Blackberry Flips Out
Following its dominance of the corporate market, RIM has been turning its attention to retail consumers. TV ads for the Curve market it as a do everything device, the new Bold is becoming iTunes friendly and the Pearl Flip 8220 is a step even further: a Blackberry for those who don’t want a Blackberry-looking Blackberry.
The Flip’s compact form is made possible by RIM’s SureType two-letters-on-a-key Qwerty system. The keyboard allows the Flip a small footprint, although the base is thick-ish.
The clamshell design forces a screen size reduction, and this one feels even smaller for not using the full real estate of the phone.
The now familiar Blackberry trackball is also present.
Closing the phone up reveals a smart hood housing the camera and exterior screen. This is definitely the Flip’s best angle. Size wise it’s smaller than the Pearl although a bit fatter.
In use where you really notice the difference is in screen size. Where the Curve is good for email and the Pearl is ok, the Flip takes you to Scroll HQ. But it does work, and if the Flip is aimed more at SMS / IM than as a messaging device then it is effective.
The keypad is responsive and SureType works well for me. The trackball is mounted a bit low for my liking though. There’s just not enough contact area compared to the Pearl, which makes the copious amounts of scrolling hard work.
The Flip’s browser downloaded mobile sites fairly slowly. Once downloaded the trackball performs as a mouse pointer. The map application was even slower unfortunately, almost to the point of being unusable.
Call quality was fine and the Flip has bluetooth for headset hook-ups.
So pretty on the outside and a yet frustrating on the inside. The Flip is a compromise, but it looks cool and if you’re a light data user it might be a good call.
Speaking Of Glossy Screens…
Here’s one that got it right:
This, for all you daywalkers, is a MSI Wind in full-on sunlight. And here is how it compares with a glossy-screened Acer Aspire One (which is switched on, honestly):
…and with some general non-sunny window reflections:
…and compared directly to the Wind below with non-sunny reflections. It’s worth noting that the Aspire One actually has a really nice LED backlit screen, it’s just that the Wind has the best screen I’ve ever seen on a notebook.
The Wind works if you’re a daywalker – and it’s also a little cheaper than one particular newly-announced-glossy-screened laptop. Ye pays yer money…
Neil Berman
Early Report Card: New MacBook & MacBook Pro
Outperforming
Trick new trackpad looks lush. I never used the button on mine anyway…bring on the finger contortions.
Thinner MacBook looks great
New GPUs should be cracking
Price drop for white chassis is welcome
Needs Improvement
Price rise to $1599 for the top end MacBook doesn’t sit well with the sinking economy
Glossy screens are awful. At home, in the sun, on the plane unless you’re an isle seat lover.
$1299 buys less CPU power than $999…?
New MBP’s wide black screen bezel put to shame by old MBP
Need to log-off to change video modes eh…? Sony does it better with Vista. Now that’s a bag of hurt.
Pictures to follow in due course…
Neil Berman
Chevy Camaro looks awesome in NBC’s ‘My Own Worst Enemy’
Tonight’s premiere of My Own Worst Enemy on NBC sent a message to the Mustangs & Challengers on the street…the Camaro is on its way and it looks fantastic.
Neil Berman
Times have changed since King Arthur’s Roundtable
Is this the answer to travel expenses which accounting departments have been waiting for?
As the economy falters and technology gets cheaper, voice and video conferencing become even more appealing.
Conference calls, the ever present enabler of virtual teams, are great. They allow coworkers from around the world to work together more easily, aid flexible working hours across timezones and, in the consumer market, help families get together through apps like Skype.
Conference calls, the ever present confuser of global communications, can also be problematic. They can result in mixed messages and confusion, often because you can’t see the other participants who, (to make matters worse) could be muted or away from the phone.
Videoconferencing systems aim to alleviate this, normally with a screen mounted camera pointing at a room of participants. Whilst this gives a picture, it can be a struggle to enjoy clear engagement with everyone in the room. More sophisticated systems such as HP’s Halo try to ‘put’ virtual participants in the same custom built room at significant cost – Halo installations start at $249,000 plus running expenses.
Cue the Microsoft Roundtable. This curious looking device aims to provide a more active videoconferencing experience at a reasonable price.
Fortunately it’s the Roundtable doing the active bit, not you. Whilst the base resembles a typical conference phone design with mics pointing in different directions, it’s at the top that things get interesting.
Cameras mounted at the base of the mirrors can be directed automatically at talking participants
Hiding under the dust cover are cameras pointing at angled mirrors. This means that from a central location the Roundtable can get a good 360 view. Better still, the cameras are motorized so they can be directed at individual participants. Killer app? The Roundtable can focus the screen image on whoever is talking. Sweet.
In practise it works really well, operating as the daddy of all webcams when paired up with Office Communicator 2007 or the 2007 version of Office Live Meeting. Speech and video over IP came through clearly on the occasions I’ve seen it in action and the directional cameras are an elegant solution to the ‘everyone face the screen’ problem.
It’s still fairly expensive at $3000 but compared to air travel for a couple of team members it represents a collaboration upgrade to business class for the whole group. So look out for this coming to a meeting room near your cubicle soon if your company can afford it. Question is for the benefits it brings to virtual teamworking, can companies afford not to?
Neil Berman
theONbutton
Turning the world on, one gadget at a time.
