Nexus 5 Arrived

 Technology, Travel  Comments Off on Nexus 5 Arrived
Nov 042013
 

My N5 was waiting for me when I got back from Greensboro today.

First impressions: I love the look of Kit Kat. The phone feels good in my hand, too, although I think it’s going to become a grease magnet. I’m not a huge fan of the sharp edges, though. They’re a little sharper than I like, but they help me keep a grip on the phone.

The OS has a lot of changes under the hood, and some cosmetic ones. Google Now is on the left sweep from the main screen. I’m not sure I like that yet. Also, there are only 2 screens to put icons/folders on. I’m not sure how I feel about that, either. I’m used to 4-5.

Stock Android is my favorite version of Android. Very little “stuff” gets in my way.

Compared to the GNex, there is no comparison. It looks better, works faster, and takes better photos.

There’s an auto HDR mode, but it’s slow. Slooooow.

I had to go by T-Mobile to get a new SIM card for it. It uses the smaller SIM cards. I’m wonder if that’s going to be an obstacle for traveling or not. I’ll still keep my orange cave-phone with me, just in case. The T-Mobile folks were nice about making a quick swap of SIMs.

I need to start packing, so I’ll use it more on the road.

Enter Samsung

 Technology  Comments Off on Enter Samsung
Aug 152013
 

My old Motorola Xoom tablet has been slowly dying on my lately. It has been running slower and slower. Part of the reason, I think, is because Google/Motorola stopped supporting development of the Android OS for it. So it doesn’t get updates anymore, which means it’s stuck on 4.1.

Also, the hardware is old, so programs that have become more and more greedy when it comes to CPU and memory are running out of room to work.

It doesn’t help that it weighs a ton, and becomes uncomfortable to use after a few hours.

I saw a sale on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 pen tablet the other day, and finally decided to buy one. I have a few good reasons for it.

First, it supports microSD cards up to 64GB. I have a lot of e-books and MP3 files, and I want to be able to fill that up. The tablet only comes in 16GB models, which I find somewhat annoying, but less annoying if there’s an microSD card slot.

Second, it has a Wacom pressure sensitive stylus, with that bit cooked into one of the layers of the OS. I like Wacom products a lot, so I see this as a definite plus. If I can find a good drawing program, I’ll be set.

I’ve had it for a couple of days now, and I like the tablet overall. The display is crisp, colors are good, and sound is good enough. (I use headphones anyway.)

Yes, it’s plasticky, but I don’t care. Compared to the Xoom, it feels feather-light. If plastic makes it lighter, then by all means, make it all plastic. It’s just as strong as anything else.

My only beef is with all of the “Software I don’t want or need” that Samsung insists on dumping on the tablet. I don’t need a Samsung version of every Google program I already use. What’s worse is that I can’t uninstall the Samsung software. Samsung makes great hardware, but I like the Google software.

Let me run what I want. It’s like buying a laptop full of crapware. I wind up formatting the hard drive and doing a clean install anyway.

I would love to put Cyanogen on this, but then I’m afraid I’d lose some of the pen pressure support, and it may be just as much or more of a hassle than keeping the software I won’t use, anyway.

Xoom Xoom Xoom-a Xoom

 Technology, Travel  Comments Off on Xoom Xoom Xoom-a Xoom
May 012011
 

iPad, iSchmad. I picked up a Motorola Xoom the other day, because I like the way Honeycomb looks, and I’m excited about the prospect of Android on a tablet.

Okay, I’ll admit it. Me and 4 other nerds camped out for it at our local Best Buy on its release day. It’s no iPhone event, that’s for sure. In fact, the store clerk didn’t even know what we were talking about at first.

But I got one! Wi-Fi only, because I already have a cell phone bill.

So far, there’s not a whole lot to say about it. It’s Android. On a tablet.

Of course there are widgets, and I LOVE WIDGETS. Widgets are a large part of my motivation to switch to Android.

Using some of my various reader software is pretty nice. It’ll be nicer when it’s more tablet-friendly.

I’m hoping that there’s a flood of tablet-friendly apps coming out soon. That would be great.

My other hope is that this will replace a lot of the gadgets I carry around with me.

One downside: I don’t like the charger. Once again, Motorola has eschewed a USB charger in favor of this tiny little 12V pin charger, which looks like it’s going to get bent. I’m sure of it.

Android Apps For Japanese Learners

 Japan, Japanese Language, Technology  Comments Off on Android Apps For Japanese Learners
Apr 012011
 

If you’re going to go Android for Japanese first you need a keyboard. I like Simeji. It’s ugly, but very useful… and really, the only good choice out there, to be honest:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.adamrocker.android.input.simeji

Also, if you like to add Japanese-style emoticons, then Kaomoji List is a great add-on to Simeji. It’s activated through the “mushroom button” on Simeji’s keyboard:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.zeroindex.mushroom.kaomojilist

If you want to draw kanji by hand, then I recommend HanWriting IME:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.KwanLye.android.HanWriting

For a dictionary, there are a couple of options. My preference is DroidWing. It works great with EPWING dictionaries (just create an EPWING directory on your SDCard) and with web searches, if you know what search strings to use. You can search multiple dictionaries all at once, which is powerful.:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.aokabi.android.droidwingfree

If you just want EDICT, then it’s hard to beat Aedict. It’s free:

https://market.android.com/details?id=sk.baka.aedict

Vertical Text Viewer is great for reading 青空文庫 (aozora bunko) formatted books.  青空文庫 is the Japanese version of Project Gutenberg, only the difference here is that the format they use has become an “underground” standard of a sort. You can even buy books, have them sent to a professional to be scanned professionally, and then format them yourself in 青空文庫 format. (The books get destroyed in the process, though.) Of all of the 青空文庫 readers out there, I like Vertical Text Viewer the most. It has a Mincho font you can download inside the app for extra legibility, and when you press and hold on a word, you can send the word to DroidWing to look it up! VERY handy.

https://market.android.com/details?id=org.example.android.npn2SC1815J.VerticalTextViewer

If you’re learning Japanese, chances are, you’re also struggling with a way to remember everything. I hope you’re using an SRS. My favorite SRS is Anki, and there’s a port of Anki for Android, called Ankidroid.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ichi2.anki

When you’re in Japan, post offices are really useful places for doing 2 things: sending crap home, and getting money for cheap. Finding them, on the other hand, can be tricky. This app claims to do it. (Requires a connection.):

https://market.android.com/details?id=jp.co.efficient.pnpostoffice

This last app is just cool: the Hyperdia search app– you can use the Hyperdia service to search for ways to get from A駅 to B駅 (A Station to B Station) all over Japan. Of course, these days, that might not work exactly as you think. Also, this requires an online connection to work:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hyperdia.android.activity

I Have Joined the Robot Army.

 Technology, Travel  Comments Off on I Have Joined the Robot Army.
Jul 182010
 

The main reason for the switch was that AT&T said that Apple won’t let me unlock the iPhone I spent 2 years paying for on contract. Okay, fine. I can’t fight you, but I can never buy your stupid phones again.

Then AT&T told me “unlimited” wasn’t in their vocabulary anymore.

Okay.

So now I’m using a Nexus One on T-Mobile, with a month-to-month unlimited plan that’s the same cost as my old AT&T plan. We’ll see how long it lasts.

I’ve had the Nexus One (I’m going to call it the N1 from here on out) for a little while now, and I must say that it’s a great little phone. Unlocked, it cost about $550 US (ouch), but it’s a real trooper.

I got it unlocked to avoid more contracts–that $300 you save up front isn’t worth the $2000 you pay on the contract–and so that I could use SIM cards from other carriers when I travel overseas.

The main reason for picking the N1 was that as a Google developer phone, Google will roll out updates to it relatively quickly.

It comes with a stock version of Android, with nothing skinned over it, and that also means faster OS updates as well.

It also means that it doesn’t come with any bloatware.

There are some limitations: the onboard memory is small. Google’s own apps are not movable to SD for some reason they do not wish to divulge, so the onboard memory is always crammed full, and I’m already getting low memory warnings.

It supports up to a 32GB microSD, so that’s one thing in its favor.

Also, the touchpad tracking is a little off. This can cause great consternation at inopportune moments. Like when I’m driving and it decides to wipe out my route. Thanks for nothing.

Finally, no stock Japanese keyboard for non-Japanese phones.

But really, those are the only complaints I have about the phone, and they really are minor, because in every other area, it saves me so much hassle, it’s not even funny.

Google Maps is total lifesaver. There’s nothing on the iPhone that comes close.

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