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Asus Transformer: Better than Chromebook Pixel, Half the Price

Image

I admit that I go through phases with the technology I use day-to-day, many phases. A couple months ago, I switch from a laptop to a Samsung branded Google Chromebook – I had dreams of living in the cloud. A few weeks after that, a new 4th gen iPad arrived to become my full-time desktop, complete with keyboard cover. Fast forward a few more weeks and I find myself in BestBuy – a place I had not been in ages, with the intention of purchasing an Asus Transformer Pad Infinity (price matched at $399) to replace the iPad which replaced the Samsung Chromebook, both of which now sit on the floor in the corner of my bedroom.

 

Hardware: Sitting at the top of the Asus tablet line, the Transformer Pad Infinity has premium specs. Internals include a 1.7ghz quad-core nVidia Tegra 3 process, 1Gb RAM, 32Gb memory, and a 1920×1200 10″ IPS screen. The star of the package is the IPS screen, with excellent viewing angles – it clocks in a dense 224ppi. This places it just below the Google Chromebook Pixel and Retina iPad at 239ppi and 264ppi respectively. Test and touch response on the display were also excellent. To aid viewing in direct sunlight, Asus included an IPS+ mode which allow the display to hit 600nit brightness – far beyond that of other tablets on the market (including iPad). Other hardware feature of note are the 8MP rear and 2MP front facing cameras. Both of which were middling in testing, producing muted colors with soft details – ala Galaxy Nexus era.

What give the device its Transformer name is the pairing with a keyboard dock. sold separately at $150 USD. The dock itself includes a USB port, full size SD card slot, and perhaps most importantly – a second battery that extended that runs the accesories and charges the tablet when docked, adding precious battery life. Since the keyboard itself attaches at the very base of the tablet screen, the pairing gives the Transformer pad the exact ergonomics and form factor of a traditional laptop. It even include handy shortcut keys, including one for screenshots and disabling the built-in trackpad. For typing, this format and design makes it better suited than any iPad with keyboard combination – and a direct competitor for Google’s own Chromebook Pixel.

Software: Software on the Transformer Pad is a standard affair, with a small number of Asus specific additions. There are a number of Asus ‘junkware’ applications that can be disabled from the application menu. The tablet has full access to the Google Play store, so application can be downloaded to expand the functionality of the tablet as needed. While browsing the Play store, it is still an issue in finding tablet specific applications. Because of programing limitation many applications still have phone versions and a fully separate release marked for tablets. Even with the limited selection of tablet-specific application, the Transformer Pad proved a much richer experience than the Google Chromebook I had been using the previous months. Applications such as video clients and games are still leagues beyond what is available through browser apps – even news readers come in richer and higher performing variants in tablet garb.

Although application interface and functions were rich using the Transformer Pad, performance while using the device as a computer replacement did leave much to be desired. A quick Google search shows a number of complaints regarding performance and compatibility of the Tegra 3 chip used in the Transformer Pad. In normal use, a number of application crashed out to the home screen. On a few occasions, the tablet itself crashed and restarted the operating system – no bueno. I quickly found that the 1Gb RAM was a bottleneck and installing a task killer app resolved these hangs. Which this shouldn’t be required, it demonstrated a number of the performance bugs are still a result of the Android operating system. Android 4.1.1 is the latest software available for the device.

Conclusion: Admittedly, a big attraction of the Transformer Pad for me is the design. While typing and using the tablet in public – its “spun metal” lid attracted many looks. The packaging of the device provides the usability of tablet form and applications with the productivity prowess of a laptop. With the software bugs not withstanding, the Transformer Pad proves to be an excellent laptop replacement, an excellent iPad replacement, and a Chromebook Pixel at half the price – if, you’re a gadget hound like myself.

Rating: 9 of 10

2013
05/14
CATEGORY
Product Reviews
2 comments

What’s Your Social Media Brand?

personal-brandingAfter completing graduate studies in business and speeding through Reid Hoffman’s “The Startup of You”, I developed an interest in personal branding, but trying to develop a personal brand isn’t easy. What does it mean to run yourself and career as a business anyway? Is my brand more valuable than the next? Can this personal brand be accessed an earning potential and develop brand recognition? Yes, yes it can – but those questions pretty much require graduate studies in business to understand. For now, here are two services i’ve tried that will give you a headstart on branding yourself online.

 

About.me

 

about.meAbout.me focuses mostly as a landing page for all your social media activity on the web. With the service, you are issued a single page that is structured to allow a brief summary or yourself with a high resolution image to serve as the background. With this basic snippet of information, a row of social media links are placed at the bottom – supporting all of the most popular sites, including LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Blogger, WordPress and more. Free-form web links may also be placed on the page, but the formatting of these is less visually pleasing than the badge icons that display for supported social networks.

 

With functionality halfway between social network and online resume, About.me allows users to favorite your page and mark pages with any of 6 presets including “You’re Cool”, and “I’m a fan”. A mobile app can be paired with the site, allowing browsing on iOS devices. The site also tracks when other About.me users visit your page, as well as stats for those finding your profile from the open internet. Unique to the About.me service is the ability to order business cards from the site, complete with QR code. If looking for other premium upgrades, About.me allows subscribers to purchase a premium account for $6/mo that allows them to use a custom domain name and removes the About.me banner to hovers atop each page. Overall page layout and design with the About.me service is excellent – it is a service best suited for beginners looking to boost their web presence. If looking for powerful SEO data – the Brand Yourself page is better suited for that set.

 

BrandYourself.com

 

brandyourselfSimilar to About.me, BrandYourself.com provides users with a landing page that aggregates information for all your online activity. Unlike About.me however, the site is structured heavily as an online resume. It formats data similar in layout to a LinkedIn profile. To make building your online profile easier, the service allows importing data from a connected LinkedIn or Facebook account. Overall, BrandYourself is limited when compared to About.me, allowing users only to choose among 3 page layouts, and upload a profile image photo. The site also lacks a mobile app, so all interaction and viewing must be done from the standard desktop webpage.

 

Beyond a standard profile page, the core of the BrandYourself service is the ability to submit links and track their ranking within the Google search index. Free accounts are limited to 3 links, while premium users have no limit. Once submitted, BrandYourself will send periodic updates of movement among the indexed links and make recommendations for better index ranking. These recommendations are fairly stock and are the same for all links. An example recommendation would be to include your name in the subject line of a profile, or link back to your BrandYourself profile to gain higher relevance within the search index. In addition to unlimited link tracking, BrandYourself premium users are also allowed to use a custom domain name. In Practice, BrandYourself.com is best suited for a more technical audience that has specific goals for search rank, rather than a simple landing page. Premium account to the service must be purchased in time blocks, starting at $79 for a year, making the service again, less user-friendly when compared to About.me

 

Interested in seeing some example profiles? Check out my landing pages at the site links below:

About.me Profile Page

BrandYourself.com Profile Page

2013
05/03
CATEGORY
Technology News
1 comment

Is The Tech Conference Dead? Engadget Expand 2013

Engadget Expand Shuttle BusOn St. Patrick’s Day weekend in the US, Engadget is hosting their first annual ‘Expand’ conference. For anyone who has ever been to a CES or Macworld type conference, Engadget Expand would be more of the same; but i the Tech Conference as a format dead? Here is a bit of what to expect if planning to attend:

Format: Split over 2 days, the Engadget Expand conference was conveniently placed over a weekend. This is a refreshing change from existing conferences which can cover an entire week and usually require work vacation to attend. Pricing for the event was $40 for a single day pass and $65 for both days if purchased onsite. Pricing includes free food (a welcome addition), WiFi, and an pseudo after-party for Saturday attendees including beer and arcade gaming.  The event is held at Fort Mason in San Francisco with shuttle service provided from the ‘Embarcadero’ train station in downtown SF. Getting to the event was slightly confusing as there was no mobile app and the shuttle location was not marked outside of the bus itself.

Speakers: As the vendor list is rather small, the speakers at Expand are the value of the conference. Speakers come from a wide slide of tech, from panels on search, to 3D printing. As is usually the case, quality of speakers varied; Julie Uhrman of Ouya was a standout among the them, giving an engaged and passionate talk. Overall, the layout of the speaker space was excellent consisting of temporary seating in front of table rows that encouraged eating and blogging while connected to the free WiFi – thank you Engadget…

Vendors: Originally touted as an event where consumers could come, touch products, and demo many of the gadgets covered at Engadget – the vendor pavilion execution was largely a failure. Lenovo and Nokia were the entirety of flagship vendors, with a sprinkling of indie vendors lining the outer wall of the partner pavilion space. More than half of the space was filled with tables for food being served at the event.

Verdict: Overall the Expand conference was a solid first effort if slightly unorganized. Speakers at the event were a good experience, but did not balance the paltry showing for vendor partner and demo displays. It is slightly curious why Engadget chose to organize a conference with attendance at similar events such as Macworld showing in decline. All things considered, if not already booked for attendance – I would recommend a wait until next year.

A full agenda for the event can be found over at Engadget.

2013
03/16
CATEGORY
Technology News
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Review: Lynda.com is Netflix for Higher Ed

lynda.comHaving finished grad school 6 months ago, I expected to be done with formal schooling. Fast-forward a couple months, and I found myself research PhD programs and looking into studying Interaction Design. Perhaps this perpetual schooling may be a bit much – or simply out of budget for most (including myself). For those of us in that category, there is Lynda.com.

The Service: After completing a trial at the site, I opted to buy a recurring subscription. In total , Lynda.com boasts over 1.600 training videos and lists companies such as Google and Amazon.com as customers of its training. Materials at the site focus heavily on technology training such as Javascript and Adobe Photoshop, but there also also general business and other non-technical training, including a course I took in negotiation skills. Monthly subscriptions to the site range in price starting at $25, up to $37.50 is additional studying materials are desired beyond the recording video trainings.

On the Web: If you have used Netflix for video streaming, using the Lynda.com site will be a famlliar experience. Training are separated by topic, and are searchable by keyword. After locating a training of interest, the video for that training can be added to a queue for later viewing. Training videos are conveniently broken into chapters, with progress saved if a video is closed. A life saver and favorite feature of mine if the ability to play video at 2x – so that training can be sped up for more expert of time crunched users. I found that I left all video at 2x as a single training usually contains many hours of video. The site also keep a list of completed course and allows users to share online certificates of completion to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. It is important to notes that 2x video playback is only supported on Mac and PC – so normal viewing speed is required for large block of users who may be accessing the videos on mobile or like myself, from a Google Chromebook.

The videos themselves are the glaring bright spot for the Lynda.com service, each video appears to be custom produces for the site and if more engaging and interactive than video iTunes U content by comparison. An example of this is a recently complete course on Responsive Design where roughly half the training video was custom rendered animation to demonstrate the topics being discussed.

On Mobile: Again, as with Netflix, Lynda.com has a selection of of mobile apps that complement its website. Unfortunately, this only includes apps released for iOS (iPhone and iPad) – no luck for Android users. Although this seems a glaring omission, competing services such as Tuts+ have not yet released mobile apps on either platform.

In practical use, the Lynda.com iPhone and iPad apps work like a charm. After installing the app to an iPad mini, I did experience poor response and buggy video playback. The app has since been updated and has resolved these noticeable performance hiccups. Browsing trainings, adding, and removing items from the training queue was also fairly straightforward. Reviews within the Apple App Store will note that the mobile clients do not include the excellent 2x video playback – my assumption is that this feature, as well as Android client support video be added at a later date. Just as with the desktop site – training will save state where last played also, so that a video may be started on the desktop, and then continued from the mobile client while traveling or away from the desk.

Conclusion: Lynda.com serves a broad range of users and training needs. Starting at $25/mo, the service is more expensive than iTunesU which is free, but provides an experiences that makes the videos interactive and manageable even when expanded out to hours on a single topic. In my case, the service has even replaced an impending re-enrollment in grad school – for now. In a worse case scenario, the site offers a free trial, so the trainings can be samples ahead of signing up – who knows, you might actually learn something.

Rating: 9 of 10

2013
03/03
CATEGORY
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Firefox Phones to ship in Q2 backed by Sprint in the US

With Mobile World Congress well under in Barcelona, Mozilla took the opportunity to announce the lineup of carrier and manufacturer support for its newly announced Firefox OS. If not familiar, Firefox OS is a browser based mobile phone operating system – a model similar to Android. Mozilla announced that large Carrier Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom, and China Unicom among others. In the US, support is currently only committed by Sprint. Manufacturer support included LG as the flagship. The company expects the first device to ship to retail in Q2 2013 – a date much closer than initially expected.

Additional coverage of Mobile World Conference can be found over at CNET

2013
02/24
CATEGORY
Technology News
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Techphyre First Look: Redbox Instant Video Streaming

Redbox Instant by Verizon

Backed by Verizon and created to compete with Netflix, Redbox Instant is an attempt to evolve the Redbox business model while more users transition away from using disc based DVD rentals. Currently in private beta, and invite can be requested by going to redbox.com/instant. I received early access to the service and decided to take it for a spin to see if it indeed was a full replacement for Netflix.

Priced at $8/month, Redbox Instant is priced right. It is priced identically to Netflix Instant in fact. Redbox does one better Netflix by including 4 DVD rentals per month with its $8 plan. If you still frequent the local Redbox kiosk – the $8 pricing makes this plan a steal.

Desktop: From the desktop browser, Redbox instant support most major web browsers, it does however require a Microsoft SIlverlight plugin to play video. This eliminates support for Google Chromebooks. Browsing the site is familiar, with a similar grid layout of available movies. Trailers were available for some, but not all movies. Both SD, and HD movies played smoothly once loaded. Closed captioning options were not found, also missing were any form of television seasons. Overall movie selection, sans television content, appeared on par with that of Netflix. 

Mobile: Use of the mobile app has to be prefaced as ‘Beta’. The app launches and requests an invitation code before use. After logging in the application is chocked full of bugs, that earned it a 1.5 star rating in both the Apple and Android markets at time of writing. Overall layout and navigation was pleasing, unfortunately a number of items once clicked simply did not work. Examples of this include trailers which did not include audio, movies which returned a file not found error, and airplay video which was not functional. 

Conclusion: Redbox and Verizon have done the right thing in keeping the current service in Beta. While the website is functional and offers excellent selection, the mobile apps are completely non-functional. Moving past the current development bugs, Redbox Instant indeed competes very well when measured directly against Netflix. The service has even announced that it will be coming to XBOX 360, which is expected as the first of many platform integrations  Assuming all the bugs are worked out before general availability, the questions would then be: Are you already using Redbox Kiosk service? and Which service has the content you like? If your answers to either of these questions was “Redbox”, or “Yes” – then your choice has been made. They really are that similar.

Rating: 8 of 10

2013
02/10
CATEGORY
Product Reviews
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Samsung Series 3 Chromebook First Look: Your Mom Likes Cloud Computing

 

Image Credit: PCWorld

Image Credit: PCWorld

For months now I have debated on and off on whether I should give a crack at using a Google Chromebook. In many ways, I realized that I like the idea of the cloud-based OS, more so than the physical hardware and product implementation. After fighting of the urge to pick up the original crop of buggy devices – I gave in this weekend and picked up a Samsung Series 3 model as an open box item at Best Buy.

Hardware: At $249, the Samsung Series 3 is hundreds of dollars cheaper than the original Chromebook models and priced more inline with the functionality of the device. Unlike the competing Acer model which still uses an x86 intel processes, the Series 3 uses a Samsung developed dual-core ARM processor, clocked at 1.7Ghz. This processor draws much comparison for the device with current tablets that carry similar ARM chips. The Series 3 Chromebook also comes with a 16GB solid state drive and 1366×768 screen.

Samsung made an interesting choice in going with a matte screen for the Series 3. It is one of very few laptops that can be purchased with the option. Paired with the screen is a modified keyboard with full size keys and spacing. A couple of keys have been removed or repurposed – this including a search key which replaces the traditional caps lock. Along the perimeter of the device are two USB ports, HMDI, headphone, SD, and AC adapter ports. Noticeably absent, is an ethernet port. WiFi and bluetooth are included on the device.

Sounds from the built-in stereo speakers was surprisingly well rounded. The web camera atop the screen unfortunately was one of the worst in any mobile device. Typing on the Series 3 keyboard fell directly in between, with nice spacing making it easy to type, but a shallow feel. Overall build quality for the device was slightly below average – largely due to the plastics used for the device. Overall weight clocks in at a very totable 2.5lbs.

Software: Running Chrome OS, the Series 3 takes the Chrome browser and makes it the entire OS. If you are a fan of the Chrome browser, the Series 3 will be an easy fit. Google also includes 100GB of online drive storage free for two years with the device – this in an effort to make it easier for buyers to move data into the cloud, and onto Google services.

A few modifications are made to Chrome browser to make it fit closer to the traditional desktop. Chrome apps that are installed are placed into a pseudo start menu – in place of the browser. Chrome OS also includes a file browser to view local storage, along with items stored in Google Drive. The market app selection for Chrome is fairly large, but does not allow for intense processor crunching. Most things done on a traditional PC can also be done within Chrome OS. Some service such as Netflix however will not function on Chrome OS devices such as the Series 3 due to the use of the ARM-based CPU. Overall navigation of the OS is dead simple, as the desktop environment has very little function outside of the Chrome browser. This makes the OS an excellent choice for novice computer users.

Performance with the 1.7Ghz dual core chip while browsing and navigating the OS was plenty for most tasks. Only when loading many plugins and tabs with media, will the Series 3 begin to show slowdown. 1080p video clips in YouTube for example worked like a charm. Battery life on the Series 3 was also excellent at a lengthy 6.5 hours, largely due to the use of the ARM-based CPU.

Conclusion: In many aspects, the Series 3 Chromebook is the best Chromebook yet. The hardware is of cheap materials, but the form factor and utility of the device is much better than previous models which costs and felt like a traditional laptop, with less than half the function. While my 30GB of photos will be uploaded from my Macbook for the next month… I indeed feel I can now do a more and more from just the browser and web services. My music and movie libraries for example are in the form of Amazon Prime and Rdio.

If considering the Series 3 as a travel notebook, or a PC for a new computer user – the device is a perfect fit. Traditional users, replacing attempting to replace a Windows or Mac PC will still struggle a bit. If you are like myself, and are looking for a way to get from traditional PC, to complete cloud computing, the Series 3 Chromebook is the perfect device to force the change, while no longer being full of compromise.


Rating: 8 fo 10

2013
02/03
CATEGORY
Product Reviews
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Techphyre 2012 Year In Review!

Happy New Year, and thanks for visiting Techphyre! Your visits helped Techphyre pass 30,000 pages views in 2012!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. An abundance of cool info graphic stats at the links below…

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 29,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 7 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

2013
01/01
CATEGORY
Technology News
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Nike Fuelband Review: ‘Gamification’ is a word, right?

Nike+ Fuelband AppBecause most anything can be turned into a video game, Nike released its Fuelband fitness accessory in 2012 to join the growing segment which includes Fitbit and the Jawbone UP!

With a $149 retail price, the Nike Fuelband is the most expensive of the trio, it closely matches the other two in featureset – but is noticeably missing a sleep tracking function. After making due with only the free Nike+ Running app for over a year, I purchased the Fuelband to have a crack ‘gamifying’ my fitness life.

Hardware: At just about an ounce, depending on the band size, the Fuelband is lightweight, but still manages to be the heaviest of it compatriots. The band itself can be had in three colors at the time of writing, each in three sizes (S, M, L). For me, matte black was the color of choice. A brief unboxing of the hardware reveal minimal accessories – including a desktop charging adapter, and 2 extension segments for extending the Fuelband for larger wrists.

Data on the device is displayed using an array of colorful LED’s which fully power off when not in use. With LED’s powered off, the Fuelband is a tasteful black band which draws little attention when worn on the wrist. A single button sits at the front of the device, which is used to cycle between information displays for steps, calories, and other helpful stats. After wearing the device for a day, the Fuelbands placement on the wrist became the preferred format – as opposed to FitBit or other activity trackers which may be easily lost or forgetting when needing to be attached to a belt, or using a clip.

Software: Carrying over the simplicity of the single button hardware, the Fuelband requires a desktop setup before it can be used to absorb your useful data. Setup was a 5min affair, after setting up the Nike companion utility on a Mac and logging into Nike.com

Data from the fuelband can be accessed online at the Nike companion website, or through the Nike Fuelband app – currently only available on iPhone – both Android, and iPad are lacking supported apps. Holding down the single button on the Fuelband will get the most recent data synced over. The Fuelband app then trends this data, showing progress over time and also comparison against friends.

For recording activity level, the Fuelband awards FuelPoints – a name which hints at the gamification of the data. After realizing that the FuelScore didn’t seemingly correlate with number of steps or calories – I quickly disregarded the details of the data, and relied mostly on the FuelScore as a general benchmark of how well I did compared to friends.

Nike+ Fuelband Activity LevelThe iPhone app itself is very polished with glossy transitions and animations. Trophies and rewards are issued in the app for passing certain benchmarks, such as reaching your Fuel goal for multiple days in a row. For those truly drawn in by the gamification of working out – users may also join challenges with the Nike+ community online at the desktop website. Users of the existing Nike+ running app will be please to see that points earned in that app are also added to their consolidated Nike+ account.

Conclusion: The Fueldband is an excellent product hampered by its limited support of only iPhone devices. In combining polished software, simplified hardware, and game-based  ‘FuelPoints’, Nike manages to expand the audience from fitness buffs – to general consumers. Although a large portion of the market will be stuck waiting for additional platform support – gamers, who own iPhones, and have a vague interest in becoming more active will find the Nike+ Fuelband a good fit.

Rating: 8 of 10

2012
12/30
CATEGORY
Product Reviews
1 comment

iPad Mini Review: An ‘Also Ran’ For The Rest Of Us

iPad Mini (White)

Image Courtesy of Apple Inc.

Introduction: Announced in late October, for an early November launch, Apple’s iPad mini needs no introduction. While not a replacement for any existing iPad model, the new Mini will be immediately familiar to any current, or potential iPad buyer. Now that everyone on the planet has run out to order the new Apple hotness – I figure it was time for a review.

Hardware: Although not explicitly stated, Apple is positioning the new iPad mini as an entry model into the iPad family. With specs matching those of the iPad 2, the iPad mini carries a starting price at $329 that slots it above the iPad Touch, and below other iPad models. The iPad 2 era specs include an older Apple A5 processor, and lower resolution 1024×768 IPS display.

Interestingly, the lower resolution display comes in at a seemingly arbitrary 7.9”. This makes the display more dense than iPad 2, and allowed the trimmed dimensions which make the tablet noticeably more totable than larger iPad models. At .68lbs, the iPad mini was a joy to hold and navigate with 1 hand on the couch or while on public transit. Text and specifically typing using the onscreen keyboard are more cumbersome however – so iPad Mini should not be a first choice for those looking to substitute the iPad for a PC.

To entice  those seeking more current specs, Apple rounds out the hardware with an optional 4G LTE radio, and a much welcome 5MP camera capable of 1080P video recording – both of which missing on iPad 2 models. Storage on the device can be had in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB increments.

Software: Running the latest edition of iOS, the iPad Mini will offer the same experience as larger iPas models, but in a cargo pant friendly form. This means all of Apple’s tentpole softwares are present – including Siri and Apple Maps. Additional feature enhancements such as panorama mode for the built-in camera application are also carried over to the iPad Mini.

From the third party market, iPad mini is capable of running all existing iOS and iPad applications. Depending on the optimization, iPad Mini may struggle for specific apps and games which are heavy on textures and content, such as Infinity Blade 2. Pairing the lower resolution screen to the iPad Mini’s dated processes helps to alleviate a majority of computational strain, but it only takes a few attempts at jumping in and out of apps for a user to perceive the slight lag of the slower A5 chip.

Conclusion: Apple didn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel with the iPad Mini, it simply took a winning formula and modified the size to directly compete with competing 7” Android models which had begun to eat into its iPad market share.

If you are a current owner of an iPad 2 or later, iPad Mini will look to be an ‘also ran’ with little reason upgrade beyond the more tidy form factor. However for first time tablet buyers, and user looking to switch from Android, the iPad Mini makes an excellent choice.

 

Rating: 7 of 10

2012
12/22
CATEGORY
Product Reviews
1 comment
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