Productive Organizer

I wish people can post more video reviews like these.  Today I have 2 videos showing Archos PDF reading experience.

This first video is good. It shows how responsive it is to read.

The three software demo are:

1. Adobe Reader
2. Laputa
3. Aldiko

What was demoed:

1. How smooth Launcher Pro Replacement is
2. Reading PDF Comic Book in Landscape
3. Fast Zoom In and Zoom Out
4. Portrait Epub book reading on Laputa
5. Portrait Epub book reading on Aldiko

What Czhincksx shows here is PDF reading on the Archos 101. It’s a 5 min demo where he shows PDF reading

1. a big 62 MB PDF file from internal memory
2. PDF file stored in a USB memory
3. PDF file from the internet

It’s a great demo that I am trying to find but could find any. I talked about my less than good experience with the archos 101 and 70 not too long ago and this review certainly shows it.

But on the whole this PDF software (I am not sure what is it) provides good enough rendering.

I would really love to know which software is it and whether it does annotations and last save location.

I think I have commented enough on why I think Android’s model is faulty and that is why its is not a good productive device.

But I never expected that someone could be in such an agreement with my views until I found this post by John Gruber from Daring Fireball.

John, being a first and foremost iPhone and iPad user, takes a stab at why the Android just did not work for him.

It shocks me that many of his points is what I feel hits the nail on the head what is wrong with the platform. He is not an apple fanatic and he draws enough examples from other platforms as well.

Critics of both Apple and Google should take a look at this.

Here is a summary of his argument:

1. The quality of Android apps not the quantity

I’ve complained, numerous times, about the “how many total apps are in your store?” metric — the idea that Apple is “winning” because there are more iOS apps than there are apps for any other mobile platform. If quantity of app titles were all that mattered, we’d all be using Windows, not Mac OS X, right? Having the most apps matters, but having the best apps matters too. The sweet spot for a platform is to do well in both regards.

Quantity of titles is, in some way, a measure of a platform’s strength. But what I care about are the great apps. Where are the great, or even good, exclusive third-party apps for Android?

Popular third-party Android apps clearly tend to be of a decidedly lower design quality than popular iOS apps. (The key word in that sentence is popular — let’s concede that the majority of all apps, at the unpopular end of the long tail both in the iTunes App Store and Android Market, are junk.)

Not all popular third-party Android apps are sub-par, design-wise. But those that are well-designed, in most cases, are the ones which are not exclusive to Android. And the ones that are both exclusive to Android and well-designed, from what I’ve seen, seem to be apps that only make sense on Android, insofar as they wouldn’t be allowed in the App Store.

Compare and contrast with the library of exclusive games for iOS. Just in the past few days alone, I’ve bought three new exclusive iOS games, any one of which would surely beat any of the exclusive Android games on Ahlund’s list of all-time best ones: Astronut from The Iconfactory, Rage HD from Id Software, and Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner from LucasArts. (Total cost for all three games: $9.) That games of this caliber are all exclusive to iOS is, arguably, the biggest hole in the argument that Android is to iOS what Windows was to the Mac. Say what you want about the quality edge that Mac software holds over Windows, but Windows has always had the games.

2. Where are the killer third party apps exclusive to Android?

Let’s sort all Android apps into the following categories:

1. Apps from Google.
2. Third-party apps that also exist on iOS.
3. Third-party apps that are exclusive to Android.

From my time spent with the Nexus One early this year, I know that Google’s Android apps are pretty good. These include both the core system apps, and the closed-source “Google Experience” apps like the dedicated Gmail client and Google Maps.

There are definitely a fair number of apps in the second category — those ported to both iOS and Android. Examples: Amazon’s Kindle client, Pandora, and a few popular games, such as Angry Birds and Doodle Jump.

But what I find striking is that the apps in the third category — those exclusive to Android — are almost entirely unappealing or irrelevant to iOS users.

3. Top Apps on Android are things to manage the phone!

In the free list, the top five apps are all available for iOS,² or, in the case of #5, Barcode Scanner, have equivalent if not superior iOS alternatives. The first app in the list that’s exclusive to Android is #6, Lookout — an anti-virus app.

In the paid list, Android exclusives include Root Explorer (a file system manager), Advanced Task Manager (a process monitor/killer), a collection of home screen widgets, SetCPU for Root Users (a hack for overclocking your device’s CPU), and CacheMate for Root Users (for manually managing system caches). Spot a trend?

In fact, the Android Market, as a whole, bears a lot more resemblance to the Cydia app store than it does to Apple’s official App Store. This is both in terms of content (system hacks, geek utilities, lower-quality UI design) and audience (the sort of users who put “task killers” and home screen replacements at the top of their favorite app lists). Browse the Android Market apps listed at sites like DoubleTwist and AppBrain, particularly the most popular lists. Then browse the listings in the Cydia app store, and tell me there isn’t a strong similarity.

The mere existence of things like task killers and anti-virus apps for Android — let alone that such utilities are popular — erodes consumer trust. Inherent to the console model is that third-party software can’t — not shouldn’t but can’t — damage or gum up the system.

4. Android not meshing the right model compare to iOS

When you think about competition between platforms in other fields, like game consoles — Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo — there’s a strong correlation between device sales, developer support for the platform, and software sales. In mobile computing, it’s not so much that there’s no correlation between hardware sales and the app market, but that there really is only one console-like app market: Apple’s.

1. Apple has carefully constructed iOS and the iTunes App Store to support this “app console” model.

2. Developers, large and small, have swarmed to Apple’s app console model, with consumer-friendly apps, design, presentation, and pricing.

3. iOS users understand the app console model and have embraced it — both in terms of a willingness to look for and install apps, and a willingness to pay for them.

None of those three things are true for Android.

I spoke to a source at a very successful iOS game development shop earlier this week, regarding the company’s plans for Android. According to my source, the company is investigating skipping the Android Market entirely, and working out exclusivity deals with handset makers to bundle games on Android phones.

iOS’s exclusivity for a bunch of big-name mobile games — Need for Speed Undercover, Star Wars: Battle for Hoth, Monopoly, Tetris, The Sims, Assassin’s Creed — has been broken. Not by Android, where none of these games exist, but by Windows Phone 7, a one-month-old platform.

I urge folks interested in such debate to view the original article

[Full Article here >>]

I got a chance to go down to the local store to test out the Archos GEN8 101 and 70 extensively.

Let me just say that its not as bad as what the guy faced in this article here, but its not very complete yet.

The touch experience

On the whole my experience navigating is not very good. Particularly, I think its highly attributable to the screen protector they lay across that is making it not very sensitive. We need to re-evaluate this one.

When the touch experience is not there, it impedes my overall user experience

Live Wallpaper needs to be turn off

The live wallpaper makes the 2 devices laggy, turning it off makes a marked improvement.

Essentially if you have an android phone, you should always turn off live wallpaper if you are a productive user like me.

The weight of the device

Much Much lighter than the iPad. It makes it more portable. But I get the feeling after prolong holding typing I will still get tired.

7 inch vs 10 inch

Ah the size comparison. Which is better?

Because the 10 inch is 1024 x 600, it looks like an elongated 7 inch.

Now I understand why the iPAd is 1024×768 because reading magazines on a wider device makes so much more sense.

I can view comfortably on 7 inch or 10 inch. That is not a problem.

But the 7 inch is so much portable. In fact for portability  is the right size.

But if I were to use it as a reader, I would prefer the 10 inch.

In terms of value for money I think the 10 inch is more value than the 7 inch.

Reading PDF books

This is something that I would like to test and sadly the device does not come with a PDF reader. However I was able to download one from the AppLib.

I tested with 3 books

1. 66 MB Magazine – takes a long time to render. It renders by 4 squares for 1 page
2. 7 MB Magazine -  faster than the 66 MB but still slow
3. 5 MB Technical book – same speed but the good thing is that you can view it without needing to zoom in zoom out.

One thing to note is that I played them off a microSD card which my friend says is slow speed.

A better test would be to move it to the flash disk which would be faster.

Also the reader is questionable as it kept crashing. Adobe Reader or Repligo would be much better.

AppLib

A very limited marketplace, but it still has tons of things. I believe a lot of people can make do with it, but there is always an official Android Marketplace hack.

Overall Assessment

After seeing this, I went to Sim Lim to take a look at the China tablets and comparatively the ARchos is so so so much better than them.

But when I was using it, I kept thinking why the touch sensitivity lacks so much of what the iPad can achieve. I can stand waiting and lagginess. But I really don’t like touching the same thing twice to select.

I will keep my options open. There is still the Creative resistive device and likely more release according to my reader here so it pays to wait.

I am not discounting the iPAD at SGD728 as well.

I was over at forums.archosfans.com and saw that many have gotten their hands on the Archos GEN8 tablets.

It’s a great device from the youtube videos that I have posted and makes you think that for once we have finally got something:

1. Good screen size (7 and 10 inch)
2. WIFI and BT
3. Good processor Cortex A8 1 GHZ
4. adequate ram 256 MB (wish it was 512MB)
5. Micro SD card expansion
6. And a whole lot of others

This could be the one that will kick iPad’s ass.

Sadly it is not to be. I find that the offerings once it reaches Singapore is expensive.

For an Archos 10 inch comparable to iPad at 8GB is SGD 499 and 16GB is  SGD 599.

An iPAd 16GB WIFI version is SGD 728. That’s only 128 bucks more than the 16GB Archos 16GB. It makes a tough decision but if the Archos delivers greater value than the iPad, it might be worth while to go with the Archos GEN8 101.

Archos greater value than the iPad?

The thing that Apple does well is release a device with good quality control and for the iPad it has a lot of value because it has

1. a lot of good todo list
2. a lot of good note taking app
3. a lot of good ebook readers
4. a lot of good pdf readers

The existing third party apps really add value and it is easy to find them on the app store.

Compare this to the Archos

1. No Android Market place (that is without a hack). The softwares on AppLib is much lesser than that of Android Marketplace
2. There are good ebook readers, both with kindle and nook and kobo support
3. No good PDF readers that are prominent
4. Note taking apps are not meant for 7 or 10 inch
5. Same for To-Do apps.

In terms of quality control, Archos seems to rush out their tablets such that the people at the forum is facing a lot of issues

I have spent all afternoon having nothing but problems with my just received Archos 101

Most of the issues are due to the touch screen but also the firmware. I had to do a low level system restore to get it out of a perpetual rebooting.

2 times I have got it stable and reload some apps only to find that I put it down for 1/2 hour and its unusable.

I called the supplier who I purchased it from and they said 25% of those shipped out are being returned.

Archos seem to like there name being associated with carp unreliable buggy equipment, how can a company survive when they let out such equipment for sale. No wonder there will be non available for another month, its because they might have finally twigged that it a bad idea to Piss 25% of your customer base off.

A not very happy 101 owner (not for long though)

Now I wonder how many people generally encounter this on the iPad

Here is a buyer of a Viewsonic Tablet and what he thinks of his purchase:

I have the viewsonic, let me tell you if you think archos rushed theirs out wait til you get this one. The hardware is impressive HOWEVER:

- no 1080p avc(or even 720p)
- my wifi works 20% of the time
- you need to reboot whenever you put int an sd card for it to see it
- no flash
- no app store
- random factory resets on it’s own.
- touchscreen keeps going dead in spots.
- screen angles are terrible(only real hardware complaint)

Viewsonic says they don’t know what’s defective hardware and what will be fixed with FW, and FW will come “sometime in the next month”

don’t get me wrong this platform has amazing potential, but for now it’s going back and i’m thanking my lucky stars I kept my a101 pre-order alive.

And comments about the support:

I’m used to messing around with the kit and so will most people here. If I was in isolation I would have considered I was unlucky. But when I call tech support for the company I purchased it from they said 25% of the sales were in the process of being returned. 25% that 1 in 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I purchase a product I do not expect to have to do system resets, reboots, calibations every 1/2 hour to keep it going. £300 is a lot of money to me. I wanted the tablet and stumped up the money to purchase it against my normal practice of being cautious and letting things settle first.

Now I was really Pissed of when I made the first post. I waited in for 2 days while delivery people failed to bother to deliver adhere to there “next day delivery” promise. Then only to find that it failed to work. I did not say though either that the acceleration failed to work at the start either. I had to do every thing with the screen upside down to the way the stand wanted to be laid out. Only after the first full reboot

The reason I have not posted before is I only had got the device today, but I had been reading the forums in anticipation. So when I get pissed of were do I go? I make my self herd.

If you read my posts I do say that if your one of the 75% who’s does work then all well and good, I hope you fall into that camp. But a device that can change from minute to minute, there is something wrong and until they sort that I cannot recommend it.

Remember what I said 25% returns, I feel sorry for the retailer.

Remember that in Singapore I pay almost 100 SGD more for the Archos if I buy it. But that is probably the cost of having warranty. Warranty and Support is very important if you do not know how well the product is built.

Pricing

I have highlighted some problems with Android’s identity and Custom ROM issues but essentially if these manufacturers wants to compete they really have to

1. Focus on delivering what the user wants
2. Have adequate support and build a good community via responsive feedback and support
3. Being a great systems integrator
4. Great price for value given

We are not seeing this currently.

In this ZDNet post, the author talks about competitors still cannot reach iPad’s pricing point:

In recent days, tablet pricing details have emerged. To wit:

• Samsung’s 7-inch Galaxy Tab will run you $499 for a Wi-Fi version (top right). That price matches Apple’s iPad pricing and Samsung is packing in some key hardware features. But Samsung isn’t likely to move the needle on thwarting Apple.
• ViewSonic announced its ViewPad Android devices (bottom right). The ViewPad 7-inch version will run you $479. The 10-inch version will run you $629. Both versions are Wi-Fi with no 3G.
• The HP Slate 500 has Windows 7 will cost you $799. Even though the HP Slate is geared for business use, there were plenty of chief information officers with iPads at the Gartner powwow last month.
• Will Research in Motion’s pricing on the PlayBook even be in the ballpark? We don’t know yet, but it’s unlikely.

These prices illustrate how aggressive Jobs was at the iPad launch. Apple had the device and the pricing to arguably grab at least an 18-month lead.

So what happened?

• Apple built its own chips to take on an industry that clearly wasn’t ready for the iPad’s launch. It will take the Android ecosystem another rev on the product cycle just to approach what Apple has today.
• The players taking on Apple all have some sort of restriction. Apple has its own components, software and design specs. Apple also doesn’t give a hoot where it gets its parts. Now contrast that with rivals. Samsung as a massive tech conglomerate has a few built in advantages, but it’s Korea’s champion. The company is not going to go to China for parts.
• The software ecosystem isn’t ready. Microsoft is cramming Windows 7 into a tablet. HP has the webOS waiting in the wings. Android isn’t quite tablet ready yet. Apple had the ecosystem and operating system. Apple just had to add a 10-inch screen.

A few weeks ago, it appeared that Jobs was just ranting about Android on the company’s earnings conference call. But one thing he had right in that well-documented rant was the pricing model as iPad mote.

“Our potential competitors are having a tough time coming close to iPad’s pricing even with their far smaller, far less expensive screens. The iPad incorporates everything we’ve learned about building high value products from iPhones, iPods and Macs. We create our own A4 chip, our own software, our own battery chemistry, our own enclosure, our own everything, and this results in an incredible product at a great price. The proof of this will be in the pricing of our competitors’ products which will likely offer less for more.”

Conclusion

I was pretty hyped up about these Archos Series. Now not so much really. As an end user, I want a great user experience at great value.

I thought the Archos GEN8 101 or 70 could be it. Now I am not so sure. I could probably get a better reading, surfing, personal information management experience on the iPad, even though its out of my pricing range.

All in all Android is a great OS but the manufacturers are still not getting it.

I got news that Memory World in Singapore will be bringing in the GEN 8 devices!

Their exact pricing is presented in this google spreadsheet here >>

They will be available in the first week of November.

Here are some great video reviews of the devices. What I like is that the prices were pretty competitive in USD but perhaps Memory World took a big cut of it.

However, if you are looking at the difference in price form importing from US as warranty costs, then perhaps it’s a small price to pay.

ARCHOS A32 8GB FLASH 3.2" TFT LCD 262K COLOR – $249

ARCHOS A43 8GB FLASH 4.3" TFT LCD 16M COLOR – $339

ARCHOS A43 16GB FLASH 4.3" TFT LCD 16M COLOR – $359

ARCHOS A70 8GB FLASH 7" TFT LCD 16M COLOR – $459

ARCHOS A70 250GB HDD 7" TFT LCD 16M COLOR – $499

ARCHOS A101 8GB FLASH 10.1" TFT LCD COLOR – $499

ARCHOS A101 16GB FLASH 10.1" TFT LCD COLOR – $599

For those who think that Android Marketplace do not work on Archos Android, here is a video showing that you have alternative means to get it to work

The recent announcement that Archos will be releasing 5 very very affordable Android devices with really decent specification seem to perk up a lot of budget tech geeks interest.

The problem for many is that the cheaper 2.8 inch (USD99), 3.2 inch (USD 150) and 4.3 inch (USD 199) comes with Resistive Touchscreen rather than Capacitive Screen.

Nowadays, most good smartphones and tablets comes equipped with Capacitive rather than Resistive and they would probably cost more, explaining why for the smaller ranges, resistive is used.

Mind you, we have been using resistive for a long time on our old Windows Mobile Devices so it is very usable.

Here is a video showing the 2 resistive Archos in action:

This video show a few things:

1. The performance in general is pretty good on this demo.
2. However, there are times when the person couldn’t actually click the icon properly
3. People confuse performance with touchscreen usability. However, the 2 are related to one another.
4. Overall usability depends a lot on a decent processor (Cortex A8) and decent RAM (256MB)

1. But take a look at how hard is it to type on this resistive screen. It is definitely not there for regular typing.
2. You have to get a better keyboard like Swype to type better.

Archos looks to be on their way to become the brand to turn to for budget solutions.

However, it can be argue that their support or rather they do not provide adequate  upgrades for their existing devices to the latest operating system.

These are points of consideration you have to make when thinking of purchasing an Archos device.

For now a neak peak at these machines:

Archos 43 Internet Tablet, $199 4.3″ Android Tablet

Archos 101 Internet Tablet, 10.1″ capacitive Android 2.2 Froyo $299 Tablet

Archos 28 $99 Android Internet Tablet

Archos 70 Internet Tablet

Archos 32 Internet Tablet, sub-$149 Android 2.2 3.2″ iPod Touch competitor

Edited. Found the solution for Palm Pre!

I guess its about time some one comes up with application like these. Granted you might wonder, why would you want to turn your 3G phone into a wireless router?

Why do you need this?

1. You own an iPod Touch. its applications are far superior to your Android applications and you would rather surf web on the go on it ( why i am interested in this!)
2. Checking email on the bus/commuting. You have a laptop and would like to pass time by checking the internet for cool stuff. You want something that can connect without the hassle of bring too much devices with you
3. You have a PMP player like Archos or Creative device that is big on multimedia usage and screen size but it doesn’t have a 3G connection BUT it has WIFI!

Whats the draw back?

1. Software like these normally are very intense on the battery life of the device. you are essentially broadcasting wifi and 3G at once. your battery life can’t last long. this is not a long term solution. It is only a solution for at most an hour.
2. The connection might be quite flaky depending on how good the software is
3. In the case of Windows Mobile, the solution is quite expensive!
4. Do watch your data usage as it might burst your phone bill!

The solution for Android – Android WIFI Tether

The software solution enables tethering (via wifi and bluetooth) for “rooted” handsets running android (such as the Android DevPhone 1). Clients (your laptop for example) can connect via wifi (ad-hoc mode) or bluetooth and get access to the internet using the 3G, 2G mobile connection or (in case you are using bluetooth) the wifi connection which is established by the handset.

The Cost: Free for now

[android-wifi-tether site to download application  >>]

The solution for Symbian – JoikuSpot

The solution for symbian nokia phones is JoikuSpot Light. FREE limited edition of JoikuSpot that connects your laptop to internet via Wifi using your mobile phone’s 3G.

There are essentially 2 solutions: the Free and the Premium. I have not tried the premium but the free one is quite good. It enables me to surf the web on safari on my iPod Touch but not connect to the App Store.

Premium Edition comes with all internet protocols. You can also secure your connection with Premium and use VPN to access secured corporate intrawebs. Premium supports email protocols so you can use email clients like Outlook and Gmail. All settings (like WiFi network naming and default access point) are adjustable in Premium. There is no forced default landing page in Premium Edition. Premium has best performance and connection quality, and auto-reconnects to 3G if the connection is dropped to e.g. 2G temporarily.

Here is a video of Joikuspot working with iPod Touch!

The Cost: Free or EUR 6 for Premium

[JoikuSpot Site to download application >>]

The solution for Windows Mobile – WMWIFIROUTER

WMWifiRouter instantly turns your wifi enabled smartphone* into a wireless internet hotspot. Now you can use your laptop and any other device with wifi to get online and surf, email, instant message, and anything else you normally use the internet for!

This is an expensive software but do download and try it for 14 days you will know why you pay so much for it because it is so robust. I personally tested it. its good!

Here is a video on how it is used:

The Cost: EUR 19.99 (!!!!)

Edit: Refer to post here. There might be a way to use an earlier WMWIFIRouter version when it was free.

[WMWIFIROUTER homepage for more info >>]

Alternative solution:HTC WIFI TETHER Software

HTC is developing their own version of WMWIFIRouter and we are excited as this would likely be free if you know where to look (XDA!)

The Cost: FREE

The solution for Palm Pre – My Tether

* Allows sharing your Sprint EVDO from your Pre to your computer or iPod Touch.
* WiFi network name & WEP key customization options
* Makes Palm Pre into a MiFi-like hotspot at your convenience to share your 3G connection.
* Converts Palm Pre into a Wireless Network adapter by letting you share the WiFi connection on the Pre instead of EVDO when tethering over Bluetooth or USB.
* Option to disable sleep mode on Palm Pre
* Ability to turn off the LCD only, doesn’t put the device into sleep.
* Convenience features such as restoring the old WiFi connection when tethering is disabled, prompts to take care of pre-requesties to tethering, remembering settings and last tether options, restoring modifications to settings back to original value upon exit, and many more to list.

Cost: FREE (Do Donate if you find that its worth it!)

[My Tether download site >>]

The solution if you don’t have a phone – Novatel MIFI Wireless Router

If you do not own the above devices, the solution is to buy a MIFI Wireless Router explained here in my previous post.

Here is a video on it in action:

The Cost:USD 299 without plan

Summary

Right now what i am missing is the solution for creating a wireless modem out of iPhone and Blackberry. I believe that it can be useful to invest in such a software. If you have an alternative to these or cheaper solutions (especially for Windows Mobile) do let me know!