Review of Jabra Halo 2

In the box:

• Headset
• Charger
• USB cable
• Audio cable
• User Guide

An updated Halo 2 is not much different from its predecessor: some defects are still there, while changes are not dramatic. I have mentioned my opinion of the product a long time ago. Unfortunately, my position was based on testing the prototype, but the commercial models are different. I mean changes are not numerous enough. Anyway, read the first part of the review.

Review of Jabra Halo Bluetooth-headset

Design and Construction

It’s a pity, but the inside is the same: no leather and instead we have some velvet like material, which gathers dust fast. As far as I can judge, the active use of the headset leads to wearing out and the plastic base becomes visible. They could have used genuine or artificial leather for this relatively upscale headset. The construction was not altered too: weak plastic joints could have benefited from metal, but it did not happen. You often feel like breaking the headset, especially when you close it down. On the outside there is velvet plastic and the headset is almost entirely black with silver inserts. The original Halo had a dark grey body, which looked more impressive. The dimensions stay unchanged and both Halo models are at the top of the league in terms of convenience of use and dimensions. They are clearly inconspicuous. As I said Halo was my first “closed” headset to carry in the street without feeling stupid. It is also handy in the office without breaking into other people’s personal space.

The package is standard and in the box you get an audio cable to connect to the player or the phone without Bluetooth. The cable goes into microUSB at the bottom of the right “earphone”. It will be difficult to find a similar cable on sale, so try not to lose it. I tried to connect the headset to iPhone 4S via cable and the sound quality was decent. You can adjust every “earphone” to close down Halo and put it into a pocket.

Controls

At the back of the right earphone are located light indicators. It’s cool they were not at the front. All controls are centred around the right side: multifunctional key and a sensor volume controls. How to turn the headset on? Just open it up for the right earphone to be in place and the indicator signals the start of operation. Press and hold the multifunctional key until the Bluetooth indicator starts blinking and you are good to go. The volume sensor is not convenient. You have to adjust quite often while listening to music, but often the touching can be erroneous. The manufacturer wanted to save space and not to disrupt the style of the model, so I will not be too critical. The multifunctional key is convenient and is used to answer/end calls, activate Play/Pause modes and basic features, for example, calling the last number. What about moving to the next or previous track? Tap the “-” or “+” symbol twice and you are done. The sensor is also responsible for rewinding. Fast forward option did not work with the phones I tested.

Operation Time

The manufacturer claims up to 8 hours of talktime and 6 hours of music playback as the battery is a weak link in this model. On the other hand I am ready to forgive this headset everything. You can use the charger or USB cable, which is less attractive. The charging time is around two hours. The indicator blinks red and it is better to put the headset down while charging.

The location of the jack is different now and several users of Halo found that the charging often stops, probably due to the loose contacts in the jack. Some try to fix it independently, but I would advise to go to the service centre and ask for a new one. This Jabra has a defect, which is not new. My friend purchased his first Halo and one earphone did not work, but luckily he checked it before buying. I suggest you to do the same. When working with iPhone you see the battery icon on the screen, which is good.

Voice Reproduction

Here we get a proprietary Noise Blackout technology, i.e. two microphones polish your voice and transfer it to your interlocutor. It works well and Halo 2 can allow for convenient use in mildly noisy environment, so the model is one of the best in this respect. It is indeed cool to chat through Halo 2. Basic features work well and operation distance is around seven meters, which I tested in the apartment. If you connect it with the cable only the headphones function will be available. It ca be connected to a couple of phones at a time. I tested it with Blackberry 9810 and Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray.

Sound

The model features what Jabra calls AM3D Virtual Surround Sound 2.0 & Power Bass. I think the volume is not that impressive and I would like to have some more capacity in the tank. It applies to the Bluetooth connection, but the same happened with the cable connection too. On some track the headset yield a bit of squeaking, but the sound is intense and juicy for a Bluetooth headset. Will it be enough for you to buy it? To my mind for $150 it is one of the best Bluetooth headsets and it offers an appropriate sound. At the same time detailing is not deep enough, which cannot be hidden under any base or surround effect. Not a single company managed to improve the sound of stereo Bluetooth headset. You are free to enjoy life without wires, but any old cable headset from Apple will give me better sound. The market segment is not moving anywhere and if you tested four years ago, let’s say, Sony Ericsson DS-970 and did not like the sound you will not feel the difference now. There are some exceptions and Halo 2 is clearly on the list, but I am not sure it is worth paying money for these experiments.

Conclusions

Let’s start with advantages:

• Interesting design and compact dimensions
• It can be used both with the cable and without it
• Convenient controls
• Good sound reproduction
• It is useful for music listening, but pay attention to the above-mentioned
• Supports operation with two devices at a time
• Charge indicator for Apple

On the down side we have:

• Absence of leather, which is substituted by materials easy to soil, weak microUSB jack (or rather an appropriate cable)
• You have to get adjusted to the sensor volume controls
• It is possible, that you phone will not “see” the headset at once

I would like to remind that among other Bluetooth solutions Jabra Halo 2 looks good and will be a good buy. On the other hand why the company failed to get the feedback on the previous model and fix everything possible. Why we see the same cheap material and weak joints. The jack stayed the same and several more buttons could have been added for better playback control. If it is cold outside you would better wear Halo under the cap. I can easily recommend the model, but I am not happy with the “work” of Jabra. The name Halo 2 is misplaced as Halo V0.1 would have been more appropriate alongside with a dark grey color.

Review of Bluetooth-headset Jabra Halo

In the box:

• Headset
• Charger
• Cable to connect to your computer
• Cable microUSB-3, 5 mm
• Replacement pads for the headset
• Instruction
• Carrying Pouch (hard case for special editions)
• Warranty Information

Writing about accessories – in fact, routine work, very rarely come across things that really want to leave yourself, use your own. And in this case should please all or some principal feature of the device. List the headset, which is one hundred percent, “my,” you can on one hand. This Sony DR-BT50, Sony Ericsson IS-800, Nokia BH-903, Motorola S9-HD, Jabra JX-20, Jabra BT8030, and nothing else and does not come without thinking. Here I have listed only the more or less topical products, however, some very hard to get – it concerns the BH-903, Motorola S9-HD. So, considered today a thing I can safely write to your personal top list and try to glorify the centuries. The first and probably the only bill the headset, which I can safely use in the city.

Design and construction

First you need to say about the name: the Jabra change strategy, products now have their own names, indexes remain for logistics and other uninteresting cases. So Halo – it’s Halo, and not the BT650s, I styled the device in the podcast, and some materials. Why is Halo? Certainly many are in your head is spinning name of the famous game for the Xbox 360, where the soldiers of the future is cut walnut hordes of monsters. Well regarded headset could very well pass for part of his outfit, a bit too futuristic looks. And in a good futuristic, no sequins, and other trumpery.

Packaging headset pleases, it is quite compact, all additions neatly stacked in a cardboard box when buying is no problem to retrieve the device, turn to try.Delivery is great for carrying a bag would be complete, I simply did not exist.

So let’s take a closer look at Halo. I’m sure many will remember the big headset called the Jabra BT8030 , which turned into a slight movement of the column. So, imagine what they put into the diminutive device and treated fairly. Yes, Halo is very similar to the BT8030, however, the dynamics are not converted. But there is a common and velvety plastic, which, like the rim, covers your skull. First impressions are incredibly positive – a neat thing, all such “licked”, with simple and clear forms, without unnecessary protrusions. Rotating the headset in your hands, I found that headsets are added, you just pull them slightly and serve their grooves ahead (in the photos everything is clear). Hmm, I wonder, have not seen this before. I am a little confused myself hinge, it does not look safe, but on the other hand, probably in the whole thing Jabra actively tested. But his work, these guys know.

For the first time examples of the headset, I realized that not much will it just does not nalezli. Rim tugging, twisting the little thing in hand, understood – you need to pull a “cup” for themselves, with a clearly noticeable clicks, she leans forward. First one, then two, now and all is well, Halo is on the head. Again, we must pay tribute to the ingenuity of designers.

The material, which finished with the headset on the reverse side, all subject to the same malady that is the case with the BT8030. If you have dandruff, then on black velvet, it is perfectly apparent. If you do not have dandruff, then there will be a bag, stuck small villi, the hair, if you have a cat, the hair, too. If there is a parrot feathers, and then if there is a fish, then the scales. A joke. Strange, but that in the photos does not look very nice in my life somehow perceived comfortable, at least for me. How is your favorite sofa: here once you poured coffee, push a pillow here, because the clock were in place and working, there is something a child drew. Selling a used Halo to be too heavy – it was too personal, it becomes after the first day of use. I did not ask our men, who handles the pictures, turn inside out in a coal-black, the original for the very reason that you ought to see what it can become. Note again that from your health is not dependent on an iota (akin to painted surfaces, many gadgets – like, you do not want, and fingerprints will remain).

Generally speaking, the design is impressive, it’s something like SE IS-800, only if they were trying to make the most miniature plug a headset, there is clearly an attempt to minimize the visible, “obtyanut” overhead headphones. And she succeeded, talk about it below.

Where is the microphone hole – it was not possible to understand the charging plug is hidden on the right cup, deep velvet of the invisible. For the look and design of this thing I put five with a huge advantage, despite the roughness of various small, they are, in my opinion, inevitable. Here too much tied to the price, just say “better not be done inside the velvet, and rubber or plastic is left …”. Could then increase the price, it is possible that the head would sit in another Halo. So, let’s talk about what is and is not about what could be.

Oh, I forgot to say, foldable headset, it looks like in this situation – you can see in the photographs. In the pocket of the jacket is placed in a pants pocket – no.

As for colors is unclear at this time will be delivered only black version, there are other, at least as physical specimens. Another thing that I would recommend the company to stop it in the black for the supply of our country, red, or even what will be perceived.

Cheap device is not seen in any degree, when the turns in his hands, may not like velvety material, but here’s the plastic that is not visible prints and designs personally I have no questions, all is well.

The method of carrying, ease of

I do not like overhead headset, I do not like to use them in the city – so precise. House is constantly used Sony DR-BT50, however, is already beginning to be naughty battery time after the purchase was quite a lot. So, as was said at the beginning of the material, it is with Halo, headset bill was initiated by the weekend. For the first time in the subway with a similar thing (albeit on the road to the Arbat Kuntsevsky takes twenty minutes). Walked along the Arbat, looked at all the music, like one to me, as a cyborg, not watched. I wonder. And why not? Very simply, it is still a market for a barely noticeable. That is due to dark-gray color, unusual design and design, it sits very well. Fits, so to speak, into the overall concept. This is not some great stuff out there is no non-binding thing that is extremely comfortable to wear. As for adjustments, I have already said above: each cup can “tighten” the lower or higher, the headset is not a lot of weight, and thus it can be worn for hours without fatigue and discomfort. It fits snugly to the ears, it does not want to correct, to pull, no discomfort. By the way, and the velvety material is then necessary to the court, he clings to the hair, ears, comfortable and warm. For winter, well, what would be the thing to wear in the summer, the heat – I can not say. I think the summer on the street for Halo is not the most opportune time. Device for the gym is quite possible to recommend it flies from his head with sharp movements.

Management

On the reverse side of the right earphone are the lights on, how cool that they did on the front panel. All controls are grouped on the right side also, it’s multifunction button and volume control touch strip. But how to turn the device? Very original – you just unfolding it, the right earpiece gets into the groove, light up the LED, the device works. Pinch the multifunction key until the indicator flashes Bluetooth, – all that you can begin pairing, password standard, 0000. The sensor volume control did not seem comfortable to me, listening to music, adjust the volume you often, especially on the street, respectively, may be feverish press that do not lead to an increase and decrease, and vice versa. But I understand it – to save space, do not want to “break” the look, so I will not quibble. Multifunction key is convenient, it is also responsible for receiving calls, and for the Play / Pause, and for all kinds of basic functions such as dialing the last number.

But what about the transition to the previous or next song? And this is – you need twice as “tapnut” on the plus or minus, the sensor is responsible not only for volume control, but also for the rewind. With vehicles tested fast forward not working.

Additional Features

The set comes with a headset cable is a very interesting and hitherto have not seen this – microUSB-3, 5 mm. This means that you can connect the headset as regular headphones to your laptop, phone or player, for example, at a time when the battery has. The sudden expansion of functionality, but still what it is.For example, when long flights or train need not depend on the outlet at a time when the unit got the battery, simply connect the cable to the same Sony PSP and continue playing, watching movies and so on.

The idea is that the headset can work with two devices at the same time, this possibility was among the respective characteristics during the announcement at the Congress. Alas, collaborate Samsung YP-P3 and the Sony Ericsson W995 did not happen. The same can be said about a bunch of Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 and iPhone – does not work. This is a feature of my model, not commercial. About one more feature I must say: after using the cable that came with the headset hangs lightly, is not included and badly behaved. Cure was very simple: connect to the charger, then it all came back to normal. I think, and this feature will eliminate. By the way, I can not see that in normal use with a telephone, if you just listen to music, talk, and so on, without the extreme, there were no problems at all.

If, on reading these lines, you’re thinking about how to connect the cable to the player little thing, but for Bluetooth – to the phone, then you throw these thoughts. In my case, Bluetooth was turned off immediately.

Food

Claimed battery life is about eight hours of talk time, six hours in music mode, the battery here – the weak link. For a model bill for the time poor. On the other hand, this stuff I’m willing to forgive those same six hours, which actually turned into five hours and forty minutes. You can use network storage, USB-cable you can, preferably the first, the charging time is about two hours. The indicator will twinkle red, it is best to add the headset is charging.

Vote

Well, that’s got to sound, start with the voice. It uses a proprietary technology of Noise Blackout, there are two microphones that “cleans” your voice to a mirror finish and safely convey the interlocutor. Yes, the technology works with Halo you can quite safely, without raising his voice to communicate, even in moderately noisy environments, it is interesting that in this parameter is one of the best overhead set, which I came across. And the truth, speak pleasantly with Halo and not burdensome. Basic functions are working properly, the range of about seven meters, tested in the apartment. Note that when you connect the cable you can use the device only as a headset.

Tests were conducted with SE W995, Apple iPhone.

Music

At the time, I admired the Jabra BT8030 , but what about Halo just say that it’s very similar. Most tests were carried out with the SE W995, oddly enough, but the BT8030 I tested the phone on the SE, it was 910th. So, in Halo is also used special software Zirene POWER BASS, which is used for “naturalization” of bass. This trick works, you can forget about the fact that you use the headphones without the cable. The sound rude, no smoothing, skradyvany and so on – hard, rough Halo will show you that you are not all aware of Bluetooth-headset. When you connect the cable to the maximum volume level to listen to it is simply impossible, and it is typical for the iPhone, and the SE W995. In short, the mirror gut.

Although the headphones fit snugly enough to the ears, the sound is not isolated, so that the neighbors will hear everything is fine, if the kerf music louder.Take care of people do not do so.

As mentioned above, before buying I would recommend you to listen to on their own Halo, packing can do it.

Findings

The estimated cost of the device – about four thousand, a figure to be clarified, as the term appears in the market. I think that Halo did reach the shelves, because it is worthy of your attention. I have not seen a single invoice with the headset so simple and natural design, just as easy to operate. Do not forget about the possibility of connecting the cable. The disadvantages include a small time, it’s a matter of fact, and all the bad things that can be said about Halo, else just admires, the quality of voice, music – all more than good. For me, this is one of the key accessories year, which was worth waiting for. Nothing like the other companies in the 2009th year, we will not see.

Plumbers in Pimlico by 1st Action

I have a property in Pimlico in London which I rent out and called 1st Action to service the gas boiler.

They were on site on the same day and gave me a very reasonable bill. I must recommend these plumbers in Pimlico as they gave a great value and good service. These guys know London and the troubles of parking and congestion charges certainly in the pimlico area. And I was happy to have their smart van parked outside the building. The guy was gas safe registered and i must say their office was very polite and efficient.

2012 Android

The most remarkable and controversial products of the year based on Android: best flagship, return of the year and the most weird solution among “robots″.

We will soon prepare the end of the year review with the most interesting products of the past 12 months according to mobile-review.com. In this small article I would like to do the same for Android. Everything you read here is my subjective opinion supported by the experience of use and market analysis.

Flagship

Samsung Galaxy S II

Average price: $695

Samsung Galaxy S II was unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona and hit the shelves in April. It was positioned as the flagship from the very outset, but even the wildest optimism of company’s managers was not misplaced. We can remember that the original Samsung Galaxy S sold well too, but SGS II became a cult Android smartphone by the end of the year. Samsung managed to create an ideal smartphone at the time and rival models started appearing only in summer. Even now it stays the most advanced Android smartphone if you look at all features together.

When the third incarnation of Galaxy appears the current flagship will just move down to the mid price segment and will stay popular as a preowned solution.

Biggest Disappointment

LG Optimus 2X

Average price: $695

LG was the first to show a dual core Android solution. Optimus 2X was unveiled at the end of 2010 prior to Mobile World Congress, where the majority of key models are traditionally introduced for the first time. That is why we forgot the LG model as it was overshadowed by the flagship from Samsung and the rest of the pack. Besides some of the parameters in LG Optimus 2X turned out to be good on paper and less impressive in real life. It had a standard 8 MP matrix, which offered low quality pictures even if compared with HTC models of that period, which were considered to be weak in this respect.

The smartphone was too cumbersome, had bland design and lacked special features in software. After one month LG Optimus 2X was fast forgotten.

Weird Solution

HTC Sensation

Average price: $610

Frankly speaking I waited for this phone impatiently and hoped that HTC could dethrone Samsung Galaxy S II. When it became available I used this smartphone as the main handset of mine. Moreover, I liked Sensation more than SGS II due to the proprietary Sense interface offering convenience of operation from the box. HTC tried to make its flagship as original as they could, but they still managed to fix previous errors. HTC Sensation received a curved glass, qHD screen and an improved camera, which was short of SGS II and Sony Ericsson Arc, but outperformed other Android rivals. The strongest point of the model remained HTC Sense.

On the downside we have to mention short operation time. Even “stingy″ users ran out of steam by the end of the day, while I could use it actively only for 3-4 hours, which is too bad. I think HTC Sensation had a chance to become number one on arrival only if it surpassed SGS II in all respects, but it did not happen. Sensation is only a high quality smartphone, but it is not as iconic as SGS II, which is bad for the flagship. An attempt of HTC to go back to the top with Sensation was not quite successful.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play

Average price: $500

During the presentation of SE XPERIA Play in Barcelona at the beginning of the year the company’s representatives promised a lot and showed colorful slides with available and planned games associated with key developers in the area. Unfortunately all loud promises were in vain as the launched product happened to be not prepared for the market. SE XPERIA Play was a good solution on the drawing board: good gaming base, original PlayStation games and the side slider form factor with buttons for gaming! It was stunning! Sadly, in reality we ended up with a large and huge smartphone with dim screen even for the in-room operation. Technical characteristics happened to be not impressive and the price tag was excessive at the time of the launch.

Technically outdated smartphone did not become popular as you can play games on any “robot″ and no one wanted to pay so much.

Return of the Year

Sony Ericsson Arc

Average price: $520

In this category I would like to mention two models. The first one is Sony Ericsson Arc. After the failure of XPERIA X10 the company needed a bug-free handset and SE Arc filled the bill perfectly well. In terms of parameters the model cannot compete with SGS II and HTC Sensation, but it has its strong points. Arc is beautiful, unusual and graceful against the backdrop of other “robots″. The model is also decent in the multimedia section and its 8 MP camera is among the best on Android. The model cannot be considered a flagship solution as it was catching up from the very beginning, but it did the trick. A bit of trust returned to the brand and Sony must continue moving in the same direction when unveiling the new flagship Nozomi.

Motorola RAZR XT910

Average price: $520

Strangely, but many companies go back to the roots when it is not necessary or fail to exploit the same idea in crucial times. The same happened to Motorola, which achieved success with RAZR and kept on making its copies instead of expanding the portfolio. The opposite is happening with HTC. They have many useful design ideas (e.g. HTC Touch) under the belt, but the manufacturer cannot find inspiration in its classical solutions and produces carbon copies.

Motorola RAZR XT910 is a good answer to criticism, because it embodies the traditional Motorola design. There are some questions about build and durability, but this handset has its own face, which is so rare these days. The market is calling for similar models.

The Golden Middle

HTC Desire S

Average price: $460

Frankly speaking we had several contenders in the running and as far as it was difficult to choose I will tell you about the phone I liked personally very much. I think HTC managed to create a strong mid-priced smartphone and when its price went down after the launch it became even more attractive. The metal body, high quality screen, decent camera, nice design, good characteristics and HTC Sense to crown it all turned Desire S into a good choice for those looking for a basic, quality built and stable Android smartphone.

LG Optimus Black

Average price: $420

If in the top segment LG had not much success this year in the mid priced segment the company did well courtesy of Black. I cannot tell you the sales figures, but LG Optimus Black offers one of the best value for money in 2011 if you are looking for Android. A 4″ IPS screen (800×480), 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, simple design, low weight and compact dimensions cost only $420.

The Most Controversial Smartphone

Samsung Galaxy Note

Average price: $830

Note from Samsung was the only model deserving this accolade. A crossbreed between smartphones and tablets bigger than SGS II and smaller than any tablet attracted attention of geeks and technology buffs immediately after the announcement. Note has the same parameters as SGS II, but has a larger 5.3″ screen of 800×1280 and a special pen for drawing on screen. Inside you find appropriate software. One advantage of Note is a 2500 mАh to run 24 hours even in active mode. Acer had to achieve the same result with Iconia Smart announced at the start of the year, but Samsung was the first and deserves the title for the most controversial design.

New Kid of the Block

Huawei

The revelation of the year is the start of Huawei in the Android segment. The networks manufacturer now deals in the same vein as Acer, even though the company denies that. Look at characteristics and prices of new Huawei gadgets to understand what I mean. This year the company developed several models with Shell 3D and then seemingly moved to their own interface. Huawei Vision and Honor have decent features, excellent build and fine looks (despite borrowings from earlier hits, as Vision, for example, copies HTC Legend). The price tag is below $450 and Huawei can compete in the segment today. If they keep on working the company may become a serious player in the market next year.

Best Accessible Smartphone

Sony Ericsson XPERIA mini

Average price: $275

Last year we had LG Optimus One reigning supreme among inexpensive Android models, but today we have no clear front runner. There are phones from HTC, Samsung and LG, which are all similar and lack individuality. Sony Ericsson XPERIA mini of the last generation has plenty of character. A 3″ smartphone looks bulky, but compact, which attracts consumers lost in the ocean of similar models. It does not offer the best value for money, but it is more original than the rest and becomes our best Android budget smartphone.

Q3 2012 Launch For iPad Mini?

DigiTimes are reporting that Apple is gearing up to launch an ipad Mini towards the end of next year. The report cites anonymous sources within Apple’s supply chain as saying that the device will sport a 7.85 inch screen. LG Display and AU Optronics will apparently build the displays with production said to begin in the second quarter of 2012 in time for a third quarter release. There’s a bit of a contradiction here though because Apple has said in the past that a 7 inch display wasn’t something they felt was right for these sort of products. However, with increased competition from the likes of the Kindle Fire as well as smartphones growing ever larger and intruding onto tablet territory it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that Apple feels it needs something in that space. Of course this is all rumour and conjecture at this point. Indeed previous rumours concerning an iPad Mini have focused on a device with a more standardised size, but with a lower price tag.

Galaxy Nexus S Multi-Touch Bug

What sort of bug could be more annoying on a multi-touch device than a bug with the multi-touch control system itself? Well plenty actually, but a recent bug found on the Galaxy Nexus S does just that, screws with the handset’s multi-touch input system. The bug only appears in landscape mode apparently and essentially makes it difficult to impossible to use multi-touch input. For example, in the video below you can see that when the left hand is used to convey one input the right hand side of the screen becomes rather tempramental when it comes time for it to accept input. Turning the screen on and off apparently rectifies the problem, albeit temporarily, but even so it isn’t a proper fix.

 

Your Daily Dose Of Bad News From RIM: £1 Million Worth Of PlayBooks Stolen

You know it’s actually very difficult these days to find a story about RIM that doesn’t contain bad news. Case in point is the latest mishap to befall the Canadain manufacturer; 5,000 PlayBooks worth a cool £1 million have been stolen. The theft happened late last week when the driver of the truck carrying the PlayBooks was eating. With no tracking system in place the PlayBooks are pretty much gone. Now £1 million isn’t exactly pocket change to you and I, but for a big company it isn’t quite the major loss it might first appear to the average guy on the street. Still the negative publicity is probably more damaging to RIM at this point since it seems they just can’t catch a break these days. Between executives throwing tantrums on planes to revenue falling to product delays to global service outages, the loss of a few thousand PlayBooks hardly seems to matter.

One last point though; perhaps RIM might get the last laugh here. As some commentators have wryly pointed out, if RIM itself can’t give Playbooks away, what the hell are the thieves going to do with them?

Review of Amazon Kindle 2011

review of amazon kindle 2011

Design and Construction

 

Screen

 

Controls

 

Memory Amazon Kindle

 

Power kindle 2011

 

Ice Cream Sandwich Running On The N900 (Sort Of)

The N900 is one of those rare handsets that has a status and fascination beyond any commercial success it achieved. The reasons for that are probably too deep to cover here, but suffice it to say that there are a lot of people who like the N900, and especially those who use it as a testbed. Case in point is one developer by the name of Drunkdebugger who has been hard at work porting the latest version of Android to the N900. It’s not perfect by any means (Drunkdebugger calls it a pre-pre-alpha build), but it does work (sort of). It’s pretty buggy as you would expect from such an early stage of work and as you can see in the video below it is prone to the odd crash. However, fans of the N900 can keep their phone ticking a bit longer now (once the kinks are ironed out).

Have An Android Phone? It’s Secretly Recording EVERYTHING You Do!

Mobile privacy scares seem to be ten a penny these days, but here is one to really chill the blood. A new privacy issue has been raised with Android handsets, an issue that could see just about everything you do on your handset recorded and sent to a third party, from web searches, to location data, to your passwords. Who is behind this monumental breach in privacy? Your manufacturer and your network!

The video below was recorded by Trevor Eckhart, an Android developer, and it shows exactly what is going on behind the scenes on your handset. You will want to skip to around 9 minutes in for the bad stuff and be prepare to be shocked. At one point the video shows a phone number that is being dialled intercepted as well as a text that was sent being intercepted, including the content of the message, but it goes far beyond intercepting text messages.

The software doing the legwork was developed by a company called Carrier IQ, and they boast on their site that they are:

… the only embedded analytics company to support millions of devices simultaneously, we give Wireless Carriers and Handset Manufacturers unprecedented insight into their customers’ mobile experience.

So the idea is pretty simple; manufacturers and networks want to see how you are using your device to help their market research. The thing is though that it can record just about every single action you ever take on your phone. Eckhart claims that this software is embedded in almost all Android handsets as well as BlackBerry and Nokia smartphones. The video above pertains to Anroid handsets, but it’s not hard to imagine the system woring in a similar fashion on those other platforms. Oh and it doesn’t matter if the handset is bought SIM free, the software is probably still there.

The software is buried very deeply on the handset an there are no warnings oropt-outs presented to the end user. In other words you would probably never know that it was even there. The software operates on a level between yourself and the applications you use, which means that even secure apps will still have their data recorded. The same is true no matter what sort of connection you are using e.g. WiFi, 3G, etc.

So what is Carrier IQ saying about this? A public statement said:

While we look at many aspects of a device’s performance, we are counting and summarizing performance, not recording keystrokes or providing tracking tools.

The video above shows that not to be the case. Keystrokes are indeed recorded with unique identifying signatures that are submitted to Carrier IQ. Encrypted connections are even intercepted by this spyware and sends it to Carrier IQ as plain text.

Removing the software is near impossible, especially for average users. There are no opt-outs, no warnings and no options to deactivate the software. Even Eckhart, who is a developer himself and knows a thing or two about Android handsets, found it difficult to get rid of.

iPhone 4s review: part 1

Today I would like to offer your two videos of the new iPhone 4S: unpacking, design, activation, initial settings and the use of Siri in real life.

Design and Construction

First I would recommend several useful links to iPhone articles on our web site.

 

	iPhone 4 Review
	iPhone 4S

After the announcement of iPhone 4S many rumors filled hundreds of web resources, which is not surprising. No one remembers or prefers to forget that after the unveiling of iPhone 3Gs prophets of doom and gloom said that Apple was losing ground. When first orders became possible the figures reached a one million mark within 24 hours and all manufactured iPhones had their potential owners alerted immediately after the first sales commenced. There will be a shortage of supply.

As I have mentioned in the issue dedicated to the announcement of iPhone 4S the new model will be a hit and it is actually quite different from its predecessor. First let’s look at the design.

The song remains the same as only sound activation button was moved slightly down, there is no strip at the top, while the bottom has different screws. There are two variants available to buy – black and white. They have the similar package and identical kits: iPhone 4S, compact plug, USB cable, clip, headset and user guide. As in a white iPhone 4 there is a changed proximity sensor and microSIM slot is located in its place. We should mention less obvious differences too. When the screen is active you can see light in a 3.5 mm jack of iPhone 4, while it does not happen with iPhone 4S. Special marks are absent, for example, there is no letter S anywhere. In other words you cannot boast a new model silently. I think the button Home moves deeper in iPhone 4S, though I may be subjective here. I have been using my iPhone 4 for a year now. The built is similar and if you touch the centre of the back cover you may feel it move. After extensive use of iPhone 4 it may even move a lot.

That’s all I managed to notice so far. We have a tried and trusted iPhone 4 with all the tuning under the hood.

Siri

Apple created a genuine assistant. Do you often use voice search, dialling or anything of the kind? My experience was purely frustrating and I usually gave up after futile attempts. It was simply not convenient. As always Apple decided to join together different function, stirred them, added some simplicity to get an appropriate mix. The result is impressive. Siri works well. Even if you have noise around the recognition will just take more time, but you will be heard. Incidentally, it may lead to a push in the market of Bluetooth headsets and associated wired solutions. Siri is not a toy. I do not like to complete the calendar, but here you can use voice to make an appointment. It’s a whole different ball game. Not all languages are supported at the moment, but if you can use English then you may start working with Siri now. Apple only showed the way and Siri is not only an app, but a host of skills integrated into the OS. Apps developers will be able to create different pieces of software for the assistant. iPhone 4S is an ideal solution for the visually challenged. The phone is so easy to call, leave a message, check weather forecast, etc.

 

Here comes the full list of commands:

Contacts

Contacts queries:

• What’s Michael’s address?
• What is Susan Park’s phone number?
• When is my wife’s birthday?
• Show Jennifer’s home email address

Contacts search:

• Show Jason Russell
• Find people named Park
• Who is Michael Manning?

Kinship reference:

• My mom is Susan Park
• Michael Manning is my brother
• Call my brother at work

Calendars

Adding events:

• Set up a meeting at 9
• Set up a meeting with Michael at 9
• Meet with Lisa at noon
• Set up a meeting about hiring tomorrow at 9am
• New appointment with Susan Park Friday at 3
• Schedule a planning meeting at 8:30 today in the boardroom

Editing events:

• Move my 3pm meeting to 4:30
• Reschedule my appointment with Dr. Manning to next Monday at 9am
• Add Lisa to my meeting with Jason
• Cancel the budget review meeting

Events queries:

• What does the rest of my day look like?
• What’s on my calendar for Friday?
• When is my next appointment?
• When am I meeting with Michael?
• Where is my next meeting?

Clock

Alarms setting:

• Wake me up tomorrow at 7am
• Set an alarm for 6:30am
• Wake me up in 8 hours
• Change my 6:30 alarm to 6:45
• Turn off my 6:30 alarm
• Delete my 7:30 alarm

Time queries:

• What time is it?
• What time is it in Berlin?
• What is today’s date?
• What’s the date this Saturday?

Timer:

• Set the timer for ten minutes
• Show the timer
• Pause the timer
• Resume
• Reset the timer
• Stop it

Friends (associated with Find My Friends)

Information about friends:

• Where’s Jason?
• Where is my sister?
• Is my wife at home?
• Where are all my friends?
• Who is here?
• Who is near me?

Maps

Routes:

• How do I get home?
• Show 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino California
• Directions to my dad’s work

Nearby locations:

• Find coffee near me
• Where is Starbucks?
• Find some burger joints in Baltimore
• Find a gas station within walking distance
• Good Mexican restaurants around here

Messages (iMessage)

Sending messages:

• Tell Susan I’ll be right there
• Send a message to Jason Russell
• Send a message to Lisa saying how about tomorrow
• Tell Jennifer the show was great
• Send a message to Susan on her mobile saying I’ll be late
• Send a message to 408 555 1212
• Text Jason and Lisa where are you?

Reading messages:

• Read my new messages
• Read it again

Answering messages:

• Reply that’s great news
• Tell him I’ll be there in 10 minutes
• Call her

Music

Playback:

• Play The Light of the Sun
• Play Trouble
• Play Taking Back Sunday shuffled
• Play Alicia Keys
• Play some blues
• Play my party mix
• Shuffle my road-trip playlist
• Play
• Pause
• Skip

Notes

Starting and searching notes:

• Note that I spent $12 on lunch
• Note: check out that new Alicia Keys album
• Find my restaurant note
• Create a reading list note
• Add Tom Sawyer to my reading list note

Phone

Calls:

• Call Jason
• Call Jennifer Wright mobile
• Call Susan on her work phone
• Call 408 555 1212
• Call home
• FaceTime Lisa

Reminders

Queries:

• Remind me to call mom
• Remind me to call my mom when I get home
• Remember to take an umbrella
• Remind me take my medicine at 6am tomorrow
• Remind me to pick up flowers when I leave here
• Remind me when I leave to call Jason
• Remind me to finish the report by 6

Share prices

Stocks quotations:

• What’s Apple’s stock price?
• What is Apple’s PE ratio?
• What did Yahoo close at today?
• How is the Nikkei doing?
• How are the markets doing?
• What is the Dow at?

Weather

Weather forecast:

• What’s the weather for today?
• What’s the weather for tomorrow?
• Will it rain in Cupertino this week?
• Check next week’s forecast for Burlington
• What’s the forecast for this evening?
• How’s the weather in Tampa right now?
• How hot will it be in Palm Springs this weekend?
• What’s the high for Anchorage on Thursday?
• What’s the temperature outside?
• How windy is it out there?
• When is sunrise in Paris?

Web search

Information search:

• Search the web for Bora Bora
• Search for vegetarian pasta recipes
• Search the web for best cable plans
• Google the war of 1812
• Search Wikipedia for Abraham Lincoln
• Search for news about the World Cup
• Bing Alicia Keys

Use of Wolfram Alpha (!):

• How many calories in a bagel?
• What is an 18% tip on $86.74 for four people?
• Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?
• How long do dogs live?
• What is the Gossamer Condor?
• What’s the square root of 128?
• How many dollars is €45?
• What was the Best Picture of 1983?
• How many days until Christmas?
• How far away is the Sun?
• When is the next solar eclipse?
• Show me the Orion constellation
• What’s the population of Jamaica?
• How high is Mt. Everest?
• How deep is the Atlantic ocean?
• What’s the price of gasoline in Chicago?

Mail

Checking mail:

• Check email
• Any new email from Michael today?
• Show new mail about the lease
• Show the email from Lisa yesterday

Answering messages:

• Reply Dear Susan sorry about the late payment
• Call him at work

Sending messages:

• Email Lisa about the trip
• Email Jennifer about the change in plans
• New email to Susan Park
• Mail Dad about the rent check
• Email Dr. Manning and say I got the forms, thanks
• Mail Lisa and Jason about the party and say I had a great time

I am sure that Siri was a favorite toy for Steve Jobs, because here we not only get a communication with a gadget, but the new level of it. If you mispronounce a word the system will mention that it did not understand you, which leads to instinctive apologies on your behalf. Siri deems your apology as redundant. Set an alarm, and when Siri asks to confirm the time, say OK for the system to respond with “as you wish”. Such instances are numerous, which makes you work with new capacities of Siri. There is no reason to learn commands by heart. As clearly seen from the video you can ask for weather differently. Don’t forget the key word though. By default Siri is not activated and you have to fix it in the settings to replace the standard voice controls. Start Siri by pressing and holding Home. Its operation needs Internet connection, geo tagging and set up mail clients. You can select the language, activate and deactivate the voice answering, information on your data, and how you will talk to Siri.

I will not make far-fetched conclusions and the next review will be dedicated to the camera and comparison with iPhone 4. Wait for this article featuring high quality pictures. So far enjoy the video. Anyways, Siri is a special feature and iPhone 4S deserves attention due to it alone. I wonder if Samsung calls its assistant Iris.

Chinese Phones – Semi-prepared Meals

The last week was so rich for news I could hardly grasp it all. I will not be covering the tenth VAS Forum as I think it deserves a separate article. I will also leave aside the issue HTC is experiencing right now as we have partly covered them earlier unless you make me know you want to get more on this topic. So let’s get down to the main stories but first I want to talk about a certain video.

In the US it is legal to use your competitors’ products in your ads and many companies take advantage of it. Samsung told us what they think of Apple iPhone in this here ad which I think is a great example of good humor and irony:

Chinese Phones Under Local Brands – Pros and Cons

China has become the leading manufacturer of phones and it is way ahead of any other country. For some people Chine is the continental China only while others also include Taiwan. And although some will say that there are more business opportunities on the island not to mention a much better expertise and yes there are certainly differences in the ways business gets done in these two territories but I think we should consider them as a whole when it comes to phone manufacturing.

There are a lot of companies in the world who sell phones developed and manufactured in China under their own brands. Most of such business is done not by carriers but by retail networks and wholesale distributors who simply adapt these phones to the demand of their local market. By adapting I don’t mean only language localization but also marketing and adding some features demanded on their specific markets. For example, in Russia Fly and Explay are good examples of this practice. Such companies do not have any production lines but they know exactly what people want to buy. Recently the cost of entering the market following this business strategy has fallen dramatically thanks to the great number of factories in China and very strong competition between them. Not so long ago a Chinese factory struggled to get production up to 500K units a year while today they produce millions. There is a lot more demand now and subsequently a lot more rivalry between factories. China has become a melting pot with platforms for both regular and touchscreen phones (MTK which is a very big topic to discuss). Unified platforms are extremely successful mainly thanks to their very low production costs. It’s the reason we now have phones with two, three or even four SIMs, analogue TV and other bells and whistles. Very often Chinese phones are associated with poor quality because we usually see Chinese phones packed with all kinds of hardware at a price of a low range major manufacturer phone. Naturally you get the quality you pay for. However, you should not generalize and think all Chinese phones are like this. There are companies that sell by mere price dumping and there those that sell very decent phones at moderate prices. Unfortunately, the latter only market within China and are represented by partners overseas. So many people make their opinions of Chinese phones judging by semi-finished products.

Let’s now look at how this is done in real life. I give two examples: Explay as the good example and Gresso as the bad one.

The Russian Gresso is a phone boutique that makes new bodies for Nokia phones and then sells them for 5 to 10 times the money of the original phone. In 2010 I reviewed one of them called Gresso Grand Monaco.

 

Gresso Grand Monaco phone

In 2011 the company decided to expand the product range and released two protected phones: Gresso Extreme X3 and X5. Both phones are manufactured by the Taiwanese Power Idea Technology specializing in this sort of phones. So Gresso basically buys semi-finished phones and adapt them to the Russian market. However, Gresso seems to have missed a crucial point about such phones – they are not ready to release products and Power Idea expects their clients to finish them on their own. These phones are semi-finished meals and the one who puts his brand on it should also do the cooking.

So Gresso bought two models LM121B(X3) and LM801B (X5) but the contract specifies that the company cannot sell them as is. Big factories produce all models in different IDs (body design, colors etc.) to maximize profits. Some people will like a sports design while others will go for a neutral design – everyone is happy and the phones don’t compete with each other.

What Gresso did then is make packages and manuals in Russian, get phones certified (costs about $3-4 thousand per model). They also had to finish these semi-prepared phones before releasing them. But they didn’t and as a result their phones feature miscellaneous fonts and the translation quality is lamentable some menus are not translated at all. You can see what I mean on the video below about Gresso X5:

The wholesale price for LM801B is below $100 for a batch of at least 10K units. The minimal batch can be negotiated and be as low as 5K units or even less if you buy from small factories but working with them is risky as the quality might be very poor.

But let’s see what Gresso did to minimize their costs at finishing the semi-finished phones. Gresso did not care to make a good quality package their phones come in the cheapest cardboard boxes. Moreover, boxes are the same for all models – they only say Gresso Extreme and don’t specify what model is inside. This is the cheapest sort of packaging.

Compare this box to the one Explay Q230 comes in (Q230 costs €50 in retail while Gresso X5 is about €370). The box features an image of the phone inside, on the back there are the phone’s full specs translated properly and info on the manufacturer. The difference is quite noticeable – good quality cardboard and printing. And rest assured Explay received their semi-finished phones in the cheapest package as well only they cared to replace it with proper boxes.

You can spot a Chinese semi-finished phone immediately from the menu as in this Gresso phone – you can easily recognize the MTK platform the phone is built on.

Explay, on the other hand, spent a few months to create their own unique interface. It’s not that expensive but requires time and extra work.

I hope by now you understand why I call Chinese phones semi-finished? They offer lots of features that can and should be adapted and improved for the demand of the local market. Some new comers to this business don’t even care to localize the menu simply translating the most frequent menus.

Unfortunately, Gresso slacked off and put very little effort into their phones. I have listed some of the issues with their phones which I typical for newcomers on this market who don’t have either good understanding of how to do business in China. But all those are petty stuff as compared to the big issues with their phones which I think should be made illegal as they present a willful misrepresentation of products.

Until I started testing Gresso phones I could not imagine that their phones might not have the stated by the manufacturer protection level. Megafon, a Russian retailer, posted on his website that Gresso X3 and X5 have the protection levels of IP67 and IP54 respectively. However, Gresso’s website says that they comply with IP57 and IP54 standards. I requested the phone’s certificates from the manufacturer but several weeks later I still haven’t received any response from the company. I believe that since Gresso put their brand on the phones they must double check all the specs and don’t state anything about a phone’s capabilities unless they are damn sure it’s right.

As a matter of fact, X5 should not be submerged into water at all – it is simply not water resistant. The initial press release actually stated that, later however it suddenly received the IP67 standard but this info later mysteriously disappeared just when I started asking questions about the phones’ actual specs. The fact that X3 is IP57 compliant does not concord with Gresso’s website statement that this phone can withstand a seven meter fall on concrete floor. The IP57 standard simply does not offer that kind of protection. The phone’s design will not allow the battery cover to fall off during an impact so the battery will hit it and in all probability break it. X5 is quoted by the manufacturer to be able to withstand a 10 meter fall but if X5 actually had the IP67 protection level it could be able to do a lot better than that. This makes you wonder who and how certified these phones and whether the lab that did was licensed for this kind of work. And it should not be me asking these questions having released phones on hands but the manufacturers themselves long before their phones hit the market.

To be honest, I did not plan to criticize certain manufacturers or their products. I wanted merely to point out typical mistakes of a market newbie who buys semi-finished phones and does not care to finish them properly. I leave aside the issue of super profits, after all, the company sells phones with practically no changes and asks several times more for them but it’s commerce and if customers are willing to pay who am I to tell them that the phones are terribly overpriced? But I am going to cover these issues in my reviews of thee phones.

I want to conclude with the funny fact that one of the Gresso models does not even have any info on the battery capacity. It is really a laughable case – the phone manufacturer did not provide such info and Gresso, on the other hand, did not lift their finger to find it out.

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Nokia 800 Has Overtaken All Phones in the World

I am trying not to transfer my notes from the blog to the Spillikins, but the story is so enthralling, that I could not help repeating myself. Several new details will be added as well. In the previous Spillikins we touched upon low sales of Nokia 800, but during the week conflicting evidence emerged.

 

Nokia 800 sales boosted by PR

The strongest indication of the popularity enjoyed by Nokia 800 was a photo from an Orange Store in UK accompanied by a commentary that the phone is not available now as all items were sold.

Source: mobiset.ruSurprisingly, but the photo confirms my ideas from the previous week. A campaign featuring the free XBOX360 turned out to be predictably successful. The question is what will happen with the model without such a support. Only time will tell. So far Nokia is trying hard to project an image of a successful company. Nokia used all measures when Forbes mentioned that sales are weak and WP7 from Nokia faces uncertain future.

• Nokia: Will Anyone Buy The Windows-Based Lumia Phones?

The market expected bad news from Nokia and share prices slid down. It is the worst case scenario for the company and its PR had to be clinical in its rehabilitation of Nokia 800.

They only had to cite the article, which mentioned that sales are high and beat all Android solutions together with Apple iPhone. It is sensational! The original article is available here.

An unknown person noticed that in online stores of several carriers Nokia 800 is number one. The conclusion was made that it sells better than other models. This news became very hot and Nokia employees helped the cause (Mark Squires, Comms Director Nokia was one of those who placed the entry in his Twitter account).

I am pretty sure that PR professionals from Nokia know what they are doing. On the other hand they are distracting the attention of consumers from real troubles of Nokia. One of them is an application from Nokia to be delisted from the Frankfurt stock exchange. The official press release mentions that share sales were limited and displayed a downward trend. If the application is approved Nokia will no longer feature on Frankfurt stock exchange in the first half of 2012. Nokia has already left stock exchanges of London, Paris and Stockholm. Its shares can be only bought from the NASDAQ, OMX Helsinki Stock Exchange and NYSE.

What does it mean? The answer is obvious that Nokia is not popular among European investors and is only present at home in Helsinki and in the US where American Depositary Receipts are in use. This news seems uninspiring for consumers, but the stock market was impressed and the share price continued going down. This week will be crucial in determining if Nokia can get at least 5$ for a share or they will break another negative record in its history. You can follow the shares fluctuations here.

I would like to remind you that the market capitalization of Nokia is less than 20 billion dollars, which is a fraction of company’s assets. Nevertheless, it is the market value of the manufacturer. That’s why PR department of Nokia has to be at its best. For example, Nokia proclaimed itself as the leading smartphone manufacturer in China with 28.6% of the market in the 3rd quarter (6.8 million items) against 17.6% from Samsung. There is no point to be proud here, because Nokia was always strong in China. The main point is that until recently Nokia was number one in the world. Now its PR department will have to work hard to prove that. I suggest coming up with the press release mentioning that Nokia is the leader inside its office buildings with Nokia 800 leading the way, because this wonderful model cannot leave people indifferent (remember not to mention that all employees received it for free).

From the startling analysis of Nokia 800 sales by a blogger let’s turn to more serious problems, namely fast battery discharge in the model. For the first time the issue was mentioned in the official Nokia blog when users started complaining that the battery was dead after several hours of use. The original article is available here.

The answer from Nokia was traditional: we had no mass issues, but in December a new update will improve the battery performance with one more to follow in January. It is a carbon copy of the case with Nokia N8, which was hastily thrown onto the market and the number of bugs was overwhelming. Both models have a similar fate. Let’s compare them.

Nokia N8 and Nokia 800 are viewed as flagships. Nokia N8 had to show that Nokia is back and is still going strong. There were no official sales figures released for Nokia N8, because they were shockingly low. N8 was a flop and the average price of Nokia smartphones is much lower than that of its rivals. Moreover the market was attacked by numerous PR tricks, for example third party info about 4 million N8 sold and so on. The same is happening around Nokia 800 now. In the past when Nokia could be indeed proud of itself separate figures were available for successful models. These days no one will mention sales data for Nokia 800 or Nokia N9.

Similarly to N8 we hear that Nokia 800 breaks all preliminary records against the background of positive feedback. The structure of online feedback is similar for both models. It is not logical, but somehow we end up with the same ratio of positive feedback, articles and reviews. I think we are dealing with the PR tricks from Nokia and not the real perception of the phone. We will soon learn the truth if we do not see the true picture.

HP Makes Losses from TouchPad, but Increases its Market Share

The story of the tablet from HP (unsuccessful product sold off for 99$) proves that you can compete with iPad in price. According to NPD HP took 17% of the market in the US between January and October of 2011, whereas Samsung had 16%, Asus 10%, Motorola 9% and Acer 9%. The lion’s share belongs to Apple.

I must remind you that such a surge in popularity of TouhPad was witnessed during the two days when its price plummeted. The success does not represent the performance throughout the year. In the 4th quarter HP lost 1.67 billion dollars as a consequence of acquiring Palm and WebOS. The fate of the OS is unknown, but we cannot expect it to survive. Despite the variety of companies eager to snap it up the OS is rather dead than alive.

Review of Amazon Kindle (2011)

In the box:

• Book
• USB cable
• User Guide

The book is small and competitively priced, but new Kindle proves that not everything cheap is bad. Design, paper and controls are top notch. There are other positives as well.

Design and Construction

The book is offered in a small box of rough carton, which looks intentionally inexpensive, but is stylish in its own way. The kit is minimalistic: a book, cable and User Guide. The first feature attracting attention is a compact size of 166 x 114 x 8.7 mm with the weight of 170 g. The book easily fits an outwear clothing pocket and I even succeeded in squeezing Kindle in a jacket’s pocket. The majority of people will carry it in a bag though. Materials are impressive. We have dark grey plastic of different shades and the cover looks almost rubberlike. It is convenient to hold in one hand. At the bottom there is an uncapped microUSB jack with unknown contacts slightly higher. The latter should fit some accessory, but I could not understand which one. On the official website you can choose from cases, adaptors or attachable lamps, but I did not see there a dock station or anything similar. Feel free to correct my mistake if you can.

Near the microUSB jack we see a light indicator, which is activated when a cable is connected to the computer.

The screen is sunk in the body a bit, though it did not interfere with cleaning. I think you do not need a film here. During the use I realized that the screen is not prone to soiling. You cannot see fingerprints well. The entire body of Kindle stayed clean and looked almost new after all my testing.

In comparison with rival models, especially in the budget segment, where Kindle plays, the model stands out like a UFO from the range of ancient air planes. In the US there is a strong design tradition obvious in cars, gadgets or even clothes when products look very simple, but all minor details are thought through. You cannot buy a better book for $80, which is its US price.

Back to the table of contents >>>

Screen

A 6″ screen has a resolution of 600 х 800 and offers E-Ink Pearl among other things. The paper is good, fonts are nice and you can use dictionaries and other accessories from the box. The initial set-up is simple: select a language, connect to a WiFi network, register at Amazon and start reading. You can obviously download your own books in the .mobi format.

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Controls

Under the screen there is a small 5-position joystick, which is convenient nonetheless. On the left are located keyboard activation buttons and keys for going one item back, whereas the right side hosts Menu, Home and return to the home screen buttons. The top side of the screen displays a Kindle logo and the name of the owner, who activated the device. This personalization resembles a personal library stamp. The top right hand corner boasts battery and WiFi indicators. To the right and to the left are located narrow browsing buttons. Several buttons are added for convenience as you can hold the book in any hand without much impact on the controls. There are no issues with holding Kindle in hands and browsing pages.

At the bottom there is a compact on/off button. When the book is in the sleep mode you can watch ads. The US price is lower due to advertising options, because in Europe the model fetches around $100. I tested the US model with ads in the main menu and wallpapers and was not irritated by the barrage of advertisements as I treated them as a slight background noise. The idea is good especially in the US, where the model already has many millions of customers.

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Memory

Users can get access to around 1.25 GB of inbuilt memory, while there is no memory card slot as far as the majority of people can do away with the amount of memory three times lower than that. After all e-books do not take much space.

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Power

Charging via the USB port takes around three hours and the manufacturer claims that the operation time with the WiFi off is one month. If you are connected to the Internet this way then you will enjoy only three weeks of operation. If you are not planning to use Amazon store or browser disable WiFi straightaway to achieve even longer operation time. The charge is good enough for a long trip anyway, but try and get hold of an adapter.

Menu and Functions

Kindle is very well optimized to purchase books in Amazon.com store, browse new releases, book lists and enjoy other advantages of the system. If you don’t care then you will need books in the .mobi format, which can be found online and work with Kindle well. Connect the book and move the files to the Documents folder. The main page shows the list of all books, while new editions are labeled as New. The app remembers where you exited a particular book. Covers are displayed, but books from the official store look better and you can easily use the contents and links among other things. “Home made” books are different. In a book menu you can disable WiFi, go to the Kindle store, change the fonts, go to a particular pages, use search and bookmarks or write notes with the help of a keyboard. It is difficult to use without the touchscreen.

Menu on the home screen has particular features. The browser is a new addition for the Kindle, though it was extensively used in rival models. The browser handles pages well. You can use scaling, so I tried it with Mobile-review.com and everything worked well. The browser is so good that I can recommend it to those who would like to use Kindle as a tablet and not only as an e-reader. Bookmarks are supported, you can alter the screen orientation and the same applies to reading. Article Mode turns the page into the formatted text automatically fitted to the screen. The browser is one of the best I saw in e-books. Finally, remember that the price of the model is very attractive.

Apart from MOBI other formats are also supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, PRC, HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP. I am not sure that many will use Kindle to view photos. Office DOC and DOCX files are dealt with in the following way: a DOC file I created in Pages was not detected and the same happened with a Word file.

In settings you can change registration data or name, select WiFi, learn more about the book or select the language. You can even send documents to the book via a special email address. In my case it was d567o13sx@kindle.com. We should also mention a password for the device, time, dictionaries, social features, and notes for Twitter and Facebook together with personal information. Kindle has very distinctive settings, which are different from traditional ones associated predominantly with hardware.

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Conclusions

First I will mention the advantages:

• Design, materials, dimensions
• Low price, especially in the US
• Good paper
• Convenient controls
• Wonderful browser
• Impressive operation time
• Simple menu

On the downside we have:

• The book is geared towards the Internet store, which brings several limitations, predominantly in formats
• Someone may not enjoy the ads

In any case for $100 Amazon offers us an excellent solution, which I can easily recommend if you are not put off by issues with formats.