Cleaning up
by Volker Weber
This week I am returning a ton of stuff, or at least start preparing to return it. A PlayBook keyboard, an iPad, a few Nokia devices, some Belkin stuff. Time to reflect on things that didn't win the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award.
I had really high hopes for the Nokia Booklet 3G. I even wiped it a few times and reinstalled it, but we never made friends. The keyboard wasn't good enough, it was almost unusable due to all the maintenance tasks it had to perform. Windows updates, Security Essentials updates, catching up with Dropbox. I was constantly looking at the hour glass, for the most mundane tasks. The whole netbook concept wasn't working, and on top of that, the Booklet had only 1 GB of RAM and a lowly 1.8" 120 GB drive. I am wiping it and off it goes with my next transport to Nokia. Everything I ever wanted to do with a 3G connected netbook, I have done with an iPad 3G.
Since I am waiting for the 808 PureView, most likely the last Symbian flagship, I won't be needing the N8 anymore. This has been my third all-time favorite from Nokia. Starting with the 6210, then the E71, and now finally the N8. It's still the best camera phone out there, until the 808 replaces it. But there is a downside: it's really slow by today's standards. On one hand it really needed the Belle update to make it nice, but on the other hand it has proven too weak to handle it. The 808 will run on Belle FP1, a.k.a. Carla. And it's powerful enough to be a joy to use.
The next thing going back after only a few weeks is the Belkin ScreenCast AV. High hopes here as well, but not as practical as I thought it would be. It just adds a layer of complexity to the TV setup. A week ago it started acting up, adding artifacts to the picture. Then, while I was traveling, it failed at home. The boxes would no longer connect. Terrible WAF. I attempted to fix the setup, and then gave up. It may be a defect, it may be fighting with my Airport base station. I am just going back to HDMI cables.
Comments
Zu dem Belkin ScreenCast AV. Eine nette Idee, aber es erzeugt einen zusätzlichen Layer von Technik, der fehlschlagen kann. Ich habe ein Setup, in dem alle AV-Geräte (PVR, DVD, PS3, Boxee, Sonos) an einem AV-Verstärker hängen, und der hat einen Ausgang, der in den TV geht. Ton und Video wird alles über den Verstärker geschaltet, und dazu noch genau eine programmierbare Fernbedienung, und gut ist es. Nachteil ist natürlich weiterhin, dass alle Geräte sichtbar sein müssen, damit sie die Signale der Fernbedienung empfangen müssen. Aber funktioniert brauchbar.
