Mobility Site » Richard Cunningham

Palm Changes Its Colors…Sorta

Richard Cunningham — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 01:54:17 +0000

When the Palm Treo 680 was first introduced, it was made available in four colors: Graphite, Arctic, Crimson, and Copper. This consumer-oriented replacement was sold as both unlocked and locked versions, the locked version being available to Cingular subscribers, the unlocked available to anyone who had a GSM provider. The rub was the the locked version was only available in Graphite, not the other three colors. For Cingular subscribers that meant paying a full price $399 and still having to have get a plan. Well, that has all changed in the past few days.

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Apple Shuffles Shuffle Lineup

Richard Cunningham — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:06:01 +0000

Less than two months after it’s introduction, Apple has made some changes to the new 2nd generation iPod Shuffle. When it was originally released, it came in one color (Silver), and it shipped with the first generation lollipop earbuds (the ones that hurt my ears after only 20 minutes). Well, Apple has corrected both of what I consider minor problems.

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iPod Shuffle Finally Covered

Richard Cunningham — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 06:53:10 +0000

When Apple released the 2nd Generation iPod Shuffle (1gb), I was astounded at the size, how small it was. Two things popped into my mind. One how cool it was, and two, given it’s size and design, there couldn’t be much of an after market for options for it. I was wrong on the second item. There have been several accessories showing up for it, most notably covers to protect it. Several are shown here.

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HP Selling Microsoft Zune

Richard Cunningham — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 16:31:12 +0000

A few years back, Hewlett Packard sold a licensed version of the Apple iPod through their retail and web channels. The only differences was the back had HP+ engraved on it instead of the infamous Apple logo. It was a nice experiment, but it didn’t last too long.

It seems that HP is again selling an MP3 player, at least on it’s website. The are carrying the Microsoft Zune, listing it at the retail price of $249.99, and has all three colors available. In true HP fashion, it each one has it own model number. They are the rx798 (brown), rx797 (white), and rx796 (black). Some how I don’t see anyone saying, "Hey, check out my HP rx796!" anytime soon.

While this may not make a difference to the everyday buyer, HP does offer an Employee Purchasing Program (EPP) to many companies, and the Zune is included in this offer. I don’t know if the discount is the same for every company, but it could be worth checking out if you are considering purchasing one of these "iPod Killers".

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Portland, Oregon: Free Is A Very Good Price

Richard Cunningham — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 20:05:04 +0000

Portland, Oregon has brought the first part of the free city-wide WiFi network online. The plans call for a complete WiFi umbrella over this Pacific Northwest city to be completed in early 2008. This will give anyone in the city limits free access to the Internet using wireless technology. That is free, as in no pay, nothing, nada, zip. But even free has a price, and in this case, there are banner ads on the pages. A subscription fee of $20/month will remove the ads. But, hey, for free Internet, I could live with a few ads.

Current coverage extends fo a two mile radius of the downtown Pioneer Square, and one other neighborhood. The plans call the network to eventually reach 95% of all of the cities indoor and outdoor areas. MetroFi, a leader in free, ad-based internet access, is providing the hardware. The Portland Wi-Fi network is modeled on wireless broadband networks that MetroFi has previously built and operates in cities like Aurora, Ill., Foster City, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Concord, Calif. The Portland network is the largest undertaken by MetroFi, and funding is also provided by Microsoft.

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iPod + Nike = Tracking/Stalking Device?

Richard Cunningham — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 06:15:25 +0000

Well, it was almost too good to be true. The new Nike+ iPod exercise monitoring device that interfaces with the newer iPods has a major flaw, many online sites and news networks are reporting. According to University of Washington researchers, there is a security flaw in the new RFID-powered device from Nike and Apple that make it easy for tech-savvy stalkers, thieves and corporations to track user movements. While this may sound very-Big Brotherish, and somewhat remote at the same time, it is nice to be informed of this apparent weakness. So far there have been no comments from either Nike nor Apple. It will be nice to see what their spin on this is. Stay tuned, I am sure there will be more to follow.

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Apple Having One Day Sale – Great Deals on iPods

Richard Cunningham — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 07:28:47 +0000

Talk about flying under the radar. I just checked my email tonight and found out that Apple is having a 1 Day Sale on many items, both in their stores and on their online shop. This sale runs from 12:01AM until 11:59PM on Friday November 24th. Amazingly, most of the new iPods are on sale as well. This is the first time I can remember Apple ever reducing the price on those babies. For example, you can buy the new 8gb Nano for only $228, which includes free engraving. There are similiar price reductions on the 2 & 4gb models as well. The 80gb Video iPod is on sale for $318, and the 30gb model for $228. Many of the accessories are on sale as well. To get the savings, you have to add the item to your cart, which then shows the reduced price. In the stores, you will be charged the reduced price as well. This is a great start to a holiday season if you are planning on giving one of these as a gift. Remember, it is a one day only sale.

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iPod Product Red Doubles in Size (Literally)

Richard Cunningham — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:17:29 +0000

The popular Product Red iPod Nano has doubled in size only weeks after it’s initial release. The first units were available only in 4gb models, but Apple is now offering them in the 8gb size as well. They are available in stores as well as online.

The Product Red Nano is part of the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa which was founded by U2 leadman Bono. For every Nano sold, $10 is donated to the fund.

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iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation – First Impressions

Richard Cunningham — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 22:36:00 +0000

The latest version of Apple’s iPod Shuffle has finally seen the light of day, and is available for purchase at your local Apple outlet. I got an email a few days ago announcing they would be available on November 3rd, so I headed on over to the local Apple store. I was in need of a new shuffle since my old one suffered a non-technical oriented death several weeks ago.

I was able to pick one up with no problems, although the store told me they expected to sell out in the next few days due to the high demand and interest in this second generation player.

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Need PDA Repair – Try These Guys

Richard Cunningham — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 06:19:16 +0000

I have been in the electronics repair business for almost 35 years. I have tried to treat my customers as I would like to be treated myself, with respect and not pay an arm and a leg for repairs. When I find a company that I have had such an experience with, I like to share it so that if they need a repair of some sort, they can have the same experience. I recently had a PDA repaired, and the place I dealt with was most impressive.

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iPod Nano Now Seeing Red

Richard Cunningham — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:46:31 +0000

The iPod is finally seeing red in the United States. Available now (according to Apple’s website), a special edition iPod Nano has been released that is part of The Red Manifesto that has become the passion of U2’s lead singer Bono. The Red Manifesto is a consortium of mainstream vendors (such as Apple, American Express, and Motorola among others) that have dedicated a portion of the sales of Red products to the world wide fight against HIV and Aids. This project was started in the United Kingdom and European Union countries earlier this year, but has now made it to the United States.

According to CNN: "Dozens of "(Product) Red" items will go on sale in the coming weeks by Gap Inc., Apple Computer Inc., Motorola Inc., Converse Inc. and Emporio Armani. Portions of the product sales will go to The Global Fund, an organization that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria."

The red iPod Nano is now available at the Apple website (it shows shipping within 24 hours) for a price of $199. It is the standard 4gb second generation Nano. But for every one that is sold, Apple will donate $10 of the purchase price to the Global Fund to fight Aids in Africa.

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Vaja iVolution Cases Are The Best, Hands Down

Richard Cunningham — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 06:56:28 +0000

I have just drifted back to the dark side of the PDA world, in a small sort of way. I am using a Treo 650 PDA/Phone for my work now, after trying several different Pocket PC based phones. But that’s not the point of this blurb. Having made the purchase, I wanted to have the best protection available for this rather spendy phone. Since I’m paying for both the phone and the case, I wanted it to be a good match.

After some research, I purchased a Vaja iVolution T-66 case a dark blue one. For those of you who may not be aware of Vaja, they are located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and specialize in hand-made cases for electronic gadgets. I have used them before, and their quality is second to none.

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iTunes Movie Experience Very Nice

Richard Cunningham — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 06:54:12 +0000

I have been an avid iPod user for several years now. But that doesn’t mean that I have abandoned the PC world for the other side of the computing world. I just happen to think that the iPod and it’s supporting software is well written, easy to use, and has frequent enough updates to ensure that it always functions with the latest hardware.

So when Apple announced that they were going to start selling television shows and then movies on their website, I had to stop and think , were they abandoning the music scene? I mean, come on, the iPods are great for working out, and listening to music while one is typing (like I am now). But to watch television shows and movies? I don’t think so!

But, like many others, I got caught up in the hype and all of the media reports about the new version of iTunes and the movies. So I thought to myself, maybe I would just get one movie, and keep it on my iPod, JUST IN CASE I was on a flight, and I wanted to watch a movie. My resistance worn down, I caved in and purchased a copy of the Nicholas Cage movie, "National Treasure".

The whole process was quite painless and didn’t take long at all. You have to have an account with iTunes in order to purchase anything. That only took a minute or so. Credit card was approved with no problems, and then the download started. I have Comcast Cable Internet, so the 1.4gb sized file only took about 15 minutes. After it was downloaded, it placed itself in the iTunes menu, and all I had to do was click on it to watch it on my desktop (yes, I can watch it on the computer as well as the iPod). It was a very good quality full screen on my Samsung SynMaster 213T LCD monitor. I then transferred it to the iPod, where it was just as good of quality, although a bit smaller. The sound was perfect on both devices.

All told, this was not a bad experience. I can see where people who are on the go all of the time would benefit from having the option of watching and listening their choice of programming on the go. The newer iPods have a superior battery life for video compared to the first ones, so that daily commute will not drain a device down all the way. Apple has streamlined the whole process, making it consumer oriented with enough content to satisfy everyone for now. But if they want to maintain the head of steam they have built up, they need increase the content that they have available, a wider variety if you will. Otherwise I see the service withering on the vine. But for now, to coin the phrase from a nostalgic commercial from the 60’s, "Try it, you’ll like it".

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Stick It In Your Ear – New iPod Earbuds A Hit

Richard Cunningham — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 08:16:29 +0000

One of the distinctive features that the Apple iPod has had since it was released about six years ago was the earbuds that shipped with it. They were a distinctive design, and the were totally different from what anyone else was selling at the time.

Sure there were better ones available, but that design was a status symbol of sorts. I HAVE AN IPOD!! But there were two things wrong with them. Number one is that if they ever broke, you couldn’t just buy a replacement set, you had to buy that totally (well, almost totally) useless remote control for $40.00. The second problem was that after 10 or 15 minutes, they started to hurt my ears. I don’t think I was alone with that either. Plus the stupid foam rubber covers they sent were always tearing and getting lost.

But now, after six years, Apple has finally addressed that issue, and I am very satisfied. With the release of the second generation iPod Nanos, the improved fifth generation iPod videos and the redesigned iPod Shuffle, they are now including a completely redesigned earbud.

Now, I am not going to give all the technical details about the improved response, the better sound that comes from them, or any of that. From a purely user point of view, this redesigned earbud is more pleasant to wear than it’s first generation relative. One change is that the outer edge is now soft rubber, not the hard plastic of the original. Secondly, the shape is more ergonomic to the ear, and is a much better fit. While no two ears are identical, this design should fit and cause no major discomfort to users. What is also nice is that you can now buy the earbuds as a separate item, without the remote. The cost is $29.00, a very nice price considering the quality. They are available now, I got a set tonight at my local Fry’s store. They also come standard with all new iPods.

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Cingular 3125 Windows Smartphone Now Available

Richard Cunningham — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 03:32:10 +0000

Along with the Treo 750, Microsoft is also announcing the new 3125 Windows Smartphone available from Cingular. This is a Windows Mobile 5.0 based flip phone.

The ultra-thin Cingular 3125 combines an iconic design with the power, functionality and price to please both businesses and consumers. This flip phone measures just a hair over a half-inch thick. Plus, the Cingular 3125 packs a full set of features, making it perfect for use during work or leisure time.

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