Category: Samsung

Gear by Joe WilcoxMar 6, 201512:05 pm

Yes, Chromebook Matters

Yesterday, commentary “Do Chromebooks matter anymore?” popped up in my Google+ feed. Preston Gralla rightly wonders, when looking at how the laptops have fallen off Amazon’s top-seller lists, IDC shipment forecasts, and what happened with netbooks. While being a Chromebook fan, I must admit to sharing similar misgivings,

So today, I emailed Stephen Baker, NPD’s vice president of industry analysis: “Are Chromebooks just the next netbook wave? Low-cost, lean configurations, and education adoption all look similar to me. Do you see any parallels to suggest Chromebook is little more than the next netbook and it’s headed for the same destination: Short-term appeal that vanishes? Or is there longevity here, based on sales numbers? His answer is reason for this post.

Apple by Joe WilcoxFeb 2, 201510:52 am

Nexus 6 delights the Ears

Compressed audio gives up so much, I am surprised by the fidelity Nexus 6 gives back. Shocked is better word. I ordered the smartphone from T-Mobile on January 21 and received it the following day. As I will explain in my forthcoming review—tentatively planned as an “I love you” post on BetaNews (and here), Nexus 6 is amazing. I haven’t enjoyed using a handset this much in years. The overall user experience is spectacular.

My audio expectations were modest, when first connecting my Grado Labs Rs1e headphones and streaming from Google Music. Soundstage and detail exceed streaming from iTunes to iPhone 6, or—I do not lie—listening to music stored on MacBook Pro SSD. The differences in detail are shockingly apparent. On all three devices, graphic equalizer is not enabled.

Gear by Joe WilcoxJan 22, 20157:50 pm

Nexus 6 First Impressions

About five hours ago, UPS delivered the Motorola-made Google Nexus 6. I ordered online yesterday afternoon from T-Mobile, for expedited delivery, expecting two-day shipping but getting one (under-promise, over-deliver is good customer service). T-Mo only sells the Midnight Blue model, and I chose 64GB capacity.

I could order from the carrier because we still have one line there, on a low-cost plan, which won’t change. The clarification is important because I popped in my Verizon SIM. It is my understanding that T-Mobile sells the same Nexus 6 as either Google or Motorola. Any carrier customization occurs during setup with the SIM card inserted. So far Verizon services seems to function normally.

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 11, 20142:55 pm

iPhone 6 Plus follows the Leader

I am a Mac user again. After two years of using Chromebook as my primary PC and going “Microsoft All-In” for the summer with Nokia Lumia Icon and Surface Pro 3, at the end of August I returned to my first love—despite my reputation for hating it. I’m not anti-Apple. Fanatics who try to silence me, and other journalists not glowing about the fruit-logo company, just want you to believe that I am, by insisting bias where none exists.

Before Tuesday’s splashy media event, I anticipated buying a new iPhone—to fit into my renewed Mac lifestyle. But the size really bugs me. Last weekend, I asserted that September 9 would start the Tim Cook era—that it would define where the CEO will take Apple. I used iPod nano as example of a product that defined Steve Jobs’ leadership style. But Cook soiled my anticipation that he could be so bold. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are too much me-too devices, and they’re not what I expected from the great innovator.

Samsung by Joe WilcoxFeb 8, 20141:48 pm

Meet Andrew Bell

Meet the artist behind those lovable Android Collectibles and other cool creations from Dead Zebra. I interviewed the extremely likable Andrew Bell during Comic-Con 2012. I shot the previous video, from 2009, using a Sony […]

Critters by Joe WilcoxFeb 2, 201310:55 am

Courtyard Office

Kuma sits with me in our courtyard, autumn 2011, back when I still used Windows and before we lost him. I’m not sure what’s up with his expression, which is unbecoming. But I like the […]

Gear by Joe WilcoxSep 27, 20128:59 pm

I’m a Chromie Now

Four months ago, I put aside (and later sold) MacBook Air for the Samsung Series 5 550 second-generation Chromebook and never looked back. They say three times is a charm, and that proves true with my third foray using a laptop running Chrome OS. The first two proved life-changing, as I adopted a partial cloud computing lifestyle. Now I live a vigorous, charmed cloud life, which includes Android embrace.

Chromebook isn’t easy, because it demands a thinking reset. I had to put aside concepts about everyday computing, fear of losing Internet connection and perceptions about hardware configurations and what’s good enough performance value. Something else: When I started this journey, in December 2010, Chrome OS wasn’t good enough, because there weren’t enough supporting cloud apps. That has changed dramatically, because of Chrome Web Store and how much desktop-like utility Google now brings to cloud services like G+ or YouTube.

Critters by Joe WilcoxJan 20, 201212:33 pm

Lou Lou mourns, Too

Our kitty Kuma is still missing—more than 5 days now. Our neighbor’s cat behaves strangely. She frequently comes into our apartment now, looking for Kuma, I guess. I was surprised to find her on the […]