New global phone: Droid Razr

Entering a new era in my smart phone ownership. 4G along with the global access that I need for work.

I just got issued a new Motorola Droid Razr for work. This is a welcome upgrade to my weathered and road weary Droid 2 Global.

I opted to forego the Apple iPhone 4s (which many of my colleagues picked) for the Droid as I wanted to finally get up to 4G speeds. Especially since the contract term for the phones at work are 2 years, I did not want to be holstered to an essentially already 2 year old platform.

So far I am not disappointed in the phone. Compared to the Gingerbread Android OS the new Ice Cream Sandwich OS is already a great improvement. the OS is responsive and intuitive as I expected from the Android system. Not to mention that with the Dual Core processor, I have much less lagginess in basic operation.

The phone is amazingly thin and light weight. Even in it's case (a silicon model ordered for me as part of the "package" our office decided on).





Plusses

• Bigger screen (4.3 inch)
• 4G speeds
• Higher resolution
• dual processors
• more RAM
• More battery life (allegedly)
• 
  

Minuses

• shipped without SD card upgrade (only 8 GB onboard)
• no QWERTY slideout keyboard
• No removable-swappable battery (but hopefully longer battery life)

Already this phone is a little off the cutting edge. As Motorola just released the newest generation of line of phones. the Razr M, a soon to be released RAZR HD, and RAZR HD MAXX. But it seems that besides OS and processor versions the RAZR and the newer lines are still highly comparable, and I don't yet feel too  much phone envy. 

Taking the phone on the first road trip this coming week, so we will see just how well it performs in the field. But to date I am pleased with the phone, and glad I opted out of the iPhone.

Review: ZAGG smartbuds

Of recent tech purchases the ones I get the most use of are my ZAGGsparq and ZAGG SmartBuds.

The  ZAGGsparq is a battery back-up that allows me to recharge my USB powered devices. Most often my 6 O'clock brick (Motorola DROID Global ) could potentially leave me without the needed web access and GPS I might need on my travels. But with the ZAGGsparq I am able to fully recharge my phone in just under an hour. What is the big deal about that you might ask? Well how about doing that while not having to stay tethered to a car or wall outlet.

The 6000 mAh battery within the  ZAGGsparq allows me to merely pull out a micro USB cord from my pocket plug it between the  ZAGGsparq  and my phone and bring the battery up to full all while potentially on the move. Walking, riding, skiing, canoeing, or any other mode of transport. While in Europe for my frequent business travels I am able to universally charge my phone without having to carry around much more than the  ZAGGsparq  and one cable. I carry two cables a USB mini, with a mini-micro adapter plus my iPod cable.

A number of times I have helped out my coworkers and felly traveler by charging up their iPhones and other devices while on the move. If you have ever truly relied on your phone while traveling you know how important this is.

The  ZAGG SmartBuds have been equally important. Their simple but elegant design solve the problem posed by many of the in-ear Phone headsets; "How do I keep from yanking the buds out of my ears constantly?  and How do I keep them handy when I am not listening or talking?"

The  ZAGG SmartBuds have a long enough cord to leave the device in my pocket while walking and keeping the head phone cord looped around my neck when not in use.

This design always leaves me wondering how nobody else ever thought of it first. Now it is simple enough to use the PTT (push to talk) button which allows for phone answering while hooked up to my phone, or to pause and play my music wen hooked up to my Apple iPod nano 16 GB Blue (4th Generation) [Previous Model]. Though I suppose it is hte same if you have 6th Generation nano  or  an Apple iPod touch.

the $100 dollars I spent for my ZAGGsparq and the $50 for the  ZAGG SmartBuds, was money well spent.  Actually, I did get mine on special when they ran this special. Which may or may not be active at the moment. But it was enough to convince be to buy another set later.

Limited time offer from ZAGG.com: Get free ZAGGsmartbuds when you buy a ZAGGsparq!

XCom Global MiFi: Review after "practical" use

During the meetings today, I ran some short tests to the effectiveness of the MiFi wireless access point we rented from XCom. This post for example I create using the connection created by the device, and try to upload some pictures and see how well it works.

speed tests with connection via HSPA

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1458749570.png

this image uploaded in about 4-5 seconds during this test 0.5 MB

larger resolution images:

15-17 seconds for this higher resolution 1.3 MB

I dare not at this time try to stream a video (i should be paying attention)....
and see if location in the room finds me access to the 3g network which is not consistent in this area of Italy.

Cannot make any complaints about the Device or the service (it is not XCom issue that the Italian ether is not friendly for a 3G signal during my trip).

Likes:

• relative ease: ordered online, shipped to office, flew to Italy and Bang on the internet
• no surprises: Flat rate for the daily internet hook-up
• Multiple users on single wireless connection and rate-plan
• reasonable price of occasional short trips, with my amount of travel I might be better off getting a local flat rate SIM

Dislikes:

• Battery life (could use for about 2-3 hours on single charge, supplied back up battery is helpful. but in Foreign land where converters and power is a premium might be nice to last longer, or ship with a USB-micro cable so I could charge on the fly with my Zagg Sparq2.0
• shipping costs if booked less than 10 days in advance
• Italian SIM did not work in cities where I had connecting flights (Netherlands) may have been my fault, for not indicating that I needed a roaming SIM

Overall I have to say that for the occasional traveler this could be listed among the essentials, especially as US mobile providers clamp down on roaming Data charges. Nobody has All-You-Can-Eat global any more.

Xcom Global is a winner

XCom Global: Mobile Hotspot review (pre-trip)

For an upcoming trip, I along with 5 colleagues will be traveling to Italy for a Corporate Sales Meeting. With all  our sales people out of the office, this could be damaging for our ability to respond to software licensing concerns, sales issues, and general business. To minimize any potential fallout from falling off the grid for a few days we rented a Wireless Hotpot from XCom global.

What arrives from XCom

Once you order the device from the companies website you will receive (a few day prior to the start of the trip)  the contents shown above and a carry case in the mail. They use a standard mi-fi by Novatel with a pre-installed SIM for the country we plan to travel to, in this case Italy.

Rates quoted start at $14.95 per day for "unlimited data" XCom does not mention any variable speed throttling but we will have to see.

To use the Access Point we should be able to find the device from the WiFi finder of any of our laptops and smart phones up to 5 Devices at a time.

Once connected the first browser window brings you straight to the admin page and Login window. After keying in the Login you can connect to the internet via the MiFi.


Another option is to buy your own device and use a prepaid or Flat rate SIM card from Whichever European country you like.

Zagg Sparq2.0 initial thoughts

Last month I mentioned that I was going to order the Zagg Sparq2.0 emergency battery charger for my own personal use. I unpacked my own this past weekend and charged it Saturday night. The instructions ask for a 7-9 hour initial charge and i followed those instructions.

After the over-night charge I left the Sparq unused for three days to see if the battery leached power the way some negative reviewers had said it would. Today (Tuesday) was the first shot at using. My own Droid2 had run its battery down to just over 15% (the point where i get reminders to charge). I plugged the unit in to the MicroUSB cord and my phone. 55 minutes later my phone was upto 70% and the Sparq showed all 4 LEDs (effectively fully charged).



Later, my colleague plugged in his Android Phone. He charged his up from about 20% to 85% in just over and hour leaving my Sparq with 2 LEDs lit. Supposedly at a 50% reserve. So far, so good. I will use only the Sparq2.0 over the next day or so to provide my phone charge to see if I can get the 4 charges from it the the manufacturer promises. But I am impressed so far.

At this point a must have for all business travelers who use smart phones.

Global communication: Smart phones, data plans, etc

This post today is coming to you from the Air France lounge in Dusseldorf, where normally there is NO WiFi access for free (Pay as you go from Vodafone) or some pitifully unstable walk up terminals (usually crash every time you get 3/4 of the thing you try to accomplish on the terminal complete.

Nope, no more. Today I am posting this using my Motorola DROID 2 Global Android Phone, from Verizon Wireless with my Global Data plan.

How? you may ask. Tethering which is usually blocked by Verizon. Since they want to sell you the Novatel MiFi 2200 Mobile Wi-Fi Modem (Verizon Wireless). But it is possible instead to use your own Android Phone with data plan to accomplish the same thing.

First get yourself a phone that is Global Data ready. I chose the Verizon Droid2. Android OS and Fully Rooted (which means I ran a simple app on it that gives me super user capability--jail breaking).

Second make sure you have the Verizon Global Data plan. Verizon is one of the few cell carriers that sells a All-you-can-eat data plan that is truly All-you-can-eat. No limits (at least so far).

Next install the Android App. "Wireless Tether" this app lets you connect to your phone wia secure WPA or WEP connection to use the data that your phone down loads.

Simple as that.

Business Travel and organization

Keeping track of you travel itineraries while on the go can be very complex. Carrying about printouts of hotel confirmations, flight information, transportation requirements and other trip essentials can be downright frustrating and risky. After all, losing those pieces of paper leaves you at the mercy of the hotel, airline, and can put in arrears in a hurry.

Lately I have been using two different business travel tools, WorldMate Live and TripIt.

Each has mobile applications that assist in keeping track of itineraries. Merely email your official itinerary from any number of air carriers, hotels, or travel agents and your itinerary automatically updates. Once the itinerary is loaded you will be able to view your travel plans via the mobile application or any web browser.

http://www.worldmate.com/blackberry/
http://www.tripit.com/uhp/blackberry

From the mobile app you can quickly find:

• Dates and times of flights and hotels bookings
• confirmation numbers (as long as they were included in your confirmation letter
• accommodation names
• Maps (based on addresses included in confirmations

For the most part they both provide the promised itinerary details, well and serve their need. So it comes down to the other value-adds.

In this I prefer the Worldmate Mobile for its:

• currency converter (3 currencies simultaneously)
• world clock (4 cities at a time)
• weather look-up
• hotel booking (direct from hotels.com)

TripIt is a little quicker with the loading of new itineraries, and has more social networking plug-ins (if you care), and an online calender that Outlook or other iCal or *.ics feed readers. This means that you automatically get the itinerary added to your Calendaring application. Pretty handy.

Maybe in a few thousand more miles I will have a better read on which is better, but for now they each have their merits, Worldmate on my BB and TripIt on the web.

Global roaming = Frustration

using a roaming prepaid sim card has on this trip been absolutely frustrating. I would still like to find a reasonable solution for using a mobile phone in EU without having to pay an arm and a leg, or having to swap phone cards every time I enter a new country.

WorldSim: had promise but it turns out that my sim got messed up. In fact the number assigned to the sim changed twice so far, so that now I can't seem to top it up.

Telestial: this is the service I had the first time and it has so far worked the best. I only tried the worldsim because it was available at the airport store when I landed in Amsterdam

You will want to have an unlocked GSM tri or quad band phone to use one of these cell phone SIM cards.

There are certainly other providers out there which I have not tried yet. But I need to find one solution, soon.

On the tarmack again

After the longest travel hiatus of the last two years--i am back in the airport awaiting the boarding to Nashville for the SME annual meeting.

Trying to remember why I participate in the Society. Hopefully I am able to recharge my batteries in regards to the professional society. Lately, it has been a drain on my time, my creativity, and patience as fewer people actually seem to be actively participating.

In any case, plugged in and tuning out.

What's in your Bag?

Again having to think about everything that is packed into my laptop case. Do I need all this stuff, why can't I just carry the laptop and power adapter in one of those "cutesy" little sleeves?

Inventory:

• laptop: dimensions 14.1 x 10.5 (+ extended batter, which doesn't really give me much life)
• laptop power adapter: 8 x 2 x 2 and a tangle of cords
• Buffalo MiniStation: 500 GB (cord stores neatly with drive, Nice)
• iPod Nano (8GB)
• Panasonic RP-HC55-S Noise-Cancelling Earbud (Silver)
• iPod usb cord
• Logitech Notebook camera
• Wacom Bamboo pen tablet (i just got the touch for a colleague, ENVY!)
• BlackBerry world edition
• Charger from my old Motorola phone
• Headset and mic for web telephony (mine are much older)
• 8-10 USB thumb drives
• Canon Power shot a400 (rocking it old school, OK it ain't great but works)
• Logitech Bluetooth Cordless Laser Mouse
• Garmin nüvi 275T
• Garmin Portable Friction Mount
• mini usb cord
• 2-6 AA batteries
• 2-3 AAA batteries

That's all i can inventory now, gotta go and unpack it for security.

Laptop life: Clutter

In the Airport again lamenting the fact that I am not one of those people who can survive with only one of those very slim notebook computers, and the power supply. I carry around such a pile of accessories that I just don't understand how some people get along with only one of those neoprene sleeves.

Inevitably I end up having to unpack all the cords, adapters, accessories and other swag at the x-ray belt and end up looking much less like the seasoned traveler I imagine myself to be.


Now I found this wonderful invention. It has elastic loops that are stretched over  the rectangular body. It comes in a variety of sizes to accommodate various laptop cases or other bags.

You use it to take all you cord clutter and accessories that end up floating all over your bag, or collect at the bottom and band it into place.

For the weary traveler with a laptop this means no more over stuffing the few accessory pockets in your case , or leaving to chance the packing of all the cords. Give it a whirl.

Travel planning

Even without the possibility of getting advert or recommendation bucks for this I will proudly say that I use WorldMate for all my travel needs of late. So far it has proven invaluable for my travel needs. Having accumulated 250,000 actual miles in the past year and a half and visiting too many countries to count at the moment, I can say that this app has been a god send for me.

Check out the WorldMate if you travel much and download the app for free.

I have also decided to pull the trigger on this little bag here. After a few too many months of dragging around ill suited bags for travel, I am getting this bag and hoping that it performs as well as the site brags.

So as I get ready for the next round of travel, I hope that Volcanoes don't interrupt my work again. That My bags continue to arrive on time and not too damaged, and that the sky rolls out smooth in front of me and all of you.