Chippy's Hiblue Lab

I’m testing Beta 2 of the new WordPress 2.0 for Android application and I like what I see so far. The team have implemented windows (I assume fragments on 3.x – I’m testing on a Galaxy Tab 7 with 2.3.5) and completely re-designed the user interface with an icon-based dashboard and a new editor.

The content editor now allows images to be added anywhere in the post.



Here for example.

And. . .



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Here’s the unboxing and walk-round of the Panasonic Lumix FZ150 that I’m starting to test for my online photo and video work. The unboxing was done a few days ago so I’m already well into testing. In terms of sensor performance it’s doing what I expected. It’s completely trashing my 5-yr old Canon S2IS bridge camera. Interestingly though, it’s getting better results than the Nokia N8 in a handheld low-low-light test. It’s an important test for me and an important result because the Nokia N8 is a quality camera and has a larger sensor. On top of that the FZ150 has an amazing image stabilization system. The N8 is still a camera I will use because it’s tiny and internet-connected but the FZ150 is opening up new photography possibilities. Once again, I haven’t bought a DSLR because I don’t believe I need that much focus on quality photography. What I do is not photography! I don’t really fancy the weight and cost of a DSLR either. Maybe the FZ150 is something for you too? Stay tuned for more posts.

Video below…

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This is a demo video and demo blog.

Video recorded, produced, uploaded from the Nokia N8. Embed code grabbed by ‘share’ing the embed code from the YouTube app. to the WordPress app on the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Photo sent from N8 to Tab via Bluetooth and then embedded in the post.It’s a simple, quick process.

Total tIme to record, edit, upload and write post is under 10 minutes [correction. Its was closer to 15 minutes] which is fast for a single-man setup of 570gms and about €650. All-day battery life too! Let me know what you think about the quality of the video. Is it good enough for a first hands-on demo?

Here’s a video I did demonstrating how I used the Galaxy Tab and Nokia N8 for rich photo blogging at MWC. The combination is the best I’ve ever used and as the WordPress app matures, so does the process. For example, this post was created from a ‘share’ from the YouTube app to the WordPress app on the Galaxy Tab. I just love the Android sharing system!

Posted from WordPress for Android with the Galaxy Tab

My masterful plan to use the Nokia N8 and the Galaxy Tab for some photoblogging for Carrypad and UMPCportal via the wordpress application failed at CES in Las Vegas. Internet connectivity was terrible (despite having a Sprint MIFI) and so I abandoned it quickly. Barcelona should, if last year is anything to go by, be a lot better so stay tuned for a lot more posts. I’m going to be trying hard no to post photo after photo without any information. That would be boring.

Again I’ll be dragging along my trusty old Canon S2IS with its simple video capability that allows me to edit on Windows Movie Maker and to connect via USB for live blogging. I still can’t find a combination that beats it. It should allow me to upload some videos fairly quickly too.

Total kit list goes something like this:
Nokia N8
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Gigabyte Touchnote netbook (with ssd and 2Gb upgrade)
Canon S2IS
Universal power pack (50wh)
USB cables
SD cards

Total weight is still going to be in the ‘backpack’ range unfortunately.

One extra service I want to try out this time is Audioboo. I’ve been testing it on the Galaxy Tab and I’m impressed. The audio quality is fine and it slots nicely into my Twitter stream. I won’t be including it on the website though as I want it to be something unique for my Twitter followers. If you haven’t heard of Audioboo,  check it out. It allows you to record a piece of audio, in my case through the Samsung Galaxy Tab built-in Mic, and send it to their servers in a single press. They then send it into your Twitter stream and make it available, with RSS, in your own channel. You can find a few segments I’ve done with the Galaxy Tab here

Join me over at Carrypad and UMPCPortal over the next week. It will he fun!

[This post written on the Galaxy Tab]

With the temperature at 7 degrees it’s difficult to sit outside for too long although the sun, the atmosphere, the smiles on peoples faces make it difficult to head indoors. Tea always calls me at some point though so off to Starbucks we go. Their big mugs of black tea aren’t expensive and here in the middle of Bonn, sitting at the window, there’s lots to see.

As I walked through town it was tempting to check out the latest in the mobile phone shops but just one glance inside reminds of the experience. A bunch of out-of-date phones in non-working plastic dummy versions attached to ‘free’ price tags and 2-year contract commitments. TWO YEARS! I just can’t bring myself to go inside. Even if they had something new, I can’t face the sales staff!

As I sip my tea my thoughts drift back to MWC. Serious things are going to happen to one of the operating systems I have followed closely since it grew its first roots. Both Nokia and Intel will make announcements that affect the future of Meego. Nokia can’t drop it from their strategy because Intel need them and there are probably agreements in place that secure this. Intel have platforms in production that don’t support Windows so if Meego fails, 5-10 years of strategy needs re-working. Intel can’t just switch IADP and Appup over to Android or hope for massive take-up on Netbooks.

What I really hope happens over the next week are three things.

1 – Nokia re-affirm their commitment to Meego and Meego products at the high end, the advanced, leading edge.
2 – Intel announce product partners for Meego on Intel
3 – HP joins the ecosystem by sharing software and engineers, making the WEBOS user interface work with the Meego core and embracing Qt as a development platform.

HP will make an announcement about WEBOS and WEBOS products today. The ex head of Maemo at Nokia (Ari Jaaksi) now works for HP so theres some good connections there too. HP, Intel and Nokia need to stimulate a developer ecosystem and can’t do it on their own. I can’t think of a better partner for Meego.

What Nokia does in the meantime is of no interest to me whatsoever. Symbian will be a mid-tier OS and whatever Nokia decides to do as a bridge will be forgotten in a year. Putting Windows phone 7 in as the corporate offering and freeing up symbian for non corporate focus makes sense. Using Android doesn’t. Meego still needs to be the 2-5 year high-end solution though.

At least thats what I think.

My tea is nearly finished now (but not cold, showing you how damn easy and quick it is to thumb-type on the Galaxy Tab) and its time for me to head back home to spend some hours with the family. Until the HP event starts that is!

Pics from the Galaxy Tab. The 3.5MP cam works well when there’s a lot of bright light around!

The sun is out, the Galaxy Tab is charged and I have a few things to do in town so its time to hit the road and go mobile today. I want to do some more Galaxy Tab photography too so stay tuned for that along with a few posts via WordPress. All this practice will help with my work at MWC next week.

I had a little blip of excitement last night as I was unboxing a Lenovo S10 3T convertible netbook with a 9 cell battery but it didn’t last long. While the battery life might be better than my Gigabyte Touchnote, it would need a days work to port the ssd and apps over. In the end I decided that the Touchnote would once again be my workhorse. That means sticking with my tried and tested S2IS 5MP camera with the vga / mjpeg video capability. This combo, along with a tripod is what I’ll be using on press day to do live blogging. With remote capture via USB, it works very efficiently. The tripod helps me with those long, low-light shots too. I did test an SX20IS and and an SX30IS and they would both give me a couple of extra f-stops to play with (due to better sensors and better software and stabilization) but at 320 euro, I think I’ll wait until after CES now.

In previous posts I have been taking about the Nokia N8 and the Galaxy Tab and I do indeed plan to use them but not until day 1. Day zero, Press day, is a day of dark rooms, live blogging and long-zoom shots on a tripod. Ill stick with the Netbook and bridge camera for that and wait until the 6th for the big Galaxy Tab test. The N8 photos are really quite amazing and i had a lot of success with indoor video over Christmas so I’m looking forward to that.

Final kit list is this then. . .

- Gigabyte Touchnote for live blogging, video editing, long-form blogging.
- Canon S2IS bridge camera for live blogging and video on press day.
- Nokia N8 for day 1 photo and video work. Continuous use as phone, calendar.
- Galaxy Tab for light blogging, day 1 blogging test, Twitter, maps, latitude, Google chat.

I’ll also have a power pack with me and a local MIFI unit for connectivity along with the usual cables etc.

The fun starts on Jan 3rd and coverage will be on Carrypad and UMPCPORTAL.

Over at Carrypad I’ve been writing about another attempt to get a mobile reporting kit together. This time the Netbook gets left in the hotel and I try to use the Samsung Galaxy Tab as the main input device. I’m using it now and it is working out really well. The Nokia N8 works fantastically as a mobile camera too. Results in some low light tests I did snow a huge improvement in quality over my bridge camera, the Canon S2IS. Only the optical zoom is missing.

One major problem I have though is video. With my bridge camera I can produce reasonably good quality videos at VGA resolution. The files are big mjpeg jobs but they’re easy to work with on a Netbook. 720p videos produced with the N8 however aren’t nearly as good. The stabilization isn’t as good, audio isn’t as good, there’s no zoom and the videos are done in fixed-focus mode. Given that the N8 is one of the best 720p capable camaeraphones out there, it looks like I will have to stick with my Canon S2IS. At 500gm it’s not much fun to carry around but what’s the choice?

I love the zoom, the USB remote capture, the hinged viewfinder, the stereo mics and the AA batteries. The only device I can find that competes is the SX20IS but then we’re into H.264 territory which means the netbook would need to be upgraded in order to process the files. It’s still over 500gm too.

Most people with any sense would just upgrade and take the hit on the extra weight but I am determined to focus on mobility here.

Given the N8 can’t do the video, I need to focus on something else as the camera and video camera and just use the N8 for those times (many) when I haven’t got my camera with me.

10x Zoom
USB connectivity
720p recording with zoom, continuous AF and good quality microphone
sub 250g weight
SDHC card support

I’m currently looking at the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 which seems to be getting good reviews in the camera and video department. The Sony HX5 is also getting good video and low-light reviews.

I have a week before CES so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Testing testing. Galaxy Tab and Nokia n8 calling the Internet. Do not believe anything you read in this post.

Winter hit the suburbs of Vegas today as a hotel show went badly wrong. The Jagermaster hotel had to abort a simulation of ‘Winter Olympics’ as residents started complaining of reality distortion. As you can see in the images below, the normally colorful plastic houses were turned instantly into an almost real scene of German suburb life. One resident had this to say. ‘I can’t believe it. This stuff is really cold and dangerous. I will be contacting my lawyer.’

Free alcohol, entertainment and buffets for affected residents were being discussed by the local county council.

This is the 4th and last post in the CES moblogging equipment test. 4 posts in about one hour with the Nokia n8 and Samsung Galaxy Tab.