|
calilewis uploaded a new video
(3 weeks ago)

Apparently, I left out an important detail when I've talked about the N9...
more
Apparently, I left out an important detail when I've talked about the N900 in anticipation of it's arrival because Neal, my husband who is with me all the time didn't know that the N900 is able to make phone calls. Go figure. Let's start by looking at the industrial design. I have an iPhone 3GS here along with a Motorola Droid and the Nokia N900. The iPhone and Droid are almost exactly the same height and width. The Droid is a little thicker than the iPhone to accommodate the slider keyboard and the removable battery. The Nokia N900 is the same width as the iPhone and Droid, but its quite a bit thicker. I thought it would be fun to pull out the kitchen scale and weigh them. The iPhone is 4.7 ounces. The Droid is 5.9 ounces and the N900 is 6.4 ounces. Specs we've talked about, but let's hit them again. The processor is 600MHz. There's 1GB of application memory. It has a 3D Graphics accelerator with Open GL ES 2.0 support. It has 32G of storage out of the box and you can expand that to 48 gigs with a microSD card. The camera is 5 megapixels with a dual LED flash. The screen is 800X480, 3.5 inches diagonal and has resistive touch. The N900 has two hardware features that I hadn't expected. It has a built-in FM transmitter for playing audio through your radio's speakers. I had to put the phone on top of the receiver for the FM transmitter to work, but sitting on top of the receiver, it sounded really, really good. It also has what I think could be a killer feature if developers take advantage of it. It has an IR transmitter. Software is really where the N900 can shine. It runs Nokia's Maemo 5 and open source version of Linux and it really does feel like I'm using a computer rather than just another smart phone. To turn on the screen, simply press the power button on the top and just like on other smart phones, you slide to unlock. The N900 gives you four work surfaces. You can add applications, widgets, and bookmarks from the Web. There are several basic apps already installed and you can add more. ...
less
|
|
| |
|
calilewis uploaded a new video
(4 weeks ago)
Looks like we'll get the beta for Chrome on the Mac by December. If you'...
more
Looks like we'll get the beta for Chrome on the Mac by December. If you're using Chrome on a PC, 4.0 was released today. Project Natal from Microsoft looks to be launching late 2010 with a sale price of between $50 and $84, with 14 Natal-ready games. Blue Microphones announced a USB mic that's also the world's first THX Certified Mic called the Yeti USB Microphone. Microsoft has an 802.11n adapter for the Xbox 360. Parking your car in your garage may turn out to be much like docking your iPod one day if car and consumer electronics makers use a new technology called the Rovi Automotive Solution. Details on the New York Meetup is on my blog at www.calilewis.me. It'll be on November 20th. Hope to see you there! You can save 25% on an Angie's List membership by using promo code GEEK at www.angieslist.com/geek.
less
|
|
| |
|
calilewis uploaded a new video
(1 month ago)

Google's getting in the holiday spirit. They want to provide free WiFi f...
more
Google's getting in the holiday spirit. They want to provide free WiFi for travelers in 47 airports across the country. The only downside is being asked to download Chrome (do it!) and if you want to set Google as your default search engine. Amazon released the Kindle PC App, which uses Whispernet, so you can switch between devices and always pick up where you left off. Intel is developing an eReader for the visually impaired. I has a text scanning camera and a text-to-speech synthesizer. The Sparkz Pico Projector is a dock that will charge your iPhone or iPod and project up to 60 inches. You can see the demo video here. I'll be getting a Nokia N900 for review soon. They're hipping outs to Europe, the Middle East, Russia and North America. This episode was brought to you by Petco, where promo code BRIEF will save you 10% and provide free shipping on orders of $65 or more and promo code BRIEF10 will save you 10% on ANY size order.
less
|
|
| |
|
calilewis uploaded a new video
(1 month ago)

As you know, the hugely anticipated launch of the Motorola Droid was on ...
more
As you know, the hugely anticipated launch of the Motorola Droid was on Friday. I went to a press event held at a Verizon store to get a hands on with the Droid and some footage to share with you guys. Boring, but I'll take what I can get. Surprise, surprise, Verizon was nice enough to let me hang on to a Droid for two weeks so I'm able to give you a more in-depth review. The Droid runs Android 2.0. Android is an open source mobile operating system, originally developed by, and heavily supported by Google. If you use Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, or Google Voice, having Android is a very good thing. It means those apps are going to run smoothly and you'll get more out of them. More on that in a minute. Verizon has put a lot of effort into their network, and the hope here is that you don't get the amount of dropped calls or inconsistent service a lot of people complain about with AT&T. In my experience with iPhones on AT&T, dropped calls are less of an issue than calls I have to drop because I can't understand the person on the other end of the call or they can't understand me. The Motorola Droid provides vastly better sounding calls than my iPhones. In a perfect world both phones would be available on both networks so I could tell if it's a hardware issue or a network issue. The Motorola Droid has the best screen on any handheld device I've ever seen. It's a 3.7 inch touchscreen with a resolution of 854x480. That's over 400,000 pixels, and you can definitely tell a difference. We're showing you The Droid playing a movie in HD. The Droid screen is brighter and richer and point 2 inches bigger. The downside? No multitouch in the US. It's capable of multitouch, and the GSM version in Europe has multitouch enabled, but we're not allowed here in the US. Instead, you double tap to zoom or use the plus and minus buttons on the screen to zoom in or out. If you've been using an iPhone, you're going to natually want to pinch the screen. The Droid's method of zooming isn't bad. It has nice animation, ...
less
|
|
| |
|
calilewis uploaded a new video
(1 month ago)

The USB Breast Warmers may have been created just so engineers could loo...
more
The USB Breast Warmers may have been created just so engineers could look at women in bras, but I'd like to know if I'm missing something here. We'll be gettting a hands on with the Droid tomorrow. The HTC Droid ERIS is also launching for $99 after a $100 mail in rebate. Sony Ericsson's new phone is called the Kurara. The OS is Symbian S60, it'll have a 3.5" touch screen with an 8.1 megapixel camera capable of 720p video. We're having a meetup in New York on November 20th. Details are being worked out over on my blog, calilewis.me. Many people have been waiting for the E-P2 Micro Four Thirds Camera from Olympus. They finally announced the launch today. One of the reasons we want one of these cameras is that it has Full Manual Control of shutter and aperture when the camera's in Movie Mode. Brief 656 was brought to you by AngiesList.com/geek. As an Angie's List member you get access to fellow member reviews of contractors and healthcare providers. Everything from Wedding planners like my sister Christina to guys who will install a solar vent on your roof. Promo code GEEK will save you 25%.
less
|
|
Anyway, great job on the videos. I've subscribed. I watched your review on the Droid (I'm getting one on Thursday and I am so exited!) and it easily stood out from all of the other reviews I've seen. Unbiased though opinionated, informative and educated as well as entertaining. Keep up the good work and I look forward to viewing the videos to come.