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HOUR 1:
Tech News & Commentary
Vicky in Escanaba, Michigan listening on 600 WCHT asked: “What’s better for a child for a very first computer? He’s 12 years old. We’d like to know which is better, the Apple iPad or the Google Nexus. Which is good to do games, email and schoolwork?”
Either one will do email just fine, the iPad has a larger library of games, and better ones, too. Now, as for school work….neither?
Neither tablet will be super easy to type on compared to a computer, neither one will multitask as well as a computer, you can open a browser windows and research a topic right next to an open word processor on a tablet, neither one will accept regular software installations, just custom made apps.
It all depends on what kind of school work your talking about, and whether he has access to a regular computer as well. The iPad does have an edge on schoolwork in the form of the school ebooks that Apple introduced with their latest iPad launch, but still, for schoolwork it won’t beat a computer yet.
One last suggestion: Try asking your child’s teacher which system would work better. The school, may even be able help you out with discounts on apps or ebooks as well. It never hurts to ask.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast. Just click the red arrow in the upper right column on this page.
Consumer Reports
with Donna Tapellini
Terrific smaller tablets continue to march onto the mobile scene. Among them is the Google Nexus 7, Consumer Reports Senior Editor Donna Tapellini is here to tell us how it did in their lab tests.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they
have been playing with recently.
For Android:
• Dave recommends: Speaking Clock – EQ STime, $0.99
” The Android software speaks the current time. It will speak by pressing the headset button,
it features automatic speaking of current time each hour, 30 min, 15 min (can be configured), even if device is in standby mode.
You can set night hours and night volume: selected hours will be announced with configured night volume. It comes with English and Russian voices They plan to add new languages and voice packs. It’s a free demo on Android. 99 cents if you like it and want to keep it.”
— DaveFor iOS:
• Andrew recommends: Dice with Buddies, FREE
“is the next big thing in the trend of popular mobile games such as: Words with friends, Hanging with friends… and so on. The game is simple and easy just roll the imaginary dice to make pairs or straights. The higher the combo, the bigger the score. This game is turn base like all the other games and is sure to hold my attention, or cause some distraction at work, for at least a few weeks. (we’ll see) Dice with Buddies is free on iOS and Android”
— Rob• Chris recommends: History Here, FREE
“HISTORY Here, from the History Channel, is an interactive guide to thousands of historic locations across the US. The interface, photos, video and dynamic maps bring history to life wherever you are in the country. Whether you’re on vacation or just running errands around your hometown, the app actually makes it simple and fun to get the facts on the history hidden all around you, including amazing architecture, museums, battlefields, monuments, famous homes and much more! History Here is free in the iTunes App Store. .” — Chris
• Mandee recommends: MapMyRUN, FREE or $2.99
“This iPhone app allows you to track your daily exercises and keep a personal food log. This app, unlike others I have tried in the past, allows you to put foods from the grocery store and restaurants into your food log. Also, you can record various workout activities, and it is the ONLY app i have found that includes cheerleading! If you are listening to music or using other apps while you exercise, it will speak over your music for every mile you run and also tell you how fast you completed that mile. This app also lets you know how many calories you consumed/burned when you enter food and exercise into your log. There is a version for free, or a paid version for $2.99 with no ads, and photo capture.” — Mandee
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast. Just click the red arrow in the upper right column on this page.
Guests in this hour:
James Bell, Head of Consumer Affairs – General Motors
Are driver-less cars coming your way soon? James tells us what the automotive future has in store for us.
Brian in Baton Rouge, Louisiana listens on 107.3 WBRP and asked: “I have a question about the Pro versions of things and the regular version of things. Why don’t these companies just make the best version they can and make that available for everyone at the same price?”
Frankly, if companies only made one version of their software, they wouldn’t make any money. For one, having different versions of certain programs allows them to open up to a wider customer base.
Another reason, is… Maybe you wouldn’t spend, let’s say $500 on a piece of software that you won’t use all the features of, but maybe you’d spend $100 for a scaled back version of that same piece of software that didn’t have those features that you wouldn’t be using anyway.
It’s also not just software companies that put out “pro” and “lite” versions, have you ever bought a car without leather seats, or buy a TV that doesn’t stream Netflix these days, or get the vacuum cleaner that doesn’t have the most power of all of the ones the brand makes, or if you buy a memory card with less storage than the biggest one available for your camera or phone, or if you buy the type of paint that requires more coats as opposed to the thicker kind that requires fewer, those are all “lite” versions of products even if the manufacturers don’t stick that label to their products.
Some people are fine with paying a little less for a product that is a little more basic, especially if it still fits their needs.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast. Just click the red arrow in the upper right column on this page.
Susan in Porterville, California listens on KTIP 1450 and asked: “What are the differences between an e-reader and an audio reader and if there are some of them that have capability for both.”
An e-reader is basically a little tablet that will let you load books onto it and read them as you would read any other book, the words appear on the screen, when you’re done reading you push a button or touch or swipe the screen … and the next page appears.
An audio reader is not a term we’ve heard for a standalone device, but some devices have audio readers built in so that they can read the text that’s on the screen to the user. Similar to an audio book, only instead of having a professional human narrator they just use a computer voice to read the text.
Many e-book readers do have an audio reader function, Kindles have had it since day one they call it “text-to-speech”, Nooks do not allow it. Many can download audiobooks and play them back for you as well, again Kindles allow this, Nooks do not.
Tablets often allow both text-to-speech and audiobook downloads. Either as self contained audiobooks or as mp3s, and they generally have access to several ebook reading apps. So depending on whether you just want a dedicated reading gadget or one that does more, you may want to consider a tablet too.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast. Just click the red arrow in the upper right column on this page.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
C.Crane: Senta Forty Premium Wooden Headphones
Microsoft: Copies of Microsoft Streets & Trips 2013 Software
NQ Mobile: Activation codes for NQ Mobile Vault (Premium Version) – An Android app that keeps your text messages, pictures, and videos safely hidden from prying eyes.