Review by Dave Greenbaum

The Dexim BluePack™ S8 is an absolutely outstanding all purpose external battery charger, not just for iPhone and the iPad, but any device that charges via a USB port. In particular this device is great for anyone who travels.

The capacity is rated at 3000 mAh, which claims to add 11 hours of talk time for your iPhone. While I could not fully test that, I was able to take an almost dead iPhone 4 to a full charge.

The most surprising feature of the BluePack was its weight. Even though it is high capacity, the device only weights 3.2 ounces and is similar shape and size to the iPhone 4.

Another feature of the BluePack S8 is a built-in flashlight. At first I thought that was a silly feature, until I traveled with it (which would be a common use of an external battery pack), and needed a flashlight in the middle of the night. Then I saw the light, literally.

The accessories the BluePack comes with are also quite handy. For one, it does a fast charge with a dual USB AC adapter. While you can use this for the S8, it works well for other devices. Additionally it has a USB to 30-pin iOS adapter, a USB Mini and a USB Micro cable. Since the charger provides a standard USB port, you can use either the included USB adapter or bring your own if you have a speciality one.

A great feature not always found in external batteries is the ability to charge your USB device while the S8 is charging. Plug the S8 into the wall and then your iPad or iPhone into the S8. Both devices get the necessary charge.

Overall, the BluePack S8 is a perfect balance of price, performance and features and I strongly recommend it as an external battery charger.

Pros: Great capacity, very portable, flashlight and adapters
Cons: Carrying case, cable length

10 out of 10

Originally published and written for the Lawrence Apple Users’ Group 2.0 http://www.laugks.org/news and published by Dave Greenbaum at http://www.clickheretech.com

While visiting the vendors at MacWorld, I was given a sample wrapsol film wrap for a Macbook to sample as our HMAUS Ambassador. I finally got around to installing it on my 13″ Macbook (aluminum unibody). I am paranoid about scratching or dinging the beautiful aluminum surfaces but have shied away from the various types of covers as being bulky and unattractive. I was worried about being able to apply the wrapsol film properly because it requires spraying the film and applying it to the cover and bottom and then squeezing out any air bubbles. It went surprisingly well with no fingerprints or bubbles.

The cover is virtually invisible and people on first seeing it are surprised when I tell them there is a cover on it. The cover is slightly shock absorbent and gives the book a nice sheen. It also slightly increases the grip so it is less likely to slip out of your hands and drop. I was so pleased that I have ordered a cover for my iPad 2 to protect the beautiful aluminum back without adding the weight of a regular cover. I like to read in bed and found the original cover on my first gen iPad added to its weight. The wrapsol will also provide a better grip of the iPad.

I contacted wrapsol and they gave us a discount code for 25 percent off for HMAUS members until the end of June. Check your HMAUS-Members-Talk email for the code. Depending on the response, they indicated that they may extend the discount for a longer time.

You can get information on products and installation at wrapsol.com

by Ron Albu

First, I want to extend my immense appreciation for the privilege of allowing Terrence Young and me to represent HMAUS at Macworld 2011, and for  having the opportunity and luxury of being immersed in tech for a few days. Tomorrow, it’s back to reality and the work that has piled up.

I want to convey some of my thoughts about where I see Apple and tech in general are going and to lay out some issues for HMAUS to consider as we move forward.

The iPad has brought a sea change to the world of computing and communication. The iPad and the iPhone (and thus iOS) now outsell all other Apple computers (i.e. OS X) by a long shot. The tech world is still reeling from the impacts and figuring out how to respond to iOS. Hearing the leaders expressing their experience with what is happening and their thoughts about the future has been very thought provoking, and I am still digesting all of the information.

My week started with Les Posen explaining the art of Presentation Magic, and as the week progressed, I saw many things that I had not realized before. As Les points out, Apple, as embodied by the leadership of Steve Jobs, is all about magic. Witness the magic mouse, the magic trackpad, and Steve’s keynote when he first revealed the iPad, describing it as magical. Apple knows how to get the tech world as excited as a crowd waiting to see what tricks a magician will pull off next.  Apple truly is magical in that, with everyone speculating about the next big thing, or what changes will be revealed in the next product refresh, or wondering when the next new thing will happen; Apple rarely fails to surprise. Even on the financial side, Apple consistently provides conservative guidance on future income and market share, and then consistently outperforms the financial markets’ expectations. Apple has grown to the extent that it is now the second largest enterprise in the world, based on market capitalization.

Because the iPhone and the iPad are now the most important part of Apple’s business from the financial standpoint, it is not surprising that much of Macworld 2011 was focused on the iPad and what it means, what it can do, and where it and iOS are going. Some of the big names in the Apple world, such as Andy Ihnatko, have focused on learning to use the iPad as a Macbook substitute when traveling. He believes that an external keyboard is an important accessory to iPad use. When attending sessions, many attendees were taking notes on their iPads using keyboards and stands to prop up the iPad to act as a monitor. Others see the iPad as a totally new tool for doing things in different ways. Witness the exploding growth of apps and downloads and the expectations for print media moving to the Internet and tablet devices. For this type of computing, a physical keyboard is unnecessary and creates more, not less, baggage.

As usual, it was common to hear comments about the things that Apple should have included in the 1st generation iPad, or are hoped will be included in the next generation iPad (about which there is lots of speculation as to when exactly it will appear and what the changes will be). Sometimes when hearing these comments, I am reminded of Microsoft machines that try to cram in every possible feature to try to please everybody. But if you step back, you will realize that the heart of Jobs’ approach is to keep Apple products elegant and easy to use. Apple does not include every bell and whistle and clutter up its works of art. Rather, the features evolve with many magical surprises along the way.

Several presenters noted that, while iOS is basically a stripped down OS X, iOS does have some enhancements and features that are not yet available in OS X. Some complain that iPhone and iPad lack wireless syncing, a USB port, and easy wireless printing. Personally, I have concluded that these things are missing simply because Jobs wants to start clean and simple and then develop future generation products with these types of features only after they are perfected (i.e. easy, elegant, and reliable) and there has been some time to see how users react to the products. Similarly, many experts see OS X evolving to include some of the new features found only in iOS. Swiping and the magic trackpad are hints as to what may be coming. Indeed, as the power of the iOS hardware advances, along with battery technology, it is likely that these two systems will merge.

Adam Engst led a session about what we know and don’t know about Lion. Given Apple’s secrecy, there simply is not much knowledge about Lion. Although Steve Jobs pretty much promised that Lion will debut this summer, not a single build has been seeded to developers and January is already over. That simply does not leave much time for developers to make sure that their existing products will function under Lion without any glitches. This could indicate that Lion will not be a major upgrade, or, it could mean that Apple is preparing some new magic and doesn’t want any competitors to have a chance to catch up. Apple appears to have a tremendous lead over everybody else when it comes to new products. I expect rapid development of faster and more powerful processors for the iPad along with battery technology that will continue to enhance the mobility of the iPad.

Although the Macbook Air did not get much discussion at Macworld 2011, I did see a number of them. Personally, I envision that  the Air might simply be the first in a new lineup of Macbooks with both hard drives and DVD drives/burners going the way of the dodo, making room for larger, more long life batteries, yet thinner and lighter machines. Cloud computing will significantly reduce the need for storage and DVDs for loading media and music. I also believe that the pace of development of faster processors and graphics, along with ever improving battery life and larger and more available flash storage will revitalize the Macbook line as more portable, yet still very powerful machines. Even if the personal computer market slows down in general, I believe that Macbooks will continue to increase sales and market share as they change with the times.

Other trends.

Macworld Editors Jason Snell, Christopher Breen, Dan Frakes, and Dan Moren held an “Ask the Editors” session in which they were asked about the debut of their iPad magazine. At last year’s Macworld, they had announced that the iPad edition of Macworld magazine was coming soon, but it took them much longer than they had anticipated to roll out 1.0. Part of the problem is that Apple has so far refused to allow a magazine subscription model, so that magazines have been available only at news stand prices, rather than the usual much lower subscription prices for print magazines. This is about to change with the new announcement about a new Rupert Murdoch subscription publication. The debut is a big deal with a joint announcement being scheduled with Murdoch and Tim Cook. Murdoch has set up a completely new news organization with all new staff and reporters for their iPad publication. Since Apple is prominently involved in this announcement, the Macworld editors believe that, once again, Apple has come up with a new and magical approach to online news that could change journalism, or at least give it new life, rather than simply just producing a digital copy of the print media.

Personally, I have watched the decline of the print news media and have seen journalism devolve into a 24 hour news cycle with endless mindless talking points and little in depth coverage or reflection. What we have is lazy journalism. Our Fourth Estate is in trouble. If Murdoch is involved, I have to confess some trepidation about the hopes that iPad and tablets would provide for the revival of healthy professional journalism. We shall see. I was delighted to see that the Macworld editors are very thoughtful and well informed journalists and that they demonstrate the kind of analytical thinking that is critical to honest, quality journalism. I was equally delighted to hear that the print magazine portion of their business remains profitable. They are the first to acknowledge that we are in fact in the middle of a sea change in technology and communication powered by technology, and that the industry is having to deal with and adapt to this change on a daily basis.

We live in very interesting times.

Of course, these changing times raise questions about HMAUS, what we do, and what we should be doing to help our members adapt to, and stay ahead of the curve of new technology. HMAUS needs to change with the times and continue to be an important resource for the community.

Finally, I am happy to report that when Terrence and I approached presenters as well as vendors with requests for program presentations and donations of raffle items for our events, we were warmly received and our requests are being considered.  Everyone chuckled with delight when we presented them with small packages of macadamia nuts, and appreciated the Aloha spirit. Who doesn’t want to come to Hawaii? It was a great experience, but I’m also glad to be home.

Aloha and Mahalo,
Ron Albu

Come to a first hand presentation on iOS 4.2, the latest mobile device operating system for iPad, iPhone and iPod.  Jerome Koehler, Apple Solutions Consultant at Best Buy will present its new features, the biggest being multitasking on an iPad, folders, air print and air play.  Then it’s sharing time.  Bring your favorite iapp and share around the table.  Share a good iapp for productivity, art, music, games, or something totally off the wall.  It’s all fun.  FREE.

Date/time: December 7, 2010 Tuesday  6 pm – 7:45 pm
Location:  ING Direct Café 2^nd floor Ali’i Room.  1958 Kalakaua Avenue
Parking:  Behind the Café or in the employee lot on Niu Street (adjoining lot close to Kalakaua Avenue).

Come to a first hand presentation on iOS 4.2, the latest mobile device operating system.  Jerome Koehler, Apple Solutions Consultant at Best Buy will present its new features, the biggest being multitasking on an iPad, folders and air print and air play.  Then it’s sharing time.  Bring your favorite iapp and share around the table.  Share a good iapp for productivity, art, music, games, or something totally off the wall.  It’s all fun.  Free.

May 27, 2010 Thursday 6  pm – 7:30 pm ING Direct Cafe Ali’i Room.  Directions are at hmaus.org/INGDirectCafe

Free, everyone welcome.

This is a shotgun presentation in which Gregg Kamei and Joan Matsukawa will demonstrate a number of possibilities for later exploration.   See how you can

• organize your photos in iPhoto events and albums, geotag and keyword them for easy retrieval, and use a free web photo service such as Google’s Picasa or HP’s Tabblo and Smilebox e-cards.
• edit them in iPhoto and in Picnik, a free web photo editing service, then
• share them in slide shows, galleries, albums and DVDs.

Then see how you can take movies with your iPhone and…

• send them to yourself or transfer them from your phone or digital camera by cable to your computer and iMovie
• organize clips in a project and
• edit the clips with titles, effects and music, then finally
• share the movies in  a MobileMe gallery, your iTunes library or to YouTube!

This is a LOT in one night but we intend to have fun with it.  Join us!  Handouts are at drop.io/hmaus_maclearn for download (no password needed).

Free and everyone welcome.

ING Direct Cafe is at 1958 Kalakaua Avenue. Ali’i Conference Room 2nd floor

Parking is in the rear or one block mauka on Niu Street. Come early and grab a bite to eat and drink and relax upstairs before we start.

Review by Frank Petrie

Product: Zagat ToGo
Author: Handmark, Inc. <mobile.zagat.com/iphone.htm>
Requirements: iPhone?, iPod Touch
App Price: $9.99
Test Rig: iPhone 3Gs

Food, food, glorious food. From the finest dining experience to the most satisfying of burgers, we all crave one type or another. And when that craving hits – where to go? What type? Chinese, Italian, Mediterranean? I don’t want to spend time debating the issue – I WANT TO EAT! How about just the local pub? I don’t care – I JUST WANT TO EAT!

“The most trusted guide to restaurants comes to the iPhone and WiFi iPod Touch with over 45 Guides of Restaurant Reviews and Ratings for *less than the price of 1 guide!*

Whether a cheap bite or a posh dinner, Zagat has shown the way for 30 years! Our Nightlife, Hotel and Shopping coverage also included where available.”

A getaway weekend all planned in seconds with only your fingertips? Let’s see.

THE JUICE

Zagat is a restaurant, travel and night life review guide started in 1979  by Tim and Nina Zagat as a way to collect and correlate the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering New York City, the Zagats surveyed their friends. Today, Zagats covers over 70 major metropolitan areas, but also has a very good handle on burbs like my South Jersey area.

You can choose from restaurants, nightlife and hotels (plus, occasionally shopping). After your experience at any of the listed establishments, you are asked to review your experience and rate such items as service, decor, promptness, etc. These reviews are then added to others of the establishment to give them an aggregate rating. Plus you can add any additional observations to your experience.

Additional functions are:

• You can use Zagat ToGo offline after syncing via Wi-Fi
• GPS: Find nearby restaurants automatically
• Recommendations: Our digital concierge tells you where to take Dates, Clients, Friends & more
• Advanced Search: Mix and Match by any criteria
• Top Rated Lists: “Best of” in your city like Best Buys, Best Burgers, Most Romantic & more.
• Reservations: Reserve tables instantly
• Sort: Filter by Food, Décor, Service or Cost!
• Email Reviews, Add To Contacts, & Full Photos
• 100% Complete: Every Zagat-Rated restaurant
• 100% Up To Date: New restaurants added M-F

THE PULP

As I had mentioned earlier, I put Zagat ToGo through its paces in my sleepy little hamlet. And I have to say that all of the reviews were spot on! Places were I had bad experiences were brought back to mind after reading of patrons suffering the very same nightmares, or conversely, any pleasantries that I had. I found the various ratings of decor and such to also to be extremely accurate.

I did find a few restaurants that no longer exist, but when you think of the sheer number of establishments that are covered in this app, that’s more than understandable.

THE RIND

Nada.

SUMMARY

If you’re just a couple looking for a good weekend out in a major city or just trying to pick from your local haunts, Zagat ToGo is worth every single penny. Doesn’t even rate a second thought. This is the kind of app that makes the iPhone indispensable.

In fact, it is too good in one way. It is not diet friendly.

RATING : 10 of 10

©2010 Frank Petrie

Review by Frank Petrie

Product: Speedback
Author: Skyworks Interactive, Inc. <www.skyworks.com/iphone/>
Requirements: iPhone, iPod Touch
Price: $0.99 (Limited Time Sale Price)
Test Rig: iPhone 3G/16GB

The Super Bowl has come and gone. I do have baseball beginning — my favorite sport. But what if I crave a little pigskin from time to time?

“Think YOU have what it takes to make first-string? Are you Pro-material? Could you be a Hall of Fame running back? Then suit up and hit the gridiron with SPEEDBACK.”

You know from past reviews how much I like Skyworks products. Will the string stay intact?

THE JUICE

You are the running back. But you have no blockers or front line to punch a hole for you. You have to find daylight by yourself. To accomplish it, you have three tools at your disposal.

First, you can pick from five different directions to run in. Of course, you change direction whenever you choose to avoid being tackled. Second, you can stiff arm your opponent. And finally, and probably the most fun, you can spin out of a tackle.

There are two modes of play, Classic Game and 2 Minute Drill. And you can either keep your scores to yourself or challenge others around the globe.

THE PULP

I have to be honest with you and say that when I launched Speedback for review, I wasn’t all that excited or interested.

But somehow, as with all their other games, Skyworks somehow managed to sink its hooks into me. I also found myself saying, “You can do much better than that!” with each play. And so the addiction began.

THE RIND

Nada.

SUMMARY

In the future, it would be neat if they could set up the game so that you could play against a friend who operates the defensive player. I’ve come to believe the secret in Skyworks’ games is that they lock you into playing against your own scores. You become your own opponent.

And even though this isn’t my favorite game of theirs (still can’t beat Arcade Hoops), I find myself going back to it. At this special price there is no reason that Speedback shouldn’t be in your gaming arsenal.

If I only could combine the spin with a stiff arm, I know that I could be a contender!

RATING : 7 of 10

©2010 Frank Petrie