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Why I returned my iPad

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 02:00:17 +0000

According to a good friend, and fellow technology aficionado, I caused hell to freeze over a few weeks ago when I bought a 64 GB 3G iPad after publicly stating that I was going to sit this one out, (http://realtytechbytes.com/why-i-am-not-buying-a-ipad/).

There were a couple of really good reasons for doing this, not the least of which was that I was asked to teach a class on the iPhone and the iPad! I have owned iPhones for the past 2 plus years and and know that platform inside and out. But, my knowledge of the iPad was limited to what I had read on blogs, the mainstream press and from lurking on a real estate apple products user forum. In order to deliver a good presentation I figured that I really needed to get my hands on one.

I looked into renting one for two weeks and was quoted a price of $500.00! Seriously? I don’t think so. Then I remembered that Apple has a 14 day return policy, subject to a 10% restocking fee.

So, I found myself at the Apple store at the Stoneridge Mall one day, and before I knew it, I was out the door with one! I have to tell you that it is one sexy and seductive piece of technology! I can see why people rave about it. What I can’t see is why people put up with it’s considerable shortcomings.

The device is designed to “fit” into the space between laptop and smart phone. And for some people there is a genuine need for such a device. But, after using it for two weeks, I can honestly say that my iPhone 4 got more use and was able to handle more business situations than the iPad!

The iPad does have the gorgeous display going for it. The size is nearly perfect for reading, viewing pictures and watching videos. And, if you get the Flipboard App (If you have an iPad you REAL, REALLY want this app) you’ll spend hours staying up with your social graph using the astonishing magazine style interface. The app is free in the App Store, just search for it by name. (Or click here to go to http://www.flipboard.com/)

But, here is the main gripe I have with it. I wanted to use it to do presentations in a class environment. I use an iMac or a MacBook Pro to create my classroom materials by running Keynote, Apples PowerPoint killer. I bought the Keynote App for $9.99 from the App Store and figured that I could easily transfer my existing Keynote presentations to the iPad. Not so fast! You can transfer files via iTunes when the iPad is connected, or you can email them to yourself and then open with Mobile Keynote. But, for some reason known only to Apple (Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field strikes again) the mobile version of Keynote and the Desktop version are not completely compatible! Fonts, themes and more just don’t come across very well, unless your presentation uses the basic ones that are common to both platforms.

Another gripe is that Apple has locked down the platform so that I cannot take video out of the iPad (Even using the iPad video to VGA adaptor) and display it via a projector. That was a real killer for me. It turns out that the video to VGA adapter just shows videos or pictures, not the screen of the iPad.

Other small annoyances like no camera (my iPhone 4 has two), no ability to actually access the file system via USB, ties to AT&T and the fact it is too big to easily carry around (it won’t clip on my belt like my phone) just finalized the decision to return it.

My final conclusion, echoed by others, is that this game changing device is perfect for personal consumption of information, and not so good for content creation, unless you are willing and able to live within the narrow box that Apple has defined.

So, on Wednesday it went back to Stoneridge. The blue shirted Apple minion at the door was astonished! “What, you dare to break the reality distortion field?” “Ummm, yes, I do. Gimme my money back.” And so it went.

You’ll be happy to know that all is well in Hell these days, the freeze is over.

But that Flipboard app keeps singing it’s siren song to me…and I hope that the wizards at Apple are listening to all the complaints and are building the v2 model as we speak.

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Why I returned my iPad

Solve wireless network “blues”!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:00:40 +0000

So, I had this problem. My wife loves to watch movies on the TV. Recently we were fortunate enough to come into a big screen, flat panel TV that has taken her movie watching into a whole new dimension of entertainment. I am a member of NetFlix, but since my taste in movies tends to run to anything where people land on Mars or where things blow up, and her taste runs to Jane Austen, my choices from NetFlix were inevitably wrong.

One day I saw that the Wii console we bought for our grandsons to use could also be used to get movies on demand from NetFlix if I just got a special DVD from them to put into the Wii. The only catch was that the Wii had to have Internet access.

I wasn’t too concerned as I have two wireless networks in my house. One, on my over 15 year old PacBell DSL line (I still have a static IP address!), and the other on our Comcast cable system. I just “knew” that one of those networks could reach the family room from our home office. Wrong! The Wii could “see” both of them, but neither signal was strong enough to allow it to connect.

So, I went in search of ways to get a strong and reliable wireless signal into the family room. Although I could have crawled under the house and strung a network cable, I am way too lazy for that. Then I remembered reading about something called HomePlug™ networking. This is a networking standard that uses the wiring in your house to move the Internet connection around.

Click on the picture or go to http://budurl.com/WGXB102 to go to the page on Amazon that will show you the product that I bought. Be sure to click on the “Watch” button under the picture to watch a short Flash video that explains how it works. It won’t take long and it explains the process better than I can.

So, I bought the kit and shortly there after, I have a strong wireless signal in the family room that the Wii can connect to, AND that I can also use with any of my WiFi devices like the iPhone, Netbook, Laptop and my grandson’s Nintendo DSi XL game systems.

You don’t have to use this with a Wii. It could be very useful if you wanted to have a strong WiFi signal anywhere in your house. Just plug the second unit in anywhere you want. The first unit stays near the Router in your house. (Watch the video for details).

Once you have this set up, it’s truly plug it in and forget it. If you have a power failure, the network comes back up right after power is restored. It consumes very little power and comes in a variety of configurations. For instance, you can get models that have ethernet plugs at both ends if you didn’t want wireless. And some models are “green” in that they stop consuming power if there is no activity after a certain period of time.

From where I sit, this is an elegant solution to the issue of how to have the Internet available wherever I happen to want to use it. What do you think?

Own your own AT&T cell “tower”!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 02:00:14 +0000

On June 27th I told you about a solution that I was using to solve the almost non existent AT&T coverage in my office. Here is the link to that article in case you missed it: http://realtytechbytes.com/solve-poor-att-reception/

It actually worked quite nicely, until you picked up the phone. Once you did that, and took the phone out of the zPocket Wireless Range Extender YX-110 the signal would drop off to nothing and the call would drop.

The following week I told you what my solution was to that problem…a bluetooth adapter that allowed me to use a regular desk top telephone via my iPhone’s bluetooth adapter. That works very well too. If you missed that article, it is at the following link:
http://realtytechbytes.com/use-your-cellphone-with-your-home-or-office-phone-system/

But, I was intrigued with a new product from AT&T called the 3G MicroCell™. Here is what AT&T has to say about what it is: “AT&T 3G MicroCell acts like a mini cellular tower in your home or small business environment. It connects to AT&T’s network via your existing broadband Internet service (such as U-verse, DSL or cable) and is designed to support up to four simultaneous users in a home or small business setting.”

Essentially, you plug this device into a. power outlet, connect a network cable between it and your router, and it becomes your own private cell tower. There are some detailed steps to take to get it activated, but the instructions are clear and detailed enough so that the average user could get it done. The part of the activation process that you are involved in only takes a few minutes. But, it takes the device about an hour to finish the process in the background as it communicates with the AT&T network

It has to know where it is, so it needs to be a able to “see” a GPS satellite in order to get a GPS signal. This was of some concern to me as I have an inside office with no windows facing outside. Across the hall from my office is an office with outside windows and there was sufficient GPS signal getting to me that the device could get enough of a GPS signal to connect.

Here are some additional facts from the AT&T web site:

Device Features:
Enhanced coverage indoors – up to 5000 square feet.
No required additional monthly fees – just use the wireless minutes and data from your existing plan.
Available minute voice feature.
3G handset compatible – unlimitedworks with any AT&T 3G phone.
Supports 3G data services for customers without Wi-Fi capable handsets*.
Device is secure – cannot be accessed by unauthorized users, easy and secure online management of device settings
Seamless call hand-over – start calls on your 3G MicroCell and continue without interruption, even if you leave the building.

Device Requirements:
3G wireless phone
Broadband service over U-Verse, DSL or cable
Computer with Internet access for online registration

Additional Information:
Installing your device near a window is strongly recommended to ensure access to Global Positioning System (GPS). A GPS link is needed to verify the device location during the initial startup.

The 3G MicroCell is portable and may be moved, provided the new location is within the AT&T authorized service area and properly registered online.

Additionally, it can have up to 5 devices connected to it at once. When you set up the device, you tell it which phones are allowed to connect. Those are the only phones who will be able to use it, so you will be able to feel secure in using it.

The phone seamlessly connects to the MicroCell when you enter it’s range. If you are on a call that is routed through an AT&T cell tower when you enter the range of the MicroCell, you unfortunately stay on that tower. In my case, this means a dropped call. But, if I begin a call on the MicroCell, and then leave my office, it is handed off to the nearest cell tower seamlessly. So, I can start a call in my office and hit the road with the phone and keep the call alive. I just can’t do the reverse.

Here is a screen shot of my iPhone 4 connected to the MicroCell. (Click on the picture to see a larger picture) Notice that where it normally says “AT&T 3G” that it now says “AT&T M-Cell 3G”. Notice all of those lovely bars!

I’ve been using it with my iPhone 4 for a few weeks now with no problems, and with 5 bars of signal too. Which means I can get rid of my zPocket device. Any one want to buy it from me?

Social Networking Secret Weapon

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:00:01 +0000

I have to confess. I have a secret weapon that allows me to stay on top of my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn networks.

If you’ve got more than a few friends on these networks, keeping up with everyone’s activities can be pretty time consuming, but keep up you must. Otherwise, what is the point of social networking if you don’t keep in touch?

I am pretty mobile most of the time, so I heavily rely on the iPhone Apps for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They are great for doing some in depth things in each of those networks, but what I rely on most are the emails from Nutshell Mail that come at 8 AM, Noon and 4 PM, a schedule that I set up. You can have the emails come hourly if you want, but this schedule works for me.

Nutshell Mail follows all of my accounts and whenever any of my friends, followers or contacts posts something, it gets added to the next scheduled email alert that I receive. I can choose whose info gets passed along to me via groups, contact lists, Twitter lists and also by the individual.

Here is a video from Nutshell Mail that will give you an overview:

NutshellMail: Simplify Your Online Social Life from David Lyman on Vimeo.

The level of customization available is pretty thorough and by spending little time on your initial set-up, you’ll have a tool that allows you to do what I do, and that is speed through hundreds of updates every day to find the ones that I really want to act upon.

They also support Ning and MySpace in addition to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Did I mention that it is free?

Use your cellphone with your home or office phone system

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 02:00:08 +0000

Last week I told you about how I solved my AT&T “no reception” problem at my office in San Ramon. (http://realtytechbytes.com/solve-poor-att-reception/) The solution works perfectly…if I want to use the speaker phone on my iPhone. If I pick up the phone to answer it I lose my reception! That’s because in order for the phone to get the advantages of the signal booster, it has to be placed into the holder.

Obviously, I could use my Bluetooth Headset, and in most cases that would be a good solution, but I’d like to be able to pick up and dial the phone without losing the signal, and frankly, the call quality on my BT headset is not all that great.

So, I went on a search to see if there was such a thing as a desktop telephone that could “talk” to my my iPhone. What I found was even better! The Siemens Gigaset Bluetooth Gateway was the answer to my quest. Watch the video for a quick overview of the device, but for a quick look, here are just a few of the features it has:

No land line needed
One time, one touch activation
Connect up to three bluetooth mobile phones
Displays caller id using directory name matching
Distinctive ring for each paired mobile phone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8rBExrzwxo&
I’ve been using this for about 6 months now and it has worked perfectly every time. By using this and last week’s device I am able to use my cell phone as my primary telecommunications device at my office, even in a location with poor AT&T coverage!

Here in the United States, it’s the 4th of July as I post this and for us it’s the time to celebrate our independence. As a former United States Marine, I take this day very seriously because I know first hand the sacrifices that it took to win that independence, and what it takes today to maintain it. Whatever this day means to you, I hope that it is a great day for you.

Solve poor AT&T Reception

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:00:54 +0000

AT&T is the company that people love to hate. It seems like I read at least one negative review of the iPhone for every positive one that I read and all the negative ones are generally based on the poor signal quality of AT&T.

I find that interesting because with the exception of one location, I have had zero reception problems, zero call quality problems and zero dropped calls in the 2 years that I have been an AT&T customer. And my business takes me all over the San Francisco Bay Area as well as parts of Central California.

But, I feel the pain of the complainers because the one area where I cannot use my phone is my office at 111 Deerwood Road, in San Ramon, California! I get absolutely no service at my desk whatsoever. I have an internal office on the second floor and I am just about in the center of a 3 story office building. So my guess is that the building’s construction and the location of my office within it is the culprit. If I step outside of the building, I’m back to 5 bars.

So, since I don’t want to give up my iPhone and since I don’t want to find a new location for my office, I was resigned to no cell phone service at my desk (That’s actually not a bad thing as it gives me a “cone of silence” to work in…) until I found the subject of this week’s post.

Enter the zPocket Wireless Range Extender YX-110 for $99.00. This is a device that has two parts connected by a 20’ cable. The receiver is in a plastic case that attaches by suction cups to a window. Although my office does not have an external window, it does have a window that fronts on the hallway, across from an office that does have an external window. If I stand in the hall way, I can get 1~2 bars on my phone. By attaching the zPocket device to my office window with it’s included suction cups, it can pick up that very weak AT&T signal.

The other part of the zPocket is a rubber base that is tethered to the main portion by the cable. The instructions said to position the two parts 20’ away from each other. I’m not sure why, but since the rubber base portion is the transmit antenna for the device, it may be to avoid any signal interference.

So, how well does it work? Actually, it works quite well. When my phone is sitting in the base it gets 5 bars where before it got none.

Once I take the phone out of the base however, reception drops off to zero bars immediately making it impossible to make and receive calls by holding the handset. Next week I will tell you how I solved that dilemma. But in the meantime, if you are getting poor reception at home or at your office, you just might want to check into this nifty solution.

Pole Pixie provides promising photos

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 02:00:52 +0000

About a month ago I received an email here at RealtyTechBytes.com from a reader asking me to review a product that he has invented and is currently selling.

I wrote back and explained that I don’t do product reviews per se, unless I actually own and use the product. He wrote back and offered me a free product in exchange for the review. I wrote back and said that I couldn’t do that either, but I did offer him a way that we could work together in a way that would benefit both of us and you the readers. More on that at the end of this article, so be sure to read all the way through.

The product is the Pole Pixie and the reader who brought it to my attention is John Hokkanen, who is not only the inventor, he’s also a real estate broker in San Diego! John created the product in order to give all of his listings the benefit of aerial photography without the expense of hiring helicopters.

The concept is straight forward, and the execution is exquisitely simple. John has developed an adapter that screws onto the end of a painter’s pole (Or even a broom stick). Once that is in place, you simply screw your camera on to the adapter using the camera’s tripod mounting hole. The adapter has the necessary 1/4 20 screw in place.

There is also a foam “plate” available that can be used to keep the camera from touching the ground when you lay the assembly down. An added benefit is the bright “arrow” on the plate that helps you aim the camera when you are actually using the device. (This is an additional item)

Operation depends on your camera. If your camera has a remote control, or remote trigger, then simply hoist the camera up, aim it, and press the remote trigger. If your camera has a delayed shutter, you can use that feature. Much more information (Including a gallery of photos showing “before and after” shots) is available at the Pole Pixie web site. Although not mentioned on the site, the pole pixie can also be used with the Flip video camera.

If you take the pictures for your listings, or if you are shooting some video for your listings, I’d recommend that you get this device. It’s small, it’s simple and it does what it claims to do. And it’s only $29.95. (If you want the foam plate it is an additional $19.95)

The prices I have quoted are from the Pole Pixie web site as of June 6, 2010 and may be different depending on when you read this. Check the web site for the latest prices and ordering information.

Earlier I told you that I had worked out a way for every one to benefit from this review. Here it is. I asked John if he would mind if I gave it away to one of my readers. He agreed, so here are the details. If you would like me to give you the review Pole Pixie (and Foam Adapter Plate) that John sent to me, simply leave a comment on this post, telling me that you would like the Pole Pixie. On Sunday, June 13th, I’ll pick one name at random from all who have commented and I’ll send you the Pole Pixie. All you have to do is leave a comment. I think it would be nice for the winner to also thank John as well.

Quick disclaimer, if you receive the Pole Pixie you agree to be responsible for any taxes that might accrue as a result of me giving you this device. You also agree that I am simply passing the device along and that I do not warrant it in any way.

That’s it. Go learn more at http://www.PolePixie.com

Even if you don’t receive the review device, you’ll still end up with information that can help you sell more listings!

Why I am not buying an iPad

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 10 May 2010 02:00:39 +0000

Are you caught up in iPad fever? Is every one you know buying one and you are feeling left out? Well, bunky, you are not alone.

I was feeling the same way, even though I had made up my mind to wait it out until the second version comes out. But the constant onslaught of reviews, posts, pages, tweets and other new media ramblings and musings was starting to have it’s way with me.

It got to the point that I was almost convinced that I had to have one. Then I remembered that I had a Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC sitting in drawer. I’ve had this for a few years and only ever fire it up when I want to demonstrate why tablet computers are not a good deal for real estate agents! I’ve never really used this machine because I found it awkward to use the pen device to input information into the interface. I prefer a keyboard, even though I only use two fingers to type! Go figure.

My idea was to wipe off my personal info, restore it to factory condition (I still have the original packaging and documentation) and offer to trade it for an iPad on Craigslist. I am sure that there is someone out there who bought an iPad only to find out that it won’t really do what they wanted it to do. I thought that maybe they’d like to trade for this full featured Windows XP machine.

But, then I thought WHOA! What are you thinking? I already know that the iPad will not access our antiquated MLS system here in the San Francisco East Bay, it requires Internet Explorer in order to work and the iPad cannot run Internet Explorer. (For the record, I am a Firefox user and only use IE to access the MLS). Then I remembered how often I like to work with two or three programs running at a time, like Windows Live Writer, Word, my browser and so on. The iPad has limited ability to multi task so I wouldn’t be able to work in the way that I have become accustomed.

I also remembered that I do have the external keyboard for the tablet that allows me to use it like a laptop. I know that the iPad can be equipped with an external keyboard, but at additional cost.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the tablet PC could do everything that that the iPad could do except for running apps (No need for apps when I have the actual software already). The iPad can connect via built in 3G but I don’t need that as I have a Sprint MiFi which will give me that functionality. My tablet weighs 3.2 pounds which is twice what the heaviest iPad weighs. Th iPad is reported to have a long battery life of at least 9 hours. I am sure that the tablet won’t even come close to that.

The tablet has a slew of in/out connectors as opposed to the iPad which only offers the dock connector. In all ways, the tablet is a better computer that can do more the iPad. Knowing all of this, I brought the tablet out of storage this morning, and I have updated all the software on it and I am using it to write this blog post. I still might want to trade it for an iPad, but the fact remains that this device will perform much of what the iPad can do, some things the iPad cannot do, and it will tide me over until until Version 2 of the iPad shows up!

So why is it that I still want the iPad?

How about you? Are you feeling the pressure to buy an iPad?

There is not one word about the iPad in this post!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:00:23 +0000

As I write this post it is Easter, so Happy Easter to those of you, like me, that celebrate it. Since this is a day that I reserve for family, this will be a very short post.

A few weeks ago (http://realtytechbytes.com/idxworth-itor-not/) I asked for your help by filling out a short survey…out of over 1200 readers I only received 12 responses! So, please take a few minutes to fill it out.

If you wish to receive a copy of the survey results when I am finished gathering results, please leave your first name and email address when you complete the survey, otherwise you can remain anonymous.

I am not sure what results I will get, but I am sure that they will be interesting to any agent who is spending money on IDX or who is contemplating doing so!

Please go here to take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RBT67CK If you are having trouble taking the survey, please email me by using the contact form at http://realtytechbytes.com/contact-me/ and let me know.

And as promised, this post did not contain one word about the …!

iPhone 3G pet peeve solved!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:00:27 +0000

I was one of those people who stood in line for over 6 hours in July of 2008 to buy the iPhone 3G when it came out. I wasn’t happy to do it, but I endured the wait because the reward was so worth it.

Then Apple came out with the iPhone 3GS. It had a feature that I really wanted and that was the ability to shoot video with the built in camera, something the 3G lacked, even though it’s camera and hardware was completely capable of doing it! I didn’t rush out to get the 3GS because I wasn’t “seasoned” enough in my contract with AT&T and would have had to buy my way out the contract so that I could enter into a new one with AT&T for the new phone. I wasn’t willing to do that.

There was another option for me to be able to shoot video on my iPhone 3G and that was to “jailbreak” my phone. Jail breaking a phone is the process of installing some software that allows you to install other software that permits the phone to do things that Apple and AT&T did not want done. Like shooting video!

The problem with jail breaking a phone is that it possibly violates the warranty and the possibility of “bricking” the phone is very real. “Bricking” is a term used to describe the phenomenon of rendering your phone unusable and irreparable. Even as geeky as I am, I didn’t want to risk that. So, I contented myself with the thought that I had to stick to my Flip camera for mobile video. I like the Flip and and have used it frequently. but it means carrying another device all the time.

I just ran across the answer to problem. Ustream has released an iPhone app that will allow my iPhone 3G (and the 3GS) to shoot live video and upload it to their website and make it available to be watched by others and embedded into my blog or Facebook page.

And, it’s FREE! It’s called Ustream Broadcaster and you get it at the iPhone App Store. You’ve got to have iTunes installed on your computer to get it.

They have a very extensive help page to get you up and running so you should be able to get this done in short order.

So, problem solved, angst with the iPhone reduced, but not gone. (When can I tether my iPhone to my laptop? Come on Apple and AT&T, get with it!)

How might you use this feature? I’m thinking it makes for a great tool when out on tour. If you see something your client might like, whip out your phone, shoot a quick video and Tweet about it or load it to your Facebook page (Both features are built into the app) and let your client know.

How are you going to use it? Share your ideas by leaving a comment.