On a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, me and fellow travellers wanted to stay connected without paying huge money for roaming or shoddy hotel wifi. So I looked into getting a Mexican SIM card for my iPhone. Its not quite as easy as prepaid in the US or Europe, but the good news is that if you want to get online while visiting Mexico it is relatively simple and inexpensive.

Actual calling tariffs in Mexico are very confusing. They’re based on regions and, depending on where you call within Mexico, your calls could be very cheap or very expensive (like long distance in Canada). You’re also charged extra if you travel outside of your very small home region. So I decided to skip native calling and texting altogether, and opt for data-only instead. VOIP, email and app based texting.

There are a number of cellphone companies in Mexico. Telcel, Movistar, Isuacell, Nextel among others, but Telcel and Movistar have the most widespread 3G networks that are compatible with iPhones and other unlocked GSM devices. And between those Telcel is said to have to greater coverage at somewhat higher cost.

I was ready to try out either Telcel or Movistar, but it turned out that we drove past a Telcel shop first. It was right on the big highway in Bucerias (Nuevo Vallarta area). There are plenty of these little stores and you shouldn’t have trouble finding one. We went inside and I explained what I wanted to do. There was a language barrier, but in my case a salesperson’s friend was visiting and he spoke perfect English. You might want to write down or save a couple phrases in Google Translate before heading to the shop.

I’ve read online that some have had to go into a big city and have their passport scanned. But in my case they just had me write down the spelling of my name, the hotel I was staying at and we were good to go. Activation was done over the phone.

The SIM card was $149MX (just over $10CAD). There’s plenty of data plans to choose from, but I went with the 1GB/7days for $199MX (about $15CAD). They activated it for me it was working right away. If you need to reload your account to buy more data or check your usage you can do it from the Telcel self-serve website. The site accepts international credit cards.

Coverage was OK. It worked just about everywhere, except inside the lobby of the hotel where there were some dead spots. It was mostly 3G but I saw Edge sometimes too. Speeds aren’t amazing but better than the hotel wifi.

I used the Personal Hotspot feature on my phone, and we had up to 5 devices surfing and emailing harmonioulsy.

My experience is based in the Greater Vancouver Area, so yours may vary based on where you’re located. So far I’ve found that:

• Pages load quickly (faster than iPhone tethering, slower than cable Internet)
• YouTube videos are watchable in 480 and 720p
• Pings are OK (avg. 150-250ms)
• VOIP works fine
• Works on Mac
• No disconnects so far
• Signal strength is better than I expected

My cable connection was down the other day, so I shared the connection from the stick over WIFI and that worked fine.

The plan is $29/month for unlimited service (for a year anyway). Technically it can be throttled after 5GB, but from what I hear that’s rare unless you hit 50GB+. If you prepay two months you can get the data stick for free, and there’s no contracts.

Beware some have complained about slow speeds and disconnects in congested areas. I’m yet to experience that, but I imagine it would get old fast. Regardless, if you’re in a WIND zone and looking for a data stick you should definitely consider these guys.

I bought the MOTOROKR S305 Bluetooth Headphones a few months ago and I’m loving them. Use these with my iPhone 3Gs at my desk and on my commute. They sound fantastic, the on-ear controls are convenient and [the best part] there are no pesky wires!

Operation

After you pair them with your iPod / iPhone / iPad / BlackBerry / Android / dumbphone operation is dead simple. Pull the headset out of your bag and hold the power button. They’ll connect automatically, and you can start listening to music or making calls.

Comfort / Ergonomics

These are comfortable to wear for a few hours. After several hours of use you might notice some discomfort, especially on the top of yours ears. They are more comfortable than iPod earbuds.

The behind-the-neck setup is generally good. You slip them on from the back (no ruined hairdos) placing them over yours ears. They aren’t too tight, but you won’t have to worry about them falling off either (even while running).

One irritation is that if your resting your head against a pillow or seat back, the band tends to push the headphones up over your ears. The problem is that the designers made the band protrude needlessly far backwards. You can overcome the issue by repositioning the headset but it can definitely be a nuisance.

Sound Quality and Controls

Stereo sound quality may vary on your device. I use an iPhone 3Gs with iOS 4.0, and I find the quality very good. As long as you’re coming from iPod or similar earbuds: I doubt these could compare to sound isolating or in-ear headphones. The bass won’t rattle your brain, but it is reasonably good. I haven’t experienced any skipping/audio issues except when I was more than 25ft away from my phone.

The audio controls work on iOS 4.1 and above, and presumably other phones and media players. The buttons are small, but you’ll figure out where they are quickly. Theres a track forward, track back, play/pause and call button on the face of the right earpiece. On the top there’s two volume and the on/off buttons.

And that’s about it! They’re available for around $40 depending on where you shop, and I would definitely recommend them.

There’s actually a surprisingly wide selection out there, and these are some details you should pay attention to when looking for a backup / external battery for your phone.

• Capacity: iPhone’s have about 1200 mAh capacity, so bear in mind how many times you mind want to charge your phone.
• Size/shape: For this to be useful you’ll have to carry it with you. Pick a battery that fits in your bag, case or purse.
• Price: Prices range from about $9-$60. More expensive batteries aren’t necessarily any better. Read on for my suggestion.

I chose the Monoprice iPhone Battery Pack (1900mAh). Its holds enough to charge my phone 1 and 1/2 times, its small enough to slip in my bag and it was super-cheap! $9 + $2 shipping to Canada got this to my door in just under two weeks.

Monoprice is an excellent company; in my experience their products are exceptionally high quality and very reasonably priced. The backup battery was no different-it does exactly waht its supposed to. You charge it with your iPhone cable or dock and pack it away for when its needed. Then when you’re running low on power just plug it in the bottom and the phone starts charging immediatley.

So if you’re thinking about getting the Monoprice device, or any backup battery, go for it. You won’t regret having the security.

When I got my 15″ Unibody MacBook Pro I decided to get a hardshell case along with it. I travelled to a few local Mac resellers, the Apple Store and various websites, considering the options available. I asked a couple questions that helped me make a decision:

1. How well does this fit and will it make use difficult?
2. How effective is it at actually protecting my Mac?
3. What’s it going to cost me?
4. Will it make my sleek computer look dorky?

So here’s what I discovered. Cases from Incase and Speck both fit reasonably well, with the Incase having a slightly better implementation. It’s hooks seem more sturdy and connect in better places. Neither case seems impede use at all, except that they make the screen feel looser. It will fall if you use your MacBook at an extreme angle (this is annoying if you use your computer in bed).

Both cases will protect a Mac from bumps and scratches. I couldn’t say which would do a better job over time, but I doubt there’s a big difference.

The Incase and Speck offerings have the same exorbitant price of about $60 CAD (Can you spell collusion?). For the love of broccoli, how could two pieces of plastic cost that much? Anyway, its a price that I agreed to pay to protect and customize my MacBook and YMMV.

The dorkiness factor is a pretty subjective topic, so bear with me here. I found that the Speck product looked a little cheaper and less refined. It doesn’t follow the shape of the MacBook Pro as closely and and it looks bulky when attached. The Incase seems to preserve shape and sleekness, following the nice lines and curves of the computer very well.

So I settled on a green Incase 15″ Hardshell Case for MacBook Pro. Public opinion of my case is good. Two or three people ask me where I got it everyday, and its always easy to tell which laptop is mine. It fits well, protects my Mac, cost me a lot and looks pretty good. Probably my favourite part about the case is the soft-touch rubberized coating. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you should really go see one of these cases, because its truly awesome.

Other than the price, I don’t have anything negative to say about the Incase. If you follow the instructions its simple to attach and forget its even on. It is difficult to remove, but there is no danger of damaging your Mac in the process. And in all honesty, if you plan to remove the case that often you should probably be looking at a sleeve-type case anyway. All in all I’m very happy with this purchase. If you’re looking for a hardshell case for your MacBook I’d recommend it for you too.

The app is put together by Mira Software, who provide frequent updates and, in my experience, excellent support. It works with a great number of devices and there is an updated list of compatible phones. These are my favourite capabilities:

• Readings texts on my Mac’s large screen
• Receiving instant notification of new messages
• Typing messages on a full size keyboard and sending them through my cell
• Mass archival, moving or deleting of texts
• All over Bluetooth (as the name implies) so there aren’t any messy cables

The applications provides a seamless SMS experience. When you receive a text your Mac’s screen flashes white, and the message appears in an iChat-like window. You can then type your response and send without having to touch your phone. Messages in the chat windows are threaded so you have one open with each of the contacts you’re chatting with.

BPE also has a number of calling features. I don’t really use them since Skype is available on my computer, but they are impressive nonetheless.

When you receive a call the screen flashes and displays a window that contains the phone number of the caller. If the caller is in your address book, it will also show their name and display picture. Even better, the app will fade out and pause iTunes if music is playing, and then resume playing when the call ends. You can also initiate calls with a dial pad on the screen or by clicking “Call So-and-So” straight from your address book. The integration is nearly flawless.

Issues and Solutions

I use BPE with my KRZR K1m on the Telus network in Canada. This setup has worked very well for me, although I’ve had a few issues. Sending texts on my phone is not possible when “Hands-Free” (the protocol that lets you make calls through your Mac’s speakers and microphone) is enabled. I’ve solved this problem by choosing “Suspend Hands-Free” from the BPE menu. Alternatively you can set an option that only opens Hands-Free when in a call, which was successful in my limited testing. You should know that the Caller-ID and iTunes features work regardless of these settings.

MMS messages also seem to mess with BPE, so they should deleted or moved before you use the app (at least on some phones). I don’t imagine these issues will affect every phone, mine is quite old, but this is what I have learned through trial and error and in conversations with the support team.

Conclusion

Its definitely a great app, but before you buy you should test to see wether your phone is fully compatible. Fortunately Mira Software provides a trial period, and if you’re still not sure you can even request a trial extension. Given the complexity of the app, its a bargain at $24.95 USD. I would recommend it to any Mac user that spends a lot of time tied to their computer and phone.

If you have any questions about app I’d be glad to answer them in the comments.

UPDATE: Elgato’s Canadian EPG is now out of beta, and purchasers will receive one year of free access with purchase of an EyeTV tuner.

A couple months ago I ordered the Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus from the online Apple Store (free shipping FTW). Technically speaking its a TV tuner, but I bought it for its cassette digitizing abilities – more on that later. I thought that was the only use I’d get out of it too, since Elgato doesn’t offer a Electronic Program Guide (EPG/listings) for Canada. Until now. The past few weeks they’ve been rolling out a beta version of the EyeTV 3 software that includes support for a Canadian EPG.

You might be wondering exactly what an EPG is and why its necessary for watching TV on your Mac. Basically its a file that EyeTV downloads to display the local listings for your area. The truth is that it isn’t really required, but in a world where everyone has a cable box, built in schedules are a given convenience that I know I wouldn’t like to live without. So it goes without saying I was thrilled to read about this beta version.

I signed up and got my beta invitation very soon afterwards. It was a breeze to download, install and configure EyeTV for use here in Vancouver, BC. It seems that some other parts of Canada aren’t covered yet, but I’m sure that’s coming in subsequent releases. It seems that Elgato has partnered with TV Guide Canada to makes this happen. Also worth noting, us Canadians only get a year of free service. Come next October I’ll have to pony up $19.95 (USD no less) for a rewenal. That’s not fair, eh.

Functionally its been almost flawless. There was this weird problem where programs starting at 4:00PM would have a duration of 0:00, but I believe that’s been fixed. I’m with Shaw Cable and all the analogue channels come through fine. I also have the digital cable package and box, but my EyeTV doesn’t pick those channels up for some reason. It does see the digital music channels though, so I don’t know what’s going on there. The quality is fair, but you’d never mistake it for HD. I’ve included a few screenshots that you can click to enlarge. Audio comes through very nicely with steady treble and tight bass.

There’s something nice about being able to pause live TV, or replay something you missed. Start watching or recording with one click. Schedule recordings up to two weeks ahead of time, then have them converted and placed in iTunes for you. There’s lots of cool stuff, its the best TV experience I’ve had thus far. I honestly prefer downloading HD shows/movies from iTunes or similar outlets, but that can take time and you rarely see obscure programming you may want to watch. I and friends have made a number of TV appearances lately. All I had to do to record them was set the time, and when I got home they were ready to post on YouTube.

All of that, and I only bought this little device to convert my VHS and 8mm tapes to DVDs. By the way, it does that very well too. Its as simple as plugging in your device (VCR, camcorder, LaserDisc) with composite or SVideo and hitting record. Then you can export to iTunes (for your iPod, iPhone or AppleTV), Toast (CD DVD or Blue Ray) or via a number of other options.

The EyeTV 250 Plus is a nifty little creature that can finally call Canada home. Its ease of use and capabilities make it worth every cent, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to other Mac users in Canada. If you have any questions about it I’ll take them in the comments..

Many consumer and pro grade cameras that ship today do so with propriety batteries. What does this mean to you? Well it means that the only company making the battery is the one you bought your camera from. They have a monopoly over the batteries you need to make your camera work, and they can charge however much they like. 

In most cases, these batteries are relatively high quality and one is usually included with the camera. The problem is that some companies (Kodak in my case) include a single non-rechargeable battery. My CRV3 battery lasted for a week and I was impressed. The $30 price tag to have one sent here is a little excessive for a non-rechargeable though, so I looked for alternatives. My Kodak Z712 IS takes good old AAs, but one set only lasts for about five or ten minutes. I lived with this frustrating inconvenience for about a year and then began looking for alternatives. 

In an attempt to prevent the further lining of Kodak’s pockets, I bought a third-party rechargeable battery and charger. The price was right, but the camera won’t even turn on. So now I’m back where I started: pay the obnoxiously high price for a genuine Kodak battery or live with the terrible performance of AAs.

The moral of this story is to consider the basics of your camera before pulling the trigger. I got burned by proprietary batteries and you could too.