devyx

does anyone really buy blackberry products?

2011-05-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

i find it difficult to understand, with all of the various android handsets and the almighty iphone, and even some windows 7 mobile phones, how people still continue to buy blackberry devices, including the playbook. so it isn't surprising when i read this:

http://www.bgr.com/2011/05/20/blackberry-playbook-sales-miss-targets-by-90-at-major-retailer-much-higher-return-rate-than-xoom/

the playbook, built on a new os, and with an impressive ui from qnx, seems decent. but having to connect your blackberry to access mail? really? even with a native mail app, i would find it difficult to understand the purchase of a playbook. if you have an android or ios device, you've probably bought or downloaded free apps, which you could conceivably use on your tablet, and some of these apps you may have become dependent on by now.

i understand that many corporations still use blackberry, and therefore employees use/buy blackberries, but it seems like the way that rim has responded to the android/ios tidal wave isn't nearly enough. their products are old, un-innovative, and definitely not competitive in almost any aspect.

market share vs revenues.

2011-05-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

one of the most interesting battles of recent time:

http://www.bgr.com/2011/05/19/android-grabs-53-of-global-smartphone-market-share-ios-50-of-application-revenues/

xperia arc, play, to get 2.3.4 update next week?

2011-05-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

now this is blog-worthy. according to engadget, the xperia arc and play will get the android 2.3.4 update next week, the first non-nexus/google phones to get this update.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Arc getting Android 2.3.4 update next week, Facebook integration in tow

this is pretty cool. what would be even cooler is if it would fix my phone, although i think it is a hardware issue for my particular handset. i'll have to try seus as soon as its confirmed 2.3.4 is available.

Sony Ericsson Lt15i Mobile Phone Sony Xperia Arc *Silver* Internationa...

one update on my constantly rebooting phone, i have found one setup where it will not reboot over and over again when it feels like it. plugged in and charging on my mac, with keep screen on when charging checked on. i got a full 6 hours of constant uptime in that setup. as soon as the phone was fully charged and the screen went to sleep (not plugged in), it rebooted again. still trying to figure out what the issue is, i'm fairly sure it is defective, but it is such a weird defect that i really want to know what it is now.

SONY ERICSSON XPERIA ARC SILICON SKIN - BLACK

want to use air video on android? try mirage beta.

2011-05-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

i use both an iphone 4 and a (sometimes functional) xperia arc on gingerbread. one of the apps that i use on my iphone and wanted to use on android was air video. i thought there would be a huge number of similar apps, only to find a bunch of media player apps with somewhat cumbersome interfaces to access my nas. even when it accessed the folders, it would not play all files.

air video uses a server installed on a pc or mac and converts on the fly while streaming to an iOS device, and does it very, very well. after trying a bunch of apps from the android market and googling air video and android, i came across an app called "mirage beta" that was recommended on the xda forum. it uses the same air video server, and is just a client that works on android. since i already have the air video server on my network, i tried mirage beta, and just like what was said on the xda forum, it worked like a champ.

immediately recognized the existing air video server and as i tried streaming a 2gb file encoded in xvid, the video played smoothly, possibly even better than on my iphone. this is with a conversion queue being processed by air video server on this machine too. i have heard that plex also works well for android, and you also need to install the plex server on your desktop/notebook, but it costs $5. for now, mirage beta seems to fit the needs of air video users who want something similar on android.

download from android market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bw.xplayer.ui

steve does it again?

2011-05-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

a very interesting article on how the whole cloud music topic is supposedly developing:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/18/apple-cloud-music/

if what this post says is indeed the case, despite what your feelings may be about apple and steve jobs, this potentially a huge benefit (at a price i'm sure) for the modern digital consumer. in a matter of weeks to have to upload songs to be able to just scan your (legal) collection and stream to your device? sounds pretty good to me. thanks amazon and google!

What a game.

2011-05-18T22:28:00.001-07:00

So much for my prediction that the sharks would dominate, instead they got dominated. The sharks looked fatigued, and it didnt seem like they could control their penalties. Akthough to be fair, canucks got two double minor non calls, high stick on setoguchi and thornton, both drew blood, and both were not called on the nucks. Thats 8 minutes of potential pp time for san jose early in the game. And also a holding the stick of wallin by one of thw sedins.

Its pretty easy to blame the refs, but these were blatant non calls. Still think the sharks can win this series, they just need to stick with their game. As soon as the heat is on, the nucks are a sure bet to go into meltdown mode.

galaxy tab 10.1 pre-orders up, same pricing as ipad2.

2011-05-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Samsung Galaxy Tab (Wi-Fi)

according to this post from engadget, the galaxy tab 10.1 is up for pre-order from j&r for $499 (16gb) and $599 (32gb).

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/18/galaxy-tab-10-1-goes-up-for-pre-order-at-jandr-makes-june-8th-see/

not sure how to think about this. the galaxy tab 10.1 seems to be a fabulous tablet, as all the reviews of the le version from google i/o indicate, but it's also an android device, which maybe unfair to say, but should be cheaper than its apple equivalent.

Managing Brand Equity

not to say that the excellent components inside the galaxy tab 10.1 aren't worth the price tag, but if any competitor is to try and bite into the success and sales of the ipad2, it better be priced lower. it can have specs that dominate the ipad2, but the one area that it needs to bow down to the ipad2 is on price. it isn't for no reason that apple is capable of charging what it wants and people still lining up to buy it. the apple brand has been resurrected by steve jobs for many years now, and it has earned the type of brand equity that it is now enjoying, and therefore they can charge a premium which consumers are happy to pay for. when you factor in the tight integration between software and hardware, and their complete control over both, a good number of consumers will also find that a reason to divvy up more cash because it just works. no hacking or rooting really needed, just charge it up and it's ready to go, as boring as that may sound to some.

to simply my stance, when you walk into a store, and see the ipad2 and the galaxy tab 10.1 side by side, with the same price and same capacity, your average joe schmoe will most likely buy the ipad2. it has the name, it has the fame, and in some ways it is the practical choice between the two devices. but if the galaxy tab 10.1 were even $50 cheaper than the ipad2, it would be a safe assumption to say that joe schmoe is now thinking, and asking questions, and assuming they get the right answers, now knows that the galaxy tab 10.1 is better on specs and has some nice features that may make it a better fit for their needs than the ipad2. but again, when it's the same price, the smart money is on joe picking up the ipad2.

Apple iPad 2 MC769LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi, Black) NEWEST MODEL

Apple iPad 2 MC770LL/A Tablet (32GB, Wifi, Black) NEWEST MODEL

western conference finals, sharks vs canucks, tonight, 6pm pst on versus.

2011-05-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Reebok San Jose Sharks #19 Joe Thornton Black Net Player T-shirt (Medium)

last week i was watching games at 9 or 10 in the morning via online streams or nhl gamecenter, but tonight i will be able to watch while eating dinner (some bbq whale) on a big screen projector.

game one of this series was mildly entertaining, a real lack of focus from the sharks in the latter half of the game, as some sharks players alluded to, they let the canucks have the win.

NHL Men's Vancouver Canucks Primary Logo T-Shirt (Dark Blue, Small)

it will be interesting to see how both teams react. it seemed that the canucks were gaining some of their momentum back, but then again this is a team with alot of great regular season players who haven't done squat when the pressure is on. they beat chicago just barely, a team that won the stanley cup last season but with a reworked roster that made it only a shadow of its former self. then 6 to handle the preds, which i'm sure is a team that many would salivate to face in the second round, even with rinne in goal. the real issue, besides lack of grit for many of the canucks players, is luongo. he is the equivalent of swiss cheese in a microwave when the pressure is on. some will point to the 2010 olympics and say he won gold, which he did, but he also had d-men playing in front of him that reads like a future hall of fame induction list, and then, he still barely won the gold for canada.

Team Canada 2010 Olympic Swift Replica Red Hockey Jersey Size X-Large

for the sharks, their effort in game one started like the beginning of the detroit series, then in the latter part of the game, looked like games 4-6 in the detroit series. fortunately for them, they just need better focus and no major changes to their strategy or game. if they pay attention to the little details and make fewer errors, they should be able to handle the canucks in this series with relative ease compared to the wings. as talented as many of the canuck players are, they just don't have the experience and finely tuned team play execution that detroit has.

not so unique i guess... xperia arc severe restarting/freezing problems from around the world.

2011-05-18T02:16:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson R800IEUBLK Xperia PLAY PlayStation Certified Android Smartphone with 5MP Camera, Touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth - Unlocked Phone - International Warranty - Black

interesting to hear the complaints of a few other customers who were among the first to buy the xperia arc (and at full price), only to have a phone that is for the most part doesn't work properly. will sony ericsson step up and admit there was a bad batch, that the buggy arcs in question are defective, or resolve this issue in some other method?

https://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=35313373389&topic=25203#topic_top

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/message/75334#75334

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/message/75273#75273

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/message/75240#75240

hopefully all the bugs are worked out before it is sold on at&t in the usa. or actually not, maybe only then will the arc's issues get some attention by american gadget blogs and other larger audience media outlets and put sony ericsson on the spot.

Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II Unlocked GSM Smartphone with 8 MP Camera, Android OS, 16GB Internal Memory, Touchscreen, Wi-Fi, GPS - No Warranty - Black

the randomly rebooting xperia arc (so-01c)

2011-05-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

this is my xperia arc, or so-01c from docomo. it is sony ericsson's most recent attempt to create an android smartphone. it was originally put on sale in japan on march 24 in three colors, dark blue, silver, and pink. i bought the blue one after having a hard time obtaining this handset, mainly due to low stock and demand. i probably will review this phone at some time, or might not since i can be pretty lazy, but there is one thing that you should know now if you are considering this phone - watch this video (as boring as it may be), because it may (or may not) affect your decision to buy the xperia arc.

so if you really watched it, you will have noticed some abnormal behavior from the arc. it reboots all by itself, about every two minutes. this makes the arc pretty much unusable. it wasn't like this at the start, it worked ok, then after a day or two i saw it rebooting by itself. then after a few more days i saw it rebooting more often. and this trend continued until now, random rebooting every 2 minutes.

i once had a blackberry that liked to freeze up, reboot and do other crazy things when it felt like it. the most annoying thing was when they keyboard would not correctly register the key that was being pressed, this made it impossible to unlock the phone when i wanted to receive an incoming call. i had to remove the battery, then put it back in, then wait 3-5 minutes for the speedy blackberry to boot up, then check my call log, and then call the caller back. then after about two months, the keyboard just fixed itself. i don't know if the original keyboard issue had to do with having japanese language enabled, but it was not a fun phone to use. i didn't think i would have a similar issue with another phone, apple and android have made the os part of the equation very good, it is just up to the handset manufacturers to do their jobs these days, they don't even have to pay a license fee to google to use android (thank you sun micro and your genius management team?).

then this arc. when i am using it, meaning browsing, talking, chatting, or using one of its apps, it has been good. i only recall maybe a couple of freezes while actually using the phone. but when the phone is idle, it goes crazy. i have not been able to receive incoming calls or notifications for new email and messages when the phone is idle because it keeps restarting itself.

and just to let you know, this phone cost me about $550 in japan, that is similar to the price of a non-contract subsidized iphone 4 16gb. while it does have warranty, since there are not enough stock in japan for most stores to fill reservations, i was not able to get a replacement handset. they offered to fix it for me, but due to my travel plans i could not work with their schedule. i may try again at the docomo shop, or i may just buy another phone, or just use my iphone 4.

as sony ericsson's flagship model, i expected alot from the arc. the design was part of it, as was the screen and the inclusion of gingerbread. but it seems that sony ericsson still has some of the poor build quality that i have experienced in the past. the arc itself seems to be a very nice design, but in actual feel, it feels extremely cheap and flimsy, not so good for a phone this expensive and also sony ericsson's "best" phone. the restart issue on my arc literally makes the phone unusable, and the battery is only good for a few hours at best with all of these reboots.

the restart issue is happening to many arc owners around the globe, but i have not heard of anyone having an issue as severe as my phone. so it is not isolated to just my arc. if you have interest in this phone, please do your due diligence on the arc by reading xda forums and similar sites, you will be able to read about some of the issues with this phone.

sony ericsson, if you are reading this, fix my phone! i'm trying to like it, but your poor qc is making it challenging. and can you guys please bump up the specs for whichever flagship model you are developing, like dual-core??

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc gel case - black.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc X12 in Midnight Blue Unlocked Quad-band GSM Phone

Blogging via iPhone?

2011-05-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

OtterBox AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4 Commuter Case (Black)

Only if you want to pay for an app, or like what I'm doing, via iPhone using safari browser, nit the best or the most convenient method. So why hasn't anyone made an ad-supported bloger/blogspot app? I'd like to know.

While we're on the subject of iOS apps, let me comment on one of the native ones, or the lack of one I should say. I'm still puzzled as to why apple does not have a native IM app for iOS. You would think this would be common by now, and they include iChat in Mac OS X. Maybe because it might use too much battery on the iPhone? Maybe because they prefer people to buy texting plans or email? Android's native gtalk client is pretty nice, it's not great, but straight from the box you can be online and im'ing, assuming you and your friends are all on gtalk, but who really isnt these days?

MOTOROLA XOOM Android Tablet (Wi-Fi)

devyx blog post #1

2011-05-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

what is the devyx blog?

that is a good question. there really is no clear intent on creating this blog, except a team (actually two people) who have information, or more likely, opinions on things that interest us. there is no predetermined set of topics, we may post about news, sports, politics, technology/gadgets, finance, or whatever we feel like talking about. as you read this, please don't take anything (too) personal, we're just a bunch of hacks behind our computers (or iOS or Android devices) adding our own (we like to think high quality) drivel to what is already on the internet.