QuickLook - Plantronics Discovery 925 BT Headset

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Jul 03 2008 - 460 views

Here we are … another fine day at JAMM, and today seems like a pretty good day to take a look at what has quickly become my favorite Bluetooth headsets. I’m not going to make this a long review, because frankly I don’t think it needs it. Why? Because its a Bluetooth headset. Most of the key talking points around these devices have been covered over and over again … things like do I really need one, will I look like a Star Trek geek, are people going to think I’m taking to myself, and of course topics like should there be a law requiring these things.

So in the interest of not tossing out an entire holiday weekend (and missing a beautiful day outside/Happy 4th) I’m going to keep this one short and to the point, again because the talking points have been covered, but more importantly I personally think once you’ve tried the Discovery 925 - you’re either going to absolutely love it, or you’re going to just feel sort of "meh" about the whole thing. You can go ahead and put me in that first category. So lets get started.

 

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HP IQ504 Desktop goes all touchy feely.

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Jun 29 2008 - 223 views

So … while this is definitely not what I would consider mobile tech, it is a sign of the times when your fingers are become more "mouse" than clicker. Honestly I think the sign of the times just might be getting a little bit to much like a giant billboard with tiny writing … USELESS.

I really have to wonder what the heck the point is of having a desktop computer … which sits on a freaking desk … that has a touch screen?! I mean if you’re sitting in a chair (typically a couple feet from the screen) what good does having a touch screen do? I can see a touch screen laptop making sense. I can see it for POS Systems at McDonalds. Heck I can see it on a digital picture frame. But on a desktop? And a fully integrated $1300 desktop at that?!

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me to be sitting at your desk, with mouse and keyboard within easy reach, and having to lean all the way forward to press on the screen and move a picture around or open an email … when you could without nearly as much body contortion just click the little mouse button and achieve the same effect. But maybe I’m just missing the point. Maybe there is a use for something like this… ? Somebody? Anybody? Bueller?

Anyway, if you can picture yourself touching, dragging and flicking your way through Windows Visturd … HP has a shiny new option for you in the IQ504 all-in-one touchscreen desktop. Just be careful when you’re using the amazing new "two finger scrolling" technology. I’d hate for you to two finger scroll your way into your coffee.

 

via thegadgetsite

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You Can Help OtterBox Beat the Breast Cancer Clock!

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Jun 26 2008 - 102 views

Typically I don’t post a lot of the press release stuff we get here at the site, mainly because you’ll see it all again and again. But sometimes, no matter how many times you’ve seen the message its important enough that it needs to be repeated. We all know someone who either has cancer, has beaten cancer, or lost the fight with cancer. Personally I’ve had family, friends and co-workers who’ve been touched by it and I’ve seen it devastate lives ever since I was kid. I’ve not had to fight it myself, but its a topic that’s very inter-twined with my life as I’ve experienced it from start to finish (both successfully and not). So, naturally when I see a chance to bring light into the topic I tend to jump on it.

Today the message comes from our friends at OtterBox. You may or may not have seen these pink cases from OtterBox, but they would like you to know that if you’re considering a new case for your iPhone or iPod Nano (3rd Gen), you should consider buying one that helps support a great cause.

Every three minutes, there is a new diagnosis of breast cancer in the United States. By the time you finish reading this, one more person will begin the battle for life and the fight against the disease. OtterBox has partnered with the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade to help increase awareness of breast cancer and promote the message that early detection saves lives.

Specializing in protective cases for technology and valuables, OtterBox now offers limited edition pink “Strength” cases for the iPhone and nano 3rd generation (coming soon for 3G iPhone). With an online order of an OtterBox “Strength” case, 10% of the purchase price will be donated to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade to support access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, with a focus on the medically underserved.

Click HERE to read more of the release from OtterBox - or start helping find a cure.

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Wells Fargo goes Cloud - with vSafe Data Storage

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Jun 25 2008 - 154 views

So, I’m sitting at home tonight minding my own business when yet another email from the spammers - I mean bankers - at Wells Fargo comes into my inbox. Honestly, if these folks sent as many paper letters as they do emails the rainforest would have been long gone by now. But anyway … in the spirit of our newly re-launched site - and our new found Seinfeld-esk lack of focus on anything specific beyond "mobile", I though this might make for an interesting post. I know Doug mentioned we would be starting the delve into "cloud" applications pretty soon but let me assure you this is not the start of the delving. This is more of a post to lead to a question. But first I shall bore you with the details:

• Encrypted Transmission (and an optional RSA Token! if you’re that hardcore)
• Proven Backup and Recovery Systems - DUH! They’re a fricking bank!
• Online storage and anywhere access for all your things digital - including but not limited to PDF, DOC, MP3, JPG … anything you find valuable.
• Data Storage levels of 1GB, 3GB and 6GB
• Free Trial! … and more. But I’m too lazy to put it all here. Costs are "reasonable" considering the level of security you should be getting with 1GB running about $4.95 up to 14.95 for 6GB. Launching in late July.

So, this leads me to a couple questions. Do you do online backup? If you do - which would you prefer — unlimited data storage from say Mozy for $4.95/mo and "decent" security, or Fort Knox level security at a much lower storage level? And if you’re not doing online backup - what’s keeping you from putting your data out there in the "cloud"?

 

From Wells Fargo vSafe

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Gizmodo’s take on the state of the iClones

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Jun 19 2008 - 243 views

Well the iPhone clones come and the iPhone clones go. But as always the problem is knowing which iPhone clone is the best for you. Now personally, I’m sticking with the original iPhone (and upgrading to the 3G version) but if your heart aches to be as Anti-Apple as you can be - Gizmodo is there to make sure that you get the right clone for you.

After some pretty good research and testing - Gizmodo has compared the big boys (Instinct, Vu, Voyager and Glyde) and picked a winner (booger reference). Warning kids: this one comes with the expected Gizmodo touches like swearing and frankness.

One thing they all have in common is a shitty browser. There isn’t a mobile browser that touches mobile Safari yet. Even when they could render HTML correctly, moving and zooming around the page (especially ones that aren’t mobile optimized) is an exercise in self-control—how long can you take it before stabbing your eyes out.

Click on through for the for the full wrap up and a nice handy feature chart that includes opinions!

via Gizmodo

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JAMM Now iPhone and Mobile Friendly.

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Jun 14 2008 - 229 views

You know… here’s the problem when you put someone at the helm of site development who just can’t help but tinker with stuff. They just can’t leave things well enough alone. So anyway, I’m redesigning (with the help of some other folks on the site) the entire layout of JAMM. We’ve got some really cool stuff coming soon and I can’t wait to see what people think. But today while I was messing with various items that LAUREN thought needed to be tweaked I realized something. JAMM - while a site about all things mobile - sucks when you’re on an iPhone or an iPod Touch. Trust me I know. We have for the longest time been using the excellent “WordPress mobile” plugin by Andy Moore and its great if you’re using a mobile browser like PIE on something like an 8525 or a tilt. But it also redirects the iPhone to this “mobile” version.

Well, for people like me who spend a ton of time on their iPhone, I would really prefer to either see the full blown site or even better an iPhone optimized version. Sort of like what happens when you head on over to JAiB. So … let me be the first to happily announce that when you visit JAMM we figure out if you’re using a mobile device - and send you to the mobile version, if you’re using an iPhone or Touch and send you to the iPhone version, or if all else fails we send you to the full blown version of the site.

 

It wasn’t easy. The new version of WordPress mobile (1.3) broke the site in a bad way… and the old code wouldn’t redirect right - so I ended up having to bring in some code from the new version and work it into the old version. Not fun when you’re not a programmer. But its done -and it works a frickin treat. So, that’s it for my news today. You got your mobile version and your iPhone version. I’m taking a nap

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