Recently in Mobile Tech Category

We've known for awhile from rumors that it was coming and now you can rent movies from iTunes at $3.99 for new releases and $2.99 for library titles.

Kind of steep when you consider that I pay Netflix less than $20 a month to keep three movies out at a time. That's approximately 12-15 movies a month. At that rate I would have to pay Apple $59.85 to rent the same amount of movies.

I can see where it would be great on a trip and I am sure I will use it at least once or twice but I don't think I'll be changing my rental habits anytime soon.

With my Great Aunt and Grandmother getting older they didn't come out here for the holidays. Actually, they never come out here any more. The big thing is that they don't want to have to negotiate the stairs. I can certainly understand that. They both have health problems and my aunt has broken her hip more than once.

I was looking at stair lifts as a possible solution to the problem. They aren't perfect but it may be enough to get them out here for awhile and I can most likely get a refurbished model at a decent price.

TIME Magazine has released their 50 top 10 lists of 2007 and topping the list of top ten gadgets is, of course, the iPhone. I have heard nothing but good things about the iPhone and the only complaint I have heard at all comes from Windows users like myself that wish it had a slider QWERTY keyboard. I got the wife an iPod Touch for Christmas (she doesn't read this site luckily) and I will play with it for a while prior to making the desicion to getting an iPhone.

The rest of the list for 2007 includes:

• The Nikon Coolpix S51c
• Netgear's SPH200W WiFi Skype Phone
• Palm Centro
• Sony Handycam HDR-CX7 - I have an older model handycam and I have always been impressed with Sony's cameras. I have really been considering replacing the one I have with something much smaller that I can actually use with one hand.
• Samsung P2
• Toshiba Portege R500-S5004 Laptop
• Flytech Dragonfly - I purchased this way back in the early summer on a trip to Wal-Mart, most likely before it got popular as I got a great price on it. The lightweight remote controlled dragonfly is extremely cool.
• Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive
• Belkin N1 Vision WiFi Router

I am definately a gadget junkie and since I only have two of the items on the list I may have to check out the rest and report back on how well they work.

I have now had the Samsung i760 for around a month or so. I am very mixed in my opinions on the phone. I like the side slider and the QWERTY keyboard quite a lot but there are some other issues, software as well as design issues that make me think that I will be upgrading to a Helio or an iPhone before summer gets here.

First off is the design of the buttons on the front face of the i760. They just suck. I hold the phone with my right hand and the placement of the end key is such that I have to be very careful or I hang up on whoever I am talking to. The buttons themselves are not very intuitive, for lack of a better word. I don't really know how to explain it other than that. Except for my wife's Motorola V3M I can normally pick up a cell phone and dial without looking at the keypad. Not so with the Razr OR with my Samsung i760. The software tends to be laggy after a bit of use, and there are some other issues but nothing major. One of the things I didn't like with the accessories was the lack of a decent case for it. I ended up getting a generic case from Wal-Mart that I have been using until today that was OK but nothing great.

I came across the Designio Samsung i760 leather case late last week and decided to order it. Since Boxwave had it on sale for $29.95 and I had not been able to find anything locally I figured it was a good deal.

From the Boxwave Website:

Hand-crafted from fine, premium grade leather, BoxWave's Designio Leather Case is a slim and soft leather case that is custom fitted for your Samsung i760.  This durable leather case protects and neatly stores your device everyday, while giving your device a timeless, classic look.
The Samsung i760 Designio Leather Case has a padded front cover and accessible interior that are made from soft leather, creating the perfect union of versatility and sophistication.  An utterly refined accessory for Samsung i760 users on the move.

 

Designio Leather Case Features:

• Form-fitting case designed to perfectly fit your Samsung i760
• Hand crafted from fine premium grade leather
• Leather has soft and smooth texture, yet is durable
• Designed with one built-in SD card holder
• Secure magnetic snap closure
• Quick access to screen and keyboard makes this case easy and convenient to use.

So what's my take on the case?

It's OK, but nothing to write home about.

I like the design of the case itself but I do have some issues with it. Number 1 on the list is the fact that there is no strap, clasp or belt hook. WTF am I supposed to do with it while I am working, stick it down my pants? The purpose if the case is to keep it from harm but if I am going to have to jam it in my pocket everywhere I go then that very quickly does away with the 'easy and convenient' factor. If they can eventually come up with a case that I can stick on the outside of my pocket or on my belt I will be switching in a heartbeat.

Number 2 is the fact that it is so form-fitting the SD card holder and credit card slots are virtually useless. If I were to try and stick anything in the slots right now they would scratch the hell out of the screen or break the cards, and the magnetic snap closure certainly wouldn't reach.

If you look at the picture to the right you can sort of see what I am talking about. The slots for cards sit right over the screen, and at least right now while the case is so new and tight I can't put anything in it. Not only that but if I don't make sure to turn the phone off prior to closing it, the case bearing down on the buttons makes it dial. That will abate somewhat as the leather stretches and I may even be able to put an SD card in the slot, which brings me to another question about the design. The i760 takes a microSD card, so why put place for an SD? I guess if I wanted to carry the adapter around that would be useful but part of the reason I got this phone was so that I would have PDA capabilities and access to my email which means no laptop and therefore no SD card reader anyway.

Over all I give the case a five out of ten, if it had a belt clip that would certainly move to an eight. If you always have big pockets available or carry a purse then this will be the perfect case for your new phone.

Back in October when I drove up to Helen for the Blogtoberfest I ended up renting a Ford F-150 and then again when the wife went to Hilton Head last month I rented another one. I am starting to look at new cars again since mine will most likely only run for another year or so, and I have mainly been looking at trucks and sport utility vehicles. Whatever I get needs to be big enough to carry the kids as well as the ton of stuff for work that fills my back seat and trunk. The F-150 nicely fits the bill and you can find a ton of truck accessories out there on the internet to nicely fix the thing up. Whatever I get I think I want to make sure that it has built-in GPS or that they will give me a deal on a portable unit. Most of the auto lots around here are including stuff like that as an incentive to buying from them so I will make sure to get the best deal that I can.

When I sent my son, the Marine, my cell phone and got a new one a couple of weeks ago one of the things I sent him along with it was my Bluetooth headset. I've had the darn thing for over a year now. I though it would be cool to have at work as well as in the car because it would make things much easier.

I hated the thing. I don't even like to wear stereo headphones when I am listening to music, much less look like some stupid fool talking to myself in the car.

He loves the thing and immediately charged it and called me with it. I sort of though he might appreciate it more than I did, which is why I sent it to him. I also picked him up a nice set of Bluetooth stereo headphones as well so that he could use them to listen to music. It should work when he's gaming on the laptop as well, which is quite an added bonus.

I grew up riding bikes. Motorcycles to be exact. Not that I am from a huge family of bikers or anything, although that's not a bad thing, but my dad rode for years and years and my first vehicle was a Honda CB400. I've also had a couple of Kawasaki's and a Yamaha (it sucked). After I moved to Carrollton in the late 80's I rode a Honda Rebel for a while but my favorite bike was a 1977 Honda CB750k. Mint condition. Man, that was a sweet bike. I am starting to look at bikes again and what I really want is a Honda Shadow like this one...

 

After Christmas I am going to start socking money aside online until I have about $10 so that I can go buy one outright. I hate car (or bike in this case) payments and would much prefer to head into the dealership in May or June with enough to buy one. The biggest caveat to the whole thing is that the wife wants me to get more life insurance before I start riding again. Something about the fact that I totaled my last bike...

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday of the year. I love the dead as Alice Cooper would say...Some years I just don't get the chance to decorate although the last year or two I've been collecting more and more decorations. I have gotten the graveyard finished, here are some pics, with a couple of little corpses helpers in them...

Luckily I managed to get the 30th and 31st off this year. Since I am the one that made out the itinerary for my managers, one would think that I actually planned it that way.

I had to quit about halfway through decorating though...

I have to be in control of everything for some reason...and once children get involved and aren't doing everything perfectly of course I start getting ill. I'm aware of it and sometimes I do better than others but after a couple of hours of stepping on stuff that had been placed in my way I was done for the evening. It was about time for supper by then anyway.

Thank goodness for digital cameras so I can get this stuff as it happens and then put it online. I have always taken tons of photos but in the old days the film would sit here forever before I would finally take it and get it developed.

The state of Missouri is going to try and expand high speed Internet access to rural Missouri. According to the press release from Governor Matt Blunt's office:

"No Missourian should be left out of today's technology
based economy because of where they live," Blunt said. "Expanding
access to high-speed Internet in Missouri's rural communities is an
important step for economic development, agriculture and education. I
have created the Rural High-Speed Internet Access Task Force to help
ensure we are doing all we can to deliver current technology to the
doorstep of every Missourian who wants it as quickly as possible."

Sooner or later most everyone in the country will end up being wired or at least have the capability. That will be nice as in the next few years I can see myself moving to some place smaller such as Branson Missouri.

Recently I talked about the partnership that Apple and Starbucks were going to launch to make iTunes downloads available. The Associated Press has a report on the launch...