inThirty – Windows Phone 7

Posted on November 19, 2011 by chaimtime

Windows Phone 7

Posted on November 15, 2011 by inThirty

It’s good to be cing, and it’s good to have Klout. Harry earned a free Windows Phone 7, a Samsung Focus, for his courageous tweeting and shared it (and pizza) with his fellow inThirty hosts. We pick it apart and marvel at its simplicity and the lack of Blue Screens of Death, though its connector software did nearly fry Harry’s MacBook. The tiles, the font, the understated elegance, how could this have come from Microsoft?

PS The first commenter to leave the exact timestamp for Chaim’s Rick Perry moment gets 5 Klout points.

Show Notes

“A Windows Phone 7.5 Review from a Dedicated iOS User” | Curious Rat

Klout

“Pioneer Studios Closed by Microsoft” | Windows Phone Thoughts

Samsung Focus | Samsung.com

Play in new window | Download

inThirty – Google Plus Pages, a Minus?

Posted on November 9, 2011 by chaimtime

Because inThirty has a team of lawyers making sure we strictly follow all EULAs and TOS, we never created a Google Plus personal profile with first name in, last name Thirty. Now that Google’s introduced Pages for Google+ we’ve gotten clearance to add, or, if you will, +, ourselves to the network to share our weekly thirty minutes of magic.

Find out our initial impressions of Pages and how long it took us to find the link to create a new one, and listen to us compare the fiendishly similar +1s and Facebook Likes, and count the minutes into the podcast until we mention an Apple product. How do Pages contribute to Google search? Did Google miss the boat on Plus? Will Mark Zuckerberg ever update his Plus profile? Find out on inThirty.

PS: You can play with us on Plus here.

Show Notes

inThirty Google+ Page

“How Google Can Leverage Google+ Against Facebook” | Curious Rat

“The Fight Between the Three Major Social Networks” | ChaimTime.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

inThirty – Fragmentation Threshold

Posted on November 6, 2011 by chaimtime

Posted on November 2, 2011 by inThirty

Ice Cream Sandwich hasn’t even had time to melt and someone out there on the internet has the nerve to create a chart showing just how infrequently all those Android devices actually get the latest version of the mobile OS.

Michael DeGusta, the man who laid out the sad state of Google’s hardware support in red, orange, yellow, and green joins the inThirty crew and our guest host Kelly Guimont to discuss whether Android is a stop or a go and how the carriers, manufacturers and Google factor in to this traffic jam.

Tomorrow we’ll post an interview with Michael that covers why he created the chart, how he found the data, and whether or not he was inspired by the bygone days of the color coded terror alert system.

Show Notes
Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support | TheUnderstatement.com

My View on Android Fragmentation | ChaimTime.com

Play in new window | Download

inThirty – Android Orphans

Posted on November 6, 2011 by chaimtime

Posted on November 3, 2011 by inThirty

Please sir, can I have some more over the air updates? Not if you’re using the majority of Android phones. As a follow up to yesterday’s show, we’re lucky to have the creator of the chart that puts the Dickensian state of upgrade support across Android phones on display, Michael Degusta, with us on inThirty. We get to the bottom of how and why he took on this topic and find out what version of Android those big laser-shooting-Transformer-type-things from the Droid commercials run.

Play in new window | Download

My View on Android Fragmentation

Posted on October 29, 2011 by chaimtime

understatement.com

We have all seen this image, and I agree with the android fans that it is biased. I do think that this is a good representation of the underlying problem at hand. For semi informed consumers, what is he/she to do, seeing this infographic? Obviously, buy an iphone, but what if you want an android model.

TL;DR answer: Buy only an official google release nexus phone.

Continue reading →

inThirty.net – Is Ice Cream Sandwich Delicious

Posted on October 26, 2011 by chaimtime

After two episodes that revolved around the iPhone last week it’s certainly nice to spend some time talking about delectable frozen treats…wait, is that Chaim saying that Android releases are named by desserts in ascending alphabetical order?

This week we discuss the new features Android has to offer and trends in mobile operating system development. Chaim feels pushed towards a hardware upgrade, but will he drop his current Droid for a Galaxy far, far away? Do you think he’ll ever get face recognition unlocking to work? What do desserts have to do with robots and galaxies? Listen to find out.

inThirty.net is:
@chaimtime – www.chaimtime.com
@harrycmarks – www.curiousrat.com
@justinfreid – www.justinfreid.com

Show Notes

10 Coolest Android Ice Cream Sandwich Features | PCMag.com

A Quick Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Feature Rundown | TechCrunch

Android Ice Cream Sandwich versus iOS 5: Killer features | CNet

In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy | Amazon

How does the iPhone 4S camera stack-up against other cameras? | Campl.us

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Official Presentation and Demo | YouTube

Play in new window | Download

How to Help Your Friend Choose a Phone.

Posted on October 22, 2011 by chaimtime

Being a budget technologist, a teacher, and having my opinion matters, I do have to try and provide honest feedback. People, students and colleagues, want me to guide them into choosing the right product. With that said, I have to try and make unbiased reviews on a lot of different products. When iOS5 and the 4s came out, I had at least 5 different people ask, “Is this the phone I should get?” I do have to put my google fan boy behind me.

Continue reading →

Eyes on iOS 5

Posted on October 18, 2011 by chaimtime

It’s been nearly a week so each of us has had a chance to use each and every one of the 200+ new features, and with the help of the inimitable Kelly Guimont of TUAW and Angry Mac Bastards fame, we get to make sense of them. Siri also gives hosting a try, but she’s no match for Kelly.

Thanks (thank you and thank you) to Kelly Guimont for joining us.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

iCloudy with a Chance of Google

Posted on October 18, 2011 by chaimtime

The cornerstone of Apple’s push towards iOS 5 is iCloud and we decided it deserves a 30 minute block of it’s own. Are sync services central to digital devices going forward? How does Apple’s method compare to Google’s?

We also discuss what really happens when all of those 8 megapixel pictures from new iPhone 4Ss make there way into Photo Stream and dispel the myth that Pixar’s best digital artists actually touch up any blemishes they find.

Again, thanks to Kelly Guimont (@verso) for joining us.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Please Sell Me Something…Please

Posted on October 2, 2011 by chaimtime

Sales people have one goal. To sell you something. In two separate instances today, the sales person have failed to convey a single morsel of knowledge. In fact, I felt, that the salesperson has given more information by trying to look smart rather than taking a ‘mea culpa’ and say they don’t know. I figure that sales people sell to the knowledgable consumer, that understands the basics, but needs that last 10% of explanation to sell them.

When I buy something, I know all the pertinent information. I know all the features. I know all the controversies. When I ask a question, I’m not asking because I’m too lazy to look, but rather, I can’t find the answer. I get that I’m not the normal consumer, but I should not be the only one who is asking this question.

Here are my two stories:

Continue reading →