photo credit: poketmonster [rafa]

Judie: Welcome to the newest installment of Dear Gear Diary, where several members of the team chime in when Dave asks for advice on what he should replace his dying Palm TX with, and Carly tells Carlos how he can make his Camangi look better with tips that will work on just about any Android device.

And without further ado …

Dear Gear Diary,

My old Palm TX is dying and I am looking for something to replace it. If it could also replace my phone, that would be a bonus, but I’d be willing to look at MIDs or PMPs.

I am looking for something with a robust calendar and to do list (like DateBk6).

Something that can set audible alarms for appointments and tasks (like Palm)

Something that can sync the calendar to Google (like GooSync).

Something that can manage lists (like HandyShopper).

Something that will function when it’s not connected (because there are spots where I work with no reception, depending on the carrier).

And something I can carry in my shirt pocket (not much more than 3×5×0.5 and 8 ounces)

If you were looking for PDA functionality in a small device, what would you recommend? And if the answer is a Palm phone, what would be your second choice
(since Palm, once again, seems about to go under).

Thanks,

Dave

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When I kicked off my “LCD vs eInk vs paper” smackdown, one of our readers emailed me asking about PDFs on the Camangi Webstation. I was slightly ashamed to admit that I hadn’t actually tried them yet! Reading ebooks on it had been such a great experience that I hadn’t branched out to PDFs yet, but that email gave me the impetus to try a few different options.

Unfortunately, the Camangi does not come with access to the official Android Marketplace, so this limited my options slightly. I was able to download Documents to Go and unlock the PDF to Go option on the Camangi, so I have been using that exclusively to read PDFs. I also have the free, opensource program DroidReader that I have used extensively. On my Motorola Droid, I’ve also given Repligo a shot. I actually have had an unusually high number of PDFs to read lately, so between my personal files and a few suggested to me I’ve been able to really test the Android PDF reading experience.

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As you may recall, I threw down the gauntlet and vowed to engage paper, e-ink and LCD in a battle to the end. It has been tough, but I’ve forced myself to carve out time to read three books from my favorite author, all in the name of this review. Hopefully you all appreciate the sacrifices I made.

To review, here were the ground rules:

Readability:
• How long can I read comfortably without my eyes needing a break?
• Are the font and margins acceptable for reading?
• Is it formatted correctly and without error?

Navigation:
• Are footnotes and other navigational items easy to locate?
• Is bookmarking easy?
• Can I easily locate and use the table of contents?

Ergonomics:
•Can I comfortably hold the book/device for a long period?
• Are page turns fast and easy?

So all in, there are 8 main scoring areas. There are three “bonus rounds” from some suggestions made by Doug in the original post, but I will cover those after.

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So you’ve bought an Android tablet, but it doesn’t come with the official marketplace. The manufacturer has a less than stellar collection of apps in a lackluster “app store”, and you’re looking enviously at your friends with their Android phones and their awesome app collections.

Luckily for you, there’s more out there than just the official marketplace. As I mentioned when I talked about speeding up your Camangi with an alternate launcher, you can directly install an APK, or app file, right onto your device. You do not need an app store to act as a middleman.

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If you have used a Camangi Webstation, you probably noticed one big issue: the default launcher is sloooooow. It’s also ugly as sin.

Luckily, you are not stuck with it forever. Android supports multiple home replacement options, including my personal favorite, Home++. All you need to do is download the program file, or APK, and install it. Once it is installed, hit the home button and select Home++. If you like it, click the “set as default” option, and your homescreen will be set as Home++.

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While in Vegas, Dan and I received emails about an upcoming VIP program offered by Camangi, makers of the previously unboxed and discussed Camangi WebStation. As you may recall, Dan and I took a leap of faith when we pre-ordered our Camangis; the company was new, we didn’t know for sure that the product would even ship, and it didn’t arrive exactly as soon as promised. After receiving the units, we quickly decided that the WebStation was being incorrectly marketed — in fact, we felt it might even be incorrectly named.

The Camangi is an excellent and responsive eReader. It is not however, an end-all-be-all tablet for surfing or data entry; as long as you understand its limitations going in, it may be a great option. But I digress.

Partly because we were busy with CES, and partly because the original email’s terms seemed a little bit open to interpretation, I didn’t really give them a second thought. This morning I received confirmation that the program was a “go”, as well as a more complete invitation to join.

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Dan: Judie and I are continuing to play with, tweak and become familiar with our Camangi Webstations. There is no question that it excels as an e-book reader. Thanks to The Android version of eReader both of us have downloaded our libraries and had a number of sessions reading from the device. There is no question that it works quite well in this regard. It allows you to read both in landscape and portrait mode, lets you change the font, is backlit (something that isn’t possible with a device that uses ePaper, and, thanks to the testing, navigation is as simple.

Judie: Dan and I have discovered that when using the native eBook app, you can swipe the screen to change the page, or you can use the volume button up/down motion to turn pages in either direction. This is a pretty great feature! When reading eReader books, you simply have to tap the screen.

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(image courtesy of petitinvention)

Welcome to the final State of the eBook for 2009! It has been a big year for eBooks, and I am going to do my best to cover a timeline of the high points, as well as a few things to look forward to in 2010.

Rather than do a traditional timeline of events, I thought I’d break it down by the year in highlights per company/platform, and then a few predictions and news items to look forward to in 2010! Continue Reading

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I am a huge fan of Evernote. The cross-platform service allows me to capture my thoughts, pictures and voice notes no matter where I am or what I’m doing. I can use Evernote on my iMac and then later access new notes on my iPhone. I can write something on my Windows tablet PC and then finish the process on my MacBook. I’m even able to access Evernote on the new Camangi Webstation thanks to the recent release of a client for the Android platform.

Well new numbers were released today and they show that I’m not the only one using Evernote. In fact, the adoption rate of people using Evernote is rather remarkable.

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Judie: As you may recall, I received my Camangi WebStation yesterday afternoon. Other than downloading some of my eReader library to it, I wasn’t able to spend as much time with the tablet as I might have liked before previously made plans drew me away. This morning I was greeted with tweets and links pointing to Michael Smith’s review, where he calls the Camangi a “total fail” because (among other reasons) it isn’t as fast as his first gen iPhone and because it doesn’t browse the internet as quickly as the Hackintosh he likes to couch surf from.

Michael has a legitimate point when he says that “the product is called the WEB station, and therefore should be optimized at surfing the web.” And for doing this, the Camangi is okay — with the main caveat being that it is slower than I might like and it is not using a fully powered browser that can “see” embedded flash items such as the radar images on the noaa.gov site, You Tube videos, or the CES slideshow we’ve embedded on Gear Diary in anticipation of Dan’s, Larry’s and my trip next week. It’s an okay browser, but it will never be confused with one on any laptop.

After reading his article, I could see exactly why Michael was disappointed, but I also have my own reasons for disagreeing with him; he never tested the Camangi for the one use I had in mind when I purchased — using it as an eReader.

Let me back up for a moment …

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I wasn’t going to write a post about my experience with shipper DHL yesterday. Yes, although they told me on the phone twice that my Camangi WebStation was on the way it never came. Yes, I had to look on while Judie unboxed hers. I had to listen to her “ooh and ahhh”, all the time thinking that mine was on the way any second when, in fact, it wasn’t. Yes, my exchanges with their customer reps left much to be desired. But still, I had no plans to write a post about my experience.

Elana just got off the phone with DHL… and now…. now I’m writing this post. Seriously, I think I’m living in the twilight zone.

Here’s the timetable.

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It seems like it took forever, but my Camangi WebStation finally showed up today. Dan’s is out for delivery, so in the meantime he is processing the raw video I’ve uploaded of my unboxing. While we wait for that, here are some pictures. I haven’t done anything other than unbox the Camangi, turn it on … and marvel at it before plugging it in

So without further ado, here are some pictures. Video and more impressions from Dan and me will be up shortly.

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There’s more information now available on the Camangi WebStation, a 7″ tablet running Android that looks to be just one of a slew of new, touchscreen tablets coming to market.

Judie and I both made an educated choice to order one. Thing is, in this case the “educated” and the “choice” parts had nothing to do with one another. You see, we (a) both have some degree of education, (b) we both made a choice to order the device and (c) we both knew next to nothing about it when we did. But every now and then you just have to take that leap of faith.

I received word last week that the tablets should be on the way any time now. While we wait there is much more information, and a new promotional video to enjoy. Continue Reading

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There is a certain kind of gadget that I really want. It uses only flash memory, has about a 7-9″ touch screen and runs either OS iPhone or Android. I tried the Archos IT and, while it only has a 5″ screen it came close to being what I want. Unfortunately it was so incredibly buggy that it went back.

Ideally the device would come from a little company known as Apple but I’m no longer holding my breath. I REALLY want one however. And I’m not the only one.

Judie is interested in such a tablet as well and for months we have laughed about who would order an Apple tablet more quickly. But we, and everyone else, continue to wait to see what, if anything, they offer.

That is why both of us took a leap of faith and pre-ordered the Camangi WebStation when it went on sale last week. We had never heard of the company and had not heard early stirrings of the device. No we just saw the teaser video and said, “It is worth a look!” We both ordered.

Since then I have had my questions. Again, I don’t know the company, the device is only running Android 1.5 and this was a true “gadget leap of faith”.

Well I uncovered a second video of the device and it makes it look more interesting than ever.

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The Barnes & Noble nook eBook Reader has been touted by some as a Kindle-killer, and after what seemed like a ridiculously long wait, when mine finally showed up today I was ready to be wowed. It’s not that I don’t already enjoy reading eBooks on my Kindle DX (Kevin is using the Kindle2) and on my iPhone, it’s just that the nook was the “next new big thing”, and I allowed myself to be caught up in the excitement.

I was perhaps a week later ordering mine than many were, because I found out that American Express Rewards offers B&N gift cards when you redeem points. I felt fiscally responsible for not just whipping out my plastic to order, and I had enough points saved up that I was able to get my nook for free. Including tax, expedited shipping and a screen protector, my nook came to just shy of $300 — all covered by three B&N $100 gift cards.

When I first ordered, I was ambivalent – I even went do far as to order a Camangi WebStation while waiting for the nook, and I knew that I would wind up returning or eBaying something, I just wasn’t sure what. I am sure that I don’t need to have four eReaders (not counting my iPhone & HTC HD2) in the house, but I didn’t want my decision to be clear cut. I wanted to really have to think about it.

When the nook arrived today, I thought that my decision would be much harder …

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