Bought a cheap tv-out composite AV cable for your iPhone off eBay, but learnt that it’s unsupported later? Well, all is not lost. Like most prudent consumers, I refused to purchase an Apple-branded composite AV cable that will set me back RM139 ($45). Instead, I tried my luck with an aftermarket tv-out cable on eBay, costing just RM25 ($8), which is the cheapest in my region. The seller advised me that the cable would only work on older iDevices like the original iPhone and iPhone 3G.

I figured that the iPhone 3GS is really not all that different from the 3G, so I placed my order anyway.

Fast-forward a week after ordering (snailmail international delivery), the cable finally arrived. You guessed it, it didn’t work. Every time I plug the cable into my iPhone’s connector dock, the phone shows the following message: “This accessory is not supported by iPhone.”

I tried playing some videos anyway after dismissing the message, and it turns out that the audio would play on my television just fine, but the video won’t show up.

What gives? It turns out that this isn’t a hardware limitation. It’s an Apple-imposed limitation that render any tv-out cables that are not blessed by Cupertino useless. The aim is to make you buy their expensive cables that have special authentication chips on them — but you really don’t have to, provided your iPhone is jailbroken.

If your situation is similar to the one I described above, follow the following steps, and chances are your cheap cable will work like a charm:

1. Open Cydia on your iPhone
2. Search for “Resupported 4″ (works on iOS 4 and 5), install it
3. Search for “TVOut2 Mirror TVOut” and install it
4. Reboot your iPhone

That’s about it. It worked perfectly in my case, but your mileage may vary. Do note that “Resupported” will only work for 10 days before you have to pay for it. But considering the amount of money you could save by NOT buying Apple’s expensive cable, the $3.99 the developer asked for is reasonable.

©2011 SheepTech

iPhone TV Out: Fix “This Accessory Is Not Supported by iPhone”

I like the notion of having a tablet the moment Apple’s iPad came around. But after all these years, even after the tablet market is flooded with Android tablets of different form factors and sizes, I’m still without a tablet. It’s sure great to consume contents on a tablet while relaxing on the couch, but besides that, it wouldn’t be very useful for anything else, in my case at least, and thus can’t justify a purchase.

For starter, I absolutely hate carrying a bag in an outing. And I don’t see how I can carry a tablet around without a bag. Until recently. With the debut of the Samsung Galaxy Note. And I’m not even sure if the device’s a really super large smartphone or a mini tablet.

The Galaxy Note has an unconventional screen size of 5.3-inch, with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. At its core, it’s powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos processor and 1GB RAM. Like the Galaxy S II, it sports a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash capable of 1080p video recording and a 2-megapixel camera on the front. As with all high-end smartphones, the Galaxy Note also comes with an accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, and oddly, a barometer (sorry for my ignorance, but what’s a barometer good for in a mobile device again?).

Again, as with most of Samsung’s Android devices, save for the Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy Note comes with Samsung’s custom Android skin — known as TouchWiz. I have not personally used the interface before, so I can’t comment on that, but I’d very much opt for a vanilla Android experience. Why? Because the last thing I want is not receiving an OS update, caused by nothing but a custom interface that isn’t necessary any better than stock.

To be fair, the Galaxy Note is expected to be updated to Android Ice Cream Sandwich next year, but further upgrades are not guaranteed. And that’s what plaguing Android as a platform, a crucial issue that remains unresolved.

That said, I’m still seriously considering Android to power my next smartphone (or tablet), after using the iPhone for over a year. I love the fluidity and sleekness of iOS, but I find the adventurous geek in me looking for more. The Galaxy Note seems to be the best device to bring drastic change to the familiar environment I started to get bored of, with a really huge screen, stylus, and an open environment.

But the ultimate deciding factor: Will it fit in my hand and pocket? I’ll soon find out.

If you have five minutes to spare, here’s an episode of Fact Checkers Unit, which briefly features the Galaxy Note:

©2011 SheepTech

Is Samsung Galaxy Note a Smartphone or a “Mobile Tablet”?

If you managed to grab one of HP’s $99 tablet, consider yourself lucky. It turns out that the TouchPad is far from dead after all. According to Todd Bradley, the head of HP’s Personal Systems Group, the TouchPad could be resurrected under a new standalone company which he’d lead personally if HP managed to spin-off its PC business.

“Tablet computing is a segment of the market that’s relevant, absolutely,” Bradley said. “My intention would be to lead it through this transaction … and if it’s a standalone public company, to lead that.”

On WebOS, Bradley did not reveal much, other than hinting that several companies approached HP for the possibility of licensing the operating system. It’s hardly surprising considering the operating system is now much more attractive than it was a month ago, thanks to the market share it gained with HP’s aggressive fire-sale pricing.

Android on TouchPad

On a related note, the Cyanogenmod team, known for their popular Android aftermarket firmware, had released a video showing a TouchPad running on an alpha version of its custom firmware.

There’s no information on when the final release will be ready, but rest assured, an Android-based TouchPad isn’t too far from reality.

The team also said that “our ultimate vision is to create a *multiboot* solution where the end-user will be able to boot into WebOS, Cyanogenmod, and/or other OSes,” saving users the trouble of deciding which operating system to settle for.

Source: Reuters
Photo credit: Robert Scoble

©2011 SheepTech

HP May Continue Working on Tablets After All

Without a doubt, the web now has way more content than the cable company can ever offer. There are several ways to bring the web to your TV, either by buying an expensive web-enabled TV platform, build a dedicated home theater PC, or connect your existing laptop to the big screen.

The last option is the least expensive. All you need is a HDMI cable, provided your laptop comes with a HDMI port. But a cable can be cluttering, and most importantly, restricting. It’s not fun getting up from the coach every time you wanted to control your laptop.

The guys at Veebeam agree, creating a device that wirelessly stream any content from your Windows or Mac laptop to the TV.  It comes with a USB antenna and a Veebeam box. Connect the former to your laptop, the latter to your TV, install the software and you’re good to go.

There are two viewing modes. The first one will mirror your laptop’s screen to the TV. In this mode, just any content that can be played on your laptop can be streamed to the TV — like online videos from YouTube, Hulu and Netflix, PowerPoint Presentations or even your Twitter timeline if you’re a social media addict.

The second mode, called “Video Play-To” mode, lets you play videos from your laptop on the TV while you’re doing something else on the laptop, like telling your Facebook friends how much you hate the villain in the movie.

Veebeam comes in two flavors. The SD version, for SD TVs obviously, is priced at $99. The HD version is more expensive at $149, but is capable of playing 1080p videos and display photos and desktop in HD.

You’ll get a 20% discount on any Veebeam purchases by using the “20OFF” coupon code.

©2011 SheepTech

Veebeam Connects PC & Macs To The Big Screen, Wirelessly

For those who’ve been longing for a Chrome OS machine, the wait is almost over. The first two Chromebooks models, built by Samsung and Acer respectively, will be available on June 15th in U.S. (from Amazon & BestBuy), U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

They are available in two flavors, WiFi only or with 3G. In U.S., the 3G models are bundled with 100MB data monthly from Verizon for two years.

Both the Chromebooks are powered by Intel Atom Dual-Core Processor, two USB ports, one memory card slot, HD webcam with noise-canceling microphone and a full size Chrome keyboard. What sets them apart are the larger 12.1″ Samsung screen compared to Acer’s 11.6″, Samsung’s 8.5 hours battery life, compared to Acer’s 6 hours, and Samsung’s Mini-VGA port compared to Acer’s HDMI port.

With a smaller screen, the Acer Chromebook is slightly lighter at 2.95 lbs (Samsung’s weighing at 3.26 lbs).

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook will be selling at $429 for WiFi-only and $499 for 3G. Being smaller, the Acer Chromebook is more affordable at just $349 for WiFi-only. No pricing information is available for Acer’s 3G Chromebook at this point.

Chromebooks for Business and Education

For schools and businesses, Chromebooks can be purchased with a subscription plan. With a minimum order of 10 units, education institutions and enterprises can opt to pay $20/user monthly and $28/user monthly for three years. 3G Chromebooks will cost an additional $3 monthly per user, and they too will be bundled with Verizon’s 100MB monthly data.

During this period, full warranty, technical support and updates will be provided. After the three years contract has ended, those who choose to continue paying will receive new Chromebooks to replace their aged laptops.

A three-year commitment is considerably longer than what most consumers are comfortable with. But Google decides that the period is just right with its market research showing that most institutions do not replace their machines in less than three years.

Offline Support for Google Docs, Calendar and Gmail

If your work don’t demand any unique desktop software, chances are you will find most of your software needs available in the form of web app. Google itself offers some of the most widely used apps for free, like Docs, Calendar, Gmail, Picasa and Picnic.

For now, you obviously have to be online to access these apps, but that will soon change. Google is said to be readying offline support for Google Docs, Calendar and Gmail. Perhaps they’d be ready just in time by June 15th, but don’t quote me on that.

Introducing the Chromebook:

Source: Official Google Blog / Engadget

©2011 SheepTech

Chromebooks To Be Available on June 15th

50 odd days later, the app is finally available in the App Store — for free of course. To summarize my take on it, it’s significantly better than the previous version, but falls short of my expectation.

Pros:

• Highly customizable columns, the very reason why I love TweetDeck
• Column swiping
• Conversation view when viewing individual tweet
• Beautiful interface, especially when viewing profile
• Tweets are highly readable
• Landscape browser
• Able to return to where you left off after minimizing the app (not possible in the old iOS TweetDeck). Won’t work though if you exit the app completely.
• Tweet from different/multiple accounts (tap on the avatar while in the compose window)

Cons:

• App crashes every time the built-in photo viewer is launched. Every singe time.
• No individual time stamp on tweets while in column view
• No RT/Reply/Favorite/etc buttons in column view. You’d have to view a tweet individually to have access to the said buttons (deal breaker)
• Unable to return to the first column in a single swipe from the last column. Very tedious to swipe all the way back, especially when you have gazillion columns around
• Poor integration with Instapaper

I was using TweetBot for the past week, and my very first response after launching the new TweetDeck is, “why is it silent?“. Yes, I’m spoiled by TweetBot’s sound effects.

For now, I’ll stick to TweetBot, at least until it’s possible to RT/Reply in column view.

The above observations are done in under an hour playing with the app, so take it with a pinch of salt. I will revisit iOSDeck again after a revised version is out.

[TweetDeck in App Store]

©2011 SheepTech

My Take on iPhone TweetDeck 2.0

The said display is capable of switching from a full-blown color display to a more soothing e-ink and vice versa.

Divided into three layers, termed as “multiple composite display regions”, the upper most layer is the touch interface, to register touch inputs. Under it is the “electronic paper display”, or e-ink—and lastly, “video display” for color display.

When not in use, users can bypass the translucent e-ink layer and see the LCD display underneath directly. Both the e-ink and LCD layer can also work together, by displaying contents like text in e-ink and other media in full color display.

I have several e-book readers on my iPhone, including Kindle, but finds myself hardly using any of them. No doubt, these apps are all very well designed and there are plenty of high quality free e-books, but facing a bright tiny display for hours is really causing too much eye strain.

That is one reason why I sometimes prefer reading on a real physical book than an e-book. For the same reason, Amazon Kindle still has its own unique appeal to book readers albeit Apple’s effort marketing iBooks on the iPhone and iPad.

If Apple were to implement e-ink on both the iDevice, it will definitely pose a serious threat to Amazon Kindle, the most gifted item in the company’s history. There will be very little reason left for book readers to consider the Kindle instead of the more capable iPad, unless there’s a cash constraint or a serious need of eternal battery life.

via AppleInsider

©2011 SheepTech

Apple Might Bring e-ink To iDevices with Hybrid Displays

Don’t take my words though, see the samples for yourself.

Processed in Windows Live Movie Maker for trimming and background music only:


Raw video file uploaded directly to YouTube:

Random shots:
Without auto-focus, closed up shots are out of focus as evident in the tempura photo.

©2011 SheepTech

Nokia E7 Sample Photos & HD Videos #maxis10

For the purpose of this post, I have requested fans of the Nokia E7 on Lowyat.NET to forward questions they have on the device. The following 3 questions are from aspire2oo6.

How’s the web experience on the 4 inch screen?
When you put a large but low resolution screen together, everything looks big. I find this an advantage though. Even on my laptop, I don’t have the highest resolution set, it will only make everything too small to read.

Colors are great, as of anywhere else on the device.

The default browser however is a little disappointing. Scrolling is not as smooth as I wished. Pinch to zoom is also not working as well as it should. When zooming out, instead of instantly rendering the page size on-the-fly, checkered box will be displayed. Only upon releasing my finger, the new page size is displayed. Not very elegant.

Certain web app like Tweetgo.net don’t work very well on the Symbian browser.

The browser is flash enabled, and it’s capable of viewing flash videos and load some elements of flash sites. Though you won’t have full flash experience on it, it’s good enough considering how it can do things impossible on the iPhone.

How’s the sliding mechanism is it smooth?
The first time you handle the phone, you’d probably find it tricky to slide the keyboard. After a few try however, things get easier as you now know which part you need to push to slide it open.

I wouldn’t say smooth, it’s more like snappy. Push it slightly and the screen will automatically pops out in no time, revealing the keyboard. The hinge is made of aluminium too like the rest of the phone’s body (I guess), it feels very sturdy despite the slight backward force when the slider pops open.

There’s nothing I would complain about it, everything makes sense once you’re done struggling the first few times.

How’s the battery life like?
There’s 2 out of 7 bars of juice left after 130 hours of minimal usage. Minimal as in, a few short calls and texts a day, around just 15 minutes of app usage, setting alarm clock daily, 3G off, Wi-Fi scan on the whole time, and at 50% brightness.

©2011 SheepTech

FAQ on the Nokia E7 #maxis10

When I first held the Nokia E7 in my hands, it’s pretty slim and sleek but it doesn’t weigh the same. The heavy weight makes it feels bulky.

The large, long display screen makes it easy for browsing.

I like how the homescreen is practically made into multiple use. The 3 different homescreens put a lot of my daily use elements together and they are easily accessible.

The multiple homescreens and multiple submenus makes it confusing to navigate around the phone. Without deep familiarity with the phone, it is very difficult to navigate and browse around the menu.

Sliding the phone for the keyboard is a little tricky because the main screen of the phone seems bulky. Sliding it will reveal a sleek and complete QWERTY keyboard. The keys feels very solid and it does take some time to type in a lengthy SMS. I would prefer using the on-screen keyboard so my fingers wont hurt.

8MP camera for a phone seems quite promising, but the quality of photo taken by the camera is rather disappointing compared to taking a video.

The camera captures decent videos. The phone captures sounds very well too. Photos and videos in the phone can be edited right in the phone itself which makes editing easier as I can do editing on-the-go.

The flashlight can be made in use as a torchlight is a plus for a gadget where I bring it everywhere I go.

©2011 SheepTech

First 20 Minutes Impression on Nokia E7 #maxis10