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My new gadget: iPod Touch 16 GB

Finally, I found the time to talk a little bit about my new gadget: an iPod Touch 16 GB.


Why an iPod Touch?

I've always felt the need to carry a pocket device to have access to e-mail, calendar, notes and news and the PDAs that I used in the last few years have all been Windows Mobile-based. However, ever since I switched to a Mac, I've been using these gadgets a lot less. Why? Because I got used so much to the simplicity of Mac OS X, that now Windows Mobile usability seems too weak. So, since I already carry around an iPod to listen to my tunes, the obvious choice was to switch to an Apple-based device that would combine everything.

(in case you're wondering how I made the "Lock Screen" look like that,
check here)

You might ask: "why not an iPhone, since you're looking to merge all functionalities into one gadget?". Well, because buying an iPhone would end up costing me a lot more than the iPod Touch and since I don't use a mobile phone that much, it didn't make much sense to me (the only thing I regret of not buying the iPhone is the GPS, which is not included in the iPod Touch.).

The first experience

After exactly 46 hours of hitting the "Buy" button on the Portuguese Apple Store's website, I received my iPod Touch. Any Apple product's case is a pure mix of creativity and simplicity and, as expected, the iPod Touch's is no exception: small, clean and appealing.

The first experience was absolutely perfect...really, it couldn't have been better. I was amazed with the simplicity of the syncing process. After connecting the iPod to my Mac and providing some information for the registration process, the synchronization process automatically took care of everything: music, movies, tv shows, photos, podcasts, calendar, contacts, bookmarks and e-mail settings. I only changed a few options (to avoid syncing all tunes, photos and movies - because 16 GB is just not enough) but basically after the syncing process, my iPod Touch was ready to use. The e-mail settings synchronization was the thing that most amazed me. I didn't have to configure anything on the device and the mail accounts were ready to be accessed.

(in case you're wondering how I took a screenshot of
the iPod screen, just click the home button and the
sleep button at the same time. The screen will flash
and the screenshot will be stored in your photo library)

The App Store

The use of the App Store on the iPod Touch is clean and simple. Just choose the app you want, click install and it's ready to be used. Don't worry about purchasing apps on the device that may get lost. On the next sync the apps are backed up on your computer. Even if something happens during the download process or with your device, the apps are available for re-download from the App Store on your computer. Soon, I'll make a post dedicated to the best apps I've found on the App Store so far.

Usability

Regarding the iPod Touch usability, sure it's amazing but it's still far from perfect. These are some of the things I don't like:

• No Alt+TAB-like feature. There's no notion of what happens to applications when you press the home button and there's no way of effectively switching between two applications without going to the home screen. I know that you can hold the home button for 8 seconds to close an application but that feels more like a "Force Quit" than a real nice clean Quit.
• No wide keyboard on Mail. It's quite ridiculous that Apple decided not to put a landscape mode-based keyboard to facilitate writing mails (I know there are applications that take care of this, but again it feels like a cheap fix). I already got used to fit my chubby fingers on the normal keyboard, but the usability of a wide keyboard is undoubtedly better.
  

And of course, another list is required. These are some of the things that I love about it:

• Accelerometer. This amazing feature is what turns this simple gadget into something so much amazing. Whether it's on iTunes or while playing games, this feature is pure fun and will enrich any application that makes use of it.
  
• Touch interface. Everything is quite intuitive, easy to use and it's just a touch/slide/pinch away.
  
• Scrolling effect embedded in every functionality. It feels so realistic that now I'm starting to do similar movements while reading books or other paper documents :-)
• Wireless Configuration. Simple and right to the chase, no excessive prompting and with the right amount of useful information.
  
• Concentrated settings. Most settings are concentrated on a single place, so as to avoid complicated menus and options/settings within each application.
• One button to rule them all. There are no complicated rules to learn. When in trouble, just click the main button on the iPod. It will always take you to the home screen. Need to quickly access the now playing section of the iPod to pause/next tune or change the volume? Just click twice.
  

Protection

I bought a hard plastic case to protect the iPod, since now this will be my main gadget and will go anywhere I go (well, maybe not sauna or shower). It looks great and it's light enough to go by unnoticed:


My new media center

Amazingly the video resolution for the iPod Touch is acceptable enough to connect it to the TV and view some of the videos and TV shows on it. You can easily convert any videos that you may have on your computer to optimal iPod Touch/iPhone settings using QuickTime. And the best thing about it, if you have subtitles to load with the video file, the video output of the export process will include the embedded subtitles.

So, using Apple's Universal Dock connected through S-Video to my flat screen TV, I can easily see any videos/photos on my TV and even control playback using the Apple Remote.

In conclusion

The iPod Touch is the perfect hand-held to complement my Macbook Pro. Syncing data between the the two is amazingly easy and fast, so it's easy to have access to all my tunes, videos, mails and news. The App Store makes it even better, offering a wide range of excellent applications that you can install on the device, thus turning it into a portable gaming console, an encyclopedia or even a ruler :-)

After 2 years of development, this is what they ended up with

It's funny, the yet-to-be-released Meizu M8 kind of reminds me of something else, but I can't quite figure out what. Perhaps you can help me remember?


Source: Engadget

Retro-blogging: best posts of September 2007

Previously, on "The Tech In Me":

• A paradoxal myth
• Steve Jobs gives iPhone early-adopters $100 back
• Just use your head
• Flight simulator on Google Earth
• Windows Vista vs. Linux-based ISP
• Why you shouldn't unlock your iPhone: reason I, II and III
  

iPhone in Portugal: this time is for real

No, it's not another one of my sightings of the iPhone, the iPhone is actually coming to Portugal by the hands of Vodafone. And Portugal is not the only one. Later this year, Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to purchase the iPhone for use on the Vodafone network.

Via Engadget

Retro-blogging: Best posts of April 2007

Previously on the Tech In Me:

• Google Maps wants you to swim
• Digital Frames for your living room
• iPhone cases available before the iPhone itself
• Good-looking USB gadgets

Apple has done it again

UPDATE: you can see the full Steve Jobs keynote here.

The rumors were close and Steve Jobs finally presented the news on the Apple world (while the keynote movie is not available at Apple's site, you can read it at Engadget):

• There's in fact a new notebook, MacBook Air, the thinnest notebook ever (watch guided tour here)
  
• 1,6 or 1,8 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 2 GB memory, 13,3'' LED-backlit screen
  
• Multi-touch trackpad that allows performing iPhone-like operations
• No optical drive, but a nice wireless feature (Remote Disc) that allows connecting to nearby computers' optical drives
  

And a lot of other new products were announced:

• Movie rentals service on iTunes (UPDATE: already hacked)
  
• New price for Apple TV and software updates
• A wireless Time Machine-enabled hard drive: Time Capsule

Apple has done it again :-)

Multi-touch trackpad

While Macworld doesn't start and the rumors about a MacBook Nano with multi-touch technology are on all Apple fans' minds, here's a new laptop from a Taiwanese company, which may deliver (somehow) similar features to the iPhone multi-touch screen.

But in this case, the laptop has a multi-touch trackpad that allows users to zoom, rotate, pan and perform other interesting actions with pictures. Check out the demo video:

Macworld 2008: the rumors

The Macworld 2008 Conference & Expo is almost here (January, 14-18) and the rumors have been rising on the web.

Most of them point out to a new (possibly ultra-slim) notebook with excellent new features, such as multi-touch trackpads (or maybe even screens) similar to the iPhone multi-touch capabilities and a Blu-ray drive or external optical drive.

Other rumors point out to the presentation of a 3G version of iPhone.

But the most surprising rumor is the possibility of Steve Jobs presenting a dual-screen ultra-portable notebook such as this picture on the left shows.

Whether it is a dual-screen or just single-screen, some believe that the most probable innovation to be presented at the Macworld, is a kind of MacBook Touch, where the multi-touch capability and iPhone/iPod Touch-like behavior will be the most interesting feature of the new device.

You can even check out some of the (potential) scripts for Steve Jobs' keynote.

Well, I guess that all we can do is just wait for the keynote on January 15th and see if Apple can surprise us....again. I'm sure they will, but how?

Retro-blogging: best posts of January 2007

Previously, on the Tech in Me:

• Retro-tech: a digital polaroid
• Earn some money with your YouTube videos
• European PS3 in March
• It takes 21 sms to make a cellphone thief repent
• DRM for Blu-ray and HD-DVD already cracked
• Need free pictures for your blog?
• The Nintendo Wii's exercise plan
• Fight crime with your cellphone
• Wireless Energy
• Free online TV
• Better searching on the wikipedia
• Google Earth: a terrorist's attack planner
• Joost: HDTV over IP
• The iPhone is here

Retro-blogging: best posts of December 2006

Previously, on the Tech In Me:

• There's a new "memory" in town
• "Evil Twin" wireless routers: the new hacking approach
• More rumors on the iPhone
• No link between cellphones and cancer
• Internet Explorer 7 for Google
  

iPhone in Portugal: yes, I tested one!

That's right, this a real iPhone and I tested it in a Media Markt store in Portugal. Sorry for the out-of-focus picture...my hands were still shaking from the excitement.

I have to say that, even though I've seen a lot of iPhone reviews, images and videos, I still ran into a few surprises:

• It was thinner than I actually though it would be.
• The resolution of the screen is absolutely fabulous. At the beginning, I even thought the menu that was displayed on the phone was a sticker. It wasn't until I touched the screen, that I could verify that this was an actually working iPhone.
• The transitions between applications and menus are amazingly fast
• Handling pictures with the multi-touch screen interface is even better than I expected

There were however some things I could not test:

• There were no music files on the iPhone, so I couldn't test the "iPod" feature
• The device wasn't connected to any WiFi network or GSM network, so I couldn't test the Internet access or the "phone" feature

And there were some things I didn't like (that's right, the iPhone is far from perfect):

• Writing in the multi-touch keyboard is not simple. Your fingers get in the way of each other and you end up writing more than you wanted
• The calendar is nothing special and it doesn't add almost anything to the calendar I have on iPod.
• The iPhone gets a bit (actually, a lot...) smudgy after playing with it for just a while and you feel the need to clean it almost every time you use it. But I guess that's the problem with every multi-touch interfaces.

I couldn't fully tested because at this time a lot of angry eyes behind me were burning my shoulders enough for me to know that it was time to let someone else test it. It was even difficult to take a picture without a hand handling it. And in spite of the "downs" that I pointed here, it was a pleasure to finally test this device. But I'm not sure if it's worth to buy one once it gets available in the Portuguese market. It will depend on the price. Let's wait and see...

iPhone available in Portugal?

The iPhone is apparently available in Portugal for 781€. Check it out here (in Portuguese).
However, this is somehow suspicious as it says that the software is only available in English or Spanish and no word is given on the connectivity to Portuguese phone carriers. Will it be open or restricted?

Really strange...

Nokia S60: the iPhone's evil twin

Nokia is not ashamed to say that Apple has done a great job and that the iPhone is a brilliant piece of technology. That is exactly why they picked the best of the iPhone and lift it up a notch (like for example adding a stylus for when the interface is not suitable enough for the fingers to be used).

Check out the demo video below:

3rd-party apps for iPod Touch is now an easy task

When Apple released the 1.1.1 firmware, 3rd-party apps stopped working for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Even though some hackers were then abble to find a solution for this, it was still quite a geek move as it needed quite a lot of expertise to get it up and running.

Now, a 13-year-old hacker has developed iJailBreak, an automated program that would let you run third-party applications on an iPod Touch without having to take a computer science class.

However, some limitations apply. As posted on a thread in MacRumors Forum, it only works for iPod Touch (no luck for iPhone users) and only for Intel-based Mac's users.

iPod comparison chart

Can anybody explain this?

GPS on the iPhone?

For those with an iPhone, there's a new 3rd-party application that you can use on your iPhone to "emulate" GPS positioning, based on your cell-phone tower connection.

From MacRumors:

"Navizon uses cell phone towers to pinpoint your location (within a few hundred yards) and is able to push those coordinates to the Google Maps application."

Source: MacRumors

See, I told you so...

I wouldn't like to say I told you so, but here's another reason why was telling you shouldn't unlock your iphone: to update the iPhone to firmware version 1.1.1 you'll need to reactivate the iPhone with an original AT&T SIM card.

Basically, this means for all those who were so eager to unlock the iPhone and did so by cancelling their subscription with AT&T and using the AnySIM unlocking software, now have the most beautiful brick in the market.

But hope is not lost, I bet the iPhoneSIMFree guys will find a solution for that update as well, so you can use your brick to phone home real soon.

The Open Letter From Steve Jobs: 100$ back on your iPhone

For those of you thinking that you shouldn't have bought the iPhone right at the beginning when it was worth $599 and should have waited until now that is worth $399, check Steve Jobs open letter: you'll get at least $100 back on a Apple voucher that you can use on any retail store.

Source: Apple

Unlocking the iPhone

I still think that unlocking the iPhone is a bad idea, but if you happen to have one and want to do so, check this out.