Musings

It’s been 30 hours since I received my iPad. I’m not really using it yet. Just getting ready to use it. So am looking at the apps and getting the content ready. But it’s really a cool device.

Mr Yoshida at the Japanese restaurant last night came to wow at it. So nice and cool, he said as he bent over the table. How heavy, he said. I let him carry it and he said “Oh not so heavy, neh.”

Yes, but if you carried it like a book, your hand will tire. It’s nice, sleek and sexy. If you’ve used an iPhone, this is really a walk in the park. But read my review in coming Wed’s Digital Life (April 21).

I dithered about pre-ordering the iPad when the Apple store was open for orders. After a few days, I decided I would buy it. After all, if I’m really a gadget freak, I should get the latest – well almost all the latest – gizmos.

Then I spent another couple of days thinking about how to get it. One friend tried booking with Vpost and had his order cancelled. Oh, oh, I thought. I thought of Borderlinx but you need a Citibank card and I don’t have one. Apple developer Hon Cheng suggested comgateway.

That wasn’t a bad idea. I’d also received a comgateway voucher. Some special discount on shipping if I bought it with comgateway. So I did. When the iPad arrived in US stores on April 3, I hurriedly checked my comgateway account that day and every day after that. No news.

I was worried that the order had been cancelled. Then on Tuesday, it said the device had arrived in its warehouse. I quickly signed up for express shipment and comgateway said I’ll get it on April 11.

Well, not bad, getting it about 8 days after it hit US stores isn’t a bad record. Well I’m not in a race to see who’s first to get it. Then, it suddenly turned up at work yesterday.

My colleague put a DHL parcel on my table round about 2pm on Friday. It didn’t dawn on me what it contained until I saw the label that it’s from comgateway. My heart gave a lurch and I screamed (think it came out as a croak!): “It’s here. My iPad is here”.

Well the unboxing was captured on video and is up on Digital Life’s Facebook account. It’s as I saw it during the Jan 27 launch in San Francisco. No surprises there. It’s all in the apps. I’m now downloading and spending a whopper on iTunes getting it ready for use.

I make lots of typos typing text messages. My finger can’t seem to hit the right letters. I tend to use the side of the finger to hit the letters. I think I’m touching the right one but it always happen to be the next letter. Pretty frustrating until I discovered that using the landscape mode and typing with my thumbs solved the problem.

For some reason, I type on on the side of the thumbs too. But I hit the right keys… Oh well. I wouldn’t say no more typos, but let’s say I’m less frustrated now.

All eyes are pointing at Apple as Sept 9 draws near. Apple has sent press invitations in the US but what new gizmos will there be? Methinks, there’ll be new iPods and maybe a new version of iPod Touch with camera. But  will there be a netbook? Most importantly, will Jobs show up?

My guess is that the netbook is destined for January 2010 and Jobs himself will launch it. The Apple media isn’t in high gear which doesn’t mean that there won’t be any major announcements. It’s just that Jobs isn’t likely to grace the stage.

We’ll find out on Sept 9.

It’s about a month since I bought the Kindle. Reading on it is like reading a book. Okay, buying content or anything remotely related to the Kindle is a pain cos Amazon doesn’t sell it or accessories outside the US. The workaround solutions are good but they do require a few extra steps.

That said, reading on the Kindle is easy on the eye. I’ve now read about 3 books on it. It’s the size and weight of a paperback. Easy to carry around.  Best of all, I don’t have to hurry to add book shelves. I know I would read fiction on it. But if I do want to read non-fiction where I would like to write notes on the sideline or attach stickies to it, it would be much easier for reference. A small keyboard on the Kindle allows you to make notes, but I still prefer to visually scan because it’s easier to find what I want.

What irritates me is the battery. In the one month, it “crashed” on me – that is the screen was stuck. I’d to go to the forums to find out how to re-boot it. It’s happened three times. And the battery tends to grow weaker each time I re-boot. I checked the forums and found that the battery is a common problem. Good thing is I can change the battery except that Amazon won’t send it directly to me and I need to work around this. Sigh!

Why can’t the vendors just sell devices worldwide? Are they so blinkered that the US is the only world market? Surely the global market is a larger one – especially one for books … and music (hint: iTunes!)

I’ve noticed in the past few months many people using netbooks. I define them as the ones that Nicholas Negroponte first came out with as UMPC – ultra mobile PCs – with a 6 inch screen. The size has in the last 18 months changed from 6- to 10- to 12-inch screens.

Made popular by Asus and Acer, these netbooks were touted to be good for surfing, emailing and maybe skyping and little else. It’s just too small to work on it for a long time. I just find the shoulders would be too pinched from having to hold your hands close together to type on the small keyboard.

Increasingly, I’ve seen a lot of kids using them, not for school work but for viewing YouTube video clips and movies. Mothers would leave the kids with the netbook in McDonalds or a cafe and go off and do their errands or supermarketing. The kids would access Youtube or watch the movie that’s been downloaded into the netbook. Not a bad idea.

There’re quite a few nice ones on the market. I’m attracted to the Sony Vaio which are really nice and cool. But I’ve no reason to buy one. In today’s tough times, better to have cash in pocket.

Reading is about enjoying a plot. It’s also about holding a book and turning pages as you read to the end. It’s about the convenience of being able to carry it with you all over the place – cafe, car, airplane etc. Books are meant to be read, not listened to as in an audio book. 

Well, there’s so much discussion about E-readers and audio books that I tried it out. I bought a digital copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and downloaded it into my iPod. I was in the gym when I tried it out. 

The experience is interesting. I mean, reading on the treadmill when you’re walking very fast is quite tough, what with the treadmill vibrating from the way I’m pounding on it as I try to beat my own 41-minute timing for a 5km walk. Books are out in this instance. Only magazines but it’s quite strenuous to focus on the tiny fonts on a magazine when you’re walking, breathing heavily and sweating a lot. So the reading can’t be continuous; I’ve to stop from time to time otherwise, I’ll get a headache. 

Of course with the audiobook, the experience is of a different kind. You listen to the book. Okay, so I bought a kinda dry book, not the usual thriller or sci-fi that I’ll read. That’s another problem which I’ll discuss later. First the experinece of an audiobook. It’s quite good, if you’ve the right volume up and if the reader has an interesting pitch and tone and isn’t monotonous. Malcolm Gladwell read his own book, and he’s quite good. Plus it’s not that dry as he had several interesting case studies and examples. So I quite enjoyed listening to the audiobook…. except I haven’t continued to listen to it outside of the treadmill. I guess, it’s because it’s not a thriller and I’m in no hurry to find out who dunit! 

Now the earphones – you need a good one which fits nicely. In-ear noise-cancelling devices would be good because it’ll cut out the very loud music they play in the gym. I’d the Apple earphones which did the job quite nicely. Even then, I’m not used to earphones – I play the iPod on a dock with speakers. So I’d to get used to the earphones plus you need a pair which won’t slip out as you walk cos it can be irritating if they don’t fit. 

Right, title of the book. I chose Blink cos it’s the most interesting. There’re thrillers but I didn’t like the ones that were available. Problem is there aren’t many titles for audiobooks. Choice is limited. I guess it’s a chicken and egg thing – more people need to buy audiobooks before authors and publishers would be interested in putting out audio versions. 

Now I’m wondering about the Kindle and the Sony E-reader. They are like books since they’re devices you hold in your hand except that the pages you turn are digital. It’s all the more attractive since there’s a Kindle reader on the iPhone which would make it really easy for me to start reading on the Kindle and continuing it on the iPhone if I want to read on-the-go. But I’ve to figure out if Amazon which is selling the Kindle will sell i-books outside of the US. 

I’m ready to go – I’ve the Kindle app on my iPhone, now it’s just finding out if I can buy the digital books. Stay tuned while I try this out.

The last time I’d played Tetris was on my Palm smartphone. That was several years ago. My friend Eileen, “bluetoothed” it to me. Those who’ve played it will know that it’s pretty addictive moving those boxes and shapes to fit nicely. I would play it every time I was free – waiting for friends, and mostly just always one last game before bed.

It’s dangerous because it’s the first time I’d RSI (repetitive stress injury) on my thumbs. Quite painful, almost couldn’t type. So much so, I sold my Palm off.

So last week, I was browsing the App Store and saw that Tetris is one of the most popular game. What did I do but buy it. Kinda stupid I thought, but what the heck, I was in the mood to help some economy by spending!

I was pleasantly surprised. It’s still Tetris but it’s now how you would play on the computer. It’s different and interesting. There’re still those falling blocks that you’ve to re-arrange but now you’ve tools to help you when you’re in trouble. Like you can change a falling brick to another shape that would help you score points. Or you haven’t been able to line them all the bricks properly and it’s really piling up and you’re on the verge of losing. You can use another tool that would burst all the blocks so that you can start – not from the bottom – but from somewhere near the bottom.

Best thing is, when I leave it and come back another time, it takes me back to where I last played. So I’m really enjoying it. No there’s not RSI but I’m kinda frustrated because the swipe on the touch screen doesn’t register effectively. Overall, 5 out of 5 for this game. Try it.

To use the shuffle, I went to iTunes and bought those songs billed as fitness types. Well, I don’t really have those songs that have a fast beat. So, for convenience I bought 3 or 4 albums. For weight training and less cardio intensive exercise, the latin and some beach party music is good. Trouble is they aren’t fast enough for cardio, ie, the beat is too slow when I’m trying to speed walk.  So I’ve to make another selection again. Thank goodness, I’ve 1000 song as a limit. 

I tried clipping the shuffle to my shirt sleeve. Not good idea, gets in the way of the hand movement. Also the movement causes the clip to slowly slip. Best bet is to clip it to the top of the shorts/pants. 

The headphones must work for me cos usually I find the ones I use will slip out even when I’m sitting down. Its because I don’t like stuffing them really into the ear. But this time the headphones although loosely slipped into the ear held well and didn’t even drop. 

But I’m worried: I’m clicking every now and then trying the new buttons and also to familiarise myself with them. Hopefully, I won’t break the buttons. It looks really flimsy. Well, time will tell. 

iPhone 3.0 software

Isn’t it great news that all iPhone 3G users can now forward their SMS and MMS? While Apple has done the cut and paste way to forward email – an ingenious way of getting around the problem – it works. So you can cut and paste for SMS, email or even on websites. That’s a great idea. 

I saw some of Web videos of beta versions of the software. Some things have changed. There’s a Spotlight icon but instead of swiping left to get to the next screen, you swipe right. Then the messaging icon on the top left corner, will have a bubble in it to reflect that IM is now supported directly by the iPhone. 

These are part of the 100 new features that Apple has announced. It’s clear from Apple’s invitation to journalists that it was to be an iPhone announcement. Why do reporters/writers/bloggers still say: There’s no ‘one last thing’. They’re all hoping for a netbook. 

Personally, I think Steve Jobs will make that announcement. In the meanwhile, I can’t wait for the new upgrade to arrive.

It’s just out. Apple has unveiled a new iPod Shuffle that can talk to you. Yup, it tells you what songs and playlist it is playing. It’s great if you’re driving or running on the trackmill. 

I haven’t seen the product yet, but reading the story on appleinsider.com there’re a couple of things I like about this new iPod Shuffle. First, the clip, it looks it’ll secure better than the previous one. Second, locating the buttons on the earphone is a great idea. Makes controls more accessible. No more fumbling around.

Also the price US$79, should work out to be about $150-$160. I think it’s affordable for 1000 songs. If I get one, I’ll use it more for podcasts which I listen to a lot. Now decision making time: black or silver? 

I had hoped that the big announcement would be a slim netbook but I’m reminded again and again – by Apple people no less – that Steve Jobs had said that netbooks were a nascent industry and Tim Cook, acting CEO said recently, the company was just studying this segment closely.

I’m not holding my breath for netbook announcement at WWDC coming up in June. The iPhone rumour went on for about 3 years before it became a product. Hopefully we don’t have to wait three years for the slim netbook.

Meat, they eat lots of meat in Germany. Veal, beef cheeks, rump steaks, salmon, pike-perch (it’s a fish) and of course, sausages of different kinds. I do eat meat just that I prefer vegetables and tofu. But I must admit that the veal and beef cheeks I’d was superb. Cooked just nice and melts in the mouth. 

One major difference I found: shops in Germany are closed on Sundays. Coming from Asia where shops are open every day, it’s a surprise. Even in the US, shops are open. I did have an English book but I always would like to have an extra book or two because I go through them rather quickly.  Anyway, I managed by sleeping earlier so that I would read less and preserve whatever English reading material I’d. 

So what do Germans do on weekends? My guide, Urte Lutzen said they get up late, walk in the parks – and there’re many beautiful ones – visit museums, walk through flea markets, go to the mountains or countryside. 

After eight days in Germany and five cities I was tired. My 10 other travelling companions from Europe, Asia and South America had visited at least 10 organisations in 8 days. Unlike a holiday tour which is physically demanding, this tour was both physically and mentally draining. 

I still found the tour interesting and in the following weeks I’ll be writing in the straits times about the new interactive 3D technologies, new tech in BMW cars, LED lights that can carry data and others. 

Hopefully, I’ll find the time to return to Germany for a holiday. 

 I took the minimum cables with me on this German trip. Left the iPhone charger at home. Took just one USB cable to charge the phone to the computer. It worked, not that it had any impact on the weight of the luggage (I’ve been collecting paper material and it’s weighing the bag down). 

Most hotels these days have iPod docks that allow you to play music from your iPod. In the business class no frills hotels I’m staying in on this trip, there’re no such amenities (except for the first hotel in Frankfurt). So the iPhone’s speaker is now great, because I can listen to it without ear phones. Great stuff. 

Speaking of ear phones, Apple’s in-ear headphones is great. Nice cables, great to feel it and it fits nicely in the ears. THe ear buds come in three sizes, small, medium and large. And the sound is good. Not too expensive at US$79.