Evert Meulie - web log

Synergy between tablet & phone

Aug 312010

Even though I am still quite satisfied with my Nokia N900 I keep my eyes open for a possible successor.
What I’d like to have is a unit which is primarily a tablet PC, and secondarily a phone since I rarely get called, and place calls even less.

So what I need is a PADD… a Personal Access Display Device. Apple pretended to come with something new when they released their iPad this year but all Star Trek fans know that the original PADD was invented more than 4 decades ago. (Unbelievable that it has taken the collective computer manufacturers this long to create this product for use in the real world…)

Anyway… The iPad is not an option for me, since Apple does not allow GSM/3G calls to be placed with the unit (only VoIP). (There are dozens of other reason I wouldn’t touch an iPad with a 10 foot stick, but I’ll leave the Apple bashing for another post…)

There are however 2 other interesting products hitting the market: the Samsung Tab and the Dell Streak.
The Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab is supposedly just a super-sized Samsung Galaxy S, although there is some disagreement about its CPU speed. Some sources list 1Ghz (identical to Galaxy S), others list 1.2 Ghz.
The Dell Streak is a bit smaller than the Galaxy Tab, and weighs 40% less: the Galaxy Tab weighs 370 grams, the Dell Streak 220 grams. (comparison: the iPad weighs a whopping 680 grams!)

The Galaxy Tab has a 7″ screen, whereas the Dell Streak settles for 5″. And this is where I am not sure… What is the ideal screen size…? It’s primary function for me would be tablet pc, but it does need to be functional for its secondary function as well. Holding a 10″ iPad next to your ear to call would be definitely very impractical, but how about 7″?
I know 5″ is doable, since I tried it out a bit with my eBook, a Sony PRS-300 with a 5″ screen, and the eBook definitely has more border around its screen than the Streak…

A short hardware tour of the Streak can be seen here, and the Galaxy Tab here.

According to PDAdb, one comes with Android 1.6 and the other with 2.2, but other sources have already confirmed that both will be running 2.2 starting September 2010.

The Norwegian release date for neither the Streak nor the Tab has been set yet.
Continue reading »

Spoon - a refreshing take on running apps in your browser

'Personal', Tech No Responses »

Aug 252010

I just came across Spoon. This site has nothing to do with kitchen utensils, but everything with running desktop apps from the web, without having to install them. (You do have to install a browser plugin, but then you’re ready to go)

I found them while I was searching for a so-called browser sandbox, a way to see what my website looks like in the various browsers used on the Net, without having to install them all myself. Google got me to this page where I can run ‘the big 5′ (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera & IE) straight from my browser. This alone already had me email the entire development department at the office since they quite often need a feature like that.

Then I noticed that browsers are only a small part of the possibilities at Spoon. All kinds of apps are supported, and also quite a game collection.
Granted, most of the apps & games offered are either free, or demo versions, but still…

A very cool feature, which IMHO Spoon does not mention enough on their site is that all settings from the apps are stored between sessions! So if you run for example Google Earth at Spoon, and create some placemarks, they will be there the next time you fire up the Google Earth app from the same PC!
(Would be interesting to make these locally stored settings also mobile… Perhaps with Dropbox? Worth giving a try…)

Kudos to Spoon for this refreshing take on portable apps! Keep up the good work

Most boring celebrity website...

Media & Entertainment, minor ramblings No Responses »

Aug 232010

I have seen some badly designed and crappy sites in the many years I’ve been surfing the web, but the following one is an absolute topper, in the negative sense of the word…
I would hereby like to nominate the website of Van Morrison for the Most boring celebrity website on the entire World Wide Web award.
As you can see on the screendump all the site contains is some text:

WWW.VANMORRISON.COM
IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL AND AUTHORIZED WEBSITE FOR VAN MORRISON INFORMATION, FILMS AND MUSIC ON THE INTERNET.

This text specifically mentions www.vanmorrison.com being the source for information, films and music… Well… Where is it??

Memira - nobody home...?

minor ramblings No Responses »

Aug 102010

Well, yesterday’s round 2 at Memira (in Oslo) went fine, as far as I can tell. I’m not getting my hopes up yet, as I know from the first round that it takes about 1 week to ‘settle’, but currently I do see better than before round 2.

But… today I was scheduled for a checkup at Memira Fredrikstad. I arrived right on time, only to find their offices dark and the door locked!
After some calling around I was told by Memira Trondheim(!) that the Fredrikstad office was closed today… Yes, she did see I had an appointment there today… No, she did not know why it had been scheduled on this day and why no one had contacted me. All very, very useful… NOT! Continue reading »