Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Want List

My lust list for the week....(in order of lustiness).


HTC Droid Incredible
There's only one thing stopping me from buying the Incredible. The fact that last night Verizon Wireless had an online special where I could buy one Incredible (for free) and get a second one for free. I don't know if that was a price mistake, but I didn't bite. And the reason I didn't bite is because I was viewing this from my Motorola Droid just before going to bed and fell asleep shortly after. Argh!! This afternoon the offer was gone. I'd now have to renew my 2-year contract and pay $99 for a new Incredible. Not bad, but I'm gonna wait till launch day, cross my fingers, and hope for another 2-for-1 deal.


Sony Dash
I fell in love with the Dash back at CES. Design-wise, it looked great and I've always wanted a bed-side tablet/alarm clock. I especially like that it streams Netflix (what doesn't nowadays) so I can fall asleep every night while watching a movie! (Or I can use it to surf Verizon Wireless' website before going to bed and fall asleep just as I find a good deal.)


Sennheiser CX 680
I need a pair of earbuds badly. I'm currently using Zune buds w/ my iPod (don't ask) and they're falling apart on me. PC Mag said these are the best gym earbuds you can buy, but the cheap part of me refuses to pay over $30 for a pair of buds. The reason? I sweat like mad and I know they won't last me more than a few months. A quickie Web search shows me that the cheapest (as of 4/28) price for these buds is $90 at B&H Photo Video. That's almost the price of an Incredible!


Apple iPad
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everyone wants one. Add me to the list. Although I'll say this, my desire to own an iPad decreases with each day. If/when I do get one, I will try my hardest to be productive with it using cheap and/or free apps only. I refuse to let Apple's cash cow (iTunes) have its way with my wallet.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Droid Incredible

For the past few months I've been using the Motorola Droid as my main phone. I love it. It's fun, responsive, has awesome apps, and I'm a huge Android fan. Well, now Verizon is trying to tempt me with it's new HTC Droid Incredible.

Design-wise, it looks so much nicer than the Moto Droid. Even on the hardware side, it's got a speedier 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8MP camera, and an OLED screen. It also has HTC's Sense UI on top of Android 2.1. The only thing stopping me from getting this phone is HTC's Sense UI. It's essentially an overlay that runs on top of Android and I've used it in the past on other HTC phones, but I hate that it could potentially prevent me from getting the latest Android updates (since HTC would have to update Sense so that it could play nice with new updates).

The phone is due out next Thursday. I will swing by a Verizon store to check it out.

Weekend Picks #11

Food, Inc.
This is one of those documentaries that will completely change the way you look at things. Prior to this film, I don't recall every paying attention to where the food I eat comes from or how it's processed, but after watching this docu I feel like I'll be asking those questions all the time. The docu takes an in-depth look at the few companies that dominate the food industry, how animals are treated (mistreated), and how said companies are raking in profits while U.S. farmer in debt. To be honest, it made me want to give up meat again.

Road to Guantanamo
This docu-drama is about three British detainees wrongly arrested for two years at Guantanamo Bay. It's extremely difficult to watch because they're tortured and beaten on a daily basis. (Even though they're innocent.) I felt the first few minutes of the film were a little confusing in that you don't quite know what's going on. But once they reach Guantanamo, the acting is so intense that you forget these scenes are re-enactments. I don't have much else to say about this film other than it's very disturbing and difficult to watch.

Monday, April 12, 2010

iPad-less

So this past weekend I tried purchasing a 16GB Apple iPad. No luck. All of the NYC Apple Stores were sold out. Even the Apple Store in Edison, NJ was out of stock. One thing I found interesting, each of the NYC Apple Stores told me to return the next day, as if they were expecting new stock. Made me wonder if they were intentionally limiting the number of 16GB iPads they sold per day. (Forcing people to buy the 64GB version.) Who knows. Point is, I decided I'd save a few bucks and wait for the first refurbs to arrive. So in the meantime, I remain iPad-less.

Weekend Picks #10

Tomorrow May Never Come
So this past weekend I watched my second Bollywood film, Tomorrow May Never Come (Kal Ho Naa Ho). In an nutshell, it's a movie about two guys who fall in love with the same girl. Sounds very cliche, but this is unlike any Hollywood film I've seen. It has a great story line, lots of twists, and it quickly goes from a light hearted comedy to a somewhat melancholic drama. (I personally like movies like that.)

It's long. 3 hours long. And it has lots of music in it, which I would normally hate, but oddly I seem to enjoy it in this movie. In fact, I liked all of the music scenes. Highly recommend it. Just one caveat. I didn't like the first 20 minutes of the movie. It was shot in a style reminiscent of Family Guy with lots of quick cuts and flashbacks. It made the movie feel....irreverent. Oddly, the director only does that for the first 20 minutes.

Summer Hours
I didn't hate this movie, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to many people. (And I probably wouldn't watch it again.) It's a French film about three siblings who upon their mother's death, inherit her country house, which is filled with personal memories and tons of valuable collectibles/paintings. The movie essentially asks the question: "what makes a work of art museum-worthy and when is it just a work of art?" It also looks at the differences between generations. To the mother, all of the works in the house were valuable. To some of the siblings (and their children) it was just a house filled with memories. Like I said, it's a very slow movie with no real "drama," but it does raise some interesting points. I imagine someone who's into art would enjoy this movie most.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

TV Deals: 42" 1080p LCD

So last month we looked at the cost of 42" 1080p LCD HDTVs ranging from 60Hz to 3D. For March, I'm happy for to report that prices have dropped across the board. The only category that saw a slight increase was the 42" 60Hz LCD category. (These TVs actually went up $40.)

That puts 120Hz LCDs at just $30 more than an entry-level 60Hz LCD. Obviously if you're in the market — you'll get more out of your money if you go 120Hz.

Meanwhile 240Hz TVs dropped $200 and LED-backlit LCDs dropped $100. 3D TVs remained obscenely high. So here's where the prices stand (as of April 7, 10) for a 42" set.

42" 1080p LCD HDTVs
60Hz: $539
120Hz: $569
240Hz: $799
LED-backlit: $899
3D: $1,800

(42" Plasma: $480)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

On the brink of buying an iPad

I think I may cave in. After scoffing at the idea of an iPad, today's podcast sold me on Apple's tablet. At first I thought $500 was an absurd amount for a tablet. But now that I've read all the reviews and listened to first-hand accounts of people with iPads — I think this is the "ultraportable Mac" that I've been looking for.

My goal is to turn the iPad into a MacBook Air-like computer. Whether or not that's possible, I don't know. What I don't want is a novelty item. I want something I can use at home while watching TV, yet something that I can take with me on trips to stay connected. Something I can use to file a story, yet something I can kick back with and play a few games on. Most importantly, I want something that's better than a netbook.

So this is where I stand. Tomorrow is the NYC Marathon lottery. If I get accepted, no iPad. If I don't get accepted, I'll buy an iPad.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Weekend Picks #9

When it comes to Spanish wines, everything I've ever had from Spain's Ribera del Duero region has been amazing. I have yet to find a Ribera wine that I dislike. (The wines from that area can be pricey, so comparison shop as mush as possible and when you find the cheapest price, do one more round of comparisons, which is what I normally do.)

So this weekend I had some friends come over last-minute and we had the Emilio Moro Finca Resalso 2007. It was great! Best part, it was only $11. I've had Emilio Moro wines before and they're fantastic. But again, be careful where you buy 'cause you could pay $11 like I did here or you could get price gouged at $16 like they do here.

On a different note, I tried watching this movie over the weekend (it's another Bollywood flick with high Amazon recommendations), but fell asleep 10 minutes in. Hopefully this won't become another Ikiru.