Sunday, December 9, 2007

The Blackberry Curve Fits!

I held it! It's light, and it fits in one hand :) Actually, it's lighter than my iPhone. I don't know where it gets it's name from. There isn't anything curvy about it. Maybe it just sounds good...Curve. Do I like it better than the iPhone? No. Yet, I'll admit it would be my second choice. It has some very nice features. Unfortunately, the AT&T store I visited didn't have it powered on. As a matter of fact, it appeared the only phone on display you could actually play with was the iPhone. (Another example of Apple's dictatorship?...hmmm) So, most of the information I share with you here is from two good reviews. I read NY Times Circuit's David Pogue review from back in May when the first version came out. Yes, I discovered the Curve did beat the iPhone to market, yet like I said last week once I heard about the iPhone, I heard and saw nothing else. The Blackberry Curve commercials you're seeing on TV now are because Research In Motion (R.I.M), the maker of Blackberry, added GPS or Wi-Fi models and released them last month. AT&T opted for the GPS model and T-mobile opted for the Wi-Fi model. I also read CNET's Bonnie Cha review on the new models.

My favorite feature on the Curve is the ability to listen to music and answer calls wirelessly. I have no tolerance for wires. My tolerance is so low I got my first wireless (bluetooth) headset in 2003 (yes, I was another early adopter). For the Curve you can buy a wireless headset (bluetooth) that allows you to listen to music and answer calls while your phone is in your purse, pocket, or in the passenger seat of your car (which is where mine phone usually gets tossed or it's in a cup holder). I suspect there are compatibility issues with these stereo headsets and the iPhone becuase the bluetooth version on the iPhone is older than the one used for the new bluetooth stereo headsets. I'll explore this topic in a future posts, since I'd bet iPhones and iPods will support these headsets in the near future.

Back to the Curve…The next feature that sounds really great is the GPS system. I love my navigation system in my SUV, and I have become very dependent on it (some might say attached). I also use Google Maps all the time on my iPhone when looking for a place I'm walking to or as a back up reference. My SUV's navigation system isn't as up to date. Unfortunately, this feature on the Curve is provided by AT&T at an extra monthly fee and Bonnie reported it took 10 minutes for AT&T's Tel Nav system to determine their present location. Yuck!

There are other great features, like the 2.0MP (mega pixel) camera w/ a flash and 5x zoom. Yet, both Bonnie and Dave reported that the picture quality was just ok. The picture still looked like it came from a phone.


The biggest downside is the storage. The Curve plays music and videos, yet they will have to be stored on a compact flash memory cards (micro-SD) because the phone only has 64MB (mega bytes) internal memory. And you have to remove the battery to install the memory card. So, if you purchase a fairly large memory card, like 4G, you should only have to do this once. The other feature that I am personally not a fan of is the keyboard. At first glance it looks like hieroglyphics. I read it’s an improvement over the other Blackberry models. It is a full traditional keyboard (QWERTY), yet it is the smallest keyboard R.I.M has ever made. So, I'll admit I’ve reached that age where glasses are not an option. And this admission might make me very biased, still, I prefer to be able to read the keyboard at a glance. And I know once you know your keyboard you don’t have to look at it to use it. And I still don’t like it.

Overall, out of the features that I like all three of them will cost you an extra fee. That's a bummer. Other than that the Curve has all the features Blackberry has become known for -- like real-time email from your corporate and personal accounts -- and it even improves on some of them. So, for the price ($199 at AT&T with contract), it seems to be a great option to the iPhone.
Please forgive all the comparisons to the iPhone. I’ll remedy this by reviewing my iPhone experiences next time. I’ve had a lot of them and I have read a lot of really good tips and little known features. So, I’ll sift and sort out the stuff I think is really worth knowing whether you have an iPhone or not.
Until next time, remember, knowledge is the ultimate fashion accessory!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

I'm taking a look at the Blackberry Curve

I’m taking a look at the Blackberry Curve out of curiosity. Why? Well, before the iPhone changed my life I was committed to my Motorola Razr V3. I was an early adopter of the original Razr V3 just like I was with the iPhone. Basically, when a co-worker placed the Razr in my hand, I screamed! I was hooked in an instant. I’m that girl that knows what she wants right away. A week and $500 later I owned a Razr. I was loyal to my Razr for the simple reason that it was the first phone I had that fit anywhere I put it. It was sleek and slim. So, when Blackberry became popular and I saw people checking their emails on the train, the airport, and generally anywhere while they were out and about, I wanted to do the same. Fortunately, I discovered I could on my Razr. Unfortunately, it was a slow and frustrating experience. So, I went to AT&T (my service provider since 1997) to check out the Blackberry. Even though it had a keyboard that wouldn’t require me to hunt for “c” behind “a”, and “b”, even though I could check my email on all my accounts, and it even had a screen that would allow me to read more than 3 words at a time (the Razr's screen was big when it first came on the market), I still couldn’t adapt to the Blackberry. Size was everything to me. In this context smaller is better ;). For two years I would go check out Blackberry smart phones at the store, and they were always too bulky and unattractive. I refused to compromise. At on point, in a moment of weakness I even got a cheap used one from a friend that was upgrading and never took it out of the box. So, had Blackberry Curve beaten Apple in the slim PDA race by at least a mile I would have bought a Blackberry first for certain. It would have to have been a mile at least. This metaphor translates to at least a year before the iPhone because when the iPhone was announced six months before it’s release it was all I wanted -- no other device turned my head. So, now that Blackberry has finally come out with their version of a slim smart phone, I thought I should at least take a look at what they came up with.
I have read two reviews, and gone through the official website, yet before I give you all of my two cents I have to go see it. I can’t stop wondering about it’s real size ;) So, I’m off to the store…
Remember, technology should adapt to you, not you to it.

Go Gadget Gurl!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Black Friday Bargains!!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm sitting amongst all the newspaper ads. I only have Internet access via my iPhone at my mom's home. So this will be a short post. My mom has webtv dial-up which is really only good for her email. The best web-only and in-store deals are going to be found by checking out retail websites like http://bestbuy.com and http://wal-mart.com.

The Apple Store starts its special deals at 12AM PST at http://store.apple.com and all retail stores have special hours tomorrow. Among the newspaper ads Best Buy is the only retailer offering all instant savings deals. Other retailers' best deals are based on mail-in rebates. I have only had "sometimes I get it" success with rebates. So, I skipped those deals. Finally, there are websites that track the best deals like http://bfads.net, http://blackfriday.com, and http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com. Below are a few of the best deals I found. Happy Thanks-taking!

  • Best Buy Panasonic 42" Plasma $899.99 (small print 15 per store)
  • Best Buy Sony laptop 1GB/120GB/DVD+RW $399.99 (small print 15 per store)
  • Radio Shack Magellan Maestro 3100 $129.99
Sent from my iPhone

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Finally!

It feels good to be back :) I have been on a long hiatus doing personal development, yet my Gadget Gurl persona was always in effect. I absolutely love my iPhone. I have read reviews that call it "elegant". I agree. I spoke to an iPhone user yesterday and she said it soothed her. Scrolling through her contacts list slowed her down during the day. I agree again. When I'm frantic and I attempt to scroll, my iPhone doesn't respond elegantly to my taps. It jumps from K to Z and back to A, that visual cue of my energy snaps me out of my mind frick and I focus on the task of looking up a number or appt. I slow down, lightly tap the screen, and my iPhone responds to me like a gentle breeze. My new iPhone user friend and I shared experiences for a half hour. This spontaneous conversation confirmed it was time to slow down and hang out with Go Go Gadget Gurl again. So, this isn't a random, one off post. I plan to follow-up with a review of the Blackberry Curve, the lastest in the new thin trend (actually it's hardly a trend since we want our technology smaller and smaller...implants are already on the fringe), take reader polls on your favorite mobile phone, favorite and worst mobile phone feature, and of course support my iPhone friends with the latest Apple news, hacks, and rumors on what's next...speaking of what's next I'll report on Thanksgiving the best gadget bargains I find in the newspaper inserts for all you Black Friday shopaholics ;)

Sunday, June 3, 2007

iPhone Coming June 29!!

Well it’s official! The iPhone is to be released June 29th. I am relieved! Apple officially announced it in their new iPhone commercials. I don’t know about you, but it’s easier for me to wait when I have an end date. Hence the countdown clock to the left (courtesy of www.hashemian.com). Woohoo! It’s less than a month away! ☺ I have also added a subscription form, so I don’t spam everyone every time I add an new entry to this blog. Sign up and you’ll be sent update notices automatically via email. And if you don’t sign up I won’t spam you. So, sign up! The subscription form is under the iPhone image to the left. Finally, I want to thank everyone that received my initial announcement. Your feedback was great! ☺ I want to especially thank C Dotson ;) for submitting the first comment and inquiry. I did some research and the rumor is the Chinese character version of the iPhone will be released in 2008. I’ll keep you posted.
Well now it’s time to get ready for our iPhones. If you’re like me I don’t use the Contacts and Calendar on my iPod. Since iTunes will be used to sync the Calendar and Contacts, I think it’s time to do some testing. I have an iPod Nano, an iPod Photo, and an iPod Video (I know, way too many, maybe I’ll post one or two on craigslist). So, my next post will be on the migration of my contacts and calendar from my Moto Razr V3 and my Palm Tungsten E (I told you I held out) to my iPods. This will be done on my PowerBook G4 and my iMac. If I’m feeling especially generous I might test iTunes on a PC. It all depends on my patience quotient, and if anyone really wants me too ;)
Have a miraculous week!
Go Go Gadget Gurl!

Monday, May 28, 2007

The Apple iPhone is Sweeet!

So, after reviewing what I wrote on Sunday. I decided maybe it was a good time to check out the keynote Steve Jobs gave at MacWorld in January 'O7 in which he announced the iPhone. I'm sure you all are thinking that I would have already done that, but I hadn't....for some reason I kept putting it off everytime I visited the apple.com site to look at iPhone pictues and read about it (yes, I did this more than a few times). I have to say, now, after looking at the keynote, the iPhone is Sweeet! I am more excited now than I was before....maybe it was a good thing I waited to listen to the keynote, because I really really really want one now. I woke up this morning feeling like I've been waitin' in line for tickets to see a Prince concert (and that's the only artist I have ever stood in line to get tickets for). My favorite feature? Visual Voicemail. You see a voice mail list. It's a list of your voice mails on the screen, and you can select which one you want to listen to. If you want to listen to the fifth message, you don't have to listen to the four before it, or skip through them to get to the fifth message. You just select the fifth message from the list, or the second, or the third, it's your choice! Nice!

Oh yeah I have one take back -- the web sync with your .Mac account idea -- it seems that I was a little over zealous with that idea. The Apple iPhone is going to sync through iTunes for PC and Mac users. So, you'll sync your calendar and your contacts through iTunes the same way iPod users sync up the contacts and calender on their iPod now (I'm guessing they do, I don't...yet) -- put the iPhone on it's dock and it automatically charges and syncs contacts, calendar, music, video, and photos. Very cool. I still like the web sync idea...future feature.

Finally, I decided to check out some Apple iPhone forums to see if their were updates on the release date, and what the memory sizes will be, because a salesperson at Cingular told me the iPhone would be released in 20GB, 40GB, and 80GB models. From everything I've read today this is way wrong. In the MacWorld announcement Steve Jobs said it would be released in 4GB and 8GB models. After reviewing everythingiphone.com and cnet.com I found no recent news disputing this. Those sizes seem small for video, but the sizes are the same as the iPod Nano's memory sizes. And the iPod Nano is the best-selling iPod in the iPod family. 'Nuff said until we get to use it. On the forums and news it seems that Apple is now saying the release date is late June. The latest date I saw was June 29th. Some reports said June 2oth. Ugh! And there is a news report saying that the release will definitely not coincide with WWDC '07 which starts June 11th. Ugh! I know, I know, "Patience is a virtue. Whenever the iPhone is released , it will be the perfect time"...yada, yada ,yada....I want my iPhone;) Go Go Gadget Gurl!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Gadget Gurl's iPhone Wait

I have been waiting for the iPhone since I heard the review on it in January. My Dad knows me so well that when I saw him a few days after the announcement, the first thing he said to me was so you’ll be getting a new phone in June. YEAH BABY!!! ☺ I have asked about this iPhone every where I’ve been. I have been to the Bay Street Apple Store in Emeryville, CA the Apple Store in Thousand Oaks, the Apple Store in Atlantic City, NJ, the 5th Avenue Apple Store asking two simple questions: Have you seen the iPhone? Do you know when it will be released? The answer to both has been no. I have even asked at my local Cingular Store more than once. The last time I was in there he said bring it by when you get it, hmmm…what makes him think I’ll have one before his store does….I wonder ;) All I know is I can’t wait! (metaphorically, obviously I have been for almost 6 months!) I wish Apple was taking pre-orders!

When I first heard the iPhone announcement on NPR (National Public Radio) I was driving down San Pablo Ave in Berkeley, CA and I screamed. Two things got me excited one it was an integrated phone, pda, and ipod; two it was being released on Cingular. My prayers had been answered, well maybe that’s strong…the tech snob in me at least had been validated…When Motorola’s Razr V3 became so common every other person on the street had one, I started hiding mine. That’s when I knew it was time for me to get the next latest and greatest. So I looked for a slim pda and saw nothing I liked. I was even willing to for go the scream…I screamed when someone placed the Razr in my hand for the first time. When Motorola announced the Motorola Q, I was excited, but after investigating it, it turned out it wasn’t worth changing plans for. It was wider than I wanted and it wasn’t touch screen...I heard rumors they were going to release a version for Cingular, but we haven’t seen that and we probably won’t since Cingular will be riding the iPhone wave all the way to the bank (imho). It is going to be a hot summer for both!

So, why am I so excited about the iPhone and I haven’t even seen it yet. Well, first it is made by Apple, and I am biased. I’m writing this blog on my PowerBook G4 I have had for almost 4 years (so I’ve been ready to upgrade), and I have an iMac desktop. I love my Macs. I wouldn’t call myself a Mac geek though, I used to have a Sony VAIO laptop, but now that I run Windows XP on my iMac using Parallels Desktop I have passed the VAIO on to charity. I love the design, feel, and look of Apple products. And the iPhone, from looking at Job’s Keynote will not disappoint. It’s sleek and slim which is a must for me. Next, it’s an integrated phone, calendar, address book, photo album, web browser, and 80GB ipod -- it might come smaller, but I don’ play small); This configuration means it’s an itsy bitsy mac (can’t cal it a mini mac for obvious reasons) in the palm of my hand that will fully sync with my iCal, Address Book, and video and photo albums on my laptop, desktop, and web (.mac account). This is sort of an aside but with the iPhone Apple introduces a whole new market for the use of their .Mac program. iPhone users will be able to keep their calendars, and address books backed up on the web whether they are pc users or not. Other companies may already offer this, but they don’t have the market presence Apple does. This may surprise you but I am typically the type of person that routes for the underdog. Apple use to be one when it was Apple vs. Microsoft; but in the music player arena it’s Microsoft who? (I can’t totally dis’ Microsoft thought I am using MS Word right now).

The iPhone is rumored to be released June 11th, or 14th. I know it will probably be available at WWDC ’07 at the Moscone in SF, CA which coincidentally NOT! starts June 11th. But, I have to be in Orlando for the Cyberwize (what is Cyberwize, you ask?) International Convention starting on the 14th. So, I am just going to manifest my perfect connection to get my first iPhone. Stay tuned…I’m off on my adventure…holla back GO! GO! Gadget Gurl! ☺