What you get and what you miss with the cr48

After having a few days with the Cr 48 notebook from google (cr 48 ), I have an initial thoughts post that I’m going to do. It’s not going to be a review. There have been enough of those done and a google/youtube search will yield you numerous results. What I would like to do is give a little insight in to what you get and don’t get with the cr 48. My unit is stock and not in developer mode so this review pertains to stock cr 48 users. Disclaimer: This is a pilot program to help work out any issues. Lets get to it.

We’ll start with what it’s lacking and move on from there.

1. No local storage - This would probably be the most recognizable shortcoming of this unit at this time. You can’t save anything “on” the computer. Any saving is done directly to the cloud (your Google account). This is fine for things created in the cloud, but if you want to save your friend’s pictures from the latest meet up on your unit that may be a problem. That leads me to the second thing missing.

2. Can’t read external media - As of right now, external media can’t be easily read. So even if you just want to upload some pictures to your Picasa account from a jump drive right now you may have some difficulties. The file manager on the cr48 is very bare bones and doesn’t yet seem to be able to read files and manage or organize them for use from an external device. This is something that may or may not be addressed in production models, but for now it’s pretty much unusable.

3. No offline mode - You can not operate in an offline mode that will allow you to still work on docs, spreadsheets, etc. I’ve heard some people say they can, but in my testing I wasn’t able to get it to work. The unit does come with 100 Mb of free data per month for 2 years from Verizon, but I didn’t see how to make it work without data. Supposedly the google apps are supposed to have an offline function and the apps in the Chrome OS web store give devs the ability to allow their apps to run offline, so this may be something coming in the future.

Those are the most notable downfalls to this unit. They may seem big but when it comes to day to day use, these things are not that big of a deal for basic browsing and functionality. I use the cr 48 for Internet browsing, watching Youtube, blogging, checking email and listening to podcast and so far it has performed beautifully, outside of the occasional flash player crash. So what do you get with this machine?

1. Awesome battery - For starters the battery life on this thing is epic. 7-8 hours on average with heavy use (videos, streaming, email, sleep mode, etc.). I’ve enjoyed being able to use this machine for 3-4 hours and not having to worry about looking for the charger. What makes it even better is the fact you can come back a day later open it up and continue using it for another few hours before having to find the charger. Bottom line is that it has great battery life.

2, Great security - Allows your usage to be protected by a password and you can also allow guests to use your computer in guest mode. Guess mode allows other users to work without having to worry about them reading your email or having access to any of your account information. When they log off it clears their data, so they can also be assured that their information is safe.

3. Sleek design and ultra-portability - The size and feel of the unit is very sleek and lightweight. It would be very easy to carry around with you to work, class, on a trip and not have to worry about carrying the charger. You can easily make it through a day with this unit.

4. Webcam and microphone - You can enjoy video chatting on the go using the gtalk app and the integrated web cam and mic. The quality seems to be pretty good and both are very usable. Note: There is no Skype app for it right now. Right now you may be limited to gtalk, ustream and a few other apps in the web store in order to do video chatting.

So there you have an insider look at the cr 48. As stated earlier, this was not meant to be a review. Just an overview of what I’ve seen in my first few days using this awesome little machine. If you have questions or if there’s something you would like be to check out for you let me know. Until next time....take care.

How google got it right (kind of)

As I sit on this plane heading home for the holidays, I'm listening to a podcast and writing on my blog. Sounds like a productive plane ride to me. I was just thinking about how my g1 can still hold it's own against most phones out there now. Granted, the internal memory is wack, the battery life sucks , and it looks a little frumpy but the functionality is all there. Can I do what a mytouch does? Yes. Do I have the same processor as most other android phones? Yes. When rooted can I do anything your android can do and more? Yes I can and these things allow me to make the statement "google got it right". I know some folks will say what they will but what has kept me from buying another phone thus far has been the simple fact that my phone can still do 'that'. Yes I rooted my phone and some would say that doesn't apply to most consumer phones and I see their point but I look at it from this perspective. Rooted or not, people still use the g1 as the base phone from which to develop and run roms, apps and anything else to push android forward. With that being said I still will put my g1 up against whatever you bring and until the next best thing comes out I'll stick with it.

I'm gonna try my hand at it...

A friend of mine is a software developer and now an avid android geek (like myself) and he asked if I'd be interested in helping him make some apps. now to say I'm excited would definitely be an understatement. To say that I'm nervous would also be a complete understatement. I haven't written a line of code since college and I don't want to be the hold up, but he said he'd take the reigns and walk me through it. This could be the start of my part time career, full time hobby and all around good times. I'll definitely keep you posted on how this goes and will soon probably start taking suggestions as to what types of apps, themes, and android goodies you would like to see. Wish me luck and hopefully I'll be able to one day start helping with development for our wonderful android community. That's all for now. Take care!

Why i really love android

Last year for Christmas I was given a brand new g1. It was my first smartphone and I wasn't sure the ins and outs of a smartphone so I started researching. I started joining forums and reading blogs and slowly but surely I started to see. Not only was this new, sort of clunky looking phone nothing short of a pocket computer, but it was also a key. It was the key into the world of android and boy what a world it has become.

  I remember early on just browsing the forums trying to see what folks are talking about. They would say "my phone can do this" or "my phone can do that" or "the battery sucks" or "it's gonna be an iphone killa!". All of those things intrigued me but I was still learning about apps and open source and all of the other caveats of this little green robot. I started to look into what google had to offer and realized it could do more than just search and it was all hyper-connected to my phone. I slowly and more confidently started to see the potential this little giant had. So I start posting in forums and asking questions and finding out the little intricacies of my g1 and I was on my way.

  A few months later, completely comfortable with what I have, I start reading about rooting. I say to myself "Self. What's that all about? Who really needs to do that?" The more I read the more it pulls me in and then one night around 11pm with my palms sweating and heart racing my phone gets rooted and another part of the android world opens up to me. Not only is the phone a key to another world, but it is your pass to meet new people and be a part of a wonderful communtiy that is built on building new relationships, pushing the platform forward and helping out a fellow droid. This is what really sold me on android. I think the phones are great, the OS is coming along beautifully, but it's the people that make android what it is today. I would like to say "thanks" to those that have driven the development, started the websites, moderated the forums, answered questions, lent a hand when needed and have helped people see that you don't have to be scared to blaze your own trail. Like field of dreams, if you build it they will come and google built it and we were there for the flocking.

  I truly am impressed with how far android has come in a year and look forward to being a part of it's continued growth and success. Thanks google for everything, thank you to all the people who have helped me out so far and I appreciate the communtiy as a whole. Y'all are great! Have a wonderful holiday season and bring on the nexus one!

And the day gets better!!

Now that I have a sinus headache I decided to stay in tonight and rent a movie. I was in line at the local blockbuster and two people were in line in front of me. They were making small talk with the cashier and at first I wanted to get annoyed but then I tuned in to what they were talking about. The customers were showing the cashier their g1's and the cashier replied "I have a droid." My heart immediately felt warm. He went on to say how he liked it coming from a windows mobile device and he enjoys the android platform. One of the customers turned and looked at me then looked at her boyfriend and said "We're holding up the line." I replied "I have a G1 also. Please, continue." As in star wars, google is building a droid army. It's nice to see people opening their minds to something other than an iphone. Let's go android!! Have a good night world.

New found love!!! Well, not really new.

For those who know me I love my phone. Well today that love was strengthened. LOL! This is the type of love a dog has for his favorite chew toy. I'm joking I'm joking, but I really do have a new found appreciation for my little pocket pc. Today I was coming home from watching the Crimson tide roll clean over the Florida Gators and I decided to try out google navigation which is included on google maps on my lovely little device (tmobile-g1). I put in the coordinates to my house and then put on some music also playing from my phone and started to drive. I think to myself "Self, not only is this phone navigating me home, but it's also playing some of my favorite tunes" (ding - text message coming in but I can't read it. No texting and driving). This is awesome. This little thing is doing all of this and is not missing a beat. Since when were phones able to do so much at the same time??? I don't know. As I came up to a red light, I picked up my phone and hit the home button and all of my running apps were moved to the notification bar. I pulled down the bar and it told me the next instructions to keep on track. As I ride and Lupe Fiasco is enlightening me the music fades and the phone then tells me to turn at the next light. I'm blown away. I'm just really impressed with my little phone. It's awesome. I'd like to hear from some of my iphone followers. Does your phone give you directions and play music and receive texts all at the same time? I'm just curious. Try it out and let me know how that goes for you. LOL! Have a wonderful weekend.

Google

Over this Thanksgiving break I've had a chance to get more acquainted with some of the services that google has available and it's far more than I realized. You can do a website through them, they have blog spots, you can look at books, it's an all around 1-stop shop. I think that's pretty cool that they are putting information out as well as making the internet a more user friendly place to work and navigate. If you haven't had a chance to check it out you should. Just thought I'd give a few lines about that. If there's anything you'd like to see on this blog please comment and I'll give my thoughts on it. Take care and have a great weekend.