After Further Review: Digital Family Advisor Rethinks Some Of its Product Profiles…

By Richard M. Sherwin, Susan Davis and Jennifer Auspitz

The colors were vibrant, the texts clear as a bell, the added features (especially the back-light) were very useful and the battery life was long enough to get through almost all of our books and magazines. So we’ve changed our “It’s not worth the extra money compared to the Kindle” review, and now believe the color Nook, Barnes and Noble’s much maligned e-book reader, is a very nice product indeed.

We say this even though the Nook/Barnes and Noble customer and tech support is not in the same class as Sony and Amazon’s, and the wifi only system hampers you if you are not near a hot spot. Once you use the Nook, you realize that its look and feel are pretty good. We, along with some other reviewers, have said that using your Netbook or Droid with the Nook software was a less costly, better solution than buying the Nook itself, but we would like to change that, too. If you have the money (still a steep $249), the Nook provides a better dedicated e-book experience than a Netbook or Tablet.

This second generation Nook has one of the better, comfortable, touch screen feels and, since we kept the unit charging when not using it, it lasted a few plane rides and several days of commuting, without another charge. In addition, the clarity of the color, in choosing books and when reading magazines and books with artwork are so much better than any black and white e-reader. Indoors it’s great but, on a sunny day, screen glare is a real problem.

Still Berry Berry Good

When the Android phones were introduced, we said that BlackBerry would be the now deceased “Palm” of the decade and, even though we didn’t love the iPhone, we still rated it over any and all Blackberry models. But we’ve changed our minds. After further testing, we found that, for some every day functions, an old fashioned BlackBerry might be a better alternative than a Droid mobile phone or IPhone. For many people, the touch-screen experience of many of the Androids, especially the ones produced by HTC, seem better suited for people under the age of 20 who are used to manipulating video games and other more youth oriented technology devices. Some of our testers love the touch screen experience, but some are realizing that they get more accuracy with a traditional BlackBerry Smart phone. And, truth be told, even Droid and IPhone fans feel that receiving and writing email, saving important messages and manipulating data could very well be more reliable on a BlackBerry. In addition, a recent survey of the strong selling Android phones from all service providers indicated that the millions of features are really not used that much. “I love the look and feel of the Droid, but when I actually try and use the features,” it can be quite intimidating,” said a frequent emailer to DFA.

Chips and Programming, When Combined Correctly, Do Change the World

We always credited chip makers for bringing us the sophisticated audio-video and home computer products we purchase today. But maybe we were giving credit where credit wasn’t due. Maybe it wasn’t the chip makers, whose “inside” automated apparatus really makes things work, maybe it was something else that helps make the things we use like Smart-phones, and integrated TVs and digital cameras easier to use. So we took a close look at an Aeptek 3D camera to see what technology was involved in making the product work better, easier and faster.

It turns out that companies like Xilinx, a not-so-well- known yet billion dollar company, have a lot to do with it. According to Aaron Behman, VP of business development of Xilinx, “We didn’t give Aeptek its 3D or its fast changing lens, but we gave the chips inside the camera the ability to be upgraded or to add functions or to adjust flaws that could occur once the product was in use.”

These companies help nearly 20,000 different kinds of products get to the market faster and cheaper because they drastically reduce research, development and production costs and make it easier to change and upgrade product features safely “on the fly” to meet changing market needs and requirements right before they hit retail shelves.
“Sometimes the difference between a top rated and top performing digital product is not the price, but what the product is using to tell the chip inside to actually do,” says technology analyst Len Wanger, a vice president at William Harris Investors, a Chicago based investment firm.

Are We Stuck With Garmin, Tom-Tom and Magellan?

Microsoft Streets and Trips Might Help.

A few years ago our staffers wrote about the death of third party maps from software makers, because of the influence of Google, Yahoo and other free Internet Map content. And mobile GPS makers, like Tom-Tom, Magellan and Garmin had you coming and going right from your car or mobile phone to your destination, so an AAA print out or even a Microsoft Streets download was a waste of time. But more and more people using mobile GPS systems are realizing that when you plan a trip, there might be an easier way to determine which hotel, motel, restaurant or gas station you might need.

With the launch of the 2011 version of Microsoft Streets & Trips, travelers have a convenient, easy way to augment their mobile GPS content in order to plan their trips. Its 1.9 million points of interest help you to plan family or business travel. But the key to the updates and upgraded program, says Larry Peterson of Microsoft is that with road construction, fast changing gas prices and even fast changing hotel and restaurant listings, you can update your content right from your Laptop or desktop before and during the trip.

The 2011 version of Streets & Trips features updated street-level maps of the U.S., Canada and Mexico with more than 6.5 million miles of navigable roads. “A fuel consumption manager helps consumers accurately predict what their fuels bills will be and stay within budget before and during their trips. It takes the current rate of gasoline at predetermined gas stations on your trip and instantly calculates the cost per mile or per trip. Once on the road, travelers can use Streets & Trips on their Laptop to find necessities — without an Internet connection — by searching for stops such as ATMs, hotels, restaurants and more.

With Streets & Trips with GPS Locator travelers can turn their Laptop into a navigation device to get spoken directions and large, full-screen navigation. Unlike a mobile GPS device, the software can be upgraded almost instantly with wifi and mobile hot spots now available in many places. “If they get lost or make a wrong turn, automatic rerouting will get them back on track in no time. With updated maps and even more points of interest, it’s easy to stay on track while including stops that will please everyone in the car.” Peterson added.

Can’t They Make This Easier?

We thought we were offering good advice when we advised people to purchase some of the better digital editing software. And many of our readers were satisfied after purchasing our recommendations. But many readers still just want to burn a music CD, copy their digital photos and home videos and maybe make a quick Family Multimedia Album. Industry leaders Nero, Cyberlink , Arcsoft and Roxio, or barebones programs like Picasa, are not filling the bill for everyone despite their features and improvements. They can manipulate digital videos, music and photography like Windows 7 and even some of the built-in programs on your Mac. But we added up the emails and calls we’ve gotten from all demographics, and the average person still can’t produce a family multimedia album without many many calls to customer support…or to a friend or to us.

There is a better way. We just watched a demonstration by Terence Swee, CEO and co-founder of Muvee.com, a software engineering company that bundles their program with many mobile phones and Laptops and Tablets. He combined photos, videos and music on his Android phone and created a really neat presentation in about two minutes. We are going to try this ourselves this week and will post the results as soon as we have them.

A Very Close Shave in This Race

A few years ago, Philips, the Dutch technology giant, whose decision to get out of the consumer electronics business in the USA thankfully didn’t end its North American Consumer Lifestyle division. That division makes men’s and women’s electric shavers and groomers, baby monitors, award winning electric toothbrushes and much more.

They came up with a cool looking electric razor with a unique design, the Senso Touch, and we were flattered to be a beta tester. An entire box of Band-Aids later, it was obvious that this was the worst mistake the company made since giving away their CD and DVD patent to Sony. It was off the market nearly before it got on.

But maybe some companies learn from their mistakes. We just received a new and improved Philips (Norelco) Senso Touch3D. The (street price) $249 electric razor really does provide one of the most comfortable and accurate (and safe) shave we’ve ever had.

You can choose a comfortable dry shave or a refreshing wet shave using a shaving gel or foam. The shaving head minimizes skin irritation using 3 specialized tracks: slots for normal hair; channels for long or flat laying hair; and holes for the shortest stubble on your face. And for those who like lights or flashing features, the Senso Touch 3D includes a power button that illuminates when it senses movement. Its rechargeable lithium battery lasts about 60 minutes for nearly three weeks of shaving time.