After doing a fairly thorough search of the interweb, I discovered that there have been a plethora of answers to the question “when will my HTC EVO 4G (on the Sprint Network) receive the next version of Android, 2.3?”
But none of those posted appeared to be ‘official’ or actually FROM either Sprint or HTC.
So I wrote to Sprint customer service this morning and surprisingly received a rather candid answer in the afternoon!
And this is what Sprint Customer Service had to say:
“Thank you for contacting Sprint regarding Android 2.3 version.”
“At present, we are only offering Android 2.2 Froyo version for the HTC
EVO phone.”
“We keep on upgrading our phone’s software time to time. Right now, I am
unable to inform when the Android 2.3 Ginger software version will be
available for our customers. Whenever the new software update is
available, you will be able to see the information on our website www.sprint.com/downloads “
“For further information, you can always call Sprint Technical Support at
1-888-211-4727 and follow the technical prompts. Our representative will
be happy to help you. We value your business and appreciate the opportunity to answer your
questions.”
While this news isn’t what I wanted to hear, it isn’t a decisive and devastating ‘NO!’ either…and if you want to filter the above first-hand experience through the hopes and wishes of other posters, it would appear to be popular OPINION that we EVO users will ‘feel the love’ sometime before Android 2.4 becomes the ‘standard’ on newly released smart phones.
The Evoke Flow PlayerI love Wi-Fi. When I heard that radios exist that can utilize Wi-Fi, I wanted to immediately get some…
According to a press release, the PURE EVOKE Flow: “…was the first truly connected portable radio. Made of the same polished and lacquered wood as a grand piano with a three-inch speaker, the EVOKE Flow delivers stunning sound quality. The optional ChargePAK battery makes this device eminently portable…”
After opening the box I found the radio enclosed in a soft, drawstring bag. That’s a great idea: the body of the radio is very shiny and reflective, and you’ll want to protect it from scratches.
There’s too much to tell about this radio, and too many features to comment on, so I won’t be able to cover everything.
On the top is a touch-sensitive “SnoozeHandle”. On the front are “Volume/Mute” and “Select/Pause” knobs. They are a little to small and slippery for my hands and fingers.
An antenna is on the back. Below it is a door for the optional rechargeable battery pack (ChargePAK E1, $49.95) which was not provided with the radio.
It can receive FM broadcasts, and supports the Radio Broadcast Data System. RBDS is the service that allows for text information to be displayed about the station you are listening to, the song playing, etcetera. Ten FM radio stations can be preset.
The “PURE Lounge” is an internet portal accessible through a browser that enhances use of the EVOKE Flow. It can help with choosing and marking services to be access via the interface of the EVOKE Flow, as well as the PURE Sounds (which will be explained later). If I manually tune and listen to a “station” on the unit, the website will log the stations I have listened to. I use the website to find and preview stations, and then add some to “My Favourites”. (Or, you can just surf via the EVOKE Flow.)
An unlimited amount of internet streaming audio services can be selected as “favorites”. The last time I checked there were:
16,092 “Stations” available…
1,399 “Listen Again Programmes” all from BBC radio stations that can be listened to on demand…
and 5,563 “Podcasts” that can be streamed.
The EVOKE Flow has a “Media Player” mode that allows for music to be accessed from a computer or network attached storage (NAS) device. More information about that can be found in the support section of their website.
There are 83 “PURE Sounds”, mainly intended to allow for an ambiance to be set:
“Babbling brook”
“Urban – City traffic and pedestrians”
“Dogs barking”
“Lake with lapping waves”
“Large ocean waves”
various bird sound options
“Rain, thunder, and lightning”
“Stormy evening”
Also available are “Pink noise” and “White noise”, “Acoustic guitar (E, A, D, G, B, E)” (for tuning), “Harley Davidson Shovelhead 1340 (1981)”, and “Snoring man”…which is very neat. I hope they expand their choices to more that are non-standard (like “Couple Arguing”, so people will consider staying away for fear of becoming involved in a situation).
The two alarms can be set to wake to DAB, FM, or a tone alarm. After a set number of minutes has elapsed, a sleep timer will switch the radio into standby (or off if powered by a ChargePAK). The kitchen timer will beep after countingd-down from a set time period.
The menus are not as easy to navigate as I desire. I suggest you keep the (6 x 3.5 inch) Quickstart Guide with the radio for reference purposes. I did notice that the more time I spend with the radio, the more a few things seem to become easier to access by manuvering around.
The EVOKE Flow can be upgraded via Wi-Fi (or USB). After the latest update, version 3.5, was downloaded and installed…the radio rebooted…and I needed to reconfigure my wifi settings.
To play audio in stereo:
use the heaphone out port…
the stereo (line out) port…
or the S-1 Flow Additional Speaker.
The HD Hero 960 ProductEver wish you had a camera you could wear on your helmet or head…or vehicle?
The HD Hero 960 uses a rechargeable battery. When it is fully charged, the camera should work for as long as 2.5 hours. It can be recharged using the included USB cable.
Pictures and videos are stored to SD and SDHC memory cards…cards up to 32 GB can be used. The average recording times are:
WVGA (60 fps): 8 hours, 9 minutes
720p (30 fps): 8 hours, 9 minutes
960p (30 fps): 5 hours, 26 minutes
The HD Hero 960 has a 5 megapixel camera that records video to H.264 compression, as MPEG4 (.mp4):
WVGA = 848×480 pixels (16:9), 60 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
720p = 1280×720 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
960p = 1280×960 pixels (4:3), 30 fps, 12 Mbit/s data rate
Still photographs can be taken in single-shot, triple-shot, and self-timer modes. The camera can be set to take a shot in intervals of 2, 5, 10, 30, and 60 seconds until the battery is dead or the memory card is full.
Files on the memory card can also be accessed via the USB cable.
The housing is waterproof, and there are accessories to use with it:
a curved adhesive mount (for helmets)…
a helmet front mount (so the face of the person wearing the helmet can be seen)…
a flat adhesive mount…
a headlamp-style head strap…
and a quick-release buckle (that connects the camera housing to the mounts).
An HDTV can be connected to the HD Hero 960 via a component HDTV-out port. The audio-out port also disributes the composite video out. NTSC and PAL options are available for recording and playback.
To my surprise, the camera does not record a “flat” view as most cameras do…it has that “bowl” effect, like most videos I’ve seen from helmet cams on motorcross competitors. But, then again, that IS what this was designed for. The angle of view is 170º.
Yes, I said it. Exercise. I know, I know. It’s a nasty word! Before anyone jumps to conclusions or gets upset I wanted to let you all in on a little secret. With new technologies like Wii, PSMove, and Xbox Kinect, we now have the option of getting an extremely beneficial workout at the same time as playing video games.
Working Up a Sweat
Back in the early days of the PlayStation2 I actually lost about 35 lbs using the Dance Pad with Dance Dance Revolution and got a pretty nifty little benefit of cardio endurance during my marathon trainings. Most of the time I didn’t even realize I was working out because it was so much fun dancing to the beats and trying to remember the combos to score extra points.
Then, came the Wii with motion controls. When I had a FirstGen Wii, I loved playing games like Wii Sports and Wii Dance. I never did get a chance to experience the Wii Fit but I heard it is pretty fun. There are many more options to choose from now. EA Sports just released Zumba Fitness and some other really awesome games like Football Trainer and likewise there are many versions of Just Dance as well. Unfortunately, I had to “donate” my Wii to someone else, but was lucky to have kept my Ps3, a feat I am proud of to this day.
This brings me to the purpose of this blog. I recently had been released from the doctor to work out again and wanted to do something different than I had done before. It’s boring going to the TV and popping in a DVD or watching Fit TV to get a boring exercise routine out of the way just to say I did it. Blechhh!
Like many, I don’t like using my gym at the clubhouse here either because people are gross and leave many things unclean. I also don’t have confidence enough to walk in to a local gym with Barbie and Ken doing their 5 mile hill climbs and 30 mile recumbent bike rides when I am walking briskly for 1 mile and feel like, “I am going to DIE!”
I found a solution. It’s completely awesome and so much fun. The game is called EA Sports Active 2. It’s a second version, similar to the EA Sports Active that was previously only released on the Wii a few years ago. This newer version however is available for all 3 platforms and uses Kinect for Xbox360. The cost is about $99.99 but I’ve seen it around the web for as low as $69.99. Pretty cheap considering the average gym membership is about $50.00 or more plus a personal trainer is going to cost you extra.
EA Sports Active 2 Personal Trainer Box
This game lets you personalize an avatar. Mine happens to be a bit curvy and has some junk in the trunk. Exactly my type of avatar! I don’t want to work out as Kim Kardashian if I don’t look like her. Maybe one day! Ha!
After you personalize your avatar, you create personal goals, and make a workout calendar for yourself. I began working out 4 days a week with 3 rest days as recommended by the game. I also chose the 9 week workout plan. It starts you off at a beginner level and then presses you through workouts at 3 interval phases throughout the program. You get to choose your own personal trainer. Mine is a motivating dude who lets me know when I’m doing a strength training move incorrectly by saying politely, “Stay still and make it count!” To which I usually reply, “Shut Up I hate you. No More Reverse Crunches!” Only because the game really makes you work hard but really it is truly fun. It’s definitely challenging for sure.
3 Phases of Fitness with Active 2
EA Sports Active 2 mixes cardio, boxing, kickboxing, step aerobics and strength training exercises all together. There are really entertaining exercises like Soccer Block, Bike Riding, Rail Sliding, and Basketball Shooting. We had a friend over on Thanksgiving when I got the game and he is an ex personal trainer at a well known gym. He did the exercises to try the game out for us for about 30 minutes and he was sweating. He said, “This game is way better than any of the other games I have played. It’s more real and makes you move.”
How does it track your movements? With the game comes three censors and a USB drive. There are two arm bands and one leg band. One of the arm bands has a censor on it to track your pulse and the other two are for motion censing. Now the first time I played, it was a bit awkward and the leg band kept slipping off my leg but I think because I didn’t have it tight enough was the problem. It also comes with a resistance band to help with the strength exercises like curl arm presses and reverse flys. It works pretty great at toning. I am already showing a bit of tone in my arms especially and my legs too from all the squats they have. The USB stick keeps track of your progress so that if you want to switch consoles or take it to a friend’s house to work out together you can travel and keep your progress on your stick. It’s pretty rad.
EA Sports Active 2 Equipment for Ps3
Your progress is kept daily. The games contains fitness goals, nutrition logs, tracks calories burned, fitness levels attained, weight loss and heart rates achieved. It’s rather thorough I’d say. You can also create custom workout groups to workout with friends and watch each other’s progress. Unfortunately, you cannot use cross platform groups. A friend of mine purchased Wii version of the game and created a group and I tried to join on my Ps3 version and we could not. However, we did make an online group on the EA Sports Active 2 website and were able to track each other’s progress that way. I like to track my progress on facebook using the Ps3 feature of posting my achievements on my facebook profile page via Ps3. It’s motivating for me.
As far as the game goes, if you are looking to workout but you hate gyms or monotonous workout videos, give EA Sports Active 2 a try. Similarly, if you have a Wii, try out the Football Trainer that just came out this month. I would be interested in hearing if anyone gets it going and how they like it. It’s really a blast and the health benefits are already showing for me after only 4 weeks of training. Run out and grab your copy! Happy Fitness New Year!
Finally! The grid was re-opened at 12:01am on Friday, December 17. We got our tickets two months ahead of time on Fandango and they were said to have sold out one week later. The crowd of 450 Programs was a bit rowdy and everyone was Tweeting, Facebook Checking, and picture taking like mad.
As you looked down the 3 hallways that we all sat and waited for two hours to get the best IMAX 3D viewing experience, people were talking about everything from Daft Punk to Olivia Wilde, Googling, and You tubing like I’d never seen before. It was a glorious Geek fest and we loved it! Everyone was clad in their Tron T-Shirts, Threadless jackets, glow sticks, Identity Disks, and even a homemade Tron Jacket my boyfriend made with EL Wire and sewn with fishing string. It was amazing!
Using EL Wire to make a Tron Jacket
The theater managers let us in about an hour before the film and people all around us were engrossed with their cell phones and electronic devices. At one point, a guy in the front row stood up and announced, “Excuse Me! If anyone has a Nintendo DS and would like to play Mario Kart let’s do it!” Everyone roared with laughter. At another point, someone asked us to sing Happy Birthday to an elderly gentleman, and the crowd obliged.
About 10 minutes before the start of the film, the managers of the theater announced that glow sticks and glow devices were not allowed during the film. Needless to say the crowd was quite annoyed but complied. They had a short quiz session with prizes afterward and their questions were what I’d call “Simpleton” level. “What company did Flynn work with?” “Which game did he create?” “What does Tron Stand for?” … Simpleton! Needless to say, I didn’t win anything.
Cue the Film! Don’t worry no spoilers. In all it’s glory, the film began complete with a Tron inspired Disney Castle logo and loud Daft Punk music playing. The overall feeling was of excitement and joy.
Everyone was completely silent. All of us were on the edge of our seats the entire film. Nobody dared leave his/her seat to use the restroom.
Personally, my overall feeling of the film was utterly awesome! I was impressed with the digital images and younger version of Flynn. I also appreciated the “Easter eggs” they strategically placed throughout the film for those of us who saw the first film. I didn’t think it was necessary to have seen the first film to understand the second but it was great background and made you look deeper at the film. For example, look closely at the fireworks over the City, and notice the name of the warehouse that adult Sam Flynn lives in. Quite awesome! And finally, I learned what C.L.U. , Flynn’s likeness in the game, stands for “ Chipset Likeness User.” Rad!
I did think that they needed more “battle” scenes. I was expecting more gladiator type games and less “epic hero storyline.”
There was one controversy of the film. Part of the IMAX 3D version was shot in 2D. They announced that at the beginning of the film, but honestly, I didn’t think it took away from the film at all.
Tron Merchandise at Disney's California Adventure
Ok, now that I’ve seen it, I plan on seeing it again very soon! You should totally check it out. I heard, but have yet to have seen, that D Street and California Adventure Tron Stores both have new merchandise after the release of the film. I hope to report back on that sometime this week. I also hope that it is better than the last Disney merchandise they released. It was a HUGE disappointment in that they did not have what I like to call “real people sizes,” clothes that are a large are a large and not an extra small, fitted. Likewise, the cost for merchandise was outrageous! Let’s hope they go on clearance and brought in some newer size-friendly merchandise. Oh! One last thing, I found some very cool Mickey ears . For $80 you can own your own Tron inspired Mickey Ears! How cool is that! If anyone wants to get me a present, this would be the one! *hint, hint*
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