MobileViews Blog

Google Search “my photos” of search feature nice but needs tuning

todd — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:39:36 +0000

Google Search’s new ability to use natural language to search through your personal photos is a neat bit of programming and pattern recognition. But, like any new feature, it may need a bit more tweaking. You can see the result of a search for “my photos of dogs” resulted in photos of our pet rabbit! [...]

Google Play All Access – No access if you have an iOS device

todd — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:43:13 +0000

Google added subscription streaming to its cloud music player. Everyone compares it to mindshare leader Spotify. But, it is much closer to Microsoft’s Zune Market (now named Xbox Music). Like Microsoft’s offering you can buy music and, optionally, pay for the ability to stream from a large music collection. There is no free ad-supported option [...]

4G Android data hog apps: Amazon AppStore & Google Currents

todd — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:00:06 +0000

I started using the free DataWiz from Princeton’s Edge Lab to learn how apps on my Nexus 4 use wireless broadband data. I quickly found two badly behaving apps (in my opinion). The first was Amazon’s AppStore. It downloaded 9MB of something over 3G/4G. I don’t know what this somewhat was since I did not [...]

Fitbit milestones: 5000+ miles & 11+ million steps

todd — Sun, 05 May 2013 23:01:32 +0000

Happy to say I passed two Fitbit milestones in the past couple of days. 1. 5000 miles 2. 11,000,000 steps

My Nexus 4 “Ordinary Things” photo series on Google+

todd — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:51:56 +0000

I stopped posting regularly on Google+ on October 3, 2012. However, recently, I started posting near daily to a photo series I call Ordinary Things. Here’s why: I bought a Nexus 4 phone to replace an HTC HD7 (Windows Phone 7) earlier this year. However, it was rarely used to take photos because I use [...]

MobileViews Podcast 62: When old tech is good enough…

todd — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:23:55 +0000

Your browser does not support the audio element. Podcast Powered By Podbean [Audio length - 48:43] In MobileViews Podcast 62 Todd Ogasawara and Jay Stone discuss the relationship software and hardware being so good that consumers do not feel the need to upgrade or update to the latest version. This, of course, affects growth, revenue, [...]

I miss the Fail Whale. Don’t like the new Twitter mutant

todd — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:35:21 +0000

Saw this for the first time this morning. What the heck is this Twitter mutant thing? I miss the old Fail Whale.

Angry Birds Stars Wars is free from Starbucks app

todd — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:18:20 +0000

The Angry Birds Star Wars game for iPhone is free for a limited time if you use the Starbucks iOS app. Check your messages in the app for the free download link.

FCC iOS/Android speed test app turned off

todd — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:04:35 +0000

The recent update for the FCC’s speed test apps for both Android and iPhone turned off the ability to run a test. And, the new app is not available yet.

Windows Blue designers drawing inspiration from Windows 1.0

todd — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 21:24:18 +0000

Microsoft Windows features non-overlapping windows, drew a bit of interest, but failed to capture the mind-share and marketshare of its popular predecessor. I am, of course, speaking of Windows 1.0 and MS-DOS. But, the description fits Windows 8 and Windows 7 too. Windows 1.0, however, could do something Windows 8 Metro (Modern Design) cannot: Windows [...]

New MobileViews Podcast cover art

todd — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:38:05 +0000

On March 21 Apple sent email to podcasters publishing through iTunes telling them that they need to provide new cover art that conforms to the new 1400×1400 pixel format (JPEG or PNG). So, my old ugly MobileViews cover art has been replaced by this new ugly cover art. The new cover art reflects that this [...]

Fender USB Stratocaster Guitar: Broken oddball cable connector

todd — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:26:28 +0000

The Squier by Fender USB Stratocaster Guitar is unique among Fender’s legendary guitar series for a couple of reasons: 1. It has a USB interface that lets it work with the iPad and iPhone. 2. It is only available through the Apple Store. 3. It has an oddball Apple 30-pin connector to mini-USB connector cable. [...]

Nexus 4 charges wirelessly just fine with Energizer Qi charger

todd — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:52:45 +0000

The Verge reported that the wireless inductive charger accessory for the Nexus 4 (which became widely available just recently itself) is now available for $59.99. I was giving it some thought as a possible purchase when I remembered that I had an Energizer Qi-Enabled 3 Position Inductive Charger (Amazon link) that I used tested with [...]

Fitbit: 10 million steps, 9000 floors climbed (so far)

todd — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 05:42:53 +0000

I passed 10 million steps on my Fitbit today. And, it looks like I passed 9000 floors climbed about two days ago.

Podcast 61: What’s going on with Apple’s stock price?

todd — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 08:21:06 +0000

Your browser does not support the audio element. Podcast Powered By Podbean In MobileViews Podcast 61, Todd Ogasawara, Jay Stone, and Emil Reyes (none of who claim any expertise in investment) wonder aloud and speculate about the steep multi-month decline in Apple’s stock price. It closed at $702/share on September 19, 2012. And, its share [...]

Microsoft HelpBridge for Android, iOS, Windows Phone: Connect quickly after a disaster

todd — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 06:15:29 +0000

Microsoft released free apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone to request help or offer help (in a variety of ways). Download a Lifeline: New Disaster Response App Launches The HelpBridge mobile application simplifies the process of notifying loved ones by simultaneously sending an e-mail and SMS to the communities you select & posting a [...]

Finally! Jelly Bean 4.1.1 available for Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0

todd — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 07:32:23 +0000

It took over a year 7 months but Android Jelly Bean (the 4.1.1 version, not the 4.2 new flavor) finally appeared for my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet. 4.1 includes Google Now but does not include 4.2′s Multi-user, Daydream, or Photo Sphere. And, while the 4.1 update does not include 4.2′s Gesture Typing, Samsung [...]

Amazon Cloud Player: No app needed for Windows RT

todd — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:11:51 +0000

Earlier today Amazon announced their free CD AutoRip service that places some of the CDs you’ve bought over the years automatically in the Amazon Cloud for streaming to your desktop or mobile device. If you have an Android or iOS device, you can download a free player to play these automatically ripped songs. But, what [...]

Featured Windows RT App: Bento news reader

todd — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 07:53:18 +0000

News Bento for Windows 8/RT is a simple news aggregation app that is easy to navigate and presents news items from a variety of sources in a clean view. And, yes, it is free. Bento lets you select news feeds from a variety of well-known news sources and blogs. The app can also draw any [...]

Featured Windows 8/RT WebApp: MSN for Windows 8

todd — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 08:00:06 +0000

Microsoft launched a version of its MSN website optimized for IE10 on Windows 8/RT today (Jan. 8, 2013). Most site redesigns are ho-hum at best. But, this version specifically for Windows 8 is a marked improvement over what we see in other versions of Windows and IE. The most notable aspect of this redesigned site, [...]