Verizon, Moto and Eclair. Oh my!

Posted in This Just In... on October 27th, 2009 by gkrakow

By now you’ve probably seen the TV commercials – even if you weren’t exactly sure what it was all about.

Verizon has called a press conference for tomorrow morning. We’re guessing that it will be to formally announce the imminent release of the Droid phone in the very near future.

Motorola’s Droid is supposed to have a large screen – larger than anything else on the market.

It’s also rumored to have the fastest processor of any Android phone – a 1.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon. We’ve seen the same speedy chip in action on other smart phones and can’t wait to see what it can do with Android.

And that brings us to the third big Droid feature – the software. It is rumored to be the first smartphone to run on the next version of the Android operating system – Version 2.0 codenamed “Éclair.”

We’ll have all the official answers tomorrow. So for now we’ll just have to be satisfied with a glimpse of what Éclair can do for you next Android device.

Today’s big announcement of the Android 2.0 SDK (Software Developer’s Kit) was made just a short time ago – in advance of tomorrow’s hardware fete.

Roku, Roku, Roku

Posted in News on October 27th, 2009 by gkrakow

Do you Roku? I do.

I liked Roku when there was only one. Now there are three.

Roku is a clever little box which lets you stream movies, TV shows and other video items to your TV in real time from your Netflix or Amazon.com account. Those other video items include live, streaming Major League Baseball games (in season, of course).

Notice that Roku is just a delivery device. It allows you to download and stream video sources from accounts you have with Roku’s preferred Internet providers. That’s not to say the Roku box can’t do other things – but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Roku connects to the Web via your home high-speed Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. And, Roku connects to your TV a number of different ways. The original Roku HD box I had tested connected via composite (good), S-video (very good), component (much better) and HDMI (best).

Set-up of the box takes 60-90 seconds. Add a minute to input your password-protection Wi-Fi code (if you have one) – add another minute or so to connect Roku to your online Netflix and/or Amazon accounts (via a computer) – and you’re off to the races.

In actual use Roku is fast, easy and addictive. Picture quality is way up there too. Best of all, it delivers exactly what it promises. I’ve tried Roku in a number of different locations and regardless of the other equipment involved the Roku experience was terrific.

XR_Roku_AngleRemote

I’m telling you all this because as of today there are three Rokus to choose from – the original Roku HD box (still $99), the new, top-of-the-line Roku HD-XR box ($129) and the new price leader, the Roku SD only $79. All three Rokus share the same little enclosure.

The new XR model is very similar to the original HD box except it now supports the brand-new, super-speedy 802.11n Wi-Fi standard. Even if you don’t have a fast, new 802.11n router Roku says their XR box will actually speed-up your current wireless Web connection. And, as we all know, faster, more solid connections mean less problems with your streaming videos.

The XR also sports a USB port. Roku is being secretive about why. All they’ll say is that it’s “for future use”.

The Roku SD is the new choice for your standard-definition, non-HD TVs. If you haven’t spent hundreds/thousands on a new flat-screen, high-definition set then this could be the Roku for you.

The SD connects to your TV via the composite (Yellow-Red-White) video (and separate audio) cables. Roku’s SD player incorporates Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) and an Ethernet port. Bottom line? With the Roku SD player customers can stream their favorite movies and TV shows to their TV at up to DVD quality.

And as for new content, Roku is hinting at more services in the near future:

Roku will launch the Roku Channel Store later this fall enabling customers to add new content channels to their Roku experience, further enhancing the value of the Roku player.

The Roku Channel Store will be delivered to all Roku customers, new and existing, as an automatic and free update.

All three Roku players are available immediately on Roku’s Website and also at Amazon.com. For a limited time, Amazon also includes free shipping.