The One S is a classy looking device, even if it does not sport the advanced finish of the International version. The fit and finish is great, the aluminum body is a departure from what most companies are using on “flagship” phones. It it’s a very thin, but substantial enough to hold.

The OS is solid. Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4.0 is a workable combo. Coming from Samsung’s TouchWiz skin, it is refreshing. There are some changes, but not so many that you wonder where android went.

The hardware is fast. The Snapdragon S3 was fast in TMO’s Galaxy SII. But the new S4 chip is even faster. A typical quadrant score was in the 3500 range for the Galaxy SII. The One S was close to 5000!!

I have not had the unit long enough to test battery life. It seems to be at least as good as the SII.

Amazing is not enough to describe the camera. You can shoot stills and video.at the same time!

Overall it is a great device. I highly recommend it.

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There are many tools available now for use in homeschooling that were simply not available just a few years ago. One of those tools is the iPad. We were blessed to be able to get ours free (If you’d like to know more about that, go here..)

Ages and stages…

The iPad is a “shared” device in our house. Everyone has their folder, with apps (most free, some paid) for their developmental stage.

Our youngest (3) has her folder full of apps that teach shapes, colors, letters, etc.

Our middle child is finishing up kindergarten (5), so his apps are reading words, basic math, and grammar/sentence construction.

Our oldest (7) is finishing up 2nd grade, so apps involving science, more advanced grammar, cursive handwriting (even though it is no longer required to teach it in Indiana!…), geography, and etc.

We have one more collection of apps that is the “everybody” folder. It has some educational games and items like the PBS Kids app that allows you to see video on demand of many of their shows. These are very “free time friendly” apps that can be used to fill time when one child is done with their work well before the others. It is a nice incentive for getting work completeted correctly.

We do not have a ton of money invested in the apps, as most are free and the rest were largely under $3. It is probably around $20 total. The hardware is by far the largest expense.

A nedded expense is also a case that gives better grips to little hands. We use the Griffin/Crayola Trace and Draw ($30 – includes screen protector), largely because I got it free in a contest. If i were to buy one that works with Pre-K to Early Elementary, I would look at a Zagg Screen Protector and one of the cases from Gumdrop. The cost is far below relplacing an iPad…

I am sure that if you do some looking around, there are even apps that handle the progress reporting and recording that is required in some states. We have a great paper-based form that works for us, so we have not done a lot of research on it.

If there are particular apps here you’d like to know more about, leave a comment below.

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Xclip – great tool for iPads. Teaching tool that you can use with an iPad.
Woot.com – good deals every day
1saleaday.com
Cowboom.com

Apple tv + iPad 2 = really cool screen mirroring stuff… Airplay mirroring That you can use.

Iprizewheel app for iPad
Zen point.org jukebox software

Catalyst Filter – quarterly leadership pack. Online articles, video training, and discount codes. $99/year

Cuponk – strategy game for challenges.
Portable scrabble, Yahtzee, Simon says, etc.

Zagg.com – mobile accessories.

Digitalstache.com – spin that wheel $25 app
Igniter media – coupon code symc2012 20% off in March

Things to take on a retreat
1 xclip
2 Panasonic digital cameras
3. Guitar pic maker – pickpunch.com
If you buy user Symcfreelargesandingblock in notes if you were at symc
4. Hand presso – portable espresso maker from importica
5. Printer. Portable one
6. ITV – Mac or pc to television plus powered antenna also has dvr function
7.
freebies.
Quickshot app – iPhone/iPad 1.99
(or upload to dropbox ) use with crowdcontrolgames.com – Head Games
3 modes :singles mode , logo mode, team mode
Group everyday youth ministries book.

Crowdcontrolgames.com one arm two arm none -$25
Roadrace New version in beta

Thinkgeek.com
Shocking hot potato
Lightning reaction

iPhone apps
Attendance app iOS -.99 app
Receipts pro. iOS
Image blender- merges two images. $1.99
Clips – .99 app on sale for normally 2.99
Library of video illustrations with discussion starters

Boxwave styra stylus for iPad -$23 pen/rubber stylus

Free Graphic resources:
Stufficanuse.com –> free stuff
Seeds.churchonthemove.com
Open.lifechurch.tv
Creationswap.com
Resources.elevationchurch.org
Newspring.cc/resources
Vintage church.cc
Videohive.net

It takes a video designer:
3 hours per second of video design

Bible apps:
you version
Logos iPad app

groupon for churches
Only144.com

Squareup.com – can take credit cards with 3% charge

Remote control
Join.me
Logmein

Pinnacle studiohd – smart movie that edits video with music
Animoto.com – free account for non-profits slideshows regularly $300/year that allows downloads

Dexim portable iPhone battery

Free countdown clocks
D.me/symctech
List of notes

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1. Dropbox (Sign up here I and I get more free space. Woohoo!!..) – its a hard one to beat. I am not tied to a specific machine, and It moves to files I need to multiple machines for me.

2. SugarSync. Yes this may seem redundant, but its not. There is one feature I use in SugarSync that makes it a “must-have”. The auto-sync of photos in the Android app is like the photostream in iCloud, but more easily accessible…

3. Hootsuite. It is a great tool for planning and scheduling the content you share, and managing the online interactions you have.

4. Chrome to Phone (Android App) (Chrome Extension) . I can send Web links directly to my phone to read later (like for example in the waiting room at the mechanic shop) when I have time. Quick set up and very seamless when active.

5. Google Chrome. What would it be like to have the same bdowser interface, bookmarks. And extensions, no matter which of your machines (Mac or PC ) you were using? Yes. Its like that.

6. Gimp. Gimp is a free open source image editor that allows you to open and edit most graphic file formats out there. It has about 80% of the tools that Adobe Photoshop has, but for free.

7. Teamviewer. Teamviewer is a great piece of software that makes remote access a breeze. Free for presonal use too. what a nice bonus feature…

8. Plantronics Voyager 835 Bluetooth Headset. No I am not “Mr walks around everywhere with his headset on to look important”. I am “Mr tries to keep safe on the road”. I use my headset while on trips to return phone calls and answer calls safely. Don’t let the MSRP of $119.95 scare you. I purchased both mine and my wife’s headsets for less than $20 each on eBay new in “white box packaging”…Shop around.

9. Vlingo / Samsung Voice Talk. This software allows #8 to happen much more safely. Voice talk is Samsung’s licensed version they use on their smartphones. A little more refined than the typical app store version (although it is now free instead of $19.99!)

10. Samsung Galaxy S II (Tmobile). We had a bit of a service issue that resulted in us leaving AT&T for another service provider. This resulted in me going back to T-Mobile during the “free smartphone” weekend a couple weeks ago. My choice was the Galaxy S II. At one point I had an ATT version of the original Galaxy S (Captivate), which was a nice unit, save for a few minor irritations. Those are gone, and the S II is a much improved unit. I will do a full review in the future, but this is one of the best smartphones I have had my hands on. It’s that good.

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“It looks like it is designed for teenagers and guys whose wives think they work waay too much..”

Ouch.

No related posts.

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Was going to do an unboxing, but ran out of time…

Free stuff is good stuff…

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http://phandroid.com/2012/01/12/hands-on-asus-padfone-is-it-a-phone-tablet-or-both/

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Ubuntu Linux powered TV

iRig Stompbox (I would love to demo one of these!!)

Vlingo Voice Assistant coming to TV…

Polaroid Smartphone/Camera Combo

1st Intel Based Smartphone

Gorilla Glass 2 

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Five that will boom:
1. Any device with Android 4.0 – If you have had your finger on the pulse of this story, you have seen the future, and it is good…

2. Ipad 3 and Iphone 5 – These will both hit in 2012. not if, but when. Apple is fairly predictable in their product cycles. Based on what is out now, the next steps are good ones.

3. Mobile Apps for Ordering food – I used the Papa John’s app the other night while on a youth conference and it worked beautifully. I was able to discuss with the group what we wanted, put it in, and send the order. 30 minutes later, the delivery guy was there with the pizza!.

4.  Entry Level Smartphones – As the price becomes less of an issue, and the line blurs between feature phone and smartphone, the winners become the entry and mid level smartphones. If carriers can keep the required data pricing attractive,  more and more customers will make the jump.

5. Mobile payments -  I use square, paypal, my starbucks app, and other methods to move money to an from my accounts. I am not convinced that NFC (Near Field Communication) will go big in 2012, but the mobile payments industry has many other ways of getting your money to someone who wants it….

5 Technologies that will Bust in 2012

1.  Ultrabooks -  There, I said it. I love the idea, I really do. However, the implementation has been slow and expensive. The MacBook Air has had too much of a head start on the Ultrabooks to see much of a threat. There will be a few niche adopters, (maybe business travelers) but I believe that widespread adoption will not take place in 2012.

2. Google TV –  The set top box has been tried and tried again, with little success. Anyone remember Microsoft WebTV? Many would just rather have a means to hook something like a laptop, Gaming Console, or HTPC (Home Theatre PC) to their TV, and use a Hulu or Netflix app.

3. Blackberry –  Unless things drastically change, Blackberry is soon to become not much more than a footnote in tech history. Slow design-to-market timing is keeping RIM in a constant game of catch-up. The Playbook showed promise, but was late to market and incomplete when it got there.

4. Near Field Communication (NFC)-  As I noted in above, NFC is not quite ready for adoption. There are only a handful of devices that carry it, and it is going to take a couple years of development and adoption to really see what NFC can do.

5. Microsoft Office – I am not saying that Office is going away in 2012, but with so many other free and cheap options, combined with more tablet options that run compatible suites, The market share has got to be shrinking for MS. I have Office, but usually use Google Docs for most of my Word Processing and Simple Spreadsheet work, due to simplicity and the availability online.

These are my best guesses. I may do an article like this in 2013, and say “wow, I was wrong”. If you think I am right or wrong, let me know below in the comments section. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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If you have not tried out this app for iOS and Android, you need to. It can even pull in your google reader feeds and “make them pretty”…

Android Source : Market

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