I was fortunate enough to be on TechVi’s Bottom Line for this afternoon (we taped last night).  Along with Eric Sandine, we discussed Windows 7′s progress three months or so after its initial release – is it better than Vista? Is it ready for the every day end user?  Am I going to regret upgrading from either XP or from Vista.

Why don’t you check out the video and let us know what you think in the comments section below.  I apologize for the choppy video on my part.  I’m not certain if that’s my end of the equation or not; but the audio came through clean and clear…

One of the things I love about mobility is talking about how different people use the same device.  Platforms like Windows Mobile and Android make it easy to conform the same device to two very different preferences or styles.  For example, I am the kind of person who likes to have my agenda right on top.  When I was using Windows Mobile, there were several programs available which could place all of my upcoming appointments and events right on the Today Screen, where I could plan my day at a glance.  While the HTC Hero, which is Android based, included several calendar widgets, none of them really met my needs.

The included widgets showed either a month at a time, allowing me to see whether I had any appointments that day, but not any further detail; or the next appointment only.   Neither are particularly helpful for planning my day.  So, I took a walk through the Android Market, and came back with aniAgenda, a fantastic Android Widget.  Let’s take a closer look.

In a nutshell, Aniagenda is a widget, which will display your daily (or several days at a time) agenda on one of the screens on your Android’s Home Screen.  Using the Hero and HTC’s SenseUI, I have plenty of space on seven screens, so I opted for the full screen widget (4×4). 

Other Android interfaces may not offer as much space, however, so the half screen (4×2) or 3/4 screen (4×3) might fit your needs better.  This will allow you to add additional widgets or shortcuts on the same screen.

When displayed on your home screen, the widget will show all of your upcoming appointments for as many days as it can fit in the allotted space. 

What I really liked about aniAgenda was that you can customize which of your calendars are displayed, and even color the color code the calendars, making it easy to tell at a glance which calendars have upcoming appointments.  AniAgenda itself, however, does not sync or create calendars independently.  Instead, it draws the information from your android calendar.

Back to the main screen, one thing you will notice is that the more calendars you add, the fewer days you can see at a time.  Space is a premium, even in the full screen widget.  You can scroll through your upcoming appointments by using the scroll arrows on the side.  Just tap to scroll up and down.  To be honest, though, this was probably the worst part of the app.  First, it is completely inconsistent with the rest of the Android interface.  Other full screen widgets scroll with a simple flick of the finger.  These side arrows simply felt antiquates and out of place.  More importantly, though, they do not work.  Scrolling it terribly slow and ineffective.  Hopefully this will be significantly improved in future versions.

The aniAgenda widget is also tied closely to the default Android Calendar, which means the two work seamlessly together.  To get more information on any appointment, just tap the appointment to open the full event details. 

You can also tap the Agenda View button on top to view the full Android Calendar agenda view. 

You can even create a new agenda item directly from the aniAgenda widget. 

Finally, if you need a bigger picture view, you can tap the full calendar view, which shows you six months at a time.  This is great for planning purposes.  I would have liked it, however, if I could have jumped from this screen to the Agenda view for a particular date by tapping on that day.  For now, though, we will just have to be content with viewing the information without any further interaction.  Too bad.

One of the cooler aspects of aniAgenda is its ability to put your weather data directly into the interface.  Just enter your location in the settings and a weather icon, showing the day’s weather will appear next to each date.

Tap the weather button on top to view the upcoming forecast.  I thought this was great, albeit a bit buggy. 

I found the app kept losing my location data, requiring me to reenter it on a nearly daily basis, or even restart the widget entirely.

Well, I am not going to tell you that aniAgenda is the perfect app.  It has some flaws.  But it is the perfect app for me.  It gave me exactly the functionality I needed on my device, the ability to see all of my upcoming appointments at once.  I love this app, flaws and all, and have made it a permanent fixture on my HTC Hero’s homescreen.

AniAgenda was developed by anifree, and is available from the Android Market for $1.99.

What I Liked:

• Three different widgets to fit any space available
• Full agenda, not just the next appointment
• Color coded calendars
• Customizable interface
• Color coded calendars
• Weather display
• Integrates well with Android Calendar

What Needs Improvement:

• Scrolling does not work well
• Scroll arrows do not fit well with the interface
• Weather display is buggy
• Can’t jump to a date from 6-month view

One of the things I was pretty excited to really delve into when I bought the HTC Hero was the Android Market.  Like the iTunes App Store, this is the primary means of purchasing and downloading apps for Android devices.  Fortunately, unlike the iTunes App Store, it is not the exclusive means of downloading and installing apps…but that is another article. 

So far, I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed browsing the Android Market.  The search engine, as you might expect from Google, is fantastic, and the quantity of apps available is much deeper than I expected…though there is some room for improvement on the quality front.  Still, as far as a device-based storefront goes, there is some room for improvement.  Here are a few things Google needs to improve in order to make the Android market a truly worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

1. Screenshots.  Screenshots.  Screenshots: I truly do not understand how Google expects anyone to decide whether or not to purchase, download, and install any apps, without actually seeing what they look like.  A written description simply does not show you what any app will look like on your device.  Every store I have used from Handango, to the JAMM Store, and the iTunes App Store features screenshots of every app (or almost every).  There is simply no excuse for offering apps for sale without showing you what they look like.

2. Monetary Denominations: I live in the United States.  Here in the United States, we use American Dollars.  When I shop, I buy things with American Dollars.  So, why are so many apps in the Android Market priced in other denominations?  There is simply no standardization or localization to the store.  I look at an app and see it is priced in British pounds or Japanese Yen, or who knows what else, and I have no idea how much I am actually expected to pay for that app.  Google needs to either localize the store, the way Apple did with the iTunes App Store, or translate all of the prices into a denomination which I designate.  The hodgepodge of pricing systems which they currently have in place simply makes no sense (or cents).

3. Paypal:  I hate using my credit card online.  Especially in accounts which store it permanently.  More and more online locations are allowing me to substitute my Paypal account instead of my credit card.  The Android Market (which utilizes Google checkout) requires a credit card, and I just have no interest in giving them that information.  Using Paypal would significantly increase the number of purchases I make, and I suspect many of you as well.

4. Organization: I know we all love to hate Handango…or at least we did when we all still used Windows Mobile.  Before we hated Handango, though, many of us loved it.  One of the things I always really appreciated about Handango was the organization.  Many of the app stores today, including iTunes and Android offer only top level categorization, leaving hundreds or even thousands of apps lumped into a single loosely organized category.  This can make it difficult to really narrow in on the apps you need.  Handango featured second and even third level categorization, meaning you could go directly to the section you needed without hunting through dozens of irrelevant or loosely related apps.  I am not suggesting that Google needs to organize their store exactly like  Handango, but a little less like Apple would be nice on this one.  And would it kill them to let me separate the free apps from the paid apps?

5.The Cloud.  When I first stumbled upon the online version of the Android Market, I thought it was just that…and online version of the store.  Not quite.  It is really just a showroom for some of the apps you can purchase in the Android Market.  All you can really do there is browse.  There is no opportunity to purchase or download apps via the online portal.  That is most unfortunate.  Google needs to find a way to duplicate the marketplace online.  The ability to surf the web and purchase apps from any computer, even if I left my phone at home, and then download them directly to my phone over the air…would be invaluable.

So there you go.  The Android Market is currently a good store, but I think with a few minor improvements, it could be great.  These are my suggestions.  How about you?  Have any of you given the Android Market a try?  What was your experience like?  Leave your suggestions for Google in the comments.

When Apple announced their new iPad Internet Tablet last week, one of the major features was their new e-Book reader and iBook store.  This was pretty exciting for me.  I am a huge fan of e-Books, and this is one of the nicest looking e-Book readers I have seen.  The interface is simply fantastic, and the bookstore is already stocked with a supply from several major publishers.  Sounds great, right?

Well, maybe not so much.  At least not for you and I.  One of the biggest problems I have had with e-Books has been the price of the books.  With no printing or distribution costs, you would expect the price of the books to be rock bottom, as in under $5.00.  This has not happened, though, mainly because the publishers cling to an antiquated pricing scheme, which focuses on the paper and ink version of the book.  To be honest, until publishers truly embrace the e-Book format and recognize it as a realistic alternative, if not replacement, for the pen and ink books, then this will not significantly chance.  Nonetheless, Amazon has done a fantastic job of negotiating lower and lower prices with the publishers, even offering significant incentives to publishers who offer lower priced books.  As a result, Amazon has been able to keep their Kindle e-Book prices below $10 for most books, including new releases.  Faced with the market dominance of Amazon’s Kindle, other e-Book stores quickly followed suit, with Barnes and Noble, Sony, and others soon lowering their prices to match or even beat Amazon’s.

This was all great news for consumers.  As 2009 turned to 2010, there were several fantastic e-Book readers available, with the promise of up to a dozen more by the end of the year, as well as several fantastic bookstores, and a price war which featured an apparent race to the bottom in terms of e-Book pricing.  2010 was shaping up to be the year of the e-Book.

Sadly, that all came to a screeching halt last week when Apple unveiled its iPad and iBook Store.  While Apple has not officially unveiled their iBook Store pricing scheme, it is rumored to raise the e-Book price ceiling to $15 per book or more.  One might expect Apple to feel the backlash from consumers as a result of this higher pricing scheme, but that has hardly been the base.  Instead, the backlash came almost immediately from publishers as MacMillan and Harper Collins demanded to renegotiate their pricing schemes with Amazon and raise the prices of e-Books to more closely match Apple’s pricing scheme.  Sadly, Amazon had no choice but to relent, effectively ending the downward trend of e-Book pricing.  The end of the $9.99 e-Book is nigh.  Can the end of Amazon’s market dominance be far behind?  Write in and let us know what you think.

SBSH Calendar for Blackberry

Amit and company, the guys over at SBSH, have just introduced Calendar for Blackberry. Having been a very worthwhile offering in the Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 application ecosystems for a while now, Calendar for Blackberry is likely going to shape up to be a very worth while app for any of you Blackberry users out there to at least take a look at. Check out the full details in the press release below:

BlackBerry users rejoice, SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry released! Take control of your busy agenda with your BlackBerry and the all new SBSH Calendar!

February 1st, 2010 – Following SBSH Calendar for Windows Mobile Touch, Smartphone and Symbian S60 overwhelming success, we are excited to announce today the release of SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry!

SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry brings a robust personal information manager solution for both BlackBerry personal users and busy professionals. Packing together an innovative and compelling tools far beyond the default BlackBerry tools that will help you manage your busy schedule. Advanced calendar views, dedicated tasks manager, powerful recurring items engine, category coloring and icons and much more!

SBSH Calendar Highlights

• Daily View – Today’s events in one screen. Joint display for appointments and tasks. Status and category icons, status colors and much more!
• Weekly View – Full week worth display. Vertical bars styled display of your agenda, providing graphical representation of your busy vs. free hours of the week
• Monthly View – Entire month agenda in a single screen! Offering daily timelines, category icons, status colors and Quick View pane to preview each day activities
• Tasks Manager – Robust Task manager packed as part of SBSH Calendar. Offering powerful task management tools that will allow you to manage your tasks at the same application
• Category Colors and Icons – Assign icons and colors to categories. Icons and colors you assign are then used with Calendar’s different views to enhance your agenda graphical representation
• BlackBerry Tailored – SBSH Calendar was designed especially for use with BlackBerry devices. Taking advantage of the unique BlackBerry hardware capabilities for the best user experience!

Click here to read the release note from our development team and find out more about the new SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry release

Pricing and Availability

SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry costs $14.95.

SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry can be registered at the following link:
https://www.mobihand.com/cart1.asp?posid=362&pid=49149

Further Information and Download Details

SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry web-page and screenshots
SBSH Calendar for BlackBerry download

SBSH Calendar is also available for the following platforms:

SBSH Calendar for Windows Mobile Touch web-page
SBSH Calendar for Windows Mobile Smartphone web-page
SBSH Calendar for S60 web-page

Support information

SBSH Support team is available 24/7 to help you with any inquiry

Visit SBSH Forums to share ideas and share your experience with other SBSH users and our development team

About SBSH Mobile Software

SBSH Mobile Software is a rapidly growing software firm specializing in the mobile market, developing software solutions for Windows Mobile, Symbian S60, BlackBerry RIM and iPhone/iPod Touch devices. We offer a variety of best-selling applications for the fast growing mobile market, enhancing end-users experience and providing added-value for mobile devices.