OT: Tech/SmartPhones/Tablets etc.

[W. Unseld]

I love going to this board for answers and opinions with very few exceptions (I'm looking at you bulletproof ). I'm NOT looking to turn this into an iphone v. droid flame war, but I would love to see an informal help & review thread. Here goes:

Informal Review: Kindle Fire--admittedly I've only demo'd it for one day but I really liked it and it didn't have any of the shut down/freeze up glitches I've read about. My firm's computer guy has one too and loves it. It can do about 90% of what most tablets do at about 1/3 the price. My only concern with it is it would give me an excuse to buy anything and everything online. I'm sure that's the idea but it's great as a large i-pod touch.

Informal Review: iphone 4GS--Siri appears to be the main upgrade from the 4G. Originally this concerned me b/c I thought Siri sucked as an app but as part of the hardware it's working out nearly--not quite, but nearly--as good as advertised. This phone also has better volume than my 3G did but the back of it seems more brittle and the Otter casing is great for protection but interpheres with accessories.

Help 1: What app are you guys using to input your work outs?

Help 2: Technical question. I have two separate user logins on my work computer and I access itunes off both. A book I downloaded is showing up on one work user login itunes but not the other. The itunes accounts aren't separate, just the work computer logins are different. I tried downloading the book straight to my phone and that didn't work either, nor did itunes help suggestions. I'll say this for amazon, I've never had a problem buying anything there.

[closg00]

Thanks for the starting this thread, I will adopt this as the technology thread that I wanted to start

Right now I'm waiting for the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 updates. I don't have a tablet yet, so I'm waiting for IP3 to see what the price points are.

Just to keep Apple honest, I am taking a serious look at the new Droid Razr, but it's going to be hard to break-up my iPhone/MacBook combo.

[Wizards2Lottery]

I like the customization ability of Droid phones. My home 'screens' on my Droid Charge are loaded with all the relevant apps/news sources that I frequent through my phone.

I'm thinking of getting the Kindle Fire. I have a 2nd generation Kindle which I still use as my e-reader but it's gotten old, battery life has diminished and the fact that I can't adjust the brightness on the screen has always irritated me. Might be time to make the switch to the latest tech.

[Induveca]

I'll state first off, I've been a programmer since 8/9 years old..........I love all technology and I own both Android/iPhone/Blackberry out of necessity. When consulting or for my company, I need to have them all to test applications and limitations.

That being said, the iPhone 4S is the best phone out there in my book. I know how to write apps for it, I love the tight codeset/security/gigantic community of developers and an app for pretty much anything you could want. That's the tipping point for me, and a reason I went with Windows for 20+ years over Macs. Availability and QUALITY of software. The iPhone has EXPONENTIALLY more software, and more importantly exponentially more QUALITY software than the Android platform. The reason for this are numerous and don't belong in this thread.

To input my workouts, I use "Full Fitness" on the iPhone. Great app, but in reality I don't use it that much anymore as I have pretty much everything memorized. But if you're heavy into logging your workouts, great app.

Tablet wise, I also have an iPad 2. It's great, but quite frankly I use my iPhone for surfing more than I use the tablet. The iPad is great with a bluetooth keyboard for lengthy flights, or meetings (I never carry a laptop anymore)......but for whatever reason I find myself using my phone far more at home than my tablet which is odd. My girlfriend is the same way. It's the exact same OS, and after you've tinkered around with an iPhone so much the iPad feels like a giant cumbersome iPhone at times.

I'm definitely picking up the Kindle fire as by all accounts it's the best implementation of a custom Android interface yet......and the price is too good to pass up. I'll throw it in the kitchen and watch my girlfriend use it for recipes or whatever she does in there.

[W. Unseld]

I don't want to use my iphone 4gs as my ipod when working out b/c I don't want it to get messed up and the case is a pain to take on and off. I wanted the ipod shuffle but I'm told the new one stinks b/c you have to use the new headphones which short easily. Anyone have any thoughts on which to get or where to get them cheaper than Apple or amazon?

[fugop]

The Sansa clip is well regarded for its sound, especially for the price. Unless you're in an all-Mac environment, it's probably the best option.

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-Cli ... 002MAPT7U/

The Samsung android players are generally well regarded:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galaxy-4- ... 005P1VMLU/

Cowon produces the best sounding/performing audio players, but they're technically involved and quirky.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_mp3?_ ... tbin=Cowon

[nate33]

I second fugop on the Sansa clip. It's small, cheap, durable and easy to operate. If all you want to do is to listen to mp3's, it's a good choice.

If you want an upgrade in sound, spend your money on a decent set of Sennheiser sport headphones. I use these.

[W. Unseld]

Thanks Fugop, and excuse my extreme ignorance, but I'm assuming itunes will work with this thing? I'm an 80's kind of guy still trying to come to grips with the 21st century and pro-wrestling being fake.

[closg00]

*Bump*

[montestewart]

Thanks Fugop, and excuse my extreme ignorance, but I'm assuming itunes will work with this thing? I'm an 80's kind of guy still trying to come to grips with the 21st century and pro-wrestling being fake.

If they're downloaded from itunes, you might have to jump through a bunch of hoops to work with the songs (don't know what their most recent proprietary policies are), but if they're just recorded from your own cds or other non-Apple media, it shouldn't be hard to get them on another device.

[montestewart]

Wait a minute, what did you say about wrestling?

[dangermouse]

can someone explain to me the appeal of an iPad?

[fugop]

Yeah, the DRM issues associated with apple-bought media can be onerous. Did you buy the songs on itunes, or somewhere else?

If you bought the music from itunes, your best bet is going to be to buy a used or refurbished shuffle or Nano.

--------

I think I've mentioned a few times that I moved to the Bronx late last year, after being in the district since the mid-90s. My girlfriend inherited a 1 bedroom apartment up here, and we're rehabbing it. I've spent the last month working on electrical and networking issues. It's been a learning experience.

I've set up computers on both of our televisions, and have tv set up through the network and windows media center. I finished building the computers last weekend, and finished configuring them tonight.

[DaRealHibachi]

can someone explain to me the appeal of an iPad?

Lightweight mix between a phone and a laptop; if you want to surf the internet, listen to music, have the ease of use of a touchscreen, watch a movie in HD on a big enough screen without having to carry a bulky laptop around and worry about specs, a tablet might be something for you...

I would recommend a Android one if your a little more tech savy though, you can customize it allot more than an IPad (different roms, undervolting, overclocking etc)

[W. Unseld]

The songs were bought on i-tunes, so does anyone know a good place to get used or refurbished ipods?

Also, is there a non-itunes site I should be using to download music for apple products that may be cheaper than itunes and more transferable to other media?

[BigA]

Amazon has alot of sellers of older generation iPod shuffles. I had to get one because I've never upgraded OSX since I bought my Mac (spring 2007). The newer shuffles only work with newer versions of iTunes, and newer versions of iTunes only work with newer versions of OSX.

In the next couple weeks I'm buying a new Air, so I'll be up to date with everything.

[W. Unseld]

I think the problem with the new shuffle is apparently some of the controls are in the headphones and short out.

Does anyone use a website other than itunes that works with apple and other products? Yes this is all remedial I'm sure, thank you for putting up with me.

[montestewart]

I think the problem with the new shuffle is apparently some of the controls are in the headphones and short out.

Does anyone use a website other than itunes that works with apple and other products? Yes this is all remedial I'm sure, thank you for putting up with me.

Many seek the answer, if only one brave enough to ask the question.

[BigA]

I think the problem with the new shuffle is apparently some of the controls are in the headphones and short out.

Does anyone use a website other than itunes that works with apple and other products? Yes this is all remedial I'm sure, thank you for putting up with me.

You can use the iTunes software to manage all your music content, including CDs that you load in, and songs you purchase from other online stores (like Amazon). The basic software is free to download. There's other MP3 and digital music management software out there, like Windows Media Player, but I don't think those will work with Apple hardware.

[Zonkerbl]

I second fugop on the Sansa clip. It's small, cheap, durable and easy to operate. If all you want to do is to listen to mp3's, it's a good choice.

If you want an upgrade in sound, spend your money on a decent set of Sennheiser sport headphones. I use these.

I use shures, like these for example:

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SE315-K-Iso ... 938&sr=8-5

You can usually go back a generation or two and get the same quality earbuds but for $60, which makes them a little more disposable. I wear them out after about six months.

All digital sound is the same. The only thing that affects the quality of sound you hear is the headphones. Choose your mp3 player based on which software interface you are more comfortable with. I had a sansa and frankly the interface sucked compared to itunes. Although now I use my phone as my mp3 player - I hate having to carry around different gadgets. Now I have my phone, a gps, an mp3 player, a pda -- all in one gadget. Yay. Except the specific one I have -- droid x2 -- sucks compared to the newer droids that have come out.