Four Things I Dig About iOS 4 (Background Slacker!)

I’ve been sporting iPhone OS 4 iOS4 several weeks now. And, as I said when first announced, the addition of folders and background tasks pretty much makes the iPhone experience feature complete. Oh, I still demand an improved alerts system and home screen widgets (as seen on Android) would be nice, but there’s no more … Read more

SlingPlayer for Android Launches Tonight

After a somewhat protracted (and public) lead-up, SlingPlayer Mobile for Android will enter the Market late tonight. Priced at the same $29.99 as Sling’s other mobile clients (and maybe 1/3rd too much in the current app environment), SlingPlayer Mobile allows you to stream your home television over 3G or WiFi while on the go with … Read more

Facebook for iPhone Brings Video Playback

Facebook has released an updated client which adds support for watching Facebook videos on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The app also has a few other new features, including the ability to view and write on the walls for events, and upload photos that are 720px wide. Facebook 3.1.3 for iOS also has a … Read more

Kobo Launches Android eBook Reader & Store

While we’re waiting for Amazon and Barnes & Noble to launch eBook reader applications for Google Android, it turns out that there’s already a pretty decent option available for anyone looking to download and read eBooks on and Android device. Kobo offers a decent selection of free and paid content, including a number of titles from the New … Read more

Asus WebStorage App for Android

Most Asus netbooks, notebooks, and desktops ship with free access to the Asus WebStorage service, which lets you store between 1GB and 500GB of data online. You can use WebStorage to backup files from your hard drive, or to share data between multiple computers. Now you can also access your files on an Android device using … Read more

Kindle 2.1 for iPhone Brings More Fonts, Search

Amazon released a minor update to its Kindle app for iOS this week. Kindle 2.1 features a few tweaks that are aimed at iPad users, and one major new feature for iPhone/iPod touch users. The iPad version gets bigger fonts and more font sizes as well as faster navigation between home and archived items. The … Read more

iPad in the House! What Works, What Doesn’t.

This is a gadget and digital media blog, so despite the fact that Apple iPad reviews have been done to death, I feel the need to weigh in with my own initial thoughts after a week with one in our household. My husband is the rightful owner of the new iPad, but he’s been gracious enough to let me spend some time with it.

First of all, there’s no adequate way to describe how well the iPad display works for photos and video. There just isn’t. If you’ve seen anything close up in 3D, it’s kind of like that. The screen isn’t really 3D, but it feels like there’s an extra layer of depth in high-resolution pics and flicks. Because of the touch screen, you also get to interact with photos – zooming in and out, moving pictures around. It’s nothing you can’t do on an iPhone or iPod touch, but the screen size improves the experience exponentially. And Netflix? Forget it. The iPad is a sure travel companion if you’re going anywhere with Wi-Fi. Even if it’s just upstairs to watch a movie in bed.

As good as the iPad display is, it’s a shame more apps don’t take advantage of it yet. Google Earth, for example, only runs at iPhone size, which is extremely disappointing on a 10″ screen. And when I tried out a couple of shopping sites, I was underwhelmed by product shots that seemed to be begging for high-res, 360-degree views. In the New York Times Editors’ Choice app, one enterprising watch manufacturer has claimed all of the apparent ad space with stunning, rich-media display ads. Unfortunately, no other companies have jumped on board, so the same inescapable ads are rotated endlessly. Photos from stories in the newspaper app are generally disappointing too. They certainly don’t live up to what the iPad can deliver.

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Renewing Satellite Radio One More Year

About a month of terrestrial radio was all it took…

My XM subscription lapsed in March, but they kept the music flowing an additional month or so while leaving me regular voicemails to renew service before I experienced an “interruption.”

I figured my new(ish) and brief commute of about only 10 minutes in each direction meant I could pass on satellite radio. But the AM and FM programming wasn’t getting it done for me. Which is largely the broadcasters fault (limited selection/range, inane morning talk). However, I also have an issue specific to my Honda — when charging my iPhone in the car, my top FM station (DC 101) is blown out by static.

So I called in yesterday to learn what my XM renewal options were.

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