ThinkGeek Bluetooth Retro Handset Revi

Around a week ago ThinkGeek sent us their Retro Handset that connects via bluetooth V1.0, 1.1, or 1.2.  Instead of carrying your phone around in the house, you can use this more comfortable and stylish handset. 

The setup was fairly easy.  First you will need to charge it by the USB cord that came with, for 6-8 hours.  Then, to connect it to your device(s), you need to press and hold its silver button a certain amount of times which are defined in the instructions.  Once both devices accept the connection you are good.

The handset does a good job of manipulating the original's feel.  The size and shape seem to be the same.  The only thing that gives it away, other then the lack of a cord, is the weight, at 6.375 oz (0.4 lbs).

I cannot complain about the quality of the mic and speaker.  They simply sound like a bluetooth handset.  The other side of the call could rarely tell when I was using the handset and when I was using the actual phone, so it really just sounds like any mobile phone's hardware.

Considering everything, this is a really cool gadget for $29.99.  It feels like I hoped it would, and maybe it does such a good job of manipulation because the originals were low priced items too.  The quality is nothing to complain about, whether it be the body, or how it performs on calls.  If you are looking for a comfortable handset to use around the house and/or something that just looks cool, I advise you to pick this up.  You can visit the product page on ThinkGeek.

TechWilling

Concern with Kindle Fire's App Choices? Here's a Summary of Current/Future Apps

When Amazon's Kindle Fire was announced many people, including me, were concerned with the app library it had available. With the exception of a few major games like Angry Birds, there were not many recognized apps. Luckily, patience has awarded us. Through the last few weeks Amazon has published posts on their discussion boards of upcoming apps. A list of some major apps are listed below.

Apps:

TechWilling

Why the Nook Tablet is Not Right for Me

Since Monday, when Barnes and Noble announced their new tablet, I have been considering buying it.  I have no doubt that it is a great product for the price, but wanted to consider all factors when comparing it to Amazon's Kindle Fire.  They are both scheduled to release in the next week or so, so I needed to make a decision. 

Hardware wise the Nook is champion.  Both devices sport 7 inch displays with resolution at 1024x600, 169 PPI, 1GHz dual-core processors, and the same body quality.  The differences between the Nook and the Fire are RAM (1GB vs 512MB respectively), storage (16 vs 8GB), and the Nook has a mic, and can read microSD.

Both devices software is based off of Android.  Amazon has built a new operating system with the FIre in mine, and the Nook Tablet takes the Nook Color's operating system, with a few adjustments.  Although Nook Color's operating system was not criticized compared to other new OS's, it was nothing special, and the app store is a disappointment.  I expect the Fire's operating system to show Amazon's learnings from previous OS's.  Amazon has planned this for quite a while, while the Nook appears to be more of an attempt of competition.  There is nothing wrong with this, but time may have given Amazon the advantage to design the better OS.  Amazon has also announced major apps coming, like Facebook and Pandora.

To me the devices are about tied if we were to decide now.  This following factor made up my mind, which is, who the developer is, and what their goals are.  Amazon is a growing company.  Its entire production line is based in the tech world, and the guys in charge know what they are doing.  Their goal is to get the Fire out there in as many people's hands as they can.  They want people to purchase media from them, and get invested.  Barnes and Noble's goals appear to be the same, but their situation as a company is not.  They have had financial trouble recently, and the guys in charge, although experienced in business, they are not with gadgets.
So, I have decided to buy the Amazon Fire.  You viewers will see a video of the unboxing, boot up, and initial impressions, shot with the newly purchase Canon ELPH 300 on the site in the next week or so.  We also have some products to review from ThinkGeek and other suppliers, so stay tuned.

TechWilling

JoliCloud Beta Now Available

Jolicloud is now available in beta form at beta.jolicloud.com. Jolicloud mobile is a really neat idea.Instead of individual cloud servers for each operating system or company, Jolicloud connects all information, no matter what operating system, into one place. You can use Jolicloud on your iPhone to get information from your Android tablet, for example.

As for the desktop operating system, it is what Ubuntu would be if it was a cloud OS. It feels a lot like Ubuntu, with a clean interface that seems ready for consumer use. I am still debating on which of the two is my favorite Ubuntu distribution.

Jolicloud has that cool factor for being a cloud based operating system. I am intrigued by cloud OS's. They seem to be a good buy for most.  They tend to be fast, risk free, and simple. Jolicloud is no exception, and is a great example of why to choose cloud based OS's. If you are interested in cloud computing, Jolicloud is a great OS to start with.

TechWilling

Nokia Lumia 800 Released

Ever since I saw the Windows Phone 7 operating system I have been rooting for the underdog. I like the
 interface's simplicity and how everything is in unison. I am excited to write that Nokia released the Lumia 800 yesterday in London. I suspect it is going to be the leader of the pack for a while.  We WP7 fans are hoping thatthis phone can kickstart the operating system again (if there was ever a first).

The phone is not only powerful compared to other WP7 phones, but to all phones on the market. It sports the look of the Nokia N9, and a screen of the same quality.  Nokia put a 3.7-inch curved AMOLED ClearBlack display on it, following the new trend of curved screens.  It's dimensions are 4.59 x 2.4 x 0.47 inches (116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1mm). The power of the machine comes from a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 processor with 512MB of RAM. 

TechWilling