SpiderPodium

Arachnids refer to eight legged creatures such as spiders, mites, ticks, and scorpions--bugs without antennae. To this list we can now add another species, the SpiderPodium. The SpiderPodium is an eight-legged device that supports small gadgets and can act as a travel dock.

I remember the good old days when every portable digital assistant came with a charging dock as a matter of course, but no more. Hence, you are stuck trying to prop up your device somehow so you can view it while tethered, charging and syncing.

According to Greek mythology, it all started with a woman named Arachne who boasted she could out-weave the goddess Athena. While an excellent weaver, Arachne eventually lost the contest, and Athena turned her into a spider who would spend eternity weaving webs. For this reason, the company that produces this item may wish to change its name from Breffo to Arachne.

What is a Spider Podium exactly? The name actually says it all. This gadget has eight bendable, wire legs coated in heavy plastic radiating from a central rectangular body with a slot in it. The idea is that you can bend the legs to hold any portable device in a viewable, stationary position. You can hold your camera, and it will serve as a tripod so you can include yourself in group pictures. It will hold your MP3 player and allow you to watch videos. It will hold your phone while it charges and syncs to the mother ship.

With a little imagination, you can make the pliable legs grab, support, and suspend any small device securely.

Not coincidentally, the slot in the center body of the Spider is designed to accommodate that pesky, bulky, Apple iPhone/iPod connector. (Why can’t Apple use a standard micro USB connector so you don’t have to take so many cables with you on a trip?) Anyway, when you have the iPhone connector inserted properly, it will hold the device sufficiently so that you don’t have to worry about having the legs hold it. I suppose you would want to secure it with legs on a bike or where there would be some bumping involved.

The really cool part of it that you can use some of the legs for a stand or you can use them for attachments. For instance, suppose you wish to use your phone for GPS navigation in the car, and you don’t want to spend $50 for a window mount. Simply configure the spider to grab on to something in the car such as a visor or a vent. I suppose you could get it to stand up in a drink cup holder as well.

Buy another one (they’re cheap), suspend it from a headrest and let the kids watch videos in the back seat. Use it to mount your phone/GPS to the handle bars of your bike or motorcycle. I even use it in bed to hold my phone so I can read ebooks. When I used it to watch TV or movies, I call it bellyvision. Use it on your bedside table and turn your iPod into a travel clock radio stand. They’re great for video conferencing too.

The functionality of this highly adaptable device is only limited by your imagination. You can use it everywhere. Use it while camping, on an airplane, in bed, on your desk, in the car, on a bus, on a boat, on your bike. It’s highly portable with its 3.5 inch legs.

This ingenious device is a must-have whether on your desk or on the road. Don’t leave home without it. I found them on Amazon.com for as little as $18.95. It’s available in white, black, and gray. There is a larger version called SpiderTablet.

I’m thinking about getting one for my home office, one for the kitchen so I can watch the news while fixing dinner, one for the bedroom to use as an alarm clock/radio stand, one for the family room to I can see my phone screen, one for the car for navigation, and one for my bike. That way I won’t have to remember how to bend the legs for the various functions. I can’t imagine life without at least one of these handy arachnids. Get one, and I promise it won’t bug you. In fact, if this bug bites you, you may become addicted to it.

I consider the Spiderpodium one of my best discoveries at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In fact, this gadget earned its developer a Design and Engineering Innovation award.

Dock it. Hang it. Grip it.

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Let’s Check out the HTC Evo Shift Android 4G

 

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound—it’s the new HTC Evo Shift 4G. Are you ready to download at speeds ten times faster than 3G? If so, let’s take a look at the new Evo Shift 4G.

This Android 2.2 phone has a 3.6 inch touch screen, measures 4.625” x 2.375” x .625” and weighs in at 5.75 ounces. Its relative thickness accommodates a lateral, backlit, slideout, QWERTY keyboard that is tactilely pleasing to use.

Other notable features include a Qualcomm 800 MHz processor 512 MB RAM with 2 GB internal memory. It comes with a 2 GB micro SD card but will accommodate up to 32 GB. The 1500 mAh battery seems to have a reasonable life, but I have not been able to test it thoroughly. HTC Sense user interface enhances social networking, navigation, and customization. There is a 5 MPX camera and camcorder in the rear, but none in the front for HD quality capture and playback. It has proximity, motion, and light sensors. In addition to GPS, it offers stereo Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that will connect up to eight other devices wirelessly.

At the top, you will find the power button and a 3.5 mm jack. The right side and the bottom have no buttons or ports. On the left side, there is a rocker volume control switch. Below that, toward the bottom is the micro USB port for charging and syncing. On the top front is a stereo speaker grill and a status light on the right. At the bottom on the front are four hard buttons with the following functions from left to right: Home, Menu, Back, Search. The Menu button is an added HTC convenience, for other Android devices only have three buttons, and you must access the menu through the home button.

This powerful unit comes fully loaded. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an array of applications included. Even though there are now over 100,000 apps in the Android Market, there is plenty already onboard to keep you busy for a long time. Look at this amazing list of apps that come pre-loaded:

Adobe Reader

Amazon MP3

App Sharing

Calculator

Calendar

Call history

Camcorder

Camera

Car Panel

Clock

Desk Clock

Facebook

Flashlight

FM Radio

Footprints

Friend Stream

Gallery

Gmail

Google Search

HTC Mobile Guide

Internet

Kindle

Latitude

Mail

Maps

Market

Messages

Music

NASCAR

Navigation

News

News and Weather

Peep

People

Phone

Places

Quickoffice

Search People

Settings

Setup

SprintFootball

Sprint Hostpot

Sprint TV

Spring Zone

Stocks

Talk

Teeter

TeleNav GPS Navigation

Videos

Voice Dialer

Voice Recorder

Voice Search

Voicemail

Weather

YouTube

To tell the truth, I’m a little disappointed in the camera as it is only 5 MPX. The quality is not as good as other phone cameras I have seen lately. It seems to lack sharpness and clarity. At 5 MPX, it is toward the low end of the scale these days compared to many phones with 8 MPX. It would be nice if it had a dual LED flash and a front facing camera as well for video conferencing, bumping, and a little FaceTime.

At 3.6 inches, the screen is on the small side, but perfectly clear with a nice picture. I might have trouble deciding on whether to settle for this format or a larger one of say 4.3 inches.

I like the feel of the slideout keyboard. Each key is clearly defined and helps in making fewer typing errors. However, I personally do not like the horizontal keyboard and rarely use it. First of all, it automatically makes the machine thicker. It is cumbersome to slide out the keyboard, and you must use two hands to hold it and type. I much prefer an on-screen keyboard that pops up when you need it and disappears when you are done. Of course, with the slideout keyboard you must type everything in the landscape view. One of the great Android typing innovations is Swype, which I thought came pre-installed in all Android phones, but not this one, which is a shame. I suppose for many folks the slideout keyboard is an absolute deal maker though.

I have no complaints about Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They both worked exactly as they should and connected quickly. Sometimes I have trouble connecting Bluetooth with various peripherals, but not on this unit, and that’s a big plus in my book. My only regret is that I was unable to test the power of 4G, as it doesn’t exist in my area, and I loathed the idea of going to New York City to try it out. So, make sure that you have a 4G signal in your area so you can take full advantage of this capability. I can’t wait to experience the power of 4G, which can be up to 10 times faster than 3G.

The Navigation program and Google Maps worked superbly so that it’s not necessary to acquire any third party software. It has audio, turn by turn navigation and reroutes quickly if you take a wrong turn. I really enjoy switching to satellite mode and watching the actual countryside go by as I drive and the seeing the actual buildings in town. It’s kinda cool to pull up in front of somebody’s house and show them a picture of the house. Of course, to use the Evo for navigation in your car, you should be prepared to purchase some kind of mount and a charger, which could set you back another fifty bucks or so.

In the final analysis, I found the HTC Shift Evo 4g to be a perfectly acceptable device with satisfactory functionality. However, if I were in the Sprint store, I would definitely put my money on the HTC Evo because of the larger 4.3” screen, front and rear 8 MPX camera with dual flash. While 4G is certainly an incredible phenomenon, it is still extremely limited in its distribution. If you live in a 4G market, you will certainly want to consider the Evo Shift.

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