iOS/iPhone would have a lot of work to do to win me back any time soon.

1. Anti-Virus can / should be a concern if you’re playing around with warez/cracks etc. If you’re going exclusively with downloads from the Play Store you have a lot less to worry about. I’m honestly more concerned with dropping / losing my not than anti-virus. If you’re concerned though there are excellent AV packages available and I recommend looking at Avast (Play Store).

2. The S-Pen takes some getting used to and can be calibrated. It’s basically a Wacom tablet – and I’m sure you know how powerful those are.

3. There is no “Official” ICS for the AT&T note at this time. But I’ve been running a custom rom called “The Hybrid” which is an ICS build with tablet functionality and customized resolutions. It’s incredible to say the least.

4. I have two “accessories” – an SGP Oleophobic screen protector on the front and a Zagg skin on the back. Beyond that – I haven’t felt the need for much more. I have a request in to Otterbox for a Defender review unit.

5. Known issue. Some apps are set to 16 bit instead of 24 bit and produce poor gradients. There’s lengthy discussions about the issue – and it is software not hardware related.

6. Battery only because if you intend to use the device ALL day (like constantly playing a movie or a game) you can swap the battery. A second SPen though I would not complain about having as a backup.

7. Sorry – english only!

I came from being a long time android user about a month ago. As an android user, you live by the notification dropdown. On ISO I hardly ever use it, simply because there is nothing tell me about it – even though there could be loads of stuff needing your attention.

Take this example. you leave your phone for 5mins and get a Missed call, voice message, a text and a couple of reminders sound an alert. You pick your phone up, switch the screen on and its all there to see – brilliant. Now, unlock and return your call. Upon locking the screen again, those notifications do not re-arm, they are just sat in the notification dropdown festering.

If you are just looking for scratch protection, a skin works great paired with this device. Good luck in your search. Let us know if you find one.

Second, thanks for your evaluation of SYNC. You’ve definitely spent time getting to know with the system, so thanks for the honest feedback. I can provide you some perspective on a few of your comments.
1) Voice Recognition – This feature is really the heart of SYNC and the reason why we introduced the system. In our research, voice recognition is the best interface to allow command and control over devices brought into the car (phones/MP3 players) yet help keep drivers’ eyes on the road, and hands on the wheel. Since we first introduced SYNC in 2007, there have been significant improvements to the technology, and Siri has really become the benchmark. We’ve made significant improvements to SYNC’s voice recognition in our latest products featuring SYNC with MyFord Touch. For instance, you can now say “Play track” or “Play song”. You can also just say “Call Alex” without saying “Phone” first. We’ve also added voice control over navigation, radio, satellite radio, and climate control. Note that there is a major difference between SYNC and Siri though, and it all has to do with processing power. SYNC features “embedded” voice recognition meaning that the software, and thus capability, is built into the car and always available for the driver to use. Siri is “cloud-based” or connected voice navigation, as it is taking your voice commands and sending them into the cloud for processing. The processing power is much stronger in the cloud, and therefore it allows more natural language interaction, but it requires a constant 3G/4G or Wifi connection to work. Have you ever pressed the Siri button and she responds that she’s not available at the moment? We will continue to improve voice recognition of SYNC, including looking at enhancement via the “cloud”, but it is important to make sure that the basic voice controls are always available to the driver, so the experience is a convenience, not a distracton.

2) The interface – The first generation of SYNC, such as the 2010 Focus that you’re driving, was a “peripheral” to the existing audio system allowing connectivity for cell phones (via Bluetooth) and MP3 players (via USB). Therefore, the driver interface or dashboard was not optimally designed to present the features/controls that SYNC provided. SYNC was introduced into our products as a “Go Fast” program meaning that we saw the opportunity to be the first to market and provide a feature that consumers wanted, and we were able to engineer it to work with the existing dashboard interface. While it may not have been the optimal interface, consumers have responded very favorably to the features that it has added to the car, and the competition is still trying to catch up to us. Our second generation of SYNC, MyFord Touch introduced in 2010, was designed as a holistic interface that really brought SYNC to life, using a mix of voice recognition, touchscreen, and steering wheel mounted controls.

3) Text messaging – Yes, your version of SYNC can read incoming text messages out loud, but the feature is dependent on the capabilities of your phone. This was a very advanced feature when it first launched in 2007, and phone manufacturers are slowly adopting the appropriate Bluetooth profile that allows the transfer of messages for text-to-speech.

Now that you’ve got a taste of what SYNC can do, I hope you get a chance to try out MyFord Touch to experience our latest enhancements. Also, please visit http://www.ford.com/sync to check phone compatibility charts (for text messaging) as well as other future features like AppLink, that allows for voice control over smartphone apps.

Please let me know if I can answer any other questions about Ford or SYNC.

Thanks.

Alan Hall
Ford Communications
@ahall32

The detailed look at the hinge and the careful comparison (both written and photographic) with the earlier Zaggmate/Logitech keyboard/cover were especially useful.

Thanks!

Just got the Logitech keyboard case home and see it says for iPad2. I have an original iPad – is it worth me taking it out of the box and charging it up etc??

I can say that I have always heard great things about Adonit’s keyboard cases. Also, bear in mind that these are two very different products. The Adonit is a full case that completely encloses the iPad. The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover just protects the screen, but is also smaller.

Hopefully this helps.

Thanks!