News: Android 5.0 Lollipop Being Rolled Out to Nexus Devices

Source: Android Central, Gizmodo

Google's latest Android Operating System was announced at Google I/O in June 2014 under the codename of "Android L." In mid-October 2014, Google said that updates for the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and 7 (both 2012 and 2013), and Nexus 10 would be available in the coming weeks. Early in November 2014, Google announced that the first devices with the latest Android revision would be the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player. Reports have been coming in of older Nexus devices receiving the Lollipop update, though our Nexus 7 (2013) still have not seen anything yet. Comment below if you have received the 5.0 Lollipop update goodness!

Review: Pebble Smart Watch

Buy Pebble Smartwatch at Amazon

I really should have done this review a long time ago, but today's review is on the Pebble Smartwatch. The Pebble Smartwatch is one of the most well-known Kickstarter campaign success stories which met it's $100,000 goal within 2 hours. There was (and still is) a high demand for smart watches.

What's unique about this little smart watch is it's e-ink display which requires less power to run than a smart watch with a full color LCD display. The battery's life is advertised to last for "7+ days." When it first came out, it retailed for $249, but as of the time of the review is now $99. Let's take a look at what this little smart watch has to offer.

Features and Specs
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, let's take a look at the features and specs of the pebble watch.

• Screen - 1.26" e-Ink display at 144 x 168 px
• Other Hardware: backlight, accelerometer, magnetometer, ambient light sensors, and vibrating motor for feed back and notifications.
• Pebble SDK for third party apps and clock faces
• Water resistant

Software

Pebble connects with both Apple and Android phones (sorry Windows) with a corresponding Pebble app. For this review, we'll be using the iOS app for iPhone. This is where you manage everything with your pebble from notifications, clock faces and apps. Actually the software is extremely intuitive, easy to use, and looks really nice.

Once you've paired Pebble with your phone, you're all set up to receive notifications from SMS, e-mail, and phone calls. The watch does not have a speaker, but you're able to accept and deny calls quickly, something I didn't realize would be as handy as it actually is.

With advanced notifications, you can setup any app that does notifications to show up on your watch. You have to have a second bluetooth connection (which get's setup automatically from the app) which requires the App to be open to use. I found this to be hit or miss with connections dropping occasionally on the advanced notifications, not to mention that I would inadvertently close the app when I am closing all my apps or restarting my phone.

Sometimes I'm surprised at what actually shows up, for instance, the Amazon iPhone app sends a notification when a package has been delivered and shows up on my watch. Pretty cool.

The software updates are handled through the app which will automatically check and update your phones software. The process is pretty painless.

Pebble Store

One of the big selling points is third party apps and custom watch faces. There are eight storage slots which can be filled with watch faces and/or apps. As far as I could tell, all apps and watch faces are free. I did notice that there were come direct links to PayPal to essentially tip the developer.

There are a lot of third party app options including fitness trackers, games, remotes, notes, stocks, store gift cards with QR, scores, news, and more. Though I found that really any of the useful apps would require a companion app on the phone which is kind of inconvenient, but it's understandable given the Pebble's limitations, especially for fitness tracking.

Selecting new watch faces is half the fun of the Pebble. There are thousands of watch faces to choose from. Some of them also show weather, date, and other useful (or not) information. I found that some watch faces drain the battery much quicker than other apps, especially the ones with animations or changes every second. The way e-Ink works is that when the screen is idle, there is minimal power draw and en the screen transitions is where most of the power draw occurs. If you want longer lasting charges, opt for the ones that change on the minute.

Day-to-Day Use

The Pebble has been an overall very positive experience. I love the customizations to make it feel more personal. I have found the seven day charge to be mostly true (depending on your watch face) and that charging once a week to not be that big of a deal. It would be cool if we could eventually hit the one month mark with it, though batteries still have a ways to go still for that to happen.

The notifications are extremely handy. Yes, you could read all of these on your phone, but there are situations where it is nice to just take a quick glance at your watch to decide if it's urgent enough to deal with from the phone. Again, it falls into the #FWP category, but I found it to be less rude checking the notification on my watch than it would be to pull my phone out of my pocket in a meeting at work.

Really, the Pebble is a great value, especially now at $99 at the time of this writing. It's simple, it's fun to use, easy to see, and useful.

Poll: What kind of phone are you currently using?

I noticed today that I few people I work with were still using flip phones are did not have smartphones. The latest poll is to see the spread of the different types of phones used by my readers.

Which type of phone do you have?

Android

iPhone

Windows

Blackberry

Amazon

Non-Smart Phone

Other

Please Specify:

Poll Maker

Discussion: Apple Watch

Source: Apple, GSM Arena

Let's face it, the Apple Watch has been a long time coming. It's been one of the longest rumored devices by Apple that I can remember, second to the iPhone. So what's all the fuss about with this new wearable by Apple.

The Apple Watch was September 9, 2014 with a "Spring 2015" release date, which some rumors of that being around Valentine's Day 2015 with a starting price point of $349. Apple Watch comes equipped with an Apple made S1 processor.

Looks and Variations

It will come in two sizes: 38mm and 42mm. There are also six varieties including: silver aluminum, space grey aluminum, stainless steel, space grey stainless steel, 18K yellow gold, and 18k rose gold. There are also six types of watch straps. There are technically three separate Apple Watches: Sport, Apple Watch, and Apple Watch Edition.

Technical Specs
There are still some unknowns at this point since the device is not yet available, but here's what we do know:

• Processor - Apple S1
• RAM - 512MB
• Storage Capacity - 4GB
• Battery Capacity - Unknown
• Battery Life - Unknown (Though it's been heard that a daily charge will be required.)
• Resolution - 38mm @ 340 x 272 px and 42mm @ 390 x 312 px
• Sapphire-Crystal Display
• Mag-Safe Charging
• Compatible with iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, and 6+

Features

The Apple Watch comes equipped with a variation of iOS software that works closely with your iPhone. Here's a list of features from Apple's website:

• Messages
• Phone
• Mail
• Sketch
• Walkie-Talkie
• Tap
• Heartbeat
• Fitness
• Apple Pay
• Calendar
• Maps
• Passbook
• Music
• Apple TV Remote
• Remote Camera
• Timer
• Stopwatch
• Alarms
• Stock
• Weather
• Photos
• Siri
• Glances
• Actionable Notifications
• Third-Party Webkit Apps (The SDK was released 11/17/14)

Thoughts

The truth is, Apple is entering a market that is already starting to crowd, with devices already available from Samsung, Microsoft,  Asus, LG, Sony, and Motorola. These other smart watches are typically $250 or less while Apple's comes out on top of the heap, starting at $349. They have been in this situation before with the iPhone however and we all know how that played out. 

There's a couple of concerns that I keep coming back to: battery life and water resistance. A daily charge for your phone is one thing since you don't actually wear it, but a watch on the other hand (no pun intended), is typically something you put on and forget it's there type of device. Also, if you're charging it overnight, it's kinda hard to do sleep metrics which I think Apple may have missed the boat on.

Then the issue of water resistance, it's likely that you'd have to take it off before baths, showers, and swimming. Again, the inconvenience is pretty high, you could be taking your watch on and off twice a day, potentially. In a first world problem sort of way, you should not need to be taking your watch off that frequently.

Will I buy one? The answer is yes, but that's probably the engineer in me wanting to get my hands on first article builds more than anything. What Apple did right for sure is playing the fashion side of it. A watch is supposed to look good, something Apple excels at and the competition seemed to not focus on as much (I'm looking at you Samsung). I have not seen one in person, yet, but from what I've seen it's a remarkable looking device.

The jury is still out there for me on the Apple Watch. On one hand, you have cutting edge technology, style, 3rd party apps, Apple Pay, and usability. On the other hand, you have a high entry point ($349 is up there), battery life, and possible lack of water resistance. I personally cannot wait to try one.

Stay posted for a full review when they come out.

News: iOS 8.1.1 OTA Download Available

Just checked my iPhone today and noticed an update to iOS to version 8.1.1. Release notes show improvements for iPhone 4s and iPad 2 performance and stability.

This release includes bug fixes, increased stability and performance improvements for iPad 2 and iPhone 4s.

 To update, go to Settings > General > Software Update to check.

News: New Q&A Section

Check out the new Q&A section! Feel free to ask your burning technology questions or request reviews on certain products. Ask for advice on devices and services that you are debating on I want to know!

How To: Tether your iPhone via Wi-Fi or USB.

Welcome to my first how-to guide! This is a question I get quite frequently amongst my iPhone toting friends and family. "How do I use my phones data (or internet) on my computer, laptop, or tablet?" This is was is commonly known as tethering, or simply using another device's data to connect to the internet on another device. I would say about 50% of my friends and family know that this option even exists. This guide assumes that tethering is part of your smartphone plan, if you are not sure you can contact your wireless provider. It also assumes you are using iOS 8 (check Settings > General > About > Version) as well.

1. On the iPhone you wish to tether the data from and set up as a hotspot, go to Settings (that gear that I have in the lower right corner of my homepage, your's may be on a different page depending on how your's is set up). Then select "Personal Hotspot"

2. Tap on "Wi-Fi Password" to set your password. You'll need to remember this for when you connect your other device to the iPhone.

3. Set the slider under "Personal Hotspot" to the "On" or green position.

4. If you do not have Bluetooth enabled, you will get this pop-up. You do not have to use Bluetooth to tether, it's simply another option. If you didn't have it turned on before, you probably don't want it enabled again since it is an additional battery drain so I usually just tap the "Wi-Fi and USB Only" option. (Note, no matter which option you tap, you'll still be able to tether no problem.)

5. USB Tether - This is the simplest option assuming there is a USB slot available on your device. Simply plug your iPhone into your laptop or computer and it should be connected and ready to go.

6. Wi-Fi Tether - At this juncture, your iPhone is already broadcasting a hotspot signal that can be seen by any Wi-Fi enabled device. On your device, connect to the iPhone the same as you would any other Wi-Fi device. It will usually have the name like this "Matthew's iPhone" or however your phone was set up.

7. Once you have a successful connection, your iPhone will show a blue bar at the top[ showing how many devices are connected.

Now you are connected to the internet through your iPhone! But remember, you are using your phone's data so monitor your use. Please leave your comments and questions below!

News: Free 1GB extra data from Verizon in November and December 2014!

Source: Verizon Wireless

In case you didn't know, Verizon is offering up 1GB extra data for the months of November and December 2014. This is apparently to commemorate  the day before Thanksgiving, which is apparently known as  "Connection Day." Go and claim yours now! I did mine through the MyVerizon app through the AppStore with directions below!

Enjoy! Comment below if this worked for you!

Poll: Which music streaming service do you prefer?

I have had several people ask me which streaming service I use to listen to music while I am at work. Some people are surprised at how many services there actually are. I am curious to see what my reader base uses.

Which music streaming service do you primarily use?

Spotify

Google Play All Access

Pandora

Amazon Prime Music

iTunes Radio

Beats Music

Grooveshark

Other

Please Specify:

Poll Maker

Poll: How many GB is your mobile data plan?

I have to admit, I am a heavy user of cellular data. I stream music, watch YouTube videos, do mobile banking, texting, e-mail, browsing, and even tether to other devices frequently.

I am curious to see what my readers have for their data plans. (In case your wondering, I fall into the > 10GB category.)

How many GB are on your shared cell phone data plan?

< 2GB

2GB

4GB

6GB

8GB

> 10GB

Poll Maker

Update: It appears there's a PHEV minivan around the corner.

Source: Auto Blog

Well, now that I have been searching for information on hybrid minivans, there appears to be one coming up on the horizon, which Chrysler is saying is "Late 2015."

This is supposed to be the first hybrid minivan targeted for US release, which is still 14 years after Toyota released their first hybrid minivan in Japan. One surprise, however, is that this will be a PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) which should have an electric range of 74 miles before going into hybrid mode. For reference, the Chevy Volt has a 38 mile electric range before kicking over into hybrid mode.

Here's some reference shots of the current Chrysler Town and Country minivans which could look similar I would think (photo credit to www.autoblog.com):

2013 Non-Hybrid Exterior

2013 Non-Hybrid Interior

I was unable to find a proposed price of the vehicle, but Toyota sells their hybrid minivan for 3,918,437 Yen in Japan (About $34,190) for the base model. Also, Toyota's Plug-In Prius carries an additional $5,000 on it's price tag for it's plug-in feature, which would make it safe to assume that these could go for $40,000+. I hope I'm wrong.

Hopefully this will be a catalyst for other HEV/PHEV minivans in the US market. What would be the price point you would be willing to purchase a PHEV minivan? How about for a HEV minivan?

Review: iOttie Easy View 2

iOttie Easy View 2 on Amazon

As mentioned earlier this week, I have been reviewing the iOttie Easy View 2 dash mount for our vehicles.

My goal was to find a strong suction that would adapt to various surfaces of dashes (too bad I can't test this in a Tesla Model S, if only). My other requirements were to hold my iPhone 6 Plus with a case on it and retail for less than $20. After several searches, this one trickled its way to the top of the list.

Now, I have had my fair share of cheap department store solutions but those always tended to break within a week, not hold up the phone well, or just plain stink (literally and figuratively). I just needed something that worked and not break the bank.

When I received it, I was surprised at how small the box was. I was starting to wonder if it would really fit my iPhone 6 Plus at all. After opening the package I did a quick test to see if it would fit. I was quickly shown that it fit rather comfortably, even with my Spigen Tough Armor Case. If you are  looking for a no fuss dash mount for your iPhone 6 Plus, just stop here, you have found it.

Now for some more of the fundamentals. The first thing to address is the suction/stickiness of the suction cup. I tried every surface type on our minivan which varied from smooth, textured, curved, and flat and held up like a champ. It simply wouldn't budge. Then I realized I hadn't even clamped it down yet! Once I had that clicked into place, it was going nowhere. I will say though that if you need to move it ton another car or another position, it can be done, but it takes some serious effort. (Which is what you want out of a dash mount right?)

 Next test was to see how well it held up my iPhone 6 Plus and case. The main thing I was looking for was wobble, or the arm falling under weight, or the whole thing coming off the dash altogether. I am happy to report that none of those thing occurred. In fact, after driving around with it for some time it held up perfectly. I was still able to make some minor adjustments while I drove around however. Here are a couple shots of my phone mounted on it.

Landscape

Portrait

There are just a couple minor quibbles with this unit, but they are extremely minor. My first is that I had a hard time telling if the phone was all the way on. It's kind of hard to explain, but I have a hard time knowing if it's all the way pushed back against the back, mostly due to the clamped edges clamping down so tight. I found that if I wrapped my had behind the flat part of the mount while installing the phone that I could could ensure it was pressed back all the way. My second complaint is that I feel there should be some arm movement to allow for additional minor adjustments. The mount on the stationary arm does allow some movement for small adjustments and rotation, but I still feel like there could be a tad more. For the price however, these are easily forgiven.

I highly recommend the iOttie Easy View 2 as a sturdy and affordable dash mount for your phone, especially if your looking for one for your iPhone 6 Plus. The iOttie Easy View 2 also comes in four colors too for a little variety: Black, Red, White, and Mint.

LWT: Nest Learning Thermostat 2.0

Buy Nest Learning Thermostat 2.0 from Amazon

This is a new series of articles called LWT, or Living With Technology. These won't neccesarily be reviews per se, but rather a look at day-to-day usage of technology in our lives with real world scenarios and numbers. The first installment of these articles will be on the Nest Learning Thermostat 2.0.

Let's just get it out there, the Nest Learning Thermostat is a very cool device, and a very practical one at that. Nest manages to take something as boring as a thermostat and turns it into a beautiful, connected device. The real beauty of it is that it does so much more than just look good, it serves as an energy saver which translates into utility and money savings. So here's the question: Does it save money? In my scenario, yes, and I'm well on my way to saving more.

Here's our scenario: we bought a new house near Boise, Idaho in 2011 with 2500 square feet, four bedrooms, and standard thermostat in the stairwell. My wife and I have three kids with a fourth on the way. That last bit plays a role in my monthly energy savings.

First off, the Nest retails for $249, so it's not too hard to calculate where the savings break-even point is. We bought and installed our Nest in June 2014. This is how are current savings so far have been calculated:

$0.079675	2013	2014	Difference	Savings
June kWh	842	880	-38	-$3.027650
July kWh	1386	880	506	$40.315550
August kWh	1604	1478	126	$10.039050
September kWh	1670	960	710	$56.569250
October kWh	889	539	350	$27.886250
Total	6391	4737	1654	$131.782450

According to the numbers, we are already slight more than halfway to having the Nest pay itself off. Here's what I think contributed to our overall savings.

1. Lock - This is where I learned how much our kids mess with things and the thermostat was no different. With the Nest, you can lock in a certain temperature range so that if the kids mess with it the Nest will not go outside of those bounds. I most certainly could not do this with my old thermostat. Gone are the days of the "mystery" temperature spikes and drops.

2. Schedules - This is an area that really shines for the nest. This is ultimately what prevents some of the wasteful cooling in the summertime (I've really only had it for warm weather seasons). Instead of just leaving it at a constant 70 degrees the whole winter, whether people were home or not, you got exactly that, 70 degree all summer long. Here's the thing though, during the middle of the day is when most of us weren't in the house anyways, but the old thermostat would work hard to bring those temperatures down to 70 degrees all day long. This is really is quite wasteful. There's really no better way to explain it than by showing our schedule during the summer which my wife said she didn't even notice (in other words, worked for her):

3. Auto-Away - This is one of the neatest features and one that worked rather well. The long and short if it is that the Nest determines when no one is home and will simply shutdown the unit all together. This once proved incredibly useful when we left on a trip and I had forgotten to turn it off. While not perfect, it definitely proved useful.

4. Remote Access - Really, having remote access to your thermostat is quite nice and really how I set my schedule. It let's you monitor, adjust, and set schedules in real time since the thermostat is connected via your home Wi-Fi. My wife likes to make small adjustments in the middle of the night and can do it without having to get up  of bed at all (or "Honey, can you get up and go change the thermostat for me?"). It's really quite nice to have that kind of control over the thermostat to ensure that you're saving money.

At the end of the day, I am already saving money and halfway toward the Nest paying itself off. It looks good, is fun to play with, and money savings also translate into energy efficiency and reducing waste. In my mind, the Nest is a win-win-win proposition.

Do any of you have a Nest Learning Thermostat? What are your savings if you do have one? Post your comments, questions, and thoughts below!

Discussion: Amazon Echo

Source: Amazon Echo Link

Well, you have to hand it to Amazon, they truly surprised everyone in a day where there are rarely surprises. The Amazon Echo was certainly not on anyone's radar and there's not really anything like it out there. Really, Amazon's R&D is certainly alive and active.

The whole idea behind the Amazon Echo is to have an always connected device in the home that gives you access to music, news, and other useful information. The device actually looks pretty good and appears like it could be useful in sundry circumstances.

The Amazon Echo is not yet available, though Amazon mentions it will inform customers exactly when it will be ready for the masses in "a few weeks." The retail price is set at $199 and $99  to Prime members for a limited time.

It does raise the question though, what problem does it solve that can't be done with a cell phone? Also, how will consumers respond to the Amazon Echo, will it be a smash hit? Or better yet, does Amazon expect these to be a smash hit? It's certainly new and different and time will ultimately tell if it goes the way of the Fire Phone, or it could be the next Kindle for Amazon.

I'll just throw my two cents in. As much as I want to like the Amazon Echo, there just seems to be something missing, I just can't put my finger on it. The bizarre thing is that I actually want one, though more at the Prime member price of $99 than at the $199 price point. I personally don't know what problem it solves, but I would love to be proven wrong. Maybe I just need to give it a try which is what I intend to do when I review it once it's out.

Feel free to share your thoughts below? Do you think it will be a hit? Will you buy one?

Discussion: Why do we not have hybrid minivans in the US?

Sources: Toyota Japan, Honda USA

We recently came to a point in our lives where it just made sense to go out and shop for a new minivan. We have never bought a new vehicle before and were not sure what to expect. In fact, a 10 year old car for us was a "new" car.

Everyone has different needs at different times in life and there's usually a vehicle that fits just about any of those needs across a wide spectrum. One of the first thoughts I had was to look into a hybrid gas/electric vehicle. I mean, hybrid technology has been around for the better part of a decade now, surely this technology would have found it's way into the minivan category. Much to my surprise, however, this is simply not an option in the US at this point.

This raises some questions:
1. Is the technology not there yet to make this feasible?
2. Is the market not asking for it?
3. Are there political reasons as to why this has not occurred?

There is no doubt (at least in my mind), that the EV is here to say and will likely become mainstream. So there has to be some explanation as to why we have not seen the hybrid/electric minivan reach the market.

I then heard from a good friend of mine who was in the same situation as me recently (we both have a wife, three kids, and one on the way) and recounted a much similar story. He then sent me these links:

http://www.alphard.com.hk/index_en.html#hybrid
http://www.toyota.com/esq/pdf/hwt-vehicle-cards.pdf

So, they do exist...in Japan...apparently, and for almost 13 years! Where has the US been?

Let's take a quick look at the specs of the 2014 Toyota Estima which I think is catering more toward the budget-minded according to Toyota.
- Price: $34,190 (¥3,918,437)
- Fuel Economy: 40-42 MPG (17-18 KM/L)

I need to do more research, but there's got to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. I mean, this is roughly how much we spent on the 2015 Honda Odyssey EX which specs like this.
- Price: $32,275
- Fuel Economy: 19-28 MPG

If I had the option between the two vehicles mentioned above, I would have chosen the 2014 Toyota Estima for sure, simply due to the savings in fuel.

I want to hear all of your thoughts and what you may know about the state of hybrid/electric minivans in the US (or lack thereof) and if you would buy one if you had the chance. Sound off below!