Hi All...
I just grabbed a Pandigital Planet from Kohl's. They have it on sale for $189.00 this weekend (you can find it cheaper online, about 170 to 175). I grabbed it at the sale price with a 20% off coupon they sent Me by email and my wife gave Me $90.00 Kohl's cash. So I only paid 84.79 with the tax and everything and I'll actually get another 15% off with my employee discount.
I wanted to wait for the Nova, but we don't have that one in the store yet, and the Kohl's cash we had was only good until today. They may well have the Nova when I go in for work tonight, though. Oh well.
So far I can see that with only 2GB I have to get a big microSD card and be very conservative with the applications I install. On My DroidX I have a 5GB memory bank for apps and I have lots of cool looking apps that act crappy and like to stay in memory and run absolutely all the time. That's just not a possibility with a 2GB Planet.
What's there:
7" 800x600 resistive TFT LCD touchscreen tablet device with...
MiniUSB port (not MicroUSB like on a Droid X, but MiniUSB like most cameras).
HDMI port (accomodates DTV as well as 720p & 1080p HDTV playback to TV/device).
microSD Card SLOT (no card included) will accomodate up to 32GB cards.
Wi-Fi (The 802.11 B/G/N is very cheap and doesn't have much range).
Mini Stereo Headphone Jack.
Microphone.
Forward and rear facing cameras. NOTE: NO Flash.
Power button.
Volume Up/Down buttons.
Android buttons.
Dedicated DC port (a dedicated power adapter port that doesn't use the miniUSB port).
Uses a rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery.
AC wall outlet power adapter (for recharging).
MiniUSB to PC USB cable.
Tablet miniUSB connection is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 and MacOS X computers. Although not stated, it should be compatible with properly configured Linux computers as well since android is Linux based.
The 7" Planet uses a proprietary market place. When searching at Google's App Market from the device, Google won't even acknowledge that you are on an android device. Apparently there is a hack for this, but you need to be careful with piling on some of the less memory friendly apps that never shut down from most developers out there (android has a big problem with this no matter the device, perhaps this may be pandigital's attempt to stop crappy apps from infecting everything with constant memory loss and consistent device reboots?).
After getting it and playing with it a bit there was a firmware update. After the firmware update, parts of certain screens, such as the drag-down notification window and menu shrank in parts to a phone-sized screen. Very unusual looking, but the thing still works just fine.
The 800x600 display is a little different from My Droid X in that it uses a 5 x 5 icon layout, as opposed to the 4 x 4 icon layout. The Droid X has 3 additional screens on either side of home, where the Planet only has 2 extra screens to the left or right of home.
That said, I really like the bigger display. I can read the 800x600 pretty well without My reading glasses, as opposed to the tiny screen on My Droid X device.
Touch seems responsive until trashing or otherwise moving icons around. Then, it just plain bites because I am not a real patient guy. You have to pause quite a while once you select the icon and it grows, before you can move it somewhere else. I am told that there is an issue with how the wi-fi antenna is positioned. Moving it to a side location apparently helps touchscreen sensitivity. Someone also says that using aluminum tape to do so has increased the wi-fi signal on theirs.
I really like that they switched the Home and Menu buttons around, and that they are physical buttons (when compared to My Droid X button positions or the lack of real buttons on My friend's Droid Incredible).
I have downloaded an app, Nimbuzz, to use it for skype, but it seems that they only support skype on a phone? Curious that these guys aren't supporting tablets, yet. Maybe I'll find one that will.
I understand that the Planet can be rooted, now. I'm surprised. Glad, but surprised, as it hasn't been out long, has it? I'm going to have to do that once I grab a microSD Card so that I can back it all up for reinstalling it all.
The 7" Nova will have more memory (4GB), so some might want that one, instead. As mentioned, we don't have it just yet in our store, but I might grab a Nova, or maybe wait for Pandigital's flagship tablet due out in September.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
BApps.com Sold at Sedo Auction for 510.00
I sold BApps.com sold for a mere $510.00 to the highest bidder at auction on May 5th. I transferred the domain name upon Sedo's request that weekend and then verified that the funds had hit my account by May 12th, 2011. Although I find the winning bid unusually low for such a valuable and trending domain name, I am glad to have the sale. Sedo is a great place for quick domain name sales when both parties are on the ball.
The blogger blog address has been changed to http://business-apps.blogspot.com/
The blogger blog address has been changed to http://business-apps.blogspot.com/
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Moving Content (Posts) Here
I have received an offer to buy BApps.com. As I have a blog there at blog.bapps.com, I have decided to move a couple of my posts concerning Android "Business Apps" that I have made there, to this blog.
My Android app review posts are being copied here as the Bapps.com is going to be sold at Sedo.com and is currently up for auction to the highest bidder right now (as of this writing, there are 2 bids and the current price is $210.00). Then, when the domain is sold and the new owner re-points the name servers to another address, those posts will disappear and this blog will become their new official home.
The following posts which will be moved here:
Just want to retain my authorship as well as save my original content. As it turns out, this is pretty easy to do with Blogger sites, just export the old blog and then import the posts you want in the new blog. Cool.
-Doug
My Android app review posts are being copied here as the Bapps.com is going to be sold at Sedo.com and is currently up for auction to the highest bidder right now (as of this writing, there are 2 bids and the current price is $210.00). Then, when the domain is sold and the new owner re-points the name servers to another address, those posts will disappear and this blog will become their new official home.
The following posts which will be moved here:
- Business Apps: Password Safe
(Originally posted on 3/7/2011 at http://blog.bapps.com/2011/03/busines-card-reader.html) - Google Voice Takes Over
(Originally posted on 4/20/2011 at http://blog.bapps.com/2011/04/google-voice-takes-over.html)
Just want to retain my authorship as well as save my original content. As it turns out, this is pretty easy to do with Blogger sites, just export the old blog and then import the posts you want in the new blog. Cool.
-Doug
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Google Voice Takes Over
The other day my friend showed me how he had setup Google Voice on his Droid Incredible. He even had a widget that displayed what was transcribed after voice recognition tried to interpret his voice mail messages.
Eventually, I thought that it was a good idea and I thought I'd give it a try, thinking that I could always revert to my Verizon Voicemail if Google Voice didn't work out for me.
To my surprise, I was getting a great deal more hang-ups and fewer voice mail messages with Voice than when using Verizon's voicemail. On top of this, it appears that Google's voice recognition technology, which works well on my DroidX for short sentences, is often fooled or stumped when interpreting any other message left me, probably due to its longer length.
That said, the voice recognition for Voice is at least attempting to do something when it comes to those longer messages which would stump the android 2 device, but it does seem that the longer the message left, the more silly that the Google Voice transcript became.
However, because of all of these extra hang-ups, I decided to to revert back to the Verizon default voice mail system. Unfortunately, Google Voice seems to have hijacked the answering system. Although I have used the Settings menu to set my Call Settings for Voicemail Service to "My carrier" and I am using the *86 number which is the default for Verizon's Voicemail Settings. And Google Voice is still answering every single call that I miss.
I can't find any other Voicemail settings in my DroidX. I even went down to my local Verizon store where I bought the phone and they can't tell me what's wrong. So now I have to call Verizon's support line (which is what they were going to do at the Verizon store, but I didn't have enough time to hang around at the time).
Verizon Support: Uninstall Google Voice.
I uninstalled Voice.
Verizon Support: It still goes straight to Google Voice.
Me: "I didn't know it was going straight to voice."
Transfered to a new Verizon tech support guy who took off call forwarding.
Me: "I had call forwarding?"
OK, now my voicemail is working again. If you are a business, you might want to stay away from Google Voice, but if you don't like it, stop the call forwarding. That might require a call to a tech. I was told that I can always put call forwarding back on if I want it.
I'm glad this Verizon tech knew what was going on. Glad its over with, as well. ;) I'm not so sure that Google Voice is a good idea for business after all this. At least you know what to do after reading this should you not like it. But taking some calls straight to voicemail without ringing? That indicates a problem in the business world. Not so sure I would like it doing anything like that for a personal phone, either.
Always something. I'm glad this little dilemma is over. ;)
Update:
This issue has never been over, to date (May 23rd, 2011). Check the comments for my continuing struggles with this issue, still not resolved. Thanks for nothing, Google Voice!
Eventually, I thought that it was a good idea and I thought I'd give it a try, thinking that I could always revert to my Verizon Voicemail if Google Voice didn't work out for me.
To my surprise, I was getting a great deal more hang-ups and fewer voice mail messages with Voice than when using Verizon's voicemail. On top of this, it appears that Google's voice recognition technology, which works well on my DroidX for short sentences, is often fooled or stumped when interpreting any other message left me, probably due to its longer length.
That said, the voice recognition for Voice is at least attempting to do something when it comes to those longer messages which would stump the android 2 device, but it does seem that the longer the message left, the more silly that the Google Voice transcript became.
However, because of all of these extra hang-ups, I decided to to revert back to the Verizon default voice mail system. Unfortunately, Google Voice seems to have hijacked the answering system. Although I have used the Settings menu to set my Call Settings for Voicemail Service to "My carrier" and I am using the *86 number which is the default for Verizon's Voicemail Settings. And Google Voice is still answering every single call that I miss.
I can't find any other Voicemail settings in my DroidX. I even went down to my local Verizon store where I bought the phone and they can't tell me what's wrong. So now I have to call Verizon's support line (which is what they were going to do at the Verizon store, but I didn't have enough time to hang around at the time).
Verizon Support: Uninstall Google Voice.
I uninstalled Voice.
Verizon Support: It still goes straight to Google Voice.
Me: "I didn't know it was going straight to voice."
Transfered to a new Verizon tech support guy who took off call forwarding.
Me: "I had call forwarding?"
OK, now my voicemail is working again. If you are a business, you might want to stay away from Google Voice, but if you don't like it, stop the call forwarding. That might require a call to a tech. I was told that I can always put call forwarding back on if I want it.
I'm glad this Verizon tech knew what was going on. Glad its over with, as well. ;) I'm not so sure that Google Voice is a good idea for business after all this. At least you know what to do after reading this should you not like it. But taking some calls straight to voicemail without ringing? That indicates a problem in the business world. Not so sure I would like it doing anything like that for a personal phone, either.
Always something. I'm glad this little dilemma is over. ;)
Update:
This issue has never been over, to date (May 23rd, 2011). Check the comments for my continuing struggles with this issue, still not resolved. Thanks for nothing, Google Voice!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Busines Card Reader
If you have ever wanted a Business Card Reader (BCR), I just bet that it would have to be something handy. This is one of those cases where, if you were offered a program that you would install on your computer that would scan in business cards, you probably wouldn't even bother with it unless it was free, am I right?
Well, the reason is simple, it just isn't convenient. Having to take a business card home and scan it in just to have it available with all its contact information is actually more like a huge chore. But now-a-days we are all walking around with smartphones and finally, the convenience we require is available as a little app for our Android or iPhone!
Check out my article which covers the Android based version of the CamCard - BCR (western) which I absolutely love on My DroidX. But note that there is also a version for the asian market (Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters), another version for business, and that there are also alternate versions of each for the iPhone market as well.
With the convenience of hand held devices, the Business Card Reader has finally become a reliable and useful reality.
Well, the reason is simple, it just isn't convenient. Having to take a business card home and scan it in just to have it available with all its contact information is actually more like a huge chore. But now-a-days we are all walking around with smartphones and finally, the convenience we require is available as a little app for our Android or iPhone!
Check out my article which covers the Android based version of the CamCard - BCR (western) which I absolutely love on My DroidX. But note that there is also a version for the asian market (Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters), another version for business, and that there are also alternate versions of each for the iPhone market as well.
With the convenience of hand held devices, the Business Card Reader has finally become a reliable and useful reality.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Need to Squirrel Away a Contact's Info in your Droid Quickly and Easily?
Like to Collect Business Cards Like I Do?
Wouldn't it be just great if everyone had electronic business cards you can simply feed into your phone? Actually, smartphones do have those, but usually business men simply carry business cards. How low tech, right? Well, just turn that paper copy into an contact entry in your Android based smartphone!
I downloaded and wound-up purchasing "CamCard (Western)" (since I'm not an Asian). I've also seen it called "CamCard - BCR (Western)". The BCR stands for Business Card Reader.
It is an awesome app because it uses character recognition technology (aka: OCR) to grab all the info from a business card. You can then save the card and all the info into your contacts. It works well and requires minimal corrections (usually any errors are the cause of fancy fonts & italics) and it trims the card down nicely if you put it on a high contrast surface and corrects perspective and all, and then saves the image and all the contact info. It even will straighten out the card edges. It really works great with my DroidX.
This was a Chinese developed app and only cost $6.99. If that's too heavy duty for ya, there is a free version that scans in 8 cards initially and then will allow 2 more business card scans per week. I do assure you that the app is all in good English and is easy to read (as if dome by an Englishman), though. And of course, there is a Chinese & Eastern version.
There are actually a few versions...
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_developer/intsig-information-coltd_ftjd.html
And of course, you can find it in the Android market place.
You do realize that we have it made in the Android market because professional applications are still reasonable, right? This is truly a good buy and well worth the price. It has saved me considerable time staying connected and allows me to show-off my DroidX and make others drool. ;)
I'll be checking out their document scanner, "CamScanner" as well, soon.
See Ya!
-Doug
Wouldn't it be just great if everyone had electronic business cards you can simply feed into your phone? Actually, smartphones do have those, but usually business men simply carry business cards. How low tech, right? Well, just turn that paper copy into an contact entry in your Android based smartphone!
I downloaded and wound-up purchasing "CamCard (Western)" (since I'm not an Asian). I've also seen it called "CamCard - BCR (Western)". The BCR stands for Business Card Reader.
It is an awesome app because it uses character recognition technology (aka: OCR) to grab all the info from a business card. You can then save the card and all the info into your contacts. It works well and requires minimal corrections (usually any errors are the cause of fancy fonts & italics) and it trims the card down nicely if you put it on a high contrast surface and corrects perspective and all, and then saves the image and all the contact info. It even will straighten out the card edges. It really works great with my DroidX.
This was a Chinese developed app and only cost $6.99. If that's too heavy duty for ya, there is a free version that scans in 8 cards initially and then will allow 2 more business card scans per week. I do assure you that the app is all in good English and is easy to read (as if dome by an Englishman), though. And of course, there is a Chinese & Eastern version.
There are actually a few versions...
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_developer/intsig-information-coltd_ftjd.html
And of course, you can find it in the Android market place.
You do realize that we have it made in the Android market because professional applications are still reasonable, right? This is truly a good buy and well worth the price. It has saved me considerable time staying connected and allows me to show-off my DroidX and make others drool. ;)
I'll be checking out their document scanner, "CamScanner" as well, soon.
See Ya!
-Doug
What's the Very Best Password Safe?
The best Password Safe?
I finally have entered all of my passwords into my DroidX. It took a long time to find just the right application, and it was quite an adventure, trying so many different apps along the way. But I am certain that I finally settled on the very best of them all... Kuff's "Password Safe Pro". I was trying out all the free versions and this one definitely was the best. I bought the license key (3 euro) because it was so good and because I got tired of seeing the ads very quickly. ;)
There is also a lite version (Password Safe Lite) without network support for 1 euro which doesn't show ads and has no network back-up or sync features (because of the lack of network connectivity feature in this one). It will, however, back up to the SDCard . I wound-up getting both, but that's because I was a bit foolish and didn't find the license for the pro version right away, mistaking the lite version for the license. I wrote the developer and heard back from right away, he's going to refund the money I spent on the lite version for my Droid and we will definitely get another lite version for Maria. She'll then have one and she doesn't need the networking backup/sync features (she or I can manually back it up from her SDCard to her computer, anyway).
I am very happy with this software package. It acts like an app should.
Both versions are very secure and use 128bit AES encryption by default with a 256bit AES encryption option setting.
You can setup the item data fields the way you want, organize them the way you want. Your control over your data is total. You can even setup templates for items, though I have yet to experiment with that.
Nothing else comes close to these Password Safe apps. And you can sync the full version (the one w/backup/restore/sync networking capabilities) with your PC using DropBox, too! The Windows version of the program is free (until the end of this month, anyway). And there is a WiFi backup/restore/sync version available, now. My license is for a lifetime. I am just starting to test the WiFI capabilities, that's a new feature.
Cool program. Works well, too. Very reliable. No complaints (and the few I had were addressed by reading the docs). You can have all sorts of nested folders so that you get everything organized just right. And there are all sorts of skins you can use on it, as well. Even more skins in the Windows version. It was developed by a bloke in the UK.
I honestly am glad I waited to get such a great tandem act for a Password Safe with Kuff's. I should also mention that it's full of features that I will probably never use, but are important to such devices, such as an optional wipe feature that will kick-in upon so many failed login attempts. A remote wipe feature, incase of phone theft. These are important matters of security for the secure obsessed. And there are other security features such as a configurable "shake to show" option, as well.
I will say this, I had a little trouble finding the license key because I kept searching for terms using "kuff's" (with the apostrophe) and eventually found it just searching for "kuffs". So be sure to search for kuffs to see the 2 versions of Password Safe and the license key for the full featured version. It's always the little things that hurt us the most. LOL.
There are some tiny UI issues that I had which were all addressed in the new update by the developer before I could even shoot off an email to him... this guy is sharp!
Thanks, DAz!
Amendum: DAz is the developer and his responses have all been immediate. The purchase of Password Safe Lite was refunded to my credit card within minutes of the request. I am extremely impressed by his professionalism and immediate service to accomodate all my needs. You're just not going to find a better Password App anywhere, and possibly not a more well made app, either.
Oh, I should mention that the Windows version is pretty slick. I'm sure he'll start charging for that one soon, so get it (the Pro version for the android and the Windows version for free) before the end of the month while the Windows version is still free with the Pro license (only 3 euro for both, that's great!).
Links:
http://www.kuffs.co.uk/ - for Kuff's Password Safe
http://db.tt/kSl8Ytt - for Drop Box file sharing & sync
I finally have entered all of my passwords into my DroidX. It took a long time to find just the right application, and it was quite an adventure, trying so many different apps along the way. But I am certain that I finally settled on the very best of them all... Kuff's "Password Safe Pro". I was trying out all the free versions and this one definitely was the best. I bought the license key (3 euro) because it was so good and because I got tired of seeing the ads very quickly. ;)
There is also a lite version (Password Safe Lite) without network support for 1 euro which doesn't show ads and has no network back-up or sync features (because of the lack of network connectivity feature in this one). It will, however, back up to the SDCard . I wound-up getting both, but that's because I was a bit foolish and didn't find the license for the pro version right away, mistaking the lite version for the license. I wrote the developer and heard back from right away, he's going to refund the money I spent on the lite version for my Droid and we will definitely get another lite version for Maria. She'll then have one and she doesn't need the networking backup/sync features (she or I can manually back it up from her SDCard to her computer, anyway).
I am very happy with this software package. It acts like an app should.
Both versions are very secure and use 128bit AES encryption by default with a 256bit AES encryption option setting.
You can setup the item data fields the way you want, organize them the way you want. Your control over your data is total. You can even setup templates for items, though I have yet to experiment with that.
Nothing else comes close to these Password Safe apps. And you can sync the full version (the one w/backup/restore/sync networking capabilities) with your PC using DropBox, too! The Windows version of the program is free (until the end of this month, anyway). And there is a WiFi backup/restore/sync version available, now. My license is for a lifetime. I am just starting to test the WiFI capabilities, that's a new feature.
Cool program. Works well, too. Very reliable. No complaints (and the few I had were addressed by reading the docs). You can have all sorts of nested folders so that you get everything organized just right. And there are all sorts of skins you can use on it, as well. Even more skins in the Windows version. It was developed by a bloke in the UK.
I honestly am glad I waited to get such a great tandem act for a Password Safe with Kuff's. I should also mention that it's full of features that I will probably never use, but are important to such devices, such as an optional wipe feature that will kick-in upon so many failed login attempts. A remote wipe feature, incase of phone theft. These are important matters of security for the secure obsessed. And there are other security features such as a configurable "shake to show" option, as well.
I will say this, I had a little trouble finding the license key because I kept searching for terms using "kuff's" (with the apostrophe) and eventually found it just searching for "kuffs". So be sure to search for kuffs to see the 2 versions of Password Safe and the license key for the full featured version. It's always the little things that hurt us the most. LOL.
There are some tiny UI issues that I had which were all addressed in the new update by the developer before I could even shoot off an email to him... this guy is sharp!
Thanks, DAz!
Amendum: DAz is the developer and his responses have all been immediate. The purchase of Password Safe Lite was refunded to my credit card within minutes of the request. I am extremely impressed by his professionalism and immediate service to accomodate all my needs. You're just not going to find a better Password App anywhere, and possibly not a more well made app, either.
Oh, I should mention that the Windows version is pretty slick. I'm sure he'll start charging for that one soon, so get it (the Pro version for the android and the Windows version for free) before the end of the month while the Windows version is still free with the Pro license (only 3 euro for both, that's great!).
Links:
http://www.kuffs.co.uk/ - for Kuff's Password Safe
http://db.tt/kSl8Ytt - for Drop Box file sharing & sync
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