This week saw Mobile Tech Manor grow wings as I packed up my gear and headed for the Mobilize09 conference in San Francisco. It was a whirlwind trip that was short yet jam-packed with activities, getting ready for the conference and the event itself. I had a great secret session playing with the new Motorola CLIQ Android phone. I had a blast and while I am getting ready to head back to Houston I’d like to share the week with you. Come on in and lets talk.
The Gear
The early part of the week was spent in preparation of the trip. I went through my usual process of deciding what gear should go with me. I always try to take as little as possible yet make sure I am covered no matter how things shake. The kit I took was very portable and it served me well, which proves my decisions were sound.
The MacBook served me well; no matter on what side of the Windows/ Mac fence you sit you cannot overturn my conviction that MacBooks are simply better for mobile work than the Windows varieties. Instant on, great battery life, and low maintenance. My MacBook sat in the bag until needed, and got right to work when the lid was opened. This was repeated countless times and it never disappointed me.
The little Viliv S5 UMPC also performed flawlessly and I was glad I brought it with me. I used it for simple things, especially reading e-books, leading up to the conference. The Mobilize conference is where the S5 got a real workout. I spent almost all of the day walking the show floors, it covered two stories, and I left the MacBook in the bag up in the staff workroom.
The S5 stayed with me all day, nestled in my front pants pocket, and it was there when I needed it. It was a common sight to see me walking around with the S5 in my hand, writing notes with the stylus, or even checking the live feed from the conference floor. The venue was blanketed with good Wi-Fi (shout out to the organizers for that) and I was able to keep up with the panels and keynotes while walking the floor. The S5 rocked for that.
I have installed Windows 7 on the S5 so it has the tablet bits as a result. I took lots of ink notes on the screen using Windows Journal. It worked very well and a lot of folks commented on that when they saw me. I did so many video interviews of attendees I lost count, including one with Motorola CEO Dr. Sanjay Jha, and I used the S5 to make quick notes in preparation for each interview. I had the S5 in my left hand while shooting the interview, the microphone in my right. I could glance down at the notes on the S5 to make sure I didn’t forget to ask any important question of the interviewee.
This system worked so well I was really impressed. It was like having a handheld Tablet PC all the time, and that’s because I did. Many of the interviewees were amazed at the capability of the S5, and virtually none of them knew such a device existed. These were all mobile tech luminaries for the most part, so that shows the lack of promotion on anyone’s part. Dr. Jha in particular was very impressed and asked a lot of questions about it. Maybe Motorola will be jogged to look into UMPCs? One can dream, right?
I also brought the Verizon MiFi with me as it accompanies me every time I leave Mobile Tech Manor. I had the good fortune to find good Wi-Fi almost everywhere, so it didn’t get used much. It came in really handy when needed, as it always does. I am still convinced that the MiFi is the mobile gadget of the year. It is simply game-changing given the utility it provides.
GPS in Taxis
I believe the standalone GPS device is far from dead. The inclusion of navigation systems in smartphones is likely hurting sales, but this trip I saw evidence that standalone GPS systems are getting more popular. On past trips I often wondered why taxis didn’t have GPS systems installed. They are the most logical uses I can imagine for them, but I never found taxis with GPS installed.
This trip that had changed. Three taxis I used for transportation not only had GPS systems of one flavor or another, the driver actually used them. I questioned each of these drivers about the systems, and they absolutely loved them. Each of these drivers had only recently purchased the GPS system, and all three admitted it was only because they had fallen in price. They each told me that when the systems fell to less than $200, they grabbed one. We often say that price is a critical factor for mobile technology, and this firmly proved that.
Mobilize 09 Conference
The Mobilize conference was the purpose of this trip, and it was a day chock-full of good things. The show had grown dramatically from last year, and it is a heady experience to find so many people focused on mobile technology in one place. It was great being immersed in the technology I hold so dear.
The focus of the event for me was certainly the unveiling of the Motorola CLIQ Android phone. I had the pleasure of actually playing with the CLIQ for about 20 minutes the day before it was announced. It was all a secret thing and I couldn’t take any photos, but it was a great opportunity to get my hands on such a ground-breaking phone for Motorola.
I was impressed with the CLIQ from the moment the Motorola CEO handed it to me. The phone is smaller than an iPhone, yet looks very much like an iPhone, with the addition of a sliding keyboard. I have to admit, that keyboard was a real joy to use and the phone is much more useful as a result.
The CLIQ was the most responsive Android phone I have tested, and that was in spite of the heavy graphical burden the MOTOBLUR messaging system puts on the system. The phone was very responsive, and it felt like a fast phone. I can’t wait to get a CLIQ in my hands for a more extended period. I want to thank Dr. Jha for giving me the opportunity to use the phone prior to launch.
I’d also like to thank Motorola for allowing Kevin and I to shoot the video of the CLIQ right before the phone was announced. It was a very comical scene with the two of us hunched over the phone with the Motorola rep shooting the video. We were literally in a darkened hallway behind the stage where the CEO was soon to make the official announcement, and it was a very clandestine meeting. Motorola handlers were preventing anyone from entering the hallway so the phone wouldn’t be seen by anyone other than us, and when we finished up there was a line of folks anxiously awaiting to enter the backstage area. Sorry folks, we didn’t mean to delay your entrance.
I spent a lot of time at the conference watching the crowd to see what kind of laptops were being used. I was absolutely shocked to not see a single netbook the entire day. I’m sure there must have been some there, but unlike other events I didn’t see a single one. This was a mobile tech-savvy crowd so that surprised me a lot. It did seem to me that the crowd was about evenly divided between Macs and ThinkPads. Lenovo is definitely the Windows notebook of choice among this crowd.
I had the pleasure at the event of seeing a lot of friends in the tech world I don’t get to see often, and I made some new friends. It was great seeing Andy Abramson, Ryan Block, Ed Hardy, Xavier Lanier and Robert Scoble once again. I was pleased to meet new friends Chris Ziegler and Brian Lam.
Wrap-up
I need to wrap this column up and get ready to head to the airport for the return trip. I didn’t have much time for reading this week so there is no “E-books of the week” coverage. I missed my e-books. I am excited to get back home for all the expected reasons, but also because there are two new gadgets on the way to Mobile Tech Manor. One is a secret I can’t tell you about for a few days, but it will be worth the wait. The other is the Viliv S7 UMPC, a 7-inch convertible netbook.
Until next week, take care.
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