Managing Meanings

When I was young, I had a dog. I worked long hours, and it was clear that he was miserable being left alone all day. So I, of course, got him a dog. It worked. And it also established a pattern that I suppose is not all that uncommon: the tendency to get things for our things.

This refers to accouterments that are more expressions of our attachment to our things than accessories that extend their usefulness. A pair of headphones is an accessory. Cases, on the other hand, often take on a role that combines concern for the welfare of the covered device with a distinct form of self expression by the user.

That’s a fair way to view the cases I have for my devices. Their value is much more than merely utilitarian protection. For one thing, I’ve tried the less expensive versions you can find in the standard electronics store, and found them to be both unsatisfactory as shields and impediments to ease of use of the devices.

As a result, I very soon gave up feigning the pretension that anything would do for my devices. I hold them in high regard. I want them both well-guarded and perfectly usable. And, yes, I want the cases to reflect the quality of the equipment they enclose, and to express the way I see them: as elegant, sophisticated business and entertainment devices.

So, no iridescent colors, cuddly animals, or sport team logos. Aside from the superb utility and protection they provide, these cases reflect not me, but the way I view and use these devices.

I even have a “go-to” company for these covers: Noreve. Each case is designed specifically for the particular device it is intended for, and is hand-crafted from high quality materials. They are on the expensive side, but this is clearly a case of avoiding the false economy of cheaper, unsatisfactory goods. These cases have lasted in virtually new condition for, in some cases, years. Very happy with them.

Currently Noreve is the maker of my Nokia E72 and iPad cases. Unfortunately, they had not designed their case for the new version of the iPod Touch when I bought it, so I wound up getting one for that made by an outfit called Piel Frama, purchased via cases.com. It is a Noreve-level quality item, and I have had no occasion to feel as though I had settled for anything – a cleverly designed, wonderfully functional, and beautifully made item.

So there’s that. It’s a major issue, and the introductory remarks notwithstanding, I resist the idea that they are principally cosmetic. They have added to my comfort and confidence in taking these devices with me and using them around the world and, yes, they are quality and handsome covers for quality, sophisticated devices.

Don’t you get cases for yours? How do you approach the matter?

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What I was listening to while writing this post: Selections from “The Piano” by Mike Strickland. 

The outstanding Nokia E72 remains my business smart-phone and principal go-to device. However, I soon noticed that some do-gooder we-know-better-than-you-what’s-good-for-you virus had infected the phone, preventing me from cranking up the volume for music listening. I could find nothing from any source to resolve this. As a consequence, the phone was useless as a music player while on the street, since even just moderate road noise rendered the tunes hardly discernable; an irritating and disconcerting listening experience. Obviously, it wasn’t much better in more quiet conditions.

The thing is, it is typically in noisier environments that I use the phone as a music player – walking, in a coffee shop, and the like. At the office or home, I have different devices. So, the phone’s use as a music player had essentially disappeared. Not only do I want to hear the music, but much of what I listen to – whether R&B piano, fingerstyle guitar, or classical violin concertos – are meant to fill your senses and carry you off. They need to have some volume to bring out the finer elements that otherwise would barely surface, and to invest them with the verve and energy that were present in their creation.

So, having found the perfect all-in-one device, I found that upgrading it to its next iteration required me to move back to a separate music player. The result was an iPod Nano (5th gen).

I can tell you that that solved the problem. What a great device! Much better experience downloading music from iTunes than from the multiple sources I used previously, many of which changed their DRM and outside-the-US policies sporadically and unannounced. This can be a real problem for an expat.

Shortly later, my wife got an iPhone. While she loves it, it does nothing for me as a business phone, and does not threaten the status of my E72. However, the computing power and easily used and wide range of applications certainly did intrigue me. So, it wasn’t long before I also became the proud owner of not only an iPod touch, but an iPad.

So, from multiple devices to one, and back to multiple devices again – and no complaints. I still read periodically on the E72, and use it principally for email when on the road – (the iPod Touch and iPad that I got are WiFi only, since I didn’t see the point of 3G in these devices and wasn’t sure I could use it where I live overseas in any event).

The iPad is a great productivity device when on the road – much more convenient than lugging a laptop around. I have the Bluetooth keyboard, and have had no problem transferring files between the iPod and my computer. I also do most of my newspaper reading on it, as well as keeping my chess game alive (Shredder – excellent).

The iPod touch is where I do most of my book reading – almost all of it using Kindle. Quick, convenient, and easy. Everything syncs between devices smoothly.

Both devices also have standard apps that I use frequently – an excellent financial calculator (to be honest, I was always a bit frustrated with the inability to get an HP-emulator on the E71/72; this is actually one of the things that drove me to getting the iPod Touch), an excellent unit-conversion program, weather, and the like.

The iPod Nano is now for walks in the woods and hills for exercise. The E72 is with me everywhere, and the iPod Touch almost always when I’m out and about. When I’m out for anything like an extended period, the iPad comes along for its productivity capabilities, so I can keep up with my writing.

All the Apple devices are the max gigabyte available (32 for the iPod Nano, and 64 for the iPod Touch and iPad). The iPod Touch and iPad are Wi-Fi only. They both work just fine in all the multiple hotspots around Istanbul and I haven’t regretted not having a 3G capability in them.

There it is, then: the current status of devices and their use. We’ll move on, now, to more detailed reviews of devices like these and other, as well as of some of the apps, music, books, and other material accessible from them. We will also see some essays on general topics of interest culturally – the sciences, politics, current events.

Do join in!

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What I was listening to while writing this post: The wonderful Atlantic Brass Quintet, playing “Fanfares and Passages.”

While I was enjoying the series of PDAs described in the previous post, I was using a series of increasingly smart and functional Nokia cell phones. Eventually, I tried out the Nokia E71, which they advertised as a business-oriented smart phone.

I was doubtful that a phone could incorporate the power and efficient multi-functionality of the HP iPaq I was using at the time. However, I began to notice within a few months of getting the phone that I was using more and more of its features in place of those on my PDA. What’s more, it was easier to customize the E-71 with its vast store of internal functions and 2nd party applications.

Soon enough, there was no doubting it: the Nokia E-71 was indeed a very smart, very powerful phone. The iPaq was cleared and given away. Everything I needed was on a single, slim, sleek device that fit, hardly noticed, in a shirt pocket.

Things had certainly come a long way since my first home-made task list. Here’s just a brief overview of the phone’s designed-in capabilities, as well as some of the built-in and 2nd party applications:

• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• GPS
• Nokia-hosted push email service (free)
• Excellent built-in internet browser (although I came to use Opera)
• 8GB mini-SD card (I used that for music & applications, and the substantial phone memory for data and documents)
• Efficient, robust, and reliable sync capability with Outlook
• Superb music playing software
• Full-keyboard – the most intelligently designed and usable one I’ve seen on any phone (also, multi-lingual)
• Integrated contacts, calendar, to-do list – extraordinarily efficient and usable
• Mini-office suite for MS Office compatible documents, spreadsheets, even presentations.
• PDF reader
• Navigation software – point-to-point – both driving and walking
• Multi-language dictionaries
• Mobipocket and other book reading software
• Sophisticated financial calculator
• Travel itinerary software
• A stupendous voice-recognition program that could interpret your voice to match the name you spoke against the spellings of your contacts, then ask you which of that contact’s numbers you wanted to dial.
• An excellent camera lens, with terrific standard and video capability.
• A front-facing camera which allowed video phone calls over 3-G long before the i-Phone’s much ballyhooed Wi-Fi-only version appeared.

Those are the ones I seemed to use the most, and do not include the usual clock, weather, and other standard items, many of which I also used regularly. One that they made a big fuss about, but which I never used, was a feature that converts your text messages to voice and reads them to you.

A disadvantage was that the phone used a 2.5mm earphone port, which required a clumsy step-down from the standard 3.5mm earphone plug. Nevertheless, that phone was always with me, and had seemingly everything I needed in it. I can hardly remember when I’ve viewed a single device as so indispensable, although we all recognize that feeling these days.

I listened to music while reading books, news on the internet, emails, or while writing – either in the phone or on a writing pad if I had one with me. I consulted and updated my schedule, and had recourse to the same contact information as was in Outlook, as well as regular reference documents accessible through the e-book readers on the phone. In the course of all this, it gently notified me of incoming calls and suspended whatever I was doing on the phone until I ended the calls, upon which it smoothly re-started them. I typically used a bluetooth headset for these phone conversations, which allowed me to access information on the phone or to write notes during the call.

Outstanding! All this in one device. Really, just incredible.

This perfect unity of all my device needs in the Nokia E-71 lasted for more than a year. That’s when they brought out the E-72. More memory (both in the phone and the mini-SD card, both needed by now), an even faster processor (also needed), and a standard-sized receptor for portable earphones (no more awkward step-down).

I picked one up as my main phone, and assigned the E-71 to a secondary business number.

On one end of the technology spectrum, I find myself using the E-72′s camera more often than I would have expected, since it has a very high-resolution and high-quality lens. At the other end, I also use the built-in flashlight (derived from the camera’s flash capability) all the time. Everything else is the same as the E-71, although with more memory, speed, and ease-of use.

Except for one thing, which has resulted in my drifting back into multiple device mode, albeit happily. That comes next. See you then!

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What I was listening to while writing this post: The incomparable R&B singer Solomon Burke, on the brilliant compilation “Don’t Give Up On Me.” Turn it up, and enjoy.