StorageOptions Scroll - review of an Android tablet

The surprise present this Christmas was an Android tablet, StorageOptions (SO) Scroll tablet PC. Here's a review if you have been considering one of these.

The SO Scroll is a 7" tablet with a touch screen that runs the Android operating system. It is a convenient size, about the same size as a diary, which is very unobtrusive. I've already used it as a handy cocktail recipe reference. It was just as convenient as a hardcopy cocktail recipe book and did not get in the way like a laptop might.

The desire for an unlimited cocktail recipe reference that can be dynamically updated online was, dear Reader, not actually the main reason for my brother to get me a tablet PC this Christmas. It was a quick conversation that we had when I mentioned that I had 5 hours of spare time per day on my train commute to and from work when I could be doing something productive, like writing blog posts.

Besides making better use of my time, I also need to communicate better with friends and colleagues. My mobile handset uses a Symbian UIQ operating system and I have not found any good Twitter or Facebook clients for it. This has caused me to miss last minute messages with details to meet up with friends.

Missing these sorts of messages prevents me from targeting influencers with engaging assets to access platforms for conversation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUNntV8jdqM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

How does the SO Scroll match up to these needs, I hear you ask, dear Reader? Does it enable me to recover my brand reach through dynamic reactive organic engagement?

It has five key disadvantages that I have found over the last 3 days
1. Wifi only
The SO Scroll is wi-fi only so you can only access the Internet and run those all important Twitter and Facebook clients when you are at a wi-fi hotspot. More expensive tablet PCs (iPad or Samsung Tab) can access the Internet over a 3G mobile connection.

2. Resistive touch screen, rather than capacitive
The SO Scroll has a touch screen (YES! Love touch screens. So useful when you have a mouse and sometimes handy even when you do) that uses resitive, rather than capacitive. Resistive means you have to push on it pretty decisively. This is the same tech used on my Sony Ericsson w960 mobile phone that can be a frustration sometimes. More expensive touch screens use capactive tech, like on the iPhone, that can support multi-touch pinch zoom etc.

3. No Java support
The SO Scroll has no Java support so some software and websites will not operate as they were designed.

4. Android 2.1, unupgradable, so no Flash support
The SO Scroll runs the 2.1 version of Android that does not fully support Flash. This means that you won't be able to use it to play the miriad of free online Flash games. The SO Scroll website FAQ makes it clear that it will not be possible to upgrade it to v2.2 Android. I must be very clear about Flash support. The packaging states Flash as a feature but I think this is only for FLV movies played from memory. Several websites that use Flash (such as BBC News) do not open correctly on the SO Scroll.

5. 800Mhz ARM11 processor
The SO Scroll uses an 800Mhz processor, which is a similar speed to the CPU that can be found in the Sony Ericsson Xperia x10 Mini. This means that it can be a little unresponsive when running a Twitter client, Facebook client, Yahoo client, Last.fm client streaming music, Blogger client, and web browser.

Having highlighted these cons, I have to say that the SO Scroll is impressive for an Android tablet available at under 150 pounds.

The SO Scroll can stream music online from Last.fm and write a blog post while running Twitter and Yahoo clients and receiving alerts. That stretches it and it crashes a few times but it can still be done.

The touch screen can be annoying, like any resistive touch screen. However, I cannot stand typing on touch screens and StorageOptions has a leather-look case cover accessory that has a keyboard, which uses the mini-USB on the Scroll. This is a really big advantage for the Scroll, in my opinion. The keyboard case makes the Scroll soooo easy to use!

Here are six good advantages
1. Photo and video camera
The SO Scroll comes with a camera for photos and video. This should be suitable as a QR Reader and also for some low quality video blogging on YouTube but I have not had chance to test it for that yet.

2. Long battery life
The SO Scroll has an impressive battery life that lasts at least 4 hours with several clients running simultaneously.

3. Headphone jack
The 3.5mm jack on the SO Scroll really makes it useful as an MP3 player.

4. Nice design
The SO Scroll is a very convenient size and good-looking design with good, intuitive hard buttons. It is easy to see it as a replacement for a diary and also as a digital photoframe.

5. Plenty of memory
The SO Scroll has 2Gb memory built-in plus microSD card slot expandable to 32Gb that is more than adequate for my music collection.

6. Responsive accelerometer
The SO Scroll responds quickly when it is rotated. I recently had a chance to try the latest Symbian 3 mobile handset, Nokia N9, and I am more impressed with the SO Scroll in this respect.

In conclusion, the StorageOptions Scroll is impressive for an Android tablet PC available at under 150 pounds but it is wi-fi only, has no Java support, and is only Android 2.1 that cannot fully support Flash plug-ins for webpages.

I have yet to try transfering videos and music from my PC onto the SO Scroll. I'm hoping it is simple but I'll update you, dear Reader, on how successful it is in due course.

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pushing the envelope

Compared to last year, this Christmas sees a number of changes for me, both professional and personal, which necessitate me to "push the envelope".

At the moment at work we are being asked to provide better for less; better services and efficiency improvements whilst still delivering over 20% spending cuts. This makes us go to the limits of what is technologically and physically possible - pushing the envelope.

Technologically we are getting the most out of what we have and sharing services where appropriate, which is a slight departure from what I was doing at my previous job last year before the cuts, where we were delivering service improvements and business change but not always sharing services.

My job as a Technology in Business Fast Streamer is pushing the envelope for me physically. This Christmas I need to do coursework, revise for an exam, write an essay, and read technical material. The coursework is for the Postgraduate Certificate in I.T. Professional Practice through the Open University that is part of professional development at work. The exam is for PRINCE2 Practictioner certification that is also part of professional development at work. The essay and reading material are for projects that I'm involved with professionally. Fitting it all in will be a physical challenge for me, which is totally different compared to last year when I had a clear break from thinking about work.

So, dear Reader, how am I pushing the limits of what is technologically and physically possible in my personal lifestyle, I hear you ask? Well, last year I had a 25 minute walk to work in the morning. Now I am getting used to a two and a half hour commute, door-to-door, each way every weekday.

This is pushing the limit of what is physically possible for me. I am torn between working in London and living in my beachfront appartment. So, dear Reader, alas I must move to the Big Smoke because I would like to spend more time with friends and less time in a relationship with British Rail.

What is the technological limit for me personally? My PC at home is 8 years old and showing signs of strain as the minimum requirement of modern technology (not even the latest, state-of-the-art technology) passes beyond the capabilities of my ShuttlePC still running XP.

Meanwhile my mobile phone is over two years old. There have been a number of significant improvements to phone technology over that time. Where the need for always-on Internet connection in your contract and 3G connectivity was rare, it is now a commonplace necessity. Hand in hand with unlimited mobile Internet, social networking now also pervades mobile devices.

For one reason and another I have not upgraded my handset. I am still using a Sony Ericsson w960 with a Symbian UIQ3 operating system. All mobile operating systems (Apple, Android, Palm, and the latest Symbian operating system) all have App stores. There are some apps for UIQ but unfortunately the latest apps are not being developed on that platform.

This means that my mobile handset is showing the signs of strain as I push it to its technological limit before it crashes; run a Blogger client, download emails, surf the web, upload photos onto Flickr and Tumblr, check Facebook and Twitter to keep up with friends and colleagues.

To push the envelope I had two solutions in mind; to upgrade to a Sony Ericsson Xperia x10 Mini Pro android mobile handset (250 pounds), or to splash out on a Sony Vaio z13 in carbon fibre (2500 pounds). However, it seems my brother and father may have found a middle option... StorageOption Scroll. Expect a review coming very soon...

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Close up with the 9 o'clock Tar Barrel in the square at Ottery St Mary 2010

I visited my cousin in Devon and we watched the Tar Barrels in Ottery St Mary. Here is a video of the 9 o'clock Tar Barrel 2010.

better connected

Being as prolific on the Web as I am, it makes sense for me to type something once and for it to be syndicated everywhere. For example, I use Twitter as a single port of call to quickly update my status across a number of networks; Facebook, MySpace, YahooPulse, ICQ, and Tumblr

I am not going to try to convince you to use Twitter, dear Reader. I am going to tell you how you can make your online time more efficient by being better connected. You may be reading this note on Facebook but that is not where I wrote it. It is actually imported automatically from my blog. Simples.

I never really understood the use of this until Vodafone told me that I could tweet by text for free (to begin with). It was great because I didn't have unlimited fast Internet access on my mobile. That's how it started. I wanted to update my Facebook status because most of my friends are spread far and wide and I don't get to see them often. I was already sending mass texts to try to organise new year's parties etc, and as Facebook became more popular so it made sense for me to use it instead of texting. I connected my Twitter account to Facebook and this enabled me to send out quick news to a wider audience quickly and easily from anywhere. I asked a friend how he did it and I in turn have passed this on to another mate. So if you want to link Twitter to Facebook then check out the easy tutorial.
http://www.ajvaynerchuk.com/how-to-link-twitter-to-facebook-a-twitter-tutorial-3/

You can link a lot more things to each other. A friend of mine recently posted a youtube video to his Facebook wall. Go to YouTube, watch a funny video, then press the share button, choose Facebook, wait for the share window to open, choose a thumbnail, press share again...

so many clicks! and why must a share it to just Facebook? I have old friends on Bebo, American friends on MySpace, and industry friends on Twitter. I want to share it with all of them. I also want to share the music that I listen to and the photos that I take with all my mates, not necessarily only with the ones in a single network. I can only do all of this quickly and easily because I have authorised their official website applications to my Facebook wall and, dear Reader, you can too.

Check out the apps you have already authorised on Facebook. Here are some official ones...
Bebo
FriendFeed
Last.fm
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Twitter

Other than their Facebook app, there are a number of websites that allow you to connect your account with them to Facebook. Some of these include
I Move You account settings
ICQ Edit Profile - Settings - Feeds Settings
YahooPulse Settings - Manage my linked accounts
YouTube Account Settings - Activity Sharing
Disqus settings - connections
Digg settings - connections
Tumblr Account - preferences
MySpace Account - sync

So what are you thoughts? Is it a good idea to authorise website apps to access your account and post things for you automatically? Does it save time and effort having things connected automatically? Do you feel it is a risk opening your info to third party software agents that you do not know what they are doing? Or is it just dangerous... you accidentally share a video from YouTube that your boss sees from your Twitter feed but you really really should only have shared the video with your best friends? (but this cannot really happen if you have your settings right, especially with Flickr photo security - top notch)

Future savings

Looking into the future I'm already thinking about Christmas and it is still August (just)!!

In the Spring I went to one wedding at a luxury resort and this summer I have been to 3 weddings in Scotland. I was talking to the bride and groom each time about the sacrifices they have made in order for them to organise and most importantly afford their big day. This rang true in my mind because their weddings have collectively become my summer holiday. I couldn't afford to travel to all their weddings, stag parties, buy presents, etc. and also afford for me to have a summer holiday.

So now I am looking to the future. I have been really busy each weekend over the summer with birthday parties, stag parties, and weddings. Apologies to anybody who has wanted to see me but I have inconvenienced you by already being booked solid for 3 months! Looking at my diary I have some big things coming up and I am starting to not just book out my time for them all but to also see the costs mounting up like a tsunami wave gathering pace mid-ocean of the future but heading for the beach that I am standing on in the present. Am I the only one feeling like this?

In the immediate future there is my birthday and leaving party. This will be an expensive outing starting immediately after work, including dinner, entry to a club and drinks while I'm there. Then in the near future I'll be moving to a new job. I'm considering the effect this will have on my life, how much it could cost for me to adjust to a totally new lifestyle commuting to London for two hours each morning and back again for two hours in the evening. Not to mention the cost of the commute itself too.

So this brings me to the next big things coming up into the Short term future. Family birthdays and Christmas. Individually they do not look like a lot but I am trying to budget for it to fit into my new salary along side the commuting and paying off my birthday shebang!

Adding up all of these small things also makes me consider that for the bigger things I will have to save for. Like in the Medium term, say three to five years, I will likely want to move house (deposit and solicitors fees), holiday to Australia (to see friends and relatives), wedding (Yeah I'm single right now but who knows in 5 years!!) and the honeymoon to go with it.

After all of these things I am also looking at where my career will go in the Long term, about seven years to ten years. I'm hoping it'll be good despite the likelihood of a double-dip recession. So I am hoping to be able to buy a brand new car. Mainly because I would like the registration plate SM17 HAM (Smitham - geddit!).

Bearing my new job in mind, where my career may go, my aspirations, hopes of a family life and paying tuition fees, etc. I am trying to see how this can fit into my salary. Where does the money come from for all of this?

Here is the point of this ramble, if you have followed me so far, dear Reader, then here is your reward...
Scale this problem up. Suppose I am not alone. Suppose that I am one example of say, ooo... about the entire UK population. Their money has got to come from somewhere... THE GOVERNMENT'S MONEY HAS TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE!?!
So when I read today that Ed Balls (Labour leadership candidate) is proposing spending £12bn of money that technically doesn't exist!!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/31/ed-balls-affordable-homes

It is a difference in borrowing. The UK borrowed less than it thought it would. That's like me not maxing out my overdraft and then spending my overdraft to the max.

Someone tell me if I am alone in this. Am I going crazy? How does the government do it and can the same mechanisms work for me too so I can buy Christmas presents, move home, pay for my honeymoon, pay tuition fees, and buy a brand new car.

Just a quick courtesy call

On Wednesday I went to an All You Can Eat Curry night at a local restaurant in Albert Road Southsea. I wasn't massively hungry so only had a starter, salad, and Chicken Tikka Massala (CTM) Britain's most popular food. There was a lot of tasty looking food that I had paid to try but just didn't want. My mobile provider called me the following day to see how I was enjoying my contract. Later that day in the office we were discussing the texts that we pay for but just don't use. It occurs to me that the mobile companies have managed to get us used to an All You Can Eat business model where we are not actually that hungry. So here I am on a train bound for London thinking of all the different business models I pay into but don't actually make the most of. My electricity supplier, for example, gets me to pay a large sum every month irrespective of my usage but an assumption that I will use more in the Winter without any clear understanding or estimate of how much I will actually use. Your thoughts?

Making the most of now

Following yesterday's successful test to make the most of the capabilities of my current mobile despite being tempted to get a new one, today I have decided to try to publish to my blog directly from my mobile. So far it is turning out OK. It is handy to blog when I have more than 140 characters to say that won't fit into a twitter post. However, it is annoying trying to write significant musings into a blog when you only have a telephone keypad and predictive text, which cannot spell blog or twitter. All the more reason to get the new x10 you might think but... Sony are bringing out the new Vivaz pro with keyboard. It's also got the Symbian operating system so it should be similar to my current w960. I'll have to check the spec more closely. In the comments to this blog post, please tell me your thoughts on Symbian vs Android.

upgrading mobile handsets

Thursday morning's commute
Originally uploaded by maakusan

OK, so I've had my eye on the new Sony Ercisson Xperia X10 for quite sometime. Great phone and it comes with Android operating system, 8megapixel camera that does automatic face recognitions so you don't need to tag people in your photos it does it itself, oh and it's also got a 1Ghz snapdragon processor so it's fast as the proverbial.

but...

a friend of mine
http://www.myspace.com/162940578
when i got my current phone out he asked if it was mine. you see, it's black and he remembers me with my old white mobile.

the x10 comes in white

but...

only on Orange and they don't like me and I don't like them.

so while I am looking to import a white x10 handset from Japan I am trying to make the most of the phone that I have, my black sone ericsson w960i.

and i am actually really satisfied with how it is performing. this photo is A-MA-ZING! i took it with my phone while i was still sleepy on my commute to work. and it came out this good and i posted it straight online from the phone!

true, the x10 would have made it even easier for me to do all of this, would have automatically geo-tagged the photo too...
but look what my w960 managed! i'm chuffed to bits. it is making me think twice about forking out £500 for the new x10 in white. however, i am always reminded to get a new handset each time my w960 needs recharging, which is about 2, nearly 3, times a day now :(

could get a new battery instead but the new x10 is tempting.

in the comments to this blog post, please tell me of any experiences you may have had ever importing a handset from japan to the UK?