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Happy ValenTEA!

My gorgeous and wonderful bride gave this tea-totaller¹ a wonderful Valentine’s Day present of the Ingenuitea Teapot. It is very clever and so far works a treat! (And for the record, I brought her back Fazermint Chocolate Creams from Europe.)

Let’s be clear, I enjoy a good brandy, Pims, and G&T. I just don’t drink coffee anymore. [↩]

iPad, iPhone 4 apps and accessories

Jul 26th, 2010

by Christian Brady.

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I have had my iPad for a few months now and my iPhone 4 for a few weeks so I thought I would share a few tips, apps, and accessories that I have found useful.¹ First for the iPad.

Cases
I started out with Apple iPad Case which I found to be very nice. It is a soft microfiber that is completely form fitting, which is very nice since it does not add any substantial bulk to the device. The best part, and what was initially lacking in all other leather case offerings, is the ability to prop the iPad at an angle perfect for typing. Eventually I discovered the Marware Eco-Vue for iPad. At the moment you can get it for $4 less than the $39 Apple case. The Mareware is a beautiful leather case that has a prop for the ideal typing angle I mentioned a moment ago, a hand strap in the back for those times you are wandering around holding the iPad (perhaps in an industrial or hospital setting? perhaps library?), and an elastic strap to close it, similar to a Moleskin notebook. The interior is a very nice gray suede. My top pick for an iPad case.

Apps
In an early post about using the iPad on the road I mentioned the excellent BibleReader and iAnnotatePDF. Both apps have gone from strength to strength. I would add to your must have list DropBox. If you do not have this, you should get it now. DropBox is a cloud storage service that will give you a free 2GB account and software for your Windows or Mac desktop and all your mobile devices, including iOS, Android, and soon BlackBerry. The iPad app is fantastic, allowing you to view your files and, where it is an appropriate file type, open them in another iPad app for the purpose of editing or viewing such as Pages or iAnnotatePDF or GoodReader. We are still lacking a good “round trip” solution that allows you to download, edit, and upload a file, but DropBox is close and their programmers tell me they are working on it very diligently.

A few other apps I recommend are the Guardian Eyewitness, a daily update of their best news photo with pro tips, NPR news app, IMDb for movies, and AirVideo (recommended by my brother) which allows you to stream movies from your computers hard-drive to your iOS device from anywhere! Not bad for $2.99. The other apps are free.

iPhone 4
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I periodically share about what electronic products I use, just as I do books I am reading. I often link to the products on Amazon. In the interest of full discloser (but most of you no doubt already realize this), I do receive a small amount if you buy something at Amazon having followed one of those links. I greatly appreciate and it does help to fuel this blogging habit of mine. Many thanks! [↩]

iPhone GPS, Speakers, and Apps

Apr 2nd, 2010

by Christian Brady.

No comments yet

In deliberating about purchasing the iPad I took the time to think through use cases, considering when and how I use technology on the road, when researching, and in the classroom. Looking backwards rather than forwards I thought I would share with you some of the ways in which I use my iPhone and the gadgets and apps that make it more useful for me.

Speakers/Speakerphone

A while ago I posted my rather inexpensive solution for an iPod clock radio, the Griffin AirCurve ($14.99 at Amazon) and I purchased the iHome iP99BR clock radio/boom box for my daughter’s iPod Touch and she loves it. When, thanks to many of you purchasing items like the AirCurve through my Amazon account, I had some dollars to spend at Amazon I decided to get some portable speakers for use around the house. I chose the Altec Lansing inMotion SoundBlade. This is an 2.5″ thin Bluetooth A2DP (i.e., stereo) speaker/speakerphone for $50. Audiophiles might find the sound lacking, but it is a great solution for most. The sound fills the bedroom and kitchen nicely and the speakerphone features works great!

One tip my brother pointed out to me is using them in the bathroom (something I haven’t done yet). It seems an Apple Genius told him that often people have “water damage” on their iPhone because they plug it into speakers in their bathroom. While the iPhone doesn’t actually get wet, the humidity in the room triggers the water detector in the phone and thus voids the warranty. Being a Bluetooth speaker system your iPhone (or iPod Touch) can be in the room next door while the speakers are in the bathroom, flooding you with your tunes or favorite podcast.

The next purchase was for my wife’s car. There is talk (again) that PA will institute a law requiring handsfree talking on cell phones and my wife doesn’t like earpieces. So I considered another Bluetooth speakerphone solution, the Jabra SP5050 Bluetooth Car Speakerphone. I was able to pick it up for $30 (although it is showing for $67 now) which is quite inexpensive for a handsfree solution. It has worked quite well for my wife but one tip: when first connecting hold down the main button on the Jabra for 7 seconds to put it into connect mode. (You will think it is that mode after just a few seconds, but hold it longer.) After that the only thing you have to remember is to turn it off when you get home, otherwise your car is answering your phone when you are in the house.

TomTom is GoGo!

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Kindle, the best ebook reader?

Dec 22nd, 2009

by Christian Brady.

7 comments

As Andy Ihnatko pointed out in his Chicago Sun Times article, eBook readers are all the rage this holiday season. I have been slow to this party for one main reason: iPod Touch/iPhone. Ever since I received an iPod Touch last December I have been happy reading books on the device (and my iPhone of course supplanted the Touch). The size has never been an issue for me since I started reading texts on my Palm 7+ years ago. Plus I don’t really want to carry around 3 devices when I travel (my MacBook Pro, iPhone, and eReader).

Remember, it is just a rumor. Image from Gizmodo

But now I am seriously considering getting an Amazon Kindle and here is my reason why: PDFs. Once I realized our office’s photocopier also scans directly to our server I had one of our student workers scan all the articles that I had ever photocopied for research and now our library sends faculty articles directly as PDFs (obviating our need to ever leave the office and actually touch those dirty books, I miss that actually). This is where the iPhone/iPod Touch fail. The screen is just too small to read a PDF decently. Too much scrolling left to right.

So the question is which reader to get. It is not an easy question to answer, however, as Ihnatko points out. As someone who likes Apple products the possibility of an Apple tablet is very tempting. I would still be carrying my iPhone at all times and my MacBook on trips…or would I? Unlike Alex Lindsay, I don’t expect to replace my phone with a tablet, but if it is a well executed device, with a keyboard (or solid dictation implementation!) then it could well replace my MacBook. On the other hand, there already very good devices out there perhaps I should just get one of those. Still, it seems that there are mixed feelings about how well the Kindle handles PDFs.

I would like to ask your help. Do you use the Kindle or Sony Reader (or even the new Nook) for your research? And if so how do you like it? My brother has been an early adopter of e-book readers likes the Kindle and the Sony each for different reasons, but some don’t seem to like the PDF rendering on the Kindle. So, the jury is still out and may remain so until I just make the plunge and try one or the other. It’s a shame I don’t have a tech podcast that would allow me to request a review unit…

Gloves for using your iPhone or iPod

Dec 18th, 2009

by Christian Brady.

5 comments

Last week the kids were sledding and I while I did not take my DSLR with me for fear of harming it, I did have my iPhone. I took some nice little videos and I was quite pleased with a few of the pictures. One drawback? My right hand was frozen at the end of play time! So onto my Christmas wish list goes these babies, Tavo Gloves with Playpoint Technology. Of course I am told that there are some crafty folks figuring out how to make such gloves themselves, but for those of us who are digitally challenged, Tavo may be the best choice.