My morning started bad enough to require me to go home and recover from mildew-induced migraine. When I woke up, my wife invited me to join her go shopping. Of course I said yes, as any supportive husband would. I know that doing so would give me some downtime, due to the waiting part (Women are very patient when shopping so they take their time to get the best).
During these times, I’m thankful that I have my mobile office with me.
I found an available seat in a row of benches in front of one shop. I set up office, bringing out my Asus EEE Pad Transformer 3G with Dock. Good thing too that I have my Smartbro SIM card in the tablet.
I soon started shooting office emails. After catching up on my emails, I checked my Facebook account. Several comments and private messages later, I was done.
Looking at my watch, I knew I still had some time to maximize. One thing I enjoy doing during downtimes is online shopping. So, I launched my Ebay and Amazon apps, then my XE currency converter app.
Having satisfied my online shopping needs, I closed the Transformer. A couple of minutes later, my wife returned: it was time for us to go home.
Another good example of how mobile computing can make our lives better. 
The first thing I would do come January is clean up my home work station.
I am a multi-tasker, a workalcoholic, and an information junky. With Smart’s products and services, I can be all three, easily.
I need to be connected all the time. Whether it’s through my laptop or through my mobile phone, I depend on Smart’s dependable products to support my business requirements and my personal communication needs.
Through Smart’s Smartbro products I get connected to the internet almost anywhere. With my Smart Gold data plan I get dependable call, text, and mobile data service everywhere.
My story with Smart started when they gave me broadband internet connection through Smart broadband Canopy, even though we were out of service coverage by the other networks. In fact, we were the first in our neighborhood to get broadband internet connection.
Having confidence in Smart’s broadband services, I got myself a Smartbro plug-it postpaid plan. This allowed me to become a true digital nomad with offices anywhere I want. This became very helpful when I had to work between the office, my house and the hospital when my mother became sick. I was able to attend to all my responsibilities as an employee, business owner, and as a son.
Smart’s widest coverage has also helped me connect with others in some of the remotest areas of the country. An example was when I was shooting in the middle of a rice field somewhere in Tarlac. I got a text message from a prospective client asking for my portfolio. I took a 5-minute break from the shoot, pull out my laptop, connected my Smartbro plug-it and logged on to the internet. I sent my portfolio, shut my laptop off, and resumed shooting within 5 minutes. The extraordinary thing was my other phones with non-Smart SIMs couldn’t even get a signal. Amazing!
Again, through my Smart Gold data plan and my tablet, I can be productive even during my 2-hour commute to and from the office. I check my mail, respond to blog comments, chat with family and friends, check my Facebook News Feed, and respond to Twitter friends.
When I’m in the office working my 8-5 job, and need to do some work for my photography business, I just go out for lunch, find a comfortable spot in the cafe, power on my laptop and do my stuff. I can make calls, send emails, and edit some photos and send them to clients, easily and within my one-hour break, thanks to Smart’s good call and internet service.
Although I use Smart’s fast internet access, courtesy of SmartBro, generally for work and business, I have also used it to make my relationship with my family better.
By the time I go home, I’ve done all the things I need. I have the rest of the day for my wife, my family, and friends.
When my family, here and abroad, wants to share videos and photos of their latest activities, it doesn’t take us a day just to see their latest home videos or vacation photos. When we feel the need to talk, we just fire up our favorite messaging software and voila! Long hours of catching up and talking, without the expensive international calls. Smart’s services have made us closer, bridging the distance between continents.
Everyone strives to have work-life balance; With Smart, you can.
So now you got that little nifty tablet that you’ve drooled over for so long. But your shiny new toy isn’t unique: it’s as plain as the next one. What can you do to make you device stand out? You customize it! But before you go on and start rooting and hacking your Tab, let’s look at the ways you can pimp your Galaxy Tab without voiding the warranty.
Here’s a short list of things you can do to personalize your Samsung Galaxy Tab
Hardware
Let’s start with the hardware. You can avail of the following items to create a style for your Galaxy Tab that reflects your personality.
Screen protectors
You have three options for screen protectors
The standard clear and glossy type is virtually invisible if applied properly. But, like the original screen of the tab, this type of screen protectors attract fingerprints and oil smudges like sugar attracts ants, flies, and dieters. Use this when you want to preserve the clarity of the LCD and protect it, too.
The matte and anti-reflective type helps reduce fingerprints and reflections but reduces the clarity of your device’s LCD. Use this if you find it hard to read from the screen with all the reflections.
The privacy and mirror-like screen protectors only lets you see the screen if you are looking at it straight on. Anyone trying to peep at your LCD will only see a mirror like surface. Use this if you often view your Galaxy Tab in public and you don’t want people seeing your screen as you browse your facebook account or view your favorite porn site, while sitting in a cafe in the middle of the day…or something to that effect.
Cases
Cases
Soft cases
Soft cases provide enough protection for your Galaxy Tab against light bumps and scratches but don’t expect them to withstand drops and strong bumps.
Here’s a list of common soft cases:
- nylon sleeves
- (memory) foam sleeves
- silicon and rubber jelly cases
Hard cases
Hard cases provide the best protection against bumps and scratches. But, make sure that the hard case you buy is made from good materials. Some materials, like cheap plastic, crack and may scratch the Galaxy Tab.
Here’s a list of common hard cases:
- Firm Jelly Cases – these covers protect the back and sides of the Galaxy Tab while leaving the screen totally exposed. They also have cutouts to allow access to the ports and slots of the Galaxy Tab.
- Firm Jelly Cases with stands – offer the same protection as the the firm jelly cases and they have the additional benefit of having kick stands at the back.
- Galaxy Tab Notebook/Folio Cases
If you do get one of these notebook cases, make sure that it has a correct snug and fit. Also check that all sides are covered and that the cutouts match the ports and slots in the Galaxy Tab.
Expansion options
Aside from getting accessories for you Tab, you can also expand its features by adding this hardware expansion options:
- Additional memory card – Unlike the popular Apple iPad, the Galaxy Tab has a microSD expansion slot. You can use up to 32GBs SDHC cards which will bring your total storage to 48GBs.
- Bluetooth devices – You can also pair the Galaxy Tab with a huge selection of bluetooth devices. One good addition is a bluetooth headset if you want to use your tablet as a phone. Another device is a keyboard so that you can type easier and faster. Some users have reported using a bluetooth mouse with the Galaxy Tab with success.
Software
NOTE: By default, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is not rooted. This means you won’t be able to run Apps that require root permission/access. But don’t worry, if you just use the Tab for average purposes you won’t ever need to have root access.
Launchers
Launchers give you the option to further customize your Samsung Galaxy Tab’s user interface (UI). They give you options for changing screen animations, desktop layouts, and themes! Yes, using launchers will also give you themes. You can spend hours customizing your Galaxy Tab just by installing a new launcher.
Here are my two favorite launchers:
Widgets
Widgets are great for displaying information in your Tabs screen. One thing to remember about widgets is that they can drain your battery faster if they refresh their information in frequent intervals.
More Apps!
One of the most important benefit of having an Android phone is having access to all those apps! so go and explore the Android Market; your Samsung Galaxy Tab can handle a lot of them courtesy of the 2Gb internal memory. At one time I had 85 different apps installed on my Tab, yet the internal memory still had 1.5GB.
Try out all the apps you want then just uninstall the ones you don’t use. This way, you don’t clutter your app drawer.
There you have it! Simple solutions to customize your Samsung Galaxy Tab because you don’t always need to root your Samsung Galaxy Tab to enjoy it.
How about you, how have you customized your Samsung Galaxy Tab?
Hi I’m Russel, I’m a gadget addict. I like to have electronic devices that make my life more enjoyable, more efficient, and more convenient — or so I thought.
As I tried more devices, I got more and more obsessed with getting the latest and the greatest. I became addicted to upgrades. Eventually, when financial resources started to run out, I decided to cure this addiction.
Now I can confidently say that I’m no longer a gadget addict. I am now reformed.
Because of my experience, I have resolved to help others kick their gadget addiction and start living near normal lives.
This blog will now be directed towards that quest of providing practical advise for those with the addiction and to those who have to live with people with the addiction. This site is for you.
One of the best benefits of mobile computing is the option to work anywhere. But sometimes we take this benefit for granted and abuse it unknowingly. A good example is text messaging and mobile emailing. Due to these two activities a lot of people have strained thumbs and hand joints requiring therapy. Another good example is how men unknowingly roast their private parts with their laptops.
In a recent study done at the State University of New York, researchers has concluded that using your laptop on your lap can raise the temperature around the scrotum area. This increase in temperature can cause sperm production to be lowered.
Dr. Yefim Sheynkin, a urologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, led the new study.
The test was done by attaching heat sensors on the scrotum of the test subject and temperature data was collected. After an hour of using laptops on their laps, the temperature in men’s testicles has increased by 2.5 degrees Celsius, which was beyond what experts consider safe.
You may think that this research is hilarious. Any man in his right mind would know that if you put something hot on top of your crotch, it won’t be good. That was my initial reaction too. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
The increase in temperature is not instant but is gradual which means it won’t feel that hot first. As you use your laptop on your lap longer, you adjust to the heat. By the time you realize it’s hot, you’d been roasting the family jewels for quite some time already.
Lap pads can keep your laptops cool and lessen the heat being transferred to your skin, but they do not help lessen the general temperature of your testicles.
Here are some tips to prevent cooking your testicles with your laptop:
- Avoid putting your laptop on your lap.
- If you’re going to put the laptop on your lap, put something between your lap and the laptop, preferably something thick, like a cushion or a pillow.
- Work on a table.
- Work on a table.
- Work on a table.
With proper prevention and retraining, we can make working with laptops on the table a habit. Mobile computing can be a productive and safe experience if exercise correct working habits and avoid practices that eventually will burn us.
Read a full article at http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A457320101108.
When our friends wanted to do their prenup (wait, is it still called a prenup if the couple is already married?) they decided to go to Tagaytay…Caleruega Transfiguration Chapel, to be exact, on a rainy friday afternoon. Small problem was we all didn’t know how to go there. Fortunately, I had my Motorola Milestone and my Smartbro plug-it SIM card in it. I opened the Google Maps app and to my amazement, it was disappointingly slow. Yes, 3G wasn’t always available on the roads to Tagaytay. It took a long time for the map to load, and Caleruaga wasn’t on the map (or so it seemed).
During those sad moments, I was thinking how much better Nokia Maps on my Nokia E71 was compared to this: at least with the Nokia Maps the maps were pre-cached so you didn’t have to wait for the maps to download. You only needed to download the map for the country you’re visiting prior to your trip, and then you’re all set.
I then did something which I should have done earlier. Search for Caleruega in Google. On top of the search list was the link to the official Caleruega Chapel site. There was also a downloadable map. Downloading the .pdf map with direction was fast. Soon we were able to find the place. But—it was already 5pm and the place closes at 530pm. Worse, they don’t allow pre-nup shoots anymore. And to top it all, you need to pay 30 pesos entrance fee per person which wasn’t mentioned in their website.
To cut the long story short, we only got a few poses in for the prenup, we were drenched by the rain and we were hungry.
Lessons learned:
- Do your research. It will save you the hassle of trying to look for the map.
- Have a hard/printed copy of the map with directions/instructions if possible.
- Call ahead. Ask about permits, fees, and allowable activities before going to the place.
- Above all, don’t depend on mobile phones for last minute help especially when that information depends on connecting to the Internet.
After Caleruega, we were famished. Our next stop was Bag of Beans. There we had great coffee ( I ordered bottomless house blend). I realized after that if you drink 2 or more cups of strong coffee you’ll have headaches. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the coffee but I just didn’t expect it to be that strong. Maybe next time I’ll be more prepared and starve myself of coffee for a year.
After dinner we did a short shoot. The Bag of Beans yard had a good looking lovers nook. Here’s how it looked:
This image is color corrected in Google Picasa.
All in all the trip was fun because I was with great company. So next time you head out to your next adventure make sure to bring a real map.
Mobile computing is the ability to do computing tasks in some or all possible locations. Here, I’ll be listing (in my opinion are) the top 4 requirements for mobile computing and my suggestions/opinions on those requirements.
There are other requirements for mobile computing, and you can check them at Wikipedia.
Portability
It’s common sense: if your computers or mobile devices are too heavy to carry around they are useless for mobile computing. Gone are the days of lugging around heavy laptops the size of attache cases. A good example of a very portable computing device is the Apple iPad tablet
Now, with the release of the Apple iPad tablet
Battery Life
Even if you have the fastest and lightest computing devices (laptops, mobile phones, tablets, etc.) but you don’t have enough power to support them, they are practically useless for mobile computing. A couple of hours of power is the current standard for most laptops. If your laptop’s battery last for three hours that’s already above average.
With netbooks, three hours is just the average. Because of the development of low power consuming processors and LED displays, and also the development of higher capacity, compact lithium ion/ polymer battery packs, we have netbooks that can stay powered for more than 8 hours. Example of such laptops are the next generation Acer Acer Aspire One 533
Internet Connectivity
Staying connected to the Internet is one of the basic requirements for mobile computing. Unless you don’t have any use for the Internet, your mobile computing device should at least have a built-in wireless network adapter, also known as wi-fi card. Another essential device for staying connected with your netbook or laptops is a mobile broadband device like the 3G USB modems, pcmcia cards, and built-in 3G modems in several netbooks and laptops. The latest smartphones take full advantage of 3G networks: they can work outside wi-fi hotspots. The only downside to that is the rapid loss of battery life.
Durability
Mobile computing has the most demanding requirements for devices especially when it comes to durability. Because mobile computing is done anywhere and everywhere, the devices you use should be able to survive the most number of scenarios. And when we talk about durability in mobile computing, nothing beats the Panasonic ToughBook
Tips
Before buying any mobile computing device, make sure you research well about the product. The best way to gauge if the device meets your needs and wants is to try the actual device. If you can try the device for a day, the better.
Always buy mobile computing devices with at least one year warranty. That gives you a small sense of security when your device fails within the first year.
When it comes to durability, most mobile computing devices like laptops, netbooks, smartphones, and tablets have operational guidelines that you should follow. If you use these devices outside their perscribe conditions, you risk voiding the warranty. Examples are using the device under the rain, vibrating platforms, sand-prone and water-prone places like the beach, and other uncommon locations.
I hope now you have a better idea on how to choose your mobile computing device. So get out and bring your office with you.
It’s not what you think. I’m pertaining to the fact that my wife and I like to use our laptops on the bed.
After spending hours seating, it’s a relaxing change of work area to bring your laptop to bed, put your favorite pillow behind you and just lean back and read emails, the news, do facebook, etc. That’s what I call mobile computing.
Go ahead, try it out!
Posted from WordPress for Android
After several weeks of just using Wi-fi to connect my Motorola Milestone to the internet, I finally caved in and availed of Smart’s Unlimited Internet service. To test it, I activated the Unli Surf Daily which gives me 24 hours of unlimited internet surfing.
Web browsing is comparable to that of Singapore M1 3G. I’m now testing how it woudd perform if I use my phone as a 3G modem with my netbook.
So far, so good.
Posted from WordPress for Motorola Milestone
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