The power of NO!
Most people are in the business of pleasing others and find it difficult to set boundaries and say no. Remember that always saying yes means you are always putting others before you. It is important to ensure that you give yourself permission to be a little selfish and let people know you have limits. This is one of the most rewarding things you can learn and it will also greatly increase your productivity.
Saying No everywhere
The above tip is useful for all aspects of your life and shouldn’t be restricted to business only settings. It is not uncommon for people to say “Yes” and give up something much more critical and valuable just to please others. Think of that “quick” meeting you agreed to participate in that ended up eating 3 hours of your day (instead of preparing the boss’ report)?
Why is it so difficult
Each of us has our own personal reasons why Yes feels better than no but they may revolve around/
- Wanting to be a helpful person. You may feel that turning down a request will make you look like a cold hearted and “bad” person.
- Your mother always thought you to be polite and saying no just feels rude. This is especially true when you may have to say no to a boss. This is a core motivator for YES in many overseas countries like China and India.
- You want to be seen as a contributing member to your clan.
- Fear of the opportunity cost. This is especially true un customer/supplier type settings where there is a fear that saying no may prevent future opportunities.
Most of the above are fallacies and sometimes saying yes [properly] will actually yield better outcomes.
Do it for the right reasons
No one is asking you to be rude or condescending, the most effective way of saying No is to be clear but polite. The best way to deliver the No is to say it explain why in a clear and concise fashion. It may also be good to offer an alternative when possible.
I’d love to do XXX but unfortunately I am working on a high priority activity right now, can we do XXX later?
If you can’t then be upfront and say why.
I love the idea but unfortunately I can’t support it because XXX happened last time.
Sometimes your requestor may be expecting an immediate response and your No may be used to buy some time.
Let me think about that a little and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.
Sometimes the proposal or request may simply be inappropriate or untimely so you may have to resort to a clear No.
I appreciate your suggestion but I don’t think it is the right thing to do right now.
I don’t think we can do it now but I’ll keep it in mind.
The ability to say NO will be liberating and done properly will make you more productive and thus able to help more people.
A fantastic $60 headphone amp
If you are wondering why you may need a headphone amplifier (amp) then take a look at my previous blog entry here.
After buying a decent pair of headphones, a headphone amp is the next best investment if you want to get the best possible sound quality out of your media player (e.g. iphone, Android, ipad, Cowon media player or other).
Chu Moy headphone amp
The Chu Moy (CMoy) headphone amp is an extremely popular do-it-yourself headphone amplifier project that can be fun and easily customized to your equipments specifications. Like most other open source do-it-yourself projects, creative entrepreneurs have taken the basic cmoy concept and have made significant improvements. This is where the JDS Labs cMoyBB headphone amplifier comes in.
Design and build
The product I am reviewing here is the JDS Labs cMoyBB v2.03 headphone amplifier. As Chu Moy type amps go, this is considered to be the best designed product currently available.
As you can see, the amp is built into an Altoids mint tin which makes the entire product surprisingly sturdy. The kit I received was flawless (do dings or scratches) and even after normal wear will definitely hold up well. If seems to attract attention wherever I used it and people always asked me what it was, what it did and where they could get one.
As a frequent business traveler, I was concerned about how this would be perceived at the security checkpoint but I haven’t had too many issues. There was only one situation where the agent asked me to power the device, and prove that it was actually an audio device.
The device is powered by (an included) 9 volt battery which makes it portable and easy to replace. However you can also power it via a wall plug which can be purchased from any local electronics retailers. JDS Labs provide the plug specifications here.
The external power plug connects here (next to the blue power LED).
The device is smart enough to auto-shutdown when you unplug your headphones which is a nice battery saving feature. I tested the unit with a full new Duracell battery and the device powered by Ultimate Ears Triple-Fi 10 for about 12 hours straight.
There is a little switch on the board that turns on (or off) the build in bass boost feature to ensure you get the sound signature you want. The first thing I notices is the custom board they used. Many CMoy amp resellers build their products using generic proto-boards (breadboards) whereas the JDS Labs one uses a custom designed and manufactured board. Just goes to show how much care went into the design and production of the product.
A common complaint from many headphone amp buyers is that the units aren’t tuned for their headphones thus cause distortion or end up being underpowered for the really high end headphones. No issues here with the cMoyBB from JDS Labs. When you place your order, make sure to specific the brand and model of your headphones so the team can custom tune the amp for you. This means you get the best possible performance from the amp for your specific setup.
Bring on the sound
Like everything else in the wonderful world of audio, garbage in equals garbage out. To get the best possible result from the cMoyBB, you have to use it with quality headphones and quality recordings.
In order to test the sound reproduction quality, I use the following setup:
- an iPhone 4S (with and without the FIIO L3 Line Out Dock)
- Cowon i7 audio player
- stock Apple original headphone (not the new EarPod)
- various headphones including the Etymotic ER-6, Etymotic HF3, Ultimate Ears Triple-Fi 10, Sennheiser PXC-250, Sennheiser HD515, Audio Tecnica ATH-ANC7b and the Audio Tecnica ATH-A700x.
- MP3 files encoded directly from the original CDs in various bit rates from 128 to 320 kbit/s
- audio files stored in the Apple lossless codec format
The songs I used were:
- Bizet – Carmen Suite No. 1 - chosen because of the various instruments included such as flute, harp and worn.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Clarinet Concerto in A - a song that represent a full symphony range.
- Pink Floyd – Mother - this song includes both guitar and drums. A great way to find out how clean sound reproduction actually is.
- AC/DC – Back In Black - this is an excellent representation of rock music, and a fantastic way to test the lows in the mids.
- The ultimate demonstration disc (difficult to find but worth it).
- Some spoken word from Audible using the highest quality format available.
Regardless of the headphone and song combination, the device performed very well. The best results came when I used my higher end headphones with the Apple lossless (or 320bit encoded) songs and the FIIO L3 LOD cable. The amp had no issues. Even when I was listening to extremely wide sound stage songs with small nuances with a fast tempo, the device kept up wonderfully. To be honest, it shamed some other (more expensive) headphone amps I have previously tested. The important point was that it kept all of the audio details, provided the beautiful wide sound stage my headphones support and didn’t introduce any distortion or other audio artifacts.
The sound signature of the amp was a bit warm but just slightly. All the frequency ranges were clear and without distortion. I kept the bass boost off because I prefer a more balanced sound. I found that the bass boost modified the soundstage too much for some songs making these sound less natural but for others (songs made for bass) it provided a nice clear boost to the low end. This is where the quality and sound signature of your headphones is important. It will accentuate the characteristics of your headphone so you may want to experiment with bass boost and see how it performed with your cans.
There are other headphone amps that provide better performance but not at this price point. Few people want to invest $300-500 just for a headphone amplifier. Again the JDS Labs cMoyBB blew away the competition in the $50-$150 range.
If you are slightly more geeky and want to further improve on a great design, you can replace the stock OPA2227 opamp with a faster one but for most users, this would be overkill.
Verdict
After having spent a couple of weeks with the device, my preferred setup became my Ultimate Ears Triple-fi 10, the FIIO L3 LOD, 320bit encoded MP3s and my iPhone 4s. I love this thing and recommend it highly. It is well built, can be customized by the factory for your headphones and a very good value (quality/price).
Win a JDS Labs cMoyBB headphone amp
Made by a Canadian - The Java programming language
One of the most popular computer programing languages in the Internet Age is called Java. Java was created by a company called SUN Microsystems (later acquired by Oracle).
Most people don’t know that the original Java language was created by Dr. James A. Gosling. Dr. Gosling was a Canadian who received his bachelor in computer science from the University of Calgary in 1977.
In 2007 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (Officer is the second highest civilian honour)
He created the original design for Java, created its original compiler and its virtual machine.
Proud to be Canadian
Over the last 15 years, I have conducted business in over 30 countries and even spent a couple of years living overseas in Asia. Anytime people found out I was Canadian, they were friendly and very curious about how life was as a Canadian. One of the most memorable was in Vietnam. The local customs agents spent 15 minutes asking “what life was in a “great” country like Canada”. They called it a land of opportunity where they thought anyone coming in has a chance to build a better life.
I remember standing in countless airports, starring at the maple leaf on the tail of an Air Canada plane. Feelings of pride running through my body as a citizen of one of the most admired countries in the world. Canadians living in Canada often underestimate what it means to be Canadians and I wanted to write a couple of entries about some of the reasons we should be proud.
There are dozens of reasons to be a proud Canadian but here are some of mine:
- We have incredibly innovative Canadians that have positively contributed to the world (more on this later)
- Our national healthcare system. It is far from perfect and could use improvement but at least every Canadian is taken care of.
- A culture of tolerance and acceptance. Canada is richer because of its multicultural society. We have helped thousands of families from war torn countries rebuild a brighter future for their children.
- We are a relatively peaceful country.
- We are a bilingual
- We have a beautiful democracy where very different opinions co-exist peacefully (Regardless of how different. )
- A passport that is accepted and respected in any country without issue.
I will write about some Canadians that have contributed to the world. Things we can all be proud of coast to coast.
The iPad is cannibalizing PC sales
Traditional PC OEMs quickly dismissed the iPad as a PC add-on, but now Forture is reporting information from a Needham & Company that clearly shows that the iPad is eating the OEMs lunch. It seems more and more customers are choosing the iPad instead of a traditional PC. As an example Mac shipments to schools in Q3 2012 fell by 0.1% while overall PC sales dropped by 13.9% (keep in mind Apple sold 1 million iPads to schools during the same period).
As the iPad becomes more capable through better hardware and software, it has shifted from a purely consumption device to an entry level production devices (small video editing, image touch up, simple word processing/spreadsheets, etc).
It will be interesting to see if the upcoming Microsoft Surface tablet will be able to gain any traction in this competitive Apple lead segment.
Order Windows 8 upgrade for new PCs now
If you bought a new windows 7 equipped PC after June 2 2012, you are entitled to purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 PRO for only $14.99 and you can do it now here.
Unlike the older Win 7 upgrade offer which moved you from Vista to a basic home version of windows 7, the new offer moves you to the best Win 8 version available.
Windows Media Center
If you use Windows Media Center, you may be disappointed to learn that it will be a purchasable upgrade in Windows 8 Pro. Windows Media Center is useful when using your PC as a TV connected set top box or if you want Windows to playback DVDs (or you can buy third party software to enable DVD playback).
64-bit upgrade
If using the Windows upgrade assistant, your new OS will be the same bit level as the one already installed. If you have a 32-bit version of Windows 7 then the upgrade will be to the 32-bit version of Windows 8. Same think for 64-bit. If you want to switch, you will have to do a full re-install.
Download size
Since most upgrade will be delivered online (via download), it is important to remember that the typical upgrade download will be about 2GB.
During the installation process, one of the options is "Install by creating media". Choose this option to create a DVD or USB Key based installation media (which is a good idea by the way).
Order from the upgrading PC
Make sure you complete the order form from the PC you will be upgrading. Although many have reported that this is not a requirement, it is the method recommended by Microsoft.
Apple's next press even is scheduled for September 12
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but Apple has finally confirmed that it will hold a press conference on September 12 at 1300EDT. Although they don’t mention what will be announced, analysts assume it will be the next iPhone and iPod. Pundits and Apple watchers believe the 7 inch mini-iPad will now be announced and released in October.
Now we wait and see.
Spotify coming to Canada
In the latest management report published by the Luxembourg based Spotify, Canadians were given some good news, Spotify will expand into Canada. The world's biggest streaming music service currently operated in 15 countries and their Canadian expansion is part of a larger move solidify its leadership position (other possible expansions include Asia and South America).
Although revenues are increasing rapidly, Spotify is still losing money hand over fist. The biggest US competitor Pandora still has no announced plans to re-enter the Canadian market (because of the high per song royalty fees demanded in Canada).
CHROME EXTENSION - Tab Packager
There are dozens of free web URL shortening services (like bit.ly, goo.gl, etc) but what about sharing a bunch of open tabs? Why would you want to share tabs? Students may do it while working on projects, workgroups conducting research, etc.
Instead of having to copy all the URLs one by one, you simply install the tab.bz Chrome extension, click on one button, choose which tabs to share and voila.
CHROME EXTENSION - Clearly by Evernote
What does it do
Do I need Evernote?
Personalization
- newsprint: a clean newspaper like interface
- notable: a modern clean look
- night owl: a darker theme for nighttime reading
Security
Chrome extension - Awesome Screenshot
For various reasons, Google's Chrome browser has won my heart and mind. Sure it has some annoying shortcomings but overall it's an excellent browsing experience. Over the last couple of months, I have discovered some interesting extensions that increase my productivity when working with Chrome.
This blog entry is about one such extension called Awesome Screenshot. Once installed, it allows you to quickly take a snapshot of an entire webpage or her chosen subsection.once the content has been captured, you can then add various annotations (such as circles, lines,arrows and text).
Once you have the snapshot just the way you wanted, you can save it locally or use the inbuilt feature to upload it to common social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and Google.
Awesome Screenshot is also available for Mozilla's Firefox and Apple Safari browsers.
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro will cost $199 after the $39 promo ends
Quickly setup a Windows 7 WIFI Hotpot with the free Connectify app
- ability to share 3G/4G connectivity
- wirelessly send files between the host and client device
- ability to customize the name of the WiFi hotspot
- ability to function as a repeater (or you extend the connectivity of an existing network)
- and premium support
US consumers not interested in 4G LTE
if you want to know more about 4G LTE, take a look at one of my previous articles entitled "WHAT IS LTE AND DO YOU NEED IT?"
Review of the Etymotic HF3 in ear monitor headphone
Over the last 15 years, I've spent a considerable amount of time living in airports and airplanes. Because of this, I am always searching for the next gadget or technology that will make my trip easier or more enjoyable. The first gadget that most travelers buy is a quality pair of noise canceling headphones.
My first active noise canceling headphones were to Sennheiser PCX-250 then I graduated to one of the first Bose Quiet Comfort's . Although these devices performed extremely well, they had some negative factors that motivated me to look elsewhere.
- I'm a one bag traveler - this means that I travel light. The last thing I want is gigantic headphones that don't fit into my carry-on bag.
- Batteries - most active noise cancellation headphones require their own batteries. Most stop working as soon as the batteries die, not good when on a long flight.
- Sound quality - the primary function of most noise canceling headphones, is noise cancellation. If sound quality is important to you, then many of them may not fit the bill. Read my review of the Bose QuietComfort 15
I've been using passive noise isolating headphones for about four years now, and own some of the best models currently available in the market (brands like Shure, Westone, Ultimate Ears and Etymotic.) Imagine my excitement when I was able to get my hands on the new Etymotic HF-3.
Introduction to the hf3
this is an extremely well-designed smart phone compatible headset that includes all of the features we've come to expect at an extremely competitive price (sub $200).
The enclosed three button remote, allows you to perform all the standard tasks: play/pause, skipping or rewinding a track, answering the call, disconnecting from a call and of course volume control.
Sound quality
Since I'm an audiophile and we're talking about headphones, I wanted to jump straight into audio quality. The HF3 (hf-3) offers honest and uncompromising sound reproduction (even compared to my other headphones that cost 3 to 4 times more).
In order to test the sound reproduction quality, I use the following setup:
- an iPhone 4S
- various headphone amplifiers
- MP3 files encoded directly from the original CDs in various bit rates from 128 to 320 kbit/s
- audio files stored in the Apple lossless codec format
The songs I used were:
- Bizet – Carmen Suite No. 1 - chosen because of the various instruments included such as flute, harp and worn.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Clarinet Concerto in A - a song that represent a full symphony range.
- Pink Floyd – Mother - this song includes both guitar and drums. A great way to find out how clean sound reproduction actually is.
- AC/DC – Back In Black - this is an excellent representation of rock music, and a fantastic way to test the lows in the mids.
- The ultimate demonstration disc (difficult to find but worth it).
- Some spoken word from Audible using the highest quality format available.
I quickly discovered that the device is tuned in such a way, that you do not need to use a headphone amplifier. This is a plus for portability.
I love my Ultimate Ear Triple-Fi 10 but too often they sound overly"bright". The HF-3 deliver's a clear, detailed and unbiased reproduction of your content. Regardless of how complex the music was, the HF-3 performed like a champ and never sounded muddied or clouded.
Mids and highs were crystal clear. Lows were well balanced (as long as the earphone’s had a proper seal in the ear canal).In order to achieve maximum sound reproduction (especially for the lows), you need to ensure the headphones have made a nice tight seal in the ear canal. Users that have just moved to these may not realize how "deep" the headphones need to be inserted.
I was able to hear instruments and nuances that are lost with most earphones in this price range. Sound stage was wide and open. The Etymotic HF3 is closer to reference headphones than my Ultimate Ear Triple-Fi 10 or Shure headphones.
I compared the HF3 to its more expensive sibling (the ER-4s) and was amazed at how the HF3 could provide very similar sound reproduction at this price range.
Some of the most popular headphones sold today are specifically built to provide enhanced bass (sacrificing the quality of the mids and highs). If this is the type of headphone you are looking for then the HF3 is not for you. The HF3 is not a boom boom style headphone.
At high volume (not recommended) the headphones performed without disortion or audio artifacts. When playing some of the lower quality MP3s (128 kbit/s) I could hear compression artifacts which really impressed me.
Build Quality
Unlike the cheaper feeling remote on the ZAGGsmartbuds, the remote on the Etymotic HF3 feels solid and well made. They have used a nice high quality cable that minimizes bumps and scratches introduced by the cable rubs against your clothes (a complaint I have with many other earbuds).
As soon as you touch the product, you can feel the care that went into it. You know this is a quality product that will last for many years.
Microphone
I read other reviews and have to acknowledge that many complain that sound level of the microphone is low but this isnt a problem I encountered. I tested the microphones by making standard cell phone calls on an iPhone 4s and a Google Nexus and callers said my end of the conversation was clear. I also tested calls via Voice Over IP applications (Skype, Dell Voice and Nettalk) and again callers said I sounded clean and clear.
Even calls overseas to Europe and Asia worked beautifully.
Noice Isolation
The kit comes with various earphone tips and it is important to take the time to test the different ones and find the best one for your specific ear shape. Finding the right one means you will get better sound and better noice isolation. As soon as you find that best fit tip, you will be dumbfounded at how much sound this little device keeps out.
Etymotic claims
"Documented highest noise isolation of any earphones or headphones on the market today"
and I believe them. The loud road of a jet engine is quieted to a gentle lull. The screaming baby 3 rows down is easily drowned out by your music.
Noise isolation was better on the HF3 than on any of my other In Ear Monitors including the Triple-Fi 10.
Custom Ear Tips
I have not gone through the process yet but Etymotic has a program where you can have custom molded eartips produced for your HF3 by a certified audiologist. The cost is about $150 and I will update my review if I ever get around to having a custom pair done.
The Awareness App
The one "downside" of extreme noise isolation is that you may be too disconnected from the world (i.e. not hearing a warning horn or an announcement that you have arrived at your destination). Etymotic has made available an IOS app called Awareness that uses the HF3's microphone to alert you of sounds louder than a certain threshold. When triggered, the app can pause your music. reduce the music volume or leave the music volume as is but add the external sound to your music.
Etymotic explains the app as "preserving the listening experience while adding awareness of outside sounds for safety's sake". Etymotic customers get the app for free, but others can buy it from the app store $6.99
Verdict
I can't recommmend the Etymotic HF3 enough. I absolutely love it and it is now my Everyday Carry headphones. The sound quality and noise isolation are unbeatable. They outperformed many competitors that cost 4-5 times as much.
Some Pictures
Click on the thumbnail below to see the full size one.
The packaging
Nice visual box
properly protected box
The zippered pouch, the different eartips and the earwax filter + replacement tool
The 3 button remote
The angled connector (nice touch and well designed)
Comparing the tips of 3 earphones (the ZAGGsmartbuds, the Etymotic HF3 and the Etymotic ER-6)
The Zagg and ER-6 have Comply Foam tips while the HF3 has the original stock tip.
Google providing better voice search than SIRI on IOS
The updated version is live on iTunes if you want to try it. So far I'm pretty impressed with the performance.
Bloomberg claims IBM may buy RIM's enterprise business
"IBM made an informal approach about possibly acquiring the division, which operates a network of secure servers used to support its BlackBerry devices, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private."
Counterfeit electronics being sold on eBay
My most recent articles have been product reviews and a question I received from 2 readers was related to buying some of these items from online auction sites (eBay being the 800 lb. gorilla). The readers wanted to know :
Is it was “safe” to buy higher end electronics on eBay
Having spent some time in Asia, I have seen firsthand similar looking replicas made available in the open market. Sure you can find fake sportswear, sunglasses and DVDs but you can also find very convincing Mophie branded battery packs, headphones and even electronics (smartphones, music players, etc).
As a test, I recently purchase a Mophie JuicePack Air that was priced below market price (which aroused my suspicion). The eBay item was packaged exactly like the retail one I had purchased locally. Everything was perfect from the wording and design of the box, to the placement of the stickers and the manual manual (even the manual was an exact replica - There were no glaring English mistakes or misprint. It looked perfect.)
After 1 week of testing, I quickly realized something was wrong. The eBay acquired device drained its batter 70% faster than the real Mophie JuicePack Air (purchased from a reliable brick and mortar store in Canada. Plus the eBay one seemed to heat up a lot. I decided to disassemble both the eBay one and an older Mophie JuicePack Air, that I was no longer using, to compare. I discovered that the internal guts were very different. I contacted Mophie support with some of the additional information and was told the device I was holding was counterfeit.
The eBay seller had fantastic feedback and a long history of online sales. The only red flag was the slightly lower than market price for the item and the fact that it shipped from Hong Kong. I reached out to some other blog authors that had written about buying counterfeit items on eBay and learned that some of them came from the UK and even the US, so ship location doesn’t seem to be a good filter. One author even complained of receiving a counterfeit product from an Amazon reseller (not Amazon but someone selling through Amazon).
As long as there are buyers looking for “good deals”, you can be sure someone will try to take advantage of the situation.
Most eBay sellers are honest and will provide excellent service but there are a few bad apples in the bunch. Some manufacturers now refuse to warranty items purchase on eBay and demand a retail receipt for warranty claims.
If you are in the market for higher-end electronics (headphone amps, headphones, name brand accessories), find out who is an authorized online reseller and buy directly from their ecommerce site. Check out price comparison using tools like Google Product or Amazon.com (in the US). In Canada, you can use price comparison sites like dealgenius.ca, pricegrabber, Nextag or shopbot.
If something is too good to be true, it probably is.
Review of the FIIO L3 Line Out Dock cable for the iPhone
July 24, I wrote an article entitled “DO I NEED AN AMPLIFIER FOR MY HEADPHONES?” , if you are at all interested in good sound, I recommend you read it. In it I explain that most audio devices are built with cheaper built in headphone amplifiers to reduce device cost and I explain the benefits of a headphone amplifier (headphone amp).
The one question is how to connect the headphone amp to your device? This article concentrates on connecting them to iDevices (particularly to an iPhone 4 or 4s). You could always use your devices headphone jack but this goes through that cheap built in headphone amp which will negatively impact sound quality. For iDevices, the best option is a Line Out Dock adaptor which connects using an Apple 30 pin dock connector. These special cables bypass the devices headphone amp and thus they allow you to have a better (cleaner) sound.
One of these cables that I recently tested was the FIIO L3 cable.
Testing
My testing setup was with 3 different portable headphone amplifiers and my Ultimate Ears Triple-Fi / Grado 60 headphones. My audio came from an iPhone 4S and all audio files were encoded in Apple Lossless directly from the CDs. My testing consisted of listening to a song while connecting the headphone amp to the iPhone’s headphone jack, then listening to it through the FIIO L3 connection.
I could clearly hear a difference in sound quality. The songs played through the L3+headphone amp sounded much crisper. The sound was more dynamic and details much more vivid. An overall improved listening experience. This isn’t the most high tech LOD but it’s value can’t be beat at its super affordable price.
Build
The cable feels well built with gold platted connectors. It fits nicely into the iPhone’s dock connector and to release it requires that you press 2 little spring loaded buttons on the side of the cable (nice design touch). The cable itself is about 4” which is excellent when using it with a headphone amp but may be problematic if hooking it up to a home or car stereo.
After 3 months of solid use, my little cable is still in excellent condition and performing like new. It is important to note that I took care of it (like most of my equipment). If you through this in your pocket and constantly nock the connector and cable, I can imagine that it will eventually break, this is not a design flaw but a reality of rough use.
When you connect the cable to your iPhone, volume control is no longer possible from the iDevice. This is normal, since you are bypassing the iPhone’s built in headphone amp. Volume control has to be done through your external amp (which is a nice benefit).
What about the other LOD the FIIO L9?
I wasn’t able to get a FIIO L9 for testing but it seems (based on the literature) that the only difference is an angled connection and the L9 does not have the spring loaded connector hooks.
Verdict
If you use an external headphone amp and want an excellent affordable Line Out Dock connector cable, get the FIIO L3.
What is LTE and do you need it?
As a business professional, you want the fastest most reliable wireless connectivity available and have likely heard of LTE. But what is LTE? Is there “read” and “fake” LTE? Is this something you should be looking for? These are some of the questions I will try to answer in this article.
LTE is the acronym for Long Term Evolution (whose actual full technical name is 3GPP Long Term Evolution for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System.) As the name implies, LTE is an ongoing evolutionary standard whose goal is to continuously improve.
The standards body
I don’t want to spend too much time on this point but just want to let you know that the organization responsible for this standard is called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project which owns the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System that dictated the widely known and used 3G data system on GSM. This is a globally accepted standard and you know whatever this group ratifies will be deployed will be massively adopted.
Multiple 4G technologies
Carriers have confused consumers by diluting the meaning of 4G based on what suits them. At first, some US carriers started calling their WIMAX networks 4G but WIMAX didn’t become as popular as they had expected and most dropped (or will shortly) drop it. Other carriers started calling their HSPA+ (3.5G network) 4G because if was faster than traditional 3G networks and sounded great in their marketing copy. Everyone wanted to advertise 4G networking and they were willing to bend the definition as appropriate.
HSPA+ is the top of the mountain for 3G technologies (better than standard HSPA but not as good as LTE) but LTE lays the foundations for a brand new and much faster wireless revolution.
As time passes, most networks are converging to the LTE standard and 4G will come to be synonymous with it but be aware that marketing sometimes takes over and ask your carrier whether their advertised 4G is really LTE.
Global adoption
The GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) has announced that 327 operators in 99 countries have committed to commercializing LTE services (267 are in deployment or have firmly planned deployments while 60 others are in the testing phase).
Why all the buzz about LTE
The main driver for LTE is speed. The current theoretical capabilities of the technology are 100Mbps download with 50Mbps uploads. These numbers should be awe inspiring as they are many times faster than most home internet connections.
In the short term, expect much more modest performance with downloads closer to 15Mbps and uploads at 10Mbps. Carriers like LTE because it is a simpler technology which helps increase their network capacity. Consumers will like it because it will provide faster more enjoyable access to content while on the move (Netflix will stream without buffering, the web page will load faster and the video call will be of higher quality.)
As LTE networks become faster and handsets more capable, developers will certainly come up with newer more creative ways to inform, entertain and amuse us. We are at the start of a 10+ year wireless revolution and the best is yet to come.
The downside
Nokia Siemens Networks conducted a comparison between battery performance of their LTE devices and comparable HSPA ones. They discovered that the LTE equipped ones consumed 5-20% more battery, a major drawback for on the go users.
For the more geeky readers, here’s an idea of why LTE drains more of your battery:
- MIMO antenna technology – Your old GSM phone has 1 antenna but your shiny new LTE one has 2 (for now and maybe more in the future). Each antenna requires its own supporting electronics (such as a power amplifier) which means it consumes more power. To make things a little more interesting, some CDMA carriers actually have an additional antenna to connect voice and text back to their CDMA networks (but this will slowly disappear).
- Your phone is constantly analyzing connectivity services offered by your carrier to determine the best way to connect back to the mother ship. Considering most carriers still reply on multiple technologies (such as GSM, HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE), your phone is a busy little boy which again consumes your precious energy reserves.
- If your carrier spaces out towers your phone may decide to boost output power a little to provide a better connection to the network which again needs energy.
- In order to create faster networks, engineers find new ways to pack more bits [of data] in each stream. This new more complex technologies require more computing horsepower from your device and thus just using these newer technologies means you will consume more power, everything else being equal.
It's not all doom and gloom as providers and manufacturers attempt to find better ways of lowering power consumption (more efficient chipsets) and increasing your battery capacity (size of the battery and storage density). This is one of the rumored reasons Apple hasn't jumped on the LTE bandwagon with its iPhone yet.
Verdict
As a tech enthusiast, I want the fastest, brightest, most shiny device I can get, but if that device won’t last through my standard work day or becomes bulky with an extended battery, I may wait a while.
I’I love the speed promise of LTE and its potential to bring creative new service offerings, but am holding off until the technology become a little more mature. I’m a tech early adopter but can’t risk running out of juice in the middle of my day or having to buy a thick extended battery.
I’m not an Apple fanboy but they generally tend to wait until a technology is general market ready before jumping in. Once they adopt LTE in their iPhone, I may be willing to jump feet first.