tech.gadgets.video.geekculture.gaming.kittens.
toys
Start off the New Year with an iPod shuffle [Contest]
649
Last week the guys over at Golden Shellback, who make “splashproof” coatings for gadgets, sent me a 1GB silver iPod shuffle (splashproofed, of course). Since I already have an iPhone to listen to my tunes on I thought it would be fun to give it away here on the site! The “contest” is going to be very simple:
1. Leave a comment telling me what your New Year’s resolution is.
2. Post before Dec. 31st, 2008 at 11:59 PM EST.
3. I’ll randomly select one of the comments via number generator!
Please make sure to use a valid email address in the email field when you’re posting so I can contact you. I’ll give you a couple of days to respond… if you don’t, I’ll pick another random number. Good luck!
Disclaimer: Golden Shellback did not ask me to blog this, nor have I received any kind of compensation for this post. This is simply a contest to say “thank you” to my readers and to spread a little holiday cheer!
How about a T-Mobile G1 Q&A?
46
I’ve had a couple of weeks to play with the new T-Mobile G1 running Google’s Android, and I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m not going to write a full review here, because I think that’s been done quite thoroughly by others in the blogosphere (see Engadget’s full review, and Ryan’s impressions).
One thing that I have noticed while using the G1 is that I hardly ever compare it in my mind to my iPhone. They feel that different. The only times I did make a direct comparison was while using the address book (much easier to scroll to a certain letter) and using the Market for apps. Even though there aren’t as many apps out there, the quality of the apps and the organization within the store was more up my alley.
Since I’ve got this phone sitting on my desk, let me know if you have any questions about the user experience! I’ll happily answer them to the best of my ability in the comments section.
Fail of the Week: My New iPhone
121This post will be brief — I haven’t had a lot of time to scan my RSS feeds in the past week, so I don’t know how much of a widespread issue this is. My (16GB, white) iPhone is a giant pain in my ass right now, and it’s just solidifying the idea in my mind that I should have waited to pick one up until the bugs were worked out.
The main problem I’m having is this weird keyboard lag. Whenever I go to type a new text message or email, the keyboard takes forever to register that I’m trying to use it. Usually around 30 seconds or more, which seems like an eternity when you’re trying to fire off a quick note to someone.
Then there’s the battery life. I knew it was going to be worse than my old iPhone, because the 3G sucks a lot of life out of it, but holy crap… I had to charge my phone three times a day when I was at E3. And if you’re using applications with any kind of frequency, good luck. The worst part was this morning: I didn’t plug it in before I went to bed, and it was probably at a 75% charge when I last checked it. This morning? About 20%. I have never seen a gadget leak battery that quickly when it wasn’t in use.
I’ve heard through the Twitter-vine that if you restored the new iPhone from a previously saved backup it ended up less stable, and showed some of the symptoms that I’ve mentioned. I’ve also heard that it’s just a problem with the 2.0 firmware being released a bit early. No kidding. I hope that the next update makes it so I can enjoy using my phone again.
This post wasn’t so brief after all. Share your experiences in the comments and let me know how it’s all been working out for you.
R.I.P. HD DVD
44I can’t say that I’m too surprised (especially after their dismal showing at CES this year) but it appears that Toshiba is letting HD DVD go silently into the night.
The format wars have been huge news these past few years, and it feels odd to say that Blu-ray has really won. I’ve said time and time again that physical media is going to be obsolete in the very near future (in favor of HD downloads) but I’m a little shocked that Toshiba is giving up the ghost so soon. But with getting dumped by Netflix and Wal-mart, I suppose it truly was only a matter of time. For some reason, I always felt like I was in Camp HD DVD. It was totally arbitrary side-choosing, but maybe spurned on by the fact that I was raised a Red Sox fan, and thusly (until very recently) a glutton for punishment.
Well, HD DVD, it was a pretty good run. I enjoyed using my Xbox HD DVD drive, but I guess I’ll be getting more play from my PS3 now. I wonder how quickly HD DVD will leave the store walls and become eBay gold (lol). Will a whole subculture of HD DVD enthusiasts spring up? Fans that refuse to let go? How does Microsoft feel about this whole thing? Do they care? (Answer: No.)
So many questions! What do you think?