Our Geek Life

*drool iPod Touch HD?

Posted by shegeek at March 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

ican haz a super Touch?

I must admit…I love my iPod Touch.  It’s a cool gadget that I had to have, and HG surprised me with last year.  I have enjoyed it thoroughly, but truth be told, I have been dreaming about all the things that would make the Touch even better.

The end of 2008 brought a growing hum about the possibilities of Apple’s next great thing.   Michael Arrington wrote about it in a December 30, 2008 article  in TechCrunch:

We’ve got this from three independent sources close to Apple:  expect a large screen iPod touch device to be released in the Fall of ‘09, with a 7 or 9 inch screen. Prototypes have been seen and handled by one of our sources, and Apple is talking to OEMs in Asia now about mass production…. I’m not saying Apple is definitely launching a large form iPod Touch. But sources I trust are saying they are currently planning to, and one source has actually held the device.

While that was definitely a tasty morsel, it was still too early for any type of real anticipation.  Fast forward to today when DigiTimes quoted a daily Chinese-language financial newspaper, Commerical Times, as saying:  “Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for Apple’s new netbook, and shipments will start in the third quarter this year”, that hum became a buzz.  The internet was suddenly a flutter with commentary about the possibility of a netbook by Apple.

The information quote from Commercial Times states that the Wintek touch screens are for an Apple netbook.  A previous quote about netbooks by COO Tim Cook stating that Apple was ”not too impressed with what it’s seen so far” would seem to contradict this.  In fact, based on the popularity of the iPod Touch and the iPhone, it would seem to make a lot more sense that Apple has  been developing a hybrid device – something in between the Touch and the Macs.

So what do you think?  Netbook or a super coolio new iPod Touch?  I say, “BRING IT!”  I am ready for a new iPod Touch!!

Yikes! Cell Hell!

Posted by shegeek at February 27th, 2009 | No Comments »

Illustration by Charlie Powell

Geek life as I know it is about to come to an end. My Samsung Blackjack II – the fourth of its kind that I have owned in the past 8 months – is on its last lame leg. Welcome to my nightmare.

My life is planned, coordinated, scheduled, re-scheduled and communicated via this small but occasionally wonderful device. I say occasionally not because it doesn’t work well for me, but rather because it doesn’t work well for me OFTEN. Considering nothing in the geek world that is mine moves, shakes, rattles or rolls without the mobile madness I carry with me almost everywhere, this is a modern-day Shakespearian tragedy.

The last time I was in the AT&T store the personality-challenged rep I talked to via phone was considerably less accommodating than the “Hi, I’m Barbie. Can I be window-dressing while you wait on hold” in-store rep who greeted me on arrival. After 30 minutes of proving to the call center charm school drop out that my phone was indeed malfunctioning, he not-so-warmly agreed to ship me a new refurbed phone. Have I mentioned that I hate refurbed phones?

I politely mentioned to Mr. Wonderful that I would be requesting a different phone altogether the NEXT TIME this happened. He assured me that it wouldn’t happen again and trusted that I would be most happy once I received my new-to-me-but-not-really-new phone in the mail in 2-3 working days.

Eh……LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Wednesday night when I picked my phone up off the desk and woke it up, horror of horrors – there was a crack in the display and colors were bleeding.  I have not dropped it.  I have not abused my phone.  But I will still need to go through 117 different checks, re-checks and probably a whole lotta ’splaining in order to be considered believable and possibly eligible for delivery of another phone to my residence in 2-3 business days.

Except – I’m not going that route.  I refuse.  4 strikes?  Usually you’re already in the dug out or maybe even at your locker cleaning it out.  I most certainly will not go for a 5th phone of this type.  No way.  No how.

Here’s to a weekend spent determining which device they shall be happy to give me as a replacement.  LOL!

Build your own mobile device

Posted by shegeek at February 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »

Pile o' Mobile Phones

Nothing has proven more challenging to me than shopping for a mobile device.  Touch screen, no touch screen.  Full QWERTY keyboard.  Slider.  Flip.  MP3.  Camera.  Vid Cam.  Full Web Browser.  PDA functions.  Crackberry?  YIKES!!!

I’m as geeky as the next girl (okay, more geeky than most), but I have to admit that I have a real prejudice against these “One Size Fits All” type devices.  I want it how I want it (aka MY WAY) and I want it NOW!!

In the dark ages of the PC, you got what you got unless you knew how to build your own.  I have built my own computer but having tackled that so-called challenge (it’s really stupid easy these days compared to when I did it), I prefer being able to go online and order it my way.  So riddle me this:  Why can’t we do the same with mobile devices?

Applications do not make a device; they enhance a device.  Although the ability to add apps is one cool thing about the iPhone, it doesn’t get me past the whole lack of a QWERTY keyboard.  I text like crazy and process a lot of email on my mobile device.  My fingers are not tiny and I need the tactile feel of a keyboard.  Neurotic, perhaps, but I can’t stand the whole touch to type thing.  It lacks bounce.

I like the keyboards on devices like the Samsung Blackjack II, but I cannot stand the fact that if you need to use the touchpad to key in something during a call you have to know the number to letter conversion on your telephone in order to do so.  That completely hoses up your ability to wade through many of those stupid VRU apps, which forces you to keep hitting # until you get to a live person (if you are so lucky as to find a real person on the other side of the canned tinny voiced bot beeyotch).

I don’t want a camera or a video camera.  They are annoying stupid things that I have no use for whatsoever.  It’s just one more thing on the mobile device  that can break and rendering it unusable and in need of repair.  To go without my device for any length of time is a complete tragedy, and one event I prefer to avoid at all costs.

The cost for cool gadgets that “do it all” is not small, and is on the rise.  But I have to tell you – if I’m going to spend upwards of $400 on a mobile device – I don’t want someone else’s idea of what a mobile device should be or should have – I want to create my own mobile device.  This is the ultimate in personalization and would be worth the money.

I realize there are challenges with this request.  Mobile devices aren’t made here.  There would be a delay in delivery.  They would likely be more expensive.  Blah blah blah.  This is all lip service.  Look at it this way – if I can have customized personalized M & M’s delivered to my door, why can’t I get a mobile device that is personalized and customized according to my needs and wants?