1st impression is that is it small, very small.  Not sure I would like to trade my iPad for it.  It also look pretty cheapy compared to the iPad.  A lot of plastic and the seames ane not lining up very tightly.  I hope [...]]]> Here is a short walk around video of the Cisco Cius:

1st impression is that is it small, very small.  Not sure I would like to trade my iPad for it.  It also look pretty cheapy compared to the iPad.  A lot of plastic and the seames ane not lining up very tightly.  I hope this is just a fact that this is a demo unit and that he final product will have a “tighter” look to it.

Thickness wise it look to be about twice as thick as the iPad… so loosing points here.  The tablet is positioned by Cisco for the enterprise and this is a good thing because I can’t see someone wanting this over an iPad (unless they are Android fans).

The UI on display look very iPhonish.  Too bad we where not allowed to play with the actual thing.

Update:

Here are the specs for the unit:

• Android and features a 7-inch high-resolution color screen
• Intel Atom 1.6-GHz processor
• 32GB of flash memory to store marketplace apps
• a detachable/replaceable 8-hour battery
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and 3G/4G data
• Cisco collaboration applications
• an HD soundstation, HD audio
• 720p HD video with Cisco TelePresence for video conferencing and integrated security

I am a bit puzzled by the Atom 1.6Ghz processor.  Atom and battery life don’t go along so well… but Cisco claim 8 hours of battery life… so.

1st, the unit is actually smaller than I thought.  Not sure if it is because I have big hands but looking at pictures on the web and holding it myself feel [...]]]>

Here we go, I am now an happy early Canadian iPad user!  I will summarize my 1st toughts about this great little device.

1st, the unit is actually smaller than I thought.  Not sure if it is because I have big hands but looking at pictures on the web and holding it myself feel different.

2nd, the unit is actually heavier than I expected.  Not like too heavy but it does have some weight to it…more than a book of the same size but not as much as an Britannica Encyclopedia

3rd, the screen is beautiful, big, bright, vibrant and saturated.  Even at the lowest brightness setting it can be viewed very comfortably.

4th, the kids just love it.  I mean, they literally took it away and had to way until they got to bed to have some quality time with it.  The young one see it as some kind of interactive book and the older one as a gaming console.

5th, it is fast, really really fast compared to my iPhone 3G.  Not sure how it fares against the 3Gs… probably a bit faster from the limited time I spent with a freind’s 3Gs.

6th, there are a ton of good applications for it.  I mean, there is no shortage of them.

7th, some of the application won’t run in Canada due to the fact that the iPad store is not open yet in Canada.  That is ok, I will wait a month or so.

8th, I really like Air Video.  I watched an episode of Fringe on it over the wireless network and it could not be any better… even if the source was an actual avi and had to be transcoded on the fly.  I thought it actually looked better on the iPad than full blown on the iMac… might have to do with the transcoding removing the blockiness of the source and rendering a bit softer.

That is it for now!

Mr. Chandra recently posted on the Joojoo blog about an upcoming Joojoo OS upgrade that should turn the bad Joojoo into a good Joojoo.  That remain to be seen given the negative reviews… I mean, the review could not be worst… especially given the timing with the release of the iPad.

Mr. [...]]]>

Image by nDevilTV via Flickr

Mr. Chandra recently posted on the Joojoo blog about an upcoming Joojoo OS upgrade that should turn the bad Joojoo into a good Joojoo.  That remain to be seen given the negative reviews… I mean, the review could not be worst… especially given the timing with the release of the iPad.

Mr. Chandra is aware of the fact that the current OS version was not ready for prime time:

We are in the midst of bad joojoo for a very simple reason: We were aggressive in our product delivery commitments, decided to completely revise our UI as we were readying the product for release and our initial units shipped with software that proved to be problematic when put to the test in the real world.

Embarrassing? Yes. Correctable? Absolutely. And we will.

This is all good but will the upgrade be enough to bring back the interest in prospect buyers?  I doubt it… especially given the very successfull iPad!

Good luck to you Joojoo…

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• Finally, An Update On The JooJoo (ihany.com)
• JooJoo reviewed by people in line for iPad (venturebeat.com)

Apple’s Camera Connection Kit for the iPad is shipping and customers who have received the adapters are reporting that:

- USB headphone/headset will work on the iPad through the connection kit. Skype phone call was tested and “the quality was just terrific” – Tidbits

- USB keyboards can be used – TUAW

- iLounge had some early notes which [...]]]>

Apple’s Camera Connection Kit for the iPad is shipping and customers who have received the adapters are reporting that:

- USB headphone/headset will work on the iPad through the connection kit. Skype phone call was tested and “the quality was just terrific” – Tidbits

- USB keyboards can be used – TUAW

- iLounge had some early notes which revealed that the iPad emails pictures out at 2048×1536 resolution rather than the iPhone's 800×600 resolution, but if you copy/paste the images into an email, you can get full resolution images emailed out.

- Once you connect to your Mac, iPhoto brings in full resolution images with EXIF information intact. – iLounge

via iPad Camera Connection Kit Notes and Demo Video – Mac Rumors.

Yep, I went on ebay and started looking around for iPads.  I was blown by how much they are selling for! Easilly 600+ for the 499 16 WiFi… and that is without [...]]]> So I got tired of waiting for iPad to sell in Canada.  So what one do when in need of something not sold around? eBay!

Yep, I went on ebay and started looking around for iPads.  I was blown by how much they are selling for! Easilly 600+ for the 499 16 WiFi… and that is without shipping charges!

I was lucky enough to spot a used one that was hovering at 495 and only had a couple of minutes to go.  So I took a change and bidded 500.99 on it a few seconds before the end.  I was lucky and was able to get it at that price.

The nice thing is that it comes with a transparent silicon case that was put on the day the eBay seller got it.  I have not received the unit yet but from communication with the seller this unit is in perfect condition.

So for less that the retail value (iPad 16GB + Silicon cover) I will get my hands on an as good as new unit within the next few days!

I will sure keep you posted on how I like this thing when it arrives.  In the mean time I am thinking of building a small server that I could use to stream movies to the iPad while in the home and on the road (in the car).  Something based on a netbook running some kind of media sharing application that the iPad could leverage to play movies.

This way I could bring a sizable part of my video library instead of filling up the iPad memory…

conecti.ca has a hands-on preview of the HP Slate.

The verdict: It is far behind the iPad with regard to “Gadget quality” but is a good netbook alternative.

Here is the Google translation of the article:

Each develops a gadget that Apple does not spare those who come after announcing that they have a replacement. Just as [...]]]>

conecti.ca has a hands-on preview of the HP Slate.

The verdict: It is far behind the iPad with regard to “Gadget quality” but is a good netbook alternative.

Here is the Google translation of the article:

Each develops a gadget that Apple does not spare those who come after announcing that they have a replacement. Just as there are a lot of iPod Killers (still waiting) and iPhone Killers (Hello?), now has been the range of IPAD Killers. Case to light, the HP Slate . We had a short in our hands.

HP Slate is the first offering in response to the IPAD that with a straight face, wants to unseat iPodsote. Two models will be marketed HP Slate, a 32GB for $ 549 price and a 64GB and $ 599 price . Both have an 8.9-inch screen and 1024 x 600 pixels resolution powered by an Intel Atom Z530 at 1.6GHz, Intel integrated graphics chip (presumably the Broadcom Crystal HD) and 1GB of RAM is not expandable.

As we saw in the Slate, has the problem that is a whole PC. If you have Office, Explorer / Chrome / Safari and all checheres that you can install Windows. you have Flash , but unfortunately this means that has a long and annoying load time operating system (and then a screen-user password to enter Windows 7). If anything, it is clear that this gadget is not a competition to IPAD but the netbooks already on the market.

Anyway it is worth noting the positive. The Slate has expansion ports ad-nauseum that includes a dock with HDMI and USB connections. It has a built-in camera . It has its own media management system that is to see if it be really useful but definitely nice if it is. The screen, although smaller than that of the IPAD, is a little brighter and if, obviously, is multi-touch and although it is made of plastic, feels dense and tough. The design team continues to be pretty for what is a pseudo-range of Netbooks without a keyboard.

The official verdict is “meh” . This version of the Slate far behind the IPAD as “gadget package”, but definitely this is the smallest complete netbook that they can find.

via ™ Mini Review: HP Slate PC – IPAD does not tremble or cold | conecti.ca.