Elevation Dock Unboxed

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Last year, I became a backer on Kickstarter. I was looking for a while how to support great ideas in a way with relatively little risk. I wasn’t looking for sort of business angel backing,  was looking how it is possible to help folks with great ideas and visions to achieve their goals. The Elevation Dock for iPhone was the first project I pledged and as plus, I received a reward, one of the first docks being produced.

Elevation Dock Package

The dock arrived via standard mail, i.e. in Germany it was not delivered with DHL as parcel it came by snail mail, though. Fair enough, as only a few dollars have been added for international delivery.

 Opening the Delivery

For international delivery the box was fairly packed. Could be better, as it seems that the box moved around in the box a lot. If it would contain breakable parts, this would be probably fatal. However, considering that some human put a lot of effort into packaging this thing for me, that’s fine. I guess there is a lot of improvement in he future.

  The Dock Box

The box of the Elevation Dock quite nice. White, sort of apple style, took me a few seconds how o open it, I tried first to push the inner box out of the sleeve before I realized that you can simply flip the box cover.

Elevation Dock Box opened

The box itself showed that it traveled some thousand miles and that several people moved the parcel from A to B before it finally arrived here. Actually, I don’t care, at this moment I am just interested in the content of the package.

Elevation Dock Content

The dock, which is surprisingly heavy for being made from anodized aluminum, comes with a pre-mounded USB cord. It’s only a few inches. A longer replacement cable is provided if you want to place your dock somewhere away from your USB hub, power supply or computer. Kudos for this add-on.

Comes with Hex Wrench

Actually, I haven’t seen this in the first place, the dock comes with a hex wrench. I think this piece does not cost that much but it#s great for being included. It’s in fact the only tool you need to replace the USB cord. What it does not come with is a AC adapter. While there is a spare place in the package it seems there are no adapters in the Kickstarter rewards added. Maybe this was announced in one of the various mails send during the creation and funding process and I missed that one. However, the empty place in the box labeled AC adapter is quite an indentation there will be a adapter in the docks sold regularly in the future.

Elevation Dock Left RearElevation Dock from Above
Elevation Dock ConnectorElevation Dock Rear

The overall manufacture quality is impressive. The surface is well done and all parts fit perfectly. Turning the dock upside down, you see how well the parts fit. The black bumper within the dock can be turned to fit iPhones with cases into the dock. Also this part fits perfectly and is easy to change.

Elevation Dock Upside Down

The rubber stands are well made, on various surfaces the dock comes with quite some  friction.

iPhone 3GS fits well

As my new iPhone 5 is still on its way, I tried the dock with my not-nearly-retina-and-meanwhile-slow-like-hell iPhone 3GS. Fits perfect. In fact, it fits so well that you have to hold the dock once you want to pull the iPhone from the dock. We have tried this with the iPhone 4 as well, and as promised by Elevation Lab, the dock is a low friction dock. It is awesome how easily you can remove the iPhone 4 from the dock. No need to fix the dock at all, the iPhone 4 just slips out of the dock. Very well designed. That was the original reason I supported the dock.

Bad Luck

On the photography above you might have seen a small spot on the left edge of the dock. This is really bad luck, as the quality of the dock is so high, I really got one with a small mark on the left top edge. Maybe this happened during packaging, as I cannot imagine this happened during transportation. As most of the packaging and quality assurance process in done by hand yet, this might happen. I bet the process for controlling the quality of the devices will improve over time.

 Swapping Cords

As a very last step, I tried to exchange the cables provided with the dock. Opening the dock with the hex wrench works quite smooth. Opening the bottom of the dock, I found this surprising note. It should be obvious not just to bull on the cord how some moron, however, it is a great idea to provide such a note to the user. Many people would probably damage the connector while swapping the cords.

 Dock Connector

Finally, I had a look at the connector. Again, very high quality. The USB cables have micro USB connectors. Surprisingly, the dock connector is mounted using hex screws. Said that it should be possible to change the bolt in connector. In fact, Elevation Labs recently announced that they are currently working on a exchange connector for the new iPhone 5.

I am quite happy being a backer of this project. The quality of the device is high standard, the updates on the project by Casey Hopkins have been great and regularly, and finally receiving the reward is just awesome. Now I am looking forward for the new connector. The time Apple announced the the new connector, the design and production of the dock has been already in full progress. Also many people complaining about the dock having the old connector, one should bear in mind, the docj was designed as a low friction dock for the iPhone 4/4s. And as far as being evaluated it is as promised.

As a resume, Elevation Labs will be definitely one of the gadget providers I will keep on my favorite list for the future. As they already announced the design of a new dock with improved sound capabilities and the development of the new connector I hope that business goes well and they will supply a lot of nifty gadgets in the future.

Revolutionary becomes Evolutionary

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Recently, I discussed a lot with friends and colleagues about new mobile devices. Using Windows Mobile for years, I switched to Apple’s iPhone 3GS three years ago. Before, I talked quite a lot with a friend who recently bought one at that time.

Before, I used an iPod for listening to music and Windows Mobile devices such as the HTC Hermes or the HTC Touch Pro for quite a few years. Over time, I got annoyed by always carrying two devices, two power plugs, two connector cables and by managing at least two different applications to sync both devices. Eventually, my decision to buy an iPhone was driven by quite rational thoughts.

I was pleased with the hardware quite a lot, never worried about the processor, ram or other components of the device. The only drawback for me as an developer was the fact that you cannot simply deploy your home brewed application to the device.

I skipped two generations of the iPhone, finally rethinking of getting a new device. What shall it be? Meanwhile, I am quite off the track developing for Windows Mobile. Also, the hardware fragmentation for Windows devices is quite a bit. Similar situation with Android based devices. Which one is the reference hardware to buy? While the idea of developing for the Android platform is tempting, there are more facts to consider.

After three years, I have to admitt, the ecosystem lock in is quite a reason. IPad (first gen but with 3G), an almost retina but bought a few months to early MacBook and quite a lot of periphery to use with my devices is a good reason to stay. Nevertheless, with the new Lightning connector many peripheral devices became obsolete.

Much more than the hardware lock in is definitely a data lock in. Dozens of apps with your data, synced address books and calendars, lifelogging and quantified self data collected over the years is a good reason to stay with the current platform.

With the release of the new iPhone there is a lot of making-fun-of-the-new-iphone going on, however considering the facts above you see there are simple reasons to stay with a platform. This is definitely a goal of every manufacturers, and Apple plays this this game very well.

Looking at the new hardware, iOS 6 as well as the new Mac OS, there is no rocket science, there is no Star Trek communicator and no universal translator comming with new iPhone. There is no revolution, simply a technological evolution of a long designed system. A system that grew five generations.

Personally, I think a steady evolution of technology is worth quite a lot. I don’t want to migrate all the data, I don’t want to worry about the hardware to buy, I don’t want to learn new user interfaces and usability concepts for now. I want a device being part of my daily (business) life, easy to use, sitting in my pocket being available when needed. With the current evolution of the iPhone this should be possible for the next one or two hardware generations.

Said that, it will be a 64GB iPhone in white for me while it will be a Nokia Lumina 900 or a Google Galaxy Nexus for others due to the same or similar reasons mentioned above.

iPhone 5

The XBOX Blackout

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After dealing with a RROD a couple of years ago, a few weeks ago, my replacement Xbox also went down to the dogs. No replacement this time. Actually, it seemed some solder joint was broken.

With a new box, this time a Xbox 250GB Slim, I was confronted with the data migration issue. Luckily, the new Xbox already has the drivers for the migration kit build in, which means you can connect your old HDD directly to the new box. Therefore I made use of my old Data Migration Kit.

XBOX 360 Data Migration Kit

To make the process of upgrading easier, first set up your new box with a temporary account. Connect the old HDD to the Data Migration Kit and plug in the kit to the new Xbox. It will recognize the kit and ask whether to copy from or to the new console.

Copy Content to XBOX

Afterwards you can select what copy. The only drawback is you cannot copy already installed games from disc. These you have to reinstall at a later point in time.

2012-08-31 14.30.19

Once started this process might take quite a while. I haven’t found anything on the Xbox site about data migration to a 250GB disc or the new boxes. However, luckily the guy in the following video pointed out how it works and that the software/drivers a re part of the new Xbox. 10 minutes worth watching.

Once accomplished, it might be necessary to transfer the rights on digital content to your new Xbox following the steps on http://www.xbx.com/drm.

Fixing Wrong USB Devices in Windows 7

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If you experience issues with a USB device not being recognized under Windows 7, there might be a simple solution to solve this. For example the MSI USB 2.0 All IN 1 Card Reader aka MSI StarReader is recognized as eHome Infrared Receiver (USBCIR) using Windows 7. The device works great using Windows Vista or even the Windows 7 pre-release versions. Unfortunately, with the final Windows 7 the device just won’t work.

MSI USB 2.0 All IN 1 Card Reader A quick look into the Device Manager will show that the device is recognized as eHome Infrared Receiver (USBCIR). When connecting the first time Windows 7 won’t give any notice that the installation of the driver failed or that the device is not ready to use. It will simply not work.

Device Manager

This seems to be known problem, however, there is no need to wait for a Software Update from Microsoft. The solution is to manually choose the device.

  1. Start Device Manager
  2. Right-click the eHome Infrared Receiver (USBCIR) entry
  3. Select Update Driver Software
  4. Choose Browse my computer for driver software
  5. Choose Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
  6. Make sure the Show compatible hardware box is checked
  7. Select the USB Composite Device and you are done

Show compatible hardware

After a few seconds the driver should be installed and the device should be ready.

Driver Software Installation

Unwrapping the O2 Diamond Pro

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Ordering an O2 Diamond Pro aka HTC Touch Pro one week ago, I was told that the delivery might take three to five weeks, as the device is not available yet. I was quite surprised as a parcel arrived this morning. What’s inside? The brand new O2 Diamond Pro. The packaging is done a bit Apple-style, making unveiling the phone to some kind of experience.

Xda diamond pro packaging

Opening the package will reveal the phone. In terms of style and experience, the O2 branding is quite nice, but at the end the content is more interesting.

O2 xda diamond pro revealed

For the impatient user there is a quick-manual for the phone and forth TouchFlo 3D user interface. Also you get ActiveSync 4.5 and a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Outlook on CD-ROM. For those with a lot of spare time you’ll find a 350 pages manual. Nice through for the inexperienced user.

Xda doamond pro content

The included accessories are more or less surprising USB and TV cradle, USB handset, replacement pen. The most surprising one is the USB cradle. Standard USB to mini USB, which goes directly to the charging plug.

Xda diamdon pro accessories

SIM, microSD and battery can be simply inserted by removing the back cover. There is no button to release the cover, so it works similar to the HTC TyTN II (aka HTC Kaiser).

After turning on the phone the first time, the O2 setup will take about 2 minutes install the branding and setting up the phone. This might differ for each provider. Connecting to the Exchange server took only a few steps. And that’s one of the coolest features when using a Exchange server at the back: getting all your contacts, appointments, tasks and mails to your new phone at once.

What is nice: Beside the replacement pen, you’ll get a clear screen cover that can be placed on top of the touch screen, increasing its durability. I haven’t realized any drawbacks using the touch screen with it.

What is disappointing: The case that comes in this package does not fit to the phone. It a leather-kind, slip-style case which is only half the size of the phone!? To me it feels like this is the case for the Xda diamond (without keyboard).

What is also disappointing: With a regular price of 500 £, I would expect at least some kind of microSD card within the set. In contrast, the Nokia E71 came already equipped with a 2GB microSD card.

The keyboard feels quite solid and the slide functionality behaves a bit as the one of the HTC TyTN II and not as cheap as of the HTC TyTN. If you are used typing on the TyTN or TyTN II, you’ll get used to the keyboard quite fast. The pen slides into the phone automatically as soon as you have inserted it more then 50%. That’s no magic, but quite nice.

So far, the device and its accessories are quite satisfying. As I experienced the first time with my O2 Xda, Windows Mobile Device Center displays a preview of your Xda.

Windows Mobile Device Center

O2 Upgrade for Windows Mobile 6

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Oh dear, last month all my colleagues did an upgrade on their MDA aka Hermes 9600 for a newer ROM version. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any upgrade for the Xda Trion at the O2 XDA website. Also the German O2 website does not provide any information about ROM upgrades. Here I finally fond some information about O2 taking their Windows Mobile upgrade quite serious and the most importing information: All the upgrades are hosted by HTC directly. They even adapted the O2 style on the Windows Mobile 6 Update for Xda page.

Windows Mobile 6 Update for Xda

All you have to do is to enter the serial number of your Windows Mobile device (right behind the battery) and download the corresponding 52 MB bits. Before installing make sure your ActiveSync connection is set up properly and running. And that’s currently the only drawback of the whole story: I tried to perform the ROM upgrade first with my Windows Vista machine. The upgrade process seems to run up to the point where the application tries to upload the ROM files. At this point the application does not work properly with either Windows Vista or the Mobile Device Center. Therefore, I did take my Windows XP backup machine. There you simply plug-in your device and make sure that the ActiveSync connection is established.

Diffrent SPL Versions

It looks like the SPL version (whatever this is) was not updated by my first attempt. Connecting via ActiveSync showed a different version (2.03 instead of 1.04). After confirming the setup procedure on your desktop machine, the screen changes then to a progress bar. After approximately 10 minutes the ROM upgrade is complete, the device restarts and shows up the new Windows Mobile 6 screen.

Xda Trion with windows Mobile 6

 

AG SHP

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It is time to hack something new. So, the AG SHP appears to be fine for the next project. First step will be to retrieve as much as possible information about the system. I did already spent some hours in such a system – feels like next generation console games. As far as I know, the system is made by a UK company. Let’s see what I can figure out about the system within the next three months.

AGS HP

Coding4Fun @ UK

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The last three weeks have been packed with traveling a lot. Birmingham, London and Harrogate. There, I was able to present a part of our work at the launch tour of Visual Studio et al. We present all the stuff together with MSDN Coding4Fun. So for everybody who asked: The Phidgets are available at the Phidgets Website and the fischertechnik models are sold in UK as well. Beside this, there is a video at Channel9 where Daniel Fernandez and Brian Kellel show some of the nifty projects. Next station of the launch events: Edinburgh. And yes, for all who asked: It works great with the Visual Studio Express Version, which is available for free.

Coding4Fun