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Engineering a better bicycle with DBC City Bike Design
My day with Dan Sorger was winding down and the photographers were out joyriding on his bicycles when he beckoned me to look at something on his tiny, age-stained LCD monitor. Nestled in between a curling collection of Post-It notes was an anecdote about a wealthy Italian man which he began to read aloud, "Once upon a time, long ago ..." According to the story he had spent an exorbitant sum of money to modify his prized Alfa Romeo. As a result, his family tried to have him declared insane and wrest control of his fortune. As the trial got underway, the judge asked to see the vehicle in question and, once he set his eyes on the custom-crafted aluminum body, he dismissed the case, declaring, "The search for beauty is the most natural thing in man." The tale is allegedly the origin of storied automobile designer Ugo Zagato, but it's the judge who is the real star and it's his words that struck a chord with Dan, the founder and owner of DBC City Bike Design.
Satechi's Swift BT Speaker provides some impressive functionality in a very affordable package
The Satechi Swift BT Speaker is a surprisingly affordable little speaker (at just $29.99) that performs quite well. It's small and fairly stylish, and though its functions are about what you'd expect from a Bluetooth speaker, the Swift accomplishes them with an understated flair that I really appreciated. Setup is pretty standard for any Bluetooth device. You need to turn the speaker on, hold down a button for six seconds to put it into pairing mode, and then flip your iPhone's Bluetooth on and pair it up. Once that's done, the Swift works almost automatically. Whenever you're in signal, the speaker will connect up to the phone, and you can share audio signals between the two devices. The best use I can think of for a speaker like this is just to have it sitting on a desk at work or home, someplace where your hands might be typing or writing rather than holding your phone all the time. Whenever a call comes in, you can just press a button on the Swift speaker to answer it, and then it all works as you'd expect. Speak into the integrated microphone, and listen to the other side of the conversation from the speaker. In my short time testing the Swift, I found that it worked best the closer I was to the unit, so yelling across the room probably isn't ideal. But again, if the speaker's sitting on your desk already, you should be able to place it close enough where you can speak directly into the mic without a problem. You can also use the Swift for voice dialing, and you can redial from the speaker, reject a call (by holding down the button for longer than usual), or even send the voice back to the phone itself. The mic on the unit can also be muted, which might be ideal for long conference calls. Finally, you can also stream music to the speaker over Bluetooth -- the tunes I streamed sounded just fine with an impressively solid bass. The quality isn't incredible, but especially if you're already in a work environment, it's good enough just to have something to listen to. If you really cared about audio quality, however, you'd be much better off investing in an actual stereo system or, more likely, some quality headphones. I was quite impressed by the Swift speaker. I don't normally bother with speaker calling, but I could definitely imagine keeping this on my desk and using it (especially because my cell phone's signal happens to be terrible where I usually sit; with this, I could keep my phone across the room and answer it when it rings right through the speaker). The one big drawback is battery life: The Swift speaker itself has up to 300 hours of standby time, but only three or four hours of talk or music playback time. The speaker comes with a USB charging cable, however, so it's possible you could just find an open USB port and let it stay plugged in. The Bluetooth service will also cost your iPhone's battery a little bit, but depending on how often you use the speaker, that cost may be worth it. For a price of just $29.99, I highly recommend Satechi's BT speaker. If you've been looking for a way to more comfortably deal with your phone, especially at a desk in a private office or someplace where you won't bother anyone around you (please don't be that guy on the speakerphone in a bunch of cubicles), the Swift speaker could be really useful. As it is, I can see myself using it in my own work. The next time you call me, I may just press a button on this little device, rather than having to run and get my phone from wherever I last left it.
Sony S1 and S2 dual-screen Honeycomb tablets get official (video)
Sony's hosting a press event in Tokyo today where it just made the first announcement: a pair of Android 3.0 tablets -- yes, the very two Honeycomb slabs we told you about exclusively back in February. The first is the Qriocity-focused 9.4-inch S1 media tablet with both front- and rear-facing cameras and a curved wrap design that resembles a folded magazine. The S1 features a Tegra 2 SoC and customized "Quick and Smooth" touch panel UI with "Swift" web browser. It can also be used as a remote control for Sony gear thanks to integrated infrared. The second tablet is the dual-screen S2 clamshell with its pair of 5.5-inch 1,024 x 480 pixel displays, Tegra 2 SoC, and camera. While it sounds bulky, Kunimasa Suzuki just pulled the hinged tablet from his jacket pocket on stage. Sony takes advantage of the two screens with a custom book-style UI layout for its e-reader app, split keyboard and messaging displays for email, and split display and game controllers for PS One gaming. Both the S1 and S2 are PlayStation Certified, support DLNA, and are WiFi and 3G/4G "compatible" according to Sony. See the Sony tablets codenamed "S1" and "S2" in action after the break on their way to a global release in the fall -- possibly sooner in the US. P.S. While the company isn't ready to talk prices yet, our sources told us back in February that Sony was considering a $599 MSRP on the S1 while the S2 would likely come in at $699. Still no word on the Windows 7 slider but with the other two leaks official, it's now only a matter of time. %Gallery-122248% %Gallery-122251% %Gallery-122257%
Twitter for Android: the best apps reviewed
You know what's awesome? Cookie dough ice cream. But when it comes to the smartphone market, the 18-month-old, steadily-growing Android platform is equally wondrous. Sure, Google may have a tiny bit of catching up to do when compared with Apple's market share, but at least Android users are already spoiled with a handful of good Twitter apps. Better yet, Twitter has now thrown in its official app to spice up the competition, so we thought it'd be interesting to put it head-to-head against the third-party clients. Read on to find out if we have a winner.
LG Swift clamshell launches for $49.99 on Alltel
So, you're looking for simplicity, huh? Have a gander at the LG Swift, which is now available on Alltel Wireless for those with the most basic of needs. The clamshell boasts a "next-generation keypad featuring Fastap Press-to-Experience keys, which integrates six raised one-touch access Quick Keys with a traditional numeric keypad," and beyond that, it also offers up external music control buttons, twin speakers, Bluetooth support, a 1.3-megapixel camera, one-touch speakerphone and a memory card slot. Sadly, the headphone jack is of the 2.5-millimeter variety, though you can choose between red and blue color schemes. If you're sold already, all's that left to do is hand over your $49.99 and agree to being locked in for two solid years.
