The second really pretty phone has arrived

The HTC One Deserves Its Place in the Spotlight, article by Pogue.
It’s an Android phone — the most beautiful one you’ve ever seen. Seriously. It makes you feel happy and calm just holding this thing in your hands. There’s a picture of the HTC One next to “gorgeous” in the dictionary.

I'd really like one. Except I don't really *need* it, and phones are so much more expensive than tablets. (Why?) This seems to be over 800 dollars unlocked, some places selling it for over $1,100! That's insanity. There's apparently a mania to own the newest hottest phone, which does not exist amongst tablets in the same way. Weird.

Also, they have removed the Menu button. Why??? Android doesn't work without a menu button, 3/4ths of apps depend on it.

But it really does seem to look very nice, I'd like to have it. (I wanted to have the iPhone 5 for that reason too, but then we heard all that stuff about how it gets scratched if you think about putting it down.)

BTW, this is another one of those with 470 pixels per inch. If you thought the camera megapixel race got out of hand... Which human eye can take advantage of nearly 500 PPI?

Windows 8 in free-fall

It seems, like I have been predicting since we first heard about it, that Windows 8 is a disaster area. MS is forcing something on their customers that nobody asked for and very few want, and even fewer can figure out. (The traditional interface combined with a Touch interface.)

I asked a friend of mine who is my go-to Windows expert (thanks Benny), he said:

I got a new computer with Win8 pre-installed, and had pretty big problems finding my way around. 
It was indescribably bad. 
There wasn't even any option to choose either the old or the new interface. 

It was complex just to shut the computer down. 
I could go on and on. 

It was even a brand new HP computer, especially optimized for Windows 8. And it took me over a week to figure out how to turn off the durn thing and install Win7. 

I was very angry, and my little son was sad, because it was his computer. 

Another friend has told me that there isn't even a web browser which is really usable with only the touch-interface. How much more basic a flaw could you dream up? They've been working on this for over 3 years, and even the web browser does not yet work properly?

You may have heard the new reports that PC sales have taken the biggest dip in history, and there's general agreement that tablets and Windows 8 share the blame.

I suspect this is one of those times where such a disaster can only happen in company which is so big that the brass is totally out of touch with users, and everybody else are too afraid to stand up and say that something won't work.

Whose arm hurts? Arms up!

The Windows XP alternatives gallery, in this article is written:
The iPad and the Android tablets: Attractive, but painful 
-- this may not look a thing like XP, but Apple's iOS interface certainly looks inviting enough. Alas, the problem both with it and its Android counterparts is that it's a real pain in the... arm. And no, that wasn't a joke. It and any other tablet interface will eventually make your arm ache, so we can skip it for serious office work.

What bollox!
Sure, tablets are - as yet - quite limited for office work, but this is due to software limitations (and screen sizes perhaps), not the touch-interface.
What Mr. Vaughan-Nichols gets confused here is touch interface on a tablet, which you hold in your hand or at least have close to your body, with touch interface on a desktop computer (not even a laptop), which you have to stretch your arm out to use. The latter quickly results in a lot of arm strain, but I have yet to hear of anybody having problems with the former.

This is so poor reporting that I wonder if Mr. Vaughan-Nichols has even used tablets for more than 20 minutes? And also, are ZDNet articles edited by editors?

Waterfield "Indy" bag

Update: Because of the leather and being handmade in the US, prices can't be rock-bottom of course. But the Waterfield bag I use the most because of light weight, is also very reasonably priced: the VertiGo. (All their bags come in different sizes too.)

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I've just ordered a Waterfield Designs "Indy" bag, in small size (for a medium sized tablet (7-8 inch) and a few bits and bobs), and in black. (I like the brown distressed suede-like leather a lot, but brown doesn't go with anything I have, unless it's very dark.)
I like that it's simple and minimal like an extra big pocket.
The thing is, a tablet is usually too large for a pocket, but with normal bags, you add a lot of bulk and weight! So the Indy is an answer to that.

Waterfield Design's products are quality, they have the best look-and-feel I have encountered in bags, and yet they are not over-priced. I’m addicted to these products, they are some of those very rare products which give me that feeling of “substance” which I have been complaining of lately is mostly missing in the world. You know? A feeling of quality and thought, even Awareness. There's a there, there.

(I think the "New iPad" he mentions is not the first one, but the iPad 3. I thought at first that the video and bag was three years old, but it's just one. See, another example of how not naming products creates confusion, Apple.) 

I wonder if it's not really named after Indiana Jones though? By the way, on other sites I've seen comments like: "Man purse!!" Oh yeah, Indiana Jones is too gay for ya? Who's your hero, Megatron?

I feel sorry for anybody *that* insecure in their masculinity that they fear anybody thinking "man purse". Because this is a *very* practical thing. A *tie* is *only* decorative, and yet men can wear that. Be your own person. 

(Lotsa photos in this review.)

Modern Kama Sutra

Light-weight laptop case

Aurora is a new, light-weight case/bag for laptops. It's only 400 grams for the 14-inch model and 340 grams for the 13-inch models.
They are made of felt, leather, and polyethylene panels for strength.
I think it's very cool to have a response to the gains we've had in the lightness of laptops, it's time bags followed suit.
There is currently a Kickstarter campaign to get them started.



Aurora by Olson

Lightness is important, and a home-made handle

When I pick up my ol’ iPod Touch, I really like the size and weight. It’s only 110 grams. And the newest generation, though taller, is only 90! And it has a sharper screen, so I’m tempted to get one as pocket reader. But it’s perhaps too small, I’d like a 5-inch one with a similar weight.
But what it does tell me: weight is really durn essential in comfort when reading, especially in bed, even when you get down to weights so slight you’d think it shouldn’t matter anymore.
I hope new tech soon gives us materials as strong as, but much lighter than alu and glass. I'd love an iPad Mini weighing under 130 grams. This may seem ungrateful, because the Mini is already at the forefront of lightness (310 grams), but I think that when we get to that point, we will appreciate the difference.

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One thing that helps a lot: I have gaffer-taped a loop of strap to the back of my Kindle PaperWhite. I can stick four fingers through it and hold it with zero finger-muscle strain, and having the thumb free to flip pages. It's great. It's not pretty, but heck, a Kindle is almost a disposable device now, certainly a very replaceable one.

Ugly, but effective. The clasp is not necessary, but I
included it in case I wanted to change the length later.

Look Ma, I'm not holding it! 

It can also be held with the fingers curled around the strap. All in all it really takes the strain and clumsiness out of bed-reading.

I hope somebody will make a prettier product like this.

Spread the word; whether home-made or not, I'd like my fellow digital-age readers to read in better comfort.

I've made a Flipboard magazine

The iPad app flipboard, which collects web articles into a nice interface, has added the ability of readers to create their own Magazine. You can add article to it easily both in Flipboard app itself and in a web browser.

I have made this one, for this blog: EReaderJoy FlipbookMag.
It contains some posts from this blog, but also other stuff about tablets/ereaders I find interesting.
I hope to add to it continually.
You find it by opening the Flipboard app on an iPad and searching for eolake or ereaderjoy. Then click Subscribe (it's free).

Spoof of Apple store

"Microsoft Endlessly Disappoints With ‘New’ Windows Phone Apps"

Microsoft Endlessly Disappoints With ‘New’ Windows Phone Apps, Wired article.

...other apps have trickled in. But none have been the kind that make you want to switch to a Windows Phone. Addicted to Instagram? Not going to work for you. Want to try out Vine? You can't. [...] 
That’s the shame of Microsoft. Windows Phone 8 is a stunning operating system. It has matured in functionality since Windows Phone 7, and it is very easy to use. Microsoft has quality hardware partners, too. Nokia’s Lumia 920 is powerful, with a stunning camera, and HTC’s 8X is one of the sleekest, prettiest phones available.

Yes, a pity. Microsoft finally makes something very good in the mobile arena, and then the app developers don't follow. (I won't say I blame them, it costs money and time to make apps, and MS has a miniscule market share yet. It's that chicken and egg again.)
Another thing is: if and when the great developers do start making good, up to date ports of their apps, will these also be optimized for the larger screens of tablets? That will be necessary for me to be interested, I really don't use phones much.

It's pretty stunning really, this deep lack of faith in Microsoft now. When the iPhone came out, people were storming the citadel to be allowed to make apps for it (originally that was not the plan). I guess the tabels have really turned.

UX Write, word processing for iPad

UX Write is a very impressive word processor for iPad. Amongst the impressive things: instead of the durn fiddly little loupe when selecting things, the developer has made a screen *trackpad area*! You can place or move the cursor, or select text on it. There are even arrow keys, and you can move faster by using two fingers. And this is just one feature.
It works in HTML 5, and exports to text, PDF, or .docx (which I just found out is an open format, *not* a MS format). You can actually go back and forth with the same document between UX on the iPad and Word on your PC or Mac, in .docx format. Nice.

TMO review part one. And Part two.

Above you see UX Write on John M's iPad, itself mounted on his Brydge keyboard. It's pretty new, I got one myself. I haven't used it much, but it's definitely of lovely mechanical quality and look/feel. (Some Amazon reviewers report keys becoming sticky though, I'll keep an eye on that.)

Galaxy Note, iPad Mini, and Kindle Paperwhite screens

I think the Kindle Paperwhite is by far the best B/W Kindle yet, by a large margin. The ingenious frontlight system really helped with the Kindle's dark-screen problem.

Still, it's remarkable to me that despite the very high resolution of the screen, 212 pixels per inch, it still looks a lot fuzzier than, say, the Galaxy Note (185PPI), or even the iPad Mini, which has less pixel resolution, about 160PPI.
(The difference is more noticable in real life than in photos.)

I think it's just that the E-ink screen of the Kindle depends on tiny plastic balls floating in liquid instead of precisely carved pixels in metal and silicone. So I'd guess that the "pixels per inch" is a theoretical number based on how many little balls there are, rather than the actual picture detail that the screen can resolve.

It's nothing that stops enjoyment or reading on the Kindle, but it's just remarkable.

But it also means that even though the Samsung Galaxy Note is an inch smaller (and so fits in a pocket), you get at least as clear text as on the Kindle, perhaps even more so. In other words, what you gain in size with the Kindle, you lose in clarity. Then the questions are only about eye-sight, price, and how sensitive you are to backlit screens.
(The Note has an issue: that the bezel is very narrow and it's hard to handle it without accidentally trickering page turns or other events. But this is a broad issue with tablets which I hope somebody is working on: how to hold them easily and practically.)

(All pics are clickable for more detail)

iPad Mini and Kindle Paperwhite 

iPad Mini and Kindle Paperwhite

(Notice how the photo seems fuzzy on the right, even though it is one photo, and the devices were in the same plane.)

Samsung Galaxy Note and Kindle Paperwhite

Font settings on Kobo

Kobo is good stuff. I like, for instance, their "Mini" reader, pocket-sized.
I have their mainstream Touch model (two years old), and I like that too. Userfriendly, if a bit pokey with the touch sensitivity. It does not seem to have the font features I describe below, even after I figured out how to upgrade the OS.

I just looked at a video promoting the devices (via bookstore W.H. Smith here in UK), and found this tidbit: the readers let your fine-tune your fonts. Not only the size, but also the weight (thickness), and the sharpness (whatever exactly they mean by that).
I think this is excellent, and one of those things Amazon could learn from. Especially if, like it seems, these devices have stepless control of text size. Every ereader and -app should have that. But also the weight. Font weight is hugely influential on the readability of a font, and most fonts, in my estimation, which are made for paper, are too thin to be easily readable on e-ink pages, which despite higher resolution these days, are still cruder than paper and backlit screens.

Self-Published Title Hits No. 1 on Ebook Best-Seller List for First Time

Self-Published Title Hits No. 1 on Ebook Best-Seller List for First Time, article.

I think this is joyous and portentous news. It proves finally in hard numbers that while publishers may have their place, they are not a necessary ingredient to achieve not only success, but big success. In other words, their majority bite of the pie is optional, and their filtering mechanism, their judge function, is also optional.

Galaxy S4

There is no doubt that Samsung is sensing that their killer feature in the war with Apple is bigger screens: the new Galaxy S4 flagship phone is a biggun; a full 5-inch screen at the new redunkilus resolution 440PPI, giving it a full HD resolution, which will fascinate 12-year-olds with 30/20 vision, or people who regularly have loups strapped to their glasses.
They may have a point, it seems that apart from iOS's lack of multitasking, this screen-size conservatism is increasingly seen as a major weakness in their strategy.

Geekbeat says: On specs alone, this is the best mobile device on the market.

Like I've said before: a phone at around 5 inches is a great ereader, with a sharp screen like this. A Kindle is just a bit too large to be a pocket device, but this is not, and yet it's large enough to be very comfortable reading any simple text on. And with Android of course comes Kindle software for the ebooks and many apps like Instapaper for easy reading of web articles (you can send them from your computer and read them in reader-friendly formatting on the mobile device).

Really, unless you have a hankering for surfing more complex sites, or reading comics or formatted magazines, this kind of device goes a looong way in daily use on the run. (When you're on the run, it's a great thing to not have to close and unplug a laptop if the sherif unexpectedly pulls up outside the café.)