Sink or Swim

I am loving my cousin’s blackberry curve! I am a self-confessed Apple/iPhone addict but if someone gives me a BB curve, then who am I to say no? It certainly gives iPhone a run for its money.

My faves on top of my head: two-hand texting, games and apps, email attachments and chat messengers, sleek design and best of all, way cheaper than iPhones! I haven’t tested the video capability yet but for chatting and everyday messaging, it can definitely do the job.

According to ProductWiki.com, here are the contenders to the famous iPhone. I am still an iPhone fan but it doesn’t hurt to know the competition.   There’s more but here are my top three. [Source]

HTC Desire HD
October, 2010

$649.00$563.00 (13% off)

Pros

• an Evo 4G for the rest of the world
• intelligent ringer – rings louder if it senses it’s stored away, quiets down when picked up and mutes when flipped over
• powerful hardware – 1GHz processor, 768MB of RAM, 1.5GB of internal storage

Cons

• standard LCD display
• battery life will be too short at only 1230mAh capacity
• available only in Europe, and very expensive to import

RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800
August, 2010

$489.53

Pros

• full slide-out QWERTY keyboard – a BlackBerry specialty that blows most other phone keyboards out of the water
• the first phone to run RIM’s latest BlackBerry 6 operating system
• 5MP camera with LED flash

Cons

• not the revolutionary device most were hoping for to keep RIM competitive in the consumer market
• dated aesthetic for a consumer device
• quite bulky compared to QWERTY-less devices

Samsung Galaxy S
July, 2010

Pros

• stunning 4″ Super-AMOLED display @ 800 x 480px, takes phone displays to a new level (esp. color, contrast, viewing angles & brightness)
• runs a current generation high end 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU by Samsung (Hummingbird)
• WiFi (802.11b/g/n) and 3G (HSPA max downlink 7.2 Mbit/s, max uplink 5.76Mbit/s) connectivity

Cons

• no camera flash
• No dedicated Camera button
• Terrible GPS performance and no reliable fix so far

Just found the perfect gift for my photographer friend. Since he agreed to shoot my daughter’s baptism without charge (of course!), we’re showing our appreciation by getting him a pair of overshoes. I saw a pair being sold for as low as $65. It’s perfect since he does a lot of outdoor shoot and sometimes even in bad weather. It’s pretty cool that you can take it on and off when needed. Just wear it over your current footwear, no need to change!Now if I could just take a peek at his shoe size, then we’ll be all set.

I wish I’ve seen these over 100 personalized christmas gift ideas under $20 when we had our white elephant game a few weeks ago! To be fair, our entries were a hit but still, I find these holiday gift ideas really cute. My girl friends are into Christmas decors that remind them of their childhood days. These will definitely take them to a trip down to memory lane.

Why did Samsung make a 7” Tablet—because we’re into mobility and know that people are looking for compact communication and entertainment devices they can slip in their pocket and bring on the go. The Galaxy Tab™ is always connected, lightweight and smart. Its exceptional screen is designed for reading books and magazines, watching movies and playing games. The Galaxy Tab tablet builds on the rich content experience provided by the Galaxy S line of Android smart phones.

Will this beat the iPad from being number one on my top ten gadgets to buy next year?

With 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth® 3.0, the Samsung Galaxy Tab takes mobile communication to a whole new level. By combining Samsung innovation with the Android OS 2.2, the Tab is truly an always on communication and entertainment tool. Its large battery (4,000 mAh) provides more than 7 hours of movie viewing time and because it’s powered by a Cortex A8 1.0GHz application processor, it’s designed to deliver high performance.

If you think this is the alternative to iPad, watch the Tablet War video below.

Book lovers around the world have united to sing the praise of the Kindle! Every few years, technology takes a running leap in a new direction, and suddenly makes the world – or a part of it – change for the better. The Amazon Kindle is just one of those things. It retains almost everything that is good about reading a book, and just does away with all the negatives.

The most amazing thing about Kindle is the splendid way in which it replicates the reading experience of an actual book. The screen of the Kindle is a brilliant technical innovation. It looks almost exactly like a real book. Unlike reading on a backlit device (like a laptop) there’s little strain on the eyes when using Kindle. Their excellent e-ink technology lets you read for hours without straining your eyes. read more »

Thanks to Facebook, I was able to read two of my clients’ wish list. One of them wants those special cigars that are boxed nicely while the other simply wants a CD of Bruno Mars. Now if I could only buy them online as soon as possible so I’ll be the first one to give it to them. I don’t want to spend money on the items then just to see that somebody else bought it too. And since we’re on the subject of wish list, here’s mine:

Any tablet – iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Android ePad

On screen tablet for drawing / designing

A new slim desktop to replace my Studio 1750

A bluetooth headset for my iPhone

An ergonomic computer chair

Granted these are expensive but this is for my husband’s eyes only just in case he has no idea what to get me yet.

I came across a post about the top 10 gadgets for 2010. And since 2011 is fast approaching, let me do a re-post of my top three favorite from that list. I’m still trying to covet them but very much unsuccessful as of this writing.

Lenovo IdeaPad U1

It’s a notebook that looks like a laptop computer but has a detachable screen that you can use as a separate tablet computer.

Apple Tablet

Plastic Logic Que E-Reader

Predicted to be the e-reder to own in 2010. Has a sci-fi like thinness with 11.6-inch screen with touch capability.

source