BlackBerry Bold & The HTC Fuze

On my exercise tour of Honolulu yesterday, I decided to stop by the AT&T store. I checked out the BlackBerry Storm and the G1 (sort of) earlier this week so I wanted to see the latest and greatest at my home store.

BlackBerry Bold

The first thing I wanted to check out was the BlackBerry Bold. After having used the Storm, I already had some expectations of the Bold. In general, I actually liked the Bold more than the Storm. I thought it was easier to navigate on the Bold. On the Storm, the whole "pressing down the screen" thing did not agree with me as far as menu navigation. However, the physical keyboard is not any easier to use than the Storm's virtual keyboard. My fat fingers are a bit big for the tiny buttons. And the shift key is a bit low for my tastes. So, ironically, the biggest beef I have with BlackBerrys in general is the keyboard - which is also the reason why BlackBerry users hate the iPhone. If I HAD to get a BlackBerry, I'd get a Bold. The only thing that the Storm has over the Bold is a bigger screen. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it's a better overall experience.

HTC Fuze

After feeling the hardware of the HTC G1, I was amazed to find that the Fuze was so much more solid! It didn't feel like a flimsy piece of plastic. The Fuze has a nice car-like glossy finish. The hinges that connect the screen to the keyboard are on BOTH sides of the phone, which means you can't simply peel the screen away from the phone like with the G1. The keyboard is also superior to the G1. The keys are raised enough to have a nice feel to them. The G1's keys are too flush. In fact, I have an easier time typing on the Fuze than on any BlackBerry I've tried. I also like the touchscreen on the Fuze, which seems easier to use than the Storm and the Bold doesn't have a touchscreen. The only thing about the Fuze is that it runs Windows Mobile 6.1. If the Fuze ran on the Android platform, I think it could really compete against the iPhone. As it stands, I'd get a Fuze over the BlackBerry.

Today's Long Walk

I was a little tired today so I took a shorter long walk.

As usual, I used the iPhone app Distance Meter Pro [iTunes link].

V-MODA Vibe II

I admit - I'm an iPhone snob. I bought the most expensive 16GB iPhone 3G in the limited edition white. I bought the Contour Showcase to somewhat obscure its whiteness, yet there's a window to tell you, "Hey! I got a white iPhone!" Hell, I even went through a lot of time, money and trouble to get LIVE television on my iPhone!

But there's no status symbol more telling of a person's wealth or ego than his or her headphones. If you've been on a bus or train these days, EVERYONE has their earbuds on and listening to their iPod, iPhone, Zune, etc.

I also have to admit that I actually LIKED the stock headphones that came with my iPhone 3G. The only thing I could really compare them with was my old second-generation iPod Nano headphones, and the iPhone ones were better. Plus, I LOVED using the headphones to take calls.

But, as soon as I found out that there were better headphones with call-taking capabilities, I was THERE! Since I could afford them, I went out and bought a pair of chrome V-MODA Vibe Duos for $99. I heard they were good, and they were right. I love the lows and mids on these babies. I still use them today. Did I mention I was an audio snob as well?

But now, V-MODA has come out with the Vibe II - a more upscale headphone for the Beverly Hills-type. If the Vibe Duos were supposed to be sleek and elegant, then the Vibe II is definitely raucous and shameless. Personally, I like the this particular Vibe II with its "Nero" color (pictured, left).

The silicone earbuds comes in two colors and four different sizes.

It also comes with "earhooks" that add stability to the headphones when running or exercising. I would love to see how that works.

And one of the best parts of the whole package is the nice leather case to keep your Vibes protected.

And these new Vibes can also take calls like the old ones.

However, the price is quite a bit more expensive at $128. That's about $60 away from the cheapest iPhone! V-MODA says the price is a nod to the 128-BPM of most dance tracks. Pfft. How tacky. But, if my current headphones suddenly went dead, don't be surprised if you see these in my ears the next time I go street-hiking.

UPDATE: Saw the Vibe II at the Apple Store. They only had the red ones. Sold them for $120 but not on sale for Black Friday. The earhooks are REALLY cool! They wrap around your ear and keeps the headphones in place. I wish I could sell my current Vibe Duo and pick these up!

BlackBerry Storm & T-Mobile G1: Hands On

Instead of simply speculating about how the latest mobile phones work, I decided to go and try them for myself.
BlackBerry Storm

I went to the Bishop Street Verizon store in Downtown Honolulu. They were amazingly friendly and helpful. I guess this time of day wasn't that busy for them. So, one of the employees really helped me to understand all the functions of the BlackBerry Storm.

As an avid iPhone user, I thought I might be overly tough on the Storm. But, I was pleasantly surprised that I did like the overall feel of the device.

I didn't think the keyboard was as bad as everyone else makes it out to be. Sure, you can't type faster than on the iPhone because you have to press the whole screen down and let go before typing another button. But, I was able to get adequate speed. I thought the predictive text worked fine. Although the screen didn't have the sophistication of multi-touch, it could swipe and double-tap nicely. The one thing I did notice was that when I pushed buttons closer to the edges of the screen it didn't work 100% of the time. If there was a criticism about that screen, that would be it.

Not all was good with my Storm experience though. I hated the browser. If Opera Mini was available I'd throw it on that bad boy immediately. Also, the GPS was a bit tough to use. On the iPhone, one tap of a button gives you your current location very close to real-time. I had to jump through hoops to get my current location on the VZ Navigator. But, the one great feature of Navigator was getting traffic reports. For whatever reason, traffic reports on the iPhone does not work in Hawaii. That's no surprise because the Navigation system in my Acura can't get traffic reports either but it can on the mainland. But, for some reason Verizon in Hawaii can.

As I expected, video on the Storm was NOT in widescreen. In fact, the trailer that was preloaded was for "Babylon A.D." The familiar green preview screen was in widescreen but the rest of the trailer was in fullscreen. Very odd. I tried to double tap to see if it would transform into widescreen but to no avail.

Loading pictures also seemed to take forever. It was probably loading them from the MicroSD card. Music on the Storm seemed to play very quickly. I'm not sure if they were loaded on the 1GB of onboard storage or on the MicroSD card.

I just also want to mention that there is no Wi-Fi capability for the Storm, which to me is a dealbreaker.

The person who helped me was so gracious that she even let me take a picture of the Storm using my iPhone! If I ever had to switch carriers, I would make it Verizon.

UPDATE: I remember now the one thing that really bugged me about the Storm's keyboard: a lack of a proper shift key! It has a one key upper/lower case selector in vertical mode. I suppose the landscape mode is a bit better, but the upper/lower case selector is a bit too low for my tastes.

T-Mobile G1
Then, I went to the Alakea Street T-Mobile store about a block away.

There was a long line of people waiting to be helped. I certainly did not want to stand in that line and no one was free to help me. So, I never did get to try the best part of the T-Mobile G1 which is its Android software platform.

The only thing I can comment about is the physical hardware of the G1 since the floor models were not actual working versions. After you hold the iPhone 3G and the BlackBerry Storm, holding the G1 in your hand is like holding a Nintendo Game Boy. Whereas the other two phones are sleek and sexy, the G1 feels like it is made from very cheap plastic. It's nice and light, but the "cool" factor is not there. It also didn't help that one of the floor models was broken: the hinge of the screen that reveals the physical keyboard was broken. That REALLY made me think that the hinge could someday break off like the floor model. The way the screen hinge moves is quite violent instead of elegant. And the physical keyboard itself did not feel good. The keys are so flush that you REALLY have to press down to make sure you hit the key.
And, to me, the trackball at the bottom also feels cheap. Another thing that really disturbed me was that I could literally pull the screen off at the top of the phone since there is no hinge there to prevent me from doing that. I'm sure the Android software is revolutionary. But, the hardware leaves a lot to be desired.

Scan Barcodes With Your iPhone

So, your friend has a new T-Mobile G1 Android phone and shows you how ShopSavvy can scan barcodes and find competing prices over the internet. iPhone users, however, cannot do that with a stock iPhone. But, with some money and some patience it can be done.

1) Buy a Griffin Clarifi case. The case comes with a lens that slides over your existing lens to take close-up shots. It retails for $34.99 according to the Griffin website.

2) Download Snappr.net from the App Store for free.

Here's a video of how the Clarifi case works with Snappr.net:

Now, I do not have the Clarifi case or the Snappr.net app so I cannot vouch for the quality of these products. If Griffin Technology would send me a Clarifi case to review, I would gladly do so.

Shopping With TheFind

Well, it's that time of year again! Black Friday is this coming Friday and it's going to be crazy! To make your shopping a little easier, there is another free shopping app called TheFind: Where To Shop. It may not have as many features as another app I reviewed called Slifter, but TheFind is just as useful.
TheFind uses your GPS to find where you are and it displays the stores that are closest to you that has the product you want. However, the list isn't sorted from closest to farthest. That may have been a good feature.




But, the app does have a map so you can graphically see which stores are nearest.

You can also check out prices on the web to see how they compare with the store prices.

If you want a no-nonsense app for your shopping, TheFind is great. Although you don't get some of the features like Slifter, you also don't have to give up your telephone number.

You can get TheFind for free in the App Store.

And while you're doing that, you can enjoy a fan video of my favorite song about shopping called "Shopping" by the Barenaked Ladies:

iPhone OS 2.2 Adventure

What a week it has been for my iPhone! Yesterday, I lose network connectivity for half the day. Then last night, my iPhone was bricked and my iPhone USB driver was damaged after I tried to upgrade to OS 2.2!

Last night I saw that OS 2.2 was ready for an update. I decided to try and update it before I go to work. It downloaded to iTunes fine and then my iPhone made a backup. But, at the very end of the installation I get an error that 2.2 was not installed. And in one fell swoop, my iPhone was stuck on the screen, just like this picture I posted, and then iTunes all of a sudden could not recognize my iPhone so I couldn't even RESTORE!
So, I had to go to work with a bricked iPhone.

After work, I went to the Apple Store just so that I could get my iPhone restored. Then, I came back home and it took me 3-4 hours to figure out that my Apple Mobile Device USB Driver wasn't working right and I had to get it replaced. Unfortunately, uninstalling and reinstalling iTunes didn't do the trick. What I had to do was go into Control Panel and uninstall iTunes and uninstall the Apple Mobile Device Application. Then, I could reinstall iTunes, launch iTunes and then connect my USB cord to my iPhone and it finally reinstalled the driver.

Thankfully, iTunes still had my backup from last night. However, my backup didn't reload all my applications, music and videos. I'm reinstalling those right now.

I'm sure I'll like the 2.2 upgrade. I'm just not a big fan of it right now.

No Service In Honolulu

No AT&T service in Honolulu today since about 7:00 a.m. Hawaii time. At around 6:00 a.m. the network intermittently went in and out.

I heard that the Honolulu Police Department uses AT&T for their cell phones.

I hope it comes back up soon.

UPDATE: At around 10:20 a.m. I got phone service back. At around 11:30 a.m. EDGE data was back. Then, at 12:30 p.m. 3G was back. Seemed like an eternity!

Video Review: OrbLive for the iPhone

List of Orb-compatible TV tuners

Specs for my PC running Orb: AMD Athlon 64 2.2Ghz 3400+, 2GB RAM, PNY Nvidia 7600GS 512MB video card. As far as I can tell, Orb has not been developed for the Mac.

Who Will Buy The BlackBerry Storm?

Although I am an iPhone user, I make no apologies for being a fan of the BlackBerry Storm. Whereas most of the supposed "iPhone Killer" phones are less than threatening, I think the Storm really does stand side-by-side with the iPhone.

It is obviously a better business phone overall with better Exchange integration, MS Word/Excel functions and more flexible email options. Other features that the iPhone doesn't have are as follows: MMS, stereo Bluetooth, video recording, 1.2 more megapixels for its camera, auto-focus and copy & paste.

I have read a lot of articles about the Storm and the lingering question remains: Who will buy the BlackBerry Storm?

People who love the BlackBerry are mobile phone users who generally WANT to have a physical keyboard instead of a virtual keyboard. Even though the touchscreen on the Storm has a sort of "cushiony" feel to it so that it feels like you're pressing buttons, I'm not sure it's a replacement for a real one. So, I'm not sure that current BlackBerry users will be upgrading to the Storm.

Perhaps the Storm will pull current iPhone users who need the features that the iPhone doesn't have? I think so. Some people just have to use it for work. On iPhone message boards that I peruse, many say they will get the Storm for work and use the iPhone for play. As far as I can tell, those two phones complete each other.

Personally, if I was in the market for a mobile phone I would seriously look at the BlackBerry Storm. In the end though, the lack of wi-fi capability would be a dealbreaker. Still, I think the Storm IS the best mobile phone to go head-to-head with the iPhone at this time. It's no surprise that the next iPhone OS upgrade will be available this Friday, the same day as the Storm debut.

UPDATE: Reviews for the Storm are coming in and they don't look good. The biggest complaint: the darned touchscreen.
Engadget
The Boy Genius Report
phonedog.com

RhinoBall - Free Movie Tie-In Game!

If you have read my blog before, you probably know that I like iPhone apps that have movie tie-ins. Some have been more successful than others.

I saw "RhinoBall" [iTunes link] a few weeks ago and I bypassed it because it was free and I didn't know it had anything to do with a movie. But, today I found it again and this 3D hamster-in-a-ball racing game is based on the upcoming Disney animated film "Bolt" that's coming out this Friday.

You have to guide our hamster Rhino to the finish line and at the same time gather these mini-bolts. The graphics are great considering it is a free game. However, the accelerometer controls leave a lot to be desired. I suppose if the controls were spot on then it would be too easy of a game. Before you get to a ramp, make sure you build up enough speed to get some "hamster air." There are movie cut-scenes in between the levels. The app also comes with the movie trailer and a TV ad.

This is a quality free game. I knew a company like Disney, with a lot of money, could put out a quality game app for free. Kudos also to AvatarLabs who actually did the grunt work to develop the game. Download it. Now.

Atari 2600 Nostalgia Ported To The iPhone

A "new" game on the iPhone is a blast from the the Atari past. I'm pretty sure the two games that came with the Atari 2600 was "Combat" and "Adventure." Well, someone has ported "Adventure" [iTunes link] to the small screen of the iPhone and it's free in the App Store.

It wasn't much of a game then, and it still isn't much of a game now. There's three levels: easy, hard and expert. Mind you, this is not a difficulty setting. There are only three total levels which get progressively harder.

You use the accelerometer to move your little square. A tap on the screen picks up or drops an item. It's a very simple game.

Only people who played the original game will want to download this. Still, it's a welcome memory from the infancy of electronics.

Ziibii - The River Of Information

I'm always intrigued by iPhone apps that try to do it all. Most of the time, it ends up being a "jack-of-all-trades, master of none." But, I always HOPE that someone can get it right.

This bring me to Ziibii [iTunes link]. It is basically a feed reader mixed in with Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube updates. And the way you read the headlines is in a most unusual way: Each story is on a "surfboard" that's flowing down a "river." You can always pause the river and swipe to see what's downstream. If you don't like the river view, you can choose to see it in a list.

This free app basically does what it says. Personally, I don't feel that the "river" concept is for me. I also don't feel that having Twitter comments mixed in with everything else really fits. If you see a Tweet you want to respond to, you'll have to get out of the app to do so. Also, YouTube doesn't work very well within the app.

Still, I would have to say that this is a very unique way of reading feeds. It's just not for me.

Slifter For Your Holiday Shopping

It's that time of year again. One of the busiest shopping days of the year is almost upon us. And, I just found an iPhone app that could make your shopping a LOT easier.

Slifter is free in the Apple App Store. It uses your GPS to locate where you are. Then, you type in the product that you are looking for. It will give you a list of products to choose from. Click on the one you want and it will list where you can buy it and the prices. You can also filter by retailer and the brand.

Recently, I bought a TV tuner for my PC on eBay. But, that was after I did some personal shopping with no luck. This app definitely would have saved me some drive time that I wasted.

With this native app, you can also build your shopping list. It would be nice to attach some names to the items for a Christmas shopping list.

And finally, there is a "Hot Deals" tab. Unfortunately, to get the most out of that function, you'll need to give up a phone number. You could also skip it but the app says you will lose some functionality.

I can't wait to use this app for my Christmas shopping. I hope it will save me a lot of time and heartache.

As The Economy Worsens, The iPhone Sells!

As a follow-up to my blog about how the iPhone is no longer a status symbol for the rich, the latest report by comScore, Inc. shows that the strongest growth in iPhone sales have been in America's middle-class.
The price of the cheapest iPhone was cut in half back on July 11th of this year when the 8GB iPhone 3G was introduced at $199. So it's no surprise that between June and August of this year, there have been 48% more iPhone users in the $25,000 - $49,999 annual income range. iPhone users who make $50,000 - $74,999 a year also jumped by 46%.
The report says that people are discovering in this tough economic time that having an iPhone actually saves money. Instead of buying a separate iPod, mobile phone, PDA, GPS device and portable gaming device, you can get all of those functions with an iPhone 3G.
But don't count out the rich just yet. 43% of all iPhone users make more than $100,000 annually.

Rebecca Mader: My New Favorite LOST Star!

On Friday, I was having a bad day. But, I'm much better now thanks to LOST star Rebecca Mader!
She accepted my friend request on Facebook today. Now, I have to admit that she might not accept EVERYONE'S friend request. But, luckily, I have a few friends already on her friend list so I suppose I was a safe acceptance.
Still, it DID make my day. At least I know Rebecca Mader does not feel she's above all of us "normal" people. And I do feel like I have some connections with LOST. I did get to visit the set for one day. I've met pretty much all the main cast members.
Now, I'm waiting for Yunjin Kim to accept my Facebook friend request....

EDIT: A reliable source has told me that the Yunjin Kim on Facebook is probably not the LOST actress. Oh well... I'm just glad to have met her in person... TWICE!

UPDATE: I just made a new "Lost" blog called Ben's Frozen Donkey Wheel. All of my thoughts on "Lost" will be there from now on.

iPhone No Longer A Status Symbol

So, you think your iPhone is still a device only for those rolling in the dough? Think again.
I'm sure by now you heard about the rumors that the iPhone 3G will be sold at Wal*Mart. I know that story angered those who feel that the iPhone should be a status symbol like a Mercedes.
Now, MacRumors.com is reporting that Costco could be selling the iPhone 3G in January for $149.
Keep in mind that the iPhone started out at $599 when it debuted in June 2007. The 8GB 3G currently sells for $199 and the 16GB goes for $299. Evidently, the economic downturn has forced Apple to widen its consumer net.
Ultimately, this is good news for iPhone users because a bigger user base means more support for innovative software. And, hopefully, Apple will get its act together and give us everything they promised at the WWDC back in June 2008.

Rovio: HOT Tech Gadget This Christmas

If I wasn't spending some money to get live television on my computer and iPhone, I might have bought the Rovio WiFi-enabled mobile web cam.
It's super cool: a cross between a simple remote-controlled car and a state-of-the-art web cam with microphone and speaker.
And now, Rovio owners can control their little robot with their iPhone with the free RovioDriver app.
Here's a few videos demonstrating with the Rovio can do:

What A Bad Year For Seattle Sports

The Seattle Mariners lost their head coach and finished the 2008 MLB season with a dismal 61-101 record.
The Seattle Seahawks are under first-year head coach Jim Mora and are 2-6 with a banged-up quarterback. They are also missing a great running game they enjoyed in their Super Bowl run a few years ago.
The University of Washington Huskies are 0-8 with no light at the end of the tunnel and head coach Tyrone Willingham will step down at the end of the season.
And, to me, the most disappointing news out of them all is that Seattle no longer has an NBA team.
The team that used to be called the Seattle Sonics (or, Supersonics) is now the Oklahoma City Thunder. I just realized that in the past few days when I looked at the NBA scoreboard.
The Oklahoma City Thunder. They may as well be called the Washington Generals, as they will be the inferior team to the "Harlem Globetrotters" of the league.
This is obviously a year of CHANGE in more ways than one. And some changes are more difficult to swallow than others.

John McCain Wins!!!

...in my blog's presidential poll at least.

Congratulations John McCain!

You are the president of iPhone 3G & Me!

I'm the CEO and owner, so I'm YOUR boss! :P

2008 U.S. Presidential Election Results

Keep track of who is winning the presidential race! And don't forget to vote in the poll in my previous blog entry.

Insomniac Presidential Poll

I can't sleep. So, I'm making a presidential poll. I already cast an absentee ballot and I was surprised at all the people who are running for president and vice-president. So, in fairness, I am including all of them in my poll. The poll closes a minute before midnight, Hawaii Standard Time, on Election Day.

Japanese iPhone Commercial

Here's an interesting iPhone commercial from Japan. It features a talking dog who loves the iPhone. If only his paws could actually take advantage of the iPhone's multi-touch screen. :P Enjoy!

Looks Matter More For Female Presidential Candidates?

FOXNews.com is reporting that a study by Northwestern university researchers show a female presidential candidate needs both looks and competence to win over the public, while male candidates can get by with only competence.

However, I believe in the modern age I think looks DID play a part in the presidential elections. Let's take a look back:

• President Bush vs. Al Gore & John Kerry - To me, Gore and Kerry looked like the stodgy Republicans while Bush has always been loosey-goosey. Bush barely wins.
• Bill Clinton vs. Bob Dole & Bush Sr. - No contest. Clinton wins hands down.
• Bush Sr. vs. Michael Dukakis - I don't think ANY presidential candidate in the modern era had bushier eyebrows than Dukakis. This election was a case of "who's less uglier." Bush Sr. wins.
• Ronald Reagan vs. Walter Mondale & Jimmy Carter - Who could look better than an actor from yesteryear? Reagan wins.
• Jimmy Carter vs. Gerald Ford - Carter fares much better in this beauty contest. Carter wins.

Except for John F. Kennedy, looks probably did not play a huge role in presidential politics before the mid-70s. They all looked like stodgy old guys... and they liked it!