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HOUR 1:
Tech News & Commentary
Matthew in Minnesota called in and asked: “My wife is planning on buying me a Samsung Galaxy Gear watch. I am a police officer. What’s the durability like? Can I wear it at work? Will it go out on me in a month or will it hold up to the rigorous activities I have to do for my job?”
Matthew, There’s a durability rating called Ingress Protection, or IP, the Galaxy Gear is certified as an IP55 device, which is not bad at all. IP55 means that it’s fairly well insulated against dust, though “ingress permitted” so it can take-in some dust and still hold that rating, and it’s reasonably waterproof too, though again “ingress permitted,” which means that the watch should survive some rain, it can get wet — and I have been 
caught in the rain with mine — but you don’t want to swim with it on.
The glass on the watch is supposed to be about what we’re used to having on our smartphones, Samsung highlighted that they’re using sapphire glass back when they introduced the watch, that means it should be durable, just don’t think of it as indestructible. We have heard of many users managing to scratch the watch, scratch resistant glass or not. The fact that it’s a watch means that it sits on your wrist, ready to be flung against the hard objects around you much more regularly than a smartphone would.
Samsung did just announce the Gear 2, which is sturdier than the original, that one has an IP67 rating, which means it’s dustproof and it should survive being dunked into 3 feet of water for at least 30 minutes, and since it no longer has the camera and microphone on the strap, if anything happens to it, the watch isn’t automatically dead or in for an expensive repair.
Overall, whatever version of the Gear you choose, they should be reasonably sturdy and should be able to take day to day life. Ultimately, remember that you’re spending $300 to reach into your pocket a few times less a day, this is a luxury item, treat it as such and you should be ok.
We also need to mention this: absolutely do not buy any of these watches unless you own one of the compatible Galaxy phones (and that’s not every Galaxy phone), otherwise you’re basically buying an expensive regular watch with a battery that needs to be recharged all the time.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Consumer Reports Feature With James McQueen
Like the idea —and price— of the Google Chromecast video-streaming stick but prefer the broader array of content offered by Roku boxes? Then the new $50 Roku Streaming Stick may fit the bill. Consumer Reports Electronics spokesman James McQueen is here with more details.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.
• Listener Bill recommends: Opera Max, FREE
- “Favorite App, just learned about it this week. Called Opera Max – It compresses your video and your online usage to extend your data plan.”
We interviewed Falguni Bhuta from Opera
- during our Mobile World Congress Special.
• Mark recommends:Chrome for iOS, FREE
- “All the Droid robots out there already know this, but my fellow iPhonies seem to be missing it, Google makes the fastest mobile browser. CNET recently did some “real world” testing (meaning that three hosts clicked their smartphones at the same time to see which could load pages the fastest — scientific, I know) and discovered that Chrome, even on the iPhone, was consistently the fastest web browser. I’ve known this for a while, but when I mentioned Chrome to someone at work last week, they said “No, I was using my phone, not my computer.” So Chrome gets the nod as my app of the week. It’s not JUST for Android (although thankfully Chrome has replaced the sorry built in Android browser on later versions of that OS), you can download Chrome for free in the iTunes App Store. Other than speed, what it offers is better desktop emulation, and better integration with your Google Apps if, like me, you’re a Google Apps junkie. If you’re using an iPhone and you’re still on Safari, come in from the Serengeti and give Chrome a try.”
• Samantha recommends:Yelp, FREE
- “Yelp. My app of the week is Yelp. It is a free app that allows you to check out restaurants, salons, places of service, etc. You can read peoples comments and write your own review. Also, if you check in you can receive free things. Our local mexican restaurant gives you a free margarita upon check in. Just like other social media outlets, you can follow your friends and vice versa. So.. check it out and follow me! “
• Dave recommends:Milk Music, FREE
- “Samsung Electronics has launched an ad-free, no-cost music-streaming service called Milk Music, to owners of its Galaxy line of smartphones as a competitive move against hardware rivals. In taking on Apple’s iTunes Radio, Pandora and other music streamers, Samsung is combining music exclusively obtained for Milk Music as well as Slacker Radio’s catalog of 13 million songs under a licensing deal. Of course, I immediately installed it on my Note 3. FREE on Samsung Galaxy devices.”
• Michael recommends: Flipagram, FREE
- “Flipagram is available on iPhone and Andriod devices and its FREE!! It’s a fun way to create a videos using photos. You can add music and watermarks to the videos making it personal to you. It’s been great for Michael, he says, when showing family & friends a collection of photos to that highlighted his vacation or trip somewhere.”
What are your favorite Apps? Let us know at 800-899-INTO and we’ll feature them in this segment!
- Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details
Guest Segment:
Aaron LeMieux, CEO and Inventor – nPower
offers computer training and technology consulting services
Red in Delaware listens on WDEL 1150 called and asked us: “How come no one makes a tablet that can also be used as a regular phone?”
Red, One of the main reason why tablets haven’t come out with the phone capability feature is basically to keep costs down and many cellphone carriers want to sell phones and tablets, and if they combine both together, they are concerned it will affect sales.
However, there are some tablets that do carry this feature such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab or Dell Streak 7 but they’re not designed primarily for phone use.
Or … some have said there is a size limit on what can be considered an actual phone verses a tablet. Dell Streak 7 has Sim Card capabilities but is currently only available in Canada. There are apps you can use that require Wi-Fi, mobile data or possibly both such as TextPlus, ooVoo, fring, and Skype being the most popular of the calling apps. These apps are available on Andriod and Apple devices.
There may even be a simpler answer. Not enough people want them. It’s expensive to design and build a consumer electronics device. It only makes sense to do it if you believe that you’re going to sell a bunch of them. And while we get a question like yours every once in a while, we’re confident that the number of people out there who want to spend money on a tablet that is also a phone isn’t large enough to justify making one. How do we know? Well…because no one makes such a device. And they would, if they thought they could sell it.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Chris from Baton Rouge, Louisiana listens to Talk WBRP 107.3FM called in and asked us: “The Nook from Barnes n Noble doesn’t have a camera; is there anyway to connect a camera to the Nook?”
Chris, Unfortunately, there is no way to connect a camera to the Nook. The Nook does come with a USB port, but it’s not enabled for that kind of data, so you’d have to install some hacked firmware to be able to use the port at all, and even then you’d have a hard time finding a camera to work with it.
Then there’s the other obvious problem, it’s not supposed to work with a camera, so even if you manage to connect one to it, you won’t find a lot of software that expects the camera to be there at all, so you won’t really be able to get a lot of use out of it anyway.
You’re best bet here is to get a tablet with a built in camera that can take advantage of it through apps that know it should be there.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Intuit: Activation codes for TurboTax Premier – File your taxes easily (This version includes investments and Rental property)
PhoneHalo: StickR TrackR — find any object you attach it to with your smartphone
Noizy: Kameleon Series Bluetooth earbuds
PURE: Jongo Wireless Adapters — Allows you to stream all your music wirelessly to your home audio system.
“Into Tomorrow”: Microfiber Screen Cleaning Cloths with Dave’s cartoon on them, for all your smartphones, tablets, TVs, camera lenses and computer screens!