I visited Dayton Ohio for the annual Trans Am Nationals car show at the Dayton Marriott yesterday. It’s always a great time, and yesterday was no exception. We rolled up in my 99 Firehawk to spectate at the show, and then headed over to Tipp City for the cruise-in.
Click over to my Flickr site for all the pictures
Have you ever been out far away from a power source with a fading battery in your favorite gadget? Wish there was a solution to this? Sure, many gadgets and smartphones allow you to swap batteries, but buying a spare battery for every device can get expensive, and it’s bulky to carry around a bunch of spare equipment.
PhoneSuit has the solution: The Primo Battery Cube. You may remember I reviewed a similar product back in February which was designed specifically for iDevices. The Battery Cube offers very similar functionality with a lot more versatility. Instead of the proprietary Apple connector, this compact package offers both mini and micro USB connectors for maximum compatibility.
The package itself is pretty neat. It’s 1.5″ in both length and width, and 3/4″ thick. On the front, it has a small mirror which hides 4 charging indicator arrows. The side houses two DC-in ports (both mini and micro USB). This offers nice charging flexibility. On the bottom, a small rubber flap covers two charging ports which ratchet out into position. This allows you to connect the Cube to your device and move it to a comfortable position while using it.
Here are the rest of the highlights:
I tested the Cube on several of my gadgets including my Nexus One, my Sansa Clip, and a couple of bluetooth headsets with excellent results. Although I have a spare N1 battery, sometimes I just need a quick 20% bump to make it the rest of the day. This is the perfect thing to throw in your bag and have the peace of mind that you won’t run out of juice.
At $39.95 and available directly from PhoneSuit.com, it’s a little pricey compared to just buying a spare battery for one device. The beauty of this Cube is in the flexibility it offers. It’s definitely a welcome addition to my gadget bag.
I seem to have read one too many of those “complete iPhone fanboy tries converting to Android” articles today. I decided I’d spend my lunch hours blogging about a few points that seem to always be missed when iPhone users try Android and dismiss it because it doesn’t work like their Apple product. Here are some of the common arguments:
1. It doesn’t work with iTunes!
The most glaring thing I see written and discussed is media sync. When an iPhone fanboy (I’m going to shorten this to iFan to save space) plugs in his Android phone and nothing happens, they always seem to be confused about what to do next. While iOS devices are limited to iTunes for downloading content, Android OS offers many great options for syncing content:
I personally use BeyondPod to grab all of my podcasts every night. It does it automatically, and it does it extremely well. I don’t have to do anything but listen to my podcasts.
2. App “X” isn’t available/as good on Android
Great, then why would you switch? Seriously, if you depend on one app, and it’s bad or not available, don’t consider the switch. There are crapps on both platforms, and some real gems. Slingplayer on Android is 5x better than on iOS. Facebook, not so much.
3. The keyboard is better on iPhone
I would agree that the iPhone keyboard is the best soft keyboard out there. However, it’s limited in functionality, and it only allows one method of input – tapping. Android’s voice input is available system wide, and it works very well. With the recently released Google Actions, you can press one button and send a text, email, or search without any further screen taps. Also, if you tried Android and didn’t use Swype, you missed out.
4. Visual Voicemail isn’t on Android
This goes back to my earlier point – you can’t use Android the same way you use iOS. iOS has VVM, Android has Google Voice (and voicemail). It works great, is very well integrated, and, in addition to visual voicemail, will actually *gasp* give you speech to text translations of your voicemail (sometimes with hilarious results).
5. I’m not a big Google Services user
If you’re not using Google Services, Android may not be for you. Much of the magic comes from the power of Google, and trying to use it without that magic is like trying to use iOS without iTunes. Explore things like Google Voice. Save on your texting plan. Use a GV number just for selling things on Craigslist. Organize all your contacts in the cloud. Share your calendar with friends, and be able to add things to your spouse’s calendar.
6. I don’t want/care about/need Flash
Great. Don’t install it. Or, set it to “On Demand”. It’s nice to have, and comes in handy. HTML5 may be the future, but we’re not there yet. I personally love being able to access Flash content on an as-needed basisi.
7. The iPhone screen is SOOOO NICE!
No question about it – that Retina screen is great. However, you were using a washed out 320×480 display for the last 3 years. That screen is also stuck at 3.5″ with no hope for anything larger. Android devices offer a variety of screen sizes and resolutions. Choice is nice.
Here are some other things iFans completely neglect in most of their “switcher” reviews:
There is no doubt that the iPhone has changed what consumers expect from their mobile devices. However, that doesn’t mean that the way Apple envisions your mobile device experience is always the best way. If you don’t hate AT&T’s service, and you’re happy with your iOS device, it’s ok to keep using it. However, reality is that there is a lot of competition in the mobile space, and if you look up from your Retina screen for a second, you’ll see some cool things Android does that iOS doesn’t. Dismissing these things is a bad idea, since you might find utility in the things I listed above. Don’t be like Steve Jobs and say you’ll never need those things because I guarantee that once iOS gets them, you’ll be change your mind like the iFans who suddenly LOVE background apps.
One final word of advice for “switchers”:
Don’t write your article like you’re the shrew who can’t be tamed. Nobody cares if you didn’t switch 
TuneSync:
BeyondPod: