HTC Diamond

Just got this beautiful one from work:

You can get all the details in the HTC website, but the quick and short details are that it's small, light, and has a cool 3D UI which IMHO gives iPhone a fair fight. Oh, and the telephony part is much better than my previous one, the Samsung Blackjack.

The downside is that it's a tad slow, and the battery life is not that great (probably a little more than a day, but mine is not a new device, as it's from work). I do however charge it during the day, when it's connected to my PC, and I also have a car charger, so it's not a problem so far.

The last issue is that it also takes time from the time the call comes in, to the time you hear the ring (2-3 missed rings), but this is the case with my previous Smartphone as well.

My recommendation? I think I'll wait a few days to decide. I only had it for about two days...

Saitek X52 Flight Control System

Saitek X52 Flight Control System

I purchased this after my previous Joystick started misbehaving. It looks pretty cool, with it being a throttle and stick combo. I hope to get it this week, and let you know how it goes.

ASUS | Eee PC

I got a chance to check it out today, and it's pretty cool! It is a sub-notebook. On one hand, it's small and very light. On the other hand, it's big enough to work on. It runs on a Linux distribution, although you can install Windows XP on it as well. The UI is very simple, with large icons which are divided to different areas (Internet, Work, Play, etc.). It has quite a few applications pre-installed, and it also has WiFi.

Who is it good for? Good question! Kids, novice users who don't want a desktop, and so on. What about power users? Well, you're a bit limited with it. It's not very fast, so if you want to install a full-blown OS, with lots of utilities, it probably won't work so well. I tried to use the advanced mode, which gives you the KDE environment, but some dialogs were too large to display on the 7'' screen. There may be a way to change the screen resolution, but when it comes to Linux, I'm a novice.

But it's a great alternative if you travel a lot, and need only the basic applications. At 0.92kg, it beats any Notebook!

 

ASUS | Eee PC

My new A/V setup

My Sharp LC32-BV8E LCD TV unfortunately has only one HDMI input. At the time when I bought this TV, I didn't know the importance of HDMI. Up until now I had the computer connected to the TV, so that I could watch HD content. I recently got a new DVD - Pioneer DV-400, which has an HDMI output. It's a standard DVD with upscale capabilities.

Since I have only one HDMI input, I purchased a simple HDMI switch, and two HDMI cables. I got them a few days ago, so now both the computer and DVD are connected to the TV. I cannot say that I see a big difference when I upscale to 720P, but I guess it really depends on the content. Battlestar Galactica looked only slightly better, but Ratatouille looked great (not a big wonder though).

Having the audio coming through the HDMI connection is also a small bonus, for Stereo content, or if you cannot use the receiver for fear of waking the kids.

The computer is not very happy about this. I have to cancel the secondary screen each time I switch to the DVD. Otherwise, when I switch back I might end up with the main screen on my TV instead of my computer!

In the future I will purchase a new receiver with HDMI inputs, so I shouldn't have this problem (I hope).

Samsung Blackjack

My name is Blackjack, Samsung Blackjack. Just got this one from work on Thursday. I usually have some sort of Pocket PC machine, so that I can read mail from anywhere (lucky me!!!). Usually it is a bit big and bulky, and cannot replace my old Nokia as a phone. This one however is a dream come true. Very small and light, with all the useful features I need (activesync to my Exchange, IE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and so on and so on).

My old Nokia is currently resting in the car (used only when driving). I'll probably have some more feedback on it this coming week, as I haven't had much chance working with it.

A little bit about my A/V Equipment - part 1

I'm the proud owner of a Sharp LC32-BV8E LCD screen (HD Ready). One of the things that is connected to it is this very same computer I'm using now to write this post. It's connected via an DVI-HDMI cable (not for long, but that is a story for a different post).

The computer is my only way to watch High-Definition content, usually in the form of x264 encoded content. The result is breathtaking! Makes watching shows like BTU (see previous post) bearable.