Question of the Day

Question of the Day: Which is more important: Operating System, Applications or Carrier?

With all the recent talk due to Microsoft shaking things up in the mobile operating system arena, I think it is time to ask the users which is more important when deciding upon a device to use.

Is the operating system the deciding factor. Is a device, simply because it runs Android, your device of choice? What makes the iPhone so popular? Is it the operating system?

WebOS is a compelling an interesting platform. There’s no doubt about that. Palm proved they can generate a fascinating, fully multi-tasking operating system, perhaps better than any out there to date. In the process, they killed support for tens of thousands of Palm OS applications. Will Palm ever be relevant again? Don’t know, but they sure would have been closer if they added an emulation layer for existing Palm OS apps. Many developers who were burned by Palm’s decision won’t be going back. Their user base will suffer. Would the iPhone be what the iPhone is today without the plethora of third party applications?

Does carrier drive decision. For me it did. I liked my HTC Hermes. I didn’t like the poor AT&T reception. Cancelled my contract and went with US Cellular and a HTC Touch Pro. Not only is the Touch Pro a great update to the Hermes, US Cellular is SOOOO much better than AT&T. Their (AT&T’s) commercials make me laugh (and get angry). I was fooled by them.

So, it looks like I’ve presented a tons of questions in expanding upon my initial question of which is more important, the operating system, availability of apps or carrier. What do you think? Hit the comments below and let us know.

Windows Phone 7 Series

jkOnTheRun has recently posted information made available from Microsoft, letting the current Windows Mobile users know that they will not be completely left out in the cold once Windows Phone  7 Series hits.  Instead, what we currently know as Windows Mobile will become dubbed Windows Phone Classic.  Microsoft is stating that Windows Phone Classic is going to peacefully coexist alongside 7 Series, hopefully providing a long life for what we currently get to experience as Windows Mobile.

This is great news for those who are not necessarily enthralled with the new operating system, and for those who may not be quite yet willing to forego their application set.  If you are one of those who have not been enthralled with Windows Phone 7 Series, does this news make you feel just a bit better?  It does provide a bit of comfort for me, I must admit.

Windows Phone 7 Series

Earlier this week, after the initial bombshell that was Windows Phone 7 Series, many current Windows Mobile users gained false hope that the new operating system would be at least somewhat backwards compatible.  This was mostly due to the rapid spreading of an article published on Tweakers.net, that shortly after had a slight update posted.  The update mentioned that apps would not necessarily be able to easily be recompiled for the new platform.  This is likely going to equate to an initially lower base of programs available for the platform.  What I’m curious about is why Microsoft did not take any heed from a lesson that Palm learned when rolling out WebOS.  Palm OS was largely a success due to the plethora of third party applications available for it.  It’s true that WebOS is technically superior to the Palm OS, sure.  But Palm did nothing to reward those third party developers that made their OS such a success.  Instead, they were set out to dry.  The result, many, many applications that were for the Palm OS will never be for WebOS.  Sad, but reality.

Fast forward back from that history lesson and we find Microsoft, borrowing from others.  They jump on the full fledged finger oriented UI of iPhone OS lore.  They also steal a page from the Palm / WebOS playbook… include no support for Windows Mobile apps.

Shortsighted or necessary?  Only time will tell.  What are your thoughts on this?  Hit the comments below and let us know.

Although I have been reviewing headphones for several years here at JAMM (as well as other sites), pretty much every pair of headphones I have had the opportunity to review has been the in-the-ear style with flexible buds, creating a noise isolating environment.  After having spent so much time with in-the-ear headphones, I had been considering checking out some different styles when, completely out of the blue, Monster Cables sent me a pair of the latest headphones in their Beats By Dr. Dre line, the Solos.  These are a traditional “can” style headphone, which fit over the ear.  I was pretty intrigued by them and eager to check them out. 

The first thing I noticed was the impressive presentation the folks at Monster Cable put together with these.  The headphones are packed in a box secured with a magnet snap on the flap.  I was already happy to know that I would not have to tear through a solid plastic blister pack.  Once inside the box, the headphones, along with a soft case were securely held in one side, while the manuals, cable, and wipe cloth were tucked under a flap on the left.  Overall, it presented quite an introduction to the headphones.

As soon as I got the Beats Solo out of the box, I was really impressed by the the compact size of the headphones.  One of the reasons I have stayed away from this style headphone is they tend to be bulky and unwieldy, which is fine for use around the house, but really does not work well when you need to toss them in your briefcase and carry them on your commute.  So, I really did appreciate this design.  They even fold up (as you can see above) for increased portability.

Once unfolded, the stems expand to ensure a perfect fit, regardless of the size of your head.  I also really liked the feel of the speaker cans.  This is frequently the most oversized part of any outside the ear headphone system, so I was pleased to find how small these were. 

They fit great over my ears, creating a perfect seal over them.  When I wore these headphones, even with no music playing, they created an exceptional noise isolation environment.  Once the music gets going, you might as well forget about any outside noises.

Speaking of turning things on, let’s go ahead and turn on the music and take a look (or listen) to how these sound.  I was quite impressed by the sound quality.  The Beats Solo offered a rich and crisp sound.  I did feel like it leaned more heavily toward the bass end of the spectrum than I would have liked, but not so far that I felt like it was problematic.  They really did a fantastic job of capturing all of the nuances of whichever genre of music I threw at them.

The Beats Solo also features a detachable cable which connects to the headphones on one end and your mp3 player on the other end.  This is fantastic, because the cable is typically the first part of any headphones to get damaged.  So, if you do have problems with the cable, you can easily replace it, rather than purchasing an entire new set of headphones.

As you might expect from Monster Cables, the headphones cable on this one is plenty long to fit all of your needs, and extremely durable and well constructed.  Additionally, since it is thicker than most headphone cables, it seems to present significantly less danger of the dreaded headphone cable tangle which has become all too common lately. 

The most significant feature on this detachable cable, however, is the inline controls, which Monster calls ControlTalk.  This is a small control nodule, which will hang close to your left shoulder when in use, allows you to control your music by pausing, advancing to the next song, or even adjusting the volume.  I was pretty excited by the prospect of these inline controls, because fishing my Zune HD out of my pocket on these cold winter days to skip a song or adjust the volume is simply not a pleasant prospect.  So, I connected the Beats Solo to my Zune HD and away we went…or not.  The Zune HD did not recognize the inline controls at all.  No volume control, no pausing my music, no advancing to the next song…nothing.   so, I connected it to my iPod Touch, with the same results.  That makes the inline controls 0-2, with only my Android-based HTC Hero to go.  We’ll call this one a foul tip.  Not quit a strikeout.  The controls connected.  I was able to toggle between playing and pausing the music; though I was not able to advance songs or control the volume.  I also found it to be awfully finicky. During my testing, I constantly bumped it, causing the phone to dial instead of playing music.

Yes, you read that right, you can even use the Beats Solo as a wired headset for your phone.  Using the inline controls, you can redial the last call, answer an incoming call, or ignore an incoming call.  As I mentioned, I found these controls to be a little touchy.  They often got bumped and dialed inadvertently or did not take quite the correct action (a double tap would be interpreted as a long single tap or vice versa). 

As we get more into converged devices, though, the ability to have converged accessories becomes ever more important.  If you are listening to music on your phone, you do not want to have to take off your headphones and switch to a different headset or fish out your phone to answer it.  You want to be able to simply use the headphones you are already wearing, and the Beats Solo makes it easy to do so.

While I thought the inline controls did a good job of muting the music and picking up the call, they did not work well while in the call.  The sound coming through the headphones was pretty good.  It did feel like there was a bit of a delay transferring the sound to the headphones, which gave it a sort of choppy feel.  The microphone, however, simply did not work at all.  Even when I held directly in front of my mouth, it barely was able to pick up the sound of my voice.  Disappointing to say the least.  Fortunately, I tend to listen to music on my Zune HD, not my phone; so this should not be an issue for my use.  You on the other hand…will have to make your own judgment about the importance of this feature.

I have to say that I was quite impressed by these headphones.  My trepidation about this form factor proved to be completely unfounded as the Beats Solo were both compact and comfortable.  I was disappointed that the inline controls and phone interface did not work well with my devices, but that was not a large concern for me.  What was far more important was the sound quality, which was one of the best I have used.  Comfortable, compact, acoustical, and fantastic noise isolation.  You just cannot ask for anything more from a solid pair of headphones.

The Beats Solo are available from Monster Cable for $199.95.

What I Liked:

• Compact size
• Portability
• Detachable cable
• Great sound

What Needs Improvement:

• ControlTalk inline controls did not work well

Hello Rewind Laptop Case

 Whether you want to admit it or not, most people have more t-shirts than they need.  I know I have ones that go back to high school that I just can’t part with.  I even have one that is a Pittsburgh Pirates 1992 Division Champions shirt, and that may never be seen again.  So, what can you do with those extra shirts?  Well, you can turn them into a laptop sleeve.  I have to say this is one of the coolest ideas ever!!!  For $49, you send your shirt to Hello Rewind, and you receive a sleeve to fit either a 13″, 15″, or 17″ Mac laptop.  It is a bit on the expensive side for a sleeve, but its also an important memory.  Plus, you are also doing a good deed by helping people in need.  Hello Rewind works with Restore NYC, which is a non-profit organization focusing on providing holistic services to help sex trafficking survivors in New York City reintegrate back into society.  Something cool for you, and helping those in need…a perfect arrangement.

Via the gadgeteer