My New Toy: Blackberry Curve

After years of using a regular phone to try and keep up with my life, I've finally cracked down and bought a smartphone: the Blackberry Curve 8330 from Verizon. Why the Blackberry you ask? Well, it just plain kicks butt, and does so at a bargain price compared to the more expensive Windows Mobile-based phones like the Samsung SCH-i760 I wanted. With all the typical PIM apps like Calendar, Tasks, Phonebook, and Memo, I've got my hectic life put in check. A 2.0 megapixel camera along with a video camera, voice recorder, and decent media player round out it's multimedia offerings while its functional keyboard, bright screen and light weight make it easy to use. With Verizon's EVDO Rev0 highspeed data access, surfing's a breeze and I'm able to watch streaming video's like the trailer to the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight", without a problem.

The few gripes I have about this phone are no WiFi support, poor placement of memory card (behind battery - what were they thinking!), battery life not as good as hoped, and no support for HTML email out of the box. These things definitely aren't dealbreakers as I don't find myself swapping out memory cards often and I've always got a battery charger or cable nearby. For now, the only way to read HTML email is via a 3rd-party program. My dibs is on Empower's Blackberry HTML Viewer for 30 big ones.

I've only had my Curve for almost 2 months, but I still feel like I've only scratched the surface on what this baby has to offer. I know one thing, I'm definitely not going back to a regular phone!

I'd like to send a special shout-out to my friends over at CrackBerry.com for getting me on the road to discovery with my new Curve. These guys are the best when it comes to giving you the lowdown on all things Blackberry including a superb community (200,000 and growing) of forum members ready to help you when you need it. Go check 'em out, even if you don't own a Blackberry! ;)

New Laptop: Gateway M-6841

I finally broke down after all these years of not having a laptop, and bought one at Circuit City last month. I deliberated for probably 3-4 weeks looking for the best choice on a new lappy; I looked at Dell's, HP's, Acer's, Gateway's, even a MAC (shudders). After looking at the mass numbers of my client's who own DELL's and had problems with them, I nixed that brand altogether. MAC's, although more than capable of doing what I want in a machine and running dual-boot MAC OSX & Windows with programs like Parallels or Boot Camp, the price was over my limit. Toshiba's have long been what I've recommended to other customers of mine looking at getting a decent laptop for a great price, but after finding this Gateway on Circuit City's website last month for $669, I couldn't pass it up. Decked out with a Core2Duo 1.83 GHz processor, 3GB DDR2 667MHz RAM, an Intel Centrino chipset, abg Wifi, 1.3MP webcam, 250GB SATA HD, DVDRW, along with a host of other goodies like a multimedia card slot, this baby rocks. I've had a solid month to play with this lappy: taking it on a business trip to Des Moines, IA, back and forth to several client visits, having it as my secondary workstation at the office, and using it at home occasionally and so far I'm impressed for what I paid for it.

I'll take some shots of it later and post them here, but for now Gateway's got my thumb's up!

Sneak Peak at Upcoming LinkedIn Article

I've recently been hitting the social networking scene, only I've taken a different path than most of my peers who are my age and younger. Instead of the MySpace addicts and FaceBook fiends, I hopped onboard LinkedIn.com, a professional networking site, to create an account and accept my initial invitation from a friend of mine who I do business with online. What started this "late bloomer" beginning in the world of social networking sites really had to do more with my current employment than personal desire. I work for an executive search firm that among other things desires more efficient and smarter ways of doing business. One of the reasons why I was brought on board was to help in this area. Fast forward to today, and I have a full-fledged LinkedIn premium account with 35 connections. Granted, that's a small number of connections (or "friends" for you MySpace folk), but you're looking at someone who had NO desire whatsoever to join and setup an account at a social networking site.

Next post, I will talk about the benefits of using LinkedIn both as a business user and for your own personal gain. I will also start to delve in other Web 2.0 technologies that I've begun to really start using, mostly at work. I'll mention several relevant articles that helped me to understand how these tools work, so that hopefully they can help you to do the same.

In the meantime, feel free to click on that shiny new button to the left that looks like this: to see my LinkedIn.com profile. Until next time!

Happy New Year! 2008

Happy New Year to everyone! May this year, 2008, be bigger and brighter than ever. 2007 went by so fast and a great deal has happened in just this short year alone. A lot is going on in the technology community including ever more complex gadgets and hardware consolidating features into ever smaller packages. That is going to be the theme for this year: miniturization. Whether it be the consumer, education, private or military sectors, this theme will be universal and integral in providing cutting-edge devices that solve our world's most complex and even simplest problems.

My goal is to attend at least 1-2 trade shows this year that deal with consumer electronics, robotics, convergence technology, or a related field and bring that coverage right here to Convergence Daily. Last year, as part of my daytime job, I attended the AGC Trade Show in Austin, TX to learn and understand more about the construction equipment industry, its players, and the equipment and vehicles typically used. Convergence technology is playing a role in this industry as well with major players using virtual simulators to teach new equipment operators the ropes before they jump behind the "wheel" of that million dollar piece of equipment. More advanced controlling mechanisms and software algorithms are being developed to make the training simulations as accurate and true-to-life as possible. In addition, we will probably see more advanced video monitoring & other technologies used in dozers, haulers, and other construction equipment in the hopes of increasing the overall safety of the operator(s) and protecting the investments of the equipment owners as well.

I'm continuing my major in Computer Engineering with a minor in Business Administration in the hopes of going into business full-time working for myself. This year will be a pivotal year of changes for me and will hopefully bring together some positive changes for this blog along with my other site Neowave.us.

Until next time!

Out of the Loop!

Well, it's been several months now since my last update. The trip to Colorado was a blast and very memorable. I have tons of pictures I have yet to take to get developed, still sitting on my computer. Unfortunately, a lot of other things have taken priority over this blog, and I've been doing a lot of time management lately. I've been enrolled in classes at a local college since August and received a promotion in September; both keeping me very busy. In fact, so busy that I've forgotten what it is to stay in shape! Solving that problem, I paid a visit to a local gym and joined up. I have a workout session tonight as a matter of fact so time to get rid of that excess weight before I pile it on again this Thanksgiving.

I should be getting back to the writing scene real soon and publish some articles here at Convergence Daily to get it back up to date. A lots happened in the technology and digital convergence sector; cell phones are packing even more features into tinier bodies without solving the battery bottleneck, house-cleaning robots have gotten an upgrade with the Roomba 2, DARPA is at it again with this year's Grand Challenge now featuring corporate sponsors like Intel and Red Bull (Robot NASCAR anyone?), and IPTV once touted as the Next Best Thing by tech giants like AT&T and Microsoft is still taking forever to reach the masses.

I look forward to getting back in the blogging scene real soon. Until next time, eat your Wheaties!

In the Middle of Nowhere

That's what most of Texas can feel like, but for now I'm in Dalhart, TX. With a population of only 7,300 people, there isn't much to see and do and this town merely acted as a pass-through point for us to just fill up on gas and make sure we're on the right path: north on Highway 87. I did give the Verizon aircard another test, but wasn't surprised when I found I was still on roaming dialup speeds (will post screenshot later).

All the gadgets are holding up well for the most part, altough it looks like I forgot to replace the batteries in my Canon Powershot, as it died. A quick double A replacement, and I was back on my way. My Nokia 6265i still won't place calls although I paid for 200 roaming minutes for this trip. Following the instructions from the automated Cricket service yielded no success, and I got tired of waiting on hold for a Cricket rep. Alas, at least our Motorola RAZR on the T-Mobile works (even if we're on Cingular's roaming network). Our next stop should be Raton, NM just 20 miles south of the Colorado border. See you there!

WiFi...At Last!

I've finally made it to the 21st century and arrived at a local McDonalds here in Plainview, TX which just happens to serve free wireless internet. I'm no longer handicapped with sub-dialup speeds, but alas it is but for a moment as I will be jumping back on the road heading up to Amarillo next. Only another 110 miles to go, and maybe this Verizon card will get better coverage.

Again, no need for pictures, not much to see out here in the grassroots area of Texas. I'll take a few shots of the border as we cross into New Mexico through Texline, the windiest city in the country. New Mexico can be a lot more beautiful in my opinion than the panhandle of Texas, with plenty of picturesque stone formations and enticing views of the surrounding landscape. So far the weather has been on our side with plenty of sunshine, leaving all the rain behind in San Antonio. Despite the chance for rain up through Amarillo into New Mexico today, I'm confident we'll have a smooth ride until we arrive in Colorado Springs. Weather.com states we're in for more rain than sun for most of our trip but I'm hoping it doesn't hold up.

I forgot to mention, I purchased a 200W power inverter to power the laptop and other gizmos I brought, with my truck's DC power. I figured since this laptop's battery life rates at about 4.5 hours and the trip will be at least 3 times that, something had to be done. It's held up pretty well so far with one AC plug and a car adapter port to plug in other devices, and a handy switch to turn the device off or on. It's footprint is very small, no bigger than about 2 decks of playing cards and includes a little fan to keep the device cool. It was a bargain at less than $35, too!

Since my truck doesn't include a modern CD player, let alone a cassette player (not even an 8-track? nope.), I decided to use my trusty Sandisk Sansa e250r mp3 player to keep me awake on those monotonous Texas roads. I d/l'ed about 150 songs onto it before I left, so that should at least keep me busy. Texas radio just plain sucks once you get in the panhandle, unless you absolutely love country music then you'll feel right at home (there's only so much Rascall Flatts one can listen to.)

Onto Amarillo ... "Amarillo by mornin', Amarillo's where I'll be"

Tumbleweeds and Cows, Oh My!

Well, it looks like I'm still stuck on sub-dialup speeds on this verizon wireless aircard, here in Lubbock, TX. I'm attempting a speedtest on speakeasy.net again, hoping this time it'll complete before timing out. At least I can use notepad until I get into the next city with Verizon broadband access towers. We'll be approaching the halfway point on our trip pretty soon and it looks like we're making pretty good time: 400 miles in just over 6 hours. I've only had to fill up the gas in my Ford Ranger once so far...not bad seeing I only get 24 miles to the gallon. Nothing much to report on as I'm between a Town & Country gas station and a Double Discount liquour store: true signs of a Texan town, yeehaw! Now all we need is a few tumbleweeds and some cows (oh wait, I spot those too!)

Next post should be from Amarillo...I hope I can get some faster speed out of the networks up there in George Strait country, see ya then!

PS. That speed test just completed: I'm on a whopping 45kbps connection! Watch out now.

Colorado, Here We Come!!!

We're off on our expedition; Road Trip 2007 has begun! We've made it to San Marcos from San Antonio in roughly 3 hours...not bad, but we're still behind schedule if we're to arrive between 5-7pm tonight. Nothing much to blog about here, just a bunch of cars and restaurants and a university and that's about it. No need for pictures...but that should change soon as the scenery gets a bit more exciting (laughs). Unfortunately, this Verizon card is currently in roaming status so my speeds are worse than dialup...hence why I'm writing this blog post in notepad. :( Even my cell phone has no coverage out here (that's because it's on Cricket's network and even after paying for roaming minutes, I still can't make a call: useless I tell you, useless!).

I'm not surprised though, most parts of Texas are not technology friendly. Well, until next stop!

Road Trip 2007! Back on the Road Again

I'm back, after a long hiatus from blogging. I know I'm quite behind on the blogging scene so I'm using this next event as an excuse to jump back in! This event will be Convergence Daily's first ever Road Trip! We'll be trekking across the vastness that are the Texas open roads from San Antonio through Amarillo into the panhandle across into New Mexico heading north into Colorado and finally landing in beautiful Colorado Springs, CO! That's a total of about 2,000 miles roundtrip! While driving my new Ford Ranger on its 1st roadtrip as well, I'll be testing a variety of technology ranging from mp3 players to a laptop and writing about my experiences all here on Convergence Daily. A short list of hardware includes: Sandisk Sansa e250R mp3 player, Philips 7" Widescreen portable DVD player, Apple iPod 30GB video, Canon PowerShot A510 3.2 MP & Sony CyberShot 7.2 MP digital cameras, a DELL Latitude D600 laptop, Verizon Wireless USB720 Broadband Aircard (almost T1 speeds on the road!), iMation 2GB flash drive, Casio G-Shock solar-powered watch, a CompUSA USB bluetooth adapter, my trusty Nokia 6265i mobile phone on the Cricket network and a Motorola RAZR on T-Mobile's network.

I'll be putting all of this hardware and more through its paces while I spend most of my trip in Colorado Springs, CO visiting all of the sites and even climbing Pikes Peak which sits at over 14,000 ft above sea level, that's more than half the height of Mt Everest, the tallest mountain in the world! I depart for this trip on Wednesday, July 18th to Colorado Springs, CO and shall arrive back in San Antonio Lord-willing safe and sound on July 24th sometime in the late evening. My plan is to post photos I've taken during the trip to my Flickr account, any video to YouTube, and of course all editorial content here at Convergence Daily. I might even take a look at using Twitter to track special events like the Pike's Peak climb. I'm very excited about this trip and look forward to sharing it with you all and testing the flurry of technology we'll have at our fingertips for your reading enjoyment!

See you on the 18th for Convergence Daily's Road Trip 2007!

Trekking Across Texas

I travelled to Dallas/Ft.Worth Texas this past week with a couple friends of mine primarily to help out as one of them was getting their old job back working at Ford Motor Co and the other was in search of a place to move to. While acting as part navigator part mediator, I managed to take some shots with my Nokia 6265i and will show them here for your viewing pleasure (mind you they were taken whilst moving at high speeds in a vehicle with rocky suspension ;) )

Foldable Reader: Digital Paper Is Here

While smaller than a typical mobile phone, the new device features a display which extends up to 5-inches and may simply be stored away after use by folding it, thanks to the flexibility of the polymer based display material. The device features the largest display available in the industry for the same form factor, the 16 grey levels combined with a high contrast and high reflectivity display for paper like reading experience enables comfortable reading, even in bright sunlight. Future developments include colour and moving image capable display.

Thanks to cellphone9

3GSM 2007 Top Headlines featuring MobileBurn.com

Our friends over at MobileBurn.com have done a wonderful job covering 3GSM 2007 over in Barcelona, Spain. Mui Bueno! Here is a select list of updates straight from their editorial staff covering the show floor in order from earliest to latest:

* Microsoft to Launch Windows Mobile 6 on Monday
* Motorola Launches MOTORIZR Z8
* Motorola's MOTOQ q9 Windows Mobile 6 Smartphone
* It's Here: Nokia's E90 Communicator
* Nokia N77 for DVB-H Mobile TV
* Slim Nokia E65 Business Wonder
* World's Thinnest Slider, the Samsung SGH-U600
* SanDisk Introduces the Largest Capacity of the World's Smallest Flash Card for Mobile Phones - the 4GB micro SDHC
* HP iPAQ 500 Series Voice Messenger
* Preview of Nokia S60 Feature Pack 2

And there you have it! Continuing updates can be found on their dedicated 3GSM 2007 Homepage

Apologize for the lack of updates...

I have to say I'm sorry for the lack of updates/posts since my last on 1/17. I've fallen into the unemployed status after working for a regional wireless ISP for almost 3 years. However unfortunate this event has been for me, I will walk away benefiting from the indispensable knowledge and experience I gained working in the communications and networking field. I've been working hard at finding a better job, hopefully this time I can make it into a career.

I shall continue regular updates to Convergence Daily without further adieu.

LG's Super Multi Blue HD Player spotted in CompUSA

In the really long name for a gadget device department, the new LG hybrid device has been seen for sale at a local CompUSA here in Texas (yeehaa). We wrote about this player earlier this month and already just a few days after the close of CES it's being sold right here in my backyard! A member of the forums at AVSForum.com has posted first-hand pictures of the new player.

In case you hadn't heard, the Super Multi Blue HD Player is LG's answer to detente in the next-gen DVD format war: playback capabilities for both formats bundled in a single player, the LG BH100 ($1,200 list)...Word was the player would hit Best Buy and Circuit City in early February, but it looks like a few are already trickling out into the channel. While we don't expect this to be a big seller at its lofty $1,200 price, it is nice to see it shipping.

Thanks to C|Net's blog Crave for the news.
LG's Press Release (1/7/07)

Update! I just got off the phone with Ed in A/V at my local CompUSA store here in San Antonio, TX and he said they have 4 in stock, 1 on display and they arrived at their store on Friday! Looks like I'll be paying them a visit to test out the new player for myself. I'll have a writeup and pictures soon.

N800 Review: First Impressions of Nokia's Latest Internet Tablet

Jose_R.A.M over at the MobileBurn.com Forums has posted a very in-depth review over the recently announced and CES-featured Nokia n800 internet tablet. We just featured an article that included the n800 right here, but now you can get your treats and eats again by checking out his comprehensive first-hand review over this cool gadget.

Read more here

Roundup: Nokia Gadgets at CES 2007

Here is a roundup of the latest devices released by Nokia and showcased at this year's CES, complete with news briefs:


From MobileBurn.com
Nokia, which has long shied away from releasing thin devices, has today announced its entry to the ever-crowded thin handset market with the new N76. Nokia states that it did not want to compromise on features just to shave thickness off the device, and as such, this 14mm (0.5") thick handset boasts some impressive specifications when compared to its rivals.


From GearLog.com
At Nokia's booth at CES I saw this little stunner of a phone, the 6300, running the new Yahoo! Go Mobile 2.0 application. The 6300, which will probably sell for between $250 and $300 before rebates if it ever does come here, is gorgeous -- the 320x240 screen is deliriously bright and sharp, and the whole phone has an elegant, metallic glow. Like the beloved and now-deceased 6230, it's also full of features that it doesn't immediately show, like a media player that supports 2GB memory cards, a 2-megapixel camera and an FM radio.





From IGN.com
Nokia pulled back the curtain on the new N800 Internet Tablet at CES 2007 today, marking several significant improvements over the N770 model. The N800 immediately strikes onlookers with its svelte profile and attractive casing. The face on the updated N800 is dominated by its screen, flanked only by speakers and a traditional thumb pad input.


From InfoSyncWorld.com
The biggest change in the N93i is the design. In fact, aside from the incremental upgrade to the Symbian S60 Series 3 OS, the design is the only change, but the change is significant. The original N93 was unique, but very bulky. It was more like a small camcorder than a phone. Though the N93i only pares a tenth of an inch from its thickness, the phone is considerably lighter.

Nokia Nseries Homepage

The Amazing Colored Bubbles!

Thanks to Shiny Shiny for the news - They may not look as amazing as the title ensues, but this creation is certainly worth mentioning. A company called Ascadia has created "the worlds first" colored bubbles, called Zubbles. How a company could make something as old as it is fun, entertaining again is quite a feat. These colorful creations are due to come out this spring to a toy store near you!

Check out the video
Zubbles Home

ASIMO Robot Runs at CES 2007

Nothing impresses me more than to see the advances in robotics, especially the humanoid-kind. The lucky few who attended this year's CES got to see a glimpse of the future by seeing a running robot in action. This robot, called ASIMO for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, was designed by Honda. That's right, the same folks who make cars, trucks, and motorcycles for the masses have all along been working on a robotics project to develop a humanoid robot to eventually aid us in everyday tasks to saving lives. We aren't that far away from creating a robot much like the one in Bicentennial Man and it will be exciting to see what's next. Below is a video of ASIMO in action, check it out:



More ASIMO Videos
ASIMO Homepage

New Line of SanDisk Sansa Players

The team at SanDisk was onto something when they decided to start competing with the likes of Apple in the portable mp3 player market which is currently dominated by the numerous flavors of the iPod. SanDisk has released a number of mp3 players onto the market under the moniker of Sansa, and have attracted quite a positive response with their smooth silky design and intuitive interface. I recently purchased a Sansa, specifically the e250R which comes bundled with a two-month trial of Real Rhapsody and I LOVE IT. I have taken it with me on my travels across state and to my office to relax while I work. I've even looked at other things one can do with these players, including this. I don't imagine I'll have anything bad to say about the upcoming line of players that were showcased by SanDisk at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.


Starting in the lightweight division, the Sansa Express has a list of features that's surprising given its small size. Unlike any of the other players in the Sansa line, this one can be plugged directly into your computer's USB port without the use of a USB cable. It comes with a microSD card slot for expandable memory, an FM tuner, a vivid OLED display, and a mic for voice recording all for only $60 bucks!


Heading off the middleweight division is the Sansa Connect which brings streaming music to your ears via a WiFi connection and includes support for photos and internet radio. Topping off this truly mobile mp3 player is a handy microSD card slot to expand upon its initial 4GB of space.


Arriving at our heavyweight division we have for you the Sansa View showcasing true video capabilities sporting DVD-quality video and a wide variety of video file types and resolutions. It has a vibrant 4" screen and a built-in speaker to show off its multimedia prowess and comes with an SD/SDHC expansion slot for future expansion sizes up to 32GB! This 8GB player, like my Sansa e250R mp3 player, comes preloaded with content sure to keep new buyers busy playing with it long before they even get around to uploading their own material. Out of all of the devices being showcased by SanDisk at this year's CES, I'm looking forward to this one the most.