Archive for October, 2015

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Telus To Carry The BlackBerry PRIV… But You Can Try It Out Right Now

Posted in Commentary with tags , on October 31, 2015 by itnerd

Canadian wireless provider Telus reached out to me to say that the PRIV by Blackberry will be available at Telus later this year. Those eager to check out its unique features can test it out online through their customer experience simulation. A first for Telus, the simulation provides a virtual device that customers can test out before the PRIV officially releases. 

I’ll post an update when I get more details on what Telus has planned in regards to the PRIV

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IBM Plans to Acquire The Weather Company’s Product and Technology Business

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 31, 2015 by itnerd

IBM today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Weather Company’s B2B, mobile and cloud-based web properties. This includes WSI, weather.com, Weather Underground and The Weather Company brand. The TV segment – The Weather Channel – will not be acquired by IBM, but will license weather forecast data and analytics from IBM under a long-term contract. The combination of technology and expertise from the two companies will serve as the foundation for the new Watson IoT Unit and Watson IoT Cloud platform, building on a $3B commitment made by IBM in March 2015 to invest in related offerings and services.
Some interesting related information:

  • The Weather Company’s data platform hosts the fourth-most used mobile app in the U.S.
  • Cloud-based service handles 26 billion requests a day.
  • IBM ramps up new Watson IoT unit with powerful cloud platform for cognitive business.

Upon closing, IBM will acquire The Weather Company product and technology assets that include the world’s leading meteorological data science experts, precision forecasting capabilities and a high-volume cloud platform that ingests, processes, analyzes and distributes enormous data sets at scale in real time. The company’s sophisticated models analyze data from three billion weather forecast reference points, more than 40 million smartphones and 50,000 airplane flights per day, allowing it to offer a broad range of data-driven products and services to more than 5000 clients in the media, aviation, energy, insurance and government industries.

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Steven Wozniak Has Created The First Patio Air Cooling Fan System

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 31, 2015 by itnerd

Trying to enjoy your backyard patio can get annoying when you have flying bugs and mosquitoes trying to bite you. Using a regular fan will keep mosquitoes and other bugs away in one particular area but leaves the rest of your body exposed to the heat and bugs! Steven Wozniak has been working on an invention that promises to change this. Wozfans includes 4 individual fans above and 4 individual fans below the table that create an entire air curtain around the patio table preventing any bugs to fly or enter this area.

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  • Integrated USB charging station: Keep your phones powered for whenever you need them. Your friends will love the outdoor comfort of a phone charging station and will envy the enjoyable experience that they will have at your home!
  • Rechargeable: The rechargeable battery will provide many enjoyable experiences on the patio table with up to 500 recharges powering the fans for at least 4 hours along with phone charging capabilities.
  • Control your Wozfans while enjoying great conversation with the remote control. There is no need to reach above or below the table to control individual air movement.
  • Motors: Wozfans is built the highest quality of brushless motors. These motors run contact free and without resistance, eliminating wear so the motors run cooler and more efficiently with several thousand hours of run time. In turn, you will have the opportunity to buy a replacement battery many times over before the motors expire.

WozFans has launched a Kickstarter campaign to kickstart the first production run. Early birds will be able to pre-order the whole set starting at $80

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Windows 10 To Become “Recommeded” Update

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 30, 2015 by itnerd

If you pay a visit to the Windows Experience Blog, you’ll see that the latest post that’s on it has some news that will be of interest to Windows 7 and 8.x users:

We will soon be publishing Windows 10 as an “Optional Update” in Windows Update for all Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers. Windows Update is the trusted, logical location for our most important updates, and adding Windows 10 here is another way we will make it easy for you to find your upgrade.

Early next year, we expect to be re-categorizing Windows 10 as a “Recommended Update”. Depending upon your Windows Update settings, this may cause the upgrade process to automatically initiate on your device. Before the upgrade changes the OS of your device, you will be clearly prompted to choose whether or not to continue. And of course, if you choose to upgrade (our recommendation!), then you will have 31 days to roll back to your previous Windows version if you don’t love it.

This may not be such a bright idea as Microsoft was criticized in September when users complained that Windows 10 was being automatically downloaded to some computers even if they didn’t indicate they were interested in upgrading. So they have to imagine that there would be an instant backlash the second that this blog post went online. Thus they have this statement as cover:

If you are on a metered connection on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, then you have the option of turning off automatic updates. We strongly discourage this in today’s connected world because of the constant risk of internet threats. If you choose to do so, we recommend manually checking Windows Update frequently, perhaps when you are on a non-metered network and consider the installation of all “Recommended” and “Important” updates. Windows 10 will not automatically download updates on a metered connection unless there is a security issue addressed within the update. In addition, Windows 10 contains a number of features for those on metered connections, including monitoring data usage by application and setting data usage quotas.

My $0.02 worth goes something like this. I really don’t care how Microsoft cloaks this, but I really get the impression that users are having Windows 10 forced upon them. I get why they’re doing this, but I think they need to take a different approach to encouraging the adoption of Windows 10. I’ve said it’s a good OS…. With the exception of those privacy related issues…. But Microsoft’s methods to get it onto as many computers as possible suck. My advice to them would be to rethink this as they’re not making friends by doing what they’re currently doing.

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New Sonos Play:5 Now Available for Pre-Order

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 30, 2015 by itnerd

You might recall that I had a look at the brand new Sonos Play:5 a few weeks ago and I was impressed with what I heard. Yesterday, the company announced that it is now available for pre-order. Pre-orders for the Play:5 start today on sonos.com. The speaker goes on sale November 20th in all of its U.S. retail partner and dealer locations, while retail locations in Canada and across the globe will begin selling the PLAY:5 on November 25th. Available in a custom matte black and matte white finish, the all-new SONOS PLAY:5 will retail for $549 CAD. I’d pre-order yours today as I expect the Play:5 to be a popular item. 

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Apple Pay Coming To Canada….. Sort Of

Posted in Commentary with tags , on October 29, 2015 by itnerd

One of the things that came out of Apple’s Earnings call which gave investors and the press insight on how Apple made piles of money was the fact that Apple Pay is finally coming to Canada. But the launch vehicle for Apple’s payment system is going to be American Express and not any of Canada’s six major banks.

Now this seems really weird as the American Express isn’t accepted everywhere due to the fact that the fees that they charge merchants are high compared to Visa and MasterCard. Because of that, not many people actually have an American Express card. So this seems like a #fail for me.

The question is, why would Apple go this route as they surely know all of the above?

My guess is this: The word on the street is that Apple has been in talks with the six major banks for a while now and they haven’t yet yielded the results that Apple has been looking for. This despite the fact that TD Canada Trust kind of leaked the fact that they are going to be on the Apple Pay bandwagon. So I am guessing that Apple has decided to force the issue by teaming up with American Express so that it give the the big six banks a push get on board.

Interesting plan. But it won’t work in my opinion. At least not at present. The big six banks in Canada aren’t known for being the sort to be pushed around by anyone. Apple included. Plus some of them are already working on payment systems of their own. Suretap is an example of that. And those efforts aren’t going to be abandoned even if they don’t have broad acceptance as far as I am aware. But I will also point out that those efforts leave out iPhone users. So at some point, the banks will have to play nice with those with iDevices. But I don’t think this will be the catalyst to do that. At least not yet. Apple may want rethink this and they may want to try and work with the big six Canadian banks to roll this out in a way that generates broad acceptance. Otherwise, they might find that Apple Pay will become something that Canadian consumers ignore.

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Review: TYLT Energi+ Power Backpack

Posted in Products with tags on October 27, 2015 by itnerd

Today I attended the launch of the ZTE Axon flagship smartphone.

On top of getting an Axion smartphone to review, which will be posted in the next few days, I also got a really cool backpack. Meet the TYLT Energi+ Power Backpack:

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It looks like a normal backpack from the outside, but it has some really cool features.

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You get a compartment that versatile enough to put anything into.

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There’s a compartment for your sunglasses and your smartphone that’s lined.

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There’s also a lined compartment for your tablet.

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And there’s a compartment for your laptop. My MacBook Pro 15″ With Retina Display fit in here fine. I could go through the rest of the compartments, but you get so many, we’d be here all day. In total, you get over 1,450 cubic inches of internal space and 13 pockets to store stuff in.

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The key feature is that the backpack includes this 10,400 mAh battery pack which allows you to keep your devices charged while they’re in the backpack. It comes with an Apple 30-pin cable and two Micro USB cables to allow you to charge stuff. The battery has three USB ports so you can use any cable that you need. Just make the cables that you use are on the long side for this reason:

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You can route all the cables through the blue access points so that you can keep all your stuff charged while it’s in whatever pocket you choose to keep your stuff in.

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This area has a NFC tag. Called the TYLT TAGZ, you can use an NFC enabled smartphone to customize settings and launch apps.

Some notes:

  • The battery pack doesn’t add that much weight to the backpack. You can also easily remove it as well. Given that it is 10,400 mAh, you can charge a whole lot of stuff with it.
  • It really opens up so that if you pass through airport security, you can easily open up all these compartments for inspection.
  • You can slide this backpack through a luggage handle so that you only have one thing to wheel though the airport.
  • There’s more than enough padding that will keep your shoulders from getting sore from whatever is in the backpack.
  • It looks well constructed and I believe that it will hold up to whatever you throw at it.

The TYLT Energi+ Power Backpack is $170 USD. If you’re on the road a lot and you need to keep your gadgets charged, and you need lots of places to store stuff, this is your backpack.

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Review: Asus ZenPower

Posted in Products with tags on October 27, 2015 by itnerd

This seems to be the year of the battery pack for me. I’ve reviewed a number of them this year, but this latest one is the most powerful one that I’ve had to date. Meet the Asus ZenPower:

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Asus calls this is “no bigger than a credit card.” It fits the dimensions of a credit card with the exception of thickness, which makes their credit card analogy a bit flawed. But I see their point. It is small and it is pretty light at 215g. But it packs 10050 mAh. It comes with a MicroUSB to USB cable. You’ll need to supply a USB to AC adapter if you want to charge it from anything other than your computer’s USB port. It has an aluminum outer casing and has a smooth finish. It also is available in five colors.

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It has a Micro USB port for charging the ZenPower and a USB port to plug your device into with the cable of your choosing. You’ll note that there are four lights of which only one is on. Each light represents 25% of the total charge that the ZenPower has. You also get a button to start the charging process and check on the current state of charge. You can also start the charging process by plugging in an USB cable.

The question is, how much power can the ZenPower provide? To find out, I charged it for 6 hours and did this test to find out how far it would go:

  • I took my iPhone 6 that had a 36% charge and charged it until it was full. There were 3 dots on the ZenPower which meant that it had 75% or less of a charge.
  • Next, I took my iPhone 6 that had a 78% charge and charged it until it was full. There were 3 dots on the ZenPower which meant that it had 75% or less of a charge.
  • From there, I took my iPhone 6 that had a 78% charge and charged it until it was full. There were 3 dots on the ZenPower which meant that it had 75% or less of a charge.
  • Next up was my iPhone 6 that had a 57% charge and charged it until it was full. There were 2 dots on the ZenPower which meant that it had 50% or less of a charge.
  • Then I took my iPhone 6 that had a 90% charge and charged it until it was full. There were 2 dots on the ZenPower which meant that it had 50% or less of a charge.
  • Now I drained my iPhone 6 which was at 20% and charged it until it was full. There was 1 dot on the ZenPower which meant that it had 25% or less of a charge.
  • From there I took my iPhone 6 that had a 78% charge and charged it until it was full.  There was 1 dot on the ZenPower which meant that it had 25% or less of a charge.
  • Next up. I topped off my iPhone 6 from a 95% charge to a full charge and it still had 1 dot left.
  • At this point, I was wondering what would finally drain it. So I took my iPhone 6 with an 85% charge and after fully charging it, the ZenPower still had 1 dot left. But at this point, the dot was blinking quickly. That implied that it had very little charge left.
  • What finally drained the ZenPower was taking my iPhone 6 with a 80% charge and taking it up to 96% before the ZenPower ran out of juice.

That’s a lot of charging capacity. And it’s fast too as it took about a couple of hours to charge my iPhone from 20% of a charge. That makes the ZenPower perfect for people who are going to be away from an AC outlet for an extended period of time, but who need all the power that they can get to recharge all their devices. Expect to pay about $60 USD $30 CDN for one. And based on these results, it will be money well spent.

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Apple Gets Served With A Lawsuit Over WiFi Assist Feature

Posted in Commentary with tags , on October 26, 2015 by itnerd

You might remember that I wrote about a new feature in iOS 9 called WiFi Assist and why you might want to turn it off. My logic was as follows:

This feature was designed to help you in situations where your WiFi connection isn’t the best by automatically switching over to cellular data so that you can do whatever it is that you need to do. Plus you won’t need to manually disable WiFi in that situation. The catch is that if you have a capped mobile phone plan, you’re going to consume more data That may not be desirable for some.

It clearly was not desirable for someone as Apple has been served with a lawsuit. Here’s the details from AppleInsider:

In the complaint, plaintiffs William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips allege that because of costs related to Wi-Fi Assist, the “overall amount in controversy exceeds” $5 million. Filed in a U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, the suit was first discovered by AppleInsider.

Once users update to iOS 9, Wi-Fi Assist is turned on by default. Its goal is ensure a smooth Internet experience, switching to cellular data in the event that the user is connected to a weak Wi-Fi signal.

The complaint asserts that Apple did not properly explain Wi-Fi Assist on its website until only after a “flood of articles” were written about unintended cellular data use. For the plaintiffs, that addition to the website was too little, too late.

“Defendant’s above corrective action, however, still downplays the possible data overcharges a user could incur,” the suit reads. “Reasonable and average consumers use their iPhones for streaming of music, videos, and running various applications — all of which can use significant data. Defendant’s corrective statement does not disclose any basis for its conclusion that an average consumer would not see much increase in cellular usage.”

The suit states that the plaintiffs incurred overuse charges on both of their iPhone 5s units after upgrading to iOS 9. It did not say exactly how much those charges were, but asserts that the plaintiffs and the class were mislead about cellular data usage on their devices.

In the complaint, Apple is accused of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law, the state’s False Advertising Law, and of negligent misrepresentation.

My $0.02 worth. Apple should have kept the feature off by default and had users turn it on if they so choose. Having said that, Apple does explain in this document how this feature works, and it’s pretty clear as it goes into a fair amount of detail. So as a result, I’m pretty sure that while Apple didn’t exactly do themselves any favors by enabling this feature by default, they’re going to dodge this lawsuit as they have the feature decently documented. Though I would like to know how the plaintiffs came up with that $5 million figure.

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In Depth: AXIS Gear

Posted in Products with tags on October 26, 2015 by itnerd

I recently attended an event to celebrate the launch of AXIS Gear which is being developed by a Toronto based startup. AXIS Gear is a first-of-its-kind home automation device that motorizes new and existing window shades in a matter of minutes. Here’s what the Gear looks like:

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It is powered by this:

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This is a solar panel that provides power to a rechargeable battery inside the Gear. If the lighting conditions don’t make this option feasible, there’s a battery pack powered by alkaline batteries that will charge the battery inside the gear for up to 1 year.

Gear uses a revolutionary new design that controls the beaded chain or cord loop of any window shade to motorize it. Gear is compatible with all beaded chains and cord loops regardless of material, diameter and number of beads. This means it can motorize a wide variety of window treatments – from roller shades to verticals and draperies.

Once installed, users can control and schedule their blinds through either the smartphone app (The company plans support for Android and iOS, but don’t be surprised if Windows Phone appears on the menu as i saw this demonstrated with a Windows Phone) or via its intuitive on-device controls. You can swipe upwards on the device or swipe downwards to make your window shades go up or down. Plus you can group multiple Gears together so that you can open a room full of shades. Finally, it has sensors so that if there’s too much light in the room, the blinds will close automatically for example. Integration with leading smart home systems and standards such as HomeKit and Nest is planned.

The company is starting an Indiegogo campaign today and will run for a month so that they can raise funds to begin production in Canada. A special early bird price of $125 CAD is available to those who join the campaign. They should start shipping in late 2016 and you can expect them to show up in major retailers if all goes to plan.

I’ll be reviewing the AXIS Gear when they start shipping out review units. Watch for that sometime in 2016.

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