U of I Band Competition

The Palm Pre

I was able to grab a Palm Pre from my local Sprint Store Friday morning when a fresh shipment arrived. Deciding on the Pre wasn't easy. I have an iPod Touch and had been seriously considering buying an iPhone. The upcoming improvements to the OS and the 32gb option coming to the 3Gs made it a very compelling option. Ultimately, however, the deciding factor against the iPhone was the switch to AT&T. I have been a Sprint customer for about 9 years and must admit that I haven't had the problems some people claim to have experienced. There has been some issues when dealing with customer service, but nothing that didn't get resolved. Furthermore, I doubt the other companies are really that much better.

Once I decided to stay with Sprint, the next choice was whether to go with the Pre or wait for the HTC Touch Diamond 2 or the Touch Pro 2 to be released. I have been using an HTC Mogul for over a year. Windows Mobile gets a pretty bad rap, but for people who want their phones to do A LOT OF STUFF, no other OS even compares. The problem isn't what it can or can't do, the problem is how it looks doing it. The UI just isn't that pretty. But it is very functional. The hardware specs on WinMo phones seem to be catching up to run better looking UIs, while still being quite functional. But, honestly, even WinMo 6.5 doesn't look to be all that great. Maybe WinMo 7?

The Pre is a bit of a risk. After 48 hours with the device, I can honestly say it isn't the perfect phone. But, I wasn't expecting it to be. It can't do nearly as much as my Mogul can, but what it does, it does very nicely.

Here are some of the things I like and dislike about the phone.

Size:
I like the fact it is smaller than my Mogul but has the same screen size and much higher resolution. In fact it has the same resolution as the iPhone (iPod Touch), but less real estate. Web pages are much harder to read on the Pre. I find myself reading most pages in landscape to increase the text size.

Keyboard:
I like having the keyboard. Since it is a vertical slider, the keys are much smaller than on my Mogul...but at least they are there. I have gotten very used to typing on the iPod Touch and prefer the physical keyboard. There is no predictive/corrective typing on the Pre, which some have complained about. With all the abbreviations we use these days, I find myself having to 'fix' a lot of the predictions the iPod Touch makes. I have a work issued Blackberry Curve and would say the Pre keyboard is equal. Although Blackberry's use of keyboard shortcuts is much more advanced.

I also find the balance slightly awkward when the keyboard is exposed. It's not exactly top-heavy, but slightly awkward. Not necessarily a big deal.

Phone quality:
Sound quality and volume are great. My Jabra bluetooth paired to the Pre very easily.

Media:
The Media Sync to iTunes is a very nice feature. I knew the phone wasn't going to replace my iPod, but being able to sync some of my playlists is a really nice option for times I can't or don't wish to carry both devices. When listening to media on the device it will stream to the bluetooth but once a 3.5mm line is connected, that takes precidence and the sound is redirected out the speakers. If a call comes in, the speakers are silenced and the bluetooth takes control for the phone call. This is a big difference from how my Mogul worked. A nice touch.

Battery life:
Not good! A bit worse than the Mogul even, which I thought was bad to begin with. However, the touchstone is very cool and convenient. An added benefit is the new back for the phone when you buy the touchstone. The back is required for the touchstone to work and is a matte finish, reducing the fingerprint issue (I hate fingerprints all over the device). The phone comes with a sync cable and an outlet adapter. Unfortunately, when you buy the touchstone, it doesn't include an additional outlet & cable. But the Pre uses the same USB connection as my Jabra headset. So that's one less cable I have to buy since I would like to be able to charge at home and at work. A firmware update is also supposed to address the battery life issue and provide some relief (as reported on Leo Laporte's The Tech Guy podcast from last Saturday's show #567).

Applications:
Of course, being a brand new OS, there isn't much to be said regarding the difference in apps available for the Pre vs. any other smartphone device. However, with the rate of discovery that is happening with developers regarding what they can do with this OS (someone just got it to emulate an NES system), it won't be long until the flood gates open. This faith was the primary factor that caused me to decide on the Pre. Not for what it can do, but for what it is going to be able to do in the near future.

Multi-tasking:
There has been a lot of talk about this feature, but it is nothing new for those who use WinMo. My Mogul does it just fine and I'm glad the Pre does it as well. This has to be the most frustrating thing for me when using the iPod Touch. When listening to Pandora and I hear the chime that an email arrived, checking the email results in Pandora closing. GRRRRRR.

Other things:
Camera: Takes great photos. Doesn't allow for video recording (yet), would be nice but not a huge deal for me.
Navigation: The UI is very clean and sensitive to touch. As some have noted, the response time tends to lag a bit. Better than many of the skins in WinMo, worse than on the iPod Touch.
Power button: I saw someone post a complaint that the power button on top of the device must be pressed to bring it out of sleep rather than the center button, like on the iPhone. Give me a break!
USB door: A little difficult to open, shouldn't cause anyone to break a nail. Of course, you could just rip the little door off and leave it exposed like an iPhone.
Synergy:
Nice way of integrating contacts and messaging. Still getting used to it, but like it so far.
Last, but not least: Sprint. I really think they have a great network, great data speed and great pricing (comparatively speaking).

Bottom line, this isn't an iPhone and although many are making comparisons due to a few similarities, it isn't really trying to be an iPhone. For those who really love their iPhone (and I don't blame you) and wish to stay on AT&T, you won't be happy with this phone for a while. It does all the basic things I need it to do, and does them very eliquently. But once the developers take off, I think many WinMo users and even Blackberry users will be quite pleased with the webOS platform. Of course if I'm wrong, I'll be going back to WinMo in 12 months!

Happy New Year

The new year has arrived and the countdown of my final days as a 'thirtysomething'-year-old has begun. Until my surgery, I haven't felt 40 (whatever that is supposed to feel like). But since the surgery and the inability to stay as physically active, I do feel as though my body has aged quite a bit. I have an appointment to see the surgeon on Monday for my 3 month follow-up visit. He is expected to give me approval to start jogging once again. Although I don't particularly enjoy jogging (I prefer biking), it is a convenient way to accomplish my cardio several times each week (not to mention the fact that a timed running test is required for my job). I am hoping that once I can get back into a solid, steady fitness routine I will regain some flexibility and begin to feel 'normal' again.

For Christmas, we received a Wii as a family gift. This has been a lot of fun. Not only can we all play games together, most of the games encourage you to get up and move around as part of the gaming experience. I have never been much of a fan of video games, but the Wii has begun to change my opinion. Luckily, we had already created a home theater with a projector and screen for watching DVDs. I find myself looking forward to playing the Wii Sports games (particularly tennis) and the projected display can create a very immerse experience. I may need to start saving up for a Wii Fit.

I don't usually make new year resolutions, but I often evaluate how things are going and make decisions on changes or adjustments I wish to make. So, in the spirit of the New Year here are my top 5 resolutions:

• Make short term resolutions. Many resolutions are too general and broad. Instead of resolving to "start going to the gym more often", resolve to "go to the gym twice this week". Next Sunday, make a new resolution regarding the week ahead based on realistic scheduling situations. Many of my short term resolutions will revolve around my fitness routine, doing more family activities with my kids and keeping in contact with my extended family.
• Finish school this year. Here is an exception to the previous resolution. I have 5 courses remaining to complete my master's degree. Based on the term schedule, I can have all 5 classes completed by next Christmas. Unless I wish to be called Dr. Phil someday, this should be the end of my college days.
• Continue defining and refining my implementation of David Allen's GTD system. The full program can be a bit cumbersome, but several aspects of his system has made life and work more organized and less stressful. I currently utilize his 43 folders suspense system, zero inbox for paper and email, context lists in Microsoft Outlook that sync to my work-owned Blackberry, and I try to manage meetings by first defining what 'done' means and then defining the steps that are required to achieve 'done' while assigning these steps to the appropriate person or team that is best equipped to perform them.
  
• Avoid gravel roads while on a motorcycle (or reduce motorcycle accidents by 1 this year).
• Have more fun. Another violation of my first resolution (too general and broad), but this is more of a mindset. I have found myself becoming too serious about things and need to just enjoy things more.
  

Happy New Year everyone, may this be the best one yet.

My leg is starting to itch!

I had surgery on Monday, my first surgery of any kind. After 3 deep breaths into the anesthesiologists mask, I awoke 2 hours later with a reconstructed ACL in my left knee. With the right drugs, the pain is manageable but the itching is about to drive me crazy. I will have to wear a brace for 2 months that covers my entire leg, from the hip to the ankle. It may be unrealistic, but I hope this is the first and last time I will have to go through any type of major surgical procedure.
The family has been great. My wife has been taking very good care of me, but I'm trying not to ask too much of her. Caleb has been drawing me pictures and has begun carrying around one of our house phones because they have an intercom feature so he can check on me wherever he is in the house.
Have I mentioned how much I love my Acer Aspire One? Its small size has been quite convenient as I have just been sitting around. Reading ebooks has been a better experience than I had anticipated. The devices is small enough that I can rotate the screen and hold the computer like a book to readfull screen pages. Its no Kindle or iPhone/iPod Touch, but isn't much heavier than a hard cover book.
I think I am going to watch some old James Bond movies today. I would rather be out on the bicycle trails, but 007 ususally takes you on a pretty wild ride.

(K)Need to Know

The MRI scan was accomplished last week and the results were ready for my Tuesday morning physical therapy session. I was greeted with the "good news/bad news" routine. The good news is the meniscus in my knee is not torn. The bad news is I have a torn ACL and a bone fracture. Yep, a bone fracture. The ACL isn't torn apart, just partially torn due to excessive stretching. The next part of this adventure is to wait 7-10 days for my referal to arrive in the mail from TRICARE. Once that arrives, I can make an appointment with an Orthopedic Specialist which may take 2 or 3 weeks for an open appointment. I guess by that time, the broken bone may be healed! This entire ordeal is quite frustrating. I'm not one to get ill often, I have never seen the same Primary Care Manager twice since it is usually so long between visits my assigned PCM has moved on to another base. With the way this case has gone, I certainly hope it will be a long time until the next visit is required. That is once I actually heal from this one.

Getting back on that horse

It was two weeks ago today I had my motorcycle mishap and today was the first time I have been back on a motorcycle. Not just one, but two. First I rode the Concours to work in order to place it on the resale lot (most Air Force bases have a designated lot where service members can put their vehicles that are for sale, we affectionately refer to this as the "lemon lot"). After returning home, I took the RoadStar out for a few minutes to get it out of the garage. It felt pretty good riding again, but the rides weren't completely pain free.

I have started physical therapy for the knee injury and an MRI has been scheduled to get a good look at the damage. Although it feels stronger each day, surgery may still be necessary if the meniscus is actually torn.

On a recent trip to Best Buy, I was surprised to find they are carrying the new Acer Aspire One netbook. I had been considering one of these small laptop computers due to its compact size and portability. This model had just received a price drop to $349 and is equipped with a 120gb hard drive and runs Windows XP. Although I have no problem with running Vista on our other computers, I like having the lighter XP program on this computer since it is being driven by a 1.6ghz Atom processor. The same computer is available with a Linux operating system option for a $20 price savings, but I like Windows. Call me crazy. The ability to throw it in my backpack and not have it weigh a ton was enough incentive to grab one since they had one in stock. Monday night's class was the first time I was able to use it in class, and it was great. I used Microsoft Office OneNote for the lecture (thanks to the $59 pricing for Office 2007 that is available to college students...regardless how old we are) and had no issues with the battery lasting the entire class. A couple other students even asked about the Aspire One and how to get one.

I upgraded my Sprint Mogul to Windows Mobile 6.1 once the new ROM became available. The update was rather painless and the periodic cleansing is a good way to keep the device running as smooth as possible. I admit several new phones look promising to be a great replacement for the Mogul (like the new Treo Pro, if a CDMA version is released), but the Mogul still serves the purposes I need it to perform. I'm down to only a few additional programs like:

• GeoTerrestrial Systems GPSToday (for the Today screen)
  
• HTC Audio Manager (great for music and podcasts, utilizes playlists from Windows Media Player)
  
• JustForFun PockeTwit (Twitter application)
  
• ProjectION Pocket Digital Clock (for the Today screen)
• Supware.net iContact
• WeatherBug Direct (for the Today screen)
  
• RvBCrS HTC Streaming Media
• TCPMP
• Ultrasoft Money (paid program)

For a bluetooth headset, I use the Jabra BT8040. It works well for calls and the A2DP is fantastic for streaming the audio from stored mp3s or from streaming media sites. The audio continues after you press the power button to turn off the device's screen to save some battery life. The only complaint is the rubber cover for the earpiece turns easily and can cause the device to feel unsecure within the ear.

The best-laid plans of motorcycle men

I had planned to write a post explaining how excited I am about the motorcycle I am purchasing from my dad. It is everything I never wanted in a bike: a large displacement (1600 cc), air cooled, belt final drive, cruiser (it even has floorboards and a heal shifter). Then I was going to say it is so different from my sport touring Kawasaki Concours, I am surprised how much fun I have found riding this Yamaha Road Star to be. It is easy to be very relaxed riding this machine. I've quickly become extremely fond of this bike.

This was the plan until I got within a half mile from work this morning. Then a freshly oiled and gravel filled road ruined one of my most enjoyable morning rides yet. The result is a slightly scarred bike (mainly a couple chrome accessory items, no scratched paint thank goodness), a torn meniscus in my left knee and a completely bruised pride.

I've been told it isn't a matter of IF you will lay down a bike, but a matter of WHEN. I just wish it wouldn't have been so soon with having this bike. Heck, it isn't even legally mine yet! But if this satisfies the requirement of my obligatory "lay down" with a minor knee injury, I'm glad to have it out of the way now. I'm anxious to get the bike fixed back up while I mend and get back to cruisin'.