How big is too big?  I guess that depends on what you are talking about.  In this case we are talking about a screen to run a GPS program on.  For the past year and a half I have been using my Xperia X1 as GPS device and before that I used the Sony Ericsson P910.  So I have been accustomed to using the smaller screens of Smartphones in place of regular screens of GPS units.

Last year my mom got a TomTom for Christmas and using it a couple of times I really didn’t see the difference in the slightly bigger screen of it compared to my Xperia. 

USBFever was kind enough to send me a product in exchange for a review of a window mount that can turn your Netvertable, Tablet PC, or iPad into a window mounted GPS.  

This is my Lenovo S10-3T mounted to the windshield of my 96’ Explorer.  At first thought I loved the idea of a 10 in. screen to navigate to my destination but after actually doing it it may have some fallbacks.

The device from USBFever is the most solid screen mount I have had.  I have one for my Xperia that I have had to glue the bendy arm back into it’s hole because it came out the first time I used it.  This fact also makes me nervous that it may happen to a 45.9 oz. netvertable that dangles awfully close to a window.  

It does appear to be a lot more secure than other ones I have used.  The actual bendy part is very thick and seems very sturdy.  The clip is also very thick and sturdy.  I would imagine that the image of my netbook falling out the window will never actually come to fruition. 

This is the part that actually hold the device.  It has a soft foam rubber back and the spring out sides are also covered with the foam rubber padding.  It grips the device tightly however there is no lip to come up in front of the bottom to give it a little extra snug fit.  As you can see from the pictures I live on a dirt road.  It is also a private road so it doesn’t get maintained regularly.  needless to say it did fall out after a few bumps.  It also has two rubber spots on the back so that you can set it back against something to get some extra grip.  I never figured out where it could go that they could be utilized. 

The problem with this part is the vents on my device are covered on the left side and rear because it is made of solid material.  I haven’t tested this long term to see how hot it gets but if it’s only running the GPS application I don’t imagine it will get too hot.

The place you see it mounted in the picture is the only place I could figure to put it.  Even if I am driving alone, putting it in front of the passenger air bag (without being able to turn it off)is a bad idea because in an accident it will diffidently trash your device.  I could have put it in front of the dash control panel and looked through the steering wheel but there are obvious problems with that as well. 

My only other complaint is because it can’t really lean back on anything and it needs to be tilted toward you so that it won’t fall out, it bounces a bit on the bendy part. 

All said I am satisfied with this device to do what it needs to do.  If you have an iPad and are looking for a similar device, this one will work but USBFever will have a specific for iPad device by mid June.  I think the iPad may be a better choice for large screen navigation because it is smaller and lighter then this specific device, but like i said I will definably be using this for the Summer road trip.   

I am not exactly sure what a Police Officer’s take on a 10.1 in. windshield mounted netvertable will be, so hopefully I will never have the opportunity to find out. 

I am sure that Mr. Stephenson is just as sick of seeing his face in the media lately as we are.  And unless you are going to reverse the Data Charges that are to go into effect soon, Mr. Stephenson, we would like you to stay out of it.  with the most regard of course. 

This is just laughable.  The official statement by AT&T is in my opinion their way of trying to backpedal out of a very slippery slope. 

We are apologizing to our customer. We’re working with him today to address his questions and concerns. This is not the way we want to treat customers. From Facebook to significant customer service channels, AT&T strives to provide our customers with easy ways to have their questions addressed. Because of this incident, we are reviewing our entire process to ensure a situation like this does not happen again.

As if they had no clue as to their policies and how things would be handled.  Please.

So what’s your take on this?

Serious or skeptical?

Or are you just sick of the carrier games?

[Engadget]

As it does seem that AT&T has grown fangs and legs and lives under your bed, well actually that may be exactly what has happened. 

If you have been following along this week you may have noticed this trend.  First it was that AT&T announced they where going to slash data plans to an almost unusable oblivion.  Then when someone decides to speak up about it they get threats of legal action. 

Maybe this is their way of saying I’m sorry?  Doubtful but AT&T did say that users can keep their $30 unlimited data plan when upgrading.  However, if you want to take advantage of tethering you will have to switch to a capped data pro plan and pay the extra $20 for the tethering.

I am currently an AT&T subscriber and can’t personally say anything worse about them then any any other carrier.  I was with Sprint in it’s infancy, Alltel for a contract, and with Centennial before I got sick of them and opted out for AT&T before the merger happened. 

I choose GSM not because it has the best coverage, As I don’t agree that any of them do, but rather because MY wife has a Blackberry and I use a Sony Ericsson Windows Mobile phone.  I have never agreed with the outrageous usage charges so I opt for phones that allow me to be “unsupported”.  A Windows Phone is a Windows Phone and a Blackberry is a Blackberry.  But if done right the unlimited data plans can be $10 a month.  Oh, and I can tether my brains out too.  Maybe I’m rogue or maybe I’m slick. 

For an FYI no she can’t use the blackberry services but I’ve also never been too keen on those either.  She still gets Gmail on her device and I’ve never understood why that isn’t good enough.  And whenever I want to switch Just pop in a SIM card and nobody is the wiser.  I would imagine that I could get an unlocked iPhone jailbroke and tether just as I do my phone now.  Not exact on that but most likely. 

If my math is right I save $240 on someone that just upgrades their AT&T phone.  For that price you can always buy outright.

So the question is, Why do you have the carrier you do?

What will make you switch plans?   

Is your current carrier getting under your collar?

Let us know your thoughts.

[Engadget]

This news I am sure comes as a shock to many of us.  We knew that HP had some ideas up their sleeve but we didn’t expect this.

HP CEO Mark Hurd just told investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch tech conference that his company “didn’t buy Palm to be in the smartphone business,” and that he’s not going to “spend billions of dollars trying to go into the smartphone business; that doesn’t in any way make any sense.” Yes, that sound you’re hearing is Jon Rubinstein’s heart breaking into a million tiny pieces. According to Hurd, HP was actually more interested in Palm’s IP — specifically webOS, which he wants to put on “tens of millions of HP small form-factor web-connected devices.” Sure, that makes sense, and it lines up perfectly with HP’s plan to “double down on webOS” and put it on everything from netbooks and slates to printers

So the question remains whether this will totally dismantle Palm or will they still allow it to be put on mobile devices, say by HTC or others of such a nature?

More specifically…

We didn’t buy Palm to be in the smartphone business. And I tell people that, but it doesn’t seem to resonate well. We bought it for the IP. The WebOS is one of the two ground-up pieces of software that is built as a web operating environment…We have tens of millions of HP small form factor web-connected devices…Now imagine that being a web-connected environment where now you can get a common look and feel and a common set of services laid against that environment. That is a very value proposition.

I am sure there is lots of opinion flying so feel free to leave a comment below.

[Engadget]

If you have ever wondered what Metro UI is, as I have, you would have found that Google does not come up with the definition that we where looking for.

the second one shows a customized version with HDWalls, an application developed by a forum member. You clearly see that the second one gets rid all those clock panels, appointment backgrounds and slider bars, which is exactly the key philosophy behind Metro – the chromeless look.

Especially when compared to the iPhone or Android, the benefits of this design become obvious. It focuses much more on the actual content, the text, instead of buttons or toolbars, and simply looks incredibly elegant.

I hope this helps all those wondering exactly what Microsoft is up to with the Metro thing.

Do you want the content to shine or the menu’s and buttons?

Let us know your preference in the comments below.

[XDA-DEV]