Living Digitally

Review of the Amazon Kindle

I've been waiting roughly 10 years for a good eBook reader. In fact, I've even tried several times to make them myself out of ultra-mobile PCs, tablet PCs, various Linux-based devices, phones, and old disused laptops. Once I accepted that I would probably never come up with a solution that I could stick with for more than a few days, I started eyeing technology from Sony and Seiko. And then just as I came to the conclusion that the world simply wasn't ready for eBooks yet, Amazon launched the Kindle. I had one in my cart and scheduled for next day delivery before I even fully knew what it was.

The Kindle is Amazon's new wireless reading device. Interestingly, they don't call it an eBook reader. They use the term "wireless reading device" which is actually very accurate, and much more descriptive. All marketing and buzzwords aside, Kindle is a device for wirelessly downloading and reading eBooks, newspapers, magazines, and blogs. It uses electronic ink for a high-contrast and power-thrifty display, and it even hints at music and web browser functionality, as well.

I've only been using my Kindle for about four hours, and most of that time has been spent reading, but here's what I have to report so far:

iFAQ: the complete iPhone question and answer

Below is a FAQ based on my first weekend of using an iPhone. It contains all the questions I had about the iPhone before I bought it, and everything that seemed worth mentioning after using it. If you have any additional questions, leave them in the comments, and I'll get you answers as soon as I can.

Now let's start with something easy:

Using a mobile phone for real-time price comparisons

I've had phones and/or PDAs with internet connections and mobile browsers for about seven years now, however I've never found the ability to surf the web on a mobile device to be particularly useful. I've never had a device with enough bandwidth or screen real estate to make the experience bearable. Every now and then, I'll look up a restaurant's phone number while I'm out so I can make reservations or order take out, or if I'm insanely curious about something, I might look it up using wapedia, but for the most part, I use the data capabilities of my phone far more for IM and email than for browsing the web.

That said, I was at the San Francisco International Auto Show yesterday with my family, and was reminded of the value of mobile price checking. My kids came across something called a Wiggle Car that they instantly fell in love with, and since Christmas is coming up, my wife and I decided to buy a couple and smuggle them out to the car to be gifts from Santa. The price was a little steep, though, and since I'd never even heard of a Wiggle Car before, I had no way of knowing what they were worth. While my kids test drove Wiggle Cars and my wife distracted the salesman, I used T-Mobile's EDGE network and my Sidekick 3 to do a little research. Since T-Mobile's EDGE network is so slow and/or the Sidekick 3's browser takes so long to render content (I suspect a little of both), it took about 10 minutes for me to come up with what I thought was a fair price. Since it was the last day of the auto show, and since we were buying two, I actually negotiated an even better price, and now have two Wiggle Cars stashed down in my garage waiting for Christmas morning.

My phone gives me reasonable price comparison tools, however there are some better options there. I used to use an application called Piranha Pricecheck on my Sidekick 2, although it doesn't seem to be available anymore for the Sidekick 3. It's a Java based mobile application for comparing prices and reading reviews from Amazon. It looks like it should run on most Java-enabled phones. Once I replace my Sidekick 3 (I'm working on that), I will probably start using it again.

I've used wishradar's mobile price comparison service which works well, but it's hard to use from my Sidekick because the email service is so slow (not WishRadar's fault -- another strike against the Sidekick). I've actually had very good luck with Google's SMS price checking service,which is nice because it's much faster than trying to use your phone's web browser. I also came across a TechCrunch article comparing three SMS price comparison services, but I haven't had a chance to test any of them out for myself yet (though I'm certain I will this holiday season).

If you have any useful tips on mobile price comparison, any services and/or techniques you like or dislike, or any good mobile price comparison stories, please share below.

Review of the T-Mobile MDA

After my less than inspired experience with the new T-Mobile Sidekick 3, I decided to try something completely different. I do this every now and again -- try to ween myself off the Sidekick platform. I've tried it with Treos, I've tried it with Blackberries, and I've tried it with phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson. But in the end, I always come crawling back to the Sidekick.

Review of the Sidekick 3 (a big disappointment)

Fist of all, I have to say that I'm shocked by the almost unanimously positive online reviews of the new Sidekick 3. I can only assume that they were written by people who didn't have extensive experience with the Sidekick 2, and who were content to simply regurgitate T-Mobile's marketing collateral. Reading positive reviews of the Sidekick 3 has been like reading positive reviews of Matrix Reloaded. This review is written by someone who is (or was) a huge fan the Sidekick, and who has been using both the Sidekick 2 and 3 from the day they were each available.

I waited several weeks to write this review to make sure I had some real-world experience with the Sidekick 3. The first one I received was in some indeterminable way defective. About six hours after I started using it, while I was demoing it to someone, no less, the screen went completely black. I laughed at first, assuming I had found a software bug that would soon be fixed in an update, however after turning the device off and back on, soft resetting, and then hard resetting it, I wasn't laughing anymore. T-Mobile forced me to sacrifice hours of my life speaking with well-meaning but ultimately powerless customer service and support representatives on the phone, the details of which I will spare both of us. The upshot was that I paid a lot of money to have another Sidekick shipped to me right away since once I get my hands on a device, I can't rest until I've learned everything about it.

So now that I'm on my second Sidekick 3, and I've spend a few weeks with it in the field, I can honestly say that Danger got more wrong with the Sidekick 3 than they got right. To be fair, I'll start out with I think they got right:

How mobile phone ringers should work

While sitting in front of my computer at 9:00 PM in my completely silent office, I was scared half out of my wits by my Sidekick's email alert. It's even worse when I have it sitting out and it not only chimes, but also vibrates against my desktop like some old door buzzer. Of course there are other times -- in loud, crowded restaurants, or outside among the din of the city -- when I can't hear my phone ring at all, and since I keep it in a dorky leather holster attached to my belt instead of in my pocket (who wants to risk cancer down there?), I often can't feel it vibrate, either.

So I started wondering why mobile phone ringers aren't smarter. Just like my PowerBook will dim my screen based on a sampling of ambient light, why can't a phone sample ambient noise in order to decide how it should alert you? If you're sitting in your office and it's dead quite, a soft, pleasant chime should do the trick, but if you're having a drink in a loud bar or walking down a busy street, it should blare and vibrate.

I know some phones have the ability to gradually increase the volume of the ringer the longer a call goes unanswered which is a nice low-tech solution, however I've found that if you're in a noisy environment, by the time you realize your phone is ringing, you're not likely to be able to recover it from wherever you have it stashed before the caller is forward to voicemail (and you already know how I feel about voicemail).

Another low-tech solution I've noticed is keeping your phone out in front of you on the bar. Of course, problems with that approach include: spilling beer on it, other people spilling beer on it, and getting drunk and leaving it behind. Besides, why throw a low-tech solution at a problem when it's so much fun to over-engineer one.

How voicemail should work

I hate getting voicemail. The last thing I want to see when I look down at my phone is that stupid little voicemail icon. My messages go unchecked for days if not weeks, and every time I finish going through a backlog, I consider changing my greeting to something like "Please DO NOT leave a message. Send me an email, send me an SMS, or even better, just hang up since my phone will tell me you called anyway." But I don't because as much as I dislike it, I know voicemail is necessary. And I also realized the other day that it isn't actually voicemail itself that I dislike so much -- it's the horrible implementation that every mobile phone carrier seems to use.

To get my voicemail, I have to call in, wait, enter a code, wait, listen to the stupid greeting, wait, then navigate through one or more messages using a very clumsy and non-intuitive numeric interface. Even with all the menu options memorized, it still takes far longer than it should.

So how should it be done? Here are two ideas:

Comparing noise-canceling headphones

I've been a big fan of the Bose QuietComfort headphones for years. My first pair was a cheap, beat-up display model from the Apple Store which I later upgraded after the release of the second generation to take advantage of the more compact and travel-friendly form factor. I've used my Bose QuietComfort headphones everywhere from my own office to long international flights, and they have always come through.

But that doesn't mean they're perfect. The biggest problem I've had with them is interference from GSM phones. You know the annoying ticking you get on speaker phones when someone has their Treo or Blackberry sitting on the table? The Bose QuietComfort headphones let you experience that pleasure directly in your ears. Of course, they are primarily intended for flying which presumably means everyone's phones are turned off, however when you live in the city and work in sea of cubes, you never know when you're going to need the little extra peace and quiet from noise canceling technology.

Unfortunately, the interference problem recently got worse after upgrading my wireless network. I went from my ancient Lucent ORiNOCO gateway to the much more impressive looking Linksys WRT54GX, which, in addition to producing a stronger signal, also produces a constant buzz through my QuietComfort headphones. I'm a glass-full kind of guy, though, so when I run into incompatibilities like this one, I look at it as an excuse to buy new toys (fortunately, I had an Amazon gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket).

This time, I decided to go with a much more low-tech solution to noise cancellation: the Etymotic ER6i Isolator Earphones. Rather than sampling ambient noise and generating a correction signal to cancel out unwanted sound, the ER6i headphones are basically earplugs with tiny speakers in them. They cancel noise the old-fashioned way: by physically blocking it.

I just got back from a trip to Seattle during which I had a chance to really give the Etymotics a thorough evaluation. Here's how they measure up to the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones:

• Effectiveness: It's hard to compare the effectiveness of the Bose and the Etymotic headphones because they actually block different kinds of noises. I found the Bose to be more effective at blocking things like the low drone of an airplane engine, and the Etymotics to be more effective at blocking less predictable sounds, like those you experience in your cube when your co-workers are yapping or laughing at the newest YouTube video.
• Sound quality: I'm going to say that the two are tied here, but only because my ears are not discriminating enough to hear the difference. I'm sure a sound engineer could tell you which delivers better what, but to me, both sound good enough.
• Portability: The Etymotics win hands down in this category. They fit into a little 2"x2" pouch which adds no bulk or weight to your bag during a trip. To be fair, the QuietComfort 2 headphones are much more compact than the first generation, but they still add the size and weight of a good sized paperback to your travel load.
• Comfort. I actually find the QuietComfort headphones to be slightly more comfortable than the Etymotics. The only problem with the Bose headphones is that they tend to tickle the inside of your ears for some reason that seems to be related to pressure after extended use, but in general, I prefer headphones that cup over my ears rather than get crammed inside them. I also don't like how the Etymotics accumulate ear wax, no matter how clean you keep your ears, meaning they really can't be shared among people who are the least bit concerned with hygiene.
• Price. The Bose QuietComfort headphones go for $299, and the Etymotics can be had for about $89.99.

So which would I recommend? It depends on what you need them for, and how important portability is to you. As always, the only true answer is to probably just own both.

The next generation of mobile devices

While logging into T-Mobile's site the other day, I noticed the new T-Mobile MDA. Looks like a possible Sidekick competitor to me. Features include:

• Windows mobile.
• Instant messaging (Yahoo!, MSN, and AIM).
• QWERTY keyboard.
• EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution).
• 1.3 megapixel camera.
• Bluetooth.
• SD expansion.

If you're into Windows products, this looks like a pretty compelling device. I'm completely addicted to messaging features (IM clients and QWERTY keyboards), which the MDA seems to have covered, and I'd love to have EDGE and a decent camera -- both conspicuously missing from the Sidekick 2. I wouldn't mind Bluetooth, either, though I steadfastly maintain that the Sidekick 2 actually negates the need for Bluetooth (the only thing you need Bluetooth for on the Sidekick 2 is a headset, although since I use mine much more for messaging and personal information management than for voice calls, a Bluetooth headset doesn't buy me much more than just another rapidly depreciating device to try to keep charged).

To be fair, you'd probably want to compare the MDA to the Sidekick 3 rather than the Sidekick 2. Of course, the Sidekick 3 has yet to be released, and there is still no official information available, but according to rumors, it looks like EDGE, SD, and video are all in the works. And I'd be shocked if it didn't have a significantly better camera than the Sidekick 2. At the end of the day, though, there are all the other things I love about the Sidekick which the MDA just can't touch.

Microsoft fans might be wise to wait for Project Origami before purchasing their next device. Right now, Origami seems to be a code name for a lot of clip art and technical melodrama, but I suspect it will materialize into something that will compete with the new OQO Tablet. Or if you live anywhere else in the entire world except the United States, keep an eye out for the new Sony Ericsson P990 hand-held powerhouse, proving once again that the US has become the mobile third world.

Replace lost USB flash drive caps for free

I use USB 2.0 flash drives for a lot of different things: backups, moving files between machines, playing music files on different devices. I also tend to lose their caps which drives me nuts because I'm afraid they'll get damaged in my pocket or backpack. Then I discovered that the plastic USB caps that come on any Apple USB product make nice (and free) replacements. Just use a pair of sharp scissors or a knife to remove the plastic prongs designed to hold the cable, and your USB flash drive is safe and secure once again.

The #1 reason why I love the Sidekick II

I bought the Sidekick II the day it came out, and I've been using it almost everyday since. I tried replacing it with a Treo 650 and a Nokia 6680, but both times, I ended up switching back. I've used all kinds of phones, PDAs, and personal information management system, and I've found that the Sidekick II offers the best overall experience of them all. But as impressed as I've always been with the Sidekick II, I recently gained an entirely new appreciation for it.

Without getting into too many details, my Sidekick got destroyed the other day (let's just say that Sidekicks are tough, but cars are tougher). For a brief moment, I thought I might try to wean myself from the Sidekick and go with something like the Motorola RAZR which I've always really liked, but I ended up walking out of the store with another brand new Sidekick II (I had pretty much worn my old one out anyway, so I didn't mind replacing it). I took it into the office with me, plugged it in to charge, and that's when the magic happened.

All I had to do was insert my SIM card, log in, and wait about 30 minutes, and my new Sidekick II was, as far as I can tell, 100% restored to its former glory. All of my PIM data, applications, settings, and configuration had been completely restored, right down to my custom sound profiles and POP email accounts. I knew my PIM information (address book, calendar, etc.) would be preserved, but I had no idea all the additional applications I purchased would not only be automatically restored, but with all the data from my previous Sidekick -- every birthday, high score, and preference. I don't know of any other device in the world that would have made that process so painless.

A couple of things to think about...

• Why isn't it that easy to migrate from one computer to another? When I get a new computer, it usually sits in the box for a couple of days until I can find the time to do the painful manual migration.
• As much as I love the Sidekick, I'd still really love to have a smaller phone like the RAZR for certain occasions. Why can't I have both (without the pain of switching SIM cards, which is far from ideal)? I'd love to have multiple mobile phones on a single account so I could just grab whichever one is more suitable for the day's activities.