Vidtel Launches Today!

Been trying to get this post out all day. Scott Wharton is one of the few people I know in this space going back to 2001 when I started at Frost & Sullivan. He had a great run at BroadSoft, and it was surprising to hear him make the jump to his own startup this summer. Not only doing a startup for the first time, but moving from the East coast to the West coast to do it. That takes commitment, and he's done it on a shoestring.

His company is called Vidtel - gee, can you guess what the business is? - and today was the official launch. It's a bit like having a baby, so first off, congratulations Scott! You've got a good team behind you, about 100 trials going, the technology is ready now, the service is economical now, and maybe most importantly, video is hot. We're way beyond worrying about how we look on video now, and this isn't the 1964 World's Fair.

Sure, most people are camera-shy, but in the world of iPhone, Flckr, YouTube, Facebook, etc., it's not such a big deal any more. There's no shortage of people ready, willing and able to get onscreen at the drop of a hat. More importantly, Vidtel is about making an everyday experience - talking on the phone - a better experience. There's no shortage of friends and family-based situations where adding video to the mix would be welcome. Vidtel understands this, and the website does a nice job of explaining many of these scenarios and how they would appeal to different segments of the market.

To be clear, Vidtel is a consumer offering. It's not the videophone service that Packet8 was marketing to SMBs. This is a mass market concept, much like Vonage was in 2005. However, prices have come down, and video service like Vidtel is very affordable. The big BUT, of course, is how are you going to get customers? Scott's too savvy to fall into the Vonage trap of spending recklessly to acquire subscribers - especially in today's economy.

He'll start slow and virally, and will establish a loyal customer base and demonstrate proof of concept. That's what I'd be doing. It's not an expensive service to launch, and I'm sure the business can carry itself early on with a modest base of customers. After that, it's all about branding and scale - both of which can be addressed with capital and some sound management decisions.

I'm a fan - I have been ever since he told me about it. I'll soon be a beta user as well, and I'll be reviewing it once I've had some time to use it. Aside from spending time on Vidtel's website, I should add that Scott has a nice blog of his own, so if you want his personal take on how Vidtel came to be, you should read his post about it.

Again, congrats to you and your team, Scott, and it's great to see a startup like this come to life.

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magicJack - the Saga Continues - be Careful Out There

I first posted about magicJack back in June, and I've never had a post with legs like this. I don't generate tons of comments like uber-bloggers do, but for some reason this post keeps finding people, and I think it's a sign of the times.

If magicJack is new to you (yes, that's a small "m" - part of its charm I guess), then just read my post, and you'll have the story. Basically, it's a USB gadget that gives you "free" VoIP. The company/inventor behind the product is more interesting than the product itself, and that's what my post focused on.

Aside from the post itself, the comments tell you what people really think about this thing. Just when it looks like the world has moved on to other can't-miss ideas, I get another magicJack comment last night - here's an excerpt:

I am completely shocked at how Dan Borislow has misrepresented his product, and his "free, 30 day trial" which is nonexistant. I ordered 2 on the trial, just to have my credit card immediately charged. I went to their chat window customer service, and they refused all phone numbers to reach anyone at an administrative level. They charged my creditcard without my authorization, after they sent me an email stating it would not be charged for 30 days. They then refused to reverse the charge. I will not accept their delivery, I will file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, and look into a class action lawsuit against this company, as it seems thousands have been scammed by this company's blatant misrepresentation.

Oooh. Not a happy customer, and he has more to say - check it out for yourself.

I'm always happy to get comments, but this one sets off red flags for me. First of all, magicJack is still around. They are either the real deal and must be doing something right - or, there are still loads of people out there reading mass market advertisements who will jump sight unseen at the prospect of saving some money. Unless magicJack has changed its stripes - which is doubtful based on the above comment - there's a lot of fine print that prospective buyers should be reading and understanding before placing an order.

You don't need me to tell you how bad things are out there, and telecom is not immune. What worries me is how attractive the promise of magicJack is to people trying to save money any way they can. Nothing wrong with saving money in tough times, but magicJack is hardly a straight up proposition. It may seem that way if you're not careful, but Paul's comment from yesterday is a reminder that it's not.

His parting thought says it all for me...

The moral of the story is don't trust a phone company that tells you they do not have a phone number you can call if you have a problem with billing or anything else. A phone company with no phones sure sounds fishy...


The allure of FREE is pretty strong these days, and generally you get what you pay for. Clearly magicJack is still attracting interest, and based on some of the comments I've had, they do have happy customers. However, for a product I have concerns with, I tend to put more stock in what people like Paul are saying.

In short, caveat emptor. Free can be a beautiful thing, but everything comes with a price, even VoIP!



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Korea Tech Preview � Day 2

Day 2 was every bit as good as Day 1, and on the whole I found this excursion very worthwhile. Not a whole lot of IP communications on display here, but where else are you going to come across so many intriguing technologies, innovations, gadgets, etc.? I met quite a few interesting companies and will definitely be following up with some of them.

Here�s a quick recap with some photo highlights, and don�t be surprised to see some of these at your local electronics retailer in 2009.

Lunchtime keytnotes � Burrill & Co. (VC) and LG Electronics

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Neolux � e-reader � like Kindle. I thought this was really cool and since it�s read-only, it�s a great way to distribute copyrighted content safely. I can see lots of possibilities here.

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Commax � residential video surveillance/greeting systems. All kinds of applications - not only can you watch and talk to that stranger knocking on your door, as well as let him in, but you can monitor anywhere in/around your home where you can put a camera. I can�t help but think of all the Monty Python and the Holy Grail fun scenarios you can have with this --- �WHAT is your favorite color?�....

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Pavonine � do not adjust your set. It�s a blurry image because it�s 3D! Hah. When you put on the 3D glasses, the TV experience sure changes big time. Not just for watching TV but for gaming. Seems corny, but pretty cool.

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Adscalator � strange word, but that�s what they do. Yup. It�s a digital ad display panel at the entry/exit point of an escalator. Not only that � see where I�ve drawn a circle? That�s where Adscalator disinfects the moving handguard we all rest our hands on. How�s that for being virtuous and commercial at the same time?

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PlayGuard � my favorite. Ready for this? A round webcam that goes almost anywhere. It�s �smaller than a golf ball�, so you hardly even notice it. The exhibitor was a good sport and modelled one way to use it. For those of us who feel compelled to video everything we do, here�s the solution. It�s brilliant � what extreme sports enthusiast wouldn�t want this and try to become the next star of America�s Funniest Home Videos? Just strap it on your head � or your baby, or your pet, and away you go. I guess. How about a waterproof model for scuba diving? Or a car-mounted cam which becomes your black box in the event of an accident? Tons of possibilities � how could you not want one of these?

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Bo Shin � my gracious host. A big thanks to Bo and all the others at KOTRA who provided great hospitality, and more importantly, translation help during my meetings! Without them, my meetings would not have lasted very long. Remember the Seinfeld episode with Frank Costanza when the Koreans were trash talking him? Unlike Frank, I don�t know Korean, so I can only hope they were nice to me during our meetings. :-)

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A Good Day to be in the USA

Call it luck of the draw, but I got to be in the U.S. today. I'm not that politically inclined, but the election was pretty special, and everyone senses we're living important history right now. It's a good day to be an American, it's a good day for America, it's a good day in the eyes of most people outside America, and it's a good day to be in the USA. Smiles all around for me.

Obama is in the House now, and hopefully the honeymoon will be a long one. If you remember JFK and MLK, it's a good feeling to see so many dreams finally realized, and it's a great reminder of how special democracy can be.

I kind of thought I'd see or sense a noticeable mood of joy here, but I really haven't - strange. The airports - both Toronto and Dallas were unusually quiet, and there hasn't been any visible sign to say today is different from any other day. To be fair, I'm deep in the heart of Texas - GWB country - and their GOP stripes didn't change in 2008.

With today being such a special time, and being in Dallas, I just figured out what to do about this. This is a short trip for me, but the hotel is not far from Dealey Plaza. I've never been there, and I couldn't imagine a more appropriate time to make a quick pilgrimage to see it.

In many ways, Barack Obama's journey started there. The dreams of equality didn't die with JFK, and they didn't die with MLK. Clinton was a good JFK wannabe, but Barack may end up a better successor to his spirit of hope, change and youth. Like JFK, he is a true breakthrough in his own right. Time will tell if he's the real deal or if he'll just be learning on the job, but it's pretty clear that the world hasn't felt this good about the USA in a long time. Things are much easier to accomplish when people like you, and we have nowhere to go but up now that the Bush era is over.

I'll get off that soapbox now - photos coming tomorrow. Back to work. I'm in Dallas to attend the Korean Tech Showcase, and so far, it's been just great. I'm virtually certain I'm the only analyst here, so I'm getting to see stuff most of my peers won't likely see for some time yet if at all. Lucky me.

I've had meetings with companies with really interesting technologies, and am looking forward to more of the same tomorrow. It's too early to blog about the details, but as I get to know some of them better, I'll bring you up to date.

Nice tie-in at the airport. CNN's 24/7 election coverage, and a TV display stand by Samsung, Korea's most famous tech company.

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Sidebar... I had one of those only-in-America moments here at the airport. While waiting for my ride, I heard this announcement over the PA system: "the post-election noon day prayer will be held in the chapel in Terminal 1". Praise the Lord and God Bless America... who said Church and State were separate? :-)

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Couldn't resist. Remember pay phones? They sure are becoming an extinct species in the U.S., and I see this scene at almost every hotel/conference center I travel to. Ugly. Virtually everyone seems to have a cell phone here, and there is simply no rhyme or reason to use a pay phone these days.

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Next Stop - Dallas and the Korean Tech Showcase

Got a short trip coming up tomorrow - am flying to Dallas - a place I've only been to once before.

I've been invited by KOTRA - the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency - to attend a showcase of Korean companies looking for partnerships, advice, investment, etc. to help them become established in North America.

This should be a really interesting event, and a great opportunity to learn about some cool, up and coming companies. There will be over 50 companies to meet, and they cover the gamut, including PCs, wireless, telephony, video, RFID, IPTV, GPS and esoteric stuff like home automation, robotics and biometrics. Not a bad way to spend two days, and who knows, I just might get an early glimpse of the next Samsung or LG to come from this hotbed of innovation and gadgetry.

Wearing my Monty Python hat, I have to be a bit tongue-in-cheek here, and would be remiss if I didn't bring up Chindogu before signing off.

What is this, you may ask? Well, it really is something completely different. If you haven't heard of Kenji Kawakami, then check this out. He's the author of a number of books that have become a mini-franchise over the years about Chindogu, which loosely translated, means "useless inventions". His books are built around the theme of 101 unuseless Japanense inventions, and you just have to see these to believe them. Life doesn't get any funnier than this, and if you're a fan of MXC on Spike TV - Most Extreme Elimination Challenge - then you'll just love this.

I'd better stop now! I never expected this post would take so many twists, but it all sticks together if you follow my offbeat logic. Anyhow, I'm quite certain that the products I'll be seeing in Dallas will be very useful indeed, so stay tuned over the next day or so.



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Blackberry Bold - Rogers is First to Market

Just wanted to briefly share some news that will be of interest to any RIM watcher.

The much-hyped Blackberry Bold was launched yesterday here in Toronto by Rogers, and is worth citing for a few reasons. I'm not much of gadget guy, but the Bold is a big deal, and I'll just wave the flag a bit here to say that Rogers is the first operator in North America to offer it. We're not winning a lot of medals in Beijing (although it's been a very good week!), and it's nice to talk about being first in something.

I wasn't at the launch, but local colleague Jim Courtney was, so I'll leave it to him to tell you about it first-hand. Jim knows RIM very well and had a great writeup about the launch that was posted last night.

Aside from the fact that Jim's post is a good read on the launch event and what the Bold means for Rogers (more than you might think), it was published as a guest post on GigaOm. That was really great to see in terms of giving Jim's post tremendous visibility and letting the world know that Canada does get its share of firsts.

An interesting subtext to this launch is the ever-evolving battle between Rogers and Bell for supremacy in Ontario, as well as nationally on the wireless front. Rogers has a killer one-two punch with the iPhone and now the Bold that keeps them top of mind in both the consumer and business markets.

Bell, of course, is trying to re-invent itself in the wake of privatization, and a big part of that has been their very new and very different branding campaign that's re-positioning them as a leading edge provider. And if you're local, you'll know why I said "providER". Lots to talk about there, but another time - this post is about steering you to Jim's review. Enjoy.


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Post-Vacation News Roundup - XConnect, Jajah, Mobivox, Fonolo, magicJack

Things always happen when you're on vacation, so I'm just catching up on industry news now. Didn't seem to miss a whole lot while I was gone, but I wanted to note four items that have just hit the market in the past couple of days.

They're all different and probably warrant separate posts, but I have too much new stuff to move on to, and wanted to at least give them some attention. So, in no particular order, here are some items that you should be aware of, if not already through other sources.

Item 1 - XConnect

On Wednesday, XConnect announced some breakthrough news on the peering front. XConnect has developed a peering solution for cable operators in the Netherlands, and as far as I know, this is the first of its kind in the industry. This stems from XConnect's big win back in 2006 to handle all the peering among Dutch cable operators. By routing all this traffic across a common platform, the cable operators in effect create an alternative to the PSTN that could largely bypass the local telcos altogether. This was a great proof point for VoIP and the ability for a commercial peering solution to work on a reasonably large scale.

The big news now is that XConnect (along with partner Kayote Networks) has achieved interoperability with the Nokia Siemens hiQ VoIP platform. This builds nicely on XConnect's 2006 peering win, which led to the development of SIPX, the Dutch SIP Exchange project for cablecos. With Nokia Siemens being so strong in the EU, and cable penetration being 97% in the Netherlands, this news means that cable operators have a pretty complete solution for VoIP. Not only is this great validation for XConnect's vision, but it allows cable operators to offer true end-to-end SIP-based VoIP. This should translate into a superior offering, not just in terms of more affordable service for subscribers, but a better quality experience, especially with high fidelity voice codecs and video telephony.

Item 2 - Jajah and Mobivox

On Wednesday, Jajah actually had two really cool announcements. First is Jajah Babel - wow, this is neat. Released just in time for the Beijing Olympics, this service provides real time translation from English to Mandarin (and vice versa) on the phone. Of course you need to use Jajah's platform, but it's not hard to imagine how popular this is going to be over the next few weeks! Let's not forget that Jajah is now running Yahoo's voice platform, so they've got a pretty large global market at their disposal, and like the Tower of Babel, this will no doubt be the first step towards adding other languages and getting everybody talking to everybody. Just when you thought voice was getting boring.

Jajah also had a second announcement, this one being a partnership with Mobivox, a Canadian company I have followed for ages. This one is a bit smaller scale, but still pretty interesting. Not to confuse you, but there are two stories here. First is Mobivox's move to partner with Jajah to be the platform for their own offerings. Second is Jajah's launch of their Concierge service, which uses Mobivox's voice recognition technology to enable voice-activated telephony. This will be a handy value-added feature for operators using Jajah's platform, especially when targeting mobile users. As the press release notes, states like California now require hands-free calling in the car, so it's easy to see where Concierge will be of value. Sounds like a good partnership to me.

Item 3 - Fonolo

Yesterday, Toronto-based Fonolo announced the release of its API at the ClueCon developer conference in Chicago. The developer community is really the beta audience for Fonolo, but the early reactions - there and just prior to ClueCon have been just great.

Check out this post from The Consumerist for a starting point. Andy Abramson's Fonolo post provides more detail along with links to other industry responses.

If the term "Deep Dialing" is news to you, it won't be after reading this, and I guarantee that you'll get the idea right away. I'm not going to spoil this and tell you here - just read it and see for yourself. Then, go ahead and sign up for the beta yourself. I've been using it a bit, and it's pretty cool. This is a definitely an application everyone has a use for, and I'm pretty sure it will be finding its way into a telco near you, hopefully by early 2009.

Item 4 - magicJack

If you follow my blog, you may recall my post about magicJack back in early June. I provided my candid thoughts after learning about it following a magicJack story I was interviewed for. It has turned out to be one of my most enduring posts, as I'm still getting comments about it - both pro and con.

Anyhow, I smiled broadly when I saw that colleague Thomas Howe put up an even more candid post about magicJack while we were away on vacation. Looks like magicJack is in the midst of a big TV campaign, and Thomas just couldn't believe what he was seeing in their ad the other day. So, if you liked my post, you'll really like his! The Analyst in me can't help but try to be balanced, whereas the Engineer in Thomas sees things more black and white - that is, all problem and no solution. Read 'em both, and tell me what yout think - I'd love to keep this dialog going.


This sure has turned into a long post, but now you're up on all the news that's keeping me up at night.

Disclosure - I am an Advisor to both XConnect and Fonolo, but in all fairness, I'm not the only one out there blogging about these news items.

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My Nokia N81 Review

I�ve been trialing Nokia smartphones via their Blogger Relations program for a couple of years now (developed by Andy Abramson and his agency Comunicano), and have been lucky enough to use a wide variety of great phones. Of course it�s a bit of a misnomer to call these things phones � they�ll all pretty smart devices in all kinds of ways. This review is for the N81, which I�ve had for ages, and as with the past few Nokia phones, I�m getting it second hand. My oldest son, Max, has been getting first crack lately with these phones, so once he�s done with it, it�s my turn and here we are. Being a 15 year old, his take on the phone is different from mine, although we generally feel the same way about the N81 � you can read his review here.

Overall, I�ll tell you that the N81 has been one of the least enjoyable phones that I�ve used in this program, and I�m happy to see it go. Part of this is getting spoiled by the phones I had just before this, like the N95. Many people regard the N95 as the best phone out there today, so it�s a hard act to follow. My N95 review was rather harsh, but it still has way more going for it than the N81. That�s understandable since this phone isn�t really in the same bracket, so it�s not that fair to compare.

Enough about that � on to the review. I�ll start with the things I liked, then move on to what didn�t work for me.

What I Liked About the N81

No doubt, the phone makes a great first impression. It�s got a sleek design, all black and shiny, and cradles nicely in your palm. Design is a real hallmark of Nokia, and this phone oozes high style. No sharp corners or edges � which should appeal equally to women and men.

It�s a slider phone, which is nice for protecting the keypad. As with other Nokia slider models, the design is easy to use, especially with one hand � left or right.

The screen is a decent size, and it�s quite easy to read the numbers in the display when dialing a call. Viewing photos or video is great � the images are quite clear unless you�re out and about in daylight � more about that shortly.

8 GB means tons of memory for a smartphone, and I�m sure it�s a major selling feature. I�m not a typical smartphone user, though, so all this memory was kind of lost on me. Of course, if I was in the market to buy a smartphone, and if putting my life on my phone was important to me, then sure, I�d be pretty excited about this.

In terms of using the N81 as a phone, the only plus I can really note would be that the calling features were pretty intuitive. Prime examples for me would be putting calls on hold or conferencing two callers at the same time. When these things happen, it�s easy to get flustered, but I found them easy to manage. When a second call comes in, you get a distinct beep, and then when you look at screen, it clearly states what�s going on, and it�s pretty easy to juggle the calls. Same for conferencing, which I found pretty handy. It�s especially nice when you�re talking away to someone, and the person you�re talking about happens to call you just then. Sure it�s right place � right time, but very efficient when you can connect both callers who you�ve got on the line to seamlessly create a three-way call.

I wasn�t much on using the advanced features of the phone, but found the carousel menu easy to navigate � once you know how. It was not intuitive at first, as I was used to the N95, which had a different sequence of prompts for exactly the same features. So, it took a while to figure out the way these worked on the N81, but once I got the hang of it, life got a lot easier.

I�m afraid to say that�s all I have for my likes. This phone has a lot of good qualities, but it was hard to see many more after weighing out all the frustrations that were part and parcel of the overall experience.

What I Didn�t Like About the N81

I�m not doing these in any particular order, but what comes to mind first is that there are too many buttons and embedded buttons within other buttons to deal with. This is a necessary compromise for having a larger screen, and I�m not sure I would come up with anything better. No doubt, once you get used to all the features, and master the micro-movements of your fingers to use them all, it�s a beautiful thing. For someone like Max, this stuff is first nature, but for me, it�s a major, major nuisance. I simply have no patience for all this complexity and just steer clear of these buttons altogether. Obviously, I�m not an ideal customer for this phone, so my rant here isn�t going to get much attention. However, I have no doubt that for a large portion of the general population this sentiment would be exactly the same. Of course that�s not Nokia�s market for the N81, but hey, I�m reviewing one, and that�s how it comes across to me.

Continuing on the button theme, another BIG frustration is how incredibly easy it is to inadvertently activate the music player. Max had downloaded some of his metal music (and I use that word liberally here!), and I can�t tell you how often these tunes kick in out of nowhere when I�m carrying around the phone. Seems like the slightest touch sets it off � and this happens equally often when the phone is in my hand or when it�s inside a pouch I carry all my stuff in � and I happen to pick up the pouch the wrong way � oooops! When this happens, I�m not sure which is more of a problem � how easy it is to turn the tunes on, or how hard it is to turn them off. Both are a problem, and both are reasons I�m happy to move on to another phone.

As with other Nokia phones, the keypad is solid � you have to be deliberate punching in the numbers � I like that aspect for sure. However, it�s not nearly as usable as the N95, where the keypads were slightly raised and rounded, if I recall correctly. These keypads are flat, so you have to look while you dial to be sure you�re hitting the right ones. Otherwise, the keypad area is just one flat space, so it�s hard to get your bearings since there�s no tactile point of reference moving from key to key. The real killer, though, is no backlighting � making it difficult if not impossible to use at night. I may be the only person out there who still actually dials phone numbers, and all I can say is that the N81 isn�t very phone-friendly at night.

Speaking of backlighting, there�s another related problem area for me. The screen display is well lit and easy to read � so long as you are indoors. In this case, the problem isn�t night time, it�s day time. I don�t recall the N95 having this problem, but the N81�s screen is downright unusable in daylight. When I�m walking outside with it, the screen is simply impossible to see unless you create some shade to minimize the glare. If you�re walking � which I presume is what most people are doing when they�re using their phones outside � you need to use your free hand to block the glare so you can see the screen. That solves one problem, but it creates another. Now I don�t have a free hand to dial a number. I realize this isn�t a problem for people who autodial all their calls, but sorry folks, if you need to use the keypad - whether it�s dialing or texting � you have to duck away to a shady spot. That solution works, but I don�t think it�s a very optimal end user experience � and just seems plain ridiculous to me.

On the topic of walking, I can�t imagine I�m the only one to have noticed how difficult it is to walk and talk with this phone, especially outdoors. I have yet to find the ideal, pinpoint location where my ear lines up just right so I can clearly hear the other party. In fact, as I look at the phone, I can�t even find the tiny hole where the sound comes out for phone calls. I know that�s what Bluetooth headsets were invented for, but I don�t use these things, and you should be able to walk and talk with your phone as is. I�ve had this problem with other N series phones, so I guess they�re just not designed to be used like conventional phones. To be fair, I think this is a common deficiency for all cell phones, and I just shake my head when I see countless people walking down busy, noisy streets yapping away on their phones. If their phones are anything like the N81, there�s no way they�re having a real conversation � it�s just impossible to hear the other person. I�ve long believed most of these are just pretend calls because talking on the phone while you�re walking about projects an image of self-importance, and the cell phone is simply a great prop to do that. I digress � and don�t get me started on that vein.

Let�s move on to the camera � I never thought you�d ask. For me, the camera is the real centerpiece of the phone, as I love taking photos, especially in-the-moment. As most Nokia watchers know, the N81 is a 2 megapixel camera, and it works just fine. The camera is on par with most of the other cell phones out there, but it�s a big step down from the 5 MP camera that came with the N95. I find this really bizarre for a phone with 8G memory. Storage isn�t a problem with the N81, so why scale down the camera so much? This phone is made for taking high res photos and fancy videos � strange, huh? To be fair, though, for most needs, the quality of photos with the N81 is perfectly fine � it�s just not as nice as the N95.

I�ve got a sidebar to share on the photo front that is without a doubt my most painful memory of this phone. One of my recent trips took me to New York, which included a tour of Yankee Stadium. I knew this would be my only chance ever to see this park, so it was a pretty big deal. This was a pretty cool tour that took us all over the park � the field, Monument Park, the dugout, the press box, etc. The weather was perfect and I took lots of pictures. Later, while reviewing the photos to pick the ones for my blog, I found that the camera�s memory � or operating system � or whatever � was scrambling the pictures. I�m not going to get into detail, but let�s just say I was only able to salvage a handful. I have no idea what happened or why, but I just have to roll my eyes. It seems that no matter what gadget I use, something goofy always happens that nobody can explain or understand. I�ve trialed quite a few Nokia phones, and have never had such a problem or such a disaster. All I can say is that when I needed this phone the most, it let me down in the biggest way possible. We all have our share of horror stories with technology, and this was a big one for me. I�ll never forgive this phone for messing up like that, and I haven�t even thought of using it as a camera since. For all I know, it may work perfectly fine, but it doesn�t matter � I can�t trust this phone for taking pictures any more. Now I simply take a digital camera when I travel, which means I use the N81 a lot less. It may be an extra gadget to carry around, but at least I know the photos will turn out. Enough � I hope you can feel my pain.

Not much else to talk about, but I�ll briefly touch on a couple of things. As with the other Nokias, the battery has a habit of dying too quickly without warning. I think we�ve all experienced this � the phone shows three bars of battery life, so you feel pretty safe for a bit. Then you take a call, and about two minutes later, the phone dies. Ugh. It seems like the phone lasts forever up at five or four bars, but after that it�s got like, zero juice. What can you do? Just keep it charged as much as possible, I guess.

Finally, I�ll end where I began � the overall design. I started off this review by saying how much I liked the sleek design and basic feel of the N81. No qualms there. However... there�s just something about the smoothness of this phone that makes it so darned slippery � and I�m being very polite here. I can�t tell you how many times this phone has slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor or the ground. The fun doesn�t stop there. When it hits the ground, the plastic backplate pops off and then the battery pops out and now I have an expensive mess on my hands. And this phone is a loaner, folks! I�ll gladly pay for any serious damages, and maybe it�s best that I pass it back to Nokia while it's still in one piece and we�ll just move on. I�m very conscious that this phone isn�t mine, but it just keeps slipping away at awkward times. Fortunately nothing has cracked or chipped � which is a testament to the quality of the components � but it just seems to me that a phone of this caliber shouldn�t fall to pieces so easily. You might be thinking I�m just clumsy or careless, but I�ve used lots of phones and never had a problem like this before. Maybe the next generation of the N81 will have a textured surface or a more grippable finish. That�s my two cents worth of free advice.

To conclude, if you�ve stuck with me this far, you�d be right to say I didn�t care much for this phone. It definitely has some great smartphone features, but I�m just not the right guy to get the most utility out of it. No doubt I was spoiled by the N95, and if I�d had the N81 first, my review would likely have been more positive. I just take them as they come, and I�m really trying to be objective here. I�ve tried hard to point out the good qualities, but no matter how you spin it, they�re outweighed by things that to me, should not be problems for smartphones. Sorry, Nokia, but that�s my main takeaway message here. Whether you think I�m being too critical or on the money, I�d love to hear your thoughts, especially from other N81 users.


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Nokia Reviews on Nokia's Blogs

Just a quick note about the Nokia Blogger Relations program. Over the past couple of days, I posted my review of the Nokia N95, and Max's review of the N81.

Andy Abramson has been running this program for a while now, and I just wanted to share that our reviews have now been posted to the Nokia Blogs sites, where there's one for each model - the N95, and the N81.

I always post about the Nokia Blogs when our reviews are posted, simply to support the initiative. It's a great use of the Web as a marketing tool, and am sure you'll see a lot more of this as mainstream companies discover the value and power of online sharing and collaboration tools. And, of course, these blogs are a fantastic place to get lost and hear first hand what engaged users really think about these phones. So, please, go visit, and get lost.


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Max's Palm Treo Review

It's been a while since I've posted something from son #1, Max. Priorities change when school starts up, but he's keeping pretty busy in his spare time, most recently designing websites.

We were recently given the Palm Treo 755 smartphone to review, but we only could keep it for a few weeks. Time flies, and we've given the phone back and have reverted to our Nokia phones - reviews on those are coming....

Anyhow, Max has posted his review to his blog, so for those of you who want to hear how a sharp teenager makes use of an adult product like this, you'll find his post a good read, as usual. He's pretty direct and quite savvy - lots of candid comments and keen observations - I hope Palm is listening....

I'm due for my review of this phone, and hopefully that will be by early next week. I only got to use it a fraction of the time Max did, so it won't be as detailed.


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One Laptop Per Child - Buy One, Give One - Now!

Got a note from colleague Mark Goldberg while I was away this weekend. He wanted to draw attention to a very worthy promotion going right now around the One Laptop Per Child initiative. If this is new to you, you should read up on this on their website, where details are also provided about this promotion. Followers of my blog may recall my first encounter with one of these very cool computers earlier this year.

As explained in his post, until November 26, you can buy one of these computers for $399 for yourself, and a second one will be sent to a developing country where it can really be put to good use. And, you get a $200 tax receipt to boot.

The offer is good in both the U.S. and Canada, and this is the first chance I've had to get the word out. As the OLPC website explains, this is the first time the computers have been made available to the general public. Also, I'm just describing their "Give One Get One" promotion, but there are others shown on the site, including a Group Giving promotion. So, this is a great opportunity for corporate giving for larger scale support.

Lots of ways to support the program, and if you want to help bring the PC to those who can least afford it, this is the perfect opportunity. Not to mention a chance to be the first on your block to get one. Well, my wife is a primary school teacher, and I can guarantee it will be a hit with her kids. I'm in - hope you are too.

Thanks for the note, Mark! I should also note that another Canadian colleague, Mark Evans has done his part to spread the word. Can you?


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Max's Latest Tech Review - Philips iPod Clock Radio

It's been a while since my son Max has posted any tech reviews. Getting back to school has made this more difficult, but we're trying as we can.

We were also doing a regular video review series called Teen Tech Reviews, but unfortunately, our host site - BlogTV.ca - ceased operating a few weeks back. We're looking a few alternatives for hosting our video reviews, and hope to resume these soon.

For now, Max will have to rely on written reviews, and he's just posted one for a neat consumer device made by Philips. It's for their iPod clock radio, and it's a pretty good idea. Basically it's a clock radio with a docking station for your iPod, so you can have your favorite tunes ready to go when you start your day.

Sorry, folks, there's no IP communications theme here - just a short plug for Max's blog. But if you want to hear how a teenager responds to products like these, you'll find it a good read.


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Thomas Howe Company/Sylantro Announce Mashup Winners

As readers of my blog would know, The Thomas Howe Company is doing really great things in the mashup space, and are starting to make a name for themselves.

One of the ways they've done this is with Sylantro, where they jointly held a mashup competition at Sylantro's Global Summit customer event this week. I think it's a great idea, and Thomas has posted the results of the competition today to his company blog.

As the post explains, the overall winner was Infosys Technologies, and their "CallPal" mashup integrates personal calendaring/contact information with Sylantro's Synapps platform. Sounds like this was a great forum to demo all kinds of neat mashups, and you can get a better sense of that from Thomas's post.

While I've got you, I'd also like to draw attention to THC's new blog page, which recently replaced Thomas Howe's personal blog. So, if you're following this, make sure to update your links. I should also note that the THC blog has a very fun and engaging look and feel. They're using the European red telephone booth image as their icon, and every time you visit the home page, there's a rotation of really cool landscape images, with that phone booth icon dropped in. It's a fun way of saying that no matter where you are in the world, you can always be in touch, and if you want to talk about mashups, THC will be there for you.


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Skype Shakeup - Quick Reprise

When I picked up on Andy Abramson's post about Niklas Zennstrom's resignation from Skype yesterday morning, I couldn't find anything else posted out there in the blogosphere or mainstream press.

Of course, as the day went on, that changed big time, and the story got the full attention it deserved from many sources. If you're just jumping into this story, Skype Journal is as good a place as any to start, especially Jim Courtney's insightful running commentary yesterday and today.

I often speak with Business Week about stories like this, but was not reachable when the call came, so I was out of luck. However, I did speak later with Olga Kharif, who wrote a separate post about our chat on the Business Week Tech Beat page, and just thought I'd add that to mix.

There's been lots of talk that an IPO is the magic bullet for Skype, and I think there's a lot of merit to that. Or how about going to Yahoo, fresh off some interesting acquisitions in Zimbra and BlueLithium?

I still like my longshot idea the best - Apple. Just over two years ago, I posted that Apple would be a great fit for Skype - I'd call it Skapple, and together, they could have the ultimate mobile device --- the Skypod. That may not come to pass, but I'll tell you what --- the Google phone - which was cited in that 2005 blog post is just around the corner now, and it sure bears a lot of similarity.



While we're on the topic of heavily troubled VoIP plays, I was interviewed the other day by IT Business Edge about Vonage. Can anybody make a buck in this business?



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Microsoft Surface - This is Cool!

On Saturday, Max and I had a private briefing of Microsoft Surface. First off, I just have to say this is a bit like Telepresence - you have to see it and experience it to believe and understand what it's all about. You can get a good sense of this from the Surface website, but sitting down and seeing it first hand is something else.

Most people haven't seen Surface before, so if that's you, I think you'll really enjoy this post.

Toronto was the second stop on their North America media tour - following New York, and I suspect Max is the first teenager in Canada to have had a private briefing, so he's a pretty happy guy. Surface has been public for several months, but commercial deployments are another story. This particular demo was held at the downtown Sheraton Hotel, which is part of the Starwood hotel/resort operation. Am not sure just how far along they are in offering Surface to their guests, but we got a pretty good taste of what it might look like if they did.

I'll let the pictures and video clip below tell the rest of the story. I have no doubt Surface will find a home for some pretty cool commercial settings like hotels, but we also got a glimpse about how this will become the uber-cool coffee table of the future in your smart home. The mind boggles.....


Surface is a tabletop console, and it's touch-based. Just think of it as a giant iPhone - but much more powerful. This example is a restaurant, where all the menu items can be viewed, and you can place your order directly from the console. That's just the beginning...

Surface1.jpg


Now it's time to divvy up the bill. Kyle and Max are going Dutch, and they're now going to drag each item that's theirs into their own spaces so they can figure out how much each of them owes to pay the bill.


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Max's portion is $14.63. He just puts his credit card face up on the console. The back of his credit card is tagged to interface with Surface, and presto, the bill is paid on the spot. Of course, this cuts down on interacting with the waiter, but for the 2.0 crowd, how can you not like this?

Surface3.jpg


Let's switch to the fun stuff - home entertainment. Check this out - the video puzzle. This is a car racing video, and the image is broken up over a grid of plastic tiles. They're all tagged, and each one shows a portion of the video clip. The challenge is to assemble all the tiles in the right order - just like a puzzle - to get the complete image as fast as you can (there's a timer on the console to show how long it takes). Lots of ways to play this game - 1 on 1, or kids vs. parents, etc. So, just like doing your daily crossword puzzle, imagine subscribing to a service where you get a daily video puzzle to solve. It's not hard to see how Surface opens up a whole new world of entertainment possibilities. You'll see even more in the video clip down below.

Surface4.jpg


And of course, the Paint program. Just pick your colors and doodle away. The possibilities are endless, and it won't take long for people to figure out creative ways to use this.

Surface5.jpg



Here's a short video of the demo, led by Microsoft's Kyle Warnick. He does a great job illustrating some of the cool things you can do with Surface. Check out what he does with a digital camera, and then with a couple of Zunes. Where can I get one of these???




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I've Got Ooma - Call Me!

About 6 weeks ago, Ooma had a rather eventful launch, and generated some very lively debate among the blogerati and mainstream press as well. I said my piece, and felt I was being pretty balanced and fair compared how others were reacting.

Anyhow, the proof is in the pudding, and I can finally say that I've had a chance to live with Ooma for a bit, and would like to share my experiences with you. There's no substitute for trying out the service to provide a fair assessment, and while I previously had the benefit of a detailed briefing before Ooma's launch, I'm now using it first hand.

As an aside, I have to tell you this wasn't easy to arrange. Being in Canada always seems to present challenges for U.S. companies, and Ooma was no exception. The service is really only set up right now for the U.S. market, so we had to make some adjustments to provision the service for me, as well as to register online. That delayed things quite a bit, but I have it all working now, so here you go.

I'm not going to rehash what Ooma is and is not - that's another conversation. Basically, Ooma is a product, not a service. You buy their box - one-time purchase - and you keep your existing phone line. There is an Ooma "network" for routing calls over VoIP, but you don't pay for that. So, you get the best of both worlds - the reliability, 411, 911, etc. of PSTN, and the cost efficiencies of VoIP. In time, Ooma will provide feature richness too, but not yet.

So, once you get by the idea that Ooma is a product, it's pretty straightforward. You get the box - the Hub - a sleek ATA that looks more like an answering machine than a broadband adapter (actually,that's what it is) - then you connect it to your router and your home phone, and you're done. That's a good thing in some ways, but as I'll explain shortly, not-so-good in other ways.

Enough preamble. Here's what I really like about Ooma...

- Love the name - as intended - Ooma sounds soothing. Any word with lots of vowels will do that, and that's a good thing in a market full of noise, hype and me-too offerings. The flipside is that Ooma can mean whatever you want it to mean - sort of like Skype. Problem is if you don't establish a strong brand identity right away, the name doesn't register much meaning. That's not good, as it weakens your brand and you waste a lot time trying to explain it to people over and over.

- It's a product - not a service. Had a good chat with Andrew Frame, their CEO, about this, and I agree. It's a different approach to the market, and the idea is that it's supposed to be easier for the public to grasp. Products are tangible, services are not. Remember, Ooma is a mass-market offering - it's not for early adopters. When you buy Ooma, you're buying a box, and that's what you get when the courier arrives at your door. As Andrew pointed out to me, when you order Vonage, guess what? You get a box. You've bought a service from them, but you still end up getting a physical product. Some people are bound to find that confusing. I agree with Andrew on this point - but I'm still not so sure the mass market is ready to think of telephony as a product. Time will tell.

- The packaging - it's great (photo below). Very slick, very sleek, very Apple. No doubt, Ooma has stolen a page or two from the Apple book of consumer marketing - good idea. The whole look and feel screams iPod - you can't help but get a sense of anticipation when you see the boxes and look inside.

- The design. Again, the product - the Hub - is the same - very slick, very sleek, very Apple (again, photo below). Consumers like well designed products, and this is something you don't mind leaving on your desk for others to see. You cannot say that about any ATA or router, right? Point, Oooma.

- Voice quality. Nothing else matters if this doesn't cut it. Well, I can tell you that it's great. Every call I've made or taken with Ooma has been carrier-grade. Crystal clear, no hitches. I regularly use 2 VoIP lines for business, and both have their share of problems. It's passable, but it's still VoIP. So far, Ooma doesn't feel like VoIP at all, at least quality-wise. They seem to have gotten this part right.

- Easy set up. I'm not very geeky, and don't enjoy playing around with wires. This took maybe 10 minutes, and the set up guide was well written and easy to follow. It was up and running the first time around, and I've had zero problems since then. Again, this is not a universal truth for consumer VoIP, so Ooma scores high here.

- Instant Second Line. This is their big feature, and it's pretty neat. They're not the only ones who offer this feature, but it's definitely not common with VoIP providers, since they'd much rather you pay to have a second line. This isn't quite the same idea, but it's pretty close. Basically if your phone number is engaged, Ooma enables dialtone for all the other phones in your house, in effect, giving you a second line. If someone calls your house while you're on the line, the other phones ring through for the new caller. Same for making concurrent outbound calls. And - you can link both lines together for an impromptu conference call. Gotta like that. To do this, though, you have to use another Ooma box - called the Scout - a smaller version of the Hub. Once they're all linked together, you get the second line effect - and if you're currently paying for a second line, you'll probably want to drop it once you're using Ooma.

- Ooma Lounge. This is the website you use to manage your calls online. It's similar to other consumer VoIP portals where you have call logs and can listen to your voicemails. As with Skype, this is where you can add funds to your account, which you'll need for making calls outside the U.S. I found the rates pretty competitive - 1.3 cents for Canada, and 2.2 cents for Western Europe. So, you just put $10 in there, and you're covered for a while - nothing difficult about that.

- Broadband Answering Machine - another big selling feature. The Hub is actually two products in one. It's your ATA, but it's also the answering machine. When you have messages, one of the keys flashes to remind you. The other keys are there to manage your messages - play, replay, delete, send a call straight to voicemail, etc. Very intuitive, and pushbutton easy to use. I should also add that once the service was provisioned, the voicemail service was enabled right away - even before I had a chance to record my greeting message. Am not sure if this is true for other phone services, but I thought this was pretty good. I actually missed a call before my greeting message was recorded, and I just figured it went into a black hole. Nope. Sure enough, it was there in my inbox - have never missed a call.

- The Ooma "dial tone". When you pick up the phone, the first second or so plays a unique musical snippet, which is your cue that you're on an Ooma connection. Not a bad idea - takes some getting used to, but you forget about it once you start talking.

- Perhaps most importantly, once you've got it set up, your behavior doesn't change. You still use your same phone, you keep your same number - nothing really changes. Even the "*" features you use to configure PSTN features - call forwarding, call return, etc. - are the same with Ooma. It's all very familiar - there isn't a mention anywhere that Ooma is using VoIP (don't tell that to Vonage). It's all about preserving the existing telephone experience, but at a lower cost. Even though Ooma calls use VoIP and the service is broadband-based, you still get 911 and 411, and if the power goes out, Ooma simply goes dark, and you revert to full PSTN service. Sure, there are concerns about caller ID, but for the most part, nothing really changes - again, ease of use - which goes a long way to gaining adoption.

Ok, so what's not to like? Aside from all the criticisms from the blogs - many of which are valid - I'll just say a few things here.

- Once you've got Ooma all set up, it kind of fades into the background. It's pretty passive - much like an ATA, and that's not good if the box is what you're paying money for. Unless you're making regular visits to the Ooma Lounge, you don't have much reason to interact with Ooma aside from listening to your voicemails.

- Since you're not subscribing to anything, Ooma has no occasion to be in regular touch with you. There's no monthly statement or line item on your credit card. Aside from the Lounge, there's no reason to go to their website, and this is totally a Voice 1.0 product. There's no IM feature or video calling feature, or mobility capability to engage you beyond making regular phone calls. I'm told mobility is coming, but we don't have that now.

- Behind the scenes, Ooma basically takes over your phone service and cancels what you already have in place with your carrier. So, whatever voicemail setting you have, archived messages, and calling features will all be lost. You've got to be comfortable with that, since that's the only way they can what they do. Not everyone will be cool with that, as you cede a fair bit of the control you used to have over to Ooma.

- On that note, if you're not keeping track, you may not be aware of the calling features you've given up, and it's up to you to figure that out. Ooma supports most of them - caller ID, call waiting, etc. - but maybe not everything you're using now. Of course, the upside is that you no longer need to pay for these features, including your answering service.

- The business model here is totally built around the idea that all the money you save in monthly add-on charges will handily justify the $399 investment in the Ooma box. I don't know how much people spend on average, but let's say these features are costing you $10 a month. On that basis, you'll need to use Ooma for 40 months - 3.25 years - to break even. That's a pretty long ROI for a service that's getting cheaper by the day. Of course, I'm not factoring the long distance savings, which will probably be the big attraction. But I'm not so sure about that. LD rates are so cheap now, that this may just be an incremental savings.

Heard enough? I think I've said enough for now. Bottom line - Ooma works, and I think it's a well designed product. That's the easy part in my mind. Getting this to market and convincing people to spend this kind of money upfront from an unknown company will be the real challenge in my mind. Right now, Oooma is very Voice 1.0 - maybe Voice 1.5 with the Lounge. But there's nothing new for the telephone experience. I'm told that enhanced features are coming, but we don't have them now. Well, I just don't know if replicating what we already have will be enough to make this work in a heavily commoditized space. Ooma has created a big splash, but it's expensive to keep the buzz going until the market discovers them. The product is good - no doubt about it - but I don't know if that will be enough to see them through. We'll find out soon enough.

Want to talk more about it? Hey - call me, and experience Ooma for yourself. I'm not about to broadcast my Ooma number to the blogosphere, so drop me a line and I'll give you a ring!

Want to see it? Here you go...

Nice packaging...

Ooma1.jpg


Ooma Hub, with the Scout parked on top...

Ooma2.jpg


Here's what the Hub looks like when both lines are engaged. The red lights show that both lines are engaged - on separate calls - neat!

Ooma3.jpg



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Odiogo - Listening to Blogs - Why Not?

I came across a post from Jeff Pulver the other day that really caught my eye, and I wanted to share it here.

His post was about a company called Odiogo, and they use text-to-speech to automatically convert your blog posts into audio posts. I think that's a great idea, and am going to look into this for myself.

Jeff provides a link where you can listen for yourself. There's also an audio sample on the company's website. The meter and cadence of the speaking is a bit robotic, but you can certainly follow the narrative. For people who don't have time to read your posts, or have a long commute, this is a great way to get your content out there and reach a broader audience. As with regular blogs, you can set up RSS feeds and subscribe to your favorite blogs who are using it. Download the files before hopping on the train or plane, and you'll never miss a post from your favorite bloggers.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. The website even tells you how to embed ads in your audio posts, so you can truly maximize your revenue potential, if that's what you're into.

Ideally, bloggers would voice record their posts so their followers can hear them in their natural voice, but who has the time to do that? Odiogo is an automated process, so you make a bit of a trade off in not having to do any extra work to extend your reach as opposed to strengthening your personal brand with your own audio posts. For most of us, the trade-off is a small price to pay.

I also like the fact you can do this with articles as well, so for people like me who write beyond the blog, Odiogo allows me to get a lot of content out there in a new format without a lot of extra work.

Thanks for the post, Jeff! I see that Odiogo is based in Jerusalem, and it looks like all your recent travels there are yielding some nice finds.


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Teen Tech Review - XBox 360

I'm not a gamer, but virtually all teenagers are. Max had a chance to review Microsoft's XBox 360, and that's what we talked about on this week's Teen Tech Review. So, not much here about telephony or VoIP, but if you're an XBox fan, I think you'll enjoy it.

As usual, if you're based in Canada, you can watch the review directly from the BlogTV.ca site here.

And, if you're outside Canada you probably won't be able to access this link, but the embedded link below should work just fine. Hope you like it!

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Nokia N95 Blog Coverage

Just a quick note to say that the recent reviews my son Max did for the Nokia N95 - both written and video - have now been posted to the Nokia N95 Blog.

As mentioned in previous posts, this is a terrific program put together by Andy Abramson, and it's a great way to track all the reviews from people in the Nokia blogger relations program.



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Teen Tech Review - LG's DVD Player

On this week's Teen Tech Review on BlogTV.ca, my son Max reviews the LG DVD player. We're just back from a road trip, so he's had the benefit of using it both at home and in various vacation settings.

If you're based in Canada, you can watch the review directly from the BlogTV.ca site here.

Note - looks like BlogTV.ca has made some changes to the Channel selections. Until now, Teen Tech Reviews was listed under the Technology Channel, which is where it belongs. Well, they've dropped this channel - guess not enough people are watching, and/or there's not enough people contributing relevant content. Now we've been slotted into the "Miscellaneous" channel, which isn't hugely encouraging. I guess it's a bit like being bumped from a Thursday night slot to Monday at 11pm. So, I'd say our reviews are going to be harder to find now, but you'll always be able to see them here.

Remember - BlogTV.ca is basically a social networking experiment. There's no advertising, and very little stuctured, regular content to speak of. Not surprisingly, most of the content is what 20-somethings are into - dating, About Me, lots of guitar playing and silly pet tricks.

If you're outside Canada you probably won't be able to access this link, but the embedded link below should work just fine. Hope you like it!





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