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Great sound and creative design from Geneva Sound System Model S
The Geneva Sound System Model S is a stylish, attractive iPod speaker dock and function actually follows form in this case as it sounds as good as it looks but it comes at a high price.
In terms of design it’s basically a box measuring around 24 x 15 x 17.5 cm so it’s not very big. The small size in combination with the stylish design means the Model S would fit in well in most rooms, whether they are living rooms, offices are something else. You can place it directly on a surface or on the included circular-base stand, which raises the Model S about eight cm from the surface. The Model S that I received for testing was white, but the system is also available in bright red or black.
On the top of the Model S is a touch-sensitive power button. Powering on the unit lights up the on-board controls, which are similarly touch-sensitive buttons arranged much like the classic iPod Click Wheel controls.
One cool but not particularly functional characteristic of the Model S is the iPod/iPhone dock. When you turn on power a piece on the top of the Model S turns around and reveals the dock. Turn power off after taking out the iPod/iPhone and it turns back into the enclosure again leaving the top almost completely smooth.
Smooth is also a keyword for much of the rest of the design of the Model S. It’s beautifully void of the knobs, dials, displays etc. that tend to clutter competing products. The metal-grill face covers two speakers. In the top left corner of the front, behind the grill, sits a small LED display showing the time, radio station frequency and a few other pieces of information.
The only other things you’ll see on the back are the plug for the included AC adapter and a 3.5mm line-in jack for connecting another audio source.
Sound quality is quite simply excellent and I struggle to find anything to complain about in terms of sound. The sound is rich and despite its small size the Model S easily fills quite a large room. Clearly, given its limited size, you won’t get much separation of left and right but that’s to be expected. That means that even though the Model S has an input for external sound it won’t be suitable for using with a TV or other similar audio-visual source.
At 1800 Dhs the model S isn’t cheap. But it sounds much better than many cheaper competitors and just about as good as many more expensive ones. The motorized tray is a bit of a gimmick but the whole unit looks striking. Most importantly, the sound it produces is very good.This article originally appeared in Khaleej Times. The articles are published here one week after they appear in print. You can find all my Khaleej Times articles here.
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Pondering the next iPad
Apple introduced iPad in February this year. Does it seem longer ago to you? It does to me many times.
Since then they’ve certainly sold a lot of the tablets and recent information suggests that they’ve doubled production of iPad to two million per month and that Apple wants to crank out three million per month before the end of the year.
They’ve also opened up new markets by launching in China, Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru on September 17. With the increased production and new markets in mind it’s all the more disappointing that we still don’t see any iPads officially in our part of the world.
But let’s not dwell on that and instead look ahead and see what the next generation of iPad may bring. Because that there will be another generation of iPad I’m sure no one doubts.
When new iPads are coming may be more uncertain but recent news seems to indicate early next year, sometime in the first three months. That would mean about one year from the initial launch, which makes sense considering Apple’s schedule with iPhone.
Remember that Apple’s been on an annual renewal cycle with iPhone since they introduced the first one in June 2007. And since iPhone has a lot of components as well as design and engineering solutions in common with iPad it’s safe to assume that Apple can stay on an annual schedule with their tablet as well.
In terms of what we’ll see in the new iPads, surely iPhone 4 and the most recent iPod touch model are good indicators of what’s coming.
That would mean a thinner design with the actual display sitting closer to the glass that covers it resulting in a more immediate user experience in terms of touch. It would also mean a higher resolution display, giving a more crisp and detailed look. That in combination with a higher contrast would make iPad an even more suitable device for reading ebooks.
Also a safe bet would be dual cameras, like the iPod touch. One front-facing for FaceTime video calling and one rear-facing mainly for video recording. If you were to bet on larger storage capacity as well, I don’t think anyone would bet against you.
With the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab in the market you might think we’ll see a smaller iPad but I very much doubt that. I don’t see much of a value in let’s say a 7-inch iPad. Apple will stick to one iPad size for now at least and that’s the current 9.7-inch.
Overall I doubt iPad version two will be a revolutionary device in any way. It has large shoes to fit as the first generation really set the standard for a whole new class of computing devices. Instead we’ll see Apple incorporate recent technologies and solutions from their other products and throw in a few surprises as well.
Whatever the next generation iPad will look like and what characteristics it will have, I’m sure we’ll learn more details in the coming months.This article originally appeared in Khaleej Times. The articles are published here one week after they appear in print. You can find all my Khaleej Times articles here.
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Moving KT articles and radio
Over the next few days I’ll be moving my Khaleej Times articles as well as the radio shows to EmiratesMac.com. This is just to consolidate what I do a bit and keep all my personal tech stuff in one place.
New homes:
Khaleej Times articles: http://www.emiratesmac.com/forums/blogs/magnus/kt-articles/
Radio show: http://www.dxbtech.com (will take you to EmiratesMac.com in another day or two)
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Canon Pixma iP100: portable but pricey
Have you ever wanted a printer that is portable and that runs off a battery? If so, take a look at Canon Pixma iP100.
It’s a very compact printer with a footprint slightly smaller than an A4 page. A big battery is attached, which will give you a day of modest printing from anywhere you go. I guess I expected a portable printer that runs off a battery to not produce very good prints but I was pleasantly surprised in that regard with colors coming out bright and accurate, no smudges or smears and very crisp blacks.
It has a five-color ink system, which should be saving you some ink, especially if you print a lot of color. The resolution is up to 9600x2400 dpi which is more than enough for most business-purposes like letters and presentations.
Print speed is not the best though as one full A4 page with business graphics at the highest quality setting took about two minutes to appear. According to Canon the iP100 should print up to 20 ppm in black and up to 14 ppm in color.
In terms of connectivity the printer is also limited. You can print wirelessly with infrared IrDA but how many computers support that today? You can also connect with Bluetooth but that’s an extra piece of kit to buy. That leaves plugging in with a USB cable. A portable printer like this screams out for wireless printing and in that regard Canon disappoints.
Other complaints I have are that there is no case for it. Even buying a cheap PC notebook today you get a case but not with the printer, not even a simple sleeve.
What also puzzles me is that Canon didn’t see fit to equip the iP100 with a card reader. There’s nowhere to insert a flash memory card like SD or CF. That would require a display, which would add cost and power consumption, I guess, but it’s still something this sort of printer should have.
It’s somewhat of a consolation that you can at least connect a USB cable to a PictBridge-compatible digital camera and print from the camera.
If you’re considering buying this printer you do so for the simple reason that you can take it with you anywhere because you don’t need AC power. Print quality is very good but it’s lacking too much functionality for you to buy it if you don’t need portability. At 1,239 Dhs with battery you pay quite a bit extra for the pleasure of carrying it around but if that’s what you need, the Canon Pixma iP100 is a good choice.This article originally appeared in Khaleej Times. The articles are published here one week after they appear in print. You can find all my Khaleej Times articles here.
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Which portable Mac should you choose?
Recently I’ve been asked quite a few times what portable Mac someone should buy. Perhaps you’ve decided to switch to a Mac and give up your long standing affair with Windows PCs. It’s about time too because even though Microsoft has done wonders with Windows 7, Mac users, including myself, would claim that nothing is as stable and secure as Mac OS X, the operating system that runs on all Macs.
For now, let’s assume you’re looking for something portable. I’ll talk about Mac desktops in another column soon. With a portable computer you are mobile and can work wherever you are but you do pay more for less specifications. On the other hand with a desktop you tend to get more hardware for your money but obviously it should stay in one place and not be carried around.
In Apple notebooks you have a choice between MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
The white MacBook is the cheapest Apple notebook but that doesn’t mean it’s slow and without power. In fact, I often say that the MacBook is the most underestimated Mac computer available right now. It has a 2.4GHz processor, 250GB hard drive and a good graphics card from NVIDIA. Apple rates the battery life at 10 hours and although that may be a bit optimistic it’s not far from true. The white body is made out of polycarbonate, a hard plastic, and it’s very durable. Apple had problems with discoloration on earlier models but those problems seem gone now.
The 13-inch model of MacBook Pro is the same size as the MacBook but it has the silver-colored aluminum body. In specifications there’s not much separating the two. You get more RAM standard in the MBP, SD card slot and a FireWire port. Although the aluminum body looks better than the white I find that it dents and scratches much easier.
Stepping up to the 15-inch models gets you faster processor, larger screen and faster graphics. On the 17-inch model you again get larger screen but Apple also adds an ExpressCard/34 slot for expansion. Which size you pick depends mostly on whether you want the bigger screen or not. It’s tempting to go bigger but the extra size and weight is considerable.
MacBook Air stands out because it’s the thinnest and lightest Apple portable and it has no built-in optical drive. To read CDs and DVDs Apple will sell you an external SuperDrive. You can’t expand the 2GB RAM on the Air and doing any other kind of upgrade is hard if not impossible as well.
There you have the portable lineup fro Apple. It may occur to you that they offer no netbook. MacBook Air is the closest in specifications and form factor but it cost three to four times what most netbook costs. The simple fact is that Apple says they don’t believe in the netbook form factor and that anyone who wants a netbook with an Apple on it should buy an iPad.This article originally appeared in Khaleej Times. The articles are published here one week after they appear in print. You can find all my Khaleej Times articles here.
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Apple adds social networking to iTunes
On September first, Apple introduced new iPods- shuffle, nano and touch- as well as a new, smaller Apple TV and a brand new version of iTunes.
Now in version 10, and with a new icon- gone is the stylized CD that has been on the icon since 2001- the biggest news with iTunes is that Apple has added a social networking component called Ping.
With Ping you can follow other iTunes users and see what music they like. They can also follow you, with your permission, and see what your taste is like. It’s really a social network in its infancy more than anything, but it has huge potential to grow.
Ping may not have all the social networking functionality you’ve become used to from the likes of Twitter and Facebook but it’s likely to have a big impact. With some 160 million users, iTunes has a big and dedicated user base, a user base that spends a lot of money too. Few of those users are in the Middle East though as we can’t purchase music with credit cards from the region.
But even at 160 million users, Ping is a social networking lilliputian compared to the likes of Facebook, which recently claimed it’s 500 millionth user.
Personally I’m unlikely to be using Ping unless it connects to Facebook and Twitter. I just don’t use iTunes enough to warrant me putting any time and effort into it. If it would connect to other networks then it’d be interesting for me and I guess for many others as well. Many others who live and breathe in iTunes are likely to be sharing away, revealing their interest in Britney Spears, Louis Armstrong and others.
Apparently Apple had been in discussions with Facebook over connecting Ping to their social network but Steve Jobs said that Facebook had “onerous terms that we could not agree to.”
Kara Swisher of All Things Digital reported that despite the two companies failing to come to an agreement, Apple added a connect to Facebook component to Ping, set to use the free and open Facebook API. They even had that enabled when they showed off Ping on stage as well as touting it on their site. Then, when iTunes 10 went live, Facebook closed off that access and Apple quickly pulled the plug on the functionality.
API or Application Programming Interface is in non-geek talk basically a way that different systems or software applications can talk to one another digitally. It’s how you can log in to many non-Facebook site using your Facebook credentials, for example.
For now it seems the two tech-giants are happy enough being mum on this subject but I bet you they’re talking to each other behind the scenes to try to sort it out. I think they’ll come to some sort of agreement soon and we’ll be able to Ping across to Facebook. In any case it’s a very interesting development that Apple shows this level of interest in social networking and we’re sure to see more coming from Cupertino in this regard.This article originally appeared in Khaleej Times. The articles are published here one week after they appear in print. You can find all my Khaleej Times articles here.
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HTC brings passion back with Desire
HTC brings passion back with Desire
by Magnus Nystedt
Although it was introduced at Mobile World Congress in February, the HTC Desire smartphone has just arrived in the Middle East. Finally, after we’ve been told since April that it would launch here, it’s available at a list price of AED 2,299.
Much has happened in the nine months since the introduction but it’s still one of the best Android smartphones available right now.
Google’s Nexus One, introduced in January, was manufactured by HTC and Desire is basically their version of that same smartphone. It has a 3.7-inch 480 x 800 pixel display, which is very bright and clear. With a 1GHz processor it’s fast and I’ve yet to experience any slow down even when running multiple applications. The 512MB RAM could be a bit larger but for most users it will be enough and with micro-SD card slot (up to 32GB) you can expand storage.
The Desire feels high-quality without any of the typical plastic noises when you press and bend it slightly. I would say the only exception is the back, which you have to take off with a small measure of violence, making me very nervous every time. Behind the cover you find SIM card, MicroSD card and battery.
One obvious drawback is the lack of Android Market on Desires sold in the UAE. If you spend over 2,000 on a device you really expect more. But practice your Google skills and find out how to hack it to get Market enabled and you’ll be fine. It’s sad you have to do that though and the parties should really come together and sort this situation out.
Desire comes with Android 2.1 and HTC in Dubai wouldn’t say when 2.2 can be expected. My review unit updated Over The Air (OTA) to 2.2 “Froyo” without issues and it makes a big difference.
There’s simply no doubt that you want Android 2.2 on your Desire as it brings a line of updates and new functionality. For example, with 2.2 you get 720p HD video recording, portable Wi-Fi access point, iTunes sync, and Adobe Flash support.
Desire’s 5-megapixel camera produces very good photos and video. For a lot of users and with good available light, the camera is good enough to replace a low-end compact digital camera.
The WebKit-based web browser is very fast, probably due to the processor, and loading pages, zoom in/out, scroll around, etc. all happens instantly. This obviously also depends on your connection speed.
HTC Sense, their proprietary software, is by and large nice but I wish it could be disabled as I would prefer just the standard Android look. The functionality of the built-in apps like the Twitter app Peep is also substandard. However, for many of you, Sense will bring different functionality together in one place under one interface.
Overall, the Desire is an excellent smartphone. The choice between it and Samsung Galaxy S is tough one. Although it is late arriving to our market, for now, I prefer the Desire.This article originally appeared in Khaleej Times. The articles are published here one week after they appear in print. You can find all my Khaleej Times articles here.
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Want affordable network storage? Buffalo delivers.
Most hard drives connect to your computer using USB or FireWire cable. NAS or Network Attached Storage means a hard drive that is not connected to a computer but which you can still access over a network. Since you access it over a network, whether it’s wired or wireless, you won’t get the same speeds as you would plugging directly into the storage but you do get the convenience of placing it where you want and accessing it from anywhere.
There are many brands in the market with NAS solutions but Buffalo is arguably one of the more interesting ones and their latest TeraStation Duo is more evidence of that. To set it up is very easy. Just plug in the power and Ethernet cables, install the software and you’re ready to go. You can even skip the software and just watch what IP address the TeraStation has on the small display on the front. Then you connect to that IP address with your web browser. From the browser interface you then do all the administration.
The TeraStation I tested had two Western Digital 1TB drives inside, configured as RAID 1 producing a single 1TB drive. This means that one drive is automatically mirrored to the other creating another level of security for the data stored on it. You can also configure the drives in TeraStation as RAID 0, which in this case would have created a larger drive (2GB) but without the duplication of data.
In terms of sharing files you have plenty of choice: CIFS/SMB, AFP, HTTP/HTTPS, FTP/SFTP/FTPS, NFS, and BitTorrent. The alphabet soup also extends to LDAP and media sharing with iTunes, UPnP AV and DLNA servers. All that means you can share files in almost any way you would need to. Performance depends of course on the network you connect the TeraStation to but in my testing speed was more than satisfactory.
Buffalo won’t win any design awards for the TeraStation but since it’s a NAS you can place it wherever you want to- it doesn’t have to sit on top of a desk. It does have a fan but I could never hear any noise from it nor from the hard drives so even in a quiet environment it shouldn’t be a bother.
Overall there’s not much I can find at fault with the TeraStation. USB 3 would have been nice but it’s NAS so it’s not critical. Available in 1, 2 and 4TB sizes from around AED2,300, Buffalo TeraStation Duo is a good choice for your home or small office if you want storage attached to your network.
This article was originally published in Khaleej Times. -
The gray market conundrum
There’s a common misconception in other parts of the world that Dubai is a place where you can find cheap electronics and other products. For us who live here that’s nothing more than a illusive pipe dream. There may be some brands here that are not common elsewhere and I’m sure there are certain types of goods that can be found for an affordable price here but it’s not in electronics, I’m sure. So what can you do to save some money on the next purchase of a Mac, iPod or other Apple hardware?
One way is to buy from the gray market. Gray market basically means goods that are distributed outside the authorized channels. In the Middle East there’s only one authorized distributor of Apple products and that is ABM (Arab Business Machines). Apple’s iPhone is the only exception, which is distributed by telecom operators around the region.
If you’re lusting after an iPhone 4 you will be able to get one from both du and Etisalat soon as they have said that they’ll start selling Apple’s latest smartphone in September. Until then, you’re limited to getting a gray market iPhone, whether it’s from a seller in the UAE or directly from abroad.
Paul Castle, who did some reporting on this for Shufflegazine last year, talked to representatives of other electronics brands, lawyers and government officials and concluded that selling gray market items is not illegal in UAE, other than in very specific circumstances, which don’t apply in the case of Apple it seems.
The authorized sellers here in the UAE, including iStyle, Protech, Virgin etc. all do a good job of selling Apple products but there can be no doubt that you can find Apple products, especially Macs, cheaper on the gray market.
So the obvious choice then, you say, is to buy gray market? Not so fast.
For one thing there’s the issue of warranty. With iPhone and iPad the case is clear: if you buy a gray market item there is no warranty coverage for you in UAE. That means if something happens and you’d like your unit to be replaced or serviced you have to take it back to the country where it was bought.
With Macs and iPods the situation is different because Apple offers a worldwide warranty on those products. That means even if you buy a gray market Mac in UAE or buy one yourself from another country and bring it here, as long as it’s still under warranty it should be services and dealt with by the service centers here.
Finally, it’s also worth mentioning that if you want Arabic on your Apple product, whether it’s a manual, a keyboard or something else, you should consider buying only through official channels as ABM are the ones doing the localization. If you buy gray market don’t complain later that there’s no Arabic support.
Whether to buy gray market or not is not a simple choice that’s just about money. In the end it’s up to you to make the choice but educate yourself so it’s an informed choice you’re making.
This article was originally published in Khaleej Times. -
Dell’s colorful netbook inspires
It’s really hard to review netbooks because most of them are almost identical in terms of hardware specifications. Dell’s Inspiron Mini 10 is also not that different from what’s on offer from other manufacturers but it beats them in style.
In specifications it’s a rather average netbook: Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor, 250GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 10.1 inch screen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, webcam, SD card slot and Windows 7 Starter Edition. Basically, this is not a powerful computer, that’s for sure, but it’ll suit you well if you want email, web, word processing and other not too demanding tasks. To be fair, those are typical netbook tasks so it’s what you should expect to do with a computer like this.The Mini 10 is an updated version of the first line of netbooks from Dell and one thing Dell changed was the hinge for the display, how it attaches to the main part of the netbook. It’s a bit hard to explain but now the display sits on top of the bottom part and doesn’t swing to the back like it used to. This makes for a more compact computer when you’re using it and it’s one of those things to which you go “why didn’t I think of that.”
Battery life, with the standard 6-cell battery, is about eight hours on “Power saver” mode, which reduces performance, but not to an unusable level. For a netbook today that’s good but not best in class.
For a netbook, 250GB of storage space is more than enough for most users and with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet port there are connection options for all your needs. If I had a choice, I’d pick a solid state (SSD) drive for a netbook because it’s faster and less susceptible to breaking if you drop the computer. However, SSD would jack up the prize considerably and make it a less attractive purchase for many customers.
Like many other netbooks the low screen resolution (1024 x 600 pixels) may be an issue. I’ve had to make the task bar- typically at the bottom of the screen- automatically hide to be able to see some dialogue windows fully. In at least one application the task bar, while visible, covers the OK and Cancel buttons in the Preference dialogue.
For a netbook, the keyboard is great but the touchpad is frustrating because of the integrated mouse buttons. The buttons are part of the pad but clicks are only registered on a small area. Windows 7 Starter Edition is another issue with the Inspiron Mini 10. There are just too many limitations to Starter Edition and chances are you’re going to get annoyed with them quickly. It might be worth upgrading to a more complete Windows version but that adds to the price of the Dell of course.
Available from AED 1,299, the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is a good alternative if you’re in the market for a stylish netbook but make sure you can get along with the trackpad and Windows 7 Starter Edition before you buy it.
This article was originally published in Khaleej Times.
