The Fruit Watch - First day opinions

I've been a user of smart watches for the past 2-3 years, first backing the pebble on kickstarter, the cookoo, purchasing a sony smart watch one,  purchasing a pebble steel, backing the pebble time but always said on twitter I'd not get an apple watch, that it will be like a bracelet once the battery runs out and that pebble is really the one for me given the multi OS support (android and IOS).

Well eating my own words I ordered the apple watch on 10/4 at 08:05 am and it was due to arrive on 26/5.  Another person I followed on twitter who lives within my area ordered there's at 08:02 and got it on the 24/4.  On Tuesday 5/5 I had an email to expect delivery on 6/5 and yesterday it arrived.

So what changed my mind.... it was certainly nothing to do with apple as I think iOS 8 in its recent incarnation and the Iphone 6 plus are both aesthetically pleasing but are bug ridden hardware and software.  It was because it's apple given they have predominantly been my choice of machine both on the desktop, tablet and phone since 2009.

I have already indicated my previous experience with smart watches but have missed off  the fitbit ultra, fitbit zip, jawbone up and fitbit flex so I know what I want from a fitness band where I have previously lost 20KG in weight through using a fitness band and healthier eating.

So the combination of the smartwatch and fitness band drew me to the Apple watch.

The night before the 10/4 I had heard the rumours about the 18 hour battery life, the software froze but the overall experience was okay but not magnificent. Stories have appeared about the issues with too many notifications, iphone battery life issues, problems with the watch freezing, taking over 70 seconds to boot up and that it is over priced.  Again I have the return period and the time waiting for delivery means hopefully a software fix will come out.

But I just bit my lip and placed an order thinking I can always return if it was that bad.

The watch arrived yesterday and the experience from opening the packaging is the usual Apple affair of quality packaging to give you the feeling this is premium product.  The model I went for was the 42mm space grey sport edition.  Although I was interested in the stainless steel edition spending over £500 on a watch was too much let alone £339.  At least with both my pebbles which offer basic iOS functionality they will last a number of years and don't cost the earth.  There are plenty of unboxing videos and pictures on youtube and I will never be purchasing the £17K gold edition so £339 is respectable albeit still too much.

In my opinion the apple watch should be £200 and no more for the entry level and the stainless steel model should start at £350 upwards.  I am not interested on what manufacturing process has been used to make the alloy as its just a piece of jewellry.  To see a cheaper plastic version like the Iphone 5C would be great addition to Apple's range to bring the device to more people at an affordable price.

Its been 24 hours since getting it and I've had the watch on for 11 hours where after configuring it I have 61% of battery left at the end of the day.  I have taken one call at home, taken off my fitbit flex to use the health monitoring, configured notifications to what I need and only demoed a couple of applications to colleagues.  The speaker and microphone on the device so I can talk into it are just plain stupidity just like the remote viewfinder for the camera when taking selfies and  I can never see myself playing music on the internal speaker.  However pairing it with bluetooth headphones for music and using the watch without the phone doing activities like the MotoActiv is a use case I can see.

From a smartwatch and notification perspective the first thing I did was switch off notifications from apps such as SWARM,  ASDA and other pointless things I don't need notifying about.  A smartwatch for me has to give me useful information for items I want to see and I don't want to be bombarded with junk notifications otherwise I would be twitching all day.  I've switched off specific Glance apps such as MotionX-GPS which actually activated the voice on my phone from the watch whilst I was about to watch a film last night at the cinema.  Just like Google Glass the watch interactions are just moments when a message comes in, you review it and then decide how you want to interact either with a dismiss or further actions.  Taking this approach I have been able to reduce the number of notifications to a minimum so it doesn't distract me and leave with a bad neck.
 
For the fitness I have set up goals similar to my fitbit, it monitors my heart rate every 10 minutes, records my steps, when I stand up and if I move for example I go for a walk it records this.  There is the option of workouts but I have not used this yet.  All information is in real time and can be viewed on the watch or via the Activity or Health App on the Iphone.  The funniest item on this was the watch telling me how many times I had stood up in the day where I have being joking with colleagues and keeping them updated.

I've loaded on game onto it called Lifeline just to see how it works on this medium.

You are limited to 20 glances or widgets if this explains them.  I've loaded deliveries, maps, just eat, calendar, meetup and workflow to name a few.  So a Glance App is snapshot of some data and you can interact with it but I did find my arm aching just holding it mid air which is why you will always reach for your phone and just rely on the watch for the "micro" interactions.

Outside in daylight it is viewable but the screen is a finger magnet. However trying to workout if you should be tapping, force touching, scrolling up, down or sideways, spinning the digital crown or pressing the button on the side will take time to get use to.

The application chooser works well with the small icons albeit it looks bad when demoed on video.  But as previously mentioned the watch for me is for notifications and interactions and not to look like a plonker holding up their arm squinting at a small screen.  If I want to do that then I might as well velcro my iphone to a sweat wrist band.

I have felt that some of the applications that are being offered have lost the plot and really don't understand the micro interaction concept and are trying to deliver a full phone experience to the watch.

Now to the conclusions...

Is it a game changer - very simply the answer is no.  It is a polished example of a smartwatch but given the functionality is only a little more advanced than a pebble, or android watch and/or fitness tracker I still believe the market is young.

What it will do is set a standard like the Ipad and Iphone in terms of premium build quality and polish.  The pebble original and steel already have the aesthetics and the new pebble time will just add to this as you're getting a coloured screen, long battery life and it looks great.  With the apple watch you get the colour screen and it looks great, but the battery is bad (I'll explain more in a bit) and I am scared of scratching it given the case it is built in.  I have just purchased a Spigen outdoor case for the watch  so I can use it for outdoor activity tracking.  The other "gotcha" here is the pebble time smart straps which will also be a game changer and will add functionality to the pebble watch in the future which means one watch but multiple straps.

Is it a keeper - after day one the answer is potentially but let me expand on this.

If I go back to my primary uses a smartwatch gives me notifications and micro interactions. I also wear a fitbit flex to record my fitness levels every day but only wear a watch when I go out.  The fitbit flex measures all of my usual body stats albeit the heart rate but also measures my sleep.  The battery lasts for a few days and in a morning I can leave it on charge for 45 mins whilst getting ready for work.  Here I know my activity will be low so I won't be missing many statistics but it will have charged for the day.  So I am using a two box solution...

The apple watch will measure everything but sleep and the battery will only last 18 hours.  So from 7am until 2am I have power.  As the watch can't measure my sleep but if I want to record my statistics I will need my fitbit on through the night and leave my apple watch charging.  Even if I could monitor my sleep with the apple watch by the time the morning came I would need at least 1.5 hours to give me 80% charge where I only usually have 45 minutes in the morning so this means 40% which wouldn't really get me through a day.

For now should I keep the watch it means a two box solution so I can record everything and before you ask why..... it's just what I like doing.....  This is just a memory of the old issue of having to use a phone and a PDA such as a Psion together all of those years ago.

I really want to see the following in v2 or at least if something with software or hardware could sort out v1.

• Faster charging in under 1 hour to 100%
• A better strap or included metal strap with the sports watch given the price
• A cheaper plastic version or reduction in price
• Better battery up to 36 hours
• Sleep monitoring

These are all minor and given it's Apple's first time (please forgive the pun!) at a watch they have delivered a good piece of hardware and software which is in my opinion a lot better than Iphone 6 and iOS 8.

I would also like to see the notification control to other smart watches such as pebble and cookoo, allow the apple watch to pair to Ipads and multiple devices and add android support but I don't see any of this coming soon.  

So here is my advice in this order:

1. First ask do I need a smartwatch - if you don't save the money and use your phone
2. If you don't want to spend too much then look at the Pebble original or  Steel, Cookoo or a cheaper android wear watch. Failing that get a U8 smartwatch
3. If you want multi platform then look at the Pebble range
4. If you want multi platform and fitness look at the Microsoft Band
5. If you want fitness only then the market is buoyant where I would recommend Fitbit which I have used for a number of years (and no they're not paying me to say this)
6. If you're an iphone owner and can afford the apple watch then buy it
7. If you can wait then do for another 6 months as Apple's entry into this marketplace will shake things up

I've got over a week to decide if I will keep it.... knowing me I probably will but no doubt along the way will be ranting on twitter.... so watch this space.

Fruit phone again

The nexus 6 really needs to be a killer device. I've recently had a note 3, lg 3 and now z2. All hardware specs are great on paper but the android implementations are riddled with bugs and hardware that fails. Note 3 the gps borked by samsungs latest iupdate, g3 that overheats then you can't remove device administrators bug and now the z2 another device that overheats when using the camera and now the settings app fails to load to enable me to move apps to sd which did look like its a missing option. 

To date I still have my nexus 4 as a spare, nexus 5 with my work sim which I still believe is underpowered and finally my xiaomi mi2sc. 

I know tomorrow if i spend £700 on the high end fruit phone it will work, can run and store over 100s over apps and the hardware is good. Albeit the 5s with 1gb is not enough. 

For android I can't find any decent comparison and am just disappointed because I love the vanilla os but somewhere along the line I find a reason not to keep it. 

Both the lg g3 and z2 might do 4k or have a really good camera but this is pointless if it overheats. It's like a Ferrari I can only drive 100m at a time. 

Samsung really need to cut down on their bloat and get back to basics rather than bundling junk that just slows the device down. 

Yes I can apply roms or root but even that doesn't help if the device overheats. 

So back to the fruit phone iat least for the next 3 months until the note 4, nexus 6 and fruit phone 6. 

State of podcast address on Windows Phone 8

I've recently purchased a Nokia Lumia 1020 running on Windows Phone 8. Quite scary really coming from iOS and Android as I like windows phone but found the experience one step up from a feature phone. Well the camera on the Lumia is the reason why I jumped ship and have decided to see if I can do better then just get by.

One of the applications that is a must is a podcast client. After giving up on car radio and music whilst driving podcasts are there to entertain me all 35 of them. However whilst listening is the end result the journey of getting there is just as vital and with as minimal intervention from me. I can remember before iOS allowed background tasks to run the daily task of opening the podcatcher and waiting for them to come down. Equally being able to easily select what I play and especially remember where I left off or playing the next track automatically whilst driving are equally important. After 10 years of listening to podcasts I have set of minimum requirements for podcatchers which I would like to share after a couple of developers reached out to me via twitter. 

OPML import and export
Moving between devices or podcatchers means I need to take my subscriptions with me. Being able to do this via an opml file I can either open with email or via a cloud drive. Having to upload the file to a web server to then have to share it back out again is too much of an over complicated process. I am also not interested in setting up an account with a sync service such as gpodder for something that can be done simply with this file.

Last played position
Just like a kindle or Netflix I want to be able to resume where I left off without the need to locate or place a bookmark on the position manually. Some applications on iOS and android even will save the position when either power is disconnected or Bluetooth disconnected from a car kit. Again little things that save my position and remove the requirement of me finding where I last was.

Background downloads
On iOS certain apps before the background settings was introduced used the GPS to detect the location to allow the application to run in the background. Windows Phone 8 (wp8) allows a maximum of 15 applications to run in the background. Therefore being able to use his to enable downloads to happen without any intervention should just happen so my podcasts are always up to date. Giving me the option to select which podcast I want updating in the background isn't enough as I want them all to come down.

Scheduled Updates

When podcasts are either updated in the foreground or background then there should be the option to specify the time when either by a set hour or interval. This will always ensure that they are up to date then any new podcasts can be scheduled to be downloaded as per the user wishes. 

 
Notifications
I don't need notifications that something is happening that I have requested only if it fails so I can intervene. The live tile icon can be used to show me the current number of podcasts that are ready to play.

Download over cellular
I know wp8 has some daft settings that only files of a certain size are allowed over cellular or will only allow files over WiFi and if on power. Given these restrictions and that I'm on a good data bundle I want to maximise every opportunity to download so would like this flexibility.

Background play 
Quite simple play in the so I can do other things such as run a satnav at the same time. If the satnav speaks the pause the podcast just don't lower the volume. Then resume when the spoken words have finished.

Lock screen away
If on power then don't lock the screen. This way I can interact with the screen and podcast application without the need for my lock code every minute. If I want to lock the screen then I can do this myself .

Global and individual podcast settings
Please give me options to set global download and keep policies. Then if necessary if options are available allow me to configure individual settings per podcast if required. On some I like to keep just the latest, whilst others I would like to keep more than one queued.

Sharing
I would like to be able to share what I am listening to via email or social media. The former as I keep a log for my CPE points the latter if I want to tell the world.

Podcast Notes
This goes with the last option but it would be useful to be able to share the notes as well.

Playlists
Unplayed, partially played and not played list should all be available to choose from. Where necessary I should be able to create my own lists and assign which podcasts I want against each list.

Fast Play 
Given I have 35 podcasts per week to get through the quicker the better. Adverts can be fast forward but the delivery on some is just so slow. On iOS and Android there are options to play the podcasts at a faster rate. Given most devices have a chipset capable then this should be an option. I have read wp8 doesn't allow this so build your player to achieve this.

On screen gestures
Swipe forwards and Backwards to move between podcasts or skipping. Double tap the screen to play or pause. all useful and no necessity to find the buttons, just use the large screen area. 

Continuous play in a specific order

Being able to play podcasts one after each other on the playlist starting from the oldest to the newest without any intervention is a must especially when driving. 

Settings backup and restore 

Any settings within the application should be saved locally, via email or to a cloud account. Equally we should be able to perform the reverse and be able to restore them. 

This list is not endless and everyone has their own requirements where these are just what I expect since coming from iOS and Android. 

Steve Litchfield has reviewed a large number of podcatchers available on windows phone 8 

Part 1
Part 2

Galaxy Note 2 Bluetooth Woes

In a last ditch attempt to resurrect my note 2 before I get rid of it after only 3 weeks is anyone experiencing bluetooth issues either with phone or ad2p. I have 3 ad2p devices a car kit, a jabra Bt speaker for the car and a plantronics headset. All frequently lose Bt connection either for both the phone or media part for ad2p. 

I have tried to use tasker and various plugins or apps that claim to fix reconnection issues but all have failed. I like the note 2 as an iphone replacement but like the note 1 this issue still exists. 

I have found with tasker that I need to separately connect to the car kit first on ad2p, wait and then to the phone to establish a reliable connection. This is done using bluetooth auto Connect app. 

Buy whilst playing podcasts with dogcatcher, beyond pod or pocket casts whilst running sat navigation software it can cope with the pause and resuming of the podcast when playing the routing instructions. 

However it is randomly pausing the podcast or losing ad2p connection. Sometimes ad2p won't work until a phone call is made and this is on 2 separate devices. I can't believe it's the hardware that is at fault as my note 1 over one year ago had the same issues. 

Sadly if I can't resolve this then it's back to iOS as it works fine. 

Any help or guidance from people who have been able to resolve a similar issue would be appreciated. 

2012 My Year in a mini - review

2012 has now gone and we are officially in 2013 narrowly avoiding the end if the world on the 21st of December - End of the world – as it didn't happen | Science | guardian.co.uk I wrote this piece a month ago and thought I'd better post it.

• For technology in the Apple world we have seen the iPhone 5, IPad 4th generation and iPad mini and I expect to see Apple release the same products again with minor iterations in 2013. They will be billed with the usual hype that its the best thing ever, you need it and like sheep I will notably follow and but them.
• I tried the Galaxy note last year and it was a good experiment and whilst android had moved on with the number of applications available. I still found there were bugs with Bluetooth car kits, I needed to root the phone to use it to its full potential with Tasker and it was plagued with battery life issues. Whilst certain people sweat they can get a full day on a Note; I cannot and need two batteries.
• The iPhone 5 turned up only to find IOS 6 is plagued with the same Bluetooth bugs as android when connecting to a car kit. The battery life isn't remarkable but iOS 6.02 killed it, thus required a downgrade.
• The iPad 4th generation was a shock and unexpected and has totally rebooted how quick I will now update this device.
• The Nexus 7 whist a great form factor and tablet still lacked tablet based applications and was sold when the iPad mini turned up.
• The iPad mini was a shocker as it use it daily instead of my iPad 3. I will certainly be looking out for one with beefier specs in the future.
• The Mac mini server was a disappointment requiring a new monitor to work correctly on thunderbolt and Mountain Lion Server is just unreliable, bloated and a comparison to Vista.
• The Nokia Lumia 800 was a surprise as I have really enjoyed using Windows 7. However after it was effectively killed off Microsoft casts out loyal Nokia Lumia customers - Computer Business Review

In 2012 I renewed my interest in photography again and have decided to take part in the Project i365 and post a new picture a day using my iPhone. I also purchased an excellent course on using Snapseed -The Magic of Snapseed by Justin Balog This has shown me how powerful the product is as now my go to product for any photo editing on my iPad or iPhone.

 

Kickstarter had also been another interest where I have invested in the following projects

• Pebble watch
• Cookoo watch
• Mobiclip
• Bridge
• Wacca Wicca battery
• Storm fly
• Iexpandr case
• iPhone Led notifications
• Hilo lens
• Zopro case

To name a few....

 

I expect 2013 to be another year like 2012 with a new ipad and iPhone but am really looking forward to the kickstarter projects when they arrive. But I envisage getting rid of the larger ipad and sticking with the mini.

 

So we are well into 2013 now in February so lets see how the year pans out.

 

 

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The Return

It was June 24th 2010 I had enough of Android due to lack of application and poor handset choice, symbian was a non starter due to lack of handset choice and longevity of the os, mameo; now meego hand disappointed with the n900-again due to lack of applications, Web os whilst a new and exciting os had poor device build quality, blackberry was never a contender and windows mobile had really died.

On this day iphone 4 was launched where for myself the handset on offer had caught up with other devices in terms of specification and was finally an option for me to look at. My last venture in apple devices was when the original iphone launched in the UK in 2007. This was very short lived as the device was only 2g and there was little that could be done with it other than jail breaking. At the time I got rid of it apple has started their application store, but the specification of the iPhone didn't win me over as Nokia was still releasing decent devices that were 3g, so using a 2g device was like going back in time.

By the time the iphone 4 was released the app store had matured and the phone spec was reasonable even of it was on a par with a n95 a few years older in terms of camera, gps and 3g. Albeit some would still argue the n95 surpasses the iphone 4.

Since June I have bought into the apple ethos aka reality distortion field and now have Macs,IPads and apple routing equipment at home. The iPhone started this all off as IOs works better with Mac os; here starts the snowball.

Fast forward to today where a few weeks ago my 4s had to be returned to apple to be repaired. This left me without a device. My nexus S just didn't cut it as a phone for daily use as the battery didn't last too long and I found it very slow especially running ics (ice cream sandwich).

This gave me an opportunity to delve into what else was available where I picked up a Lumia 800 running windows phone 7 and a Samsung Galaxy Note. The Lumia whilst a device with a short life span is interesting as the build quality is great and I have found the application choice whilst small on windows to have most of the main applications I use, except a decent Podcast client. But as a long term device for me it is the next step up from a feature phone.

The note was an interesting choice as I had wanted to get a Dell Streak another 5" device at the time I got the iphone 4. If it wasn't for the local O2 shop refusing to sell me a streak, this journey would have ended up somewhere differently. I had heard a lot about the note but thought that the size was too cumbersome and actively poked fun both at the phone and its owners.

There were a number of people on twitter on podcasts who I follow kept going back to the note so I thought why don't I give it a try.

I ended up ordering the phone though Amazon Germany as it was a cheaper than buying it the UK even with postage. You can find the specification of the device at the following link

www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/mobile/spec.html?type=find

To my surprise I have now being using it for over the past two weeks as the screen has just been a delight. The usage has been that fantastic that my 4s is still switched off and I don't think I can go back to a smaller screen. The device is large, the battery lasts about a day but I have spare batteries something I have not been able to change for over 2 years :-)

I was previously a Nokia communication user and loved the E90. Alas both Nokia and symbian was no more for me so I have been looking for alternatives. I find that the note captures the good experience of using a large screen device without comprise. The touch wiz skin on ICS is fluid and I have not experienced any significant slowdowns that I've had on previous android devices. To the extent the device is not even rooted.

Samsung recently released the S3 again very similar size to the note but a brilliant internal specification. There are rumours that tomorrow at the IFA opening that Samsung will be announcing the note 2 with the same internal specs.

I will be watching this closely as this may be my next purchase and not the next iphone even though it is rumoured to have a larger screen.

I have bought a lot of accessories for the 4s and am not happy that the next generation may mean that these accessories will not work.

One could argue the same with any device that there are always changes but at least Samsung has standardised on the micro usb port so my cables will still work.

I have found android to have matured over the past two years on the application side. It still does not offer the to pickings as IOs but it's getting there. It is now at a juncture where I am confident to move over full time as the past two weeks have show.

Applications such as tasker, swift keyboard and juice defender daily keep my phone usage automated and in power. Swift keyboard is as good as the iphone keyboard and it's actually scary how swift keyboard learns your writing style.

So I've finally made the jump again or return whichever way you view it. I may have been an apple fanboi in some eyes but I was just at a point where I needed something that was stable and worked.

For me now-android and the note are my choice until the wind blows again and something else catches my eye.

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InfoSec 2012 Caravan Exhibition

This year was my first time at InfoSec and it would be my last if it wasn't for the reason that attendance actually gets me CPE credit towards keeping my CISSP qualification.

I booked the day from work with the intention of taking a casual visit to see what was on offer. I have ended up leaving the show believing it was really a pointless journey. The highlight of the trip was meeting a technical account manager with a company I will be doing business with in the near future, but that is really all I will remember. The layout of the exhibition, the facilities and free seminars are the better part of the exhibition but there was an overall sense of lacking any substance.

All the major suppliers from Symantec, Qualys, Cisco, HP and IBM had a presence at the show and it left me with an air of sales, sales and more sales. There were quite a number of smaller companies offering their services and again the choice was wide but it was again pretty much the same. I coined the thought of going to a caravan show where all they sell are caravans. They come in all shapes and sizes, offer the same range of facilities and there is a price for all people. But it is just a caravan...

When I had left the show I was reading the Register and there was a small article on InfoSec 2012 and another alternative Information Security Exhibition at the Barbican Centre called B-sides London. The latter event actually ran on Wednesday 25th April at the same time as InfoSec. From reading the information about the confernence I really should have either attended this in addition to InfoSec or alternatively just gone to this conference as the schedule of talks looked more indepth and more attuned to what was happening in the security world physically, rather than just lots of companies trying to sell you their caravans. There are still a lot of sponsors for this event so it is not as if it does not have support from the industry.

The Bside event has ran this year and last year at the same as InfoSec and personally I am hoping they are running the show next year at the same time. It will mean an overnight stay in London but attending both shows I will get to see both the the A-side and the B-side with Caravans.