Well the Olympics have been here for about a week and and I meant to write a blog about it last week, but really wanted to try out some apps to see which ones I like the best when following the Olympics. First of all – big “shout out” to all our Athletes and to the USA so far for doing such a great job! Proud of our local swimmer Lauren Perdue who was instrumental in helping the USA women win the GOLD in the 4×200 Freestyle Relay.
So the best app I have found by far has been “Join In”. The results apps give you “up-to-date” information for those that want that “spoiler” information. You can also follow the paralympic games also. This app is free and some of the key features include: results, live updates, calendar schedule, details of sports, medal tables and athlete profiles.
I had tried the NBC app, but was very disappointed in that one. So I would definitely recommend “Join In – Results” You can download it from here: http://www.london2012.com/mobileapps_download.html
Go Team USA!!
I was in the checkout of a store today and as I was waiting, some bright colors on a phone handset caught my eye. So I picked up the box and it was a Retro POP Phone handset. Designed by the renowned French designer David Turpin, the Moshi Moshi Pop PhoneIt was a very novel idea – you can talk on your phone with the brightly colored handset. The handset is compatible with all Apple products and comes in the following colors: Black, white, pink, red, blue, purple, yellow, orange, and green. It is also compatible with all 3.5mm jack mobile phones and computers, including BlackBerry. also is made with a soft rubberized outer covering. It has one button for answering and hanging up calls. There is also a volume control feature and it has noise reduction technology. It runs about $25 on Amazon but I have also seen it less expensive on some other websites.
It seems the anticipation may be announced Wednesday March 7th as Apple has event scheduled that day. Will the device be same size, smaller like the ebook counterparts, or slightly larger screen? I watched a concept video that showed some really impressive things such as a magnetic touch to it allowing two users to connect their iPads together to play games (such as football). Some of the rumors floating around is that is will have LTE 4G technology. Other rumors about the new iPad say it will come with a quad-core A6 processor to replace the iPad 2′s dual-core A5 chip. So in the meantime if you are in the market for this newer iPad – now is the time to try to sell your older iPad. Some of the best places to get some cash for older technology is Nextworth, Gazelle, eBay, and Buyback World.
There is new technology that will enable cow farmers to monitor them. It is called “Silent Herdsman” and was developed by Scottish-based Embedded Technology Solutions. It uses motion technology that monitors and records 24/7 a cows behavior. One of the main features of the collar is the ability to monitor the position of the cow’s head. For example if the cow is in trouble they may go down on their hind legs. If this happens a text message can be sent to farmer. This type of technology can revolutionize farming methods. By taking care of their herds using this type of technology it will save the farmers time and money.
Georgia Tech has developed a new app that will allow you to text message without looking at the screen. This is a great breakthrough for those people with visual impairments. The app has 6 buttons with 3 on each side that will align correctly no matter what way you turn your smartphone. This is based on the 6 dot code used by Braille for the English language. When tapping the buttons it will voice the letter out loud. During early research, users can type up to 32 words per minute with a 92% accuracy rate. This app could replace the need for expensive Braille keyboards. The app recently won an award in Stockholm, Sweden at the MobileHCI 2011 conference. If you are interested in seeing how this works, visit this site for a video demonstration: 
I happened to be in Old Navy a few weeks ago and saw this bright salmon colored hoodie and it had been marked down to $8.00. So of course I thought that was a deal so I go to the checkout and I wondered why the lady said to me – “Now you can wash this, but don’t put it in the dryer”. Hmmmm I thought, does this material shrink bad? Anyway I get home and put the jacket on and stick my hand in the right pocket and feel a wire. I noticed it was a headphone jack. So I looked at the label that was on the jacket and lo and behold it says it is a Techno Hoodie. Talk about the perfect workout jacket and I got it very inexpensive. If you notice on the picture the hoodie strings are actually earbuds. What a clever way to stay warm and listen to music too! So the next time you are in Old Navy – look for this piece of mobile technology!
