August 30th, 2009

Soulbytes provide professionally narrated inspiration

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:30 pm

Categories: MP3 players, mobile services

Tags: Bible, Verse, Soulbytes, Matthew Miller

I wrote about my experiences at the BibleTech 2009 conference in March and one of the people I met there was Mark Salazar from HearLife.com. He mentioned a project he was working on that was related to music, the Bible, and mobile tech. Mark has now flipped the switch on the HearLife.com site with their Soulbyte product lineup. Soulbytes are compilations of Scripture verses paraphrased in today’s language with a selection of modern music genres that play in the background. I listened to a few of the free sample Soulbytes on my HTC Touch Pro2 and enjoyed the message and presentation.

Soulbytes are arranged by topics such as knowing God, courage, finances, trust, drawing near, and many more so you can easily find something for your situation. The choices for background music include alternative, easy listening, hip hop, pop/rock, and more. A key to successful audio Bible programs is good narration and it is excellent within the Soulbytes as Greg Burns, a professional narrator who you may recognize from other voice-over projects, reads them in a clear, audible tone. The Soulbytes cover several verses and play for about 3 minutes.

There are currently four free Soulbytes for you to try out and enjoy. Other available Soulbytes are priced at $1.29 each and are downloaded for you to listen to on virtually any device in MP3 format. You can click on the priced Soulbytes to hear a short excerpt too so you know how the background music will sound. These may work great to place in your playlist while working out to help you focus on the Lord.

August 27th, 2009

Your Kindle can't do this, local library ebooks now available on the Sony Reader

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 4:30 am

Categories: Gadgets, Sony, ebooks, mobile services

Tags: Adobe Systems Inc., Sony Corp., Sony Reader, Adobe Digital Editions, E-books, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

I wrote about the new Sony Reader devices and how we would eventually be able to actually check out ebooks from our local libraries and read them on the Sony Readers. The press release and press coverage focused on the New York Public Library so I didn’t give much thought to trying out my local system anytime soon. As I was resetting my Kindle back to defaults so I could sell it and setting up my old Sony Reader 505 I decided to check to see if the library functionality was up and running. I went to the Sony Overdrive Library Finder site and entered my ZIP code. I was quite surprised to see the local Pierce County library system supported ebooks, including audiobooks, as downloads and it appears people have been able to read these books on PCs and using Mobipocket for quite some time and I just did not know about it.

Now, the latest format announced was the ePub format and it appears that my library system doesn’t have that format yet, but they do have Mobipocket and Adobe PDF formats. Mobipocket formats require a device identifier so I could use my smartphones with Mobipocket to read those book titles. In order to try books out on my Reader 505 I selected a couple of PDF files (my wife and daughters love Twilight so I thought I should read the book and see what it is all about) and saw that they would work for a 21-day period. Some people commented on my earlier post that this functionality must have some kind of fee associated with it, but I am quite happy to say my local library makes these downloads available for FREE.

After entering my library card information and checking out I was presented with Read the rest of this entry »

August 27th, 2009

Is wireless really even necessary in an ebook reader?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 3:30 am

Categories: Gadgets, Kindle, On the road, Sony, ebooks

Tags: Sony Corp., Sony Reader, Wireless, Ebook Reader, E-books, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

The has been a lot of ebook news this week with the new Daily Edition Reader added to the latest Sony Reader trio, the launch of the Sony eBook Store on the Mac, and the roll out of over a million free public domain books in EPUB format from Google. It is nice to see Sony go head-to-head with the Kindle devices in terms of wireless capability, but I actually just ordered a new Sony Reader Touch Edition for $299 instead of waiting for the Sony Reader Daily Edition and now wonder if the wireless capability is really a necessity for ebook readers.

There are a select few ebook readers with wireless capabilities, but the Kindle definitely leads in this area. Looking back at the last year or so when I have owned and used the Kindle 1 and Kindle 2, I honestly spent just a few hours total being connected and only found it essential to get content onto my device because there wasn’t a super easy way to do so via cable. I rarely ever used the web browser because it wasn’t a pleasant experience and I think wireless connectivity isn’t as important as so many people make it out to be.

The cons of wireless connectivity include reduced battery life, tendency to buy more than you really need or can even read, and frustrations with weak connections. The pro is that you can get content to your device quickly and easily without a PC. I use my ebook readers to read books and have something like 30+ pieces of material on both my Kindle 2 and Sony Reader 505 and it would take a long time on a desert island alone for me to get through even just the titles I already have loaded up. I don’t see the urgency or need to be so connected to the network for ebooks and actually think as the economy struggles people are looking for way to be a bit more frugal. Spur of the moment purchases on the Kindle don’t help foster responsible spending habits.

The Sony Reader, and other readers like the EZ Readers, are more open to different content types and thus you have access to thousands of free ebooks that will take you years to get through. You can also find thousands of free books for the Kindle, but there are more for these other devices and the content is easier to get to the reader because of the more open nature of them.

I like to treat my ebook reader like a book and that means being free of distractions with a display that most closely matches a book. The Kindle 1 display was good, but the Sony Reader 505 sets the bar for devices I have tried out and the Kindle 2 actually has lighter, thinner fonts and is not as easy to read as the Sony 505. I worry that the touch screen on the new Sony Reader takes away some clarity and if that is the case I may not have my new reader too long, unless other features can overcome clarity issues.

Another benefit to using a PC (and now a Mac for the Sony Readers) is that you can have a local copy of your book content that you can backup to a DVD for storage and a distributor would have to physically come into your house to get that content back. It really is not a big deal to spend 5-10 minutes loading up an ebook reader with hours and hours of books once a month and in my experiences it will save you money by letting you think a bit more before making rash purchases.

Do you think wireless capability is essential in an ebook reader?

August 27th, 2009

Rumors of a Qualcomm FLO TV portable player appear

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 12:50 am

Categories: Gadgets, Rumors, mobile services

Tags: PTV Inc., Qualcomm Inc., FLO TV, GDGT, TVs, Tv & Home Theater, Wireless And Mobility, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Matthew Miller

There is an HD LCD in my house, but I primarily only use it to watch a few select shows and sporting events. I go weeks at times without viewing the TV so the rumored Qualcomm FLO TV device has very little appeal to me personally. FLO TV is available on selected cell phones and provides the user with digital TV over a broadcast wireless network rather than using data on a carriers wireless network. Other countries have had this for some time, but it is still limited in the US. This possible Qualcomm device takes the experience from a small cellphone display and puts it onto a larger, dedicated device called the FLOT TV Personal Television or PTV.

GDGT has a concept rendering of the PTV with information that it will have a capacitive touch screen, 4GB of memory, integrated stereo speakers, and a battery giving you 5 hours of TV viewing. This may be something we see at CES in January so stay tuned for further updates.

August 25th, 2009

Sony eBook Store version 3.0 software now available for Apple and Windows

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 5:59 pm

Categories: Gadgets, ebooks

Tags: Software, Sony Corp., Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Microsoft Windows, Sony Reader, E-books, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

I was just reading my friend Lisa’s first thoughts and video of the Sony Reader Touch Edition (PRS-600) and saw she mentioned the new Sony eBook Store 3.0 software would be available this Thursday or Friday. Well, Sony surprised us with an early release and if you go visit the eBook Store download site you will find both Mac and PC downloads for the latest 3.0 version. I downloaded it onto my MacBook Pro and downloaded all of my purchased content to my MBP too since I like to burn a backup DVD of my purchases.

As stated on the Sony eBook Store site you can:
* Shop thousands of eBook titles including New York Times Bestsellers.
* Take your library with you by transferring to your Sony Reader.
* Read eBooks on your PC or Mac with adjustable text and two-page view.
* Search inside your collection of eBooks.
* Borrow books from your library (library card required).

The software is pretty basic looking on the Mac and doesn’t have the visual flair I expected for an Apple product, however it gets the job done and if I can use my Mac to sync and manage content I may not even need the larger Sony Reader Daily Edition I am seriously thinking about purchasing.

August 25th, 2009

The new Sony Reader Daily Edition may replace my Kindle and Reader 505

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 12:24 pm

Categories: Gadgets, Kindle, ebooks

Tags: Sony Corp., Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, E-books, Keyboards, Personal Technology, Hardware, Peripherals, Matthew Miller

I own both a Sony Reader PRS-505 and Amazon Kindle 2 and have experiences with older models as well. While the Kindle 2 is much improved over the original Kindle (see my latest article) I still find the Sony Reader to be a slicker piece of hardware and just miss the wireless capability found in my Kindle. As Andrew posted Sony announced a new addition to the latest series of Reader devices and it looks like I may just have to sell my Kindle 2 and Sony Reader 505 to pick up the Reader Daily Edition for a couple of reasons that I will detail below. The Reader Pocket and Touch Editions (announced a couple weeks ago) are also very attractive and for someone who doesn’t yet have an ebook reader they will appeal to them at lower prices than the Kindle. However, since I already have a couple of them I am looking to upgrade.

Wireless capability

The new Sony Reader Daily Edition has integrated 3G like the Amazon Kindle and Kindle DX, yet the Sony Reader service is provided by AT&T while the Kindle’s are supported by Sprint. I have very good data connectivity where I live and play with AT&T and extremely poor coverage with Sprint. I actually have to drive to the end of the road to get a decent signal to download books and content on my Kindle. I have mentioned poor AT&T voice coverage recently, but for data I have outstanding coverage and speeds so the Sony is more attractive.

I would really love it if these ebook manufacturers would include a WiFi radio so you could download content in areas with no 3G coverage and I was hoping Sony would do this with these latest models.

Keyboard

While Amazon made some changes to its keyboard, I find that I really only use the keyboard to help me search their store for titles and think having a keyboard that takes up so much area to be a bit of a waste. Sony makes the most of the viewing experience by implementing a touch screen display with touch sensitive keyboard that appears only when you need it.

Memory

The first Kindle had a memory card slot, but the current model does not include any expansion capability. There is still plenty of room on the Kindle to hold a ton of content, but the Sony Reader Daily Edition includes integrated memory and memory card expansion slots for even more capacity to hold content.

Format support

The Sony models include suport for more native content formats than the Kindle, including Adobe PDF (with text reflow capability), EPUB, Word, BBeB, and more. The latest Kindle DX supports Adobe, but the Kindle requires a conversion first.

Library checkout support

A coworker asked me about any ebook readers supporting local libraries and now I can tell him this will be available soon. Sony will provide access to local libraries through their ebook store with the Library Finder application. You will be able to check out ebooks with a valid library card, download to your PC and transfer to your Sony Reader. When the lending period ends, the ebook disappears from your Reader with no late fees to ever worry about. My local library is pretty progressive so I think we may see them supporting this project soon.

Sony also supports public domain books from Google so there is no lack of available content.

Mac support

As stated on the Sony site, an updated version of the Sony eBook Library Software compatible with Mac OS X operating systems is available now will be available by the end of Summer 2009 for download to your computer to enable you to purchase, organize and download content to your Reader devices. I use a MacBook Pro as my main computer for writing and at home and look forward to managing my library on the Mac very soon. I can do some management of my Kindle via the Amazon website as well, but it isn’t the same as a full blown application on a computer.

The Sony Reader Daily Edition will retail for about $399 and I think I have found just what I need for Christmas. The Kindle and Reader 505 may be up on the chopping block very soon.

August 25th, 2009

Sony announces new S and E Series Walkman devices

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 11:30 am

Categories: Gadgets, MP3 players, On the road

Tags: Sony Corp., Hour, Sony Walkman, Speaker, Video, E Series, S Series Walkman Video MP3 Player, S Series, Corporate Communications, Marketing

I was digging around in my garage the other day and found my old cassette Sony Walkman player and with a couple new AA batteries it was good to go with the Steve Miller Band. Today, Sony ushered in a couple new series of Walkman devices, the S and E series. The S Series Walkman Video MP3 player has integrated stereo speakers so you can enjoy your content without the use of headphones. I personally find having external speakers on my smartphones to be valuable when trying to enjoy content in my car, in a hotel room, and while working out in my garage. The E Series is similar, but without the integrated stereo speakers.

S Series: The S Series is less than a half inch thick and has a 2.4 inch QVGA LCD display with up to 42 hours of music and 6.5 hours of video playback time. This is reduced when using the integrated speakers (rather than a wired headset) to 17 hours and 5 hours, respectively. A voice record and FM recorder are included in the device so you can actually capture your favorite FM radio station for later listening.

E Series: The E Series display measures 2 inches with support for 30 frames per second video playback. The battery life is up to 30 hours for music and 4 hours for video.

The S Series will come in red, black, violet, and pink with capacities of 8GB and 16GB for $110 and $130. The S Series is scheduled for a September release. The E Sereies will come in red and black with 8GB and 16GB capacities for $80 and $100.

September looks like a busy month for digital content players with these new Sony Walkman devices, the Zune HD, and possible iPod updates.

August 24th, 2009

Is Nokia losing focus by now expanding into the PC market with the Booklet 3G?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:35 am

Categories: Gadgets, Microsoft, Netbook, Nokia, Ultra portable PC

Tags: Nokia Corp., PC, Netbook, Nokia World 2009, Nokia Booklet 3G, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless And Mobility, Hardware

Nokia World 2009 is being held in Germany next week and to whet your appetite Nokia just announced the upcoming Nokia Booklet 3G, a Windows netbook competitor. We have seen rumors about Nokia coming out with some kind of notebook device with speculation that it could be running Android or even Maemo. The Nokia Booklet 3G is a Windows netbook powered by an Intel Atom processor.

Other known specifications include:

• 12 hours of battery life
• Integrated 3G/HSPA and WiFi connectivity
• HDMI video out port
• Front facing webcam
• Bluetooth radio
• SD card reader
• 10-inch display
• Integrated A-GPS receiver
• Ovi integration

More specifications, availability, and pricing will be announced next week so we will keep an eye out on this news.

This mini-notebook appears to have specs similar to most other leading netbooks and I will be very curious to see where pricing comes in and if it is too high I can’t imagine it doing very well, even if it is built with outstanding Nokia quality. I would rather see Nokia devote resources to making capacitive touch screen smartphones with a user interface to compete with the iPhone, Android, and WebOS devices since the netbook market is already flooded with competitors at very low prices. Nokia’s worldwide smartphone market share has been falling every quarter for quite some time and it would be nice to see them focus on their core market. What do you think about this device?

August 11th, 2009

Review: JayBird Endorphin and Tiger Eyes headphones

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 4:00 am

Categories: Gadgets, MP3 players, On the road, Smartphone, iPhone

Tags: Headphone, Phone, Headset, Music, JayBird Endorphin, Endorphins, Tiger Eyes, Cable Manager, Cable, Network Technology

As we continue to enjoy decent weather in the summer months and look to get and/or stay in shape there are a ton of headphone options out there that allow you to take your music on the go. In particular I have been looking for a pair of Bluetooth headphones that I could use while running. A reader sent me a link to the Jaybird Freedom Bluetooth headphones so I contacted them to see if I could evaluate that model. Jaybird told me they had a couple other newer products they wanted me to try out first so they sent along the Endorphins and Tiger Eyes. One aspect of these that particularly appealed to me was their 100% warranty against sweat because I sweat a lot when I workout or play sports and need something that isn’t going to fail due to this type of moisture.

	Image Gallery:Check out photos of both the JayBird Endorphin and Tiger Eyes headphones.

Jaybird Endorphins

If you have ever played sports or worked out with me you would know that I sweat like crazy. I can never work out in the same shirt twice and need a pair of headphones that can stand up to this type of environment. The Jaybird Endorphins are the only pair of headphones I have been able to find online that specifically have a lifetime warranty against sweat so it was a perfect product for me to try out.

The packaging was very well done with a durable box that contained the headphones lying in a bed of foam. You will find the earphones, rugged carrying case, cable manager, optional earhooks, and six pairs of eartips to fit your ear size perfectly. The case is a small round case with two net pockets inside and a durable zipper closure. The cable manager is a piece of rubber designed with cutouts for you to wrap the headset cable around and keep your cable and earphones organized. The optional earhooks are pieces of black rubber that have a channel cutout to feed your cable through and back around your ear.

The Endorphins are designed to go in your ear with the cable leading up over your ear and around to the back of your neck. With all of the different eartips you can find Read the rest of this entry »

August 4th, 2009

Facebook photo uploads come to the Nintendo DSi

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 10:10 pm

Categories: Gadgets, Portable gaming, mobile services

Tags: Facebook, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Photograph, Matthew Miller

Are you ready to soon see a bunch of crazy photos appearing on your friends and family’s Facebook pages? I read over on Gear Diary that Facebook photo upload support was added to the Nintendo DSi (see my review) on the evening of 3 August. I grabbed my DSi and discovered that a system update was available. After the system update, I found that the Facebook integration was available in the camera/photo gallery module.

As you can see in the couple of screenshots I took of my DSi you setup your Facebook account on your DSi and then you will find that a small Facebook icon appears next to the star, shamrock, and heart above your photos. Tapping the Facebook icon pops-up an option to connect to the Internet, followed by a Facebook login page (autofilled after you enter the info once). You then confirm if you want to upload the photo. After uploading the photo from your DSi you will find a new album called Photos from Nintendo DSi appearing in your Photos area. I’ll try to refrain from going crazy with the funny photos created on my DSI, but I imagine we will see quite a few strange photos appearing soon.