Category Archives: Gadgets

What’s the number one camera being used right now as represented by the number of photos shared on Flickr? The Apple iPhone4.

No where on this list of the top 5 cameras do you see any mention of Android devices. Why is that? Apple has clearly made strives to improve the camera on their phones, but is it because of the multitude of applications that are motivating people to share their photos on Flickr or other photo sharing sites? Some might say that Android cameras just plain “suck”, but others will clearly disagree. It’s not as if there aren’t any applications to help take better photos. So maybe it’s because with all this talk about how the iPhone camera is the greatest thing since sliced bread, it’s about time that the Android camera gets a little bit of love. And that’s exactly what VentureBeat’s Jolie O’Dell is doing in her new book Android Photography.

In this 160 page book available for pre-sale now, Ms. O’Dell sets out to promote how cool the platform is. In an interview with me, she says that since she’s been a big Android advocate for a long time, she finds the platform very exciting and “in practice, the phones end up being a huge outlet of creativity for me, personally.” And since she carries around an Android phone all the time, she found it useful when traveling and finding beauty in the world all around her. But the age-old question is, why not the iPhone? Well, she thinks that it’s “over”. In fact, she feels that they’re just inaccessible with few carrier options, no real hardware options and the price can be unappealing to some.

So what’s exciting about this book? Android Photography is an instructional book with a run-down of some hardware and some applications. In addition, Ms. O’Dell as included some information about photo composition, editing, and even how to upload and share your creative work online. And before you think it’s just 160 pages of tough reading, think again. She’s put together some inspiring photo galleries with some jaw-dropping photos from a wide range of photographers around the world. Bottom line? According to Ms. O’Dell, we’re going to be shocked at the kind of results we’ll get out of an Android.

As a photographer, I’m always one to favor my Canon 7D SLR, but often when I’m out about town, I’m carrying my Android phone. And I’ll admit that I’m often thinking that my friends are taking way better photos using their iPhone. I mean, just look at Lisa Bettany’s Camera+ photo app for the iPhone which has been a rousing success or the prominence that Instagram has had in mobile photography — it’s just increasing exponentially. But now, after hearing about Android Photography, I’m thinking that there’s hope for improving my photos, and what I find incredibly helpful is that the examples that are in this book come complete with details on how they were taken so you can learn and try and recreate them.

Android Photography is set to be released in February and can be purchased off of Amazon in paperback format (sorry, no Kindle version). Who knows whether this will help reinvigorate the Android camera revolution, but with studies showing that Android applications being more popular than iPhone and the proliferation of these devices across all carriers like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, Android Photography might be the book for people to read in order to understand how to really take a photo.

Coming into the event space full charge, MogoTix is the newest to join in the ticketing phenomenon.

No longer will you have print out those long lists of attendance registrations, while spending precious time checking off names at the door, you can now scan a ticket via your iPhone (soon to be Android) and keep the line moving fast and easily.

MogoTix offers a simple mobile ticketing option for event organizers. The sign up process is as simple as 1, 2, 3. Really! To register for an event, you only have to fill out 3 lines.

To create an event is a simple process that takes only moments to create.

Whether its a party, conference or a tweetup, MogoTix makes it just as easy to set up an event as it is to distribute tickets to the attendees.

How does it work exactly? MogoTix will send an event ticket directly to an attendee’s cell phone via text message. Once they arrive at the event, they pull up the text message and with the ease of the MogoTix app (available in the iTunes store for free), the organizer can scan tickets quickly and easily at the event using their mobile phone.

“I personally heard comments like, this is ‘the future’ and what ‘it should be like’. MogoTix was a great way to set the tone for our conference and our attendees definitely got it and appreciated it.” – Wharton

Check out MogoTix for your next event!

-Follow them at Twitter.com/MogoTix and Facebook.com/MogoTix

I hate doing taxes to such an extent that for the second year in a row, I’ve filed an extension. Most of this has to do with the fact that I start out organized each year, and then all my receipts, etc, deteriorate into stacks of paper everywhere. I hate paper.

While I was getting my taxes together a couple months back to take to the accountant, I had a brilliant idea. I needed a portable scanner. If I can just scan my receipts and save them out to my Evernote Receipts notebook, I’m set. Everything then is digital and searchable – just the way I like it. So I started pricing portable scanners.

There are some neat ones out there, but they were all a little out of my price range. Then I stumbled upon Doxie.

Doxie is small and comes with a carrying case. It has only one cable – a USB cable that connects it to your Mac OR PC and also provides the power. Yes, it’s a cute scanner, with the little hearts, but it also comes with skins in case it’s a little TOO cutesy for you. Personally, I like the hearts. Even the required software is rather sassy.

Shortly after receiving my Doxie, I started scanning in all my travel receipts from the front half of 2010. True to my nature, they were scattered everywhere in my office (and I may not have found them all yet). Now, however, they are all scanned in as PDFs and Doxie immediately sent the PDFs to my Evernote.

One of the neatest things about Doxie is its ability to share instantly to the app of your choice – including the ones in the Cloud. If I’m scanning in photos, I can send them to iPhoto or one of my Flickr accounts. I can even send it to Doxie’s cloud hosting service, where it will create a condensed URL for me and send that to Twitter. It also scans out to Google Docs (which I use extensively), to Scrib’d, Picasa, and to Acrobat and Evernote locally (amongst others).

It was a speedy scanner, getting me through 5 months of receipts in around 2 hours, including my various digging, finding, and organizing in that time period. It takes up to 8×11 or A4 and as small as a business card. It required a download of software, which I liked because that gave me the latest and great version.

In fact, the only downside to Doxie that I can find right now is that it does have to plug in via USB. Some of the more expensive versions are self-sufficient, but USB is a small price to pay for, well, a small price.  Of course, the USB thing (and the need for specific software) does preclude me from using the Doxie with my iPad.

Doxie fits in several of my purses, and definitely my various pieces of carry-on luggage. Since acquiring the Doxie, I’ve carried it with me on multiple business trips. If I have a laptop with me, then I grab a point during each trip to scan in my receipts. Maybe next year, doing my taxes won’t be quite as painful. If I’ve just carried the iPad however, then I can’t bring the Doxie.

Doxie costs $129 and is available only on the Doxie web site.

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Cheers!
Tweet Michelle @writetechnology, send her technology news at michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, visit her wine blog when you’re thirsty, and drop by one of her day jobs.

I make no secret that I’m a fan of Verizon’s Android phone line – and I appreciate that they let me test out a lot of the gadgets. However, I get a lot of questions about the NAME. I spent 30 minutes once explaining to someone the difference between their HTC Hero Android phone and a Verizon Droid Eris – all due to naming. So Verizon, I may really like your stuff – but I question the naming convention you’ve gotten yourself into.

So here goes …

Droid is a product line of Android (Google) operating system phones from Verizon. If it’s not from Verizon, it may indeed be an Android OS, but it’s not a Droid. For instance, the Sprint EVO and Hero are both running Android OS. However, they are not Droids. A Droid phone has to be Verizon and run Android OS, but can be made by anyone. Right now, Verizon has good relationships with Motorola and HTC.

To make things slightly more confusing, the first phone released in the Verizon Droid line of phones was … the Motorola Droid. Yeah, I know. It’s basically the Droid Droid.

Verizon also has the HTC Droid Eris, the HTC Droid Incredible, the Motorola Droid X, and the Motorola Droid 2. I think the Motorola Droid Devour is still available as well. Where does it get really confusing? Well, I’m not exactly sure where the Android-based LG Ally falls. Is it a Droid or just an LG?

So, is your T-Mobile MyTouch a Droid? Nope, it’s an Android phone. Is your original Motorola Droid a Droid? Yep, because it’s from Verizon.

I know this seems a bit simplistic, but the amount of times I’m asked this question is a bit out of control. So when you see those Droid Does commercials from Verizon, just remember that even if your Android phone isn’t a Droid, it still probably does a lot of what the ad mentions. In my opinion, apps really help make a phone, and those are available to all Androids.

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Cheers!
Tweet Michelle @writetechnology, send her technology news at michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, visit her wine blog when you’re thirsty, and drop by one of her day jobs.

Have you ever had the sort of summer where everything gets away from you? That has been my summer. Back in early July, the good folks at Verizon sent me a Droid X to play with. I realized this morning that almost two months later, I still have it. They’ve been very patient with me considering that it had completely slipped my mind.

So, what do I think of the Droid X? Well, it’s a great phone. It’s also a big phone, so I won’t be trading in my HTC Incredible just yet. I need something that fits in my pockets a little more comfortably. But if you’re into bigger is better, you may absolutely love the Droid X.

Thin form, with a bump at the top to support the camera

The Droid X is everything the original Droid (it hasn’t even been a year) should have been. The keyboard, while virtual, I found extremely easy to use. It supports Swype and while I didn’t intentionally use Swype, it certainly typed easier than even my Incredible. It could just be the form factor – no matter which way you turn it, the Droid X has a huge screen.  It’s a 4.3″ FWVGA 854 x 480 resolution screen. It’s crisp and instantly responsive. Putting numbers aside, things just look pretty on the Droid X screen. It’s closest comparison would be the Sprint EVO, which has a slightly thinner, shorter form factor.

There are aspects of Motorola’s MotoBlur integrated into the Droid X, mostly apparent through a few apps and widgets. For the most part, the Droid X is pure Android though. If you’re familiar with HTC’s Sense UI for Android, then you know how different a UI can make this OS. Whatever parts of MotoBlur they added to the X, it’s few and far between. In fact, I’ve gotten so accustomed to the Sense UI, that it could be one reason I wasn’t bowled over by the Droid X.

Over the last 6 months or so, I’ve adjusted to the fact that physical buttons on phones may actually be a thing of the past. A while back, one of my favorite things about the Droid Eris was that the buttons were actually physical. There was a button for home, back, Phone, and so on. The Droid X picks up on this, with buttons for Settings, Home, Back, and Search. While the keyboard is virtual, the physical buttons are a nice switch.

With heavy usage, I’ve gotten one day of battery life out of the Droid X, which pummels my Incredible (for which I always carry a backup battery).  The most draining things on the Droid X battery are using the GPS for actual navigation and using the built-in mi-fi-like 3G Mobile Hotspot. While I believe it requires an extra plan from Verizon, you can easily replace your mi-fi or broadband stick with this feature. Running a test while traveling in Chicago, my husband and I hooked up a netbook, iPad, and full laptop to the Droid X signal and had great service.

The Droid X is a speedy machine, and I would expect nothing less. I laugh a lot about the specs of the new “super” phones. Years ago I had one of the first iBooks (in orange, with a handle). These phones at least triple the specs of that machine, if not more. The Droid X has 8 GB onboard memory, 16 GB microSD pre-installed, and supports up to 32 GB micro SD – total memory expandable up to 40 GB. It has a 1 Ghz ARMv7 processor.  Speedy. I sometimes look at my old/current MacBook Pro and think, “My phone might be faster than you.”

It has an 8 mp camera that works as fast as the camera in my Incredible. I turned my husband loose with the Droid X while we were on a Frank Lloyd Wright Walking Tour in Chicago and he got some great shots with bright colors. I find the camera button to be a bit stiff, but apparently its just a matter of personal adjustment. There is an HDMI out port on the device as well, which I didn’t get a chance to test. Note that an HDMI cable is not included in the box.

Photo taken with DroidX

As far as call quality, with and without Google Voice, I had great quality and no dropped calls. I had no trouble hearing anyone and they were able to hear me without any issue.

Overall, the Droid X is a great device. I hesitate to use the word “phone” anymore, as these devices are really uber-portable computers. I already have several friends who ordered the Droid X as quickly as I ordered the Incredible. While it’s certainly not the device for me, due to size and my apparent attachment to HTC’s Sense, it’s certainly a great addition to the Verizon Droid line.

It looks as if the latest batch of Droid X devices will be shipping by August 31. With a two-year contract, the Droid X retails for $199.

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Cheers!
Tweet Michelle @writetechnology, send her technology news at michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, visit her wine blog when you’re thirsty, and drop by one of her day jobs.