Author: jamesclay

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Dropping the box

Are you using Dropbox?

Dropbox is the easiest way to store, sync, and, share files online. There’s no complicated interface to learn. Dropbox works seamlessly with your operating system and automatically makes sure your files are up-to-date. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The more I use Dropbox the more useful I find it.

For me what makes Dropbox work for me is the integration with OSX and syncing across multiple machines, and I can access it through a web browser at work.

If I was a Windows user, then Skydrive would probably be a similar alternative, though of course Dropbox does work on Windows. Skydrive does have 25GB of storage compared to Dropbox’s 2GB. But for $10 a month I can upgrade Dropbox to 50GB, which is a fair bit of online storage.

Another way of thinking about Dropbox is as an USB stick that doesn’t require removing, ejecting or holding onto, so difficult to lose your Dropbox, unlike an USB stick.

So what about losing the cloud? Well you never know one day Dropbox may stop working, other web services and tools have done so, but until then it works.

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16GB is way too small…

If you are in the market for the new iPad and if you want to use certain apps and games then I think you might find 16GB is way too small to meet your needs.

Likewise if you are going to use your iPad for reading magazines or comics then again 16GB may be a little lightweight to hold all the magazines that you want to carry with you.

If you like TV series then 16GB probably won’t be enough to hold an entire series, especially those American ones that last for longer than six episodes!

Films, well don’t expect to have too many on your 16GB iPad.

And if you want to do all the above? Well expect to do a lot of work ensuring that there is sufficient space on your iPad. You will need to be archiving stuff, removing apps, swapping films and TV programmes.

Which is why if I was buying the iPad 2 I would be getting the 64GB model or at the very least the 32GB one.


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iPad vs iPad 2 comparison: RAM performance in Mobile Safari

Useful comparison of how the 512MB RAM in the iPad 2 makes a real difference to browsing using Mobile Safari with multiple “tabs” open.

If you rarely use the multiple “tabs” feature then this may not be of benefit, but this is something I often do, with multiple windows open. The refresh was quite annoying, especially if I had text entered into a text field.

However is this enough justification to upgrade from iPad to iPad 2?

via TiPb

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Firefox 4 Beta

Having had a few issues with my main installation of Firefox I decided that I would upgrade the beat version of Firefox 4.

So far so good and a few of the issues I was having with Firefox seem to have been resolved with version 4. For example I was having issues with text entry in text fields. It was often very slow for no apparent reason, even resetting Firefox and emptying all temporary internet files and the cache wouldn’t resolve it. This now seems to be working fine with version 4.

There is a new look to the user interface and a new style that I quite like.

Overall it’s working for me, but it is beta and as with any beta software I am expecting possible problems in the future, and it would appear that Flash may be the main cause of those problems.

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Yes, I have the Gingerbread

Yes, finally, I now have Gingerbread on my Google Nexus One.

The update finally came through on Friday, and I downloaded it before leaving for work and installed it.

Having used it for a while, this is no Froyo, no major changes to features. However there have been some UI changes and improvements.

The user interface is refined in many ways across the system, making it easier to learn, faster to use, and more power-efficient. A simplified visual theme of colors against black brings vividness and contrast to the notification bar, menus, and other parts of the UI. Changes in menus and settings make it easier for the user to navigate and control the features of the system and device.

It seems a little zippier and faster.

Also pleased that it is easier to manage downloaded files.

The Downloads application gives the user easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email, or another application. Downloads is built on an completely new download manager facility in the system that any other applications can use, to more easily manage and store their downloads.

I sometimes use the Nexus One to download a podcast or an mp3 file over 3G, I can’t do that on the iPhone if the podcast file is too big. If I press play in the browser (on either the iPhone or the Nexus One) it streams, and if the connection fails then I have to restart the download. If I download the file I can then play the file as though I had transferred it over

Trying to then find that file to play it can be problematic, hoping this Downloads application will solve that issue.

So far, pleased with the upgrade.

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Magical

Yay it’s shiny and new…

Yay it’s got a camera…

Yay it’s faster…

Yay it’s thinner, lighter and whiter…

Yay it’s the new iPad!

James, get a grip!

Yes as rumoured, Apple have announced their new iPad and it will be available in the UK on the 25th March.

It’s thinner and lighter, not quite sure if that is that important. The original iPad is still thinner and lighter than my laptop and that has been one of the key features why I use the iPad now so much more than my laptop at home, in work, at events, or out and about. The only time someone mentioned how heavy the iPad was, was when they compared it to their iPod touch! To be honest I do think the iPad should be lighter, but it’s not such a heavyweight now to be unusable. So I guess the lighter iPad is a good idea, but a reason to upgrade? No, I can live with lugging around a couple of extra ounces of weight.

So what about the thinness? If I wanted thin, I would get a MacBook Air, wouldn’t I? I do “worry” about thin computers and tablets in case they get bent out of shape when travelling. I use the term worry here in the same way that I worry about accidently watching Top Gear and not using it in any other way that would mean I was really worried.

So it’s faster, that’s good isn’t it? Well I love this line from the features page.

Two powerful cores in one A5 chip mean iPad can do twice the work at once. You’ll notice the difference when you’re surfing the web, watching movies…

Really?

I’ll be able to read web pages faster than I can read them now. Wow! I’ll be able to watch movies in half the time it takes now. Wow! Sorry movies on my old iPad play just fine, no problems. I can’t see how a faster processor can make watching movies (which work just fine now) work better. I know on some Android devices that struggle with video (in the main Flash video) two cores will certainly help there, but on the iPad… hmmm

I’ll be fair to Apple and post the rest of the quote.

…making FaceTime video calls, gaming, and going from app to app to app. Multitasking is smoother, apps load faster, and everything just works better.

I do recall the speed difference between the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS, you could really tell the difference in how it ran apps. It will be interesting to see if there is a similar difference between the single core A4 iPad 1 and the new dual core A5 iPad 2. Though the new improved graphics performance probably is going to improve that experience for many apps.

No improvement in battery life. The battery life on the iPad is really good, it’s only ever run out on me once, every other time it has lasted the day and sometimes more than one day. I guess if they hadn’t cut the weight they could have extended the battery, but who needs more than 10 hours?

So the big difference with the new iPad has to be the cameras, one on the front and one on the back. If you use Facetime then this will be a big attraction. To be honest I have never managed to make a Facetime call let alone use it on a regular basis. So for me, the cameras are less of a “wow” feature and more “oh that’s nice”. I think I would probably use them with Skype though.

I do like the fact that iOS 4.3 will bring an enhanced AirPlay, allowing me to stream much more video and audio content from my iPad to my Apple TV. Though it should be pointed out that 4.3 will work on the first iPad… so no need to upgrade then.

Finally Apple allow video mirroring on the iPad. Something educators have been clambering for, for ages. Using the existing VGA adapter or the new HDMI adapter, what you see on the iPad will be shown on the big TV or the projector. Great for showing content from the iPad to others, or if you don’t have AirPlay devices for showing video and images. It’s not entirely clear to me if video mirroring is restricted to the new iPad, or if the older version with iOS 4.3 will be able to also do it. If it is just a feature of the new iPad, then that may be one reason to upgrade. Another thing to note is that video mirroring won’t work (according to the Apple specs) with either the component or composite AV cables. This is a pity as I use those cables connected to a video capture device from Elgato to capture AV video streams.

With the cameras, Apple are bringing iMovie to the iPad. However as indicated on the iMovie page

iMovie works with iPhone 4, fourth-generation iPod touch, and iPad 2

So it won’t work with the old iPad. At the last few big conferences I went to I used my iPad during the day and still had my laptop with me for editing video in the evenings. Now if I could do the video editing on the iPad, the laptop could be retired or left at home. That maybe is a reason to ugrade. Though as Mark Power said to me in a tweet.

@jamesclay Upgrading an iPad for a £4.99 app. Emperor Jobs will be most pleased… 😉

At least Garageband will work on the old iPad (as well as the new one). That means recording and editing podcasts when away will be easier.

So at the end of the day should you buy the new iPad. If you already have an iPad, then I can’t see a huge benefit or reason to upgrade to the new one. Waiting for iPad 3 next year probably is a better option. So what if you don’t have an iPad? Well the decision has got a little more difficult, as Apple have reduced the price on the existing iPad by £100. So it’s just £329 for the basic 16GB WiFi model. So should you buy the old one at the cheaper price or wait for the new one? If money isn’t a problem, I would wait three weeks and get the new one. If it was always the cost of the iPad that put you off, well £329 is a really good price for an excellent tablet. What about ignoring the iPad and going for a Honeycomb Android Tablet? Well my concern would be the price, the Motorola Xoom is very expensive compared to the iPad – can’t quite understand it when Apple is cheaper than the alternatives… something not quite right there.

So back to the question that everyone is asking, are you going to upgrade your iPad?

Well to be honest I am in two minds, but I am leaning towards, no, and enjoying what is still one of the best computing devices out there, one which has radically changed the way I communicate, collaborate and get information. It will still do that even though there is a shiny new model just around the corner…

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Connectivity

Today was one of those days when I needed some decent connectivity and I didn’t get it.

I was at lunch in Worcester discussing various iPhone, iPad and Android apps (as you do). However, maybe because of our location and the building we were in, my connectivity to O2 and T-Mobile were very poor. There was still a connection, but not quite what I would expect from 3G and in some cases dropped connections. This meant that the apps were not working as they should or failed to make a connection to their server.

It made me realise that many apps are very web dependent and do not work unless you have a decent connection. Sometimes with a good connection, they work great, but without it the apps are basically useless.

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How much?

Reading the Metro over lunch the other day I was surprised to see that O2 were offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab for £399 which was a lot less than the £599 launch price. The Galaxy Tab was only available from the 1st November and now less than four months later we see £200 off.

Well after posting the advert to Twitter, it would appear that £399 is quite expensive for the Tab now.

HMV have been selling in their stores (and not online) the Galaxy Tab for just £249. That is a considerable saving from the original list price. I was very tempted and nearly called into HMV on the way home. I stopped (well I didn’t actually stop, I kept driving) and thought about it and asked myself two questions.

Firstly, you have an iPad, why do you need another tablet device, especially one that only runs Android 2.2 Froyo and this is not optimised for tablets. Yes I know have an interest in these kinds of devices but though I do quite like the Tab when I played with it in a shop a month or so ago, I really did think when and where was I going to use this where I wouldn’t be using my iPad? In other words no use scenarios came to mind.

Secondly, why was the price dropped by so much in such a short time. I know some will say that the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the main reason.

The new Tab has a bigger iPad sized screen, is more powerful and will be running Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is optimised for tablet devices.

Yes that would certainly be one reason, but is it the right reason.

I have to wonder if the 7” form factor is not selling well? I have to ask is the Tab selling well, anyhow? Generally devices that don’t sell well do often end up with price cuts later. And it hasn’t been that much later has it, less than four months.

So though I was tempted, I don’t think I will be going to HMV and getting myself a Galaxy Tab. If I didn’t have an iPad, I might well have been more tempted and splashed out the cash. As it happens I am probably more likely to save up now and get that Tab 10.1 when it gets to the UK.

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Still no Gingerbread for the Nexus One

It was rumoured this week that the Google Nexus One would finally get the Gingerbread 2.3 Android update…

Alas no.

It was promised to appear in a few weeks, more than a few weeks ago, hence the impatience of many out there.

Still no update and still no firm idea when it is going to happen. Google have said it will happen, but I am starting to have my doubts.

I don’t really want to upgrade to the Nexus S, in the main as the Nexus One is still a really good phone and still does what I need it to do. The other main reason is that an unlocked Nexus S is £430 which is a lot more than the Nexus One was.

Ah well let’s get waiting again…