Octech’s Weblog

In a previous post I discussed the tech stuff I carry when walking or just for work – and especially the number of devices and chargers I have to pack. Well just before Christmas I got an HTC Touch Pro – and it was great to have only one device in my pocket – which does everything.

I got the extended battery pack, which is essential if you use it as much as I do and want to get a full days use from it, the supplied slim 800mAh battery is just not good enough. I also added a 16GB memory card.

Great Points

• Excellent camera, which includes a flash light, exposure compensation and auto-fucus.
• The ability to photograph documents and even business cards – very useful for me as I am always losing bits of paper when I am at work, and as a Director in BNI I get dozens of business cards each week.
• The keyboard is very useable – and illuminated
• Exceptional screen – it is small, but sharp and very easy to read. I can easily use the Memory-Map navigation software on it, edit word documents using TextMaker and read books.
• The supplied RSS Hub application is very good – downloading content in the background when there is  data connection – and even able to download on request podcasts – which can then be played from the application or saved to the storage card.

I hve always thought that the Windows media player, supplied with Windows mobile devices, lacks flexibility. On previous PDAs I have used the free TCPMP player – but that does ot work in WM6.1, so I bought a copy of its commercial replacement Core media player.

Looking on the web this evening for some information about Loch Ruthen, in Scotland, I ended up at the RSPB site. Where I found they have a mobile version of their “Bird Identifier”.

I hadn’t planned to bring the Asus EEE on holiday – but at the last moment I threw it in the boot of the car (and as it is solid state I could throw it).

I do push my PDA to the limits and expect it to perform as a laptop but there are a few things it cannot do which the Asus can do when connected to the internet.

For the first thing I have been able to post to this blog – there is PDA interface to post to WordPress but it is limited – but using the Asus I have been able to post with images and manage my site, (I was planning to post my Coast to Coast Experience but the holiday seems to have got in the way of that happening – you will have to wait for that a little longer.)

The other thing I have been using our timeshare wifi for is posting images to my Flickr pages – www.clivecatton.co.uk – something that I get round to all to infrequently, I still have images from the top of Ben Nevis from last summer that I still want to post – this year the pictures are up there.

Anyway we are off camping again tomorrow so the Asus will go back in its padded backpack (Tamrac Travel Pack 71 – free with my Amateur Photographer subscription) and go back in the boot.

A client of mine is giving the Asus a real travel try out – he is having a months holiday in Australia and asked me to spec him a laptop for the journey so he could keep up with email and stuff for his business whilst away – as well as using it for Skype, editing the digital photos and other computer chores. I suggested the Asus – and when he returns I’ll tell you how he got on with it.

I sorted out several other hi-tech things he needed, he already had a Pocket PC for carrying his Outlook etc with him – we suggested and configured that for him. I configured a memory stick for use in a Windows PC with Portable Apps – but also as a storage device of essential documents which can be used in Asus under Linux. I backed his Outlook PST file this stick and uploaded the data to the Essential PIM Portable Application, loaded on the stick – plug the stick into a Windows PC to access your Outlook data whilst on the road. He also took an 8gig stick with him as a backup device for digital photos.

Business and personal “on the road computing” is something that I specialise in at Octagon Technology – and is something I enjoy setting up and using – it is also a good excuse to upgrade my kit on a regular basis!