Kensington

Ok, folks, this is a slightly different post than you're used to. It's about a product that I love and a company that I love even more! Ever since I purchased my first iPhone back in 2007, I've searched for the best way to store it and use it in the car. When I got my current car in 2008, I drove directly from the dealership to Best Buy to have a touchscreen and Bluetooth-enabled system installed. That solved the problem about using my iPhone in the car since I can play my iTunes library and take calls over Bluetooth, plus the radio display shows my battery level, signal strength, and connection status. What about storing it, though?

A few years ago I found the Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount for Smartphones at the Apple store. It is fantastic! I've always used the windshield mount rather than the vent mount simply because I don't want to block the airflow in my car, but I was nervous at first about using the windshield mount. It's just a small suction cup that holds the 12" flexible arm which holds the phone holder which holds my expensive iPhone, but it's perfect. The mount has adjustable side clamps that hold the phone steady and a button on its back that releases the grip. I loved this feature until one day, the button got stuck and the clamps no longer worked. I emailed Kensington immediately and they responded the next day offering to send me a new one. Since this issue occurred within a year of purchase, I thought this was great customer service - exactly how it should be. Somehow, the button became unstuck so I never had Kensington send me a new one.

A few weeks ago, my Kensington broke again. This time, the suction cup completely detached from the arm. Since it's at least 2-3 years old now, I didn't think this was a big problem. I just grabbed some super glue and reattached the suction cup. That didn't work. The rest of the mount is perfect fine, so I thought perhaps I could email Kensington again and see if I could buy a new arm only rather than paying for a whole new unit that I didn't need. They again responded within a day and offered to send me a brand new mount. I was happily shocked. My warranty has long expired and I didn't expect much help because of that and the fact that a brand new one is under $30. 6 days since they emailed me back, a brand new mount was at my doorstep. Kensington really knows how to make good products and have really happy customers. Needless to say, I highly recommend both the Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount for Smartphones and Kensington itself. I will be a loyal customer for the foreseeable future! And, if anyone at Kensington happens to see this, THANK YOU!

Broken :(

Brand new!

Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount for Smartphones & Kensington both pass The Trav Test with an A+.





• Category: Products, Accessories
 

• Location: Online and in many stores.
 

• Cost: $29.99
 

• Ease of use: Easy
 

• The Trav Test grade: A+

Google's CR-48... So far

Alright, here goes. This is my first review of Google's CR-48. I've had it for a month now and I pretty much hate it. I don't even know where to start. The only thing I like about it so far is the free Verizon service that comes with it, but I have yet to use it and it was a major pain in the ass to activate. So why I do I hate it? Well, first of all, it's nothing special. Want to know what the user experience is like? Ok! Take your computer, launch Chrome, and don't allow yourself to touch anything else outside of Chrome. Seriously. You can't use any other applications like Word or Skype or anything. Want to type a Word doc? Google Docs is your only choice. Want to look at your schedule? Google Cal is your only choice. Want to instant message with a friend? Google Talk is your only choice. Call me crazy, but I prefer Word for Mac 2011, iCal, and iChat.

Ok, so you now know what it's like to be stuck with nothing but the web. What else? Well, the machine itself is SLOW. When both are on WiFi, my iPhone loads webpages about twice as fast as the CR-48. One thing Google talked a lot about when they introduced the CR-48 was that it turns on instantly. Well, actually, my MacBook Pro turns on almost as fast - it only takes about 20 seconds longer. I'd much rather "wait" an additional 20 seconds and have a complete, powerful computer over a bad netbook. Another issue I have with it is the trackpad. I can't even put into words how awful it is!  

So far, going from my MacBook Pro to the CR-48 feels like I'm stepping back into 1995. It is slow, unresponsive, and basic. Don't get me wrong, I love that it was free and the free Verizon service is nice to have when I don't have access to Wifi (which is incredibly rare). I also like that I can toss the CR-48 into the awesome case I got and let it sit in my car in 20º weather and not worry. I probably could do that with my MacBook Pro, but it's such a beautiful machine that I wouldn't even want to try.

I'll post again as time goes on, but one month in, the only thing I like is the price. Oh, and that a group of probably 15 year olds approached me at Chipotle to ask if it was a CR-48 and drool. It took me back to high school momentarily... and I had something that the other kids wanted! Damn, I should have offered to sell it to them... oh well.

My old Black MacBook (left) & My CR-48 (Right) on my bed

Google's CR-48 fails The Trav Test with an F (so far).

 • Category: Products

 • Location: N/A

 • Cost: Free!

 • Ease of use: N/A

 • The Trav Test grade: F

Agloves

If you use a touchscreen device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Droid, Evo, etc) and live someplace with winter, Agloves are for you.  They are a revolutionary new way to use winter gloves and a touchscreen device at the same time.  Other companies have made other products that tried to solve this problem.  They all failed.  Dots Gloves, for example, have some nickel or brass on the fingertips.  The problem with this is that if the gloves don't fit perfectly (actually, they need to be on the tight side), they don't do a damn thing.  They also don't work if you use the pad of your finger to scroll since the nickel or brass is only on the tips.

Agloves, however, work because they have silver nylon throughout.  Silver is the most electrically conductive element so your capacitive touchscreens LOVE silver.  Or, rather, they (g)love it.  You know, I'm typing this thinking I need to find something else to say because 2 relatively short paragraphs doesn't do Agloves justice, but they're simply so great there's nothing more to say.  If you have a touchscreen device, do yourself a favor and order Agloves.  You won't regret it.  Plus, for a limited time, you can enter "Free Shipping" in the coupon code and save the $3 shipping fee!  Actually, if I had to come up with 1 complaint to be my usual cynical self, I'd complain that I paid $3 for shipping when the shipping label clearly says they only paid a little over $1!  That's kind of annoying, but the gloves are still damn good!  Since the CEO, Jennifer Spencer, personally wrote "Thank you" and signed the packaging insert, I'll even give Agloves a few extra brownie points!

Agloves.  Conduct yourself.™

Agloves passes The Trav Test with an A+.

• Category: Winter Accessory

• Location: Agloves

• Cost: $17.99 + $3 shipping when the Free Shipping code expires

• Ease of use: Beyond Easy!

• The Trav Test grade: A+(++++++++++++++)

Apple's iPhone 4 + Launch

It's no secret that I'm a major Apple fanboy.  I'm one of the people that camp overnight at the Apple store just to be one of the first to get my hands on new products.  June 24, 2010 was my 3rd time camping out for an iPhone launch.  I've owned all 4 iPhones so far, but had last year's 3GS model delivered to my doorstep on launch day 2009.  This year, thanks to a combination of server errors and line nostalgia, I camped out again.

The aforementioned combination of server errors is my first of many issues with this year's iPhone launch.  By now, it's well known that new iPhone models are announced at WWDC, the Worldwide Developers Conference, in San Francisco, California every June.  The iPhone is then available for purchase as quickly as one week later, which was the case for the 3GS last year, or as long as 4 weeks later, which was the case for the 3G in 2008.  Last year, Apple added the ability to pre-order the iPhone and gave the choice to reserve a unit for in-store pick up or home delivery, both on launch day.  The pre-order model was extremely successful last year.  I was able to pre-order my phone and it arrived on launch day as planned, no hiccups at all.  This year was another story.  The time at which the pre-order site goes live is never provided, but rumors were flying that it would go live at Midnight Alaskan time, or 3am for me (Central).  I stayed up.  I tried to pre-order countless times, but it was impossible to do so.  After about 2 hours, I gave up and went to bed.  I got up about 4 hours later to try again with still no luck.  I had pretty much given up, but I tried once more around 9pm that day and got through... for a July 16th delivery, which was unacceptable for an early adopter like myself.

Since my friend and I were unable to pre-order our iPhones, we decided we would camp out.  We had gone back and fourth about what time we wanted to get in line.  At first, I suggested 2am since that was 5 hours before the store opened and, after reading the launch forums at MacRumors.com, I was confident that this was early enough.  Launch day eve came and I called my preferred Apple store (at Bayshore Town Center in Milwaukee).  I was informed that mall security prevented lines from forming prior to 3am.  My friend and I decided to still go at 2am because we could wait in the car for an hour if need be.  Around 10pm or so, however, my friend got a text message saying that a line had already formed and about 30 people were waiting.  The sourced seemed pretty unreliable and considering the 3am line time was confirmed, I mostly shrugged it off.  My friend and I decided to get there by midnight, though, just in case.  We figured that if the source was indeed wrong, we could have a drink at Bar Louie, a nice bar that overlooks the Apple store area.  When we arrived, however, the source was unfortunately correct.  Arriving just after midnight, we were 51st and 52nd in line, respectively.  We were slightly annoyed, but I was still confident that Apple would have more than 52 units available.

The launch line was pretty fun - which is why I had launch line nostalgia from missing it in 2009.  I began talking to #50, a young male who was buying the iPhone for his mother, not himself.  Once I learned that, I asked him the questions that Apple employees would be asking a few hours later.  I pretty much saved his iPhone life since, had I not told him he needed to be an authorized user on the AT&T account, he would have been turned away after 12 hours of waiting.  I also began talking to #53, Matt, and #54, Ericka, whose names I actually didn't learn until after about 10 hours.  I've met up with both of them since the launch and am happy to have met them so I guess I will wait in line next year, too, just to meet cool Apple-minded folks!

Once Apple opened at 7am, madness ensued.  They were processing 30 pre-orders for every 1 non-pre-order.  The pre-order line was zipping by while we sat, sweating and waiting.  Once the sun rose, it was extremely hot outside.  Apple employees were nice enough to pass out bottled water, coffee, umbrellas to create some shade, and eventually even some snacks.  Thankfully, no one passed out at my store, but 80º and direct sun made that a possibility.  Approximately 5 1/2 hours later, I finally got inside.  Completing the sale was effortless and I was evan able to cancel my mother's July pre-order and snag her one that day, something she was very pleased with.

For the most part, I love my iPhone 4.  I definitely prefer the industrial design over the former "pretty" plastic shell.  I wanted a white phone like I had for the 3G and 3GS, and was pretty pissed off that Apple didn't speak up about it's disappearance until too late, but I'm fine with having black.  I purchased a Bumper as well - in black since colors are not yet available - and hate it.  It is ill fitting and just ugly.  After a few days, I ditched the Bumper to see how it would handle being naked.  So far, so good.  I have noticed the reception issues that people have been talking about (see this lawsuit for more on that), but have not experienced any screen yellowing or broken glass - and yes, I have dropped it already, from about 3 1/2 feet onto hardwood.

If I was just reviewing the iPhone 4 itself, I'd give it an A-.  It's definitely the best iPhone yet except for the signal issues.  If I make sure to hold it differently, I get the best signal AT&T can deliver.  The 5MP camera with flash, Apple's A4 chip, and 512MB of RAM are really nice additions.  I'm also reviewing the launch, however, so the grade is going down.  The fact that Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, told us that White iPhones would be available on June 24th and they weren't is more than just annoying, it seems like intentional and negligent misrepresentation as the lawsuit claims.  If Apple had come clean earlier, I would have been slightly less upset, but the fact that Walt Mossberg got a white one and I didn't really pisses me off.  Second, misrepresenting line formation information is unacceptable.  If I had waited until 3am and then not gotten an iPhone, I may have been uncontrollable.  While this may not be Apple's fault entirely, they know lines will form and as such, should communicate with the various store locations' security.  Third, if you're going to take pre-orders, make sure the system works and if it doesn't, nullify those that did get through so launch day is fair.  Fourth, do not allow pre-orders and non-pre-orders into the store unequally.  They know they have a phone waiting, they can wait or come back later.  Fifth, set up some tents along the line.  Protecting your loyal customers from rain or direct sun should be a priority. Sixth, do not allow customers into the store for other products.  I know, it sounds like bad business to turn away people who might want to buy a $1000 laptop, but they can do so any other day or online without taking away employees from launch activities.  Seventh, be honest about your supplies and tell those people in line that will not be able to get a phone.  I was told that when I was in the store, only about 10 phones were left.  If this is true, the 100+ people still in line would be turned away.  I'm surprised a mob didn't break out with 100 tired people being told to go away.  All in all, the launch was a mess.  I had fun, but it was a big mess and gets a F.  Averaging the launch grade and the actual iPhone 4 grade results in a D.  D's are passing, but I expect better from Apple.

Apple's iPhone 4 and Launch barely passes The Trav Test with a D.

• Category: Products, Wireless, AT&T, Apple, iPhone, launch

• Location: Apple (specifically at Bayshore Town Center, Milwaukee)

• Cost: $199 or $299, plus 12 hours of my time and 3 gallons of sweat.

• Ease of use: iPhone-easy. Launch-difficult

• The Trav Test grade: D

AT&T 3G MicroCell

Despite all the back and fourth gibberish between wireless providers, I find AT&T to be pretty damn good.  Since I am a fan of full disclosure, I want you to know that I have never used any other provider.  I've been an AT&T customer since the Cingular days.  The only time I had an issue with the service was my first semester of college at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota.  Winona is located between a bunch of bluffs and only one service provider had a tower in or on the bluffs.  I was, however, able to pick up Cingular signal in certain places so I fared better than others, but I digress.

According to the AT&T Coverage Viewer, my house is located in the "best" service area with complete 3G coverage.  Outside, service isn't an issue, but problems exist inside of my house.  On the 1st and 2nd floors, I usually registered about 3 bars.  This is fine for SMS or MMS.  If I have a call, though, the call is either going to be less than clear or totally drop out.  Worse yet is that my office is in the finished basement.  Down here I usually had 1 bar, enough for SMS and MMS to work, about 75% of the time.  Calls don't work at all - sometimes the phone will ring, but often calls will be routed directly to voicemail.  The other 25% of the time my iPhone read "No Service" or "Searching."  To get around this, I gave people my Google Voice number and then routed the call to my home landline, but this is less than ideal.

The 3G MicroCell itself was first available almost a year ago.  It was released in Charlotte, NC which served as the trial market.  Apparently the trial went well and it was next released in Raleigh, NC in late September and in Atlanta, GA in early October.  Continuing the gradual rollout, Arizona launched in late March, California, Nevada, and New Mexico in early April, and it launched in Wisconsin and Illinois earlier this week.  Interestingly, I never received the availability email from AT&T that I signed up for, but got an inside tip that it was available.

The 3G MicroCell costs $150.  There is no monthly cost, unless the user adds on unlimited MicroCell calls for $20 per month.  I barely touch my 500 minutes, so I opted not to add it on.  The 3G MicroCell can be discounted if you have a corporate discount through school or work AND the discount applies to accessories.  Unfortunately, my corporate discount is service only so I had to pay full price.  The AT&T employee offered to register the device for me in-store, but I opted to do it myself so I didn't have to spend any extra time in a store full of gadgets when there's room on my credit cards.  Registering it online was extremely simple.  The device initially took 34 minutes to activate, much shorter than the 90 minutes the set-up guide says it takes.  I then moved the device to a different location (since my kitchen countertop isn't a very good spot) and it took 14 minutes to re-activate.  I received a text message and email from AT&T when the initial activation was complete, but not on the re-activation.

Thanks to the 3G MicroCell, I now have 5 bars everywhere in my house.  I ran a few tests to make sure everything was working and found nothing wrong.  I was even able to place a call from inside of a walk-in closest in my basement.  SMS and MMS now completely work and I have 3G service in the basement, too (although I connect to my wifi inside).  I do think it's kind of ridiculous to pay $150 to AT&T because their service isn't strong enough to reach my basement, but I guess I'm willing to do so in order to fully use my $500 phone!  I definitely recommend the 3G MicroCell based on my experience with it in the last few hours.  It's been great to be able to take calls in the basement!  I would give it an A+, but I'm downgrading it since I think it should be provided to those of us with service issues for free.


Side note: For those of you looking into AT&T U-Verse, I was told that wireless U-Verse boxes are coming soon.  I'd love to switch to U-Verse, but am unwilling to have a new RJ45 cable installed everyplace I want a TV, especially since I already have coaxial cables in those places!  Wireless boxes will allow me to have U-Verse service anywhere with a power outlet which means I'll probably be switching in a few months!  Sweet!

AT&T 3G MicroCell passes The Trav Test with a B+.

• Category: Products, Wireless, AT&T

• Location: AT&T Stores (Check for local availability here)

• Cost: $150 (plus $20/month if you want unlimited calling added)

• Ease of use: Easy

• The Trav Test grade: B+