A 6-month Android Journey: The Beginning

On Thursday May 15th, I embarked on a journey that many have written about. This is my foray into the six month ownership of an Android powered Samsung Galaxy S5 Mobile Smartphone. [hashtag: #elijahsgalaxyxp] All this, in search of a full understanding on why my few remaining Android friends are still ranting and raving. Granted, I also have a small group of friends (read: 3) that have also switched to Android. I've owned and used a 2012 Google Nexus 7 tablet since it's debut but more and more I've found myself frustrated with the lag and short comings from what I can deduce was aging hardware. I can't recall being happy with it at any point in time except for the initial excitement and unboxing. To prepare for my journey, I pre-ordered a Spigen TTough Armor Case and a 64GB micro SD card.

Note: Upon accepting the device, I found myself with 24 hours on Wifi only before I was able to insert my Nano SIM Card due to adapters not being readily available. I called Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T and even Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, Radio Shack and a few iPhone repair shops and none, absolutely no one had an adapter that would take my Nano Sim and size it for Micro Sim Card slot in the Galaxy S5. I found a few on amazon, and paid $3.99 for one day delivery ending up with the Nano Sim Card Adapter.

Still, day one was not a wash as I was able to do almost everything via Wifi. Here is my early breakdown.

Hour 1: I needed to find my must have apps. I needed 1Password, Simpletnote, various social networks apps such at Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, Instapaper and Clash of Clans. Come to find out, 1Password's Android app is just a reader app, Simplenote is pretty much the same, Tweetbot was nowhere to be found so I chose to go with the official app, Instagram is so large on the phone but pretty, Facebook is pretty much the same but the workflow very different and Clash of Clans was beautiful in syncing my iOS progress.

Hour 2-8: Still adjusting to the sheer size of the device, I ended up configuring the Samsung Fingerprint Scanner and let me tell you, that is one crazy nuisance. After my second attempt of programming it, I could never get the phone to unlock at a consistent scan. Infuriatingly, I scanned the same fingerprint again designating slot #2 and even #3 to the same finger, but it still refused to recognize it. After a few attempts, the phone alerts you that you have tried too many times and defaults to a backup password that you create during the initial setup but just click back twice on the phone and it allows you try again… and again and again. The phone never once locked me out nor prevented me to stop trying. I thought that to be bizarre. Needless to say, I turned it off after a few hours.

I continued to download quite a few apps that my friend Jeremiah mentioned such as Muzei enabling live wallpaper updates, Google Camera, and HD Widgets. I also downloaded HBO Go, Tivo, 8tracks, Amazon Kindle, Dropbox, Metam, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Waze, VSCO Cam, and Snapseed. Amazingly, I did all this while connected to the Karl Strauss Wifi and the speed was awesome.

I didn't play with it that much further but I was already beginning to miss a few iMessages from my iPhone friends. So far, so good, but still difficult.

Mario Kart 8's Magic

“Nintendo Magic” — sums up the awesome review by Polygon. I'm also assuming that it's exactly what Nintendo is betting on. I'm grabbing a copy. How about you?

Gotham (Before Batman) is going to be TREMENDOUS

If this trailer says anything about the new Fox Television series, I can't wait for Gotham to debut this fall! I definitely believe that with guidance from Bruno Heller, who help create the back story for the comic series, that it's going to be a hit! Maybe even last up to three seasons. It's still not going to quite replace the cancellation of Almost Human which I actually enjoyed. Another bites the dust.

As originally conceived, the series would have served as a straight forward story of Gordon's early days on the Gotham City Police force. The idea evolved not only to include the Bruce Wayne character, but will also tell the origin stories of several Batman villains, including the Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman, Two-Face, the Joker and Poison Ivy. via Wikipedia

http://youtu.be/0d1zpt6k5OI

Just on another note, if you remember, there was also Journeyman which was freaking awesome too. It's almost like we're British in the sense that we're having one season shows.

Comixology Kills the Impulse Buy

Just barely one month after Amazon acquired Comixology, Jeff Bezos and team managed to screw the pooch. From Co-founder and CEO David Steinberger on the initial sale to Amazon:

ComiXology will retain its identity as an Amazon subsidiary and we’re not anywhere near done “taking comics further.” We are confident that – with Amazon by our side, who shares our desire for innovation and a relentless focus on customers – we’ve only just begun.

Flat out, he lied or didn't know what was coming. Taken from past buy outs, this isn't something new to Jeff Bezos and company.

Comicbook author and creator Gerry Conway posted a great article on comicbook.com on his views of the latest development.

You don’t make quick entertainment hard to access. You may it simple and easy — an impulse buy.

Comixology’s in-App storefront did that. It provided quick and easy access to comics from the majors to the indies, one-stop shopping at the point of sale, at the moment where the customer is most vulnerable to the casual pitch: while he or she is actually reading a comic, and is in the comic-reading frame of mind, and is mildly (or intensely) interested in another nibble of brain-candy.

I wholeheartedly agree that this change voids my impulse buys. This app was the medium that lead me to discover great comics and various new indies. Browsing a store front without the hassle of leaving the app, going onto the web, buying, then going back to the app, clicking on a "Cloud" tab then downloading it, was the way to go.

Impulse is still the best way to find the latest and greatest or even those that might pique your interest. Now, I'm heading back out to my local comic shop. It's not that I'm going to boycott Comixology, but who am I kidding… delete.

Don't Listen to Them! iPad Sales Don't Disappoint!

MG Siegler is concise and right on. iPad sales this quarter was only disappointing to those who thought that Apple would sell more than 19 million units. Seriously though, think about it… Apple still sold 16 million iPads... in 3 months! The fact that this product category is only 4 years old and in total have sold over 210 million, that's quite a feat!

As a standalone business, just based on the last 12 months of revenue, the iPad would be in the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500. Think about that for a second. The iPad alone is bigger than almost all Fortune 500 companies.

For a full breakdown of sales, head over to 9to5mac.

Lake Poway to Mt. Woodson and back

My aunt has been a huge inspiration to the, "Why don't I hike more!" mantra. Bottom line; she's all about it with tickets for Half Dome, Whitney and she's always looking for more. I've been out and about a few times but unlike her, she does it at least once a week. I was fortunate to not only be off of work, but to hike Mt. Woodson with her yesterday and it was awesome. A bit cold in the morning but weather was perfect. I brought along my Garmin Edge 500 for data, but couldn't find my heart rate monitor. It's been months since I last did this hike (maybe two years) and probably only did Torrey Pines twice since then but I was happy that I got to head out! I also got to use my Fusion Sports Ambassador Gear for the first time! Great clothing! If you haven't done it already, I highly recommend it!

Gear: Osprey Syncro 15 Hyrdation Pack LOVE IT! | Fusion Sports PRF PRO T-Shirt | Fusion Visor

Halo 2.0

Nows the time to take advantage of the Halo 2.0 with only a few days left is a VERY successful Kickstarter campaign. I wouldn’t be posting this if I didn’t back it!

Goes great on kids too especially around Disneyland at night!

Specifically for my motorcycle friends and enthusiasts, this is a tremendous product!

http://youtu.be/kpYClk58iR0

Jem and the Holograms… THE MOVIE

You read that right! Director Jon M. Chu along with producer Jason Blum is heading up the new movie and will be doing their best to stay true to the original 80s hit!

First, a Jem primer, because what little people seem to remember of the show is a gaggling girl-band cartoon rendered in infrared pastels, with an emphasis on “glamour and glitter, fashion and fame,” as the show’s theme song goes—Barbie on acid, for short. But just beneath that surface is a third-wave feminist, science-fiction high-fashion narrative that serves up a “play nice” moral through a glamorous battle of the bands.

AT&T's Fiber Bluff

AT&T up to their usual antics again. Scamming, promising and under delivering. I'm just glad to have gotten off their internet and television service. Can't wait to disconnect my mobile phone service from their crappy "unlimited" LTE plan.

Before you get too excited, you need to understand that this is a bluff of immense proportion. It's what I affectionately refer to as "fiber to the press release."

Ever since Google Fiber came on the scene, AT&T's response has been highly theatrical in nature. What AT&T would have the press and public believe is that they're engaged in a massive new deployment of fiber to the home service. What's actually happening is that AT&T is upgrading a few high-end developments where fiber was already in the ground (these users were previously capped at DSL speeds) and pretending it's a serious expansion of fixed-line broadband.

via DSLReports

"An Extraordinarily Beautiful Deck of Playing Cards"

If you want a chance to order some of the best playing cards ever conceived, now's your chance to grab a set on Kickstarter! The design is superb and the thought process into the creation is quite extraordinary. If you don't believe me, watch the video yourself.

Judge Rules IN FAVOR of Commercial Drone Pilot

"I view the decision as a victory for technology," said Mr. Schulman, a New York-based attorney with Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and a recreational drone user. "For seven years our federal government has told business people and entrepreneurs that they must stop using drones for commercial purposes, and I think that's had a very negative effect on this really exciting emerging high-tech industry."

Where does the line get drawn especially if it's a hobbyist who loves to fly helis, quads and planes who discovered that they could make awesome videos when attaching a GoPro HERO3+, iPhone or any other camera? We aren't talking about Predator UAVs here but simple quadcopters such as DJI Phantom or the just released DJI Phantom 2 Vision+.

In any case, commercial drone laws aren't slated to be finalized until 2015 so until then, fly safely but more so, responsibly. Hey, let's start doing more real estate videos too!

via WSJ

Optical Illusion Juggling...AWESOME

Seriously awesome and pretty. Not to mention that accompanying music, watching this guy is great! http://youtu.be/XmFmYLAveWM

via YouTube: lindzeetryo

WiFi Tablet or LTE Enabled Tablet, Now the SAME Price!

T-Mobile has been truly living up to its latest marketing campaign of being the "Un-carrier" launching Operation Tablet Freedom today. In part 2 of 3 in a barrage of promotions, you can now head on over to T-Mobile and expect to save the $100 to $130 for an LTE enabled tablet. Now, you don't have to decided whether or not it's worth it to go for the cellular enabled tablet because WiFi or LTE, they're the same price!

Beginning April 12th, customers can get nearly 1.2 GB of free 4G LTE data every month through 2014 on America's fastest nationwide LTE network.

Have a T-Mobile voice plan? Bring, buy or trade in a tablet and get:

• Up to 1GB FREE 4G LTE data per month through 2014
• PLUS up to 200 MB FREE monthly 4G LTE data for as long as you own your tablet
• Existing T-Mobile voice plan customers: Get our 1GB plan FREE after a $10 credit

And for further clarification, you'll still have the ability to take advantage of their 100% free 200MB data plan on the LTE enabled tablet that is owned and registered with T-Mobile once the calendar turns 2015. And you're still unsure about your T-Mobile coverage, head on over to their awesome map!