Attention students: hate carrying around textbooks? Love using technology to learn? Well, think about moving to South Korea! South Korea, ranked 8th out of 176 on the United Nation’s 2008 Education Index (for a comparison: the United States ranks 20th), wants to create an environment in which students can study anywhere and anytime while using better and more interactive content. South Korea’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced that it would invest 2.2 Trillion Korean Won (about 2 billion US Dollars) by 2015 in an effort to develop digital textbooks for all subjects and all schools. The Ministry has stated that these proposed digital textbooks will contain all of the information of the printed textbooks and will also include helpful multimedia and reference sources that would enhance the learning process for all students in South Korea. The South Korean government, perhaps taking a page out of Apple’s, Google’s, Amazon’s, Microsoft’s or any other major technology corporation’s playbook(s), also wants to create a cloud computing system so that students can access these digital textbooks from any computer at any time. Moreover, the Ministry plans to provide students of low-income families with Tablet PCs in addition to setting up wifi networks in all schools. The Ministry also plans to have these textbooks accessible by computer, tablet, and smartphone. Of course, all components of this proposed plan would require a huge server, but South Korea already seems to have plans to accommodate such a device.

In my opinion, these changes sound very cool. Students these days are becoming more and more accustomed to using technology to enhance their working and learning. Obviously there are many down-sides of this plan. Textbooks don’t run on batteries. Computers do. Textbooks are much easier than computers to replace when lost or stolen. The list goes on. Personally, I feel that having to use a Tablet PC for your work can actually be less productive than using a textbook because Tablet PCs have other features that may distract the user (such as internet and games). For this plan to work, students is South Korea would also have to become more computer literate. Textbooks are very simple to use and there is a “realness” aspect of them: writing in a textbook feels like writing; highlighting feels like highlighting. Computers/Tablet PCs on the other hand are not as innately understood. In any case, South Korea’s dedication to the development to digital textbooks is just another chapter in our “Information Age”, and I, for one, am excited to see how this plan evolves.

What do you think about this topic? Leave your questions, comments, and/or thoughts below!

Hello GadgetHigh readers! My name is Darren Fine. I live in Botswana (the country just north of South Africa), and this is my first post on GadgetHigh. For many of you Americans, the iPhone 4 is nothing new. In fact, an entire year has passed since you have been able to lay your hands on one. But for me, and for all Batswana, the iPhone 4 is new. Apple says that the iPhone 4 is the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone. But does it live up to the hype? How much better is it than its predecessor? A lot better. It’s much thinner (though slightly heavier), lasts longer on a charge (thanks to Apple’s A4 chip), and will offer two-way FaceTime video chat. You also get HD video recording and an all-new three-axis gyroscope that should make gameplay even more immersive. What’s more, the new iPhone is also now offered by Verizon and AT&T in the United States. Here in Botswana, our two main service providers are Orange and Mascom. Orange just recently begun to sell the iPhone 4 starting at P8000 (for those of you who are not familiar with the Botswana Pula, P8000 is about $1,220). In America, Verizon and AT&T are selling iPhone 4’s starting at just $199! What a deal! Mascom and Organge also sell 8GB iPhone 3GS for about P4500, or about $690 dollars. In America, it would cost you as little as $49 when bought from AT&T!  So, is the switch worth it? I certainly think so. If I haven’t convinced you, see the chart below for more information. Thanks for reading!

Have you made the switch? Surprised by the high price increase in Botswana relative to America? Leave any questions, comments, or thoughts below!

As many of you have probably noticed, clouds are all the rage these days in the tech world, Apple’s new iCloud being the most recent push up into the air by a major tech corporation.  You may also remember Microsoft’s “To the Cloud” commercials. Well, Amazon also has a cloud of its own–it is called the Cloud Drive Service, which allows users to store music files on remote servers and stream them over the Internet to their computer or smartphone.  It has served as Amazon’s latest attempt to grab users away from iTunes. Amazon often offers one-day promotions on albums, selling them for $4 or $5 dollars. This time, in a deliberate marketing attempt to promote the Cloud Drive Service, Amazon put Lady Gaga’s album, “Born This Way”, on sale for just $0.99. For those of you counting at home, that is a full $ fewer than the price of the album on iTunes. However, not everything went as planned for Amazon. The fine folks at Amazon must have underestimated the thriftiness/craziness of Gaga fans, and, by every afternoon, the number of requests to download the album stalled the company’s servers. Many were unable to listen to the entire album or even download the album at all. As unhappy internet users always seem to do, they took to the comments section and other online outlets to complain about and, for the most part, bash Amazon. So, overall, it seems like this promotion failed, right? Well, depends on how you look at it. Yes, the server stalled; yes, people were furious at Amazon and praised iTunes; yes, Amazon lost a total of 3.2 million dollars due to this 99 cent promotion. On the other hand, though, Amazon sold about 440,000 downloads of the album. And, as a promotional device, the sale did wonders to get the word out about Amazon’s music service. Did you know that Amazon has had this music service since 2007? Probably not. In fact, I am sure many of you are hearing about this new, cheap music service for the first (or second…) time. The importance of this promotion was the increased traffic to the site and the awareness of the site. In a world with more and more technological clouds (especially music-based ones), Amazon needed to get its name out there. It did. I must say though, I will stick to iTunes.

Google, a company whose reach now expands far beyond its humble beginnings as a search engine, recently announced two new services: Google Wallet and Google Offers. Yes, it seems as if Google wants to play a role in every part of your life, whether it be researching for a paper, finding anything you want on the internet, sending emails, finding your way around, creating the software on your cell phone…the list goes on and on. And now, Google has entered the realm of payment. With Google Wallet, Google promises to “make your phone your wallet.” So how does it work? Why is it cool? What’s Google Offers and why do I think Google Offers is a much more promising service as this point? Read on to find out.

How Google Wallet works:

Without getting too technical, let me explain the basics of Google Wallet. While the world around us has evolved and is rapidly evolving, the ways in which we pay for things has undergone few changes. Since the Lydian people first invented the concept of using coined money about 3000 years ago, payment has only progressed from coinage, to paper money, and to small plastic cards. Google claims that it is on “the brink of the next big shift.” So, is it? Google Wallet is an app that can be downloaded to your Android phone and is a way for you to pay for your purchases with your credit or debit card, using your phone. If you have been in a taxicab in New York City recently or in gas stations across the country, you have probably seen MasterCard’sPayPass. Well, Google Wallet works in a similar way. Using Near Field Communication (NFC), wireless technology that enables data transmission between two objects when they are brought very close together, Google Wallet allows you to tap your phone on the credit card reader instead of having to pull out your wallet and swipe your credit card. Google Wallet offers more protection than your average leather, velcro, or duct tape wallet. Before every payment, Google Wallet makes you enter a PIN, so it knows that the phone is still in the right hands. In the event that the phone is lost or stolen, Google makes it easy to cancel a credit card, a process that currently seems to be painstakingly difficult.

To a high schooler, like myself, Google Wallet sounds pretty cool. I use my phone for just about everything else, why don’t I just pay with it? The truth is, though, many high schoolers nationwide do not have credit cards, rendering Google Wallet pretty useless to our generation. You may be thinking, “but my parents will still use it, right?” As of right now, the answer is maybe. Granted, Google will most definitely expand Google Wallet, but, when Google Wallet is launched, it will ONLY be compatible with the Nexus S 4G from Sprint (not the most popular phone on the market…). Moreover, while Google will offer a Google Pre-paid card, Google Wallet will only work with Citi Mastercard and will not be offered in that many locations.

At this point, it may seem like I am dismissing Google Wallet as useless, but I am not. I do see the value of Google Wallet. At this point, you might as well just take out your credit card and swipe it. Google understands that, and, as a result, will continue to build on Google Wallet to make it more accessible and to expand it beyond credit cards. In essence, Google wants to securely replace everything in your wallet except your cash and your ID. And, seeing that Google knows a thing or two about success (not counting Google Wave), I think they have a good shot at it. But, again, the service that was most enticing to me was Google Offers. Here’s why:

How Google Offers works:

If you have ever seen or heard of the show Extreme Couponing or have seen the array of coupons in the newspaper, you can understand how crazy coupons can get. Google Offers seeks to simplify that craziness. So what is it, and how does it work? Technically, I have mislead you to this point. Google Offers actually incorporates Google Wallet, so it is not entirely a separate entity. It does, however, have many individual aspects that seem much more promising than Google Wallet’s credit card replacement.  Essentially, Google Offers is a new product to help you find great deals in their area and coupons through a daily email. Then you can use your Google Wallet application to use this coupons and discounts at the participating retailers. This process makes saving through coupons a much more pain-free process and would certainly save our friends on Extreme Couponing a whole lot of time.

Of course, these new services will also help businesses, and, in classic Google fashion, Google demonstrates this help through a cheery video (shown below):

Only time will tell how successful Google Wallet and Google Offers will be. I have a feeling Google will find a way, though.

On a completely separate note, since you have made it this far in the article, I wanted to welcome you back to GadgetHigh. There has been no writing on here since September because, well, school pretty much took up all of my time. I will start writing more often, and I am always looking for new writers. Make sure you make an account by clicking “Register” at the top of the page, and, if you would like to write, send an email or a written article to postings@gadgethigh.com

As always, leave any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns below!

Upon receiving my new Blackberry Torch (Bold 9800) I was extremely excited and very optimistic. I had seen the teaser videos and heard all about the new Blackberry OS 6, which includes a completely new UI and a very highly hyped Webkit-powered browser. RIM for months had been pouring accolades upon their new phone and billing it as the phone to revamp the company. Read on to read my take on this new smartphone.

Hardware:

In terms of looks the Torch is nothing new for RIM. It has the same brushed chrome around the edge and the four customary Blackberry buttons. It is also almost identical in size to the Bold 9700. When you first hold the phone in your hand it has a substantial and well-built feel to it. Sliding it up feels extremely natural, and there is no feeling that you may break it. With the keyboard out the phone still feels natural, and not top heavy as expected with the elongated body Overall the Torch looks bland like any other Blackberry, but nonetheless feels natural and substantial in your hand.

Software:

The new blackberry OS 6 is what really deserves to be talked about. RIM CEO Mike Lazardis touted it as a “Quantum leap” for Blackberry software, which needles to say gave me very high expectations. For the most part I was not disappointed. RIM did a lot to make the phone more appealing to young customers, such as myself, rather than the typical corporate Blackberry buyer.  The first noticeable difference is the applications tray, which now is separated into different sections by, “all”, “frequent”, “downloads”, and “favorites”.  A swipe of your finger on the screen will move you to and from each section. There are three real features which standout above the others, and make the whole software worth an update. Universal Search on the new OS works wonderfully. Begin typing on the home screen and instantly your search results appear, and change as your input more information. The second new feature is Social Feeds, which integrates all of your RSS feeds, and social network accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter, into a single application. This is extremely helpful and works well. It even works with both the Facebook and Twitter applications, both of which come preinstalled on the phone, to make sure you do not receive the same notification twice. The third and final big feature is the web browser. Up until this point the browser was almost unusable, but with the new WebKit-powered browser you get a browsing experience comparable to that of any other smartphone. You get all of the typical features, such as pinch-to-zoom and tabbed browsing. Basically every feature every other smartphone has to offer. The only downside to the new software has to do with the internals of the phone. Although I generally had a seamless experience there were times when the phone felt slow and laggy. That being the only downside, the new software overall looks and feels much better than OS 5.

Wrap-up:

Although the phone has its shortcomings the phone works well and gets a Gadget High stamp of approval.

In a letter released from Apple on July 2nd, Apple acknowledged the problem many, many people are finding with their iPhone 4′s antennas. Apple said they were “stunned.” Part of the statement is below:

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

Apple says that other phones, including Droid, Nokia, and RIM phones, experienced similar problems. Although, to my knowledge, only the iPhone 4 has had many widespread complaints. The easiest fix for the problem is buying a case, something that I did. I need a case anyway because I am very clumsy with my technology, but that is besides the point. The case Apple is selling, called a Bumper, is being sold for a ridiculous price of $29.99. These cases seem like another way for Apple to make easy money. There have been rumors that Apple is going to cut the price in half or even give them out for free, but let’s be honest. Apple doesn’t give anything for free (except for those Apple logo stickers that come with all the products).

And so, after all the drama, Apple has admitted that something is really wrong with the iPhone 4 reception. This friday, Apple will hold a press conference on the matter at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters. No one really knows what will be announced at the conference, but I don’t get your hopes up for something too good. Check back after the conference for updates on the matter.  In addition to this conference, Apple has released new software (4.1 beta) to developers, but sadly, early reports have stated that the software update does not fix the signal problem. For those of you with iPhone 4′s, I suggest buying a case to not only fix the problem but also protect your awesome phone. I bought a Belkin case at BestBuy that works great.

Possibly the funniest part about this whole antenna situation is the fact that Steve Jobs was so thrilled and excited about the new antenna when he revealed the new iPhone 4 at WWDC. Steve describes the antenna as: “It’s never been done before and it’s really cool engineering.” Nevertheless, the problem has not really hindered iPhone sales. Was this antenna problem just an elaborate scheme plotted by Apple to see how many people they could get to buy a broken phone? If so, Kudos Apple. You got me and millions of others.

Until next time,

GadgetGuy

For those familiar with Farmville, this game uses the same technique for many things and so instead of giving all of the details I’ll highlight the differences.  First of all unlike Farmville, you must level up to plant more crop plots.  For example I am on level 14 which is fairly high and I can only plant 10 plots right now.  While this may seem frustrating it is actually nice because it puts more emphasis on the other aspects of the game.  Just like Farmville planting a crop and waiting for harvest can take as long as a day according to what I’ve unlocked so far, but can also last as short as 45 seconds for the first crop.  The money is then used to purchase buildings for your farm such as a mining camp and a butcher shop.  Friends can place orders in these shops which can give just as much or more experience than harvesting crops.  Unlike Farmville, there are no animals which I found extremely disappointing but I can live without them.  The final aspect of gameplay that I want to cover is Mojo.  Mojo is awarded whenever you level up and is used to speed up the process of the game.  Using 1 mojo can instantly build a butcher shop that would normally take 12 hours to complete.  Mojo can only be used to purchase one thing in the game, but I haven’t leveled up enough to buy it yet.

Similar to the most of Ngmoco’s newer lineup of games, We Rule uses a freemium gaming style.  For those who don’t know what that is, it is a game that can be downloaded and played for free but you can also pay in order to speed up game advancement.  This is where the mojo comes in.  At the beginning of the game I received 5 for every level but in higher levels I now get 8.  You can purchase 5 mojo for a dollar, 800 mojo for 50 dollars or any number of increments in between those two.  I was a fan of Farmville, but I always had two gripes with it.  First was that it wasn’t playable on my iPhone which made it frustrating to constantly have to go to my computer.  Secondly, it was always a chore to have to click the hundreds of plots on my farm to harvest, but on the iPhone it just feels much more natural.  Definitely one to watch and I’ll try to post once it’s available in the US.  For those who get it, my plus username is rossisd, feel free to add me.  No link for obvious reasons but pictures up top.

The issue that Hulu had on the iPad for Apple is that it would very likely cannibalize sales from Apple’s own homegrown iTunes store.  That right there is an issue that would stop me from putting Hulu on the iPad if I were working in Cupertino.  Fortunately for those who crave free TV at all times, there is hope after all.  Unlike Youtube who’s videos all had to be reworked for the iPhone before launch, all of Hulu’s videos can be made into a quicktime format with the exception of the interactive advertisements.  I’m sure that a company that runs a website as popular as Hulu can figure out a workaround without any issue.  This way they could bypass the App Store and still reach out to their mobile users.

Personally, Hulu on the iPad would be an advantage for which I’d buy the iPad hands down.  That being said I expect a 64 gb iPad 3g to be in my hands April 27th regardless.  What do you think, let us know how you feel about Hulu or any other last minute surprises in the comments…