Laptop Thoughts: News & Reviews on Laptops, Netbooks, Slates, and More.

Be sure to register in our forums and post your comments - we want to hear from you!


Android Thoughts

Loading feed...

Windows Phone Thoughts

Loading feed...

Digital Home Thoughts

Loading feed...





All posts tagged "ios"


Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Vonage's Time to Call App: 15 Free Minutes, International Calling and a Free iPad 2!

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 10:40 AM

Time to Call is a free app from Vonage, that lets you make phone calls (including international calls) from your iPhone or iPad 2 at very affordable rates. And as a bonus, they are giving you 15 minutes of calling time when you download the app using this link. The cool thing about this app is that it uses your iTunes account to pay for the minutes, so you don't have to mess around with calling cards or getting an operator involved. All you do is make the call and it will subtract the charges direct from your iTunes account. The rates are pretty reasonable too as outlined in the details below:

  • Pay per call and talk up to 15 minutes to 100 countries for $1.99 or less (not including taxes)
  • For an additional 90+ countries, talk up to 15 minutes for $2.99 to $9.99 (not including taxes)
  • Works on WiFi internationally, 3G in the US and Canada
  • FREE download - No need to be a Vonage home customer
  • LIMITED TIME OFFER: Download now and call up to 15 minutes for FREE.

If you go to the Vonage site, you can easily find out how much your 15 minutes of calling time will be as it is based on the country you are calling. Simply select the country from the drop down list and it gives you the cost in US Dollars. Pretty simple. For example, calling Argentina will set you back $1.99 USD for 15 minutes of calling time, of course that is not including the 15 free minutes you get just for downloading the app. And make sure to read on to find out how to win an iPad 2 from Vonage as part of their promotion for the new app.

Read more...


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ilium Software Offering eWallet GO! for 99 Cents/Free

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Software" @ 03:03 PM

http://www.iliumsoft.com/ewalletgo

"Do you have too much info to remember? Do you wish you could take all your passwords, credit cards, account information and logins with you - so they're handy when you want them? But keep them safe - so you don't have to worry about intruders finding them? You need eWallet GO!TM If you want secure, easy, mobile storage for all your info, just grab eWallet GO! and take your passwords with you everywhere you GO!"

Well now...here's a good deal! Effective now and running until the 21st of this month, you can get eWallet GO! for a mere 99 cents on Windows Phone 7, Android, and iPhone/iPod Touch devices. On Windows and Mac versions, the software is free. Sweet! Jump here to find the version you need. The OS X version is in the Mac App store, and the Windows version requires registration for the free download. On iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7, you'll find it in their respective app stores.


Friday, April 8, 2011

So How Are You Using Your Tablet?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 11:30 AM

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archive...e_our_ipads.php

"Google has released results of a survey (PDF) on user behavior with regard to tablet computers, the vast majority of which are iPads. Responses indicate that tablet ownership significantly changes our media consumption habits and computer use."

Wednesday we posted a story about how the iPad might be killing consumer PC sales and asked the question of you, was this true for you? What do you use your iPad for and did it replace your PC? There were varying answers to our question, and now this study comes out that shows just how people are using their tablets. In this study (available here in PDF form) it says that for 43% of the responders, the tablet has replaced their PC. Also interesting to me is that playing games tops the list. I would have thought "consuming entertainment" or one of the reading categories would have displaced that, or that they would have at least been higher on the list. But that is my perspective I suppose, since that is what I use my iPad for most of the time. How about you? Does this go along with how you use your tablet or do the results surprise you?


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tablet Competition: Have the iPad Competitors Missed Their Chance?

Posted by Michael Knutson in "Other Slates & Tablets" @ 09:30 AM

http://gigaom.com/mobile/here-come-...does-it-matter/

"Over the next four weeks, at least three new tablets are expected from Samsung, Motorola, and Research In Motion. The good news? They're Wi-Fi only, which will keep their cost down and appeal to consumers looking to avoid high-priced tablets or lengthy carrier commitments for mobile broadband data plans. Now, the bad news: Their timing isn't great, which will likely dampen sales. Plus, WiFi-only pretty much eliminates them as contenders for desirable devices with integrated 3G."

The next few weeks should see a slew of WiFi (only) tablets released, but have the manufacturers missed their window of opportunity? Too little, too late? Research has found that the "sweet spot" for a tablet seems to be $351, while $524 was the "too expensive" spot. So the WiFi tablet prices seem spot-on. But, then there is the whole "ecosystem" ("what it can do") question again: Android 2.2 has apps, which may or may not be optimized for a tablet form factor, Android 3.0 is still short on apps, and QNX (PlayBook) is an unknown at this point. And, with estimates of iPad 2 sales being between 700K and 1000K for the first weekend, Apple is not standing still waiting for the competition to catch up. With a poll showing that 75% of potential buyers would prefer WiFi only, there seems to be a market, but the "other" manufacturers need to get in the game, and deliver quality full-function products.


Friday, December 17, 2010

Microsoft: The Tablet Bridesmaid, Never the Bride?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Laptop Thoughts News" @ 04:30 PM

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/...targeting-ipad/

"A decade ago Bill Gates, founder and former chief executive of Microsoft, presented a new class of computing to the world: a tablet PC that offered a fully functional computer with the "intuitive aspects of pencil and paper." Since then, Microsoft has struggled to gain traction with a slate-like device, yet each year the company announces new products, software or operating systems that try to promote a world of Windows-based slate computers."

Above: Bert Keely, a Microsoft software architect, shows a prototype of the first ‘Tablet PC' in 2000. Photo courtesy of the New York Times.

I'm trying not to unfairly jump to any conclusions yet, but here's what I predict I'll see at CES 2011: tablet/slate computers running Windows 7 that are heavier, slower, more expensive, and have significantly worse battery life than comparable iOS and Android slates. And that doesn't even factor in the user interface issues. Windows 7 is quite usable on a touch input basis...on a 20+ inch screen. On a 7 to 10 inch screen? Not so much. I'd love to be wrong, but I'll go out on a limb and say that Microsoft hasn't yet admitted to themselves that Windows is not the most appropriate operating system for lightweight slate devices.


Thursday, October 28, 2010

Why Did HP Buy Palm?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Laptop Thoughts Articles & Resources" @ 04:00 PM

http://gdgt.com/discuss/why-hp-boug...eared-gdgt-ayj/

"HP knows that although they're the number one PC maker in the world, being number one in an industry that has stopped growing and will be flat at best for the foreseeable future is not the way to stay a $100 billion company. They've figured out that mobile is the future of computing, and that despite some early successes in that space (mainly after purchasing Compaq and its iPAQ line of handhelds) HP's efforts to date have been anemic. Let's put it another way: you see plenty of people using HP netbooks, but when's the last time you saw anyone one of their smartphones? Exactly. Right now HP isn't a significant player in mobile and that needs to change."

Peter Rojas from gdgt has a useful perspective on the consumer electronics industry having been at the helm of Engadget for several years, and I'm sure he's right on the money here - in fact, this dovetails nicely with the post I wrote up earlier today in a depressing sort of way; if Microsoft really had something in the pipeline that was nearing completion, HP wouldn't have bought Palm. Microsoft literally must have had no answer to the question of "What Microsoft OS can we use on HP hardware to combat the iPad?". HP entering the operating system space isn't something that they'd choose to do lightly, that's for sure...they must have felt like they had no choice.

Tags: microsoft, apple, hp, palm, ipad, ios

Is Microsoft a Dying Consumer Brand?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Articles & Resources" @ 03:30 PM

http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/27/tec.../microsoft_pdc/

"Consumers have turned their backs on Microsoft. A company that once symbolized the future is now living in the past. Microsoft has been late to the game in crucial modern technologies like mobile, search, media, gaming and tablets. It has even fallen behind in Web browsing, a market it once ruled with an iron fist."

This is your typical link-bait article in some ways, and I'm complying by linking to it, but I felt it was worth discussing. Windows 7 is selling like gangbusters, and it's the best OS Microsoft has ever released, so it's hard to blindly say that somehow Microsoft is losing in the consumer space...but I think the author has a point that Microsoft has no answer to the next wave of consumer computing: instant-on appliance-like devices. I don't own an iPad, but I understand what that device represents and why it resonates so powerfully with an increasing number of people. Read more...


Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Does the New MacBook Air Worry Microsoft?

Posted by Michael Knutson in "Laptop Thoughts Talk" @ 08:00 PM

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-2...ol;inTheNewsNow

"Ordinarily, the release of a single ultraportable Mac should not be reason for Redmond to quake in its boots, but yesterday's announcements by Apple should give the Windows team plenty of reason to fear. It's not that the product itself will put that much of a further dent in Microsoft's still-massive share of the PC market. However, the product demonstrates some capabilities that the Mac now can offer that Microsoft would seem to have a tough time matching."

My guess is, no, they're probably a bit sorry that they didn't push harder (and sooner) on the SSD concept, but their market share remains overwhelming, so worry, probably not. The gauntlet has been thrown down. There -are- Windows-based laptops that match-up well with the new MacBook Air, when hardware is compared (the Sony Vaio X is mentioned). But, Mac OS X really gets a boost when run on an SSD. The instant-on (from sleep mode) really is instant. When I'm done with Windows, close the lid. Ditto for the Mac. Open the lid, both come back, the Mac almost immediately, Windows needs a bit more time to awaken.

As for building more 'iPad-like' features into the Mac, it's a good idea as long as the 'old ways' continue to work. Windows has had touch capabilities going way back as well, so as operating systems evolve, we can expect the distinctions to blur a bit. Witness BootCamp and virtualization. Admittedly one-way to this point, but maybe the Hackintosh community will succeed (and/or be commercialized).

The concept of an App Store for the Mac is intriguing. Anyone who has ever searched for software for the Mac or Windows (or Linux) knows how iffy the whole process can be. Bad code, Viruses, Spyware, Keystroke Loggers, ad nauseam, are rampant. A "trusted" source is really the Holy Grail of software, so of course Microsoft will follow. Again, who benefits besides Apple and Microsoft? All of us.


Monday, October 25, 2010

Slate or iPad: Motorcycle or Bicycle

Posted by Michael Knutson in "HP Slate" @ 07:00 PM

http://www.macworld.com/article/155...ad_hpslate.html

"HP released its Slate 500 tablet this week. Immediately, everyone started comparing it with Apple's iPad. But the two devices have nothing significant in common. They are in entirely different device categories and can even be thought of as opposites."

image credit: uebergizmo / HP

A well-balanced article contrasting HP's new Slate with the iPad. Different tools to get to different end results for very different classes of users. The author describes the Slate as built using technology nearing the end of the line for the WIMP (windows, icons, menus, pointing devices) interface, and he thinks that in the future most mobile devices will be built using the new paradigm (as represented by the iPad), and will be predominantly MPG (multitouch, physics, gestures) computers. I do like the motorcycle vs. bicycle vision. But in real life, add an RV to the mix. Today when traveling for business, I pack a "work" laptop (locked-down, no fun stuff), that, with charger weighs say 6-pounds (~2.70 kg) - queue the RV. And quite often also an iPad tags along for down-time. In the near future I'll be able to carry an HP Slate and an iPad, at half the weight, twice the battery life, same amount accomplished - and my back and shoulders will thank me. I'll have the metaphorical motorcycle for work, and the bicycle for fun. And, as the Slate enters the mainstream, I'm sure that "fun" will be available, just as, at some point "work" will sneak onto the iPad. As the old saying goes,"use the right tool for the job."


Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Sponsored links