The Samsung Focus is a Windows-powered smartphone running on AT&T’s 3G network. It uses Samsung’s popular combo of their 1GHz processor and 4-inch Super AMOLED display to provide a lightening fast speeds matched by equally impressive graphics. On paper, the phone is well equipped by today’s standards. It comes packed with 8GB of memory, which is expandable via microSD card, captures video in 720p HD, and features built in turn-by-turn navigation. There’s a lot to like about the Focus, but does it make sense to go with Windows Phone OS over the competition? Read on to find out.

Main Features and specifications:

• Windows Phone OS
• 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display; WVGA resolution (480 x 800)
• 1GHz processor
• On-screen keyboard
• 8GB internal storage; expandable via microSD memory card
• 5MP camera with LED flash
• 720p HD video recording
• Xbox LIVE
• Includes stereo headset with in-line controls

The Good
Windows Phone OS: Windows Phone OS is colorful, fun to interact with, and felt very fast on the Focus. It’s a unique change of pace from the onslaught of Android and iOS powered devices that have flooded the market over the last few years. The home screen buttons do take up more room than Android and iOS icons, but the common activities are all there, front and center. We especially enjoyed the daily briefing functionality, which aggregates weather, news, and stocks. The animations are also a nice touch and really add depth to the OS. The main issues we had with Windows Phone were the lack of available (and free) apps and limited custom settings.

Design: Samsung has been designing cell phones for many years now. Their experience and expertise is very apparent in the Focus. Its design reminded us of a luxury automobile, with a wide top and flared base, chrome-colored accents, and dark colored finish. The wake/sleep button is located on the upper right-hand side. This took some time to get used to, but after a week or so, it felt natural. In a strange, but surprisingly practical move, Samsung moved the covered charging port to the top of the phone – next to the headset jack. The volume up/down rocker is located on the left side and could use a bit more space between the up and down buttons. The only other downfall to the design is the curved back, which makes typing more difficult than it should be when the phone is laying flat on a table.

AMOLED Display: The vibrant 4-inch display is one of the first things you will notice about this phone. Its colors are super saturated and the contrast is outstanding. It can even be seen in sunlight. Not much can be improved here.

Camera: The 5 megapixel camera will be more than adequate for most users. It’s easy to use, the controls are well laid out and the physical shutter button was a nice touch. There are a wide array of creative controls, ranging from white balance to saturation to dynamic range control. Video recording is done in 720p at 30 frames per second. There were some annoyances with the camera, one of which was the flash control resetting every time the app was exited. The other was the front touch buttons getting accidentally activated while trying to frame a shot.

Included Headphones: The included headphones are high quality noise-isolating earbuds with an in-line mic, volume control and call answer/end button. We like when manufacturers include headphones with their phones, and these high quality buds were a welcome change from the standard, off-the-shelf fare.

The Bad
Build quality: Samsung did an exceptional job at designing the Focus. Its sleek black front, backlit touch-sensitive buttons and pinstriped grey backing excel in both the boardroom and the nightclub. However, there is not a single piece of metal to be found on the outside of this handset. This isn’t to say the Focus isn’t a durable smartphone, it just doesn’t feel like a high quality device.

Not enough granular control of settings: We searched high and low, but could not find a way to change basic settings, such as touch-button and network status bar timeouts. The large calendar icon that takes up one-quarter of the screen was unable to be resized and compared to other smartphones of this caliber, the number of controls in the settings panel was limited. It’s the little things like this which really bring home the fact that this is a new OS. This isn’t to say these minor issues won’t be addressed in future releases and updates, but they notch the phone down a few steps at present.

Lack of Apps: Let’s face it, these days, it’s all about the apps. With hundreds of thousands of apps in both Apple’s App Store and Android’s Market, Windows Phone has a way to go before it can compete on that level. At the time of testing the number of apps in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace was less than 10,000. Favorites like Pandora Radio, Words with Friends, eBay and TweetDeck are nowhere to be found.

Should I buy one?
There’s no question that Windows Phone OS is destined to become a true competitor in the smartphone battlefield. Samsung’s Focus does an excellent job at supporting the OS and looks good while doing so. As far as hardware is concerned, the Focus is spot on with what a modern day smartphone should be. However, the lack of included apps and overall refinement raise questions as to what can really be gained by going “Windows” rather than iPhone or Android.

What you are about to read is a real time review of the HD555 Open-Aire Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling from Sennheiser. I’m writing this in real time, because I thought it would be more entertaining. I mean, when it comes to headphones, its such a objective review from the get go, why not make it more fun. So here we go.

8:21PM – Just poured myself a Guinness, have to get those creative juices flowing. God damn, Guinness is so good.

8:23 – Just took the 555′s out of the shipping box. Looks like normal Sennheiser packaging, except for the little rip tag that says “Pull up to unlock” What? This is cool.

8:24 – I pulled up the tag, it the box folds open like a french door refrigerator. It looks like overly complicated packaging at first glance, but it really isn’t. I like it. You just pull the plastic “shell” off the headphones and you have got access to the goods.

8:27 – The headphones are pretty badass. They have a large plastic headband that almost looks like it should be soft plastic, but it isn’t. It reads SENNHEISER in large print. The ear cushions are velour. Very soft. Sennheiser says you can wear glasses with them on. I don’t have glasses, but I’m sure these countless hours of staring at LCD’s will soon do them in.

8:30 – I just inspected the cord. Looks like it is not removable like it is in other models. I’m not a fan of this. Damage the cord and you’re done. Boo.

8:31 – Ok enough of this, time to put these badboys on.

8:32 – Ok a little tight, but not uncomfortable.

8:33 – Plugging them in to my Yamaha receiver.

8:34 – Time to find some tunes. I’m drawn to the album, Black Light by Groove Armada – but I don’t know it all that well. Going to seek out something as sonically delightful, but more well known to me.

8:38 – Just pressed play on a track called “Shakedown” by Maximum Balloon. This is Andrew Sitek’s new band/side project. This is the guy from TV on the Radio. This album is solid. Check it out.

8:42 – My ears are being showered by the multilayered, synth-laden, R&B infused, downtempo beats of Sitek. This guy is great.

8:44 – The track is nearing its end. There is a sonic brilliance and fullness that is just unmatched by lesser cans. I’m about done with my Guinness.

8:45 – Intermission. Filling my glass. Be back soon.

8:52 – That took longer than expected. 555′s are back on.

8:54 – Time for a little Cee Lo Green. I think “Fuck You,” is in order. This song is hilarious. Although it is getting a little old now.

8:55 – Now, I should have technically zeroed out my EQ. Let me do that.

8:56 – So my EQ is now set to 0 dB for both bass and treble. Yamaha has done away with the “Loudness” setting, because lets be honest, that’s a bit lowbrow.

8:57 – Actually, I don’t know why they did away with it, but I have been a strictly Yamaha shop for some time now. And believe it or not (You’re not going to believe this) It was a fellow co-worker at Best Buy, back in 2003 who swayed me away from a Sony A/V receiver to Yamaha – and boy am I glad he did. I was such a noob when it came to home audio.

8:59 – So Fuck You ended. The next song that came on was Always Loved A Film, by Underworld. This is off their new CD entitled “Barking.” It’s pretty great. The headphones are still tight. I’m taking them off right now and going to see if I can stretch them or something.

9:03 – These things are really all plastic. There is no metal in their construction, except for the screws. An overnight stretching session will be in order if I really want to change their shape.

9:05 – I just started a track by the Radio Dept. called “Heaven’s on Fire.” You can instantly hear so much more of the song than when listening with lesser equipment. It’s just a beautiful thing to be able to treat your ears to such sonic bliss. This is how recorded music was meant to be heard.

9:08 – “Conversation 16″ by The National. Seems a little muffled. I don’t remember it sounding like this. By the way, the National are awesome. If you can see them live, do it. So I’m a bit disappointed by this track. It sounds better in my car. There is this massively low bass line that just sends chills down my spine… but I can’t hear it now.

9:10 – Brought the EQ back up to +4 Bass and +4 Treble. Much better. These things need some help to really shine.

9:11 – Time for some hypnotizing soft guitar sounds of Erlend Oye. “I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From.” Actually this is Kings of Convenience. The sound is warm and fills my head. Nice.

9:14 – For this last track, I think a little Brubeck is in order. Take Five? Why not.
Volume Up: -64dB
Oh, this is nice.
This album was recorded at a much lower record level than all the newer stuff. Turning the volume up even more.
The cymbals crashing over to the left and the subtle piano riff over to the right. The delicate balance of high versus low – the snare drum. Oh. This is great.

9:16 – I was just staring blankly at my display, just taking it all in. I love it when you can visualize music in your head. Like it is a painting in motion. I wish you could hear this.

9:17 – The sax just came in again. It sounds like its track is slightly off center, to the left. I wonder why they did that? Was it intentional?

9:18 – Take Five just ended. My god, that is music.

9:20 – Second Guinness is done. And so this is pseudo live-blog. Overall, I’m pleased with the Sennheiser 555′s. The highs are crisp, the lows are accurate – although a bit understated without the artificial enhancement brought on by the EQ.  A “real” audiophile may snub their nose at a sub-$100 set of cans… but For the price, you’re not going to find much better. They are definitely tight around my head though. I’m going to have to stretch them out over night on a stack of CDs or what not. And with that… happy listening.

Testing environment:
Yamaha HTR5640
MacBook Pro, optical output
320K MP3 encodes from CD, converted using iTunes

There is a Starbucks within walking distance of my apartment. It’s a beautiful thing, for a number of reasons. This morning, after waiting in line for a minute or so, a friendly barista greeted me with a smile, said good morning and asked if I wanted my usual beverage (Venti iced, black). He quickly poured my coffee as another cashier rang me out. They both said “thanks,” and I was on my way. Now that, is customer service. It’s one of the things I have come to expect from (most) Starbucks and I am sure it is a high priority on their barista training checklist. It’s one of the reasons I shell out $3.50 for a cup of coffee and keep coming back for more.

It’s not a new thing
Customer service has always been extremely important in keeping patrons happy and ensuring repeat business. But in the last few years a number of disruptive technologies, mainly the mobile Internet and social networks have notched this basic necessity up a few levels. If I find myself in an unfamiliar area and am looking for lunch, I launch the Yelp app on my iPhone – search for what I’m interested in eating and within a minute I’m on my way to the highest rated establishment within driving distance. Poor customer service = low ratings = me never finding you. Experiences good or bad can now be broadcast to thousands of people in a matter of minutes using Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and many more. It’s time to put on your A-game.

A brief history, and then on to the future…

Those darn Internets
As the Internet found its way into more and more homes there was a fundamental shift in the way consumers made purchases. No longer slaves to hyperbolic marketing copy, buyers now had the ability to read user reviews, exchange messages with friends, family and strangers and carry out in-depth research with just a few clicks of a mouse. Things were changing – fast.

The power of mobile
The year is 2007. Steve takes the stage at Macworld and announces what is now viewed as the device that turned the mobile industry on its head. Fast-forward three years. Over a half-million smart phones are being sold worldwide, every day. Consumers now have unrestricted access to the Internet, reviews, and user-generated content where ever they are. That is, of course, if they have a cell signal!  Combine this with all the social networks, especially those that are location based and you have given every man, woman and child with a smart phone the ability to broadcast praise or disappointment, effortlessly. Now that is a game changer. Imagine what this system will bring as more users begin to embrace it: That shady auto repair place? You’re done. The dry cleaner that rips off its customers and doesn’t get your clothes back on time? Not anymore. It hasn’t fully happened yet, but it will.

Talkin’ bout, my generation
Actually, talkin’ bout generation Y or the “echo boomers,” as they’re called. Those born between 1982 and 1995 are my generation and we are heavily influencing  the way companies go to market. We grew up with technology, the Internet, witnessed the birth of Facebook from our dorm rooms and possess the “all about me” mentality that causes us to broadcast our thoughts within the multitude of social “speakeasies.” But more importantly, we have money. We’re employed and gunning to be more successful than our parents, which is looking harder and harder each day (but that’s a different story). Yes, those darn youngsters born after 1995 who are currently enjoying their high school years will soon become a more influential part of this new super tech savvy generation – but for now it’s money that talks, and they don’t have any. As generation Y and Z come of age, wielding their smart phones and Internet connected devices every which way, businesses will be forced to respond even further. No longer can you be rude to your customers, or soon they will disappear. The customer experience will be stressed, even if it’s only one of getting a coffee and breakfast sandwich. While it may not be that obvious at present, to quote Beck, “Things are gonna change, I can feel it.”

I’ve recently been given the opportunity to review one of Drobo’s latest creations: the Drobo FS. The FS, which stands for file sharing, is a 5-bay NAS that plugs into your local network via gigabit ethernet. In plain english, you plug the Drobo FS into your wireless router and all the computers in your home (or small office) instantly have access to a huge hard drive. From a technical standpoint, there is a lot more to it than that, but the beauty of this device is you don’t need to know what is going on behind the scenes in order to reap the benefits.

I will be conducting a more detailed review which will be posted over at my Boston Tech Gear column, but I wanted to share some initial thoughts after a week with the device. From unboxing to set-up, getting hands-on with the Drobo has been a wonderful experience. Maybe it was the little black pouch it came in, or the fact that within 15 minutes I was able to add 4TB of protected storage to my network – whatever it was, I liked it.

Setup on my Mac was as easy as it gets. Insert the installer disc, click install and restart. As soon as my machine had come back to life I was greeted by the Drobo Dashboard (more on this in the full review) and a public share with full read/write access for all the computers on my home network. That’s it.

Transfer speeds over my gigabit ethernet connection were good, but definitely not as fast as a locally attached firewire/USB hard drive. This is for a few reasons, which I will get into in the full review, but for the vast majority of users, speeds will be more than sufficient. Case and point, I asked a non-techie person in my house to copy some files to the public share and then asked them what they thought about the transfer speed – to which they replied something along the lines of “it takes as long as it normally does.”

Once you start digging into the advanced options, which there are plenty of, you can really start having some fun with the device. One can set up additional users and shares, control the time it takes before the hard drives spin down – even dim the LEDs. This Drobo also gives you the option to set up Time Machine backup shares. Have three Macs in your house all using Time Machine? Not a problem, each one can have its own backup.

So far, I have been very happy with the design, ease of setup, and simplicity of the device. There are some weaknesses, but you will have to read my full review to hear about those. Stay tuned.

The other day I sank into the driver’s seat of my two-door, shoved the key into the ignition, and brought the machine to life. I quickly powered on my head unit – that’s audio enthusiast speak for car stereo – and began toggling through the sources. Like most fossil fuel burning Americans, I had a few options:

FM – Unlikely there will be anything worth listening to here, maybe NPR
HD radio – Sounds great, but it is still terrestrial radio
CDs – What are these again
iPod – Can only listen to the same albums so many times
Sat radio – My personal choice, but awful sound quality and uninspired DJ’s

A sad lot if you ask me. Yes I know, I’m being a tad unreasonable here. But there just has to be a better way – and there is. It’s called the Internet. And the device that makes it possible to connect to this magical network while traveling 75 MPH down the highway? You guessed it, the iPhone.

It is now possible to listen to any one of the 20,000+ Internet radio stations while on the move. Plus- Pandora, AOL Radio, Last FM…They’re all here too! There are even paid services, such as the recently launched MOG, which gives you the ability to stream all the albums in their database for $9.99/month. Also, by using one of the slick Internet radio apps (my app of choice is TuneIn Radio, $1.99) you can do neat tricks like pause live radio and record streams.

But wait, there’s more (that line never gets old). How’s the sound quality, you ask? Well, it blows satellite radio out of the water. A 64K, yes 64K AAC audio stream sounds better than most XM channels. A 128K MP3 stream sounds great. And a 192K stream, well let’s just say you won’t be longing for the days of compact disc.

Hang on now. It gets even better. If your car has A2DP Bluetooth, you won’t even have to connect any wires. Just start your car and within seconds your iPhone will automatically connect – the sound quality over the latest version of stereo Bluetooth is excellent.

Let’s have a little rundown:
Huge selection of Internet radio stations
Access to music services like Pandora and MOG
Sound quality that surpasses XM and FM
Ability to pause/record live radio

Awesome.

So there you have it, liberation from the oppression of traditional in-car audio entertainment…Just be sure to watch your data usage if you’re stuck on a capped plan!

Antennagate, death grip, faulty proximity sensors, black labs, and free cases – boy this is an iPhone release for the history books. Last month I wrote my initial thoughts on the infamous iPhone 4. It has been nearly a month and I wanted to do a follow-up post and share my experience with the phone the world cannot stop talking about.

So are the rumors true? Does the prized iPhone 4 suffer from the death grip and proximity sensor issues – absolutely. “Death grip” can be easily replicated (but it’s effects often exaggerated) and if you hold your phone to your head while talking, the proximity sensor faux pas will surely hang up a phone call or two. At first I had thought these issues were being blown out of proportion. Maybe it was because I was still blinded by the reflection off that 960×640 pixel screen, but more realistically it was because I had had not ample time to test it out in the wild (similar to the Apple engineers?).

However, when all is said and done, these flaws are not tragic – or maybe they are – but they don’t push me into a corner of worry and frustration. First of all, 95 percent of the time I am talking on my phone, which isn’t all that often to begin with, I am using some sort of hands free device. And when I am, the signal is better than it ever was on my 3GS. I have yet to drop a call while driving, or with the phone shoved in my pocket. The rest of the time I am using the device (email, browsing, games, etc.), all is well. I don’t have any connectivity issues while using the data connection and up/down speeds are spectacular.

I read one reviewer who equated these flaws to a small scar on a beautiful woman – I would have to agree. The screen, the camera, the video calling, the processor, the drop dead gorgeous form factor – It is just too impressive a phone to call it a failure.

So I’ll get my free bumper, wait for the proximity sensor issue to be resolved in a software update, and deal with the minor “death grip” issue for the next year. Come on folks, June 2011 is only 11 months away. Kidding- well, not really.

I finally had the chance to install Seagate’s new Momentus XT hybrid hard drive, and let me tell you, this thing is cool. What is a hybrid hard drive you ask? Well, it is basically a 7200 RPM hard drive topped off with 4GB of solid state memory. Seagate says the memory is “intelligent,” meaning it knows to store the data you frequently access for enhanced read/write times. So how does this little guy perform in a MacBook Pro? Quite well.

Seagate designed the drive such that the computer thinks it is a normal drive. There are no special drivers needed to run it, which is a huge plus in my book. I installed this one in a 2010 i7 MacBook Pro. This laptop was purchased ‘off the shelf’ and therefore contained a 5400 RPM drive – why Apple doesn’t include the 7200 as the factory standard in a $2200 “pro” laptop is puzzling (wish I was still a shareholder). Coming from a 5400 RPM drive I knew the performance gains would be significant, but I never realized it would make this much of a difference.

Boot time has been cut down by about 1/2 and launching apps brings a smile to my face with each click. Some my biggest offenders: Tweetdeck, Lightroom, and Photoshop now open within 2 hops (that’s a Mac technical term, you know). It is really the icing on the cake with this machine. Now if I only had 8GB of RAM…

So should you run out to Amazon or Newegg and put this baby in your shopping cart? If your machine currently as a 5400 RPM drive installed – YES! If you already have a 7200 RPM drive, it will really depend on how thick your wallet is. For me, it was $130 well spent.

I know. It has been a while since my last post. The schedule has been packed to the brim and now even more so with my recent move into a full-time gig at Nasuni. So what better a topic to get back into the swing of things than to talk about my last few days with the latest and greatest from my favorite fruit company, the iPhone 4.

Like many others, I failed at securing a phone for shipment, but was able to reserve one – and boy it is a good thing I did. When I arrived to the Apple store in Natick, MA last Thursday morning the line for ‘non-reserves,’ as they called them, was not a pretty sight. But, after two hours of waiting in the ‘fast moving’ line, I had Steve’s latest creation in-hand.

For me, the setup process went without a hitch. Many friends and colleagues had reported iTunes timing out, crashing, and other assorted goodies. I suppose I got lucky, but I have never run into any issues with restoring my iPhones from backup.

Feature highlights:

• The screen. Can’t get much better than this folks, ‘surreal’ comes to mind
• The camera. Best cell phone camera I have used to date, yes better than the 8MP DROID
• Pure beauty. The design is just incredible, more akin to the first phone than the plastic laden 3G(S). However, I am much more fearful of dropping it
• FaceTime. Awesome, though lack of 3G support is a reminder of the iPhone’s true Achilles heel
• Battery life. Excellent, easily lasts 1.5x longer than 3GS

Those are the highlights. It’s extremely fast, but I really didn’t feel as if the 3GS was lacking in speed. For those jumping from a 3G or 2G (gasp, yes @lyddiegal I am talking to you) be prepared to smile.

As far as the signal strength issues, I have noticed the signal indicator does some wacky stuff but I have seen no negative impact in call quality. No calls dropped and excellent voice quality for all the calls I have made and received – which leads me to believe this is a software bug. But, it is too early to jump to any conclusions. I will follow up in a week or two of use and report my experience.

Overall, the iPhone 4 lives up to the hype. I will say some of the updates are a bit long overdue. I was hoping for some of these features last year when the 3GS was announced, but better late (and done right) than never. Having tested many of the current heavy-hitters in the smartphone arena I can say with confidence that the iPhone 4 is without a doubt the best phone currently available in the U.S. market.

Head over to my flickr page to see some photos taken with it –

Last week, Elgato announced a new TV tuner/DVR solution for the Mac. It is called the EyeTV HD and pulls 720P HD cable content right from your set-top box. The device was born out of the need to get television shows and movies out of the living room and on to the multitude of devices people are using to get their daily fix.

I am in the process of working up a formal review to be posted on my Boston Tech Gear column, but I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts about the device. To start, I have yet to come across a more streamlined way to move content from cable box to computer. Total setup time is less than 15-minutes, and that includes cable connecting, IR blaster placement, and software installation. Once the device is fired up, all it takes the click of the mouse to schedule a recording.

Recording TV shows to a computer is nothing new, we Mac-wielding television enthusiasts have been doing it since the days of the Performa 638cd. What is new is what happens after the show has been recorded. By way of a simple preference selection or click of a button, the EyeTV software will automate the conversion of the raw H264 HD footage into the iPod, iPhone, and iPad friendly .m4v format. One-half hour of HD content morphs from a 3GB file into 1GB for the iPad and 250MB for the iPhone. The file is then automatically added into iTunes. Very cool.

I will get more into the specifics in my official review, but after a few days of use I am beginning to see some serious advantages to using a computer-powered DVR such as this. For anyone that regularly views movies and shows on their iPhone or iPad, this device could definitely make life a little bit easier. However, without giving too much more away, it isn’t all puppy dogs and rainbows (is that even a real saying?). You need a Core2Duo Mac for the EyeTV HD to really be happy. Also, that Mac needs to be within a few feet of a cable box, which is not all that common. But, for those serious about their television, these are small prices to pay.

Head over to my column at Examiner next week (June 1, 2010) to read the full review.

May 19, 2010

Back when I first started using eBay in 2001, it was a close-knit community of like-minded, and respectful auctioneers. Everyone was looking for a good deal on a used video game or a hard to find artifact of generations past. I had much luck as both a buyer and a seller, lining my pockets with a few extra dollars here and there by hawking my old cameras, iPods, and laptops. I had a pretty good system going: new iPod comes out, the old one is going up on eBay, and when the final bid was cast, both parties walked away with a smile, each believing they had gotten the better end of the deal.

Cue in my last six months on eBay. Four non-payers, one winning bidder retracting after close, saying they misread the title and description of the item, and last but not least, one buyer who says they cannot pay for two weeks because they had their credit card stolen (now three weeks later, has still not paid). I have always prided myself on being an excellent eBayer. I lay my terms out clearly, I ship as soon as I receive payment, and I email tracking info as soon as it is in my hands. I have never received negative feedback and had always enjoyed the eBay experience.

To make matters worse, eBay could care less about a non-powerseller’s woes. Open up a non-pay case now, and you cannot even leave the deadbeat bidder negative feedback!? I may be mistaking, but it appears that eBay has done away with negative feedback altogether, because in all my recent nonpayer cases, I was unable leave any. Sure, they refund your auction fees, but I was always under the impression that winning an auction tied you into a legal binding between buyer and seller – I guess that is no longer the case.

eBay appears to be content with their move away from auctions and into marketplace type transactions. They care little about the sellers with feedback scores of <100, and no longer appear concerned with fostering any type of community at eBay.com. I will always long for the ‘olden days’ of eBay. Before the onslaught of .99-cent items with $6.99 shipping, the non-paying bidders with no respect for the auction process, and a company that was at least somewhat empathetic when it came to their users. Any nimble startups looking to get into the online auction game, now is your chance! eBay has lost its way.