Swedish Tech Report

I thought that this was interesting news. Skype has supposedly started shipping their new version of Skype for Windows Mobile version 3.0. It contains features such as text messaging and call features. I am downloaing it right now but do not have the option of using it until the end of this week. Have you tried it? I am looking forward trailing it more. Download your copy over at Skype.

This is a post that I have meant to post for a while but I have never really done it until today. Las Vegas as always is a place where it is always exciting and I stayed at the famous Hooters Casino and Hotel:-)

I brought the following gear with me:

• HTC Touch Pro
• HP IPAQ 910
• HP IPAQ 614
• Microsoft Zune 80GB
• Microsoft Zune 8GB
• LG X110
• Nikon S210

The HTC Touch Pro  worked excellent for me. The VGA screen combined with it’s killer slide out keyboard. The wireless at Hooters didn’t work for me  and the Touch Pro allowed me to wirelessly connect to the wireless at the convention center and the other casinos.

My HP IPAQ 910 had a problem with it’s speaker and I left it with my friend at HP so it did not get any usage at all.

My HP IPAQ 614 has worked excellent for me. I inserted both my  T-Mobile and AT&T prepaid card and it has worked excellent with both of them. I have tried it with sim cards from Sweden, UK and England and what I like is that it has worked excellent each time. The optical joypad allows me to easy configure my device without any trouble at all. It’s an excellent one handed device.

My Microsoft Zune 80G was used extensively on my trip to and from Las Vegas. With that big screen, viewing angle and clarity I didn’t have any trouble at all. What I like is the fact that when I had it paired with my Proporta Ted Baker charging kit it worked excellent all the time. One thing that I wanted to test was how long the battery worked. It lasted 24 hours total for me. The 12 hour trip to Las Vegas and the 12 hour trip home to Gothenburg. If there is one acessory I can’t be without it is my Proporta Ted Baker charging kit.

The Zune 8GB on the other hand was mostly used while I was walking to and from the convention center. What this unit really shines on is how easy it is to store it.  It really shines in portability.

The LG X110 is an excellent netbook to carry with me. You get a keyboard that feels like it is a full size keyboard and 10 inch screen that allows you to have that extra option to change resolution on the pictures that you take.

My Nikon S210 is an excellent camera. It has an excellent  optics  and extremly good portability. The screen that you looks at when taking pictures is really good. It has excellent optics and allows you to take video without any toruble if you want to.

While I was at the Digital Experience show at CES I had the oppertunity to try out the new version of Filemaker and I was really impressed. The sidebar that you have on the left in FIlemaker 9 has now been moved up to the top. Personally I have always feelt that Filemaker Pro 9 feelt cluttered and that’s something I think that they have managed to improve in the new version. It’s a software that just feels much easier to use then before. It’s just much more simplified then what it feelt like before.

Even tough the software feels much more simpler then what it feelt like before the difference is that the makers of Filemaker have managed to keep the same level of functionality. They have integrated 10 new layouts and 30 different databases for the users. For a beginner like myself in using Filemaker this version feels much more improved and exciting to use. Compared to the previous version you now have a more dynamic summary. It shows you a better summary then what you have seen befoore.  It’s clear to me that they have thought alot about the end user and what they want to experience.

If you want to create whole database you can do so by simply importing a bento database. One feature that I really enjoy is the fact that search and find features that you had before is much more improved then what you had before.

During CES I recievec the Plantronics 925. An headset  that distincts itself from the other headphoens that I’ve used before with it’s sexy look and futuristic appeal.

Design:

Compared to the previous headsets that I’ved used before the Plantronics 925 feels more on the edge and futuristic. It truly feels like your in a Star Trek movie. Compared to the headset that I’ve used before such as the Jawbone/Jawbone 2 this one feels more refreshed because of the design that carves a hole in between the boom microphone. It truly feels like an exciting headset to use, much more refreshing then the headphones that we currently can see on the market.

Am I the only one who thinks that this might be the coolest charging solution ever. You get an awesome carrying case that you can carry your device with you all the time in and an easy to carge your device.

What I like  with the 925 is that fit’s so superbly with my ears. The ear gels are a little weird to have in your ears because of the top bar, it feels like you have an handlebar at the top of it. I’ve found it to be an excellent utility when you are removing and inserting the 925 in your ears.

When I’ve been using the 925 I’ve found that the weight is awesome. It feels like you don’t have a headset at all installed in your ear because the weight is almost non existent. Havign an excellent weight on your headset is just as important or even more important then the sound quality for me. You have to be able to use the headset with your ears before beeing able say that you can talk with it.

Using the 925:

With the minimalist design that the 925 offers you don’t have to many features or buttons that really complicates the process for you. The only thing you have to do is to insert the 925 into your ear and you are ready to go. You have two buttons for the 925, one to controll the volume and the second one to start it up and make and end calls.

One thing I’ve discovered with the 925 is that the audio quality is great. With the AudioIQ technology the audio technology works really and I can hear the callers loud and without any trouble at all. I’ve found out that in more intensive conditions such as CES it offers an higher audio quality. In more normal conditions it works really wlell. I can hear everyone without any trouble at all.

When I’ve been talking with people either on my 925 or on my Treo Pro people have told me that they can’t hear a difference in audio quality. The same thing goes for when im using the 925 with my Touch Pro it offers the same great audio quality. I don’t have to worry about controlling the volume because the AudioIQ technology helps me autommatically control the headset volume.

Conclusion: An awesome headset that works beautifully. I’ve used it both in Las Vegas and in Gothenburg and could not be happier. I’ve not found a headset before that fit’s this beautifully in the inside of my ear.

Where to buy: It can be bought from Plantronics website for 149.99 US Dolllar.

I got to see the Real Knight Rider. It was really exciting gettign to see the real Knight Rider with it’s red light flashing all the time.

I’ve not had the oppertunity to before blogg during the last couple of days since my internet connection has been not so good and I’ve been thinking about what to write and what to talk about because I’ve seen alot of interesting stuff.

The first thing I wanted to talk about is the Plantroncis 925 an amazing  bluetooth headset that I’ve found has a crystal clear sound quality and excellent way of using it. I’ve used the 925 with my Treo Pro, IPAQ 614, HTC Touch Pro and HTC Advantage.  I’ve nejoyed how easy it is to carry it with me all the time. It”s as simple as connecting it to my device of choice and continue using it. It has an excellent carrying case that ahs some really nicew functions such as charging your device. The size and weight of it is amazing. When it’s attached to the side of your head I’ve found that it works excellent all the time.

I’ve also  meet with Lian Li today. They have some amazing enclosures there. Their “Dragon” version that they have done together with AMD looks amazing.  They had that from the back looked like a regular one, but if you instead looked at it from the front it had a curvy front.  I’ve talked with them and hope to bring you a reivew of a Lian Li enclosure soon.

ALK has a really nice software with Copilot 7. What impressed me with their stand is that they have a booth in the middle where four programmers continues to program new features and put them out there on devices at CES so users can try them hands on. I’ve been promised a review copy and hope to bring one to you soon.

Sandisk has a really nice game in their booth. It works sort of like Tetris. You play with the keys on your keyboard nad you are supposed to fill up the 8 GB memory card. If you manage to fill it up you get a 2 GB micro SDHC card.

I also had the oppertunity to try out the Motosurf A3100. A device that I’ve found has an interesting form factor but not the most exciting specifications out there. What set’s it apart form other devices is it’s touch interface. It was nice and easy to use. You could swipe your finger to left, right , up and down to acess specific featurs.Another device that was interesting to see was the Q11 from Motorola. I can’t really understand why they skipped 3G on this device but it might me oriented for countires that are on the verge of development.

So we have all heared the news about the new Palm Pre and how it works. I must say that im impressed. Im a big fan of the Tre Pro and think that they have created a great product here that allows the users to do what they want without any trouble at all. The thing that I want to hear more about is what if a user do not have a data connection and when international GSM version launches.

Yesterday was a really exciting day with events such as the Asus Press conference and CES unveiled.  They showed of a new type of netbook a convertible. Altough that was not the only exciting thing they showed of.  I also got to see the Asus EEE pc desktop. I’ve played with one before at our local electronics store in Sweden called mediamarkt and found it to be an excellent experience. The only thing that I would like to see on the unit is that they incorporate a higher graphics card to make it more capable of playing HD movies, but the size on these units is amazing. Considering the size on the desktops that I’ve got back home this one truly blows them out of the water size wise.

They also showed of the new netbook with a 512 GB SSD and 8 hours battery life. Certainly exciting to see so much evolution with netbooks in a short time, altough he hinted that the price might not be in the 500 – 600 dollar price range that see today. If I had the money I would get this version since it seems to have it all.

When I sat there listening I got the feeling that Asus really have planned for the future. It truly is impressive hearing about their plans. They are not leaving anything outside, they have plans for both LTE and WIMAX.

We also got this really cool swag. A usb key that looks and acts like a small racing car. It reminds me of those small racing cars that you used to have as a kid, but I don’t say wroom anymore when I try and see how it works:-) From my initial impressions I can tell you that it works really well and has a good transfer speed.

The next event was CES unveiled. An impressive show. I got to see and play with the Mi-Fi router from Novatel Wireless. I can’t personally wait to have that unit in the palms of my hand. I was the first person that got to see the unit. It didn’t look and feel much larger then one of the credit cards you have each day. My guess is that you could store it in your wallet if you want, but I wouldn’t personally carry it in my wallet.  What im interested in hearing more about is carrying cases. I often carry my modems in a spare compartment in my backpack and often afraid on what might happen when you have a device like this in your backpack.

They also showed of their USB modems. I’ve used their USB versions ranging from the MC930 to the MC990D. All 3G modems that have worked fantastic for me.

I also saw the new MSI Wind U115 netbook. It looked and feelt really well to me. Im interested in hearing more about their 6 cell battery and how it works. I think will have the oppertunity to talk more about it tomorrow when im meeting with MSI.

Anoter exciting company that I got to see yesterday was Jivio. I got one of their new bluetooth headsets and it works good. I had a little trouble getting to fit properly in the beginning but when I got the hand of it, it went great. They had a black and blue version. I got the blue version and I think that it looks realyl good. As a first impression it truly is my bluetooth headset of the week:-) Expect a review at the end of next week.

There is one electronics shop that I always end up visiting when im in the US and that’s Sharper Image. They showed of some really cool Ipod surround systems. They had one that I really found impressive. A unit that’s a combined ipod and CD speaker system.

Im currently sitting at the Asus press event waiting for it to start. When we entered we got the coolest usb key, it’s looks exactly like one of those that you had when you were a kid.  Right now 15.00  Asus is talking about green Asus. Way to go Asus!!

It’s going to be excting to hear Johny Shih talk. Will publish a more extensive report this evening.