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As a gadget enthousiast and as a mobile developer, here’s some thoughts on the Google Android HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1 phone at the time of Android 1.6 ‘Donut’

Physically, the phone can be said to be bordering normal phone size, creeping towards smartphone size. In the pocket, it takes less volume than your typical blackberry.

The trackball is a nice alternative input choice for those who prefer not using big hand gestures on the touchscreen. But its reliability can leave a bit to be desired. Scrolling fast is a bit of a trouble. The G1 tend to not be able to track as fast and sometimes the action of taking your thumb off or the action of clicking the trackball can cause undesired movements. Continue reading

This is a criticism of the Garmin GPS product Nüvi and most importantly its software.

While in the fields of physical design and graphical interface, Garmin has outperformed TomTom, it seems that Garmin hasn’t bothered to pay any attention to the human-computer interaction aspects of its product. As consequence, that simple but powerful omission made the Nüvi overall THE worst commercial electronic gadget I have ever used. Continue reading

Unlike what the intuitive impression might reassure, the new Unibody Macbook is just as fragile as the old white Macbook as discovered rather violently today only 2 weeks after my purchase.

I have dropped my old vanilla white Macbooks non-severely a few times in the past from table height and nothing too permanent in terms of cosmetic damage. Continue reading