Android 4.4.3 update rolling out to Nexus, Motorola, and Play devices now

Google’s Android 4.4.3 is under way now (my Nexus 7 (2013) is downloading it as I am typing). This new update is supposed to bring security enhancements and bug fixes for the devices.

"This latest software update brings an improved dialer with a new interface and new colors to enhance consistency and usability, as well as several stability, framework, security fixes, and enhancements to the power profile capabilities," said Steve Horowitz, Motorola Mobile's SVP of software engineering.

Read more on this at: ZDNet

Nexus 2013 7 inch tablet

I was so happy with the fact that Google allowed me to send back my original Nexus 7 inch tablet for credit when for the third time it became a brick. I had to applaud them for standing by their customer, me, and making the purchase of this product right. I must say that the new tablet is much faster, has a camera on the back which I use a lot for things around the office and doing site surveys at customer sites and I have not run into any memory limitations as of yet but I am very picky about what I put onto it. I would have like the option of an SD card slot where I could add additional memory if I wanted but it is not a deal breaker for me obviously. If you make judicious use of the available cloud storage you should be fine. I have thrown all my music up to the Amazon cloud and I am able to access that from any device that use including my phone (Samsung Note II), ASUS TF300T, iPad 1 & 2, and any computer I lay my hands on.

Another surprise I had with the new design is how loud the stereo speakers are on this unit. It makes it nice to set it beside me to listen to audio books while I am working on different things in the house. I also purchased a nice simple case that has a magnet built into the front flap that acts just like the iPad magnetic cover does to turn on and off the unit. This is a quick way for me to turn of the screen display while a sound application is running that helps to cut down battery drain on the unit. When I open the cover it immediately turns on at the sign in screen to prevent unauthorized access.

This has become my go to tablet now for most everything I do. It is small enough to fit in my pocket, fit on the shelf in my car and have a large enough screen to allow me to see a movie, read a book or do some simple notes on a project. With the mail and calendar programs I use it makes it very easy to continue to communicate with the outside world and whenever I need an instant hotspot I can fire up my Verizon hotspot real quick to acquire that capability for any of the devices that I carry. I have no longer included 4G as an option to any of my device except my phone because you normally don’t need it except for short exceptions. It is much simpler to have just one plan for this purpose that I have to manage and take care of all of the machines I own.

This would probably be a good time to go over the list of apps that I use on my tablets. I choose most of them by whether they will do the job for me but I refine that to include those apps that are available on both Android as well as iOS and if possible have a browser or desktop application as well.

For the Office I use: Evernote, OneNote, OnLive Desktop, Dropbox, SkyDrive, Pocket, RingCentral, Keep, Fill and Sign PDF Forms, Lync 2013, Feedly, Adobe Reader, LogMeIn, Instapaper, Outlook Web App, Messaging,  and Skype.

For Personal and Entertainment: Amazon Kindle, Amazon MP3, Audible, BeyondPod, Cozi, Hulu Plus, Pepperplate, Roku, Scrabble, SmugMugMobile, SquareSpace, Xfinity TV, NetFlix, WatchESPN, Plex.

I’ll go into more detail on how I use some of these programs in another posting. I hope this gives you some insight on using a tablet and maybe some detail on the Nexus 7 if this is one of those tablets that you are thinking or purchasing.Let me know how you are using your tablets for work and play, I would really like to know.

Nexus 7 - 2013

My Nexus 7 died again for the third time so Google agreed to refund my money, took about two weeks for the credit to show up, and I used the credit towards buying a newer model of the Nexus 7. The two biggest differences that I have seen so far is the much better screen display and something I really wish the first generation had, a rear-facing camera. The stereo speakers seem a little louder to me and I was very impressed with how easily it moved all of my programs over to it from my Google account. Of course login’s and passwords didn’t come over but the most of the programs that I use did.

There were three models to choose from. The first two are Wi-Fi only and are differentiated by memory (16gb or 32gb) and the third is 32gb, LTE (T-Mobile) and Wi-Fi. I chose the 32gb Wi-Fi only for my updated unit, first I wanted to make sure I had as much room on it as possible and these days I am not getting anything but Wi-Fi since I have both a Verizon hotspot that I carry around with me and my phone (AT&T) will tether as a hotspot as well. While a little more expensive than the generation 1 version the addition of the camera makes a big difference to me and the way that I plan to use it. It is important to me as a work device to help me document site surveys but the absence of the ability to add external memory cards or USB sticks to it is the one thing that would really have liked to see included that was not.

I am impressed with the graphics, everything is much crisper and the sound coming from the stereo speakers seem adequate for personal use. While I haven’t directly timed battery life as of yet, it seems fairly decent. We streamed one of our audio shows for about 4 hours yesterday and at the end it showed about 43% battery life still available. When you consider that was coming over Wi-Fi the whole time and connecting to a Bluetooth speaker for it’s output that seems to be pretty good with that much over the air wireless activity. It feels a little heavier to me and also feels more substantial as compared to the earlier version. I’m sure the battery has something to do with the weight (.64 lbs.) but  it feels like a better quality machine then the first generation.

First impression: You see nothing but smiles from me. I’ll report back with more info as I use it more.

Tablets–Which do I find most useful?

It is funny that even after my bad experience last week with the Nexus 7 failing for me, I am back to using it more than I am my iPad. Each device has its own characteristics that make it more useful in different ways.

When it comes to videos and podcasts I find my iPad is a better choice most often because I have it in a nice case that holds it up at a great angle  and makes for easy viewing. I tend to use my Nexus 7 for gathering emails, working on my grocery list, calendar entries, and reading my RSS seeds while I am listening to podcasts on my iPad. It makes a great one-two punch.

Because I like the dictation functions on my Nexus 7, I use it quite a bit for doing my entry level work. It is humorous sometimes with the mistakes it makes but I can get you basic ideas down in print quickly and I can come back later to make any changes that need made.

It makes it very easy for me to sit here and discuss my thoughts and discuss my opinions quickly and easily without having to type them with my single finger typing skills that I have adopted with all of these glass keyboards. I have found that being a touch typist does not help me in this kind of situation.

I just can't find myself typing with my thumbs as I see many of my younger colleagues doing. I don't know it's my lack of motion with my thumbs or if it is just my lack of dexterity from years of typing. I do find myself massaging my hands a lot these days.

I keep looking at some of the new tablets now available and I find myself wanting to acquire them. The Microsoft Surface is very appealing but I wonder if I really need to have another tablet with a different interface and I hesitate because I am not sure I can run it through all of the functions that I would need to, to fully  evaluate  its full potential.

I think that if one doesn't make a product your primary device while you are testing it, I don't know how you can fully learn all of it's potential usefulness. I am still waiting for the Pro version of Surface to be released before I decide on which unit I will get. One of our current projects that Ken is working on is to set up a Windows 2012 server and create a VDI host for thin clients to access. The Microsoft Surface RT tablet would be a good example of a thin client for use in this case. Hence, the reason for Ken acquiring one for testing purposes.

Nexus 7 Update

Last week I had an issue with my new Nexus 7 but this week all is right with the world. I was able to get a taste of Google's support for Nexus 7 and the short of it is I am very impressed!

A little over 10 days ago I began having some lock up problems, deletion issues, and when I tried to do a factory reset I was unable to reset the Nexus 7 back to its factory defaults.

So I called up the 855-836-3987 support line to get some suggestions on what I should do. This is the Google Play device support team number and it is available 24/7. Two things impressed me. First I did not have a long wait for someone to pick up the phone and talk to me and second it was someone speaking to me in my Native American English!

After speaking to two separate technicians over a half hour period, we determined that this was a very strange failure and proceeded to process the RMA. I have to give them a credit card but 2 days later I had a new Nexus in my hands and I should the other one back to them. Except for the fact that the unit failed, it was quite painless to get this turned around. It took me about an hour and a half to reload my applications and to reenter my logins to my online accounts, but I seem to be getting really good at this.

Pro's: Nexus 7 Support
Con's: Nexus 7, and I broke you in just one month! Not good...