Worst in Tech for 2010

Microsoft Kin

The Kin was once dubbed as the cousin to Windows Phone 7.  That might be true if that cousin is comatose.  Consumers who bought this device were blessed with no apps or games, a forced data plan by Verizon used for real smart phones, and quite possibly the worst UI ever invented.  Let's not forget all those cloud hosting issues they experienced randomly.  Lost contacts anyone?

The Kin was killed off after an impressive 6 weeks on the market.


AT&T 3G MicroCell

We all know that AT&T has the worst cellular network known to man.  It drops calls, data, runs slow, and has a natural ability to piss people off daily.  The MicroCell unit is their solution to fix all of this, at least in your home.  In theory it's great, except for the forced $150 price tag that goes along with it.

Here is a better idea long term.  Just fix your horrible network.


The TV Hat

Now this is the perfect gift, if your sole purpose if simply to piss someone off and make them hate you.  One thing we have learned since the inception of the iPod is that any random company will make some stupid accessory to try and cash in.  The TV Hat was designed to allow the user watch media on their iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPod Classic with no glare.  It even has a 2.5x magnification screen that "helps give you a movie theater experience".

We better all jump to get this as it's a steal at $30.  Just don't go outdoors with it, as you may have find new friends with the people that wear foil hats.


Shake Weight

I have nothing against integrating technology into our daily lives and routines, but I don't think any of us believe this thing was invented to get your average Joe into shape.  It may have been innocent, but the Shake Weight has quickly become the butt of sexual jokes of everyone.

And yes, I still laugh uncontrollably when I see the commercials.  And thank you YouTube for your wonderful parody videos.


USB 3.0

It came, it saw, and it fell harder than a fat man in a slide at the water park.  USB 3.0 was supposed to be the magnificent replacement to current standards, offering 10x the speed of 2.0 and giving us a world of new high speed peripherals.  Someone forgot to send this memo to Intel and AMD, as they never integrated this technology natively, and only a small amount of devices support it.


Google Wave

This was supposed to be Google's solution to Facebook, or so they thought.  The biggest problem that Wave faced was, well, everything about it.  No one knew how to take advantage of the thing beyond logging in, and it ran so horribly that it became almost worthless.  We tried it here on the beta and it lasted for oh, a week at best and we gave up.  Wave has now been formally killed off, although Google as said they plan to integrate parts of it into other services.


QIK

One thing that Android users want is a quality app for live video streaming and chat like FaceTime on the iPhone 4.  What many of us were stuck with what QIK.  All it offered us in return was performance including choppy framerates, grainy images and frequently dropped connections over 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi.  Thankfully, we have Skype coming out hopefully soon with their video chat update and a possible addition to Google Talk.

New Google Maps Drops the Gauntlet

Google Maps 5.0 is now on the Android Market, and it seems Google has decided to just come out and one up everything available.  Seems like the other navigation apps have a bit of catching up to do now.  


The overall performance has taken a nice jump which everyone will notice.  Previously, the maps were downloaded in small squares and pieces together.  You would have noticed this when you're waiting on the map to load and everything on the screen was a bunch of small white and grey squares.  Now they're using vector graphics to draw the maps as you use it which translates to faster load times.


Explore maps in 3D:
I'm loving this feature right now.  This feature is available right now in 100+ cities and it's a blast to explore with it.  Can't wait for the list to expand.

• Tilting: Drag down with two fingers to tilt the map. Tilt while zoomed in on one of the100+ cities around the world with 3D buildings to see a skyline spring to life.
• Rotating: Twist with two fingers to rotate the map. After tilting to see 3D buildings, rotate around them to gain a new perspective from any direction.
• Smooth zooming: Slide two fingers together or apart, and see the map and labels continuously scale to any zoom level, stopping when your fingers stop.
• Compass mode: Center the map on your location, and then tap the compass button in the top right corner. The map will flip into 3D mode and start rotating to match your perspective, while still keeping all the labels upright and readable.

Offline Mapping:
Yes please!  One big limit you get with almost any phone based mapping app is the need for an internet connection. You get in an area where coverage is lacking for data or in a subway or tunnel, you're dead.  The new version now caches map data on the device allowing for offline support. A data connection is initially required to pull data.  Another nice part to this which should be rolling out of the next few weeks Google has stated is offline rerouting.  Yes, it will have all the data it needs to reroute your drive if you turn off the initial route.


The update can be obtained by going through your Android Market app, or by clicking this link if you're on the phone.

 


Credit to Google Mobile Blog for update info and images.

Top Tweets of 2010

Twitter has announced their prelim statistics for end of year 2010.  It's being estimated that there was somewhere around 25 billion tweets sent out so far this year, which is pretty huge for a social media platform many people still disregard.


The oil spill obviously took first place honors, but I admit I'm happy to see Android beat out Bieber in the rankings.  Seeing as how that kid only ranked 8th, I'm sure billions of little tweenies will be crying over this one.


Top 10 Twitter Trends of 2010
1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. FIFA World Cup
3. Inception
4. Haiti Earthquake
5. Vuvuzela
6. Apple iPad
7. Google Android
8. Justin Bieber
9. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
10. Pulpo Paul

Google App Inventor Open To All

App Inventor has been around for a good amount of time now, but was only available to a select few.  The tool is primarily there to help with faster development of apps before the point of getting heavy into code, and help with teaching development for new developers.

Those days of being selective are over, and the App Inventor is open to everyone!

You'll need a Google account obviously, and to download the installer.  Some phone models are included in the driver list, and some others you may need to manually download a driver for.  The website has a pretty simple walk through to get you up and running.  Just hit your browser over here.

HTC Evo 4G Update v3.70.651.1 Available

It's not Gingerbread (sigh), but HTC rolled out an update today for you Evo owners to enjoy.


I haven't messed with it much so far as it just finished installing earlier, but some of the changes are nice.  Telenav is always a solid choice for maps if Google Maps isn't your preference.  And well, what do I really need to say about Kindle?  It's pure win in the eReader community.


I thought about trying NOVA, but after seeing it required a 74MB update before I could play, I decided against.  I honestly don't use Sprint TV that often, but if the update rolls in a few more free features to offset all the paid content, I'm good with that.


I would comment on having SWYPE on here, but I'm honestly still trying to get it to work.  >:(


If your phone is set to auto update, you should be getting the push for it pretty soon.  If you want to manually update instead of waiting around, follow these steps:
Settings > System Updates > HTC Software Update


The full update list is as follows:

Blockbuster

Kindle eReader

NOVA (new game)

Sprint Zone update

Latest Telenav

Latest VVM App

Sprint TV update

SWYPE Keyboard

Scan Now Widget for 4G