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: 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.

Droid2 Global by Verizon: thoughts and review

I just got the new Droid2 Global by Moto for Verizon (not just got it. I already took it out for a 8000 mile trip to EU and Switzerland and back).

I have to say that so far I am VERY VERY happy with the performance of the phone. For starters I should mention that my previous phone was TERRIBLE (BB 8830 World Edition). The old phone was about as advanced as a set of tin cans connected with string compared to the Droid2.

Not gonna run down some kind of over the top Cnet type benchmark for you but here is what I like:

• sync with MS Exchange server from work was seemless (mail, contacts, and Calenders)
• Wifi
• GPS (with navigation by google maps)
• Touchscreen
• Slide-out keyboard
• overall communication options (phone good, VOIP using Fring, IM using GoogleTalk, SMS-oip using GoogleVoice, social stalking using Facebook/twitter/LinkedIn)

no issues getting data overseas (once i turned it on) and everything else has been simple. Not using it too much for games (Angry Birds), or music or Movies. But using it a personal communication hub has been perfect.

more as I use it more....

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.

Seth's Blog: Goodbye to the office

Reading today in Seth's Blog: Goodbye to the office. 

Extracting a few points from his observations

• How many meetings are important? If you didn't go, what would happen?
• You can get energy from people other than those in the same company.
• Of the # people in your office, how many do you collaborate with daily?

Another consideration into the future of the office is:

• SYNC or ASYNC?

There has long been a push to get everybody in the world to telecommute (I have had much pressure to stop getting onto planes and start working with Telepresence. But, a consistent roadblock to effectively running an organization via telepresence is the effectiveness with which we manage our synchronous and asynchronous working habits.

Synchronous work is that which requires that you and I be working/thinking/discussion simultaneously
Asynchronous work is that which allows that we do or things independently at different times/locations

 I have logged enough hours in the Headset to tell you that sitting through "updates" for the web meeting is one of the most painful things in the world. Updating is an ASYNCH activity. I don't need to hear the update the same time as anybody else as long as I hear the same thing.

Discussions, as long as they are two-way channels of communication. Many emails threads of conversation we've had could have been much better if we bothered to make that conversation SYNC. But email is ASYNC. The Feedback mechanism as to whether or not your colleauge is listening or giving you proper attention is not clear.
Cameras are good for having telepresence. It is funny how the appearance of somebodies face on the screen makes a difference. They can also make the ASYNC aspects of telecommuting better, as I think if you need to monologue to get your point across you might as well record it to ensure that the body language and facial ticks are present to make sure that your nuance is not lost in the typing of an email, or chat window.

Make use of collobarative tools if you want me tuned in during these SYNC events online. Like Dabbleboard.

Would this help you tell your story more or less effectively during the telephone call or web conference?

Before we can kill the office we need to find what are the activities that really require us to be SYNC'd or ASYNC in our communication. Strip out the ASYNC (and ensure people do their meeting prep) and maximize the SYNC experience. Making sure we can be interactive and collaborative.

Dabbleboard: collaboration tool

I just stumbled upon Dabbleboard and I am immediately blown away

This could be one of the neatest things i have seen on the Cloud yet.

The embedded drawing in this link, is fully editable by guests, sharable but wholly unique. I can save it, store it locally, and distribute it. Just like you see here. Can lock it down as view only, or let others like you draw on it.

http://www.dabbleboard.com

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.

Cell phones and travel

Turns out that Verizon is not playing helpful with their Global Roaming capabilities, still no Skype VOIP, dropped the Nexus one from their plans for the Droid Incredible (which will not have GSM cap.) and otherwise are still pains in the but for global roaming.

Did calling from overseas just get easier and cheaper? SKYPE and Verizon Blackberry

Verizon Skype on BlackBerry

Let's see if this comes true... if so I will be able to use my Global Data plan from Verizon to Skype (finally!) from all over without having to pay the outrageous roaming charges.

got my fingers crossed....