BuyMeGetMe.com

So now my Google’s Nexus One smartphone test device is a few weeks old. I’ve gotten over all the the “new and cool” features and since I’m using it as my primary cellular device I’m also learning to live with some of its quirks as well.

Yes, I still think the Nexus One is a fantastic Android phone but there are some features I’m beginning to find downright annoying. Like the fact that, at times, the handset can’t make up its mind whether it’s a 2G, 2.5G or 3G device.

The Nexus One seems to have a well-documented problem locking onto T Mobile’s 3G data network signal if you happen to be standing in a fringe or semi-fringe reception area.

Let me explain. If you’re standing in Midtown Manhattan, the Nexus One is rock-solidly connected to T-Mobile’s 3G data network. And if you’re standing in some location where T-Mobile’s 3G network is non-existent – say far Eastern Long Island or somewhere in the wilds of western New Jersey – then your Nexus One will not waver from receiving a 2.5G/EDGE signal.

But lookout if you’re standing in Lower Manhattan. Or Washington Heights. Or the middle of The Bronx. In that case, you can actually watch your phone bounce from 3G/4 signal bars – to 3 bars – to 2 then 1 then no bars – then flip to “E” for 2.5 G EDGE with 4 bars, then 3,2,1 0 then even bump down to 2G/GPRS then quickly bump back up to 3G – and start the dance all over again.

I’ve also found that the Nexus One is less likely to bounce networks if you’re not touching it. Keeping your hands off the handset allows the phone to stay locked onto 3G for a lot longer.

Since this does not happen with other T-Mobile 3G/Android OS test phones in my possession (a G-1 and a Motorola’s CLIQ) I’ll take an educated guess and say the problem lies with the Nexus One.

There are settings on the Nexus One that allow you to “lock” your phone into using only 3G or only 2G networks in your area. Some users report good results with that quick fix. The only problem is if you’ve chosen “only 3G” then you’re out of luck on the rest of T-Mobile’s (2G) network. I’ll wait for a real solution.

My years as an Amateur Radio station operator as well as being a broadcast radio fanatic tell me that something is going wrong with the way the phone receives and/or handles connections to wireless networks.

It could be the software. The Nexus One is the only Android phone to run on version 2.1 of the operating system. Hopefully that’s a problem that can be addressed quickly and easily.

It could be the hardware. Maybe HTC needs to figure out a way to re-route some of the receiving antennas inside the phone. That problem is a little tougher to solve.

Inside this skinny handset there is circuitry for GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and 3G cellular networks as well as GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-fi features. That’s a lot of antennas inside one little device. Maybe they’re interfering with each other. Re-routing those tiny embedded wires is probably not a viable option.

A wise man who runs one of the largest smartphone firms on the planet once told me that at some point there will be so much circuitry in these devices that it will be nearly impossible to keep everything from interfering with other circuits. He said that’s why they preferred to stick with 2.5G/EDGE phones as long as they could – because that way they knew exactly what was happening inside their devices.

Again, if I’m using the phone in Midtown Manhattan, the Nexus One is pinned on 3G and I have no problems. Same for 2.5G/EDGE out in the wilds. It’s just when you’re attempting to use the phone on the edge (pardon the pun) of the signal-strength area that this becomes a problem.

Of course, that means that if T-Mobile decides to blanket your area with 3G towers the Nexus One problems will disappear for you. Good luck with that. I’m hoping the experts can come up with a software fix ASAP.

I love the phone’s speed thanks to Qualcomm’s 1.0 GHz Snapdragon processor. Going back to using one of my slightly older Android phones mentioned above I find them to be a lot slower to carry out my commands. You don’t realize this until you’ve used the Nexus One for awhile and then go back to an older (by a few weeks) device.

And, I’m in love with the Nexus One’s 3.7-inch (diagonal) screen. But, at times, I find the on-screen buttons on the bottom tough to find and press. I’ve searched for some sort of screen calibration software in the phone’s set-up but to no avail.

I also wish that the phone would ring louder. When protected in it’s fabric sleeve – and it’s sitting in your pocket (or bag) a ringing Nexus One is barely detectable.

Overall, I still really like the phone. It’s form factor. It’s features. But, I’m not sure it’s the 100% ultimate Android device on the market today. Especially if the rumors are true and that Verizon’s Droid phone will be getting an upgrade to the Android 2.1 OS very soon.

And then again, it’s been two weeks since the Nexus One was announced. That means we’re probably due for another Android/super iPhone-killer device any day now.

Amazon.com's Kindle

I have a good friend who lusted for a Kindle as soon as it was announced. 

Now he has one – and in some ways might be regretting it.

I think I’ll let him tell you his tale of woe in his own words:

I had wanted a Kindle from day one.
My wife rolled her eyes.
The kids went to her and said “Daddy wants a Kindle”
“It’s a waste of money. He’ll never use it.   Forget about it.”

So I got a sweater.
I still wanted a Kindle.
But they gave me a shirt and tie.
A Kindle would have been nice.

Then Father’s Day rolled around and guess what?
I got a Kindle.
Life was grand.
I ordered books.
Dickens. Tolstoy. Powers.
I clicked through Furst and Armstrong and Brown and Larsson.
I read about Google and Wiki Government and a Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.
My wife was “impressed”, she told the kids.

And then, just before Christmas, my Kindle screen went dark.
It looked like a rogue Etch-a-sketch.
If I held it a certain way and read under a spotlight I could just barely make out the words.

I was despondent.
So I called the Kindle people.
They had me push this button and slide that one.
Plug it in, unplug it.

 “It’s dead,” the guy said.
“What do I do now?”
“Send it in. We’ll send you a new one.”
“Really?”
“Sure”.

So a couple of days later, the new Kindle arrived.
It looked exactly like the old one.
Felt just like the old one.
Even had the same screen savers as the old one.
Funny thing about computers… they all look alike.

Anyway… I found all my old content, got tech support to help me re-activate my NY Times subscription, changed e-mails and Kindle names and I was good to go.

For a week.
And then the Times didn’t come for 3 days in a row and I was on the phone again.
“Your Wi-fi is dead.”
“What do I do now?”
“Send it in. We’ll send you a new one.”
“Really?”
“Sure”

So, a couple of days later, the new Kindle arrived.
It’s charged and loaded.
But I needed help getting the NY Times again.
So I called tech support and the guy got me back my NY Times.

Then I had a notion.
“Hey, before you hang up.  Can I get MP3s on my Kindle?”
“Sure.”
“You mean I can read Tolstoy and listen to Tchaikovsky at the same time?
(You must think I’m a loser…)”

“No, not at all.
I’m an English major and that sounds great.
Sure, you can do that…  just transfer the MP3 from your computer to the Kindle using the USB cord.
You can find the tunes on Amazon.”
“Great”.

So I went on Amazon and ordered up a Bach unaccompanied cello suite as a test.
99 cents!
But, I had trouble getting my computer to accept it.
So I called tech support and found myself talking to someone who sounded as if he may have been sitting on the opposite end of the planet.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Robert, but you can not put MP3 content on your Kindle.
I don’t know who told you this, but it is not possible.
You cannot put MP3 on a Kindle it’s not possible.
May I help you with something else?”

“I talked to some guy at Kindle support who told me I can definitely listen to MP3 files on my Kindle”
“I’m so sorry Mr.. Robert, but he is definitely mistaken.
You cannot put MP3 on a Kindle”.

“Thanks.” I said.
And then I said some things I probably should not have.
CLICK was the next sound I heard.

So here’s something I found on the Kindle website:
Transferring, Downloading, and Sending Files to Kindle
If you already own a Kindle and Kindle content, you can download content to your new Kindle DX. Download your books directly from your new Kindle DX wirelessly and transfer subscriptions from the Manage Your Kindle page.
Transfer personal document, MP3, or Audible files from your computer to your new Kindle DX via USB.

I feel bad for my friend. 

Unfortunately this is how modern-day companies deal with modern-day technology problems and modern-day customers.

What I worry about is the future.  When Father’s Day 2010 rolls around what happens when my friend’s e-book reader warranty runs out and his third Kindle is DOA?

Will Amazon.com continue to back a year+-old product – or will my friend’s Kindle become another non-working electronic doorstop and dust collector?

I hope that his third Kindle continues to work and he never has to find out.

We’ll let you know what happens.

CES 2010 was a huge disappointment.

Each January, the giant Consumer Electronics Show provides a lot more than a glimpse of what the industry has in store for us in the coming year.

This year, the industry wags who based their “predictions” on leaks from electronics manufacturers proclaimed that 2010 would be the year of tablet computers and 3D TV.

After scouting the show floor I must report that if those were supposed to be the “hot” items then CES was a giant flop.

First of all, if the experts were expecting a glut of new tablet computer designs they missed the boat completely. Except for a small number of unexceptional designs, reminiscent of rejected tablets of the past, there was nothing exciting to report.

The majority of companies promising greatness finally were forced to admit that their new tablets would actually be announced “very soon”. I’m guessing that those announcements will be timed to coincide with whatever Apple announces – when they announce it.

There actually were a number of 3D televisions on the show floor. Everything from plasmas, LCD and LED models from some of the biggest TV manufacturers made their way to CES. Unfortunately not one of the 3D sets I saw would get me to part with my money.

Samsung had one of the best-looking 3D demonstrations in Vegas. But, Sony’s OLED 3D sets were somewhat underwhelming.

Then, you have to wear special glasses to see the 3D effect. Those glasses were very cool – but they are a big part of the 3D TV problem.

I don’t care what special effect they want you to experience – I don’t believe that a majority of the TV-watching public will be willing to purchase and don special glasses to watch television. Maybe for 2-3 minutes but not for an entire show – or 2 hour movie.

And what happens if you don’t want to wear the glasses? You’re greeted by an amazingly blurry, color-shifted image on the screen that is nearly impossible to watch for more than a few seconds. I always hated those 3D movies and also comic books from the 50’s and 60’s that used color-blurring techniques. 50 to 60-years later and the technology is still pretty rotten.

Last year at CES there was a company showing off a prototype 3D TV that didn’t need glasses to see the effect. This year it seemed as if we’re going backwards.

Oh, I didn’t tell you the best part. TV manufacturers think you’ll be willing to pay a big premium for 3D capable TVs and the special eye wear you’ll need. Maybe a few hundred of so. For one special effect that’s not so great to begin with.

I don’t think so. Especially not during a recession.

The only other items of note were electronic book readers. It seemed like everywhere one turned there was another small company showing-off their idea of electronic book readers should look like – in all shapes, sizes and colors. I’m not sure there are that many people left on the planet who still cherish reading books, newspapers and magazines enough to run out and buy a book reader. I think most of them have bought an Amazon Kindle already.

Otherwise, the best of CES 2010 turned out to be a handful of isolated glimmers of good ideas that may make find a way into items we’ll just have to own within the next few years.

Like I said – CES was disappointing.

Interesting developments in the world of “hotspots” or small, very portable Wi-fi devices that connect to cellular data networks instead of your high-speed DSL or Cable line.

Also known as “My-fi” devices, these hotspots allow up to five devices to connect to a 3G cellular data connection via Wi-fi.

Sprint has just raised the bar a notch with their just-announced Overdrive mobile hotspot made for them by Sierra Wireless.

The Overdrive works on Sprint’s 3G network and also on their 4G/WiMAX network where it’s already been rolled-out. Fortunately, that includes Las Vegas – which is probably why they introduced the thing here.

Sprint’s Overdrive has a built-in rechargeable battery (good for 2-3 hours of continuous use on a full charge) so that you can use it nearly anywhere. You can also while plugged into a nearby A/C outlet or directly into a laptop’s USB port so that you have a secure, wired connection to your computer (instead of Wi-fi) and slow-charge the battery at the same time.

For the record, on 4G connections (WiMAX) the Overdrive is said to be capable of peak download speeds of more than 10Mbps with average speeds of 3-6Mbps. 3G data speeds (EVDO Rev A) peak speeds of 3.1Mbps and average downloads of 0.6-1.4Mbps.

Here in our Las Vegas hotel, the 4G connection we were able to use was pretty speedy and comparable to the high-speed” connection available in our room available for daily rental.

Speaking of costs, the Overdrive sells for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and will cost you $59.99 a month for the actual 3G/4G connectivity.

Sprint’s 4G network is currently available in a number of smaller cities but they’re promising roll-outs in Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. sometime in 2010. Can’t wait.

Also announced at CES are new versions of Palm’s two, slick webOS smartphones for Verizon Wireless. The big differences are the Pre Plus has double the memory (16GB) of the Sprint version (8GB) and and Pixi Plus has Wi-fi. They’ll be available later this month. Prices for both are TBA.

But the biggest additional feature for the two phones is the fact that either can be used as a mobile hotspot. That means your phone connects to Verizon’s 3G data network and you can connect other devices to your phone via the phone’s built-in Wi-fi.

OK, it’s not 4G (Verizon is busy working on that) but it is a very cool idea. In the near future, expect to hear about other smartphones which will have similar connection capabilities.

Not to be left behind in the future, AT&T – current home of Apple’s iPhone – has just announced a deal to bring a brand new Android phone to their line-up.

At a press conference here at CES in Las Vegas, AT&T told the world that they will be soon selling the new Dell Mini 3 Android OS-based smartphone.

Dell is no stranger to producing modern-day connected wireless devices. They already have partnership deals with Vodafone in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, M1 and Starhub in Singapore; Maxis in Malaysia, China Mobile in China; and Claro in Brazil

As for the actual AT&T/Dell Mini 3 phone, this is how Dell explains their new model in public relations speak:

“The Mini 3 smart phones create an easy-to-use mobile Internet experience. The Android-based platform gives the Mini 3 optimal power, flexibility and customization opportunities for both users and operators. Collaboration between Dell and AT&T combines the very best in performance and style. And, with AT&T’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot network, and fastest 3G network, Dell and AT&T will provide today’s social media mavens with the ability to simultaneously Tweet friends, post Facebook updates, share pictures and browse the Web.”

Not many meaty details in there.

What all this really means is that we won’t be hearing much about the new phone’s specifications until AT&T is closer to releasing it to the buying public – expected sometime in the first half of this year.

But, they were nice enough to give us an alleged photo of the thing.

More details as they crawl in.

It was only a matter of time before we would begin seeing some interesting combinations of over-the-air digital television broadcasts and cell phones.

Why not? The newest smartphones should be able to handle DTV signals without much heavy lifting.

So I wasn’t very surprised when last night, at a press event called CES Unveiled, the people from Samsung were proudly previewing a specially modified Samsung Moment phone that is also stuffed with new circuitry that makes it a DTV receiver.

The somewhat long antenna sticking out of the phone’s case is a dead giveaway of what this device is all about.

The Moment is Samsung’s first try at an Android-OS device. Sold by Sprint, the phone has two features that make it perfect as a test TV receiver platform – a terrific AMOLED color screen – and a fast processor (800 MHz) to handle all the stuff involved in receiving/processing an HDTV signal.

To take advantage of this test platform, you have to be near an over-the-air HD television broadcasting a special video stream for portable devices. So far, the FCC has made that process optional for broadcasters.

It’s somewhat like Qualcomm’s new FloTV system except for the fact that this new service could be free to the general smartphone-owning/DTV-watching public.

Inside the Venetian Hotel, Samsung experts were able to receive just one Las Vegas TV station broadcasting the special stream – but I have to admit the results were very cool. The video looked really terrific and the audio was actually synched perfectly.

You may have seen what digital television looks like when you get your signal from a cable or satellite TV source. But, if you’ve never seen what uncompressed, over-the-air HDTV looks like, you’re in for a treat. It is truly amazing. Sporting events are particularly great. If you’re TV has a built-in over-the-air tuner you should hook-up a set of rabbit ears and see what I’m talking about.

Back to the Samsung phone. The big smartphone/DTV test is currently taking place in Washington, DC (I’m guessing that’s so FCC members could try it for themselves).

If all goes well this portable digital TV system could become part of the U.S. broadcast landscape as soon as the second half of 2010.

It’s that time of year again.

Just after the Christmas and New Year holiday season each year it’s time to get on a super-crowded jet and fly to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show.

Industry folks and journalists from all over the planet converge on “Sin City” to see what’s new – and what items buyers won’t be able to live without (hopefully) a few months from now.

But this year, the two biggest products getting all the buzz aren’t being announced at this show: the first Android phone to be marketed by Google and a possible tablet computer from Apple.

The Google phone, dubbed theNexus One, was announced, this morning in Mountain View, California. The handset, made by HTC (they make many Android-based phones, Windows Mobile phones and more) will be sold unlocked for $530 – or with a two-year T-Mobile service contract for $180. It was also announced that Verizon will also have their own Nexus One model in a few months.

This smartphone is special because it will have the latest, greatest version of the Android operating system (2.1) and will also be one of the first smartphones in the U.S. to sport Qualcomm’s speedy 1.0GHz Snapdragon processor. We’re talking super-fast here.

There will be phones announced here in Vegas too. The biggest introduction is expected from Verizon who are supposed to get their own versions of Palm’s Pre and Pixi phones. We’ll let you know what else is coming as soon as we find out.

As for Apple’s tablet, the best (and loudest) rumors say the device will have a touch-screen somewhere in the 10-to-11-inch range – will be introduced in the next few weeks – and will ship in early spring. Think in terms of a jumbo iPod touch. Price is rumored to be in the $1,000 range.

Here in Vegas Lenovo has already announced their own tablet – actually a netbook tablet (the S-10 Netbook Tablet) with a capacitive multi-touch screen (that means finger tip touch instead of pressure touch).

I’m expecting to hear about a lot more about other tablet computer announcements here. Although I’m not a fan of the genre and I know that in the past tablets have not been a very successful niche. But, if and when Apple begins generating interest in tablets then consumer approval may shift in the other direction. We’ll see.

Finally, 3DTV. That’s the other “big thing” we’re being promised here at CES. A number of firms say they’ve perfected they’ve perfected three-dimensional television and they’re hoping that will be a way to get viewers interested again. We’ll let you know what we see and if 3DTV is worth waiting for.

Press previews here are just about every hour on the hour. The actual CES, 2010 edition actually opens Thursday morning and runs through Sunday.

I hope you haven”t been saving all your old National Geographic magazines.

I mean, they’re nice to have and flip through but they can become dust collectors and take up a lot of space.

Plus, now it turns out that you really didn’t have to save them in the first place.

That’s because National Geographic has just released everything – and I mean everything – on a portable hard drive.

For $199.99, you can now own the entire collection of National Geographic Magazines ever published and it comes to you in one, neat 160GB hard drive.

In Nat Geo’s words:

“Explore 120 years of amazing discoveries, fascinating maps, and the world’s best photography with The Complete National Geographic.

This definitive collection of every issue of National Geographic magazine, digitally reproduced in stunning high resolution, brings you the world and all that is in it. Use the advanced interface to explore a topic, search for photographs, browse the globe, or wander on your own expedition.

Access all of the maps, photos, and magazine issues found on the DVD collection in one external hard drive. Browse and search the entire collection without needing to swap out DVDs.

Lightweight and travel-friendly, the hard drive is just 3″ x 5″ and requires only a USB connection.”

Best of all, the Nat Geo people used only 60GB of the available space on the hard drive leaving plenty of room to accommodate future upgrades (or for your digital collection of True Detective and Mad magazines).

Too bad the collection didn’t make it in time for Christmas – but, I’m guessing that there’s never a wrong time for a gift like this.

But, if you don’t mind swapping out discuss, there’s a Complete National Geographic Collection available on six DVDs for $89.95 (Deluxe Edition with a personalized disc holder) or $59.95 (for the Standard Edition).

While we’re still on the subject of Google – have you ever tried their Web browser for big computers?

Google Chrome is a terrific alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Netscape’s Navigator or Firefox or Apple’s Safari.

But, until now, Chrome has been limited to the 90+% of all computer users whose machines run on Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista and 7). Not anymore.

As of today, a Beta version of Google Chrome is now available for Apple’s Unix-based Mac OS X and various forms of Linux (Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/openSUSE). Beta means not everything works the way they’d like it to at the moment. But Google is proud of their product so far – and wants you to see just how far they’ve come so far.

The Google Chrome Web browser for Windows has always been known for speed and the new Beta versions are no exception. Not only does Chrome start faster than any other popular browser – but, nine times out of ten, it seems to load Websites and give you search results faster than other contenders.

Chrome also allows you to change your browser’s “look” with downloadable (and easily installable) style forms.

But the biggest of big deals is how Chrome integrates your search and navigation Web pages on the same page. It does so with user-configurable tabs which allow you to navigate to your favorite Web pages with just one click on a thumbnail of your most visited sites.

This is how Google explains their new tab page:

Chrome browser for Linux uses 60,000 lines of code written specifically for Linux – and has gone through 23 developer builds and 2,713 bug fixes (so far). The Google people are quite proud of their Beta software.

In a quick test, the Chrome Web browser installed in less than 45-seconds on my Lenovo netbook running the latest version of Ubuntu’s OS (version 9.10). I pressed one button and everything just installed perfectly (a far cry from what Linux installations used to be.)

Speed-wise, Chrome runs rings around Ubuntu’s standard Firefox browser. After a few hours use, I can say that so far, so good. It seems pretty stable and a joy to
use. Pretty good for Beta software.

The Chrome Web browser is the main building block for Google’s upcoming, Linux-based Chrome operating system. You should try it out now and start to get used to it. You’ll probably be seeing a whole lot more of Chrome on new devices in the very near future.

Forget about searching by typing in a word or a phrase… or saying something and having your smartphone understand what you said and starting a search in that manner. That’s so passé.

Today, Google released a revolutionary new program for Android phones that does searches by examining photographs and live pictures of objects.

The new software is called Google Goggles. It allows you to take pictures with your Android phone’s camera to search the Web. They say it’s great for “things that aren’t easy to describe in words.”

Goggles works better with certain types of searches – like books, DVDs, landmarks, logos, business cards, artwork businesses, products, barcodes, and even text.

Goggles is not so good at resolving information about animals, plants, cars, furniture or clothing.

It’s fun watching Goggles do its thing. You take a photograph and the software scans back in forth (in blue) and tries to figure out what it’s looking at. Very cool.

In my early tests, the software can understand some things that I’ve pointed it towards – such as barcodes and product boxes – and not so good with other items (other cell phones, electronic equipment and my dog, Orangina). I’ll let you know if I have more luck with the software outdoors.

Google Goggles is very new software and should continue to evolve in the near future. I intend to try it with everything I find close-by but you’ll probably think of many more uses than I can come up with.

Goggles is available now for download via the Android Market app store.

Try it and let me know what you think.