Manifest Tech Blog

I've been having a lot of fun this year giving talks and demos about smartphone apps, especially on the Apple iPhone and Google Android.

The trick for demoing smartphones, of course, is to find a good way to let the audience see what you're doing on the small screen. You can use a webcam display from a laptop, but it's tricky trying to hold up the camera to the phone, and you can get bad reflections and glare on the phone's screen.

My answer is to set up a simple rig with the Joby Gorillapod SLR -- a highly flexible mini-tripod that you can bend to fit to any surface, from a table to a slanted podium (see earlier post).

The Gorillapod SLR model is big enough that you can position the camera about 8 inches off the surface, and then spread out the legs to give enough clearance above the phone and to the sides so that your fingers can work comfortably on the touch screen. You also can tweak the angle of the tripod so that the phone image is squared up, without perspective distortion. The Gorillapod SLR is priced at around $39.

The webcam that I'm using is the Logitech Webcam C905 (formerly the QuickCam Pro for Notebooks) -- a small design around 2 x 1 inches for easy carrying (see earlier post). The webcam has a clip that holds securely to the base plate of the Gorillapod -- so there's no screws or other assembly required. It's also helpful to add a USB extension cable to allow you to position the tripod further away from your laptop if needed to fit a particular facility. The Logitech webcam is priced at $99, or around $75 street.

I typically run the QuickCam at 1280x1024 resolution, which clearly shows the details on the smartphone screen. Even with video flowing at this higher resolution, there's no obvious degradation of the system performance oven on an older lower-end laptop.

When showing demos, the phone fills almost the full height of the video window. The Logitech software also can apply a small digital zoom if desired to enlarge the size of the phone's screen. Since I'm not running full-screen, it then just takes a click on the laptop to switch back and forth between showing the live camera feed and other presentation material.

The result is quite good, even when you're trying to shoot a bright screen in a dark room, or with glare from overhead lighting. I've found it best to override the auto settings and manually adjust the focus and brightness / contrast to pull out the detail on the phone's screen. It also helps to place a plain background under the phone (even a white piece of paper).

One other issue with shooting phones is reflections and glare on the screen. I have experimented with polarizing filters to knock down some of the glare. You can get packs of 2 x 2 inch polarizing film from companies like Edmund Optics, cut it to fit over the camera lens, and simply tape it in place. However, these are not going to make serious reflections magically disappear. Instead, I've been able to adjust the tripod setup to control the lighting issues, sometimes aided by turning off particularly troublesome podium lighting.

The result is an easy to carry set-up that also simple to set up, and has produced good results in a variety of venues. The trick is to spend some time to optimize the set-up for the particular facility before the talk starts -- and be sure to check that the organizers aren't planning to change the lighting as you get underway.

See my Digital Photo Cameras Gallery for more on the Gorillapod and other tripod accessories

See my Home Networked Media Gallery for more on the Logitech Webcam C905 and other webcams

Find the Joby Gorillapod SLR and
Logitech Webcam C905 on Amazon.com.

The Android 2.1 software upgrade that originally shipped with the Google Nexus One phones is now rolling out on the Verizon Wireless Droid by Motorola.

This finally adds Pinch to Zoom for web browsing and other apps including Gallery and Google Maps, so you can just pinch or spread your finger and thumb to zoom smaller or larger (yes, just like the iPhone).

But the bigger addition is the expansion of Speech to Text -- all text entry is now voice enabled, for any app. The virtual keyboard has a new microphone icon next to the space bar. Tap and just speak your search query or sentences to write (in English), and Android enters the text field for you.

This is not perfect, but it's typically plenty good enough for searching, and perhaps adequate for quick notes -- and a lot faster than typing on a small keyboard (see earlier post on Gesture Search).

The 2.1 upgrade also includes a new version of the Gallery app that now browses media stored online at Picasa, with a "3D" view for browsing photos and videos in stacks. There's also an enhanced Music app with new navigation tabs, and a new News and Weather app and widget customized for your location.

Other nice improvements include Live Wallpapers for animated home screens and Night mode to automatically dim the screen.

Also -- Google Earth now runs on the Droid, as well as the Nexus One and iPhone. You can fly around the globe and then zoom in on a location, now also with search by voice, plus local information and a roads layer as in Google Maps.

Your phone will automatically notify you when a system update is available, or you can check using Settings, and selecting About phone (at the bottom of the list), and then System updates. This update is identified under About phone as Firmware version 2.1-update1.

See my full article, Verizon Droid from Motorola: Android 2.0, for more on the Droid's design and features and technical specifications.

See my Smartphone Apps Gallery for more on these and other mobile apps.

See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on smartphones.

Find the Verizon Droid from Motorola on Amazon.com

Update details ...

The not so modestly named Verizon Wireless Droid Incredible from HTC actually lives up to its name. This slender device is wicked fast, packs some nice hardware upgrades, and features the highly-customizable HTC Sense interface.

The Incredible is the latest incarnation of the Google Android smartphone platform, designed as a close cousin to the Google Nexus One (both are thinner and lighter without the slide-out keyboard of the Motorola Droid) and now available on the Verizon Wireless network

(Google had originally planned to bring out the Nexus One on Verizon, but now recommends that customers should get the Droid Incredible instead.)

UPDATED: The Incredible has a faster 1 GHz Snapdragon processor than the Droid's Arm 550 mHz, and you feel the difference. For example, when downloading multiple apps in the Google Marketplace the Droid will hesitate for multiple seconds when bringing up confirmation screens, but the Incredible just keeps on responding.

The Incredible also steps up the hardware features from the Droid and the Nexus One in several interesting ways, with an 8 MP camera (from 5 MP), built-in 8 GB internal memory for storing documents and media (in addition to the removable MicroSD card), and a FM radio.

The HTC Sense interface extends the standard Android Home page with five panels and a "Leap" feature to show thumbnails of all five panels to jump quickly between them. The interface also offers plethora of large widgets for direct access to your e-mail, text messages, and other favorite information on one of the Home screen panels -- although the full app for each is also just a tap away with the same responsiveness as flicking to a widget.

The HTC Sense interface also extends many of the core Android apps -- Browser, Mail, People, Calendar, etc. -- to add additional features, especially for a more integrated view of your information. For example, the People app combines your contact information with associated communications, including email, updates, texts, tweets, and the Photo Gallery app combines photos on the phone with online Picasa Web albums.

These apps also need to be modified for a second reason -- to support the internal 8 GB memory, which is not found by standard Android apps, but is a nice place to stash media files and saved documents that you can continue to access even when you swap the removable MicroSD card.

The Droid Incredible is priced at $199.99 from Verizon after $100 mail-in rebate (as a debit card), with a new 2-year agreement. It requires a Nationwide Talk plan (from $39.99/month), and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan (from $29.99 for unlimited monthly access). Verizon is also offering a free 2 GB memory card for purchases before May 31, 2010.

See my full article on the Incredible - Droid Incredible from Verizon Wireless / HTC

See earlier article on the Android interface - Verizon / Motorola Droid -- Android 2.0

See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on smartphones

Find the Verizon Droid Incredible on Amazon.com.

How much can you do with a camera on a smartphone? The folks at Google Labs are determined to keep opening the aperture by pouring technology into their Google Goggles app to do all kinds of visual searches (see earlier post on Google Shopper and Google Goggles).

With the new Google Goggles version 1.1 released this week, you now can scan photos of text in five languages (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish), copy the text, and/or translate it to these and twelve other languages.

Goggles already recognized all kinds of objects -- logos, products, artwork, landmarks -- and looks up information about them. Plus it scans business cards to extract the contact information.

So now you can shoot the cover of a book or CD to look up the product information, zoom in on artwork to look up the artist, and then focus on the text to scan and translate it.

Goggles also has added a crop rectangle that you can position to select the portion of the image that you want to scan, and control for the flash to better illuminate what you are shooting. And you can do searches on images in the phone's photo gallery.

And beyond visual searches of images. Goggles also has a heads-up "Augmented Reality" mode in which it overlays Google Local information about near-by places as you pan the live camera around your location (see earlier post on AR apps).

Google Goggles is a free app, available for Android devices running Android 1.6 and above (like, of course, the new Verizon / HTC Droid Incredible -- see previous post).

What's up next? -- How about face finding and face recognition ...

See my Smartphone Apps Gallery for more on mobile apps

See my article Augmented Reality Goes Mobile - for more on AR apps, including Google Goggles

Find the Verizon Droid Incredible on Amazon.com.

What's new in Google Goggles version 1.1 ...

Time for a tasty frozen treat -- Google announced the details of the upcoming release of Android 2.2 at last week's Google I/O developers conference. This is the seventh platform release since Android 1.0 was launched in September 2008.

The code names for the Android releases are desserts, in alphabetical order (Cupcake, Donut, Eclair), and version 2.2 is named Froyo, for frozen yogurt. After all, this is not just a minor point release, it's a yummy-looking treat promising a wide range of improvements, for users and developers alike.

Some of the highlights include:

- Significant speedups, promising 2x-5x improvements for processing-intensive apps, plus faster loading of web pages.
- Support for running applications from SD card, so you can install large apps like games without using up all the internal memory.
- Support for using the phone as a shared Wi-Fi hotspot for laptops or other portable devices, or tethered to a laptop over USB.
- Expanded camera / camcorder features including portrait orientation, LED flash for video, and expanded controls for zoom, flash, exposure, and geo-tagging.
- Enhanced Microsoft Exchange support, especially for security and administrator policies.
- Expanded Bluetooth support including voice dialing, sharing contacts, and car docks.
- Expanded developer support for services including messages from cloud services, backup to cloud storage, speech recognition, and "car mode" and "night mode" controls -- all now available to be built in to any Android app.

The new Android 2.2 is apparently already starting to roll out to Nexus One phones, but will take longer to move though the release process for other manufacturers and carriers, like the new Verizon Wireless Droid Incredible from HTC (see earlier post).

See the Android 2.2 Platform Highlights for more information on the new release, including screen shots and an introductory video.

See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on smartphones

Find the Verizon Droid Incredible on Amazon.com.

More details on Android 2.2 features ...

The difference is clear with the new Verizon Wireless Droid X from Motorola -- it's got a big, big display. For some, this is a great blessing, to view your apps and websites and messages more clearly, and to better enjoy and share photos and videos. But for others, the result is a handheld device that can stretch the limits of what fits comfortably in your pocket or purse.

The Droid X display is significantly bigger at 4.3 inches, compared to the Droid Incredible at 3.7 inches (see earlier post). The resolution also steps up, to 854 x 480 pixels from 800 x 400. (In comparison, the Apple iPhone 4 display is 3.5 inches, but with very fine detail at 960 x 640 (see earlier post), up from the iPhone 3G at 480 x 320.)

The larger display not only means bigger icons and text, but also more information on the screen. The size also helps when you play widescreen video, especially if other people are trying to watch at the same time.

Not surprisingly, the bigger screen on the Droid X results in a bulked-up case -- 5 x 2.6 x 0.4 inches, compared to 4.6 x 2.3 x 0.47 for the Droid Incredible. (Yes, the Droid X actually is thinner, with a slimmer profile that swells out at the top for the camera. The Droid X also is almost an ounce heavier at 5.5 vs. 4.6 ounces.

The result pushes the bounds of today's understanding of "handheld." If you lay the Incredible on top of the Droid X, both the bottom buttons and side frame are still visible.

But this is the whole point of the Google Android platform. While Apple designs the iPhone in only one current model, for which it selects the features that you may have, the Android platform is open for different manufacturers and wireless carriers to sell different configurations, so you can find the model that best fits your needs.

Just from Verizon Wireless, your Android options are the original Motorola Droid with slide-out keyboard (see earlier post and article), the HTC Incredible with a faster processor, higher-res 8 MP camera, and optical joystick (see earlier post and article), and now the Droid X with the bigger display. Plus, the various Droid models offer features including FM radio, expansion memory (up to 32 GB with micro SD cards), and wireless mobile hotspot (to share the 3G cellular connection as a Wi-Fi hotspot).

As a multimedia device, the Droid X steps up to 720p HD video capture with the 8 MP camera, and offers HD playback on your HDTV display with the built-in micro HDMI connector. It also supports wireless sharing of music, photos, and videos to devices on your home network with DLNA technology.

However, the flip side of the open Android approach, versus a strictly controlled platform, is the potential for anarchy in different versions of different software on different devices with different features. Yes, the smartphone has reached a crucial mass of capability and corresponding complexity, so the open PC vs. more closed Mac platform debate will play out again in handheld devices. We've seen these issues before.

Another issue, though, is the desire of manufacturers like Motorola and HTC to differentiate their Android products by enhancing and improving the Google software with customized interfaces and changes to various applications.

For example, the Droid X home screen has permanent soft keys for Phone and Contacts and Apps, plus a pop-up strip to help you navigate the seven home screen panels that you can customize with shortcuts and widgets. The panels come preloaded with scads of widgets, some taking up a quarter or half the screen, for news and tips and photos and contacts and app launcher and music playback and weather and email and airplane modes and calendar and social networking. Whew! That's too much even for a computer screen, so it really seems out of place on a smartphone.

The bottom line, however, is that you have options. The Android platform is evolving rapidly, with the latest Google Android 2.2 release (see earlier post) is due out on the Droid X later this summer, with Adobe Flash Player 10.1. You may choose the Droid X with the big display for enjoying and sharing media, or prefer the original Droid for lots of messaging on the slide-out keyboard, or select the Droid Incredible for a compact and powerful Android experience.

See my full article on the Droid Incredible - Droid Incredible from Verizon / HTC

See my earlier article on the Android interface - Verizon / Motorola Droid -- Android 2.0

See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on smartphones

See my Smartphone Apps Gallery for more on mobile apps

Find the Verizon Droid X, Droid Incredible, and Droid on Amazon.com

After all the years of rumors about the Apple iPhone coming to Verizon Wireless, the first breach of AT&T's exclusivity is -- the iPad (see my earlier post)!

Yep, the Apple iPad will be available through the over 2,000 Verizon Wireless stores nationwide beginning on Thursday, October 28 (see Verizon iPad site and press release).

But there are a couple details that explain how this has happened ... And how the iPad is also coming to AT&T stores at the same time.

First, Verizon is selling only the Wi-Fi versions of the iPad, and not the models with 3G cellular mobile data service -- so there's no Verizon service plan built in to these iPads.

Instead, Verizon is bundling its MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot with the iPad purchase (see earlier post).

The MiFi is a pocket-sized device that turns a cellular connection into a local Wi-Fi hot spot for up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. With the MiFi, the iPad can go online, as can your laptop and/or netbook, and/or iPod touch -- all simultaneously sharing the MiFi's 3G mobile broadband service over Wi-Fi.

The MiFi is certainly portable -- about the size of eight stacked credit cards and weighs just over 2 ounces rechargeable battery. It provides up to four hours of active use and 40 hours of standby time on a single charge.

Verizon is pricing these bundles of iPad plus MiFi at $629 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad, $729 for 32 GB and $829 for 64 GB. (This compares to Apple's pricing of $499, $599, and $699 for the Wi-Fi iPad alone. Verizon's current pricing for the MiFi is $269, or $99 with 2 year contract, or free with an online discount.)

So Verizon's bundle pricing is the same as Apple's pricing for the Wi-Fi + 3G models -- but while the MiFi is a separate device, it also can share with up to five devices.

Verizon also will offer all three iPad Wi-Fi models unbundled, apparently at the same price as Apple. So you can use the iPad with any Wi-Fi connection, or with a smartphone that offers Wi-Fi tethering to share the smartphone cellular service as a Wi-Fi cloud (as with some Android 2.2 devices, including the Droid Incredible).

Of course, the ongoing cost is the monthly cellular data service plan. Verizon is offering a monthly plan for iPad customers for up to 1 GB of data for $20 a month. (In comparison, Verizon's data plans for the MiFi alone include $39.99 for 250 MB a month, and $59.99 for 5 GB a month.)

Meanwhile, the three 3G cellular iPad models also will be available at AT&T stores also starting on October 28 (see AT&T press release). These are priced the same as the Apple Store -- $629 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad, $729 32 GB and $829 64 GB. AT&T offers data plans of 250 MB for $14.99 a month, and 2 GB for $29.99.

See my Apple iPod / iPhone Gallery for details on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod products and product line history.

See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on the MiFi and mobile data services.

Find the Apple iPad and Verizon Wireless MiFi on Amazon.com

We're getting used to having wireless Internet access on our portable devices, as we check e-mail and download apps on our smartphones, browse the Web and watch YouTube videos on our Apple iPad, and download books in minutes on our Amazon Kindle E-book reader.

But the download speeds of today's 3G (third generation) mobile data services are still a bit sluggish, as it takes noticeable time to load a new page or download a song. Mobile data access still feels more like yesterday's now-poky DSL service over phone lines than the kind of wired broadband services that we now enjoy at home.

But that's changing, with the arrival of next generation "4G" mobile broadband service, stepping up real-world data rates on the order of 10X faster, from DSL to home broadband rates (i.e., increasing download speeds from today's around 500 Kbps - 1.5 Mbps to 5 - 12 Mbps, and upload speeds from around 500 Kbps to 2 - 5 Mbps).

And this promise is now actually here, as Harry Martin of Verizon Wireless explained at last night's meeting of the Princeton Chapters of the ACM and IEEE Computer Society. Harry is Director of Advanced Technologies for Verizon Wireless’ Philadelphia tri-state region, which is one of the initial markets for the recent launch of the Verizon 4G LTE network for next-generation wireless broadband service.

Martin explained that LTE (Long Term Evolution) in not just a Verizon technology, it's a widely-adopted international standard, with some 90% of carriers planning to move to LTE for 4G service, promising easier roaming when traveling overseas and economies of scale to help reduce product costs.

Beyond better data rates, LTE technology also provides benefits including lower power usage for mobile devices, reduced latency for better responsiveness (half that of 3G), more efficient use of spectrum to support more simultaneous users, and enhanced security for authenticating your SIM cards and protecting message traffic from spoofing. Plus, the LTE radio technology and spectrum wavelength reduces multipath and multiuser interference, and can penetrate further into structures, resulting in better connectivity in current wireless dead spots.

Martin also described how multi-antenna technology offered the future promise of redoubling the LTE data rates, particularly as Verizon has additional spectrum available in parts of the country.

Verizon Wireless powered on its 4G LTE network on December 5, initially in 38 major metropolitan areas covering more than 110 million Americans, plus at more than 60 commercial airports. Verizon expects to complete the LTE roll-out with full nationwide coverage in 2013.

Verizon's initial service is targeted to business road warriors, using a USB modem that you plug in to a laptop to go online. Verizon offers two USB modems, the LG VL600 and Pantech UML290, which are available for $99.99 (after a $50 mail-in rebate, and with a new two-year customer agreement). These both are backwards compatible with the existing 3G data service in areas not currently covered by LTE.

The initial Verizon 4G LTE mobile broadband service is available with two monthly data service plans similar to existing 3G plans: $50 with a 5 GB monthly allowance, or $80 for 10 GB, both with $10 per GB overage charges for additional usage (the same rate as the lower allowance).

However, these monthly bandwidth caps certainly are not 10X more than current 3G plans, so don't expect to significantly change your usage patterns, for example by starting to stream video all day -- It's still smart to take advantage of Wi-Fi when available, especially for big downloads.

(Actually, at a 10 Mbps download speed, you can move 4.5 GB per hour, so you could blow though the Verizon $50 for 5 GB monthly plan in a little over an hour of continuous downloading; At $10 / GB, that's $45 per hour of downloads.)

But even with this early service, you can see how LTE can provide much faster and more efficient access to must-have information, especially for the initial market of business users. For example, you can download a 700 MB CD of data files in a little over a minute, or upload a 10 MB PowerPoint presentation in under 25 seconds.

And this is just the beginning, as Martin discussed the potential of LTE to support the growing demand for always-connected people and devices. To illustrate this revolution, he showed the Social Media Revolution video (on YouTube), based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman, with startling statistics on the growth and impact of social media and mobile.

For example, with faster uploads, LTE can provide better two-way high-def video conferencing and even remote video monitoring. With lower latency, it promises better interactive multi-player gaming. And with low-cost chips, it allows a much broader range of devices to be connected and inter-connected, so, for example, your car or even washing machine can report problems and call for maintenance.

So 4G is here, at least for road warriors, and it's coming soon to broader use in a wide range of mobile phones and other devices, with exciting possibilities for new applications and services from desktop connectivity on mobile devices.

- See the article on Harry Martin's talk in Princeton in the U.S.1 Newspaper

- See my article on Holiday Gadgets 2010: Portable and Wireless for more on 4G services and current mobile wireless products

- See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on mobile data services and products

Find Socialnomics by Erik Qualman on Amazon.com

You can enjoy and share your music from an iPad or smartphone with small attached speakers (see previous post) or larger wireless speakers (see previous post), but sometimes you want to listen by yourself, with headphones.

And if you're hooking headphones up to an iPhone or other smartphone, then it only makes sense to add a microphone so you also can use the headphone for calls.

And, of course, it's clumsy to deal with a headphone cable to a small device that lives in a pocket or a bag, so the headphone might as well be wireless as well.

Which explains the Logitech Wireless Headset -- A nicely designed Bluetooth headset that pairs to up to eight different devices, including the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and other players, tablets, and smartphones.

You can enjoy your music, and then transition to phone calls -- and use it for FaceTime video calls.

The Wireless Headset has an adjustable headband with soft ear cups for a comfortable fit, and folds up for travel. The noise-canceling microphone rotates up to nest under the headband while listening, and then folds down to position for talking. [Yes, the picture is a visualization -- there aren't four mics...]

It charges over USB, and runs for six hours. One earpiece has power, mute, and volume controls.

Logitech Wireless Headset lets you listen to your personal music from a variety of devices -- tablet, phone, computer -- and then switch to phone or video calls without swapping around your gear. It's available for $69.

See my Audio Accessories Gallery for more on portable speakers and headphones.

Find the Logitech Wireless Headset on Amazon.com

Small speakers were quite visible at CES (see earlier post), with mini boxes and cylinders that can come along in your bag to boost the sound of your smartphone or tablet. At a couple inches in size, however, while these do better than built-in speakers, they really aren't particularly powerful.

One nice way of getting more sound from small speakers comes from vibrating designs that have you position the speaker on a flat surface so the sound can resonate to give you 360 degree omni-directional sound (see earlier post). You can get amazing sound from surfaces like wood, glass, metal, walls, mirrors, and cardboard, especially if they have an enclosed air gap like a desk or even a simple cardboard box.

The Mighty Dwarf 5W Vibration Speaker is a nice example of this kind of approach, with some very interesting bonus features. It's a small cylinder, 2.25 inches tall by 2 inches in diameter, and chunky at 11 1/2 ounces so it makes strong contact with the surface.

For even better resonating action, the Mighty Dwarf has a sticky gel pad on the base to temporarily adhere to the surface. It also has has a screw mount on the base that can attach to accessories for a more permanent connection, including a glass mount (suction cup) or wood mount (woods screws).

To hook up to your portable player, the Mighty Dwarf comes with a dual-purpose cable with a miniUSB connector at one end to plug into the speaker, and the other end split into both a 3.5mm stereo audio jack and a USB jack. Plug the audio jack into your device to play music, or plug in the USB jack to recharge the internal battery. There's also a LED to warn when the battery is low.

But there's more -- The Mighty Dwarf also has a microSD slot, so you can insert a memory card with MP3 music files, and use the speaker as a stand-alone media player. The final addition is the play controller -- push to stop/start play, flick to skip forward/back to the next song, and press and hold to adjust the volume.

The Mighty Dwarf 5W speaker is available for around $49. There's also the Mighty Dwarf 26W model with external amplifier, and a Bluetooth speaker coming.

See my article on Portable Accessories 2012 for more on portable audio, portable power, and cases.

Find the Mighty Dwarf 5W Vibration Speaker on Amazon.com