Xavier Lanier is the publisher of Gotta Be Moible and Notebooks.com. He's a mobile technology geek that uses an iPhone 4S, New iPad and Galaxy Nexus and MacBook Air on a daily basis. He's an expert photographer that shoots primarily with Nikon DSLRs.
You can follow Xavier on Twitter @xavierlanier and Google+
I decided to see what it’s like to use a MobileDemand xTablet T7000 in the rain and if it could in fact handle getting some water on it. I never have to work in the rain, but a lot of guys do have to brave storms to get their jobs done. The last thing they [...]
The TSA clarified that there’s no need to remove devices smaller than a laptop from your carry-on bags before running them through x-ray machines. In a blog post, the TSA stated: Electronic items smaller than the standard sized laptop should not need to be removed from your bag or their cases. It’s that simple. TSA [...]
Our friend Steve ‘Chippy’ Paine of UMPC Portal is the proud papa of Nicklas, an 8-day old geek in training. As you can see in this photo, Nicklas is already playing with dad’s mobile devices. Steve put together some mobile computing tips for dads that’s worth a read. Some of the tips are applicable to [...]
Engadget got a hold of an HP presentation that compares the forthcoming HP Slate to the iPad. We saw a nice video demo of the HP Slate earlier today, but this is the first time we’ve seen such detailed specs. The HP Slate has some very compelling features, but I’m not sure if it’ll be [...]
The iPad is simply not a good device for inking and I doubt that any third-party software’s going to improve the experience much. One of the problems is that the iPad uses a capacitive multi-touch display that lacks palm rejection. While this is all fine and dandy if you want to consume content, it creates [...]
HP CTO Phil McKinney blogged today about the HP Slate device and shared a promo video of the PC company’s upcoming slate device. Just as I’m getting settled in with my iPad, I find myself lusting after the HP device. The HP Slate has dual cameras, which means you can video chat via Skype or [...]
Tonight I tried watching a TV show on my iPad for the first time with my wife. She had just started watching a recorded episode of ‘V’ and I fired up the ABC app and found same episode on the iPad. Holding the iPad in my lap in landscape mode steadily with one hand wasn’t [...]
As Sumocat mentioned earlier today, we hit a snag with our iPad weekend coverage. I hadn’t planned on buying an iPad, but figured we should have one around on day one. I drove to the Apple Store at about 2PM and was somewhat surprised that there was no line at all. The store was packed [...]
Last year I wrote about a few web services that I enjoy using and don’t mind paying for. One item that was missing from the list is my online fax service. I get very frustrated when people and companies insist on communicating by fax, so I begrudgingly keep an online fax number. Today I was [...]
SAP unveiled StreamWork, a cloud-based collaboration application that incorporates Evernote and a couple of other popular web services. SAP typically builds applications and services that are so complex that they make my head hurt when I try to understand how they’re used. Until today, I never imagined I’d ever use an SAP service even though [...]
Steve Wozniak is a brilliant guy and someone that’s tough for geeks not to love. While the Woz while he was en route to judge a high school robotics competition, he made some remarks to Business Week reporter Dan Lyons that are way off. In response to Lyons asking if he thinks the iPad will [...]
Apple’s done a great job selling the iPad to the masses and I’ll probably end up with one someday, but the hyperbole in all of their marketing messages is really starting to tick me off. As the saying goes, you’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. It’s one thing for Apple [...]
Apple’s released 12 in-depth guided tours of the applications bundled with the iPad and iWork. These videos are the closest you’ll get to seeing an iPad in action until this Saturday, when people will be able to actually play with an iPad at any Apple retail store. The applications sure do look slick and the [...]
Our friends from NetbookNews sent over a demo of the graphics that upcoming ARM Cortex A8 and Cortex A9 devices can pump out. The demo is on a jumbo touchscreen, but these ARM components will find their ways into smaller devices and mobile phones.
I visited Yazdani Studios in Los Angeles for a tour and to see how architects are using Tablet PCs. Yazdani Studios designs beautiful buildings around the world, including concert halls, court houses and offices. Mehrdad Yazdani uses a Fujitsu Lifebook t4220 Tablet PC to sketch his ideas and work with his team no matter where [...]
I actually learned something from the most recent Project Runway episode. Contestants were asked to design fabric using TouchSmart 600 all-in-one PCs, but instead of just touching the displays with their hands they used pencils and brushes. Why does this matter? Because it’s more natural for designers who use pencils and brushes on a daily [...]
I use several notebooks and my tablet on my 8 ft. long desk. Cord management can be a challenge when I disconnect one to head out. There are way more cords hanging around than I’d like. One of the most frustrating things that happens from time to time is that my cords fall off the [...]
I’m in Los Angeles this week with HP’s workstation group to take a look at some new products and see how their partners are using HP gear. The PhaseSpace team was kind enought to show us their motion capture system, which combines motion capture suits, a pair of HP Workstations Z800′s, an array of sensor [...]
Dynamism is holding a special sales event for the Viliv S10 blade. The online ultraportable store is offering a couple of incentives on the higher-end Viliv S10’s. If you opt for any of the three models with a 64GB SSD you’ll get a free spare battery and a $70 instant rebate. The Viliv S10 starts [...]
I’m in the middle of packing my gear for a quick trip down to Los Angeles to learn how Hollywood makes movie magic. HP is hosting several events, including visits to Dreamworks and Raleigh Studios. Instead of shoving all of my bag as I gather it all up, I’ve spread it out on my living [...]
I’m trying to go completely paperless this year, but don’t quite have all the necessary tools. My current HP Photosmart all-in-one can only scan a single page at a time, making it pretty labor-intensive to get a week’s worth of mail scanned and uploaded. After reading Dan Cohen’s review of the Fujitsu ScanSnap s1300 over [...]
Everyone has their own threshold of geekiness. I consider mine pretty high, but there are a few lines I won’t cross. The Universal Gadget Wrist Charger from ThinkGeek is one such item. I hate low battery warnings as much as the next guy, but I’d rather have a dead battery than be caught wearing this [...]
Sprint is running an ad featuring the Overdrive 4G hotspot and an iPhone in an ad. No, the iPhone isn’t running on Sprint’s network, but they are highlighting that you can use the device to speed things up. You probably won’t see the Overdrive ad unless you live in one of the select markets where [...]
Warner Crocker is going to be our iPad guinea pig here at GottaBeMobile and Kevin Purcell is going to be taking up the role over at Notebooks.com. I’d like an Apple iPad to play with, but am holding off because I don’t need one and can’t figure out when I’d actually use an iPad instead [...]
My wife and I worked for a couple of hours from home before jumping in the car to drive down to Palo Alto, where she works and I have a couple of meetings. She didn’t miss a beat of her work day as we drove from San Francisco down to Silicon Valley. She was multi-tasking [...]
According to an iLounge report, Apple is getting rid of protective screen films from its retail and online stores. There’s no clear reason why Apple’s doing this. Film protectors are some of the most popular accessories at the Apple store, and something that Apple’s own retail reps always seem to push. According to one company [...]
Intel’s Kapil Wadhera was kind enough to get on camera and walk me through the second generation convertible Classmate PC. There are some significant improvements that will hopefully move more schools away from the clamshell Classmate PC and towards the convertible. Having the inking and touch capabilities in the classroom makes a heck of a [...]
Our friend KT Bradford from Laptop Mag posted a video walkthrough of the Alex eReader and compared it to the Nook eReader. Spring Designs won a Best of Show award from Laptop Mag at CES 2010 for the Alex eReader and KT told me that she’s very excited about the device. As Amy pointed out [...]
Dan Cohen from GearDiary talked to Alex Kac, the founder of WebIS about how his company plans on bringing Pocket Informant, one of Dan’s favorite iPhone applications, to the iPad. Kac was quick to point out that the company’s not in a rush to build an iPad-specific application, but will instead refine its Pocket Informant [...]
Today I was trying to catch up on current events (outside of tech) and surfed over to CNN.com. To my surprise there was a headline that read “Three innovations that changed America” on top of photos of a highway, some TVs and a Tablet PC. I got really excited that CNN was going to say [...]
With the upcoming launch of the iPad, a lot of people are talking about slate and convertible Tablet PCs, mostly in a negative light. How many times have you heard that tablets are only used in a few places- like schools, hospitals and a few other small niches? Tablet PCs aren’t used as widely as [...]
Our friends from Ritescript are looking for a few good beta testers to evaluate ritePen 4.0 ‘Touch.’ Ritepen is an application that lets inkers ink anywhere they want on the screen and perform some cool tablet tricks. The application (now at version 3.5) comes from the same guys that built Evernote, so you know it’s [...]
MobileDemand is just starting to ship the xTablet T7000 out to its customers and they were kind enough to send one over for us to torture. The first place I decided to beat up the xTablet T7000 was at the shooting range. Just to get this out of the way, we did NOT shoot the [...]
A couple of Aussie tableteers took a Motion Computing J3400 for a test flight in a small airplane to see how it’d perform in the cockpit. The pilot is looking to replace his HP TC1100 and it sounds like he found a good alternative in the J3400. The outdoor display seems like a must-have for [...]
As the first iPad commercial showed us, the device can do a lot of things. In the 30 second spot, we’re shown that the iPad can be used to browse photos, watch videos, surf the web, manage calendars, write email, read eBooks and create documents. There’s so much going on in the commercial that I [...]
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Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE Review: A Worthy Successor to the Original (Video)
When Sprint had debuted the original WiMax-capable HTC EVO 4G nearly two years ago, it was an instant hit on the Now network. Not only was the HTC EVO 4G the first 4G smartphone in the world taking advantage of Sprint’s then speedy WiMax network, but it brought some new features and pizzazz to the [...]
Last year Toshiba waded into the Android tablet market with the Thrive, a 10.1-inch slate that served as the company’s response to what they deemed missing in the then current crop. Thus, it had several full-size ports, a rugged-ish exterior, and a thick chassis to accommodate both. Though a decent tablet, the Thrive didn’t generate [...]
Samsung Shows That It Is a Software Company
As exciting as it has been to talk, postulate, and speculate about the Galaxy S III’s hardware and specs before the third-generation Galaxy flagship smartphone was announced on May 3rd in London, once the device was announced one thing became apparent: Samsung is now a software company. That doesn’t mean that Samsung is shying away [...]
Autumn Dynasty Review: A Great RTS for the iPad
With its large touchscreen, the iPad seems like the perfect platform for Real Time Strategy games, and Autumn Dynasty proves it, mostly. Autumn Dynasty is an RTS iPad game with art that looks like tradition Chinese painting. The story involves quelling a rebellion while solving a mystery of shady noblemen. The story though, just serves [...]
Griffin GuitarConnect Pro Review: Record Your Jams with Ease
The Griffin GuitarConnect Pro interfaces with your Guitar and your iPad or iPhone so you can record your music easily using apps like Apple’s GarageBand. My son Daniel, who’s learning to play guitar, helped me test it out and he loved it. When he gets as good as Jimi Hendrix, I’m sure he’ll steal my [...]
Google Search App iPhone and iPad Update Looks Beautiful (Video)
Google just delivered a beautiful update to the company’s Google Search app for the iPhone and iPad The Google Search app for iPhone and iPad replaced Safari as my browser of choice, earning a spot in the iPhone and iPad dock. It’s faster and offers a beautiful new full screen image search which looks awesome on the [...]
