Tag: Android

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Nexus 7 2013 and Chromecast Mini reviews

Nexus 7 2013

I have been a very happy original Nexus 7 owner since day one, but the tablet has gotten quite a bit slower as it ages.  It seems this is a problem with the I/O and android 4.0+. (4.3 is said to improve this, btw).  I decided to upgrade mainly because of the increased storage (upgrade from 16gb to 32gb) and better screen.  So far I am not disappointed at all.  Below are my quick thoughts. Great full length reviews are also online from The Verge, Anandtec, Engadget, Android Central, and others.

 

Pros

  • The screen is a game changer.  Colors are great, it’s bright, and the high resolution (Think “Retna”) looks fantastic.  It’s an improvement in everything.

  • Blazing fast. Everything is much faster. Even the processor itself is faster. I think the biggest difference is the faster storage.

  • The build quality seems to be a large improvement. Despite being plastic it really seems like a solid construction.  It also feels much thinner in the hand.

  • Standby battery life seems to be improved over 50% when on WiFi.  I no longer need to charge it nightly.
  • Notification LED is a nice touch.

 

The Questions

  • Why is the power adapter on the Nexus 7 2013 edition smaller at 1.35A vs the Nexus 7 2012 edition which was 2.0A?

 

Cons

  • Audio – The speakers are a bit of a disappointment.  While stereo is nice, I was really hoping for more volume. I like to listen to podcasts or stream radio stations while in the same room, and the volume is just not that loud.  The internal noise when headphones are plugged in is vastly improved as well.

  • Google needs to differentiate in the Play Store between the versions of Nexus 7.  Currently by default they are just listed as “Asus Nexus 7” and the last date they were used.  Google should at least change the icon of the new Nexus to reflect the one they are using on the box and in promos.  You can go in and rename devices, but users should not have to do this.

  • Touch on my tablet seems to be a bit off once in awhile.  I am going to have to investigate this further to see if its an app problem or maybe a hardware issue.

  • There seem to be some GPS issues with certain apps.  This looks to be more of a 4.3 problem than a hardware problem in the new tablet.  Over time apps should update and this will get fixed.

Chromecast

When this was announced it was a surprise for pretty much everyone.  At $35 this is pretty much a no-brainer.

I had been looking for a way to get music to my receiver in the living room but be able to control it from my tablet or phone. Ideally I wanted the music source to be from my Google Music account, since I have everything uploaded there.  Initially I thought this would be an app and I would plug in my tablet to act as the server, but control it from my phone.  Turns out the Chromecast has this feature and it works really well.  From my tablet I can power on the receiver (TV can remain off) and  start music playing, all from anywhere in the house.  It’s pretty slick. I have my Chromecast hooked up to my Yamaha receiver in the HDMI 2 position with AC power.

Chromecast

There are 2 methods of the Chromecast streaming content.

Mobile Device to Chromecast

Right now there are only a handful of apps that officially support this.  Youtube, Google Music, Google Movies, and Netflix.  It’s really easy to use; you start a video or song playing and then hit the Chromecast button, and within about a second it starts playing on your TV/Receiver.  What is actually happening here is the Chromecast is playing directly from the cloud, allowing you to use your device to do other things, like social media etc.  You can create queues, pause, next, etc from your mobile device.

 

Computer to Chromecast

Computer to Chromecast works a bit differently than Mobile to Chromecast.  Computer to Chromecast requires you to use the Chrome browser, and install the Chromecast plugin.  From there it allows you to share a tab to the Chromecast.  You can display the text of a web page or most video.  The computer is transcoding this information and then sending it to the Chromecast over wifi, so it does take some power on the computer side.  I tried this on my i7 920 desktop and things worked well.  I tried a few websites (Crackel, JaylenosGarage, Vimeo) and everything worked.  There is also a trick that you can open local media files in Chrome using CTRL + O and these cast too.  The MP4 files that were H.264 encoded played well.  I also tried some MKV files I had and the video in these played well, however the audio did not.  Hopefully this is something that is added in the future.

Pro’s

  • Low Price, Small Size.  At $35 this is a no-brainer, Since I ordered early I received 3 months of Netflix as well, which makes it even cheaper. It’s a small dongle that fits about anywhere.

  • Setup could not have been easier with the app on my tablet. My one tip is if you have a long complex wifi password, email it to yourself first, and make sure you copy to your clipboard before you start the setup on the phone/tablet.

  • To steal a famous quote, “It Just Works!” It just works, as Google said it would. It’s only likely to get better from here.

 

Cons

  • AC adapter. This is one of those styles of adapters that can cover up the plugin next to it. On the positive side, Google did include a nice piece of velcro to keep the extra cord nicely bundled.

  • Limited native app support right now, but this should get better since the API is open.

  • No support for Mobile Chrome to Chromecast. Hopefully this will be added soon. I have a feeling that it was due to most hardware not having the power needed to transcode video fast enough.

 

The future potential of the Chromecast is huge.  While it’s not a Roku or Apple TV replacement quite yet, it’s still very useful.  At the $35 price level, you can’t complain about much.  It makes getting Youtube and Google Music/Movie content to your TV/Receiver super easy.  Beyond that, being able to quickly move a chrome tab from your desktop to tv is easy too.

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Too many eggs in Google’s basket? – My question answered on Security Now #326

On my drive home from work today I was very surprised–when listening to Security Now episode #326 Steve and Leo answered the question I submitted to the show! Let me backup a little and explain things. Security Now is a weekly podcast on the TWIT network that discusses hot topics from the past week on all things security related, as well as fundamentals of computers, the internet, and security. In addition to security news, they also touch on Sci-Fi books and a few health concerns—recently the all important Vitamin D3. I have promised myself to write a big blog post about Vitamin D3 at some point this winter. If you are not a listener, I strongly recommend you listen to an episode or two (At least listen to the Portable Dog Killer episode, it’s not what you think it is at all) .

Question Setup
I am a big fan of Lastpass Password storage system after learning about it on Security Now and hearing why it was safe to use (Episode 256). I am also using the Google Authenticator on my Android phone(Also available for all other major mobile phone OS) for a second form of authentication when logging into my Google account because of how much additional security it provides, especially as this account grows more important. The question I asked below was simplified slightly (Probably due to me not thinking things out fully to get the answer I wanted) but the results were good and answered about 80% of my question.

My question was as read by Leo

“Leo: No. Question 7, Jon in Lincoln, Nebraska – another cornfield flyover – worries about giving Google too many eggs: Steve and Leo, I love the podcast. I’m a long-time listener, LastPass and Vitamin D advocate. I have the entire family well educated and believing now. Yay. Over the weekend I saw that now LastPass – as we mentioned in the news – supports Google Authenticator. This is great news because I currently use the app on my Android phone to get into my Gmail account. I also know how much more secure two-factor authentication is, thanks to previous Security Now! episodes. But it makes me wonder if tying so many of my services to Google is a good idea or a potential security problem. What happens if Google were to go down for a few hours? Any thoughts or opinions on this would be appreciated. Am I putting too many eggs in Google’s basket?”

Watch the video on Youtube of Steve and Leo answering my question below. Start at 1:30:00 goo.gl/kaJD5

Or read the answer http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-326.htm (About 5/6 down the page)

After hearing this answer I am feel reassured about my concerns and I am very glad it is independent and closed loop. My biggest concern was if my Google account was suddenly compromised/deleted/suspended etc that I would be locked out of my Lastpass too, but since it is independent and I have a backup of codes generated I know I won’t lose my Lastpass. Just in case I always have my local Lastpass Pocket standalone as a measure of last resort (No cloud).

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Pinball Deluxe – Best Android Game to date

Yes Pinball Deluxe is the best Android game to date in my opinion. I know that this is almost sac-religious to say it is better than Angry Birds but to me it is.  I have nothing wrong with Angry Birds and think its a great game.  Before the most recent update however it was kind of jerky on my Motorola Droid X, and it displayed in game advertisements that got in the way, however it did have great game play and is an enormous value with the amount of game play it offers.

Pinball Deluxe is a Free Game for the Android platform. The game contains 3 different pinball machines each with their own different theme.  Each pinball board contains a mini game which I have not seen in many other pinball games before.  Its a neat little thing to set it apart from the others.   The game has your classic flippers at the bottom of the board and then on some levels middle flippers higher up as well.  This game runs very well.  It is super smooth on my Droid X and looks great while doing it.  It is safe to say this is the best looking Android game I have seen.  In addition to the game running well the designers have really thought it out.  You can pause and resume your games so you can come back later.  It also asks you on start-up if you want to enable sound.  This is a must have feature as far as I am concerned.  I often like to pull out my phone if I am in line and the last thing I want is the opening music to come blaring on.  Since Android has different volume levels for different items its easy to leave your phone on vibrate but have the media volume on a high level.  I have heard stories of people in public places where they probably should not be gaming on their phone (Church) and they suddenly hear the Angry Birds theme song start up someplace in the room. I am sure this happens in college classrooms across the country as well.  So this game prevents that.


The Physics in the game seem to be very accurate.  The ball and paddle behave the way you expect them too.  Different surfaces and materials behave differently and velocity seems to be accurate as well.

The only negative I can come up with is with the ball Launcher/Plunger.  I would like some type of power meter here so I can tell how powerful the launch will be.  Currently it shows a spring that compresses but

Conclusion: At a 7.6Mb download and a price of Free this is a great game that all Android users running 2.1 or higher should try.  In my opinion the developer could easily add additional boards and charge for them.  You can download it in the Android Market here https://market.android.com/details?id=com.greencod.pinball.android&feature=search_result

Below are a few screen shots from the game on my phone.  I will try to get a few better ones.

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Android Web Market Review

This afternoon Google held an event focused on Android, specifically Honeycomb, its tablet centered version of the Android operating system.  There were several neat things that were shown off.  I will let Engadget provide you with the specifics if you are interested.  Here , Here and Here.

One other thing before I talk about the New Android Market in the browser.  Google choose to stream this event live, for free, for anyone with a browser and a copy of flash.  Proving Google is all about being open, this was open to all devices (well nearly).  You could even watch it live on your iPad if you watched the TWIT stream which was in a non flash format.  The main stream looked and sounded great. This is really the way it should be and I applaud Google for making their event viewable for all.

For me the biggest thing announced was the new Android Market . This in your full size browser on your computer.  This is unique, the competition doesn’t  have this feature and instead force you into their walled garden that is iTunes to buy or browse your apps on a computer. This requires you to be at your computer. The Android Market has nothing like this, proving Google’s openness. You can download apps from anywhere you have a desktop and cell service.  At the Library, at work, at a Friends house you name it.  Use any old computer, find your app in the web browser press install and your done, more on that in a minute. The design of the new store is clean and fresh.  It has large graphics, screenshots of the application, a description and then users reviews.  It also has a related apps bar on the side.  The website also has featured apps and the ability to search for applications and then filter your search results by lots of things such as price (Free or Paid) etc.

The neatest thing is the ability once logged in to the store is once click install and purchases all from your computer.  It is very simple.  First you find the application you want to install, next you click install.  You are presented with a screen that shows what services this app uses and you have to agree.  If this was a paid app you are then presented with what your funding source is.  Click OK and the payment processes.  Now within about 3-4 seconds your phone the app is pushed to your phone.  The download and install starts automatically.  In your Notifications menu you will notice a small down arrow to show you are downloading the file, just like if you downloaded any application.  It then installs and that is it.  The website also
allows you to link to specific applications with emails or IM.  There is even a direct Tweet button on the page of every app so you can easily publish apps to your twitter stream. No longer do you have to share the name of the app and how to get there with your friends you can just give them a link.

In app purchase is not a huge thing for me but it is for developers.  In the past it has been hard to do and as a result many developers believed the marketplace did not work for them.  Now that this is available it helps to solve these problems.  It also shows that Google is listening to developers and making chances to improve the process so it  Android ecosystem continues to grow and flourish.

The web Android Market is a game changer for Android, its users, and developers.  I predict app downloads will increase greatly just because it is so easy to try apps.  It is also much easier for payment of apps as well since you can easily change your payment source.  I showed this to a few people at work today and they were blown away with how easy it is.  Apps kind of scare some people, but now they feel more comfortable because things are larger and the experience of using a web browser is better than on the small phone of your screen.  You can open many tabs now in your browser when comparing like apps too. It’s slick and just works! Way to go Google, keep up those innovations!

Some screenshots of the process.

An App’s Homepage

What happens when you click install

Install screen, Click OK and thats it.