Oneupweb Reviews: Amazon Lights My Fire With Their Own Kindle!

During this last week’s break out of e-ink and e-social conventions, Amazon’s e-ink reveal took center stage.  They revealed their Kindle Fire, the Kindle Touch 3G, The Kindle Touch with the original Kindle still in the Kindle family line-up.

Forgive me, but I’m feeling a little fired up! After some research on the product, I have come to the conclusion the little 7-inch device is smokin’ hot! Not to mention its awesome price tag, which is a good 50% cheaper than the Playbook and $300 cheaper than the iPad!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

I am a mega reader and writer (I know, shocker).  But, I don’t own a pad or a tablet yet. I haven’t been fully won over by these devices, but after this reveal from Amazon I am honestly SOLD!

Why am I sold?  Let me share with you the Kindle Fire’s features and you will understand.

  • Obviously the price tag is one feature I appreciate about this little sizzler item.  Check out this great chart from Ken Sena of Evercore Partners. It shows how the price undercuts the tablet/pad market. I’d be shaking in my boots if I were the other brands.

Sena predicts that by 2016 the CAGR of the Kindle Fire will decline by 6% to $149. That’s awesome, but I won’t be waiting until then for that sales price – it’s already on sale for me. I’m ready to run out and buy it now!

  • This next feature! I melted from its amazing heat! Of course, this Kindle has the WhisperSync technology to automatically sync your library, last page read, bookmarks, notes and highlights across your devices that its predecessors had.  But, now it’s synced with more devices out there from Amazon’s instant video feature. If you own or have access to one of these compatible devices, like the Samsung LN40C560 40-inch 1080 60 Hz LCD HDTV for instance (could be mine – maybe), then all you have to do is sync up the two devices and watch the video on the bigger screen now.

Sync to your TV, HDTV, Blue-Ray, or DVR

  • I have a library of not just books, but magazines as well. As much as I LOVE to have my library of books and mags I won’t lie, I have been feeling a little guilty about the trees these days.  And so, reviewing the Kindle Fire’s picture quality on a 7″ vibrant color touchscreen that delivers 16 million colors in high resolution was a definite selling point for me.  Between watching movies and reading my favorite mags, I am sweltering with delight on this feature.

  • The Kindle Fire has an intuitive interface, so it makes it super easy to use and go back to my most visited and most interested links.
  • Amazon’s Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free streaming of over 10,000 popular movies and TV shows. Basically, I can pull the little sultry device out of my purse at break time and watch a quick episode of my favorite shows, like Spartacus or Stargate SG-1.
  • It has a fast, dual-core processor, meaning I can do things like read a chapter in some book I need to get down for work while uploading a video to go along with that research. I can listen to tunes while I surf the web too. It’s a little multi-tasker like me!
  • It has its OWN cloud feature! I don’t have to worry about memory uptake on the device – slowing it down like molasses, because Amazon has its own cloud via the net where I can store all that.  No matter where I am or what I am doing. I can access it.

The Amazon Cloud

  • You can stream music from your Amazon cloud drive online or download the driver and go offline. They have 17 million songs in the Amazon MP3 Store. I could see myself on my treadmill able to have it sitting in front of me while I walk or run. In fact, I could be listening to music while reading AND walking!  Just hope they don’t make a law akin to the ‘walking and texting’ deal.
  • It’s strong! The screen is chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic. Honestly, how many times have you all out there dropped your iPhone or Android and cracked the screen – Right? … Exactly!

So, there you have my review on the new Kindle Fire tablet.  What do you think of this new device? What would you consider to be the pros and cons of utilizing such a spicy device?

Categories: Mobile, Tools, Video
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  • 10/8/2010
  • Post By: admin

Oneupweb Reviews: Boat Load iPhone App

There are a lot of iPhone apps out there – 250,000 and counting. And with over a billion downloads from users, it’s no wonder that more and more companies are creating amazingly useful apps. Apps that listen to music and tell you who the artist is, apps that connect you to user reviews, and apps that perform spinal surgery (okay, maybe I made that last one up). Today we want to review an app that is extremely useful for boaters called…

The Boat Load iPhone App

Boat Load iPhone App Oneupweb Reviews

According to the Boat Load’s website:

“Boat Load puts the most important boating information in the palm of your hand and it’s always ready when you need it. Find marinas, chart points-of-interest along your course, create and send a digital float plan, view real-time weather and tide forecasts, store your shopping and maintenance notes, file an instant insurance claim, summon help, and more—no matter what U.S. waterway you’re traveling. Boat Load streamlines everything you need to ensure safe and enjoyable seafaring. You’re the captain—now, meet the perfect first mate.”

This app is great! Granted, we built it,  so we’re slightly partial – but don’t take our word for it. (Reading Rainbow reference)

reading rainbow Boat Load iPhone App Oneupweb Reviews

Check out the features of this powerful app for yourself .

Tap Into Boat Load’s Features:

  • One glance/one tap display
  • Geo-tagging for photos and insurance claims
  • Locate ports, marinas and supply stations
  • Easily create and share float plans
  • Real-time weather forecasts for more than 42,000 U.S. cities
  • Point-of-interest (POI) trip planning tools
  • Real-time tide predictions
  • SOS button for emergency 911 calls
  • Access port directories and trip planning tools

Watch the video below to see the Boat Load app in motion.

With all the apps out there, I know I’m pretty selective. But if you’re an avid boater, don’t be caught on the water without the Boat Load app! Download the Boat Load app at the iTunes store.

Oneupweb Reviews: Thumbs Up

What do you think about this app? Have you downloaded it or do you think you will? Let us know in the comments below.

Categories: Mobile
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  • 8/23/2010
  • Post By: admin

Oneupweb Reviews: Facebook Places

Attention sports fans! I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be referring to you as sports fans from now on. How exciting is that? Oh, and Facebook Places is now live!

You can now let all your friends know exactly where you are and what you’re doing!

Facebook Places Oneupweb Reviews

You also have the ability to tag others who are with you at a location. This can be a lot of fun, but be careful. As I found out, the wording can give the wrong impression. For example, if you said you were maxing and relaxing at the mall, and then tagged a friend it would read: John Smith is maxing and relaxing with Sally Sue at the Mall. Maybe not the idea you were trying to get across. This is very similar to photo tagging in that the person tagged can also remove the tag.

If you’re a business, you have the option to claim your new Facebook Place. Facebook.com says,

“To claim your Place, search for your business name on Facebook via the normal Search bar. If your business’s Place already exists on Facebook, click on it to visit its page. At the bottom left side of your Place there will be a link that says “Is this your business?” Click on the link and you will be directed to a claiming flow.

We will ask you to verify that you are the owner through a phone verification process, or you may be asked for document verification. Once your claim is confirmed, you will own your Place on Facebook.”

Oneupweb Reviews: Thumbs Up!

It’s about time Facebook got into the location wars. Although, with Facebook being the behemoth it is, it’s less like a war and more like mosquitoes (Foursquare/Gowalla) vs. a flame thrower.

Categories: Mobile, Social Networking
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  • 8/18/2010
  • Post By: admin

Oneupweb Reviews: Shopkick

So, to be honest, location based services freak me out. Posting my location for all to see reminds me of George Orwell 1984. Foursquare and Gowalla are Watching You!

I understand that I can make my location available only to friends, but even still, making this information available to anyone seems creepy. However, I’m not exactly a socialite, and there are a lot of people out there who love Foursquare, Gowalla and location based services. But there have been some growing pains along the way. Foursquare and Gowalla have had problems with the accuracy of GPS, with users able to check-in to places without even being there.

One company, called Shopkick, has created an entirely new location type service, which claims to bypass many of the problems that Foursquare and Gowalla face.

Instead of using GPS like traditional location based apps, Shopkick has technology installed within each store that detects when someone arrives. And unlike Foursquare and Gowalla, this does not rely on GPS, which can be  tricky in malls because stores are so closely placed together.

With Shopkick,  the moment a customer using the app walks in the store, they are notified of their savings. The technology is installed within the store itself and turns the entire store into an interactive experience. Plus, the signal can’t pass through walls, making it much more accurate and trust worthy for businesses than GPS services. Check out the video demonstration of Shopkick in this article.

I think that this service—for now—is better for businesses than Foursquare or Gowalla. Accuracy combined with security is a riddle that location based services have yet to solve. But we don’t know the cost of this technology. It’s possible that not every small business will be able to afford Shopkick, where with Foursquare or Gowalla there is no cost.

Shopkick is an interesting idea and could become very successful in the location based arena. It’s really too early to tell if this will gain widespread adoption, but it’s certainly something to keep your eye on.

Oneupweb Reviews: Thumbs Sideways

We’ll keep our eye on this one. Would you install this app on your phone to get a discount? Let us know in the comments below.

Categories: Mobile
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  • 6/17/2010
  • Post By: admin

Oneupweb Reviews: HTC EVO 4G

Last Friday I bought the HTC EVO 4G phone and I love it. This phone is simply amazing. It’s a GPS device, a digital video/photo camera, and can access the internet (did I mention you can make phone calls?). You might not think that’s a huge leap in technology compared to the options offered in comparable smartphones, but the difference is in the details.

Cameras: This phone offers an 8mp camera and can record and play back high definition video. I’m fully aware that mega pixel count can be deceiving; the true measure of picture quality is chip size. I used to be a photographer and graphic designer, so quality is important to me. It also has a front facing camera, which is pretty nice too.

Internet Browsing: Let me just say, the EVO runs flash. Seriously Steve Jobs, you need to get over your beef with Adobe. This was a deal breaker for me for so many Apple products. iPhones and iPads don’t run flash and probably never will. The EVO does.

Kickstand: The EVO’s kickstand is more useful that you might imagine, and I expect this feature to be added to more smartphones as they become increasingly focused on multimedia.

htc evo kickstand

I have read Michael Arrington’s review of the HTC EVO entitled: Don’t Buy The HTC EVO, It Is a Seriously Flawed Device.

I can’t help but wonder if the title of his blog post was meant to gain attention or accurately represent his review. In my opinion, saying the HTC EVO is “seriously flawed” is like saying Ferraris are seriously flawed because they can’t fly and they run out of gas.

In his post Arrington states two things that he believes make the EVO a seriously flawed device: battery life and the lack of customization options for the operating system.

If you want longer battery life, turn off some of the HTC’s options friend. You don’t always need GPS, WiFi, or 4G. When I’m not using these options I just turn them off and I have no problem with battery life. If I know I’m going to use a lot of high power applications I plug it in. I would rather have the options and plug the phone in, than to not have the options at all.

Saying the HTC EVO is “seriously flawed” is like saying Ferraris are seriously flawed because they can’t fly and they run out of gas.

Lack of customization options for the phone’s operating system seems like a small issue to me. The HTC EVO gives users the ability to create scenes. You have 7 window screens that you can add applications or shortcuts to. This seems like a lot of customization options to me. Compared to the options offered on similar phones the HTC EVO is ahead of the game.

I would hardly call this a “flawed device” for these reasons.

A competing device to the HTC EVO is Apple’s iPhone 4. Recently, I watched an Apple promotion video for the iPhone 4 and if they use the world “magical” one more time I’m going to write a post on the definition of the word magical. Unicorns, wizards, Disney World, all magical; a phone is not. Unless Apple’s next release is the iWand (Which I would buy even if it didn’t run flash), I demand Apple stop abusing the word magical.

But more bothersome than false advertising is an Apple commercial making it seem like live video chat on a smartphone had never been done before. I did that two weeks ago with my EVO. Aside from pre-orders, the iPhone 4 isn’t even available for purchase yet.

Lastly, the reason I rant is because I was verbally abused by an Apple Fanboy back in the day. He tried to make me feel like I was less of a person because I used a PC. It’s a good thing I don’t define myself by what computer I use, I might have never recovered. I think that people need to start defining themselves by who they are, not by what phone or computer they use. If you think a product is better, then use it.

I’m a PC, I’m a Mac… well I’m a person, are you with me!?

HTC EVO Oneupweb Review: Thumbs Up

Categories: Mobile
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