Tech Time: Kindle vs Nook

When last have you bought a CD? I’ll bet it has been a while since you have purchased a book too. Technology has revolutionised everything, including the traditional book.

Welcome to the age of the e-reader, delivering 1,000’s of books into the palm of your hand. There are several well known dedicated e-reader devices, such as the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook. But increasingly people are turning to existing devices such as phones, table PC’s or handheld game consoles for ‘books’.

Regardless of the device you use, e-readers are extremely portable, generally have long battery lives and have the ability to put an entire library at your finger tips.

The Amazon Kindle was introduced to the market two years ago. It is about the size, weight and dimension of a traditional paperback book with a crisp ‘electronic ink’ display. Books can be downloaded anywhere in the world thanks to built in 3G roaming as provided by Sprint. You can browse for, buy and be reading material in 30 seconds from the Amazon store which features 100,000’s of books, magazine and newspaper titles.

Feel free to bookmark sections, make comments or look up words with the built in dictionary, but don’t expect to be able to download books over the internet as there is no wifi immediately available. So for us here in Jamaica, the other options include transfer from PC or download direct to iPhone.

The Barnes and Noble Nook is being touted as a ‘Kindle Killer’; expected to ship early next year, the Nook has ‘one-upped’ the Kindle on some features. Like the Kindle, you can browse for and purchase through a worldwide 3G network, in the Nook’s case provided by AT&T. In addition to the ‘electronic ink’ screen, the Nook features a colour touch LCD display that doubles as a keyboard on the lower third of the device.

For roughly the same price of US$250, the Nook offers built-in free wifi; unfortunately, the wifi will only work in Barnes & Nobel stores. Like the Kindle, the Nook allows you to bookmark, highlight or annotate key sections for a book, but unlike the Kindle, Nook allows you to ‘share’ a book with your friend with a compatible e-reader for up to 14 days.

Both devices are able to hold roughly 1,500 titles and play MP3s, but Nook has an expansion slot to increase the built-in 2GB with a mini-SD card of up to 16GB. Nook doesn’t however have the cool, experimental text to speech feature which assists with word pronunciation. The Nook is one ounce heavier (I am told) and has a shorter battery life of about 10 days. It also has no built-in internet browser unlike its chief rival, but does have native PDF.

If Nook starts to make an impact in the e-reader market, Amazon is likely to make additional improvements in its now third generation Kindle. But all of this will be moot, if the highly speculated Apple Table hits the market next year. These are indeed interesting times.

Tech Time: Internet On The Go

It’s great to have browser options, but being able to use a browser anywhere you want is the real trick to internet power. When we are on the go, or if we live in relatively remote locations, getting internet access can be a challenge, without a USB Modem.

Also sometimes referred to as data cards or mobile modems, the USB modem offers wireless internet connectivity. It’s not a new concept, PC Cards offered wireless internet via a cellular connection, but thanks to technology blazing speed and easy access is now par for the course.

USB modems call on GPRS (General Pocket Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) to download data at speeds of up to 8 MBps. This is comparable to some broadband internet services though in reality, your speed will likely be closer to 2 MBps, still very good.

The quality of the signal and the speed are largely dependent on your location. Being outdoors and stationery are not requirements, but both factors help.

Each USB Modem and service provider is different and novices won’t be able to transfer service from one telecom to another. To simplify matters (or make more money) some laptop manufactures are including built in data cards tied to a particular service provider.

In Jamaica, all three telecoms offer data cards either as a standalone or package deal. A unlimited data plan is highly recommend for heavy users to avoid data caps and overage fees. Device fees start at just under $3,000.00 usually with a data plan. Roaming rates are generally separate.

Of the local options, I am yet to see added features like built in data storage, dual wifi or built in GPS, but I don’t miss any of them. All local options do also offer SMS messaging and SIM based phone books which has some cool/practical business applications.

Tech Time: Browser Wars

Browsers have come a long way. From the original WorldWideWeb, to the competition between Netscape and IE (Internet Explorer) to the wide range of browser options available today, it’ been a fascinating journey.

Consumers have, more choice and better features with today’s browser. But which is the right browser for you, and what issues should you be mindful of? Let us breakdown the most popular options.

If you have a PC, it likely came loaded with Microsoft Internet Explorer. IE has the largest share of the browser market. As a result, most websites are optimised for IE. With the latest version IE comes tabbed browsing, password management, bookmarking, pop up blocking and other cool features. But, it doesn’t have a spell check and has been known to have security issues.

IE’s chief rival is Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is open source. Firefox is light and fast with all the traditional browser features like tabbed browsing, spell check and pop up blocking and improved security options which make it a good alternative to IE.

The newest kid on the block is Google’s Chrome. Like Firefox (with whom Google has developed a strategic alliance), Chrome is light, clean and easy to navigate. In addition to the tabbed browsing, password management, book marking and other features, Google Chrome offers download management and on board spell checking.

Mac users may scoff any browser but Apple’s Safari. Safari works on both PC and Mac, but Safafi was uniquely built for Macintosh users with a full range of features.

Finally, there is Opera. Though Opera has the smallest share of the PC/Mac browser market, Opera should not be discounted. The browser has been pre-installed on an estimated 40 million mobile handsets and only commercial web browser for Wii and Nintendo DS systems. It is fast, has speech to text recognition and understands mouse gestures.

IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera are all free to download, so try them all and see which one works best for you.




Interface with us:
Online: trivialonfame.blogspot.com
On email: famefm@rjrgroup.com
On SMS: 876-878-FAME (18768783263)

Tech Time: Tech Enhanced Travel

My trip to WOMEX was my longest away from home for many years (7 days). To prepare, I employed an arsenal of tech tools to assist me on my journey. From websites, to software to gadgets, each played a role in making the experience smooth and memorable.

Before Liftoff

For a guide on the best travel booking websites, see Tech Time: Travel Sites.

I booked some of my plans, my office made other bookings. To consolidate all of the arrangements, I turned to TripIt.com. Registration was easy, especially since I could link TripIt to my Google account. From here, I could just forward all my flight, hotel and ground transportation arrangements from different sources to one TripIt email address to aggregate my complete itinerary.

TripIt also sent my itinerary to my friends via both email and SMS text message with real time updates if there were delays; bear in mind, many airline websites will do this for you for free. The website can also post to your FaceBook or Twitter account, neither of which I recommend. Sadly, integrating with the popular Microsoft Outlook requires a paid upgrade; iPhone users can access TripIt through an app, BlackBerry users will have challenges.

Rival WorldMate is the leader when it comes to business travel assistance. The popular BlackBerry app is now free. In addition to offering aggregate itinerary, weather alerts, city maps and other features like TripIt, WorldMate is an inspired travelling companion, offering currency, size and measurement conversations, searchable airport, airline, hotel and car rental data bases, flight status updates and rich useful information.

Take a moment to sign up for travel reward programmes to ensure you get your points. Even if you don’t travel regularly, its FREE, so why not. From airlines, to hotels, to car rentals – you can save money, get free stuff or simply identify your preferences so when you travel, you feel like you’re in first class.

Research weather, currency, electricity and internet availability, transport and points of interest for the most fun/work on the ground. Information is power!

In a post 9/11 world, we have long travel delays, so prepare for delays with entertainment. If you like to read, forget the heavy, forest cutting, old school book in favour of an eReader. Readily available are the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader. Carry hundreds of books and magazines to read while waiting in airports or driving long distances.

As Jamaicans, we need music. So charge your MP3 player in preparation for the long haul. Apple’s line of iPod’s are among the most popular MP3 players, and many models also play video and full length movies in addition to having games good enough to rival the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) and the Nintendo DS (the new preferred handheld video games).

On The Road

Have fun and make the fun last by taking pictures and shooting video. Smart phones are a great substitute, but better pack your digital camera. The type and features of the camera are totally dependent on your preferences or your budget. Cheapest are ‘point and shoot’, then SLR, then video cameras for capturing your precious memories.

Also ensure you have multiple high capacity memory cards for all your pictures and video.

Make your friends envious (or prove to your boss that you were working) by sending ePost Cards from the road. iPhone users can download and install Postage to do this for them; the rest of us can use 123Greetings.

Alternately, you can post your images online using FaceBook, PhotoBucket or other image hosting sites.

Put a little extra effort in before your trip, to make it easier on the road.

Interface with us:
Online: trivialonfame.blogspot.com
On email: famefm@rjrgroup.com
On SMS: 876-878-FAME (18768783263)