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iPad 2 thoughts and reflections

encript — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:24:50 +0000

As I write this post from my new iPad 2 I think about what separates this device from all the other i-devices on the market. More specifically, the iPod touch and the iPhone. What makes this experience different? First, everything I can do on the iPhone can be done on the iPad. Why buy more than one device which is capable of doing the same tasks; wouldn’t that be redundant? To be honest they are capable of the same, but what I feel is beginning grow and separate the devices are the software. If more desktop class software makes it’s way to the iPad it will truly replace laptops net-books and perhaps dare I say desktops. Things such as typing this post, is much more comfortable than on my phone even though I have done so in the past. Those who find themselves reaching for a computer to do things end up just using their iPad to accomplish tasks. And why not, it’s small powerful and portable.

As great as the iPad is it is not without it’s limitations. We know apple limits some of it’s products purposefully so that the next iteration is lusted over. The camera for FaceTime is god-awful and from now on FaceTime calls will be done from my iPhone 4. Why not take advantage of a larger screen from this device and add two hd cameras? One in the front and another on the back. Would it hurt that much they are practically the same size, so that’s not an issue. VGA looks grainy and in dark settings is just horrible. Oatmeal has less grain than the iPad’s camera does. Those iPad ads are very misleading as they make the images look incredibly clear. Perhaps the lighting conditions are perfect or they are keeping the hd camera version for themselves. In addition to this this iPad woulds have benefitted from a high resolution screen a retina display or some equivalent high-resolution screen. But that would just exaggerate how bad FaceTime would look on such a screen, hmmm makes you wonder why they did not add a retina display. Other than these small gripes I still love my iPad as this is my first iPad. Those who previously owned one please don’t rush out and get the new one. Wait for the iPad 3 because FaceTime is not worth it plus it makes your hands tired after a while from holding it. If you have an iPhone 4 and the original iPad just use that because it’s like you already have an iPad 2.

As a student I love having my eBooks on here they looks absolutely amazing. Browsing is fast and finding chapters even on a PDF is a smooth process, way better than my nook no rooting necessary. I reiterate the distinction would be more clear between the i-devices from the software standpoint. Make iPad only apps which are so useful to an iPad that it would become silly to use them on a phone. Oh well can’t I just do that on my phone? No. The line must be drawn somewhere and it should be at the software level. Reduce the level of redundancy or “fragmentation”. If this is so the iPad will have achieved a home that is on par with a desktop like experience.

Tango app not ready to dance the tango

encript — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:37:13 +0000

The new Tango app for the iPhone and Android market has picked up a lot of attention for being able to do FaceTime quality chat across platforms. Once I heard about it I jumped on the chance to see whether or not it lived up to its name. Setting it up was quite easy, all i needed to input was my first name last name email address and phone number. Simple enough right? All that would need to happen next is that the next person who downloads the app would need to have me on their contacts list. Automagically I would pop up in their contacts and they would pop up in mine. But this is not the case. It does not work like this at all. There are hundreds of people who have yet to begin using the program because no one ever shows up in their contacts. How in the world are people suppose to make a call. I have had four of my friends, two of which have droid phones the other has an iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. My droid friends don’t show up in my contacts but I show in theirs. So we tested it and made a few calls. One friend has the Sprint EVO4 and the quality was wonderful. It was clear and the audio was the only problem, it was a bit too low. I needed headphones to hear the conversation better. The other friend has a MyTouch 3G where we had a decent conversation. But I could not initiate the call because they did not show up on my list. Something as trivial as setup should not be such a catastrophe.

Some developers rush to get their apps out to the market that they don’t even fully test it fully. I mean the program only reads the first line from my contacts and skips the other numbers completely. If they have other numbers like home or office numbers they are not read. There also appears to be number formatting issue where it is not read at all if the format is different (xxx)xxx-xxx if there is a 1 in front or a +1 or another country formatting. I am also concerned with how this program accesses my contacts list for phone numbers? Is it uploading it or merely matching it. Why would they need a copy of my friends emails and phone numbers. It should only check to see if that number is on my phone and if it isn’t then it wont add it. Sounds like a simple if statement to me. What a terrible introduction to a product and if apple was in charge it would have just worked. I shouldn’t have to rename all my contacts on my phone to match just for one program it should go the other way around. Now when you are able to chat it does what its suppose to well and video calling over 3G and cross platform is enjoyable bridges the communities together. But good lord why doesn’t it work right.

Update:
It’s confirmed that removing the country code does affect how the contacts are matched. I’ve added and removed the 1 before the area code from a contact which directly reflected in the tango app. (xxx)xxx-xxxx this seems to work. But still does not pick up my droid friends.

Proscan 1080p 40LC45S 40” Review

encript — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:04:29 +0000

I decided it was time to upgrade my older television set and get a brand new one. I was looking around for a 32” Inch HDTV at Best Buy, but to my surprise I seen a 40” inch HDTV. It was by no means a brand name TV. Having already owned a Norcent 2200 I was no stranger to owning no name brand electronics. I read all the reviews and it has an amazing positive rating. Tons of good feedback. But one thing stood out to me from the few negative. People were complaining about some sort of annoying humming sound that emanates from the TV even when it was off. This sounded a little scary to me and probably would make others not want to buy it. But for $499.99 you cant go wrong (or can you?). I decided to take a chance. I went to actually see the Proscan TV at my nearest Best buy location, but Best buy for some reason does not display it. Maybe because they don’t wish to take sales away from their big ticket items such as Sony and Panasonic. Especially when people see that there isn’t very much in difference between this TV and more expensive ones. I instead pulled the trigger and bought it with in store pick up because shipping would have killed the deal. My brother and I went to go pick it up. When we got it home we immediately set it up. The first thing I did was hooked it up to my Xbox 360 and was blown away. For this price who could turn down this deal. If you have the money I say go for it if you dont mind having a Non name brand TV in your house. I for one have yet to experience any humming or buzzing sounds coming from the TV.

Cons.
1. No Swivel or Pivoting stand.
2. Red power light might be distracting if you have this as a bedroom TV.
3. Sound seems lower when using HDMI most likely because HDMI should be used in a surround sound setting and not with the small built in speakers.

Pros.
1. Inexpensive
2. 40” HDTV with 1080p output
3. Comes prepared out of the box (Even for wall mounting)
Built in digital tuner.

Overall this is a great tv for the buck. It’s price is perfect and does everything the more expensive brands do.

Update:
The 499.99 price is no longer. But 579.99 is still not a bad deal for those looking for a cheap HDTV that can do what the big boys can. But if your smart you will book mark this page because when the holidays come around you know this will be significantly cheaper.

Space Invaders Extreme Review

encript — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:40:35 +0000

Its back again and better then ever if you loved shooting these strange looking aliens then you will still love shooting them now. Back in the day all the aliens would do was stay in a line and when you were about to shoot the last few they would get very quick. Well now they do not stay in a straight line waiting to be shot at they move around. They have become smarter and harder to kill. Some of them make kamikaze moves to take you out faster. I know it sounds like they made them too smart and in tern made a fun game frustrating. Well its the opposite, its difficultly is what makes this game fun. Don’t worry now you get all sorts of new moves and power ups to combat the aliens such as bombs, lasers, spreadgun, and shields. Not like how the shields used to be a barrier to hide behind the shields now forms over you not slowing down the action. Now I am going to have to eat my words I stated that the DS version would not be as good as the PSP. Well it just might be better it all depends on what type of gamer you are. If you would rather have a prettier looking more polished version get the psp one. If you don’t mind it not looking as good and would rather have more gameplay modes and multiplayer modes then get the ds version. There is also a bit of strategy involved you can hold on to a power up by holding the right trigger giving you more time to use it on the next swarm. So what is my final verdict you should pick this up with no questions asked its fun and tell a friend to pick one up also. But the DS has game sharing so they can play you with out it, but they will want their own.

***Sorry about the audio on the ds video im working on it***

Space Invaders Extreme Exclusive Gameplay from Encript on Vimeo.

Space Invaders Extreme DS from Encript on Vimeo.

Aiptek A-HD+ Camera Review Supplemental

encript — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:56:43 +0000

So I decided I would bring my camera along with me to snitch bar which is located on west 21st street in Manhattan and outdoors in my neighborhood. It would be a good way for me to test some of the environments that work best with this camera. Testing whether or not indoors and lighting would greatly effect the image quality. Don’t forget to click on full so you can see how it looks in its full resolution.

The Neighborhood HD from Encript on Vimeo.

BR and Timb Bomb @Snitch Bar from Encript on Vimeo.

Final Thoughts.

It’s a good camera and the sound was far better then I thought it would be, not so good in dark areas even with the low light filter on. Daytime settings are ideal and I would suggest you use it outdoors in the daytime. Unless you have some good editing software that can adjust the contrast and make it more viewable. Surprisingly the audio was good and to pick up all those instruments and not distorting it was excellent.