November 18, 2005
Smartphones Flunking
Spurred by an interest in j2me bluetooth development, I gave a few GSM smartphones a whirl. What I found surprised me. The 'smarter' the phone, the less I enjoyed it. The simple star of the bunch, the Sony Ericsson K750i, but even this was no treat. I also tried out the Nokia N90 and Sony Ericsson P910i. So far I'll stick with my LG 4500.
The Sony Ericsson P910i looks to be the most impressive of the bunch. It is the only one sporting a full keyboard, and has an impressive size screen with the keypad flipped out of the way. It also sports a stylus. However, all these features can't make this a good phone. This phone is crippled with the flip closed. You can't run j2me apps, add contacts, or do a number of things you can do with a normal phone. The flip is a cute gimmick, but instead of providing a classic phone like interface with the flip closed, it's a view into a limited set of apps and operations. Once you open the flip, things are better, but not amazingly so. I found typing and motion between applications to be annoyingly slow. 
The contact management app may be powerful for a road-warrior, but it leaves much to be desired when trying to put in a new name/phone number pair. Sony/Ericssons phone UI is in need of help. The major 'ok' soft key constantly changes between competing functions. One minute it is 'call', the next minute it is 'end'. Exiting what you're doing requires using a smaller-than necessary 'back' button. Furthermore, the keypad is much more bulky in real life than one might think from seeing pictures.
With radical new features such as a real Carl Zeiss optics still and video picture camera, an extremely high-resolution screen, and a unique twisting display mount, the Nokia N90 sure is different. In reality the results are less than impressive. The screen-density and Opera browser do make this one of the most impressive standard-phones for mobile browsing. You can see more of the page than you can even with the huge p910i screen, because the pixel resolution is higher. However, you might go blind from the tiny font text possible at this pixel density. At least I can hit the hangup button to get back to the main menu at all times. Too many small icons with no text make the menu system on this phone confusing. Despite the great technology, this phone UI was the most sluggish of the three. However, the death-null for this phone is the awkward 2-way flip and rotating screen. While it does seem nice while shooting in video mode, these two features conspire to make the phone all but require two hands to open properly.
Finally, the Sony Ericsson K750i. While this phone is not without it's own quirks, it is actually quite nice. It has one of the best text-entry UIs I've seen on any phone. When using standard alpha entry mode, it shows a panel of upcoming characters at the top of the screen. This is a godsend when trying to enter symbols, as you can see where you're headed and avoid the dreaded symbol overshoot. The phone has a relatively fun UI which is snappier than the N90. However, I was still unimpressed with the speed. It often felt lagged and delayed moving between menus. I'm also not a fan of the push-stick. I'd rather have the four-directional pad and "ok" buttons separated to avoid mis-clicks. \\
All three of these phones make the Audiovox SMT5600 smartphone seem practical, speedy, and useful in comparison. If you forced me into it, I would have a hard time picking between the K750i and the SMT5600. I suspect the more standard fixed start-end call buttons on the SMT5600 would sway me that direction. For now I'll stick with the LG 4500 and keep my eye out for smarter smartphones.
November 12, 2005
Goodbye Wifi, Hello EV-DO
Are you underwhelmed by the number of locations with solid WiFi access which you can actually use? Are you frustrated that the wifi signal strength at your coffee-shop hotspot is sub par? Have you spent time clicking through funky wifi billing pages only to be repeatedly disconnected while trying to use the network? Do you long to be able to use your laptop while in motion on a train or car? Throw out your WiFi and read on...
My place of work has one of the most extensive in-office WiFi networks I've heard of. The ability to walk to nearly any places in the complex and compute has assured that nearly every employee has a WiFi laptop. However, even in this modern day WiFi Mecca, lost-connections and dead zones are an every day reality.
When venturing out into the world, my WiFi experiences have been even more sub-par. Finding a solid WiFi network, connecting and setting up the necessary billing is a task which I've found fails more often than it succeeds.
The San Francisco airport's T-Mobile service is one of the better WiFi hotspots. After a billing login is setup, repeat usage is relatively painless. However, the last time I tried it my laptop aimlessly hopped between channels without letting my traffic through. I finally decided to choose an A instead of G network, thinking that fewer people are operating on the higher-frequency, and voila my connection finally worked.
On a recent trip back from New York, I attemped to check email from LaGuardia. The local Concourse Communications billing page was only mildly annoying. However, after I went through the trouble of creating yet another login and password for them to bill me a measly $4.95, the network didn't even work. I pulled out my hardly-tolorable cellular EDGE card and suffered through the high-latency to send their customer care an email. They promptly refunded my payment. However, I longed for a better way.
That better way is here, and it's called EV-DO from Verizon Wireless.
During the last year, EV-DO has been rolling out in major US cities at an impressive rate. Both Verizon and Sprint have been lighting up cities, but until recently neither were available in my homedown. In August 2005, Verizon launched their EV-DO network in the San Francisco Bay Area. I rushed in to grab a PC Card (I have the V620), and have experienced a new sense of freedom ever since.
Despite what you read, this isn't about bandwidth, it's about latency. When you click on a web link, you want to see the next page arrive quickly. Most webpages are already quite small, so bandwidth isn't the issue, it's the length of time it takes for the round-trip of the data. While it turns out that higher-bandwidth services generally offer lower-latency, don't be confused. It's still the lower-latency which makes it work well.
| Service | Latency |
| GSM EDGE | 300-1500ms |
| CDMA EV-DO | 114-290ms |
Since I bought my EV-DO card, I've used my new freedom to do mobile computing in several cities, including San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis, Madison, and Portland. Looking for WiFi hotspots has been a thing of the past. Sure, I still use WiFi at work and home. However, when I'm mobile, I don't bother. I had a recent airport connection in Minneapolis during which I computed from the moment I opened my laptop in the waiting area through the moment they asked us to turn off electronic devices from the cabin. No billing signup, no $5 fees, no lost access points. In Portland I was able to compute productively both to and from the airport. Furthermore, the business I was visiting wasn't hooked up with open WiFi, making me the only visitor in the conference room with a working network.
If you need mobile high-speed data and you find WiFi just doesn't cut it, go get EV-DO from Verizon, you won't regret it.
* Sprint also offers EV-DO, due in San Francisco in 2006. Cingular is working on a rollout of GSM UMTS, which also offers high-speed low-latency data services, due out sometime in late 2006.
* Update 2/16/06: cnet's quick guide to 3G cell phone service
November 10, 2005
mtbz heelys!
Have you seen kids zipping along on shoes that you could swear looked standard issue? The secret is a small wheel located in the back of the shoe, combined with a healthy amount of dexterity and balance. While shoes like this are easy to find for kids, those of us adults who want to cash in on the fun will need to turn to an online store to get our MTBZ Heelys fix.
Once you get ahold of your new toy, you'll need to be careful. Kids are already low to the ground and are plenty used to falling. As an adult, first time Heely riders should be careful not to land smack on their tailbone or worse, their head. Take care in learning to ride, and wear protective gear, especially at first.
I scoped out San Francisco and found an excellent place to learn. In the center of Union Square, there is a flat section of sidewalk with a long railing -- the perfect grab bar for the frequent early mistakes. After a few hours gingerly trying to coast a few feet, I was able to run up, position onto my heels, and coast the entire length of the railing with a satisfying zip. Look for a similar place to learn in your homedown and you'll be glad you did.
Then consider excellent places to use your Heelys. Work doesn't generally pan out, since most offices are carpeted and you just can't effortlessly zip along on it. The mall is a frequent spot kids love to make use of. Airports also could work out, but I get the sense that airport security would not look kindly at an adult wheeling along at speed. Wherever you decide to heel, keep safety in mind, and don't run into the pedestrians.
Happy heeling!