CES 2009 - What do you like?

Kilarney

So what is catching your eye at CES this year?

I've got a couple of items:

This latptop by HP. I like the improved graphics over a netbook and the HDMI out. Vista is shaky, but I think it would be a nice machine with Ubuntu installed. The question in whether the weight and/or price will creep up by the time it's customized to your satisfaction.

Put a hard drive on the web. I'm sure you geeks know how to do this already, but for the rest of us, this device looks really nice. I've got a friend who lives in Japan, and it's always been a pain for us to share large files without exceeding our geek quotient. And for people on the go, this is great.

Easy battery charging. My prediction is that this will fall under the "cool technology that never really becomes widely adopted" category. As long as Apple stays away, it's future is in serious question.

Mind control. Cool? Creepy? Both?

Apreche

All other phones move the fuck over.

Palm is back from the dead.

EDIT: Never mind. Sprint Exclusive, fail. Well, by the time my iPhone contract runs out Junish 2010, they'll probably be on Verizon.

Luke Burrage

I really like the look of that phone! If it has good music/podcasting software I'd get one right away.

Apreche

I really like the look of that phone! If it has good music/podcasting software I'd get one right away.

It looks like it has good audio/video playing action. All it takes to make apps is some HTML, Javascript, etc. Parsing some RSS in JavaScript and doing some podcasting should be way easy.

Luke Burrage

Exactly. I just read up a bit more and it sees very developer friendly. Also this blows the G1 out of the water simply because it has a headphone jack.

Apreche

Exactly. I just read up a bit more and it sees very developer friendly. Also this blows the G1 out of the water simply because it has a headphone jack.

Android still has a slight edge in terms of open-sourceness because the entire platform is open. That means you're going to see stuff like BlueTooth tethering and such. The new Palm OS might be really easy to make apps for, but it isn't entirely open from what I've seen. That means that apps are going to have limited capabilities. You will have a very hard time making something that requires lower level access to the system. I guess it really depends on what the SDK looks like.

This is what happens when real competition exists. In response, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android, and iPhone are all going to have to step up their game. Those features like IM/SMS integration are going to be standard within a year. Also, hopefully, we'll see the other platforms step up their over the air synchronization for calendars/email/etc.

I am very happy knowing that in 18 months when my iPhone contract runs out, I'll actually have some amazing choices.

Apreche

Palm Stock Today

Sail

I lol'd.

Omnutia

What's happening too me?! There are posts on Engadget and I don't particularly want to read them!
I need to work out the Japanese for "Turnabout Press Conference", cue music (or Orchesteral version!).
After more searching: "Gyakuten Meets Orchestra" (Torrent link), Gyakuten Meets Soul Jazz!

Kilarney

I can't believe all of the expensive car stereo systems that I see coming out of CES. I can understand wanting quality sound, but is it really worth spending insane amounts of money for what amounts to a small computer? I just need IPod connectivity.

Maybe I'm old, but I've never understood spending lots of money to put a fancy system in something that you will get rid of someday.

Apreche

I can't believe all of the expensive car stereo systems that I see coming out of CES. I can understand wanting quality sound, but is it really worth spending insane amounts of money for what amounts to a small computer? I just need IPod connectivity.

Maybe I'm old, but I've never understood spending lots of money to put a fancy system in something that you will get rid of someday.

First of all, if you aren't stupid, you can move the stereo system from car to car. So it's not something you get rid of.

Secondly, not everyone has an iPod. Even if you do, there are some features that the iPod does not have. I mean, it doesn't even have an AM/FM radio. Some of the features these car stereos have are a little silly, but others are not so silly. For example, I saw a few that had Bluetooth connectivity. That's pretty cool since you can get music to/from the car stereo form any Bluetooth device, and not just an iPod.

Also, if your car stereo has its own storage, that can be useful as well. Personally I keep my iPhone filled with videos, podcasts, and apps. If my car stereo was also an iPod, I would fill it with music. Right now my car has a CD changer, replacing that with a SSD instead of 6 discs would be an improvement.

Also, there is room for improvement of audio quality. I'm not talking about excessive subwoofers in the trunk. I'm not talking about audiophile bullshit either. I'm just talking about having better audio quality than the stock stereo system. A good example of this is Pioneer's system that uses active noice canceling to almost eliminate engine noise, and greatly enhance the listening experience. That can really help with podcasts that have screwed up levels and are hard to listen to in the car.

Also, if a car stereo has some Internet connectivity, that's pretty awesome because you can stream Internet radio stations, or download new podcast episodes in the middle of nowhere. An iPhone can do this, but no other iPod can, so it's a good feature to have for most people.

Kilarney

I should have been more clear. A stereo in a car is a must. It should also have a connection for an IPod. I suppose a CD player is worth it.

But spending a lot of money on this stuff is stupid. It may be easy to move the stuff to a new car, but your old car will look like crap when you are done. Goodbye resale value! At a minimum, a car that shows signs of stereo mods is a warning that the owner was probably some hot-rodding punk kid.

Apreche

But spending a lot of money on this stuff is stupid. It may be easy to move the stuff to a new car, but your old car will look like crap when you are done. Goodbye resale value! At a minimum, a car that shows signs of stereo mods is a warning that the owner was probably some hot-rodding punk kid.

Most of the modifications I am talking about simply involve replacement of the head unit. You obviously keep the original head unit, so that you can put it back in when you get a new car. If you go all out on a modification, the most you will get is replacement of existing speakers in the car, and maybe the addition of one or two more. If you do the job professionally, or pay professionals to do it, it will not look like a modification at all, and will often not permanently damage anything. For example, I had an old shitty Ford Tempo back in the day. My dad won an in-car CD changer at a golf tournament, and I paid some professionals to install it in the back of the Tempo. They ran the wire where you couldn't see it, and put the changer in the trunk. It would have been trivial to remove the changer without anyone realizing the car had ever been modified.

If your car shows any signs of being modded, then it was a shitty job.

Apreche

This is what Palm gets right that everyone else gets wrong.

misakyra

Never mind. Sprint Exclusive, fail.

I'm curious to know why both you and Rym hate Sprint so much.

This is what Palm gets right that everyone else gets wrong.

This is a really cool idea, but the problem is going to be the allocation of responsibility for support when things go wrong. Sometimes, there's really clear deliniation of where the problem is. There's smoke coming out of the charging port? That's a hardware problem. You woke up this morning and can't make calls? That's the network. Phone manufacturers in general seem to not want to fix anything. Once the phone ships, it's on the carrier.

Palm has tech support (which is more than some manufacturers have), but they really like to push all the support responsibility for their products onto the mobile carriers. Carriers, in turn, tend to say that if the problem isn't specifically with the network, that it's a manufacturer issue. And however awesome the software might be, Palm hardware is, by and large, hit-or-miss. You'll either get one that works forever with no problems (like my dad), or you'll go through five of them in one month, getting it replaced for a different problem each time (like the Palm users I end up talking to every day).

Now granted, a lot of the problems can stem from user error (which Palm phones are especially suspect to, since the ease of their interface means that it's the equivalent of the Fischer-Price My First Smartphone), but sometimes it's just that the hardware's crap. For example, we got a lot of calls from people who had the Centro and were waking up to find it stuck in sync mode. No resets could fix it, and when they took the phones to a service center, the diagnostics were showing water damage. We finally realized that the problem was that moisture from the air was getting into the sync port and causing the problem. So you have a phone that's allergic to humidity. There's really no excuse for a design flaw like that when you've been making PDAs for as long as Palm has.

Rym

I'm curious to know why both you and Rym hate Sprint so much.

I don't really hate them, per se, it's more that they're far from an optimal solution. In urban areas, they have similar coverage to Verizon, are a little cheaper for voice, but have fairly bad customer service.

There was also the episode where I was unable to pay my bill, due entirely to problems on their end, for six months in a row; I'm sure Scott remembers that one.

Apreche

This is a really cool idea, but the problem is going to be the allocation of responsibility for support when things go wrong. Sometimes, there's really clear deliniation of where the problem is. There's smoke coming out of the charging port? That's a hardware problem. You woke up this morning and can't make calls? That's the network. Phone manufacturers in general seem to not want to fix anything. Once the phone ships, it's on the carrier.

What does that have to do with the phone's ability to sync to my Google Calendar?

In order for iPhone to sync to Google Calendar you have to sync with iTunes which syncs with outlook, which sycns with a synchronization tool Google makes, which syncs with Google Calendar. Through Synergy, the Palm Pre will be able to sync directly with Google Calendar, or other compatible cloud services, directly over the air.

As for the divide in support between hardware manufacturer and service provider, that is all contractually agreed upon between those two parties. It's also completely obvious which one is at fault in any given situation. No service? Probably the carrier. No service, but your friend's phone on the same carrier has full bars? It's your hardware.

Even if there is some problem of responsibility of support, it is not unique to this palm device. Nor does the synergy technology have any effect on this problem.

misakyra

What does that have to do with the phone's ability to sync to my Google Calendar?

In order for iPhone to sync to Google Calendar you have to sync with iTunes which syncs with outlook, which syncs with a synchronization tool Google makes, which syncs with Google Calendar. Through Synergy, the Palm Pre will be able to sync directly with Google Calendar, or other compatible cloud services, directly over the air.

I really do think it's an awesome idea that'll save people a lot of headaches, if it works right. I'm just hoping that either Palm or Sprint (preferably both) come out with some employee training before this launches, so customers don't get left in the lurch if there are problems with the service.

As for the divide in support between hardware manufacturer and service provider, that is all contractually agreed upon between those two parties. It's also completely obvious which one is at fault in any given situation. No service? Probably the carrier. No service, but your friend's phone on the same carrier has full bars? It's your hardware.

Christ, if only my job was as easy as you just made it sound. I've seen hardware/OS problems masquerade as network issues and vice versa. Trust me, there isn't always a clear answer.

Bronzdragon

In order for iPhone to sync to Google Calendar you have to sync with iTunes which syncs with outlook, which sycns with a synchronization tool Google makes, which syncs with Google Calendar.

I use a 3rd party. To my eyes, it doesn't sync, it just works....

Apreche

I use a3rd party. To my eyes, it doesn't sync, it just works....

I know about nuevasync, and that is not a sufficient solution. Here's why.

The way Nuevasync works is this. The people at Nuevasync have a Microsoft Exchange server. You give them your google username and password. They then retrieve all of your google stuffs and put it on their Exchange server. You then sync your iPhone with that Exchange server as you would any other Exchange server.

This is not acceptable for many reasons. First of which is that you give your Google account information to some shady dudes. Secondly, they keep all your mail, calendar, etc. on their server. Privacy and security issues galore. Bad enough you have to trust Google with all your stuff, now you have to trust these random nuevasync people. In addition, the iPhone can only sync with one Exchange server at a time. My iPhone is syncing with the Exchange server for my job. I can't also sync with nuevasync. There's no technological reason you couldn't have multiple Exchange servers, but they just don't do it.

Bronzdragon

The way Nuevasync works is this. The people at Nuevasync have a Microsoft Exchange server. You give them your google username and password. They then retrieve all of your google stuffs and put it on their Exchange server. You then sync your iPhone with that Exchange server as you would any other Exchange server.

I know. You can just add Gmail to your mailadresses so no need for that. Also my calendar isn't important enough to steal. (Yes, I made a new gmail acount for the calendar and spam websites)

Apreche

I know. You can just add Gmail to your mailadresses so no need for that. Also my calendar isn't important enough to steal. (Yes, I made a new gmail acount for the calendar and spam websites)

I use GMail for your domain, not regular GMail. As a result, I can't use the GMail option, I have to use the IMAP option. It works, but it isn't push. Also, that only syncs my mail. It doesn't sync calendar, contacts, or anything else. The phone can only sync contacts and calendar from one place at a time. That's complete bullshit. Even perfectly normal people have at least two sets of contacts, personal and business. Why shouldn't your phone sync with both of them? Even if your calendar isn't important enough to steal, its still unreasonable to have to unnecessarily trust additional parties with your data.

If Palm does this the way it sees they are going to do it, everyone else is going to have to follow suit.