MobileViews Blog

I recorded three short (1 or 2 minute long) mini-podcasts this year. But, I haven’t recorded a longer form podcast since December 2009. This podcast drought ends now. Frank McPherson and I sat down several thousand miles apart to spend 15 minutes talking about the iPad. Frank bought his iPad 3G last week. I’m the old-timer having owned an iPad Wifi-only model for well over a month now.

Here’s what we discussed in Podcast 42:
- Frank describes his first few days with the iPad 3G and trying out the $15 per month 250MB 3G data plan
- We also briefly discussed Apple’s iWork components which I’ve bought and Frank is planning to buy
- Dropbox/Sugarsync for iPad
- I discuss my failed (so far) attempts to stop playing “We Rule”
- eBook reading experience on an iPad

This podcast was a little short because I was trying a completely different way to record it. I usually use a Mac running Audio Hijack Pro and a Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 headset. I didn’t want to lug around a 13-inch MacBook just to record a podcast. So, I hauled around a netbook running Windows 7, MP3 Skype Recorder, and a LifeChat ZX-6000 wireless headset to create this podcast. I thought the resulting podcast sounded “ok”. Not great, but acceptable. I should probably try to find a better USB microphone.

Frank and I have a lot more to say about the iPad. We’re going to try to schedule at least one iPad app podcast per month. We’ll also try to record a second monthly podcast about other topics (though the iPad is sure to dominate for a while). So, stay tuned!

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can see a list of previous podcasts in an iTunes web view(no need to install iTunes)
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

I’m always looking for voice recording apps that might help me in my podcasting projects. I tried the free Voice Recorder app for Android by Mamoru Tokashiki over the weekend. You can hear a sample of the voice recording I made using the app on my Droid in the mini-podcast embedded above.

I ran into a couple of problems using Voice recorder on my Droid:

- It crashed a couple of times
- Its home screen widget did not work
- It stops recording if the Droid is moved
- The resultng recording has a low volume. I used Audacity to increase the volume of the recording to product the mini=podcast
- I think, but am not 100% certain, that the app caused the Droid’s battery to drain rapidly. I uninstalled the app to test this possibility

The app itself has a nice simple and easy to understand interface. I like its ability to both save and email a sound recording. I’ll make a note to check on this app’s progress a few months into 2010 to see if it might make its way into my toolset.

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

In Podcast 41 I speak with Chevrolet Accessories Manager Chris Rauser about the new Chevy Mobile Wi-Fi Autonet Mobile 3G-to-WiFi vehicle router. The product has a $399 retail price but has a rebate program running through the end of the year that brings the price down to $199. A docking station lets you move the router to another vehicle. The router product is availale for 7 Chevy models: Equinox, Transverse, Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche, Express. You can learn more Chevy Mobile Wi-Fi at…

Wi-Fi On Four Wheels: Chevrolet Offers Dealer-Installed Wireless Internet System For SUVs, Trucks And Vans (press release)

http://gmextras.com

The podcast is 14 minutes and 43 seconds long.

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

In Podcast 40, I speak with Nuance Mobile Sr. VP & General Manager Michael Thompson about the recently released Nuance Dragon Dictation app for iPhone. This free app can record you speaking in chunks up to 30 seconds long. Multiple 30 second speech bites can be combined into a single message.

Dragon Dictation 1.1.0

One discussion item of particular note is the privacy issue. And, if you download the freshly released 1.1.0 update, you’ll note that one change is the ability to delete previously uploaded contact names from their server and to opt out of uploading contact names going forward. Nuance does not obtain any other information except the contact name. So, I feel comfortable leaving my contact names on their server to help with speech-to-text transcriptions.

Mike also mentioned that more apps are on their way from Nuance and hinted at something called Dragon Search. Keep an eye and ear out for it!

In Podcast 39 I speak with Nuance Communications General Manager John Pollard about the their speech-to-text techology that powers the recently announced AT&T Wireless Voicemail to Text service (a $9.99 per month service).

- John Pollard technology industry background
- Information about Nuance
- How AT&T Voicemail to Text works
- Value proposition?

Audio quality note: John and I bought had problems with Skype the morning of the podcast (December 4). So, I used my LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen to record the discussion from a conventional phone call. I used an HTC Touch Pro2 (Windows Mobile 6.1) phone on my side of the conversation. I mixed the stereo audio recorded by the pen’s headset down to mono so that John’s voice could be heard over both speakers instead of just the left channel.

This podcast is 21 minutes and 41 seconds long.

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

In Podcast 38 Windows Mobile expert, and now Android enthusiast/expert, Frank McPherson joins me once again to “talk Android”. The focus of this 31 minute 7 second long podcast is Android app recommendations. I also took the opportunity to ask Frank to describe the process of purchasing an app from the Android market. We discussed the following apps:

Frank’s paid app recommendations:
- DoggCatcher ($9.99) podcasting client
- Advanced Task Manager (99 cents)

Frank’s free app recommendations:
- Glympse location sharing
- Sherpa location discovery

Todd’s free app recommendations:
- Bonsai Blast game
- Weather Channel
- WiFi Analyzer

Finally, Frank and I discussed our Android app wish list.

You can find Frank’s website at: http://frankmcpherson.com

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

Mini-Podcast 16 started out as a podcasting recording experiment. I used a LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen to record this by placing one of its two stereo headbud/microphones in the ear that I held my phone over. This is instead of using Skype to make the call. So, this podcast’s audio quality is definitely a step below my usual podcast. But, it gives me more flexibility in scheduling podcasts.

My old friend Frank McPherson (Windows Mobile expert who has been using Android phones for the past 13 months) and I planned to speak for only 5 to 10 minutes to create basically a sound check podcast. But, it is impossible for the two of us to start talking about mobile tech for just a short while. So, this “mini” podcast turned into an 18 minute 38 second long one – longer than some of my regular guest podcasts. So, this really should have been Podcast 38. But, I’ll leave it with its current designation.

In Maxi-Mini-Podcast 16, Frank and I talk about Android related topics. Originally, the plan was for me to live vicariously through Frank’s Android experiences. However, I bought a Motorola Droid this past weekend. So, this podcast and ones to follow may be more of a expert (Frank) – novice (me) type discussions.

Frank and I briefly catch up on his T-Mobile G1 experience and his upgrade to the myTouch 3G in August. We also touch on the few days of experience I have with the Moto Droid. You can find Frank’s blog at…

http://frankmcpherson.com

So, how’s the audio quality? Bearable for a short (under 20 minutes) podcast?

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

The recently released free MarketWatch news app for the iPhone has an interesting feature: Text-to-speech to read stories on an iPhone.

MarketWatch 1.0.0

This 2 minute 5 second podcast provides a brief sound sample of a MarketWatch story being read on the iPhone 3G’s speaker.

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

In Mini-Podcast 14, I tested a tip given to me by LiveScribe Marketing Manager Karen Lee during our conversation in Podcast 37 (recorded on October 23, 2009). The tip was that since the the microphone in the LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen’s headset is actually in the earbuds (stereo microphone), you can use it to record telephone conversations by simply placing the earbud in the ear and holding a conventional telephone handset (wired or wireless) up to that ear.

I asked my co-worker, Daniel Tian, to call me from another room using his iPhone 3GS. I spoke to him over a conventional landline office telephone. The sound quality is not as good as podcasts recorded using Skype. However, I think it is good enough to use when people are unable to use Skype because of company policy (this has been an issue several times over the past year).

Mini-Podcast 14 is 3 minutes and 39 seconds long. The LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen recorded segment is in the last 45 seconds or so of the podcast.

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.

I spoke with LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen Marketing Manager Karen Lee in Podcast 37. We talked about the LiveScribe company, the new 4GB model Pulse Smartpen, the 3rd party MyScript for LiveScribe ink-to-text transcription application, and some hints about using the Pulse Smartpen.

Karen gave me a great tip that solves a problem I’ve had for a long time: How do I record a podcast with someone using a conventional telephone (instead of Skype)? The solution is one of those simple-slap-my-forehead ones that I didn’t think of trying. But, thankfully, Karen shared that tip with me. You can hear it in about the last third of the podcast.

This podcast is 27 minutes and 31 seconds long.

- You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above.
- You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or this RSS feed.
- You can also point your smartphone’s browser at mobiletoday.podbean.com to listen to or download the MP3 file over the air to your phone.