Although this blog post title may seem strange, it actually has great logic. Over the weeks ahead I plan on conducting a thorough Nexus 10 review which I will post to NorthStarNerd.Org and link at the bottom of this web page. Just a few minutes ago I purchased a Nexus 10 16 gb directly from Google. 

Now, why the "Honeywell Minus iPad = Nexus 10". The answer is simple. While Honeywell is a great company for which to work, on January 2nd after 28+ years as a senior technologist, I submitted my retirement notice (learn about my post Honeywell retirement plans). One practical side effect of this decision is I will need to return my Honeywell owned iPad. While the iPad has been a great tablet, some experiences over the past two years while doing mobile research on this device, and my own Nexus 10 pre-purchase research has convinced me it is time to change horses! Why?

Here are the key items which have driven my purchase decision.

1. Flexibility: Two basic tasks on the iPad required expensive custom Apple hardware add-ins  (importing photos and displaying my screen to a projection system). My expectation is the Android based Nexus-10 with its standard USB connection ability will allow me to connect all kinds of peripherals without paying a premium.
2. Google Maps and Pre-Cache: My research indicates one has the ability to pre-cache maps (i.e. download large map regions for use while off line), and in conjunction with the built-in Nexus 10 GPS, use Google Maps while not connected to the internet. (Learn about my planned  2000+ mile bike ride, the Grand Gaspe Tour, and why this feature will be important to me). This is not possible via the iPad.
3. Garmin Forerunner Data Offloading: On the same bike trip, I want to be able to offload my Garmin 305 data for that day's ride. There is an app named Sportablet which offers this capability for Android tablets
4. Given items #1 to #3, the Nexus 10 16GB is only $399. In addition I get some key offline capabilities that would require a 3g connection ($$), and Android USB flexibility. I will lose access to Apple's much more extensive apps market.

In addition to these items, my main tablet use includes browsing the web, reading email, and reading books. The ability to sync with my Google accounts will be very useful, and these apps are already available on the Android (Chrome Broswer, GMail, Flipboard, and Kindle). The one other app I love which is not yet optimized for the Nexus 10 is the USA Today. However, I'm willing to take a risk that the folks over at Gannett are hard at work and will solve that problem for me in the near future.

Thus, the gauntlett has been thrown down. My order was submitted today, Saturday January 5th. Stay tuned for my reviews. I'll link them below, but first I need to actually receive my Nexus from Google.

• Pre-Purchase Research via Mostly-Tech Blog
  • Is the Nexus 10 Good Enough to Replace an iPad 3?
  • 50 Great Tips & Tricks for the Nexus 10?
• My Reviews / Posts
  • Google Nexus 10 Review: Day 2
  • Nexus 10: In Depth Review
  • Northern Lights Alerts & Monitoring via the Nexus-10
  • Nexus 10: Follow Up Review (News, Photo Mgmt & Browsing)
  • Creating True HDR on your Android Tablet | Nexus 10

Have you ever really stopped to wonder what kind of data your smartphone (Android or iOS) device collects? Although you may use your phone as a communications device, many of us think of your phone as an incredible distributed sensor array. If one can combine that data with demographic and purchasing trend information the possibilities are endless. After reading this post and viewing the screenshots you will better understand why Amazon is willing to sell their Kindles at cost, and Apple, Google and Microsoft view it as imperative to be a big player in the mobile market through both phones and tablets. Data represents big money.

If you're interested in reading a more in depth study of the sensors in your mobile phone, read this post from the Mobile Device Insight Blog. My curiousity found me installing the free AndroSensor app. By running this app I can see all the data my smartphone is collecting at this very instant. If you've granted access to lots and lots of apps to collect data about you, consider thinking twice. My own smartphone collects this data:

• Location (GPS)
• Accelerometer
• Light
• Magnetic Field
• Orientation
• Proxmity
• Battery
• Sound Level

The sensors included in "smart" phones will only increase in the future.

Screenshots from my phone (click to view at full size).

Software deployments, hosting changeovers, and new firewall filters are only a few of the reasons why I've worked 6 of the last 7 weekends, but a common theme for my day job has been the need to monitor my work, sometimes troubleshoot and always insure my customers have a positive experience. Like many of you, the budget available for add-on troubleshooting tools is often minimal. Thus, I thought folks might like to know some of the tools I use to make life easier, and solve problems. In succession, this post will present some of my favorite tools for use on desktop, android and finally iPad computers. These days, you need to work upon all platforms

By far and away, my favorite free utility which helps me understand what a web site is doing, when something does not seem to be behaving as I would expect is "HTTP Watch". This great tool will let you understand what is happening (or not happening) in the back ground of your web site. Recently, when my project team was stumped as to why a video player would not load inside a corporate firewall, HTTP Watch was invaluable. We quickly learned the new video player was calling an Akamai high definition site which was blocked by our firewall. Using HTTP Watch is easy. Download, Install, Record, Reload Web Page, View Results. Here is a session from loading this site (i.e. NorthStarNerd.Org). Sometimes the results may surprise you as to the number of calls to other web sites are invoked on any given web page.

For all the images found within this post, click to view at full size / resolution.

Start HTTP Watch

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Press Record | Reload Web Page | Evaluate

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Evaluation Continued: Additional Tab

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Assuming your service is now properly working, you will need to monitor the uptime. It's always better to discover before your customer that a web service is down. This post now presents two options, one of a desktop PC, and one via a smartphone (Android). While a PC version has more power and can deliver more data, the advantage of a smartphone is it is always with you … thus the potential for immediate notification.

For the PC, many tools exist, but one nice choice is EMCO Ping Monitor. This free utilitiy allows one to configure a ping service, and many additional options. If you have an SMTP service available, EMCO will send you an email when an anomoly is discovered. Here are a few screenshots.

Add a Service to Monitor

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Configure Options

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Monitor Results

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If I want to accomplish the same on my Android phone (i.e. monitor sites for which I am responsible), Ping HostMonitor is a nifty little free utilitiy. One may quickly add sites, configure the ping period, and then set up monitoring via a smartphone. A quick visual check when using your phones lets one no everything is okay. Here are three screenshots from my Motorola Defy Android Smartphone.

Android Home Screen

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Ping HostMonitor Home Screen & Settings

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Finally, this review finishes up with the iPad. While the iPad is definitely not a development platform, you still need to understand what is happening. While not as useful as HTTP Watch, iDebug (iTunes | Developer Web Site) is good utility for learning how a web site behaves when loading on an iPad, and also inspecting the code. As always with this review, click to maximize any image.

iDebug Analyze of NorthstarNerd.Org

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iDebug Source Code for NorthstarNerd.Org

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I hope this analysis of some nice free utilities has proven useful. I recongnize there are many other tools which can assist with your web site analysis and troubleshooting. Feel free to suggest options in the comments.

I had not planned another post in my review series of Republic Wireless, but one of my readers, Andrew, asked about battery life. I decided that was a good question, and thus here is my answer.

• See earlier posts in this review series

Before commenting about my battery life results given the combination of the Motorola Defy XT and Republic Wireless, let me note I am not a heavy user of my smart phone. The screenshots presented below represent a day working in my home office. I used my cell phone for about 30 minutes of talking time. In addition, I read my GMail messages, and downloaded the new Facebook app. I did not watch any videos, or browse the web. In general, I have been very satisifed with my battery life. Over the past month I have never had a day where my battey dropped below 60%. My usage tends to be for reading email, talking of the phone (at most 45 minutes), sending some text messages, and occasionally using Google Maps while riding my bike.

With respect to working at home, the reason I don't use my cell phone more is a combination of using my company's VOIP via Microsoft Lync, and Skype on my iPad for telecoms (Skype is free for toll free calls).  The final fact, all of my communications (data and voice) was via my local wifi; thus I was not using the 3G connection.

These screenshots were just taken at the end of the work day which I defined earlier in this post. Click to maximize any image.

Root Screen … including battery usage app

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1st Screen … battery usage app

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2nd Screen … battery usage app

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2nd Screen (farther down) … battery usage app