 +0000 Chris Lentz http://atlchris.com/?p=1048 Tweetie 2

Tweetie 2 ($2.99 iTunes) is probably the most popular of all iPhone Twitter clients, and it deserves that title. Tweetie 2 is the second version of the super popular Tweetie iPhone client. They had to release under the name of Tweetie 2 for some App Store reasons that I will go into a little bit later.

The Good

At first look, Tweetie 2 is super sexy. The developers over at atebits software, take pride in the UI’s they create. Everything, from the unread notification, to the icon designs, and the button layouts, just screams “sexy yet functional.” While the UI is sexy, what really sets this Twitter client apart from others, is the user experience. The functionality and layout of the application is great. One of my favorite UI components of Tweetie 2 is the integration with Twitpic to allow you to view a thumbnail of the picture right in the tweet. This is great just because I don’t have to tap/wait a second time just for the picture.

The second component of the UI that Tweetie 2 really beats out the competition with, is the user profile layout. The way they have it layed out when you view a individuals profile is great, you can view the timeline, mentions, get general stats on the user, and do it all in Tweetie 2 super sexy way. I also like how I can view my own profile and it appears as any other profile. In the past, Twitter clients have decided to design a separate layout when you are viewing your own profile. This normally results in loss of functionality like retweeting your own tweets, but not with Tweetie 2. The final UI component I want to rave about is the slide to refresh. I absolutely love this feature. Instead of taking up screen real estate with a refresh button, Tweetie 2 implemented a slide to reload, which allows you to slide any tweet list down past the most recent tweet, and it will refresh the list. It is small things like this that really make Tweetie 2 a phinominal Twitter iPhone client.

Just a couple of other things I love, but I wont go into detail are the nearby by. This allows you to view nearby tweets on a google map. I also love the hold down the icon to mark a list read. You can do this by pushing and holding on the timeline, mentions, or direct messages tab.

Tweetie 2 - Swipe Edit Tweetie 2 - Tweet Tweetie 2 - My Timeline Tweetie 2 - Search Tweetie 2 - TwitPic Preview Tweetie 2 - Nearby Tweetie 2 - Mark All Read

The Bad

While I am raving about Tweetie 2, I do have 2 major gripes with it. First off, the lack of push notifications. One of my favorite functions of Echofon Pro ($4.99 iTunes,) which I recently reviewed, is the use of push notifications when you receive a mention of a DM. This is what push notifications were designed for, but for some reason, Twitter client developers have been slow to adopt it, Echofon Pro is the exception of course.

The second gripe I have with Tweetie 2, is the lack of updates verses a full new version of the app. When Tweetie 2 was released, it was released as a new application, not an upgrade to Tweetie. The reason for this, is that atebits wanted to charge a small upgrade fee, for their 2.0 version, but Apple doesn’t allow this at this time, so they released it as a full new app. Why this bugs me, is that I already paid for Tweetie, I would be willing to pay a $.99 upgrade fee, but not purchase the entire app again, which is what everyone had to do in order to get Tweetie 2. It appears Apple has plans to add in-app charges for upgrades, but at the time of Tweetie 2 release, this was not released yet. Hopefully, Tweetie will allow upgrade pricing in the future, and not full new versions of the application.

Conclusion

Overall, I am very please with Tweetie 2, it features a wide range of small but significant UI components and design aspects, that really make it stand apart from other iPhone Twitter clients. Will I now be using it as my main Twitter client on my iPhone? The answer is yes. Will I stop using Echofon Pro? No, I am going to keep it on my iPhone so I can still receive push notifications through it.

What Twitter client you use on your computer and mobile device? Please answer with a comment below.

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