Wi-Drive by Kingston

I bought a 16GB PlayBook because I didn't know anybody with a PlayBook.  Wasn't sure if I would like it, what it could do. Now that I have used it for nine months, the biggest regret that I have is that I should have spent the extra $100 and got the 64GB model. Even the 32GB PlayBook would have been better at $250, then the 16GB at $200. Should have listened to Consumer Reports. But as much memory as you can afford.

In Canada, the USA and in the UK, prices of the PlayBook have gone down. Office Depot in the US have been selling the 64GB model for $200. Great deal, as I bought my 16GB for the same price. Was very tempted on getting one. But why? Mines has been very good to me. Very reliable. More memory would be better. I'm always filling my PlayBook with files.

My solution is the Kingston Wi-Dive. A USB flash drive, with built in wifi hotspot. 4 hour battery life. Available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models. There are apps available for iOS, Android, and the Kindle Fire for the Wi-Dive.  Otherwise a browser should do. But will it work on the PlayBook? We shall see. I just bought the 32GB from Amazon for $60. Very good price, as the 16GB goes for about $55.

YouTube Supernatural

Screen Captures on the PlayBook

I use screen captures for many things. When I pay bills or shop online, I take a picture of the confirmation. Same with banking. For addresses or maps. If something strange happens to me online or with the PlayBook. It just comes in handy.

To take a screen capture press volume + and volume - at the same time. It makes a camera shutter sound. If you have the volume low, you may not hear it.

Photo from readatech.com

Downloading YouTube Videos to your PlayBook

You can download videos to you PlayBook directly. It will appear in your download folder. I have used two different websites. Don't know if there is an app in App World, as App World is difficult to search. The two websites also have many ads and/or pop-ups. They do make it hard to navigate on the site, so beware. One is called filsh.net, the other ytconv.net. Links below.

When choosing a format, for videos I use mp4. Mp4 files should be able to play on most tablets and many phones.


http://www.filsh.net/

Ytconv

So now a little of the bad of the PlayBook native video player. In the lower left of the screen capture, you see stop/start. On either side you see forward and reverse, but with only one arrow each. What that shows is lack of fast-forwarding or rewind. You can use the slide control, but it doesn't get you to the exact spot you want. Hitting the forward once will take you to the next video or stop the player,it was the last video. Hitting reverse once will take you to the beginning of the video, hitting twice will take you to the video listed before. All videos are in alphabetical order. All that wouldn't be so bad if, when you close the player, it could start playing where you left off.

Also lacking when bringing up the control screen, is a clock. There are times I need to know the time. Swiping down from either top corner will show you the time, that takes too much effort. I say top because however you are holding your PlayBook, top is the highest point.

This screen capture is from a clip from CW's Supernatural, season 4, episode 6. It appears after the ending credit. The clip is from YouTube.

My Predictions for the iPad Mini

Price                      $299
Name                     iPad Air
Internal Memory   16GB
Wieght                  >300g
Battery Life           9hrs
Screen size            7.85inches
Pixel count            1024x768
Front camera         1.2MP
Rear Camera         5.0MP w/led flash

8 pin dock connector
LTE (optional)
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0
WiFi

Skype on the PlayBook?

Skype may soon be on the PlayBook.  Not thru an app you must download, but by using Outlook.com, Microsoft new email service. It's not working yet, but soon. Or so Microsoft says. We shall see.

iPad mini wishlist

In my first blog, I posted this -

People say you can put a 7″ tablet in your pocket. Whose pocket are they talking about? I guess if I wore a jacket, but I don’t. The Playbook, to me, is just to big for a pocket. I also find the Playbook too heavy. 

1lb      Playbook

.9lb     Kindle Fire

.75lb   Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0

If Apple could get the weight down to .66lb, I think that would be something. For most people, they could hold with one hand and not find the weight too tiring to hold for long periods of time.

Ah, I know. Battery life would not be as long. Motorola does have the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX, which points to how to satisfy people who want longer battery life. 

16 GB of internal storage is the minimum. 

Forward facing camera. Everybody wants Skype. 

Rear facing camera would be nice. 

________________________________________

If you have ever held a PlayBook or a Kindle Fire, it is really too heavy to hold in one hand for long periods of time. The Nexus 7 is lighter, but still too heavy.

Playbook           425g

Nexus 7              340g

iPad Mini          265g

If the rumored weight for the iPad Mini holds, it would be lighter then I had hoped. My wish would have been about 300g. Now if Apple priced this thing to move, they should have a winner. The screen resolution would need be as good as the Nexus 7, but will it be that important? The screen size will be bigger.

Here is a picture from 9to5Mac of what they think the iPad Mini would look like next to a Nexus 7. 

Contest Time

Reading on the Internet and found 2 contest. Problem is one is for only USA residents and the other is for USA and Canada, except Quebec. And if a Canadian wins, they must answer some sort of question. The prizes are not a PlayBook, but a Nexus 7 in one and the other has a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, ATT Galaxy S III, HP Ultrabook and other things. 

Fist up, from Engadget. Open to USA legal residents of the fifty states and DC and to Canada, except Quebec.  Read the rules. Don't blame me if you don't qualify,  as I have nothing to do with the contest. 

Engadget Back to School

The second contest is from Slashgear. This is for a Nexus 7. Open to only USA residents. Read the rules and have fun. 

Slashgear Tegra Giveaway

Also, not sure when the contest ends. Read the rules. 

Me and My 16GB PlayBook

Don't get a 16G PlayBook

Received my PlayBook before Thanksgiving. Bought it from Buy.com. I bought the 16GB model, as it was the cheapest, didn't know anybody with one, couldn't tell if I would like it, and was not sure what video formats it would play. Main reason to buy the PB was to watch videos.

I love the PlayBook. To play videos. But the problem has turned out that I got a 16GB PlayBook. As I don't like streaming videos, I download videos to my PB. 16GB is not enough. The PlayBook can output thru HDMI, 1080p video and that can be a large file. I have seen some at 6GB. As as of now, as you can't expand memory, buy as much as you can afford. If you can get the 32GB, go for it.  You'll not regret it. 64GB is better. This would also apply to the iPad, iPod Touch and the Nexus 7. iPod Touch is a little different in that video files will be smaller. But I would put more songs on it. Nexus 7 has 8GB and 16GB. I would think the 8GB would be worthless.

I still have an iPod Touch 1st generation, 16G. I leave my music on that, more portable. I also listen to podcast on it, so I don't need to use the PlayBook for audio listening. Depending how much music someone loads up, it can take pressure off needing more bytes on the PB.

PlayBook Power Button

The power button is at the top of the PlayBook, next to the volume buttons. I don't use the power button much. But it plays a very important role. If you need to do a hard reset, you need to press the volume +, volume -, and the power button at the same time. Or if your battery is dead and not charging for is to hold the power button for 40 seconds and then plug the charger in.

But problems have arisen for some owners. Their PB's power button is flushed or below the case. Never accept this on the PlayBook. If you bought it new return it. If buying use, inspect it before buying. You want the power button to be above the casing.

For powering off the device, there is another way. On. The home screen, there is a battery icon. Touch that icon and a menu pops down. I mostly use Stand By, as power drain should be small.

The top photo I found in a review of the BlackBerry PlayBook on AnandTech.  Below is a link to the review.  While the review is good, remember, the OS has been updated since the review and some features have been added. But still no apps.
anandtech.com

A New Fix for Dead Battery

Well, a new method to try if your PlayBook has a dead battery. You hold the power button, which is on the top,  for 40 seconds then you plug it into the charger.

Below is a link to CrackBerry forums and the thread. While the original poster said 20 sec, post #10 had called RIM, and they recommend the 40 sec.

playbook-dead-battery-fix

I have 2 Facebook accounts

Never knew that you could not have duplicate Facebook accounts. I actually have 3. The first one is for family and a few close friends. And someone who shares my name. The second is for anybody else who friend request me, like old schoolmates or coworkers. If I know them. The third is my mother's. But she has gotten into Facebook in the last month, so she takes care of that account now.

I like Facebook, in that I can see what my family is doing. But some people post too much crap. And those game posts are just plain irritable. Does anybody needs to know what you did in Farmville? Then, I think I must have hit a Like button for Visa, the credit card. I could not get rid of it for 3 months. Then today, I found it listed on my profile as a Like and could unlike them. This, after writing a few posts on their pages about how I thought it was spam. Even reported them as spam.

Facebook needs to get their house in order, or they will become the new MySpace.

Monoprice.com Earphones

Cnet Audiophiliac

Thewirecutter Best Headphones

I have bad luck with headphones and earbuds. I have closed car doors on them. A dog ate one. Got the wire caught in a office chair. Then just plain wear and tear. I must get a new earbuds every month. So lime like to buy cheap. I used to get Aiwa, but I can't find detailed them anymore. Then I was using Panasonic, the cost $5. Now I can't find them.

Then found Sony. About $15. Somebody then recommended this V-Midas from eBay, about $8.88 and free shipping to boot. They were bright orange. But cheap. They lasted 3 weeks.

Surfing the Internet, just reading tech sites, when I find headphone reviews.  I find mention of some cheap earphones from Monoprice.com. I have bought from them before. Good prices, good service. So now I'm thinking about buying a few from them. Can't hurt.

Version 2.0.1.688

Got notification of an update this morning. Went to CrackBerry.com to see what the update was about. It is not the promised OS 2.1. Most people think it is just minor maintenance. So I downloaded it.

After trying for an hour, can't say I noticed anything. Will keep playing to see what's up.