After a long wait, it’s finally here. Ice Cream Sandwich, otherwise known as Android 4.0.3 has arrived in the Asus Transformer TF101G (the 3G-equipped model of the Transformer). The upgrade came through Over-The-Air (OTA) update, surprising me at lunch time.
I’m enjoying the new interface, not really an overhaul, but more of an update to the user experience. I’ll be running it through its paces, but so far it’s noticeably snappier and more responsive than the honeycomb version.
Update on my experience after a week.
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.
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.
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.
However fanboyish it may sound, Apple has done a great job at innovating and revolutionizing consumer electronics.
I’m a technology junky. I enjoy using the latest gadgets and technology. What I’ve noticed is that Apple has been a catalyst for innovations and revolutions in the mobile computing industry. When Apple gets into the game, they make it look cool.
You can say that it all boils down to marketing, but it does have its advantages, not just for Apple but also for the consumers.
There are thousands of music players available on the market. Often times, when we mention music player or MP3 player, the first image that comes to mind is the iPod. Yes, the rounded square MP3 player that allows you to store and play thousands of songs anywhere you are.
To be clear, the iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player. That honor goes to the world’s first MP3 player — the MPMan F10 manufactured by Korea’s Saehan Information Systems and was launched in March of 1998 at CeBIT.
What Apple did was create a sleek-looking device driven by a revolutionary user interface. The iPod became so popular, it became part of modern day culture. Because of its popularity, thousands of MP3 players have been created to rival or at least eat at the market share of the iPod.
Now here’s my take on the iPod phenomena: Music players wouldn’t be popular if Apple didn’t create the iPod family of music players. In my opinion consumer electronics should thank Apple for marketing the music player to the masses. Honestly, did you give the MP3 music players any thought before the iPod came? Most of the people I asked said no.
It was Apple who spent a lot of money to market the iPod as a necessity and as a cool gadget to have and be seen with. Once the iPod became popular, other companies started to make their own players. Microsoft’s Zune and Sony’s MP3 Walkman are just a couple of the media players that came out.
As other companies started to compete in this niche, consumers got more MP3 or media players. These days, almost everyone I know has a media player and iPod has a lot to do with that.
On my next post, I’ll share my insights on the next great product of Apple: the iPhone.
Note: Before the Apple fanboys rejoice because they have another supporter, or before the PC fanboys start thinking I’ve changed camps, let me be clear: I DON’T CARE. I am not a die hard fan of any of these camps. I buy and use the brand that fits my needs, and not because of the marketing materials that’s pushed to me.
I’m writing this article to express my observation. Take it as it is.
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.
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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.
First Apple blames the users of their new iPhone 4 for not holding the phone the right way that eventually results in signal loss. When people complained how arrogant Apple was, they backtracked and now claims that, yeah there’s a problem with all iPhones.
You really didn’t have good signal in the first place: the iPhone was just exaggerating with its signal strength indicator so that iPhone users can feel great and brag about how good their reception is.
Here’s what I’m reading here:
Apple is trying to cover up the design flaw of the new iPhone 4 by creating a new problem that’s easier to fix (software upgrade, anyone?)
Apple assumed that iPhone users will accept everything they say, but realized that not all iPhone users are fanboys and brand lunatics, and some actually can think for themselves.
Apple’s quality control department is not so good with their jobs. How can you miss sudden signal strength drops? Do their QAs actually use the iPhone? I knew people working as QAs in Motorola and they tell me that they use those prototypes until they break them. That’s the way to test phones.
Read more about this latest act of arrogance from Apple by following the link below:
Just when everyone is hating you for saying the Dell computers suck, here’s some proof that you’re actually right.
Here’s an excerpt:
After the math department at the University of Texas noticed some of its Dell computers failing, Dell examined the machines. The company came up with an unusual reason for the computers’ demise: the school had overtaxed the machines by making them perform difficult math calculations.
Dell, however, had actually sent the university, in Austin, desktop PCs riddled with faulty electrical components that were leaking chemicals and causing the malfunctions. Dell sold millions of these computers from 2003 to 2005 to major companies like Wal-Mart and Wells Fargo, institutions like the Mayo Clinic and small businesses.
Check the whole article by clicking the link below:
, the first image that comes to mind is the iPod. Yes, the rounded square MP3 player that allows you to store and play thousands of songs anywhere you are.
