iPhone meet Compressor

File this under Doh! I started having issues with charging my iPhone. Based on timing I thought it was because of a recent update. I tossed a few cables, bought new ones making sure they were “certified”. The issue just kept getting worse. Even with the OEM cable. I would insert the cable and unless I pressed firmly it would never register and eventually I would get the annoying Apple message about not being an approved accessory.

I went to the AT&T store to inquire because it was getting worse and no juice there is no phone and let’s face it, that is just not going to work. The representative mentioned that it was probably lint, dust etc and that if I take it to the Apple store they will clean it but they can’t do it at the AT&T store. This is puzzling since the Apple store won’t apply the screen protectors but AT&T will but moving on. Doing everything I can to avoid going to an Apple store it was time to try something.

I had read about tweezers and toothpicks but hey I was never very good at that game called Operation back in the day so… First I tried to use the Shop Vac in my shop. Concentrating the nozzle, results were no improvement. Now what… So I use the air compressor to blow saw dust from crevices in my tools when the Shop Vac can’t get it… Fire up the compressor and attach the fine nozzle… a couple quick shots, now let’s test. First cable that had sporadic connectivity… simple insert, no manipulation and ding “charging”, moved the phone and stayed charging. Now let’s test the car charger that no matter what would not register as being connected… gentle insert and nothing else… ding “charging”.

No doubt a short term fix for what I think is less than great engineering but I got to use a power tool and saved myself from finding time to get to an apple store and wait in the queue. Maybe this will help someone else.

Band 2

So Microsoft announced a bunch of new devices, Surface 4 Surface Book yada yada yada. The one that caught my attention was the Microsoft Band 2.

I have blogged about my experience with the original version and the new features made it a natural upgrade, well aside from the price.

The original Band served me well and became my watch, so many watches collecting dust on my dresser now, as well as my activity tracker. I liked the device because it was my watch, a good activity tracker and then add the ability to interact with text messages and get the calendar notifications. Most of the day I have my phone in my pocket as I listen to podcasts, with the Band it could stay there and I was still able to interact with notifications.

Eager for the new model, well I added and removed it from the cart a few times because of the price but eventually pressed the buy, a pre-order. Watching the order status and hoping for an update… it shipped, then it sat then it went back to where it shipped from, in the meantime colleagues of mine received theirs. Uggggh.

Calling Microsoft and FedEx just furthered the confusion. I thought about cancelling the order and just going to the local BestBuy and picking one up but held off.

Finally in my hands or should I say on my wrist. The device is certainly an upgrade in terms of looks and feel. I do have to say the sizing of these things is not an exact science. I probably needed to go to a Microsoft store and done a real fitting but that just isn’t convenient for most. I went with the Large because I was using that size with the original model. Large does fit for me but barely, so I will wonder how accurate the heart rate monitoring is as I use it.

The look of the device is great, a little geeky and a little stylish. As with the original you can place it in a mode where it is always displaying the time, hmmmm a watch acting like a watch. The clasp is functional and looks good, there is an upgrade there. After a few months there are no blemishes or sratches, another upgrade. On the original it would get white marks on the rubber of the face, easily fixable with a Sharpie but something you couldn’t ignore. The Band 2’s more flexible strap and curved structure do make for a nice fit.

When I received the device I was still a WindowsPhone user. Nice and seamless connection and operation.

The interaction with the device did not change which was nice because it was already well thought out. Some differences where additions not changes, such as how you acknowledge calendar notifications.

A new update has come out and I have to get into that but sadly I have not gotten on my bike or hit the Bowflex in a few days so that will be a later post. The new Band tracks stairs climbed. A small thing but this was a frustration I had going back to Fitbit when they removed it from the Flex.

So for all of the talk of Windows Phone not having apps… for a few reasons I moved from WindowsPhone to an iPhone. Wow do I miss two Band specific apps. fanband for starters (no Powershell logo on my Band is very saddening), there is a windows app alternative but then your Band has to be paired via Bluetooth to that computer so I have gone without so far. Then there is  “Clear My Band” which is a very simple utility but something I used several times a day. The Microsoft Health app on iPhone is nice and effective but the daily use going from a WindowsPhone to a iPhone is just missing something.

Another cool upgrade is the mode. So before you picked workout, run or bicycle tile to start a training session. I have to say I ignore the analysis the Band does for my Bowflex workouts. I understand why but still frustrating after a gruelling workout to be told it was a Light or Maintaining workout. Now when you select the dumbell tile you start a workout, there are options. I need to test that not to mention get back to working out 🙂

Yeah not a big fan of the iPhone camera but this image shows the Band interaction to select a workout type.

Back to apps, I really miss Gym Builder and have not found an iPhone app that compares. That leads me to another post and something I have to look into but… one reason I stuck with the band is the software and service. The Microsoft health dashboard is great. I wish it had the social feature that fitbit has, hey seeing your friends stats can be a great motivator. One of the new features of the Band and the service is building workouts. In the past you could select from some pre-defined workouts but I am an old dog stuck in old habits. I have tried to build a workout and use it. I am still learning but it is pretty cool but I am not sure I want to interact with my band that way so we will see but that the feature is there and could replace some apps (which sadly with an iPhone you have to buy without trying) is enticing.

 

LiveWriter is Back

My favorite blog editor is back… sort of. LiveWriter has been released as an Open source application and can be found here. It is very basic and I look forward to see where it goes, especially with plug-ins.

Some good information about this can be found at Scott Hanselman’s post on this.

What’s new.. so much

I have been away for quite some time… and really don’t have much time for this… but I want to get two new “What I am using” posts but to test this new WordPress app (still trying to get the new LiveWriter working) here is a quick blurb. First post I am working on is the new Microsoft Band and the other one… hold on yeah it’s an iPhone. The quick statement for this post is, I love the Microsoft Band (1 and 2) but pair it with an iPhone and it really gets boring, IMHO. For all of the chatter about no apps, wow do I miss the apps I used on WindowsPhone (hmmmmm I sense another post on that one).

Activity monitoring devices

I wrote a quick post about my Lumia 1520 and it’s ability to track activity, much like a Fitbit. I have been really enjoying the Nokia Motion Monitor beta eventhough it was local to the phone unlike synching up to a cloud service like fitbit.
Well yesterday I received an email from Nokia Beta Labs to inform me the beta has ended. Before I get into what I am looking forward to I have to complain a little. I have been using WindowsPhone 8.1 since the developer preview release and really liking it. There is one piece that is missing and that is the Cyan firmware upgrade. Why does that matter? Well in order get the value of Nokia Motion Monitor into the Bing Health Fitness the phone needs that firmware in order to enable the sensor data to be recorded. The data is still recording to the phone so not a major issue just odd timing.
Okay, the goodness is the tracking data will be posted to the Bing Health and Fitness app. This is an app I already like, despite it’s workout tracker is a little too limited. The beauty is there will be no sync, no need for a USB dongle or Bluetooth Low Energy. This SensorCore technology should also open it up to other apps (looking at you GymBuilder Pro).
Since adding friends to my fitbit profile I have found it to be a much more useful device or should I say service. The peer pressure to get up off your butt is huge. The dislike I had for the fitbit had been mostly because I am a windowsphone user and the sync process was less than optimal. However they recently updated the software and it now synchronizes as a background task. I found that out by accident… Recently moved into a new residence so lots of steps. I received a notification on my fit that I had taken the lead within my Fitbit friends… wait how is that possible since my laptop was packed away and I certainly not gone in and performed the steps to sync the data. Ahhhh the other laptop in the house, with the fitbit dongle attached was online. To have this same thing with a device that I seem to always have nearby conjures up thoughts of discarding my fitbit as just another device.
That thought is flawed in my experience. As I mentioned above I recently moved so I hit my goals and more for a few days. Now yes I have the 1520 which is a large phone, but even if I had my 920, there were times when I wouldn’t want to risk phone when lifting boxes and furniture. I have mentioned something similar in the previous post about continuing to use my 920 for things like working out or mowing the lawn. Conclusion, these types of service are a useful tool for monitoring your activity (recent health issues it is something I am very focused on again) and the peer pressure factor is huge. Neither solution is perfect (I have mentioned fitbit seems to fail for activities like strength training and bicycle cardio work) but I can see combining them for the near future but if my Fitbit dies I will go with a phone only solution.

Devices Advancing, even small steps

So this one probably ties in with my health stuff as well as my recent technology upgrade.

When researching the 1520 there was a news article about an app that would track your steps. I didn’t see the need at the time. How does this apply to anything? When Sarcoidosis hit this time it really wiped me out. Between the discomfort, energy drain and working conditions I really had to make a conscious effort to focus on not stopping.

I got a FitBit flex, and while it works there are some flaws in the whole concept.  Aside from the fact that the company couldn’t keep enough replacement bands in stock (hmmmm wonder why, maybe because they ripped too easy) and the fact that shortly after releasing the Flex they came out with a new one with all of the things they left out of the original, such as counting stairs and showing the time. Some of the limitations are simply the mechanics of doing it, there is only so much detail you can gather. Granted the arm swing is the most logical, so a device hanging on your wrist makes sense. The issues I found are:

• You have to be careful of how tight the band is otherwise it doesn’t move and therefore records nothing.
• It doesn’t record activity like weight lifting very well. Bike riding, as long as you put your hand on your thigh as you peddle it works well but not very practical.
• Carrying something, where you arm is not swinging, while walking doesn’t record anything.
• Pushing a shopping cart in the grocery store triggers it to record sleep mode for some reason.

None of this is for detail tracking so those are just the limitations and just the general tracking and visual reminder is handy.

So now I can get a similar function with my phone. Considering all of the sensors a phone has that certainly makes sense. I know there are other apps but most of them seem centered around running, and running is still something that is really not possible for me. I can see the same impracticalities appearing but one less device seems to make sense. So I installed the app from Nokia Beta Labs and gave it a few days to see what it would do. Without expecting it to be perfect, I have to say it is a well designed app, although it does not have the back end data/web services of something like Fitbit, and simply works.

Live tile shows current data, app is well laid out to give a nice representation of the activity, and the system adds what appear to be some timely notes (too soon to tell).

It has only been a few days so it will be interesting to monitor this app as well as compare the data against the data my Fitbit collects.

Big Phone–Lumia 1520

So, I heard all the chatter about the 920 and “that won’t even fit in your pocket” (oh how wrong) but I just went from the 920 to the 1520. No doubt this one doesn’t just slide into your jeans pocket but it does fit in the pocket. The 1520 is substantially lighter than the 920 despite the major difference in size. Oh you want to see the difference?

So on the left is the Lumia 920 and to its right is my new Lumia 1520.

So aside from the size difference… the 1520 is lighter and the edges are rounded cleanly and comfortably. I love my 920, so much I kept it and plan on using it as my media player, especially for times when I don’t want to risk my phone, like working out, riding a bike, mowing the lawn, you catch my drift. I had been looking for a 520, oh how I miss my Zune, but hey keeping my 920 is a much better option. Even with no cell service, the wifi is great, I can run the apps and more importantly use the great media player and all of my XBox Music content.

First things I would like to point out about my 1520:

• So I got my phone at the AT&T store… figured being there would be great for the initial install and sync of data since I was in their location and on their network. Bad idea. Their guest wifi is way too saturated and LTE signal abysmal, go figure.
• Going from the 920 to the 1520 was more than a device upgrade. With it came GDR3 and the new Nokia firmware. Personally for me this was huge. Little details like giving contacts a ringtone, not just for calls but also for text messages, something I had voted many times for on http://mywindowsphone.uservoice.com/ ; the Glance screen shows new messages, emails and other notifications. Just some real nice enhancements and much sooner than I had come to expect considering how long it took to get GDR2.  I still have to go through http://mynokiablog.com/2013/08/09/wp8-gdr3-features-list/ but being able to close tasks from the multi-tasking screen is nice.
• Performance – there is no doubt this is an upgrade. All aspects of performance are markedly better, as one would expect when upgrading. Seems self-explanatory but isn’t always the case when upgrading.
• Button layout… that the back button and the search button, the search button more importantly, are more to the center of the capacitive bar is huge. In just a few hours it was easy to see how less frequently I will be aggravated when I inadvertently hit the search button when simply picking up the phone and rotating it in my hand.
• Accessories. This issue I am torn on. Considering how often a new device is released I can only imagine that developing accessories is something that is just not feasible. By the time a manufacturer designs one, and puts it into production they have probably already heard about a new model. The lack of accessories is an issue in my mind. For starters the Qi charging is not in this phone so there go several of my already purchased accessories. I am not a fan of putting a case/shell on my phone, but a case so I could clip it on my belt would have been nice.

I continue to be a fan of this platform. With the Lumia devices it has grown even stronger. Even the apps issue, not something that concerned me from day one, is improving in large measures. Now I have to do some more testing with this device.

Windows Essentials–Photo Gallery Tags

So with the name change, from Windows Live Essentials (2011) to Windows Essentials (2012) came some confusion with two of the products. Those products being the video and picture file tools.  Both were named with the Windows Live moniker previously and in many cases you could find the application in the Windows Live folder. With Windows Essentials, these files are named straightforward albeit confusing, Movie Maker and Photo Gallery.

One of the reasons I am even posting this is a friend mentioned that they downloaded a product so that they could organize their picture files based on tags. So the obvious question was why another piece of software? With Photo Gallery you have a great tool to manage your media files, to include tags (in addition to geotags and ratings) and you can search your collection by those tags. While it’s no Photoshop replacement it is a handy utility that should be installed on windows7 and windows8 computers.

Install Photo Gallery using http://get.live.com

Windows Phone 7 – Lumia 900

So it’s been a few months now so I figured I should post.

To get it out of the way right away… Windows Phone 8 announcement and it’s demoting the Lumia 900. I find it odd that Microsoft and Nokia spent so much marketing a phone that they knew was going to be lessened. I did hold off on getting the Lumia knowing Windows Phone 8 was near, there were conflicting reports of whether or not the Lumia 900 would or would not run Windows Phone 8. My Samsung Focus was wearing thin and when I saw the lame second version they came out with, combined with the AT&T pricing for the Lumia 900… I got a sweet phone. My reaction to Windows Phone 8 not running on Lumia 900 was disappointment. Not anger and I do not think the Lumia 900 instantly became a brick. Between the software Nokia continues to roll out and improve and the updates Windows Phone 7 is slated to receive I can see this being a viable device for quite some time.

So with special pricing and the trade-in value for my Samsung Focus I spent around $50 for a new phone. Out of the box the device looks great, feels solid without being heavy and the display is great.

The button placement (all of the buttons on the same side of the device) was an adjustment (Samsung Focus had Power and Camera button on one side and the volume controls on the other) but I found the placement more ideal especially when in landscape mode watching video podcasts or other videos. The buttons seem to have a slightly audible rattle if you pay close enough attention, an odd annoyance considering the quality of the build and a basically seamless device.

I put a case on it originally but it really just detracted from what is a very cool looking device and the screen and case have really held up well to normal wear and tear without a cover. The body and screen seem near scratch proof, but they have this silver medallion to advertise the Carl Zeiss lens and this does not enjoy the same benefit as it seems to scratch very easily.

The camera is a little disappointing, but I prefer taking pictures with my DSLR. Nokia’s camera extras software, especially the panorama mode, add some great features and the camera is adequate in a pinch.

Call quality (who uses their phone for phone calls?) is very good. The sound for ringtones and alerts is very good which was a big upgrade from the Samsung Focus. Volume for music and video is very good (oh I wish the Zune premium headphones had a microphone).

Wifi issues were fixed almost immediately in a fix rolled out (amazingly AT&T didn’t hold that back). Interestingly enough I cross into several areas where LTE coverage is available.

As expected the phone was much faster than the Samsung Focus I had been using.

The charger that comes with the phone is great for charging the phone quickly, oddly you cannot order one as an accessory.

In general this is a very nice phone and I can only hope Nokia sticks to the same form factor for their Windows Phone 8 device.

Of course the biggest problem continues, AT&T and their decisions to not update the platform. Nokia rolls out exclusive apps and a few (Nokia Counters) require the latest version. While other carriers have rolled out Tango, no signs of it on AT&T.

Windows Phone 7 – Live Tiles

Okay so the Live Tiles is a nice feature that was their from the onset and really helps with the premise of “Glance and Go”.  With the Mango update came an upgrade to Live Tiles.  A simple one, and maybe it is not Mango specific but I don’t recall it being a feature, is the Pictures Hub Tile.  In the past you could pick a picture to use as the background for the Pictures application and it did become the Live Tile image for the Pictures tile.  While using a picture as the background there is a feature for shuffling the background image.  Turning the shuffle background on, taps into the pictures you have added to your favorites.  The background image now cycles through the pictures in your favorites album.  The shuffling background goes right to the Pictures tile on the phone home screen.  While this might be a useless feature it is pretty cool and a nice demonstration of how live tiles can be used.

Maybe a more useful example then… I mentioned the Groups capability.  Create a group and then pin that group to your home screen.  The Live Tile again comes alive.  The tile will keep refreshing with the contacts photo (which comes from Facebook, Windows Live or the custom picture you may have assigned to the contact in your phonebook).  Additional information that the Live Tile presents is their activity stream posts (Facebook, Twitter, etc…) and if a member of the group has sent you an email it will indicate that as well.

Obvious other uses, at least ones that work well is the Weather Channel application (just wish it updated more frequently).  Maybe to save data usage (I don’t believe XBox on the phone connects to XBox in the background), but the XBox Live tile has some live-ness with it’s animation to occasionally show your XBox Avatar.  I just wish it would show online friends and/or game invites.  I remember back when Halo 2 was the must have game, if a friend invited you to play, you could be notified whether you were online or not via Windows Live Alerts.

I think as more apps get updated or developed for Mango the functionality of Live Tiles will expand but even in this stage it is a nice feature.

Example:  An app that I had looked at previously and found it lacking was recently updated.  One of the updates is the use of the Live Tile.  The app is Hockey Tracker which helps me track NHL scores.  The previous version worked but you had to access the app to see the information.  This version offers notifications for each goal and final score for the teams you select.  Where it is really aligning itself with glance and go is the newly added live tile interaction.  When you pin a team to your home screen, the live tile flashes with the score and the progression (time remaining) of the game.  Now if only Windows Phone provided a screen capture function so I could show how it works.